Patent ID: 8755546

Claim:
A sound processing apparatus comprising: a first directivity forming section configured to output a first directivity signal in which a main axis of directivity is formed in a direction of an utterer by using output signals from a plurality of omnidirectional microphones, respectively; a second directivity forming section configured to output a second directivity signal in which a dead zone of directivity is formed in the direction of the utterer by using the output signals from the respective omnidirectional microphones; a first level calculation section configured to calculate a level of the first directivity signal output from the first directivity forming section; a second level calculation section configured to calculate a level of the second directivity signal output from the second directivity forming section; an utterer distance determination section configured to determine a distance to the utterer based on the level of the first directivity signal and the level of the second directivity signal calculated by the first and second level calculation sections; a gain derivation section configured to derive a gain to be given to the first directivity signal according to a result of the utterer distance determination section, and a level control section configured to control the level of the first directivity signal by using the gain derived from the gain derivation section.