Disclosed are personal electronic devices (PEDs) having a sensory enhancement (SE) system for monitoring environmental conditions and detecting environmental events, for example but not limited to, changes in acoustic, thermal, optical, electromagnetic, chemical, dynamic, wireless, atmospheric, or biometric conditions. The detection of such events can be used to invoke a notification, an alert, a corrective action, or some other action, depending upon the implementation to the PED user or another party.

Sensory Enhancement Systems and Methods in Personal Electronic Devices

The mobile telephone is provided with the capability for automatically adjusting the gain of a microphone of the telephone based upon the detected noise level in which the cellular telephone is operated. As the noise level increases, the gain of the microphone is automatically decreased, thereby compensating for the natural tendency of telephone users to speak more loudly in noisy environments. Also, by decreasing the microphone gain, any clipping that might otherwise occur as a result of the user speaking more loudly is avoided and the signal-to-noise ratio is not thereby decreased. Furthermore, because the microphone gain decreases, the volume level of the voice of the user as it is output from the other party's telephone is not unduly loud. Hence, the other party need not manually decrease the speaker gain of his or her telephone. In the exemplary embodiment, the cellular telephone includes a digital signal processor configured or programmed to apply the detected noise level to look-up tables relating various noise levels to appropriate speaker and microphone gain levels. Also, in the exemplary embodiment, the mobile telephone includes a speaker and the gain of the speaker is adjusted to increase in response to an increase in the background noise level. A method of automatically adjusting the gain of speaker in a wireless communications device includes the steps of obtaining a digital value representing the available headroom, estimating the background noise level, and adjusting the volume based on the background noise estimate and the available headroom. Thus, for example, the need for manual volume control buttons on a cellular telephone is eliminated.

Method and apparatus for automatically adjusting speaker and microphone gains within a mobile telephone

A sound system for capturing and reproducing sounds produced by a plurality of sound sources. The system comprises a device for receiving sounds produced by the plurality of sound sources and converting the separately received sounds to a plurality of separate audio signals without mixing the audio signals. The system may further comprise a device for separately storing the plurality of separate audio signals on a recording medium without mixing the audio signals and a device for reading the stored audio signals from the recording medium. A sound system and method for modeling a sound field generated by a sound source and creating a sound event based on the modeled sound field is also disclosed. The system and method captures a sound field over an enclosing surface, models the sound field and enables reproduction of the modeled sound field.

System and method for integral transference of acoustical events

An acoustic characteristic correction device (10) includes a section (38, 140) for setting a desired characteristic of a response characteristic in a reproduction system including a sound field, a section (124, 126, 128, 130, 132) for outputting information of a measured characteristic of the response characteristic, a section (142) for computing a correction characteristic for realizing the desired characteristic on the basis of the desired characteristic and the measured characteristic, and a section (34) for imparting the computed correction characteristic to a sound signal to be reproduced. The device may further includes a display section for displaying the set desired characteristic, a section for controlling the level or frequency of the computed correction characteristic, a section for imparting a compensation characteristic to the correction characteristic. Results of measurement at plural points for plural measuring times may be stored and an average value of the results of measurement may be used as a measuring signal. In measuring a response characteristic by using a TSP signal, a convolution operator may be used commonly for time compression by an inverse filter characteristic and imparting of a correction characteristic.

Acoustic characteristic correction device

The present invention is directed to a pad and sound transmission system which is adapted to directly transmit audible sound waves into the body at high intensity levels. In one embodiment, the subject invention includes a back pad and a seat pad. Each pad includes a speaker module having an acoustic speaker disposed within the pad and surrounded by a plurality of different layers.

Sound and vibration transmission pad and system

Microphones sample the sound output from the speakers of a sound amplification system. The resulting time domain analog signals undergo a Fast Fourier Transform which yields frequency domain signals representative of the intensities of the frequency bands which compose the sound. The intensities or levels of each band are compared to stored permissible level limits for each frequency band. Attenuators respond to signals indicative of band levels being exceeded by respectively attenuating the frequency bands to which they are tuned so the speaker output does not contain frequencies which exceed permissible limits. The time weighted permissible averages for each frequency are also integrated to provide for production of signals representative of the cumulative sound dosage. When total dosage is trending toward exceeding permissible limits for the time during which the listeners are expected to be listening, the cumulative dose signals operate another attenuator to cause the volume emitted by the speaker to drop to a permissible level.

Audio dosage control system

Microphones (38,39) sample the sound output from the speakers (20-23) of sound amplification apparatus. The resulting time domain analog signals undergo a Fast Fourier Transform which yields frequency domain signals representative of the intensities of the frequency bands which compose the sound. The intensities or levels of each band are compared to stored permissible level limits for each frequency band. Attenuators (AF1-AF16) respond to signals indicative of band levels being exceeded by respectively attenuating the frequency bands to which they are tuned so the speaker output does not contain frequencies which exceed permissible limits. The time weighted permissible averages for each frequency are also integrated to provide for production of signals representative of the cumulative sound dosage. When total dosage is trending toward exceeding permissible limits for the time during which the listeners are expected to be listening, the cumulative dose signals operate another attenuator (115) to cause the volume emitted by the speaker to drop to a permissible level.

Kim A. Lovejoy

Papers

Audio dosage control system

Controlling sound dosage