Controlling mute function on telephone

• US 9,571,617 B2
• Filed: 05/31/2016
• Issued: 02/14/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 07/26/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kyndryl Incorporated
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Battaglini, Roberto, Singer, Brian P.
• Primary Examiner(s): Magloire, Vladimir
• Assistant Examiner(s): DONADO, FRANK E
• Application Number:
  US15/168,757
• Publication Number:
  US 20160277553A1
• Time in Patent Office: 259 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/22 Procedures used during a speech recognition process, e.g. man-machine dialogue
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 17/04 Training, enrolment or model building
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 17/06 Decision making techniques; Pattern matching strategies
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 2015/223 Execution procedure of a spoken command
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 25/84 for discriminating voice from noise
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/19 Arrangements of transmitters, receivers, or complete sets to prevent eavesdropping, to attenuate local noise or to prevent undesired transmission; Mouthpieces or receivers specially adapted therefor circuit arrangements for preventing eavesdropping H04M1/68; telephone cabinets E04H1/14
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/247 Telephone sets including user guidance or feature selection means facilitating their use user interfaces specially adapted for cordless or mobile telephones H04M1/724
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/6008 in the transmitter circuit
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/6033 for providing handsfree use or a loudspeaker mode in telephone sets arrangements for preventing acoustic echo H04M9/08
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2201/405 involving speaker-dependent recognition adaptation to speaker for speech recognition G10L15/07
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/258 Service state indications
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/74 with voice recognition means voice activated dialling H04M1/271; voice recognition algorithms G10L15/00

Abstract

A method for controlling a mute function in a telephone device, and the telephone device and a computer program product that implements the method. The method includes: while the mute function is active, voice recognition software in the telephone device processes sound detected by a microphone in the telephone device to recognize and identify one or more specific words as having been spoken by a specific person and not by another person, and in response, the telephone device activates an alarm in the telephone device to communicate that the mute function is active.

Claims

1. A method for controlling a mute function in a telephone device, the method comprising:

while the mute function is active, voice recognition software in the telephone device processing sound detected by a microphone in the telephone device;

ascertaining whether a magnitude of an analog signal representing the detected sound exceeds a predetermined threshold;

if said ascertaining ascertains that the magnitude does not exceed the predetermined threshold, then identifying the detected sound as being noise and not permitting an alarm in the telephone device to be activated; and

if said ascertaining ascertains that the magnitude exceeds the predetermined threshold, then determining whether one or more specific words have been spoken by a specific person and not by the another person, and if so then said telephone device activating the alarm, and if not then not permitting the alarm to be activated.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the voice recognition software was trained, prior to the sound having been detected, to differentiate the one or more specific words spoken by the specific person from the same one or more specific words spoken by other people.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the alarm is an audible sound.

4. A computer program product for controlling a mute function in a telephone device, the computer program product comprising a computer-readable storage device in the telephone device and program code stored on the storage device, wherein the program code comprises:

program instructions to process, by voice recognition software while the mute function is active, sound detected by a microphone in the telephone device;

program instructions to ascertain whether a magnitude of an analog signal representing the detected sound exceeds a predetermined threshold;

program instructions, if it is ascertained that the magnitude does not exceed the predetermined threshold, to identify the detected sound as being noise and not permit an alarm in the tele hone device to be activated; and

program instructions, if it is ascertained that the magnitude exceeds the predetermined threshold, to determine whether one or more specific words have been spoken by a specific person and not by the another person, and if so then to activate the alarm by the telephone device, and if not then to not permit the alarm to be activated.

5. The computer program product of claim 4, wherein the voice recognition software was trained, prior to the sound having been detected, to differentiate the one or more specific words spoken by the specific person from the same one or more specific words spoken by other people.

6. The computer program product of claim 4, wherein the alarm is an audible sound.

7. A telephone device, comprising:

a mute function, a microphone for sensing sound reaching the telephone device, a processor, a memory, a computer-readable storage device and program code stored on the storage device for execution by the processor via the memory, wherein the program code comprises;

program instructions to process, by voice recognition software while the mute function is active, sound detected by the microphone in the telephone device;

program instructions to ascertain whether a magnitude of an analog signal representing the detected sound exceeds a predetermined threshold;

program instructions, if it is ascertained that the magnitude does not exceed the predetermined threshold, to identify the detected sound as being noise and not permit an alarm in the telephone device to be activated; and

program instructions, if it is ascertained that the magnitude exceeds the predetermined threshold, to determine whether one or more specific words have been spoken by a specific person and not by the another person, and if so then to activate the alarm by the telephone device, and if not then to not permit the alarm to be activated.

8. The telephone device of claim 7, wherein below the predetermined threshold, the detected sound is identified as being noise, as part of the identifying that the specific word is spoken by the specific person.

9. The telephone device of claim 7, wherein the alarm is an audible sound.