Acoustic Signal Processing for Voice Volume Threshold Enforcement

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Solution Overview

Problem

Communications devices with main and auxiliary microphones often result in a low or absent voice volume at the peer terminal due to varying distances and holding gestures, causing noise reduction to diminish voice quality.

Innovation Solution

A method to compare the volume of sound signals from the main and auxiliary microphones, determining a processing policy to adjust and filter the signals to ensure the voice signal sent to the peer terminal exceeds a preset volume threshold, using acoustic filtering and volume adjustments.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Object-affected harmful factors

If noise reduction is performed using main and auxiliary microphones, then noise elimination is improved, but voice volume becomes very small or absent

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvenoise eliminationVSAvoidvoice volume
Core Design Contradiction:
Object-affected harmful factorsVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The patent implements dynamic adjustment of signal processing parameters based on real-time comparison between main and auxiliary microphone volumes. The system automatically switches between different processing modes (noise reduction vs. volume preservation) depending on the volume relationship, making the noise reduction effect dynamic and adaptive rather than static, thereby resolving the contradiction between noise elimination and voice volume preservation

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

Solution Approach 2:

The patent changes the processing parameters based on the volume relationship between microphones. When auxiliary microphone volume exceeds main microphone volume, the system adjusts the noise reduction parameter intensity or switches to a different processing mode, thereby adapting the parameter settings to preserve voice volume while still achieving noise reduction when appropriate

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

2Object-affected harmful factors

If acoustic filtering is performed to reduce noise, then noise reduction is improved, but the volume of voice signal sent to peer terminal becomes very small

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvenoise reductionVSAvoidvoice signal volume
Core Design Contradiction:
Object-affected harmful factorsVSQuantity of substance

Solution Approach 1:

The patent employs feedback by continuously monitoring and comparing the volume outputs of main and auxiliary microphones, then using this feedback information to adjust the acoustic filtering intensity. The system feeds back the volume relationship result to control the filtering process, ensuring that noise reduction does not excessively attenuate the voice signal, thereby resolving the contradiction between noise reduction and voice signal volume

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

Solution Approach 2:

The acoustic filtering process is made dynamic by adjusting its intensity based on real-time volume comparison results. When the auxiliary microphone volume exceeds the main microphone volume, the system dynamically reduces or modifies the filtering intensity to prevent excessive voice signal attenuation, thus maintaining adequate voice volume while still achieving noise reduction when conditions permit

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

Data Source

PatentEP3163850B1Acoustical signal processing method and device of communication device
Publication Date: 2019.08.28 HUAWEI TECH CO LTD
  • EP3163850B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3163850B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP3163850B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

Embodiments of the present invention provide a method and a device for processing a sound signal for a communications device, where a relationship between values of a volume of a first sound signal collected by a main microphone and a volume of a second sound signal collected by an auxiliary microphone is acquired by comparison, to determine a sound signal processing policy; and according to the sound signal processing policy, a sound signal that is to be sent to a peer communications terminal is determined, where the sound signal processing policy is used to ensure that a volume of the sound signal that is to be sent to the peer communications terminal exceeds a preset volume threshold. According to the sound signal processing policy, a problem that in a communication process, a volume of voice heard by a user of a peer communications terminal is small or even no sound is heard is resolved.