Patent ID: 7319748

Claim:
A telephone echo reduction devices, having: an echo reduction unit ( 4 ), disposed between an input channel ( 1 ) for receiving an input audio signal (A 1 ) coming from a remote telephone, and an output channel ( 5 ) for outputting an output audio signal (A 2 ), and providing for the variable suppression of any echo signal contained in the output audio signal (A 2 ) according to an echo suppression factor (s) at a control input, a speech activity detection unit ( 7 ) for detecting any speech signal in the input audio signal (A 1 ), wherein, said echo suppression factor (s) is set maximum if a speech signal is detected, and, a control unit ( 6 ) connected to an input control of the echo reduction unit ( 4 ), and when the speech activity detection unit ( 7 ) indicates no speech signal is being detected, then providing for the echo suppression factor (s) to be gradually and smoothly exponentially decayed from maximum to minimum over a time profile; wherein, any reverberation echoes that would otherwise occur are reduced.