Electronic device and control method

• US 9,436,259 B2
• Filed: 07/11/2014
• Issued: 09/06/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 08/23/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Acer, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Acer, Inc.
• Inventors: Fang, Ming-Chun, Tu, Po-Jen, Chang, Jia-Ren, Yu, Ming-Chun, Tai, Kuei-Ting, Tzeng, Kai-Meng
• Primary Examiner(s): Holder, Regina N
• Application Number:
  US14/328,821
• Publication Number:
  US 20150055802A1
• Time in Patent Office: 788 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3206 Monitoring of events, devices or parameters that trigger a change in power modality
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3296 by lowering the supply or operating voltage
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/165 Management of the audio stream, e.g. setting of volume, audio stream path
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/167 Audio in a user interface, e.g. using voice commands for navigating, audio feedback
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/22 Procedures used during a speech recognition process, e.g. man-machine dialogue
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 3/00 Circuits for transducers , loudspeakers or microphones
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 10/00 Energy efficient computing, e.g. low power processors, power management or thermal management

Abstract

An electronic device includes a microphone, a bias-supply device and a voice-recognition device. The bias-supply device is configured to provide a first bias voltage to serve as an operation voltage of the microphone, when the electronic device is operated in a power-saving mode, such that the microphone transforms a voice signal into a first output signal. The voice-recognition device is configured to receive the first output signal and output a control signal, when the first output signal has a predetermined signal, to enable the electronic device be operated in a normal operation mode and the bias-supply device to provide a second bias voltage that is higher than the first bias voltage to serve as the operation voltage of the microphone, such that the microphone transforms the voice signal into a second output signal and outputs the second signal to a core circuit.

Claims

1. An electronic device comprising:

a microphone;

a bias-supply device, configured to provide a first bias voltage to serve as an operation voltage of the microphone, when the electronic device is operated in a power-saving mode, such that the microphone transforms a voice signal into a first output signal; and

a voice-recognition device, configured to receive the first output signal and output a control signal, when the first output signal has a predetermined signal, to enable the electronic device be operated in a normal operation mode and the bias-supply device to provide a second bias voltage that is higher than the first bias voltage to serve as the operation voltage of the microphone, such that the microphone transforms the voice signal into a second output signal and outputs the second signal to a core circuit;

wherein the microphone non-linearly transforms the voice signal into the first output signal when the operation voltage of the microphone is the first bias voltage, and the microphone linearly transforms the voice signal into the second output signal when the operation voltage of the microphone is the second bias voltage.

2. The electronic device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the bias-supply device comprises:

a first resistor, coupled between a power voltage and the voice-recognition device;

a second resistor, coupled between the power voltage and the core circuit; and

a switching device, configured to couple the first resistor to the microphone for providing the first bias voltage to the microphone, when a received switch signal is at a first logic level, and couple the second resistor to the microphone for providing the second bias voltage to the microphone when the received switch signal is at a second logic level opposite to the first logic level.

3. The electronic device as claimed in claim 2, further comprising a control unit, configured to output the switching signal at the second logic level to the switching device and the core circuit for enabling the electronic device be operated in a normal operation mode, when the control signal is received.

4. The electronic device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the bias-supply device comprises:

a first resistor, having a first terminal coupled to a power voltage and a second terminal coupled to the voice-recognition device;

a second resistor, having a first terminal coupled to the power voltage and a second terminal coupled to the core circuit; and

a switching device, configured to selectively couple the second terminal of the first resistor or the second resistor to a power input terminal of the microphone.

5. The electronic device as claimed in claim 2, wherein the first resistor has a higher resistance than the second resistor.

6. The electronic device as claimed in claim 1, wherein a waveform of the predetermined signal is a truncated sine wave.

7. The electronic device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the microphone is operated in a non-linear operation region when the operation voltage of the microphone is the first bias voltage.

8. The electronic device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the microphone is operated in a linear operation region when the operation voltage of the microphone is the first bias voltage.

9. The electronic device as claimed in claim 3, wherein the control unit further outputs the switching signal at the second logic level to turn off the voice-recognition device when the control unit receives the control signal.

10. An electronic device comprising:

a core circuit, having a central processor unit and a codec;

a microphone;

a bias-supply device, configured to provide a first bias voltage to serve as an operation voltage of the microphone when the electronic device is operated in a power-saving mode, such that the microphone transforms a voice signal into a first output signal; and

a voice-recognition device, configured to receive the first output signal and output a control signal, when the first output signal has a predetermined signal, to enable the electronic device be operated in a normal operation mode and the bias-supply device to provide a second bias voltage that is higher than the first bias voltage to serve as the operation voltage of the microphone, such that the microphone transforms the voice signal into a second output signal and outputs the second signal to the codec, wherein a waveform of the predetermined signal is a truncated sine wave, wherein the microphone non-linearly transforms the voice signal into the first output signal when the operation voltage of the microphone is the first bias voltage, and the microphone linearly transforms the voice signal into the second output signal when the operation voltage of the microphone is the second bias voltage;

wherein the bias-supply device comprises;

a first resistor, having a first terminal coupled to a power voltage and a second terminal coupled to the voice-recognition device;

a second resistor, having a first terminal coupled to the power voltage and a second terminal coupled to the codec; and

a switching device, configured to selectively couple one of the first resistor and the second resistor to a power input terminal of the microphone.

11. A control method, comprising:

providing a first bias voltage to serve as an operation voltage of a microphone and to non-linearly transform a voice signal into a first output signal by the microphone, when an electronic device is operated in a power-saving mode;

switching the operation of the electronic device from the power-saving mode to a normal operation mode, when the first output signal has a predetermined signal;

providing a second bias voltage that is higher than the first bias voltage to serve as the operation voltage of the microphone and to linearly transform the voice signal to a second output signal by the microphone, when the electronic device is operated in the normal operation mode; and

outputting the second output signal to a core circuit of the electronic device.