Patent ID: 8634565

Claim:
An audio signal processing apparatus comprising: a tapping detection unit, to which an audio signal picked up by a microphone is input, to detect a tapping input operation at least in part on the basis of an energy increase/decrease determination process for determining whether an increase and a decrease of an energy level of low-frequency components of the audio signal occur within a first time period; and a control unit to perform a certain control process that is set for a tapping input operation in response to the detection of the tapping input operation by the tapping detection unit; wherein the tapping detection unit detects that the tapping input operation has been performed in a case where detection of the increase and the decrease of the energy level in the energy increase/decrease determination process within the first time period occurs a plurality of times within a second time period longer than the first time period; and wherein in the energy increase/decrease determination process, it is determined whether the energy level of the low-frequency components of the audio signal has increased to more than a first threshold value and thereafter the energy level has decreased to less than a second threshold value within the first time period.