U.S. patent application number 16/221400 was filed with the patent office on 2021-12-23 for privacy mode for a wireless audio device.
This patent application is currently assigned to Lutron Technology Company LLC. The applicant listed for this patent is Lutron Technology Company LLC. Invention is credited to Rhodes B. Baker, Jeffrey Karc, Galen E. Knode, Robert C. Newman, JR., John B. Nill.
Application Number | 20210400470 16/221400 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 1000006010460 |
Filed Date | 2021-12-23 |
United States Patent
Application |
20210400470 |
Kind Code |
A9 |
Baker; Rhodes B. ; et
al. |
December 23, 2021 |
Privacy Mode for a Wireless Audio Device
Abstract
Devices that record data from a space, such as audio or video
devices having microphones and/or cameras, may have a privacy mode
which allows a user to temporarily prevent the device from recoding
audio or video of the space. The privacy mode may be a privacy
cover, button, airgap, or other mechanism to obfuscate the acoustic
or video signal, or to remove power and/or communication from the
camera, microphone, control circuit, or to the entire device
itself. Additionally, the privacy mode may be remotely enabled for
multiple devices in a space.
Inventors: |
Baker; Rhodes B.;
(Allentown, PA) ; Karc; Jeffrey; (Danielsville,
PA) ; Knode; Galen E.; (Macungie, PA) ;
Newman, JR.; Robert C.; (Emmaus, PA) ; Nill; John
B.; (North Wales, PA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Lutron Technology Company LLC |
Coopersburg |
PA |
US |
|
|
Assignee: |
Lutron Technology Company
LLC
Coopersburg
PA
|
Prior
Publication: |
|
Document Identifier |
Publication Date |
|
US 20200196141 A1 |
June 18, 2020 |
|
|
Family ID: |
1000006010460 |
Appl. No.: |
16/221400 |
Filed: |
December 14, 2018 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
62598792 |
Dec 14, 2017 |
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04W 12/02 20130101;
H04R 1/08 20130101; G06F 3/0482 20130101; G06F 3/04817
20130101 |
International
Class: |
H04W 12/02 20060101
H04W012/02; G06F 3/0482 20060101 G06F003/0482; G06F 3/0481 20060101
G06F003/0481; H04R 1/08 20060101 H04R001/08 |
Claims
1. An apparatus comprising: a microphone configured to receive
sound and generate acoustic data from the received sound; a switch
having a first state and a second state for electrically connecting
and disconnecting, respectively, a portion of a circuit; a control
circuit electrically connected to the microphone for receiving the
acoustic data from the microphone, the control circuit further
configured to control power to the microphone via a pin connected
to the switch; and a light emitting diode (LED) connected to the
switch and the microphone and configured to provide visual feedback
indicating whether or not the second state is enabled; wherein, in
the second state, the control circuit is configured to pull the pin
to a logic high level to disconnect power to the microphone and
provide power to the LED; and wherein when the switch changes state
from the first state to the second state, the control circuit to
stop receiving acoustic data from the microphone.
2. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a communication
circuit operatively coupled to the control circuit and configured
to transmit data representative of the acoustic data.
3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the communication circuit
comprises a wireless communication circuit which is configured to
cease transmitting data representative of the acoustic data when
the switch is in the second state.
4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the switch comprises a first
transistor and a second transistor coupled in series electrical
connection between a power connection and a ground connection;
wherein a gate or base of each of the first and second transistors
is connected to the pin of the control circuit; further wherein the
control circuit is configured to disconnect power to the microphone
and provide power to the LED by turning on the second transistor
and turning off the first transistor when the switch is in the
second state.
5.-8. (canceled)
9. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the switch is configured to
change state in response to the communication circuit receiving a
wireless command.
10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the wireless command is
configured to be generated in response to an actuation of a button
remote to the apparatus.
11. An apparatus comprising: a microphone configured to receive
sound and generate acoustic data from the received sound; a control
circuit electrically connected to the microphone for receiving the
acoustic data from the microphone; a communication circuit
operatively coupled to the control circuit and configured to
transmit data representative of the acoustic data; and a reset
switch having a first state and a second state for electrically
connecting and disconnecting, respectively, at least one of power
to or communication with the microphone; wherein in response to
receiving a detection of occupancy, the control circuit is
configured to change the state of the reset switch from the first
state to the second state via a reset line of the reset switch to
disconnect the at least one of power to or communication with the
microphone; and in response to the change in state of the reset
switch to the second state, the control circuit is configured to
stop receiving acoustic data from the microphone.
12. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the trigger comprises a
wireless command generated in response to an action of a software
button on a GUI of a mobile device.
13. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the detection of occupancy
comprises a wireless command generated in response to a detection
of occupancy by a remote occupancy sensor.
14. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the apparatus further
comprises an occupancy sensor configured to provide the detection
of occupancy to the control circuit.
15. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the trigger comprises a
sound comprising a spoken keyword or a sound associated with a
specific activity.
16. An apparatus comprising: a microphone configured to receive
sound and generate acoustic data from the received sound; a control
circuit electrically connected to the microphone for receiving the
acoustic data from the microphone; a communication circuit
operatively coupled to the control circuit and configured to
transmit data representative of the acoustic data; and a reset
switch having a first state and a second state for electrically
connecting and disconnecting, respectively, at least one of power
to or communication with the microphone; wherein in response to
receiving a trigger comprising a wireless command, a detection of
occupancy, or a sound, the control circuit is configured to change
the state of the reset switch from the first state to the second
state via a reset line of the reset switch; and wherein in response
to the control circuit changing the state of the reset switch to
the second state, the control circuit is configured to stop
receiving acoustic data from the microphone; and wherein the reset
switch is configured to remain in the second state unless a manual
actuation of the reset switch by a user is received.
17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the control circuit is
configured to receive acoustic data from the microphone when the
reset switch is in the first state.
18. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the reset switch comprises a
coil connected to the reset line.
19. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein when the reset switch is in
the second state, a portion of the reset switch is exposed to
provide an indication of privacy mode to a user.
20. The apparatus of claim 19, where the indication of privacy mode
comprises at least one of an icon or a red color on the exposed
portion of the reset switch.
21.-35. (canceled)
36. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the control circuit is
configured to pull the pin to a logic low level to control the
switch to the first state, wherein in the first state, the switch
is configured to provide power from the power connection to the
microphone and to turn off the LED by turning on the first
transistor and turning off the second transistor; wherein the power
connection is configured to provide power to the power input of the
microphone through the first transistor.
38. The apparatus of claim 37, wherein the first transistor
comprises an NPN transistor and the second transistor comprises a
PNP transistor.
39. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the reset switch comprises a
coil connected to the reset line.
40. The apparatus of claim 17, further comprising: an LED indicator
configured to provide visual feedback indicating whether or not a
privacy mode is enabled, wherein the privacy mode is disabled or
enabled based on the mechanical airgap being in the first state or
the second state, respectively.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims priority to Provisional U.S. Patent
Application No. 62/598,792, filed Dec. 14, 2017, the entire
disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein.
BACKGROUND
[0002] Voice integration devices, for example, voice assistants
such as Amazon Echo or Google Home devices may allow a user to
vocally interact with a connected microphone/speaker device. Voice
integration devices may also be used to control other devices in a
home or business setting through the use of a keyword. For example,
a user can integrate a voice integration device (e.g., Amazon Echo)
with a smart home network to control the lights through a keyword
or wake word (e.g., "Alexa") followed by a user command (e.g.,
"turn on the living room light").
[0003] Voice integration devices may be connected via a network to
a remote server which may perform voice recognition on the acoustic
data of the user command in order to interpret the command, and may
thereafter process the user command. The voice integration device
may transmit acoustic data to the remote server upon receiving the
keyword. The network connection between the remote server and the
voice integration device may include an Internet router, and may be
a wireless or wired connection. For example, the network connection
may be a Wi-Fi or Ethernet connection to an Internet router. After
the remote server has interpreted the acoustic data, the remote
server may instruct a system controller device, such as a hub
device, which may then transmit device commands to other devices
based on the interpretation of the acoustic data. The voice
integration device may respond verbally to the user to provide
acknowledgement that the user command was received and/or respond
with information requested by the user in the user command.
[0004] While voice integration devices may provide convenience to a
user, a user may also desire the ability to put the device into a
privacy mode, i.e., to disable the device. Voice integration
devices may have a mute button for putting the device in a privacy
mode, the button muting the speaker. When the mute button is
activated, an LED indicator may turn on to indicate to the user
that the device is muted. However, the voice integration device may
continue "listening" to the audio traffic of the room while the
mute button is activated, and the device may even store acoustic
data locally. That is, the voice integration device may continue to
monitor acoustic data in the space and record the data in a
transmission buffer stored in memory of the device, even while the
device is in a mute or privacy mode, but not transmit the acoustic
data onto a network/to a cloud service for processing.
Additionally, the device may be susceptible to malicious software
updates from the Internet, for example, which may override the mute
button and allow the device to continue transmitting acoustic data
to the Internet when the device appears to the user to be in a mute
or privacy mode (i.e., when the LED indicator appears in a mute
mode). For example, the device may be actively listening while the
LED indicator is on. To provide confidence that the device is in an
inactive mode, a user may need to physically unplug or remove power
from the device or disconnect the device from the network. This may
be inconvenient and may also require the user to wait to use the
device when the device goes through a startup sequence after power
is applied. Another issue is that if a room has multiple voice
integration devices, a user may need to activate the mute button on
each device. Therefore, there is a need for a privacy mode for
audio devices which gives a user full confidence that the device is
no longer listening and that is not susceptible to malware attacks,
as well as a mechanism for simultaneously placing multiple devices
into privacy mode.
SUMMARY
[0005] Described herein is a privacy mode for a voice integration
or audio device that is tamper-proof, i.e., not able to be
compromised by malicious software. An audio device may be any
device that has a microphone and can transmit acoustic data. The
privacy mode may include mechanically muting or covering up the
microphone of the audio device, providing a physical disconnect, or
adding interference to obfuscate the audio signal. The physical
disconnect may be an airgap or multiple airgaps which mechanically
disconnect an electrical or opto-electronic connection, removing
power and/or communication to the audio device or to the microphone
of the audio device to fully disable the microphone(s) audio
processing capabilities. The interference may be an acoustic
interference or may be electrical noise added to the audio data of
the audio device. According to another embodiment of the invention,
the privacy mode may be a software enable or disable mechanism with
a hardwired indicator, such as a light-emitting diode (LED)
indicator, wherein the state of the LED indicator is tied to the
state of the microphone and not separately controllable by a
control circuit.
[0006] Additional embodiments as discussed herein include a
remote-activated privacy mode, or "Privacy Mode" as a scene, which
allows for multiple devices to enter privacy mode through the
activation of a singular control point. This remote-activated
privacy mode may be triggered automatically based on specific
triggers, including, but not limited to: occupancy, user
preference, or particular activity or voice commands of a user, as
will be described in more detail herein.
[0007] One skilled in the art will also understand that the
embodiments described herein are not mutually exclusive and may
readily be combined with each other.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0008] FIG. 1 is an example room with various wireless devices that
may be responsive to a privacy mode setting.
[0009] FIG. 2 is an example audio device with a privacy cover.
[0010] FIG. 3 is another example audio device with a privacy
cover.
[0011] FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an example audio device
according to FIGS. 2, 3.
[0012] FIG. 5 is an example audio device with a privacy button.
[0013] FIG. 6 is an example diagram of a true privacy indicator for
an audio device.
[0014] FIG. 7 is an example audio device with a mechanical
disconnect for privacy.
[0015] FIG. 8A is a block diagram of the example audio device of
FIG. 7 with mechanical disconnects for privacy.
[0016] FIG. 8B is a block diagram of an example audio device with a
second control circuit for introducing noise into the acoustic
signal.
[0017] FIG. 9 is an example audio device that has a remotely
resettable mechanical disconnect for privacy.
[0018] FIG. 10 is an example audio device that is also a load
control device.
[0019] FIG. 11 is a block diagram of the audio device of FIG. 10
that is also a load control device.
[0020] FIG. 12 is an example privacy mode selection on a mobile
device.
[0021] FIG. 13 is an example flowchart of a method for controlling
a circuit to enter or exit a privacy mode.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0022] This application is directed towards a high-confidence
tamper-proof privacy mode for audio devices. The privacy mode may
be tamper-proof in that the privacy mode is not able to be
compromised by malicious software, for example, by providing a
visual indication tied to the hardware that may allow a user to
confidently determine whether privacy mode has truly been
enabled.
[0023] FIG. 1 is an example user environment 100 containing various
devices. The user environment 100 may include a load control device
104. For example, the load control device 104 may be a wall-mounted
light switch or dimmer which is electrically connected to the
lights 110A, 110B for controlling the lights 110A, 110B. Examples
of wall-mounted dimmer switches are described in greater detail in
U.S. Pat. No. 5,248,919, issued Sep. 29, 1993, entitled LIGHTING
CONTROL DEVICE, and U.S. Pat. No. 9,679,696, issued Jun. 13, 2017,
entitled WIRELESS LOAD CONTROL DEVICE, the entire disclosures of
which are hereby incorporated by reference.
[0024] The user environment 100 may include a keypad 106. The
keypad 106 may include one or more buttons for controlling lights,
such as lights 110A, 110B, motorized window treatments, heating
ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, etc. For example,
the keypad 106 may have preset scenes associated with each of the
one or more buttons, wherein actuation of the preset scene button
may control the lights, window treatments, etc. to a predetermined
level. Further, for example, the privacy mode may be enabled as
part of a preset scene which may be selected by a user actuation of
a button on the keypad 106.
[0025] The user environment 100 may include a security camera 122.
The security camera 122 may be mounted to a ceiling or wall of the
user environment 100, for example, and may record images of the
user environment. Alternatively, the security camera 122 may be a
standalone device, such as a webcam, which may be placed on a table
and plugged into an electrical outlet or USB power connection,
etc.
[0026] The user environment 100 may include a video intercom 120.
The video intercom may record images and audio of the user
environment and transmit the images and audio data to a remote
device, such as another video intercom, a tablet, a PC, etc.
[0027] The user environment 100 may include a hub device 129 (e.g.,
a bridge) configured to enable communication with a network 130,
e.g., a wireless or wired local area network (LAN). The hub device
129 may be connected to a router 127 via a wired digital
communication link (e.g., an Ethernet communication link). The
router may allow for communication with the network 130, e.g., for
access to the Internet. Alternatively, the hub device 129 may be
wirelessly connected to the network 130, e.g., using Wi-Fi
technology. An example of the hub device 129 is described in
greater detail in commonly-assigned U.S. Patent Application
Publication No. 2014/0052783, published Feb. 20, 2014, entitled
WIRELESS BRIDGE FOR FACILITATING COMMUNICATION BETWEEN DIFFERENT
NETWORK, and U.S. Pat. No. 9,851,735, issued Dec. 26, 2017,
entitled WIRELESS LOAD CONTROL SYSTEM, the entire disclosures of
which are hereby incorporated by reference. Other examples are
possible.
[0028] The hub device 129 may be configured to transmit RF signals
108 to the load control device 104 and/or the keypad 106 (e.g.,
using the proprietary protocol) for controlling the respective
lighting loads 110A, 110B in response to digital messages received
from external devices via the network 130. The hub 129 may be
configured to receive RF signals 108 from the load control device
104 and/or the keypad 106, and to transmit digital messages via the
network 130 for providing data (e.g., status information) to
external devices. The hub device 129 may operate as a central
controller for a load control system of the user environment 100,
or may simply relay digital messages between the devices of the
load control system and the network 130.
[0029] The user environment 100 may include a voice integration
device, which may be described more broadly as an audio device. The
audio device may have at least one microphone. The audio device may
further have at least one speaker, either integrated with the audio
device, or an external speaker to which the audio device transmits
acoustic signals for playback in the space.
[0030] The audio device may be integrated into any of the devices
shown in the user environment 100. For example, the audio device
may be integrated with the load control device 104. Although the
examples provided herein describe integrating the audio device with
a load control device, one skilled in the art will understand that
these embodiments are not limited to load control devices, but
alternatively, or additionally, the audio device may be integrated
with keypad 106, lighting loads 110A, 110B, security camera 122,
and/or intercom 120, etc. Or, the audio device may be a standalone
device, such as a wall-mounted audio device or a plug-in table top
audio device, shown here as audio device 125.
[0031] The audio device may detect voice commands from a user 102
and may transmit acoustic data based on the voice commands to a
remote server 140, such as a cloud based server, on the Internet
130 for acoustic processing. The audio device may transmit acoustic
data to the remote server 140 on the Internet 130 via a wireless or
wired connection to a router 127. For example, the connection may
be through Wi-Fi or Ethernet. The router may receive the acoustic
data from the audio device and transmit the acoustic data to the
remote server 140 on the Internet 130.
[0032] The audio device may have a mute or privacy mode. The mute
or privacy mode, when enabled by a user 102, may cause the device
to stop transmitting acoustic data to the router 127. The audio
device may provide a visual indication that the device is in a mute
or privacy mode. For example, the audio device may have an LED
indicator that turns on or changes color when the device is in the
mute or privacy mode. Additionally, or alternatively, other
indications may be used, for example, an indication on a mobile
application may alert a user that the audio device is in the
privacy mode.
[0033] The audio device may process the acoustic data and control
other devices within the user environment 100 based on the
processed acoustic data. For example, the audio device may enable a
user to vocally control the lights 110A or 110B.
[0034] The user environment 100 may include additional devices
which may receive audio and/or video inputs to monitor the space.
Any or all of the devices may contain a microphone and/or a camera.
Additionally, any or all of the devices may transmit data based on
the received audio and video inputs monitored in the space. For
example, the user environment may have a security camera 122, a
video intercom 120, or microphones embedded in the load control
device 104, or the keypad 106. The devices may transmit data to the
router 127 for processing by a remote server on the Internet 130.
The remote server may be the same server or a different server than
the server 140 used to process the voice commands by the audio
device 125. Although the devices are described herein as using a
remote server 140 for voice processing, one skilled in the art will
readily understand that voice processing may alternatively be
achieved through processing local to the device.
[0035] The devices may transmit data directly to the router 127 via
a wired or wireless connection. For example, the connection may be
a Wi-Fi connection 109. Or, the connection may be a wired Ethernet
connection. Alternatively, the devices may transmit data via a
different wireless protocol 108 to an intermediary device, such as
hub device 129, which translates the data and sends it to the
router 127. For example, the devices may use a standard wireless
protocol (e.g., ZigBee, Wi-Fi, Z-Wave, Bluetooth, Li-Fi, etc.), or
a proprietary protocol (e.g., the ClearConnect protocol).
[0036] The user 102 may control any of the devices in the room
through voice commands and/or wireless commands. For example, the
user may press a button to send a wireless command to control one
or more devices in the user environment. The button may be a
physical actuator, such as a button on load control device 104 or
keypad 106, or the button may be a software button on a graphical
user interface (GUI) of a mobile application. For example, the user
may press a software button on a GUI of a mobile application
installed on a mobile device 115. The mobile device 115 may
transmit a command to control one or more of the devices in the
user environment in response to receiving the button press.
[0037] Each of the audio devices, for example devices 104, 106, and
125, may include a privacy mode. Although the privacy modes are
described for audio devices, one will understand that the
embodiments described herein are not limited to audio devices, and
that privacy modes may also be realized for other types of devices
which record sensitive data in the space. For example, the security
camera 122 and/or the video intercom 120 may have privacy modes as
described herein.
[0038] The privacy mode may prevent the device from transmitting
data (such as audio or video data) from the user environment 100 to
the router 127, the hub 129, or to any other device(s) within the
room. For example, the privacy mode may prevent the device from
transmitting data by disconnecting power and/or communication to a
microphone or camera circuit thereby disabling output of the
data.
[0039] As will be discussed in greater detail herein, the privacy
mode for each device may be a device-level privacy mode and/or may
be a remote privacy mode. A device-level privacy mode may require a
user 102 to physically interact with a device to place the device
into privacy mode. For example, a user may physically press a
button on the device. In an alternative example, a user may engage
or disengage a mechanism local to the device to put the device in a
privacy mode. The device-level privacy mode may require a user to
physically approach the device to engage or enable the privacy
mode; that is, the device-level privacy mode may require a manual
user input, as will be discussed in greater detail herein.
[0040] Alternatively, the user may remotely enable the privacy mode
(i.e., remote privacy mode). A user may put the device or multiple
devices into remote privacy mode when the user is not located
proximate the device or devices, i.e., the user may enable privacy
mode remotely without physically interacting with the device. For
example, the user may enable privacy mode remotely through a mobile
application on a mobile device, such as mobile device 115, or
through a privacy button, such as a button on keypad 106. These and
other embodiments will be discussed in greater detail herein.
[0041] As described, other devices such as the security camera 122
and/or the video intercom 120 may also have a privacy mode. When
the security camera and/or video intercom is placed in the privacy
mode, the security camera and/or video intercom may stop
transmitting video feed updates to the hub device 129, router 127,
or any other devices capable of using the video feed.
[0042] FIG. 2 is an example of an audio device 200 with a
device-level privacy mode. The audio device 200 may be configured
to be mounted in an electrical wallbox. For example, audio device
200 may include yoke 201 having one or more holes 203 therein, and
a user interface/front surface 207. Screws, for example, may be
inserted through holes 203 to secure audio device 200 to an
electrical wallbox. Thereafter, a faceplate having an opening
therein may be placed over audio device 200, covering yoke 201, and
with user interface 207 extending through the opening in the
faceplate. As one example, the faceplate may be a standard
"off-the-shelf" faceplate such that the opening defines a standard
opening. For example, the faceplate may be a decorator-style
faceplate defining a standard-sized opening. Here, user interface
207 of audio device 200 may be dimensioned to fit within such an
opening of the faceplate. One will recognize that other
configurations are possible.
[0043] The audio device 200 may contain at least one microphone
(not shown in FIG. 2) for monitoring acoustic data in the space in
which it is installed. The audio device 200 may also include at
least one speaker (not shown in FIG. 2).
[0044] The user interface 207 of device 200 may include a
protective cover 210. The microphone and speaker may be located
within device 200 and behind the protective cover 210. The
protective cover 210 may serve to protect the microphone and/or
speaker from damage, dust and debris. The protective cover 210 may
be configured such that acoustic data originating in the space may
be received by the microphone in a largely unaltered state.
Similarly, the protective cover 210 may be configured such that
acoustic data originating from the speaker may pass through the
cover in a largely unaltered state. As an example, the protective
cover 210 may be a grill, grate, mesh, perforated surface, cavity,
or fabric although other types of covers may be used.
[0045] One will recognize that while the microphone and speaker may
both be located behind the protective cover 210, according to
another example, the microphone may be situated at another location
on device 200. For example, audio device 200 may include one or
more light emitting diodes (LEDs) (although other lighting elements
may be used), such as indicator LED 205 and indicator LEDs 206.
User interface 207 may include openings or cavities therein through
which light emitted by respective LEDs 205 and 206 may be visible.
The speaker may be located behind protective cover 210, while the
microphone may be located behind a cavity or cavities of LED 205
and/or LEDs 206. Other examples are possible.
[0046] The audio device 200 may also have a volume adjuster that is
accessible from user interface 207 for manually adjusting the
output volume of the speaker of the device. As an example, the
volume adjuster, as shown here, may be two volume buttons, a volume
up button 202 and a volume down button 204. Alternatively, the
volume adjuster may be a rotating knob, a capacitive or resistive
touch area, or any other suitable volume adjustment. A user may
press volume button 202 or 204 to increase or decrease the volume
level, respectively. The volume adjuster may adjust the volume of
the speaker by increasing or decreasing the amplitude of the
speaker output.
[0047] As indicated, the audio device 200 may additionally include
one or more LEDs, such as indicator LED 205 and indicator LEDs 206,
which may include an array of seven LEDs according to this example.
The indicator LEDs 206 may turn on to indicate the volume level of
the speaker of the audio device 200. For example, the bottom four
LEDs of the seven indicator LEDs 206 may turn on to indicate an
approximate volume level of sixty percent of maximum volume. The
LEDs may be in a linear array, as shown, or they may be arranged in
a horizontal fashion. Although seven LEDs are shown here in
indicator LEDs 206, any number of LEDs may be used, either located
discretely in a linear array or as a band or line of LEDs (i.e.,
sharing a common lens). Alternatively, the LEDs 206 may be
integrated into the volume adjuster 202 and/or 204. As another
example, the LEDs 206 may be integrated into a rotating knob, or a
capacitive or resistive touch area if such devices are used as the
volume adjuster. One will recognize that other mechanisms may be
used to indicated to a user the output volume of device 200.
[0048] Audio device 200 may include a mechanism to cover up, or
muffle, the microphone. For example, the audio device 200 may
contain a privacy cover 208. The privacy cover 208 may be a sliding
cover. The privacy cover 208 may slide along direction L in one or
more tracks 220 located along the vertical sides of protective
cover 210 to either expose or cover the protective cover 210 and
thus the microphone. For example, a user may physically slide the
privacy cover 208 upward along direction L to cover the protective
cover 210 (and microphone) and thereby engage the privacy mode, and
may physically slide the privacy cover 208 downward along direction
L to uncover the protective cover 210 (and microphone) to disengage
the privacy mode. The privacy cover 208, when engaged, may reduce
the sound pressure level (SPL) incident on the microphone such that
speech in proximity to the device may not be discernable, i.e., to
physically muffle the sound input received by the microphone. One
will recognize that if the microphone is located behind a cavity of
the LED 205 as previously mentioned, the privacy cover 208 may
further cover the cavity of the LED 205 in order to mute or muffle
the microphone.
[0049] The privacy cover 208 may be made of a material(s) to
sufficiently muffle the microphone such that audio received (if
any) by the microphone of device 200 and subsequently interpreted
by a processor may not be interpretable into words or the source of
the audio, etc. For example, the privacy cover 208 may be made of a
rigid material such as metal or plastic, or the privacy cover 208
may be made of a soft material such as speaker fabric. The privacy
cover 208 may have silicone, foam, and/or other suitable sound
dampening material on the back surface thereof that faces
protective cover 210 when the privacy cover 210 is engaged in
privacy mode. Such materials may be used to create a more effective
acoustic seal around the protective cover 210, and thus the
microphone.
[0050] To enable or engage this privacy mode, a user may physically
slide the privacy cover 208 upward over the protective cover 210,
and thereby cover the microphone. Therefore, the privacy mode of
device 200 may not be disabled remotely from the device, that is,
the privacy mode may not be compromised through malicious software
as the user has a means of manual override. One will understand
that the amount of reduction in SPL incident on the microphone when
the privacy cover 208 is seated over the protective cover
210/microphone is dependent upon the mechanical construction of the
microphone housing, protective cover 210, and/or privacy cover.
Therefore, different privacy covers may affect the amount of sound
reduction. One will also recognize that different mechanical
mechanisms besides sliding a privacy cover over the microphone may
be used, provided that the microphone is covered or muffled. For
example, the privacy cover may be snapped on, or the privacy cover
may be rotated into place over the microphone.
[0051] Although the cover 208 is shown as sliding over the entire
protective cover 210, the audio device may alternatively be
designed such that the privacy cover only covers the microphone,
and not the speakers. For example, the microphone and speaker may
be located in different positions on the audio device as discussed
above, and the protective cover may only slide over the
microphone.
[0052] The indicator LED 205 of device 200 may be used to indicate
when the privacy mode is enabled. For example, when the privacy
mode is enabled or engaged by moving the privacy cover 208 over the
protective cover 210/microphone, the LED 205 may turn on/illuminate
to indicate that the privacy mode is on/active. Alternatively, the
LED 205 may remain on during normal mode (i.e., not in privacy
mode) but may turn off in when the audio device 200 is in privacy
mode. Device 200 may be configured such that when the privacy cover
208 is not in privacy mode, the privacy cover may physically
depress a lever, button, switch or other depression mechanism. The
depression of the lever, button, switch etc. may cause LED 205 to
not illuminate. Similarly, when the privacy cover is slid over the
microphone thus enabling privacy mode the privacy cover may release
the level, button, switch etc., which may cause the LED 205 to
illuminate. One having ordinary skill in the art will recognize
that device 200 may alternatively be configured to illuminate the
LED 205 when the device 200 is not in privacy mode, and to not
illuminate the LED 205 when the device 200 is in privacy mode.
Further, one will recognize that other configurations and
mechanisms may be used to control the illumination of LED 205 with
respect to the movement of privacy cover 208 and the
enabling/disabling of privacy mode/normal mode.
[0053] Other configurations of privacy cover 208 are possible. For
example, FIG. 3 shows another example audio device 300. Audio
device 300 may have similar elements as those shown on the audio
device 200 of FIG. 2. For example, the indicator LEDs 306, privacy
LED 305, yoke 301 with holes 303, and volume adjustment actuators
302, 304 may correspond to elements 206, 205, 201, 203, 202, and
204, respectively.
[0054] Audio device 300 may be similar to the audio device 200 as
shown in FIG. 2 and use a privacy cover 308 to provide a
device-level privacy mode similar to privacy cover 208. According
to this example, the microphone(s) of the audio device 300 may be
located in a different position(s) than the speaker(s) on the audio
device. For example, the speaker may be located behind the
protective cover 310. The audio device may have a user
interface/front surface 315. In addition to including a protective
cover 310, privacy LED 305, indicator LEDs 306, and volume buttons
302 and 304, the user interface may contain one or more holes or
cavities such as holes/cavities 320A and 320B. Each cavity 320A,
320B may have one or microphones recessed behind the user interface
315. The microphones may be exposed to the environment by the
cavities 320A, 320B; that is, the microphones may receive
sounds/audio from the environment through the cavities 320A and
320B.
[0055] A user may slide the privacy cover 308 within a housing
(i.e., behind the user interface 315) along direction W (left and
right, for example), to place the audio device in and out of
privacy mode. When the audio device is placed in privacy mode (such
as by sliding the cover horizontally to the right along direction
W), a portion of the privacy cover 308 that may be recessed inside
the housing of the audio device may slide between the cavities
320A, 320B and the microphones behind the respective cavities. The
cover 308 may effectively block the microphones from receiving
audio that enters from the user interface/front surface 315 through
the cavities 320A, 320B.
[0056] Similar to device 200 and privacy cover 208, device 300 and
privacy cover 308 may be configured such that when the privacy
cover 308 is moved to place the device 300 into the privacy mode,
privacy LED 305 may become illuminated. When the cover is moved to
normal mode (i.e., non-privacy mode), the privacy LED 305 may turn
off, or not illuminate, or vice versa. One will understand that
privacy LED 305 may be housed within cavity 320A and/or 320B to
indicate a privacy mode.
[0057] According to an alternative or further example, a portion of
the privacy cover 308, or the housing in which the cover slides,
may have a different color than the rest of the cover 308. The
color may indicate to a user that the audio device is in a privacy
mode. For example, when the cover 308 is moved to the right along
direction W to thus cover the microphone cavities 320A, 320B and
mute the microphones, the portion of the cover which may be viewed
by a user through the microphone cavities 320A, 320B may be red in
color.
[0058] When the device 300 is not in privacy mode, that is, when
the privacy cover 308 is moved to the left as shown in FIG. 3, the
privacy cover 308 may have an exposed area 330. The exposed area
may be the same color as the privacy cover. When the privacy cover
is slid to the right along direction W to place the audio device in
privacy mode, a similar area to the left of the privacy cover may
be exposed. The exposed area to the left of the privacy cover may
be red in color to indicate that the audio device is in a privacy
mode. Additionally, or alternatively, the portion of the housing in
which the privacy cover slides that is viewable by a user when the
audio device is in privacy mode may be a different color than the
rest of the cover 308. Although the color red has been used herein
as an example, any color, pattern, or other visual indication of
privacy mode may alternatively be used.
[0059] Turning now to FIG. 4 there is shown an example block
circuit diagram of an audio device 400, such as may represent any
of audio devices 200 and 300 shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. The audio
device 400 may be powered by a power source 402. The power source
402 may be any suitable alternating current (AC) or direct current
(DC) power source. For example, the power source 402 may be an AC
line voltage. Alternatively, the power source 402 may be a DC power
source, such as a 12- or 48-volt supply provided by low voltage
wires, Power over Ethernet (PoE), battery, solar cell, etc. The
audio device may contain at least one power supply 422 which
supplies a voltage V.sub.CC for powering the electronic circuitry
of the audio device. The power supply 422 may be integrated with
the audio device, or the power supply may be provided as an AC to
DC power supply adapter which may be used to connect the audio
device to a wall receptacle, such as power source 402.
[0060] The audio device 400 may have a control circuit 414. The
control circuit may be powered by the voltage V.sub.CC provided by
the power supply 422. The control circuit may include one or more
of a processor(s) (e.g., a microprocessor(s)), a
microcontroller(s), a programmable logic device(s) (PLD), a field
programmable gate array(s) (FPGA), an application specific
integrated circuit(s) (ASIC), or any suitable controller or
processing device or combination thereof.
[0061] Audio device 400 may include one or more microphone(s) 430.
Microphone 430 may include a power input lead for receiving a
supply voltage V.sub.CC for powering the microphone. Microphone 430
may also include one or more data output leads 426. The data output
leads 426 may communicateanalog or digital audio data. For example,
the microphone may use an inter-IC sound protocol (I2S), which may
use a digital pulse code modulation (PCM) to communicate the
microphone data and may include one or more clock lines. In another
example, the data output lead may use a digital pulse density
modulation (PDM). Other data lines and protocols are
contemplated.
[0062] The control circuit 414 may be adapted to receive audio
signals from the microphone 430. That is, the control circuit 414
may be in electrical communication with the microphone 430 via the
data output leads 426. The microphone may be a standalone
microphone with external circuitry, or the microphone may be a
single package such as a chip or daughterboard that includes an
integrated amplifier. For example, the microphone may be a MEMS
(Micro-Electro-Mechanical System) microphone. One example suitable
microphone may be a MP45DT02-M MEMS audio sensor omnidirectional
digital microphone, manufactured by STMicroelectronics.
Alternatively, the microphone may be an electret microphone,
condenser microphone, or any other broadband acoustic input device
available in a suitably small package size.
[0063] The microphone 430 may comprise multiple input microphones.
For example, the microphone 430 may be a group of microphones
physically spaced apart from one another, for example, a microphone
array. Multiple input microphones may allow for improved ambient
noise rejection and acoustic beam-forming or beam-steering, whereby
the audio device may be directionally sensitive to input
sounds.
[0064] The audio device 400 may contain one or more communication
circuits 424 which are operably connected to the control circuit
414. The communication circuit 424 may be a wireless communication
circuit and may send or receive wireless commands and/or data to an
external device or network. Alternatively, the communication
circuit 424 may be a wired communication circuit, for example,
connected to a USB-C, Ethernet or CAT5, Serial cable, or any other
type of communication wiring. For example, the communication
circuit 424 may send acoustic data to a remote network for acoustic
processing. The remote network may be located on a cloud server
hosted on the Internet. The audio device may communicate to the
remote network via one or more intermediary devices, such as a hub
device and/or a router device. The communication protocol may
include one or more of the following: Wi-Fi, ZigBee, Bluetooth, or
other similar protocols with sufficient bandwidth to transmit audio
data.
[0065] The audio device 400 may have one or more memory modules
("memory") 420 (including volatile and/or non-volatile memory
modules) that may be non-removable memory modules and/or removable
memory modules. Memory 420 may be communicatively coupled to the
control circuit 414. Non-removable memory 420 may include
random-access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), a hard disk, or
any other type of non-removable memory storage. Removable memory
420 may include a subscriber identity module (SIM) card, a memory
stick, a memory card, or any other type of removable memory. The
memory 420 may store one or more software based control
applications that include instructions that are executed by the
control circuit 414. The control circuit, when executing such
instructions, may provide the functionality described herein. The
memory may also store data including operating parameters. As a
further example, the control circuit may store acoustic data
received by the control circuit from the microphone 430 in the
memory 420. For example, the memory 420 may act as a buffer for
temporarily storing acoustic data to be transmitted to a remote
server 140 for acoustic processing via the communication circuit
424. Other examples are possible.
[0066] The audio device may also include one or more speakers 432
coupled to the control circuit 414. The speaker(s) 432 may provide
audible communication and/or feedback to a user. For example, the
speaker(s) 432 may allow the audio device 400 to communicate
audibly with a user, or the speaker(s) may be used to play music,
etc. The control circuit 414 may send acoustic data to the
speaker(s) 432 to generate audio signals. For example, the control
circuit 414 may receive acoustic data from the communication
circuit 424 and may send the acoustic data to the speaker(s) 432.
The speaker(s) 432 may then play/communicate the acoustic data to a
user. For example, the acoustic data received from a cloud server
may be a response to a question asked by the user, and the control
circuit 414 may be configured to cause the speaker(s) 432 to
acoustically broadcast the response/answer for the user. The audio
device may further include a volume control 434 coupled to the
control circuit 414 and for controlling the output volume of
speaker 432.
[0067] Additionally, the audio device may include one or more
indicator LEDs, shown here as volume LEDs 442, for example, that
may be similar to indicator LEDs 206 shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. For
example, the volume LEDs 442 may be an array of LEDs. The volume
LEDs 442 may be used to indicate a volume level of the speaker(s)
432. For example, each LED in the full array of LEDs 206 may light
up to display a maximum volume level, while only half (or
approximately half) of the LED array may light up to show a volume
level of 50 percent of maximum volume.
[0068] The audio device may further include one or more indicator
LEDs, shown here as privacy LED 440, that may be used to indicate
when the audio device is in privacy mode. For example, when a user
places the audio device 400 into a privacy mode, the privacy LED
440 may turn on. Alternatively, the privacy LED 440 may be on
during normal operation and may turn off when a user places the
audio device 400 into the privacy mode. In this way, the LED 440
may be a privacy indicator LED.
[0069] The audio device 400 may further include a switch 444. The
switch 444 may be actuated when the privacy mode is enabled. A
described previously, the switch may be depressed by a lever,
button, etc. For example, when the privacy cover is over the
microphone 430 (i.e., the audio device 400 is in privacy mode), the
switch 444 may be in a closed or "on" position. The closing of the
switch 444 may turn on the privacy LED 440 to indicate to a user
that the audio device 400 is in privacy mode. For example, the
switch 444 may be connected to the control circuit 414. When the
control circuit 414 detects that the switch 444 has been actuated,
the control circuit may turn on the privacy LED 440.
[0070] In a second example, different from what is shown in FIG. 4,
the switch 444 may be connected in series electrical connection
between the supply voltage V.sub.CC and the privacy LED 442. When
the privacy cover is slid over the microphone, the switch 444 may
be depressed into the "on" position, thereby providing power to the
privacy LED 442 to turn on the LED. In this way, the switch 444 may
control the illumination of the privacy LED 440.
[0071] The audio device 400 may include additional circuitry not
shown here, including, but not limited to: actuators, load control
circuitry, passive infrared occupancy sensing, microwave occupancy
sensing, ambient light sensing, timeclock or time-of-day tracking,
and the like.
[0072] FIG. 5 is an example of an audio device 500 according to a
another embodiment. Similar to the audio devices shown in FIGS. 2
and 3, the audio device 500 may additionally have a microphone,
speaker, protective cover 510, volume adjustment actuators 502,
504, and privacy LED 505, as well as other elements similar to
these figures and labeled with corresponding numbers. Alternative
to the protective cover shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the audio device
500 may include a mute or privacy button 508 located on a front
surface 515. A user may physically press the privacy button 508 to
stop or prevent the audio device from detecting and/or transmitting
audio. The privacy button 508 may be a physical button actuator, or
the button may be a capacitive or resistive touch area. When the
privacy button 508 has been pressed, the privacy LED 505 may turn
on to indicate that the device is in privacy mode.
[0073] The circuit for LED 505 may be designed such that LED 505 is
a true privacy indicator; that is, the LED is not able to be
compromised by malicious software, as will be discussed in further
detail herein. Conversely, LED 505 may remain on while the audio
device 500 is not in privacy mode, and turn off when the privacy
button 508 has been pressed. The audio device 500 may also have a
design as similarly shown in FIG. 4, where the switch 444 may be
the privacy button 508. This configuration may also enter privacy
mode by receiving a command from the communication circuit 424.
[0074] The privacy indicator, or LED 505, shown as privacy LED 440
in the block diagram of FIG. 4, may be a true privacy indicator,
that is, the privacy indicator may be coupled to the power of the
microphone. The true privacy indicator may rely on the microphone
power to either turn the LED on or off. The coupling between the
true privacy indicator and the microphone power may ensure that the
true privacy indicator may not be manipulated or falsely altered in
state by malicious software.
[0075] FIG. 6 is an example schematic diagram of a true privacy
indicator for an audio or video device. The true privacy indicator
may be an LED D1, that is, privacy LED 640, which may be similar to
the LED 440 shown in FIG. 4. The LED 640 may be hard-wired to
change state when the audio device is placed in privacy mode. For
example, the LED 640 may turn on when the audio device is placed
into privacy mode, and turn off when privacy mode is disabled.
Alternatively, LED 640 may turn off when the audio device is placed
into privacy mode, and turn on when privacy mode is disabled. The
true privacy indicator may also include additional circuitry, shown
here as a PNP bipolar junction (BJT) transistor Q3, an NPN BJT Q1,
and a resistor R1. One will understand that other types of
transistors, for example, field-effect transistors (FETs) may
alternatively be used.
[0076] The state of the LED 640 (that is, on or off) may be
physically tied to the state of the microphone, and may not be
independently controllable via software. For example, the
microphone 630 may have a power supply line 620 that is controlled
by the control circuit 614, and at least one other line 626. For
example, the microphone 630 and the control circuit 614 may
correspond to the microphone 430 and control circuit 414 of FIG. 4.
Line 626 may be a data or communication line, which may be
connected to the control circuit 614 as previously shown and
described with reference to line 426 in FIG. 4. The control circuit
614 may have a privacy enable pin 610. The privacy enable pin 610
may control whether or not power is provided to the microphone 630
on the microphone power supply line 620. The privacy enable output
pin 610 may be controlled based on a privacy mode input. For
example, the privacy mode input may be provided when a user places
the audio device in a privacy mode. For example, the control
circuit may control the privacy enable pin 610 in response to a
button press (i.e., a user has pressed the mute or privacy button,
for example, button 508, or has slid a privacy cover over the
microphone, thereby depressing a switch, for example, privacy cover
208, 308), as in the embodiments shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 5. Or, the
button press may be a remote button press, as in a remotely enabled
privacy mode. That is, a user may press a button on a device
separate from the audio device to place the audio device (and/or
additional audio devices) into privacy mode. For example, a user
may press a software button on a graphical user interface (GUI) of
a mobile phone, or a button on a remote control, keypad, etc., to
place the audio device into privacy mode. The control circuit may
control the privacy enable pin 610 in response to receiving a
wireless/wired communication that a remote privacy button has been
pressed.
[0077] As shown here, the LED 640 may be connected in series
electrical connection between the power supply line 620 of the
microphone 630 through a resistor R1, and the power supply
V.sub.CC; however, the LED 640 has no direct line of control from
the control circuit 614. In this way, the LED 640 may be a true
privacy indicator, such that a malicious software update may not be
capable of falsely turning on (or off) the LED 640 to falsely
convince a user that the device is in privacy mode while the
microphone is still active.
[0078] When the privacy enable pin 610 is pulled up to a logic high
level (e.g., to V.sub.CC), the transistor Q3 may be off and
transistor Q1 may be on. When transistor Q1 is turned on, current
may flow from V.sub.CC along a current path I1. That is, the
current path from V.sub.CC may go through the transistor Q1 to
supply power to the microphone on power supply line 620, and
bypassing a higher resistance path 12 through D1 (LED 640) and R1.
Therefore, the privacy indicator LED 640 may normally be off when
the microphone 630 is on (i.e., when the microphone has power).
[0079] When the privacy enable line 610 is pulled to a logic low
voltage (e.g., zero volts) as a result of putting the device in
privacy mode, the transistor Q1 may turn off and transistor Q3 may
turn on. When transistor Q3 turns on, current may flow through the
current path 12 from the power supply rail V.sub.CC through LED 640
and resistor R1 and through the body of Q3 to ground. When current
flows from V.sub.CC through the LED 640, the LED 640 may turn on,
indicating that the device is in privacy mode.
[0080] Transistor Q3 may be selected to have a sufficiently low
voltage drop across the collector-emitter junction (V.sub.CE) in
the on state (i.e., the voltage between the microphone power supply
line 620 and ground), such that the voltage provided to the
microphone when LED 640 is on may be too low to power the
microphone 630. For example, V.sub.CC may be 3.3 volts and V.sub.CE
may be 0.25 volts. During normal operation (not privacy mode), the
voltage supplied to the microphone may be substantially 3 volts
(the voltage drop across the body of transistor Q1 may be
negligible). However, when Q1 is off and Q3 is on, the voltage
provided to the microphone on the power supply line 620 may be set
by the voltage drop V.sub.CE of Q3. For example, for microphone STM
MP45DT02, the power supply may require a minimum voltage of
approximately 1.6 volts. When transistor Q3 turns on, thereby
turning on LED 640 and providing 0.25 volts to the microphone power
supply line 620, the power supplied to the microphone 630 may be
below the minimum power supply range required for the microphone to
turn on, and therefore, the microphone may remain off while LED 640
is powered. In this way, LED D1 may be a true privacy indicator,
such that if the control circuit 614 were to experience a malicious
software update, the privacy indicator LED 640 would not be
controlled by the control circuit 614. Therefore, the compromised
audio device would not be able to falsely turn on the privacy LED
640 while the microphone 630 remained on, or active.
[0081] The resistor R1 may be selected to set the current through
LED 640. For example, for a desired LED 640 current of 20
milliamperes (mA), a V.sub.CC of 3.3V, a voltage drop V.sub.CE of
Q3 in the on state of 0.25V, and a forward voltage drop across LED
640 of 2V in the on state, the voltage across R1 may be
approximately 1V. Therefore, R1 may be selected having a resistance
of approximately 50 ohms. For example, R1 may be 47 or 56 ohms,
according to resistor series standard values and manufacturing
tolerances.
[0082] One will understand that the schematic diagram shown here is
only one example circuit displaying how a true privacy indicator
may be accomplished. For example, the value of R1 may be adjusted
based on the other components of the circuit. Also, although only
one LED D1 is shown, multiple LEDs may be used. Further, other
circuit components may be used in place of Q1 and Q3, etc.
Additionally, as previously discussed, although the LED D1 has been
described here as turning on in privacy mode and off when the audio
device is not in a privacy mode, it is readily apparent that the
opposite mechanism wherein the LED D1 turns off in privacy mode and
on when the audio device is not in privacy mode, could also easily
be envisioned and designed by one of ordinary skill in the art.
Additionally or alternatively, the true privacy indicator may act
to break the communication line 626 of the microphone instead of,
or in addition to, the power line 620.
[0083] FIG. 7 is another example audio device according to another
embodiment. The audio device 700 of FIG. 7 may have similar
features as the audio devices shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 5, for
example, with the privacy LED 705, LED array 706, yoke 701 with
mounting holes 703, user interface on a front surface 715,
protective cover 715, and volume up and down buttons 702, 704,
respectively, being substantially the same as previously
described.
[0084] The audio device 700 may also have a device-level privacy
mode. The device-level privacy mode of audio device 700 may be a
mechanical disconnect. The mechanical disconnect may be an airgap,
i.e., an airgap switch shown here as airgap switch 729. Although
described here as a switch, the airgap switch may be a tab, such as
a push/pull control which may be either pulled out or pushed in by
a user. Other mechanisms in addition to those shown here may also
be used, such as rotating a knob, flipping a switch, pulling a
lever, sliding a tab, etc.
[0085] Mechanical actuation of the airgap switch may break an
electrical connection of a circuit of device 700, for example,
similar to the circuit shown in FIG. 4. The airgap switch may be
located anywhere on the audio device that is accessible to the
user. For example, the airgap switch may be located on the front
surface 715 of the audio device, wherein the front surface is
readily exposed to a user. As one example, airgaps such as the one
shown here are described in greater detail in U.S. Pat. No.
7,365,282, issued Apr. 29, 2008, entitled "PULL OUT AIR GAP SWITCH
FOR WALLBOX-MOUNTED DIMMER", the entire disclosure of which is
herein incorporated by reference.
[0086] The mechanical disconnect may be a single airgap, shown in
FIG. 7 as airgap switch 729. That is, the airgap switch 729 may
disconnect or break an electrical connection at a single point in
the circuit of the audio device 700, thereby creating an airgap.
For example, when a user pushes or pulls the airgap switch 729, the
airgap may electrically disengage part of the circuit. The airgap
switch 729 may physically break power to the entire device 700.
Alternatively, the airgap may break an electrical connection of
just a microphone line. For example, the airgap switch 729 may
break power to the microphone. Or, the airgap switch 729 may break
a communication line of the microphone. Locations of the airgap
caused by the airgap switch within the circuit of the audio device
will be described in greater detail herein below.
[0087] FIG. 8A is an example block diagram of an audio device 800
with an airgap privacy mode, as described previously for audio
device 700 of FIG. 7. The audio device 800 may have many of the
same components as the audio device 400 shown in FIG. 4, for
example. For example, the privacy LED 840, microphone 830, speaker
832, control circuit 814, volume LEDs 842, volume control 834,
memory 820, power supply 422, and power source 402 may be the same
or similar to those previously described in FIG. 4. Additionally,
the audio device 800 may include one or more airgaps. The airgap
switch, shown here as 829A-C may be located in any of several
places A-C. The airgap switch may provide a manual disconnect to
place the audio device 800 into a privacy mode. The airgap switches
829A-C may enable privacy mode by breaking a power or communication
connection in any of the various places indicated in the circuit to
create a breakpoint, or airgap.
[0088] For example, the audio device may have an airgap 829A, which
may be located at airgap position A. When the airgap switch 829A is
engaged by a user, the airgap 829A may disconnect the power supply
822 from the power source 802, thereby removing power to the entire
audio device 800.
[0089] Alternatively, the audio device may have an airgap switch
829B. The airgap switch 829B may be located at position B, shown in
FIG. 8A as located between the output of the power supply 422 and
the V.sub.CC rail. When a user engages the airgap switch 829B to
put the audio device 800 into a privacy mode, the airgap switch
829B may break the connection providing power from the power supply
V.sub.CC to the microphone 830. Actuation of the airgap switch 829B
may not remove power from all circuitry powered by V.sub.CC. For
example, the control circuit 814, LEDs 842, microphone 830, speaker
832, communication circuit 824, and memory 820 may all remain
powered from V.sub.CC. In this way, when the audio device 800 is
placed in a privacy mode through airgap switch 829B, only the
microphone may lose power while other circuit components remain
active. For example, the privacy LED 440 may still be used to
provide a visual indication that the audio device 800 is in privacy
mode.
[0090] Although not shown, V.sub.CC may alternatively be provided
to just the control circuit 814 or to just the communication
circuit 824. For example, the airgap switch 829B may alternatively
remove power to just the control circuit 814 so that the control
circuit 814 is unable to receive communication from the microphone
830. Or, the airgap switch 829B may remove power to the
communication circuit 824. In this way, the acoustic data may still
be sent from the microphone circuit 830 to the control circuit 814
to allow the control circuit to do limited local audio processing.
For example, the control circuit may be able to process a keyword,
or a simple learned command. However, when the airgap 829B is
engaged, more extensive commands and voice conversations may not be
transmitted to a network or cloud service for remote
processing.
[0091] Alternatively, the audio device may have an airgap switch
829C. Airgap switch 829C may be located at position C, between the
microphone 830 and the control circuit 814. When a user engages the
airgap switch 829C to put the audio device 800 into a privacy mode,
the airgap switch 829C may break the communication connection
between the microphone 830 and the control circuit 814. That is,
when a user enables or engages the privacy mode, the control
circuit 814 to stop receiving acoustic data from the microphone
830. As previously described, the other components (i.e., the
control circuit 814, memory 820, speaker 832, LEDs 840, and
communication circuit 824) may remain powered and active while the
airgap switch 829C is engaged (i.e., while the audio device 800 is
in the privacy mode). Maintaining the other components in the
powered or on state may allow the audio device to have an increased
response time when the privacy mode is disengaged, as the other
components will not go through a power cycle. One will understand
that the embodiments described herein are not limited to these
example placements of the airgap switch, but rather an airgap
switch may be used to disconnect power or communication in any part
of the electrical circuit.
[0092] Additionally, other types of mechanical privacy actuators
may be used as alternative designs to achieve the same effects as
the airgap switch described here. Each of these alternative designs
may be considered within the scope of the invention described
herein. For example, the mechanical privacy actuator may be
attached to a solenoid which controls power to the microphone or
voice circuitry based on the state of the solenoid.
[0093] Alternatively, the mechanical privacy actuator may maintain
or break an optical connection to place the device into a privacy
mode. For example, the power or communication to the microphone may
be enabled or provided via a phototransistor which remains on by
receiving light from a photodiode. The optical connection between
the phototransistor and the photodiode to maintain the microphone
circuitry may be mechanically interrupted by a privacy actuator
which creates a physical barrier blocking light from the photodiode
to the phototransistor.
[0094] In another embodiment, a transmitter-receiver pair of
infrared or visible light diodes may optically enable power to the
microphone. When the privacy actuator is enabled or placed in the
privacy mode, the optical connection between the emitter and
receiver pair may be broken. For example, the transmitter and
receiver pair may be located adjacent to, and parallel to, each
other. The transmitter and receiver pair may maintain power to the
microphone by bouncing power off a reflective surface which the
transmitter and receiver both face. When the privacy mode is
enabled, the reflective surface may move to either expose a gap or
a black surface to break the connection between the pair. Or, the
transmitter and receiver pair may face each other as described with
the phototransistor and the photodiode pair above.
[0095] FIG. 8B is an example block diagram of an audio device 800',
with similar elements as the block diagram FIG. 8A having similar
numbers, having the addition of a second control circuit 855',
which will be better understood as described in accordance with
FIG. 9.
[0096] FIG. 9 is an example of an alternate airgap mechanism for an
audio device. Audio device 900 has many similar features of the
audio device 700 as shown in FIG. 7, shown with similar numbers,
i.e., yoke 901 with holes 903, volume control 902, 904, privacy LED
905, LED array 906, etc. Additionally, the audio device 900 may be
capable of remotely re-setting the privacy mode. The audio device
900 may include an airgap switch 929. The airgap switch 929 may be
a remote reset rocker switch, i.e., a remote reset switch, which
may be located on a front surface 915 of the audio device 900 and
accessible to a user. For example, the airgap switch 929 may be a
rocker switch that turns privacy mode on and off when a user flips
or actuates the airgap switch.
[0097] The audio device 900 may provide a visual indication of
privacy mode when privacy mode is enabled. For example, the audio
device 900 may turn on LED indicator 905 when the airgap switch 929
is set to the privacy mode. Additionally, or alternatively, the
airgap switch 929 may have an indicator area 931 that is visible
when the switch is in privacy mode. That is, the indicator area 931
on the left side of the airgap switch 929 may be exposed or visible
when the airgap switch is in an "on" or privacy position. The
indicator area 931 may contain an icon which may indicate to a user
that the audio device 900 is in a privacy mode, for example, the
mute signal as shown. Alternatively, the indicator area 931 may be
a color, such as red.
[0098] An example airgap switch that may be used is Remote Reset
Rocker Switch A8GS, manufactured by Omron Corporation. This switch
has a reset line connected to a solenoid coil that may allow a user
to enable the privacy mode remotely. For example, the audio device
may receive a trigger (i.e., an indication to go into privacy
mode). In response to receiving the trigger, the control circuit of
the audio device may cause the remote reset switch to change state
to enable the privacy mode. The trigger may be any input as
previously described, including, but not limited to: occupancy, a
specific sound (spoken keyword or sound indicative of an activity,
such as a phone ringing), a wireless command, etc. For example, the
control circuit may apply a voltage to a reset line or a coil
terminal of the remote reset switch to change the state of the
remote reset switch in response to receiving the trigger, thereby
placing the audio device in the privacy mode.
[0099] Although the privacy mode has been described as being
enabled remotely, the visual indication of the position of the
remote reset switch may be provided locally to a user to indicate
that the airgap switch is either in privacy mode or that privacy
mode has been disabled. For example, the remote reset switch may
expose an icon and/or color when the remote reset switch is in the
privacy mode, as previously described. The state change of the
airgap switch flipping positions may also provide audio feedback
confirmation to a user within the environment when the privacy mode
has been set. For example, if a user remotely resets the airgap
switch 929 to place the audio device 900 in a privacy mode, (i.e.,
transmits a wireless command to put the device 900 into privacy
mode) the user may then need to physically engage the airgap switch
to disable the privacy mode. That is, the privacy mode may not be
disabled remotely from the device.
[0100] The audio device 900 of FIG. 9 may have a block diagram
similar to the block diagram of FIG. 8A and/or FIG. 8B. The airgap
switch 929 may correspond to any of the airgap switches 829A-C
shown in FIG. 8A, with the addition of a reset line connecting the
airgap switch to the control circuit 814 to enable the control
circuit to reset the airgap switch 929C. One example is shown as
the reset line 850 to airgap switch 829C in FIG. 8A. One will
understand a reset line to any of the other airgaps, 829A and 829B,
respectively, may alternatively be used (although not shown).
[0101] Additionally, when the airgap switch 929 is in either
positions 829B or 829C as shown in the block diagram of FIG. 8A,
the privacy LED 905 of FIG. 9 may also turn on to indicate that the
audio device 900 is in the privacy mode. The control circuit may
detect when the switch 929 has been placed in the privacy mode and
may control the privacy LED 905 to turn on. For example, the
control circuit may determine that the microphone 830 has stopped
communicating with the control circuit (i.e., the data line
connection 826 or the power supply line connection to the
microphone 830 has been opened). In response to determining that
the microphone 830 has ceased communication, the control circuit
814 may turn on the privacy LED 905 (shown as 840 in FIG. 8A).
Alternatively, for a remote command to place the device into a
privacy mode, the control circuit may reset the airgap switch 929
and also turn on the privacy LED 905. The privacy LED 905 may
further be turned off when the control circuit 814 begins receiving
data from the microphone 830, i.e., to indicate to a user that the
device is no longer in privacy mode.
[0102] Alternatively, or in addition to, the device-level privacy
modes described herein, a privacy mode may be enabled by providing
interference signals. Interference signals may be acoustic
interference signals (i.e., audio signals), or they may be
electronic noise signals added to the microphone communication
line. For example, an interference speaker may provide acoustic
interference. The acoustic interference may raise the background
noise level of the microphone such that the acoustic data received
by the microphone from a user in the environment is not discernable
from the acoustic interference by the control circuit. The noise
signals may be pseudo-random noise signals generated by the control
circuit. Alternatively, a separate control circuit may be used to
generate the noise signals to obfuscate the acoustic data. For
example, turning now to FIG. 8B, the second control circuit 855'
may be used to generate noise. In this way, the primary control
circuit 814' which receives the obfuscated acoustic data may not be
able to subtract out the noise signal, since the noise signal was
generated by an independent source, i.e., the separate control
circuit.
[0103] The interference speaker providing the acoustic interference
may be a single speaker or may be multiple speakers. For example,
the interference speaker may be speaker 832' in FIG. 8B which is
provided a noise signal 870' by the second control circuit 855'.
This may be implemented in any of the audio devices described
herein, including the audio devices of FIGS. 2, 3, 5, 7, and 9. The
interference speaker 832' providing the acoustic interference may
be integrated with the audio device, that is, may be located within
the housing of the audio device. For example, the interference
speaker may be the speaker 832 of FIG. 8A, and/or an additional
speaker located within the housing of the audio device.
Alternatively, the interference speaker may be located externally
to, and proximate to, the audio device.
[0104] The acoustic interference may be an audible interference.
For example, the acoustic interference may be a white noise
interference. Alternatively, the acoustic interference may be a
pink noise or grey noise interference. One skilled in the art will
recognize that the exact acoustic spectrum of the acoustic
interference is not critical; rather, the effectiveness of the
interference is based on broadband coverage of audible range
frequencies and having sufficient amplitude (i.e., volume) to drown
out ambient conversations. That is, the amplitude of the noise
signal is at least of substantially the same amplitude as the
amplitude of the audio signals. Additionally, the audible nature of
the acoustic interference may allow a user to have audible feedback
that an interference privacy mode has been enabled. The separate
control circuit may be configured to generate the acoustic noise
signal and provide the acoustic noise signal to the interference
speaker for broadcasting the acoustic noise signal. The noise from
the interference speaker 832' may then be received by, and couple
to, the microphone 830' of the audio device such that the noise
signal may mix with the received speech to create obfuscated
acoustic data 875'.
[0105] In addition to the interference modes described, the
acoustic interference may be an ultrasonic interference. The
frequency of the ultrasonic interference may be outside of the
range of human hearing but within the frequency response range of
the microphone. For example, the frequency may be greater than or
equal to 20 kilohertz. The audio device may be designed so that the
ultrasonic interference may saturate the microphone input, that is,
the microphone output is substantially equal to V.sub.CC.
[0106] Alternative to an acoustic interference, electrical noise
may be added to the acoustic data. For example, the second control
circuit 855' may generate an electrical noise signal 865' which is
added directly or via a sum function 860' to the acoustic data
830'. The addition of the electrical noise signal 865' to the
acoustic data 830' may generate an obfuscated signal 875', which
may be a mix of the electrical noise signal and the noise signal.
That is, the noise may be added to a communication line of the
microphone 430 through the separate second control circuit. The
separate second control circuit 855' may be hard-coded and not
updateable via software, and additionally not connected to the
primary control circuit. The separate second control circuit 855'
may be used to generate the electrical noise such that the primary
control circuit, i.e., control circuit 814, may not be able to
cancel out or remove the noise from the acoustic data of the
microphone communication line.
[0107] The control circuit 814' may provide a signal 880' to the
second control circuit 855' to indicate to the second control
circuit 855' when to enter the privacy mode (i.e., when to generate
noise signals). When the control circuit provides a signal 880' to
the second control circuit 855', the second control circuit may
begin providing noise signals either electric noise signals 865' or
acoustic noise 870' to create the obfuscated data 875'. Further,
the primary control circuit may not be able to discern words when
performing voice recognition on the obfuscated data. Alternatively,
the wireless control circuit may transmit the obfuscated acoustic
data to a server for voice processing, wherein the server may also
not be able to discern words when performing voice recognition on
the obfuscated data, thereby masking or concealing any words spoken
during the time when the acoustic data has been obfuscated. When
the control circuit 814' determines the device 800' is no longer in
the privacy mode, the control circuit 814' may cease providing the
signal 880' to the second control circuit 855' to cause the second
control circuit 855' to stop generating the noise signal and
thereby the control circuit 814' will cease receiving the
obfuscated data 875'.
[0108] Any of the embodiments discussed herein may be integrated
into any of the devices shown in FIG. 1. As one example, the audio
device may be integrated into a load control device, such as load
control device 104. FIG. 10 is an example audio device 1000 that
may also be a load control device. The audio device 1000 may have
many similar features as the audio devices shown and described in
FIGS. 2, 3, 5, 7, and 9, and may also control an electrical load.
For example, the audio device 1000 may control an electrical load
such as a lighting load, a motorized window treatment, etc., such
as the load control device 104 shown in FIG. 1.
[0109] The audio device 1000 may have a speaker and microphone
located behind a protective cover 1010; a volume up adjuster 1002
and a volume down adjuster 1004 for adjusting a volume level of the
speaker; LED indicators 1006 for showing a volume level; a privacy
LED 1005; and a privacy airgap switch 1029, all similar to elements
previously described in the preceding figures. One will recognize
the audio device 1000 could additionally have a privacy cover as
shown in FIG. 2 or 3, or it may have a mute or privacy button as
shown in FIG. 5, a privacy switch or airgap switch as in FIG. 9,
etc.
[0110] The audio device 1000 may additionally include an actuator
1008 for controlling an electrical load. The actuator 1008 may be a
single actuator as shown, located on a front surface 1015 of the
audio device 1000. A user may press the actuator 1008 to control
the electrical load, such as turn a lighting load on and off, raise
lower a shade. Other actuators are possible. For example, if the
lights are on, a user may press the actuator 1008 to turn the
lights off. Or, if the lights are off, a user may press the
actuator 1008 to turn the lights on. Alternatively, the actuator
1008 may include multiple actuators. For example, the load control
device 1000 may control an electrical load such as a lighting load.
The actuator 1008 may include an on/off actuator, and one or more
additional actuators for dimming a lighting load up and down.
[0111] The audio device 1000 may also include an indicator LED
1005. The indicator LED 1005 may indicate the state of the load.
For example, the indicator LED may turn on when the load is on, and
the indicator LED may turn off and/or appear dark when the load is
off. The indicator LED may also be incorporated with the actuator
1008. Audio devices with integrated load control will be described
in greater detail herein.
[0112] The audio device 1000 may further include a second airgap
switch 1030 which may turn off power to the entire device. For
example, a user may disconnect airgap switch 1029 to put the audio
device 1000 into privacy mode without losing the ability to control
the load (i.e., pulling out the privacy airgap switch 1029 may not
remove power to the load controlled by the audio device load
control 1000). However, a user may disconnect power to the load via
the airgap switch 1030. For example, a user may pull out the airgap
switch 1030 to remove power to a light fixture to change a
lightbulb within the light fixture.
[0113] FIG. 11 is an example block diagram of an audio device 1100
with integrated load control, such as device 1000 shown in FIG. 10.
In this example, device 1100 is an audio device that is also a
control device for a lighting load. The audio device 1100 may have
similar circuitry as the audio device 800, 400 shown in FIGS. 8, 4,
respectively. For example, the audio device 1100 may have one or
more privacy LED(s) 1140, a volume control 1134, one or more volume
LEDs 1142, microphone(s) 1130, speaker(s) 1132, privacy airgaps
1129B and 1129C, etc. One distinction here is that the privacy
airgap switch shown in FIG. 8A as 829A is now a separate airgap
switch 1130, which is electrically located in the same area of the
circuit 1100 as the circuit 800; however, airgap switch 1130 also
now removes power to the electrical load 1104. The airgap switch
1130 corresponds to the airgap switch 1030 as previously described
in FIG. 10.
[0114] Additionally, the audio device 1100 may have load control
circuitry. The audio device 1100 may have a hot terminal H for
receiving power from an AC line voltage 1102. The audio device 1100
may have a dimmed hot or switched hot terminal DH for providing
power to a load 1104. The load 1104 may be a lighting load, such as
an LED, a compact fluorescent lamp (CFL), incandescent lamp,
halogen lamp, etc. The audio device 1100 may additionally have a
neutral terminal N, or may be referenced to an internal ground
reference.
[0115] The audio device 1100 may have a zero-cross detector 1118
and a load control circuit 1110. The zero-cross detector 1118 and
the load control circuit 1110 may both be electrically connected to
the hot terminal H and the control circuit 1114. The zero-cross
detector may monitor the line voltage from the hot terminal H to
detect when the line voltage reaches a minimum. When the line
voltage reaches a minimum, the zero-cross detector may provide a
zero-cross timing signal to the control circuit 1114. The control
circuit may control the load control circuit 1110 based on the
zero-cross timing signal provided by the zero-cross detector 1118.
For example, the control circuit 1114 may control the load control
circuit 1110 to provide a dimmed hot signal on terminal DH, where
the dimmed hot signal may use phase angle dimming. The firing time
of the load control circuit to provide the desired phase angle of
the dimmed hot signal may be based on the zero-cross signal from
the zero-cross detector 1118. The load control circuit may be a
controllably conductive device, such as a triac, silicon-controlled
rectifier (SCR), field-effect transistor (FET), or the like.
[0116] The audio device 1100 may further include a user interface
1116 for controlling the electrical load 1104. The user interface
1116 may be electrically connected to the control circuit 1114, and
may include one or more actuators (on/off, dim, etc.). The control
circuit 1114 may control the load control circuit 1110 based on
user input received from the user interface 1116. For example, a
user may actuate an on or off switch on the user interface 1116 of
the audio device 1100, and the audio device 1100 may control the
load 1104 on or off in response to receiving the user input at the
user interface 1116. Additionally, or alternatively, the user input
may comprise dimming actuators for dimming the load 1004 up and
down.
[0117] The audio device 1100 may include a second communication
circuit 1126. The communication circuit 1126 may be operatively
coupled to the control circuit 1114. The communication circuit 1126
may be a wireless or a wired communication circuit and may receive
wireless or wired signals from remote devices, such as a remote
which may send load control commands to the load control device; a
hub; a router; etc. The signals received by the communication
circuit 1126 may contain load control commands. The control circuit
may receive the signals from the communication circuit 1126 and may
control the load control circuit 1110 based on the received
signals. Such signals could alternatively/additionally be received
on communication circuit 1124. Alternatively, and/or additionally,
the signals received on 1126 may be a privacy setting command from
a remote device such as a hub, router, keypad, remote, etc. The
control circuit may receive and process the remote privacy command
from the communication circuit 1126, and may further determine to
put the audio device 1100 into privacy mode as described previously
in response to receiving the remote privacy command. The
communication circuit 1126 may communicate via Wi-Fi, Wi-MAX,
Bluetooth.RTM., ZigBee.RTM., Z-Wave, Thread, or a proprietary
protocol (e.g., the ClearConnect.RTM. protocol), etc.
[0118] In addition to the embodiments currently described, an audio
device may use any combination of the disclosed privacy methods.
For example, an audio device may have a privacy or mute cover, as
shown in FIG. 2 or 3, and may also include a mute button, and/or be
controllable from a remote command, etc.
[0119] FIG. 12 is an example of a remote privacy mode setting made
available to a user via a graphical based application from a device
such as a mobile device 1200, PC, laptop, etc. Alternatively, it
may be provided as a web based application. The remote privacy mode
may be for a specific audio device or it may be setup as a scene,
wherein multiple devices may respond to the privacy mode command.
In one example, the user may press a software button on a mobile
application on a mobile device, such as mobile device 115 of FIG.
1, to place one or more of the audio devices into privacy mode.
[0120] FIG. 12 shows one such example of a mobile device 1200 with
various scene settings. The mobile device may have one or more
scene options selectable by a user. The scene options may be
displayed on a graphical user interface (GUI) of a mobile
application. The mobile device 1200 shows several example scenes
that may be available for a user to select. When a user selects a
scene, the mobile device may wirelessly communicate with a hub
device, wherein the hub device may send a scene command to the load
control devices in the user environment to go to the selected
scene. Alternatively, the load control devices may receive the
scene command directly from the mobile device. In response to
receiving the scene command, the load control devices may control
their respective loads. For example, load control devices may turn
on electrical lighting or HVAC loads, motorized window treatments
may adjust a level of a window covering, etc., in response to the
scene command. In addition, audio devices may determine whether to
respond to the scene command to place the audio device into a
privacy mode.
[0121] In one example, the mobile application may have an All On
scene 1210, which turns on the devices that are part of the All On
scene. For example, any load control devices located in the user
environment may turn on their respective electrical lighting loads,
and/or motorized window treatments may open respective window
coverings, etc., in response to the "All On" command. The mobile
application may have an All Off scene 1220, which may turn off all
the devices that are part of the All Off scene. For example, any
load control devices located in the user environment may turn off
their respective electrical lighting loads, and/or motorized window
treatments may close respective window coverings, and/or the HVAC
may turn off or go to a setback temperature in response to the "All
Off" command.
[0122] Additionally, the mobile device may have a Privacy scene
1230. The Privacy scene 1230, when actuated by a user, may send a
command to one or more devices to enable privacy mode. For example,
a user may press the Privacy button 1230 on the mobile device 115
of FIG. 1 to place the audio device/load control device 104 into a
privacy mode. The mobile device 115 may transmit (i.e., wirelessly
transmit) the privacy command either directly to the audio device,
or may transmit to the hub device 129 (directly or through the
router 127 or Internet server), wherein the hub device 129 may then
send the privacy command via a wired or wireless connection to the
audio devices in the user environment.
[0123] Although the audio devices have been described as enabling a
privacy mode in response to a remote privacy command, the audio
devices may alternatively disable or disengage from the privacy
mode in response to a remote command. That is, a command to turn
off privacy mode may turn off privacy mode for one or more audio
devices in the user environment. Additionally, although privacy
mode has been described for audio devices, one will understand that
other devices which monitor a user environment may also have a
privacy mode and may additionally be responsive to the privacy
command. For example, devices which record video, such as video
intercom 120 and security camera 122, may also have a privacy mode
for the video recording. In this example, the privacy button 1230
may place the audio device/load control device 104, video intercom
120, and security camera 122, each into privacy mode to stop
transmitting data, thereby securing the privacy of the user
environment 100. For example, the privacy mode may cause each
device to cease transmitting data to the hub device 129 or the
router 127. Additionally, or alternatively, the privacy mode may
cause each device to cease transmitting data to any other device.
For example, the security camera 122 may transmit data to a
security system. In this case, the privacy mode button may be
configured to stop the transmission of data from the security
camera 122 to the security system. Similar to the privacy airgap
switches as described for audio devices, one or more privacy airgap
switches may be used for video devices to remotely break an
electrical connection in the video circuit. Or, a control circuit
of the video devices may stop transmitting or processing the video
feed in response to receiving a privacy command.
[0124] This remote-level privacy mode may allow a user 102 to place
a device into privacy mode while the user is not proximate the
device, i.e., while the user is located remotely from the device.
The remote-level privacy mode may provide a single control point
for a user to place multiple devices within the user environment
100 into a privacy mode.
[0125] For example, the remote-level privacy mode may provide a
single point of control for a hotel room, conference room, or a
room of a residence. Alternatively, the remote-level privacy mode
may be used as a single control point to place an entire building
into privacy mode.
[0126] As another example, the remote-level privacy mode may be
engaged through other mechanisms. For example, the remote-level
privacy mode may be engaged or entered by any number of triggers,
e.g., a button press, a voice command, short-range communication,
gesture, or triggered based on a condition. For example, the
remote-level privacy mode may be enabled by a button press. In
addition to the button press on a mobile application previously
described, the remote-level privacy mode may be engaged through a
button press on keypad 106 of FIG. 1. Alternatively, the
remote-level privacy mode may be engaged through a button or airgap
switch mechanism on the hub device 129. For example, a user may
press a button on keypad 106, or a button or airgap switch on hub
device 129, to place all the audio and/or video devices of room 100
which record and transmit sensitive data (i.e., audio and/or video
feeds) into privacy mode.
[0127] Alternatively, the remote privacy mode may be remotely
enabled via a voice command. For example, a user 102 may speak a
voice command, such as, for example, "privacy mode". The voice
command may be received by an audio device, such as audio device
104. The audio device may determine whether the voice command is a
privacy command. That is, the voice command may act as a keyword,
or wake word, which is processed locally by the control circuit of
the audio device. When the audio device 104 determines that the
voice command is a privacy command, the audio device 104 may enable
privacy mode. Each of the audio devices in the room 100 may be
responsive to the privacy command. Alternatively, only the hub
device 129 may be responsive to the keyword of the voice command to
enter privacy mode, and the hub device may send a privacy command
to the respective devices in the user environment 100. For example,
the hub device 129 may be an audio device and may include
additional audio processing circuitry to allow for multiple
keywords, such as privacy keywords. In this way, each audio device
in the room may not require additional audio processing circuitry.
For example, the hub 129 may receive the voice command from the
user 102 to go into privacy mode, and the hub 129 may transmit a
privacy command to the load control device 104, security camera
122, and the video intercom 120 via wireless signals 108, for
example.
[0128] The voice command to trigger privacy mode may be a command
setup by a user. Or, the voice command may be based on a specific
keyword. For example, the privacy mode may be automatically engaged
in response to the detection of specific keywords such as "bank",
"account", or "pin" are received at an audio device. Privacy mode
may also be engaged when numerical digits are read out loud. In
this way, the privacy of verbally spoken credit card, bank account,
social security, and/or phone numbers may be maintained, and not
transmitted by the audio device. In addition to any of these words,
any keyword may be used to trigger privacy mode. Additionally, the
audio device may locally (or through processing on a remote
server), determine context along with a trigger word before
enabling privacy mode. For example, the audio device may look for a
combination of keywords such as "bank" and "account", or "account"
and "number" or "pin".
[0129] Privacy mode may also be enabled based on short-range
communication from a privacy device. For example, a privacy device
may be a remote control or even the mobile device 115. The privacy
device may wirelessly send a privacy command to the audio device to
put the audio device into privacy mode. For example, the privacy
device may transmit a privacy command over short-range
communication. Short-range communication may be any one of
acoustic, visible light, infrared light, radio-frequency (e.g.,
near-field), or any other type of short-range communication. The
privacy device may have a wireless communication circuit and a
privacy mode button for receiving a user input. A user may press
the privacy mode button on the privacy device to transmit a privacy
command via the wireless communication circuit to other devices in
the space.
[0130] Privacy mode may alternatively be enabled or disabled based
on a gesture from a user. The user may gesture to the audio device
or to a privacy device to put the audio device into privacy mode.
Examples of gesture-based control of devices is described in more
detail in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2016/0224036,
entitled "GESTURE-BASED LOAD CONTROL VIA WEARABLE DEVICES", filed
Jan. 29, 2016, the entire disclosure of which is herein
incorporated by reference.
[0131] Alternatively, privacy mode may be triggered based on a
condition. The condition may be based on a specific user or
activity. For example, a certain user may always want the devices
in privacy mode. In this case, the respective devices, or the hub
device, may include the appropriate sensors and software to
recognize the user and trigger privacy mode based on the user's
presence, or an external camera or sensor may be used. For example,
privacy mode may be triggered based on voice recognition, facial
recognition, or gait recognition of the user. As an example, a
given room may have a camera configured with a facial recognition
application. The camera may be configured to recognize a given user
or gesture. Upon detecting a given user or gesture, the camera may
send a privacy command. The audio device may enable privacy mode
based on the privacy command. Examples of user recognition by
visible light sensors is described in more detail in U.S. Patent
Application No. 2017/0171941, entitled "LOAD CONTROL SYSTEM HAVING
A VISIBLE LIGHT SENSOR", filed Dec. 9, 2016, the entire disclosure
of which is herein incorporated by reference.
[0132] Additionally, privacy mode may also be triggered based on
proximity of wireless beacons specific to a user, such as the
user's phone, wearable device, or other remote communication device
specific to the user. For example, the audio device or the hub
device 129 may be configured to recognize a given wireless beacon.
Upon detecting the beacon, the audio device may enter a privacy
mode. Or, the hub device 129 may detect the beacon and send a
privacy command to the audio device to go into a privacy mode. Once
the audio device or hub device 129 has stopped detecting the
beacon, the audio device may disable or disengage the privacy mode.
Examples of user recognition based on beacons is described in more
detail in U.S. Patent Application No. 2016/0056629 filed on Aug.
21, 2015, entitled "LOAD CONTROL SYSTEM RESPONSIVE TO LOCATION OF
AN OCCUPANT AND MOBILE DEVICES", the entire disclosure of which is
herein incorporated by reference.
[0133] Privacy mode may also be triggered based on any other type
of geofencing technology present in the user's phone or remote
communication device. It is known, for example, to trigger a scene
based on geofencing (i.e., a user has crossed a geofenced area,
such as arriving at their home). Home control systems such as
Caseta, manufactured by Lutron Electronics Co., Inc., have a
geofencing feature that turns on a scene based on a user crossing a
geofenced area. This could be extended to include a privacy scene
or mode based on geofencing.
[0134] Privacy may be triggered based on other conditions, such as
a detected activity. For example, the privacy mode may be triggered
when a user receives a phone call. The mobile device 115 may detect
when a phone call is received and transmit a command to one or more
devices, or the hub device 129, to go into privacy mode.
Alternatively, the audio devices may recognize specific activities
and may enable privacy mode when the specific activity has been
detected. For example, the audio device 104 may receive an acoustic
sound. The audio device 104 may identify the acoustic sound as a
ringtone, determine that a user is receiving a phone call, and
based on the determination, the audio device 104 may enable privacy
mode. For example, the remote server 140 may continually process
audio data and may compare the data to a database of known or
learned sounds. When the audio device determines that a sound is an
incoming phone call, for example, the audio device may enter or
enable the privacy mode.
[0135] For the remote privacy modes described herein, the privacy
mode may be enabled (or disabled) at a device level, room level, or
building level, as setup by a user. Additionally, the privacy mode
may be enabled indefinitely until a user disables the privacy mode,
and vice versa. For example, the user may physically disable the
privacy mode by any one of the following methods: removing a
privacy cover; re-engaging a privacy airgap; turning off an
interference; etc. For added security, the privacy mode may need to
be physically disabled at the device.
[0136] Alternatively, the privacy mode may be disabled remotely
through a secure transmission. For example, a user may remotely
disable the privacy mode using a mobile device, such as mobile
device 115, that has a security key to unlock the security mode. In
one example, the security key may be an optical security key, and
the user may optically unlock the security mode through LiFi. That
is, the mobile device may flash a security key via the display or
the camera flash, which may be received by a light detector or
sensor of a hub device, such as hub device 129, or other control
device, such as the load control 104, to disable the privacy mode.
The security key may be specific to the user 102. This method may
be used for disabling the privacy mode as described herein, or for
enabling or engaging the privacy mode.
[0137] The privacy mode may be used with a timeout counter. For
example, privacy mode may be enabled for a finite period of time
using the timeout counter, and when the timeout counter has
expired, the audio device may exit the privacy mode. For example,
the privacy mode may be enabled for an hour-long meeting, and after
the hour, the privacy mode may be disabled.
[0138] The countdown of the timeout counter may be done by the
control circuit of the audio device, or by the hub device 129 which
may then send a command to the audio device at the end of the
timeout. The audio device (or the hub device 129) may include a
counter, and the control circuit may use the counter to determine a
timeout.
[0139] The length of the timeout may be configurable, whereby a
user may initially setup the audio device with a specific timeout
(e.g., one hour), or may add a timeout when enabling the privacy
mode. A user may configure the length of the timeout either through
an advanced programming mode on the audio device, or through a GUI
application on a mobile device, laptop, PC, etc. Alternatively, a
user may vocally command the audio device to instruct the privacy
timeout length. For example, a user may say "Privacy, 10 minutes",
where "privacy" is used as a keyword to enable privacy mode, and
"10 minutes" specifies the length of the timeout.
[0140] As another (or additional) example, the timeout counter may
be used to disengage privacy mode. For example, a user may press a
button to disengage privacy mode for 10 seconds, to make a request,
for example, after which privacy mode is automatically re-enabled.
Or, the privacy mode may be disengaged the entire time a button is
pressed, i.e., push-to-talk mode. A user may push the button while
talking to disengage the privacy mode and allow the audio device to
receive the spoken request from the user. When the user stops
pressing or pushing the button, the audio device may return to
privacy mode and stop recording or listening to acoustic data. For
example, the button may be a physical button such as an actuator or
capacitive touch area on the audio device, such as the privacy
button or privacy switch of FIGS. 5 and 9. Or, the button may be a
physical button on a remote device, such as a remote or keypad.
Alternatively, the button may be a soft button on a mobile device,
laptop, PC, etc.
[0141] Alternatively, the privacy mode may be enabled or disabled
based on a condition or event. For example, the user environment
may contain an occupancy sensor. The occupancy sensor may be
configured to communicate with the audio device, wherein the audio
device may enable or disable the privacy mode based on an occupancy
detection within the room. The audio device may also use a timeout
counter with the event-based or condition trigger. For example, the
audio device may disable the privacy mode for the first 30 seconds
after occupancy has been detected in the room. In this case,
occupancy may be sensed by the audio device itself, or may be
received by the communication circuit from an occupancy sensor or
the hub device 129.
[0142] Alternatively, privacy mode may be automatically set for a
room, such as a conference room, based on a calendar meetings
schedule for that room. For example, a user may book or schedule a
conference room for a particular time period using calendar
software (such as Microsoft Outlook, for example, manufactured by
Microsoft Corporation). The user may indicate in the meeting
appointment that the meeting is confidential, for example, by
setting the meeting to private, including the words "confidential"
or "private" in the meeting subject or body, or using an additional
setting to mark it confidential or indicate that a private meeting
is desired, etc. Based on the calendar meetings schedule, privacy
mode may then be enabled for the room during the time period when
the confidential meeting is scheduled. After the meeting is
concluded, each of the devices in the meeting room may return to
their normal (i.e., non-privacy mode) states. The end of the
meeting may be determined based on when the time period of the
calendar meeting has passed. Alternatively, the end of the meeting
may be determined by the occupancy state of the room, i.e., when
one or more occupancy sensors detect that the room is unoccupied.
In a related example, the occupancy sensors may be acoustic sensors
comprising microphones, where the acoustic sensors monitor sounds
in the room to detect when the room is vacant (i.e., when the
meeting has ended) but do not transmit acoustic data.
[0143] In another example, the privacy mode may be enabled or
disabled based on proximity of a user to the device. For example,
when a user is within a certain privacy distance of the audio
device, the audio device may engage or disengage a privacy mode.
The privacy distance may be specified by the user or may be set by
the audio device or system controller. For example, the privacy
distance may be 3 feet. The audio device may acoustically measure
user proximity using a microphone array, or via a single
microphone, beacon technology, or any other known technology in
measuring distance between a device and a user.
[0144] FIG. 13 is an example method 1300 that may be executed by a
control circuit of an audio device to enter privacy mode according
to any of the embodiments herein. The method may start at step
1310, when the control circuit receives a privacy command. As
previously described, the privacy command may be any of: a wireless
command (received from a remote button press from a GUI or a
detection of occupancy from an occupancy sensor); a detection of
occupancy (i.e., from an occupancy sensor integrated with the audio
device); a sound (a specific spoken keyword or a noise associated
with a specific activity such as a phone ringing); and the
like.
[0145] At step 1320, the control circuit may determine, based on
the privacy command, whether or not to enter privacy mode. For
example, if the control circuit has received the privacy command,
the control circuit may then send a signal to go into the privacy
mode at step 1330. For example, the signal may be providing voltage
to a reset line of a remote reset switch, such as line 850 of FIG.
8A, to change the state of the remote reset switch to remove power
and/or communication to the microphone, or other portions of the
audio device circuitry, for example. In a second example, the
signal to go into privacy mode may be a signal 880' as shown in
FIG. 8B to instruct a separate second control circuit 855' to begin
providing noise/interference signals 865' or 870'. The method may
then end.
[0146] Alternatively, if the control circuit determines not to
enter privacy mode at step 1320, (for example, the privacy command
received at 1310 was a signal that the remote reset switch has
manually been returned to the non-privacy state, or a wireless
command to exit privacy mode has been received, or a vacancy
command has been received, etc.), the method may then proceed to
step 1340, where the control circuit may provide a signal to exit
the privacy mode. For example, the control circuit may cease
providing voltage to the reset line of the remote reset switch. In
a second example, the control circuit may cease signaling the
separate second control circuit to cause the separate second
control circuit to stop providing interference signals to obfuscate
the acoustic data. The method may then end.
[0147] In addition to the embodiments described herein, one skilled
in the art will recognize that any combination of these concepts
may readily be applied to achieve the same effects, all of which
are considered to be within the scope of this disclosure. For
example, although not discussed in detail herein, privacy mode may
alternatively be achieved through a dedicated privacy link wired
throughout the home, i.e., a system of wired devices which may each
go into privacy mode when a wired or wireless privacy command is
received. Additionally, although most of the disclosure has been
specific to audio devices for voice applications, one skilled in
the art will further recognize that these concepts are not limited
to voice recognition devices, but any audio device which records
acoustic data from a space, or other devices such as cameras or
video recording devices as well.
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