Patents Examined by Norman Yu
  • Optical audio transmission from source device to wireless earphones
    Patent number: 11234078
    Abstract: A system that includes an audio source device configured to obtain audio data of at least one audio channel of a piece of program content. The audio source device has an optical transmitter for transmitting the audio data as an optical signal and a radio frequency (RF) transceiver. The system also includes a wireless earphone that has an optical receiver for receiving the audio data as the optical signal, a RF transceiver for transmitting feedback data indicating a reception quality of the received optical signal at the wireless earphone as a wireless RF signal, and a speaker for outputting the audio data contained within the optical signal and/or the data packets as sound.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 25, 2020
    Date of Patent: January 25, 2022
    Assignee: APPLE INC.
    Inventors: Robert D. Silfvast, Tushar Gupta, Jahan C. Minoo, Nicholas C. Soldner, Daniel Javaheri-Zadeh
  • Electronic device including acoustic duct having a vibratable sheet
    Patent number: 11228832
    Abstract: An electronic device is disclosed. According to an embodiment of the disclosure, the electronic device comprises a housing including a plate defining a first face of the electronic device and a side portion extending along an edge of the plate and defining a side face of the electronic device, a speaker including a sound outlet disposed in a support portion of the housing extending from the side member to an inner space of the electronic device, the sound outlet disposed in a direction facing the first face, a sheet disposed between the plate and the speaker, and an acoustic duct defined in part by the sheet and the support portion, spaced apart from the plate, and extending from the sound outlet of the speaker to the side face.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 7, 2020
    Date of Patent: January 18, 2022
    Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Myoungsung Sim, Youngbae Park, Choonghyo Park, Byounghee Lee, Seungnam Kim, Juhwan Woo, Hochul Hwang
  • Headset with user configurable noise cancellation vs ambient noise pickup
    Patent number: 11202140
    Abstract: A system comprises automatic noise cancellation circuitry and interface circuitry operable to provide an interface via which a user can configure which sounds said automatic noise cancelling circuitry attempts to cancel and which sounds said automatic noise cancelling circuitry does not attempt to cancel. The interface circuitry may be operable to provide an interface via which a user can select a sound to whitelist or blacklist. The interface circuitry may be operable to provide an interface via which a user can increase or decrease an amount of noise cancellation that is desired. The interface circuitry may be operable to provide an interface via which a user can select from among three or more levels of noise cancellation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 3, 2019
    Date of Patent: December 14, 2021
    Assignee: Voyetra Turtle Beach, Inc.
    Inventors: Richard Kulavik, Christopher Church
  • Interaural time difference crossfader for binaural audio rendering
    Patent number: 11197118
    Abstract: Examples of the disclosure describe systems and methods for presenting an audio signal to a user of a wearable head device. According to an example method, a first input audio signal is received, the first input audio signal corresponding to a source location in a virtual environment presented to the user via the wearable head device. The first input audio signal is processed to generate a left output audio signal and a right output audio signal. The left output audio signal is presented to the left ear of the user via a left speaker associated with the wearable head device. The right output audio signal is presented to the right ear of the user via a right speaker associated with the wearable head device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 4, 2019
    Date of Patent: December 7, 2021
    Assignee: Magic Leap, Inc.
    Inventors: Samuel Charles Dicker, Harsh Mayur Barbhaiya
  • Hearing aid and method for controlling a power mode thereof
    Patent number: 11166110
    Abstract: A hearing aid, including an inertial sensor for detecting movement of the hearing aid, and a power mode controller connected to the inertial sensor through a threshold comparison unit and adapted to switch the hearing aid off or into a low power mode if the threshold comparison unit detects that a characteristic of a signal including information on the movement detected by the inertial sensor is below a certain threshold. Also, a method for controlling a power mode of a hearing aid.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 26, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 2, 2021
    Assignee: SONOVA AG
    Inventors: Nadim El Guindi, Nina Stumpf, Hilmar Meier, Hans-Ueli Roeck
  • Abnormal sound detection system, artificial sound creation system, and artificial sound creating method
    Patent number: 11164594
    Abstract: Confirmation can be made what sound has been made under a restriction in which transmittable traffic is small. An abnormal sound detection system including an artificial sound creating function is configured, the abnormal sound detection system including a statistic calculation unit configured to calculate a statistic set expressing sizes of a direct current component, an alternating current component, and a noise component in an amplitude time series at each of frequencies of a sound inputted at a terminal, a statistic transmitting unit configured to transmit the statistic set from the terminal to a server, a statistic receiving unit configured to receive the statistic set in the server, and an artificial sound reproducing unit configured to reproduce a cyclostationary artificial sound based on the statistic set received in the server.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 4, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 2, 2021
    Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventor: Yohei Kawaguchi
  • Actuator testing systems and methods
    Patent number: 11166109
    Abstract: Technologies disclosed herein can be used to test vibrating actuators, such as those found in auditory prostheses. An example test system includes a trigger signal generator that emits a trigger signal, a test frequency generator that operates in a test mode responsive to receiving a trigger signal, and a diagnostic tool comprising a vibration sensor. The diagnostic tool can measure an output of the vibration sensor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 16, 2018
    Date of Patent: November 2, 2021
    Assignee: Cochlear Limited
    Inventors: Werner Meskens, Clare James
  • Ambient sound enhancement based on hearing profile and acoustic noise cancellation
    Patent number: 11153677
    Abstract: An audio system has an ambient sound enhancement function, in which an against-the-ear audio device having a speaker converts a digitally processed version of an input audio signal into sound. The input audio signal may be amplified where the amplification may be in accordance with a stored hearing profile of the user (personalized ambient sound enhancement.) The audio system also has an acoustic noise cancellation (ANC) function that may be combined in various ways with the sound enhancement function, and that may be responsive to voice activity detection. Other aspects are also described and claimed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 11, 2020
    Date of Patent: October 19, 2021
    Assignee: APPLE INC.
    Inventors: John Woodruff, Tom-Davy W. Saux, Vladan Bajic, Vasu Iyengar, Andrew E. Greenwood, Tyrone T. Chen, Jakub Mazur, Tony S. Verma
  • User adjustable weighting of sound classes of a hearing aid
    Patent number: 11153693
    Abstract: A method for operating a hearing aid comprises: acquiring a sound signal; classifying the acquired sound signal with respect to predefined sound classes, wherein a raw class mixing weighting is determined, in which the sound signal is weighted with respect to the sound classes; processing the sound signal with at least one actuator, wherein the actuator processes the sound signal based on an actual actuator parameterization, wherein each sound class comprises a sound class actuator parameterization for each actuator, and the actual actuator parameterization for each actuator is generated by mixing the sound class actuator parameterization of the sound classes based on the raw class mixing weighting; and outputting the processed sound signal to be perceived by the user of the hearing aid.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 27, 2017
    Date of Patent: October 19, 2021
    Assignee: Sonova AG
    Inventor: Elmar Fichtl
  • Customized audio processing based on user-specific and hardware-specific audio information
    Patent number: 11134353
    Abstract: A method of audio signal processing, the method comprising: accessing user-specific audio processing information for a particular user; determining identity information of an audio device for producing sound output from an audio signal; based on the identity information of the audio device, accessing device-specific audio processing information for the audio device; generating a customized audio-processing procedure for the audio signal based on the user-specific audio processing information and the device-specific audio processing information; and generating a customized audio signal by processing the audio signal with the customized audio-processing procedure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 30, 2019
    Date of Patent: September 28, 2021
    Assignee: Harman International Industries, Incorporated
    Inventors: Daniel Timothy Pye, Sean Edward Olive, Todd S. Welti, Omid Khonsaripour, Kadagattur Gopinatha Srinidhi, Christopher Ludwig, Michael Knappe
  • Server and system for controlling smart microphone
    Patent number: 11122349
    Abstract: A system for controlling a smart microphone includes a smart microphone configured to receive and transfer a voice of a user, the smart microphone including a plurality of buttons, a control server configured to, when the voice of the user is received through the smart microphone, convert the voice into a text, extract text, matching a command stored in a command database (DB), as a command from a converted text, and transfer a function corresponding to the extracted command to the user terminal, and a user terminal configured to receive a command from the control server to execute a function corresponding to the received command.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 11, 2020
    Date of Patent: September 14, 2021
    Assignee: I-SCREAM MEDIA CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Ki Seok Park, Ki Bok Nam
  • Hearing device for own voice detection and method of operating a hearing device
    Patent number: 11115762
    Abstract: A hearing device configured to be worn at a head of a user. The hearing device includes a vibration sensor to detect a vibration conducted through the user's head to the hearing device and to output a vibration signal including information about the vibration. At least part of the vibration can be caused by an own voice activity of the user. A method of operating the hearing device allows a reliable own voice detection at rather low processing effort. The processor determines a presence of an own voice characteristic in the vibration signal at a vibration frequency associated with the own voice characteristic and identifies the own voice activity based on an identification criterion including the presence of the own voice characteristic in the vibration signal at the associated vibration frequency. The own voice characteristic indicative of part of the vibration can be caused by the own voice activity.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 27, 2020
    Date of Patent: September 7, 2021
    Assignee: SONOVA AG
    Inventors: Ullrich Sigwanz, Nadim El Guindi, Daniel Lucas-Hirtz, Nina Stumpf
  • Binaural hearing aid system comprising a bilateral beamforming signal output and omnidirectional signal output
    Patent number: 11109167
    Abstract: The present disclosure relates to methods of performing bilateral processing of respective microphone signals of a left ear hearing aid and a right ear hearing aid of a binaural hearing aid system and to corresponding binaural hearing aid systems.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 5, 2019
    Date of Patent: August 31, 2021
    Inventors: Changxue Ma, Andrew Burke Dittberner, Rob Anton Jurjen De Vries
  • Apparatus, method, computer program or system for use in rendering audio
    Patent number: 11102604
    Abstract: An apparatus, a method and a computer program product are provided for use in rendering audio. An apparatus is configured for: receiving a first audio signal representative of a virtual sound scene, wherein the first audio signal is configured for rendering on an arrangement of loudspeakers to a user; determine a first portion of the virtual sound scene to be rendered on headphones of the user; generating a second audio signal representative of the first portion of the virtual sound scene; determining a second portion of the virtual sound scene to be rendered on the arrangement of loudspeakers; generating a third audio signal, representative of the second portion of the virtual sound scene; and wherein the second and third audio signals are generated such that, when rendered, an augmented version of the virtual sound scene is rendered to the user.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 20, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 24, 2021
    Assignee: Nokia Technologies Oy
    Inventors: Antti Johannes Eronen, Mikko-Ville Ilari Laitinen, Arto Juhani Lehtiniemi, Miikka Tapani Vilermo
  • Video component in 3D audio
    Patent number: 11102606
    Abstract: A visual component is added to a 3D audio stream to present on a display at the player side a visual representation of objects in the 3D audio, enabling the user to better understand what is happening in the 3D audio experience. The visual representation may include visual objects with the same location and movement in 3D space as audio objects being played.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 16, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 24, 2021
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: James R. Milne, Gregory Carlsson, Steven Richman
  • Cough detection device, cough detection method, and recording medium
    Patent number: 11094337
    Abstract: A cough detection device including: an acoustic feature extractor that extracts at least one acoustic feature from acoustic data output by a microphone array according to a sound received; a first identifier that performs identification of the sound based on the at least one acoustic feature to determine whether the sound is a cough sound; a direction estimator that estimates an arrival direction of the sound from the acoustic data; an image selector that selects, from first image data indicating an image obtained by capturing a scene in which the sound occurs, second image data indicating an area corresponding to the arrival direction estimated; and a second identifier that performs identification of the image based on the second image data to determine whether a coughing action is shown in the image.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 23, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 17, 2021
    Assignee: PANASONIC INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY CORPORATION OF AMERICA
    Inventor: Katsunori Daimo
  • Encoding of multiple audio signals
    Patent number: 11094330
    Abstract: A device includes an encoder configured to determine, during a first period, that a first audio signal is a leading signal and that a second audio signal is a lagging signal. The encoder is also configured to generate a first frame of at least one encoded signal based on a first modified version of the second audio signal that is generated by adjusting the second audio signal based on a first mismatch value. The encoder is configured to determine, during a second period, that the first audio signal is the leading signal and that the second audio signal is the lagging signal. The encoder is configured to generate a second frame of the at least one encoded signal based on a second modified version of the second audio signal that is generated by adjusting the second audio signal based on the first mismatch value and a second mismatch value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 28, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 17, 2021
    Assignee: QUALCOMM Incorporated
    Inventors: Venkatraman Atti, Venkata Subrahmanyam Chandra Sekhar Chebiyyam, Daniel Jared Sinder
  • Removable attachment of a passive transcutaneous bone conduction device with limited skin deformation
    Patent number: 11089413
    Abstract: An external component including a vibratory portion configured to vibrate in response to a sound signal to evoke a hearing percept via bone conduction and including a coupling portion configured to removably attach the external component to an outer surface of skin of a recipient of the hearing prosthesis while imparting deformation to the skin of the recipient at a location of the attachment, in a one-gravity environment, of an amount that is about equal to or equal to that which results from the external component having mass.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 29, 2019
    Date of Patent: August 10, 2021
    Assignee: Cochlear Limited
    Inventors: Marcus Andersson, Kristian Asnes, Erik Martin Holgersson
  • Methods and systems for generating audio for an extended reality world
    Patent number: 11082796
    Abstract: An exemplary acoustics generation system accesses acoustic propagation data representative of characteristics affecting propagation of a virtual sound to an avatar within an extended reality world being experienced by a user associated with the avatar. Based on the acoustic propagation data, the acoustics generation system also generates a binaural audio signal representative of the virtual sound as experienced by the avatar when the propagation of the virtual sound to the avatar is simulated in accordance with the characteristics affecting the propagation. Additionally, the acoustics generation system prepares the binaural audio signal for presentation to the user as the user experiences the extended reality world by way of the avatar. Corresponding methods and systems are also disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 26, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 3, 2021
    Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Inc.
    Inventors: Samuel Charles Mindlin, Mohammad Raheel Khalid, Shan Anis, Kunal Jathal
  • Passive balancing of electroacoustic transducers for detection of external sound
    Patent number: 11081097
    Abstract: A system and method for passively balancing electroacoustic transducers so that sounds other than the transducer's output can be detected. A transducer producing audio output based upon an input audio signal can operate in reverse to produce a signal in response to the impact of external sound upon the transducer from another source. This “reverse” or “microphone” signal represents the sound from the other source. Transducers are operated in monophonic mode, each in opposite polarity to the other thus canceling out and leaving only the microphone signal created by the transducers, i.e., a signal representing the external sound. The microphone signal can be amplified, and can be filtered and processed to identify and/or obtain various types of information about the sound received by the transducers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 30, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 3, 2021
    Assignee: ESS Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Christian Leth Petersen, Shawn William Scarlett, A. Martin Mallinson