System and method for detecting sound and performing an action on the detected sound

• US 9,852,620 B1
• Filed: 09/19/2014
• Issued: 12/26/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 09/19/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Thomas John Hoeft
• Original Assignee: Thomas John Hoeft
• Inventors: Hoeft, Thomas John
• Primary Examiner(s): Pham, Toan N
• Assistant Examiner(s): Black-Childress, Rajsheed
• Application Number:
  US14/491,946
• Time in Patent Office: 1,194 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 1/08 using electric transmission ; transformation of alarm signals to electrical signals from a different medium, e.g. transmission of an electric alarm signal upon detection of an audible alarm signal
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/02 Alarms for ensuring the safety of persons
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/009 Signalling of the alarm condition to a substation whose identity is signalled to a central station, e.g. relaying alarm signals in order to extend communication range
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 7/066 guiding along a path, e.g. evacuation path lighting strip
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 23/02 using infrasonic, sonic or ultrasonic waves

Abstract

A system and method for sonically connecting special devices is provided. A plurality of devices is monitored. One or more sound profiles are maintained on each of the devices, wherein at least one of the sound profiles on each device is for a sound emitted by one other device in the plurality. A sound is detected on one of the devices and the detected sound is compared to one or more of the sound profiles stored on that device. A match is identified between the detected sound and one of the sound profiles. One or more response actions are performed based on the identified match.

Claims

1. A method for sonically connecting communication devices, comprising:

generating for a training sound, a training profile comprising a frequency only profile and a STFT profile, wherein the frequency only profile comprises a set of energy well coefficients, trigger regions and cutoff thresholds, and the STFT profile comprises different trigger regions and different cutoff functions for a plurality of windows for the sound;

storing the training sound profile in a memory of a device;

comparing an observed sound received on the device as an alert to the frequency only profile via a processor of the device;

assigning via the processor a vote when at least one point along an average power spectrum for the observed sound is greater than or equal to a threshold defined by one such energy well coefficient;

determining a total number of votes via the processor;

when the total number of votes is greater than or equal to a predetermined minimum number of votes, comparing via the processor an observation power spectrum for a plurality of windows of the observed sound to the STFT profile;

comparing each profile window to each observed sound window via the processor; and

determining via the processor that the observed sound matches the sound profile when a predetermined number of matches between the profile windows and the sound observation windows exists.

2. A method according to claim 1, further comprising:

training a specialized device by loading the sound; and

generating the sound profile, comprising;

generating a frequency only profile for a sound associated with one such maintained sound profile;

generating an STFT profile for the sound associated with the maintained sound profile; and

combining the frequency only profile and the STFT profile as the maintained sound profile.

3. A method according to claim 1, further comprising:

preprocessing the training sound, comprising;

transforming the training sound into a time series representation;

stratifying the time series representation into a plurality of windows;

computing a frequency transform for each window; and

computing a power density spectrum based on the frequency transforms for each of the windows.

4. A method according to claim 1, further comprising:

defining the cutoff thresholds, comprising;

obtaining an average power spectrum for the training sound;

determining a first cutoff threshold based on a mean amplitude of the average power spectrum for the training sound;

determining a second cutoff threshold as at least one standard deviation from the mean amplitude; and

determining a third cutoff threshold as a higher number of standard deviations from the mean amplitude than the second cutoff threshold.

5. A method according to claim 4, further comprising:

defining one such trigger region, comprising all contiguous points of the average power spectrum for the training sound that is above the second cutoff threshold.

6. A method according to claim 5, further comprising:

defining the energy well coefficients, comprising;

selecting an energy well template; and

stretching the energy well template across each trigger region.

7. A method according to claim 1, wherein the devices each comprise one of a fire detector, a fire extinguisher, a picture frame, an exit sign and a thermostat.

8. A method according to claim 1, further comprising:

performing one or more response actions based on the identified match.