# US 11,443,746 B2 · Personalized sound management and method

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- Number: US 11,443,746 B2
- Document ID: US11443746B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 17/203,731
- Filed: 2021-03-16
- Published: 2021-07-01
- Granted: 2022-09-13
- Earliest claimed: 2008-09-22
- Assignees: Staton Techiya LLC
- Applicants: Staton Techiya LLC
- Inventors: Steven Goldstein; John P. Keady
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11443746B2

## CPC

- G10L 15/22: Procedures used during a speech recognition process, e.g. man-machine dialogue
- B25F 5/00: Details or components of portable power-driven tools not particularly related to the operations performed and not otherwise provided for
- G06F 21/10: Protecting distributed programs or content, e.g. vending or licensing of copyrighted material (protection in video systems or pay television H04N7/16) {; Digital rights management [DRM]}
- G06Q 30/012: Providing warranty services
- G06Q 30/018: Certifying business or products
- G06Q 30/02: Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
- G06Q 30/0281: {Customer communication at a business location, e.g. providing product or service information, consulting}
- G06Q 30/0601: Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
- G06Q 30/0621: {by configuring or customising goods or services}
- G06Q 40/08: Insurance
- G10L 13/00: Speech synthesis; Text to speech systems
- G10L 25/84: for discriminating voice from noise
- H03G 3/32: the control being dependent upon ambient noise level or sound level
- H04R 1/1041: {Mechanical or electronic switches, or control elements (switches in general H01H)}
- H04R 1/1083: {Reduction of ambient noise (active noise reduction per se G10K11/175; protective devices for the ear, e.g. providing acoustic protection A61F11/06)}
- H04R 5/04: Circuit arrangements, {e.g. for selective connection of amplifier inputs/outputs to loudspeakers, for loudspeaker detection, or for adaptation of settings to personal preferences or hearing impairments (combinations of amplifiers H03F3/68; stereophonic systems H04S)}
- H04R 25/453: {electronically}
- H04R 25/505: {using digital signal processing}
- G05B 19/042: using digital processors (G05B19/05 takes precedence)
- G06F 3/16: Sound input; Sound output (speech processing G10L)
- G06F 2221/2137: Time limited access, e.g. to a computer or data
- H04R 2201/103: Combination of monophonic or stereophonic headphones with audio players, e.g. integrated in the headphone
- H04R 2201/107: Monophonic and stereophonic headphones with microphone for two-way hands free communication
- H04R 2460/07: Use of position data from wide-area or local-area positioning systems in hearing devices, e.g. program or information selection
- H04R 2460/15: Determination of the acoustic seal of ear moulds or ear tips of hearing devices
- H04R 2460/17: Hearing device specific tools used for storing or handling hearing devices or parts thereof, e.g. placement in the ear, replacement of cerumen barriers, repair, cleaning hearing devices
- G10L: SPEECH ANALYSIS TECHNIQUES OR SPEECH SYNTHESIS; SPEECH RECOGNITION; SPEECH OR VOICE PROCESSING TECHNIQUES; SPEECH OR AUDIO CODING OR DECODING
- B25F: COMBINATION OR MULTI-PURPOSE TOOLS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; DETAILS OR COMPONENTS OF PORTABLE POWER-DRIVEN TOOLS NOT PARTICULARLY RELATED TO THE OPERATIONS PERFORMED AND NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR {(machines or arrangements of machines for performing specified combinations of different metal-working operations not covered by a single other subclass B23P23/00 and subgroups)}
- G06F: ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING (computer systems based on specific computational models G06N)
- G06Q: INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- H03G: CONTROL OF AMPLIFICATION
- 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)
- G05B: CONTROL OR REGULATING SYSTEMS IN GENERAL; FUNCTIONAL ELEMENTS OF SUCH SYSTEMS; MONITORING OR TESTING ARRANGEMENTS FOR SUCH SYSTEMS OR ELEMENTS (systems for controlling or regulating non-electric variables G05D; systems for regulating electric or magnetic variables G05F; control devices or systems insofar as characterised by mechanical features only G05G)

## Abstract

A personalized sound management system for an acoustic space includes at least one transducer, a data communication system, one or more processors operatively coupled to the data communication system and the at least one transducer, and a medium coupled to the one or more processors. The processors access a database of sonic signatures and display a plurality of personalized sound management applications that perform at least one or more tasks among identifying a sonic signature, calculating a sound pressure level, storing metadata related to a sonic signature, monitoring sound pressure level dosage levels, switching to an ear canal microphone in a noisy environment, recording a user's voice, storing the user's voice in a memory of an earpiece device, or storing the user's voice in a memory of a server system, or converting received text received in texts or emails to voice using text to speech conversion. Other embodiments are disclosed.

## Claims

### Claim 1

An earpiece comprising:
a sealing unit;
a first microphone generating a first signal, wherein the first microphone is configured to measure a first acoustic environment;
a second microphone generating a second signal, wherein the second microphone is configured to measure a second acoustic environment, wherein the second acoustic environment is closer to a user's ear canal than the first acoustic environment;
a speaker;
a memory that stores instructions;
a circular buffer, where the circular buffer is configured to store a portion of at least one of the first signal, the second signal or a combination thereof, generating data stored in the circular buffer; and
a microprocessor, wherein the microprocessor is operatively connected to the first microphone, the second microphone, the speaker, the circular buffer, and the memory,
wherein the microprocessor is configured to execute the instructions to perform operations comprising:
sending an audio content signal to the speaker;
analyzing the data to detect an event; and
reducing a volume of the audio content signal, for a predetermined time period, when the event is detected, wherein during the predetermined time period the microprocessor is analyzing a second data to detect a second event.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The earpiece according to claim 1, wherein the event is a user's voice.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The earpiece according to claim 1, wherein the event is a voice.

### Claim 4 (depends on 2)

The earpiece according to claim 2, wherein the sound level of the audio content is reduced for a predetermined time period after the detection of a user's voice.

### Claim 5 (depends on 4)

The earpiece according to claim 4, where the predetermined time period is selected by the user.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The earpiece according to claim 1, where the event is an emergency event.

### Claim 7 (depends on 6)

The earpiece according to claim 6, where the emergency event is at least one of a siren, an emergency sound, or an alarm or a combination of these.

### Claim 8

The earpiece according to 1, wherein detecting an event compares the data to a sonic signature stored in the memory.

### Claim 9 (depends on 8)

The earpiece according to claim 8, wherein the event is detected when the comparison indicates that the data is within a threshold value of the sonic signature.

### Claim 10 (depends on 1)

The earpiece according to claim 1, where the first microphone is an ambient sound microphone.

### Claim 11 (depends on 10)

The earpiece according to claim 10, where the second microphone is a second ambient sound microphone.

### Claim 12 (depends on 10)

The earpiece according to claim 10, where the second microphone is an ear canal microphone.

### Claim 13 (depends on 5)

The earpiece according to claim 5, where the predetermined time period is the time after which no further user voice is detected.

### Claim 14 (depends on 13)

The earpiece according to claim 13, wherein the first microphone is an ambient sound microphone.

### Claim 15 (depends on 14)

The earpiece according to claim 14, where the second microphone is a second ambient sound microphone.

### Claim 16 (depends on 14)

The earpiece according to claim 14, where the second microphone is an ear canal microphone.

### Claim 17 (depends on 13)

The earpiece according to claim 13, where the user selects the predetermined time period using a user control interface on a communication device.