Phone call mute notification
View Patent ↗A phone call mute notification applies an aural effect to the user's speech, other parties' speech, non-speech, or combinations thereof. The phone call mute notification does not render speech unintelligible and may provide a constant indication that the phone call mute function is active. Furthermore, the phone call mute notification does not serve as a distraction to the user, because the aural effect may be applied to speech itself rather than drawing the attention of the user away from the speech.
1. A method for phone call mute notification in a device, the method comprising:
enabling a mute function for a first party in a telephone conversation;
responsive to detecting speech of the first party, determining whether mute notification is enabled based on user preferences;
responsive to the mute notification being enabled for the first party, applying a first aural effect to the speech of the first party;
responsive to detecting speech of a second party in the telephone conversation, determining whether mute notification for speech of other parties is enabled based on the user preferences;
responsive to the mute notification for speech of other parties being enabled, applying a second aural effect to the speech of the second party;
responsive to detecting silence, determining whether mute notification for silence is enabled based on the user preferences; and
responsive to the mute notification for silence being enabled, applying a third aural effect to the silence; and wherein the third aural effect is one of white noise or sound generation.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first aural effect is at least one of modulation, flange, or phase shifting.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the second aural effect is at least one of modulation, flange, or phase shifting.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the device is one of a telephone device, a conference center, a public switch, a private branch exchange, or an Internet telephony server.
5. A system for phone call mute notification, the system comprising:
a processor; and
a memory coupled to the processor, wherein the memory contains instructions which, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to:
enabling a mute function for a first party in a telephone conversation;
responsive to detecting speech of the first party, determining whether mute notification is enabled based on user preferences;
responsive to the mute notification being enabled for the first party, applying a first aural effect to the speech of the first party;
responsive to detecting speech of a second party in the telephone conversation, determining whether mute notification for speech of other parties is enabled based on the user preferences;
responsive to the mute notification for speech of other parties being enabled, applying a second aural effect to the speech of the second party;
responsive to detecting silence, determining whether mute notification for silence is enabled based on the user preferences; and
responsive to the mute notification for silence being enabled, applying a third aural effect to the silence and wherein the third aural effect is one of white noise or sound generation.
6. The system of claim 5 , wherein the first aural effect is at least one of modulation, flange, or phase shifting.
7. The system of claim 5 , wherein the second aural effect is at least one of modulation, flange, or phase shifting.
8. The system of claim 5 , wherein the system is one of a telephone device, a conference center, a public switch, a private branch exchange, or an Internet telephony server.
9. The system of claim 5 , wherein the processor is a digital signal processor.
10. A computer program product comprising a computer useable non-transitory storage medium having a computer readable program stored thereon, wherein the computer readable program, when executed on a computing device, causes the computing device to:
enabling a mute function for a first party in a telephone conversation;
responsive to detecting speech of the first party, determining whether mute notification is enabled based on user preferences;
responsive to the mute notification being first aural effect to the speech of the first party;
responsive to detecting speech of a second party in the telephone conversation, determining whether mute notification for speech of other parties is enabled based on the user preferences;
responsive to the mute notification for speech of other parties being enabled, applying a second aural effect to the speech of the second party;
responsive to detecting silence, determining whether mute notification for silence is enabled based on the user preferences; and
responsive to the mute notification for silence being enabled, applying a third aural effect to the silence and wherein the third aural effect is one of white noise or sound generation.
11. The computer program product of claim 10 , wherein the first aural effect is at least one of modulation, flange, or phase shifting.
12. The computer program product of claim 10 , wherein the second aural effect is one of white noise or sound generation.
13. The computer program product of claim 10 , wherein the computing device is one of a telephone device, a conference center, a public switch, a private branch exchange, or an Internet telephony server.
14. The computer program product of claim 10 , wherein applying the aural effect to the audio comprises applying the aural effect based on user preferences.
15. The computer program product of claim 10 , wherein the second aural effect is at least one of modulation, flange, or phase shifting.