Patents by Inventor Kenneth Edgar Hild, II

Kenneth Edgar Hild, II 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).

  • Patent number: 11624800
    Abstract: The systems, devices, and processes described herein may identify a beam of a voice-controlled device that is directed toward a reflective surface, such as a wall. The beams may be created by a beamformer. An acoustic echo canceller (AEC) may create filter coefficients for a reference sound. The filter coefficients may be analyzed to identify beams that include multiple peaks. The multiple peaks may indicate presence of one or more reflective surfaces. Using the amplitude and the time delay between the peaks, the device may determine that it is close to a reflective surface in a direction of the beam.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 14, 2021
    Date of Patent: April 11, 2023
    Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: William Folwell Barton, Kenneth Edgar Hild, II, Ramya Gopalan, Kavitha Velusamy, Amit Singh Chhetri
  • Patent number: 11175372
    Abstract: The systems, devices, and processes described herein may identify a beam of a voice-controlled device that is directed toward a reflective surface, such as a wall. The beams may be created by a beamformer. An acoustic echo canceller (AEC) may create filter coefficients for a reference sound. The filter coefficients may be analyzed to identify beams that include multiple peaks. The multiple peaks may indicate presence of one or more reflective surfaces. Using the amplitude and the time delay between the peaks, the device may determine that it is close to a reflective surface in a direction of the beam.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 9, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 16, 2021
    Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: William Folwell Barton, Kenneth Edgar Hild, II, Ramya Gopalan, Kavitha Velusamy, Amit Singh Chhetri
  • Patent number: 10746840
    Abstract: The systems, devices, and processes described herein may identify a beam of a voice-controlled device that is directed toward a reflective surface, such as a wall. The beams may be created by a beamformer. An acoustic echo canceller (AEC) may create filter coefficients for a reference sound. The filter coefficients may be analyzed to identify beams that include multiple peaks. The multiple peaks may indicate presence of one or more reflective surfaces. Using the amplitude and the time delay between the peaks, the device may determine that it is close to a reflective surface in a direction of the beam.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 22, 2017
    Date of Patent: August 18, 2020
    Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: William Folwell Barton, Kenneth Edgar Hild, II, Ramya Gopalan, Kavitha Velusamy, Amit Singh Chhetri
  • Patent number: 9832569
    Abstract: A multi-channel echo cancellation system that dynamically adapts to changes in acoustic conditions. The system does not require a sequence of “start-up” tones to determine the impulse responses. Rather, the adaptive filters approximate estimated transfer functions for each channel. A secondary adaptive filter adjusts cancellation to adapt to changes in the actual transfer functions over time after the adaptive filters have been trained, even if the reference signals are not unique relative to each other.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 5, 2016
    Date of Patent: November 28, 2017
    Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Robert Ayrapetian, Michael Alan Pogue, Kenneth Edgar Hild, II
  • Patent number: 9689960
    Abstract: The systems, devices, and processes described herein may identify a beam of a voice-controlled device that is directed toward a reflective surface, such as a wall. The beams may be created by a beamformer. An acoustic echo canceller (AEC) may create filter coefficients for a reference sound. The filter coefficients may be analyzed to identify beams that include multiple peaks. The multiple peaks may indicate presence of one or more reflective surfaces. Using the amplitude and the time delay between the peaks, the device may determine that it is close to a reflective surface in a direction of the beam.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 4, 2013
    Date of Patent: June 27, 2017
    Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: William Folwell Barton, Kenneth Edgar Hild, II, Ramya Gopalan, Kavitha Velusamy, Amit Singh Chhetri
  • Patent number: 9554210
    Abstract: A multi-channel echo cancellation system that dynamically adapts to changes in acoustic conditions. The system does not require a sequence of “start-up” tones to determine the impulse responses. Rather, the adaptive filters approximate estimated transfer functions for each channel. A secondary adaptive filter adjusts cancellation to adapt to changes in the actual transfer functions over time after the adaptive filters have been trained, even if the reference signals are not unique relative to each other.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 25, 2015
    Date of Patent: January 24, 2017
    Assignee: AMAZON TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
    Inventors: Robert Ayrapetian, Michael Alan Pogue, Kenneth Edgar Hild, II