Generating a sound localization point (SLP) where binaural sound externally localizes to a person during a telephone call

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10440489-B2
Application number	US-201816162416-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 17, 2018
Priority date	Feb 20, 2016
Publication date	Oct 8, 2019
Grant date	Oct 8, 2019

Abstract

A method generates a sound localization point (SLP) where binaural sound externally localizes to a person during a telephone call. The method determines a location of a handheld portable electronic device (HPED) with respect to the person and saves this location as the SLP. During the telephone call, a voice of another person is processed so the voice externally localizes to the person as the binaural sound at the SLP.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method executed by a handheld portable electronic device (HPED) to generate a sound localization point (SLP) in empty space where binaural sound externally localizes to a person during a telephone call, the method comprising:
generating, with the HPED, the SLP in empty space where the binaural sound will externally localize during the telephone call to the person in the empty space at a location where the HPED is located while the HPED is within 1.5 meters from a head of the person; and
processing, with a processor in the HPED and during the telephone call between the person and another person and after the HPED is removed from the location where the SLP was generated, a voice of the another person so the voice of the another person externally localizes as the binaural sound to the person in the empty space at the location where the HPED was located to generate the SLP.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising:
capturing, with a camera in the HPED, an image of a face of the person while the HPED is located at the location;
determining, from the image, azimuth and elevation coordinates of the HPED with respect to a head orientation of the person;
designating the SLP in empty space to have the azimuth and elevation coordinates of the HPED.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising:
generating, with the HPED, a sound while the HPED is located at the location;
capturing the sound with microphones located in ears of the person such that an azimuth coordinate of the location of the HPED is calculated from the sound captured with the microphones located in the ears of the person; and
designating the SLP with the azimuth coordinate.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising:
determining, with the HPED, a location of the person when the telephone call commences;
determining, with the HPED, room impulse responses (RIRs) stored for the location of the person when the telephone call commences; and
convolving, with the processor and during the telephone call, the voice of the another person with the RIRs stored for the location of the person when the telephone call commences.

5. The method of claim 1 further comprising:
analyzing a facial orientation of the person to determine a distance between a face of the person and the HPED and an azimuth angle of the HPED with respect to a line-of-sight of the person; and
automatically generating the SLP when the HPED is at a predetermined distance from the face of the person and at a predetermined azimuth angle with respect to the line-of-sight of the person.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprising:
receiving, at the HPED, a verbal command from the person to capture the SLP at the location of the HPED that is located away from the person; and
retrieving, by the HPED, head related transfer functions (HRTFs) corresponding to coordinates of the SLP, wherein the processor convolves the voice of the another person with the HRTFs during the telephone call.

7. The method of claim 1 further comprising:
determining a facial orientation of the person with respect to the location of the HPED that is located away from the person;
calculating, with the HPED and based on the facial orientation, azimuth and elevation coordinates of the location of the HPED at the location; and
storing, in memory of the HPED, the azimuth and elevation coordinates as coordinates of the SLP where the binaural sound will externally localize during the telephone call to the person in the empty space at the location where the HPED was located.

8. A method executed to generate a sound localization point (SLP) where binaural sound externally localizes to a person in empty space during a telephone call, the method comprising:
generating, with a handheld portable electronic device (HPED) at a location that is proximate to a head of the person, the SLP where the binaural sound will externally localize to the person in empty space during the telephone call after the HPED is removed from the location with respect to the head of the person; and
processing, after the HPED is removed from the location with respect to the head of the person and with a processor during the telephone call between the person and another person, a voice of the another person so the voice of the another person externally localizes as the binaural sound to the person in the empty space from the SLP where the HPED was located when the SLP was generated.

9. The method of claim 8 further comprising:
dividing, with the HPED, an area around the head of the person into a plurality of three-dimensional (3D) zones;
determining, with the HPED, in which one of the zones the HPED is located by comparing the location of the HPED with locations of the zones around the head of the person; and
capturing, with the HPED, coordinates of the SLP when the HPED is located in a predetermined one of the zones.

10. The method of claim 8 further comprising:
generating, with the HPED, a plurality of SLPs while the HPED moves to different locations with respect to the head of the person;
mapping, with the HPED, locations of the plurality of SLPs with respect to the head of the person; and
displaying, on a display of the HPED, the locations of the plurality of SLPs in a three-dimensional (3D) map.

11. The method of claim 8 further comprising:
calculating, with the HPED, one or more coordinates of the location of HPED with respect to the head of a person located at an origin in a coordinate system; and
saving, in a memory of the HPED, the one or more coordinates of the location of the HPED as coordinates of the SLP in the coordinate system.

12. The method of claim 8 further comprising:
receiving, at the HPED and when the HPED is one meter away from the head of the person, a command from the person to generate the SLP where the voice of the another person localizes to the person during the telephone call.

13. The method of claim 8 further comprising:
tracking, with the HPED, a location of the person; and
selecting the SLP as a localization point to place the voice of the another person during the telephone call when the location of the person is proximate to the SLP.

14. The method of claim 8 further comprising:
determining, with the HPED, a facial orientation of the person with respect to the location of the HPED; and
calculating, with the HPED and based on the facial orientation, an azimuth angle and an elevation angle of the location of the HPED as coordinates of the SLP.

15. A method executed with one or more electronic devices in a computer system to generate a sound localization point (SLP) where binaural sound externally localizes to a person in empty space during a telephone call, the method comprising:
generating, with a handheld portable electronic device (HPED) and at a location of the HPED, the SLP where the binaural sound will externally localize to the person in the empty space during the telephone call after the HPED is removed from the location; and
processing, with the one or more electronic devices in the computer system and during the telephone call between the person and another person and after the HPED is removed from the location, a voice of the another person so the voice of the another person externally localizes as the binaural sound to the person in the empty space from the SLP where the HPED was previously located to generate the SLP.

16. The method of claim 15 further comprising:
determining, with the one or more electronic devices in the computer system, a location of the person;
comparing, with the one or more electronic devices in the

Assignees

• Lyren Philip Scott
• Norris Glen A

Inventors

• Lyren Philip Scott
• Norris Glen A

Classifications

• H04S7/301

  Automatic calibration of stereophonic sound system, e.g. with test microphone · CPC title

• H04S7/304

  For headphones · CPC title

• H04S1/005 Primary

  For headphones · CPC title

• G06F3/011

  Arrangements for interaction with the human body, e.g. for user immersion in virtual reality (blind teaching G09B21/00) · CPC title

• H04R29/00

  Monitoring arrangements; Testing arrangements {(for hearing aids H04R25/30; detection of loudspeaker connection H04R5/04; sound-field adaptation dependent on speaker detection H04S7/308)} · CPC title