This non-provisional application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119(a) to Patent Application No. 110137851 filed in Taiwan, R.O.C. on Oct. 12, 2021, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
The present application relates to an audio technology, especially a noise detection device and method thereof.
The audio device is a device capable of performing energy conversion between electrical energy and sound energy, such as speakers, earphones, recorders, and so on. Due to some process factors (e.g., air leakage) or some operation processes (e.g., the vibration and collision of the coil and the diaphragm), causing the audio signal emitted by the audio device may be noisy. Since the audio device gradually adopts a smart amplifier, and the smart amplifier is used to enable the audio device to operate in the ultimate condition, causing the noise in the audio signal to be more detectable by the user.
In order to detect and eliminate the noise, before shipping or during maintenance, a step frequency sweep test is generally used to detect the noise in the audio signal of the audio device, thereby performing elimination on the noise. However, the audio signal played by the user through the audio device generally has a complex frequency and/or has an irregular amplitude variation. The step frequency sweep test only can test an audio signal of a single frequency, causing the audio signal corrected by the step frequency sweep test may still have noise. Furthermore, since hearing senses of different people and different listening environments will affect the noise determination made by an artificial listening manner, the audio signal corrected by the artificial listening manner may also still have noise.
In view of the above, the present application provides a noise detection device and method thereof. According to some embodiments, the present application can accurately detect whether the audio signal with a complex frequency and/or irregular amplitude variation has noise, so as to assist in performing accurate noise correction or determining whether the noise correction performed on the audio signal is effective. In some embodiments, the present application can further detect the amount of appearing noise.
According to some embodiments, the noise detection method includes: inputting a key audio signal with multiple frequencies to an audio device to be tested; measuring a first output audio signal emitted by the audio device to be tested; performing an audio analysis on the first output audio signal to generate a measurement signal; and comparing the measurement signal with a qualified signal to generate a comparison result, and determining whether the first output audio signal has noise based on the comparison result.
According to some embodiments, the noise detection device includes an input-output circuit, a measurement circuit, and a processing circuit. The input-output circuit is configured to input a key audio signal with multiple frequencies to an audio device to be tested. The measurement circuit is configured to measure a first output audio signal emitted by the audio device to be tested. The processing circuit is configured to perform an audio analysis on the first output audio signal to generate a measurement signal, compare the measurement signal with a qualified signal to generate a comparison result, and determine whether the first output audio signal has noise based on the comparison result.
In sum, according to some embodiments, through the key audio signal with multiple frequencies and/or irregular amplitude variation, the measurement signal of the audio device to be tested is caused to have multiple frequencies and/or irregular amplitude variation. Through the comparison result generated by comparing the measurement signal with the qualified signal corresponding to the qualified audio device, whether the audio signal emitted by the audio device to be tested has noise or not can be accurately determined.
The disclosure will become more fully understood from the detailed description given herein below for illustration only, and thus not limitative of the disclosure, wherein:
Some of the used terms “audio signal” and “signal” in the disclosure are implemented in electrical form (such as key audio signal, measurement signal, and qualified signal), and some are implemented in sound form (such as output audio signal).
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In some embodiments, the input-output circuit 110 includes multiple input-output sub-circuits to respectively perform audio transmission with different audio devices. In some embodiments, the measurement circuit 130 includes multiple measurement sub-circuits to respectively perform sound recording on different audio devices.
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In some embodiments, the qualified audio device 300 and the audio device to be tested 200 are the same types of audio devices. In this way, the accuracy of determining whether the first output audio signal OAT has noise can be improved.
In some embodiments of step S207, the processing circuit 150 can compare whether the measurement signal is substantially consistent with the qualified signal. When the measurement signal is substantially consistent with the qualified signal, the processing circuit 150 generates a comparison result 400 of “without noise” and determines the first output audio signal OAT does not have noise. When the measurement signal is not substantially consistent with the qualified signal, the processing circuit 150 generates a comparison result 400 of “with noise” and determines the first output audio signal OAT has noise.
In some embodiments, the key audio signal KA has a multi-frequency audio signal composed of multiple frequencies on a time domain, and the multiple frequencies of the multi-frequency audio signal of the key audio signal KA have an irregular amplitude variation on the time domain. For example, at least two frequencies of the multi-frequency audio signal of the key audio signal KA separately produce irregular amplitude variation over time. In other words, the amplitudes of the at least two frequencies will not always keep consistent in the time domain, nor will they maintain regular amplitude variation. For example, the key audio signal KA may be a segment audio file captured from music or an audio file recorded from the environment, and the multiple frequencies of the multi-frequency audio signal of this kind of audio file have irregular amplitude variation on the time domain. In contrast, the multi-frequency audio signal of an audio file synthesized from multiple single-frequency audio signals has a uniform amplitude or a regular amplitude variation in the time domain.
Since the music played by the user through the audio device generally has a complex frequency and irregular amplitude variation (e.g., the music is synthesized by superimposing a multi-frequency audio signal on a multi-frequency audio signal), if only use step frequency sweep test (i.e., use the audio signal of non-complex frequency, uniform amplitude, or regular amplitude variation for testing) to detect and correct noise, it may cause the music still appear noise. Therefore, by using the key audio signal KA (e.g., take the music that produces noise in actuality when using an audio device as the key audio signal KA), the flow of detecting noise can be simplified (e.g., no need to repeatedly use different audio files to detect noise), the accuracy of detecting noise can be improved, and the matching degree between the audio device and the hearing sense of the actual user can be improved.
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In some embodiments, the qualified signal is input by the user through the input-output circuit 110. In some embodiments, the qualified signal is pre-stored in the processing circuit 150 or a storage circuit (not shown) of the noise detection device 100. For example, after generating the qualified signal through steps 301 to 305, the processing circuit 150 stores the qualified signal in itself or a storage circuit for subsequent use directly (e.g., when performing step S207, the qualified signal is obtained and used directly from the processing circuit 150 or the storage circuit), and there is no need to perform sound recording and signal processing each time when it wants to use the qualified signal. The storage circuit is electrically connected to the processing circuit 150. The storage circuit may be a volatile storage medium (such as random access memory) or a non-volatile storage medium (such as read-only memory).
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In some embodiments, as shown in
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In some embodiments, the order of step S406 and step S205 (or step S405) can be interchanged. That is, after measuring out the first output audio signal OAT, the processing circuit 150 performs the low-pass filtering process on the first output audio signal OAT to generate the filtered first output audio signal OAT and performs audio analysis (e.g., Fourier transform) on the filtered first output audio signal OAT to generate the filtered measurement signal. Similarly, in some embodiments, the order of step S416 and step S305 (or step S415) can be interchanged. That is, after measuring out the second output audio signal OAG, the processing circuit 150 performs the low-pass filtering process on the second output audio signal OAG to generate the filtered second output audio signal OAG and performs audio analysis (e.g., Fourier transform) on the filtered second output audio signal OAG to generate the filtered qualified signal.
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In some embodiments, the processing circuit 150 may have a low-pass filter built in it (not shown), or the noise detection device may further include a low-pass filter (not shown), and the processing circuit 150 performs the low-pass filtering process through the low-pass filter. The low-pass filter is, for example, an R-C low-pass filter.
In some embodiments, a low-pass cutoff frequency of the low-pass filtering process is a lowest resonant frequency (F0) of the audio device to be tested 200 or the qualified audio device 300. The lowest resonant frequency is the frequency corresponding to the first maximum value in the impedance curve of the audio device. Since the amplitude of the output audio signal of the audio device will be greatly attenuated at a frequency greater than the lowest resonant frequency (e.g., 600 Hz), such that the amplitude of the noise is also relatively small and can be ignored. Therefore, by setting the low-pass cutoff frequency of the low-pass filtering process to the lowest resonant frequency, the efficiency of noise detection can be improved. In some embodiments, a low-pass cutoff frequency of the low-pass filtering process is less than five times a lowest resonant frequency (F0) of the audio device to be tested 200 or the qualified audio device 300. For example, if the lowest resonant frequency (F0) is 600 Hz, a low-pass cutoff frequency may be 3000 Hz or less than 30000 Hz. In some embodiments, a low-pass cutoff frequency of the low-pass filtering process is between one and five times a lowest resonant frequency (F0) of the audio device to be tested 200 or the qualified audio device 300. For example, if the lowest resonant frequency (F0) is 600 Hz, a low-pass cutoff frequency may be between 600 Hz and 3000 Hz.
In some embodiments of step S207, step 407, or step 707, the processing circuit 150 calculates, at the same frequency, a difference value between the sound intensity of the measurement signal and the sound intensity of the qualified signal and compares the difference value with a difference threshold to generate the comparison result 400. Wherein, the difference threshold may be pre-stored in the processing circuit 150 or the storage circuit (not shown) of the noise detection device 100, or may be input by the user through an input interface (e.g., a keyboard, a mouse, etc.). In some embodiments, the same frequency may be the same frequency point or the same frequency band. The sound intensity can be the response amplitude value of the measurement signal and the qualified signal at a certain frequency point or at a certain frequency band respectively captured by the processing circuit 150, or the calculation value after averaging the response amplitude values of a certain captured frequency band. The difference value can be obtained by the processing circuit 150 after subtracting the sound intensity of the qualified signal from the sound intensity of the measurement signal or be obtained after subtracting the sound intensity of the measurement signal from the sound intensity of the qualified signal. In some embodiments, if the difference threshold is defined as an absolute difference threshold, the processing circuit 150 can perform an absolute value operation on the difference value to ensure that the difference value can be compared with the difference threshold.
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Specifically, when the difference value is greater than the difference threshold, it represents that there is a certain degree of difference ratio between the first output audio signal OAT corresponding to the measurement signal and the second output audio signal OAG under a certain frequency or a certain frequency band, and this difference ratio is the noise energy. An example is given for illustrating. In some cases, the audio device to be tested 200 does not completely emit or cannot emit an output audio signal at a certain frequency or a certain frequency band, resulting in the sound intensity of the measurement signal at that frequency or that frequency band is less than the sound intensity of the qualified signal, and the difference value between these two sound intensities is greater than the difference threshold, then the audio signal output by the audio device to be tested 200 can be determined to have noise or be distorted. In some other cases, the audio device to be tested 200 produces abnormal resonance when outputting an audio signal under a certain frequency or a certain frequency band, resulting in the sound intensity of the measurement signal at that frequency or that frequency band is greater than the sound intensity of the qualified signal, and the difference value between these two sound intensities is greater than the difference threshold, then the audio signal output by the audio device to be tested 200 can be determined to have noise or be distorted.
Another example is given for illustrating. Since the high-frequency energy in the measurement signal and the qualified signal has been filtered out after the low-pass filtering process, under the same frequency (e.g., in the high-frequency part), when the sound intensity of the measurement signal is still greater than the sound intensity of the qualified signal and the difference value between these two sound intensities is greater than the difference threshold, it represents that the extra energy is the energy of the noise. In other words, at this time, the processing circuit 150 determines that the first output audio signal OAT has noise. For example, as shown in
In some embodiments, the processing circuit 150 can determine the amount of noise in the first output audio signal OAT by measuring the difference value between the sound intensity of the measurement signal and the sound intensity of the qualified signal. Wherein, the magnitude of the difference value may be an absolute magnitude, that is, the magnitude of the difference value after being performed the absolute value calculation.
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Next, the processing circuit 150 determines the magnitude of a qualified volume threshold according to the second equivalent energy sound level of the qualified signal (step S818). For example, the qualified volume threshold is not greater than the second equivalent energy sound level of the qualified signal. Since the qualified audio device 300 has undergone noise detection and noise correction, the second output audio signal OAG does not have noise, and the qualified signal also does not have the energy of noise. Therefore, by determining the qualified volume threshold according to the second equivalent energy sound level of the qualified signal and setting the qualified volume threshold as an upper limit, the measurement signal and the qualified signal can be compared under the same base, thereby ensuring the accuracy of noise detection.
After that, the processing circuit 150 compares the first equivalent energy sound level of the measurement signal with the qualified volume threshold to generate the comparison result 400 (step S807). In this way, the processing circuit 150 performs the comparison by using a single value instead of performing a multi-point sampling comparison by using a signal curve, thereby saving the calculation performance of the processing circuit 150.
In some embodiments, as shown in
In some embodiments, the processing circuit 150 can subtract the qualified volume threshold from the first equivalent energy sound level of the measurement signal to determine the amount of noise in the first output audio signal OAT.
In some embodiments, the processing circuit 150 can calculate the first equivalent energy sound level of the measurement signal and the second equivalent energy sound level of the qualified signal according to equation 1. Wherein, Leq is an equivalent energy sound level, T is a measurement time, Pt is a measurement sound pressure, and P0 is a basic sound pressure (e.g., 20 μPa).
In some embodiments, the qualified volume threshold may be pre-stored in the processing circuit 150 or a storage circuit (not shown) of the noise detection device 100. For example, after generating the qualified volume threshold through steps S811 to S818, the processing circuit 150 stores the qualified volume threshold in it or the storage circuit for subsequent use directly (e.g., when performing step S807, the qualified volume threshold is obtained and used directly from the processing circuit 150 or the storage circuit), and there is no need to perform sound recording and signal processing each time when it wants to use the qualified volume threshold.
In some embodiments, the processing circuit 150 may have a high-pass filter built in it (not shown), or the noise detection device 100 may further include a high-pass filter (not shown), and the processing circuit 150 performs the high-pass filtering process through the high-pass filter. The high-pass filter is, for example, an R-C high-pass filter.
In some embodiments, before the processing circuit 150 performing a high-pass filtering process on the first output audio signal OAT and the second output audio signal OAG to calculate equivalent energy sound levels of the qualified signal and the measurement signal, the processing circuit 150 performs the low-pass filtering process on the key audio signal KA to generate the filtered key audio signal KA in advance and then inputs the filtered key audio signal KA to the audio device to be tested 200 and qualified audio device 300 to generate the first output audio signal OAT and the second output audio signal OAG. Next, the high-pass filtering process is performed on the first output audio signal OAT and the second output audio signal OAG so as to calculate equivalent energy sound levels of the qualified signal and the measurement signal, determine the magnitude of the qualified volume threshold, and compare the first equivalent energy sound level of the measurement signal with the qualified volume threshold to generate the comparison result 400. In some embodiments, a low-pass cutoff frequency of the low-pass filtering process is a lowest resonant frequency (F0) of the audio device to be tested 200 or the qualified audio device 300.
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In sum, according to some embodiments, through the key audio signal with multiple frequencies and/or irregular amplitude variation, the measurement signal of the audio device to be tested is caused to have multiple frequencies and/or irregular amplitude variation, and through the comparison result generated by comparing the measurement signal with the qualified signal corresponding to the qualified audio device, whether the audio signal emitted by the audio device to be tested has noise can be accurately determined.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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110137851 | Oct 2021 | TW | national |