DEVELOPMENT OF AN IMPROVED TACTUAL VOCODER

描述：(改编自申请人的摘要。)智慧型 听力系统公司建议开发可感知的触觉声码器， 一种佩戴在皮肤上的人工听力系统，以帮助聋人 学习口头交流。以前的商业产品 触觉辅助设备有三个重要的缺点：这样的系统有 一直基于僵化的模拟电路，因此没有 可编程以满足个人用户的特殊需求 或康复计划，2)一直无效，因为 基频(音调)的发射机，这是关键因素之一 手术植入的人工听力系统的成功，以及 3)不能快速传递光谱信号 (格式转换)，这是 语音编码。 建议的IntelliVoc(智能声码器)设备将解决 以前可用的系统的故障通过1)提供 可通过语音和听力进行编程的微型系统 临床医生适应系统的特性(通道分配， 动态范围、频率编码等)以满足个人需求 用户或康复计划，2)使用新的宽带 可控震源，可直接将音调轮廓作为频率传输 皮肤的振动，以及3)使用实时线性预测 提供共振峰和共振峰的编码(LPC)信号处理方法 过渡到蒙皮。

DESCRIPTION: (Adapted from the Applicant's Abstract.) Intelligent Hearing Systems proposes development of awearable tactual vocoder, an artificial hearing system worn on the skin, to assist the deaf in learning to communicate verbally. Previous commerciallyavailable tactileaids have had three important drawbacks: such systems 1) have been based upon inflexible analog circuitry, and consequently have not been programmable to accommodate special needs of individual users or programs of rehabilitation, 2) have been ineffective as transmitters of fundamental frequency (pitch), one of the key factors in the success of surgically implanted artificial hearing systems, and 3)have not been capable of transmitting rapid spectral cues (format transitions), one of the most important characteristics of the speech code. The proposed IntelliVoc (Intelligent Vocoder) device would address the failures of previously available systems by 1) providing a miniaturized system that can be programmed by a speech and hearing clinician to adapt the systems's characteristics (channel allocation, dynamic range, frequency coding etc.) to the individual needs of users or programs of rehabilitation, 2) utilizing a new wideband vibrator to transmit pitch intonation contours directly as frequency of vibration to the skin, and 3) employing a realtime Linear Predictive Coding (LPC) signal processing approach to deliver formants and formant transitions to the skin.