System for detecting speech with background voice estimates and noise estimates
First Claim
1. A process that improves speech detection comprising:
- separating an input signal into frequency bins;
estimating a signal strength of a background voice segment or a background signal-to-noise ratio;
estimating a noise level of a background noise of one or more frequency bins;
comparing an instant signal-to-noise ratio to one or more of a maximum of the estimated signal strength of the background voice segment, a maximum of the estimated noise level of the background noise and a background signal-to-noise ratio; and
identifying a speech segment from noise that surrounds the speech segment based on the comparison.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system detects a speech segment that may include unvoiced, fully voiced, or mixed voice content. The system includes a window function that passes signals within a programmed aural frequency range while substantially blocking signals above and below the programmed aural frequency range. A frequency converter converts the signals passing within the programmed aural frequency range into a plurality of frequency bins. A background voice detector estimates the strength of a background speech segment relative to the noise of selected portions of the aural spectrum. A noise estimator estimates a maximum distribution of noise to an average of an acoustic noise power of some of the plurality of frequency bins. A voice detector compares the strength of a desired speech segment to a maximum of an output of the background voice detector and an output of the noise estimator.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A process that improves speech detection comprising:
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separating an input signal into frequency bins; estimating a signal strength of a background voice segment or a background signal-to-noise ratio; estimating a noise level of a background noise of one or more frequency bins; comparing an instant signal-to-noise ratio to one or more of a maximum of the estimated signal strength of the background voice segment, a maximum of the estimated noise level of the background noise and a background signal-to-noise ratio; and identifying a speech segment from noise that surrounds the speech segment based on the comparison. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A process that improves speech processing comprising:
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converting a limited frequency band of a continuously varying input signal into a frequency-domain signal; estimating a signal strength of a background voice segment of the input signal; estimating a noise-variance of a segment of the input signal; comparing an instant signal-to-noise ratio of the input signal to the estimated signal strength of the background voice segment of the input signal and to the estimated noise-variance; and identifying a speech segment when the instant signal-to-noise ratio of the frequency-domain signal exceeds a maximum of the estimated signal strength of the background voice segment relative to noise and the estimated noise-variance. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A system that detects a speech segment that includes an unvoiced, a fully voiced, or a mixed voice content comprising:
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a window function configured to pass input signals within a programmed aural frequency range while substantially blocking signals above and below the programmed aural frequency range; a frequency converter that converts the input signals passing within the programmed aural frequency range into a plurality of frequency bins; a background voice detector configured to estimate a strength of a background speech segment relative to noise of selected portions of an aural spectrum; a noise estimator configured to estimate a maximum distribution of noise to an average of an acoustic noise power of some of the plurality of frequency bins; and a voice detector configured to compare an instant signal-to-noise ratio of a desired speech segment to a maximum of an output of the background voice detector and an output of the noise estimator. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification