Enabling separate chat and selective enablement of microphone

• US 6,928,329 B1
• Filed: 02/29/2000
• Issued: 08/09/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 02/29/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Danieli, Damon V., Stipes, Matthew J., Mack, Wolfgang A., Giaimo, Edward C., Brooks, Thomas W.
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Duc
• Assistant Examiner(s): Lao, Lun-See
• Application Number:
  US09/515,559
• Time in Patent Office: 1,988 Days
• Field of Search: 700/94, 463/1, 463/40, 463 42- 43, 381/370, 381/376, 348/14
• US Class Current: 700/94
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/12 involving interaction between a plurality of game devices, e.g. transmisison or distribution systems protocols for networked virtual reality, networked games H04L29/06034
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/30 Interconnection arrangements between game servers and game devices; Interconnection arrangements between game devices; Interconnection arrangements between game servers
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/424 involving acoustic input signals, e.g. by using the results of pitch or rhythm extraction or voice recognition
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/87 Communicating with other players during game play, e.g. by e-mail or chat
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/1081 Input via voice recognition
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/572 Communication between players during game play of non game information, e.g. e-mail, chat, file transfer, streaming of audio and streaming of video
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/6072 of an input signal, e.g. pitch and rhythm extraction, voice recognition
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/165 Management of the audio stream, e.g. setting of volume, audio stream path
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/26 Speech to text systems G10L15/08 takes precedence

Abstract

Two different and separate audio data streams are processed through a personal computer (PC) system or other computing device so that the separate and distinct audio data streams are heard through separate sound transducers. In a preferred embodiment, chat messages received over a network during execution of a multiplayer game are processed separately from sounds produced by the multiplayer game, enabling a user to hear the game sounds from speakers, separate and distinct from verbal chat messages, which are heard through earphone(s). The earphone(s) are included in a headset, as well as a microphone that enables the user to produce verbal data that are conveyed to a hardware control unit that is connected to the PC system through a universal serial bus (USB) port. The chat audio data are converted into an analog audio signal that is heard by the user in the headphone(s) and is spatially separate and distinct from the game audio data heard through the speakers. Included on the control unit are switches that enable the user to selectively direct verbal data either to the chat session or to a voice recognition engine that converts the verbal data into commands used for controlling the game.

Claims

1. A method enabling a plurality of separate and distinct audio data streams to be processed by a computing device to produce a plurality of separate and distinct audible outputs that are audible to a user, comprising the steps of:

(a) receiving data for use by a software application being executed on the computing device, said software application executing on the computing device producing at least a portion of the plurality of the separate and distinct audio data streams, and said data conveying one audio data stream not generated by the software application that is maintained separate from all other audio data streams that are processed by the computing device;

(b) converting each of the plurality of audio data streams into a corresponding analog audio signal, said one audio data stream being converted to a corresponding analog audio signal by an external controller that is coupled in communication with the computing device and enables a user to select a recipient and a function of audio data input by the user, said audio data input by the user being processed by the computing device to produce an output audio data stream that is selectively transmitted by the computing device to the recipient selected by the user, along with output data produced by the software application;

(c) using an output of one of a sound card and a universal serial bus port for energizing a first sound transducer not worn by a user with the analog audio signals corresponding to the plurality of audio data streams other than said one audio data stream, to produce a first audible output generated by the software application; and

(d) energizing a second sound transducer worn by a user with the analog audio signal corresponding to said one audio data stream to produce a second audible output, so that separate and distinct first and second audible outputs are produced in response to the plurality of audio data streams and are audible to the user.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of receiving comprises the steps of receiving a chat audio data stream over a network to which the computing device is coupled, as said one audio data stream, said chat audio data stream comprising a verbal communication transmitted from a remote site over the network in regard to the software application that is being executed by the computing device.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the software application comprises an electronic game that produces a game audio data stream that is separate and distinct from the chat audio data stream.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising the step of providing a headset that is coupled to the computing device, wherein the step of converting comprises the step of converting digital chat audio data into a chat analog audio signal for input to the headset, said headset including said second sound transducer.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the headset includes a microphone for input of verbal audio data that are processed by the computing device.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of enabling a user to use the external controller to control whether the verbal audio data comprising the input audio data are transmitted over the network to a remote site as a chat audio data stream received by another person in regard to the software application, or are employed for verbal input of commands to control the software application.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising the step of recognizing the verbal commands to produce corresponding input data that control the software application.

8. The method of claim 6, further comprising the step of enabling a user to specify a verbal command corresponding to a command entered with an input device, to enable the verbal command to be employed in place of the command entered with the input device to control the software application.

9. The method of claim 3, wherein the step of converting comprises the step of converting digital application audio data into an application analog audio signal that drives at least one speaker coupled to the computing device, said at least one speaker comprising said first sound transducer.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of converting comprises the steps of:

(a) encoding a specific audio data stream that comprises said one audio data stream into one channel of a multi-channel signal, within the computing device, and all other audio data streams into the other channels of the multi-channel signal; and

(b) decoding the multi-channel signal to recover said specific audio data stream to produce the second analog audio output and all other channels of the multi-channel signal to produce at least the first analog audio output.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein said one audio data stream is encoded as a rear channel of a surround multi-channel signal and comprises chat audio data.

12. A machine readable medium having processor executable instructions for performing the step of receiving and maintaining said one audio data stream separate from all other audio data streams, as recited in claim 1.

13. A method for reproducing chat sounds separate from software application sounds on a computing device, said chat sounds being derived from speech contemporaneously uttered by a user of a remote computing device that executes a software application, which also is executed on the computing device to produce the application sounds, comprising the steps of:

(a) receiving digital chat data from the remote computing device over a network;

(b) executing the software application to produce application sound digital data, said digital chat data and said application sound digital data being maintained separate within the computing device and not mixed, but both being employed in connection with the software application being executed on the computing device;

(c) converting the digital chat data to an analog chat signal;

(d) converting the application sound digital data to an analog application sound signal;

(e) applying the analog application sound signal to a first sound transducer, to produce the application sounds, the first transducer not being worn by a user; and

(f) applying the analog chat signal to a second sound transducer worn by a user, that is separate and distinct from the first sound transducer, to produce the chat sounds, so that a user hears the chat sounds separate and distinct from the application sounds.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the step of receiving comprises the step of employing a DirectSound module to separately process the chat digital data and the application sound digital data as separate audio data streams.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the chat digital data are supplied to an external control unit that includes a connection for the second sound transducer and which carries out the step of converting the chat digital data into the analog chat signal.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the second sound transducer comprises a headset with a microphone, and wherein the external controller includes a command control module coupled with the computing device;

and, further comprising the step of enabling a user to selectively actuate a switch on the command control module to control whether an audio signal produced by the user speaking into the microphone is transmitted over the network as digital chat data or is input to the command control module and employed as a command to control the software application being executed by the computing device, enabling the user to selectively chat with another person in regard to the functions being implemented by the software application, or alternatively, control the software application with words spoken into the microphone by the user.

17. The method of claim 13, wherein the step of applying the analog application sound signal to the first sound transducer comprises the step of driving at least one external speaker coupled to the computing device with the analog application sound signal.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the software application comprises a multiplayer game being played by a plurality of players, including the user, and the step of driving said at least one external speaker comprises the step of playing game sounds through said at least one external speaker, said multiplayer game producing the application sound digital data that are converted to the analog application sound signal for use in driving said at least one external speaker.