Dual-Microphone Voice Control for User Speech Isolation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Earpiece devices struggle to differentiate between the user's voice and background noise, leading to degraded communication quality in noisy environments, as they are unable to adequately discriminate between voices in the background and the user's voice.
Innovation Solution
A device with dual microphones and a processor that analyzes acoustic signals to detect spoken voice by comparing sound pressure levels, correlation, coherence, and spectral differences between ambient and internal sounds, allowing for voice-operated control and mixing of signals to enhance voice clarity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If audio processing technologies suppress noise, then background noise is reduced, but the earpiece cannot differentiate between user's voice and other voices
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the audio signal processing into multiple independent analysis channels, each evaluating different acoustic characteristics (sound pressure level, correlation, coherence, spectral features). Each channel independently processes the mixed audio signal to determine voice presence, allowing the system to segment the complex discrimination task into manageable parts that can be combined for robust voice detection
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes multiple acoustic parameters simultaneously to achieve voice differentiation. It analyzes sound pressure level differences, temporal correlation, spectral coherence, and frequency domain characteristics. By monitoring changes across these different parameters, the system can distinguish user voice from background voices even when overall noise levels are suppressed
2Quantity of substance
If the earpiece microphone picks up environmental sounds, then the microphone captures all audio signals, but the communication quality degrades
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies different processing qualities to different signal components. It identifies the user's voice as a distinct local quality within the mixed audio signal by analyzing acoustic characteristics that differ from background sounds. The system then applies enhanced processing specifically to the detected user voice portion while treating background sounds differently, thereby improving communication quality without losing the benefit of comprehensive audio capture
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements a feedback mechanism where the detected user voice characteristics are used to dynamically adjust the microphone gain and signal processing parameters. The system continuously monitors the acoustic environment, identifies user speech events, and provides feedback control to the audio processing chain, thereby maintaining high communication quality adaptively across varying environmental conditions
Data Source
AI summary
At least one exemplary embodiment is directed to an acoustic device including an ear canal microphone configured to detect a first acoustic signal, an ambient microphone configured to detect a second acoustic signal, and a processor operatively coupled to the ear canal microphone and the ambient microphone. The processor is configured to detect a predetermined speech pattern based on an analysis of the first acoustic signal and the second acoustic signal and upon detection of the predetermined speech pattern, subsequently process acoustic signals from the ear canal microphone for a predetermined time or until the ear canal microphone detects a lack of an acoustic signal for a second predetermined time. After the predetermined time or after a second predetermined time, the processor processes acoustic signals from the ear canal microphone and the ambient microphone.