Patent ID: 8041055

Claim:
A method of automatically adjusting volume of an audio signal generated by an electronic device, the device comprising a speaker and a microphone, the method comprising: determining a plurality of transfer functions between the speaker and the microphone for a plurality of acoustic environments; storing, in a memory of the device, the plurality of transfer functions as a plurality of templates representing the respective acoustic environments, each of said stored templates having an associated volume policy: saving a current volume selling in a memory of the device; playing said audio signal at the current volume; estimating a current transfer function based on an echo path characteristic of the played audio signal at the current volume; comparing the current transfer function with the stored templates to find the stored template that is a closest match to the current transfer function; selecting the closest matched stored template; adjusting the volume of said audio signal in accordance with said associated volume policy of the closest matched stored template and playing said audio signal at an adjusted volume; and restoring the device to the current volume setting.