Electrical audio signal processing systems and devices – Sound effects – Reverberators
Reexamination Certificate
1998-01-21
2002-09-03
Harvey, Minsun Oh (Department: 2644)
Electrical audio signal processing systems and devices
Sound effects
Reverberators
C381S061000, C381S064000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06445798
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to the generation of three-dimensional sound and, more particularly, to the creation of a new kind of sound which, unlike reverberatory or reflective echo effects, appears to have a three-dimensionality in space which does not depend upon reflection, which appears to move toward the listener and to rotate in space, rather than simply receding from the listener and which, in general, utilizes a unique space to create a three-dimensionality quite different from conventional decaying echo effects.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
While there have been many efforts to create three-dimensional effects with sound, I have considered especially U.S. Pat. No. 5,337,363 dated Aug. 9, 1994, entitled METHOD FOR GENERATING THREE DIMENSIONAL SOUND, U.S. Pat. No. 4,817,149 issued Mar. 28, 1989 entitled THREE-DIMENSIONAL AUDITORY DISPLAY APPARATUS AND METHOD UTILIZING ENHANCED BIONIC EMULATION OF HUMAN BINAURAL SOUND LOCALIZATION, U.S. Pat. No. 5,487,113 issued Jan. 23, 1996 entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR GENERATING AUDIOSPATIAL EFFECTS, U.S. Pat. No. 5,469,511 issued Nov. 21, 1995 entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PRESENTATION OF ON-LINE DIRECTIONAL SOUND and U.S. Pat. No. 4,731,848 issued Mar. 15, 1988 entitled SPATIAL REVERBERATOR.
These patents disclose various techniques for generating reverberation and echo effects.
Over the past three decades the sound production field has been searching for “true three dimensional” sound. Although there have been amazing developments in sound production such as: digital time-delay effects, prologic surround sound and cinema, illusional, three-dimensional audio, true three-dimensional sound has remained undiscovered.
The failure to produce “true three-dimensional” sound begins with the confusion among artists as to what is meant by a three-dimensional sound. Artists have believed sounds made in acoustical environments either natural such as tunnels or caves or man-made such as a concert hall or cathedral are truly three dimensional because of the sensations of depth and spaciousness. This belief led to the development of machines which mimicked those previously mentioned acoustical environments.
Other artists believed that relative to the listener's position, sounds could appear to be moving from one location to another location such that a listener could follow the sound; such sound also have heretofore been treated as “true three-dimensional” sound. By studying human sound localization, sound cues were developed which were to aid the listener is locating sounds in three-dimensional space. Such techniques as using templates, gray and while noise patterns, multiple microphones used to generate different arrival times to the human ears were employed to emulate human binaural sound localization discussed at length in Myers U.S. Pat. No. 4,817,149—“THREE-DIMENSIONAL AUDITORY DISPLAY APPARATUS AND METHOD UTILIZING ENHANCED BIONIC EMULATION OF HUMAN BINAURAL SOUND LOCALIZATION”. By focusing on directionality the artists needed to add three more loud speakers to the existing two speaker stereo system in order to expand the stereo image and fool the listener into believing that sounds were actually moving around.
Such beliefs, these being only a couple among the many, have shown that the concept of three dimensionality has been obscured. So to clear away the confusion about the definition of “Real true three-dimensional” sound, I have posed two points of view. The logical view and the artistic view.
The logical view asks the question: What does it mean to be three dimensional?
The rule says: An object is considered three dimensional if it has a length, a width and a height of depth.
When this rule is applied to earth's air space, one can see that air is not an object with a length, a width and a height or depth. So even through air can be used to do work, air itself is not three dimensional. This means, the movement of air molecules by emanating vibrations which produces what we call “sounds” is also not three dimensional.
So, from the logical point of view there is no such thing as a “three dimensional” sound. From this viewpoint it would appear that artists are searching for something that does not exist. If this viewpoint is true, then what is it that “three dimensional” sound requires?
From an artistic point of view, the rule here is: sound images must appear to have a length, a width and a height or depth so realistic that it causes the human being to experience responses or reactions to those images as if they were real.
Such experiences in visual space are for example:
Trying to grab an object in a three-dimensional picture or hologram.
Attempting to avoid an object such as a pitchfork being brought closer to the audience by a character in a three-dimensional motion picture or the fear one experiences when viewing roller coaster travel in virtual reality.
These experiences a human being feels when viewing three-dimensional imagery are all a part of the concept of Dimensionality.
Dimensionality only occurs when three dimensions of length, width and height or depth are in some kind of space. Without some kind of space these images would remain two dimensional. By this definition a film space allows images in motion pictures to appear three dimensional.
Artists searching for “true three dimensional” sound should have taken a hint from the discovery of Cyberspace. If images on a computer screen can appear three dimensional due to cyberspace might there be an audio space where sounds can go and become three dimensional? If this question was asked, it would have become abundantly clear that these artists searching for “true three dimensional” sound were using the wrong space. These artists are using Earth's air space.
In this case the artists are using the logical view and are searching for something that does not exist. Without some kind of special space these artists are relying on trickery, stereophonic gimmickry and electronic wizardry in an attempt to fool listeners into believing the produced two-dimensional sound is actually three-dimensional sound.
It will therefore be a goal of my method to produce real, true, three dimensional sound contained inside a unique three-dimensional audio tape space thereby making the audio tape itself, the container.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
It is, therefore, the principal object of the present invention to provide an improved method of producing a three-dimensional sound true to the effects described above and which, unlike the efforts previously used to improve depth perception in sound, is capable of generating a depth perception which is either nondirectional or multidirectional, does not depend on a reflective echo effect and is not characterized by damping, fading or decay of the echo.
Another object of this invention is to enhance sound so as to provide a recorded audio experience in which an originally recorded sound is greatly enhanced, especially by imparting an unusual three-dimensionality thereto.
It is also an object of the invention to make use of that unique space within the audio tape which has been alluded to previously. The audio space is not unique, what is unique ia a greater use of available space which stereo underuses. 3D exploits that space, by putting 4 sounds in the space.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
These objects and others which will become apparent hereinafter are attained, in accordance with the invention, in a method of recording and reproducing a sound which transcends the conventional stereophonic recording reverberation and echo-generating techniques by utilizing delays between rerecorded otherwise identical signals so that an echo is ultimately generated following multigenerational recording that does not decay or constitute a reverberation, but rather creates a rotation of the sound in the space reaching the listener and as a result of a unique exploitation of the tape space.
According to this invention, the original sound is binaurally recorded and the original stereo tape recording is duplicated. These
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