US 11,735,175 B2
Apparatus and method for power efficient signal conditioning for a voice recognition system
Plamen A. Ivanov, Schaumburg, IL (US); Kevin J. Bastyr, Milwaukee, WI (US); Joel A. Clark, Woodridge, IL (US); Mark A. Jasiuk, Chicago, IL (US); Tenkasi V. Ramabadran, Oswego, IL (US); and Jincheng Wu, Naperville, IL (US)
Assigned to Google LLC, Mountain View, CA (US)
Filed by Google Technology Holdings LLC, Mountain View, CA (US)
Filed on Jan. 7, 2021, as Appl. No. 17/143,472.
Application 17/143,472 is a continuation of application No. 15/977,397, filed on May 11, 2018, granted, now 10,909,977.
Application 15/977,397 is a continuation of application No. 13/955,186, filed on Jul. 31, 2013, abandoned.
Claims priority of provisional application 61/827,797, filed on May 28, 2013.
Claims priority of provisional application 61/798,097, filed on Mar. 15, 2013.
Claims priority of provisional application 61/776,793, filed on Mar. 12, 2013.
Prior Publication US 2021/0125607 A1, Apr. 29, 2021
Int. Cl. G10L 15/20 (2006.01); G10L 15/28 (2013.01); G10L 21/0364 (2013.01); G10L 21/02 (2013.01); G10L 25/78 (2013.01); G10L 21/0272 (2013.01); G10L 15/22 (2006.01); G10L 25/84 (2013.01); G10L 21/0216 (2013.01); G10L 25/21 (2013.01)
CPC G10L 15/20 (2013.01) [G10L 15/22 (2013.01); G10L 15/28 (2013.01); G10L 21/02 (2013.01); G10L 21/0272 (2013.01); G10L 21/0364 (2013.01); G10L 25/78 (2013.01); G10L 25/84 (2013.01); G10L 21/0216 (2013.01); G10L 25/21 (2013.01); G10L 2021/02161 (2013.01); G10L 2025/783 (2013.01)] 16 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A computer-implemented method when executed on data processing hardware of a computing device causes the data processing hardware to perform operations comprising:
receiving an audio signal detected by a first microphone in a group of microphones of the computing device while a second microphone in the group of microphones is powered off;
while the second microphone is powered off, determining an audio signal energy level of the audio signal detected by the first microphone has deviated from a baseline audio signal energy level by more than a threshold amount;
in response to determining that the audio signal energy level of the audio signal detected by the first microphone has deviated from the baseline audio signal energy level by more than the threshold amount:
triggering the second microphone to power on; and
triggering a voice activity detector to power on;
performing, using the voice activity detector that is powered on, voice activity detection on the audio signal to determine whether speech is detected in the audio signal detected by the first microphone;
buffering a voice signal based on audio signals detected by the first microphone and the second microphone; and
in response to determining that speech is detected in the audio signal detected by the first microphone:
estimating a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the buffered voice signal; and
performing, based on the estimated SNR of the buffered voice signal, noise suppression on the buffered voice signal to provide a noise suppressed voice signal.