Method and apperatus for communcation operator privacy
AssigneeMr. Andrew Resnick
InventorAndrew M. Resnick
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Disclosed is a device for use with communications equipment to provide privacy for the operator and reduce acoustic noise from the operator's voice in the area. The device uses active acoustic cancellation to silence the voice of the operator once past, and captured by the microphone. Embodiments include the all types of microphones for any type of telephone, transmitting radio, intercom or other communication devices where a operator speaks out loud to communicate with another location.
Claims22
An active acoustic silencing apparatus that works as or with the microphone of telephonic or transmitting communications equipment to maintain the privacy of the transmitting operator's speech and reduce noise in the area from an operator's speech comprising:
- a) a device having a microphone to receive operator originated acoustic signals composed of speech originating from an operator of said apparatus and producing a microphone signal, a signal processing circuit for amplifying and processing the microphone signal, creating electrical silencing signals, and amplifying said electrical silencing signals, and a loudspeaker or transducer for receiving the amplified electrical silencing signals from said signal processing circuit;
- b) said loudspeaker or transducer converting said electrical silencing signals to acoustic silencing signals;
- and
- c) said loudspeaker or transducer being positioned with respect to said microphone so as to result in substantial cancellation of said operator originated acoustic signals beyond a front face of said microphone.
The method of maintaining privacy of speech directed into a microphone comprising the steps of:
- a) positioning a microphone in front of a mouth of a speaker to receive speech originating from said mouth of said speaker, said microphone producing an electrical signal from said speech;
- b) placing a loudspeaker in front of the mouth of said speaker behind said microphone facing said speaker at a distance further away from said mouth than said microphone;
- c) amplifying and processing said electrical signal to create an electrical silencing signal;
- and
- d) sending said electrical silencing signal to said loudspeaker for generating from said electrical silencing signal an acoustic silencing signal to provide speech privacy for said speaker, said distance being such as to result in substantial cancellation of said operator originated acoustic signal beyond a front face of said microphone.
A communications set incorporating acoustic silencing for maintaining privacy of speech so that other persons in the vicinity will hear less of any conversation by a user of said set comprising:
- a) a microphone mounted in said set for producing an electrical signal from speech directed by said user at said microphone;
- b) processing circuitry in said set for amplifying and processing the electrical signal to create an electrical silencing signal;
- and
- c) a loudspeaker mounted in said set behind said microphone facing in the same direction as said microphone and further away from said user than said microphone, the distance between a front face of said microphone and a front face of said loudspeaker being sufficient to result in substantial cancellation of said speech beyond the front face of said microphone.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.