Patent Document ID: 9047873
Application ID: 13724049

Base Claim:
1. A communication apparatus comprising: a microphone to receive sound when a user speaks and to convert the received sound into a voice signal; a voice activity detection processor to detect spoken words and informative sounds within the voice signal; a voice-to-text processor programmed to convert the spoken words and the informative sounds of the voice signal into a text message, wherein the text message includes text identifying the user as originator of the voice signal; a transmitter configured to transmit the voice signal, the text message, or both the voice signal and text message to other users; a receiver configured to receive one or more voice signals, text messages, or voice signals and text messages from one or more users via a communication network; a protective facemask; and a display device to display, adjacent or integral to the protective facemask, the one or more text messages from the one or more users.

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Claim 5:
5. The communication apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the voice activity detection processor comprises: an energy based detector to detect voice based on energies within the voice signal; a spectral flatness based detector to detect voice based on spectral flatness within the voice signal; a sub-band energy based detector to detect voice based on energies of sub-bands within the voice signal; a zero crossing rate and absolute value based detector to detect voice based on zero crossing rates and absolute values within the voice signal; and a controller to detect the spoken words and the informative sounds by the user based on voice detections by the energy based detector, the spectral flatness based detector, the sub-band energy based detector, and the zero crossing rate and absolute value based detector.