Transitioning multiple microphones from a first mode to a second mode

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9226069-B2
Application number	US-201113079064-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 4, 2011
Priority date	Oct 29, 2010
Publication date	Dec 29, 2015
Grant date	Dec 29, 2015

Abstract

An apparatus includes multiple microphones and a controller. The controller is coupled to receive a signal from each of the multiple microphones. The controller is configured to control a transition of the multiple microphones from an active mode to a dormant mode. When the multiple microphones are in the active mode, the controller is configured to perform signal processing responsive to signals received from at least two of the multiple microphones. When the multiple microphones are in the dormant mode, the controller is configured to select a microphone of the multiple microphones and to perform signal processing corresponding to the selected microphone while suspending signal processing corresponding to unselected microphones.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus, comprising:
multiple microphones, wherein the multiple microphones are configurable in one of a first mode and a second mode; and
a controller configured to receive a signal from each of the multiple microphones and configured to:
during a first time period in which the multiple microphones are configured in the first mode, perform signal processing responsive to signals received from at least two of the multiple microphones;
control a transition of the multiple microphones from the first mode to the second mode, wherein a consumption of power of the multiple microphones is less in the second mode than in the first mode; and
during a second time period in which the multiple microphones are configured in the second mode:
selectively activate according to a schedule a first microphone, but not all of the multiple microphones, at a first time; and
selectively activate according to the schedule a second microphone, but not all of the multiple microphones, at a second time that is different than the first time.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to progressively reduce a number of the signals that are processed concurrently during the transition of the multiple microphones from the first mode to the second mode.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to power off one or more unselected microphones of the multiple microphones during the second time period.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising an application processor coupled to the controller.

5. The apparatus of claim 4 , wherein the controller is a dedicated microphone controller.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein, during the second time period, the controller is further configured to perform signal processing corresponding to the first microphone, and wherein performing signal processing corresponding to the first microphone includes performing an analog-to-digital conversion of a particular signal received from the first microphone.

7. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the signal processing includes performing gesture recognition.

8. The apparatus of claim 5 , wherein performing the gesture recognition comprises:
determining a first distance of a portion of a user appendage from at least one microphone of the multiple microphones at a third time;
determining a second distance of the portion of the user appendage from the at least one microphone at a fourth time; and
recognizing a particular gesture based on the first distance and the second distance.

9. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to perform signal processing corresponding to each microphone of the multiple microphones concurrently during the first time period.

10. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the signal processing includes determining a location of a stylus.

11. The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein determining the location of the stylus comprises:
determining a first distance of a portion of the stylus from at least one microphone of the multiple microphones at a third time;
determining a second distance of the portion of the stylus from the at least one microphone at a fourth time; and
determining the location of the stylus based on the first distance and the second distance.

12. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein:
the first mode and the second mode comprise an active mode and a low-power mode, respectively; and
when the first microphone is selectively activated during the second time period, the controller is configured to perform signal processing corresponding to the first microphone and to suspend signal processing corresponding to the second microphone.

13. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein, after the first time during the second time period, the controller is configured to selectively deactivate the first microphone.

14. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein, when the first microphone is selectively activated in the second mode, the controller is configured to:
perform signal processing corresponding to the first microphone; and
suspend signal processing corresponding to the second microphone.

15. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein, during the second time period, the controller is configured to selectively control one or more microphones of the multiple microphones according to a schedule, and wherein selectively controlling the one or more microphones comprises microphone activation, microphone deactivation, or a combination thereof.

16. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein in the second mode the controller is configured to activate microphones of the multiple microphones one at a time, and wherein, in the second mode, the controller individually powers on and powers off each of the multiple microphones.

17. An apparatus, comprising:
a transmitter configured to transmit one or more echolocation signals;
an array of microphones configured to receive the one or more echolocation signals; and
a controller coupled to receive a signal from each microphone of the array of microphones and configured to control a transition of the array of microphones from a first mode to a second mode,
wherein the controller is configured to perform signal processing of the signal from each microphone of the array of microphones to detect an event; and
wherein the controller is configured to control a transmission schedule of the transmitter during an echolocation operation according to an elapsed amount of time since the event, an expected amount of movement to be detected by the controller based on the array of microphones, or a combination thereof.

18. The apparatus of claim 17 , wherein the controller is further configured to perform the signal processing of the signal from each microphone of the array of microphones to pre-qualify the event prior to generating an interrupt based on the event.

19. The apparatus of claim 18 , wherein pre-qualifying the event includes detecting a direction of a source of the signal from each microphone of the array of microphones.

20. The apparatus of claim 18 , wherein pre-qualifying the event includes comparing a portion of one or more of the signal from each microphone of the array of microphones to a stored audio signal.

21. The apparatus of claim 18 , wherein pre-qualifying the event includes comparing a magnitude of the signal from each microphone of the array of microphones to a threshold.

22. The apparatus of claim 17 , wherein the controller is configured to determine whether the event corresponds to a gesture input.

23. An apparatus comprising:
an array of microphones; and
a controller configured to:
receive a signal from each microphone of the array of microphones;
control a transition of the array of microphones from a first mode to a second mode, wherein a consumption of power of the array of microphones is less in the second mode than in the first mode; and
during a time period in which the array of microphones is configured in the second mode:
selectively activate according to a schedule a first microphone, but not all of the array of microphones, at a first time; and
selectively activate according to the schedule a second microphone, but not all of the array of microphones, at a second time that is different than the first time.

24. The apparatus of claim 23 , wherein, during the time period, the controller is configured to process the signal from each microphone of the array of microphones to perform gesture rec

Assignees

• Rabii Khosro M
• Qualcomm Inc

Inventors

• Rabii Khosro M

Classifications

• G01S15/003

  Bistatic sonar systems; Multistatic sonar systems · CPC title

• H04R3/005 Primary

  for combining the signals of two or more microphones (specially adapted for hearing aids H04R25/407) · CPC title

• H04R29/005

  Microphone arrays · CPC title

• H04R2499/11

  Transducers incorporated or for use in hand-held devices, e.g. mobile phones, PDA's, camera's · CPC title

• G01S15/876

  Combination of several spaced transmitters or receivers of known location for determining the position of a transponder or a reflector (G01S15/872 takes precedence) · CPC title