Methods and devices for adaptive ringtone generation

• US 8,995,683 B2
• Filed: 12/29/2006
• Issued: 03/31/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 12/29/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google Technology Holdings LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Technology Holdings LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Schuster, Adrian M., Evans, Christopher A., Visitkitjakarn, Ukrit, Clark, Joel Anthony
• Primary Examiner(s): Zhang, Leshui
• Application Number:
  US11/617,803
• Publication Number:
  US 20080161063A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,014 Days
• Field of Search: 381/57, 381/59, 381/315, 381/316, 381/317, 381/318, 381/320, 381/321, 381/71.6, 381/71.7, 381/71.9, 381/71.14, 381/73.1, 381/74, 381/332, 381/91, 381/92, 381/94.2, 381/94.3, 381/94.5, 381/98, 381/99, 381/100, 381/101, 381/102, 381/103, 381/104, 381/106, 381/107, 381/109, 381/110, 381/120, 381/150, 381/108, 455/350, 455/569, 455/567, 455/267, 379/58, 379/57, 379/388, 379/418, 379/373, 379/179, 379/390, 379/420, 379/375.01, 379/413
• US Class Current: 381/101
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 19/044 according to the level of ambient noise

Abstract

Disclosed are methods and devices for adapting a ringtone in accordance with ambient noise. In one embodiment a method includes processing an ambient noise signal to determine an ambient noise volume. When there is an incoming communication and it is determined that the ambient noise has a low ambient noise volume, a method can include generating a ringtone having a ringtone volume that is initially a low volume and increasing the ringtone volume over a predetermined period of time. A method can include applying a filter to the ringtone signal to increase a signal-to-noise ratio, the filter configured to increase an amplitude of a frequency that is not one of the predominant frequencies of the ambient noise and that the transducer is configured to output according to the transducer frequency response. In another embodiment, a second transducer may generate a ringtone output in addition to the first transducer.

Claims

1. A method of a mobile communication device for adapting a ringtone output in accordance with an ambient noise, a signal-to-noise ratio, and a frequency response of a transducer of the mobile communication device, the method comprising:

detecting, by the mobile communication device, the ambient noise to generate an ambient noise signal;

processing, by the mobile communication device, the ambient noise signal to determine an ambient noise volume;

receiving, by the mobile communication device, an incoming communication signal;

generating, by the mobile communication device and in response to the incoming communication signal, the ringtone output, wherein generating the ringtone output comprises;

when the ambient noise volume is not greater than a threshold value, increasing a volume of the generated ringtone output over a predetermined period of time in accordance with a ringtone ramping process; and

when the ambient noise volume is greater than the threshold value;

processing, by the mobile communication device, the generated ambient noise signal to determine a noise frequency spectrum;

processing, by the mobile communication device, the determined noise frequency spectrum to determine predominant frequencies of the ambient noise;

generating, by the mobile communication device, a ringtone signal prior to generating the ringtone output;

applying, by the mobile communication device, a filter to the generated ringtone signal to increase the signal-to-noise ratio for generating a filtered ringtone signal, the filter being configured to increase, relative to an amplitude of the generated ringtone signal at the predominant frequencies of the ambient noise, an amplitude of the generated ringtone signal at a frequency that is not one of the predominant frequencies of the ambient noise; and

outputting, by the transducer, the ringtone output according to the filtered ringtone signal and the frequency response of the transducer.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein generating the ringtone output further comprises:

applying, by the mobile computing device, a filter to the generated ringtone signal to increase a perceived loudness of the ringtone output over a perceived loudness of the ambient noise for producing a perceived loudness ringtone signal; and

when the ambient noise volume is greater than the threshold value, activating, by the mobile computing device, the transducer to generate the ringtone output such that the ringtone output has a ringtone volume that is an elevated volume, based on the generated ringtone signal and the perceived loudness ringtone signal.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein generating the ringtone output further comprises:

applying, by the mobile communication device, the filter to the generated ringtone signal to reduce an amplitude of at least one frequency of a low efficiency band of the transducer for producing a modified ringtone signal; and

activating, by the mobile communication device, the transducer to generate the ringtone output having a ringtone volume that is an elevated volume, when it is determined that the ambient noise volume is greater than the threshold value, based on the filtered ringtone signal and the modified ringtone signal.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein generating the ringtone output further comprises:

applying the filter to the generated ringtone signal to increase the signal-to-noise ratio by reducing an amplitude of at least one of the predominant frequencies of the ambient noise; and

activating the transducer to generate, based on the filtered ringtone signal, the ringtone output having a ringtone volume that is an elevated volume when it is determined that the ambient noise volume is greater than the threshold value.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein generating the ringtone output further comprises:

applying, by the mobile communication device, the filter to the generated ringtone signal to decrease an amplitude of one or more frequencies of the generated ringtone signal for producing the filtered ringtone signal, wherein the one or more frequencies are not different from frequencies of the noise frequency spectrum having a perceived loudness greater than a particular perceived loudness.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein generating the ringtone output further comprises:

generating, by the transducer, the ringtone output based on the filtered ringtone signal, the ringtone output having a ringtone volume that is an elevated volume when it is determined that the ambient noise volume is greater than the threshold value.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein generating the ringtone output comprises:

applying, by the mobile communication device, the filter to the ringtone signal, the filter configured to increase an amplitude of at least one frequency of a high efficiency band of the transducer to produce a modified ringtone signal; and

activating, by the mobile communication device, the transducer to generate the ringtone output having a ringtone volume that is an elevated volume, when it is determined that the ambient noise volume is greater than the threshold value, based on the filtered ringtone signal and the modified ringtone signal.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the filter is configured to increase an amplitude of at least one frequency that is different from frequencies of the determined noise frequency spectrum.

9. A mobile communication device comprising:

a transducer; and

a memory storing modules configured to;

detect an ambient noise to generate an ambient noise signal;

process the ambient noise signal to determine an ambient noise volume;

receive an incoming communication signal;

generate, in response to the incoming communication signal, the ringtone output, wherein, when generating the ringtone output, the modules;

when the ambient noise volume is not greater than a threshold value, increase a volume of the generated ringtone output over a predetermined period of time in accordance with a ringtone ramping process; and

when the ambient noise volume is greater than the threshold value;

process the generated ambient noise signal to determine a noise frequency spectrum;

process the determined noise frequency spectrum to determine predominant frequencies of the ambient noise;

generate a ringtone signal prior to generating the ringtone output;

apply a filter to the generated ringtone signal to increase a signal- to-noise ratio for generating a filtered ringtone signal, the filter being configured to increase, relative to an amplitude of the generated ringtone signal at the predominant frequencies of the ambient noise, an amplitude of the generated ringtone signal at a frequency that is not one of the predominant frequencies of the ambient noise; and

output, via the transducer, the ringtone output according to the filtered ringtone signal and a frequency response of the transducer.