Headset interview mode

• US 9,392,353 B2
• Filed: 10/18/2013
• Issued: 07/12/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 10/18/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Plantronics, Inc.
• Inventors: Johnston, Timothy P, Meyberg, Jacob T, Graham, John S
• Primary Examiner(s): He, Jialong
• Application Number:
  US14/057,854
• Publication Number:
  US 20150112671A1
• Time in Patent Office: 998 Days
• Field of Search: 704/233, 704/226
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 2021/02166 Microphone arrays; Beamforming
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 21/0208 Noise filtering
• 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 2227/003 Digital PA systems using, e.g. LAN or internet
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2227/009 Signal processing in [PA] systems to enhance the speech intelligibility
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 27/00 Public address systems circuits for preventing acoustic reaction H04R3/02; circuits for distributing signals to loudspeakers H04R3/12; monitoring or testing arrangements for public address systems H04R29/007; amplifiers H03F
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 3/005 for combining the signals of two or more microphones specially adapted for hearing aids H04R25/407

Abstract

Methods and apparatuses for headsets are disclosed. In one example, a headset includes a processor, a communications interface, a user interface, and a speaker. The headset includes a microphone array including two or more microphones arranged to detect sound and output two or more microphone output signals. The headset further includes a memory storing an application executable by the processor configured to operate the headset in a first mode utilizing a first set of signal processing parameters to process the two or more microphone output signals and operate the headset in a second mode utilizing a second set of signal processing parameters to process the two or more microphone output signals.

Claims

1. A headset comprising:

a processor;

a communications interface;

a user interface;

a speaker arranged to output audible sound to a headset wearer ear;

a microphone array comprising two or more microphones arranged to detect sound and output two or more microphone output signals; and

a memory storing an application executable by the processor configured to operate the headset in one of either a first mode or a second mode, the headset having both the first mode and the second mode selectable by a headset wearer, the first mode utilizing a first set of signal processing parameters to process the two or more microphone output signals and the second mode comprising an interview mode of operation for selection when the headset wearer is in a face to face conversation with a conversation participant, the interview mode utilizing a second set of signal processing parameters to process the two or more microphone output signals, wherein the second set of signal processing parameters are configured to optimize detection of speech of the conversation participant in adjacent proximity to the headset wearer.

2. The headset of claim 1, wherein the first set of signal processing parameters are configured to eliminate a signal component corresponding to a voice in proximity to the headset wearer and the second set of signal processing parameters are configured to detect and propagate the signal component corresponding to the voice in proximity to the headset wearer for recording at the headset or transmission to a remote device.

3. The headset of claim 2, wherein the second set of signal processing parameters comprise a beam forming algorithm to isolate the voice in proximity to the headset wearer and a noise reduction algorithm to reduce ambient noise detected in addition to the voice in proximity to the headset wearer.

4. The headset of claim 1, wherein the first set of signal processing parameters are configured to process sound corresponding to telephony voice communications between a headset wearer and a voice call participant, and the second set of signal processing parameters are configured to process sound corresponding to voice communications between the headset wearer and the conversation participant in adjacent proximity to the headset wearer.

5. The headset of claim 4, wherein during the second mode the application is further configured to record the sound corresponding to voice communications between the headset wearer and the conversation participant in adjacent proximity to the headset wearer in the memory.

6. The headset of claim 4, wherein during the second mode the application is further configured to transmit the sound corresponding to voice communications between the headset wearer and the conversation participant in adjacent proximity to the headset wearer to a remote device over the communications interface.

7. The headset of claim 4, wherein the second set of signal processing parameters are further configured to normalize an audio level of a headset wearer speech and a conversation participant speech prior to recording or transmission.

8. The headset of claim 4, wherein second set of signal processing parameters are configured to process the sound corresponding to voice communications between the headset wearer and the conversation participant in adjacent proximity to the headset wearer to isolate a headset wearer voice in a first channel and isolate a conversation participant voice in a second channel.

9. The headset of claim 1, further comprising a sensor providing a sensor output, wherein the application is further configured to process the sensor output to determine a direction or a distance of a person associated with a voice in proximity to the headset wearer, wherein the application is further configured to utilize the direction or the distance in the second set of signal processing parameters.

10. The headset of claim 9, wherein the sensor is a video camera, an infrared system, or an ultrasonic system.

11. The headset of claim 1, wherein the application is further configured to switch between the first mode and the second mode responsive to a user action received at the user interface.

12. The headset of claim 1, wherein the application is further configured to switch between the first mode and the second mode responsive to an instruction received from a remote device.

13. A method comprising:

operating a headset in a user selectable first mode comprising a telephony mode or a user selectable second mode comprising an interview mode of operation for selection when a headset wearer is in a face to face conversation with a conversation participant, the headset comprising a microphone array arranged to detect sound, the headset having both the user selectable first mode and the user selectable second mode;

receiving sound at the microphone array and converting the sound to an audio signal;

eliminating a voice of the conversation participant in the audio signal in the user selectable first mode comprising the telephony mode;

detecting and recording the voice of the conversation participant in the audio signal in the user selectable second mode comprising the interview mode.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein detecting and recording the voice of the conversation participant in the audio signal in the user selectable second mode comprises utilizing a beam forming algorithm to isolate the voice in proximity to the headset wearer.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein the user selectable first mode comprises telephony voice communications between the headset wearer and a voice call participant and the user selectable second mode comprises voice communications between the headset wearer and the conversation participant.

16. The method of claim 13, further comprising transmitting the voice of the conversation participant in the user selectable second mode to a remote device.

17. The method of claim 13, further comprising normalizing an audio level of a headset wearer speech and the voice of the conversation participant in the user selectable second mode.

18. The method of claim 13, further comprising processing the audio signal to isolate a headset wearer voice in a first channel and isolate the voice of the conversation participant in a second channel in the user selectable second mode.

19. The method of claim 13, further comprising switching between the user selectable first mode and the user selectable second mode responsive to a user action received at a headset user interface or responsive to an instruction received from a remote device.

20. One or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media having computer-executable instructions stored thereon which, when executed by one or more computers, cause the one more computers to perform operations comprising:

operating a headset in a first mode comprising a telephony mode or a second mode comprising an interview mode of operation for selection when a headset wearer is in a face to face conversation with a conversation participant, the headset comprising a microphone array arranged to detect sound and the headset having both the first mode and the second mode;

receiving sound at the microphone array and converting the sound to an audio signal;

detecting a headset wearer voice and eliminating a voice of the conversation participant in the audio signal in the first mode comprising the telephony mode; and

detecting and recording the headset wearer voice and the voice of the conversation participant in the audio signal in the second mode comprising the interview mode.

21. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media of claim 20, wherein detecting and recording the voice of the conversation participant in the second mode comprises utilizing a beam forming algorithm to isolate the voice of the conversation participant.

22. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media of claim 20, wherein the first mode comprises telephony voice communications between the headset wearer and a voice call participant and the second mode comprises voice communications between the headset wearer and the conversation participant.

23. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media of claim 20, wherein the operations further comprise normalizing an audio level of the headset wearer voice and the voice of the conversation participant in the second mode.

24. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media of claim 20, wherein the operations further comprise processing the audio signal to isolate the headset wearer voice in a first channel and isolate the voice of the conversation participant in a second channel in the second mode.

25. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media of claim 20, wherein the operations further comprise switching between the first mode and the second mode responsive to a user action received at a headset user interface or responsive to an instruction received from a remote device.