Patents Assigned to QNX Software Systems Limited
  • Publication number: 20130030801
    Abstract: The suppression of off-axis audio in an audio environment is provided. Off-axis audio may be considered audio that does not originate from a region of interest. The off-axis audio is suppressed by comparing a phase difference between signals from two microphones to a target slope of the phase difference between signals originating from the region of interest. The target slope can be adapted to allow the region of interest to move with the location of a human speaker such as a driver.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 29, 2011
    Publication date: January 31, 2013
    Applicant: QNX SOFTWARE SYSTEMS LIMITED
    Inventors: Mark Ryan Fallat, Phillip Allan Hetherington, Michael Andrew Percy
  • Patent number: 8352257
    Abstract: The present system proposes a technique called the spectro-temporal varying technique, to compute the suppression gain. This method is motivated by the perceptual properties of human auditory system; specifically, that the human ear has higher frequency resolution in the lower frequencies band and less frequency resolution in the higher frequencies, and also that the important speech information in the high frequencies are consonants which usually have random noise spectral shape. A second property of the human auditory system is that the human ear has lower temporal resolution in the lower frequencies and higher temporal resolution in the higher frequencies. Based on that, the system uses a spectro-temporal varying method which introduces the concept of frequency-smoothing by modifying the estimation of the a posteriori SNR. In addition, the system also makes the a priori SNR time-smoothing factor depend on frequency.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 20, 2007
    Date of Patent: January 8, 2013
    Assignee: QNX Software Systems Limited
    Inventors: Phil A. Hetherington, Xueman Li
  • Publication number: 20130007617
    Abstract: A method and apparatus of media player navigation is provided. A media selection context for each of a plurality of media items selected for playback by the media player is stored. A selection context display input is received by the media player and the selection context of the currently playing media item is determined and displayed in the media player.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 5, 2012
    Publication date: January 3, 2013
    Applicant: QNX Software Systems Limited
    Inventors: Stephen James Mackenzie, Ian Alexander Shaw
  • Publication number: 20120321095
    Abstract: A speech enhancement system improves the perceptual quality of a processed voice signal. The system improves the perceptual quality of a voice signal by removing unwanted noise components from a voice signal. The system removes undesirable signals that may result in the loss of information. The system receives and analyzes signals to determine whether an undesired random or persistent signal corresponds to one or more modeled noises. When one or more noise components are detected, the noise components are substantially removed or dampened from the signal to provide a less noisy voice signal.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 31, 2012
    Publication date: December 20, 2012
    Applicant: QNX Software Systems Limited
    Inventors: Phillip A. Hetherington, Shreyas A. Paranjpe
  • Patent number: 8334847
    Abstract: A system includes a touchscreen display and an interface application. The interface application may control the touchscreen display to provide a container and a selectable user interface control. The user interface control may be selected through manipulation of the touchscreen display in an area of the container proximate the user interface control. The user interface application may identify a gesture function in response to manipulation of the touchscreen display in an area of the container when the manipulation has a motion magnitude in a plane of the touchscreen display exceeding a threshold value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 28, 2008
    Date of Patent: December 18, 2012
    Assignee: QNX Software Systems Limited
    Inventor: Steve Tomkins
  • Patent number: 8335685
    Abstract: A speech enhancement system controls the gain of an excitation signal to prevent uncontrolled gain adjustments. The system includes a first device that converts sound waves into operational signals. An ambient noise estimator is linked to the first device and an echo canceller. The ambient noise estimator estimates how loud a background noise would be near the first device before or after an echo cancellation. The system then compares the ambient noise estimate to a current ambient noise estimate near the first device to control a gain of an excitation signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 22, 2009
    Date of Patent: December 18, 2012
    Assignee: QNX Software Systems Limited
    Inventor: Phillip A. Hetherington
  • Patent number: 8330774
    Abstract: A system compositing images from different applications includes a movie clip based application, an image application, and a compositing application that is in communication with the movie clip based application and the image application. The movie clip based application defines one or more movie clip images for display. The image application provides one or more images for display with the one or more movie clip images. The compositing application operates to composite the one or more movie clip images with the one or more images of the image application for viewing on a display.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 29, 2008
    Date of Patent: December 11, 2012
    Assignee: QNX Software Systems Limited
    Inventors: Garry Turcotte, David Donohoe, Dan Dodge, Peter van der Veen, Steve Tomkins, Xiaodan Tang, Colin Burgess
  • Patent number: 8326621
    Abstract: A system improves the perceptual quality of a speech signal by dampening undesired repetitive transient noises. The system includes a repetitive transient noise detector adapted to detect repetitive transient noise in a received signal. The received signal may include a harmonic and a noise spectrum. The system further includes a repetitive transient noise attenuator that substantially removes or dampens repetitive transient noises from the received signal. The method of dampening the repetitive transient noises includes modeling characteristics of repetitive transient noises; detecting characteristics in the received signal that correspond to the modeled characteristics of the repetitive transient noises; and substantially removing components of the repetitive transient noises from the received signal that correspond to some or all of the modeled characteristics of the repetitive transient noises.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 30, 2011
    Date of Patent: December 4, 2012
    Assignee: QNX Software Systems Limited
    Inventors: Phillip A. Hetherington, Shreyas A. Paranjpe
  • Patent number: 8327112
    Abstract: A processing system includes a page table including a plurality of page table entries. Each of the plurality of page table entries includes information for translating a virtual address page to a corresponding physical address page. The processing system also includes a translation lookaside buffer adapted to cache page table information. The processing system also includes memory management software responsive to changes in the page table to consolidate a run of contiguous page table entries into one or more page table entries having a larger memory page size, Y. The memory management software further determines whether the run of contiguous page table entries may be cached in an entry of the translation lookaside buffer that caches multiple page table entries, X, in a single translation lookaside buffer entry.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 1, 2011
    Date of Patent: December 4, 2012
    Assignee: QNX Software Systems Limited
    Inventor: Brian Stecher
  • Patent number: 8326620
    Abstract: A voice activity detection process is robust to a low and high signal-to-noise ratio speech and signal loss. A process divides an aural signal into one or more bands. Signal magnitudes of frequency components and the respective noise components are estimated. A noise adaptation rate modifies estimates of noise components based on differences between the signal to the estimated noise and signal variability.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 23, 2009
    Date of Patent: December 4, 2012
    Assignee: QNX Software Systems Limited
    Inventor: Phillip A. Hetherington
  • Patent number: 8326616
    Abstract: A speech enhancement system improves the speech quality and intelligibility of a speech signal. The system includes a time-to-frequency converter that converts segments of a speech signal into frequency bands. A signal detector measures the signal power of the frequency bands of each speech segment. A background noise estimator measures a background noise detected in the speech signal. A dynamic noise reduction controller dynamically models the background noise in the speech signal. The speech enhancement renders a speech signal perceptually pleasing to a listener by dynamically attenuating a portion of the noise that occurs in a portion of the spectrum of the speech signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 25, 2011
    Date of Patent: December 4, 2012
    Assignee: QNX Software Systems Limited
    Inventors: Xueman Li, Rajeev Nongpiur, Phillip A. Hetherington
  • Patent number: 8326617
    Abstract: A speech enhancement system enhances transitions between speech and non-speech segments. The system includes a background noise estimator that approximates the magnitude of a background noise of an input signal that includes a speech and a non-speech segment. A slave processor is programmed to perform the specialized task of modifying a spectral tilt of the input signal to match a plurality of expected spectral shapes selected by a Codec.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 22, 2009
    Date of Patent: December 4, 2012
    Assignee: QNX Software Systems Limited
    Inventors: Phillip A. Hetherington, Shreyas Paranjpe, Xueman Li
  • Patent number: 8326614
    Abstract: A speech enhancement system improves speech conversion within an encoder and decoder. The system includes a first device that converts sound waves into operational signals. A second device selects a template that represents an expected signal model. The selected template models speech characteristics of the operational signals through a speech codebook that is further accessed in a communication channel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 22, 2009
    Date of Patent: December 4, 2012
    Assignee: QNX Software Systems Limited
    Inventors: Shreyas Paranjpe, Phillip A. Hetherington, Xueman Li
  • Publication number: 20120303367
    Abstract: An enhancement system improves the estimate of noise from a received signal. The system includes a spectrum monitor that divides a portion of the signal at more than one frequency resolution. Adaptation logic derives a noise adaptation factor of the received signal. A plurality of devices tracks the characteristics of an estimated noise in the received signal and modifies multiple noise adaptation rates. Weighting logic applies the modified noise adaptation rates derived from the signal divided at a first frequency resolution to the signal divided at a second frequency resolution.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 13, 2012
    Publication date: November 29, 2012
    Applicant: QNX Software Systems Limited
    Inventor: Phillip A. Hetherington
  • Patent number: 8311819
    Abstract: A system detects a speech segment that may include unvoiced, fully voiced, or mixed voice content. The system includes a digital converter that converts a time-varying input signal into a digital-domain signal. A window function passes signals within a programmed aural frequency range while substantially blocking signals above and below the programmed aural frequency range when multiplied by an output of the digital converter. A frequency converter converts the signals passing within the programmed aural frequency range into a plurality of frequency bins. A background voice detector estimates the strength of a background speech segment relative to the noise of selected portions of the aural spectrum. A noise estimator estimates a maximum distribution of noise to an average of an acoustic noise power of some of the plurality of frequency bins.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 26, 2008
    Date of Patent: November 13, 2012
    Assignee: QNX Software Systems Limited
    Inventors: Phillip A. Hetherington, Mark Fallat
  • Patent number: 8311840
    Abstract: A system and methods are provided for extending the frequency bandwidth of a harmonic signal. Harmonic content of a band-limited signal is extended to frequencies outside the signal's passband by performing a non-linear transformation on the complex spectrum of the band-limited signal in the frequency domain. The non-linear transformation may be accomplishes by a linear convolution of the complex spectrum with itself. A system for extending the frequency bandwidth of a harmonic signal includes a signal processor with a forward transform module for transforming a time domain signal into the frequency domain, a non-linear transform module for performing the non-linear transformation on the complex spectrum of the harmonic signal, and a reverse transform module for transforming the extended spectrum of the harmonic signal back into the time domain.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 28, 2005
    Date of Patent: November 13, 2012
    Assignee: QNX Software Systems Limited
    Inventors: David Giesbrecht, Phillip Hetherington, Xueman Li
  • Patent number: 8306821
    Abstract: A signal enhancement system reinforces signal content and improves the signal-to-noise ratio of a signal. The system detects, tracks, and reinforces non-stationary periodic signal components of a signal. The periodic signal components may represent vowel sounds or other voiced sounds. The system may detect, track, and attenuate quasi-stationary signal components in the signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 4, 2007
    Date of Patent: November 6, 2012
    Assignee: QNX Software Systems Limited
    Inventors: Rajeev Nongpiur, Phillip A. Hetherington
  • Patent number: 8296136
    Abstract: A system improves the speech intelligibility and the speech quality of a speech segment. The system includes a dynamic controller that detects a background noise from an input by modeling a signal. A variable gain amplifier adjusts the variable gain of the amplifier in response to an output of dynamic controller. A shaping filter adjusts a speech signal by tilting portions of the speech signal of the dynamic controller.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 15, 2007
    Date of Patent: October 23, 2012
    Assignee: QNX Software Systems Limited
    Inventor: Rajeev Nongpiur
  • Publication number: 20120256829
    Abstract: A method of facilitating input at a portable electronic device having a touch-sensitive display includes: detecting a pointing device event; determining a location on the touch-sensitive display corresponding to the pointing device event; mapping the pointing device event and location to a touch; and performing a function associated with the touch.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 29, 2012
    Publication date: October 11, 2012
    Applicant: QNX SOFTWARE SYSTEMS LIMITED
    Inventor: Danny Thomas DODGE
  • Publication number: 20120256847
    Abstract: A method includes displaying, on a touch-sensitive display, information associated with a first application and information associated with a second application, detecting on the touch-sensitive display, a touch at a first location associated with the first application, reporting the touch as a first touch type to the first application, and when the first touch type is not utilized by the first application within a threshold period of time and when movement of the touch on the touch-sensitive display is detected, reporting the touch to the second application.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 5, 2011
    Publication date: October 11, 2012
    Applicants: QNX SOFTWARE SYSTEMS LIMITED, RESEARCH IN MOTION LIMITED
    Inventors: Genevieve Elizabeth MAK, Danny Thomas DODGE, George Ross STAIKOS