The present invention relates generally to multiple channel sound systems. More particularly, the present invention relates to power distribution in multiple channel sound systems.
In today's home entertainment industry, high fidelity, spatially accurate sound is very important and surround sound systems are a predominant delivery system for sound reproduction. Surround sound systems typically have 5 or more channels and at least one woofer or sub-woofer channel. A surround sound system generally uses the front center channel(s) for human voice and the dominant sounds in the program source or for sounds which are meant have a sonic image centered with picture. The additional channels are used for special effects or other sounds, which have non-center front image placement or spatial movement. Channels behind the viewer or listener are used to simulate sound approaching from behind the viewer or to provide ambient, spatial, or enveloping sounds. This type of speaker arrangement can allow the viewer or listener to hear a virtual jet or space vehicle fly from their left side to their right side or even from behind.
Surround sound systems also use volume cues to provide the illusion of movement. In the example of a recording of a jet, when the jet is far away the listener will hear a quieter sound. Then as the jet approaches, a speaker's output can increase until it reaches its maximum volume and then the sound decreases as the jet passes away. Directional cues are most often dominated by the speaker(s) having the loudest output. Most program sources tend to have greater signal levels sent to a particular channel at a given point in time to achieve audible direction or movement to the sound. One disadvantage with such a system is that any one or more of the channels can be driven into overload by high intensity signals building in one channel or high-level directional signals as they move from channel to channel. When the signal passes the maximum signal level threshold of the speaker or amplifier then the sound can become distorted and limited in level. Conventional systems do not provide a solution to this problem, with the exception of increasing the size and power capability of the system to be able to have greater output without overload. This can be very costly and also may require systems of larger than practical size for placement into a domestic environment.
a is a schematic diagram of a channel circuit that can sense other threshold parameters besides amplifier power clipping;
A signal processing system for use in a multi-channel audio system having a plurality of power amplifier channels connected to a plurality of loudspeakers and power amplifiers, configured to receive and reproduce audio signals through the loudspeakers, and at least a first channel of the plurality of power amplifier channels amplifying a first audio signal, comprises a processor responsive to a signal level threshold applicable to at least said first channel, such that at and above the signal level threshold, the first audio signal in the first channel is amplitude limited and a portion of at least the first audio signal is mixed into at least a second channel. The amplitude limiting and signal mixing is configured so as to reduce introduction of at least one of: a) audible tonal distortion; and b) perceivable spatial distortion; of a sonic presentation due to said limiting and signal mixing.
Additional features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the detailed description which follows, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which together illustrate, by way of example, features of the invention.
For the purposes of promoting an understanding of the principles of the invention, reference will now be made to the exemplary embodiments illustrated in the drawings, and specific language will be used to describe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the invention is thereby intended. Any alterations and further modifications of the inventive features illustrated herein, and any additional applications of the principles of the invention as illustrated herein, which would occur to one skilled in the relevant art and having possession of this disclosure, are to be considered within the scope of the invention.
In
A differential amplifier 20 is used in the present system to receive a first input from Channel 1's output and a second input from the summing amplifier. The output of the differential amplifier is the difference between the signal entering the amplifier and the signal leaving the amplifier or the signal amount by which the channel is overloaded. The differential amplifier preferably uses a unity gain but gain can also be used. Gain would only be incorporated into the differential amplifier when an amplified signal was required to be delivered to the corresponding channels. For example, gain might be used if the corresponding overflow channels are more distant from the listener than the original speakers.
The signal from the differential amplifier 20 is routed to at least one other corresponding channel.
Each channel has a threshold limit and when the signal passes that threshold then the signal above or near that threshold is passed over to other channels. The threshold limit may be based on, but not limited to, amplifier clipping, excursion limits of the transducer, frequency dependent limiting, thermal limits, etc.
The source channel can be made to include a phase lead compared to the corresponding supplementary channels so as to further support directionality cues psycho-acoustically. When a listener hears the source channel earlier than the supplementary channels, there is further psychoacoustic reinforcement for the user to hear the source channel as the directional source of the sound. The supplementary channels can affect the volume but the user mentally filters out the directionality from those channels because they are heard a very short time later. Delay circuitry can be incorporated between the channels or included as part of the differential amplifier to provide the required phase lead.
If the second or third channels that receive the rerouted signal also reach their signal threshold, that overload can be divided and routed to one or more additional channels. When the present invention is applied to a five-channel system and channel 1 is overloaded, a portion of the signal at or above overload can be rerouted to channels 2 and 3. It may be of further advantage to limit, compress or reduce the gain of the channel reaching an overload threshold and do it in such a way as to limit audible distortion from that channel. If channel 2 or 3 also becomes overloaded, a portion of that signal can be rerouted to channel 4 and/or 5. Although there is some directionality that may be lost through multiple rerouting, this is compensated for by the fact that the re-routing only happens when the sound is very loud and some amount of directionality loss may be less important. Generally, tonal distortion tends to be sonically more noticeable or objectionable to the ear than distortions in directionality. Therefore, it tends to be much more important to eliminate tonal distortions, even if potentially at the cost of some directionality distortion. Accordingly, one embodiment of the invention can substantially eliminate tonal distortions, due to channel overload, while at the same time preserve the accurately perceived directionality cues.
A further threshold detector can be included so if channel 1 starts to limit, then more of channel 1's signal is shared with channel two than channel three at the limiting point. This way as the signal is portioned off to the other two channels, more of the signal is sent to channel two than channel three. In some cases this can maintain a more accurate spatial image position, such as if channel one is a right front channel, channel two is a center channel and channel three is a right surround channel. This asymmetrical mixing can also be beneficial if channel two is a more robust channel than channel three and therefore can accommodate more signal before it reaches overload. The source channel may also want to have a phase lead relative to the supporting channels or alternatively, the other two supporting channels may include a time delay relative to the primary source channel or other known psycho-acoustic characteristics may be applied to maintain directionality cues in the significant channel(s). A ratio splitter can be included with the differential amplifier circuitry. This way a larger ratio of the signal can be sent to a front speaker and a smaller ratio to the back speaker or vice-versa.
Using a dynamic power sharing configuration also can reduce the cost of the speaker system. Instead of requiring each speaker or amplifier channel to have a large enough capacity to carry the maximum output, each channel or speaker may be reduced to carry a smaller capacity. When the signal exceeds the signal threshold for the smaller speakers, the additional signal is rerouted to the other associated channels. This approach can provide the same amount of apparent sound output as a larger system, while using a smaller overall system, including either lower output speakers and/or reduced amplifier power.
The threshold limit at which the first channel begins to transfer power to other channels can be based on signal frequency, thermal characteristics, excursion limits of the transducer, amplifier clipping, physical transducer characteristics, thermal transducer characteristics, thermal effects on amplifier, signal effects on amplifier, power effects on amplifier, and other similar phenomenon which can affect the signal or the components of the system.
For example, if the excursion limits of the transducer are defined as the maximum threshold limit, then a sensor can be used at the transducer (e.g., speaker cone) to determine when the transducer approaches the maximum physical displacement before it is damaged. The maximum displacement can also be measured based on the maximum safe voltage threshold for the transducer. When the voltage approaches a maximum voltage that can damage the transducer then the gain control circuit reduces the gain in the gain controlled amplifier. The threshold limit sensor operates in the same fashion for a temperature sensor or a maximum frequency sensor. The signal can also be limited based on the temperature of the operating components.
The overload signal from one channel may be divided between the other channels in several ways. One method is picking two or more channels corresponding to a primary channel and then dividing the signal equally between them. Another method is dividing the signal between two or more channels based on the physical location of those channels. For example, a rear speaker can have less output delivered to it than a front speaker. It is also possible that a given channel will have any one, two, three or more of the channels as its corresponding channel. Channel 1 can route its signal to channel 5 or to channels 3, 4, and 5. The configuration of the overload is based on the number of channels available, the amount of overload that exists at a given point in time, and the audio image that the system should present. Of course, a preferred embodiment of this device reroutes the overloaded portion of the signal to two other channels.
Dynamic power sharing can be used with two speaker stereo systems. When the first channel reaches the overload signal threshold, then the signal power over that threshold is diverted to the second channel. Similarly, even a multiple channel system can divert the power over a certain threshold to only one channel instead of dividing it between two. While this would ameliorate tonal distortions due to overload, it may still be preferable to mix the signal level above the threshold to at least two additional channels, preferably ones that have speakers straddling the primary channel which can be placed physically between the two additional channels.
Alternatively, the power can be rerouted to three or more other channels based on the directionality that is desired. For example, several channels and transducers can be physically stacked on top of each other. As the first channel begins to overload, the signal can be rerouted to a second speaker that is physically above the first speaker. This maintains directionality and provides a stronger undistorted signal as needed. Since a speaker is only driven to its maximum level a small portion of the time, using two smaller speakers to replace one larger speaker can be space and cost effective.
The threshold limit at which the first channel begins to transfer power to other channels can be based on any of a variety of parameters such as signal frequency, component thermal characteristics, excursion or displacement of the loudspeaker diaphragm, amplifier clipping, and other similar phenomenon which can affect the original signal, cause damage to a system component, alter performance, or even cause local sound pressure levels to be greater than desired near a single channel. In addition, the triggering threshold could be some combination of any of the parameters or even an arbitrary value to create a desired sonic effect.
Referring now to
In particular, the encoded software approach can be optimized for a particular audio system or can have adaptive settings for re-adapting the threshold parameter(s) for a variety of different systems, each with different characteristics. For example, the use of encoded software or hardware to preprogram power sharing could be implemented by a variety of specific applications, including (i) setting thresholds or implementing preprogrammed thresholds during recording or re-recording of the audio material for listening; (ii) applying arbitrary preset levels as estimated thresholds, based on the specific type of audio system to be used for playback; and (iii) incorporating a simple diagnostic program as part of the hardware or software preprogramming of the recorded material, thereby enabling automatic assessment of the audio system to be used, with derivation of appropriate threshold values from running the diagnostic test sequence. In the latter instance, a CD, flash memory, hard drive or other recorded medium could include an embedded diagnostic sequence that tests system hardware and speakers to identify specific threshold values needed. Other methods for defining and/or preassigning threshold values will be apparent to those skilled in the art, based on the exemplary foregoing description, will be apparent.
It is to be understood that the above-described arrangements are only illustrative of the application of the principles of the present invention. Numerous modifications and alternative arrangements may be devised by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention and the appended claims are intended to cover such modifications and arrangements. Thus, while the present invention has been shown in the drawings and fully described above with particularity and detail in connection with what is presently deemed to be the most practical and preferred embodiment(s) of the invention, it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that numerous modifications, including, but not limited to, variations in configuration, implementation, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use may be made, without departing from the principles and concepts of the invention as set forth in the claims.
This is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/986,568, filed Nov. 20, 2007, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 10/332,660 filed on Jan. 10, 2003, which is the National Stage of International Application No. PCT/US01/21755 filed on Jul. 11, 2001, which claims priority to U.S. provisional application Ser. No. 60/217,266 filed on Jul. 11, 2000, each of which are herein incorporated by reference in their entirety.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20090268917 A1 | Oct 2009 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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60217266 | Jul 2000 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 11986568 | Nov 2007 | US |
Child | 12197799 | US | |
Parent | 10332660 | US | |
Child | 11986568 | US |