VIBRATION SENSOR AND ACOUSTIC VOICE ACTIVITY DETECTION SYSTEMS (VADS) FOR USE WITH ELECTRONIC SYSTEMS

• US 20140188467A1
• Filed: 08/05/2013
• Published: 07/03/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 05/01/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Jawbone Innovations, LLC
• Original Assignee: AliphCom, Inc. (AliphCom Corp.)
• Inventors: Jing, Zhinian, Petit, Nicolas Jean, Burnett, Gregory C.
• Granted Patent: US 9,263,062 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 704/233
• 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 2025/783 based on threshold decision
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 21/0208 Noise filtering
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 25/78 Detection of presence or absence of voice signals switching of direction of transmission by voice frequency in two-way loud-speaking telephone systems H04M9/10
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 25/84 for discriminating voice from noise
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 25/93 Discriminating between voiced and unvoiced parts of speech signals G10L25/90 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/1008 Earpieces of the supra-aural or circum-aural type
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/406 microphones
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2201/107 Monophonic and stereophonic headphones with microphone for two-way hands free communication
• 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 3/04 for correcting frequency response

Abstract

A voice activity detector (VAD) combines the use of an acoustic VAD and a vibration sensor VAD as appropriate to the conditions a host device is operated. The VAD includes a first detector receiving a first signal and a second detector receiving a second signal. The VAD includes a first VAD component coupled to the first and second detectors. The first VAD component determines that the first signal corresponds to voiced speech when energy resulting from at least one operation on the first signal exceeds a first threshold. The VAD includes a second VAD component coupled to the second detector. The second VAD component determines that the second signal corresponds to voiced speech when a ratio of a second parameter corresponding to the second signal and a first parameter corresponding to the first signal exceeds a second threshold.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving a first signal at a first detector and a second signal at a second detector, wherein the first signal is different from die second signal;

determining the first signal corresponds to voiced speech when energy resulting from at least one operation on the first signal exceeds a first threshold;

determining a state of contact of the first detector with skin of a user;

determining the second signal corresponds to voiced speech when a ratio of a second parameter corresponding to the second signal and a first parameter corresponding to the first signal exceeds a second threshold; and

one of generating a voice activity detection (VAD) signal to indicate a presence of voiced speech when the first signal corresponds to voiced speech and the state of contact is a first state, and generating the VAD signal when either of the first signal and die second signal correspond to voiced speech and the state of contact is a second state.