Sound signal transmitter-receiver

• US 8,379,884 B2
• Filed: 01/16/2009
• Issued: 02/19/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 01/17/2008
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Onpa Technologies Inc.
• Original Assignee: Funai Electric Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: Maeda, Shigeo, Horibe, Ryusuke, Tanaka, Fuminori
• Primary Examiner(s): Sarkar, Asok K
• Assistant Examiner(s): Yemelyanov, Dmitriy
• Application Number:
  US12/355,356
• Publication Number:
  US 20090185696A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,495 Days
• Field of Search: 381/120, 381/355, 381/123, 381/122, 455/90.2
• US Class Current: 381/120
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 3/005 for combining the signals of two or more microphones specially adapted for hearing aids H04R25/407

Abstract

A sound signal transmitter-receiver includes a differential microphone for receiving sounds respectively at first and second points to convert the receiving sounds into a transmission sound signal; a transmission-reception unit for receiving an incoming signal as a reception sound signal; an addition unit for adding the reception sound signal from the transmission-reception unit and the transmission sound signal to produce an addition signal; and a speaker outputting sound based on the addition signal.

Claims

1. A sound signal transmitter-receiver comprising:

a differential microphone configured to receive sounds second points to convert said receiving sounds at a first point and a second point, to detect an acoustic or electric difference between the sounds received at each of the first point and the second point, and to output a differential sound signal;

a transmission-reception unit, separate from the differential microphone and forming part of a wireless communication device, configured to receive a wireless incoming signal and to output a received sound signal representative of the wireless incoming signal, and further configured to transmit a wireless transmitted signal representative of the differential sound signal;

an addition unit arranged to add the received sound signal from the transmission-reception unit and said transmission the differential sound signal from the differential microphone to produce an addition signal; and

a speaker configured to output sound based on the addition signal.

2. The sound signal transmitter-receiver according to claim 1, wherein the differential microphone includes:

a first microphone converting the sound received at the first point into a first electric signal;

a second microphone converting the sound received at the second point into a second electric signal; and

a signal production unit for producing the differential sound signal from a difference between the first electric signal and the second electric signal.

3. The sound signal transmitter-receiver according to claim 1, wherein the speaker is an earphone or a sound-isolating headphone.

4. The sound signal transmitter-receiver according to claim 1, wherein the sound signal transmitter-receiver is a cellular phone.

5. The sound signal transmitter-receiver according to claim 1, wherein the differential microphone is positioned near a mouth of a user to receive sounds.

6. The sound signal transmitter-receiver according to claim 1, wherein the speaker of the sound signal transmitter-receiver is positioned near an ear of a user.

7. A sound signal transmitter-receiver comprising:

a differential microphone for receiving sounds respectively at first and second points to convert the receiving sounds into a transmission sound signal by detecting acoustic or electric difference between the receiving sounds;

a transmission-reception unit for receiving an incoming signal as a reception sound signal and transmitting the transmission sound signal,

wherein the transmission-reception unit is part of a wireless communication device;

an addition unit configured to add the reception sound signal from the transmission-reception unit and the transmission sound signal to produce an addition signal;

a speaker configured to output sound based on the addition signal;

a noise detection unit for determining whether or not an amplitude or power of a noise signal is larger than a predetermined threshold by extracting the noise signal based on the first electric signal and the second electric signal; and

a second switching unit for switching a signal fed into the addition unit based on a determination result, wherein

the second switching unit feeds the transmission sound signal into the addition unit when the amplitude or power of the noise signal is larger than a predetermined threshold, and

the second switching unit feeds one of the first electric signal and the second electric signal into the addition unit when the amplitude or power of the noise signal is not larger than the predetermined threshold.

8. A sound signal transmitter-receiver comprising:

a differential microphone for receiving sounds respectively at first and second points to convert the receiving sounds into a transmission sound signal by detecting an acoustic or electric difference between the receiving sounds;

a transmission-reception unit for receiving an incoming signal as a reception sound signal and transmitting the transmission sound signal,

wherein the transmission-reception unit is part of a wireless communication device;

an addition unit configured to add the reception sound signal from the transmission-reception unit and the transmission sound signal to produce an addition signal;

a speaker configured to output sound based on the addition signal;

a noise detection unit for determining whether or not an amplitude or power of a noise signal is larger than a predetermined threshold by extracting the noise signal based on the first electric signal and the second electric signal; and

a second switching unit for switching a signal fed into the addition unit based on a determination result, wherein

the second switching unit feeds the transmission sound signal into the addition unit when the amplitude or power of the noise signal is larger than a predetermined threshold, and

the second switching unit feeds one of the first electric signal and the second electric signal into the addition unit when the amplitude or power of the noise signal is not larger than the predetermined threshold,

wherein the noise detection unit has a cardioid characteristic.

9. A sound signal transmitter-receiver comprising,

a differential microphone for receiving sounds respectively at first and second points to convert the receiving sounds into a transmission sound signal by detecting an acoustic or electric difference between the receiving sounds;

a transmission-reception unit for receiving an incoming signal as a reception sound signal and transmitting the transmission sound signal,

wherein the transmission-reception unit is part of a wireless communication device;

an addition unit configured to add the reception sound signal from the transmission-reception unit and the transmission sound signal to produce an addition signal;

a speaker configured to output sound based on the addition signal;

a noise detection unit for determining whether or not an amplitude or power of a noise signal is larger than a predetermined threshold by extracting the noise signal based on the first electric signal and the second electric signal; and

a second switching unit for switching a signal fed into the addition unit based on a determination result, wherein

the second switching unit feeds the transmission sound signal into the addition unit when the amplitude or power of the noise signal is larger than a predetermined threshold, and

the second switching unit feeds one of the first electric signal and the second electric signal into the addition unit when the amplitude or power of the noise signal is not larger than the predetermined threshold,

wherein the noise detection unit has a cardioid characteristic,

wherein the noise detection unit includes;

a delay unit for delaying one of the first electric signal and the second electric signal by a predetermined time;

a second subtracting unit for producing the noise signal from a difference between delayed one of the first electric signal and the second electric signal and another signal; and

a second determination unit for determining whether or not the amplitude of the noise signal is larger than the predetermined threshold.

10. A method of transmitting and receiving a sound signal, comprising:

receiving, a differential microphone, sounds respectively at a first point and a second point;

detecting, by the differential microphone, an acoustic or electric difference between the sounds at each of the first point and the second point;

outputting, by the differential microphone, a differential sound signal;

transmitting, by a transmission-reception unit that is separate from the differential microphone and that forms part of a wireless communication device, a wireless transmitted signal representative of the differential sound signal;

receiving, by the transmission-reception unit, a wireless incoming signal and outputting a received sound signal representative of the wireless incoming signal

adding the received sound signal and the differential sound signal to produce an addition signal; and

outputting sound based on the addition signal.

11. The sound signal transmitting and receiving method according to claim 10, wherein the step of receiving sounds includes:

converting the sound received at the first point into a first electric signal;

converting the sound received at the second point into a second electric signal; and

producing the differential sound signal from a difference between the first electric signal and the second electric signal.

12. The sound signal transmitting and receiving method according to claim 11, further comprising determining whether or not an amplitude or power of a noise signal is larger than a predetermined threshold by extracting the noise signal based on the first electric signal and the second electric signal, wherein the step of producing the addition signal includes the steps of:

adding the differential sound signal to the received sound signal when the amplitude or power of the noise signal is larger than the predetermined threshold; and

adding one of the first electric signal and the second electric signal to said reception the received sound signal when the amplitude or power of the noise signal is not larger than the predetermined threshold.

13. A sound signal transmitter-receiver comprising:

a differential microphone for receiving sounds respectively at first and second points to convert the receiving sounds into a transmission sound signal by detecting an acoustic or electric difference between the receiving sounds;

a transmission-reception unit for receiving an incoming signal as a reception sound signal and transmitting the transmission sound signal,

wherein the transmission-reception unit is part of a wireless communication device;

an addition unit configured to add the reception sound signal from the transmission-reception unit and the transmission sound signal to produce an addition signal;

a speaker configured to output sound based on the addition signal;

a first microphone converting the sound received at the first point into a first electric signal;

a second microphone converting the sound received at the second point into a second electric signal;

a signal production unit for producing said transmission sound signal from a difference between the first electric signal and the second electric signal;

a noise detection unit for determining whether or not an amplitude or power or a noise signal is larger than a predetermined threshold by extracting the noise signal based on the first electric signal and the second electric signal; and

a second switching unit for switching a signal fed into the addition unit based on a determination result, wherein

the second switching unit feeds the transmission sound signal into the addition unit when the amplitude or power of the noise signal is larger than a predetermined threshold.