Device and method for controlling operation of an earpiece based on voice activity in the presence of audio content

A method for personalized voice operable control, the method comprising the steps of:

• capturing an ambient sound from at least one Ambient Sound Microphone (ASM) to produce an electronic ambient signal;
• capturing in an ear canal an internal sound from at least one Ear Canal Microphone (ECM) of an earpiece to produce an electronic internal signal, wherein the electronic internal signal includes an echo of an acoustic audio content and a sound signal;
• suppressing the echo of the acoustic audio content in the electronic internal signal to produce a modified electronic internal signal containing the sound signal;
• detecting a presence of a spoken voice signal generated by a wearer of the earpiece in the modified electronic internal signal based on an analysis of both the electronic ambient signal and the modified electronic internal signal, the analysis including comparing the modified electronic internal signal to the electronic ambient signal to determine whether the sound signal originates in the ear canal or external to the ear canal, the sound signal indicating the presence of the spoken voice signal when the sound signal originates in the ear canal;
• and
• generating a voice activity level of the spoken voice signal based on the electronic ambient signal and the modified electronic internal signal.

A method for detecting a spoken voice signal, the method comprising the steps of:

• capturing an ambient sound from at least one Ambient Sound Microphone (ASM) to produce an electronic ambient signal;
• delivering audio content to an ear canal by way of an Ear Canal Receiver (ECR) of an earpiece to produce an acoustic audio content;
• capturing in the ear canal an internal sound from at least one Ear Canal Microphone (ECM) to produce an electronic internal signal, wherein the electronic internal signal includes an echo of the acoustic audio content and a sound signal;
• suppressing the echo of the acoustic audio content in the electronic internal signal to produce a modified electronic internal signal containing the sound signal;
• and
• detecting a presence of a spoken voice signal generated by a wearer of the earpiece in the modified electronic internal signal based on an analysis of both the electronic ambient signal and the modified electronic internal signal, the analysis including comparing the modified electronic internal signal to the electronic ambient signal to determine whether the sound signal originates in the ear canal or external to the ear canal, the sound signal indicating the presence of the spoken voice signal when the sound signal originates in the ear canal.

An earpiece for personalized voice operable control, comprising:

• an Ambient Sound Microphone (ASM) configured to capture ambient sound and produce an electronic ambient signal;
• an Ear Canal Receiver (ECR) configured to deliver audio content to an ear canal to produce an acoustic audio content;
• an Ear Canal Microphone (ECM) configured to capture internal sound in the ear canal and produce an electronic internal signal, wherein the electronic internal signal includes an echo of the acoustic audio content and a sound signal;
• an echo canceller configured to suppress the echo of the acoustic audio content in the electronic internal signal to produce a modified electronic internal signal containing the sound signal;
• and
• a processor operatively coupled to the ASM, the ECM, the ECR and the echo canceller where the processor is configured to detect a presence of a spoken voice signal generated by a wearer of the earpiece in the modified electronic internal signal based on an analysis of both the electronic ambient signal and the modified electronic internal signal, the analysis, by the processor, including comparing the modified electronic internal signal to the electronic ambient signal to determine whether the sound signal originates in the ear canal or external to the ear canal, the sound signal indicating the presence of the spoken voice signal when the sound signal originates in the ear canal.

An earpiece for personalized voice operable control, comprising:

• an Ambient Sound Microphone (ASM) configured to capture ambient sound and produce an electronic ambient signal;
• an Ear Canal Microphone (ECM) configured to capture internal sound in an ear canal and produce an electronic internal signal;
• an Ear Canal Receiver (ECR) configured to deliver audio content to the ear canal to produce an acoustic audio content, the electronic internal signal including an echo of the acoustic audio content and a sound signal;
• an echo canceller configured to suppress the echo of the acoustic audio content in the electronic internal signal to produce a modified electronic internal signal containing the sound signal;
• and
• a processor operatively coupled to the ASM, the ECM, the ECR and the echo canceller where the processor is configured to adjust a level of the audio content responsive to detecting a presence of a spoken voice signal generated by a wearer of the earpiece based on an analysis of both the electronic ambient signal and the modified electronic internal signal, the analysis, by the processor, including comparing the modified electronic internal signal to the electronic ambient signal to determine whether the sound signal originates in the ear canal or external to the ear canal, the sound signal indicating the presence of the spoken voice signal when the sound signal originates in the ear canal.