Patents by Inventor James D. Barrus

James D. Barrus has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Method and apparatus for multi-stage adaptive volume control
    Patent number: 9099972
    Abstract: A method and apparatus for adaptively controlling the audio output (122) of a communication device (114) according to the noise characteristics of the receiver listening environment (119). An output volume for the communication device (114) is set by a user (e.g., listener 118). The communication device (114) can intermittently sample ambient noise (116) of its environment (119). A minimum signal to noise threshold can be established for audio output (122). A total adjustment for the audio output (122) is established based on the ambient noise (116), the user set output volume, and the minimum signal to noise threshold. The total adjustment is a product of a software volume adjustment (230) and a hardware gain adjustment (240). The software volume adjustment (230) and the hardware gain adjustment (240) is adaptively applied when the communication device (114) outputs audio (122).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 13, 2012
    Date of Patent: August 4, 2015
    Assignee: Motorola Solutions, Inc.
    Inventors: Yi Gao, James D. Barrus, William M. Kushner, Yu Liu, Li Xiao
  • METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MULTI-STAGE ADAPTIVE VOLUME CONTROL
    Publication number: 20150016633
    Abstract: A method and apparatus for adaptively controlling the audio output (122) of a communication device (114) according to the noise characteristics of the receiver listening environment (119). An output volume for the communication device (114) is set by a user (e.g., listener 118). The communication device (114) can intermittently sample ambient noise (116) of its environment (119). A minimum signal to noise threshold can be established for audio output (122). A total adjustment for the audio output (122) is established based on the ambient noise (116), the user set output volume, and the minimum signal to noise threshold. The total adjustment is a product of a software volume adjustment (230) and a hardware gain adjustment (240). The software volume adjustment (230) and the hardware gain adjustment (240) is adaptively applied when the communication device (114) outputs audio (122).
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 13, 2012
    Publication date: January 15, 2015
    Applicant: MOTOROLA SOLUTIONS, INC.
    Inventors: Yi Gao, James D. Barrus, William M. Kushner, Yu Liu, Li Xiao