Patents Examined by Vivian C Chin
  • Patent number: 11962966
    Abstract: A headset including an in-ear microphone is disclosed, the headset including a first frame including a first surface toward a first direction, a second surface toward a second direction opposite to the first direction, and a side surface surrounding at least part of a space between the first surface and the second surface, a speaker seating portion formed by recessing by a specific depth from a first portion of the first surface toward the second surface, a space formed between the speaker seating portion and the second surface, a speaker hole penetrated from the speaker seating portion to the space, a microphone hole penetrated from a second portion of the first surface to the space, an acoustic hole formed by penetrating the second surface from the space, a speaker seated in the speaker seating portion, a first printed circuit board disposed on the second portion and having a via hole connected with the microphone hole, a second printed circuit board electrically connected with the first printed circuit boa
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 17, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 16, 2024
    Assignee: SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Haekeu Park, Kyeongcheol Yoon, Hyeonyeong Jeong, Sunghoon Cho, Seonmi Kim, Jeock Lee, Seyoun Kwon
  • Patent number: 11962995
    Abstract: Disclosed in the invention is a virtual reproduction method for a multichannel spatial surround sound in three-dimensional space. Multichannel spatial surround sound signals are undergone a sum and difference operation and processed with virtual reproduction signal processing functions, then fed to four actual loudspeakers arranged at left-front-up and right-front-up directions on a high elevation plane of 30°±10° and horizontal left-front and right-front directions for reproduction, and generate a auditory effect of spatial surround sound. The invention simplifies the number and arrangement of loudspeakers required for multichannel spatial surround sound reproduction, and is suitable for cases in which the arrangement of multiple loudspeakers for spatial surround sound is infeasible, such as in a TV set, and so on.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 14, 2018
    Date of Patent: April 16, 2024
    Assignees: SOUTH CHINA UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, GUANGZHOU UNIVERSITY
    Inventors: Bosun Xie, Chengyun Zhang, Lulu Liu
  • Patent number: 11956623
    Abstract: Processing sound in an enhanced reality environment can include generating, based on an image of a physical environment, an acoustic model of the physical environment. Audio signals captured by a microphone array, can capture a sound in the physical environment. Based on these audio signals, one or more measured acoustic parameters of the physical environment can be generated. A target audio signal can be processed using the model of the physical environment and the measured acoustic parameters, resulting in a plurality of output audio channels having a virtual sound source with a virtual location. The output audio channels can be used to drive a plurality of speakers. Other aspects are also described and claimed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 28, 2021
    Date of Patent: April 9, 2024
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Christopher T. Eubank, Joshua D. Atkins, Soenke Pelzer, Dirk Schroeder
  • Patent number: 11950082
    Abstract: An apparatus and method of loudspeaker equalization. The method combines default tunings (generated based on a default listening environment) and room tunings (generated based on an end user listening environment) to result in combined tunings that account for differences between the end user listening environment and the default listening environment.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 14, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 2, 2024
    Assignee: DOLBY LABORATORIES LICENSING CORPORATION
    Inventor: Andrew P. Reilly
  • Patent number: 11948545
    Abstract: A sound control device in a vehicle and control method thereof may include obtaining energy per unit time of an audio signal corresponding to a preset low frequency band, calculating an allowable reference value based on a difference between a magnitude of energy per unit time of the audio signal and a magnitude of a preset maximum allowable input of a speaker, monitoring whether a magnitude of energy per unit time of a noise control signal for eliminating noise in the vehicle exceeds the allowable reference value, and adjusting a magnitude of the noise control signal when the magnitude of energy per unit time of the noise control signal exceeds the allowable reference value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 19, 2022
    Date of Patent: April 2, 2024
    Assignees: HYUNDAI MOTOR COMPANY, KIA CORPORATION
    Inventors: Jung Keun You, Jong Won Lee, Kaang Dok Yee, Chi Sung Oh, Hyun Jin Song
  • Patent number: 11943581
    Abstract: In general, techniques are described by which to enable a transparency mode in vehicles. A device comprising one or more microphones and one or more processors may be configured to perform the techniques. The microphones may capture audio data representative of a sound scene external to a vehicle. The processors may perform beamforming with respect to the audio data to obtain object audio data representative of an audio object in the sound scene external to the vehicle. The processors may next reproduce, by interfacing with one or more speakers included within the vehicle and based on the object audio data, the audio object in the sound scene external to the vehicle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 2021
    Date of Patent: March 26, 2024
    Assignee: Google LLC
    Inventors: Dongeek Shin, Jian Guo
  • Patent number: 11937045
    Abstract: This audio image control method controls the localization of an audio image in a space between a headphone/speaker and the auricle. Rearward sound emitted from the headphone/speaker at a position corresponding to the rear of the auricle and traveling toward the auricle is blocked and reflected to travel away toward the front of the auricle. The reflected rearward sound is reflected together with forward scattering sound emitted from the headphone/speaker at a position forwardly of the auricle and travelling away from the auricle, and is allowed to reach the auricle as reflected forward sound travelling from the front of the auricle toward the auricle. Central sound emitted from the central portion of the headphone/speaker and travelling toward the auricle, and emitted forward sound emitted from the headphone/speaker at a position corresponding to the front of the auricle and traveling toward the auricle are allowed to reach the auricle directly.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 14, 2019
    Date of Patent: March 19, 2024
    Inventor: Toshihiko Horie
  • Patent number: 11926265
    Abstract: An all-terrain or utility vehicle includes an audio system having at least one speaker. The at least one speaker is positioned at a forward portion of the operator area and is supported by a body panel. More particularly, the body panel may be configured to receive at least a portion of the speaker as well as at least a portion of an upper frame assembly. In this way, the speaker is positioned to direct sound towards the rider, is generally concealed from a front view of the vehicle, and is positioned within available space on the vehicle above at least a portion of the door.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 22, 2021
    Date of Patent: March 12, 2024
    Assignee: Polaris Industries Inc.
    Inventors: Donovan L. Fredrickson, Jonathan M. Hetland, Keith A. Hollman
  • Patent number: 11922918
    Abstract: A noise controlling method includes generating a reference signal representing a primary noise, generating a secondary noise in response to a control signal for cancelling the primary noise, generating an error signal representing a superposition of the primary and secondary noises at a position, generating an additional reference signal, secondary noise, or additional error signal, and generating the control signal for generating the secondary noise using adaptive subband filtering based on the reference and error signals, the generating the control signal including decomposing the reference signal and the error signal into a subband reference and error signal for each subband, updating subband adaptive filters for a subband based on the subband reference signal and the subband error signal, updating a fullband adaptive filter based on the updated subband adaptive filter, and generating the control signal by filtering the reference signal by the updated fullband adaptive filter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 9, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 5, 2024
    Assignee: Faurecia Creo AB
    Inventors: Nicolas Jean Pignier Delafontaine, Christophe Mattei, Robert Risberg
  • Patent number: 11922915
    Abstract: An apparatus includes a sensor module configured for receiving sensed information indicative of a sensed signal. The sensed signal includes a source signal component and a source noise component. The apparatus also includes a reference module configured for reference information indicative of a reference signal. The reference signal also includes a reference noise component. The apparatus also includes a filter module configured as a fixed lag Kalman smoother. The filter module is configured for adaptively filtering the reference signal to generate an estimate of the source noise component. The apparatus also includes a processing module configured for calculating an output signal based on the sensed signal and the estimate of the source noise component. The apparatus also includes an interface module configured for transmitting an indication of the output signal. The filter module is further configured for, based on the output signal, tuning the Kalman smoother.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 5, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 5, 2024
    Assignee: Empatica Srl
    Inventors: Ivan Cenci, Simone Tognetti
  • Patent number: 11910168
    Abstract: A method of grouping together pieces of equipment that are capable of emitting sound signals, the method comprising the steps of: causing each piece of equipment to emit a test sound signal; causing the test sound signal to be received by each piece of equipment that is capable of receiving sound signals, and causing each of these pieces of equipment to evaluate a recognition level for said test sound signal; or each pair of pieces of equipment Ei and Ej, evaluating a mutual recognition level representative both of a recognition level N(i, j) for the piece of equipment Ei receiving a test sound signal emitted by the piece of equipment Ej, and also of a recognition level N(j, i); on the basis of the mutual recognition level, determining whether or not the pieces of equipment Ei and Ej belong to a common sound space.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 15, 2020
    Date of Patent: February 20, 2024
    Assignee: SAGEMCOM BROADBAND SAS
    Inventors: Frédéric Sodi, Vincent Schott
  • Patent number: 11910181
    Abstract: Example techniques relate to playback based on acoustic signals in a system including a first network device and a second network device. A first network device may detect a presence of a user using a camera and/or infrared sensors. The first network device sends, in response to detecting the presence of the user, a particular signal via the first network interface. The second network device receives data corresponding to the particular signal and plays back an audio output corresponding to the particular signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 24, 2023
    Date of Patent: February 20, 2024
    Assignee: Sonos, Inc
    Inventors: Jonathon Reilly, Niels Van Erven
  • Patent number: 11910141
    Abstract: A speaker system is disclosed with user-selectable output modes including controlled directivity output modes (e.g. selectable monopole, dipole, or cardioid radiation patterns), that may be implemented with adjustable electronic delay of out-of-phase driver elements, and that provides for both even-orderharmonic distortion reduction and driver force cancellation in a compact assembly suitable for home or studio use.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 8, 2021
    Date of Patent: February 20, 2024
    Assignee: Lamassu LLC
    Inventor: Andrew Brandt Kwiram
  • Patent number: 11902756
    Abstract: Systems and methods for detecting and acknowledging audio transmissions containing data. In one embodiment, a method is presented that includes receiving multiple audio signals that are detected by multiple receivers from within a service area. A first audio transmission may be detected in a first subset of the audio signal that are received by a first subset of the receivers. The first subset of the receivers may be positioned to receive audio transmissions from computing devices located within a first portion of the service area. At least one transmitter may be identified that is positioned to transmit audio transmissions to computing devices located within at least a subset of the first portion of the service area. A second audio transmission may be transmitted using the at least one first transmitter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 7, 2022
    Date of Patent: February 13, 2024
    Assignee: LISNR
    Inventors: Oz Mendel, William Knauer
  • Patent number: 11889290
    Abstract: Example techniques relate to playback based on acoustic signals in a system including a first network device and a second network device. A first network device may detect a presence of a user using a camera and/or infrared sensors. The first network device sends, in response to detecting the presence of the user, a particular signal via the first network interface. The second network device receives data corresponding to the particular signal and plays back an audio output corresponding to the particular signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 27, 2023
    Date of Patent: January 30, 2024
    Assignee: Sonos, Inc.
    Inventors: Jonathon Reilly, Niels Van Erven
  • Patent number: 11887611
    Abstract: In multichannel audio coding, an improved coding efficiency is achieved by the following measure: the noise filling of zero-quantized scale factor bands is performed using noise filling sources other than artificially generated noise or spectral replica. In particular, the coding efficiency in multichannel audio coding may be rendered more efficient by performing the noise filling based on noise generated using spectral lines from a previous frame of, or a different channel of the current frame of, the multichannel audio signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 27, 2022
    Date of Patent: January 30, 2024
    Assignee: Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Foerderung der angewandten Forschung e.V.
    Inventors: Maria Luis Valero, Christian Helmrich, Johannes Hilpert
  • Patent number: 11877126
    Abstract: Techniques, methods, systems, and other mechanisms for measuring the excursion of a speaker while being actively driven. Measuring excursion can involve attaching a flexible printed coil (FPC), including a sense coil, to the speaker, and monitoring an induced current as produced though the sense coil, and further detecting that violation of an excursion limit for the speaker may likely occur.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 13, 2021
    Date of Patent: January 16, 2024
    Assignee: Google LLC
    Inventors: Michael Asfaw, Chad Georges Seguin, David C. Breece, III, Leonardo Kusumo
  • Patent number: 11856373
    Abstract: An apparatus includes a wire connector configured to receive a connection to an external device. The external device includes a speaker and is configured to output audible sounds. The apparatus includes a connection detection circuit configured to determine whether the external device has connected to the apparatus through the wire connector. The apparatus includes an output test circuit configured to, upon detection of a connection to the external device, issue a test signal to the external device, evaluate a response to the test signal, the response based upon a resistance value within the external device, and determine an identity of the external device based upon the response to the test signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 27, 2021
    Date of Patent: December 26, 2023
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventor: Dennis S. Fish
  • Patent number: 11854524
    Abstract: Adjustment of active noise cancellation (ANC) systems can include determining a noise within a vehicle; detecting a movement of a head of a listener; adjusting one or more parameters of the ANC system based at least on the noise and the movement of the head of the listener; determining an anti-noise based at least on the adjusted one or more parameters; and outputting the anti-noise.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 13, 2021
    Date of Patent: December 26, 2023
    Assignee: Harman International Industries, Incorporated
    Inventor: Kevin J. Bastyr
  • Patent number: 11849289
    Abstract: According to an embodiment, an electronic device comprises a memory, a communication module, a first speaker including at least one vibration component, at least one first microphone, and a processor configured to output a first sound having a predetermined frequency via the first speaker when a closed space is formed with the electronic device mounted on a cradle, obtain a third sound, which is a reflection of the first sound in the closed space, via the at least one first microphone, obtain a fourth sound, which is a reflection of a second sound in the closed space, via the at least one first microphone, the second sound output from a second speaker included in an external electronic device located in the closed space, and identify whether the performance of the first speaker, the at least one first microphone, and the second speaker is normal, based on the third sound and the fourth sound.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 10, 2021
    Date of Patent: December 19, 2023
    Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Seunghwan Ko, Seonghun Jeong, Kiyean Kim, Dongjin Kim, Yeongkwan Kim, Joonho Kim, Taeseon Kim, Hyeonhyang Kim, Jungkeun Park