Ambient sound responsive media player
AssigneeGoogle Inc.
InventorLouis B. Rosenberg
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Some embodiments of the present invention provide a method of adjusting an output of a media player comprising capturing an ambient audio signal; processing the ambient audio signal to determine whether one or more characteristic forms are present within the ambient audio signal; and reducing an output of a media player from a first volume to a second volume if the one or more characteristic forms are present within the ambient audio signal. The characteristic forms may be, for example, a name or personal identifier of a user of the media player, the voice of a user of the media player, or an alarm or siren.
Claims19
A method comprising:
- capturing an ambient audio signal;
- processing the ambient audio signal to determine whether one or more characteristic forms are present within the ambient audio signal;
- automatically reducing an output of a media player from a first volume to a second volume gradually over a period of time if the one or more characteristic forms are present within the ambient audio signal;
- and
- maintaining the output of the media player at the second volume for a predetermined time before returning the output from the media player to the first volume, wherein the length of the predetermined time is based on the one or more characteristic forms, and wherein a first characteristic form is associated with a first length of predetermined time and a second characteristic form is associated with a second length of predetermined time different from the first length of predetermined time.
A method of adjusting an output of a media player comprising:
- capturing an ambient audio signal;
- processing the ambient audio signal to determine whether one or more characteristic forms are present within the ambient audio signal;
- mixing at least a portion of the ambient audio signal with a first output of a media player to generate a second output of the media player, if the one or more characteristic forms are present within the ambient audio signal, wherein the mixing to generate a second output is conducted in a manner that is performed gradually over time;
- and
- maintaining the output of the media player at the second volume for a predetermined time before returning the output from the media player to the first volume, wherein the length of the predetermined time is based on the one or more characteristic forms, and wherein a first characteristic form is associated with a first length of predetermined time and a second characteristic form is associated with a second length of predetermined time different from the first length of predetermined time.
An apparatus for use in a media player comprising:
- a microphone;
- and
- one or more processors adapted to:
- process an ambient audio signal received by the microphone to determine whether one or more characteristic forms are present within the ambient audio signal,
- gradually adjust an output of a media player, if the one or more characteristic forms are present within the ambient audio signal, and
- maintaining the adjusted output of the media player for a predetermined time before returning the output from the media player to a pre-adjusted volume, wherein the length of the predetermined time is based on the one or more characteristic forms, and wherein a first characteristic form is associated with a first length of predetermined time and a second characteristic form is associated with a second length of predetermined time different from the first length of predetermined time.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.