Patent · US Active

Apparatus and method for detecting sound

US8098832B2 · kind B2 · utility

5Cited by
4References
22Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventor

Key dates

Filing dateNov 15, 2007
Grant dateJan 17, 2012
Priority date
Expiry dateMay 21, 2029

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
  • CPC primaryH04R5/033
  • WIPO fieldAudio-visual technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

An apparatus for detecting sound includes a plurality of microphones, a sound inspecting unit, a direction estimating unit, a background noise removing unit, and an alerting unit. The microphones are used to collect sounds around a user. The sound inspecting unit is used to calculate the feature values of a background noise within a preset time interval, and to determine if a latest collected sound satisfies a preset condition. When the preset condition is satisfied, the direction estimating unit is used to estimate the occurrence direction of the latest collected sound, and to determine if the occurrence direction is within a preset range behind the user. When the preset range is satisfied, the background noise removing unit is used to remove the background noise in the latest collected sound so as to obtain a detected sound. The alerting unit is used to inform the user of the detected sound via an alert message. A method for detecting sound is also disclosed.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.