Mobile terminal and method for the mobile terminal to switch between microphones during a call

• US 9,906,635 B2
• Filed: 04/07/2016
• Issued: 02/27/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 07/08/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Huizhou TCL Mobile Communication Company Limited (TCL Technology Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Huizhou TCL Mobile Communication Company Limited (TCL Technology Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Yang, Yan
• Primary Examiner(s): HUBER, PAUL W
• Application Number:
  US15/302,046
• Publication Number:
  US 20170180527A1
• Time in Patent Office: 691 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/16 using electromagnetic waves other than radio waves
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/18 using ultrasonic, sonic, or infrasonic waves
• 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: G10L 21/0208 Noise filtering
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/03 Constructional features of telephone transmitters or receivers, e.g. telephone hand-sets
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/6008 in the transmitter circuit
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/6016 in the receiver 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 1/72454 according to context-related or environment-related conditions
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2201/40 Details of arrangements for obtaining desired directional characteristic by combining a number of identical transducers covered by H04R1/40 but not provided for in any of its subgroups
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2410/01 Noise reduction using microphones having different directional characteristics
• 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 25/407 Circuits for combining signals of a plurality of transducers
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 25/43 Electronic input selection or mixing based on input signal analysis, e.g. mixing or selection between microphone and telecoil or between microphones with different directivity characteristics H04R25/407 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 3/005 for combining the signals of two or more microphones specially adapted for hearing aids H04R25/407

Abstract

A mobile terminal and a method for the mobile terminal to switch between microphones during a call are disclosed. The mobile terminal includes a sound source determining module, a switching module and at least two microphones, wherein the sound source determining module is configured to determine a sound source location when the mobile terminal is answering an incoming call, and the switching module is configured to switch between the at least two microphones according to the sound source location so as to control at least one of the at least two microphones to act as a primary microphone to receive a first sound signal emitted from the sound source location.

Claims

1. A mobile terminal, comprising a processor, a storage, at least two microphones, at least two earphones and a bus, wherein the processor, the storage, the at least two microphones and the at least two earphones are connected to the bus, the storage is configured to store a program, and the processor is configured to execute a program configured to:

acquire an auricle image of a user when an incoming call for the mobile terminal is received;

determine a profile curve of a helix and a profile curve of an earlobe according to the auricle image, and determine a disposition direction of the mobile terminal with respect to the user according to positional relationships between a line connecting the profile curve of the helix and the profile curve of the earlobe with respect to the mobile terminal;

determine a sound source location according to the disposition direction;

use at least one microphone of the at least two microphones located closest to the sound source location as a primary microphone to receive a first sound signal emitted from the sound source location; and

determine an answering location of the user according to the auricle image, and switch between the at least two microphones according to the answering location so as to control at least one earphone of the at least two earphones to act as a primary earphone to play a second sound signal that is received.

2. The mobile terminal according to claim 1, further comprising a capacitive display screen or a camera, and the program is further configured to:

acquire the auricle image with the capacitive display screen or the camera.

3. A mobile terminal, comprising a sound source determining module, a switching module and at least two microphones, wherein the sound source determining module is configured to determine a sound source location when the mobile terminal is answering an incoming call, and the switching module is configured to switch between the at least two microphones according to the sound source location so as to control at least one microphone of the at least two microphones to act as a primary microphone to receive a first sound signal emitted from the sound source location;

further comprising an image acquiring module configured to acquire an auricle image of the user when the mobile terminal is answering the incoming call;

wherein the sound source determining module determines a profile curve of a helix and a profile curve of an earlobe according to the auricle image and determines a disposition direction of the mobile terminal with respect to the user according to positional relationships between a line connecting the profile curve of the helix and the profile curve of the earlobe with respect to the mobile terminal; and

the sound source determining module is further configured to determine the sound source location of the user according to the auricle image.

4. The mobile terminal according to claim 3, wherein the switching module takes the at least one microphone located closest to the sound source location as the primary microphone.

5. The mobile terminal according to claim 3, wherein the mobile terminal further comprises at least two earphones, the sound source determining module is further configured to determine an answering location of the user according to the auricle image, and the switching module is configured to switch between the at least two earphones according to the answering location so as to control at least one earphone of the at least two earphones to act as a primary earphone to play a second sound signal that is received.

6. The mobile terminal according to claim 3, wherein the image acquiring module is further configured to acquire the auricle image of the user with a capacitive display screen or a camera of the mobile terminal.

7. The mobile terminal according to claim 5, wherein the at least two microphones comprise a first microphone, a second microphone, a third microphone and a fourth microphone, and the at least two earphones comprise a first earphone, a second earphone, a third earphone and a fourth earphone, the first microphone, the first earphone are located at an upper end of the mobile terminal or the capacitive display screen of the mobile terminal, the second microphone and the second earphone are located at a lower end of the mobile terminal or the capacitive display screen, the third microphone and the third earphone are located at a left side of the mobile terminal or the capacitive display screen, and the fourth microphone and the fourth earphone are located at a right side of the mobile terminal or the capacitive display screen.

8. The mobile terminal according to claim 3, wherein the mobile terminal comprises at least two microphones, the least two microphones comprise a first microphone and a second microphone, and the at least two earphones comprise a first earphone and a second earphone, the first microphone and the first earphone are located at an upper end of the mobile terminal or the capacitive display screen of the mobile terminal, and the second microphone and the second earphone are located at a lower end of the mobile terminal or the capacitive display screen.

9. The mobile terminal according to claim 8, wherein the sound source determining module determines the sound source location of the user by determining volume levels of the first sound signals received by the first microphone and the second microphone.

10. The mobile terminal according to claim 8, wherein the sound source determining module determines the sound source location of the user by determining volume levels of the first sound signals received by a first sound transducer located at a first location near the first microphone and a second sound transducer located at a second location near the second microphone.

11. The mobile terminal according to claim 8, wherein the direction of the mobile terminal is determined by the sound source determining module via an acceleration sensor of the mobile terminal so as to resolve the sound source location of the user, when the mobile terminal is determined to be in a upright state, then it is resolved that the sound source location of the user is closer to the second microphone located at the lower end and, correspondingly, the switching module controls the second microphone to act as the primary microphone;

and when the mobile terminal is determined to be in a reversed state, then it is resolved that the sound source location of the user is closer to the first microphone located at the upper end and, correspondingly, the switching module controls the first microphone to act as the primary microphone.

12. A method for a mobile terminal to switch between microphones during a call, the mobile terminal comprising at least two microphones, the method comprising:

acquiring an auricle image of a user when an incoming call for the mobile terminal is received;

determining a profile curve of a helix and a profile curve of an earlobe according to the auricle image, and determining a disposition direction of the mobile terminal with respect to the user according to positional relationships between a line connecting the profile curve of the helix and the profile curve of the earlobe with respect to the mobile terminal;

determining a sound source location according to the disposition direction; and

switching between the at least two microphones according to the sound source location so as to control at least one microphone of the at least two microphones to act as a primary microphone to receive a first sound signal emitted from the sound source location.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein

switching between the at least two microphones according to the sound source location so as to control at least one microphone of the at least two microphones to act as the primary microphone to receive the first sound signal emitted from the sound source location comprises:

receiving the first sound signal emitted from the sound source location by using the at least one microphone located to the sound source location as the primary microphone.

14. The method according to claim 12, wherein the mobile terminal further comprises at least two earphones, and the method further comprises:

determining an answering location of the user according to the auricle image; and

switching between the at least two earphones according to the answering location so as to control at least one earphone of the at least two earphones to act as a primary earphone to play a second sound signal that is received.

15. The method according to claim 12, wherein acquiring the auricle image of the user comprises:

acquire the auricle image of the user with a capacitive display screen or a camera of the mobile terminal.

16. The method according to claim 12, wherein determining the sound source location of the user when an incoming call for the mobile terminal is received comprises:

determining the sound source location of the user by determining volume levels of the first sound signals received by a first microphone of the at least two microphones and a second microphone of the at least two microphones.