Mobile phone for voice adaptation in socially sensitive environment

• US 20040242160A1
• Filed: 05/30/2003
• Published: 12/02/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 05/30/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: RPX Corporation
• Original Assignee: Nokia Corporation
• Inventors: Korhonen, Panu, Ichikawa, Fumiko, Nicholson, Guy C.
• Granted Patent: US 7,142,894 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/67.13
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/585 implemented without inductive element
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/6008 in the transmitter circuit
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72454 according to context-related or environment-related conditions

Abstract

This invention describes a mobile phone with a means of measuring a background sound level of an environment. When a user either initiates or receives a phone call, sound levels before and during the call are compared. Once it is decided that the voice is too loud based on a predetermined criteria, the phone gives the user a feedback indicating that the voice is too loud and potentially a disruption to other people. Furthermore, the present invention provides a feedback for a voice adjustment by utilizing a sidetone adaptive signal that filters the user own speech directly to an earpiece.

Claims

1. A mobile phone (10), comprising:

a sound level comparator (22), responsive to a background sound level signal having a magnitude indicative of a background sound level (8) and to a voice sound level signal having a magnitude indicative of a voice sound level (9) of a user (12) of the mobile phone (10), for providing a voice level warning signal (24a) if the voice sound level (9) in comparison with the background sound level based on a predetermined criteria is not acceptable; and

a warning voice level means (24), responsive to the voice level warning signal (24a), for providing a voice level warning (24b) perceptible to the user (12).

2. The mobile phone (10) of claim 1, wherein the voice level warning (24b) is a visual warning.

3. The mobile phone (10) of claim 1, wherein the voice level warning (24b) is an audio warning.

4. The mobile phone (10) of claim 1, wherein the voice level warning (24b) is a tactile warning.

5. The mobile phone (10) of claim 1, further comprising a sound level meter (16), responsive to the background sound level (8) and to the voice sound level (9) of the user (12), for providing the background sound level signal and the voice sound level signal.

6. The mobile phone (10) of claim 5, wherein the sound level meter (16) comprises a further microphone (16a), for providing a background meter signal having a magnitude indicative of the background sound level (8) and a voice sound signal having a magnitude indicative of the voice sound level (9) of the user (12) to the sound level meter (16).

7. The mobile phone (10) of claim 5, further comprising a microphone (14), for providing a background meter signal having a magnitude indicative of the background sound level and a voice sound signal having a magnitude indicative of the voice sound level of the user (12) to the sound level meter (16).

8. The mobile phone (10) of claim 5, further comprising an amplifier (20), responsive to a microphone voice signal from the microphone (14), to a background sound level adjustment signal (23) from the sound level comparator (22) and to an amplifier adjustment signal (30a), for providing a further electronic sound signal and a sidetone adaptive signal (25) during a phone call.

9. The mobile phone (10) of claim 8, further comprising a sidetone amplifier (26), responsive to the sidetone adaptive signal (25), to a background sidetone adjustment signal (23b) from the sound level comparator (22) and to a further voice adjustment on/off signal (28c), for providing an amplified sidetone adaptive signal (27).

10. The mobile phone (10) of claim 9, further comprising an earpiece (18), responsive to the amplified sidetone adaptive signal (27) and to a voice signal from a further user (18a) received through a normal mobile phone communication channel, for providing a sidetone sound audio signal and a voice sound audio signal from the further user to the user (12).

11. The mobile phone (10) of claim 1, further comprising a sound profile switch (30), responsive to a sound profile command signal (31) from the user (12), for providing an amplifier adjustment signal (30a).

12. The mobile phone (10) of claim 11, wherein the sound profile switch (30) further provides a sidetone adjustment signal (30b).

13. The mobile phone (10) of claim 11, further comprising a ring adjustment means (32), responsive to the ring adjustment signal (32a) from the sound profile switch (30).

14. The mobile phone (10) of claim 1, further comprising a voice adjustment on/off switch (28), responsive to a voice adjustment on/off command signal (28a), for providing a further voice adjustment on/off signal (28c) to a sidetone amplifier (26).

15. The mobile phone (10) of claim 14, wherein the voice adjustment on/off switch (28) further provides a voice adjustment on/off signal (28b) to the sound level comparator (22).

16. The mobile phone (10) of claim 1, wherein both the voice sound level signal and the background sound level signal are provided for a selected acoustic frequency range, said frequency range chosen for the best speech illegibility.

17. The mobile phone (10) of claim 1, wherein the sound level comparator (22) is responsive to the background sound level signal (17) before the phone call and to the background sound level signal combined with the voice level signal (15) during the phone call responded to or initiated by the user (12).

18. The mobile phone (10) of claim 1, wherein the sound level comparator (22) provides a background sound level adjustment signal (23) to an amplifier (20).

19. The mobile phone (10) of claim 18, wherein the sound level comparator (22) further provides a background sidetone adjustment signal (23b) to a sidetone amplifier (26).

20. The mobile phone (10) of claim 1, wherein the sound level comparator (22) is responsive to a voice adjustment on/off signal (28b) from a voice adjustment on/off switch (28).

21. The mobile phone (10) of claim 1, further comprising a sound level meter (16), responsive to the background sound level (8) before a phone call and to the background sound level combined with the voice sound level (9) during the phone call, for providing the background sound level signal before the phone call and the background sound level signal combined with the voice sound level signal during the phone call.

22. A method for use in a mobile phone (10), comprising the steps of:

comparing (48) a background sound level signal having a magnitude indicative of a background sound level (8) and to a voice sound level signal having a magnitude indicative of a voice sound level (9) of a user (12) of the mobile phone (10) and determining if the voice sound level is acceptable in comparison with the background sound level based on a predetermined criteria; and

providing (50) a voice level warning (24b) to the user (12) if the comparison is not acceptable based on the predetermined criteria.

23. The method of claim 22, further comprising the step of:

measuring (40) the background sound level by the sound level meter (16) and storing (42) an average background sound level signal by a sound level comparator (22), said averaging is over the background sound level signal and a predetermined number of the previously measured background sound level signals.

24. The method of claim 22, further comprising the step of:

providing (44) a background sound level adjustment signal (23) to an amplifier (20) and a background sidetone adjustment signal (23b) to a sidetone amplifier (26) by the sound level comparator (22).

25. The method of claim 22, further comprising the steps of:

coupling (52) a sidetone adaptive signal (25) to an earpiece (18) during the phone call; and

providing (54) a sidetone sound audio signal (29) to the user (12).

26. The method of claim 25, wherein the sidetone adaptive signal is provided to the earpiece (18) from the amplifier (20) through the sidetone amplifier (26).