Patents Examined by Kuassi A Ganmavo
  • Patent number: 10614790
    Abstract: The technology described in this document can be embodied in a method that includes receiving an input signal captured by one or more sensors associated with an active noise reduction (ANR) headphone, and determining one or more characteristics of a first portion of the input signal. Based on the one or more characteristics of the first portion of the input signal, a gain of a variable gain amplifier (VGA) disposed in an ANR signal flow path can be adjusted, and accordingly, a set of coefficients for a tunable digital filter disposed in the ANR signal flow path can be selected. The method further includes processing a second portion of the input signal in the ANR signal flow path using the adjusted gain and selected set of coefficients to generate a second output signal for the electroacoustic transducer of the ANR headphone.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 30, 2017
    Date of Patent: April 7, 2020
    Assignee: Bose Corporation
    Inventors: Joseph H. Cattell, Ricardo F. Carreras
  • Patent number: 10597287
    Abstract: A transducer module, comprising: a supporting substrate, having a first side and a second side; a cap, which extends over the first side of the supporting substrate and defines therewith a first chamber and a second chamber internally isolated from one another; a first transducer in the first chamber; a second transducer in the second chamber; and a control chip, which extends at least partially in the first chamber and/or in the second chamber and is functionally coupled to the first and second transducers for receiving, in use, the signals transduced by the first and second transducers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 27, 2018
    Date of Patent: March 24, 2020
    Assignee: STMICROELECTRONICS S.R.L.
    Inventors: Marco Omar Ghidoni, Roberto Brioschi
  • Patent number: 10602296
    Abstract: Phase effect interference is determined at a listening location between signals from at least two audio objects; and a modified position is computed for at least one of the audio objects such that the determined phase effect interference at the listening location is altered as a result of the modified position. For each audio object for which the position is modified at least phase of at least one frequency component of the respective signal is adjusted in correspondence with the modified position so as to eliminate the determined phase effect interference. The signals from the at least two audio objects are formed after this adjusting; and then the formed signals are provided to a sound system comprising multiple audio transducers so as to render the formed signals at the listening position where the phase effect interference is eliminated during rendering.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 9, 2017
    Date of Patent: March 24, 2020
    Assignee: Nokia Technologies Oy
    Inventors: Lasse Juhani Laaksonen, Anssi Sakari Ramo, Jussi Artturi Leppanen, Arto Juhani Lehtiniemi
  • Patent number: 10589987
    Abstract: An embodiment as described herein includes a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) with a first MEMS transducer element, a second MEMS transducer element, and a semiconductor substrate. The first and second MEMS transducer elements are disposed at a top surface of the semiconductor substrate and the semiconductor substrate includes a shared cavity acoustically coupled to the first and second MEMS transducer elements.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 6, 2013
    Date of Patent: March 17, 2020
    Assignee: INFINEON TECHNOLOGIES AG
    Inventors: Andreas Wiesbauer, Christian Mandl, Marc Fueldner, Shu-Ting Hsu
  • Patent number: 10586521
    Abstract: An ear interface mode of headphones may be determined by measuring an acoustic response of the headphones. For example, the headphones may be determined to be in a leaky or sealed configuration. An adaptive noise cancellation (ANC) system may be controlled based on the determined ear interface mode of the headphones. For example, a set of configuration parameters may be loaded for the ANC system corresponding to the known ear interface mode. An anti-noise signal may be generated according to the selected configuration parameters, and that anti-noise signal added during playback of media, such as voice recordings, music, videos, or telephone call speech.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 31, 2016
    Date of Patent: March 10, 2020
    Assignee: Cirrus Logic, Inc.
    Inventors: Brian Thornock, Antonio J. Miller
  • Patent number: 10580398
    Abstract: The technology described in this document can be embodied in a method that includes receiving an input signal representing audio captured by a microphone of an active noise reduction (ANR) headphone, and processing, by a first compensator, a first frequency range of the input signal to generate a first signal for an acoustic transducer of the ANR headphone. The method also includes processing, by a second compensator disposed in parallel to the first compensator, a second frequency range of the input signal to generate a second signal for the acoustic transducer. The first frequency range includes frequencies higher than the frequencies in the second frequency range. The method also includes detecting, by one or more processing devices, that the second signal satisfies a threshold condition, and attenuating the second signal responsive to determining that the second signal satisfies the threshold condition.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 30, 2017
    Date of Patent: March 3, 2020
    Assignee: Bose Corporation
    Inventors: Joseph H. Cattell, Michael O'Connell, Ricardo F. Carreras
  • Patent number: 10567865
    Abstract: A headset accessory comprises circuitry and is configured to mechanically attach to an audio headset. The circuitry of the headset may be operable to establish a link to the audio headset that supports conveyance of bias voltage, bias current, and/or information between the circuitry of the accessory and circuitry of the audio headset. The headset accessory may be configured to attach to a housing of the headset on a surface of the housing opposite an ear cup. A state of the circuitry of the accessory may be controlled based on the information received from the audio headset via the link. The information may include characteristics of audio being processed by the audio headset. The circuitry of the headset accessory may comprise non-volatile memory, and the non-volatile memory may store parameter settings for configuring audio processing circuitry of the audio headset.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 28, 2014
    Date of Patent: February 18, 2020
    Assignee: Voyetra Turtle Beach, Inc.
    Inventors: Richard Kulavik, Michael A. Jessup, Travis Kettering
  • Patent number: 10559291
    Abstract: A headphone arrangement is configured to induce natural directional pinna cues. The arrangement comprises an ear cup comprising a frame configured to at least partly encircle the ear of a user, wherein the frame is at least partially hollow. The arrangement further comprises a loudspeaker arranged within a wall of a frontal part, a rear part, an upper part, and/or a lower part of the frame, the loudspeaker comprising a membrane, a first side of the membrane facing a cavity inside the frame, and a second side of the membrane facing the outside. At least one loudspeaker is arranged at a first angle with respect to a median plane crossing a user's head midway between the user's ears such that a main direction of sound propagation is directed away from the median plane, and the second side of the membrane is directed away from the median plane.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 2, 2018
    Date of Patent: February 11, 2020
    Assignee: Harman Becker Automative Systems GmbH
    Inventor: Genaro Woelfl
  • Patent number: 10552114
    Abstract: Audio waveform data can be received from a plurality of client devices. The audio waveform data for each client device can be generated by sampling at least one portion of an audio stream received by the respective client device. The audio waveform data received from the plurality of client devices can be compared. Based on the comparison, which of the plurality of client devices are located in a same location can be determined. Further, based on the comparison, which of the plurality of client devices located in the same location are to mute their respective input audio transducers can be determined, and an indicator indicating to the client devices to mute their respective input audio transducers can be communicated to the client devices that are determined to mute their respective input audio transducers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 31, 2017
    Date of Patent: February 4, 2020
    Assignee: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION
    Inventors: Al Chakra, Jonathan Dunne, James P. Galvin, Jr., Liam Harpur
  • Patent number: 10547940
    Abstract: A sound collection equipment is disclosed. The sound collection equipment includes a speaker, a microphone and a processing unit. The speaker is used for generating a test sound having a first frequency. The microphone is used for receiving an external sound. The processing unit is electronically connected to the microphone and the processing unit. The processing unit is used for determining whether a frequency range of the external sound includes the first frequency and whether the energy of the external sound exceeds a predetermined energy value, and for judging that the sound collection equipment is in a usage state when the frequency range of the external sound includes the first frequency and the energy of the external sound does not exceed the predetermined energy value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 23, 2018
    Date of Patent: January 28, 2020
    Assignee: UNLIMITER MFA CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Ho-Hsin Liao, Kuan-Li Chao, Neo Bob Chih-Yung Young, Kuo-Ping Yang, Jian-Ying Li, Po-Jui Wu
  • Patent number: 10531180
    Abstract: An electronic device, method, and computer program product provide acoustic limiting of an audio output using a feed-forward, filter-based, acoustic control system. An audio signal is received that has more than one acoustic frequency spectra intended for conversion to an acoustic output by transducers of an electronic device. A determination is made of an expected acoustic magnitude respectively for each acoustic frequency spectrum of the more than one acoustic frequency spectra. A determination is made whether the expected acoustic magnitude of any acoustic frequency spectra will exceed an acoustic output threshold. The acoustic control system attenuates the first acoustic frequency spectrum to generate a filtered audio signal with an attenuated acoustic frequency spectrum that is less than or equal to the acoustic output threshold. The filtered audio signal is transmitted to the at least one transducer to the produce the audio output that does not exceed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 6, 2018
    Date of Patent: January 7, 2020
    Assignee: Motorola Mobility LLC
    Inventors: Sanjay N. Kadiwala, Jonathan E. Eklund
  • Patent number: 10531208
    Abstract: The present invention relates to recipient customization of a bone conducting hearing device. Customization of the bone conducting hearing device may include attaching the bone conducting hearing device to a recipient, establishing communication between the hearing device and an external device, generating at least one control setting with the external device, and storing the at least one control setting in a memory device in the hearing device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 14, 2012
    Date of Patent: January 7, 2020
    Assignee: Cochlear Limited
    Inventors: Martin Evert Gustaf Hillbratt, Gunnar Kristian Asnes
  • Patent number: 10531215
    Abstract: Provided are a three-dimensional (3D) sound reproducing method and apparatus. The method includes transmitting sound signals through a head related transfer function (HRTF) corresponding to a first elevation, generating a plurality of sound signals by replicating the filtered sound signals, amplifying or attenuating each of the replicated sound signals based on a gain value corresponding to each of speakers, through which the replicated sound signals will be output, and outputting the amplified or attenuated sound signals through the corresponding speakers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 7, 2011
    Date of Patent: January 7, 2020
    Assignees: SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD., KOREA ADVANCED INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
    Inventors: Sun-min Kim, Young-jin Park, Hyun Jo
  • Patent number: 10522124
    Abstract: An infotainment system for a vehicle may include a controllable audio reproduction arrangement that is configured to be fixed in the vehicle and to acoustically reproduce an audio signal under the control of a control signal. It may further include a portable device that is freely movable in the vehicle and that is configured to provide the audio and control signals for the audio reproduction arrangement, as well as a wireless connection between the portable device and the audio reproduction arrangement configured to transmit the audio and control signals from the portable device to the audio reproduction arrangement. The audio reproduction arrangement has amplification, quiescent power consumption and a maximum output power, of which at least one is controllable by the portable device via the control signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 30, 2013
    Date of Patent: December 31, 2019
    Assignee: HARMAN BECKER AUTOMOTIVE SYSTEMS GmbH
    Inventors: Sachin Lawande, Gerhard Pfaffinger
  • Patent number: 10499156
    Abstract: A method and a device are provided for optimizing a sound signal in the field of voice signal processing. The device includes at least two sound collecting units. In the method, the device locates one or more sound sources via the at least two sound collecting units. The device selects a designated sound source among the one or more sound sources. The device determines a sound signal emitted from the designated sound source among sound signals collected by the sound collecting units according to a spatial position of the designated sound source. The device optimizes the sound signal emitted from the designated sound source.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 1, 2016
    Date of Patent: December 3, 2019
    Assignee: XIAOMI INC.
    Inventors: Chiafu Yen, Nannan Wang, Peng Zhang, Liujun Zhang
  • Patent number: 10499135
    Abstract: A wireless headphone having a built-in flexible battery embedded therein. The wireless headphone having a built-in flexible battery includes a band part; a pair of headset parts including speaker units configured to receive a wirelessly transmitted audio signal and output the audio signal to the outside and connected to the band part; and a flexible battery embedded in the band part to supply power to the headset parts.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 6, 2016
    Date of Patent: December 3, 2019
    Assignee: AMOGREENTECH CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Gi Wook Lee, Won-San Na, Jin Pyo Park, Jun Ho Park
  • Patent number: 10497356
    Abstract: In a directionality control system, a camera device captures a video of image capture area. A microphone array device collects a sound in image capture area. A signal processing section detects a sound source of the sound in image capture area, which is collected by the microphone array device. In a case where the detected sound source is within a range of privacy area, an output control section controls the sound in image capture area, which is collected by the microphone array device and is output from speaker device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 19, 2016
    Date of Patent: December 3, 2019
    Assignee: PANASONIC INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Masanari Miyamoto, Hiroyuki Matsumoto, Ryouichi Yuge, Shintaro Yoshikuni, Toshimichi Tokuda, Naoya Tanaka
  • Patent number: 10492000
    Abstract: Provided are methods, systems, and apparatuses for recording a three-dimensional (3D) sound field using a vertically-oriented cylindrical array with multiple circular arrays at different heights. The design of the cylindrical array is well-suited to providing a high-resolution in azimuth and a reduced resolution in elevation, and offers improved performance over existing 3D sound reproduction systems. The methods, systems, and apparatuses provide a larger vertical aperture than horizontal aperture, as opposed to a spherical array, which has the same aperture for all dimensions, and further provides an alternative format to mixed-order spherical decomposition.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 8, 2016
    Date of Patent: November 26, 2019
    Assignee: GOOGLE LLC
    Inventor: Mark Poletti
  • Patent number: 10483933
    Abstract: A method to adjust audio amplification may include presenting an audio configuration interface. The audio configuration interface may include multiple amplification settings that each correspond to a different one of multiple frequency range. The multiple amplification settings indicating amplifications may be applied to the multiple frequencies of audio output by a device. The method may further include obtaining an action to adjust the amplification of one or more of multiple amplification settings in the audio configuration interface to generate adjusted amplification settings. The method also includes, in response to obtaining the action, automatically applying the adjusted amplification settings to test audio and automatically outputting the test audio with the applied adjusted amplification settings through a speaker of the device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 30, 2017
    Date of Patent: November 19, 2019
    Assignee: Sorenson IP Holdings, LLC
    Inventor: Christian Lalor
  • Patent number: 10475429
    Abstract: A sound acquisition device, particularly for acoustic guitars, comprising sound acquisition elements connected to output and power supply elements. The sound acquisition elements comprise at least one microphone and are associated with a clip-like body adapted to be coupled along the edge of the sound hole of a soundbox of an acoustic musical string instrument, the clip-like body being configured to support the sound acquisition elements inside the soundbox.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 15, 2016
    Date of Patent: November 12, 2019
    Assignee: IK MULTIMEDIA PRODUCTION SRL
    Inventors: Enrico Iori, Davide Barbi