Patents Examined by David L Ton
  • Patent number: 11218127
    Abstract: A power amplifier includes a digital-to-analog converter, a loop filter, a driver circuit, a first adjustable reference resistor and a second adjustable reference resistor. A circuit includes an overcurrent protection circuit and a power amplifier, wherein the overcurrent protection circuit is communicatively coupled to the power amplifier. The digital-to-analog converter is configured to receive a digital signal and to output an analog signal, the driver circuit communicatively coupled to the loop filter and at least one of a first output port and a second output port of the power amplifier.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 5, 2020
    Date of Patent: January 4, 2022
    Assignee: Beken Corporation
    Inventors: Donghui Gao, Desheng Hu, Jiazhou Liu
  • Patent number: 11205999
    Abstract: The present invention provides an amplifier including a DAC, an analog signal processing circuit, a digital signal processing circuit, a signal detector and a driving stage is disclosed. The DAC is configured to perform a digital-to-analog conversion operation on a digital input signal to generate an analog input signal. The analog signal processing circuit is configured to generate a first processed signal according to the analog input signal and a feedback signal. The digital signal processing circuit is configured to process the digital input signal to generate a second processed signal. The signal detector is configured to detect strength of the digital input signal to generate a mode selection signal. The driving stage is configured to refer to the mode selection signal to receive one of the first processed signal and the second processed signal to generate an output signal, wherein the feedback signal is generated by the output signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 21, 2020
    Date of Patent: December 21, 2021
    Assignee: MEDIATEK INC.
    Inventors: Sung-Han Wen, Kuan-Ta Chen
  • Patent number: 11206474
    Abstract: The utility model relates to a Bluetooth earphone, comprising a main earphone unit and an auxiliary earphone unit, further comprising a pair of ear hooks. The front part of the inner side of each of the said earphone units is provided with a connecting canal for inserting the said vertical insertion segment at the bottom. The Bluetooth earphone provided in the utility model not only adapts to applications in different situations by setting a pluggable ear hook, but also uses memory alloy as the inner skeleton of the ear hook to facilitate a user make a fine adjustment by his/her shape of auricle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 25, 2018
    Date of Patent: December 21, 2021
    Assignee: INNOVATION SOUND TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Shunming Yuen, Lei Zheng, Chun Lan
  • Patent number: 11202156
    Abstract: An MEMS capacitor microphone is provided, comprising a first substrate and a vibration diaphragm supported above the first substrate by a spacing portion, the first substrate, the spacing portion, and the vibration diaphragm enclosing a vacuum chamber, and a static deflection distance of the vibration diaphragm under an atmospheric pressure being less than a distance between the vibration diaphragm and the first substrate, wherein a lower electrode forming a capacitor structure with the vibration diaphragm is provided on a side of the first substrate that is adjacent to the vacuum chamber, and an electric field between the vibration diaphragm and the lower electrode is 100-300 V/?m.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 6, 2018
    Date of Patent: December 14, 2021
    Assignee: Goertek, Inc.
    Inventors: Quanbo Zou, Yongwei Dong
  • Patent number: 11197113
    Abstract: The Stereo Unfold Technology solves the inherent problems in the stereo reproduction by utilizing modern DSP technology to extract information from the Left (L) and Right (R) stereo channels to create a number of new channels that feeds into processing algorithms. The Stereo Unfold Technology operates by sending the ordinary stereo information in the customary way towards the listener to establish the perceived location of performers in the sound field with great accuracy and then projects delayed and frequency shaped extracted signals forward as well as in other directions to provide additional psychoacoustically based clues to the ear and brain. The additional clues generate the sensation of increased detail and transparency as well as establishing the three dimensional properties of the sound sources and the acoustic environment in which they are performing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 23, 2018
    Date of Patent: December 7, 2021
    Assignee: OMNIO SOUND LIMITED
    Inventor: Bernt Böhmer
  • Patent number: 11189258
    Abstract: An acoustic element includes a nanovoided polymer layer having a first nanovoid topology in an unactuated state and a second nanovoid topology different than the first nanovoid topology in an actuated state. Capacitive actuation of the nanovoided polymer layer, for instance, can be used to reversibly control the size and shape of the nanovoids within the polymer layer and hence tune its sound damping characteristics or sound transduction behavior, e.g., during operation of the acoustic element. An acoustic element may be configured for passive or active sound attenuation. Various other apparatuses, systems, materials, and methods are also disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 6, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 30, 2021
    Assignee: Facebook Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Renate Eva Klementine Landig, Kenneth Diest, Andrew John Ouderkirk
  • Patent number: 11188293
    Abstract: A playback sound provision device includes: a surrounding information detection device configured to detect detection information including information on a three-dimensional object or a planar display around the vehicle; and a control device configured to determine a playback method for a playback sound based on a music piece based on the detection information when a predetermined target is included in the detection information, and provide the playback sound based on the playback method.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 13, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 30, 2021
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Takahiro Suzuki, Yukari Nakane, Chisato Komurasaki, Hiroshi Ishii
  • Patent number: 11183196
    Abstract: A downmixer for downmixing at least two channels of a multichannel signal having the two or more channels includes: a processor for calculating a partial downmix signal from the at least two channels; a complementary signal calculator for calculating a complementary signal from the multichannel signal, the complementary signal being different from the partial downmix signal; and an adder for adding the partial downmix signal and the complementary signal to obtain a downmix signal of the multichannel signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 13, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 23, 2021
    Assignee: FRAUNHOFER-GESELLSCHAFT ZUR FOERDERUNG DER ANGEWANDTEN FORSCHUNG E.V.
    Inventors: Christian Borss, Bernd Edler, Guillaume Fuchs, Jan Buethe, Sascha Disch, Florin Ghido, Stefan Bayer, Markus Multrus
  • Patent number: 11183981
    Abstract: A method of monitoring electrical loads is disclosed. In an embodiment the method includes generating a first voltage signal and a second voltage signal, the second voltage signal in quadrature to the first voltage signal, injecting one of the first voltage signal or the second voltage signal into a signal propagation path towards an electrical load, sensing a current signal flowing through the electrical load as a result of the one of the first voltage signal or the second voltage signal injected into the signal propagation path and processing the first voltage signal, the second voltage signal and the sensed current signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 4, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 23, 2021
    Assignee: STMicroelectronics S.r.l.
    Inventors: Stefano Valle, Flavio Polloni
  • Patent number: 11183165
    Abstract: An active noise reduction system includes a substrate, a number of capacitors mounted on the substrate, a noise sensor mounted on the substrate and used to collect a noise signal around the noise sensor, an actuator mounted on the substrate and used to generate vibrations, and a controller mounted on the substrate and electrically coupled to the noise sensor and the actuator. The controller is used to obtain the noise signal collected by the noise sensor and generate a control signal according to the noise signal to the actuator to control the actuator to generate vibrations having a same frequency and opposite phase as the noise signal to cancel out the vibrations generated by the plurality of capacitors and the vibrations of the substrate caused by the vibrations generated by the plurality of capacitors. An electronic device and an active noise reduction method are also provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 18, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 23, 2021
    Assignee: Chiun Mai Communication Systems, Inc.
    Inventor: Chien-Kuan Chiang
  • Patent number: 11172291
    Abstract: A method for operating a beamforming microphone array for use in a predetermined area comprising: receiving acoustic audio signals at each of a plurality of microphones, converting the same to an electrical mic audio signal, and outputting each of the plurality of electrical mic audio signals; generating a user location data signal by a wave sensor system, and outputting the user location data signal, wherein the user location data signal includes location information of one or more people within the predetermined area; receiving both the user location data signal and plurality of mic audio signals at an adaptive beamforming device; adapting one or more beams by the adaptive beamforming device based on the user location data signal and plurality of output electrical mic audio signals wherein each of the one or more beams acquires sound from one or more specific locations in the predetermined area; and performing acoustic echo cancellation on each of the one or more beams output from the adaptive beamforming d
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 26, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 9, 2021
    Inventor: Mark LaBosco
  • Patent number: 11169766
    Abstract: A device to process an audio signal representing output sound includes one or more processors configured to generate, responsive to sensor data indicative of pressure detected at a housing of the device, output data based on a predicted effect of the pressure on an acoustic output of the device. The one or more processors are also configured, responsive to the output data, to adjust operation of an audio playback component that generates the acoustic output.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 27, 2019
    Date of Patent: November 9, 2021
    Assignee: Qualcomm Incorporated
    Inventors: Graham Bradley Davis, Ricardo De Jesus Bernal Castillo, Rivanaldo Sergio De Oliveira
  • Patent number: 11157231
    Abstract: A method and an apparatus control sound signal output. The method of controlling a sound signal output in a terminal includes: storing receiver identifications and corresponding sound signal control parameters associated with each other by the terminal; providing a receiver selection interface capable of selecting one from a list of the receiver identifications and the receiver identifications included in the list by the terminal; receiving one receiver identification through the receiver selection interface; converting a digital sound signal into an analog sound signal by applying a sound signal control parameter corresponding to the received receiver identification; and outputting the analog sound signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 9, 2020
    Date of Patent: October 26, 2021
    Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Hyungjin Kwon, Kwanhee Han, Sungmin Kim
  • Patent number: 11151977
    Abstract: The present disclosure discloses an audio playback apparatus having a noise-canceling mechanism that includes an audio-receiving circuit, an adjusting parameter generation circuit, a frequency-warping filter circuit and an audio playback circuit. The audio-receiving circuit receives an audio signal. The adjusting parameter generation circuit generates adjusting parameters according to at least the audio signal. The frequency-warping filter circuit includes first order all pass filter units to filter the audio signal in series to generate a plurality of filtered results, multiplication units to respectively multiply each of the filtered results by one of adjusting parameters to generated adjusted filtered results and an adder circuit to add the filtered results to generate a noise-canceling signal. The audio playback circuit playbacks the audio signal and the noise-canceling signal at the same time.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 8, 2020
    Date of Patent: October 19, 2021
    Assignee: REALTEK SEMICONDUCTOR CORPORATION
    Inventor: Wei-Hung He
  • Patent number: 11151974
    Abstract: An apparatus on a vehicle comprises one or more sensors, one or more nozzles that output fluid to clean the respective one or more sensors, and a compressor that generates fluid such as compressed air. The compressor is in fluid communication with the one or more nozzles. The apparatus further comprises one or more processors, and a memory storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the system to determine information of an acoustic emission from the compressor and to counteract the acoustic emission based on the determined information.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 27, 2020
    Date of Patent: October 19, 2021
    Assignee: Pony AI Inc.
    Inventors: Robert Dingli, Peter G. Diehl
  • Patent number: 11140501
    Abstract: The present disclosure relates to reverberation generation for headphone virtualization. A method of generating one or more components of a binaural room impulse response (BRIR) for headphone virtualization is described. In the method, directionally-controlled reflections are generated, wherein directionally-controlled reflections impart a desired perceptual cue to an audio input signal corresponding to a sound source location. Then at least the generated reflections are combined to obtain the one or more components of the BRIR. Corresponding system and computer program products are described as well.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 6, 2020
    Date of Patent: October 5, 2021
    Assignee: Dolby Laboratories Licensing Corporation
    Inventors: Louis D. Fielder, Zhiwei Shuang, Grant A. Davidson, Xiguang Zheng, Mark S. Vinton
  • Patent number: 11134354
    Abstract: A method is used of detecting whether a device is being worn, when the device comprises a first transducer and a second transducer. It is determined when a signal detected by at least one of the first and second transducers represents speech. It is then determined when said speech contains speech of a first acoustic class and speech of a second acoustic class. A first correlation signal is generated, representing a correlation between signals generated by the first and second transducers during at least one period when said speech contains speech of the first acoustic class. A second correlation signal is generated, representing a correlation between signals generated by the first and second transducers during at least one period when said speech contains speech of the second acoustic class. It is then determined from the first correlation signal and the second correlation signal whether the device is being worn.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 15, 2020
    Date of Patent: September 28, 2021
    Assignee: Cirrus Logic, Inc.
    Inventor: John P. Lesso
  • Patent number: 11122361
    Abstract: Provided are display devices and methods of driving the same. A display device may include: a display panel, a main sound generator and a sub-sound generator disposed on a surface of the display panel. The main sound generator outputs sound in a first directional mode, and each of the main sound generator and the sub-sound generator outputs sound in a second directional mode. Each directional mode may be a mode in which sound is directed towards a particular viewer's location.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 27, 2019
    Date of Patent: September 14, 2021
    Assignee: SAMSUNG DISPLAY CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Young Ran Son, Jin Oh Kwag, Jee Hyun Lee
  • Patent number: 11115768
    Abstract: Methods for dialogue enhancing audio content, comprising providing a first audio signal presentation of the audio components, providing a second audio signal presentation, receiving a set of dialogue estimation parameters configured to enable estimation of dialogue components from the first audio signal presentation, applying said set of dialogue estimation parameters to said first audio signal presentation, to form a dialogue presentation of the dialogue components; and combining the dialogue presentation with said second audio signal presentation to form a dialogue enhanced audio signal presentation for reproduction on the second audio reproduction system, wherein at least one of said first and second audio signal presentation is a binaural audio signal presentation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 29, 2020
    Date of Patent: September 7, 2021
    Assignees: Dolby Laboratories Licensing Corporation, Dolby International AB
    Inventors: Leif Jonas Samuelsson, Dirk Jeroen Breebaart, David Matthew Cooper, Jeroen Koppens
  • Patent number: 11115771
    Abstract: Embodiments of the present invention are directed to a system and method for demonstrating spatial performance of a demonstration speaker model to consumers in order to evaluate different speakers. The system and method comprise a microphone array for recording the output of the demonstration speaker model. The system and method comprise acoustic input samples for processing to an acoustic output and a processor for determining characteristics of each microphone recording, and processing an acoustic input sample and characteristics of each microphone recording corresponding to a selected demonstration speaker model. The system and method further comprise a reference speaker model for outputting an acoustic signal based on the result of the processing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 21, 2020
    Date of Patent: September 7, 2021
    Assignee: Crutchfield Corporation
    Inventors: William G Crutchfield, Jr., Richard I Wright