Input selection for wind noise reduction on wearable devices

Abstract

A wind noise reduction system is provided, including a beamformer, a comparator, and an audio mixer. The beamformer may be an MVDR beamformer and generates a beamformed signal based on a first microphone signal and a second microphone signal. The comparator generates a comparison signal based on the beamformed signal and the wind microphone signal. The comparison signal may be further based on a beamformed energy level of the beamformed signal and a wind energy level of the wind microphone signal. The audio mixer generates an output audio signal based on the beamformed signal, the wind microphone signal, and the comparison signal. The wind noise reduction system may further include a wind microphone corresponding to the wind microphone signal. The wind microphone may be located in a portion of a wearable audio device configured to sit on the wearer's concha.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure generally relates to input selection for wind noise reduction on wearable audio devices.

Background Art

[0002] One important aspect of wearable audio devices is the ability to capture voice audio from a wearer. The clarity of the voice audio is important for the use of the device, regardless of whether the captured utterance is in the context of a voice call with another person or in the context of entering voice audio commands in an electronic system. Most wearable audio devices utilize one or more embedded microphones to capture voice audio. However, certain devices, such as earphones, include microphones that are exposed to the external environment. These microphones are particularly vulnerable to wind noise that masks the captured voice audio.

[0003] The wind noise problem can be exacerbated by wearable audio devices that utilize minimum variance distortionless response (MVDR) beamforming. Beamforming enables the audio sensors of the device to concentrate audio capture on a specific spatial region, such as the area around the wearer's mouth. MVDR beamforming is often preferred for its high performance in terms of clarity and naturalness, particularly in areas with some ambient noise, such as a cafeteria environment. However, the characteristics of MVDR beamforming can cause significant amplification of wind noise and, in some cases, amplify it to the point of overwhelming any captured voice audio. Therefore, there is a need for an audio processing system capable of reducing wind noise on wearable audio devices.

Summary of the Invention

[0004] The present disclosure generally relates to input selection for wind noise reduction on wearable audio devices.

[0005] In general, one embodiment provides a wind noise reduction system. The wind noise reduction system includes a beamformer. The beamformer is configured to generate a beamforming signal. The beamforming signal is generated based on a first microphone signal and a second microphone signal. The beamformer may be a minimum dispersion-free response (MVDR) beamformer.

[0006] The wind noise reduction system further includes a comparator. The comparator is configured to generate a comparison signal. The comparison signal is generated based on a beamforming signal and a wind microphone signal. The comparison signal may further be based on the beamforming energy level of the beamforming signal and the wind energy level of the wind microphone signal.

[0007] The wind noise reduction system further includes a dynamic voice mixer. The dynamic voice mixer is configured to generate an output voice signal. The output voice signal is generated based on a beamforming signal, a wind microphone signal, and a comparison signal. In one example, the output voice signal may be a mixture of the beamforming signal and the wind microphone signal. The ratio of the wind microphone signal to the beamforming signal in the output voice signal may correspond to the comparison signal. Furthermore, the ratio of the wind microphone signal to the beamforming signal in the output voice signal may be frequency-dependent. In another example, the output voice signal may correspond to wind microphone signals in the frequency range of 200 Hz to 2 kHz.

[0008] For example, the wind noise reduction system may further include a first microphone corresponding to a first microphone signal. The wind noise reduction system may further include a second microphone corresponding to a second microphone signal. The wind noise reduction system may further include a wind microphone corresponding to a wind microphone signal. The wind microphone may be positioned as part of a wearable audio device configured to sit on the wearer's concha. Furthermore, the wind microphone may face the floor of the wearer's concha during use.

[0009] For example, the first microphone signal, the second microphone signal, and the wind microphone signal may be frequency domain signals. Alternatively, the first microphone signal, the second microphone signal, and the wind microphone signal may be time domain signals.

[0010] For example, the wind noise reduction system may further include an equalizer. The equalizer may be configured to filter the beamforming signal before it is received by the comparator and the dynamic voice mixer.

[0011] For example, the wind noise reduction system may further include a high-pass filter. The high-pass filter may be configured to filter the beamforming signal before it is received by the dynamic voice mixer.

[0012] For example, a wind noise reduction system may further include a feedforward noise cancellation controller for performing feedforward noise cancellation. The feedforward noise cancellation controller receives an input corresponding to the wind microphone signal.

[0013] In general, in another embodiment, a wearable audio device is provided. The wearable audio device includes a first microphone, which is configured to generate a first microphone signal.

[0014] The wearable audio device further includes a second microphone, which is configured to generate a second microphone signal.

[0015] The wearable audio device further includes a wind microphone, which responds to wind microphone signals. The wind microphone may be positioned as part of the wearable audio device, configured to be inserted into the wearer's concha.

[0016] The wearable audio device further includes a beamformer, which is configured to generate a beamforming signal. The beamforming signal is generated based on a first microphone signal and a second microphone signal.

[0017] The wearable audio device further includes a comparator. The comparator is configured to generate a comparison signal. The comparison signal is generated based on a beamforming signal and a wind microphone signal.

[0018] The wearable audio device further includes a dynamic audio mixer. The dynamic audio mixer is configured to generate an output audio signal. The output audio signal is generated based on a beamforming signal, a wind microphone signal, and a comparison signal.

[0019] For example, a wearable audio device could be a pair of earphones.

[0020] In general, another embodiment provides a method for reducing wind noise. This method includes generating a beamformed signal based on a first microphone signal and a second microphone signal via a beamformer. This method further includes generating a comparison signal based on the beamformed signal and the wind microphone signal via a comparator. This method further includes generating an output audio signal based on the beamformed signal, the wind microphone signal and the comparison signal via a dynamic audio mixer.

[0021] In another example, the method may further include (1) generating a first microphone signal via a first microphone, (2) generating a second microphone signal via a second microphone, and (3) generating a wind microphone signal via a wind microphone positioned on a portion of a wearable audio device configured to be positioned on the wearer's concha and facing the floor of the concha.

[0022] In various embodiments, a processor or controller may be associated with one or more storage media (collectively referred to herein as “memory,” and including, for example, volatile and non-volatile computer memories such as ROM, RAM, PROM, EPROM, and EEPROM, floppy disks, compact disks, optical disks, magnetic tapes, flash memory, OTP-ROMs, SSDs, HDDs, etc.). In some implementations, the storage media may be encrypted with one or more programs that, when running on one or more processors and / or controllers, perform at least some of the functions described herein. Various storage media may be fixed within the processor or controller or be portable. In this way, one or more programs stored on the storage media may be loaded into the processor or controller to perform the various embodiments described herein. The terms “program” or “computer program” are used herein in a general sense to refer to any type of computer code (e.g., software or microcode) that may be used to program one or more processors or controllers.

[0023] It should be understood that all combinations of the aforementioned concepts and any additional concepts discussed in more detail below (provided that such concepts are not mutually contradictory) are intended to be part of the subject matter of the invention disclosed herein. In particular, all combinations of claimed subject matter appearing at the end of this disclosure are intended to be part of the subject matter of the invention disclosed herein. It should also be understood that terms expressly used herein, which may also appear in any disclosure incorporated by reference, should be given meanings that are most consistent with the specific concepts disclosed herein.

[0024] These and other aspects of various embodiments will be revealed and clarified by reference to the embodiments described below. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0025] In the drawings, like reference numerals generally refer to like parts throughout the different views. Also, the drawings are not necessarily to scale; instead, emphasis is generally placed on showing the principles of the various examples. [Figure 1] It is a view of a wearer of a wearable audio device. [Figure 2] It is an isometric view of a wearable audio device according to an aspect of the present disclosure. [Figure 3] It is a further isometric view of the wearable audio device of FIG. 2 according to an aspect of the present disclosure. [Figure 4] It is a further isometric view of the wearable audio devices of FIGS. 2 and 3 according to an aspect of the present disclosure. [Figure 5] It is a further isometric view of the wearable audio devices of FIGS. 2 to 4 according to an aspect of the present disclosure. [Figure 6] It is a functional block diagram of a frequency-domain noise reduction system according to an aspect of the present disclosure. [Figure 7] It is a functional block diagram of a time-domain noise reduction system according to an aspect of the present disclosure. [Figure 8] It is a flowchart of a method for reducing noise according to an aspect of the present disclosure.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

[0026] This disclosure generally relates to input selection for wind noise reduction on wearable audio devices. A wearable audio device captures spoken audio from the wearer via two microphones coupled to a beamformer, such as a minimum dispersion-free response (MVDR) beamformer. A wearable audio device also captures spoken audio via a wind microphone. The wind microphone is positioned on a part of the wearable device configured to seat on the wearer's concha so that the wind microphone faces the floor of the concha. Thus, the wind microphone is shielded from wind noise by the concha and structure of the wearer's ear and therefore functions better than a beamformer in windy conditions. In particular, wind microphones generally perform better than beamformers in the frequency range of 200 Hz to 2 kHz (in terms of characteristics such as signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) or noise floor level).

[0027] The energy level of the beamformed signal generated by the beamformer is compared to the energy level of the wind microphone signal captured by the wind microphone. The dynamic voice mixer generates the output voice signal by switching (or mixing) between the beamformed signal and the wind microphone signal based on the energy level comparison. If the energy level of the beamformed signal is higher than the energy level of the wind microphone signal, a windy state exists, and at least a portion of the output voice signal corresponds to the wind microphone signal. Alternatively, if the energy level of the beamformed signal is lower than the energy level of the wind microphone signal, a windless state exists, and at least a portion of the output voice signal corresponds to the beamformed signal.

[0028] Figure 1 shows a wearer W of the wearable audio device 10 (see Figure 2). In particular, Figure 1 shows the position of the concha C of the wearer W's ear E. The inner portion of the concha C can be referred to as the floor F. As will be demonstrated in subsequent figures, a portion of the wearable audio device 10 is seated within the concha C so that that portion faces the floor F. In particular, this portion of the wearable audio device 10 will be shielded from wind noise in windy conditions by the structure of the ear E.

[0029] Figure 2 is an isometric view of the wearable audio device 10 as an earphone. In this example, the wearable audio device 10 includes an ear tip 14 that is inserted into the ear canal of the wearer W. The wearable audio device 10 also includes a first microphone 102. The first microphone 102 is positioned on the surface of the wearable audio device 10 such that it generally faces away from the wearer W when the ear tip 14 is inserted into the ear canal. The first microphone 102 may be any microphone that is generally configured to capture spoken audio from the wearer W, such as an omnidirectional microphone.

[0030] Figure 3 is a front view of the wearable audio device 10 shown in Figure 2. As shown in Figure 3, the wearable audio device 10 includes an acoustic transducer 185 located inside an ear tip 14. The acoustic transducer 185 is configured to convert electrical signals into sound for playback to the wearer W. The wearable audio device 10 also includes a second microphone 104. The second microphone 104 is positioned on the back of the wearable audio device such that it generally faces the wearer when the ear tip 14 is inserted into the ear canal. As seen in Figures 2 and 3, the first microphone 102 and the second microphone 104 are each exposed to the external environment, making each microphone 102, 104 susceptible to wind noise.

[0031] Similar to the first microphone 102, the second microphone 104 may be any microphone generally configured to capture spoken audio from the wearer W, such as an omnidirectional microphone. Furthermore, as will be described in more detail below, the first microphone 102 and the second microphone 104 may be used in conjunction with a beamformer 114 (see Figures 5 and 6) to capture spoken audio from a specific spatial area close to the wearer W. In a preferred example, the beamformer 114 is an MVDR beamformer.

[0032] As used herein, the term “beamformer” generally refers to a filter or filter array used to achieve directional signal transmission or reception. In the examples described herein, a beamformer synthesizes audio signals received by multiple audio sensors (such as microphones and accelerometers) to focus on a desired spatial region, such as the area around a wearer's mouth. Different types of beamformers utilize different types of filtering, but beamformers generally achieve directional reception by filtering the received signals so that, when combined, signals received from the desired spatial region reinforce each other, and signals received from undesirable spatial regions cancel each other out. As a result of this interference, signals from the desired spatial region are amplified, and signals from undesirable spatial regions are removed. The desired constructive and cancelable interference is generally achieved by controlling the phase and / or relative amplitude of the received signals before synthesis. Filtering may be performed via one or more integrated circuit (IC) chips, such as a field-programmable gate array (FPGA). Filtering may also be performed using software.

[0033] The wearable audio device 10 also includes a wind microphone 106. The wind microphone 106 is positioned on a portion of the wearable audio device 10 configured to sit within the wearer W's concha C such that the wind microphone 106 faces the floor F of the concha C. By positioning the wind microphone 106 within the concha C, the wind microphone 106 is effectively shielded from wind noise. Therefore, in windy conditions, it may be preferable to use the speech audio captured by the wind microphone 106 rather than the first microphone 102 or the second microphone 104. In some examples, the wind microphone 106 may also be used as an input to a feedforward noise cancellation system. In the feedforward noise cancellation system, the speech captured by the wind microphone may be used to remove unwanted noise from the audio played back for the wearer W via an acoustic transducer 185. A further (left) diagram of the wearable audio device 10 is shown in Figure 4, which shows the wind microphone 106, the ear tip 14, and the acoustic transducer 185. In some examples, the wind microphone 106 may be a microphone of the same or similar manufacturer, model, or type as the first microphone 102 or the second microphone 104. Thus, the wind microphone 106 may be an omnidirectional microphone.

[0034] Figure 5 is another diagram of the wearable audio device 10. Figure 5 shows the internal circuitry 12 of the wearable audio device 10. The internal circuitry 12 includes a wind noise reduction system 100 (shown in more detail in Figures 6 and 7), a processor 125, memory 175, and a transceiver 195. The processor 125 may be used to perform aspects of the wind noise reduction system 100, such as a beamformer 114, an equalizer 130, a high-pass filter 132, energy detectors 138, 140, a comparator 118, and / or a voice mixer 122 (see Figures 6 and 7). The memory 175 may be configured to store data related to various aspects of the wind noise reduction system 100, such as programmable filter weights for the beamformer 114, the equalizer 130, or the high-pass filter 132 (see Figures 6 and 7). The transceiver 195 may be configured to transmit or receive data related to the wind noise reduction system 100. In some examples, the transceiver 195 transmits an output voice signal 124 (see Figures 6 and 7) to a peripheral device such as a smartphone to perform a telephone call. The transceiver 195 may also receive data corresponding to various configurations of the wind noise reduction system 100, such as programmable filter weights for the beamformer 114, equalizer 130, or high-pass filter 132.

[0035] Figure 6 shows a functional block diagram of the frequency domain version of the wind noise reduction system 100. The frequency domain wind noise reduction system 100 may be implemented to capture spoken audio from a wearer W of a wearable audio device 10 (such as earphones, see Figures 2-5) for use in telephone calls or related applications. Thus, the frequency domain wind noise reduction system 100 generates an output audio signal 124. This output audio signal 124 (or a further processed version of the output audio signal 124) can be wirelessly transmitted to a peripheral device such as a smartphone via a transceiver 195 (see Figure 5) and / or transmitted to an acoustic transducer 185 to provide sidetone to the wearer W of the wearable audio device 10.

[0036] As shown in Figure 6, the wind noise reduction system 100 includes three microphones positioned on the wearable audio device 10 to capture spoken voice audio: a first microphone 102 (e.g., as shown in Figure 2), a second microphone 104 (e.g., as shown in Figure 3), and a wind microphone 106 (e.g., as shown in Figures 3 and 4). As previously mentioned, the wind microphone 106 is positioned on a portion of the wearable audio device 10 configured to sit within the wearer's concha C (see Figure 1) such that the wind microphone 106 faces the floor F (see Figure 1) of the concha C. Thus, the wind microphone 106 is shielded from wind noise, while the first microphone 102 and the second microphone 104 are exposed to wind noise because they are positioned outside the concha C. Furthermore, the wind microphone 106 may also be used in a feedforward noise cancellation system.

[0037] Microphones 102, 104, and 106 each generate a time-domain electrical signal corresponding to the captured audio. The first microphone 102 generates the first microphone signal 108, the second microphone 104 generates the second microphone signal 110, and the wind microphone 106 generates the wind microphone signal 112. The first microphone signal 108, the second microphone signal 110, and the third microphone signal 112 are then converted to the frequency domain by a weighted, overlap, and summation (WOLA) analysis filter bank.

[0038] Next, the first and second frequency-domain second microphone signals 208 and 210 are provided to the beamformer 114. As previously mentioned, the beamformer 114 is used to achieve directional audio capture using the first microphone 102 and the second microphone 104. The beamformer 114 uses the first frequency-domain microphone signal 208 and the second frequency-domain microphone signal 210 to generate a beamforming signal 216. In the example in Figure 6, the beamformer 114 is an MVDR beamformer. The algorithm used by the MVDR beamformer maintains the distortion of the desired signal while minimizing the power of the noise captured by the first microphone 102 and the second microphone 104. In doing so, the MVDR beamformer can provide improved SNR performance compared to other beamformers (such as delay beamformers and thumb beamformers) in ambient noise environments such as cafeteria settings. However, in some environments, such as strong winds, MVDR beamformers can amplify noise instances by as much as 10-20 dB at certain frequencies, thus negatively impacting the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the resulting beamformed signal.

[0039] The frequency-domain wind microphone signal 212 is provided to the equalizer 130. The equalizer 130 is configured to attenuate a portion of the frequency-domain wind microphone signal 212 so that the energy level of the equalized wind microphone signal 254 is equal to the energy level of the beamforming signal 216, for more accurate wind detection in a calm, windless environment. One or more filter weights of the equalizer 130 may be programmable and / or dynamic.

[0040] Next, the wind noise reduction system 100 determines the energy levels of the beamforming signal 216 and the equalized wind microphone signal 254. The first energy detector 138 receives the beamforming signal 216. The first energy detector 138 analyzes the beamforming signal 216 using smoothed energy envelope analysis to generate a beamforming energy level signal 242 corresponding to the energy level of the beamforming signal 216. Similarly, the second energy detector 140 receives the equalized wind microphone signal 254. The second energy detector 140 analyzes the equalized wind microphone signal 254 using smoothed energy envelope analysis to generate a wind microphone energy level signal 244 corresponding to the energy level of the equalized wind microphone signal 254.

[0041] The beamforming energy level signal 242 and the wind microphone energy level signal 244 are then provided to a comparator 118. The comparator 118 generates a comparison signal 220 indicating which of the beamforming energy level signal 242 or the wind microphone energy level signal 244 is greater. In some examples, the comparison signal 220 may also indicate the degree of difference between the beamforming energy level signal 242 and the wind microphone energy level signal 244. In further examples, the comparison signal 220 may be frequency-dependent and may indicate a fluctuating energy level over frequency. In further examples, the comparator 118 may focus on comparing energy levels within a defined frequency range, such as 200 Hz and 2 kHz. The frequency range of 200 Hz and 2 kHz is an example of a frequency range in which the wind microphone signal 112 may outperform the beamforming signal 216 (in terms of characteristics such as SNR or noise floor level) under strong wind conditions.

[0042] Next, the equalized wind microphone signal 254 is supplied to the high-pass filter 132. The high-pass filter 132 is configured to remove or attenuate low-frequency noise in windy conditions. One or more filter weights of the high-pass filter 132 may be programmable and / or dynamic. In particular, for accurate energy level comparison, a high-pass filter is not applied to the equalized wind microphone signal 254 received by the second energy detector 140. Furthermore, a high-pass filter is not applied to the beamforming signal 216 in order to maintain its low-frequency characteristics in windless conditions.

[0043] The comparison signal 220, the beamforming signal 216, and the filtered wind microphone signal 256 are provided to the voice mixer 122. The voice mixer 122 may function as a crossfader, generating a frequency-domain output voice signal 224 by switching or mixing the beamforming signal 216 and the filtered wind microphone signal 256 based on the comparison signal 220. Since the comparison signal 220 changes based on the beamforming energy level signal 242 and the wind microphone energy level signal 244, the switching or mixing settings of the voice mixer 122 change accordingly. Thus, the voice mixer 122 can be considered a dynamic voice mixer.

[0044] In one example, the audio mixer 122 is configured to switch back and forth between a beamforming signal 216 and a filtered wind microphone signal 256 to generate the output audio signal 224. If the comparison signal 220 indicates that the energy level of the beamforming signal 216 is significantly higher than the energy level of the equalized wind microphone signal 254 (corresponding to windy conditions), the frequency-domain output audio signal 224 may correspond to the filtered wind microphone signal 256. If the comparison signal 220 indicates that the energy level of the beamforming signal 216 is significantly lower than the energy level of the equalized wind microphone signal 254 (corresponding to windless conditions), the frequency-domain output audio signal 224 may switch to correspond to the beamforming signal 216. In some examples, this switching may be limited to a frequency range in which the wind microphone 106 (placed on the concha C of the wearer W) performs significantly better than the beamformer 114 in windy conditions. By switching back and forth dynamically, the audio mixer 122 adapts the frequency-domain output audio signal 224 to use the beamforming signal 216 in windless conditions and the frequency-domain wind microphone signal 212 in windy conditions, thereby improving performance across the entire applicable frequency range compared to using either the beamforming signal 216 or the frequency-domain wind microphone signal 212 alone.

[0045] In one example, this switching may be limited to a defined frequency range. For instance, if the energy level of the beamforming signal 216 is significantly higher than the energy level of the equalized wind microphone signal 254 (indicating strong wind conditions), the frequency-domain output signal 224 may be configured to correspond to the beamforming signal 216 above 2 kHz, while also corresponding to the filtered wind microphone signal 256 below 2 kHz, since the effect of wind noise on the beamforming signal is most severe below 2 kHz.

[0046] In other examples, instead of switching between the beamforming signal 216 and the filtered wind microphone signal 256, the frequency-domain output audio signal 224 may be a mixture of the two, similar to a mixed crossfade. If the comparison signal 220 indicates that the energy level of the beamforming signal 216 is 2 to 1 higher than the energy level of the equalized wind microphone signal 254 (indicating strong wind conditions), then the frequency-domain output audio signal 224 may be a mixture of the beamforming signal 216 and the equalized wind microphone signal 254 in a 1 to 2 ratio. As in the previous example, this mixture of the beamforming signal 216 and the filtered wind microphone signal 256 may be limited to a defined frequency range within the frequency-domain output audio signal 224, such as below 2 kHz. In some examples, the ratio of the beamforming signal 216 to the filtered wind microphone signal 256 may vary over frequency.

[0047] Once generated, the frequency-domain output audio signal 224 may be provided to additional circuitry for further processing in the frequency domain. Alternatively, the frequency-domain output audio signal 224 may be converted to the time domain by the WOLA synthesis filter bank 150. The time-domain output audio signal 124 may then be further processed before being transmitted via the transceiver 195 to a peripheral device such as a smartphone for use in telephone calls or related applications.

[0048] Apart from wind noise reduction, the (time-domain) wind microphone signal 112 may also be used for feedforward noise cancellation to reduce noise reproduced to the wearer W via the acoustic transducer 185. The wind microphone signal 112 may be provided to the feedforward noise cancellation controller 134. The feedforward noise cancellation controller 134 then generates a noise-tolerant signal 146 based on the wind microphone signal 112, which is provided to the acoustic transducer 185 to cancel noise captured by the wind noise microphone 106, such as audible noise in the wearer W's concha C.

[0049] Figure 7 shows the time-domain transformation of Figure 6. In Figure 7, wind noise cancellation and feedforward noise cancellation are performed to provide an audible sidetone to the wearer W. The sidetone can be defined as audible feedback provided to the wearer W to confirm the proper operation of the wearable audio device 10. This audible feedback includes a small amount of the wearer W's voice. By hearing this audible feedback, the wearer W can confirm that the microphones 102, 104 of the wearable audio device 10 are working properly, adjust their speech levels to appropriate levels, and / or confirm the connectivity of a voice call or other connection. The use of sidetone may also provide additional benefits to the wearer W, such as increasing ambient audio transparency and enabling the wearer W to speak in a more natural voice. Since the frequency-domain transformation in Figure 6 introduces some latency into the audio feedback and potentially reduces the effectiveness of the audio feedback, this sidetone processing is preferably performed in the time domain.

[0050] In Figure 7, the first microphone signal 108 and the second microphone signal 110 are provided to the beamformer 114 as time-domain signals. Similarly, the wind microphone signal 112 is provided to the equalizer 130 as a time-domain signal. Thus, the signals generated by the beamformer 114 (beamforming signal 116), the first energy detector 138 and the second energy detector 140 (beamforming energy level signal 142 and wind microphone energy level signal 144), the equalizer 130 (equalized wind microphone signal 154), the high-pass filter 132 (filtered wind microphone signal 156), the comparator 118 (comparison signal 120), and finally the voice mixer 122 (output voice signal 124) are also time-domain signals similar to the frequency-domain signals described with respect to Figure 6. The time-domain output voice signal 124 may be provided to additional circuitry for further processing in the time domain. Furthermore, the time-domain output audio signal 124 may be provided to the sidetone controller 136. The sidetone controller 136 processes the time-domain output audio signal 124 into a sidetone signal 152 for reproduction to the wearer W via the acoustic transducer 185. While the sidetone signal 152 is reproduced by the acoustic transducer 185, noise adjacent to the wearer W's concha C may be reduced by providing a noise-resistant signal 146 to the acoustic transducer 185, as described with reference to Figure 6.

[0051] Figure 8 is a flowchart of method 900 for reducing wind noise. Method 900 includes generating a beamformed signal based on a first microphone signal and a second microphone signal via a beamformer 902. Method 900 further includes generating a comparison signal based on the beamformed signal and the wind microphone signal via a comparator 904. Method 900 further includes generating an output audio signal based on the beamformed signal, the wind microphone signal and the comparison signal via a dynamic audio mixer 906.

[0052] In another example, the method 900 may further include the operational steps of (1) generating a first microphone signal via a first microphone 908, (2) generating a second microphone signal via a second microphone 910, and (3) generating a wind microphone signal via a wind microphone positioned on a portion of a wearable audio device that is positioned on the wearer's concha and configured to face the floor of the concha 912.

[0053] All definitions defined and used herein should be understood to govern dictionary definitions, definitions in documents incorporated by reference, and / or the ordinary meanings of the defined terms.

[0054] As used herein and in the claims, the indefinite articles "a" and "an" should be understood to mean "at least one" unless otherwise explicitly indicated.

[0055] As used herein and in the claims, the phrase “and / or” should be understood to mean “either or both” of the elements thus combined, that is, elements that exist concomitantly in some cases and separately in others. Multiple elements listed in “and / or” should be interpreted in the same way, that is, “one or more” of the elements thus combined. Other elements may exist optionally, in addition to the elements specifically identified by the “and / or” clause, whether related to or unrelated to the specifically identified elements.

[0056] Where used herein and in the claims, “or” should be understood to have the same meaning as “and / or” as defined above. For example, when separating items within a list, “or” or “and / or” should be interpreted as inclusive, that is, including at least one of the number of elements or list, but also including more than one, and optionally including items not in the additional list. “One of” or “exactly one of” or, where used in the claims, “consisting of” should be explicitly indicated elsewhere, mean including exactly one element of the number of elements or list. In general, where used herein, the term “or” should be interpreted only as indicating an exclusive choice (i.e., “one or the other, but not both”) when preceded by an exclusive term such as “either,” “one of,” “one of,” or “exactly one of.”

[0057] As used herein and in the claims, the phrase “at least one” with respect to a list of one or more elements should be understood to mean at least one element selected from any one or more elements in the list of elements, but not necessarily including at least one of each and all elements specifically listed in the list of elements, nor excluding any combination of elements in the list of elements. This definition also allows for the optional existence of elements other than those specifically identified in the list of elements to which the phrase “at least one” refers, whether related to or unrelated to the specifically identified elements.

[0058] Unless otherwise explicitly indicated, in any method claimed herein that includes more than one step or action, the order of the steps or actions of the method is not necessarily limited to the order in which the steps or actions of the method are enumerated.

[0059] In the claims and in the above specification, all transitional phrases such as “comprising,” “including,” “carrying,” “having,” “containing,” “involving,” “holding,” and “composed of” should be understood as unrestrictive, that is, including but not limiting. Only the transitional phrases “consisting of” and “consisting essentially of” are restrictive or semi-restrictive, respectively.

[0060] The above-described examples of the subject matter can be implemented in any of many ways. For example, in some embodiments, they can be implemented in hardware, software, or a combination thereof. If at least a portion of any embodiment is implemented as software, the software code can run on any suitable processor or set of processors, whether provided on a single device or computer, or distributed across multiple devices / computers.

[0061] This disclosure may be implemented as a system, method, and / or computer program product, at any level of technical detail that may be anticipated. The computer program product may include a computer-readable storage medium (or media) having computer-readable program instructions that cause a processor to execute aspects of the present invention.

[0062] A computer-readable storage medium can be a tangible device capable of holding and storing instructions for use by an instruction execution device. A computer-readable storage medium may, but is not limited to, electronic storage devices, magnetic storage devices, optical storage devices, electromagnetic storage devices, semiconductor storage devices, or any preferred combination thereof. A non-exhaustive list of more specific examples of computer-readable storage media includes: portable computer diskettes, hard disks, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM, or flash memory), static random access memory (SRAM), compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), digital versatile disk (DVD), memory sticks, floppy disks, punch cards, or mechanically encoded devices on which instructions are recorded, as well as any preferred combination thereof. As used herein, a computer-readable storage medium is not interpreted as a freely propagating electromagnetic wave such as radio waves, an electromagnetic wave propagating through a transmission medium such as a waveguide (for example, an optical pulse passing through an optical fiber cable), or a transient signal such as an electrical signal transmitted through a wire.

[0063] The computer-readable program instructions described herein can be downloaded from a computer-readable storage medium to each computing / processing device, or to an external computer or external storage device, via a network, such as the Internet, a local area network, a wide area network, and / or a wireless network. The network may include copper transmission cables, optical transmission fibers, wireless transmissions, routers, firewalls, switches, gateway computers, and / or edge servers. The network adapter card or network interface of each computing / processing device receives the computer-readable program instructions from the network, transfers these computer-readable program instructions, and stores them in a computer-readable storage medium within the respective computing / processing device.

[0064] The computer-readable program instructions for performing the operations of this disclosure may be assembler instructions, instruction-set-architecture (ISA) instructions, machine instructions, machine-dependent instructions, microcode, firmware instructions, state-setting data, integrated circuit configuration data, or source code or object code written in any combination of one or more programming languages, including object-oriented programming languages ​​such as Smalltalk and C++, procedural programming languages ​​such as the C programming language, or similar programming languages. The computer-readable program instructions may be executed entirely on the user's computer, partially on the user's computer, as a standalone software package, partially on the user's computer and partially on a remote computer, or entirely on a remote computer or server. In the latter scenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user's computer through any type of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or to an external computer (for example, via the Internet using an Internet service provider). In some examples, electronic circuits, including, for instance, programmable logic circuits, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), or programmable logic arrays (PLAs), may execute computer-readable program instructions by personalizing the electronic circuit using state information of computer-readable program instructions in order to perform aspects of the present disclosure.

[0065] Aspects of the present disclosure are described herein with reference to illustrative flowcharts and / or block diagrams of the methods, apparatus (systems), and computer program products described herein. It will be understood that each block in the illustrative flowcharts and / or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the illustrative flowcharts and / or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer-readable program instructions.

[0066] Computer-readable program instructions may be provided to a processor of a dedicated-purpose computer or other programmable data processing device to manufacture a machine, thereby creating means for performing functions / operations specified in one or more blocks of a flowchart and / or block diagram, through which the instructions executed via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing device. Furthermore, these computer-readable program instructions may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium that can be instructed to function in a particular way to a computer, programmable data processing device, and / or other device, thereby including a computer-readable storage medium in which the instructions are stored in a manufactured article having instructions that perform a manner of function / operation specified in a flowchart and / or block diagram or block.

[0067] Furthermore, computer-readable program instructions can be loaded into a computer, other programmable data processing equipment, or other device to generate a process executed by the computer for a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer, other programmable equipment, or other device, thereby enabling the instructions executed on the computer, other programmable equipment, or other device to perform functions / operations specified in one or more blocks of a flowchart and / or block diagram.

[0068] The flowcharts and block diagrams in the figures illustrate the architecture, functionality, and operation of assumed implementations of the systems, methods, and computer program products in the various examples of this disclosure. In this regard, each block in the flowchart or block diagram may correspond to a module, segment, or portion of an instruction, containing one or more executable instructions for performing a specified logical function. In some alternative implementations, the functions described in a block may occur in the order shown in the figure. For example, two consecutively shown blocks may actually be executed substantially simultaneously, or, in some cases, the blocks may be executed in reverse order depending on the function involved. Furthermore, it should be noted that each block in the block diagrams and / or flowchart illustrations, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and / or flowchart illustrations, may be implemented in a dedicated hardware-based system that performs a specific function or operates or executes a combination of dedicated hardware and computer instructions.

[0069] Other implementations are within the scope of the following claims, as well as any other claims to which the applicant may have rights.

[0070] While various examples have been described and illustrated herein, those skilled in the art will readily conceive of various other means and / or structures to implement functions and / or results and / or obtain one or more advantages described herein, and each of such modifications and / or variations will be considered within the scope of the examples described herein. More generally, those skilled in the art will readily understand that all parameters, dimensions, materials and configurations described herein are illustrative, and furthermore, that actual parameters, dimensions, materials and / or configurations will depend on the specific application or the application in which the teachings of the present invention are used. Those skilled in the art will be able to recognize or confirm many equivalents to the specific examples described herein simply by performing routine experiments. Therefore, it should be understood that the examples described herein are presented for illustrative purposes only, and that examples can be implemented in ways other than those explicitly described and claimed within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents. The examples in this disclosure cover each individual feature, system, article, material, kit and / or method described herein. Furthermore, any combination of two or more such features, systems, articles, materials, kits, and / or methods is included within the scope of the invention of this disclosure, provided that such features, systems, articles, materials, kits, and / or methods are not mutually inconsistent.

Claims

1. A wind noise reduction system, A beamformer configured to generate a beamforming signal based on a first microphone signal and a second microphone signal, A comparator configured to generate a comparison signal based on the beamforming signal and the wind microphone signal, A dynamic audio mixer configured to generate an output audio signal based on the beamforming signal, the wind microphone signal, and the comparison signal, A wind microphone that outputs the aforementioned wind microphone signal, Equipped with, The wind microphone is positioned as part of a wearable audio device configured to sit on the wearer's concha, The aforementioned wind microphone is a wind noise reduction system that faces the floor of the wearer's concha during use.

2. The wind noise reduction system according to claim 1, wherein the beamformer is a minimum dispersion-free response (MVDR) beamformer.

3. The wind noise reduction system according to claim 1, wherein the comparison signal is further based on the beamforming energy level of the beamforming signal and the wind energy level of the wind microphone signal.

4. The wind noise reduction system according to claim 1, wherein the output audio signal is a mixture of the beamforming signal and the wind microphone signal.

5. The wind noise reduction system according to claim 4, wherein the ratio of the wind microphone signal to the beamforming signal in the output audio signal corresponds to the comparison signal.

6. The wind noise reduction system according to claim 5, wherein the ratio of the wind microphone signal to the beamforming signal in the output audio signal is frequency-dependent.

7. The wind noise reduction system according to claim 1, wherein the output audio signal in a frequency range of at least 200 Hz to 2 kHz is the wind microphone signal.

8. A first microphone that outputs the first microphone signal, A second microphone that outputs the second microphone signal, The wind noise reduction system according to claim 1, further comprising the following:

9. The wind noise reduction system according to claim 1, wherein the first microphone signal, the second microphone signal, and the wind microphone signal are frequency domain signals.

10. The wind noise reduction system according to claim 1, wherein the first microphone signal, the second microphone signal, and the wind microphone signal are time-domain signals.

11. The wind noise reduction system according to claim 1, further comprising a feedforward noise cancellation controller for performing feedforward noise cancellation, wherein the feedforward noise cancellation controller receives an input corresponding to the wind microphone signal.

12. It is a wearable audio device, A first microphone configured to generate a first microphone signal, A second microphone configured to generate a second microphone signal, A wind microphone configured to generate a wind microphone signal, A beamformer configured to generate a beamforming signal based on the first microphone signal and the second microphone signal, A comparator configured to generate a comparison signal based on the beamforming signal and the wind microphone signal, A dynamic audio mixer configured to generate an output audio signal based on the beamforming signal, the wind microphone signal, and the comparison signal, Equipped with, The wind microphone is positioned as part of the wearable audio device, which is configured to be inserted into the wearer's concha, The aforementioned wind microphone is a wearable audio device that faces the floor of the wearer's concha during use.

13. The wearable audio device according to claim 12, wherein the wearable audio device is an earphone.

14. A method for reducing wind noise, A beamforming signal is generated based on the first microphone signal and the second microphone signal via a first beamformer, A comparison signal is generated based on the beamforming signal and the wind microphone signal via a comparator, The output audio signal is generated via a dynamic audio mixer based on the beamforming signal, the wind microphone signal, and the comparison signal. To generate the first microphone signal via the first microphone, The second microphone signal is generated via the second microphone, The wind microphone signal is generated via a wind microphone positioned on a portion of a wearable audio device configured to be positioned on the wearer's concha, Includes, The wind microphone is positioned in contact with the floor of the concha during use.

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