Patent ID: 7627470

Claim:
A speaking period detection device comprising: an electromyography (EMG) detection unit for detecting an EMG from a pair of electrodes provided on a portion of the case of a terminal used by a speaker for speaking, the portion being in contact with the speaker's skin while the speaker is speaking; a speaking period detection unit for detecting a speaking period a value obtained from a feature amount extracted from the EMG detected by the EMG detection unit with a predetermined threshold to detect a speech start timing and a speech end timing of the speaking period; and a counter for counting the result of the comparison of the value obtained from the feature amount with the predetermined threshold, wherein the speaking period detection unit determines the speaking period only when a count value of the counter exceeds a predetermined value, and wherein the feature amount is any one of a root mean square (RMS) value, an average relative variation (ARV) value, an integrated electro muscle graphy (iEMG), a frequency spectrum of an EMG, and the number of crossings with a threshold value.