Facemask with automated voice display

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11910852-B2
Application number	US-202117190876-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 3, 2021
Priority date	Mar 3, 2021
Publication date	Feb 27, 2024
Grant date	Feb 27, 2024

Abstract

A facemask system with automated voice display is disclosed. The facemask includes a covering configured to be positioned about the face of a user. At least one microphone is positioned adjacent the covering and the facemask includes a display for displaying language spoken captured by at least one microphone. A processor is in operable communication with the microphone and the display. The facemask includes a memory that contains instructions that can be executed by the processor to perform operations. The operations include receiving signals from at least one microphone, identifying language contained within the signals, and displaying the language on the display.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A facemask system, comprising:
a covering configured to cover at least a portion of a face of a user when the covering is worn;
a plurality of microphones attached to the covering, wherein the plurality of microphones comprises a first microphone and a second microphone;
a display attached to the covering;
a processor in operable communication with the plurality of microphones and the display; and
memory containing instructions that can be executed by the processor to perform operations, the operations comprising:
receiving audio from the plurality of microphones;
outputting, based on the received audio, an audio signal that comprises a non-beamformed signal associated with the first microphone and a beamformed signal associated with the second microphone;
identifying, based on the audio signal, words contained within the audio signal; and
displaying the identified words on the display.

2. The facemask system of claim 1 , wherein the covering comprises LED-enabled fabric.

3. The facemask system of claim 1 , wherein the covering comprises a moisture barrier.

4. The facemask system of claim 1 , wherein the first microphone is attached to a left side of the covering and the second microphone is attached to a right side of the covering.

5. The facemask system of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the plurality of microphones is a directional cardioid microphone.

6. The facemask system of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the plurality of microphones comprises a sensitivity lower than 15 mV (−36 dB V/Pa).

7. The facemask system of claim 6 , wherein the sensitivity is higher than 0.5 mV (−66 dB V)/Pa).

8. The facemask system of claim 1 , wherein the first microphone is a proximal microphone and the second microphone is a distal microphone, and the proximal microphone is positioned closer to a user's mouth than the distal microphone, and wherein signals from the proximal microphone and the distal microphone are used to increase a signal-to-noise ratio output.

9. The facemask system of claim 1 , further comprising a shield attached to the plurality of microphones, the shield configured to reduce undesired noise signals.

10. The facemask system of claim 1 , wherein the operations further comprise using automated speech recognition software.

11. The facemask system of claim 1 , wherein the operations further comprise displaying one or more of text and video signals.

12. The facemask system of claim 11 , wherein the operations further comprise displaying the identified words as one or more of sign language motion and lip movement.

13. The facemask system of claim 11 , wherein the operations further comprise displaying the identified words in a different language than what was spoken.

14. The facemask system of claim 1 , wherein the operations further comprise triangulating signals from the first microphone and the second microphone to increase a signal to noise ratio output of the first microphone.

15. The facemask system of claim 1 , wherein the second microphone is a cardioid microphone and wherein the operations further comprise increasing a signal to noise ratio based on the beamformed signal from the second microphone.

16. The facemask of system claim 1 , wherein identifying words contained within the voice signals further comprises using acoustic models trained from voice samples from people wearing the facemask system.

17. A facemask system, comprising:
a covering configured to cover at least a portion of a face of a user when the covering is worn;
a plurality of microphones attached to the covering, wherein the plurality of microphones comprises a first microphone attached to a left side of the covering and a second microphone attached to a right side of the covering, and at least one of the first microphone or the second microphone is a directional cardioid microphone;
a display attached to the covering;
a processor, the processor in operable communication with the plurality of microphones and the display; and
memory containing instructions that can be executed by the processor to perform operations, the operations comprising:
receiving audio from the plurality of microphones;
outputting, based on the received audio, an audio signal that comprises a non-beamformed signal associated with the first microphone and a beamformed signal associated with the second microphone;
reducing, based on the audio signal, noise in the audio signal; and
identifying words contained within the audio signal received from the plurality of microphones using automated speech recognition software; and
displaying the identified words on the display as one or more of text and video signals.

18. The facemask system of claim 17 , wherein the covering comprises LED-enabled fabric.

19. The facemask system of claim 17 , wherein the covering comprises a moisture barrier.

20. The facemask system of claim 17 , wherein at least one of the plurality of microphones comprises a sensitivity ranging from about 8.0 mV (−42 dBV/Pa) to about 1.0 mV (−60 dBV)/Pa).

21. The facemask system of claim 17 , wherein the first microphone is a proximal microphone and the second microphone is a distal microphone, and the proximal microphone is positioned closer to a user's mouth than the distal microphone, and wherein signals from the proximal microphone and the distal microphone are used to increase a signal-to-noise ratio output.

22. A facemask system, comprising:
a covering configured to cover at least a portion of a face of a user;
a plurality of microphones attached to the covering, wherein the plurality of microphones comprises a first microphone and a second microphone, and at least one of the plurality of microphones is a directional cardioid microphone and wherein at least one of the plurality of microphones comprises a sensitivity ranging from about 8.0 mV (−42 dB V/Pa) to about 1.0 mV (−60 dBV)/Pa;
a display attached to the covering;
a processor in operable communication with the plurality of microphones and the display; and
memory containing instructions that can be executed by the processor to perform operations, the operations comprising:
receiving signals from the first microphone and the second microphone, wherein the signals comprises a non-beamformed signal associated with the first microphone and a beamformed signal associated with the second microphone;
reducing, based on the non-beamformed signal and the beamformed signal, noise of the signals using noise cancelling techniques;
identifying words contained within the signals using automated speech recognition software; and
displaying the identified words on the display as one or more of text, sign language, and lip movements.

Assignees

• Sorenson Ip Holdings Llc

Inventors

• Bergman Doug
• Mohan Glenn Andrew
• Thomson David
• Brown Kerry

Classifications

• G09F9/33

  being semiconductor devices, e.g. diodes · CPC title

• A41D13/11 Primary

  Protective face masks, e.g. for surgical use, or for use in foul atmospheres (eye-masks A61F9/04 {; hoods affording protection against heat or harmful chemical agents A62B17/04}) · CPC title

• G06F3/167

  Audio in a user interface, e.g. using voice commands for navigating, audio feedback · CPC title

• G10L15/26

  Speech to text systems (G10L15/08 takes precedence) · CPC title

• G09B21/009

  Teaching or communicating with deaf persons (G09B21/04 takes precedence) · CPC title