Patent ID: 8295509

Claim:
An information processing apparatus comprising: a reproducing unit operative to reproduce an audio signal included in content; a notification sound production unit operative to produce a notification sound for notifying a user of predetermined information; a notification information analysis unit operative to receive information needing to be noticed using the notification sound and determine a degree of importance of the received information by analyzing the received information and by checking against a condition that is set in advance for determining a degree of importance of information; a frequency band allocation unit operative to allocate frequency bands each to an audio signal being reproduced and to the notification sound in a different pattern when the notification sound needs to be produced while the reproducing unit is reproducing the audio signal, such that a total bandwidth of frequency bands, each to be allocated to the audio signal being reproduced and to the notification sound, is adjusted in accordance with the degree of importance of the received information determined by the notification information analysis unit; an audio processing unit operative to extract and then synthesize an allocated frequency band component individually from the audio signal reproduced by the reproducing unit and the notification sound produced by the notification sound production unit in a pattern of a frequency band allocated by the frequency band allocation unit; and an output unit operative to output the audio signal synthesized by the audio processing unit as an audio.