Patent ID: 8189834

Claim:
A device for generating a filtered activity pattern based on a first activity pattern at an auditory model of a first ear and a second activity pattern at an auditory model of a second ear, comprising: an identifier for identifying a first trajectory in a first activity pattern and a second trajectory in the second activity pattern, associated with the same sound event; a determiner for determining whether the two trajectories are associated with a sound event of a useful sound source; and a filter for filtering the first activity pattern or the second activity pattern based on a result of the determination whether a trajectory is associated with a sound event of the useful sound source, so that in a filtered activity pattern activity events dominate which are associated with a sound event of the useful sound source, or that the activity events not associated with a sound event of the useful sound source are no longer present in the filtered activity pattern; wherein the first activity pattern is based on a first audio signal processed by the auditory model of the first ear, and wherein the second activity pattern is based on a second audio signal processed by the auditory model of the second ear, wherein the first activity pattern and the second activity pattern describe two audio signals from different audio signal sources or audio signals from two channels of a multi-channel audio signal, wherein a trajectory in the activity pattern describes activity events in the activity pattern belonging together associated with a traveling wave on a basilar membrane of the ear model; wherein the identifier is implemented to identify a first curved trajectory in the first activity pattern and a second curved trajectory in the second activity pattern as trajectories belonging to the same sound event, when the first trajectory and the second trajectory comprise the same curvature within a predetermined tolerance range, and when the first trajectory and the second trajectory occur within a predetermined maximum time range; wherein the identifier is implemented to determine a time shift between the two identified trajectories which are associated with the same sound event; and wherein the determiner is implemented to determine using the time shift whether the two identified trajectories which are associated with the same sound event are associated with a sound event of a useful sound source.