US-12626683-B2 - Method and device for acute sound detection and reproduction

US12626683B2US 12626683 B2US12626683 B2US 12626683B2US-12626683-B2

Abstract

Earpieces and methods for acute sound detection and reproduction are provided. A method can include measuring an external ambient sound level (xASL), monitoring a change in the xASL for detecting an acute sound, estimating a proximity of the acute sound, and upon detecting the acute sound and its proximity, reproducing the acute sound within an ear canal, where the ear canal is at least partially occluded by an earpiece. Other embodiments are disclosed.

Inventors

Steven Wayne Goldstein
John Usher
Marc Andre Boillot

Assignees

ST FAMTECH, LLC

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20210517

Claims (11)

1 . A method comprising: receiving an ambient sound gain; receiving an ambient sound signal; receiving an audio content signal; detecting an acute sound by analyzing the ambient sound signal; generating a new ambient sound gain by modifying the ambient sound gain if an acute sound is detected, wherein the new ambient sound gain is greater than the ambient sound gain; reducing an audio content gain if an acute sound is detected; generating a first modified ambient sound signal by applying the new ambient sound gain to the ambient sound signal if an acute sound is detected otherwise generating a second modified ambient sound signal by applying the ambient sound gain to the ambient sound signal, wherein the second modified ambient sound signal has a sound pressure level lower than the first modified ambient sound signal; generating a modified audio content signal by applying the audio content gain to the audio content signal; generating a mixed signal by mixing the modified audio content signal and the first modified ambient sound signal if the new ambient sound gain is generated otherwise the mixed signal is generated by mixing the second modified ambient sound signal and the modified audio content signal; and sending the mixed signal to a speaker.
2 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the acute sound is a sound produced by a sound source external to the user.
3 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the acute sound is a warning sound, a siren, a voice, a specific noise type or a combination thereof.
4 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the operation of generating a new ambient sound gain if an acute sound is detected reduces the ambient sound gain to generate the new ambient sound gain if a user's voice is the acute sound detected.
5 . The method according to claim 1 , further comprising conducting a safe-level check of the mixed signal.
6 . The method according to claim 5 , further comprising reducing the mixed signal based on the safe-level check.
7 . A device comprising: a first microphone configured to generate an ambient sound signal; a second microphone configured to generate an internal signal; a speaker; a memory that stores instructions; and a processor that executes the instructions to perform operations, wherein the processor is coupled to the first microphone, the second microphone, the speaker and the memory, and wherein the operations comprise: receiving an ambient sound gain; receiving an ambient sound signal; receiving an audio content signal; detecting an acute sound by analyzing the ambient sound signal; generating a new ambient sound gain by modifying the ambient sound gain if an acute sound is detected, wherein the new ambient sound gain is greater than the ambient sound gain; reducing an audio content gain if an acute sound is detected; generating a first modified ambient sound signal by applying the new ambient sound gain to the ambient sound signal if an acute sound is detected otherwise generating a second modified ambient sound signal by applying the ambient sound gain to the ambient sound signal, wherein the second modified ambient sound signal has a sound pressure level lower than the first modified ambient sound signal; generating a modified audio content signal by applying the audio content gain to the audio content signal; generating a mixed signal by mixing the modified audio content signal and the first modified ambient sound signal if the new ambient sound gain is generated otherwise the mixed signal is generated by mixing the second modified ambient sound signal and the modified audio content signal; and sending the mixed signal to a speaker.
8 . The device according to claim 7 , wherein the acute sound is a sound source external from the user.
9 . The device according to claim 7 , wherein the acute sound is a warning sound, a siren, a voice, a specific noise type or a combination thereof.
10 . The device according to claim 7 , further comprising conducting a safe-level check of the mixed signal.
11 . The device according to claim 10 , further comprising reducing the mixed signal based on the safe-level check.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S) This is a continuation of and claims priority to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/987,396, filed 7 Aug. 2020, which is a continuation of and claims priority to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/669,490, filed 30 Oct. 2019, which is a continuation of and claims priority to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/193,568, filed 16 Nov. 2018, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,535,334, which is a continuation of and claims priority to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/574,589, filed on Dec. 18, 2014, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,134,377, which claims priority to and is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/017,878, filed on Jan. 22, 2008, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,917,894, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/885,917, filed on Jan. 22, 2007, all of which are herein incorporated by reference in their entireties. FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a device that monitors sound directed to an occluded ear, and more particularly, though not exclusively, to an earpiece and method of operating an earpiece that detects acute sounds and allows the acute sounds to be reproduced in an ear canal of the occluded ear. BACKGROUND Since the advent of industrialization over two centuries ago, the human auditory system has been increasingly stressed to tolerate high noise levels to which it had hitherto been unexposed. Recently, human knowledge of the causes of hearing damage have been researched intensively and models for predicting hearing loss have been developed and verified with empirical data from decades of scientific research. Yet it can be strongly argued that the danger of permanent hearing damage is more present in our daily lives than ever, and that sound levels from personal audio systems in particular (i.e. from portable audio devices), live sound events, and the urban environment are a ubiquitous threat to healthy auditory functioning across the global population. Environmental noise is constantly presented in industrialized societies given the ubiquity of external sound intrusions. Examples include people talking on their cell phones, blaring music in health clubs, or the constant hum of air conditioning systems in schools and office buildings. Excess noise exposure can also induce auditory fatigue, possibly comprising a person's listening abilities. On a daily basis, people are exposed to various environmental sounds and noises within their environment, such as the sounds from traffic, construction, and industry. To combat the undesired cacophony of annoying sounds, people are arming themselves with portable audio playback devices to drown out intrusive noise. The majority of devices providing the person with audio content do so using insert (or in-ear) earbuds. These earbuds deliver sound directly to the ear canal at high sound levels over the background noise even though the earbuds generally provide little to no ambient sound isolation. Moreover, when people wear earbuds (or headphones) to listen to music, or engage in a call using a telephone, they can effectively impair their auditory judgment and their ability to discriminate between sounds. With such devices, the person is immersed in the audio experience and generally less likely to hear warning sounds within their environment. In some cases, the user may even turn up the volume to hear their personal audio over environmental noises. It also puts them at high sound exposure risk which can potentially cause long term hearing damage. With earbuds, personal audio reproduction levels can reach in excess of 100 dB. This is enough to exceed recommended daily sound exposure levels in less than a minute and to cause permanent acoustic trauma. Furthermore, rising population densities have continually increased sound levels in society. According to researchers, 40% of the European community is continuously exposed to transportation noise of 55 dBA and 20% are exposed to greater than 65 dBA. This level of 65 dBA is considered by the World Health Organization to be intrusive or annoying, and as mentioned, can lead to users of personal audio devices increasing reproduction levels to compensate for ambient noise. A need therefore exists for enhancing the user's ability to listen in the environment without harming his or her hearing faculties. SUMMARY Embodiments in accordance with the present invention provide a method and device for acute sound detection and reproduction. In a first embodiment, an earpiece can include an Ambient Sound Microphone (ASM) to capture ambient sound, at least one Ear Canal Receiver (ECR) to deliver audio to an ear canal; and a processor operatively coupled to the ASM and the at least one ECR. The processor can monitor a change in the ambient sound level to detect an acute sound from the change. The acute sound can be reproduced within the ear canal via the ECR responsive to detecting the acute sound. The processor can pass (transmit) sound from the