Seamless listen-through based on audio zoom for a wearable device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11743631-B2
Application number	US-202218063493-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 8, 2022
Priority date	Feb 26, 2019
Publication date	Aug 29, 2023
Grant date	Aug 29, 2023

Abstract

A wearable device may include a processor configured to perform active noise cancelation (ANC) applied to an input audio signal received by at least one microphone, and detect a self-voice signal, based on one or more transducers. The processor may also be configured to apply a first filter to an external audio signal, detected by at least one external microphone on the wearable device, during a listen through operation based on an activation of the audio zoom feature to generate a first listen-through signal that includes the external audio signal. The processor may also be configured to after the activation of the audio zoom feature terminate a second filter that provides low frequency compensation. The processor may be configured to produce an output audio signal that is based on at least the first listen-through signal that includes the external signal, and is based on the detected self-voice signal.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A wearable device, the wearable device comprising:
a memory configured to store a self-voice signal via one or more transducers; and
a processor coupled to the memory, configured to:
perform active noise cancelation (ANC) applied to an input audio signal received by at least one microphone;
detect the self-voice signal, based on the one or more transducers;
apply a first filter to an external audio signal, detected by at least one external microphone on the wearable device, during a listen through operation based on an activation of an audio zoom feature to generate a first listen-through signal that includes the external audio signal;
after the activation of the audio zoom feature terminate a second filter that provides low frequency compensation; and
produce an output audio signal that is based on at least the first listen-through signal that includes the external audio signal, and is based on the detected self-voice signal.

2. The wearable device of claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to perform the active noise cancellation (ANC) on at least an internal microphone signal.

3. The wearable device of claim 1 , wherein the processor is configured to automatically activate the audio zoom feature based on detection of a condition.

4. The wearable device of claim 1 , wherein the condition that the audio zoom feature is triggered is based on voice-detection.

5. The wearable device of claim 1 , wherein the processor is configured to perform the ANC and separate the self-voice signal from a background signal in the external audio signal.

6. The wearable deice of claim 5 , wherein the self-voice signal is separated from a background signal in the external audio signal based on information from an inner microphone signal detected by an internal microphone of the wearable device.

7. The wearable device of claim 1 , wherein the processor is configured to separate the self-voice signal from a background signal in the external audio signal based on using a multi-microphone speech generative network (MSGN).

8. The wearable device of claim 1 , wherein the processor is configured to separate the self-voice signal from a background signal in the external audio signal based on using a generalized eigenvalue (GEN) beamforming procedure.

9. The wearable device of claim 1 , wherein the one or more transducers includes a bone-conduction sensor, that detects vibrations via bone conduction between a mouth of a user of the wearable device and the one or more transducers.

10. The wearable device of claim 1 , wherein the one or more transducers includes at least one inner microphone signals from at least one inner microphone of the wearable device that is configured to detect the at least one inner microphone signal.

11. The wearable device of claim 1 , wherein the processor is configured to produce the audio zoom signal of the first listen-through signal based on the activation of the audio zoom feature.

12. The wearable device of claim 11 , wherein the processor is configured to produce the audio zoom signal that includes sound of an individual with whom a user wearing the device is conversing.

13. The wearable device of claim 11 , wherein the processor is configured to produce the audio zoom signal by suppressing soruces in the external audio signal that do not lie in a targeted direction.

14. The wearable device of claim 11 , wherein the processor is configured to produce the audio zoom signal by suppressing the self-voice signal.

15. The wearable device of claim 11 , wherein the audio zoom signal provides a stereo sensation in a targeted direction.

16. The wearable device of claim 15 , wherein the stereo sensation is produced using a left microphone signal and a right microphone signal.

17. The wearable device of claim 11 , wherein the audio zoom signal provides natural sounding listen-through features in a targeted direction.

18. The wearable device of claim 11 , wherein the processor is further configured to perform foreground sound processing to produce the audio zoom signal.

19. The wearable device of claim 11 , wherein the processor is further configured to perform headphone or earphone equalization to produce the audio zoom signal.

20. The wearable device of claim 1 , wherein the device further comprises the at least one external microphone arranged to receive an acoustic signal from an ambient environment, wherein the external audio signal is based on an output of the at least one external microphone.

21. The wearable device of claim 1 , wherein the device further comprises at least one internal microphone arranged to receive an acoustic signal from within an ear canal, wherein the internal microphone signal is based on an output of the at least one internal microphone, wherein the at least one internal microphone is one of the one or more transducers.

22. The wearable device of claim 1 , wherein the device further comprises a loudspeaker configured to produce a first acoustic signal based on the output audio signal.

23. The wearable device of claim 1 , wherein the device further comprises a transceiver, wherein the output audio signal provides natural sounding interactions with an environment while wireless communications is performed or while data is received via the transceiver.

24. The wearable device of claim 1 , wherein the termination of the second filter that provides low frequency compensation suppresses the active noise cancellation.

25. The wearable device of claim 1 , wherein the audio zoom features enables focus of sound pick up.

26. The wearable device of claim 25 , wherein the sound pick up is in a direction.

27. The wearable device of claim 26 , wherein the direction is based on beamforming using at least one external microphone on the wearable device and one additional microphone.

28. The wearable device of claim 27 , wherein the one additional microphone is an external microphone on the wearable device.

Assignees

• Qualcomm Inc
• Qualcomm Inc

Inventors

• Kim Lae-Hoon
• Wang Dongmei
• Saki Fatemeh
• Shahbazi Mirzahasanloo Taher
• Visser Erik
• Alves Rogerio Guedes

Classifications

• H04R1/1083 Primary

  Reduction of ambient noise (active noise reduction per se G10K11/175; protective devices for the ear, e.g. providing acoustic protection A61F11/06) · CPC title

• H04R1/1075

  Mountings of transducers in earphones or headphones · CPC title

• H04R2420/07

  Applications of wireless loudspeakers or wireless microphones · CPC title

• H04R2460/01

  Hearing devices using active noise cancellation · CPC title

• H04R2460/13

  Hearing devices using bone conduction transducers · CPC title