Method and apparatus for automatically suppressing computer keyboard noises in audio telecommunication session
View Patent ↗A communication system automatically mutes a microphone in response to a key event detected from a coupled keyboard to prevent delivery of noise generated by the keyboard to a far end of the communication session. A timer is initiated for a time period when the key event occurs, and the microphone remains muted for the time period of the timer. The timer may be restarted to maintain the microphone mute in response to a subsequent key event detected while the timer is running. If the timer expires before a subsequent key event is detected, the microphone can be restored to its previous state (usually un-muted). The system can be applied to a computer coupled to the keyboard and a microphone and having a communication application operating on the computer. Alternatively, the system can be applied to a computer coupled to the keyboard and coupled to an external conferencing unit having a communication application.
1. An automatic keyboard noise suppression method for a communication session, comprising:
receiving input audio from a microphone;
sending output audio to a far-end;
receiving a key event detected from a computer keyboard;
storing a current state of the microphone in response to the key event;
initiating a timer in response to the detected key event;
automatically disabling the sending of input audio from the microphone to the far-end during the timer to substantially prevent noise generated by the keyboard from being delivered to the far-end; and
returning the microphone to the stored state after the timer has expired,
wherein the microphone returns to mute after the timer has expired when the stored state at the detected key event is a mute state, and
wherein the microphone returns to un-mute after the timer has expired when the stored state at the detected key event is an un-mute state.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the key event comprises a key-strike, a key-release, or both.
3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising awaiting detection of a subsequent key event while the timer runs.
4. The method of claim 3 , further comprising reinitiating a new time period for the timer in response to a subsequent key event detected while the timer is currently running.
5. The method of claim 3 , further comprising automatically enabling the sending of input audio from the microphone to the far-end if the timer expires before a subsequent key event is detected.
6. The method of claim 1 , wherein receiving a key event detected from a computer keyboard comprises:
detecting the key event with a process running on a computer coupled to the computer keyboard; and
providing the detected key event to a communication application capable of muting and un-muting audio received by the microphone.
7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the communication application is running on the computer.
8. The method of claim 6 , wherein the communication application is running on telephony equipment communicatively coupled to the computer.
9. The method of claim 1 , further comprising receiving a manual muting of the microphone and storing the current state of the microphone as muted.
10. A program storage device, readable by a programmable control device, comprising instructions stored on the program storage device for causing the programmable control device to perform a method according to claim 1 .
11. A computer, comprising:
an input interface receiving input audio from a microphone;
an output interface sending output audio to a far-end in a communication session;
a device interface coupled to a keyboard; and
a communication application executing on the computer and in communication with the input interface, the output interface, and the device interface, the communication application initiating a timer and storing a current state of the microphone in response to a detected key event from the device interface, the communication application automatically disabling the sending of input audio from the microphone to the far-end during the timer to prevent sending substantial keyboard noises to the far-end in the communication session,
wherein the communication application returns the microphone to mute after the timer has expired when the stored state at the detected key event is a mute state, and
wherein the communication application returns the microphone to un-mute after the timer has expired when the stored state at the detected key event is an un-mute state.
12. The computer of claim 11 , wherein the communication application automatically enables the sending of input audio from the microphone if the timer expires before a subsequent key event is detected.
13. The computer of claim 11 , wherein the communication application restarts the timer to a new time period in response to a subsequent key event detected while the timer is still running.
14. The computer of claim 11 , wherein the communication application receives a manual muting of the microphone and stores the current state of the microphone as muted.
15. A telephony device, comprising:
an input interface receiving input audio from a microphone;
an output interface sending output audio to a far-end in a communication session;
a communication interface coupled to a computer having a keyboard and receiving a key event detected from the keyboard by the computer; and
a communication application executing on the telephony device and in communication with the input interface, the output interface, and the communication interface, the communication application initiating a timer and storing a current state of the microphone in response to a detected key event from the communication interface, the communication application automatically disabling the sending of input audio from the microphone to the far-end during the timer to prevent sending keyboard noises to the far-end in the communication session,
wherein the communication application returns the microphone to mute after the timer has expired when the stored state at the detected key event is a mute state, and
wherein the communication application returns the microphone to un-mute after the timer has expired when the stored state at the detected key event is an un-mute state.
16. The telephony device of claim 15 , wherein the telephony device is a conferencing unit.
17. The telephony device of claim 15 , wherein the communication application automatically enables the sending of input audio from the microphone if the timer expires before a subsequent key event is detected.
18. The telephony device of claim 15 , wherein the communication application restarts the timer to a new time period in response to a subsequent key event detected while the timer is still running.
19. The telephony device of claim 15 , wherein the communication application receives a manual muting of the microphone and stores the current state of the microphone as the mute state in response to the detected key event.
20. An automatic keyboard noise suppression method for a communication session between a near-end unit and a far-end unit, comprising:
receiving near-end audio from a microphone at the near-end unit;
sending the near-end audio from the near-end unit to the far-end unit;
receiving a key event detected from a computer keyboard at the near-end unit during the sending of the near end audio, the key event indicative of keyboard noise in the near end audio; and
sending, in response to the detected key event, a message from the near-end unit to the far-end unit instructing the far-end unit to disable output of the near-end audio at the far-end unit at least during the detected key event.