WIRELESS MULTI-MICROPHONE SYSTEM FOR VOICE COMMUNICATION

• US 20070238490A1
• Filed: 04/11/2006
• Published: 10/11/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 04/11/2006
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Avnera (Skyworks Solutions Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Avnera (Skyworks Solutions Incorporated)
• Inventors: MYRBERG, Mats, Khaira, Manpreet
• Application Number:
  US11/279,340
• Publication Number:
  US 20070238490A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/569.100
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/6008 in the transmitter circuit
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/6066 including a wireless connection
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2420/07 Applications of wireless loudspeakers or wireless microphones
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2430/20 Processing of the output signals of the acoustic transducers of an array for obtaining a desired directivity characteristic H04R2203/12 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 3/005 for combining the signals of two or more microphones specially adapted for hearing aids H04R25/407

Abstract

A wireless communication system includes a wireless terminal and a host device. The wireless terminal includes a transceiver and a processor. The transceiver of the wireless terminal transmits electrical audio signals output from a plurality of microphones over a wireless communication link for enhancement processing, such as noise-cancellation processing, echo-cancellation processing, and/or sidetone processing, at the host device. The wireless communication link can be an electromagnetic-based wireless communication link, a light-based wireless communication link and/or a magnetic-induction-based wireless communication link. The transceiver of the wireless terminal further receives from the wireless communication link enhancement-processed signals based on the electrical audio signals. The processor of the wireless terminal uses the enhancement-processed signals to output an enhanced audio output signal from the terminal device.

Claims

1. A wireless terminal, comprising:

a transceiver transmitting electrical audio signals over a wireless communication link for enhancement processing at a location that is remote from the wireless terminal, the electrical audio signals being output from a plurality of microphone transducer devices, the transceiver further receiving from the wireless communication link enhancement-processed signals based on the electrical audio signals; and

a processor using the enhancement-processed signals to output an enhanced audio output signal from the terminal device.

2. The wireless terminal according to claim 1, wherein the enhancement processing is one of a noise-cancellation processing, an echo-cancellation processing, a sidetone processing, equalization processing, vocoding processing, voice-activity detection processing, sibilance removal processing, ducking processing, harmonization processing, and feedback processing.

3. The wireless terminal according to claim 1, further comprising a plurality of microphone transducer devices.

4. The wireless terminal according to claim 1, further comprising at least one speaker transducer device coupled to the enhanced audio output signal.

5. The wireless terminal according to claim 1, wherein the wireless transceiver further receives control signals for controlling the processor.

6. The wireless terminal according to claim 1, wherein the wireless communication link is one of an electromagnetic-based wireless communication link, a light-based wireless communication link and a magnetic-induction-based wireless communication link.

7. The wireless terminal according to claim 1, wherein the processor performs one of a portion of the enhancement processing and none of the enhancement processing.

8. The wireless terminal according to claim 1, wherein the enhanced audio output signal is one of an audio output signal and an audio/visual output signal.

9. The wireless terminal according to claim 1, wherein the enhancement-processed signals are based at least one of the electrical audio signals transmitted by the transceiver over the wireless communication link, electrical audio signals received from a telephone network, electrical audio signals received from a content source, and electrical audio/video signals received from a content source.

10. The wireless terminal according to claim 1, wherein the processor is one of an analog-based processor, a microprocessor-based device, a microcontroller-based device, an embedded processing device, and a state-machine processing device.

11. The wireless terminal according to claim 1, further comprising a host device remotely located from the wireless terminal and coupled to the terminal device through the wireless communication link, the host device comprising:

a host wireless transceiver receiving the electrical audio signals from the wireless terminal over the wireless communication link; and

a host processor enhancement processing the received electrical audio signals for generating enhancement-processed signals based on the received electrical audio signals,

the host wireless transceiver further transmitting the enhancement-processed signals to the wireless terminal over the wireless communication link.

12. The wireless terminal according to claim 11, wherein the enhancement processing is one of a noise-cancellation processing, an echo-cancellation processing, a sidetone processing, equalization processing, vocoding processing, voice-activity detection processing, sibilance removal processing, ducking processing, harmonization processing and feedback processing.

13. The wireless terminal according to claim 11, wherein the host wireless transceiver further transmits control signals over the wireless communication link for controlling the wireless terminal.

14. The wireless terminal according to claim 11, wherein the wireless communication link is one of an electromagnetic-based wireless communication link, a light-based wireless communication link and a magnetic-induction-based wireless communication link.

15. The wireless terminal according to claim 11, wherein the enhancement-processed signals are based at least one of the electrical audio signals transmitted by the transceiver over the wireless communication link, electrical audio signals received from a telecommunications network, electrical audio signals received from a content source, and electrical audio/video signals received from a content source.

16. The wireless terminal according to claim 11, wherein the host processor further uses the enhancement-processed signals to output an enhanced audio output signal to one of a telecommunications network, an audio content source and an audio/video content source.

17. The wireless terminal according to claim 11, wherein the host processor is one of an analog-based processor, a microprocessor-based device, a microcontroller-based device, an embedded processing device, and a state-machine processing device.

18. A wireless host device, comprising

a host wireless transceiver receiving the electrical audio signals from a wireless terminal over a wireless communication link, the wireless terminal being located remotely from the wireless host device, the electrical audio signals being generated by a plurality of microphone transducer devices associated with the wireless terminal;

and

a host processor enhancement processing the received electrical audio signals for generating enhancement-processed signals based on the received electrical audio signals,

the host wireless transceiver further transmitting the enhancement-processed signals to the wireless terminal over the wireless communication link.

19. The wireless host device according to claim 18, wherein the enhancement processing is one of a noise-cancellation processing, an echo-cancellation processing, a sidetone processing, equalization processing, vocoding processing, voice-activity detection processing, sibilance removal processing, ducking processing, harmonization processing and feedback processing.

20. The wireless host device according to claim 18, wherein the host wireless transceiver further transmits control signals over the wireless communication link for controlling the wireless terminal.

21. The wireless host device according to claim 18, wherein the wireless communication link is one of an electromagnetic-based wireless communication link, a light-based wireless communication link and a magnetic-induction-based wireless communication link.

22. The wireless host device according to claim 18, wherein the enhancement-processed signals are based at least one of the electrical audio signals transmitted by the transceiver over the wireless communication link, electrical audio signals received from a telecommunications network, electrical audio signals received from a content source, and electrical audio/video signals received from a content source.

23. The wireless host device according to claim 18, wherein the host processor further uses the enhancement-processed signals to form an enhanced audio output signal for one of a telecommunications network, an audio content source and an audio/video content source.

24. The wireless host device according to claim 18, wherein the processor is one of an analog-based processor, a microprocessor-based device, a microcontroller-based device, an embedded processing device, and a state-machine processing device.

25. A method, comprising

generating electrical audio signals using a plurality of microphone transducer devices associated with a wireless terminal;

sending the electrical audio signals from the wireless terminal to a host device over a wireless communication link for enhancement processing at a location that is remote from the wireless terminal,

enhancement processing the received electrical audio signals at the host device for generating enhancement-processed signals based on the received electrical audio signals,

receiving from the wireless communication link at the wireless terminal the enhancement-processed signals based on the electrical audio signals; and

using the enhancement-processed signals at the wireless terminal to form an enhanced audio output signal for the terminal device.

26. The method according to claim 25, wherein the enhancement processing is one of a noise-cancellation processing, an echo-cancellation processing, a sidetone processing, equalization processing, vocoding processing, voice-activity detection processing, sibilance removal processing, ducking processing, harmonization processing and feedback processing.

27. The method according to claim 25, wherein the wireless communication link is one of an electromagnetic-based wireless communication link, a light-based wireless communication link and a magnetic-induction-based wireless communication link.

28. The method according to claim 25, wherein the enhancement-processed signals are based at least one of the electrical audio signals transmitted by the transceiver over the wireless communication link, electrical audio signals received from a telecommunications network, electrical audio signals received from a content source, and electrical audio/video signals received from a content source.

29. The method according to claim 25, further comprising using the enhancement-processed signals to form an enhanced audio output signal for use with one of a telecommunications network, an audio content source and an audio/video content source.

30. The method according to claim 25, wherein the enhancement processing is performed by one of an analog-based processor, a microprocessor-based device, a microcontroller-based device, an embedded processing device, and a state-machine processing device.