Speech processing system, vehicle, speech processing unit, steering wheel unit, speech processing method, and speech processing program

• US 10,026,414 B2
• Filed: 05/14/2014
• Issued: 07/17/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 09/17/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Original Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Inventors: Tsujikawa, Masanori, Sugiyama, Akihiko
• Primary Examiner(s): ALBERTALLI, BRIAN LOUIS
• Application Number:
  US14/917,859
• Publication Number:
  US 20160225386A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,525 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 11/0247 for microphones or earphones
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 2021/02165 Two microphones, one receiving mainly the noise signal and the other one mainly the speech signal
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 21/0208 Noise filtering
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 21/0216 characterised by the method used for estimating noise
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/6091 including a wireless interface
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/326 for microphones H04R1/34 and H04R1/40 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/406 microphones
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2410/01 Noise reduction using microphones having different directional characteristics
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2410/05 Noise reduction with a separate noise microphone
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2499/13 Acoustic transducers and sound field adaptation in vehicles

Abstract

A speech processing system placed in a vehicle to effectively acquire a voice of a driver includes a first microphone that is provided on a surface facing the driver of the vehicle out of a steering wheel of the vehicle, and inputs a voice of the driver, a second microphone that is provided at a position where the voice of the driver of the vehicle is blocked by at least part of the steering wheel in the vehicle, and inputs noise in the vehicle, and a noise suppressor that suppresses an estimated noise signal based on a first signal corresponding to the sound input to the first microphone and a second signal corresponding to the sound input to the second microphone, and generates and outputs a pseudo speech signal.

Claims

1. A speech processing system placed in a vehicle, comprising:

a first microphone that is provided on a surface facing a driver of the vehicle out of a steering wheel of the vehicle, and outputs a first signal corresponding to an input sound;

a second microphone that is provided at a position where a voice of the driver of the vehicle is blocked by at least part of the steering wheel in the vehicle, and outputs a second signal corresponding to an input sound; and

a noise suppressor that suppresses an estimated noise signal based on the first signal and the second signal, and generates and outputs a pseudo speech signal, wherein said first microphone is provided at a rotation center of the steering wheel, and said second microphone is provided not to the steering wheel but on a lower surface of a steering column cover which is a cover of a steering column that supports the steering wheel.

2. A speech processing method comprising:

acquiring a first signal corresponding to a sound input to a first microphone that is provided on a surface facing a driver of the vehicle out of a steering wheel of a vehicle;

acquiring a second signal corresponding to a sound input to a second microphone that is provided at a position where at least part of the steering wheel is placed between a mouth of a driver of the vehicle and said second microphone; and

suppressing an estimated noise signal based on the first signal and the second signal, and generating and outputting a pseudo speech signal,

wherein the first microphone is provided at a rotation center of the steering wheel, and the second microphone is provided not to the steering wheel but on a lower surface of a steering column cover which is a cover of a steering column that supports the steering wheel of a vehicle.

3. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing a speech processing program for causing a computer to execute a method comprising:

acquiring a first signal corresponding to a sound input to a first microphone that is provided on a surface facing a driver of the vehicle out of a steering wheel of a vehicle;

acquiring a second signal corresponding to a sound input to a second microphone that is provided at a position where at least part of the steering wheel is placed between a mouth of a driver of the vehicle and the second microphone; and

suppressing an estimated noise signal based on the first signal and the second signal, and generating and outputting a pseudo speech signal,

wherein the first microphone is provided at a rotation center of the steering wheel and the second microphone is provided not to the steering wheel but on a lower surface of a steering column cover which is a cover of a steering column that supports the steering wheel of a vehicle.