Headrest Speaker Sound Localization with Front-Speaker Panning
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing sound localization techniques using headrest speakers in vehicles fail to enhance the sense of presence for listeners, as they primarily focus on localizing virtual sound images on the front side of the head, neglecting the potential of front speakers for supplementary sound supplementation.
Innovation Solution
A sound processing device that utilizes both headrest and front speakers to achieve a two-step sound image localization process, where a tentative sound image is first localized by headrest speakers in a region excluding the front side and then supplemented by amplitude panning to finalize the sound image between the headrest and front speakers, enhancing the sense of presence.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If only headrest speakers are used for sound localization, then the system complexity is reduced, but the sense of presence is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines headrest speakers and front speakers into a unified sound localization system. The headrest speakers create a tentative sound image in the rear hemisphere, while front speakers supplement this image to enhance the sense of presence, achieving improved auditory realism through merged speaker functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The sound localization process is segmented into two distinct stages: first, headrest speakers localize a tentative sound image in the rear hemisphere; second, front speakers supplement this image. This segmentation allows each speaker type to perform its optimal function while contributing to the overall sense of presence.
2Adaptability or versatility
If sound images are localized only on the front side of the head, then the localization region is simplified, but the immersive listening experience is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extends sound localization from the traditional front-side region to include the rear hemisphere by utilizing headrest speakers. This dimensional expansion creates tentative sound images in previously unused spatial regions, thereby expanding the overall localization region coverage and enhancing immersion.
3Reliability
If a two-step localization process is implemented, then the sense of presence is improved, but the processing time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The headrest speakers first create a tentative sound image in the rear hemisphere as a preliminary step. This preliminary localization provides a spatial foundation that the front speakers then supplement, allowing the two-step process to occur rapidly and sequentially rather than requiring complex simultaneous processing.
Data Source
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AI summary
The sound processing device includes the first processor that performs the trans-aural process on the signals corresponding to the plurality of headrest speakers so that a tentative sound image is localized by the plurality of headrest speakers at a tentative position within a region which does not include the front side of the head but includes the left and right sides and the back side of the head, and the second processor that performs the amplitude panning on signals corresponding to the front speakers and a signal processed by the first processor so that a final sound image is localized at a final position between a tentative sound image and the front speakers in accordance with a difference in volume between the tentative sound image and the front speakers.