WEARABLE HEADSET WITH SELF-CONTAINED VOCAL FEEDBACK AND VOCAL COMMAND

• US 20100041447A1
• Filed: 08/11/2009
• Published: 02/18/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 08/13/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: OV Loop, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Onvocal Inc.
• Inventors: GRAYLIN, WILL WANG
• Granted Patent: US 8,498,425 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/575.200
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/26 Speech to text systems G10L15/08 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/05 specially adapted for use on head, throat or breast
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/6066 including a wireless connection
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/74 with voice recognition means
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/1041 Mechanical or electronic switches, or control elements switches in general H01H
• 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 2201/103 Combination of monophonic or stereophonic headphones with audio players, e.g. integrated in the headphone
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2420/01 Input selection or mixing for amplifiers or loudspeakers
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2420/03 Connection circuits to selectively connect loudspeakers or headphones to amplifiers
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2460/07 Use of position data from wide-area or local-area positioning systems in hearing devices, e.g. program or information selection
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 3/00 Circuits for transducers , loudspeakers or microphones
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 5/033 Headphones for stereophonic communication details thereof, e.g. relating to batteries, cables or control elements H04R1/10
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 5/0335 Earpiece support, e.g. headbands or neckrests for monophonic headphones H04R1/105

Abstract

A headset includes a wearable body, first and second earphones extending from the wearable body, controls for controlling an external communication/multimedia device wirelessly, a microphone for picking up vocal data from a user of the headset system and a signal processing unit. The signal processing unit includes circuitry for processing the vocal data into a distinctly audible vocal feedback signal, circuitry for enhancing the vocal feedback signal thereby producing an enhanced vocal feedback signal and circuitry for mixing the enhanced vocal feedback signal with audio signals originating from the external communication/multimedia device, thereby producing a mixed output signal and then sending the mixed output signal to the user via the earphones. The external communication/multimedia device comprises a vocal command application and the headset further comprises a vocal command control for sending vocal commands to the external communication/multimedia device and to the vocal command application.

Claims

1. A headset comprising:

a wearable body;

first and second earphones extending from said wearable body;

controls for controlling an external communication/multimedia device wirelessly;

a microphone for picking up voice data from a user of the headset;

a signal processing unit comprising,

circuitry for processing said voice data into a distinctly audible vocal feedback signal;

circuitry for enhancing said vocal feedback signal thereby producing an enhanced vocal feedback signal; and

circuitry for mixing said enhanced vocal feedback signal with audio signals originating from said external communication/multimedia device, thereby producing a mixed output signal and then sending the mixed output signal to said user via said earphones.

2. The headset of claim 1 wherein said external communication/multimedia device comprises a vocal command application and wherein said headset further comprises a vocal command control for sending vocal commands to said external communication/multimedia device and to said vocal command application.

3. The headset of claim 1 wherein said wearable body is configured to be worn around the back of said user'"'"'s neck and comprises bendable and flexible material.

4. The headset of claim 3 wherein said wearable body comprises a U-shaped frame that conforms to the back of said user'"'"'s neck and comprises first and second ends and wherein said microphone extends from one of said U-shaped frame ends.

5. The headset of claim 4 wherein said U-shaped frame is foldable and comprises adjustable length.

6. The headset of claim 4 wherein said first and second earphones are contained and concealed within first and second openings in said first and second ends of said U-shaped frame, respectively, and wherein said earphones are pulled out from said openings when in use and retract back into said openings when not in use.

7. The headset of claim 1 wherein said external communication/multimedia device comprises one of mobile phone, MP3 player, portable music player, personal digital assistant, personal computer, or television set.

8. The headset of claim 4 wherein said signal processing unit is contained within said U-shaped frame and comprises an interface, a signal processor, filters, a mixer, a battery and a recorder, and wherein during operation said headset communicates with and sends and receives data to and from said external communication/multimedia device via said interface.

9. The headset of claim 8 wherein said interface comprises a wireless interface.

10. The headset of claim 9 wherein said wireless interface comprises a Bluetooth interface

11. The headset of claim 1 wherein said enhancement circuitry comprises filters for enhancing said user'"'"'s vocal frequencies and controls for adjusting the volume of said enhanced vocal feedback signal relative to the volume of the audio signals originating from said communication/multimedia device.

12. The headset of claim 2 wherein activating and holding said vocal command control on sends a vocal command activation signal from said headset to said external communication/multimedia device, wakes up said vocal command application, records and sends voice data to said vocal command application via said interface, and wherein said vocal command application comprises means for converting said voice data into text or pattern, locally or remotely via a server, and wherein the vocal command application further translates said text or pattern into commands that perform one or more functions by said vocal command application and other applications on said external communication/multimedia device.

13. The headset of claim 12 wherein said signal processing unit further comprises a recorder for recording voice data and wherein upon starting of recording, a first alert tone is sent to said earphones indicating that recording of voice data has commenced and wherein releasing of said vocal command control stops said recording and then sends a second alert tone to said earphones indicating that the recording is stopped.

14. A system comprising a headset and a communication/multimedia device, wherein said headset communicates with said communication/multimedia device wirelessly and comprises,

a wearable body;

first and second earphones extending from said wearable body;

controls for controlling the external communication/multimedia device wirelessly;

a microphone for picking up voice data from a user of the headset;

a signal processing unit for processing said voice data;

a vocal command control; and

wherein said external communication/multimedia device comprises a vocal command application and wherein said vocal command control sends vocal commands to said external communication/multimedia device and to said vocal command application.

15. The system of claim 14 wherein said signal processing unit comprises:

circuitry for processing said voice data into a distinctly audible vocal feedback signal;

circuitry for enhancing said vocal feedback signal thereby producing an enhanced vocal feedback signal; and

circuitry for mixing said enhanced vocal feedback signal with audio signals originating from said external communication/multimedia device, thereby producing a mixed output signal and then sending the mixed output signal to said user via said earphones.

16. The system of claim 14 further comprising a remote server and wherein said communication/multimedia device comprises means for communicating with and sending said vocal commands voice data to said remote server via a network and wherein said server comprises means for converting voice data contained in said vocal commands into text or pattern and then return said text or pattern back to said vocal command application for executing commands translated from said text or pattern.

17. The system of claim 14 wherein said external communication/multimedia device further comprises a voice recognition application and said voice recognition application receives voice data from said headset and converts them into text or pattern and wherein said vocal command application translates said text or pattern into commands that perform one or more functions by said vocal command application and other applications on said external communication/multimedia device.

18. The system of claim 16 wherein said remote server comprises an authentication application for recognizing and authenticating said user from said voice data.

19. The system of claim 14 wherein said vocal commands comprise one of “

call a person”

, “

e-mail a person”

, “

search a content”

, “

text a person”

or “

Goto a location”

based on GPS.

20. A method for issuing vocal commands to a communication/multimedia device via a headset comprising:

providing a headset comprising a wearable body, first and second ear phones extending from said wearable body, controls for controlling the external communication/multimedia device wirelessly, a microphone for picking up voice data from a user of the headset, a signal processing unit for processing said voice data and a vocal command control for sending said voice data to the communication/multimedia device;

activating said communication/multimedia device'"'"'s vocal command mode by turning said vocal command control on;

sending a wake-up signal to said communication/multimedia device via an interface of said headset for waking up a vocal command application and begin recording of vocal command voice data;

sending a first alert sound to said earphones indicating that recording of voice data has commenced;

speaking vocal commands into said microphone and recording the captured voice data;

releasing said vocal command control, thereby stopping the recording of the captured voice data;

sending a second alert sound to said earphones indicating that recording of voice data has stopped;

sending said recorded voice data to said communication/multimedia device and to the vocal command application;

converting said voice data into text or pattern, locally or remotely via a server; and

translating said text or pattern into commands that perform one or more functions by said vocal command application and other applications on said external communication/multimedia device.

21. The method of claim 20 wherein said signal processing unit comprises circuitry for processing said voice data into a vocal feedback signal, circuitry for enhancing said vocal feedback signal thereby producing an enhanced vocal feedback signal, circuitry for mixing said enhanced vocal feedback signal with audio signals originating from said external communications/multimedia device, thereby producing a mixed output signal and then sending the mixed output signal to said user via said earphones, and a recorder for recording voice data.