# US 10,373,626 B2 · Speech privacy system and/or associated method > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 10,373,626 B2 - Document ID: US10373626B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 15/459,352 - Filed: 2017-03-15 - Published: 2018-09-20 - Granted: 2019-08-06 - Earliest claimed: 2017-03-15 - Assignees: Guardian Glass, LLC - Applicants: Guardian Glass, LLC - Inventors: Alexey Krasnov - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10373626B2 ## CPC - G10L 21/003: Changing voice quality, e.g. pitch or formants - G10K 11/1754: {Speech masking} - G10L 21/16: Transforming into a non-visible representation (devices or methods enabling ear patients to replace direct auditory perception by another kind of perception A61F11/04) - G10L 25/48: specially adapted for particular use - G10L 25/87: Detection of discrete points within a voice signal - H04K 3/41: {characterized by the control of the jamming activation or deactivation time (control of jamming activation and deactivation time only for the purpose of alternating between jamming mode and target monitoring mode H04K3/45)} - H04K 3/45: {characterized by including monitoring of the target or target signal, e.g. in reactive jammers or follower jammers for example by means of an alternation of jamming phases and monitoring phases, called "look-through mode"} - H04K 3/46: {characterized in that the jamming signal is produced by retransmitting a received signal, after delay or processing} - H04K 3/825: {by jamming} - H04K 3/84: {related to preventing electromagnetic interference in petrol station, hospital, plane or cinema} - H04K 2203/12: for acoustic communication - G10L: SPEECH ANALYSIS TECHNIQUES OR SPEECH SYNTHESIS; SPEECH RECOGNITION; SPEECH OR VOICE PROCESSING TECHNIQUES; SPEECH OR AUDIO CODING OR DECODING - G10K: SOUND-PRODUCING DEVICES; METHODS OR DEVICES FOR PROTECTING AGAINST, OR FOR DAMPING, NOISE OR OTHER ACOUSTIC WAVES IN GENERAL; ACOUSTICS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR - H04K: SECRET COMMUNICATION; JAMMING OF COMMUNICATION ## Abstract Certain example embodiments relate to speech privacy systems and/or associated methods. The techniques described herein disrupt the intelligibility of the perceived speech by, for example, superimposing onto an original speech signal a masking replica of the original speech signal in which portions of it are smeared by a time delay and/or amplitude adjustment, with the time delays and/or amplitude adjustments oscillating over time. In certain example embodiments, smearing of the original signal may be generated in frequency ranges corresponding to formants, consonant sounds, phonemes, and/or other related or non-related information-carrying building blocks of speech. Additionally, or in the alternative, annoying reverberations particular to a room or area in low frequency ranges may be “cut out” of the replica signal, without increasing or substantially increasing perceived loudness. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A method for disrupting speech intelligibility, the method comprising: receiving, via a microphone, an original speech signal; detecting whether the original speech signal includes fundamental building blocks of speech; and conditioned on the detection of fundamental building blocks of speech in the original speech signal: generating an intelligibility-disrupting masking signal from the original speech signal, the intelligibility-disrupting masking signal being different from the original speech signal by virtue of being generated to have (a) a time delay relative to the original speech signal, (b) the time delay changing according to an oscillation frequency, and (c) an amplitude that is modulated; and causing the intelligibility-disrupting masking signal to be outputted through a speaker to reduce the level of intelligibility of the original speech signal. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the oscillation frequency is constant. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the oscillation frequency varies within a predefined range. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the oscillation frequency varies in accordance with an algorithm. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the fundamental building blocks of speech comprise formants. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the fundamental building blocks of speech comprise consonant sounds. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the generation of the intelligibility-disrupting masking signal comprises including in the intelligibility-disrupting masking signal frequency ranges that smear the fundamental building blocks of speech in the original speech signal. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the generation of the intelligibility-disrupting masking signal comprises including in the intelligibility-disrupting masking signal frequency ranges that smear fundamental building blocks of speech at a rate matching an expected rate of occurrence for such fundamental building blocks in ordinary speech. ### Claim 9 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the amplitude of the intelligibility-disrupting masking signal is modulated so that it is no more than double a corresponding amplitude in the corresponding original speech signal. ### Claim 10 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the amplitude of the intelligibility-disrupting masking signal is modulated so that perceivable loudness is increased by no more than 10%. ### Claim 11 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, further comprising applying a filter to the original speech signal and modulating the amplitude in generating the intelligibility-disrupting masking signal to cause no appreciable increase in loudness upon output of the intelligibility-disrupting masking signal. ### Claim 12 A speech intelligibility disrupting device, comprising: control circuitry configured to: receive, from a microphone, an original speech signal; generate an intelligibility-disrupting masking signal from the original speech signal, the intelligibility-disrupting masking signal being different from the original speech signal by virtue of being generated to have (a) a time delay relative to the original speech signal, (b) the time delay changing according to an oscillation frequency, and (c) an amplitude that is modulated; and cause the intelligibility-disrupting masking signal to be outputted through a speaker to reduce the level of intelligibility of the original speech signal, wherein the control circuitry is further configured to: detect whether the original speech signal includes fundamental building blocks of speech; and condition the generation of the intelligibility-disrupting masking signal on the detection of fundamental building blocks of speech in the original speech signal. ### Claim 13 (depends on 12) The device of claim 12, wherein the oscillation frequency varies within a predefined range. ### Claim 14 (depends on 12) The device of claim 12, wherein the generation of the intelligibility-disrupting masking signal comprises including in the intelligibility-disrupting masking signal frequency ranges that simulate fundamental building blocks of speech. ### Claim 15 (depends on 12) The device of claim 12, wherein the generation of the intelligibility-disrupting masking signal comprises including in the intelligibility-disrupting masking signal frequency ranges that smear the fundamental building blocks of speech that occur in the original speech signal. ### Claim 16 (depends on 12) The device of claim 12, wherein the amplitude of the intelligibility-disrupting masking signal is modulated. ### Claim 17 A speech intelligibility disrupting system, comprising: a microphone; a speaker; and control circuitry configured to: receive, from the microphone, an original speech signal; generate an intelligibility-disrupting masking signal from the original speech signal, the intelligibility-disrupting masking signal being different from the original speech signal by virtue of being generated to have (a) a time delay relative to the original speech signal, (b) the time delay changing according to an oscillation frequency, and (c) an amplitude that is modulated; and cause the intelligibility-disrupting masking signal to be outputted through the speaker to reduce the level of intelligibility of the original speech signal, wherein: the control circuitry is further configured to: detect whether the original speech signal includes fundamental building blocks of speech; condition the generation of the intelligibility-disrupting masking signal on the detection of fundamental building blocks of speech in the original speech signal; and modulate the amplitude of the intelligibility-disrupting masking signal, avoiding appreciable increases in loudness beyond a loudness consistent with the original speech signal; and the generation of the intelligibility-disrupting masking signal comprises including in the intelligibility-disrupting masking signal frequency ranges that simulate fundamental building blocks of speech. ### Claim 18 (depends on 17) The system of claim 17, wherein the fundamental building blocks of speech comprise formants and/or consonant sounds. ### Claim 19 (depends on 17) The system of claim 17, wherein the amplitude of the intelligibility-disrupting masking signal is modulated so that perceivable loudness is increased by no more than 10%. ### Claim 20 (depends on 17) The system of claim 17, wherein the oscillation frequency varies within a predefined range and/or in accordance with an algorithm.