Case 2:21-cv-00186-JRG-RSP Document 80-1 Filed 07/19/22 Page 1 of 13 PageID #: 2318
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`Exhibit A
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`Case 2:21-cv-00186-JRG-RSP Document 80-1 Filed 07/19/22 Page 2 of 13 PageID #: 2319
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`’058 Patent:
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`1. A system for detecting voiced and unvoiced speech in acoustic signals having varying levels of background noise, comprising:
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`at least two microphones that receive the acoustic signals;
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`at least one voicing sensor that receives physiological information associated with human voicing activity; and
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`at least one processor coupled among the microphones and the voicing sensor, wherein the at least one processor;
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`generates cross correlation data between the physiological information and an acoustic signal received at one of the two
`microphones;
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`identifies information of the acoustic signals as voiced speech when the cross correlation data corresponding to a portion of the
`acoustic signal received at the one receiver exceeds a correlation threshold;
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`generates difference parameters between the acoustic signals received at each of the two receivers, wherein the difference
`parameters are representative of the relative difference in signal gain between portions of the received acoustic signals;
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`identifies information of the acoustic signals as unvoiced speech when the difference parameters exceed a gain threshold; and
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`identifies information of the acoustic signals as noise when the difference parameters are less than the gain threshold.
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`2. A method for removing noise from acoustic signals, comprising:
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`receiving the acoustic signals at two receivers and receiving physiological information associated with human voicing activity at a
`voicing sensor;
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`generating cross correlation data between the physiological information and an acoustic signal received at one of the two
`receivers;
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`identifying information of the acoustic signals as voiced speech when the cross correlation data corresponding to a portion of the
`acoustic signal received at the one receiver exceeds a correlation threshold;
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`Case 2:21-cv-00186-JRG-RSP Document 80-1 Filed 07/19/22 Page 3 of 13 PageID #: 2320
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`generating difference parameters between the acoustic signals received at each of the two receivers, wherein the difference
`parameters are representative of the relative difference in signal gain between portions of the received acoustic signals;
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`identifying information of the acoustic signals as unvoiced speech when the difference parameters exceed a gain threshold; and
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`identifying information of the acoustic signals as noise when the difference parameters are less than the gain threshold.
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`3. The method of claim 2, further comprising generating the gain threshold using standard deviations corresponding to the
`generation of the difference parameters.
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`4. The method of claim 2, further comprising performing denoising on the identified noise.
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`Case 2:21-cv-00186-JRG-RSP Document 80-1 Filed 07/19/22 Page 4 of 13 PageID #: 2321
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`’091 Patent
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`1. A method for removing noise from acoustic signals, comprising:
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`receiving at least two acoustic signals using at least two acoustic microphones positioned in a plurality of locations;
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`receiving a voice activity signal that includes information on vibration of human tissue associated with human voicing activity of a
`user;
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`generating a voice activity detection (VAD) signal using the voice activity signal;
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`generating at least two transfer functions representative of a ratio of energy of the acoustic signal received using at least two
`different acoustic microphones of the at least two acoustic microphones when the VAD indicates that user voicing activity is
`absent, wherein the at least two transfer functions comprise a first transfer function and a second transfer function; and
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`removing acoustic noise from at least one of the acoustic signals by applying the first transfer function and at least one
`combination of the first transfer function and the second transfer function to the acoustic signals and generating denoised acoustic
`signals
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`2. The method of claim 1, wherein removing noise further comprises:
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`generating one transfer function of the at least two transfer functions to be representative of a ratio of energy of the acoustic signal
`received when the VAD indicates that user voice activity is present; and
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`removing noise from the acoustic signals using at least one combination of the at least two transfer functions to generate the
`denoised acoustic signals.
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`3. The method of claim 1, wherein the acoustic signals include at least one reflection of at least one associated noise source signal
`and at least one reflection of at least one acoustic source signal.
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`4. The method of claim 1, wherein generating the at least two transfer functions comprises recalculating the at least two transfer
`functions during at least one prespecified interval.
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`Case 2:21-cv-00186-JRG-RSP Document 80-1 Filed 07/19/22 Page 5 of 13 PageID #: 2322
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`5. The method of claim 1, wherein generating the at least two transfer functions comprises use of at least one technique selected
`from a group consisting of adaptive techniques and recursive techniques.
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`11. A system for removing acoustic noise from the acoustic signals, comprising:
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` a
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` receiver that receives at least two acoustic signals via at least two acoustic microphones positioned in a plurality of locations;
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`at least one sensor that receives human tissue vibration information associated with human voicing activity of a user;
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` a
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` processor coupled among the receiver and the at least one sensor that generates a plurality of transfer functions, wherein the
`plurality of transfer functions includes a first transfer function representative of a ratio of energy of acoustic signals received using
`at least two different acoustic microphones of the at least two acoustic microphones, wherein the first transfer function is
`generated in response to a determination that voicing activity is absent from the acoustic signals for a period of time, wherein the
`plurality of transfer functions includes a second transfer function representative of the acoustic signals, wherein the second
`transfer function is generated in response to a determination that voicing activity is present in the acoustic signals for the period of
`time, wherein acoustic noise is removed from the acoustic signals using the first transfer function and at least one combination of
`the first transfer function and the second transfer function to produce the denoised acoustic data stream.
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`12. The system of claim 11, wherein the sensor includes a mechanical sensor in contact with the skin.
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`13. The system of claim 11, wherein the sensor includes at least one of an accelerometer, a skin surface microphone in physical
`contact with skin of a user, a human tissue vibration detector, a radio frequency (RF) vibration detector, and a laser vibration
`detector.
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`15. The system of claim 11, further comprising:
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`dividing acoustic data of the acoustic signals into a plurality of subbands;
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`generating a transfer function representative of the ratio of acoustic energies received in each microphone in each subband;
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`removing acoustic noise from each of the plurality of subbands using a transfer function, wherein a plurality of denoised acoustic
`data streams are generated; and
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`Case 2:21-cv-00186-JRG-RSP Document 80-1 Filed 07/19/22 Page 6 of 13 PageID #: 2323
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`combining the plurality of denoised acoustic data streams to generate the denoised acoustic data stream.
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`16. The system of claim 11, wherein the receiver includes a plurality of independently located microphones.
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`Case 2:21-cv-00186-JRG-RSP Document 80-1 Filed 07/19/22 Page 7 of 13 PageID #: 2324
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`’543 Patent
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`1. A communications system, comprising:
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` a
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` voice detection subsystem configured to receive voice activity signals that includes information associated with human voicing
`activity, the voice detection subsystem configured to automatically generate control signals using the voice activity signals; and
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` a
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` denoising subsystem coupled to the voice detection subsystem, the denoising subsystem comprising a microphone array
`including a plurality of microphones, wherein a first microphone of the array is fixed at a first position relative to a mouth,
`wherein the first position orients a front of the first microphone towards the mouth, wherein a second microphone of the array is
`fixed at a second position relative to the mouth, wherein the second position orients a front of the second microphone away from
`the mouth such that the second position forms an angle relative to the first position, wherein the angle is greater than zero degrees,
`the microphone array providing acoustic signals of an environment to components of the denoising subsystem, components of the
`denoising subsystem automatically selecting at least one denoising method appropriate to data of at least one frequency subband
`of the acoustic signals using the control signals and processing the acoustic signals using the selected denoising method to
`generate denoised acoustic signals, wherein the denoising method includes generating a noise waveform estimate associated with
`noise of the acoustic signals and subtracting the noise waveform estimate from the acoustic signal when the acoustic signal
`includes speech and noise,
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`wherein the voice detection subsystem is configured to receive the voice activity signals using a sensor independent from the
`microphone array and to output the control signals generated from the voice activity signals to the denoising system, the
`denoising system configured to use the control signals to denoise the acoustic signals from the microphone array.
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`3. The system of claim 1, wherein the voice detection subsystem further comprises:
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`at least one accelerometer sensor in contact with skin for receiving the voice activity signals; and
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`at least one voice activity detector (VAD) algorithm for processing the accelerometer sensor voice activity signals and generating
`the control signals.
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`Case 2:21-cv-00186-JRG-RSP Document 80-1 Filed 07/19/22 Page 8 of 13 PageID #: 2325
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`6. The system of claim 1, further including a portable handset that includes the microphones, wherein the portable handset
`includes at least one of cellular telephones, satellite telephones, portable telephones, wireline telephones, Internet telephones,
`wireless transceivers, wireless communication radios, personal digital assistants (PDAs), and personal computers (PCs).
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`7. The system of claim 6, wherein the portable handset includes at least one of the voice detection subsystem and the denoising
`subsystem.
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`Case 2:21-cv-00186-JRG-RSP Document 80-1 Filed 07/19/22 Page 9 of 13 PageID #: 2326
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`’691 Patent
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`1. A microphone array comprising:
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` a
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` first virtual microphone comprising a first combination of a first microphone signal and a second microphone signal, the first
`virtual microphone having a first linear response to speech and a first linear response to noise, the first linear response to
`speech being substantially similar across a plurality of frequencies for a speech source located at an angle relative to an axis of the
`microphone array, wherein the first microphone signal is generated by a first physical microphone and the second microphone
`signal is generated by a second physical microphone; and
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` a
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` second virtual microphone comprising a second combination of the first microphone signal and the second microphone signal,
`the second virtual microphone having a second linear response to speech and a second linear response to noise, the second
`linear response to noise being substantially similar to the first linear response to noise, and the second linear response to
`speech being substantially dissimilar to the first linear response to speech,
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`wherein at least one of the first linear response to noise and the second linear response to is being non-zero in a direction
`towards a source of noise.is activated by a user.
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`3. The microphone array of claim 1, wherein the first linear response to speech is devoid of a null, wherein the speech is human
`speech.
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`6. The microphone array of claim 4, wherein the second linear response to speech includes a primary lobe oriented in a direction
`away from the source of the speech.
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`7. The microphone array of claim 6, wherein the primary lobe is a region of the second linear response to speech having a
`measured response level that is greater than the measured response level of any other region of the second linear response to
`speech.
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`11. The microphone array of claim 10, wherein the first microphone signal is delayed.
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`12. The microphone array of claim 11, wherein the delay is raised to a power that is proportional to a time difference between
`arrival of the speech at the first virtual microphone and arrival of the speech at the second virtual microphone.
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`Case 2:21-cv-00186-JRG-RSP Document 80-1 Filed 07/19/22 Page 10 of 13 PageID #:
`2327
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`21. The microphone array of claim 1, wherein the first virtual microphone comprises the second microphone signal subtracted
`from a delayed version of the first microphone signal.
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`22. The microphone array of claim 21, wherein the second virtual microphone comprises a delayed version of the first microphone
`signal subtracted from the second microphone signal.
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`23. A microphone array comprising:
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` first virtual microphone formed from a first combination of a first microphone signal and a second microphone signal, wherein
`the first microphone signal is generated by a first omnidirectional microphone and the second microphone signal is generated by a
`second omnidirectional microphone; and
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` a
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` a
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` second virtual microphone formed from a second combination of the first microphone signal and the second microphone signal,
`wherein the second combination is different from the first combination;
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`wherein the first virtual microphone has a first linear response to speech that is substantially similar across a plurality of
`frequencies for a speech source within a predetermined angle relative to an axis of the microphone array and devoid of a null, and
`a first linear response to noise that is devoid of a null, wherein the second virtual microphone has a second linear response to
`speech that has a single null oriented in a direction toward a source of the speech and a second linear response to noise that is
`devoid of a null, wherein the second linear response to noise is substantially similar to the first linear response to noise and the
`second linear response to speech is substantially dissimilar to the first linear response to speech, wherein the speech is human
`speech.
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`Case 2:21-cv-00186-JRG-RSP Document 80-1 Filed 07/19/22 Page 11 of 13 PageID #:
`2328
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`’080 Patent
`1. A system, comprising:
`a microphone array including a first physical microphone outputting a first microphone signal and a second physical microphone
`outputting a second microphone signal;
`a processing component coupled to the microphone array and generating a virtual microphone array including a first virtual
`microphone and a second virtual microphone, the first virtual microphone including a first combination of the first microphone signal
`and the second microphone signal, the second virtual microphone including a second combination of the first microphone signal and
`the second microphone signal, wherein the second combination is different from the first combination, wherein the first virtual
`microphone and the second virtual microphone have substantially similar responses to noise and substantially dissimilar responses to
`speech; and
`an adaptive noise removal application coupled to the processing component and generating denoised output signals by
`forming a plurality of combinations of signals output from the first virtual microphone and the second virtual microphone, by
`filtering and summing the plurality of combinations of signals in the time domain, and by a varying linear transfer function
`between the plurality of combinations of signals, wherein the denoised output signals include less acoustic noise than acoustic
`signals received at the microphone array.
`4. The system of claim 1 and further comprising: a voice activity detector (VAD) coupled with the processing component and
`operative to generate voice activity signals.
`5. The system of claim 1 and further comprising: a communications channel coupled with the processing component and including
`one or more of a wireless channel, a wired channel, and a hybrid wireless/wired channel.
`6. The system of claim 5 and further comprising: a communication device wirelessly coupled with the wireless channel of the
`communications channel.
`14. A system, comprising:
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` first virtual microphone comprising a first combination of a first microphone signal and a second microphone signal, the first virtual
`microphone having a first linear response to speech and a first linear response to noise, the first linear response to speech being
`substantially similar across a plurality of frequencies for a speech source located within a predetermined angle relative to an axis of a
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`Case 2:21-cv-00186-JRG-RSP Document 80-1 Filed 07/19/22 Page 12 of 13 PageID #:
`2329
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`microphone array, wherein the first microphone signal is output from a first physical microphone and the second microphone signal is
`output from a second physical microphone;
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` a
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` second virtual microphone comprising a second combination of the first microphone signal and the second microphone signal, the
`second virtual microphone having a second linear response to speech and a second linear response to noise, the second linear
`response to noise being substantially similar to the first linear response to noise, one or both of the first linear response to noise and
`the second linear response to noise being non-zero in a direction toward a source of noise, and the second linear response to speech
`being substantially dissimilar to the first linear response to speech, wherein the second combination is different from the first
`combination, wherein the first virtual microphone and the second virtual microphone are distinct virtual directional microphones; and
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` a
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` processing component coupled to the first and second virtual microphones, the processing component including an adaptive
`noise removal application receiving acoustic signals from the first virtual microphone and the second virtual microphone,
`filtering and summing the acoustic signals in the time domain, applying a varying linear transfer function between the acoustic
`signals, and generating an output signal, wherein the output signal is a denoised acoustic signal.
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`16. The system of claim 14 and further comprising: a communications channel coupled with the processing component and including
`one or more of a wireless channel, a wired channel, and a hybrid wireless/wired channel.
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`18. The system of claim 14, wherein the acoustic signals from the first virtual microphone, the second virtual microphone or both are
`delayed.
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`19. The system of claim 18, wherein the delay is raised to a power that is proportional to a time difference between arrival of the
`speech at the first virtual microphone and arrival of the speech at the second virtual microphone.
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`Case 2:21-cv-00186-JRG-RSP Document 80-1 Filed 07/19/22 Page 13 of 13 PageID #:
`2330
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`’357 Patent
`1. A device, comprising:
`a first virtual microphone comprising a first combination of a first microphone signal and a second microphone signal, wherein the
`first microphone signal is generated by a first physical microphone and the second microphone signal is generated by a second
`physical microphone;
`a second virtual microphone comprising a second combination of the first microphone signal and the second microphone signal,
`wherein the second combination is different from the first combination, wherein the first virtual microphone and the second virtual
`microphone are distinct virtual directional microphones with substantially similar responses to noise and substantially dissimilar
`responses to speech; and
`a signal processor coupled with the first and second microphone signals and operative to combine the first and second
`microphone signals by filtering and summing in the time domain, to apply a varying linear transfer function between the first
`and second microphone signals, and to generate an output signal having noise content that is attenuated with respect to speech
`content.
`2. The device of claim 1, wherein the signal processor comprises one or more digital signal processors (DSPs).
`4. The device of claim 1, wherein the signal processor is operative to add a delay to the first microphone signals.
`5. The device of claim 4, wherein the signal processor is operative to raise the delay to a power that is proportional to a time difference
`between arrival of the speech at the first virtual microphone and arrival of the speech at the second virtual microphone.
`10. The device of claim 9, wherein a midpoint of the axis is a second distance from a speech source that generates the speech, wherein
`the speech source is located in a direction defined by an angle relative to the midpoint.
`13. The device of claim 1, wherein the first virtual microphone is formed by subtracting the second microphone signal from a delayed
`version of the first microphone signal.
`14. The device of claim 1, wherein the second virtual microphone is formed by subtracting the first microphone signal from a delayed
`version of the second microphone signal.
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