Aural measurements from earphone output speakers

• US 10,555,102 B2
• Filed: 08/31/2018
• Issued: 02/04/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 05/20/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Mobile Physics Limited
• Original Assignee: Bugatone Ltd
• Inventors: Ben-Ami, Edmund, Petrank, Noam
• Primary Examiner(s): Patel, Yogeshkumar
• Application Number:
  US16/119,769
• Publication Number:
  US 20180376267A1
• Time in Patent Office: 522 Days
• Field of Search: 381 716, 381 93, 381 92, 381 947, 379414, 379 85, 341110
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2562/0204 Acoustic sensors
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0051 by applying vibrations
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/02055 Simultaneously evaluating both cardiovascular condition and temperature
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/02133 by using induced vibration of the blood vessel
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/02438 with portable devices, e.g. worn by the patient
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0295 using plethysmography, i.e. measuring the variations in the volume of a body part as modified by the circulation of blood therethrough, e.g. impedance plethysmography
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/486 Bio-feedback A61B5/375 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6803 Head-worn items, e.g. helmets, masks, headphones or goggles
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6817 Ear canal
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/7228 Signal modulation applied to the input signal sent to patient or subject; demodulation to recover the physiological signal modulation H03C
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/7278 Artificial waveform generation or derivation, e.g. synthesising signals from measured signals A61B5/327 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/7405 using sound
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 7/045 Detection of Korotkoff sounds A61B5/0225 takes precedence; measuring blood pressure A61B5/021
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 18/00 Pattern recognition
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/165 Management of the audio stream, e.g. setting of volume, audio stream path
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/15 Biometric patterns based on physiological signals, e.g. heartbeat, blood flow
• 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 1/1091 Details not provided for in groups H04R1/1008 - H04R1/1083
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 29/001 for loudspeakers H04R29/007 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 3/04 for correcting frequency response

Abstract

According to some embodiments of the present invention there is provided a method of using an earphone output speaker as a microphone for a phone call between two and/or more participants, or for measuring biometric data of a user. The method may comprise playing a received signal to an electro-acoustic output transducer of an earphone. The method may comprise instructing an audio processing circuit of a local client terminal to record an audio signal from the same electro-acoustic output transducer. The method may comprise calculating a voice signal and/or a biometric measurement based on a function combining the recorded audio signal, the received signal, and filtration coefficients, using a processing unit of the local client terminal. The method may comprise sending the voice signal and/or a biometric measurement through an output interface of the local client terminal.

Claims

1. A method of using an earphone output speaker as a microphone for a phone call between a plurality of participants, comprising:

playing a remote voice signal received from a remote client terminal with an electro- acoustic output transducer, wherein said remote voice signal represents a voice of a remote participant recorded from the remote client terminal;

recording a first local voice signal from same said electro-acoustic output transducer, wherein said first local voice signal represents a voice of a local participant using a local client terminal;

calculating a transmission voice signal based on a function combining said first local voice signal, said remote voice signal, and filtration coefficients, using a processing unit of said local client terminal; and

sending said transmission voice signal through an output interface of said local client terminal, thereby enabling acoustic voice playing of said transmission voice signal by said remote client terminal at a remote location for a phone call communication.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said electro-acoustic output transducer is an external speaker connected to an earphone.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein said electro-acoustic output transducer is an internal speaker of said local client terminal.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein recording said first local voice signal and playing said remote voice signal are performed simultaneously from same said electro-acoustic output transducer.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein recording said first local voice signal and playing said remote voice signal are performed alternately from same said electro-acoustic output transducer so that the alternating is inaudible.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

recording, using a microphone that is different from the electro-acoustic output transducer, a second local voice signal, wherein said second local voice signal represents the voice of the local participant using said local client terminal;

wherein calculating the transmission voice signal comprises calculating a noise reduced voice signal based on a function combining said first local voice signal, said second local voice signal, said remote voice signal, and said filtration coefficients, using the processing unit of said local client terminal, and

wherein sending the transmission voice signal through the output interface comprises sending said noise reduced voice signal through the output interface, thereby enabling acoustic playing of said noise reduced voice signal by said remote client terminal at the remote location for the phone call communication.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein said electro-acoustic output transducer is located inside an ear canal during the playing of the remote voice signal and the recording of the first local voice signal.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the filtration coefficients comprise transducer coefficients that represent modification of the remote voice signal by the electro-acoustic output transducer in acoustic playing of the remote voice signal.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein calculating the transmission voice signal includes subtracting, from the first local voice signal, a combination of the remote voice signal and the transducer coefficients to represent acoustic playing of the remote voice signal.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the filtration coefficients comprise transducer coefficients and ear canal coefficients;

the transducer coefficients represent modification of the remote voice signal by the electro-acoustic output transducer in acoustic playing of the remote voice signal;

the ear canal coefficients represent modification of the acoustic playing of the remote voice signal by an ear canal; and

calculating the transmission voice signal is based on a function combining said first local voice signal, said remote voice signal, the transducer coefficients, and the ear canal coefficients, using the processing unit of said local client terminal.

14. The method of claim 6, wherein calculating the transmission voice signal comprises cross correlating the first local voice signal and the second local voice signal to identify background sounds and remove those background sounds to generate the transmission voice signal.

15. The method of claim 10, wherein the function combining said first local voice signal, said remote voice signal, the transducer coefficients, and the ear canal coefficients includes summing (i) a convolution of the transducer coefficients with the remote voice signal, and (ii) a convolution of the transducer coefficients, the ear canal coefficients, and said first local voice signal.

11. A system, comprising:

a processor; and

a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause performance of operations that comprise;

playing a remote voice signal received from a remote client terminal with an electro-acoustic output transducer, wherein said remote voice signal represents a voice of a remote participant recorded from the remote client terminal;

recording a first local voice signal from same said electro-acoustic output transducer, wherein said first local voice signal represents a voice of a local participant using a local client terminal;

calculating a transmission voice signal based on a function combining said first local voice signal, said remote voice signal, and filtration coefficients, using a processing unit of said local client terminal; and

sending said transmission voice signal through an output interface of said local client terminal, thereby enabling acoustic voice playing of said transmission voice signal by said remote client terminal at a remote location for a phone call communication.

16. The system of claim 11, wherein the operations further comprise:

recording, using a microphone that is different from the electro-acoustic output transducer, a second local voice signal, wherein said second local voice signal represents the voice of the local participant using said local client terminal;

wherein calculating the transmission voice signal comprises calculating a noise reduced voice signal based on a function combining said first local voice signal, said second local voice signal, said remote voice signal, and said filtration coefficients, using the processing unit of said local client terminal, and

wherein sending the transmission voice signal through the output interface comprises sending said noise reduced voice signal through the output interface, thereby enabling acoustic playing of said noise reduced voice signal by said remote client terminal at the remote location for the phone call communication.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein calculating the transmission voice signal

comprises cross correlating the first local voice signal and the second local voice signal to identify background sounds and remove those background sounds to generate the transmission voice signal.

18. The system of claim 11, wherein:

the filtration coefficients comprise transducer coefficients that represent modification of the remote voice signal by the electro-acoustic output transducer in acoustic playing of the remote voice signal; and

calculating the transmission voice signal includes subtracting, from the first local voice signal, a combination of the remote voice signal and the transducer coefficients to represent acoustic playing of the remote voice signal.

19. The system of claim 11, wherein:

filtration coefficients comprise transducer coefficients and ear canal coefficients;

the transducer coefficients represent modification of the remote voice signal by the electro-acoustic output transducer in acoustic playing of the remote voice signal;

the ear canal coefficients represent modification of the acoustic playing of the remote voice signal by an ear canal; and

calculating the transmission voice signal is based on a function combining said first local voice signal, said remote voice signal, the transducer coefficients, and the ear canal coefficients, using the processing unit of said local client terminal.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the function combining said first local voice

signal, said remote voice signal, the transducer coefficients, and the ear canal coefficients includes summing (i) a convolution of the transducer coefficients with the remote voice signal, and (ii) a convolution of the transducer coefficients, the ear canal coefficients, and said first local voice signal.

12. A device for sending a voice signal during a phone call, comprising:

a first interface for sending a transmission voice signal of a local participant in a phone conversation and receiving a remote voice signal of a remote participant in said phone conversation;

a second interface for connecting an earphone to said device;

at least one storage unit comprising sets of processor instructions for performing actions that include;

playing the remote voice signal to an electro-acoustic transducer of said earphone;

recording a first local voice signal using same said electro-acoustic transducer of said earphone;

computing said transmission voice signal from said first local voice signal, said remote voice signal, and filtration coefficients;

sending, using the first interface, said transmission voice signal to a player device of said remote participant in said phone conversation; and

at least one processing unit configured for retrieving said sets of processor instructions from said at least one storage unit, and executing said sets of processor instructions.

13. The device of claim 12, wherein:

said device further comprises a microphone that is different from the electro-acoustic transducer;

said microphone is adapted to record a second local voice signal; and

said transmission voice signal is a noise reduced voice signal computed using said first local voice signal, said second local voice signal, said remote voice signal, and said filtration coefficients.