Patent ID: 7206418

Claim:
A mobile communication device comprising: a plurality of signal detectors mounted on the mobile communication device, the plurality of signal detectors being placed in close proximity to one another and forming a small array, each signal detector configured to provide a respective detected signal having a desired component plus an undesired component; a first beam forming unit operatively coupled to the plurality of signal detectors and configured to process the plurality of detected signals to generate a first signal having the desired component plus a portion of the undesired component; a second beam forming unit operatively coupled to the plurality of signal detectors and configured to process the plurality of detected signals to generate a second signal having mostly the undesired component; an activity detector configured to receive the first and second signals, to detect for speech activity based on the first and second signals, and to provide a control signal indicative of detected speech activity; a controller operatively coupled to the first and second forming units and the activity detector and configured to receive the control signal, to enable the first beam forming unit to adapt during periods of speech activity, and to enable the second beam forming unit to adapt during periods of non-speech activity; and a noise suppression unit operatively coupled to the first and second beam forming units and configured to receive and digitally process the first and second signals to obtain an output signal having substantially the desired component and a large portion of the undesired component removed.