Method to update the coefficients of the secondary path filter under active noise control

In active noise control systems using a filtered-x algorithm, the secondary path must be identified before the coefficients of the noise control filter are updated. The secondary path, however, has an impulse response that is continually changing in practical systems. This change degrades noise reduction and the stability of the system. Therefore, the coefficients of the secondary path filter must be adjusted to actual impulse response samples at specific intervals. This paper proposes a method to update the coefficients under active noise control without feeding extra noise to the secondary source. Instead, this method uses estimation errors. The coefficients of the noise control filter generally have the different estimation errors whenever the coefficients are updated. To use the estimation error, this method implements the additional filter modeled on the overall path from a detection sensor to an error sensor, through the primary path, the control filter and the secondary path. Two different coefficient sets of the noise control filter derive two equations on this overall path. A solution of these concurrent equations naturally yields the impulse response samples of the secondary path. This paper uses a system identification technique to solve the concurrent equations. This technique is practical in that calculation errors are distributed equally over all coefficients of the secondary path filter. Finally, computer simulations explained in this paper confirm that the concurrent equation method can refresh the coefficients under active noise control.