Direction Detection Device Noise Separation

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Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional electronic devices struggle to accurately separate human speech from noise in noisy environments due to limitations in microphone design and frequency range, leading to poor voice recognition accuracy and inefficient power usage in portable devices.

Innovation Solution

A method and apparatus using a system of microphones arranged in a geometrical array to detect audible signals from any direction, employing delay determination and direction determination algorithms to separate noise from speech across the full speech frequency range, combining cardioid and beamforming signal processing techniques to enhance signal-to-noise ratio.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Object-affected harmful factors

If conventional filtering methods are used to reduce noise, then noise reduction is achieved, but speech components are also suppressed along with noise, reducing voice recognition accuracy

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvenoise reductionVSAvoidvoice recognition accuracy

Core Design Contradiction:

Object-affected harmful factorsVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The audio signal is segmented into multiple frequency bands using filter banks. This allows selective processing of different frequency components, enabling noise reduction in specific bands while preserving speech components in other bands, thus resolving the contradiction between noise reduction and speech preservation

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

Different processing strategies are applied to different frequency bands based on their local characteristics. Speech-dominated bands are preserved while noise-dominated bands are suppressed, achieving localized optimization that maintains overall voice recognition accuracy while reducing noise

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

2Device complexity

If conventional single-channel microphones are used, then device simplicity is maintained, but the ability to separate speech from noise in noisy environments is insufficient

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvemicrophone array configurationVSAvoidnoise separation capability

Core Design Contradiction:

Device complexityVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The system transitions from single-channel to multi-channel microphone arrays, adding spatial dimension to signal processing. By capturing audio from multiple spatial positions, the system can exploit spatial information to separate speech from noise through techniques like beamforming and spatial filtering

Inventive Principle:

Principle #17Another dimension (Dimensionality change)

3Ease of manufacture

If conventional sampling frequencies and microphone geometries are used, then device manufacturing is simplified, but speech detection is limited to lower frequency ranges, losing useful high-frequency data

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvemicrophone assembly designVSAvoidhigh-frequency speech data

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of manufactureVSLoss of information

Solution Approach 1:

The system increases the sampling frequency beyond conventional values and adjusts microphone spacing parameters to satisfy the Nyquist criterion for higher frequencies. This parameter optimization enables accurate capture and processing of high-frequency speech components (up to 8000 Hz and beyond) without compromising manufacturability

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

4Ease of operation

If portable electronic devices with limited battery capacity are used, then device portability is achieved, but operational time is limited due to power consumption of voice recognition processing

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvedevice portabilityVSAvoidoperational time

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSDuration of action of moving object

Solution Approach 1:

Signal processing operations are performed in advance during the audio capture phase, including frequency band separation and initial noise suppression. This preliminary processing reduces the computational burden on the main voice recognition engine, lowering overall power consumption and extending operational time

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Data Source

PatentUS10366702B2Direction detection device for acquiring and processing audible input

Publication Date: 2019.07.30 LOGITECH EUROPE SA

AI summary

Embodiments of the disclosure generally include a method and apparatus for receiving and separating unwanted external noise from an audible input received from an audible source using an audible signal processing system that contains a plurality of audible signal sensing devices that are arranged and configured to detect an audible signal that is received from any position or angle within three dimensional space. The audible signal processing system is configured to analyze the received audible signals using a first signal processing technique that is able to separate unwanted low frequency range noise from the received audible signal and a second signal processing technique that is able to separate unwanted higher frequency range noise from the received audible signal. The audible signal processing system can then combine the signals processed by the first and second signal processing techniques to form a desired audible signal that has a high signal-to-noise ratio throughout the full speech range.