IP Library Granted Patent US 12,452,588
Granted Patent B2
US 12,452,588 · App. 17/915,447 · Granted Oct 21, 2025

Conversation assisting apparatus, conversation assisting method, non-transitory computer-readable recording medium

Inventor: Kazunori Kobayashi (Tokyo, JP)
Assignee: NTT, Inc.
H04R3/00G10K11/16
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,452,588
App. No.
17/915,447
Granted
Oct 21, 2025
Kind
B2
Abstract

A conversation assisting method of the present invention is performed in a first space in order to transmit an acoustic signal between the first space and a second space, separated by an isolation object, by using the isolation object. In the conversation assisting method of the present invention, a sound to be transmitted to the second space is emitted from the first space side to the isolation object at a predetermined intensity. Further, in the conversation assisting method of the present invention, a sound transmitted through the isolation object is picked up, and from the picked-up sound, a sound except for the emitted sound is emphasized and output.

Claims (52)

1. A conversation assisting apparatus that is placed in a first space in order to transmit an acoustic signal between the first space and a second space, separated by an isolation object, by using the isolation object, the apparatus comprising:

a switch; and

a processing circuitry which executes

a sound emission processing comprising transmitting a sound, to be transmitted to the second space, from the first space side to the isolation object at a predetermined intensity;

a sound pickup processing comprising picking up a sound transmitted through the isolation object; and

an emphasis processing comprising emphasizing and outputting a sound from the picked-up sound,

wherein, the emphasis processing includes a blocking processing, and

when the switch indicates a state of sound transmission from the first space to the second space, the blocking processing comprises blocking the sound output from the emphasis processing.

2. The conversation assisting apparatus according to claim 1 ,

wherein the switch is further configured to switch between operations of blocking sound emission from the sound processing and blocking the output of the emphasis processing.

3. A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium storing a computer-executable program instructions that when executed by a processor cause a computer to execute operations of the conversation assisting apparatus according to claim 1 .

4. The conversation assisting apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the isolation object is a vehicle, the first space is a space outside the vehicle, and the second space is a space inside the vehicle.

5. A conversation assisting apparatus that is placed in a first space in order to transmit an acoustic signal between the first space and a second space, separated by an isolation object, by using the isolation object, the apparatus comprising:

a sensor; and a processing circuitry which executes

a sound emission processing comprising transmitting a sound, to be transmitted to the second space, from the first space side to the isolation object at a predetermined intensity;

a sound pickup processing comprising picking up a sound transmitted through the isolation object; and

an emphasis processing comprising emphasizing and outputting a sound from the picked-up sound,

wherein, the sensor that detects contact of the sound pickup processing with the isolation object,

when the sensor detects no contact, the emphasis processing blocks the sound output from the emphasis processing, and

when the sensor detects contact, the emphasis processing outputs the sound in the second space.

6. The conversation assisting apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein the isolation object is a vehicle, the first space is a space outside the vehicle, and the second space is a space inside the vehicle.

7. A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium storing a computer-executable program instructions that when executed by a processor cause a computer to execute operations of the conversation assisting apparatus according to claim 5 .

8. A conversation assisting apparatus that is placed in a first space in order to transmit an acoustic signal between the first space and a second space, separated by an isolation object, by using the isolation object, the apparatus comprising:

an utterance detector; and a processing circuitry which executes

a sound emission processing comprising transmitting a sound, to be transmitted to the second space, from the first space side to the isolation object at a predetermined intensity;

a sound pickup processing comprising picking up a sound transmitted through the isolation object; and

an emphasis processing comprising emphasizing and outputting a sound from the picked-up sound,

wherein, the emphasis processing includes blocking processing,

the utterance detector that detects whether or not a sound to be transmitted to the second space has been input,

when the utterance detector detects a sound to be transmitted to the second space, the emphasis processing blocks the sound output from the emphasis processing by the blocking processing, and

when the utterance detector detects no sound to be transmitted to the second space, the emphasis processing outputs the sound in the second space without operating the blocking processing.

9. The conversation assisting apparatus according to claim 8 , wherein the isolation object is a vehicle, the first space is a space outside the vehicle, and the second space is a space inside the vehicle.

10. A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium storing a computer-executable program instructions that when executed by a processor cause a computer to execute operations of the conversation assisting apparatus according to claim 8 .

11. A conversation assisting apparatus that is placed in a first space in order to transmit an acoustic signal between the first space and a second space, separated by an isolation object, by using the isolation object, the apparatus comprising:

a processing circuitry which executes

a sound emission processing comprising transmitting a sound, to be transmitted to the second space, from the first space side to the isolation object at a predetermined intensity;

a sound pickup processing comprising picking up a sound transmitted through the isolation object; and

an emphasis processing comprising emphasizing and outputting a sound from the picked-up sound, wherein

the sound emitted to the isolation object is a sound passing through a first comb filter,

the sound emphasized and output is a sound passing through a second comb filter, and

a passband of the second comb filter is a stopband of the first comb filter.

12. The conversation assisting apparatus according to claim 11 , wherein the isolation object is a vehicle, the first space is a space outside the vehicle, and the second space is a space inside the vehicle.

13. A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium storing a computer-executable program instructions that when executed by a processor cause a computer to execute operations of the conversation assisting apparatus according to claim 11 .

14. A conversation assisting apparatus that is placed in a first space in order to transmit an acoustic signal between the first space and a second space, separated by an isolation object, by using the isolation object, the apparatus comprising:

a processing circuitry which executes

a sound emission processing comprising transmitting a sound, to be transmitted to the second space, from the first space side to the isolation object at a predetermined intensity;

a sound pickup processing comprising picking up a sound transmitted through the isolation object; and

an emphasis processing comprising emphasizing and outputting a sound from the picked-up sound,

wherein, the emphasis processing has an echo canceling processing, and

the echo canceling processing uses a sound to be transmitted to the second space to emphasize a sound except for the sound emitted from the picked-up sound.

15. The conversation assisting apparatus according to claim 14 , wherein the isolation object is a vehicle, the first space is a space outside the vehicle, and the second space is a space inside the vehicle.

16. A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium storing a computer-executable program instructions that when executed by a processor cause a computer to execute operations of the conversation assisting apparatus according to claim 14 .

Assignments (2)
CHANGE OF NAME Recorded Jan 1, 2026
From: NIPPON TELEGRAPH AND TELEPHONE CORPORATION
To: NTT, INC.
Reel/Frame 074164/0623 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Sep 28, 2022
From: KOBAYASHI, KAZUNORI
To: NIPPON TELEGRAPH AND TELEPHONE CORPORATION
Reel/Frame 061248/0056 →
Continuity (1)
Related Publication 20230147802A1 · May 11, 2023
References Cited (7)
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