Headset Audio Balancing for Asymmetric Noise Cancellation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing headset audio technologies face challenges in effectively mitigating external noise interference, particularly when passive noise cancellation and active noise cancellation methods fail to adequately address asymmetric noise environments, leading to suboptimal audio quality.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a dual-ear headset system that utilizes multiple microphones for each ear to receive and compare noise signals, allowing for dynamic boosting and amplification of sound signals in one ear based on noise levels detected in the other ear, including frequency-selective amplification and content shifting, to enhance audio quality and noise cancellation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If passive noise cancelling is used to reduce external noise, then noise reduction is achieved, but audio quality deteriorates due to insufficient cancellation in asymmetric noise environments
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies asymmetric noise cancellation by detecting noise levels independently at each ear and applying different cancellation strategies. When noise is detected at one ear, the system boosts audio content in the opposite ear rather than applying symmetric cancellation to both ears, thereby maintaining audio quality while addressing asymmetric noise environments.
Solution Approach 2:
The system merges passive noise cancelling (physical barrier) with active noise cancellation (signal processing) to create a hybrid approach. This combination allows the system to benefit from both the immediate noise blocking of passive methods and the adaptive noise reduction of active methods, improving overall audio quality in asymmetric environments.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If active noise cancellation is used to estimate and cancel noise, then noise cancellation capability is improved, but audio quality deteriorates due to artefacts in asymmetric noise environments
Solution Approach 1:
The system detects asymmetric noise conditions by comparing microphone signals from both ears and applies targeted audio boosting only to the ear experiencing less noise. This asymmetric approach prevents the generation of cancellation artefacts in the quieter ear while maintaining noise cancellation effectiveness in the noisier ear.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses feedback from microphones at both ears to continuously monitor noise levels and dynamically adjust audio signal boosting. This feedback mechanism allows the system to adapt to changing asymmetric noise conditions in real-time, preventing artefact generation while maintaining effective noise cancellation.
3Reliability
If sound signals are boosted in one ear to compensate for noise, then audio quality in that ear is improved, but noise cancellation effectiveness deteriorates in the other ear
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies asymmetric audio boosting by analyzing noise levels at each ear independently and boosting audio content only in the ear experiencing less noise. This selective boosting maintains audio quality in the quieter ear while the noisier ear continues to receive active noise cancellation, preventing deterioration of noise cancellation effectiveness.
4Reliability
If frequency-selective amplification is applied to boost sound signals, then audio quality is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies frequency-selective amplification locally to specific frequency ranges where noise is present, rather than uniformly across all frequencies. By analyzing the spectral content of noise at each ear and applying targeted boosting only where needed, the system improves audio quality while minimizing the complexity of signal processing required.
Data Source
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AI summary
An apparatus comprising: means for receiving one or more left ear microphone signals; means for receiving one or more right ear microphone signals; means for boosting a left ear sound signal in dependence upon the received one or more right ear microphone signals; means for boosting a right ear sound signal in dependence upon the received one or more left ear microphone signals.