ADAPTIVE ECHO-CANCELLER WITH DOUBLE-TALKER DETECTION

Method and apparatus are disclosed which provide echo-cancellation in subscriber line audio-processing circuits (SLACs) and modulator-demodulators (modems). The echo-canceller provides a response independent of the amplitude of an error signal representing the difference between the desired and generated signal. The convergence of the echo-cancelling is not influenced by the size of the error signal but only by its sign. In a preferred embodiment, a cannonic signed digit filter coefficient updating technique is used for a digital filter (10) implementing the echo-cancellation function. A double-talker detector is advantageously used in conjunction with the echo-canceller. Detection of "double-talker" near-end signals inhibits updating of the echo-canceller filter coefficients. Near-end signals are detected by an energy-averaging filter (26) which selectively samples (28) low-pass filtered signals received by the adaptive filter as received from the far-end talker and low-pass filtered signals received from the near-end talker. Near-end speech or signal is detected if the latter signal exceeds a predetermined function of the former signal.