Method of automatically adjusting sound output and electronic device

• US 9,880,804 B1
• Filed: 12/01/2016
• Issued: 01/30/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 09/23/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Airoha Technology Corporation (MediaTek, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Unlimiter Mfa Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: Liao, Ho-Hsin, Chao, Kuan-Li, Young, Neo Bob Chih-Yung, Yang, Kuo-Ping
• Primary Examiner(s): Islam, Mohammad
• Application Number:
  US15/366,022
• Time in Patent Office: 425 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/165 Management of the audio stream, e.g. setting of volume, audio stream path
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/04 Segmentation; Word boundary detection
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/22 Procedures used during a speech recognition process, e.g. man-machine dialogue
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 25/51 for comparison or discrimination
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 25/93 Discriminating between voiced and unvoiced parts of speech signals G10L25/90 takes precedence

Abstract

A method of automatically adjusting sound output is disclosed. The method includes the following the steps of: receiving a sound message via a microphone; analyzing the sound message to determine whether the sound message is a voice message; controlling a sound player to stop playing sound or to lower volume of the sound if the sound message is a voice message.

Claims

1. A method of automatically adjusting sound output, which is applicable to an electronic device, the electronic device comprising a sound player, a microphone, and an audio signal processing unit, comprising the steps of:

receiving a sound message via a microphone;

analyzing the sound message to determine whether the sound message is a voice message, performed by the audio signal processing unit;

wherein the step of determining whether the sound message is a voice message comprises;

cutting the sound message into a plurality of sound segments, performed by the audio signal processing unit;

checking whether one of the plurality of sound segments is a vowel segment, performed by the audio signal processing unit;

if yes, determining that the sound message is a voice message, performed by the audio signal processing unit; and

If no, determining that the sound message is not a voice message, performed by the audio signal processing unit and if yes, controlling the sound player to stop playing sound or to lower the volume of the sound if the sound message is a voice message, performed by the audio signal processing unit.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein after controlling the sound player to stop playing sound, the method further comprises the following step of:

controlling the sound player to play the sound message, performed by the audio signal processing unit.

3. An electronic device, comprising:

a sound player;

a microphone, which is used for receiving a sound message;

an audio signal processing unit, which is electrically connected to the sound player and the microphone, the audio signal processing unit comprising;

a sound analysis module, which is used for analyzing the sound message to determine whether the sound message is a voice message;

wherein the sound analysis module comprises;

a segment cutting unit, which is used for cutting the sound message into a plurality of sound segments; and

a vowel checking unit, which is used for checking whether one of the plurality of sound segments is a vowel segment and detecting that the sound message is a voice message when it is determined that one of the sound segments is a vowel segment and a control module, which is signally connected to the sound analysis module and used for controlling the sound player to stop playing sound or to lower the volume of the sound when the sound analysis module determines that the sound message is a voice message.

4. The electronic device as claimed in claim 3, wherein after controlling the sound player to stop playing sound, the control module is further used to control the sound player to play the sound message.