Method for determining a distance between ears of a wearer of a sound generating object and ear-worn sound generating object
阅读说明：本技术 用于确定声音生成物体的佩戴者的耳部之间的距离的方法以及耳戴式声音生成物体 (Method for determining a distance between ears of a wearer of a sound generating object and ear-worn sound generating object ) 是由 J·乌德生 J·B·博尔特 于 2018-05-16 设计创作，主要内容包括：本发明公开了一种用于确定声音生成物体的佩戴者的耳部之间的距离(D)的方法。该方法包括以下步骤：选择用于表示声音生成物体(4)的佩戴者的头部(2)的形状的模型以便获得佩戴者的头部的中心轴线(6)。随后的步骤是使第一声音生成物体与佩戴者的耳部相关联,其中第一声音生成物体包括第一加速度计(10)和第二加速度计(12),相应的加速度计被布置成测量以基本上直角与佩戴者的头部的中心轴线相交的至少一个加速度分量(a1、a2)。两个加速度计被布置成使得以基本上直角与佩戴者的头部的中心轴线相交的直线(14)穿过两个加速度计,使得加速度分量(a1、a2)具有相同的方向,所述两个加速度计间隔开已知距离(Δr)。该方法还包括以下步骤：当佩戴者的头部处于运动中时,通过第一加速度计确定第一加速度分量(a1)的值,并且通过第二加速度计确定第二加速度分量(a2)的值。在另一步骤中,在所获得的加速度分量(a1、a2)的值的基础上,确定佩戴者的耳部之间的距离(D)。本公开还涉及包括两个加速度计的第一耳戴式声音生成物体。(The method comprises the steps of selecting a model for representing the shape of the head (2) of a wearer of the sound generating object (4) so as to obtain a central axis (6) of the head of the wearer, the subsequent step of associating a th sound generating object with the ear of the wearer, wherein a th sound generating object comprises a th accelerometer (10) and a second accelerometer (12), the respective accelerometers being arranged to measure at least acceleration components (a1, a2) intersecting the central axis of the head of the wearer at substantially right angles, the two accelerometers being arranged such that a straight line (14) intersecting the central axis of the head of the wearer at substantially right angles passes through the two accelerometers, such that the acceleration components (a1, a2) have the same direction, the two accelerometers being spaced apart by a known distance (Δ r), the method further comprising the steps of determining a distance between the ears of the wearer by a second accelerometer () when the head of the wearer is in motion, determining a distance between acceleration values of the second accelerometer (a) and determining 3637 a further acceleration value of the acceleration of the second accelerometer relating to the acceleration of the ear of the sound generating object (3625, a 3636).)
1, A method for determining a distance (D) between ears of a wearer of a sound generating object (4), the method comprising:
selecting (20) a model representing the shape of the head (2) of a wearer of the sound generating object (4) for obtaining a central axis (6) of the head of the wearer,
associating (30) the th sound generating object (4) with the ear of the wearer, wherein the th sound generating object (4) comprises a th accelerometer (10) and a second accelerometer (12), the respective accelerometers (10, 12) being arranged to measure at least acceleration components (a1, a2) intersecting the central axis (6) of the wearer's head at substantially right angles, wherein the th and second accelerometers (10, 12) are arranged such that a straight line (14) intersecting the central axis (6) of the wearer's head at substantially right angles passes through the and second accelerometers (10, 12) such that the acceleration components (a1, a2) have the same direction, the th and second accelerometers (10, 12) being spaced apart by a known distance (Δ r),
determining (40) a value of a acceleration component (a1) by the accelerometer (10) and a value of a second acceleration component (a2) by the second accelerometer (12) when the head (2) of the wearer is in motion,
determining (50) a distance (D) between the ears of the wearer on the basis of the model, the obtained values of the th and second acceleration components (a1, a2), and the known distance between the th accelerometer and the second accelerometer.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the distance (D) is determined as a function of time and averaged over a time interval.
3. The method of claim 2, wherein the length of the time interval is at least 60 seconds.
th ear-worn sound-generating object (4) of species, comprising:
means for allowing a wearer of the sound generating object to select a model representing the shape of the head (2) in order to obtain a central axis (6) of the wearer's head,
an accelerometer (10) and a second accelerometer (12), the respective accelerometers being arranged to measure at least acceleration components (a1, a2) intersecting the central axis of the wearer's head (2) at substantially right angles, wherein the and second accelerometers (10, 12) are arranged such that a straight line (14) intersecting the central axis (6) of the wearer's head at substantially right angles passes through the and second accelerometers (10, 12) such that the acceleration components (a1, a2) have the same direction, the and second accelerometers (10, 12) being spaced apart by a known distance (Δ r),
wherein the th accelerometer (10) is provided with means for determining a value of a th acceleration component (a1) and the second accelerometer (12) is provided with means for determining a value of a second acceleration component (a2), and
wherein the th ear-worn sound generating object (4) is provided with means for determining the distance (D) between the ears of the wearer on the basis of the model, the obtained values of the th and second acceleration components (a1, a2), and the known distance between the th and second accelerometers.
5. The ear-worn sound generating object (4) according to claim 4, wherein the sound generating object is a hearing instrument.
6. ear-worn sound generating object (4) according to claim 4, wherein the sound generating object is encased by an ear pad belonging to a headphone.
7. The ear-worn sound generating object (4) according to claim 4, wherein the sound generating object is an earpiece being part of a headset.
8. The ear-worn sound generating object (4) according to claim 4, wherein the sound generating object is an audible wearable device.
9. Use of an th accelerometer (10) and a second accelerometer (12) in an ear-worn sound generating object (4) according to any of the claims 4-8, for determining a distance (D) between the ears of a wearer,
wherein the respective accelerometer (10, 12) is arranged to measure at least acceleration components (a1, a2) intersecting a central axis (6) of the wearer's head at substantially right angles, wherein the accelerometer is spaced from the second accelerometer by a known distance (Δ r), and
wherein the th accelerometer is provided with means for determining the value of the th acceleration component (a1) and the second accelerometer is provided with means for determining the value of the second acceleration component (a2) when the head (2) of the wearer is in motion.
Technical Field
The present disclosure generally relates to methods for determining a distance between ears of a wearer of a sound generating object.
Background
In the field of virtual sound presentation by devices such as headphones, hearing aids or audible wearing devices, it is desirable for the listener to receive externalized sound, i.e. sound containing spatial cues. These spatial cues are typically generated by software on the basis of information available in the electrical audio signal. Thereby creating an illusion of a virtual sound source that is external with respect to the listener's head.
This is the case, for example, if the Head Related Transfer Function (HRTF), like , needs to be adjusted to match the geometry of the user's head, this is the case.
Clearly, ear-to-ear distances are manually measurable, but are cumbersome and prone to conveying inaccurate results.
EP 2890161 proposes a method of determining the acoustic head size of a user wearing a hearing aid, the minimum requirements in terms of equipment to get a solution are to employ two hearing instruments and an intermediate signal provider, typically a mobile phone, these devices communicate with each other using audio signals in order to determine the acoustic time delay between the two ears to estimate the acoustic head size.
Disclosure of Invention
Accordingly, it is presently an object of of the present invention to at least mitigate the disadvantages associated with the prior art.
The above object is achieved by a method for determining a distance between ears of a wearer of a sound-generating object and an ear-worn sound-generating object according to the independent claims, and by embodiments according to the dependent claims.
More specifically, a th aspect of the present disclosure provides a method for determining a distance (D) between ears of a wearer of a sound generating object, the method comprising selecting a model for representing a shape of a head of the wearer of the sound generating object so as to obtain a central axis of the head of the wearer, associating a th sound generating object with the ears of the wearer, wherein the th sound generating object comprises a th accelerometer and a second accelerometer, the respective accelerometers (i.e. the th accelerometer and the second accelerometer) being arranged to measure at least acceleration components (a1, a 23) intersecting the central axis of the head of the wearer at substantially right angles, wherein the th accelerometer and the second accelerometer are arranged such that a straight line intersecting the central axis of the head of the wearer at substantially right angles passes through the th accelerometer and the second accelerometer, such that the acceleration components (a1, a2) have the same direction, the th accelerometer and the second accelerometer are spaced apart by a known distance (Δ r), determining a distance (D) between ears of the wearer based on the distance between the model of the distances between ears (4624 a) of the wearer, determining a distance (2 a) or a distance between the distances between the ear of the second accelerometer and the model (4624) obtained by the method.
Here, the term distance should be interpreted in the context of this application as the Euclidean distance, i.e., the straight-line distance between two points in space in this context, this Euclidean distance cannot be correlated with the above-mentioned acoustic distance, step , the central axis of the wearer's head is an axis substantially perpendicular to the horizontal ground plane, which axis step intersects the head pivot point (i.e., the point about which the head rotates left and right).
Hereinafter, the positive effects and advantages of the present invention are presented with reference to the th aspect of the invention.
By performing the method according to the above, an automatic adjustment of the distance (D) between the ears of the wearer can be achieved. In other words, no user involvement is required to conveniently and accurately determine the ear-to-ear distance. Furthermore, the method is easy to integrate in existing software due to its inherent simplicity. Finally, the effect conferred by the method of the invention is an improved fidelity with respect to the rendering of virtual (3D) audio signals generated by sound generating objects.
In addition, by accurately and automatically determining the head size, more advanced beamforming models can be employed in sound generating objects, in particular in hearing aids. In a related context, the prediction of direction of arrival (DOA) of speech signals can be significantly improved when accurately determining the head size.
In a further aspect of the present disclosure there is provided an ear-worn sound generating object, wherein the ear-worn sound generating object comprises means for allowing a wearer of the sound generating object to select a model for representing the shape of the head in order to obtain a central axis of the wearer's head, th accelerometer and a second accelerometer, the respective accelerometers (i.e. the th accelerometer and the second accelerometer) being arranged to measure at least acceleration components (a1, a2) intersecting the central axis of the wearer's head at substantially right angles, wherein the th accelerometer and the second accelerometer are arranged such that a straight line intersecting the central axis of the wearer's head at substantially right angles passes through the th accelerometer and the second accelerometer such that the acceleration components (a1, a2) have the same direction, the th accelerometer and the second accelerometer are spaced apart by a known distance (Δ r), wherein the th accelerometer is provided with means for determining the value of the th accelerometer (a1), and the second accelerometer is provided with means for determining the value of the second accelerometer (a 356 a) of the worn sound generating object (1 a) and wherein the obtained the value of the worn sound generating accelerometer is provided with means for obtaining an ear distance (1D) between the worn sound generating object.
In one or more exemplary ear-worn sound generating objects, the means for determining the distance (D) between the ears of the wearer comprises means for determining the distance (D) between the ears of the wearer based on a model in one or more exemplary ear-worn sound generating objects, the means for determining the distance (D) between the ears of the wearer comprises means for determining the distance (D) between the ears of the wearer based on a known distance between the th accelerometer and the second accelerometer.
The advantages and features of the further step of the embodiment will become apparent when the following detailed description is read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
Drawings
Fig. 1 is a perspective view schematically showing the head of a user of an ear-worn sound-generating object.
Figure 2 is a close-up view of an accelerometer configuration according to embodiments of the invention.
Fig. 3 is a flow chart illustrating the method steps according to embodiments of the present invention.
Detailed Description
The present invention will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which preferred embodiments are shown. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. In the drawings, like reference numerals refer to like elements.
A method for determining a distance (D) between ears of a wearer of a sound generating object is disclosed. The method comprises the following steps: a model representing the shape of the head of a wearer of a sound generating object is selected in order to obtain a central axis of the head of the wearer.
The method includes associating (such as arranging or positioning) a th sound-generating object with the ear of the wearer, wherein a th sound-generating object includes a th accelerometer and a second accelerometer, the respective accelerometers arranged to measure at least acceleration components (a1, a2) that intersect the central axis of the head of the wearer at substantially right angles, wherein the st accelerometer and the second accelerometer are arranged such that a straight line that intersects the central axis of the head of the wearer at substantially right angles passes through the th accelerometer and the second accelerometer such that the acceleration components (
The method comprises determining a value of a th acceleration component (a1) by means of an th accelerometer and a value of a second acceleration component (a2) by means of a second accelerometer when the head of the wearer is in motion, and determining the distance (D) between the ears of the wearer on the basis of the model, the obtained values of the th and second acceleration components (a1, a2) and the known distance between the th accelerometer and the second accelerometer.
The acceleration component may intersect the central axis of the wearer's head at substantially a right angle and/or intersect a line passing through the th accelerometer and the second accelerometer.
In other words, the second acceleration component may form a substantially right angle with the central axis of the wearer's head and/or a line passing through the accelerometer and the second accelerometer.
In the method, the distance (D) may be determined from time and averaged over a time interval. The length of the time interval may be at least 60 seconds.
Also disclosed () is an ear-worn sound generating object comprising means for allowing a wearer of the sound generating object to select a model representing the shape of the head in order to obtain a central axis of the wearer's head, a accelerometer and a second accelerometer, the respective accelerometers being arranged to measure at least acceleration components (a1, a2) intersecting the central axis of the wearer's head at substantially right angles, wherein the accelerometer and the second accelerometer are arranged such that a straight line intersecting the central axis of the wearer's head at substantially right angles passes through the accelerometer and the second accelerometer such that the acceleration components (a1, a2) have the same direction, the accelerometer and the second accelerometer being spaced apart by a known distance, wherein the accelerometer is provided with means for determining the value of the acceleration component (a1) of the fifth acceleration and the second accelerometer (12) is provided with means for determining the value of the acceleration component (a2) of the second accelerometer, and wherein the ear-worn sound generating object is provided with means for determining the value of the acceleration between the obtained second accelerometer and the distance 5848 a distance between the wearer's ear-based on the distance between the model of the obtained accelerometer (a) of the wearer's ear-known distance (a).
In other words, the sound generating object is configured to determine the distance (D) between the wearer's ears based on the th acceleration component and the second acceleration component when worn at the user's ears.
th ear-worn sound generating object may be a hearing instrument.
The sound generating object may be enclosed by an ear pad belonging to a headphone. Accordingly, a binaural headphone is disclosed comprising an ear pad, the ear pad encasing a sound generating object.
Accordingly, headsets are disclosed that include an earpiece including a sound generating object as disclosed herein.
The sound generating object may be an audible wearable device.
Also disclosed is the use of an accelerometer and a second accelerometer in an ear-worn sound-generating object as disclosed herein in order to determine a distance (D) between the ears of a wearer, wherein the respective accelerometers are arranged to measure at least acceleration components (a1, a2) intersecting the central axis of the head of the wearer at substantially right angles, wherein the accelerometer is spaced from the second accelerometer by a known distance, and wherein the accelerometer is provided with means for determining the value of the acceleration component (a1) and the second accelerometer is provided with means for determining the value of the second acceleration component (a2) when the head (2) of the wearer is in motion.
Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a
For some applications, although cumbersome, it is possible to determine the head pivot point accurately in real life. The position of the central axis is then determined on the basis of this information. However, it is more convenient to approximate the head shape to the shape of a known geometric body (e.g., a cylinder, ellipsoid, or sphere) with a known pivot point/location of the central axis. These approximations and their implications for parameters such as head pivot point are well known to the skilled person. For the purposes of the present invention, the approximation model according to the above gives sufficient accuracy and is easy to integrate into the surrounding software infrastructure.
Figure 2 is a close-up view of an accelerometer configuration according to an embodiment of the invention, the configuration being shown in a top view and the central axis extending perpendicular to the plane of the paper, schematically showing a sound generating object, here a hearing aid, the hearing aid comprises th and second accelerometers, the respective accelerometers being arranged to measure at least acceleration components (a1, a2) intersecting the central axis of the wearer's head at substantially right angles, further steps, the two accelerometers being arranged such that a straight line intersecting the central axis of the wearer's head at substantially right angles passes through the two accelerometers, the accelerometers are spaced apart by a known distance (Δ r), in the hearing aid, the distance is typically below 10mm, preferably between 5mm and 8mm, due to space limitations.
Using the above-described arrangement and in order to determine the distance (D) between the ears of the wearer, the acceleration measured with the two accelerometers is amea1(t) and ameas2(t) and the distance (Δ R) is a known distance now, the distance to be calculated is first the distance R from the central axis of the head to the th accelerometer1And a corresponding distance R to the second accelerometer2Wherein R is2＞R1I.e. R1Is positioned to be in contact with R2 denier user, when a wearer of a sound generating object selects a model for representing the shape of the head, as discussed in connection with FIG. 1, the location of the central axis of the wearer's head is obtainedStarting to rotate its head, R is calculated in the following manner2And R1：
At a given time t0The magnitude of the angular acceleration resulting from the rotation of the head is α0。
Due to α0Is constant for the whole head (at time t)0B), so we have:
bound Δ R ═ R2-R1We have two equations with two unknowns, we can solve for R1：
The distance D will now be:
by performing the method according to the above, an automatic adjustment of the distance (D) between the ears of the wearer can be achieved. In other words, the ear-to-ear distance is conveniently and accurately determined without the involvement of the user. Furthermore, the method is easy to integrate in existing software due to its inherent simplicity. Finally, the effect conferred by the method of the invention is an improved fidelity with respect to the rendering of virtual (3D) audio signals generated by sound generating objects. In addition, by accurately and automatically determining the head size, more advanced beamformers may be utilized. In the related background, the prediction of direction of arrival (DOA) of speech signals can be significantly improved when accurately determining head size.
Even better, less noisy results are obtained when the distance (D) is determined in time and averaged over a time interval. Typically, the length of the time interval is at least 60 seconds. In some applications, even longer time intervals may be used.
In the above context, hearing aids carrying two accelerometers are known in the art. In particular, such an arrangement is disclosed in WO9914985, which attempts to reduce vibrations in miniature hearing aids. For this purpose, two accelerometers are arranged in a completely in-the-canal (CIC) hearing aid. Since they measure vibrations due to a feedback loop in the hearing aid, the accelerometers are positioned in the hearing aid such that they are physically fixed to its housing. In addition, their position in the hearing aid is completely arbitrary.
Fig. 3 is a flow chart showing a method for determining the distance (D) between the ears of a wearer of a sound generating object according to embodiments of the invention, which method may be performed in e.g. a hearing aid, an audible wearing device, or a headphone, in particular the application of an accelerometer integrated in a hearing aid is of increasing interest to the industry the method comprises selecting 20 a model representing the shape of the head of a wearer of a sound generating object arrangement for allowing the wearer of the sound generating object to select the model representing the shape of the head in order to obtain a central axis of the head of the wearer, according to a preferred model the shape of the head is approximated by a known geometry (e.g. a cylinder, ellipsoid, or sphere), according to the above described approximation model provides sufficient accuracy and easy integration into the surrounding software infrastructure, then the method comprises associating a sound generating object with the ear of the wearer 30, wherein the th sound generating object comprises a and a second accelerometer, the respective accelerometers being arranged to measure at least one of the distance (D) between the wearer's ear intersecting at substantially right angle with the central axis of the wearer's head's central axis and the central axis of the wearer's head's acceleration, which method further comprises determining the distance (a) using the acceleration of the second accelerometer's head's transverse acceleration of the first accelerometer, which method comprises determining a) on a , the acceleration of the first accelerometer, which method comprises determining a 3625, on the acceleration of the first accelerometer, on the basis of the first accelerometer, on the first.
Item 1. A method for determining a distance (D) between ears of a wearer of a sound generating object (4), the method comprising the steps of:
-selecting (20) a model representing the shape of the head (2) of a wearer of a sound generating object (4) for obtaining a central axis (6) of the head of the wearer,
-associating (30) an th sound generating object (4) with the ear of the wearer, wherein the th sound generating object (4) comprises a th accelerometer (10) and a second accelerometer (12), the respective accelerometers (10, 12) being arranged to measure at least acceleration components (a1, a2) intersecting the central axis (6) of the wearer's head at substantially right angles, wherein the two accelerometers (10, 12) are arranged such that a straight line (14) intersecting the central axis (6) of the wearer's head at substantially right angles passes through the two accelerometers (10, 12) such that the acceleration components (a1, a2) have the same direction, the two accelerometers (10, 12) being spaced apart by a known distance (Δ r),
-determining (40) the value of the acceleration component (a1) by the accelerometer (10) and the value of the second acceleration component (a2) by the second accelerometer (12) when the wearer's head (2) is in motion,
-determining (50) the distance (D) between the ears of the wearer on the basis of the obtained values of the acceleration components (a1, a 2).
Item 3. the method of
An st ear-worn sound-generating object (4), the object comprising:
means for allowing a wearer of the sound generating object to select a model for representing the shape of the head (2) in order to obtain a central axis (6) of the wearer's head,
an accelerometer (10) and a second accelerometer (12), the respective accelerometers being arranged to measure at least acceleration components (a1, a2) intersecting the central axis of the wearer's head (2) at substantially right angles, wherein the two accelerometers (10, 12) are arranged such that a straight line (14) intersecting the central axis (6) of the wearer's head at substantially right angles passes through the two accelerometers (10, 12) such that the acceleration components (a1, a2) have the same direction, the two accelerometers (10, 12) being spaced apart by a known distance (Δ r),
wherein the th accelerometer (10) is provided with means for determining the value of the th acceleration component (a1) and the second accelerometer (12) is provided with means for determining the value of the second acceleration component (a2),
the object (4) is further provided with means for determining the distance (D) between the ears of the wearer on the basis of the obtained values of the acceleration components (a1, a 2).
th ear-worn sound generating object (4) according to
th ear-worn sound generating object (4) according to
Item 8. the ear-worn sound generating object (4) of
Item 9. use of an accelerometer (10) of the th and a second accelerometer (12) in an ear-worn sound generating object (4) according to any of items 4-8 in order to determine a distance (D) between the ears of a wearer, wherein the respective accelerometers are arranged to measure at least acceleration components (a1, a2) intersecting the central axis (6) of the head of the wearer at substantially right angles, the two accelerometers being spaced apart by a known distance (Δ r), and wherein the th accelerometer is provided with means for determining a value of the acceleration component (a1) and the second accelerometer is provided with means for determining a value of the second acceleration component (a2) when the head (2) of the wearer is in motion.
In the drawings and specification, there have been disclosed typical preferred embodiments of the invention and, although specific terms are employed, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation, the scope of the invention being set forth in the following claims.