Electrical audio signal processing systems and devices – Binaural and stereophonic – Hearing aid
Patent
1995-07-31
1998-02-10
Bost, Dwayne
Electrical audio signal processing systems and devices
Binaural and stereophonic
Hearing aid
381 74, 381 17, H04R 500
Patent
active
057177678
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to an angle detection apparatus suitable for use in reproduction of an audio signal through headphones, and an audio reproduction apparatus using it.
Also, the present invention relates to an angle detection apparatus formed of an electronic equipment having a rotation angle detection function with which a rotary movement of a rotary body is detected from its angular velocity, for example.
BACKGROUND ART
There has conventionally been a method of reproducing an audio signal with using headphones which a listener puts on the head with his both ears covered therewith to listen to the audio signal from the both ears. When the method of reproducing the audio signal through the headphones is employed, there occurs a phenomenon referred to as a so-called lateralization in which a reproduced sound image is perceived inside a head of the listener even if the audio signal from a signal source is a stereophonic signal.
On the other hand, the system of reproducing the audio signal through the headphones includes a binaural sound-wave pickup and reproduction system. The binaural sound-wave pickup and reproduction system is the following system. Microphones, so-called dummy-head microphones, are located in left and right auricles of a dummy head which is made to imitate the listener's head. An audio signal from a signal source is picked up by the dummy-head microphones. When the audio signal thus picked up is reproduced and the listener actually listens to the reproduced audio signal with the headphones, the listener can obtain presence with which the listener feels as if he listened to the sounds directly from the signal source. According to the binaural sound-wave pickup and reproduction system, it is possible to improve the picked-up and reproduced sound image in directivity, localization, presence and so on. However, when the above-mentioned binaural reproduction is carried out, it is necessary to provide a signal source as a special source which is picked up by the dummy-head microphones as a sound source signal and different from that use for reproduction with loudspeakers.
It has been supposed to achieve, by applying the above-mentioned binaural sound-wave pickup and reproduction system, a reproduction effect in which a general stereophonic signal is reproduced through the headphones and a reproduced sound image is localized outside the head (at a loudspeaker position) similarly to the reproduction by the loudspeakers. With this arrangement, when the headphones are used for reproduction, the same effect as the reproduction with the loudspeakers is achieved and an effect in which the reproduced sound is prevented from leaking is further achieved because the headphones are used. However, when stereophonic reproduction is carried out by using the loudspeakers, even if the listener changes the direction of his head (face), absolute direction and position of a sound image are not changed and only relative direction and position of the sound image the listener perceives are changed. On the other hand, in the case of the binaural reproduction using the headphones, even if the listener changes his head (face), the relative direction and position of the sound image which the listener perceives are not changed. Therefore, even if the binaural reproduction is carried out by using the headphones, then when the listener changes the direction of the head (face), the sound image is formed inside the listener's head. It is difficult to effect a so-called forward localization, i.e., to localize the sound image in front of the listener. Moreover, in this case, the sound image tends to be elevated above the head and hence becomes unnatural.
According to a reproduction method using headphones disclosed in Japanese patent publication No. 42-227, the following binaural reproduction system using headphones is supposed. Specifically, directivity and localization of a sound image are determined by difference in volume, time, phase and so on between sounds perceived by left and right ears
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Inanaga Kiyofumi
Yamada Yuji
Bost Dwayne
Maioli Jay H.
Richardson Scott
Sony Corporation
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