Patents by Inventor Timothy Theodore List

Timothy Theodore List has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 11974082
    Abstract: Voice-controlled devices that include one or more speakers for outputting audio. In some instances, the device includes at least one speaker within a cylindrical housing, with the speaker aimed or pointed away from a microphone coupled to the housing. For instance, if the microphone resides at or near the top of the cylindrical housing, then the speaker may point downwards along the longitudinal axis of the housing and away from the microphone. By pointing the speaker away from the microphone, the microphone will receive less sound from the speaker than if the speaker were pointed toward the microphone). Because the voice-controlled device may perform speech recognition on audio signals generated by the microphone, less sound from the speaker represented in the audio signal may result in more accurate speech recognition, and/or a lesser need to perform acoustic echo cancelation (AEC) on the generated audio signals.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 24, 2022
    Date of Patent: April 30, 2024
    Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: David Wilson Poole, Timothy Theodore List, Jacobi Colton Grillo, Wei Li, Tony David
  • Patent number: 11521624
    Abstract: A voice controlled assistant has a housing to hold one or more microphones, one or more speakers, and various computing components. The housing has an elongated cylindrical body extending along a center axis between a base end and a top end. The microphone(s) are mounted in the top end and the speaker(s) are mounted proximal to the base end. The microphone(s) and speaker(s) are coaxially aligned along the center axis. The speaker(s) are oriented to output sound directionally toward the base end and opposite to the microphone(s) in the top end. The sound may then be redirected in a radial outward direction from the center axis at the base end so that the sound is output symmetric to, and equidistance from, the microphone(s).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 21, 2020
    Date of Patent: December 6, 2022
    Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.
    Inventor: Timothy Theodore List
  • Publication number: 20220286763
    Abstract: Voice-controlled devices that include one or more speakers for outputting audio. In some instances, the device includes at least one speaker within a cylindrical housing, with the speaker aimed or pointed away from a microphone coupled to the housing. For instance, if the microphone resides at or near the top of the cylindrical housing, then the speaker may point downwards along the longitudinal axis of the housing and away from the microphone. By pointing the speaker away from the microphone, the microphone will receive less sound from the speaker than if the speaker were pointed toward the microphone). Because the voice-controlled device may perform speech recognition on audio signals generated by the microphone, less sound from the speaker represented in the audio signal may result in more accurate speech recognition, and/or a lesser need to perform acoustic echo cancelation (AEC) on the generated audio signals.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 24, 2022
    Publication date: September 8, 2022
    Inventors: David Wilson Poole, Timothy Theodore List, Jacobi Colton Grillo, Wei Li, Tony David
  • Patent number: 11399224
    Abstract: Voice-controlled devices that include one or more speakers for outputting audio. In some instances, the device includes at least one speaker within a cylindrical housing, with the speaker aimed or pointed away from a microphone coupled to the housing. For instance, if the microphone resides at or near the top of the cylindrical housing, then the speaker may point downwards along the longitudinal axis of the housing and away from the microphone. By pointing the speaker away from the microphone, the microphone will receive less sound from the speaker than if the speaker were pointed toward the microphone). Because the voice-controlled device may perform speech recognition on audio signals generated by the microphone, less sound from the speaker represented in the audio signal may result in more accurate speech recognition, and/or a lesser need to perform acoustic echo cancelation (AEC) on the generated audio signals.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 30, 2020
    Date of Patent: July 26, 2022
    Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: David Wilson Poole, Timothy Theodore List, Jacobi Colton Grillo, Wei Li, Tony David
  • Patent number: 11270706
    Abstract: A voice controlled assistant has a housing to hold one or more microphones, one or more speakers, and various computing components. The housing has an elongated cylindrical body extending along a center axis between a base end and a top end. The microphone(s) are mounted in the top end and the speaker(s) are mounted proximal to the base end. The microphone(s) and speaker(s) are coaxially aligned along the center axis. The speaker(s) are oriented to output sound directionally toward the base end and opposite to the microphone(s) in the top end. The sound may then be redirected in a radial outward direction from the center axis at the base end so that the sound is output symmetric to, and equidistance from, the microphone(s).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 13, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 8, 2022
    Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.
    Inventor: Timothy Theodore List
  • Patent number: 10708677
    Abstract: Voice-controlled devices that include one or more speakers for outputting audio. In some instances, the device includes at least one speaker within a cylindrical housing, with the speaker aimed or pointed away from a microphone coupled to the housing. For instance, if the microphone resides at or near the top of the cylindrical housing, then the speaker may point downwards along the longitudinal axis of the housing and away from the microphone. By pointing the speaker away from the microphone, the microphone will receive less sound from the speaker than if the speaker were pointed toward the microphone). Because the voice-controlled device may perform speech recognition on audio signals generated by the microphone, less sound from the speaker represented in the audio signal may result in more accurate speech recognition, and/or a lesser need to perform acoustic echo cancelation (AEC) on the generated audio signals.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 16, 2018
    Date of Patent: July 7, 2020
    Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: David Wilson Poole, Timothy Theodore List, Jacobi Colton Grillo, Wei Li, Tony David
  • Patent number: 10657970
    Abstract: A voice controlled assistant has a housing to hold one or more microphones, one or more speakers, and various computing components. The housing has an elongated cylindrical body extending along a center axis between a base end and a top end. The microphone(s) are mounted in the top end and the speaker(s) are mounted proximal to the base end. The microphone(s) and speaker(s) are coaxially aligned along the center axis. The speaker(s) are oriented to output sound directionally toward the base end and opposite to the microphone(s) in the top end. The sound may then be redirected in a radial outward direction from the center axis at the base end so that the sound is output symmetric to, and equidistance from, the microphone(s).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 29, 2019
    Date of Patent: May 19, 2020
    Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.
    Inventor: Timothy Theodore List
  • Patent number: 10283121
    Abstract: A voice controlled assistant has a housing to hold one or more microphones, one or more speakers, and various computing components. The housing has an elongated cylindrical body extending along a center axis between a base end and a top end. The microphone(s) are mounted in the top end and the speaker(s) are mounted proximal to the base end. The microphone(s) and speaker(s) are coaxially aligned along the center axis. The speaker(s) are oriented to output sound directionally toward the base end and opposite to the microphone(s) in the top end. The sound may then be redirected in a radial outward direction from the center axis at the base end so that the sound is output symmetric to, and equidistance from, the microphone(s).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 13, 2017
    Date of Patent: May 7, 2019
    Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.
    Inventor: Timothy Theodore List
  • Patent number: 10136204
    Abstract: Voice-controlled devices that include one or more speakers for outputting audio. In some instances, the device includes at least one speaker within a cylindrical housing, with the speaker aimed or pointed away from a microphone coupled to the housing. For instance, if the microphone resides at or near the top of the cylindrical housing, then the speaker may point downwards along the longitudinal axis of the housing and away from the microphone. By pointing the speaker away from the microphone, the microphone will receive less sound from the speaker than if the speaker were pointed toward the microphone). Because the voice-controlled device may perform speech recognition on audio signals generated by the microphone, less sound from the speaker represented in the audio signal may result in more accurate speech recognition, and/or a lesser need to perform acoustic echo cancelation (AEC) on the generated audio signals.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 23, 2017
    Date of Patent: November 20, 2018
    Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: David Wilson Poole, Timothy Theodore List, Jacobi Colton Grillo, Wei Li, Tony David
  • Patent number: 9900694
    Abstract: In an augmented reality environment, a speaker array is centrally located within an area to generate sound for the environment. The speaker array has a spherical or hemispherical body and speakers mounted about the body to emit sound in multiple directions. A controller is provided to select sets of speakers to form beams of sound in determined directions. The shaped beams are output to deliver a full audio experience in the environment from the fixed location speaker array.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 31, 2016
    Date of Patent: February 20, 2018
    Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.
    Inventor: Timothy Theodore List
  • Patent number: 9837083
    Abstract: A voice controlled assistant has a housing to hold one or more microphones, one or more speakers, and various computing components. The housing has an elongated cylindrical body extending along a center axis between a base end and a top end. The microphone(s) are mounted in the top end and the speaker(s) are mounted proximal to the base end. The microphone(s) and speaker(s) are coaxially aligned along the center axis. The speaker(s) are oriented to output sound directionally toward the base end and opposite to the microphone(s) in the top end. The sound may then be redirected in a radial outward direction from the center axis at the base end so that the sound is output symmetric to, and equidistance from, the microphone(s).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 11, 2016
    Date of Patent: December 5, 2017
    Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.
    Inventor: Timothy Theodore List
  • Patent number: 9641919
    Abstract: Voice-controlled devices that include one or more speakers for outputting audio. In some instances, the device includes at least one speaker within a cylindrical housing, with the speaker aimed or pointed away from a microphone coupled to the housing. For instance, if the microphone resides at or near the top of the cylindrical housing, then the speaker may point downwards along the longitudinal axis of the housing and away from the microphone. By pointing the speaker away from the microphone, the microphone will receive less sound from the speaker than if the speaker were pointed toward the microphone). Because the voice-controlled device may perform speech recognition on audio signals generated by the microphone, less sound from the speaker represented in the audio signal may result in more accurate speech recognition, and/or a lesser need to perform acoustic echo cancelation (AEC) on the generated audio signals.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 2014
    Date of Patent: May 2, 2017
    Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: David Wilson Poole, Timothy Theodore List, Jacobi Colton Grillo, Wei Li, Tony David
  • Patent number: 9390724
    Abstract: A voice controlled assistant has a housing to hold one or more microphones, one or more speakers, and various computing components. The housing has an elongated cylindrical body extending along a center axis between a base end and a top end. The microphone(s) are mounted in the top end and the speaker(s) are mounted proximal to the base end. The microphone(s) and speaker(s) are coaxially aligned along the center axis. The speaker(s) are oriented to output sound directionally toward the base end and opposite to the microphone(s) in the top end. The sound may then be redirected in a radial outward direction from the center axis at the base end so that the sound is output symmetric to, and equidistance from, the microphone(s).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 12, 2015
    Date of Patent: July 12, 2016
    Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.
    Inventor: Timothy Theodore List
  • Publication number: 20150279387
    Abstract: A voice controlled assistant has a housing to hold one or more microphones, one or more speakers, and various computing components. The housing has an elongated cylindrical body extending along a center axis between a base end and a top end. The microphone(s) are mounted in the top end and the speaker(s) are mounted proximal to the base end. The microphone(s) and speaker(s) are coaxially aligned along the center axis. The speaker(s) are oriented to output sound directionally toward the base end and opposite to the microphone(s) in the top end. The sound may then be redirected in a radial outward direction from the center axis at the base end so that the sound is output symmetric to, and equidistance from, the microphone(s).
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 12, 2015
    Publication date: October 1, 2015
    Inventor: Timothy Theodore List