# US 10,504,516 B2 · Voice control for emergency vehicle > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 10,504,516 B2 - Document ID: US10504516B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 15/880,060 - Filed: 2018-01-25 - Published: 2019-03-14 - Granted: 2019-12-10 - Earliest claimed: 2017-09-13 - Assignees: Federal Signal Corporation - Applicants: Federal Signal Corporation - Inventors: Justin Barth; Paul Ferrara; Jorge Guerreiro; Albena Iotova-Gagnaire; Michael Pula; Scott Thomas Rohrbaugh - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10504516B2 ## CPC - G10L 15/22: Procedures used during a speech recognition process, e.g. man-machine dialogue - G06F 3/167: {Audio in a user interface, e.g. using voice commands for navigating, audio feedback} - G06F 16/683: using metadata automatically derived from the content - H04R 1/326: {for microphones (H04R1/34 and H04R1/40 take precedence)} - G10L 17/00: Speaker identification or verification techniques - G10L 2015/223: {Execution procedure of a spoken command} - H04R 2420/07: Applications of wireless loudspeakers or wireless microphones - H04R 2499/13: Acoustic transducers and sound field adaptation in vehicles - G10L: SPEECH ANALYSIS TECHNIQUES OR SPEECH SYNTHESIS; SPEECH RECOGNITION; SPEECH OR VOICE PROCESSING TECHNIQUES; SPEECH OR AUDIO CODING OR DECODING - G06F: ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING (computer systems based on specific computational models G06N) - H04R: LOUDSPEAKERS, MICROPHONES, GRAMOPHONE PICK-UPS OR LIKE ACOUSTIC ELECTROMECHANICAL TRANSDUCERS; ELECTRIC HEARING AIDS; PUBLIC ADDRESS SYSTEMS (producing sounds with frequency not determined by supply frequency G10K) ## Abstract A voice control system for a police vehicle, including: a single azimuthally-sensitive directional microphone configured to receive an audio command for controlling an aspect of the police vehicle and identify a direction of origin of the audio command; and a controller including a processor and tangible memory encoding instructions which, when executed by the processor, cause the controller to: identify a command associated with the audio command received by the single azimuthally-sensitive directional microphone; and when the direction of origin allows for the command, initiate the command to control the aspect of the police vehicle. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A voice control system for a police vehicle, the voice control system comprising: a single azimuthally-sensitive directional microphone configured to receive an audio command for controlling an aspect of the police vehicle and identify a direction of origin of the audio command; and a controller including a processor and tangible memory encoding instructions which, when executed by the processor, cause the controller to: identify a command associated with the audio command received by the single azimuthally-sensitive directional microphone; when the direction of origin allows for the command, initiate the command to control the aspect of the police vehicle; and when an identity of the location within the police vehicle is determined to be other than a driver location, disallow the audio command. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The voice control system of claim 1, wherein the single azimuthally-sensitive directional microphone is positioned centrally within a ceiling of the police vehicle. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The voice control system of claim 1, wherein the tangible memory encodes further instructions which, when executed by the processor, cause the controller to compare the audio command to an acoustic signature to identify an individual who voiced the audio command. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The voice control system of claim 1, wherein the tangible memory encodes further instructions which, when executed by the processor, cause the controller to store the audio command for later review. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The voice control system of claim 1, wherein the tangible memory encodes further instructions which, when executed by the processor, cause the controller to select among a plurality of communication channels over which to send the audio command. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The voice control system of claim 1, wherein the tangible memory encodes further instructions which, when executed by the processor, cause the controller to differentiate between a driver location and a passenger location in the police vehicle. ### Claim 7 An emergency vehicle, comprising: a driver location; a passenger location; and a voice control system for a police vehicle, the voice control system comprising: a single azimuthally-sensitive directional microphone configured to receive an audio command for controlling an aspect of the police vehicle and identify a direction of origin of the audio command; and a controller including a processor and tangible memory encoding instructions which, when executed by the processor, cause the controller to: identify a command associated with the audio command received by the single azimuthally-sensitive directional microphone; when the direction of origin allows for the command, initiate the command to control the aspect of the police vehicle; and when an identity of the location within the police vehicle is determined to be other than a driver location, disallow the audio command. ### Claim 8 (depends on 7) The emergency vehicle of claim 7, wherein the single azimuthally-sensitive directional microphone is positioned centrally within a ceiling of the emergency vehicle. ### Claim 9 (depends on 7) The emergency vehicle of claim 7, wherein the tangible memory encodes further instructions which, when executed by the processor, cause the controller to compare the audio command to an acoustic signature to identify an individual who voiced the audio command. ### Claim 10 (depends on 7) The emergency vehicle of claim 7, wherein the tangible memory encodes further instructions which, when executed by the processor, cause the controller to store the audio command for later review. ### Claim 11 (depends on 7) The emergency vehicle of claim 7, wherein the tangible memory encodes further instructions which, when executed by the processor, cause the controller to select among a plurality of communication channels over which to send the audio command. ### Claim 12 (depends on 7) The emergency vehicle of claim 7, wherein the tangible memory encodes further instructions which, when executed by the processor, cause the controller to differentiate between the driver location and the passenger location in the police vehicle. ### Claim 13 A method for receiving an audible command in an emergency vehicle, the method comprising: receiving an audio command using a single azimuthally-sensitive directional microphone in the emergency vehicle; determining a direction of origin of the audio command within the emergency vehicle; executing the audio command when the direction of origin allows the audio command to be executed; and disallowing the audio command when an identity of the location within the police vehicle is determined to be other than a driver location. ### Claim 14 (depends on 13) The method of claim 13, further comprising positioning the single azimuthally-sensitive directional microphone centrally within a ceiling of the emergency vehicle. ### Claim 15 (depends on 13) The method of claim 13, further comprising comparing the audio command to an acoustic signature to identify an individual who voiced the audio command. ### Claim 16 (depends on 13) The method of claim 13, further comprising selecting among a plurality of communication channels over which to send the audio command. ### Claim 17 (depends on 13) The method of claim 13, further comprising differentiating between a driver location and a passenger location in the emergency vehicle.