Eye glasses with microphone array

• US 9,753,311 B2
• Filed: 02/14/2014
• Issued: 09/05/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 03/13/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Solos Technology Limited
• Original Assignee: Kopin Corporation
• Inventors: Fan, Dashen
• Primary Examiner(s): Tran, Thang
• Application Number:
  US14/180,994
• Publication Number:
  US 20140270244A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,299 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G02C 11/06 Hearing aids construction of hearing aids H04R25/00
• CPC Class Codes: G02C 11/10 Electronic devices other than hearing aids
• CPC Class Codes: G10K 11/002 Devices for damping, suppressing, obstructing or conducting sound in acoustic devices G10K1/06 - G10K1/10 take precedence; for electro-mechanical transducers for communication H04R3/002
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 2021/02166 Microphone arrays; Beamforming
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 21/0208 Noise filtering
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/028 associated with devices performing functions other than acoustics, e.g. electric candles
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 3/005 for combining the signals of two or more microphones specially adapted for hearing aids H04R25/407
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49826 Assembling or joining

Abstract

An eyewear device includes a noise cancelling microphone array, and corresponding method for the same. The eyewear device and its method of use facilitates human-machine interaction using speech recognition by reducing unwanted noise that corrupts the desired speech and thereby reduces errors in speech. The eyewear device includes an eyeglasses frame, an array of microphones coupled to the eyeglasses frame, the array of microphones including at least a first microphone and a second microphone, the first microphone coupled to the eyeglasses frame about a temple region, the temple region can be located approximately between a top corner of a lens opening and a support arm, and providing a first audio channel output, and the second microphone coupled to the eyeglasses frame about an inner edge of the lens opening, and providing a second audio channel output. Embodiments can further include a third and fourth omni-directional microphone, providing a third and fourth audio channel, respectively.

Claims

1. An eyewear device, comprising:

a) a front frame member defining opposite ends and a lens opening, wherein the lens opening includes at least one top corner proximate to at least one of the opposite ends and an inner edge;

b) a side frame member extending from each of the opposite ends;

c) an array of microphones, the array including at least;

i) a first microphone coupled to at least one of the front frame member and a side frame member at a temple region, the temple region being proximate to a juncture between the front frame member and the side frame member,

ii) a second microphone coupled to and proximate to the inner edge of the lens opening;

iii) a third microphone coupled to the front frame member at an outer lower corner of the lens opening below the first microphone, and

iv) a fourth microphone coupled to the front frame member at a bridge support region above the second microphone; and

d) a first audio channel output extending from the first microphone;

e) a second audio channel output extending from the second microphone;

f) a third audio channel output extending from the third microphone; and

g) a fourth audio channel output extending from the fourth microphone.

2. The eyewear device of claim 1, further including a digital signal processor having:

a) a beam-former electronically linked to the first and second microphones, for receiving at least the first and second audio channels and outputting a main channel and one or more reference channels;

b) a voice activity detector electronically linked to the beam-former, for receiving the main and reference channels and outputting a desired voice activity channel;

c) an adaptive noise canceller electronically linked to the beam-former and the voice activity detector for receiving the main, reference, and desired voice activity channels and outputting an adaptive noise cancellation channel; and

d) a noise reducer electronically linked to the voice activity detector and the adaptive noise canceller for receiving the desired voice activity and adaptive noise cancellation channels and outputting a desired speech channel.

3. The eyewear device of claim 2, wherein the array of microphones are digital microphones and the beam-former is a digital beam-former.

4. The eyewear device of claim 1, wherein the array of microphones are omni-directional microphones.

5. The eyewear device of claim 4, wherein the omni-directional microphones are any combination of the following:

electret condenser microphones, analog microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) microphones, or digital MEMS microphones.

6. The eyewear device of claim 1, wherein the array of microphones is coupled to the front frame member using at least one flexible printed circuit board (PCB) strip.

7. The eyewear device of claim 6, wherein the array of microphones is coupled to the front frame member using an upper flexible PCB strip including the first and fourth microphones and a lower flexible PCB strip including the second and third microphones.

8. The eyewear device of claim 7, wherein:

a) the front frame member further includes an array of vents corresponding to the array of microphones;

b) the array of microphones are bottom port microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) microphones;

c) the first and fourth MEMS microphones are coupled to the upper flexible PCB strip;

d) the second and third MEMS microphones are coupled to the lower flexible PCB strip; and

e) the array of MEMS microphones being arranged such that the bottom ports receive acoustic signals through the corresponding vents.

9. The eyewear device of claim 8, further including a membrane sandwiched between the front frame member and the microphone.

10. The eyewear device of claim 9, wherein the membrane is a wind-screen membrane and a water-proofing membrane.

11. A method of reducing noise in an eyewear device with a microphone array, the method comprising the steps of:

a) coupling an array of microphones to an eyeglasses frame that includes a front frame member defining opposite ends and at least one lens opening, wherein the lens opening includes at least one top corner proximate to at least one of the opposite ends and an inner edge, the array of microphones including at least a first and a second microphone;

b) arranging the first microphone to couple to the eyeglasses frame about a temple region, the temple region being located approximately between the top corner of the at least one lens opening and a side frame member extending from the front frame member at the temple region;

c) arranging the second microphone to couple to the eyeglasses frame about an inner edge of the lens opening;

d) providing a first and second audio channel output from the first and second microphones, respectively;

e) arranging a third microphone to couple to the eyeglasses frame about an outer lower corner of the lens opening below the first microphone;

f) arranging a fourth microphone to couple to the eyeglasses frame about a bridge support region above the second microphone; and

g) providing a third and fourth audio channel output from the third and fourth microphones, respectively.

12. The method reducing noise of claim 11, further including the steps of:

a) forming beams at a beam-former, the beam-former receiving at least the first and second audio channels and outputting a main channel and one or more reference channels;

b) detecting voice activity at a voice activity detector, the voice activity detector receiving the main and reference channels and outputting a desired voice activity channel;

c) adaptively cancelling noise at an adaptive noise canceller, the adaptive noise canceller receiving the main, reference, and desired voice activity channels and outputting an adaptive noise cancellation channel; and

d) reducing noise at a noise reducer receiving the desired voice activity and adaptive noise cancellation channels and outputting a desired speech channel.

13. The noise reduction method of claim 12, wherein the first and second audio channels are produced digitally and the beams are formed digitally.

14. The method of reducing noise of claim 11, wherein an array of omni-directional microphones are coupled to the eyeglasses frame.

15. The method of reducing noise of claim 14, wherein the coupled array of omni-directional microphones are any combination of the following:

electret condenser microphones, analog microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) microphones, or digital MEMS microphones.

16. The method of reducing noise of claim 11, wherein coupling the array of microphones to the eyeglasses frame uses at least one flexible printed circuit board (PCB) strip.

17. The method of reducing noise of claim 16, wherein coupling the array of microphones to the eyeglasses frame uses an upper flexible PCB strip including the first and fourth microphones and a lower flexible PCB strip including the second and third microphones.

18. The method of reducing noise of claim 17, wherein coupling the array of microphones to the eyeglasses frame further includes:

a) coupling each microphone of the array of microphones to a corresponding vent of an array of vents, the array of microphones being bottom port or top port microelectromechanical system (MEMS) microphones and the vents being located in the eyeglasses frame, wherein the first and fourth MEMS microphones are coupled to the upper flexible PCB strip and the second and third MEMS microphones are coupled to the lower flexible PCB strip; and

b) arranging the array of MEMS microphones such that the ports received acoustic signals through the corresponding vents.

19. The method of reducing noise of claim 18, further including coupling a membrane between the eyeglasses frame and the microphones.

20. The method of claim 19, further including wind-screening and water-proofing the array of microphones using the membrane, the membrane being made of a wind-screen and water-proofing material.

21. An eyewear device, comprising:

a) an array of microphones coupled to an eyeglasses frame that includes a front frame member defining opposite ends and at least one lens opening, wherein the lens opening includes at least one top corner proximate to at least one of the opposite ends and an inner edge, the array of microphones including at least a first, a second microphone, a third microphone and a fourth microphone, wherein

i) the first microphone is coupled to the eyeglasses frame about a temple region, the temple region being located approximately between the top corner of the at least one side frame member extending from the front frame member at the temple region, lens opening and;

ii) the second microphone is coupled to the eyeglasses frame about an inner edge of the lens opening,

iii) the third microphone coupled to the eyeglasses frame and being located beneath and approximately vertically with the first microphone, and

iv) the fourth microphone coupled to the eyeglasses frame and being approximately vertically with the second microphone; and

b) a first audio channel output, a second audio channel, a third audio channel output, and a fourth audio channel output from the first, second, third, and fourth microphones, respectively.