Patents Examined by Jeffrey Lytle
  • Patent number: 8295474
    Abstract: In a data processing system, a method includes receiving samples of a send path input signal (Sin) and samples of a receive path input signal (Rin); in response to receiving each sample of the send path input signal, providing a double-talk indicator to indicate whether or not double-talk has been detected; using the double-talk indicator to determine a double-talk density within a predetermined number of samples of the send path input signal or the receive path input signal; and using the double-talk density to provide a heavy double-talk indicator which indicates whether or not heavy double-talk has been detected. In response to the heavy double-talk indicator indicating that heavy double-talk has been detected, a heavy double-talk mode may be entered.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 8, 2008
    Date of Patent: October 23, 2012
    Assignee: Freescale Semiconductor, Inc.
    Inventors: Roman A. Dyba, Hongyang Deng, Brad L. Zwernemann
  • Patent number: 8290143
    Abstract: The present invention provides a method and apparatus for finding an estimate of the delay of a signal travelling between two points. A quantity is evaluated from the signal at a final number of time instants, at both a reference point and a reception point. The values are quantized by comparison with a threshold adapted to a typical magnitude of the quantity. If the quantized values from the reception point are shifted back by the true delay with respect to the quantized values from the referenced point, then certain co-occurrences of quantized values have very low probability. Hence, the best delay estimate is that shift which yields the least number of low-probability co-occurrences.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 26, 2011
    Date of Patent: October 16, 2012
    Assignee: Google Inc.
    Inventor: Willem Bastiaan Kleijn
  • Patent number: 8284926
    Abstract: A method is disclosed that enables the managing of the overall sound level in an enterprise environment where telephones are used. A data-processing system such as a private branch exchange monitors whether one or more telephones are in use. Based on detecting when a first endpoint is in use and, therefore, when the endpoint's user is present, the private branch exchange controls one or more characteristics of the loudspeaker volume at a second endpoint. By accounting for other considerations such as the spatial closeness between the endpoints, which can be determined from office dimensions stored in a database, the private branch exchange of the illustrative embodiment is able to determine the degree of sound that is coupling over from one endpoint location to another. On a larger scale, the exchange is able to control the loudspeaker volumes of all of the endpoints in the workplace area. In doing so, the exchange manages the overall acoustic noise present.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 26, 2007
    Date of Patent: October 9, 2012
    Assignee: Avaya Inc.
    Inventor: Eric John Diethorn
  • Patent number: 8270596
    Abstract: An incoming call prompting method is provided. The method includes the step of: providing a data storage for storing a note table, a melodic companion table, and an audio clip database; receiving an incoming call and sending the incoming call to a decoder to phone number of the incoming call; storing the phone number in the data storage; obtaining a predetermined digit set from the incoming call phone number stored in the data storage; obtaining the assigned note of each digit of the digit set, and piecing together a melodious sequence of note based upon a pre-determined algorithm guiding selection and sequencing of a combination of the primary notes and/or companion notes of the melodic companion table to edit a melody; and obtaining and outputting audio clip of each note of the edited melody in turn to generate a music.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 9, 2008
    Date of Patent: September 18, 2012
    Assignees: Hong Fu Jin Precision Industry (ShenZhen) Co., Ltd., Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Chuan-Hong Wang, Li-Zhang Huang, Hsiao-Chung Chou, Xiao-Guang Li, Kuan-Hong Hsieh
  • Patent number: 8265263
    Abstract: In a system having an adaptive filter block for receiving a reference signal and adapting to an input signal, and a block for detecting corruption of the input signal by an interference signal and in response limiting adaptation of the adaptive filter block, the improvement comprising delaying and applying the input signal to the adaptive filter block while applying the input signal to the block for detecting corruption without delay.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 2, 2007
    Date of Patent: September 11, 2012
    Assignee: Mitel Networks Corporation
    Inventor: Franck Beaucoup
  • Patent number: 8259916
    Abstract: An incoming call prompting method is provided. The method receiving an incoming call decoding the phone number of the incoming call so as to obtain a digit set from the phone number stored in the data storage system. The method further includes determining a call number character of the incoming call and assigning musical notes associated with the numbers of the digit set according to the musical note table. Furthermore, the method includes obtaining corresponding audio clip of each note from an audio clip database and outputting the audio clips with the corresponding rhythm of the call number character of the incoming call through a music output apparatus.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 17, 2008
    Date of Patent: September 4, 2012
    Assignees: Hong Fu Jin Precision Industry (ShenZhen) Co., Ltd., Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Chuan-Hong Wang, Li-Zhang Huang, Hsiao-Chung Chou, Xiao-Guang Li, Kuan-Hong Hsieh
  • Patent number: 8254565
    Abstract: A hand-held device that provides communication services and symbol processing is described. The device includes a case having a front side comprising a display and a lid having a transparent portion through which the display can be seen in a lid-closed state. In one version, the hand-held device comprises a QWERTY keyboard including an arrangement of digits as in a touch-tone area telephone keypad arrangement. In another version, the display includes a handwriting area for data entry using a stylus or other screen data entry device. In a closed position, the lid extends over the display and the keyboard, leaving another user input device physically accessible to touch for receiving input wherein the device performs processing responsive to receiving input from the physically accessible user input device in the lid closed state.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 30, 2008
    Date of Patent: August 28, 2012
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventors: Jeffrey C. Hawkins, Peter N. Skillman, William B. Rees, Robert Y. Haitani, Michael Alexander Yurochko, Edward Thomas Colligan
  • Patent number: 8238548
    Abstract: An echo canceller apparatus comprises a receive side attenuator coupled in a receive side signal path that is configured to couple from a conference call bridge to a caller; a convolution processor coupled to the receive side signal path at a convolution processor pick-off point; a double-talk detector coupled to the receive side signal path and to a sending side signal path that is configured to couple from the caller to the conference call bridge; and logic coupled to the receive side attenuator which when executed is responsive to a double-talk condition detected by the double-talk detector and operable to determine a level of echo canceled by the convolution processor, to determine an additional amount of attenuation to introduce, and to activate the receive side attenuator to introduce the additional attenuation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 8, 2008
    Date of Patent: August 7, 2012
    Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: James C. Frauenthal, Michael A. Ramalho, Gary Skrabutenas, Herbert Wildfeuer
  • Patent number: 8229105
    Abstract: An enhanced sidetone system is disclosed which provides the user of a telecommunications terminal, while speaking, with immediate audio feedback that corresponds to what the far-end party is probably hearing. The sidetone system continuously samples the input speech signal from the user and also obtains signal quality statistics of the transmission path. These statistics can include descriptions of network quality-of-service characteristics (e.g., packet loss rate, etc.) and/or media quality characteristics (e.g., audio distortion due to echo cancellation, etc.). These statistics enable the disclosed technique to determine whether the transmitted signal quality is acceptable. When an unacceptable condition in transmit-path signal quality is detected, the technique modifies the traditional (main) sidetone signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 20, 2008
    Date of Patent: July 24, 2012
    Assignee: Avaya Inc.
    Inventor: Paul Roller Michaelis
  • Patent number: 8223960
    Abstract: A method and apparatus for removing an echo signal in a signal transmission/reception apparatus of a communication system are provided. A signal transmission/reception apparatus determines an echo channel impulse response using a reception signal, generates an echo signal removing coefficient using the echo channel impulse response, removes an echo signal from the reception signal using the echo signal removing coefficient, and transmits a signal in which the echo signal is removed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 4, 2008
    Date of Patent: July 17, 2012
    Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Hwa-Sun You, Hee-Won Kang, Jae-Bum Kim, Jung-Woo Ku
  • Patent number: 8223959
    Abstract: A system includes microphone devices, echo cancellation mechanism, and speaker devices. Each echo cancellation mechanism corresponds to one of the microphone devices. Each speaker device corresponds to a sound source signal. Each sound source signal is spatially distributed to all the speaker devices, and each echo cancellation mechanism receives as a reference signal a combination of all the sound source signals.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 31, 2007
    Date of Patent: July 17, 2012
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventors: Scott Grasley, David R Ingalls, Otto Gygax
  • Patent number: 8208623
    Abstract: In an echo processing method and device which can detect an accurate echo section without effects of a far end signal, an echo delay, and a reduction of an echo cancellation amount, a signal of a specified frequency band is generated in conformity with a near end signal, and the signal of the specified frequency band is added to the near end signal to form a transmitting signal. Receiving signals are separated into the signal of the specified frequency band and a signal of a band other than the specified frequency band. An echo section is detected based on the signal of the specified frequency band separated. An echo component in the signal of the band other than the specified frequency band is removed and a level of the echo component is detected based on the near end signal in the echo section.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 28, 2007
    Date of Patent: June 26, 2012
    Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
    Inventors: Takeshi Otani, Masanao Suzuki, Yasuji Ota
  • Patent number: 8194851
    Abstract: A voice processing apparatus includes a band dividing portion dividing a first voice signal generated by a first microphone and a second voice signal generated by a second microphone into predetermined frequency bands, a sound source segregating portion segregating an echo component of a voice emitted by a first sound source included in a voice emitted by a second sound source in each of the predetermined frequency bands based on the power of the first and second microphones, and a band synthesis portion synthesizing the first and second voice signals from which the echo component of the first sound source has been segregated by the sound source segregating portion into a voice signal including the voice emitted by the first sound source and a voice signal including the echo component of the first sound source.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 9, 2008
    Date of Patent: June 5, 2012
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Yohei Sakuraba, Yasuhiko Kato
  • Patent number: 8189765
    Abstract: A multichannel echo canceller according to the present invention includes an echo cancellation section which receives loudspeaker input signals sp1, sp2 including a second acoustic signal to be respectively inputted to a plurality of loudspeakers 10, 20 provided in a first location and detection signals m1, m2 detected by a plurality of microphones 11, 21 provided in the first location; separates a first acoustic signal and a second acoustic signal, which are included in the detection signals m1, m2, by performing signal processing based on an independent component analysis; cancels as an echo the second acoustic signal, which is included in the detection signals m1, m2, by outputting only the separated first acoustic signal to a plurality of loudspeakers 30, 40 provided in a second location.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 6, 2007
    Date of Patent: May 29, 2012
    Assignee: Panasonic Corporation
    Inventors: Tsuyoki Nishikawa, Takeo Kanamori, Koichiro Mizushima
  • Patent number: 8170199
    Abstract: In a speech communication device capable of bidirectional communication, a clock deviation between the speaker side (the receiving side) and the microphone side (the transmitting side) is detected, and based on the above deviation, either a first frequency signal (speaker signal (reference signal)) or a second frequency signal (microphone signal) is frequency-shifted in the frequency domain, and therefore, an influence caused by the clock deviation can simply be corrected without an increased processing amount, and thus, an echo can be suppressed effectively.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 17, 2007
    Date of Patent: May 1, 2012
    Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
    Inventors: Masanao Suzuki, Takeshi Otani, Masakiyo Tanaka
  • Patent number: 8155303
    Abstract: A system and a method for canceling an echo is disclosed. In accordance with the system and the method, a plurality of independently and variably delayed adaptive algorithm blocks are selectively applied to a delayed feedback signal to generate a plurality of echo components in parallel, thereby canceling the echo component from an input signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 14, 2007
    Date of Patent: April 10, 2012
    Assignee: Solid Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Chonghoon Kim, Yeongha Choi, Hyungchae Kim
  • Patent number: 8150028
    Abstract: In a particular embodiment, a circuit device includes a first circuit having a first plurality of serial terminals including a first data receive terminal and a first data transmit terminal. The first plurality of serial terminals is communicatively coupled to a particular circuit via isolation circuitry to communicate first serial data. The circuit device further includes a second circuit having a second plurality of serial terminals including a second data receive terminal coupled to the first data transmit terminal and including a second data transmit terminal coupled to the first data receive terminal to communicate second serial data to the particular circuit via the first data receive and transmit terminals.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 17, 2008
    Date of Patent: April 3, 2012
    Assignee: Silicon Laboratories, Inc.
    Inventor: Long Nguyen
  • Patent number: 8130941
    Abstract: An echo canceler 10 generates an echo elimination signal by filtering through adaptive filters 101 and 102 reference signals input from sound sources causing echoes. It includes a sound source number detecting unit 103 for detecting the number of the sound sources causing echoes from the reference signals, and a control unit 105 for making the number of taps of the adaptive filters 101 and 102 variable in accordance with the number of the sound sources detected by the sound source number detecting unit 103.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 10, 2009
    Date of Patent: March 6, 2012
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
    Inventors: Takuya Taniguchi, Shin Kato, Noritaka Kokido
  • Patent number: 8103011
    Abstract: Signal detectors are described herein. By way of example, a system for detecting signals can include a microphone signal detector, a loudspeaker signal detector, a signal discriminator and a decision component. When the microphone signal detector detects the presence of a microphone signal, the loudspeaker signal detector detects the presence of a loudspeaker signal and the signal discriminator determines that near-end speech dominates loudspeaker echo, the decision component can confirm the presence of doubletalk. When the microphone signal detector detects the presence of a microphone signal and the signal discriminator determines that near-end speech dominates loudspeaker echo, the decision component confirms the presence of near-end signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 31, 2007
    Date of Patent: January 24, 2012
    Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Asif Iqbal Mohammad, Jack W. Stokes, III, John C. Platt, Arungunram C. Surendran
  • Patent number: 8090093
    Abstract: An echo canceller which can respond to a sudden change in echo characteristics in real time and does not require an alteration outside the echo canceller, includes a smoothed sending-speech signal calculation means for calculating a smoothed sending-speech signal from the sending-speech signal, the smoothed sending-speech signal being obtained by smoothing the sending-speech signal; a smoothed receiving-speech signal calculation means for calculating a smoothed receiving-speech signal from the receiving-speech signal, the smoothed receiving-speech signal being obtained by smoothing the receiving-speech signal; a delay time information generation means for obtaining delay time information reflecting delay characteristics of an echo path in accordance with a correlation between the smoothed sending-speech signal and the smoothed receiving-speech signal; and an update information generation means for obtaining update information indicating execution or suspension of updating of the tap coefficients of the adapti
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 20, 2006
    Date of Patent: January 3, 2012
    Assignee: Oki Electric Industry Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Hiromi Aoyagi, Masashi Takada