Multifunctional audio signal generation apparatus

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9792916-B2
Application number	US-201514626784-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 19, 2015
Priority date	Feb 21, 2014
Publication date	Oct 17, 2017
Grant date	Oct 17, 2017

Abstract

A sample counter in each channel performs counting operation at a given rate. Independently for each channel, the rate and an initial value for the counter are set, and start and stop of the counting operation of the counter are controlled, so that a partial portion of an original waveform corresponding to a count range from the set initial value to a count stop point is reproduced in the channel. A control section sets the initial values in individual ones of a set of channels, selected from among the channels, such that sample values at different sample positions of the original waveform are simultaneously retrieved in individual ones of the set of channels, and controls an overlap adder to add up the retrieved sample values, so that sample values of an audio waveform signal with a plurality of partial portions of the original waveform, partially overlapping each other are output.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An audio signal generation apparatus for generating an output audio waveform signal comprising:
memory interface circuitry adapted to communicate with a memory storing original waveform data;
a plurality of channels, each channel including:
a sample counter adapted to perform counting operation at a given rate per sampling time period and
a read circuit adapted to retrieve a sample value of an original waveform from the memory through the memory interface circuitry based on a count value of the sample counter,
one channel of the plurality of channels and another channel of the plurality of channels being configured to operate concurrently during an overlap time period,
each of the channels being configured to generate a waveform sample value based on the sample value of the original waveform retrieved via the read circuit of the channel so that the waveform sample value for one sample is output from the channel per sampling time period, wherein the sampling time period is a sampling time period for digital/analog conversion of the output waveform sample value;

a control section configured to set, independently for each of the channels, the rate and an initial value for the sample counter of the channel and control start and stop of the counting operation of the sample counter, so that a partial portion of the original waveform corresponding to a count range from the set initial value to a count stop point is reproduced in the channel; and
an overlap adder controlled by said control section and configured to output a result of addition for one sample per sampling time period; and
a sound system for outputting the output audio waveform signal based on said result of addition for one sample per sampling time period from said overlap adder,
wherein said control section is configured to set the initial values in individual ones of a set of channels, selected from among the plurality of channels, such that sample values at different sample positions of the original waveform are retrieved from the memory in individual ones of the set of channels, and control said overlap adder to add up the waveform sample values output from the set of channels in the same sampling time period, whereby sample values of an audio waveform signal with a plurality of partial portions of the original waveform, which are to be reproduced in the set of channels, partially overlapping each other are output from said overlap adder as said result of addition for one sample per sampling time period from said overlap adder.

2. The audio signal generation apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , wherein said control section is configured to determine, in accordance with information for performing stretch/compression control on a reproduction time length, first and second partial portions of the original waveform that are to be reproduced in first and second channels of said one set of channels, said control section causing reproduction of the first partial portion of the original waveform to be started in the first channel and then causing reproduction of the second partial portion of the original waveform to be started in the second channel.

3. The audio signal generation apparatus as claimed in claim 2 , wherein respective heads of the first and second partial portions of the original waveform are specified by first and second reference sample positions, respectively, of the original waveform,
wherein the control section includes a first counter that performs counting operation per sampling time period in accordance with a first rate designated by said information for performing stretch/compression control on the reproduction time length, and
wherein the control section determines at every sampling time period whether a count value of the first counter has exceeded a predetermined reference value while the first partial portion of the original waveform is being reproduced in the first channel with the first reference sample position used as the initial value, and said control section instructs the second channel to start reproducing the second partial portion of the original waveform with the second reference sample position used as the initial value at a sampling time period when the count value of the first counter has exceeded the predetermined reference value.

4. The audio signal generation apparatus as claimed in claim 3 , wherein the sample counter of a particular channel of the plurality of channels performs counting operation in accordance with the first rate similarly to the first counter, the particular channel generates a waveform sample value based on retrieving, from the memory, of a sample value of the original waveform based on a count value of the sample counter of the particular channel, and the particular channel supplies a waveform sample value, generated thereby in correspondence with the second reference sample position, to the second channel as an initial waveform sample value corresponding to the initial value for the second channel, and
wherein said second channel uses the initial waveform sample value when decoding the sample value of the original waveform retrieved from the memory.

5. The audio signal generation apparatus as claimed in claim 2 , wherein said control section is configured to set a reproduction start time difference between the first and second partial portions in accordance with information for controlling a reproduction pitch.

6. The audio signal generation apparatus as claimed in claim 5 , wherein said control section includes a second counter that performs counting operation in accordance with a second rate designated by said information for controlling a reproduction pitch, and
wherein, once a count value of said second counter exceeds a predetermined target value while the first partial portion of the original waveform is being reproduced in the first channel, said control section instructs the second channel to start reproducing the second partial portion of the original waveform.

7. The audio signal generation apparatus as claimed in claim 5 , wherein a basic value of the reproduction start time difference is determined based on tone pitches of the first and second partial portions of the original waveform, and the reproduction start time difference between the first and second partial portions is set by the basic value being increased or decreased in accordance with said information for controlling a reproduction pitch.

8. The audio signal generation apparatus as claimed in claim 2 , wherein lengths of the first and second partial portions of the original waveform are determined based on tone pitches of the first and second partial portions of the original waveform.

9. The audio signal generation apparatus as claimed in claim 2 , wherein said control section is configured to set the given rate for the sample counters of the first and second channels in accordance with information for controlling a formant.

10. The audio signal generation apparatus as claimed in claim 2 , wherein said control section is configured to set the given rate for the sample counters of the first and second channels in accordance with information for controlling a reproduction pitch.

11. The audio signal generation apparatus as claimed in claim 2 , wherein said overlap adder is configured to add waveform sample values of the first partial portion reproduced in the first channel and waveform sample values of the second partial portion reproduced in the second channel after amplitude-controlling the waveform sample values of the first partial portion and the waveform sample values of the second partial portion in accordance with a cross-fade characteristic.

12. The audio si

Assignees

• Yamaha Corp

Inventors

• Shirahama Taro

Classifications

• G10H7/04

  in which amplitudes are read at varying rates, e.g. according to pitch · CPC title

• G10L2013/021

  Overlap-add techniques · CPC title

• G10L13/06

  Elementary speech units used in speech synthesisers; Concatenation rules · CPC title

• G10L13/02

  Methods for producing synthetic speech; Speech synthesisers · CPC title

• G10H1/08 Primary

  by combining tones (G10H1/14, G10H1/16 take precedence; chord G10H1/38) · CPC title