EARPIECE AND A METHOD FOR PLAYING A STEREO AND A MONO SIGNAL

• US 20110293105A1
• Filed: 11/10/2009
• Published: 12/01/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 11/10/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DSP Group Ltd. (Synaptics Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: BoneTone Communications Limited (Synaptics Incorporated)
• Inventors: Arie, Heiman, Yehuday, Uri
• Granted Patent: US 8,855,328 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 381/71.11
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/05 specially adapted for use on head, throat or breast
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/2155 Acoustic coupling
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/60 including speech amplifiers
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72478 for hearing-impaired users
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/1016 Earpieces of the intra-aural type
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/1083 Reduction of ambient noise active noise reduction per se G10K11/175; protective devices for the ear, e.g. providing acoustic protection A61F11/06
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2460/01 Hearing devices using active noise cancellation
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2460/13 Hearing devices using bone conduction transducers
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 5/04 Circuit arrangements, e.g. for selective connection of amplifier inputs/outputs to loudspeakers, for loudspeaker detection, or for adaptation of settings to personal preferences or hearing impairments combinations of amplifiers H03F3/68; stereophonic systems H04S

Abstract

An earpiece for providing an audio signal to two ears of a user, includes an audio interface for providing the audio signal, a bone conduction speaker coupled to the audio interface for outputting an output signal, an adaptive filter with an adjustable impulse response to provide a filtered signal that once played to the second ear of a user, by an in-ear speaker, reduces an audio effect of the leakage signal on the second ear of the user, an in-ear speaker coupled to the audio interface for providing an in-ear audio signal to the second ear of the user, in response to the filtered signal and the second input signal, an in-ear microphone for sensing a sensed audio signal, and a processor for updating an impulse response of the adaptive filter in order to reduce a contribution of the leakage signal to the sensed audio signal.

Claims

1. A method for providing an audio signal to two ears of a user by using a single earpiece, comprising:

receiving an input signal that comprises a first input signal and a second input signal;

injecting the first input signal to a bone conductor speaker;

outputting an output signal by the bone conductor speaker in response to the first input signal;

wherein the outputting of the output signal causes an audio signal to reach a first ear of the user and causes a leakage signal to reach a second ear of the user;

filtering the first input signal by an adaptive filter to provide a filtered signal that once played to the second ear of a user by an in-ear speaker reduces an audio effect of the leakage signal on the second ear of the user;

sending, to an in-ear speaker, the filtered signal and the second input signal;

providing an in-ear audio signal to the second ear of the user, by the in-ear speaker, in response to the filtered signal and the second input signal;

sensing, by an in-ear microphone, a sensed audio signal; and

updating an impulse response of the adaptive filter in order to reduce a contribution of the leakage signal to the sensed audio signal.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the sensed audio signal further comprises an ambient noise and wherein the updating of the impulse response further comprises reducing the contribution of the ambient noise.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprises amplifying, the first input signal, by a gain factor, so as to compensate an attenuation applied to the first input signal while propagating through a bone, to the first ear of the user.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprises receiving, from a user device a volume and balance control indicating the gain factor.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the updating of the impulse response comprises calculating an error by subtracting the second input signal from the picked up in-ear signal.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the updating of the impulse response comprises calculating coefficients of a required impulse response, based on the error, so as to minimize the error.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the calculating of the coefficients comprises using a least mean square algorithm.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the first input signal differs from the second input signal.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the first input signal equals to the second input signal.

28. The method of claim 1, further comprises amplifying the first input signal, by a gain factor, so as to mask at least part of the ambient noise that is heard by the first ear of the user.

30. The method of claim 1, further comprises closing the first ear of the user by an earplug as to improve a signal to noise in the first ear due to an occlusion effect.

10. An earpiece for providing an audio signal to two ears of a user, comprising:

an audio interface for providing an audio signal that comprises a first input signal and a second input signal;

a bone conduction speaker coupled to the audio interface for outputting an output signal;

wherein the outputting of the output signal causes an audio signal to reach a first ear of a user and causes a leakage signal to reach a second ear of the user;

an adaptive filter with an adjustable impulse response for filtering the first input signal to provide a filtered signal that once played to the second ear of a user, by an in-ear speaker, reduces an audio effect of the leakage signal on the second ear of the user;

an in-ear speaker coupled to the audio interface for providing an in-ear audio signal to the second ear of the user, in response to the filtered signal and the second input signal;

an in-ear microphone for sensing a sensed audio signal; and

a processor for updating an impulse response of the adaptive filter in order to reduce a contribution of the leakage signal to the sensed audio signal.

11. The earpiece of claim 10, wherein the sensed audio signal further comprises an ambient noise and wherein the processor is configured to update the impulse response as to reduce the contribution of the ambient noise.

12. The earpiece of claim 10, further comprising an amplifier for amplifying the first input signal so as to compensate an attenuation applied to the first input signal while propagating through a bone.

13. The earpiece of claim 10, wherein the processor is configured to update the impulse response in response to an error, wherein the error is calculated by subtracting the second input signal from the picked up in-ear signal

14. The earpiece of claim 10, wherein the processor is configured to calculate coefficients of a required impulse response, based of the error, so as to minimize the error.

15. The earpiece of claim 10, wherein the audio interface comprises a wireless receiver for receiving the audio signal from a wireless audio device.

16. The earpiece of claim 10, wherein the audio interface comprises an analog interface for receiving the audio signal from a wired audio device with an analog transmitter.

17. The earpiece of claim 10, wherein the audio interface comprises a digital interface for receiving the audio signal from a wired audio device with a digital transmitter.

18. The earpiece of claim 10, wherein the first input signal differs from the second input signal.

19. The earpiece of claim 10, wherein the first input signal equals to the second input signal.

29. The earpiece of claim 10, further comprising an amplifier for amplifying the first input signal so as to mask at least part of the ambient noise that is heard by the first ear of the user.

31. The earpiece of claim 10, further comprising an earplug for closing the first ear of the user as to improve a signal to noise in the first ear due to an occlusion effect

20. A method for providing an audio signal to two ears of a user by using a single earpiece, comprising:

receiving a first input signal;

sending the first input signal to a first ear of a user by a bone conduction speaker;

providing an inner ear audio signal to a second ear of the user, by an in-ear speaker, in response to a second input signal;

sensing, by an in-ear microphone that is proximate to the second ear of the user, a sensed audio signal;

wherein the sensed audio signal is affected by the inner ear audio signal and by another signal that represents an interference audio signal that is heard by the second ear of the user; and

calculating a compensating signal that once provided to a bone conductor speaker will cause the bone conductor speaker to output an output signal that reduces an audio effect of the interference audio signal on the first ear of the user.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the interference audio signal is an ambient noise.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the compensating signal that is provided to the bone conductor speaker will cause the bone conductor speaker to output an output signal that cancels the audio effect of the ambient noise.

23. The method of claim 21, wherein the calculating of the compensating signal is responsive to a user defined noise reduction factor, such that the reduction of the audio effect of the ambient noise is responsive to the user defined noise reduction factor.

24. The method of claim 20 further comprises closing the first ear of the user by an earplug as to improve a signal to noise in the first ear due to an occlusion effect.

25. An earpiece, comprising:

an audio interface for receiving a first input signal and a second input signal;

an in-ear speaker for providing an inner ear audio signal to a second ear of a user, by the in-ear speaker, in response to the second input signal;

a bone conduction speaker for providing the first input signal to a first ear of the user;

an in-ear microphone that is proximate to the second ear of the user, for sensing a sensed audio signal;

wherein the sensed audio signal is affected by the inner ear audio signal and another signal that represents an interference audio signal that is heard by the second ear of the user; and

a processor for calculating a compensating signal that once provided to the bone conductor speaker will cause the bone conductor speaker to output an output signal that reduces an audio effect of the interference audio signal on the first ear of the user.

26. A phone providing an audio signal to two ears of a user, comprising:

a bone conduction speaker for outputting an audio signal;

wherein the outputting of the output signal causes a leakage signal to reach a second ear of a user;

an adaptive filter with an adjustable impulse response for filtering the first input to provide a filtered signal that once played to the second ear of a user by an in-ear speaker reduces an audio effect of the leakage signal on the second ear of the user;

an in-ear speaker coupled to the audio interface for providing an in-ear audio signal to the second ear of the user, in response to the filtered signal and the second input signal;

an in-ear microphone for sensing a sensed audio signal; and

a processor for updating an impulse response of the adaptive filter in order to reduce a contribution of the leakage signal to the sensed audio signal.

27. A headset, comprising:

an audio interface for providing an audio signal that comprises a first input signal and a second input signal;

a first in-ear speaker for providing a first inner ear audio signal to a first ear of a user, in response to the first input signal and a second in-ear speaker for providing a second inner ear audio signal to a second ear of a user, in response to the second input signal;

at least one in-ear microphone that is proximate to the first ear of the user, for sensing a sensed audio signal;

wherein the sensed audio signal is affected by the first inner ear audio signal and another signal that represents a second audio signal that is heard by the first ear of the user; and

a processor for calculating a compensating signal that once provided to the in-ear speakers will cause the in-ear speakers to output an output signal that reduces an audio effect of the second audio signal.

32. An earpiece for providing an audio signal to two ears of a user, comprising:

an audio interface for providing an audio signal that comprises a first input signal and a second input signal;

a bone conduction speaker coupled to the audio interface for outputting an output signal;

wherein the outputting of the output signal causes an audio signal to reach a first ear of a user and causes a leakage signal to reach a second ear of the user;

an adaptive filter with an adjustable impulse response for filtering the first input signal to provide a filtered signal that once played to the second ear of a user, by an in-ear speaker, reduces an audio effect of the leakage signal on the second ear of the user; and

a processor for updating an impulse response of the adaptive filter in order to reduce a contribution of the leakage signal to the sensed audio signal.