US5590108A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Encoding method and apparatus for bit compressing digital audio signals and recording medium having encoded audio signals recorded thereon by the encoding method
Assignee: Sony Corp
•
Filing: 1994-05-10
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Granted: 1996-12-31
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Expires: 2014-05-10
Abstract
Abstract A method for encoding audio signals includes dividing input audio signals into a two-dimensional block of time and frequency and quantizing the two-dimensional blocks based upon bit allocation as determined for each of the two-dimensional blocks. Scale factors are calculated indicating characteristics of signal components for each of the plural two-dimensional blocks, and bit allocations are determined for a pre-set one of the two-dimensional blocks based upon the scale factor of the pre-set two-dimensional block and plural scale factors of plural ones of the two-dimensional blocks neighboring to said pre-set two-dimensional block on the frequency axis.
Inventors
- 👤 Makoto Mitsuno
- 👤 Kenzo Akagiri
- 👤 Hiroshi Suzuki
- 👤 Osamu Shimoyoshi
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-05 15:26
CPC Classifications
G; G11; G11B; G11B20/00; G11B20/00007; H; H04; H04B; H04B1/00; H04B1/66; H04B1/667; G11B11/00; G11B11/10; G11B11/105; G11B11/10502
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 22
Claim 1
Independent Claim
101 words
A method for encoding audio signals comprising dividing input audio signals into a two-dimensional block of time and frequency and quantizing the two-dimensional blocks based upon bit allocation as determined for each of the two-dimensional blocks, wherein the improvement comprises the steps of calculating scale factors indicating characteristics of signal components for each of the plural two-dimensional blocks, and determining bit allocation for a pre-set one of the two-dimensional blocks based upon the scale factor of the pre-set two-dimensional block and plural scale factors of plural ones of the two-dimensional blocks neighboring to said pre-set two-dimensional block on the frequency axis.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
101 words
A method for encoding audio signals comprising dividing input audio signals into a two-dimensional block of time and frequency and quantizing the two-dimensional blocks based upon bit allocation as determined for each of the two-dimensional blocks, wherein the improvement comprises the steps of calculating scale factors indicating characteristics of signal components for each of the plural two-dimensional blocks, and determining bit allocation for a pre-set one of the two-dimensional blocks based upon the scale factor of the pre-set two-dimensional block and plural scale factors of plural ones of the two-dimensional blocks neighboring to said pre-set two-dimensional block on the frequency axis.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
54 words
The method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the step of determining the bit allocation comprises the steps of calculating a representative scale factor value for each critical band based upon calculated values of the plural scale factors, and determining bit allocation for the pre-set two-dimensional block based on said representative scale factor values.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
89 words
The method as claimed in claim 2 wherein, if the band widths on the frequency axis of said two-dimensional blocks are narrower than said critical bands, the maximum or mean value of said plural scale factors is adopted as a representative scale factor value for each critical band, and wherein, if the band widths on the frequency axis of said two-dimensional blocks are broader than said critical bands, the scale factor of the pre-set two-dimensional block is adopted as a representative value for plural ones of the critical bands.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
55 words
The method as claimed in claim 2 wherein the representative scale factor value of the pre-set critical band and plural representative scale factor values of plural ones of the critical bands neighboring on the frequency axis to said pre-set critical band are weighted for adjusting the representative scale factor value of the pre-set critical band.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
25 words
The method as claimed in claim 4 wherein the weighing ratio is variable depending on frequency components or amplitude components of the input audio signals.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
49 words
The method as claimed in claim 4 wherein the weighting is performed so that the representative scale factor value on the low frequency range side of the pre-set critical band is more influential than the representative scale factor value on the high frequency side of the pre-set critical band.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
43 words
The method as claimed in claim 2 wherein the total number of the plural representative scale factor values of plural critical bands neighboring to the pre-set critical band on the frequency axis is variable depending on frequency components of the input audio signals.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
30 words
The method as claimed in claim 2 wherein the representative scale factor value of the pre-set critical band is adjusted based upon the representative scale factor values of different channels.
Claim 10
Independent Claim
106 words
An apparatus for encoding audio signals in which the input audio signals are divided into a two-dimensional block of time and frequency and the two-dimensional blocks are quantized based upon bit allocation as determined for each of the two-dimensional blocks, wherein the improvement comprises means for calculating scale factors indicating characteristics of signal components for each of the plural two-dimensional blocks, and means for determining bit allocation for a pre-set one of the two-dimensional blocks based upon the scale factor of the pre-set two-dimensional block and plural scale factors of plural ones of the two-dimensional blocks neighboring to said pre-set two-dimensional block on the frequency axis.
Claim 11
Independent Claim
106 words
An apparatus for encoding audio signals in which the input audio signals are divided into a two-dimensional block of time and frequency and the two-dimensional blocks are quantized based upon bit allocation as determined for each of the two-dimensional blocks, wherein the improvement comprises means for calculating scale factors indicating characteristics of signal components for each of the plural two-dimensional blocks, and means for determining bit allocation for a pre-set one of the two-dimensional blocks based upon the scale factor of the pre-set two-dimensional block and plural scale factors of plural ones of the two-dimensional blocks neighboring to said pre-set two-dimensional block on the frequency axis.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
55 words
The apparatus as claimed in claim 9 wherein the means for determining the bit allocation comprises means for calculating a representative scale factor value for each critical band based upon calculated values of the plural scale factors, and means for determining bit allocation for the pre-set two-dimensional block based on said representative scale factor values.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
105 words
The apparatus as claimed in claim 10 wherein, if the band widths on the frequency axis of said two-dimensional blocks are narrower than said critical bands, the maximum or mean value of said plural scale factors is adopted by said representative scale factor value calculating means as a representative scale factor value for each critical band, and wherein, if the band widths on the frequency axis of said two-dimensional blocks are broader than said critical bands, the scale factor of the pre-set two-dimensional block is adopted by said representative scale factor value calculating means as a representative value for plural ones of the critical bands.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
64 words
The apparatus as claimed in claim 10 wherein said representative scale factor calculating means further comprises means for adjusting the representative scale factor value of the pre-set critical band and plural representative scale factor values of plural ones of the critical bands neighboring on the frequency axis to said pre-set critical band for adjusting the representative scale factor value of the pre-set critical band.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
25 words
The apparatus as claimed in claim 12 wherein the weighing ratio is variable depending on frequency components or amplitude components of the input audio signals.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
57 words
The apparatus as claimed in claim 12 wherein the weighting is performed by said representative scale factor value adjustment means so that the representative scale factor value on the low frequency range side of the pre-set critical band is more influential than the representative scale factor value on the high frequency side of the pre-set critical band.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
43 words
The apparatus as claimed in claim 10 wherein the total number of the plural representative scale factor values of plural critical bands neighboring to the pre-set critical band on the frequency axis is variable depending on frequency components of the input audio signals.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
40 words
The apparatus as claimed in claim 10 wherein the representative scale factor value calculating means further comprises means for adjusting the representative scale factor value of the pre-set critical band based upon the representative scale factor values of different channels.
Claim 19
Independent Claim
108 words
A method for decoding encoded audio signals comprising the steps of dividing input audio signals into plural two-dimensional blocks of time and frequency, calculating a scale factor indicating characteristics of signal components for each of the plural two-dimensional blocks, receiving the information concerning bit allocation of said pre-set two-dimensional block as determined based upon the scale factor of the pre-set two-dimensional block and plural scale factors of plural ones of the two-dimensional blocks neighboring to said pre-set two-dimensional block on the frequency axis, and decoding the encoded audio signals, quantized based upon the information concerning the bit allocation, with the aid of the information concerning the bit allocation.
Claim 20
Independent Claim
108 words
A method for decoding encoded audio signals comprising the steps of dividing input audio signals into plural two-dimensional blocks of time and frequency, calculating a scale factor indicating characteristics of signal components for each of the plural two-dimensional blocks, receiving the information concerning bit allocation of said pre-set two-dimensional block as determined based upon the scale factor of the pre-set two-dimensional block and plural scale factors of plural ones of the two-dimensional blocks neighboring to said pre-set two-dimensional block on the frequency axis, and decoding the encoded audio signals, quantized based upon the information concerning the bit allocation, with the aid of the information concerning the bit allocation.
Claim 21
Independent Claim
109 words
An apparatus for decoding encoded audio signals comprising means for dividing input audio signals into plural two-dimensional blocks of time and frequency, calculating a scale factor indicating characteristics of signal components for each of the plural two-dimensional blocks, receiving the information concerning bit allocation of said pre-set two-dimensional block as determined based upon the scale factor of the pre-set two-dimensional block and plural scale factors of plural ones of the two-dimensional blocks neighboring to said pre-set two-dimensional block on the frequency axis, and means for decoding the encoded audio signals, quantized based upon the information concerning the bit allocation, with the aid of the information concerning the bit allocation.
Claim 22
Independent Claim
109 words
An apparatus for decoding encoded audio signals comprising means for dividing input audio signals into plural two-dimensional blocks of time and frequency, calculating a scale factor indicating characteristics of signal components for each of the plural two-dimensional blocks, receiving the information concerning bit allocation of said pre-set two-dimensional block as determined based upon the scale factor of the pre-set two-dimensional block and plural scale factors of plural ones of the two-dimensional blocks neighboring to said pre-set two-dimensional block on the frequency axis, and means for decoding the encoded audio signals, quantized based upon the information concerning the bit allocation, with the aid of the information concerning the bit allocation.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1999-12-31 | 2000-07-01 | 2000-12-31 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2003-12-31 | 2004-07-01 | 2004-12-31 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2007-12-31 | 2008-07-01 | 2008-12-31 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |