Tag interrogator and microphone array for identifying a person speaking in a room
US7995731B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Nov 1, 2006 |
| Grant date | Aug 9, 2011 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Nov 25, 2029 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04M2242/30
- WIPO fieldTelecommunications
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A conferencing room has conferencing equipment which identifies a person speaking, among a group of people in the conferencing room, to remote participants in a conference call. The conferencing equipment includes a plurality of unique tags, each fixed proximate to a seating position for a person in the conferencing room. Each person reads the tag at their seated position using a personal interrogator, which may be incorporated into a cellular telephone. The person's identification and seated location are received and stored by a controller. The controller receives inputs from a microphone array, which monitors the voices in the room. By using the microphone array, the controller can approximate the source of the voice to one of the unique tag locations and hence can identify the person speaking.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.