JP2010016430A - Frequency characteristic adjuster, frequency characteristic adjusting method and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To effectively adjust frequency characteristics for a frequency band to be an adjustment object corresponding to input signals. <P>SOLUTION: The frequency characteristic adjuster includes: means (1L, 1R, 2, 3) for extracting at least some frequency components of the frequency band to be the adjustment object from audio signals; a means (4) for detecting the frequency variation of the extracted frequency components; and means (5, 6L, 6R) for adjusting the frequency characteristics for the audio signals following the detected frequency variation. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a frequency characteristic adjusting device, a frequency characteristic adjusting method, and a program.

2. Description of the Related Art Equalizers that can enhance (boost) or cut signals in a specific sound range are widely used as frequency characteristic adjusting devices that adjust frequency characteristics for audio signals. In such an equalizer, a technique for varying a boost amount according to an input signal is also known (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-17480

  In the technique described in Patent Document 1, the boost amount of the frequency component is changed depending on whether the ratio of the frequency component of the desired musical instrument is large or small. The technique described in Patent Document 1 is for adjusting a low-frequency component such as a drum or a bass, and this is applied to adjust the outline, gloss, localization, etc. of a voice component (vocal component). Is also possible. However, in reality, the amplitude of the sound component is only emphasized, and the desired effect cannot be obtained.

  Another object of the present invention is to provide a frequency characteristic adjusting apparatus, method, and program capable of solving such problems and effectively adjusting the frequency characteristic for the frequency band to be adjusted according to the input signal. .

  According to a first aspect of the present invention, in a frequency characteristic adjusting apparatus for adjusting a frequency characteristic for an audio signal, means for extracting at least a part of frequency components of a frequency band to be adjusted from the audio signal, and the extracted frequency There is provided a frequency characteristic adjusting device comprising means for detecting frequency fluctuations of components and means for adjusting frequency characteristics for an audio signal following the detected frequency fluctuations.

  The frequency band to be adjusted is a frequency band corresponding to a human voice, and the frequency component extracted by the extracting means is preferably a component corresponding to the fundamental tone of the human voice. The means for extracting extracts a frequency component from the in-phase components of the right channel and the left channel of the audio signal, and the means for detecting detects the signal intensity in the low frequency region centered on a predetermined frequency and the high frequency region of the frequency component. It is desirable to detect frequency fluctuations by comparison with signal strength.

  It is desirable that the adjusting means causes the target frequency f0 to be adjusted to follow the frequency fluctuation in addition to the adjustment of the boost amount. Further, it is desirable that the adjusting means change the Q value according to the adjustment amount of the frequency characteristic. Further, it is desirable that the adjusting means has means for preventing the frequency characteristics from changing suddenly even if the frequency fluctuation detected by the detecting means is abrupt.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in a frequency characteristic adjustment method for adjusting a frequency characteristic for an audio signal, at least a part of frequency components of a frequency band to be adjusted is extracted from the audio signal, and the extracted frequency component There is provided a frequency characteristic adjusting method characterized by detecting a frequency fluctuation and adjusting a frequency characteristic for an audio signal in accordance with the detected frequency fluctuation.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, a computer extracts, from the audio signal, means for extracting at least a part of frequency components of a frequency band to be adjusted, means for detecting frequency fluctuations of the extracted frequency components, and detection. A program is provided that functions as a means for adjusting the frequency characteristic of the audio signal following the frequency fluctuation.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the frequency characteristic with respect to the frequency band used as adjustment object can be adjusted effectively according to an input signal.

(Configuration of frequency characteristic adjustment device)
FIG. 1 is a block configuration diagram of a frequency characteristic adjusting apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. Note that the frequency characteristic adjusting method and program will be described together with the description of the frequency characteristic adjusting apparatus.

  This frequency characteristic adjusting device is a device that adjusts a frequency characteristic for an audio signal. This frequency characteristic adjusting device includes amplifiers 1L and 1R, an adder circuit 2, and a fundamental tone extraction circuit 3 as means for extracting at least a part of frequency components of a frequency band to be adjusted from an audio signal. As a means for detecting the frequency fluctuation of the detected frequency component, it has a frequency fluctuation detection circuit 4, and as means for adjusting the frequency characteristic for the audio signal following the detected frequency fluctuation, a filter coefficient control circuit 5 and a filter Part 6L, 6R. The fundamental tone extraction circuit 3, the frequency fluctuation detection circuit 4, and the filter coefficient control circuit 5 constitute an active control unit 7.

  Here, it is assumed that the frequency band to be adjusted is a frequency band corresponding to a human voice, and the frequency component extracted by the fundamental tone extraction circuit 3 is a component corresponding to the fundamental tone of a human voice. The human voice, particularly the vocal component, is likely to be included in the in-phase component of the audio signal. Thus, the left channel amplifier 1L, the right channel amplifier 1R, and the adder circuit 2 each having a gain of 0.5 each take an average of the left channel signal and the right channel signal and extract the in-phase component. The fundamental tone extraction circuit 3 extracts the frequency component of the fundamental tone of the human voice from the extracted in-phase component. The frequency fluctuation detection circuit 4 detects the frequency fluctuation of the fundamental tone of a human voice by comparing the signal intensity in a low frequency region centered on a predetermined frequency among the frequency components with the signal strength in a high frequency region. In music, the vocal frequency tends to increase at the swelled portion (rust portion), and this can be detected by the frequency fluctuation detection circuit 4. The filter coefficient control circuit 5 changes the filter coefficients of the filter unit 6L for the left channel and the filter unit 6R for the right channel in accordance with the frequency variation of the fundamental tone of the human voice detected by the frequency variation detection circuit 4. Output data. The filter units 6L and 6R switch the filter coefficient according to this data, and cause the boost amount of the frequency band to be adjusted (mainly the audio component) and the target frequency f0 to be adjusted to follow the frequency fluctuation. Further, the filter units 6L and 6R change the Q value (Quality Factor) of the frequency characteristic adjusting device as an equalizer according to the adjustment amount of the frequency characteristic. The filter coefficient control circuit 5 may delay the output of data for changing the filter coefficient in order to prevent the frequency characteristic from changing suddenly even if the frequency fluctuation detected by the frequency fluctuation detection circuit 4 is abrupt. it can.

(Filter configuration)
Before describing each part of the frequency characteristic adjusting device shown in FIG. 1 in detail, the circuit configuration of the filters used in the filter units 6L and 6R and the active control unit 7 will be described. FIG. 2 shows a configuration example of a first-order IIR (Infinite Impulse Response) filter, and FIG. 3 shows a configuration example of a second-order IIR filter.

  The primary IIR filter shown in FIG. 2 includes an adder circuit 101, a delay circuit 102, coefficient circuits 103, 104, 105, and an adder circuit 106. The adder circuit 101 adds the output xa of the coefficient circuit 103 to the input signal x. The delay circuit 102 delays the output x + xa of the adder circuit 101 by one sample time. The coefficient circuit 103 multiplies the output x1 of the delay circuit 102 by the coefficient a1, and outputs xa = a1 × x1. The coefficient circuit 104 multiplies the output x + xa of the adder circuit 101 by the coefficient b0. The coefficient circuit 105 multiplies the output x1 of the delay circuit 102 by the coefficient b1. The adder circuit 106 adds the output (x + xa) b0 of the coefficient circuit 104 and the output ya = b1 × x1 of the coefficient circuit 105, and outputs y = (x + xa) b0 + ya.

  The second-order IIR filter shown in FIG. 3 includes a delay circuit 107, a coefficient circuit 108, an adder circuit 109, a coefficient circuit 110, and an adder in addition to the adder circuit 101, the delay circuit 102, the coefficient circuits 103, 104, 105, and the adder circuit 106. A circuit 111 is provided. The delay circuit 107 further delays the output x1 of the delay circuit 102 by one sample time. The coefficient circuit 108 multiplies the output x2 of the delay circuit 107 by the coefficient a2. The adder circuit 109 adds the output of the coefficient circuit 103 and the output of the coefficient circuit 108, and outputs xa = a1 * x1 + a2 * x2. The output xa is added to the input signal x by the adding circuit 101. The coefficient circuit 110 multiplies the output x2 of the delay circuit 107 by the coefficient b2. The adder circuit 111 adds the output of the coefficient circuit 105 and the output of the coefficient circuit 110, and outputs ya = b1 * x1 + b2 * x2. This output ya is added to the output of the coefficient circuit 104 by the adder circuit 106. The output of the adder circuit 106 is y = (x + xa) b0 + ya.

(Fundamental sound extraction)
FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of the fundamental tone extraction circuit 3 shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 5 shows an example of its frequency characteristics. The fundamental tone extraction circuit 3 includes a low-pass filter 11 and a band-pass filter 12. Each of these filters 11 and 12 can be configured using a second-order IIR filter shown in FIG. A low-pass filter 11 having a predetermined cutoff frequency f0 and a predetermined Q and gain as the lower limit frequency of the fundamental tone is used, and a center frequency f0 and a predetermined bandwidth and gain as the upper limit frequency of the fundamental tone are used as the bandpass filter 12. The characteristics shown in FIG. 5 can be obtained and the fundamental tone of a human voice can be extracted.

(Frequency fluctuation detection)
FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of the frequency variation detection circuit 4 shown in FIG. The frequency fluctuation detection circuit 4 includes a high-pass filter 21H, a rectifier circuit 22H, and a smoothing circuit 23H, a low-pass filter 21L, a rectifier circuit 22L, a smoothing circuit 23L, and a smoothing circuit that are connected in parallel therewith. The dividing circuit 24 takes the ratio of the output H of 23H and the output L of the smoothing circuit 23L. The high-pass filter 21H extracts a high frequency component from the fundamental tone of the human voice extracted by the fundamental tone extraction circuit 3. The rectifier circuit 22H rectifies the output of the high-pass filter 21H, and the smoothing circuit 23H averages the output of the rectifier circuit 22H. The low-pass filter 21L, the rectifier circuit 22L, and the smoothing circuit 23L extract a low frequency component from the fundamental tone of a human voice, rectify it, and average it. By calculating the ratio H / L between the output H of the smoothing circuit 23H and the output L of the smoothing circuit 23L by the division circuit 24, it is possible to detect the frequency fluctuation of the human voice.

  Each of the high-pass filter 21H and the low-pass filter 21L can be configured by cascade-connecting second-order IIR filters shown in FIG. The cut-off frequencies f0 of the high-pass filter 21H and the low-pass filter 21L are determined by the frequency boundaries when the division circuit 24 calculates H / L. This boundary can be determined depending on where the target is placed, and the cut-off frequency f0 of each filter 21H, 21L is set higher than the cut-off frequency in the case of female vocals, for example.

  Each time a new sample value is input, the smoothing circuits 23H and 23L obtain an average of a predetermined number of samples input so far. Although various values can be adopted as the number of samples for obtaining the average, in this embodiment, six samples are used. The number of samples needs to be multiplied by an integer to be 192.

(Filter coefficient control)
FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of the filter coefficient control circuit 5 shown in FIG. Here, the filter units 6L and 6R refer to an internal table (equalize table) using data output from the filter coefficient control circuit 5, and obtain a boost amount, a target frequency f0 and a Q value corresponding to the data. It is assumed that the filter coefficient is set so that the Since it is data for setting the equalization level, the data output from the filter coefficient control circuit 5 is hereinafter referred to as “EQ level”.

  The filter coefficient control circuit 5 includes a filter coefficient selection determination processing circuit 31, a low-pass filter 32, and a time constant circuit 33. The filter coefficient selection determination processing circuit 31 outputs the maximum or minimum EQ level according to the output of the frequency fluctuation detection circuit 4 for each sample. The low-pass filter 32 is configured by, for example, two-stage cascade connection of the first-order IIR filters shown in FIG. 2, and adjusts so that the EQ level does not change rapidly. If the filter coefficient selection determination processing circuit 31 continues to output the maximum EQ level, the output of the low-pass filter 32 also converges to the maximum value. When the number of cascade-connected filters is reduced, the EQ level changes rapidly, and the maximum fluctuation width of the EQ level increases. FIG. 8 shows a characteristic example of the low-pass filter 32. The time constant circuit 33 determines the time (number of samples) required for the EQ level to change by one step. That is, the rising speed and falling speed of the EQ level are controlled.

(Filter part)
FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of the filter units 6L and 6R illustrated in FIG. Each of these filter units 6L and 6R includes an active filter unit 41 and a fixed filter 42. The active filter unit 41 includes active filters 43 and 44, respectively. Each of the active filters 43 and 44 is composed of a second-order IIR filter, and the boost coefficient, the target frequency f0, and the Q value can be changed by changing the filter coefficient according to the EQ level.

  The active filter 43 is a filter for peaking, that is, for creating a peak in the amplitude characteristic, and can set the target frequency (in this case, the center frequency of the peak) f0 within a range of, for example, several kHz and a desired Q value range. Since the voice frequency tends to increase in the rust portion (the portion where the music swells), when the EQ level increases, the target frequency f0 is also increased proportionally. In addition, when the EQ level is changed, there is a possibility that the sound volume may change in one song, and therefore, in order to suppress this as much as possible, when the EQ level becomes high, the value of Q Increase The active filter 44 is for high frequency shelving, that is, a filter that applies a shelf-like gain to the amplitude characteristics of the high frequency components.

10 and 11 show examples of the target frequency f0 and the Q value set for the EQ level. Here, assuming that the EQ level has 255 steps of −127 to 127, an example of the target frequency f0 and the Q value set for the EQ levels from 0 to +127 is shown. The boost amount to be changed to the increase side by the active filter unit 41 is “(maximum boost amount / number of steps of EQ level (= 127)) × EQ level”, and is set to a predetermined maximum boost amount. For this boost amount, the target frequency f0 is “{(f0max−f0min) ÷ number of steps of EQ level} × EQ level + f0min”, and the Q value is “{(Qmax−Qmin) ÷ (number of steps of EQ level)”. ² } × (EQ level) ² + Qmin, where f0max and f0min are the maximum value and the minimum value of the target frequency f0, respectively.

(Overall configuration and processing flow)
FIG. 12 is a diagram collectively showing the configurations shown in FIGS. 1, 4, 6, 7, and 9, and FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing the overall processing flow. The configuration shown in FIG. 12 can be configured as an individual circuit, but the function of each unit can be realized by a program using a signal processor. Furthermore, the function of each unit can be realized by a program using a general-purpose processor such as a personal computer instead of a signal processor.

  The process shown in FIG. 13 is executed every predetermined sample period. In this process, the amplifiers 1L and 1R and the adder circuit 2 extract the in-phase components of the right channel and the left channel (step S1). Here, although omitted in the above description, when the input signal is “0” for a certain period (Y in step S2), the EQ level is initialized (step S3). The low-pass filter 11 and the band-pass filter 12 extract a fundamental tone of a human voice (Step S4). The high-pass filter 21H and the rectifier circuit 22H obtain the absolute value of the high-pass portion, and the low-pass filter 21L and the rectifier circuit 22L obtain the absolute value of the low-pass portion (step S5). The smoothing circuit 23H averages the absolute value of the high-frequency part for a predetermined number of samples to be H, the smoothing circuit 23L averages the absolute value of the low-frequency part for a predetermined number of samples, and the division circuit 24 Finds H / L (step S6). The filter coefficient selection determination processing circuit 31 determines whether or not H / L is larger than the threshold value. If it is large (Y in Step S7), the EQ level is maximized (Step S8), and if it is small (N in Step S7). Minimizes the EQ level (step S9). The low-pass filter 32 takes a moving average of the EQ level (step S10) and sets it as a new EQ level. If the moving average operation was performed in the floating point decimal type, change to the integer type. The time constant circuit 33 adjusts the rise and fall delay times (step S11). The active filter unit 41 equalizes the left channel and right channel signals based on the EQ level output from the time constant circuit 33 (step S12). This is repeated until the sampling period ends (Y in step S13).

(effect)
In the embodiment described above, a filter for extracting the fundamental tone of a human voice, that is, the low-pass filter 11 and the band-pass filter 12 are provided, and the frequency fluctuation is detected within the frequency range of the extracted fundamental tone. . In the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1, a ratio between a desired frequency component and another frequency component is obtained. However, the embodiment described above is a method for obtaining a high frequency component and a low frequency component within the extracted frequency range. The ratio is different. In music, the vocal frequency tends to increase in the climax part (rust part), so it is possible to detect the rust part of the music to some extent by detecting frequency fluctuations within the fundamental frequency range of the human voice. . Then, the boost amount is adjusted according to the frequency variation, and the target frequency f0 for frequency characteristic adjustment is also adjusted. This makes it possible to vary the boost amount and f0 near the rust. Furthermore, when the boost amount is simply changed, energy unnaturalness may remain, but this problem can be reduced by changing the Q value in accordance with the boost amount. Further, by providing a time constant when f0, Q, and boost change, a more natural effect can be obtained. In other words, if you change it to the target level all at once, it may suddenly change and sound unnatural, but when you change the level one step at a time and then change it one step at a time, the signal may be sampled. By having a constant, unnaturalness is eliminated. According to the embodiment described above, it is possible to obtain effects such as the outline, localization, glossiness, and clarity of vocals.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described, this invention can be variously changed unless the summary is changed. The fundamental tone extraction circuit 3 can extract the fundamental tone of a specific musical instrument instead of a human voice, and adjust the frequency characteristics according to the musical instrument. Also, the circuit configuration of each part can be variously changed according to required characteristics.

  In the above description, the ratio H / L between the average value H of the absolute value on the high frequency side and the average value L of the absolute value on the low frequency side is used as a criterion for determining the frequency fluctuation. / H may be used, and a magnitude relationship (difference) between H and L may be used. Further, the threshold value of the difference between H / L, L / H, or H and L can be appropriately selected according to the required characteristics. The EQ level may be selected according to the H / L value, the L / H value, or the difference between H and L, instead of selecting the maximum or minimum EQ level depending on the magnitude relationship with the threshold value.

It is a block block diagram of the frequency characteristic adjustment apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure explaining the circuit structure of the filter used by each part of the frequency characteristic adjustment apparatus shown in FIG. 1, and shows the structural example of a primary IIR filter. It is a figure explaining the circuit structure of the filter used by each part of the frequency characteristic adjustment apparatus shown in FIG. 1, and shows the structural example of a secondary IIR filter. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a fundamental tone extraction circuit in the frequency characteristic adjustment circuit illustrated in FIG. 1. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a frequency characteristic example of a fundamental tone extraction circuit in the frequency characteristic adjustment circuit illustrated in FIG. 4. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a frequency variation detection circuit in the frequency characteristic adjustment circuit illustrated in FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a filter coefficient control circuit in the frequency characteristic adjustment circuit illustrated in FIG. 1. It is a figure which shows the example of a characteristic of the low-pass filter in the frequency characteristic adjustment circuit shown in FIG. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a filter unit in the frequency characteristic adjustment circuit illustrated in FIG. 1. It is a graph which shows the value set to the active filter part in the filter part shown in FIG. 9, and is a figure which shows the example of the target frequency f0 with respect to the EQ level from 0 to +127. It is a graph which shows the value set to the active filter part in the filter part shown in FIG. 9, and is a figure which shows the example of Q value with respect to the EQ level from 0 to +127. FIG. 10 is a diagram collectively showing the configurations shown in FIGS. 1, 4, 6, 7, and 9. 13 is a flowchart showing a flow of overall processing in the configuration shown in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

  1L, 1R amplifier (means for extracting frequency components), 2 addition circuit (means for extracting frequency components), 3 fundamental tone extraction circuit (means for extracting frequency components), 4 frequency fluctuation detection circuit (means for detecting frequency fluctuation) ) 5 filter coefficient control circuit (means for adjusting frequency characteristics), 6L, 6R filter section (means for adjusting frequency characteristics), 11 low pass filter, 12 band pass filter, 21H high pass filter, 21L low pass Pass filter, 22H, 22L rectifier circuit, 23H, 23L smoothing circuit, 24 division circuit, 31 filter coefficient selection judgment processing circuit, 32 low-pass filter, 33 time constant circuit, 41 active filter section, 42 fixed filter, 43 44 active filters

Claims (8)

In a frequency characteristic adjusting device for adjusting a frequency characteristic for an audio signal,
Means for extracting at least part of frequency components of the frequency band to be adjusted from the audio signal;
Means for detecting frequency fluctuations of the extracted frequency components;
And a means for adjusting a frequency characteristic for the audio signal in accordance with the detected frequency fluctuation.   2. The frequency characteristic adjusting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the frequency band to be adjusted is a frequency band corresponding to a human voice, and the at least some frequency components are components corresponding to a fundamental tone of a human voice. A frequency characteristic adjusting device characterized by the above. The frequency characteristic adjusting device according to claim 1 or 2,
The extracting means extracts the at least some frequency components from in-phase components of a right channel and a left channel of the audio signal,
The detecting means detects a frequency variation by comparing a signal strength in a low frequency region centered on a predetermined frequency and a signal strength in a high frequency region, out of the at least some frequency components. Characteristic adjustment device.   4. The frequency characteristic adjusting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the adjusting means causes the target frequency f0 to be adjusted to follow the frequency fluctuation.   5. The frequency characteristic adjusting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the adjusting unit changes a Q value according to an adjustment amount of the frequency characteristic. 6.   6. The frequency characteristic adjusting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the means for adjusting prevents the frequency characteristic from abruptly changing even if the frequency fluctuation detected by the detecting means is abrupt. A frequency characteristic adjusting device comprising: In a frequency characteristic adjustment method for adjusting a frequency characteristic for an audio signal,
Extract at least some frequency components of the frequency band to be adjusted from the audio signal,
Detect frequency fluctuations of the extracted frequency components,
A frequency characteristic adjusting method, wherein the frequency characteristic for the audio signal is adjusted following the detected frequency fluctuation. On the computer,
Means for extracting at least part of frequency components of the frequency band to be adjusted from the audio signal;
A program for functioning as means for detecting frequency fluctuations of the extracted frequency component, and means for adjusting frequency characteristics of the audio signal following the detected frequency fluctuations.

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