Transient Signal Time-Envelope Encoding for Pre-Echo Recovery

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative Solutions
Generate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

Existing bandwidth extension technologies fail to effectively recover transient signals due to the lack of modification of their time envelopes, leading to pre-echo issues during decoding.

Innovation Solution

A method and device that modify the time envelope of transient signals by adjusting amplitude values to enhance the difference between sub-frames, ensuring the encoded signal accurately represents transient characteristics without increasing bit usage.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Manufacturing precision

If the time envelope of transient signals is not modified during encoding, then the encoding process is simple, but the recovered transient signal quality is poor due to pre-echo issues

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvetransient signal recovery qualityVSAvoidencoding process complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Manufacturing precisionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies preliminary action by modifying the time envelope of transient signals during the encoding process before transmission. Specifically, it identifies transient signal segments and adjusts their time envelope characteristics (such as amplitude and decay rate) to prevent pre-echo artifacts from occurring during decoding. This preliminary modification ensures that when the signal is reconstructed at the decoder, the transient characteristics are preserved without requiring complex post-processing.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

2Manufacturing precision

If more bits are used to encode transient signal characteristics, then the recovery quality improves, but the bit rate consumption increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvetransient signal recovery qualityVSAvoidbit rate consumption
Core Design Contradiction:
Manufacturing precisionVSQuantity of substance

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies parameter changes by modifying the time envelope parameters of transient signals (such as amplitude, decay rate, and envelope shape) during encoding. By adjusting these parameters to reflect the actual transient characteristics more accurately, the system can achieve better recovery quality without needing to allocate additional bits for extra signal data. The modified time envelope parameters are efficiently encoded using existing bandwidth extension techniques.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

3Manufacturing precision

If standard bandwidth extension technology is used without transient signal detection, then the encoding is efficient, but the acoustic quality of transient signals deteriorates

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveacoustic qualityVSAvoidsignal processing complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Manufacturing precisionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies local quality by detecting transient signal segments within the overall audio signal and applying specialized time envelope modification only to these transient portions. The system uses transient detection algorithms to identify segments with rapid amplitude changes or specific spectral characteristics, then applies targeted time envelope adjustments only to these identified segments. This localized approach improves acoustic quality where needed while maintaining efficiency for non-transient portions of the signal.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

Data Source

PatentEP4604119A1Transient signal encoding method and device, decoding method and device, and processing system
Publication Date: 2025.08.20 CRYSTAL CLEAR CODEC SPOLKA Z O O
  • EP4604119A1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP4604119A1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP4604119A1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

A transient signal encoding method and device, decoding method and device, and processing system are provided. The transient signal encoding method includes: obtaining a reference sub-frame where a maximal time envelope having a maximal amplitude value is located from time envelopes of all sub-frames of an input transient signal (11); adjusting the time envelope of the transient signal to highlight the characteristics of the transient signal; and writing the adjusted time envelope into bitstream (15).