IP Library › Granted Patent US 9,998,606

Granted Patent B2

US 9,998,606 · App. 15/619,418 · Granted Jun 12, 2018

Methods and apparatus to assist listeners in distinguishing between electronically generated binaural sound and physical environment sound

Inventors: Glen A. Norris (Tokyo, JP); Philip Scott Lyren (Hong Kong, CN)

H04M3/568 G06F3/017 G10L21/028 H04S1/005 H04S7/302 H04S7/304 H04S7/305 H04S7/306 H04S2400/11 H04S2400/13 H04S2420/01

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Quick Facts

Patent No.: US 9,998,606
App. No.: 15/619,418
Granted: Jun 12, 2018
Kind: B2

External Links

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Abstract

Methods and apparatus assist listeners in distinguishing between electronically generated binaural sound and physical environment sound while the listener wears a wearable electronic device that provides the binaural sound to the listener. The wearable electronic device generates a visual alert or audio alert when the electronically generated binaural sound occurs.

Claims (55)

1. A method that enables a listener to distinguish between electronically generated binaural sounds and physical environment sounds during a telephone call with a person, the method comprising:

convolving, with a processor and during the telephone call between the listener and the person, a voice of the person with head related transfer functions (HRTFs) so the voice the person externally localizes as the electronically generated binaural sounds to empty space that is at least three feet away from the listener;

providing, with speakers of a wearable electronic device located at the ears of the listener and during the telephone call, the voice of the person as the electronically generated binaural sounds that externally localize to the empty space that is at least three feet away from the listener;

providing, with the speakers of the wearable electronic device located at the ears of the listener and during the telephone call, an audio alert that signifies to the listener that the electronically generated binaural sounds are the voice of the person to enable the listener to distinguish between the electronically generated binaural sounds and the physical environment sounds and

repeating, with the speakers of the wearable electronic device located at the ears of the listener and during the telephone call, the audio alert at regularly spaced time intervals.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

convolving, with the processor and during the telephone call between the listener and the person, the audio alert with the HRTFs so the audio alert externally localizes to a same location as the voice of the person at the empty space that is at least three feet away from the listener; and

providing, with the speakers of the wearable electronic device located at the ears of the listener and during the telephone call, the audio alert to the same location as the voice of the person at the empty space that is at least three feet away from the listener.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the regularly spaced time intervals include every thirty seconds or every minute.

4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

providing, with the speakers of the wearable electronic device located at the ears of the listener and during the telephone call, the audio alert to the listener at a point in time when the person stops talking and at a point in time when the person pauses talking.

5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

providing, with the speakers of the wearable electronic device located at the ears of the listener and during the telephone call, the audio alert as a tone in one of mono sound or stereo sound at a point in time while the voice of the person externally localizes to the listener at the empty space that is at least three feet away from the listener.

7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

providing, with the speakers of the wearable electronic device located at the ears of the listener and during the telephone call, the audio alert to the listener as a background sound during the time when the person is talking.

8. A method that enables a listener to distinguish between a voice of a user that is electronically generated binaural sound during a telephone call and a voice emanating from a person in a physical environment where the listener is located, the method comprising:

displaying, with a display of the wearable electronic device worn by the listener during the telephone call, an image that represents the user;

convolving, with a processor, the voice of the user with head related transfer functions (HRTFs) so the voice of the user externally localizes as the electronically generated binaural sound to empty space that is at least three feet away from the listener;

providing, with a wearable electronic device worn by the listener during the telephone call, the voice of the user as the electronically generated binaural sound that externally localizes to the empty space that is at least three feet away from the listener; and

displaying, with the display of the wearable electronic device worn by the listener during the telephone call, a visual alert that activates while the user is speaking to the listener during the telephone call to enable the listener to distinguish between the voice of the user and the voice emanating from the person in the physical environment where the listener is located.

9. The method of claim 8 , further comprising:

deactivating, by the wearable electronic device worn by the listener during the telephone call, the visual alert when the user is not speaking to the listener during the telephone call such that the visual alert activates when the user is speaking and deactivates when the user is not speaking.

10. The method of claim 8 , further comprising:

displaying, with the wearable electronic device worn by the listener during the telephone call, the visual alert as one of a green light or a blue light with the display while the user is speaking to the listener during the telephone call to provide a visual indication when the user is talking during the telephone call.

11. The method of claim 8 , further comprising:

displaying, with the wearable electronic device worn by the listener during the telephone call, the visual alert on the image that represents the user with the visual alert being one of a change in color of the image that represents the user or a change in brightness of the image that represents the user.

12. The method of claim 8 , further comprising:

detecting, with microphones of the wearable electronic device worn by the listener during the telephone call, the voice emanating from the person in the physical environment where the listener is located; and

displaying, with the display of the wearable electronic device worn by the listener during the telephone call and in response to detecting the voice emanating from the person, a visual alert that activates while the person in the physical environment is speaking to enable the listener to distinguish between the voice of the user and the voice emanating from the person in the physical environment where the listener is located.

13. The method of claim 8 , further comprising:

displaying, with the wearable electronic device worn by the listener during the telephone call, the visual alert as a three-dimensional (3D) image that is in a field-of-view of the listener and not located at the image that represents the user;

rotating, with the wearable electronic device worn by the listener during the telephone call, the 3D image while the user is speaking to the listener during the telephone call to visually indicate to the listener that the user is speaking; and

stopping, with the wearable electronic device worn by the listener during the telephone call, rotation of the 3D image while the user is not speaking to the listener during the telephone call to visually indicate to the listener that the user is no longer speaking to the listener.

14. The method of claim 8 , further comprising:

detecting, with a sensor of the wearable electronic device worn by the listener during the telephone call, a gesture of a hand of the listener;

changing, in response to detecting the gesture of the hand of the listener, the voice of the user from the electronically generated binaural sound to one of stereo sound or mono sound; and

providing, with the wearable electronic device worn by the listener during the telephone call, the voice of the user as the one of the stereo sound or the mono sound.

15. A method executed by one or more electronic devices in a computer system to visually indicate to a listener when a user is talking to the listener during a telephone call between the listener and the user, the method comprising:

displaying, with a display of a wearable electronic device worn by the listener during the telephone call, an image that represents the user in a virtual reality (VR) environment;

processing, with a processor during the telephone call, a voice of the user with head related transfer functions (HRTFs) so the voice of the user externally localizes to the listener at the image that represents the user in the VR environment; and

visually indicating to the listener, with the wearable electronic device worn by the listener, when the user is talking to the listener during the telephone call by activating a light in the VR environment while the user speaks to the listener during the telephone call and deactivating the light in the VR environment while the user is not speaking to the listener during the telephone call.

16. The method of claim 15 , further comprising:

visually indicating to the listener, with the wearable electronic device worn by the listener, when the user is talking to the listener during the telephone call by animating an object at the light in the VR environment while the user is talking to the listener during the telephone call and stopping the animating of the object at the light in the VR environment while the user is not talking to the listener during the telephone call.

17. The method of claim 15 , wherein the light illuminates on the image that represents the user in the VR environment while the user speaks to the listener during the telephone call and turns off while the user is not speaking to the listener during the telephone call.

18. The method of claim 15 , further comprising:

detecting, with a microphone in the wearable electronic device worn by the listener and during the telephone call, a voice of a person not in the VR environment but in a physical environment of the listener; and

visually indicating to the listener, with the wearable electronic device worn by the listener and during the telephone call, when the voice of the person not in the VR environment but in the physical environment occurs by activating movement of a 3D image in the VR environment in a field-of-view of the listener to provide a visual indication to the listener that the voice of the person does not emanate from the VR environment but does emanate from the physical environment of the listener.

19. The method of claim 15 , further comprising:

visually indicating to the listener, with the wearable electronic device worn by the listener and during the telephone call, that the voice of the person not in the VR environment is talking by displaying an image that represents the person not the VR environment along with the image that represents the user in the VR environment.

20. The method of claim 15 , further comprising:

distinguishing to the listener, with the wearable electronic device worn by the listener and during the telephone call, that the voice of the person not in the VR environment is talking by electronically changing the voice of the person not in the VR environment.

Continuity (2)

Provisional Application 62348166 · Jun 10, 2016

Related Publication 20170359467A1 · Dec 14, 2017