Annoyance Noise Suppression via Dynamic Band-Reject Filtering
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing audio technologies fail to effectively suppress annoyance noises while allowing desirable sounds to be heard, particularly in environments where human hearing is overwhelmed by specific frequency ranges, and they lack the ability to adapt to different contexts and user preferences.
Innovation Solution
A personal audio system with active acoustic filters that use a processor to identify and suppress annoyance noise frequencies using band-reject filters, while allowing desirable sounds to be accentuated, and includes a class table to simplify noise identification and filtering based on known noise classes and user context.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If broad frequency attenuation is applied to block annoying noises, then annoyance noise suppression is improved, but desirable sounds are also blocked
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies different filtering characteristics to different frequency ranges. Band-reject filters are selectively applied only to specific frequency bands where annoyance noises occur (such as engine frequencies), while other frequency bands pass through with minimal attenuation. This allows the system to suppress harmful noises locally in specific frequency regions without broadly blocking desirable sounds across the entire spectrum.
Solution Approach 2:
The audio frequency spectrum is divided into multiple discrete bands, each handled by independent filtering operations. The system segments the continuous frequency range into manageable portions, applying targeted attenuation to specific bands containing annoyance noises while preserving other bands. This segmentation enables precise control over which frequencies are suppressed and which are maintained.
2Device complexity
If fixed filter characteristics are used, then device complexity is reduced, but adaptability to different noise environments is worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The filtering system dynamically adjusts its characteristics based on the detected noise environment. Rather than using fixed filter parameters, the system continuously analyzes the ambient audio spectrum, identifies annoyance noise sources, and adapts the band-reject filter frequencies and bandwidths in real-time. This dynamic adaptation allows the same device to effectively handle different noise scenarios (traffic, construction, machinery) without requiring complex manual configuration or multiple pre-programmed filter sets.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If aggressive noise filtering is applied, then annoyance noise suppression is improved, but speech intelligibility is worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies filtering locally to specific frequency bands where annoyance noises are detected, rather than applying uniform aggressive filtering across all frequencies. By targeting only the problematic frequency ranges (such as low-frequency engine rumble or mid-range machinery noise) and preserving other bands where speech energy resides, the system achieves noise suppression without degrading speech intelligibility.
Data Source
AI summary
Personal audio systems and methods are disclosed. A personal audio system includes a class table storing processing parameters respectively associated with a plurality of annoyance noise classes, a controller, and a processor. The controller identifies an annoyance noise class of an annoyance noise included in an ambient audio stream and retrieves, from the class table, one or more processing parameters associated with the identified annoyance noise class. The processor to processes the ambient audio stream according to the one or more retrieved processing parameters class to provide a personal audio stream. The processor includes a pitch tracker to identify a fundamental frequency of the annoyance noise and a filter bank including a band reject filter tuned to the fundamental frequency.