Patent ID: 9431013
Filing Date: 2016-08-30
CPC Classification: G10L,H04R

Claim Text:
1. In a vehicle having a driver and a passenger and first and second microphones, both microphones being capable of detecting sounds from both the passenger and driver, a method for selectively detecting sounds from the driver and suppressing sounds from the passenger, the method comprising: selectively detecting at the first microphone, a first sample of a sound from the driver, the first sample of the sound from the driver comprising a first frequency component, the first sample of the sound from the driver being a sample of the first frequency component at a first phase angle; selectively detecting at the second microphone, which is spatially separated from the first microphone by a distance of at least twelve inches, a second sample of the sound from the driver, the second sample of the sound from the driver also comprising the first frequency component, said second sample being a sample of the first frequency component having a second and different phase angle; storing the first sample of the sound from the driver for a first predetermined length of time to provide a delayed first sample of the sound from the driver, the first predetermined length of time selected such that the phase angles of the delayed first sample of the sound from the driver and of the second sample of the sound from the driver are made to be substantially equal to each other; combining the delayed first sample and the second sample of the sound from the driver to provide a first constructive interference; selectively detecting at the first microphone, a first sample of a sound from the passenger, the first sample of the sound from the passenger comprising a second frequency component, the first sample of the sound from the passenger being a sample of the second frequency component at a third phase angle; selectively detecting at the second microphone, a second sample of the sound from the passenger, the second sample of the sound from the passenger comprising the second frequency component, the second sample being a sample of the second frequency component at a fourth phase angle; storing the first sample of the sound from the passenger for a second predetermined length of time to provide a delayed first sample of the sound from the passenger, the second predetermined length of time being selected such that the phase angle of the delayed first sample of the sound from the passenger and the fourth phase angle are substantially equal to each other; combining the delayed first sample and the second sample of the sound from the passenger to provide a second constructive interference, the second predetermined length of time being additionally selected to determine a direction from which sound from the passenger will be directionally detected by said first and second microphones; determining the location of the driver in the vehicle as corresponding to where a first directionally selective microphone beam is directed and whereat the amplitude of the constructive interference of the first and second sound samples from the driver is greatest; determining the location of the passenger in the vehicle as corresponding to the direction of a second directionally selective microphone beam directed at the passenger, whereat the amplitude of the constructive interference of the first and second sound samples from the passenger is greatest; and filtering sounds to be provided to a speech recognizer by selectively detecting the sounds of the driver and suppressing the sounds from the passenger, by subtracting the second constructive interference as per the determined location of the passenger, from the first constructive interference as per the determined location of the driver.