US 6,675,027 B1
`(10) Patent No.:
`a2) United States Patent
`Huang
`(45) Date of Patent:
`Jan. 6, 2004
`
`
`US006675027B1
`
`6,052,567 A *
`4/2000 Ito et al. oe 455/90
`6,125,284 A *
`9/2000 Moore et al. eee 455/557
`6,137,883 A * 10/2000 Kaschkeetal. ........ 379/433.07
`
`6/2001 Kikinis ccc 429/8
`6,243,596 Bl *
`6,308,062 B1 * 10/2001 Chien etal. .....
`ve 455/420
`
`Inventor: %uedongHuang, Ue)os 121st St.,
`(76)
`............. 455/419
`6,339,706 BL *
`1/2002 Tillgren et al.
`
`codinville,WA(US) 2001/0039195 A1 * 11/2001 Nickum .......ceee 455/557
`J
`y
`*)
`Notice:
`Subject to any disclaimer, the term ofthis
`FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS
`patent is extended or adjusted under 35
`0 720 338 A2
`7/1996
`EP
`U.S.C. 154(b) by 0 days.
`0854 535 AD
`7/1908
`TP
`0 939 534 Al
`9/1999
`EP
`2000196723
`7/2000
`JP
`WO 93/01664
`1/1993
`WO
`WO 95/17746
`6/1995
`wo
`WO 99/04500
`1/1999
`WO
`WO 00/45248
`$/2000
`Gg
`cited by examiner
`Primary Examiner—Nay Maung
`Assistant Examiner—Jean A Gelin
`_
`(57)
`ABSTRACT
`A mobile computing device, adapted to be held in the palm
`of a user’s hand, includes an antenna for transmission of
`information from the mobile computing device. A first
`microphone, adapted to convert audible speech from the
`user into speech signals, is positioned at a distal end of the
`antenna. The antenna is rotatable, while the mobile com-
`puting device is held by the user, into a position which
`directs the first microphone toward the mouth of the user.
`
`(54) PERSONAL MOBILE COMPUTING DEVICE
`HAVING ANTENNA MICROPHONE FOR
`IMPROVED SPEECH RECOGNITION
`
`(21) Appl. No.: 09/447,192
`.
`Noy. 22, 1999
`Filed:
`(22)
`7
`Tint, C7 occ ccecssssssssssssssssssssssssvssesseeeeeeees H04Q 7/20
`(SL)
`(52) US. Che ceseecssssssssssssssssstsnssssssvesenen 455/575; 455/566
`(58) Field of Search 0.0.0... 455/90, 575, 419,
`455/420, 424, 425, 19, 20, 25, 74, 76, 79,
`82, 556, 557, 562, 563, 418; 379/433.03,
`420.03; 381/356, 358; 343/702, 720, 895
`
`(56)
`
`References Cited
`U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
`he ‘ : 1908 oyat eral serene 379/433.12
`5555449 A *
`9/1996 Kim seccesssseeee
`. 379/433.03
`5,828,768 A
`10/1998 Eatwell ct al. ccccseccsseoe. 381/333
`5,943,627 A *
`8/1990 Kimetal.
`.....
`379/426
`5,983,073 A * 11/1999 Ditzik .......
`.. 455/111
`6,028,556 A *
`2/2000 Shiraki......
`.. 343/702
`6,052,464 A
`4/2000 Harris et al. 0... 379/433
`
`
`
`ll Claims, 9 Drawing Sheets
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`86
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`U.S. Patent
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`Jan. 6, 2004
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`Sheet 1 of 9
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`APP(S)
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`Sheet 5 of 9
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`Sheet 6 of 9
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`U.S. Patent
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`Jan. 6, 2004
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`US 6,675,027 B1
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`1
`PERSONAL MOBILE COMPUTING DEVICE
`HAVING ANTENNA MICROPHONE FOR
`IMPROVED SPEECH RECOGNITION
`
`BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
`
`The present invention relates to personal mobile comput-
`ing devices commonly known as handheld portable com-
`putcrs. More particularly, the present invention relates to a
`system and method for enhancing speech recognition in
`mobile computing devices.
`Mobile devices are small electronic computing devices
`sometimes referred to as personal digital assistants (PDAs).
`Many of such mobile devices are handheld devices, or
`palm-size devices, which comfortably fit within the hand.
`One commercially available mobile device is sold under the
`trade name HandHeld PC (or H/PC) having software pro-
`vided by Microsoft Corporation of Redmond, Wash.
`Generally, the mobile device includes a processor, ran-
`dom access memory (RAM), and an input device such as a
`keyboard and a display, wherein the keyboard can be inte-
`grated with the display, such as a touch sensitive display. A
`communication interface is optionally provided and is com-
`monly used to communicate with a desktop computer. A
`replaceable or rechargeable battery powers the mobile
`device. Optionally, the mobile device can receive power
`from an external power source that overrides or recharges
`the built-in battery, such as a suitable AC or DC adapter, or
`a powered docking cradle.
`In one commonapplication, the mobile device is used in
`conjunction with the desktop computer. For example,
`the
`user of the mobile device mayalso have accessto, and use,
`a desktop computer at work or at home. The usertypically
`runs the same types of applications on both the desktop
`computer and on the mobile device. Thus, it is quite advan-
`tageous for the mobile device to be designed to be coupled
`to the desktop computer to exchange information with, and
`share information with, the mobile device.
`As the mobile computing device market continues to
`grow, new developments can be expected. For example,
`mobile devices can be integrated with cellular or digital
`wireless communication technology to provide a mobile
`computing device which also functions as a mobile tele-
`phone. Thus, cellular or digital wireless communication
`technology can provide the communication link between the
`mobile device and the desktop (or other) computer. Further,
`speech recognition can be used to record data or to control
`functions of one or both of the mobile computing device and
`the desktop computer, with the user speaking into a micro-
`phone on the mobile device and with signals being trans-
`mitted to the desktop computer based upon the speech
`detected by the microphone.
`Several problems arise when attempting to perform
`speech recognition, at
`the desktop computer, of words
`spoken into a remote microphone such as a microphone
`positioned on a mobile device. First, the signal-to-noise ratio
`of the speech signals provided by the microphone drops as
`the distance between the microphone and the user’s mouth
`increases. With a typical mobile device being held in a user’s
`palm up to a foot from the user’s mouth,
`the resulting
`signal-to-noise ratio drop may be a significant speech rec-
`ognition obstacle. Also,
`internal noise within the mobile
`device lowers the signal-to-noise ratio of the speech signals
`due to the close proximity of the internal noise to the
`microphone which is typically positioned on a housing of
`the mobile device. Second, due to bandwidth limitations of
`
`2
`the
`digital and other wireless communication networks,
`speech signals received at the desktop computer will be of
`lower quality, as compared to speech signals from a desktop
`microphone. Thus, with different desktop and telephony
`bandwidths, speech recognition results will vary when using
`a mobile computing device microphoneinstead of a desktop
`microphone.
`
`SUMMARYOF THE INVENTION
`
`A mobile computing apparatus, adapted to be held in the
`palm of a user’s hand, includes an antenna for transmission
`of information from the mobile computing apparatus.A first
`microphone, adapted to convert audible speech from the
`user into speech signals, is positioned at a distal end of the
`antenna. The antenna is rotatable, while the mobile com-
`puting apparatus is held by the user, into a position which
`directs the first microphone toward the mouth of the user.
`In some embodiments of the invention, the antenna is
`rotatable to a position that, for a particular viewing angle and
`separation distance of the mobile apparatus relative to the
`user, minimizes the distance between the first microphone
`and the mouth of the user. Minimizing this distance
`increases the signal
`to noise ratio of the speech signals
`provided by the first microphone. The mobile computing
`apparatus can also include a second microphone,positioned
`on a housing of the apparatus or elsewhere, which together
`with the first microphone formsat least a portion of a three
`dimensional microphone array. The three dimensional
`microphone array also increases the signal to noise ratio.
`The mobile computing device can be a cellular or digital
`wireless telephone. The mobile computing device can also
`be adapted to implement speech recognition processing, of
`the speech signals.
`
`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
`
`FIG. 1 is a simplified block diagram illustrating one
`embodiment of a mobile device in accordance with the
`present invention.
`FIG. 2 is a more detailed block diagram of one embodi-
`ment of the mobile device shown in FIG. 1.
`
`FIG. 3 is a simplified pictorial illustration of one embodi-
`ment of the mobile device in accordance with the present
`invention.
`
`FIG. 4 is a simplified pictorial illustration of another
`embodiment of the mobile device in accordance with the
`
`present invention.
`FIGS. 5 and 6 are simplified pictorial illustrations of
`features of some embodiments of the mobile device of the
`
`present invention.
`FIGS. 7 and 8 are simplified pictorial illustrations of
`features of other embodiments of the mobile device of the
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`present invention in which the mobile device functions as a
`more conventional wireless telephone in one mode of opera-
`tion.
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`FIG. 9 is a simplified pictorial illustration of another
`embodiment of the mobile device in accordance with the
`
`present invention in which the mobile device can be used as
`a palm held personal computer and as a wireless telephone.
`
`DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIVE
`EMBODIMENTS
`
`FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an exemplary portable
`computing device, herein a mobile device 10 in accordance
`with the present invention. FIG. 1 illustrates that,
`in one
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`US 6,675,027 B1
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`embodiment, the mobile device 10 is suitable for connection
`with, and to receive information from, a desktop computer
`12, a wireless transport 14, or both. The wireless transport 14
`can be a paging network, cellular digital packet data
`(CDPD), FM-sideband, or other suitable wireless commu-
`nications. However, it should also be noted that the mobile
`device 10 may not be equipped to be connected to the
`desktop computer 12, and the present invention applies
`regardless of whether the mobile device 10 is provided with
`this capability. Mobile device 10 can be a personal digital
`assistant (PDA) or a hand held portable computer having
`cellular or digital wireless phone capabilities and adapted to
`perform both conventional PDA functions and to serve as a
`wireless telephone.
`In an exemplary embodiment, mobile device 10 includes
`a microphone 17, an analog-to-digital (A/D) converter 15
`and speech recognition programs 19. In response to verbal
`commands, instructions or information from a user of device
`10, microphone 17 provides speech signals which are digi-
`tized by A/D converter 15. Speech recognition programs 19
`perform feature extraction functions on the digitized speech
`signals to obtain intermediate speech recognition results.
`Using antenna 11, device 10 transmit
`the intermediate
`speech recognition results over wireless transport 14 to
`desktop computer 12 where additional speech recognition
`programs are used to complete the speech recognition pro-
`cess.
`
`intermediate
`In other embodiments of the invention,
`speech recognition results are not transmitted to desktop
`computer 12, but instead programs 19 complete the speech
`recognition functions in mobile device 10. In yet other
`embodiments of the invention, mobile device 10 does not
`include speech recognition programs, and instead transmits
`the speech signals from microphone 17 over wireless trans-
`port 14 to desktop computer 12 or elsewhere. For example,
`in embodiments in which mobile device 10 functions as a
`
`mobile telephone, mobile device 10 can transmit the speech
`signals to other telephones.
`In some embodiments, mobile device 10 includes one or
`more other application programs 16 and an object store 18.
`The application programs 16 can be, for example, a personal
`information manager (PIM) 16A that storcs objccts related
`to a user’s electronic mail (e-mail) and scheduling or cal-
`endaring information. The application programs 16 can also
`include a content viewer 16B that is used to view informa-
`tion obtained from a wide-area network, such asthe Internet.
`In one embodiment, the content viewer 16B is an “offline”
`viewer in that
`information is stored primarily before
`viewing, wherein the user does not interact with the source
`of information in real time. In other embodiments, mobile
`device 10 operates in a real time environment wherein the
`wireless transport 14 provides two-way communication.
`PIM 16A, content viewer 16B and object store 18 are not
`required in all embodiments of the invention.
`In embodiments including PIM 16A,content viewer 16B
`and object store 18, the wireless transport 14 can also be
`used to send information to the mobile device 10 for storage
`in the object store 18 andfor use bythe application programs
`16. The wireless transport 14 receives the information to be
`sent from an information source provider 13, which, for
`example, can be a source of news, weather, sports, traffic or
`local event information. Likewise, the information source
`provider 13 can receive e-mail and/or scheduling informa-
`tion from the desktop computer 12 to be transmitted to the
`mobile device 10 through the wireless transport 14. The
`information from the desktop computer 12 can be supplied
`to the information source provider 13 through any suitable
`
`4
`communication link, such as a direct modem connection. In
`another embodiment,
`the desktop computer 12 and the
`information source provider 13 can be connected together
`forming a local area network (LAN)or a wide area network
`(WAN). Such networking environments are commonplace in
`offices, enterprise-wide computer network Intranets and the
`Internet. If desired, the desktop computer 12 can also be
`directly connected to the wireless transport 14.
`It is also worth noting that, in one embodiment, the mobile
`device 10 can be coupled to the desktop computer 12 using
`any suitable, and commercially available, communication
`link and using a suitable communications protocol. For
`instance, in one embodiment, the mobile device 10 commu-
`nicates with the desktop computer 12 with a physical cable
`which communicates using a serial communications proto-
`col. Other communication mechanisms include infra-red
`
`(IR) communication and direct modem communication.
`It is also worth noting that the mobile device 10, in one
`embodiment, can be synchronized with the desktop com-
`puter 12. In that instance, properties of objects stored in
`object store 18 arc similar to propertics of other instances of
`the same objects stored in an object store on the desktop
`computer 12 or on the mobile device 14. Thus, for example,
`when one instance of an object stored in the object store on
`the desktop computer 12, the second instance of that object
`in the object store 18 of the mobile device 10 is updated the
`next time the mobile device 10 is connected to the desktop
`computer 12 so that both instances of the same object
`contain up-to-date data. This is commonly referred to as
`synchronization. In order to accomplish synchronization,
`synchronization components run on both the mobile device
`10 and the desktop computer 12. The synchronization com-
`ponents communicate with one another through well defined
`interfaces to manage communication and synchronization.
`FIG. 2 is a more detailed block diagram of the mobile
`device 10. As shown,
`the mobile device 10 includes a
`processor 20, memory 22, input/output (I/O) components
`24, a desktop computer communication interface 26, wire-
`less transceiver 27 and antenna 11. In one embodiment,
`these components of the mobile device 10 are coupled for
`communication with one another over a suitable bus 28.
`Although not shown in FIG. 2, mobile device 10 includes
`microphone 17 as illustrated in FIG. 1 and discussed below
`with reference to FIGS. 3-7.
`
`Memory 22 is implemented as non-volatile electronic
`memory such as random access memory (RAM) with a
`battery back-up module (not shown) such that information
`stored in memory 22 is not lost when the general power to
`the mobile device 10 is shut down. A portion of memory 22
`is allocated as addressable memory for program execution,
`while the remaining portion of memory 22 can be used for
`storage, such as to simulate storage on a disk drive.
`Memory 22 includes an operating system 30, the appli-
`cation programs 16 (such as PIM 16Aandspeech recogni-
`tion programs 19 discussed with respect to FIG. 1) and the
`object store 18. During operation, the operating system 30 is
`loadedinto, and executed by, the processor 20 from memory
`22. The operating system 30,
`in one embodiment,
`is a
`Windows CE brand operating system commercially avail-
`able from Microsoft Corporation. The operating system 30
`can be designed for mobile devices, and implements features
`which can be utilized by PIM 16A, content viewer 16B and
`speech recognition functions 19 through a set of exposed
`application programming interfaces and methods. The
`objects in object store 18 are maintained by PIM 16A,
`content viewer 16B and the operating system 30, at least
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`US 6,675,027 B1
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`6
`4, also includes microphone 17 positioned on antenna 11 and
`speaker 86 positioned on the housing of the device. As
`shown in FIG. 4, microphone 17 need not be positioned at
`the distal end of antenna 11 in all embodiments. Positioning
`microphone 17 at other positions on antenna 11 provides
`many of the same benefits as does positioning the micro-
`phoneat the distal cnd of the antenna.
`Mobile device 10 also includes touch sensitive display 34
`which can be used,
`in conjunction with the stylus 36, to
`accomplish certain user input functions. It should be noted
`that the display 34 for the mobile devices shown in FIGS. 3
`and 4 can be the same size, or of different sizes, but will
`typically be much smaller than a conventional display used
`with a desktop computer. For example,
`the displays 34
`shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 maybe defined by a matrix of only
`240x320 coordinates, or 160x160 coordinates, or any other
`suitable size.
`The mobile device 10 shown in ['IG. 4 also includes a
`
`numberof user input keys or buttons (such as scroll buttons
`38 and/or keyboard 32) which allow the user to enter data or
`to scroll through menu options or other display options
`which are displayed on display 34, without contacting the
`display 34. In addition, the mobile device 10 shown in FIG.
`4 also includes a power button 40 which can be used to turn
`on and off the general power to the mobile device 10.
`It should also be noted that in the embodimentillustrated
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`partially in response to calls to the exposed application
`programming interfaces and methods.
`The I/O components 24, in one embodiment, are provided
`to facilitate input and output operations from the user of the
`mobile device 10. The desktop computer communication
`interface 26 is optionally provided as anysuitable, and
`commercially available, communication interface. The
`interface 26 is used to communicate with the desktop
`computer 12 when wireless transceiver 27 is not used for
`that purpose.
`The wireless transceiver 27 transmits speech signals or
`intermediate speech recognition results over wireless trans-
`port 14 using antenna 11. Wireless transceiver 27 can also
`transmit other data over wireless transport 14.
`In some
`embodiments,
`transceiver 27 receives information from
`desktop computer 12, the information source provider13, or
`from other mobile or non-mobile devices or phones. The
`wireless transceiver 27 is coupled to the bus 28 for com-
`munication with the processor 20 and the object store 18 to
`store information received from the wireless transport 14.
`A powersupply 35 includesa battery 37 for powering the
`mobile device 10. Optionally,
`the mobile device 10 can
`receive power from an external power source 41 that over-
`rides or recharges the built-in battery 37. I‘or instance, the
`external power source 41 can include a suitable AC or DC
`adapter, or a power docking cradle for the mobile device 10.
`in FIG. 4, the mobile device 10 includes a hand writing area
`FIG. 3 is a simplified pictorial ilustration of one embodi-
`ment of the mobile device 10 which can be used in accor-
`42. Hand writing area 42 can be used in conjunction with the
`stylus 36 such that the user can write messages which are
`dance with the present invention. In this embodiment, in
`stored in memory 22 for later use by the mobile device 10.
`addition to antenna 11 and microphone 17, mobile device 10
`In one embodiment, the hand written messages are simply
`includes a miniaturized keyboard 32, a display 34, a stylus
`stored in hand written form and can be recalled by the user
`36, a second microphone 85 and a speaker 86. In the
`and displayed onthe display 34 such that the user can review
`embodiment shown in FIG. 3, the display 34 is a liquid
`the hand written messages entered into the mobile device 10.
`crystal display (LCD) which uses a contact sensitive display
`In another embodiment, the mobile device 10 is provided
`screen in conjunction with the stylus 36. The stylus 36 is
`with a character recognition module such that the user can
`used to press or contact the display 34 at designated coor-
`enter alpha-numeric information into the mobile device 10
`dinates to accomplish certain user input functions. The
`by writing that alpha-numeric information on the area 42
`miniaturized keyboard 32 is implemented as a miniaturized
`with the stylus 36. In that instance, the character recognition
`alpha-numeric keyboard, with any suitable and desired func-
`module in the mobile device 10 recognizes the alphanumeric
`tion keys which are also provided for accomplishing certain
`user input functions.
`characters and converts the characters into computer recog-
`nizable alpha-numeric characters which can be used by the
`Microphone 17 is positioned onadistal end of antenna 11.
`application programs 16 in the mobile device 10.
`Antenna11 is in turn adapted to rotate toward the mouth of
`the user, thereby reducing the distance between the mouth of
`FIGS. 5 and 6 are simplified pictorial illustrations of an
`the user and microphone 17 while mobile device 10 is held
`aspect of some embodiments of the present invention. As
`shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, mobile device 10 includes micro-
`in the palm of the user’s hand. As noted above, reducingthis
`distance helps to increase the signal-to-noise ratio of the
`phone 17 mounted on antenna 11. As illustrated, mobile
`speech signals provided by the microphone. [urther, place-
`device 10 also optionally includes second microphone 85
`ment of microphone 17 at the tip of antenna 11 movesthe
`and speaker 86. With mobile device 10 held in front of user
`microphone from the housing of mobile device 10. This
`90, antenna 11 can be rotated about pivot 88 such that
`reducesthe effects of internal device noise on the signal-to-
`microphone 17is positioned closer to the mouth of the user.
`noise ratio.
`In some embodiments of the invention, antenna 11 can be
`rotated such that, for an optimum viewing angle and sepa-
`ration distance of device 10 relative to uscr 90, antenna 11
`forms an angle @ relative to a surface of device 10 which
`results in the distance between the mouth of user 90 and
`
`In some embodiments, mobile device 10 also includes
`second microphone 85, which can be positioned on the
`housing of mobile device 10. Providing a second micro-
`phone 85 which is distanced from first microphone 17
`enhances performance of the resulting microphone array
`when the two microphones are used together.
`In some
`embodiments, speaker 86 is included to allow mobile device
`10 to be used as a mobile telephone.
`FIG. 4 is another simplified pictorial illustration of the
`mobile device 10 in accordance with another embodiment of
`
`the present invention. The mobile device 10, as dlustrated in
`FIG. 4,
`includes some items which are similar to those
`described with respect to FIG. 3, and are similarly num-
`bered. For instance, the mobile device 10, as shown in FIG.
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`microphone 17 being minimized. As discussed above, mini-
`mization of this distance, for a particular viewing angle and
`separation distance of mobile device 10 from the user,
`increases the signal-to-noise ratio of the speech signals
`provided by the microphone. This is beneficial in embodi-
`ments where mobile device 10 serves as a mobile telephone,
`and in embodiments where mobile device 10 performs
`speech recognition functions on the speech signals.
`FIGS. 7 and 8 are simplified pictorial illustrations of
`another aspect of some embodiments of the present inven-
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`US 6,675,027 B1
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`tion. As shownin FIGS. 7 and 8, mobile device or PDA 10
`can be configured to operate as a “tap and talk” device in one
`mode of operation, and to operate like a conventional
`cordless telephone in another mode of operation. As illus-
`trated in FIG. 7, mobile device 10 can include touch sensi-
`tive display 34 and stylus 36. Stylus 36 can be used to touch
`areas of display 34,
`for example to execute program
`instructions, to input data, and to dial a telephone number.
`Antenna 11 can be rotated, as described above, to reduce the
`distance between microphone 11 and the mouth of user 90
`when mobile device 10 is held in the user’s hand in the “tap
`and talk” mode of operation. In this mode of operation, user
`90 can view display 34 while talking.
`The embodiment of mobile device 10 illustrated in FIGS.
`7 and 8 differs from the embodiment shownin FIGS. 5 and
`
`6 in that speaker 86 is positioned at the opposite end of the
`device. ‘Thus, when mobile device 10 is to be used in a more
`conventional cordless telephone mode of operation in which
`display 34 is not viewable during use, device 10 can be
`turned upsidedown. This mode of operation is illustrated in
`FIG. 8. With device 10 positioned upside down, microphone
`17 can be positioned very close to the mouth of the user with
`little or no rotation of antenna 11. At the same time, speaker
`86 can be positioned against the ear of the user. Of course,
`in this configuration, antenna 11 faces downward instead of
`upward as in conventional wireless telephones.
`FIG. 9 is a simplified pictorial illustration of the mobile
`device 10 in accordance with another embodiment of the
`
`present invention. The mobile device 10 as illustrated in
`FIG. 9 is similar to the embodiment of the mobile device
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`and adapted to convert the audible speech fromthe user into
`speech signals, the first and second microphones forming at
`least portions of a three dimensional microphonearray.
`3. The mobile computing device of claim 1, and further
`comprising a wireless transceiver coupledto the first micro-
`phoneand to the antenna, the wireless transceiver transmit-
`ting voice signals through the antcnna in response to the
`speech signals provided by the first microphone.
`4. The mobile computing device of claim 3, and further
`including:
`an analog-to-digital converter coupled to the first micro-
`phone and digitizing the speech signals; and
`a microprocessor coupled to the analog-to-digital con-
`verter and to the wireless transceiver, the microproces-
`sor being adapted to perform speech recognition algo-
`rithms on the digitized speech signals to generate
`speech recognition data.
`5. The mobile computing device of claim 4, wherein the
`voice signals transmitted through the antenna by the wireless
`transceiver include the speech recognition data.
`6. The mobile computing device of claim 3, wherein the
`mobile device is a wireless telephone and further comprises
`a speaker adapted to convert speech signals received from
`another telephone into audible speech.
`7. A method of performing speech recognition,
`method comprising:
`providing a mobile computing device adapted to be held
`in a palm of a user’s hand;
`rotating, an antenna of the mobile computing device
`toward the user such that a first microphonepositioned
`at a distal end of the antenna is directed toward the
`
`the
`
`illustrated in FIG. 4. In addition to other common compo-
`nents with the mobile device illustrated in FIG. 4, in the
`embodimentillustrated in FIG. 9, mobile device 10 includes
`mouth of the uscr, wherein the step of rotating the
`microphone 17 positioned on antenna 11 and speaker 86
`antenna toward the user further comprises rotating the
`35
`positioned on the housing of the device. However, as shown
`antenna fromafirst position to a second position which
`in FIG. 9, antenna 11 and microphone 17 are positioned at
`minimizes a distance between the first microphone and
`the low end of the device. This reduces the distance between
`the mouth of the user for a particular separation dis-
`tance of the mobile device relative to the user;
`converting audible speech from the user into speech
`signals using the first microphone positioned at the
`distal end of the antenna;
`digitizing the speech signals; and
`performing speech recognition algorithmson the digitized
`speech signals using a microprocessor positioned
`within the mobile computing device to generate speech
`recognition data.
`8. The method of claim 7, wherein the step ofrotating the
`antenna toward the user further comprises rotating the
`antenna to the second position which minimizesthe distance
`between the first microphone and the mouth of the user for
`a particular combination of separation distance and viewing
`angle of the mobile device relative to the user.
`9. The method of claim 7, and further comprising:
`providing a second microphone which, together with the
`first microphone forms at
`least portions of a three
`dimensional microphone array; and
`converting the audible speech from the user into the
`speech signals using both of the first and second
`microphones.
`10. A mobile computing device adapted to be held in a
`palm of a user’s hand, the mobile computing device com-
`prising:
`first microphone means for converting audible speech
`from the user into speech signals; and
`microphone positioning means for orienting the first
`microphone toward the mouth of the user; and
`
`microphone 17 and the mouth of the user when device 10 is
`used as a palm held personal computer. With the antenna and
`microphonein this position, and with speaker 86 positioned
`al the top of the device, device 10 can be used as a wireless
`telephone by placing the device in a position with speaker 86
`adjacent the ear of the user and with microphone 17 adjacent
`the mouth of the user.
`
`Although the present invention has been described with
`reference to various embodiments, workers skilled in the art
`will recognize that changes may be made in form anddetail
`without departing from the spirit and scope ofthe invention.
`Whatis claimedis:
`
`1. Amobile computing device adapted to be held ina palm
`of a user’s hand, the mobile computing device comprising:
`a housing;
`an antenna rotatably coupled to the housing and adapted
`to be oriented toward the user while the mobile com-
`
`puting device is in the palm of the user’s hand;
`a first microphone positioned on a distal end of the
`antenna and adapted to convert audible speech from the
`user into speech signals; and
`a display connected to the housing, and wherein for a
`particular orientation of the mobile computing device
`in the palm of the user’s hand to achieve a particular
`viewing angle and separation distance of the display
`relative to the user, the antennais rotatable to a position
`which minimizes a distance between the first micro-
`phone and the mouth of the user.
`2. The mobile computing device of claim 1, and further
`comprising a second microphone connected to the housing
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`a display means for displaying information to the user,
`and wherein for a particular orientation of the mobile
`computing device in the palm of the user’s hand to
`achieve a particular viewing angle and separationdis-
`tance of the display means relative to the user the
`microphone positioning meansis rotatable to a position
`which minimizes a distance between the first micro-
`
`phone meansand the mouth of the user.
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`10
`11. The mobile computing device of claim 10, and further
`comprising second microphone meanspositioned apart trom
`the first microphone means for forming, together with the
`first microphone means, a three dimensional microphone
`array which converts the audible speech into the speech
`signals.
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