TECHNICAL FIELD

The technical field relates generally to cabin audio systems for aircraft, and more particularly relates to aircraft cabin acoustics, aircraft cabin audio amplification, audio amplification algorithms, and aircraft equipped with electrically powered audio detection and amplification systems and noise compensation systems to provide speech amplification compensation in response to cabin audio interference levels.

BACKGROUND

The following information disclosed in this background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the invention and therefore it may contain information that does not form the prior art that is already known in this country to a person of ordinary skill in the art.

Background noise in aircraft cabins increases stress and discomfort for passengers and cabin crew members, and adversely impacts passenger experience when using the inflight entertainment system and personal electronic devices. It also makes conversations between passengers, and communications between the aircraft crew and the passengers more difficult. While some aircraft settings may be more noise tolerant, such as cargo aircraft and the like, private aircraft passengers expect a higher level of comfort and lower cabin noise levels while travelling.

Reducing ambient noise in an aircraft cabin may be described in terms of sound pressure level, and/or speech interference level. Reducing the sound pressure level requires application of sound dampening and absorptive materials, use of vibration isolators and similar techniques. Alternatively, active noise cancelling systems may be employed which measure the ambient sound frequencies and pressure and attempt to cancel these sounds by actively transmitting noise cancellation signals, white noise, and other actively transmitted sounds. There are practical limits to what can be achieved with these techniques due to the impacts on aircraft weight, range, interior options and cost. As such, it is desirable to overcome these problems in order to provide a system to compensate for aircraft cabin noise. In addition, other desirable features and characteristics will become apparent from the subsequent summary and detailed description, and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and this background.

SUMMARY

Disclosed herein are aircraft noise compensation systems, aircraft noise compensation algorithms, aircraft and related processing systems for provisioning aircraft, methods for making and methods for operating such systems, and other vehicles equipped with onboard noise compensation systems. By way of example, and not limitation, there is presented an aircraft having a system for filtering and amplifying desired audio within an aircraft cabin.

In a first non-limiting embodiment, a flight propulsion system may include, but is not limited to, a speech amplification system including a first microphone configured to receive a first audio signal including an ambient noise and a second audio signal including a voice signal, a bandpass filter configured to filter the voice signal from the second audio signal, an amplifier configured to adjust an amplitude of the voice signal to generate an amplified voice signal in response to a control signal, a first speaker configured to receive the amplified voice signal and to provide the amplified voice signal a first seating location, and a processor configured to generate the control signal in response to an amplitude of the first audio signal such that an amplitude of the amplified voice signal exceeds an amplitude of the ambient noise.

In accordance with another aspect of the present disclosure, a method for determining an amplitude of an ambient noise with a first microphone at a first seating location, receiving an audio signal including a voice signal with a second microphone at a second seating location, filtering, with a bandpass filter, the audio signal to extract the voice signal, amplifying the voice signal in response to the amplitude of the ambient noise such that an amplitude of the voice signal exceeds an amplitude of the ambient noise level, and providing the amplified voice signal to a first speaker located at the first seating location.

In accordance with another aspect of the present disclosure, an aircraft speech amplification system including a plurality of seating locations within an aircraft passenger compartment, first microphone for detecting an ambient sound level within the aircraft passenger compartment, a second microphone located proximate to one of the plurality of seating locations configured to receive an audio signal including an ambient audio stream and a voice audio stream, a filter configured to pass the voice audio stream from the audio signal and suppress the ambient audio stream, and an amplifier configured to amplify the voice audio stream in response to the ambient sound level to generate an amplified voices audio stream, and a first speaker located proximate to a second of the plurality of seating locations for generating a sound wave in response to the amplified voice audio stream towards the second of the plurality of seating locations.

The above advantage and other advantages and features of the present disclosure will be apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings.

