Spacing for microphone elements

• US 20030033148A1
• Filed: 07/25/2002
• Published: 02/13/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 08/08/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Computer Incorporated (Apple Inc.)
• Inventors: Naik, Devang K., Silverman, Kim E.
• Granted Patent: US 7,349,849 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 704/270
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/20 Speech recognition techniques specially adapted for robustness in adverse environments, e.g. in noise, of stress induced speech G10L21/02 takes precedence
• 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 2021/02166 Microphone arrays; Beamforming

Abstract

A speech recognition device with a frequency range with an upper frequency limit f_max is provided. The speech recognition device has more than two microphones with distances between the microphones, wherein the greatest common factor of the distances between the microphones is less than the speed of sound divided by f_max. More particularly, where the microphones are spaced a total distance, the number of the more than two microphones is less than the one half the total distance times the upper frequency limit divided by the speed of sound.

Claims

1. A speech recognition device with a frequency range with an upper frequency limit f_max, comprising a more than two microphones with distances between the microphones, wherein the greatest common factor of the distances between the microphones is less than the speed of sound divided by f_max.

2. The speech recognition device, as recited in claim 1, wherein the microphones are spaced a total distance and the number of the more than two microphones is less than the one half the total distance times the upper frequency limit divided by the speed of sound.

3. The speech recognition device, as recited in claim 2, further comprising a computer readable medium on which the distances between the microphones is stored.

4. The speech recognition device, as recited in claim 3, wherein each microphone has a microphone width and adjacent microphones are separated from each other by a separation distance, wherein the distances between may be any distance between the separation distance between two adjacent microphones and the sum of the separation distance between two adjacent microphones added to the widths of each of the two adjacent microphones.

5. The speech recognition device, as recited in claim 4, wherein the microphones are mounted on a display.

6. The speech recognition device, as recited in claim 4, further comprising a computer system, comprising:

a display, upon which the microphones are mounted;

a chassis, connected to the microphones and display, wherein the computer readable medium is part of the computer system, and wherein the computer readable medium further comprises computer readable code to provide speech recognition, which uses the stored distances.

7. The speech recognition device, as recited in claim 4, further comprising a computer system a chassis, connected to the microphones wherein the computer readable medium is part of the computer system, and wherein the computer readable medium further comprises computer readable code to provide speech recognition, which uses the stored distances.

8. The speech recognition device, as recited in claim 3, further comprising a computer system, comprising:

a display, upon which the microphones are mounted;

a chassis, connected to the microphones and display, wherein the computer readable medium is part of the computer system, and wherein the computer readable medium further comprises computer readable code to provide speech recognition, which uses the stored distances.

9. The speech recognition device, as recited in claim 3, further comprising a computer system comprises a chassis, connected to the microphones wherein the computer readable medium is part of the computer system, and wherein the computer readable medium further comprises computer readable code to provide speech recognition, which uses the stored distances.

10. The speech recognition device, as recited in claim 2, further comprising a computer system, comprising:

a display, upon which the microphones are mounted;

a chassis, connected to the microphones and display; and

a computer readable medium with computer readable code to provide speech recognition.

11. The speech recognition device, as recited in claim 2, further comprising a computer system comprising:

a chassis, connected to the microphones; and

a computer readable medium comprising computer readable code to provide speech recognition.

12. The speech recognition device, as recited in claim 1, further comprising a computer system, comprising:

a display, upon which the microphones are mounted;

a chassis, connected to the microphones and display; and

a computer readable medium with computer readable code to provide speech recognition.

13. The speech recognition device, as recited in claim 1, further comprising a computer system comprising:

a chassis, connected to the microphones; and

a computer readable medium comprising computer readable code to provide speech recognition.