Method and device for sound source positioning using microphone array

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10848865-B2
Application number	US-201715780168-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 8, 2017
Priority date	Jun 6, 2017
Publication date	Nov 24, 2020
Grant date	Nov 24, 2020

Abstract

A method and device for sound source positioning using a microphone array. The method comprises: determining a horizontal axis that a microphone array rotates around as a reference axis; calculating, according to a sound emitted by a sound source that is collected by the microphone array, to obtain a first sound source estimated value indicating a sound source position in a three-dimensional space; acquiring an inclination angle between a plane in which the microphone array is located when it is rotating and a horizontal plane in which the reference axis is located; and according to the first sound source estimated value and the inclination angle, calculating out a second sound source estimated value on a horizontal plane corresponding to the first sound source estimated value, and using the second sound source estimated value as the determined sound source position.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method for sound source positioning using a microphone array, the method comprises:
determining a horizontal, reference plane for a smart device;
determining a horizontal axis that the microphone array rotates around as a reference axis, the reference axis extending along the horizontal, reference plane always remains completely horizontal relative to the smart device;
rotating a portion of the smart device comprising the microphone array so that a plane on which the microphone array is located rotates around the reference axis to a position at an inclination angle relative to the horizontal, reference plane for the smart device;
acquiring the inclination angle between the plane in which the microphone array is located when it is rotating around the reference axis and the horizontal, reference plane in which the reference axis is located;
collecting a sound emitted by a sound source by the microphone array;
calculating a first sound source estimated value indicating a sound source position in a three-dimensional space according to the collected sound by the microphone array; and
according to the first sound source estimated value and the inclination angle, calculating out a second sound source estimated value on the horizontal, reference plane corresponding to the first sound source estimated value, and using the second sound source estimated value as a determined sound source position;
wherein according to the first sound source estimated value and the inclination angle, calculating out the second sound source estimated value on the horizontal, reference plane corresponding to the first sound source estimated value comprises:
when the microphone array consists of a plurality of microphones located in a same plane, forming a measuring graph according to the same plane in which the microphone array is located when it is rotating around the reference axis and the first sound source estimated value; and
obtaining a projection graph of the measuring graph on the horizontal, reference plane relative to the smart device, and by using a geometric position relation between the measuring graph and the projection graph, a side length of the measuring graph, the first sound source estimated value and the inclination angle, calculating a projection angle corresponding to the first sound source estimated value, to obtain the second sound source estimated value that is projected onto the horizontal, reference plane relative to the smart device.

2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein acquiring the inclination angle between the plane in which the microphone array is located when it is rotating around the reference axis and the horizontal, reference plane in which the reference axis is located comprises:
acquiring a constant inclination angle between the plane in which the microphone array is located when it is rotating around the reference axis and the horizontal, reference plane in which the reference axis is located;
or, acquiring in real time a changing inclination angle between the plane in which the microphone array is located when it is rotating around the reference axis and the horizontal, reference plane in which the reference axis is located by using a sensor, wherein the sensor comprises a magnetoelectric encoder or a Hall switch.

3. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the microphone array is a circular microphone array consisting of the plurality of microphones located in the same plane on the portion of the smart device that rotates relative to the horizontal, reference plane for the smart device, and
according to the first sound source estimated value and the inclination angle, calculating out the second sound source estimated value on the horizontal, reference plane corresponding to the first sound source estimated value comprises:
forming the measuring graph according to the first sound source estimated value, a first rotation axis and a second rotation axis in the circular microphone array, wherein a center of the circular microphone array is a starting point of the first rotation axis and the second rotation axis;
wherein the first rotation axis indicates a 0 degree reference direction of sound source positioning, the second rotation axis indicates a direction of the sound source, and the first sound source estimated value is an included angle between the first rotation axis and the second rotation axis; and
wherein the measuring graph is a measuring triangle formed by a side connecting the center of the circular microphone array and an intersection point of the first rotation axis and a circle of the circular microphone array, a side connecting the center of the circular microphone array and an intersection point of the second rotation axis and the circle of the circular microphone array, and a side connecting the two intersection points;
projecting the measuring triangle onto the horizontal, reference plane, to obtain a projection triangle;
connecting the measuring triangle and the projection triangle with lines in the three-dimensional space, to form a pentahedron model;
wherein the five planes of the pentahedron model include: the measuring triangle located at an upper surface, the projection triangle located at a lower bottom surface, and two lateral triangles and a trapezoid that are obtained by connecting vertexes of the measuring triangle and the projection triangle; and
obtaining side lengths of the projection triangle by geometric calculation, and calculating out a value of the projection angle corresponding to the first sound source estimated value according to the side lengths, thereby obtaining the second sound source estimated value.

4. The method according to claim 1 , wherein according to the first sound source estimated value and the inclination angle, calculating out the second sound source estimated value on the horizontal, reference plane corresponding to the first sound source estimated value comprises:
according to the first sound source estimated value and the inclination angle, calculating in real time the second sound source estimated value;

or,
according to the first sound source estimated value and preset inclination angles or angle ranges, constructing a correspondence relation database that records correspondence relations between the first sound source estimated value and the second sound source estimated value, and according to a matching result between the inclination angle acquired in real time and the preset inclination angles or angle ranges in the correspondence relation database, determining the second sound source estimated value corresponding to the first sound source estimated value at the matched preset inclination angle or within the matched angle range.

5. A smart device, the smart device comprises a processor and a memory, the memory stores a machine executable instruction code, and the processor communicates with the memory, and reads and executes the instruction code stored in the memory, to realize a method for sound source positioning using a microphone array, wherein the method comprises:
determining a horizontal, reference plane for the smart device;
determining a horizontal axis that the microphone array rotates around as a reference axis, the reference axis extending along the horizontal, reference plane always remains completely horizontal relative to the smart device;
rotating a portion of the smart device comprising the microphone array so that a plane on which the microphone array is located rotates around the reference axis to a position at an inclination angle relative to the horizontal reference plane for the smart device;
acquiring the inclination angle between the plane in which the microphone array is located when it is rotating around the reference axis and the horizontal plane in which the

Assignees

• Goertek Inc
• Weifang Goertek Microelectronics Co Ltd

Inventors

• Zhu Jian
• Zhang Xiangdong
• Luo Zhiping
• Yan Dong
• Chen Zhuo

Classifications

• G01S3/803

  using amplitude comparison of signals derived from receiving transducers or transducer systems having differently-oriented directivity characteristics · CPC title

• H04R2430/23

  Direction finding using a sum-delay beam-former · CPC title

• H04R3/005 Primary

  for combining the signals of two or more microphones (specially adapted for hearing aids H04R25/407) · CPC title

• G01S5/20

  Position of source determined by a plurality of spaced direction-finders · CPC title

• G01S5/22 Primary

  Position of source determined by co-ordinating a plurality of position lines defined by path-difference measurements (G01S5/28 takes precedence) · CPC title