Mapping system with mobile communication terminals for measuring environmental sound

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9510118-B2
Application number	US-201514698577-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 28, 2015
Priority date	Apr 29, 2014
Publication date	Nov 29, 2016
Grant date	Nov 29, 2016

Abstract

Environmental sound is captured and mapped. Application of a large number of mobile communication terminals embodied as a data supplier leads to extensive, automatic and continual mapping of environmental sound. For sites that are visited relatively frequently and by a plurality of subscribers, a relatively large quantity of remotely transmitted data records for the environmental sound is obtained informally, which permits a more precise depiction of the environmental noise. Commercially available mobile communication terminals may be augmented using simple measures in order to communicate with a central or local mapping system or mapping service directly or indirectly.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A mobile communication terminal for measuring environmental sound, the mobile communication terminal comprising:
an interface to an electroacoustic sound transducer for recording the environmental sound;
a position finding unit configured to determine a position of the mobile communication terminal and to output a corresponding position datum;
a control unit configured to:
receive at least one recording of the environmental sound;
compute a sound level value for the at least one recording;
create a data record for the at least one recording, wherein the data record comprises at least one sound level value and a position datum at a time of the recording of the environmental sound;
evaluate data from a position sensor of the mobile communication terminal; and
mark the data record when a present location of the mobile communication terminal does not correspond to a location identified for transmission of the data record; and

a transmission unit configured to remotely transmit the data record.

2. The mobile communication terminal of claim 1 , wherein the data record further comprises the time or a time period of the recording of the environmental sound.

3. The mobile communication terminal of claim 1 , wherein the data record further comprises frequency characteristics of the environmental sound.

4. The mobile communication terminal of claim 3 , wherein the control unit is further configured to:
evaluate the frequency characteristics of the environmental sound; and
mark the data record when the frequency characteristics of the environmental sound do not correspond to a type of the environmental sound for the transmission of the data record.

5. The mobile communication terminal of claim 1 , wherein the control unit is further configured to:
evaluate the sound level value of the environmental sound; and
mark the data record when the evaluated sound level value of the environmental sound does not correspond to a type of the environmental sound for the transmission of the data record.

6. The mobile communication terminal of claim 1 , wherein the interface to the electroacoustic sound transducer is set up for a communication link to a communication-terminal-external device, the communication-terminal-external device comprising the electroacoustic sound transducer.

7. The mobile communication terminal of claim 2 , wherein the data record further comprises frequency characteristics of the environmental sound.

8. The mobile communication terminal of claim 7 , wherein the control unit is further configured to:
evaluate the frequency characteristics of the environmental sound; and
mark the data record when the frequency characteristics of the environmental sound do not correspond to a type of the environmental sound for the transmission of the data record.

9. A mobile communication terminal for measuring environmental sound, the mobile communication terminal comprising:
an interface to an electroacoustic sound transducer for recording the environmental sound;
a position finding unit configured to determine a position of the mobile communication terminal and to output a corresponding position datum;
a control unit configured to:
receive at least one recording of the environmental sound;
compute a sound level value for the at least one recording;
create a data record for the at least one recording, wherein the data record comprises at least one sound level value and a position datum at a time of the recording of the environmental sound, and frequency characteristics of the environmental sound;
evaluate the frequency characteristics of the environmental sound;
evaluate data from a position sensor of the mobile communication terminal;
mark the data record when the frequency characteristics of the environmental sound do not correspond to a type of the environmental sound for transmission of the data record; and
mark the data record when a present location of the mobile communication terminal does not correspond to a location identified for the transmission of the data record; and

a transmission unit configured to remotely transmit the data record.

10. A mapping system comprising:
an interface to a plurality of mobile communication terminals, a mobile communication terminal of the plurality of mobile communication terminals comprising:
an interface to an electroacoustic sound transducer, wherein the electroacoustic sound transducer is configured to record an environmental sound;
a position finding unit configured to determine a position of the mobile communication terminal and to output a corresponding position datum;
a control unit configured to receive at least one recording of the environmental sound, to compute a sound level value for the at least one recording, to create a data record for the at least one recording, to evaluate data from a position sensor of the mobile communication terminal, and to mark the data record when a present location of the mobile communication terminal does not correspond to a location identified for transmission of the data record, wherein the data record comprises at least one sound level value and a position datum at a time of the recording of the environmental sound; and

a transmission unit configured to remotely transmit the data record; and
a processing unit configured to associate at least one remotely transmitted data record with geocoordinates on a digital map.

11. The mapping system of claim 10 , wherein the data record further comprises the time or a time period of the recording of the environmental sound.

12. The mapping system of claim 10 , wherein the data record further comprises frequency characteristics of the environmental sound.

13. The mapping system of claim 12 , wherein the control unit is further configured to:
evaluate the frequency characteristics of the environmental sound; and
mark the data record when the frequency characteristics of the environmental sound do not correspond to a type of the environmental sound for the transmission of the data record.

14. The mapping system of claim 10 , wherein the control unit is further configured to:
evaluate the sound level value of the environmental sound; and
mark the data record when the evaluated sound level value of the environmental sound does not correspond to a type of the environmental sound for the transmission of the data record.

15. The mapping system of claim 10 , wherein the interface to the electroacoustic sound transducer is set up for a communication link to a communication-terminal-external device, the communication-terminal-external device comprising the electroacoustic sound transducer.

Assignees

• Eckl Roland
• Siemens Ag

Inventors

• Eckl Roland

Classifications

• A61B5/1112

  Global tracking of patients, e.g. by using GPS · CPC title

• H04R2499/11

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

• A61B2560/0242

  adapted to measure environmental factors, e.g. temperature, pollution · CPC title

• G01H3/00 Primary

  Measuring {characteristics of} vibrations by using a detector in a fluid (G01H7/00, G01H9/00, G01H11/00 take precedence) · CPC title

• A61B5/6898

  Portable consumer electronic devices, e.g. music players, telephones, tablet computers · CPC title