Method and apparatus for in-ear canal sound suppression

• US 10,194,032 B2
• Filed: 11/16/2015
• Issued: 01/29/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 05/04/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Staton Techiya, LLC
• Original Assignee: Staton Techiya, LLC
• Inventors: McIntosh, Jason, Boillot, Marc, Usher, John, Goldstein, Steven
• Primary Examiner(s): Chin, Vivian
• Assistant Examiner(s): Tran, Con P
• Application Number:
  US14/943,001
• Publication Number:
  US 20160072958A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,170 Days
• Field of Search: 381 7111, 381 716, 381 715, 381 711, 381 95, 381 941, 381 945, 381 947, 381 74, 381 58, 37940601, 379158, 379 35, 455570, 455416, 455 6712, 348 1408, 348 1409, 348 1401, 398 40
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/568 audio processing specific to telephonic conferencing, e.g. spatial distribution, mixing of participants echo suppression in two-way loud-speaking telephone systems H04M9/02; sound field processing per se H04S7/30
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 9/08 Two-way loud-speaking telephone systems with means for conditioning the signal, e.g. for suppressing echoes for one or both directions of traffic
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/1016 Earpieces of the intra-aural type
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/1083 Reduction of ambient noise active noise reduction per se G10K11/175; protective devices for the ear, e.g. providing acoustic protection A61F11/06
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2201/107 Monophonic and stereophonic headphones with microphone for two-way hands free communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2410/05 Noise reduction with a separate noise microphone
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2430/01 Aspects of volume control, not necessarily automatic, in sound systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2460/01 Hearing devices using active noise cancellation
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2460/05 Electronic compensation of the occlusion effect
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2499/13 Acoustic transducers and sound field adaptation in vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 3/005 for combining the signals of two or more microphones specially adapted for hearing aids H04R25/407
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 3/02 for preventing acoustic reaction , i.e. acoustic oscillatory feedback specially adapted for hearing aids H04R25/453

Abstract

A method and system of conferencing can include the steps of initiating a conference call at a communication device with two or more communication devices and selecting to suppress a voice communication of at least one communication device on the conference call where a modified electronic signal is generated with the selected at least one communication device so that the voice communication from the selected at least one communication device is inaudible. The method or system further includes sending the modified electronic signal to at least one other communication device on the conference call. Other embodiments are disclosed.

Claims

1. A method of conferencing, the method comprising:

initiating a conference call from a first communication device with two or more communication devices different from the first communication device;

selecting to suppress a voice communication of at least one communication device of the two or more communication devices on the conference call, wherein a modified electronic signal is generated with the at least one communication device so that the voice communication from the at least one communication device is inaudible;

sending the modified electronic signal to at least one of the two or more communication devices different from the first communication device;

delivering audio content corresponding to the conference call to the first communication device by way of an Ear Canal Receiver (ECR) to produce an acoustic audio content;

capturing, at the first communication device, the acoustic audio content including the voice communication by way of an Ear Canal Microphone (ECM) of the first communication device, wherein the ECM provides an electronic internal signal based on the acoustic audio content including the voice communication of the at least one communication device of the two or more communication devices on the conference call; and

suppressing the voice communication from a predetermined channel in the electronic internal signal thereby generating the modified electronic signal wherein the electronic internal signal and a reference signal couples to an adaptive filter to generate the modified electronic signal.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the reference signal comprises a signal from one of the two or more communication devices other than an initiator of the conference call and a communication device receiving the modified electronic signal.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving each voice communication from the two or more communication devices on the conference call on a separate channel wherein the adaptive filter does not receive the voice communication of the at least one communication device of the conference call to be suppressed; and

sending the modified electronic signal to at least one channel other than the predetermined channel.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising utilizing the adaptive filter to model an ear canal transfer function.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising suppressing, by utilizing the adaptive filter, an echo of a mixed signal that is looped back to the ECR by way of an ambient sound microphone of the first communication device.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising preserving a spoken voice occurring during the conference call when generating the modified electronic signal.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising mixing sounds captured at an ambient sound microphone of the first communication device and the ECM to produce a mixed signal.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising providing the mixed signal to a voice recognition system, a voice dictation system, a voice recorder, or a combination thereof.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining a voice activity level in an environment associated with the first communication device.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising managing an echo feedback condition affecting the voice activity level.

11. The method of claim 9, further comprising including a voice of an initiator of the conference call in the in the modified electronic signal.

12. A first communication device, comprising:

a processor;

a memory operatively coupled to the processor, wherein the memory includes computer instructions, which, in response to being executed by the processor causes the processor to perform operations comprising;

initiating a conference call with at least a second and a third communication device;

selecting to suppress a voice communication of at least the second communication device on the conference call, wherein a modified electronic signal is generated so that the voice communication from the second communication device is inaudible;

sending the modified electronic signal to at least the third communication device on the conference call;

delivering audio content corresponding to the conference call to the first communication device by way of an Ear Canal Receiver (ECR) to produce an acoustic audio content; and

capturing, at the first communication device, the acoustic audio content including the voice communication by way of an Ear Canal Microphone (ECM) of the first communication device, wherein a reference signal is coupled to an adaptive filter, wherein the ECM provides an electronic internal signal based on the acoustic audio content to the adaptive filter, wherein the adaptive filter outputs the modified electronic signal and wherein the voice communication from the second communication device is suppressed in the modified electronic signal.

13. The first communication device of claim 12, wherein the reference signal comprises the voice communication from the second communication device.

14. The first communication device of claim 12, wherein the operations further comprise:

receiving each voice communication from the at least the second communication device and the third communication device on the conference call on a separate channel wherein the adaptive filter does not couple to the third communication device; and

sending the modified electronic signal to at least one channel other than a predetermined channel.

15. The first communication device of claim 12, wherein the operation further comprise preserving a spoken voice occurring during the conference call when generating the modified electronic signal.

16. The first communication device of claim 12, wherein the operations further comprise mixing sounds captured at an ambient sound microphone of the first communication device and the ECM to produce a mixed signal.

17. The first communication device of claim 12, wherein the operations further comprise determining a voice activity level in an environment associated with the first communication device.

18. The first communication device of claim 17, wherein the operations further comprise managing an echo feedback condition affecting the voice activity level.

19. The first communication device of claim 12, wherein the operations further comprise suppressing, by utilizing the adaptive filter, an echo of a mixed signal that is looped back to the ECR by way of an ambient sound microphone of the first communication device.

20. The first communication device of claim 12, wherein the operations further comprise utilizing the adaptive filter to model an ear canal transfer function.