Abstract:
The disclosed system is designed to provide active noise cancellation to a user of an electronic device, such as a cellular device. For example, the system allows the user&#39;s voice to be transmitted via a cellular network, while at the same time canceling the user&#39;s voice externally. As a result, the system provides a user with a measure of privacy. The system may filter ambient noise before transmitting the user&#39;s voice. In addition, the system may store characteristics of a user&#39;s voice in order to better perform voice cancellation.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
       [0001]    Noise cancellation technologies have been developed to cancel sounds. There are two types of noise cancellation technologies, active and passive noise cancellation. Passive noise cancellation involves blocking out sound waves before they enter the ear. For example, machinery operators often use headphones to block out the sound of heavy machinery. Active noise cancellation involves using sound waves out of phase to cancel each other out. 
         [0002]    Cellular phone devices have become more common in every day use. Cellular phone users commonly use the devices in public places. Due to the nature of cellular phones, users often find it difficult to gauge how loudly they must speak into their devices. As a result, public spaces are often filled with the sounds of people speaking loudly into their cellular devices. This can be problematic for people in those public spaces. 
         [0003]    In addition, a cellular phone user may need to discuss private information in a public space. While users will speak in a lower voice, cellular technology often requires them to speak louder in order to be heard. The user would prefer to keep the information private, but necessity forces them to disclose the information publicly. 
         [0004]    Active noise cancellation has mostly been confined to headphones that remove external sounds. While using active noise cancellation in headphones allows the headphone user to filter out external sounds, it does little for those without headphones. Active noise cancellation headphones also do not provide the speaker any additional privacy. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0005]    The disclosed system is designed to provide active noise cancellation to a user of an electronic device, such as a cellular device. For example, the system allows the user&#39;s voice to be transmitted via a cellular network, while at the same time canceling the user&#39;s voice externally. As a result, the system provides a user with a measure of privacy. 
         [0006]    The system may filter ambient noise before transmitting the user&#39;s voice. In addition, the system may store characteristics of a user&#39;s voice in order to better perform voice cancellation. 
         [0007]    Additional features and advantages are described herein, and will be apparent from, the following Detailed Description and the figures. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES 
         [0008]      FIG. 1  is a block diagram showing an example user sound wave interacting with an example voice canceling apparatus. 
           [0009]      FIG. 2  is another block diagram showing an example user sound wave interacting with an example voice canceling apparatus. 
           [0010]      FIG. 3  is a block diagram showing an example of a voice canceling apparatus from a front view. 
           [0011]      FIG. 4  is a block diagram showing an example of a voice canceling apparatus from a back view. 
           [0012]      FIG. 5  is a block diagram of an example voice canceling device. 
           [0013]      FIG. 6  is a flowchart of an example process to cancel a voice sound. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0014]    A high level block diagram depicting an example voice sound interacting with an example voice canceling apparatus is shown in  FIG. 1 . In this example, a user  112  creates a user sound wave  114 . For example, the user  112  could speak, or create a sound using a sound creating device such as a radio. The user  112  could be a single person or more than one person. The user sound wave  114  reaches the voice canceling apparatus  102  at a microphone  110 . The voice canceling apparatus  102  can be any suitable electronic device, such as a cellular phone, personal digital assistant (PDA), microphone device, etc. 
         [0015]    In this example, there is one microphone  110 . In another example, there are multiple microphones in order to determine an angle associated with a path of travel of the user sound wave  114 . For example, by using more than one microphone  110 , the voice canceling apparatus  102  can better calculate the angle at which the user sound wave  114  enters the voice canceling apparatus  102 . This would enable the apparatus  102  to emit an inverse sound wave  118  more closely out of phase with a room user sound wave  120 . 
         [0016]    In this example, the microphone  110  receives an ambient noise sound wave  116  in addition to the user sound wave  114 . The ambient noise sound wave  116  may be generated by other speakers in the area of the user  112 , sound of devices in the area of the user  112 , and/or by other sources generating sounds that the user  112  does not wish to transmit to a transmission tower  122 . In another example, the ambient noise sound wave  116  includes the inverse sound wave  118  emitted by the speaker  106 . The microphone  110  may receive the inverse sound wave  118 , and the user  112  may not want the inverse sound wave  118  to be transmitted to the transmission tower  122 . 
         [0017]    In this example, microphone  110  sends data  124  indicative of the user sound wave  114 , and data  126  indicative of the ambient noise sound wave  116  to the processor  104 . For example, the microphone  110  or a circuit connected to the microphone  110  may contain circuitry to digitize a sound wave into a digital representation. 
         [0018]    In this example, the processor  104  is configured to determine and transmit data  128  indicative of the inverse sound wave to the speaker  106 . The processor  104  determines the data  128  indicative of the inverse sound wave  118  so that the voice canceling apparatus  102  can cancel the room user sound wave  120 . Through deconstructive interference, an inverse sound wave  118 , or a sound wave out of phase with another, will cancel the original sound wave, producing little or no sound at all. 
         [0019]    The processor  104  also filters the data  126  indicative of the ambient noise  116 . For example, by performing an analysis, the processor  104  can determine the data  126  indicative of the ambient noise and remove it from the overall data  130 . In another example, the processor  104  is configured to store data  128  indicative of the inverse sound wave  118  and remove the data  128  from the overall data  130  before sending the data  130  to the transmitter  108 . 
         [0020]    The processor  104  also transmits data  130  indicative of the user sound wave to the transmitter  108 . In the example the transmitter  108  transmits data  132  indicative of the user sound wave to a transmission tower  122 . In the present example, the transmission tower  122  transmits the data  132  indicative of the user sound wave  114  via a cellular network. 
         [0021]    The speaker  106  receives data  128  indicative of the inverse sound wave  118  from the processor  104 . In the example, the speaker  106  emits an inverse sound wave  118  into a room to cancel the room user sound wave  120 . The room user sound wave  120  is representative of the user sound wave  114  in the area of the user  112  and is not also emitted by the speaker  106 . 
         [0022]    In the current example, there is only one speaker  106 . However, in other examples, multiple speakers are used to emit the inverse sound wave  118  at angles determined to best emit the inverse sound wave  118  entirely out of phase with the room user sound wave  120 . Additionally, in another example, the speaker  106  receives data  128  indicative of the inverse sound wave and other sound waves. The speaker  106  in the example would emit all of the sound waves. The other sound waves could be sounds that the user wishes to be emitted in order to afford greater privacy. For example, the other sound waves may be static, white noise, etc. 
         [0023]    A block diagram depicting aside view of an example voice canceling apparatus  102  is show in  FIG. 2 . Additionally, in other examples not all of the elements such as the microphone  110  or the speaker  106  etc, are in a single device. 
         [0024]    A block diagram depicting a front view of a voice canceling apparatus  102  is shown in  FIG. 3 . In one example, the voice canceling apparatus  102  includes an input  202 . The input  202  could be a microphone  110  or another input device. In another example, the voice canceling apparatus  102  includes a plurality of microphones to better determine a direction that the sound wave is entering the voice canceling apparatus  102 . In that example, the voice canceling apparatus  102  may use the direction that a sound wave is entering the voice canceling apparatus  102  to determine an angle at which an inverse sound wave  118  should be emitted. In one example, the voice canceling apparatus  102  includes features associated with a typical cellular phone device or PDA, such as a keypad  204 , display  206 , antennae  208 , etc. It should be noted that the included features may not appear in all examples, for instance the antenna  208  may be internal to the device  102  or not present at all. 
         [0025]    In another example, the input  202  is separate from the body of the voice canceling apparatus  102 . For example, the input  202  can be connected to the voice canceling apparatus  102  via a cable or via a wireless connection such as Bluetooth technology or similar technology etc. 
         [0026]    A block diagram depicting an example of the back view of a voice canceling apparatus  102  is shown in  FIG. 4 . In one example, the voice canceling apparatus  102  includes an output  402 . The output  402  may be a speaker, or another sound emitting element. In another example, the voice canceling apparatus  102 , includes a plurality of outputs. In another example, the output is a speaker that is adapted to emit sounds at specific angles designed to ensure that an inverse sound wave is out of phase with a room user sound wave  120 . It should be understood that the speaker  402  can be located in any location on the voice canceling apparatus  102 , or the speaker  402  may be located separately from the voice canceling apparatus  102 . 
         [0027]    A block diagram of an example voice canceling apparatus  102  is shown in  FIG. 5 . In one example, the voice canceling apparatus  102  includes one or more processors  104  electrically coupled with a bus  406  to a transmitter  108 , input circuit  404 , output circuit  402 , and memory  410 . In the example, the memory  410  contains modules that facilitate performing transformations on the sound wave  412 , and storing characteristics of the sound wave  414 . The voice canceling apparatus  402  stores characteristics of the user sound wave  114  in order to facilitate determination of the inverse sound wave  118 , and removal of the inverse sound wave  118  before transmission. 
         [0028]    The input circuit  404  is connected to the microphone  110 , and performs conversion of the user sound wave  114  into data  124 . The input circuit  404  may control the manner in which the audio user sound wave  114  is digitized into data  124  and data  126 . The output circuit  402  is connected to the speaker  106 , and performs translation of the data  128  indicative of the inverse sound wave to an audio inverse sound wave  118 . 
         [0029]    In another example, the voice canceling apparatus  402  stores characteristics of the user sound wave  114  in order to perform additional functions such as voice dialing, phone security, etc. In the example, the module  412  contains sub-modules that remove ambient sound from the user sound wave  114 , and aids the processor  104  in determining the data  128  indicative of the inverse sound wave  118 . In one example, ambient sound can include the emitted sound wave indicative of the inverse of the user sound wave  114 . In one embodiment the processor  104  receives data from the input circuit  404 , and sends data to the output circuit  402  as well as the transmitter  108 . 
         [0030]    A flowchart of an example process  600  to cancel a user sound wave  114  is depicted in  FIG. 6 . Although the process  600  is described with reference to the flowchart illustrated in  FIG. 6 , it will be appreciated that many other methods of performing the acts associated with process  600  may be used. For example, the order of many of the steps may be changed, and some of the steps described may be optional. 
         [0031]    In this example, the process  600  determines first data indicative of a first user sound wave  114  (block  602 ). For example, a user  112  could speak into the apparatus&#39;  102  microphone  110  which transmits a signal to the input circuit  404 , which digitizes the sound wave and transmits that data  124  and  126  to the processor  104 . The input circuit  404  then sends the signal, via an internal bus  406  to the processor  408 . Alternatively, the apparatus  102  could receive the digital data  124  and  126  from another external source. 
         [0032]    The process calculates second data indicative of the inverse of the sound wave  114  (block  604 ). For example, the processor  104 , using modules contained in the memory  410 , calculates the inverse of the first sound wave  114  to create an inverse sound wave  128 . In another example, the processor  104  performs transformations to the data to represent amplifying the sound wave or decreasing the amplitude of the sound wave. The processor  104  performs the transformations to better match the room user sound wave  120 . In yet another example, the processor  104  performs other calculations to the data  124  and  126  to represent angle of entry, or shifts in time of the sound wave  114 , to better match the room user sound wave  120 . 
         [0033]    The process performs a data transmission (block  606 ). For example, the first data indicative of a user sound wave is sent from the processor  104  to the transmitter  108  and then transmitted via a cellular network. In one example, the processor filters ambient noise  126  from the first data  124  indicative of the user sound wave  114  before transmission. The ambient noise  126  can include other sound waves such as sound waves emitted from the apparatus  102  itself, such as the inverse sound wave  118 . 
         [0034]    The process also determines a second sound wave indicative of the second data (block  608 ). For example, the processor  104  can send the second data  128  to the output circuit  402  which then converts the second data  128  indicative of the inverse sound wave  118  into an audio inverse sound wave  118 . 
         [0035]    The process emits the sound wave (step  610 ). For example, the processor  104  can send a signal  128  to the output circuit  402 , causing the output circuit to output the sound wave  118  via a speaker  106 . In one example, the output inverse sound wave  118  is emitted out of phase with the room user sound wave  120 . 
         [0036]    It should be understood that various changes and modifications to the presently preferred embodiments described herein will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Such changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present subject matter and without diminishing its intended advantages. It is therefore intended that such changes and modifications be covered by the appended claims.