Audio capture with multiple microphones

• US 9,888,317 B2
• Filed: 10/15/2014
• Issued: 02/06/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 10/22/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nokia Technologies Oy (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Nokia Technologies Oy (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Sassi, Antti Heikki Tapio, Sjoberg, Jari Petteri, Koski, Ari Juhani, Huttunen, Anu, Partio, Mari, Niemisto, Riitta, Vartiainen, Jukka, Myllyla, Ville Mikael, Makinen, Jorma, Takala, Tero
• Primary Examiner(s): Jerez Lora, William A
• Application Number:
  US14/515,039
• Publication Number:
  US 20150172811A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,210 Days
• Field of Search: 381 26, 381 711, 381 80, 381 81, 381 85, 381 91, 381 92, 381 941, 381 947, 381111, 381123, 381124, 381375
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 2021/02165 Two microphones, one receiving mainly the noise signal and the other one mainly the speech signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/6008 in the transmitter circuit
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/6041 Portable telephones adapted for handsfree use
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72454 according to context-related or environment-related conditions
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2410/05 Noise reduction with a separate noise microphone
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2499/11 Transducers incorporated or for use in hand-held devices, e.g. mobile phones, PDA's, camera's
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 3/002 Damping circuit arrangements for transducers, e.g. motional feedback circuits
• 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: H04S 2400/15 Aspects of sound capture and related signal processing for recording or reproduction

Abstract

An apparatus including at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code configured to: when the apparatus is in a voice phone call mode of sound capture, output a signal from a first microphone as a primary speech signal, and select one or more second microphones to output a noise reduction signal, where the apparatus comprises at least two of the second microphones, and where selection of the one or more second microphones is based at least partially upon a determined use of the apparatus being either a handportable or an integrated handsfree use; and/or when the apparatus is in a multi-media mode of sound capture select one or more of the microphones to output audio signals based upon both a determined type of sound capture feature being used by the apparatus and based upon a determined orientation of the apparatus.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising:

at least three microphones suitably located in the apparatus so that each of the at least three microphones is configured to be used with the other ones of the microphones in at least two different apparatus modes, the at least two apparatus modes comprising a voice phone call mode and a multi-media mode;

at least one processor; and

at least one non-transitory memory including computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to;

determine that the apparatus is in at least one of the voice phone call mode and the multi-media mode;

in response to determining that the apparatus is in the voice phone call mode;

select at least three of the microphones to use in the voice phone call mode;

determine a use for each of the selected at least three microphones such that;

at least one first microphone of the selected at least three microphones is used for primary speech by outputting at least one signal to the at least one processor as a primary speech signal, and

at least one second microphone of the selected at least three microphones is used for noise reduction by outputting at least one signal as a noise reduction signal to the at least one processor; and

in response to determining that the apparatus is in the multi-media mode select the same at least three microphones to each output at least one signal to the at least one processor for sound capture, and determine a use for each of the selected at least three microphones for the multi-media mode based at least on a type of sound capture feature being used by the apparatus, where the apparatus comprises a plurality of different types of sound capture features based on the determined mode.

2. The apparatus as in claim 1, wherein the voice phone call mode of the apparatus is a hand portable call mode, and the apparatus is configured to select:

a front bottom microphone, a rear bottom microphone and a rear top microphone as the selected at least three microphones.

3. The apparatus as in claim 1, wherein the voice phone call mode of the apparatus is an integrated handsfree call mode, and wherein selection of the at least three microphones is based at least partially upon a determined use of the apparatus being either a handheld handsfree use or a desktop handsfree use.

4. The apparatus as in claim 3, where when the determined use of the apparatus is either the desktop handsfree use or the handheld handsfree use, the selected at least three microphones comprise:

a front bottom microphone, a rear bottom, and a rear top microphone.

5. The apparatus as in claim 3, the apparatus comprising at least four suitably located microphones, and where when the determined use of the apparatus is either the desktop handsfree use or the handheld handsfree use, the apparatus is configured to select at least one of the following groups of microphones as the at least one second microphone of the selected at least three microphones:

a front top microphone, a rear top microphone and a front bottom microphone,

a front bottom microphone, a rear bottom microphone and a front top microphone, and;

a front bottom microphone, a rear bottom microphone and a rear top microphone.

6. The apparatus as in claim 1, wherein determining the use for each of the selected at least three microphones for the determined mode is based at least upon a determined orientation of the apparatus.

7. The apparatus as in claim 1, where the different types of sound capture features comprise two or more of:

mono audio capture, mono zoom audio capture, stereo capture, directed stereo capture, surround capture and wind noise reduction.

8. The apparatus as in claim 7, where

when the type of sound capture feature being used is mono audio capture, the apparatus is configured to use a rear top microphone,

when the determined type of sound capture feature is mono zoom audio capture, and when a determined orientation of the apparatus is a portrait orientation, the apparatus is configured to use the rear top microphone and a front top microphone, or a rear bottom microphone and a front bottom microphone, and

when the determined type of sound capture feature is mono zoom audio capture, and when the determined orientation is a landscape orientation, the apparatus is configured to use the rear top microphone and the front top microphone, and/or the rear bottom microphone and the front bottom microphone.

9. The apparatus as in claim 7 where,

when the type of sound capture feature being used is stereo capture, and when a determined orientation of the apparatus is a landscape orientation, the apparatus is configured to use the rear top microphone and the rear bottom microphone.

10. The apparatus as in claim 9, where the apparatus comprises at least four suitably located microphones, and where

when the type of sound capture feature being used is directional stereo capture, and when the determined orientation is the landscape orientation, the apparatus is configured to use the rear top microphone, the front top microphone, the rear bottom microphone and the front bottom microphone.

11. The apparatus as in claim 7, where when the determined type of sound capture feature is surround capture, and when a determined orientation of the apparatus is a landscape orientation, the apparatus is configured to select:

a rear top microphone, a front top microphone and a rear bottom microphone as the selected at least three microphones, and/or

the rear top microphone, the rear bottom microphone and a front bottom microphone as the selected at least three microphones.

12. The apparatus as in claim 7, where when the determined type of sound capture feature is wind noise reduction, and when a determined orientation of the apparatus is a landscape orientation, the apparatus is configured to switch the use of one or more of the selected at least three microphones based upon wind noise.

13. The apparatus as in claim 1, further comprising:

a housing;

at least one printed circuit board in the housing, where the at least one printed circuit board comprises the at least one processor and the at least one memory;

at least one transmitter and at least one receiver connected to the at least one printed circuit board;

an electronic display connected to the housing; and

a battery connected to the at least one printed circuit board.

14. The apparatus as in claim 1, wherein a third microphone of the selected at least three microphones is used to form a beam with the primary speech signal.

15. The apparatus as in claim 14, wherein:

when the apparatus is in the hand portable call mode the beam formed with the primary speech signal is a fixed beam; and

when the apparatus is in the integrated handsfree call mode, the beam formed with the primary speech signal is a moving beam.

16. A method comprising:

determining an apparatus is in at least one of a voice phone call mode and a multi-media mode, wherein the apparatus comprises at least three microphones suitably located in the apparatus so that each of the at least three microphones is configured to be used with the other ones of the microphones in at least two different apparatus modes;

in response to determining that the apparatus is in the voice phone call mode;

selecting at least three of the microphones to be used in the voice phone call mode;

determining a use for each of the selected at least three microphones such that;

at least one first microphone of the selected at least three microphones is used for primary speech by outputting at least one signal to the at least one processor as a primary speech signal, and

at least one second microphone of the selected at least three microphones is used for noise reduction by outputting at least one signal as a noise reduction signal to the at least one processor; and

in response to determining that the apparatus is in a multi-media mode, select the same at least three microphones to each output at least one signal to the at least one processor for sound capture and determining a use for each of the selected at least three microphones for the multi-media mode based at least on a type of sound capture feature being used by the apparatus, where the apparatus comprises a plurality of different types of sound capture features based on the determined mode.

17. The method as in claim 16, wherein the voice phone call mode of the apparatus is a hand portable call mode, the selecting comprises:

selecting a front bottom microphone, a rear bottom microphone and a rear top microphone as the selected at least three microphones.

18. The method as in claim 16, wherein the voice phone call mode of the apparatus is an integrated handsfree call mode, and wherein selecting the at least three microphones is based at least partially upon a determined use of the apparatus being either a handheld handsfree use or a desktop handsfree use.

19. The method as in claim 18, where

when the determined use of the apparatus is either the handheld handsfree use or the desktop handsfree use, the selecting comprises:

selecting a front bottom microphone, a rear bottom microphone, and a rear top microphone as the selected at least three microphones.

20. The method as in claim 16, wherein determining the use for each of the selected at least three microphones is based at based at least partially on an orientation of the apparatus at which the determined mode utilizes each of the selected at least three microphones in accordance with the orientation of the apparatus.

21. The method as in claim 20, where the determined orientation of the apparatus comprises either a portrait orientation or a landscape orientation, and where the plurality of different types of sound capture features comprise two or more of:

mono audio capture, mono zoom audio capture, stereo capture, directed stereo capture, surround capture and wind noise reduction.