Terminal Volume Control Using Environmental Sound Composition

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing volume adjustment methods for user terminals, such as mobile phones, fail to accurately match the ring tone and earpiece volumes to the user's current environment, leading to incorrect volume settings due to inaccurate environmental noise analysis.

Innovation Solution

A method and apparatus that collect and analyze sound signals to determine the composition of environmental sounds, including blank, human, and noise sounds, to accurately adjust the volume based on the identified scene mode, using mel-frequency cepstral coefficients to quantify human sounds and adjust volumes accordingly.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of operation

If volume is adjusted according to decibels of environment sound only, then volume adjustment is simple, but accuracy of volume adjustment is low

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvevolume adjustment simplicityVSAvoidvolume adjustment accuracy
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSMeasurement precision

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments the environment sound into multiple components: noise sound, human sound, and music sound. Each component is analyzed separately using different algorithms (spectral flux for noise, MFCC for human sound, chroma features for music sound), and volume adjustments are made based on the dominant sound type rather than treating all sounds uniformly. This segmentation resolves the contradiction by maintaining simplicity through automated classification while improving accuracy through component-specific analysis.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

2Extent of automation

If environment sound is extracted using sound detecting module, then volume adjustment can be automated, but human sound may be mistaken as noise

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvevolume adjustment automationVSAvoidscene mode determination accuracy
Core Design Contradiction:
Extent of automationVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The patent implements feedback mechanisms where the system continuously monitors sound characteristics and adjusts volume based on real-time analysis. When human speech is detected through MFCC analysis, the system provides feedback to prevent misclassification as noise, ensuring reliable scene mode determination while maintaining automated operation. The feedback loop validates sound type classifications before executing volume adjustments.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

Solution Approach 2:

The patent introduces intermediary analysis layers (MFCC for human sound, chroma features for music sound) between the raw sound detection and the volume adjustment decision. These intermediaries act as mediators that accurately classify different sound types, preventing direct misclassification of human speech as noise while enabling automated volume control. The intermediaries translate complex sound signals into interpretable features for reliable scene mode determination.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Data Source

PatentEP3133799B1Volume adjusting method, apparatus and terminal of user terminal
Publication Date: 2019.07.24 HUAWEI TECH CO LTD
  • EP3133799B1 patent drawingFigure 1~2
  • EP3133799B1 patent drawingFigure 3
  • EP3133799B1 patent drawingFigure 4

AI summary

The present invention discloses a volume adjustment method and apparatus, and a terminal. After a sound signal surrounding a user terminal is collected, analysis is performed on the collected sound signal, so as to obtain composition information of the sound signal, where the composition information includes sound types included in the sound signal and proportions of sounds of the various types, and the sound types include blank sound, human sound, and noise; a current scene mode of the user terminal is determined according to the composition information of the sound signal; and volume of the user terminal is adjusted according to the determined scene mode. When a current scene mode of a user terminal is determined, because reference of composition information in a sound signal is added, a corresponding current scenario is closer to a real scenario, and can more precisely match a situation in which a user is located, thereby significantly reducing occurrence of a case, caused by mistaken determining of the scenario, in which play volume adjustment does not conform to the scenario, and enhancing user experience.