JPWO2022218673A5 - - Google Patents

Claims (20)

1. A method for informing a user of a muted state of a primary microphone configured to capture the user's speech during a call with one or more other participants when the user speaks with the primary microphone of a microphone system muted, comprising:
1) processing an output signal from the main microphone and an output signal from an additional microphone positioned to capture sounds around the user to execute a noise cancellation algorithm to suppress ambient noise;
- 2) processing the output signal from the primary microphone with a processor system based on a voice activity detection algorithm while the primary microphone is muted;
- 3) determining whether speech is present based on the output of the voice activity detection algorithm ; and
- 4) determining whether additional conditions are met; and
5) providing a mute status notification to the user only if speech is present and it is determined that the additional condition is met; and
The method includes: The method of claim 1, wherein determining the additional condition includes determining whether the determined speech appears to originate from a speech source surrounding the user, and providing the mute state notification to the user only if the determined speech does not appear to originate from a speech source surrounding the user. The method of claim 2, comprising processing output signals from a plurality of microphones to distinguish between speech by the user and speech from around the user. The method of claim 3, comprising processing the output signals from the plurality of microphones to provide a beamforming sensitivity pattern to distinguish between speech by the user and speech from around the user. 2. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining the additional condition includes determining whether the user appears to be having a physical conversation and providing the mute state notification to the user only if the user does not appear to be having a physical conversation. 6. The method of claim 5, comprising: running a first voice activity detection algorithm on the output signal from the primary microphone , such as a mouth microphone; and running a second voice activity detection algorithm on the output signal from the additional microphone to determine speech from another source. The method of claim 5 , comprising determining a time between speech by the user and speech from another source to determine whether the user appears to be engaged in physical conversation. The method of claim 1, comprising: executing a voice activity detection algorithm on a signal indicative of speech of at least one of the other participants in the call to detect speech by the at least one of the other participants in the call. The method of claim 8, comprising providing the mute status notification to the user only when the user is speaking and speech by at least one of the other participants in the call is not detected. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein steps 1) through 4) are performed by a first processor, such as a processor of a headset that includes the primary microphone, the additional microphone, and a speaker, and step 5) is performed by a second processor, such as a processor of a computing device or computer system that facilitates the call. 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising, after steps 1) to 4), making a decision to mute audio from the primary microphone if speech is present and the additional condition is determined to be satisfied, to prevent transmission of the mute state notification. 2. The method of claim 1, comprising: executing a noise cancellation algorithm including a voice activity detector algorithm that provides an output indicative of the presence of speech on the output signals from the primary microphone and the additional microphone; and generating a noise cancelled version of the output signal from the primary microphone based on the output indicative of the presence of speech. 13. The method of claim 12, comprising applying the output indicating the presence of speech to a noise estimator that estimates noise during periods when no speech is present in the output signal from the primary microphone . 13. The method of claim 12, comprising: multiplying a frequency domain representation of the primary microphone signal with a set of frequency bins by a gain vector , the gain vector being generated with a lower gain value for frequency bins that do not contain speech ; and generating the gain vector in response to an input from the noise estimator . The method of claim 1 , comprising applying an adaptive noise cancellation algorithm that includes an adaptive filter to generate a noise-cancelled version of the output signal from the main microphone. An apparatus including a microphone system comprising a main microphone and an additional microphone and a processor system configured to perform at least steps 1) to 4) of the method according to claim 1 . 17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the processor system is configured to make a decision to mute the primary microphone in response to the additional condition, such that audio output from the primary microphone is provided only when it is determined that the user appears to intend to speak in the call . A headset system configured for two-way voice communication, such as by wireless communication, comprising:
a headset adapted to be worn by the user, the headset including a microphone system comprising a mouth microphone, an additional microphone arranged separately from the mouth microphone, and at least one ear cup comprising a speaker;
a mute enable function that the user can enable during the call to mute the audio from the mouth microphone that is in a muted state;
a processor system configured to perform at least steps 1) to 4) of the method of claim 1 to determine whether it is appropriate to notify the user of the muted state when the mouth microphone is in the muted state and the user is speaking, or to determine whether the mouth microphone should be muted when the mouth microphone is in the muted state and the user is speaking;
20. The apparatus of claim 17, comprising: 20. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the processor system is configured to determine whether the user appears to intend to speak and to adaptively transmit audio from the mouth microphone only if it is determined that the user appears to intend to speak, to prevent any mute state notifications from being sent by an entity facilitating the call. 20. Use of the apparatus of claim 16 for conducting one or more of the following: a telephone call, an online call, a conference call.