Earphone Keyword Pass-Through for Ambient Speech Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Sound isolating earphones disconnect users from their local environment, making it difficult for others to communicate with them, especially in critical situations, as existing technologies do not allow for automatic ambient sound pass-through when specific keywords are spoken.
Innovation Solution
A system that uses ambient sound microphones to detect keywords and automatically adjusts audio levels, allowing ambient sound to be passed through to the earphone user, enabling them to hear important sounds like their name or emergency keywords, while reducing music or speech volume.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If sound isolating earphones are used to block ambient noise, then music listening quality is improved, but communication with people in the immediate environment is impaired
Solution Approach 1:
The earphone system dynamically adjusts the ambient sound pass-through based on detected keywords. When a keyword is detected, the system automatically opens the ambient sound channel to allow communication, and closes it when no keyword is detected, maintaining sound isolation for music listening. This dynamic switching resolves the contradiction between maintaining sound isolation and enabling communication.
Solution Approach 2:
A keyword detection system acts as an intermediary between the sound isolation function and ambient sound pass-through. The system detects specific keywords in the ambient noise and triggers the ambient sound channel accordingly, serving as a mediator that intelligently controls when communication should be enabled while maintaining music listening quality.
2Ease of operation
If ambient sound is continuously passed through to enable communication, then communication capability is improved, but music listening quality deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of continuous ambient sound pass-through, the system uses periodic keyword detection to trigger ambient sound channels only when needed. The system continuously monitors for keywords and activates ambient sound pass-through periodically when a keyword is detected, rather than maintaining it continuously, thus preserving music listening quality while enabling communication when necessary.
Solution Approach 2:
The ambient sound channel is dynamically controlled based on keyword detection results. The system switches between sound isolation mode (for music) and ambient sound pass-through mode (for communication) based on real-time keyword detection, avoiding continuous ambient sound exposure that would degrade music listening quality.
3Ease of operation
If keyword detection is added to enable automatic ambient sound pass-through, then communication capability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The earphone system integrates multiple functions into a single device: music playback, ambient noise cancellation, keyword detection, and automatic ambient sound pass-through. By making the earphone system universal and multi-functional, the complexity is consolidated into one device rather than requiring separate systems, making the added complexity manageable while achieving improved communication capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent combines the keyword detection system, ambient sound microphone, and audio processing functions into an integrated earphone system. By merging these components and functions into a single unified system, the overall device complexity is managed while achieving the goal of automatic ambient sound pass-through for communication.
Data Source
AI summary
At least one embodiment is directed to a method for automatically activating ambient sound pass-through in an earphone in response to a detected keyword in the ambient sound field of the earphone user, the steps of the method comprising at least receiving at least one ambient sound microphone (ASM) signal; receiving at least one audio content (AC) signal; and comparing the ASM signal to a keyword and if the ASM signal matches a keyword then an AC gain is created.