Selective muting for conference call participants

• US 7,843,486 B1
• Filed: 04/10/2006
• Issued: 11/30/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 04/10/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Afiniti Ltd
• Original Assignee: Avaya Incorporated
• Inventors: Gentle, Christopher Reon, Lang, Andrew W., Chan, Kevin, Blair, Colin, Hepworth, Neil
• Primary Examiner(s): Ni; Suhan
• Assistant Examiner(s): El-Zoobi; Maria
• Application Number:
  US11/402,120
• Time in Patent Office: 1,695 Days
• Field of Search: 381/310, 381/381, 348 1401- 1416
• US Class Current: 348/14.01
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/509 Microphone arrays
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/568 audio processing specific to telephonic conferencing, e.g. spatial distribution, mixing of participants echo suppression in two-way loud-speaking telephone systems H04M9/02; sound field processing per se H04S7/30
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42203 sound input device, e.g. microphone
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4223 Cameras H04N23/00 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4396 by muting the audio signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/142 Constructional details of the terminal equipment, e.g. arrangements of the camera and the display
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/147 Communication arrangements, e.g. identifying the communication as a video-communication, intermediate storage of the signals selecting H04Q
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/15 Conference systems

Abstract

The present invention is directed toward conference calls and methods, devices, and systems for facilitating a conference call. Specifically, the present invention allows participants of a conference call to selectively alter or mute other participants'"'"' voices in a conference call. More specifically, a number of participants may be associated with a single communication device and only a subset of those participants may have their voice signal altered or muted during the conference call.

Claims

1. A method of facilitating a conference call, comprising:

receiving, by a processor, a sound signal;

determining, by the processor, a relative spatial location of a source of the received sound signal;

based on the determined location of the source of the received sound signal processing the received sound signal by performing at least one of the following steps;

selectively altering, by the processor, the received sound signal in a first manner in the event that the received sound signal is received from a first determined location;

selectively altering, by the processor, the received sound signal in a second manner in the event that the received sound signal is received from a second determined location, wherein the first and second manners are different;

creating, by the processor, a virtual channel for the received sound signal;

creating, by the processor, sound parameters for the virtual channel;

storing, by the processor, the selective alteration in the sound parameters; and

transmitting, by the processor, the virtual channel with the stored sound parameters.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first and second sets of spatial locations are mutually exclusive.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising assigning the received sound signal to one of at least two virtual channels, wherein a first virtual channel is associated with a first set of spatial locations, and wherein a second virtual channel is associated with a second set of spatial locations, wherein a received sound signal assigned to the first virtual channel is muted and a received sound signal assigned to the second virtual channel is not altered.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein a first participant is associated with the first virtual channel and wherein a second participant is associated with the second virtual channel.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

dividing a room into at least two portions;

assigning the first participant to a first of the at least two portions;

assigning the second participant to a second of the at least two portions; and

wherein the first of the at least two portions is associated with the first virtual channel and the second of the at least two portions is associated with the second virtual channel.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

monitoring the first and second portions for voice activity;

determining that voice activity has not occurred in at least one of the portions for a predetermined amount of time; and

removing the at least one portion of the room that has not had any determined voice activity for the predetermined amount of time.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

providing a microphone array comprising at least two microphones;

receiving the sound signal at a first of the at least two microphones at a first time;

receiving the sound signal at a second of the at least two microphones at a second time;

determining a difference, if any, between the first and second time; and

wherein the spatial origin of the received sound signal is determined based at least in part on the difference between the first and second time.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

associating the first determined location with a first phase delay range;

measuring a phase delay of the received sound signal;

determining whether the phase delay of the received sound signal lies between the first phase delay range; and

assigning the received sound signal to a first virtual channel in the event that the phase delay of the received sound signal lies within the first delay range.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein selectively altering comprises at least one of, muting, increasing the volume, and decreasing the volume of the received sound signal.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising displaying first and second determined locations.

11. A computer readable medium comprising executable instructions operable to perform the method of claim 1.

12. A device for use in a conference call, wherein at least a first and second participant share a single communication device, comprising:

an input operable to receive a first sound signal from the first participant and a second sound signal from the second participant;

a participant locator operable to determine a spatial location of the first sharing participant;

a signal separator operable to, based on the determined spatial location of the first sharing participant, distinguish the sound signals received from the first sharing participant from the sound signals received from the second sharing participant;

a processor operable to;

process sound signals received from the first sharing participant independently of sound signals received from the second sharing participant;

create a first virtual channel for the first sound signal;

store the first sound signal and at least one parameter describing the first sound signal in the first virtual channel;

create a second virtual channel for the second sound signal; and

store the second sound signal and at least one parameter describing the second sound signal in the second virtual channel.

13. The device of claim 12, wherein the signal separator is further operable to assign the received sound signals to the virtual channels based on the determined spatial location of the sharing participants, wherein a first virtual channel is associated with a first spatial location, wherein a second virtual channel is associated with a second spatial location, and wherein the first and second sets of spatial locations are mutually exclusive.

14. The device of claim 12, wherein a received sound signal from the first participant is muted and a received sound signal from the second participant has a volume increased.

15. The device of claim 13, wherein the first participant is associated with the first virtual channel and wherein the second participant is associated with the second virtual channel the at least one parameter allows the sound signals to be adjusted.

16. The device of claim 12, wherein the participant locator is further operable to divide a room into at least two portions, assign the first sharing participant to a first of the at least two portions, assign the second sharing participant to a second of the at least two portions.

17. The device of claim 12, wherein the input comprises a microphone array comprising at least two microphones, wherein a first of the at least two microphones is operable to receive the sound signal at a first time, wherein a second of the at least two microphones is operable to receive the sound signal at a second time.

18. The device of claim 17, wherein the participant locator is further operable to determine a difference, if any, between the first and second time and substantially determine the spatial location of the origin of the received sound signal based at least in part on the difference between the first and second time.

19. The device of claim 12, wherein the participant locator is further operable to associate the first participant with a first phase delay range, measure a phase delay of the received sound signal, determine whether the phase delay of the received sound signal lies between the first phase delay range, and assign the received sound signal to the first virtual channel in the event that the phase delay of the received sound signal lies within the first delay range.

20. The device of claim 13, wherein the processor is operable to perform at least one of mute, increase the volume, and decrease the volume of the received sound signal in one of the at least two virtual channels without requiring the same change in another of the at least two virtual channels.

21. The device of claim 13, further comprising a user interface operable to display the spatial locations associated with the first and second virtual channel to the first and second sharing participant.

22. A method of facilitating a conference call, comprising:

receiving, by a processor, a sound signal;

determining, by the processor, a relative spatial location of a source of the received sound signal;

based on the determined location of the source of the received sound signal, assigning, by the processor, the received sound signal to one of at least two virtual channels, wherein a first virtual channel is associated with a first set of spatial locations, wherein a second virtual channel is associated with a second set of spatial locations storing, by the processor, a first set of parameters for the first set of spatial locations with the first virtual channel;

storing, by the processor, a second set of parameters for the second set of spatial locations with the second virtual channel; and

processing, by the processor, the received sound signal by performing at least one of the following steps;

selectively muting the first virtual channel, increasing the volume of the first virtual channel by a first amount, and/or decreasing the volume of the first virtual channel by a first amount in the event that the received sound signal is assigned to the first virtual channel; and

selectively muting the second virtual channel, increasing the volume of the second virtual channel, and/or decreasing the volume of the second virtual channel in the event that the received sound signal is assigned to the second virtual channel.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the first and second sets of spatial locations are mutually exclusive.

24. The method of claim 22, wherein a received sound signal assigned to the first virtual channel is muted and a received sound signal assigned to the second virtual channel is not altered.

25. The method of claim 22, wherein a first participant is associated with the first virtual channel and wherein a second participant is associated with the second virtual channel.

26. The method of claim 25, further comprising:

dividing a room into at least two portions;

assigning the first participant to a first of the at least two portions;

assigning the second participant to a second of the at least two portions; and

wherein the first of the at least two portions is associated with the first virtual channel and the second of the at least two portions is associated with the second virtual channel.

27. The method of claim 22, further comprising:

providing a microphone array comprising at least two microphones;

receiving the sound signal at a first of the at least two microphones at a first time;

receiving the sound signal at a second of the at least two microphones at a second time;

determining a difference, if any, between the first and second time; and

wherein the spatial origin of the received sound signal is determined based at least in part on the difference between the first and second time.

28. The method of claim 22, further comprising:

associating the first virtual channel with a first phase delay range;

measuring a phase delay of the received sound signal;

determining whether the phase delay of the received sound signal lies between the first phase delay range; and

assigning the received sound signal to the first virtual channel in the event that the phase delay of the received sound signal lies within the first delay range.

29. A computer readable medium comprising executable instructions operable to perform the method of claim 22.