Patent ID: 8073150

Claim:
A method of operating a dynamically configurable ANR circuit to provide ANR in an earpiece of a personal ANR device, the method comprising: incorporating a first ADC of the ANR circuit, a first plurality of digital filters of a quantity specified by a first set of ANR settings, and a DAC of the ANR circuit into a first pathway; incorporating a second ADC of the ANR circuit, a second plurality of digital filters of a quantity specified by the first set of ANR settings, and the DAC into a second pathway; selecting a type of digital filter specified by the first set of ANR settings for each digital filter of the first and second pluralities of digital filters from among a plurality of types of digital filter supported by the ANR circuit; adopting a signal processing topology specified by the first set of ANR settings by configuring interconnections among at least the first and second ADCs, the first and second pluralities of digital filters and the DAC so that digital data representing sounds flows through the first pathway from the first ADC to the DAC through at least the first plurality of digital filters; digital data representing sounds flows through the second pathway from the second ADC to the DAC through at least the second plurality of digital filters; and the first and second pathways are combined at a first location along the first pathway and at a second location along the second pathway such that the digital data from both the first and second pathways are combined before flowing to the DAC; configuring each digital filter of the first and second pluralities of digital filters with filter coefficients specified by the first set of ANR settings; setting a data transfer rate at which digital data flows through at least a portion of at least one of the first and second pathways as specified by the first ANR settings; operating the first and second ADCs, the first and second pluralities of digital filters and the DAC to provide ANR in the earpiece; and changing an ANR setting specified by the first set of ANR settings to an ANR setting specified by a second set of ANR settings in synchronization with a transfer of digital data along at least a portion of at least one of the first and second pathways.