Patent Application
20230223034
The present disclosure relates to user interface and techniques for sound suppression applications.
In some applications, an audio device can be configured to suppress noise in an audio output being provided to a user. Such suppression of noise can be achieved during processing of a signal that results in the audio output.
In accordance with some implementations, the present disclosure relates to a method for monitoring an audio system. The method includes determining a sound suppression mode, sampling information representative of an input signal and an output signal resulting from processing of the input signal in the sound suppression mode, and providing a display representative of the sampled information.
In some embodiments, the sound suppression mode can include a mode resulting from a mixture value having a value in a range from a first value for a first state to a second value for a second state, with the first state corresponding to a desired sound having substantially all of a first content and substantially nil amount of a second content, the second state corresponding to a desired sound having substantially nil amount of the first content and substantially all of the second content, the mixture value being a selected one among multiple values in the range, and the multiple values including an unprocessed mixture value for an unprocessed state corresponding to a desired sound having unprocessed first and second contents.
In some embodiments, the mode resulting from the mixture value can further include generating a control output signal based on the selected mixture value, and processing the input signal based on the control output signal to generate the output signal representative of a sound having the first content and/or the second content according to the selected mixture value.
In some embodiments, the first content can include an ambient noise content, and the second content can include a speech content.
In some embodiments, the range can be selected such that the first value is −Mlimit and the second value is +Mlimit. The control output signal can be represented as Output=(Mlimit−abs(mix))*unprocessed+abs(mix)*processed, where processed =f(unprocessed) with f representing a sound suppression function and mix representing the selected mixture value. The sound suppression function can include an artificial intelligence sound suppression function. The quantity Mlimit can have a value of 1, such that the control output signal is represented as Output=(1−abs(mix))*unprocessed+abs(mix)*processed, where processed=f(unprocessed).
In some embodiments, the range can be selected such that the unprocessed mixture value is approximately at middle of the range.
In some embodiments, the obtaining of the mixture value can include obtaining an input through a device that generates the sound. The sound-generating device can be, for example, a headphone.
In some embodiments, the obtaining of the mixture value can include obtaining an input through a portable device in communication with a device that generates the sound. The communication between the portable device and the sound-generating device can include a wireless communication. The portable device can be, for example, a smartphone and the sound-generating device can be, for example, a headphone.
In some embodiments, the obtaining of the input through the portable device can include providing a graphic user interface that allows the user to select the mixture value.
In some embodiments, the multiple values in the range can be discrete values. In some embodiments, the multiple values in the range can be parts of continuous or approximately continuous values in the range.
In some embodiments, some or all of the determining of the sound suppression mode, sampling of the information, and providing of the display can be performed by a portable device such as a smartphone. In some embodiments, the portable device can include an application having a graphic user interface that provides the display.
In some implementations, the present disclosure relates to a system that includes an audio device including a speaker for providing an output sound to a user, and an audio processor configured to generate the output sound based on an audio signal. The system further includes a portable device configured to communicate with the audio device. The portable device includes an application that allows the user to monitor the operation of the audio processor. The portable device further includes a monitor component configured to determine a sound suppression mode being implemented in the audio processor. The monitor component is further configured to sample information representative of an input signal and an output signal resulting from processing of the input signal in the sound suppression mode, and to provide a display representative of the sampled information.
In some embodiments, the portable device can be a smartphone and the audio device can be a headphone. In some embodiments, the application on the portable device can include a graphic user interface having the display.
In some embodiments, the sound suppression mode can include a mode resulting from a mixture value having a value in a range from a first value for a first state to a second value for a second state, with the first state corresponding to a desired sound having substantially all of a first content and substantially nil amount of a second content, the second state corresponding to a desired sound having substantially nil amount of the first content and substantially all of the second content, the mixture value being a selected one among multiple values in the range, and the multiple values including an unprocessed mixture value for an unprocessed state corresponding to a desired sound having unprocessed first and second contents.
In some embodiments, the mode resulting from the mixture value can further include generating a control output signal based on the selected mixture value, and processing the input signal based on the control output signal to generate the output signal representative of a sound having the first content and/or the second content according to the selected mixture value.
In some embodiments, the first content can include an ambient noise content, and the second content can include a speech content.
For purposes of summarizing the disclosure, certain aspects, advantages and novel features of the inventions have been described herein. It is to be understood that not necessarily all such advantages may be achieved in accordance with any particular embodiment of the invention. Thus, the invention may be embodied or carried out in a manner that achieves or optimizes one advantage or group of advantages as taught herein without necessarily achieving other advantages as may be taught or suggested herein.
The headings provided herein, if any, are for convenience only and do not necessarily affect the scope or meaning of the claimed invention.
In some embodiments, the audio device 100 of
In some embodiments, the communication link 212 can be achieved through one or more wires, wirelessly, or some combination thereof. Such a communication link can be utilized to provide a transfer of a user input. In some embodiments, such a user input can be based on a monitor component 211 that provides information to a user. In some embodiments, such a monitor component can include a display for providing the information to the user. Examples related to the foregoing control functionality can be implemented based on the monitor component are described herein in greater detail.
Referring to
In the example of
In some embodiments, the input and output information 236, 238 of the display 211 can be implemented as, for example, waveforms, derived statistics (e.g., RMS energy over 200 ms sampled every 100 ms), or some combination thereof. Such information can be monitored real-time, approximately real-time, for a selected time duration (e.g., for 1 second), or some combination thereof.
In the example of
In some embodiments, the two example display panels 230a, 230b can be configured to operate together in synchronous manner (e.g., for the same time interval), operate independently (e.g., the first display panel monitoring a first time interval and the second display panel monitoring a second time interval that may or may not be the same as the first time interval), or some combination thereof. In some embodiments, each of such display panels can include an activation button.
For example, in
In another example, in
It is noted that traditionally, the amount or the nature of a sound content being suppressed by a sound suppression application is not known. In some applications, a simple momentary input-level energy gauge is provided, but while such an application shows how much energy is in the input, it is not clear from such information how much energy of the total energy is ambient noise vs speech. Moreover, such a gauge typically only provides measurement at a single sampling time.
As described herein, one or more features of the present disclosure can be implemented to provide more intuitive information for a user. For example, a monitoring component as described herein can measures characteristics over time, as opposed to just a momentary measurement. In another example, the monitoring component can display both input and output, and thus the amount of suppression can easily be inferred by the user. Yet in another example, visualization of the monitored information can be provided by one or more displays, and such display(s) can be configured to show, for example, waveforms, processed information based on the waveforms (e.g., calculated difference between input and output RMS energy trajectories), or some combination thereof.
In the example of
In some embodiments, the communication link 212 can be achieved through one or more wires, wirelessly, or some combination thereof. Such a communication link can be utilized to provide a transfer of a user input provided through a graphic user interface 210 of the portable device 202. Such a user input can include a selected mixture value similar to the example of
In the example of
It is noted that in many noise suppression applications, noise suppression is achieved by either providing a binary switch for turning noise suppression on or off, or providing a functionality that controls the amount of noise reduction. For the latter implementation, an output of noise reduction control can be represented as
Output=(1−mix)*unprocessed+mix*processed, (1)
where processed=f(unprocessed) with f representing a noise suppression function (e.g., an artificial intelligence (Al) noise suppression function), and mix representing a mixture quantity. For mix=0, one can see that Equation 1 becomes output=unprocessed content that includes speech and noise. For mix=1, one can see that Equation 1 becomes output=processed content having just the speech.
Based on the foregoing example, one can see that the unprocessed content has both noise and speech, and the process content only has speech. Thus, it is possible to create an “ambient” or “noise” content with speech being removed, by subtracting the processed content from the unprocessed content. In some applications, such a functionality can be useful or desirable if a user wants to block out nearby human speech and listen to environmental sound (e.g., waterfall, birds chirping, etc.).
As described herein, circuits, devices, systems, user interfaces and/or methods can be implemented to provide a user with an option for selectively removing speech in an output being provided to the user through an audio device.
Although such examples are described in the context of speech being removed and ambient noise being retained in a selective manner, it will be understood that one or more features of the present disclosure can also be implemented in more generalized manners. For example, if sound content being provided to a user can be grouped into first and second groups, then removal and retaining of such groups of sound content can be achieved in a selected manner as described herein.
It is noted that in the foregoing example involving speech and ambient noise, the speech can be considered to be in a first group of sound content, and the ambient noise can be considered to be in a second group of sound content. Alternatively, the ambient noise can be considered to be in a first group of sound content, the speech can be considered to be in a second group of sound content.
In some embodiments, the range between the first and second states in each of the examples of
In some embodiments, the foregoing mixture value (mix) can have a plurality of values between the first state (ambient noise only) and the unprocessed state, and a plurality of values between the unprocessed state and the second state (speech only). In some embodiments, the number of mixture values between the first state and the unprocessed state may or may not be the same as the number of mixture values between the unprocessed state and the second state.
In some embodiments, the foregoing mixture value (mix) can have a continuous or substantially continuous value between the first state (ambient noise only) and the second state (speech only).
In some embodiments, an output of sound selection control (e.g., by the control component 102 in
Output=Mlimit−abs(mix))*unprocessed+abs(mix)*processed (2)
where processed=f(unprocessed) with f representing a sound suppression function (e.g., an artificial intelligence (Al) sound suppression function), and mix representing a selected mixture value in an interval [−Mlimit, +Mlimit]. For mix=0, one can see that Equation 2 becomes output=+Mlimit*unprocessed that includes speech and noise.
In a more specific example, Mlimit it can have a value of 1, such that a selected mixture value is in an interval [−1, +1], and Equation 2 becomes
Output=(1−abs(mix))*unprocessed+abs(mix)*processed (3)
In the context of the example of Equation 3, it is noted that the selected mixture value (mix) of −1 corresponds to a first state with ambient noise only, and the output of Equation 3 becomes Output=processed=f(unprocessed); the selected mixture value (mix) of 0 corresponds to an unprocessed state with ambient noise and speech, and the output of Equation 3 becomes Output=unprocessed; and the selected mixture value (mix) of +1 corresponds to a second state with speech only, and the output of Equation 3 becomes Output=processed=f(unprocessed).
It is also noted that when the mixture value is in a range 0≤mix 1, the output of Equation 3 can be calculated with processed =f(unprocessed), with the mix=1 being a special case discussed above. When the mixture value is in a range −1≤mix <0, the output of Equation 3 can be calculated with processed=unprocessed−f(unprocessed), with the mix=−1 being a special case discussed above.
In another example,
In yet another example,
In
In some embodiments, one or more features of selective filtering of speech and noise, and/or monitoring of sound suppression functionality such as the foregoing selective filtering of speech and noise, can be implemented to operate independently from the foregoing digital signal received from the host device, or in conjunction with the digital signal received from the host device. In some embodiments, the wearable device 802 can include one or more audio input devices such as microphones to sense sound content present at or about the wearable device to thereby allow selective filtering of such sound content. In some embodiments, at least some of an interface for configuring such selective filtering can be implemented in the host device 808.
In
In some embodiments, the host device 808 can be a portable wireless device such as, for example, a smartphone, a tablet, an audio player, etc. It will be understood that such a portable wireless device may or may not include phone functionality such as cellular functionality. In such an example context of a portable wireless device being a host device,
In
The present disclosure describes various features, no single one of which is solely responsible for the benefits described herein. It will be understood that various features described herein may be combined, modified, or omitted, as would be apparent to one of ordinary skill. Other combinations and sub-combinations than those specifically described herein will be apparent to one of ordinary skill, and are intended to form a part of this disclosure. Various methods are described herein in connection with various flowchart steps and/or phases. It will be understood that in many cases, certain steps and/or phases may be combined together such that multiple steps and/or phases shown in the flowcharts can be performed as a single step and/or phase. Also, certain steps and/or phases can be broken into additional sub-components to be performed separately. In some instances, the order of the steps and/or phases can be rearranged and certain steps and/or phases may be omitted entirely. Also, the methods described herein are to be understood to be open-ended, such that additional steps and/or phases to those shown and described herein can also be performed.
Some aspects of the systems and methods described herein can advantageously be implemented using, for example, computer software, hardware, firmware, or any combination of computer software, hardware, and firmware. Computer software can comprise computer executable code stored in a computer readable medium (e.g., non-transitory computer readable medium) that, when executed, performs the functions described herein. In some embodiments, computer-executable code is executed by one or more general purpose computer processors. A skilled artisan will appreciate, in light of this disclosure, that any feature or function that can be implemented using software to be executed on a general purpose computer can also be implemented using a different combination of hardware, software, or firmware. For example, such a module can be implemented completely in hardware using a combination of integrated circuits. Alternatively or additionally, such a feature or function can be implemented completely or partially using specialized computers designed to perform the particular functions described herein rather than by general purpose computers.
Multiple distributed computing devices can be substituted for any one computing device described herein. In such distributed embodiments, the functions of the one computing device are distributed (e.g., over a network) such that some functions are performed on each of the distributed computing devices.
Some embodiments may be described with reference to equations, algorithms, and/or flowchart illustrations. These methods may be implemented using computer program instructions executable on one or more computers. These methods may also be implemented as computer program products either separately, or as a component of an apparatus or system. In this regard, each equation, algorithm, block, or step of a flowchart, and combinations thereof, may be implemented by hardware, firmware, and/or software including one or more computer program instructions embodied in computer-readable program code logic. As will be appreciated, any such computer program instructions may be loaded onto one or more computers, including without limitation a general purpose computer or special purpose computer, or other programmable processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the computer program instructions which execute on the computer(s) or other programmable processing device(s) implement the functions specified in the equations, algorithms, and/or flowcharts. It will also be understood that each equation, algorithm, and/or block in flowchart illustrations, and combinations thereof, may be implemented by special purpose hardware-based computer systems which perform the specified functions or steps, or combinations of special purpose hardware and computer-readable program code logic means.
Furthermore, computer program instructions, such as embodied in computer-readable program code logic, may also be stored in a computer readable memory (e.g., a non-transitory computer readable medium) that can direct one or more computers or other programmable processing devices to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable memory implement the function(s) specified in the block(s) of the flowchart(s). The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto one or more computers or other programmable computing devices to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the one or more computers or other programmable computing devices to produce a computer-implemented process such that the instructions which execute on the computer or other programmable processing apparatus provide steps for implementing the functions specified in the equation(s), algorithm(s), and/or block(s) of the flowchart(s).
Some or all of the methods and tasks described herein may be performed and fully automated by a computer system. The computer system may, in some cases, include multiple distinct computers or computing devices (e.g., physical servers, workstations, storage arrays, etc.) that communicate and interoperate over a network to perform the described functions. Each such computing device typically includes a processor (or multiple processors) that executes program instructions or modules stored in a memory or other non-transitory computer-readable storage medium or device. The various functions disclosed herein may be embodied in such program instructions, although some or all of the disclosed functions may alternatively be implemented in application-specific circuitry (e.g., ASICs or FPGAs) of the computer system. Where the computer system includes multiple computing devices, these devices may, but need not, be co-located. The results of the disclosed methods and tasks may be persistently stored by transforming physical storage devices, such as solid state memory chips and/or magnetic disks, into a different state.
Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, throughout the description and the claims, the words “comprise,” “comprising,” and the like are to be construed in an inclusive sense, as opposed to an exclusive or exhaustive sense; that is to say, in the sense of “including, but not limited to.” The word “coupled”, as generally used herein, refers to two or more elements that may be either directly connected, or connected by way of one or more intermediate elements. Additionally, the words “herein,” “above,” “below,” and words of similar import, when used in this application, shall refer to this application as a whole and not to any particular portions of this application. Where the context permits, words in the above Detailed Description using the singular or plural number may also include the plural or singular number respectively. The word “or” in reference to a list of two or more items, that word covers all of the following interpretations of the word: any of the items in the list, all of the items in the list, and any combination of the items in the list. The word “exemplary” is used exclusively herein to mean “serving as an example, instance, or illustration.” Any implementation described herein as “exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other implementations.
The disclosure is not intended to be limited to the implementations shown herein. Various modifications to the implementations described in this disclosure may be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other implementations without departing from the spirit or scope of this disclosure. The teachings of the invention provided herein can be applied to other methods and systems, and are not limited to the methods and systems described above, and elements and acts of the various embodiments described above can be combined to provide further embodiments. Accordingly, the novel methods and systems described herein may be embodied in a variety of other forms; furthermore, various omissions, substitutions and changes in the form of the methods and systems described herein may be made without departing from the spirit of the disclosure. The accompanying claims and their equivalents are intended to cover such forms or modifications as would fall within the scope and spirit of the disclosure.
This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/296,456 filed Jan. 4, 2022, entitled USER INTERFACE FOR DATA TRAJECTORY VISUALIZATION OF SOUND SUPPRESSION APPLICATIONS, the disclosure of which is hereby expressly incorporated by reference herein in its respective entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63296456 | Jan 2022 | US |
