Switching control method and system of wireless earphone and wireless earphone

Abstract

The application relates to a switching control method and system of a wireless earphone and the wireless earphone. The wireless earphone comprises an off-ear microphone, a transparent transmission module and an active noise reduction module. The switching control method comprises the following steps: acquiring an off-ear audio signal collected by the off-ear microphone; performing keyword recognition and / or speaker identity recognition on voice content in the off-ear audio signal; and based on the recognition result, enabling the wireless earphone to switch to turn on the transparent transmission module or the active noise reduction module. Through the switching control method, when a user wears an earphone with an active noise reduction function, the user can not miss useful information such as greetings from others and speeches associated with the user around the user, thereby improving the earphone wearing experience of the user.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of headphones, and more specifically, to a switching control method, system, and wireless headphones for wireless headphones. Background Technology

[0002] With social progress and the improvement of people's living standards, true wireless earbuds have become an indispensable part of daily life. Wireless earbuds with active noise cancellation (ANC) enable users to enjoy a comfortable noise-canceling experience in various noisy environments such as airports, subways, airplanes, and restaurants, and are increasingly gaining widespread market and customer recognition. The principle behind ANC is to actively emit sound waves with opposite phase to cancel out residual noise in the ear (feedback method) or add a feedback acoustic path to the sound path (feedback method) to reduce the noise heard by the ear. In addition, in scenarios where it is necessary to receive external speech or environmental noise signals, earbuds need to have pass-through functionality, allowing the wearer to better receive external speech, environmental noise, or various alarm sounds. Furthermore, for some people with hearing impairments, earbuds also need to have a hearing aid (PSAP, Personal Sound Amplification Product) function.

[0003] However, indoors, such as at home, when users wear headphones, the physical obstruction of the headphones themselves blocks the user's hearing of various external sounds, including ambient sounds, thus attenuating these sounds. When users turn on active noise cancellation, external sounds, including the voices of people around them, are also suppressed, especially when users are playing music or other audio, making it easier to miss useful voice signals such as greetings from the outside world. Summary of the Invention

[0004] This application is provided to address the aforementioned problems existing in the prior art.

[0005] The first solution of this application provides a switching control method for wireless headphones. The wireless headphones include an external microphone, a pass-through module, and an active noise cancellation module. The switching control method includes: acquiring an external audio signal collected by the external microphone; performing keyword recognition and / or speaker identification on the speech content in the external audio signal; and, based on the recognition results, switching the wireless headphones to enable the pass-through module or the active noise cancellation module.

[0006] This application performs keyword recognition and / or speaker identification on the collected external audio signals, and determines whether the wireless headphones switch to either the pass-through module or the active noise cancellation module based on the recognition results. This allows users to not miss useful information such as greetings from others or related conversations while wearing active noise-canceling headphones, thereby improving the user's headphone wearing experience.

[0007] The second aspect of this application provides a switching control system for wireless headphones, the switching control system comprising: a pass-through module configured to perform pass-through processing of the wireless headphones; an active noise cancellation module configured to perform active noise cancellation processing of the wireless headphones; and a processor configured to execute the switching control method provided according to various embodiments of the first aspect of this application.

[0008] The third solution of this application provides another switching control method for wireless headphones. The wireless headphones include an external microphone, a pass-through module, an active noise cancellation module, and a hearing aid module. The switching control method includes: acquiring an external audio signal collected by the external microphone; performing keyword recognition and / or speaker identification on the speech content in the external audio signal, and acquiring the signal-to-noise ratio and / or signal strength of the external audio signal; and based on the recognition result, determining whether the wireless headphones should switch to a state where the active noise cancellation module is turned off, and based on the signal-to-noise ratio and / or the signal strength, determining whether the wireless headphones should switch to a state where the pass-through module or the hearing aid module is turned on.

[0009] This application performs keyword recognition and speaker identification on the collected external audio signals, and obtains the signal-to-noise ratio and / or signal strength of the external audio signals. Based on the recognition results, it determines whether the active noise cancellation module of the wireless earphone is in a turned-off state, and further determines whether the pass-through module or the hearing aid module is activated based on the signal-to-noise ratio and / or signal strength. In this way, users wearing earphones with active noise cancellation and hearing aid functions can not miss useful information such as greetings from others or related speech in the surrounding environment. Furthermore, based on the signal quality or strength of external speech, it appropriately determines whether the hearing aid module needs to be activated, thereby improving the user's earphone wearing experience while minimizing the processing load on the earphones.

[0010] The fourth aspect of this application provides another switching control system for wireless headphones, the switching control system comprising: a pass-through module configured to perform pass-through processing of the wireless headphones; an active noise cancellation module configured to perform active noise cancellation processing of the wireless headphones; a hearing aid module configured to perform hearing aid processing of the wireless headphones; and a processor configured to perform the switching control method provided according to various embodiments of the third aspect of this application.

[0011] The fifth aspect of this application provides a wireless headset, which includes a switching control system according to the second or fourth aspect.

[0012] By providing the wireless headphone switching control method, system, and wireless headphone according to the various embodiments of this application, when a user wears active noise-canceling headphones, the headphone's working mode can be automatically switched to pass-through mode or hearing aid mode when someone outside speaks to or greets them, thereby helping them hear the content of the speech or greeting and improving the user's headphone wearing experience. Attached Figure Description

[0013] In drawings that are not necessarily drawn to scale, the same reference numerals may describe similar parts in different views. The same reference numerals with or without letter suffixes may indicate different instances of similar parts. The drawings illustrate various embodiments generally by way of example rather than limitation, and are used, together with the description and claims, to explain the disclosed embodiments. Where appropriate, the same reference numerals are used in all drawings to refer to the same or similar parts. Such embodiments are illustrative and not intended to be exhaustive or exclusive embodiments of the apparatus or method.

[0014] Figure 1 A schematic diagram illustrating the working principle of an active noise cancellation module according to an embodiment of this application is shown.

[0015] Figure 2 A schematic diagram illustrating the working principle of the transparent transmission module according to an embodiment of this application is shown;

[0016] Figure 3 A schematic diagram illustrating the working principle of a hearing aid module according to an embodiment of this application is shown;

[0017] Figure 4 A flowchart of a switching control method for wireless headphones according to an embodiment of this application is shown;

[0018] Figure 5 A block diagram illustrating the configuration of a switching control system according to an embodiment of this application is shown;

[0019] Figure 6 A flowchart of a switching control method for wireless headphones according to another embodiment of this application is shown; and

[0020] Figure 7 A block diagram illustrating the configuration of a switching control system for a wireless headset according to another embodiment of this application is shown. Detailed Implementation

[0021] To enable those skilled in the art to better understand the technical solutions of this application, the application will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments. The embodiments of this application will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific examples, but these are not intended to limit the scope of this application.

[0022] The terms "first," "second," and similar words used in this application do not indicate any order, quantity, or importance, but are merely used for distinction. Words such as "including" or "comprising" mean that the element preceding the word encompasses the element listed after it, and do not exclude the possibility of encompassing other elements as well. The order of steps indicated by arrows in the accompanying drawings is merely illustrative and does not imply that the steps must be performed in the order shown by the arrows. Unless otherwise specified, steps may be combined or their execution order may be changed, performing them in a different order than indicated by the arrows, as long as the logical relationship between the steps is not affected.

[0023] In this document, wireless headphones may include either in-ear headphones or semi-in-ear headphones. The wireless headphones may include at least an external microphone, a speaker, and a switching control system 200.

[0024] In one embodiment, the switching control system 200 includes an active noise reduction module 210 and a pass-through module 220, such as Figure 5 As shown. The input to the feedforward active noise cancellation filter of the active noise cancellation module 210 comes from the audio signal collected by the feedforward microphone, and the output of the feedforward active noise cancellation filter is finally output to the speaker; the input to the feedforward pass-through filter of the pass-through module 220 comes from the audio signal collected by the feedforward microphone, and the output of the feedforward pass-through filter is finally output to the speaker; the wireless headphones receive the wireless audio signal from another wireless device through a wireless connection and play it through the speaker. The external ear microphone can collect external ear audio signals.

[0025] First, combine Figures 1-2 The working principles of the active noise cancellation module 210 and the pass-through module 220 included in the wireless earphone provided in the embodiments of this application are described respectively. The active noise cancellation module 210 is configured to perform active noise cancellation control on the wireless earphone, and the pass-through module 220 is configured to perform pass-through control on the wireless earphone.

[0026] Figure 1 A schematic diagram illustrating the working principle of the active noise cancellation module of a wireless earphone according to an embodiment of this application is shown. Figure 1As shown, in the active noise cancellation module 210, the headphones implement the active noise cancellation process through a feedforward path and a feedback path. In some embodiments, on the feedforward path, the feedforward microphone 101a collects ambient noise outside the headphones. The ambient noise collected by the feedforward microphone 101a includes not only the noise generated by the surrounding environment, but also the audio component that leaks into the surrounding environment when the headphone speaker 107 plays the audio signal. This audio component is considered part of the ambient noise. After the collected ambient noise is processed by the gain of the analog gain 102a and the analog-to-digital converter 103a, it is transmitted to the first low-pass and downsampling filter 104a. The first low-pass and downsampling filter 104a can reduce the filter sampling rate, thereby reducing power consumption and the filter order, and thus reducing the area of ​​the noise cancellation chip and reducing the cost. Subsequently, the feedforward active noise cancellation filter 111 filters the ambient noise signal that has passed through the first low-pass and downsampling filter 104a to perform noise reduction processing on the ambient noise collected by the feedforward microphone 101a. The noise-reduced ambient signal is transmitted to adder 109, then processed by digital-to-analog converter 106, and finally played by speaker 107. The feedforward filtered ambient noise played by speaker 107 cancels out the ambient noise reaching the ear in the air to achieve noise reduction.

[0027] For the active noise cancellation module 210, the external audio signal collected by the feedforward microphone 101a passes through the feedforward active noise cancellation filter 111 and is finally played through the speaker 107, generating an audio signal that is out of phase or nearly out of phase with the external sound entering the ear, in order to cancel out the external sound energy entering the ear. Therefore, the external audio signal collected by the feedforward microphone 101a must be played through the speaker 107 with an extremely low time delay; otherwise, it would be difficult to generate an out-of-phase signal and achieve a good active noise cancellation effect. This extremely low time delay is on the order of a few microseconds to tens of microseconds, not exceeding tens of microseconds. In this application, the entire process from the external audio signal collected by the feedforward microphone 101a to the feedforward active noise cancellation filter 111, to the final audio signal being played through the speaker 107, is implemented by a hardware module, thus achieving an extremely low time delay.

[0028] In some embodiments, on the feedback path, the feedback microphone 101b collects intra-ear noise near the ear canal inside the earphone. The intra-ear noise includes audio echo signals generated during audio signal playback and residual signals in the ear after air cancellation. The collected intra-ear noise is processed by the analog gain 102b and the analog-to-digital converter 103b, and then transmitted to the second low-pass and downsampling filter 104b. The second low-pass and downsampling filter 104b reduces the filter sampling rate, thereby reducing power consumption and the filter order, which in turn reduces the area of ​​the noise reduction chip and lowers the cost. Subsequently, the intra-ear noise signal after passing through the second low-pass and downsampling filter 104b is transmitted to the adder 110. The audio signal 105 to be played is the audio signal to be transmitted to the speaker 107 for playback. On one hand, it is transmitted to the adder 109, where it undergoes digital-to-analog conversion processing by the digital-to-analog converter 106 before being played by the speaker 107. On the other hand, it is transmitted to the echo filter 113, which cancels the audio echo signal generated after the audio signal 105 is played by the speaker 107. The audio signal 105 filtered by the echo filter 113 is then sent to the adder 110. The adder 110 integrates the in-ear noise processed by the second low-pass and downsampling filter 104b with the audio signal processed by the echo filter 113, thus eliminating the influence of the audio echo signal on the feedback path. The adder 110 then transmits the integrated noise signal to the feedback active noise cancellation filter 112 for filtering to achieve feedback noise reduction. The noise signal after feedback filtering is transmitted to the adder 109 after being limited by the limiter 108. After being processed by the digital-to-analog converter 106, it is played by the speaker 107.

[0029] The above describes the working principle of active noise cancellation in headphones based on embodiments of this application. By filtering the noise on the feedforward and feedback paths respectively, and then playing it through the speaker, the active noise cancellation function of the headphones can be realized, improving the noise cancellation effect and enhancing the user's listening experience. In some embodiments of this application, in the active noise cancellation module 210, the headphones implement the active noise cancellation function through the feedforward path.

[0030] Figure 2 A schematic diagram illustrating the working principle of a transparent transmission module for a wireless earphone according to an embodiment of this application is shown. Figure 2As shown, in the pass-through module 220, the headphones implement the pass-through process through a feedforward path and a feedback path. In some embodiments, on the feedforward path, the headphone's feedforward microphone 101a collects ambient sound outside the headphones. The collected ambient sound is processed by the analog gain 102a and the analog-to-digital converter 103a, and then transmitted to the first low-pass and downsampling filter 104a. The first low-pass and downsampling filter 104a can reduce the filter sampling rate, thereby reducing power consumption and the filter order, and thus reducing the chip area to reduce cost. Subsequently, the ambient sound signal after passing through the first low-pass and downsampling filter 104a is filtered by the feedforward pass-through filter 114 to simulate the ambient sound collected by the feedforward microphone 101a. The ambient signal after pass-through processing is transmitted to the adder 109, and then after digital-to-analog converter 106, it is played by the speaker 107. The ambient sound played by the speaker 107 after pass-through filtering approximates the external ambient sound when the user is not wearing headphones.

[0031] The purpose of the pass-through module 220 is to make the ambient sound heard by the user in the ear as consistent as possible with that when not wearing headphones. This minimizes the impact of headphones on the user's ability to hear ambient sound, facilitating normal voice communication between the user and others in the same physical space. To achieve the most natural sound possible, in this application, similar to the active noise cancellation module 210, the pass-through module 220 transmits the external audio signal collected by the feedforward microphone 101a through the speaker 107 with an extremely low latency. This extremely low latency is on the order of a few microseconds to tens of microseconds, not exceeding tens of microseconds. This ensures that the external audio signal physically reaches the ear canal through the headphones, and the latency difference between the external audio signal collected by the feedforward microphone 101a and the external audio signal transmitted through the pass-through module and played in the ear canal through the speaker 107 is minimal, improving the user's listening experience. In this application, the entire process, from the external audio signal collected by the feedforward microphone 101a to the feedforward pass-through filter 114, and finally to the audio signal being played by the speaker 107, is implemented by a hardware module, thus achieving extremely low latency.

[0032] In some embodiments, on the feedback path, the headphone's feedback microphone 101b collects intra-ear noise at a location inside the headphone near the ear canal. The intra-ear noise includes audio echo signals generated during audio signal playback and residual signals after air cancellation. The collected intra-ear noise is processed by the analog gain 102b and the analog-to-digital converter 103b, and then transmitted to the second low-pass and downsampling filter 104b. The second low-pass and downsampling filter 104b reduces the filter sampling rate, thereby reducing power consumption and the filter order, which in turn reduces the chip area and lowers cost. Subsequently, the intra-ear noise signal after passing through the second low-pass and downsampling filter 104b is transmitted to the adder 110. The audio signal 105 to be played is the audio signal to be transmitted to the speaker 107 for playback. On one hand, it is transmitted to the adder 109, where it undergoes digital-to-analog conversion processing by the digital-to-analog converter 106 before being played by the speaker 107. On the other hand, it is transmitted to the echo filter 113, which cancels the audio echo signal generated after the audio signal 105 is played by the speaker 107. The audio signal 105 filtered by the echo filter 113 is then sent to the adder 110. The adder 110 integrates the in-ear noise processed by the second low-pass and downsampling filter 104b with the audio signal processed by the echo filter 113, thus eliminating the influence of the audio echo signal on the feedback path. The adder 110 then transmits the integrated noise signal to the feedback pass-through filter 115 for filtering to achieve feedback noise reduction. The noise signal, after feedback filtering, may be transmitted to adder 109 after passing through limiter 108, and then played by speaker 107 after digital-to-analog conversion processing by digital-to-analog converter 106. In some embodiments, digital-to-analog converter 106 includes upsampling and filtering circuits to enable digital-to-analog conversion processing to operate at a higher frequency; for example, when adder 109 operates at 384kHz, digital-to-analog conversion processing of digital-to-analog converter 106 operates at 384*64=24.576MHz.

[0033] The above describes the working principle of the headphone pass-through based on the embodiments of this application. By simulating the ambient sound on the feedforward path and filtering the noise on the feedback path, the headphone pass-through function can be realized, improving the headphone's sound quality. In some embodiments of this application, in the pass-through module 220, the headphone achieves the pass-through process through the feedforward path.

[0034] In another embodiment of this application, such as Figure 7 As shown, the switching control system 200 may also include an active noise cancellation module 210, a pass-through module 220, and a hearing aid module 230, such as... Figure 7 As shown above. (This has already been combined with...) Figure 1 and Figure 2The configuration and working principle of the active noise cancellation module 210 and the pass-through module 220 have been described in detail, and will not be repeated here. In this embodiment, the input of the hearing aid module 230 comes from the audio signal collected by the feedforward microphone and / or the external ear microphone, and the output of the hearing aid module 230 is finally output to the speaker.

[0035] Figure 3 A schematic diagram illustrating the working principle of a hearing aid module 230 in a wireless earphone according to an embodiment of this application is shown. This hearing aid module 230 can assist people with hearing loss and also allow people with normal hearing to use it in certain situations. The hearing aid module 230 typically amplifies the external audio signal collected by the external microphone, which is then played back by the speaker 107. Therefore, it is often necessary to perform some speech noise reduction processing on the external audio signal collected by the external microphone to improve the user's hearing experience.

[0036] Specifically, such as Figure 3 As shown, x(n) represents the input audio signal, y(n) represents the output audio signal, Gain is the gain, DRC is the dynamic compressor, and Limiter is the limiter. The acquired input audio signal x(n) is sent to the PSAP system. The analysis filter bank 231 divides the input audio signal x(n) into multiple frequency bands, and the synthesis filter bank 232 combines the audio signals from multiple frequency bands into a single audio signal, generating the output audio signal y(n), which is output by the speaker. In some embodiments, a gammatone filter can be used, or multiple crossover filters can be used to implement the analysis filter bank 231 and the synthesis filter bank 232.

[0037] The hearing aid module 230 may also include noise reduction functions based on various speech noise reduction methods, including beamforming using multiple microphones (which may be multiple feedforward microphones or include a call microphone), speech noise reduction based on spectral subtraction, speech noise reduction based on signal subspace, and speech noise reduction based on neural networks. These speech noise reduction processes result in a significant latency for the hearing aid module 230, typically exceeding 1ms, and even reaching 3ms, 5ms, or 10ms. The hearing aid module 230 uses speech signals acquired by at least one microphone, then processes them through speech noise reduction (this speech noise reduction process is different from the active noise reduction process in the active noise reduction module 210), and finally plays them out through a speaker.

[0038] However, the active noise reduction module 210 and the transparent transmission module 220 in this application do not have voice noise reduction function. Instead, they retain the original voice and even ambient sound, and finally play it out through the speaker.

[0039] In addition, the hearing aid module 230 generally amplifies the external audio signal. Therefore, although some external audio physically passes through the earphone in the form of sound and arrives in the ear earlier than the audio signal played by the hearing aid module 230, if it is applied to a scenario where the amplitude of the external speech signal is low or the signal-to-noise ratio is low, the user will experience less discomfort and the user can hear the external audio, especially the external speech, better.

[0040] In the wireless earphone of this application, the active noise cancellation module 210 and the pass-through module 220 are configured to share multiple earphone components, such as a feedforward microphone 101a, a feedback microphone 101b, and an echo filter 113. After switching to the corresponding module, the components contained in that module are connected accordingly. Of course, in some embodiments, the active noise cancellation module 210 and the pass-through module 220 may have their own independent components so that the two modules are independent of each other; this application does not impose any particular limitation here.

[0041] In some embodiments, the microphone can be a digital microphone, in which case... Figure 1 The analog gain and the first analog-to-digital converter are not needed. In addition, the feedforward active noise reduction filter, feedback active noise reduction filter, feedforward pass-through filter, and feedback pass-through filter can be adaptive or fixed filters. They can be IIR structures, FIR structures, or a hybrid filter structure of IIR and FIR.

[0042] Additionally, for simplicity, the adaptive part has been removed from the diagram in the echo filter of the active noise reduction module and / or pass-through module. Of course, it is also possible that the echo filter is obtained by an adaptive algorithm.

[0043] like Figure 4 and Figure 6 As shown, this application provides a schematic flowchart of a wireless headset switching control method 400.

[0044] In an embodiment of the switching control system 200, an active noise reduction module 210 and a pass-through module 220 are included. Figure 5 In ) such as Figure 4 As shown, the switching control method 400 includes:

[0045] S410, acquire the external audio signal collected by the external microphone;

[0046] S420, performing keyword recognition and / or speaker identification on the speech content in the external ear audio signal; and

[0047] S430, based on the recognition result, the wireless earphone is switched to enable the pass-through module or the active noise cancellation module.

[0048] Next, the specific process of the switching control method 400 provided in this application will be described in detail with reference to the above steps S410-S430. It should be understood that all of the above steps S410-S430 should be performed when the user is wearing wireless headphones.

[0049] In step S410, an external ear microphone can be provided as a component of a wireless earphone to collect external ear audio signals and transmit the collected external ear audio signals to a processor 240 (e.g., Figure 6 (As shown). For example, the external audio signal is the voice content spoken or greeted by a stranger when the user is wearing the wireless earphone, and may also include any ambient sounds in the user's physical space.

[0050] After receiving the external audio signal from the external microphone, the processor 240 performs keyword recognition and / or speaker identification on the speech content of the external audio signal in step S420. Here, "speech content" refers to content related to human speech.

[0051] In this embodiment, on one hand, "keyword recognition" is the process of detecting and determining whether the voice content includes predetermined keywords. These predetermined keywords vary depending on the user and can be preset by the user in advance, such as the user's name, common titles, slogans, etc. They can also be determined based on the user's family members and their role at home; for example, user 1 could have the keyword "dad," user 2 could have the keyword "mom," and so on. After preset keywords are set, they can be written to the storage module (not shown) of the wireless headset. When performing keyword recognition on the voice content, the processor 240 first detects and extracts keywords from the voice content and compares them with the predetermined keywords in the storage module. If a matching keyword exists, it is determined that the voice content is content that the user needs or is interested in listening to.

[0052] On the other hand, "speaker identification" is the process of detecting and determining whether the speaker of the voice content belongs to a predetermined speaker group. This predetermined speaker group can be preset by the user, for example, the predetermined speaker group includes family members, colleagues and friends, etc., and the voice or voice feature of each person in the group is pre-stored in the storage module of the wireless headset. When performing speaker identification on the voice content, the processor 240 first detects and extracts the voice feature of the voice content, and compares it with the predetermined voice feature in the storage module. If a matching voice feature is found, it is determined that the voice content is content that the user needs or is interested in listening to.

[0053] It should be understood that any existing speech recognition technology can be used to detect and recognize speech content, and this application will not elaborate on that.

[0054] In one embodiment, the processor 240 can perform either keyword recognition or speaker identification on the voice content. That is, if either keyword recognition or speaker identification is successfully performed, a switch is initiated, thereby avoiding misjudgments (switching when it should have happened) and reducing the power consumption of the wireless headset. In a preferred embodiment, both keyword recognition and speaker identification can be performed; that is, a switch is initiated only if both are successfully performed. This improves the accuracy of voice content recognition and further avoids misjudgments (switching when it shouldn't have happened).

[0055] In step S430, the processor 240, based on the recognition result in step S420, switches the wireless earphone to either enable the pass-through module 220 or the active noise cancellation module 210.

[0056] In some embodiments, when the active noise cancellation module 210 of the wireless earphone is turned on (e.g., the feedforward active noise cancellation filter 111 is turned on), if a predetermined keyword is detected and / or the speaker belongs to a predetermined speaker group, it means that the voice content is content that the user needs or is interested in listening to. In this case, the processor 240 initiates a switch, turning off the active noise cancellation module 210 (e.g., turning off the feedforward active noise cancellation filter 111) and turning on the pass-through module 220 (turning on the feedforward pass-through filter 114). When the active noise cancellation module 210 is turned off (the feedforward active noise cancellation filter 111 is turned off), if a predetermined keyword is detected and / or the speaker belongs to a predetermined speaker group, the processor keeps the active noise cancellation module 210 off (the feedforward active noise cancellation filter 111 is turned off) and turns on the pass-through module 220 (turning on the feedforward pass-through filter 114).

[0057] For example, if the processor 240 identifies the keyword "dad" in the speech content of the external audio signal, and this matches one of the predetermined keywords stored in the storage module, then the processor determines that the speech content is user-related and initiates a switch: if the user initially enabled the active noise cancellation mode of the wireless headphones, the active noise cancellation mode is disabled, and a pass-through mode is initiated; if the user initially did not enable the active noise cancellation mode of the wireless headphones, the active noise cancellation mode remains disabled, and a pass-through mode is initiated. Alternatively, if the processor 240 identifies the speech content as belonging to a member of a predetermined speaker group, then it determines that the speaker is associated with the user and is one of the preset speakers (such as the user's child), and initiates the same switch as described above. Alternatively, if the processor 240 identifies the keyword "dad" in the speech content of the external audio signal and identifies the speech content as belonging to a member of a predetermined speaker group, then it is more certain that the user needs or is interested in conversing with that speaker, and initiates the aforementioned switch, thus avoiding misjudgment.

[0058] In one embodiment, when a wireless audio signal (obtained wirelessly by the wireless headphones and is an audio signal, such as music or other audio) from another device is being played through the speaker 107 in the wireless headphones, the wireless audio signal is either cut off (playback stops) or attenuated (playback volume reduced) while the processor 240 switches on the pass-through module 220. In this pass-through mode, only external sounds are heard, with minimal or no interference from the playing wireless audio signal. It should be understood that the wireless device here can be a mobile phone, tablet, desktop computer, router, etc. Wireless communication between the wireless device and the headphones can be achieved via Bluetooth, WiFi, etc. The wireless device can obtain the wireless audio signal from a remote server.

[0059] In a preferred embodiment, when the active noise cancellation module 210 is activated in the wireless earphone, a representative value of the signal strength of the external audio signal is obtained as a first threshold. If the signal strength of the external audio signal is greater than or equal to the first threshold, the wireless earphone switches to activate the pass-through module based on the recognition result. In other words, the wireless earphone does not initiate switching at any time when it recognizes a predetermined keyword and / or identifies a speaker belonging to a predetermined speaker group in the detected external audio signal. Instead, it only initiates switching after the signal strength of the external audio signal exceeds a threshold strength. "Exceeding the threshold strength" indicates that the speaker may be speaking directly to the user in an attempt to establish a dialogue, or the speaker may be very close to the user, or the speaker may be speaking loudly. This avoids misjudgments caused by the speaker unintentionally speaking softly or talking to themselves, thus avoiding or reducing interference to the user and reducing the power consumption of the wireless earphone.

[0060] In another embodiment of the switching control system 200, an active noise cancellation module 210, a pass-through module 220, and a hearing aid module 230 are included. Figure 7 In ) such as Figure 6 As shown, the switching control method 400 may further include:

[0061] S410, acquire the external audio signal collected by the external microphone;

[0062] S440, perform keyword recognition and / or speaker identification on the speech content in the external ear audio signal, and obtain the signal-to-noise ratio and / or signal strength of the external ear audio signal; and

[0063] S450, based on the recognition result, determine whether the wireless earphone switches to a state where the active noise cancellation module is off, and based on the signal-to-noise ratio and / or the signal strength, determine whether the wireless earphone switches to a state where the pass-through module or the hearing aid module is on.

[0064] The S410 has already been described in detail above, so it will not be repeated here.

[0065] The difference between S440 and the aforementioned S420 is that, in addition to performing keyword recognition and / or speaker identification on the speech content in the external audio signal collected by the external microphone in S410, the processor 240 also needs to obtain the signal-to-noise ratio and / or signal strength of the external audio signal.

[0066] In S450, based on the keyword recognition and / or speaker identification results determined in S440, the processor 240 determines whether the wireless headphones should switch to the active noise cancellation module 210 in the off state, and the processor 240 determines whether to switch the wireless headphones to the pass-through module 220 or the hearing aid module 230 based on the acquired signal-to-noise ratio and / or signal strength.

[0067] Specifically, in keyword recognition and / or speaker identification of voice content, if the processor 240 identifies a predetermined keyword and / or identifies that the speaker belongs to a predetermined speaker group, it determines that the voice content is content that the user needs or is interested in, and then the wireless headset switches to the off state of the active noise cancellation module 210: if the active noise cancellation module 210 is on at this time (feedforward active noise cancellation filter 111 is on), then the active noise cancellation module 210 is off (feedforward active noise cancellation filter 111 is off), and if the active noise cancellation module 210 is off at this time (feedforward active noise cancellation filter 111 is off), then the active noise cancellation module 210 remains off (feedforward active noise cancellation filter 111 remains off). If the predetermined keyword is not identified and / or the speaker is not identified as belonging to the predetermined speaker group, no processing is performed (specifically, in embodiments with only keyword recognition processing, if the predetermined keyword is not identified, no switching is initiated; in embodiments with only speaker identification processing, if the speaker is identified as not belonging to the predetermined speaker group, no switching is initiated; in embodiments with both keyword recognition and speaker identification processing, if the predetermined keyword is not identified and the speaker is identified as not belonging to the predetermined speaker group, no switching is initiated).

[0068] Similarly, in a preferred embodiment, when the active noise cancellation module 210 is turned on in the wireless earphone, a representative value of the signal strength of the external audio signal is obtained as a first threshold, and when the signal strength of the external audio signal is greater than or equal to the first threshold, the wireless earphone is switched to keep the active noise cancellation module 210 in the off state based on the recognition result.

[0069] In addition, in a preferred embodiment, when the processor 240 switches the wireless earphone to a state where the active noise cancellation module 210 is off, it determines whether the pass-through module or the hearing aid module needs to be turned on based on whether the signal-to-noise ratio and / or signal strength of the acquired external audio signal exceeds their respective thresholds.

[0070] Specifically, when the signal-to-noise ratio is greater than or equal to a second threshold and / or the signal strength is greater than or equal to a third threshold, the wireless earphone switches to enable the pass-through module 220 (turns on the feedforward pass-through filter 114); and when the signal-to-noise ratio is less than the second threshold and / or the signal strength is less than the third threshold, the wireless earphone switches to enable the hearing aid module 230. In this way, the advantages of both pass-through mode and hearing aid mode are combined, improving the user experience. In hearing aid mode, users can clearly hear distant, weak, or poorly signaled audio signals, while in pass-through mode, for closer, stronger, or better-signaled audio signals, the audio signal has less latency, reducing interference from external audio signals passing through the ear canal from the physical space.

[0071] Here, the pass-through module 220 is activated by activating the feedforward pass-through filter 114; that is, activating the feedforward pass-through filter 114 means activating the pass-through module 220. However, in some embodiments, the feedback channel (i.e., the feedback pass-through filter 115) can be activated at this time, while in other embodiments, the feedback channel (i.e., the feedback pass-through filter 115) can be deactivated. Similarly, the active noise cancellation module 210 is activated by activating the feedforward active noise cancellation filter 111; that is, activating the feedforward active noise cancellation filter 111 means activating the active noise cancellation module 210. However, in some embodiments, the feedback channel (i.e., the feedback active noise cancellation filter 112) can be activated at this time, while in other embodiments, the feedback channel (i.e., the feedback active noise cancellation filter 112) can be deactivated.

[0072] In one embodiment, the location where the wireless earphone performs mode switching can also be defined. Specifically, when the user wears the wireless earphone in a predetermined location and the earphone is activated, the external audio signal collected by the external microphone is acquired and keyword recognition and / or speaker identification are performed. This also avoids switching due to the user being in a non-target location, reducing switching caused by misjudgment and lowering the power consumption of the wireless earphone. Specifically, the method 400 further includes determining whether the user wearing the wireless earphone is in the predetermined location. If it is determined that the user is not in the predetermined location, the switching processing of the processor 240 is disabled; conversely, if it is determined that the user is in the predetermined location, the processor 240 acquires the external audio signal collected by the external microphone and performs keyword recognition and / or speaker identification, and based on this, decides whether to switch. The predetermined location can be any location preset by the user, such as home or office, and the preset location is written into the earphone's storage module.

[0073] Optionally, the user's smart device (e.g., a mobile phone) can obtain location information through a positioning system (e.g., GPS) and send this location information to the wireless earphone's processor 240 via wireless communication (e.g., Bluetooth, Wi-Fi). After receiving the location information, the processor 240 can determine whether the user is located at a predetermined location based on the location information. It should be understood here that since the user is wearing the wireless earphone, the location information of the user's smart device is equivalent to the location information of the wireless earphone, meaning that both are essentially in the same surrounding environment, such as at home or in the office.

[0074] In this embodiment, when a user sets a predetermined location, the same positioning method can be used to store the location of the predetermined location (such as home or office) in the storage module in the form of a location address (coordinates).

[0075] Because many locations, such as homes or offices, often have wireless devices (e.g., smart TVs, smart refrigerators, smart robot vacuums) with short-range wireless communication capabilities (e.g., WiFi, Bluetooth), each with a unique and fixed MAC address that does not move with the user, the processor 240 can optionally determine whether the wireless headset is located in a predetermined location by determining the MAC address of the wireless device to which it is connected. The MAC addresses of the wireless devices in the predetermined location can be pre-stored by the user in the wireless headset's storage module. When the user is in the predetermined location, the wireless headset connects to the wireless devices in that location, thereby determining the MAC address of the connected wireless device and comparing it with the pre-stored MAC address. If a match is found, it indicates that the user is in the predetermined location.

[0076] Preferably, the preset keywords and / or speaker group members stored in the storage module can be different for different preset locations. For example, for a home setting, the preset keywords can be "dad," "mom," etc., and the speaker group members can include son, daughter, dad, mom, etc.; while for an office setting, the preset keywords can be "General Manager Wang," "supervisor," etc., and the preset speaker group members can include Xiao Wang, Xiao Li, etc.

[0077] Therefore, by restricting the switching control of wireless headphones to a predetermined location, users can avoid accidental switching due to external noise interference in non-predetermined locations, thus improving the user experience and reducing the power consumption of wireless headphones.

[0078] In the embodiments of this application, the external ear microphone and Figure 1 , Figure 2 The feedforward microphone 101a can be a single microphone, and the audio signal collected by the feedforward microphone 101a is the external ear audio signal. The feedforward microphone 101a can also be a group of microphones composed of multiple microphones. The feedforward microphone 101a is generally located outside the ear and can be used to collect ambient sound outside the ear. The external ear microphone can be the same microphone as the feedforward microphone 101a, or it can include other external ear microphones, such as other call microphones in the headset, which can also be used as an external ear microphone or part of an external ear microphone. Alternatively, in some embodiments, the external ear microphone can be a separate microphone different from the feedforward microphone 101a or the call microphone.

[0079] Furthermore, during the process of the processor 240 switching the active noise cancellation module 210 from the on state to the off state, and switching the pass-through module 220 or the hearing aid module 230 from the off state to the on state, the feedforward active noise cancellation filter 111, the feedforward pass-through filter 114, or the hearing aid module 230 operate simultaneously. During the switching process time T1, the outputs of the feedforward active noise cancellation filter 111 and the feedforward pass-through filter 114 or the hearing aid module 230 are weighted and finally output to the speaker 107. For example, during time T1, the weight of the output of the feedforward active noise cancellation filter 111 monotonically decreases from 1 to 0, and the weight of the output of the feedforward pass-through filter 114 or the hearing aid module 230 correspondingly monotonically increases from 0 to 1, thereby completing the switching process. Finally, the feedforward active noise cancellation filter 111 is turned off and the pass-through module 220 or the hearing aid module 230 is turned on. Within time T1, the change in weights can be linear, or it can be another function curve, or it can be configured in the form of a table. However, it needs to be monotonic so that the switching process is gradual and smooth, thereby improving the subjective experience of the headphone wearer.

[0080] In some embodiments, various RISC (Reduced Instruction Set Computer) processors can be used as the processor 240 of the switching control system of this application to perform corresponding functions, and embedded systems (such as, but not limited to, SOCs) can be used to process external audio signals and wireless audio signals. Specifically, commercially available modules (IPs) have many modules, such as, but not limited to, memory (the memory can be RAM or external extended memory on the IP), various communication modules (such as Bluetooth modules), codecs, buffers, etc. Others, such as antennas, microphones, and speakers, can be externally connected to the chip. An interface can be used to connect an external microphone for acquiring audio signals. Users can build ASICs (Application-Specific Integrated Circuits) based on purchased IPs or self-developed modules to implement various communication modules, codecs, and various steps of the method of this application, in order to reduce power consumption and cost. Note that the term "switching control system" in this application is intended to refer to a system that controls the target device on which it is located. It can generally refer to, for example, a chip, such as an ASIC implemented based on an SOC, but is not limited to this. Any hardware circuit, software-processor configuration, and hardware-software combined firmware capable of control can be used to implement the control system. For example, the processing performed by the processor 240 can be implemented as executable instructions executed by the RISC processor, or it can be formed as different hardware circuit modules, or it can be formed as a combination of software and hardware firmware, which will not be elaborated here.

[0081] Furthermore, although exemplary embodiments have been described herein, their scope includes any and all embodiments based on this application that have equivalent elements, modifications, omissions, combinations (e.g., schemes involving intersections of various embodiments), adaptations, or alterations. Elements in the claims will be interpreted broadly based on the language used in the claims and are not limited to the examples described in this specification or during the implementation of this application, which will be interpreted as non-exclusive. Therefore, this specification and examples are intended to be considered illustrative only, and the true scope and spirit are indicated by the full scope of the following claims and their equivalents.

[0082] The above description is intended to be illustrative and not restrictive. For example, the above examples (or one or more of them) can be used in combination with each other. Other embodiments may be used by those skilled in the art upon reading the above description. Furthermore, in the above detailed description, various features may be grouped together to simplify the application. This should not be construed as an intention that a feature of an unclaimed application is necessary for any claim. Rather, the subject matter of this application may be less than all the features of an embodiment of a particular application. Thus, the claims are incorporated herein by reference as examples or embodiments, wherein each claim is independently considered as a separate embodiment, and these embodiments are contemplated as being able to be combined with each other in various combinations or arrangements. The scope of the invention should be determined by reference to the appended claims and the full scope of their equivalents.

[0083] The above embodiments are merely exemplary embodiments of this application and are not intended to limit the present invention. The scope of protection of the present invention is defined by the claims. Those skilled in the art can make various modifications or equivalent substitutions to the present invention within the spirit and scope of this application, and such modifications or equivalent substitutions should also be considered to fall within the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A switching control method for wireless headphones, characterized in that, The wireless earphone includes an external microphone, a pass-through module, and an active noise cancellation module. The switching control method includes: If the wireless earphone is worn by the user and the wireless earphone is activated, determine whether the user is located at a predetermined location; If it is determined that the user is located at the predetermined location, the external audio signal collected by the external ear microphone is acquired; Keyword recognition and / or speaker identification are performed on the speech content in the external audio signal; and Based on the recognition result, the wireless earphone switches to either the pass-through module or the active noise cancellation module. The switching control method further includes determining the signal strength of the external ear audio signal; Based on the recognition result, the wireless earphone is switched to activate either the pass-through module or the active noise cancellation module, further including: When the signal strength is greater than or equal to a first threshold, based on the recognition result, the wireless earphone switches to a state where the active noise cancellation module is off and the pass-through module is on, wherein the pass-through module filters the external audio signal through filtering processing.

2. The switching control method according to claim 1, characterized in that, Keyword recognition and / or speaker identification of the speech content in the external audio signal include: Determine whether the audio content includes predetermined keywords and / or whether the speaker belongs to a predetermined speaker group.

3. The switching control method according to claim 2, characterized in that, If the voice content includes the predetermined keyword and / or the speaker belongs to the predetermined speaker group, the wireless earphone switches to turn off the active noise cancellation module and turn on the pass-through module.

4. The switching control method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The switching control method further includes: While the user is wearing the wireless earphones, the system receives location information sent by the user's smart device; and Based on the location information, determine whether the user is located at the predetermined location; or While the user is wearing the wireless headphones, determine the MAC address of the wireless device to which the wireless headphones are connected; and The system determines whether the user is located at the designated location based on the MAC address.

5. The switching control method according to claim 3, characterized in that, The wireless earphones also include a speaker, and When the wireless headphones play a wireless audio signal from another device through the speaker, the switching control method further includes cutting off or attenuating the wireless audio signal.

6. The switching control method according to claim 3, characterized in that, During the switching process, the output weight of the pass-through module monotonically increases from 0 to 1, and the output weight of the active noise reduction module correspondingly decreases from 1 to 0.

7. A switching control system for wireless headphones, characterized in that, The switching control system includes: A pass-through module configured to perform pass-through processing for the wireless headset; An active noise cancellation module configured to perform active noise cancellation processing on the wireless headphones; and A processor configured to execute the switching control method according to any one of claims 1-6.

8. A wireless earphone, characterized in that, Includes the switching control system according to claim 7.

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