Patents Examined by Matthew A Eason
  • Patent number: 11304020
    Abstract: Systems and methods can provide an elevated, virtual loudspeaker source in a three-dimensional soundfield using loudspeakers in a horizontal plane. In an example, a processor circuit can receive at least one height audio signal that includes information intended for reproduction using a loudspeaker that is elevated relative to a listener, and optionally offset from the listener's facing direction by a specified azimuth angle. A first virtual height filter can be selected for use based on the specified azimuth angle. A virtualized audio signal can be generated by applying the first virtual height filter to the at least one height audio signal. When the virtualized audio signal is reproduced using one or more loudspeakers in the horizontal plane, the virtualized audio signal can be perceived by the listener as originating from an elevated loudspeaker source that corresponds to the azimuth angle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 10, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 12, 2022
    Assignee: DTS, Inc.
    Inventors: Jean-Marc Jot, Daekyoung Noh, Ryan James Cassidy, Themis George Katsianos, Oveal Walker
  • Patent number: 11297446
    Abstract: A bone conduction speaker includes a housing, a vibration board and a transducer. The transducer is located in the housing, and the vibration board is configured to contact with skin and pass vibration. At least one sound guiding hole is set on at least one portion of the housing to guide sound wave inside the housing to the outside of the housing. The guided sound wave interfaces with the leaked sound wave, and the interfacing reduces a sound pressure level of at least a portion of the leaked sound wave. A frequency of the at least a portion of the leaked sound wave is lower than 4000 Hz.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 20, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 5, 2022
    Assignee: SHENZHEN SHOKZ CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Xin Qi, Fengyun Liao
  • Patent number: 11297429
    Abstract: Systems and methods for detecting proximity of a wireless listening device to a user's ear comprise a housing adapted for positioning in and/or adjacent to an ear canal of a user, wireless components disposed within the housing, the wireless components operable to receive a wireless signal from a host device, and in-ear detection components operable to analyze the wireless signal and detect a proximity of the housing to the ear canal of the user. The in-ear detection components may include a differentiator operable to receive a gain of the wireless signal and output a rate of change of the gain, a comparator operable to output a proximity state if the rate of change is greater than a threshold value, wherein the proximity state includes an in-ear state and an open-air state, and false detection components operable to analyze the wireless signal to confirm the determined proximity state for an interval of time.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 3, 2019
    Date of Patent: April 5, 2022
    Assignee: SYNAPTICS INCORPORATED
    Inventor: Thavatchai Montreevat
  • Patent number: 11297406
    Abstract: Acoustic transducers for generating electrical signals in response to acoustic signals are disclosed. In some embodiments, an acoustic transducer includes an at least partially evacuated hermetically sealed cavity defined in part by a first diaphragm. The acoustic transducer also includes a backplate disposed at least partially within the cavity. The cavity having a pressure lower than atmospheric pressure. The acoustic transducer further includes a pressure sensor coupled to the backplate and configured to sense the pressure in the cavity.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 18, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 5, 2022
    Assignee: Knowles Electronics, LLC
    Inventors: Venkataraman Chandrasekaran, Michael Kuntzman, Michael Pedersen, Sung Bok Lee
  • Patent number: 11289786
    Abstract: A metamaterial loudspeaker diaphragm is disclosed. The diaphragm includes a cone structure having a periodic arrangement of two dissimilar materials, e.g., soft and hard, in an alternating periodic pattern to achieve an anisotropic structure, which results in passive amplification of the sound. The anisotropic cone structure includes a baseline cone material and a different, compatible second material. The cone includes a body having a conical cross-section, an interior side, an exterior side, and concentric circles of material alternating between a soft material and a rigid material. Circumferential grooves disposed within the concentric circles include rigid material. Concentric circles including rigid material line the interior side of the body. Substantially all the soft material of the concentric circles is disposed on the exterior side of the cone. Spokes disposed on the exterior side of the cone extend from a base toward a vertex of the cone.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 3, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 29, 2022
    Assignee: ACOUSTIC METAMATERIALS LLC
    Inventor: Gopal P. Mathur
  • Patent number: 11284187
    Abstract: A small-array MEMS (micro-electro mechanical system) microphone apparatus is provided. The apparatus includes first and second microphone modules. A first microphone of the first microphone module captures a first acoustic signal from a sound source through a first acoustic hole. A second microphone of the second microphone module captures a second acoustic signal from the sound source through a second acoustic hole. A first integrated circuit performs a first logic operation on the first acoustic signal and the second acoustic signal to generate a first sum acoustic signal. The first integrated circuit performs a sampling delay on the second acoustic signal with a first clock signal, and subtracts the delayed second acoustic signal from the first acoustic signal to obtain a first differential acoustic signal. The first differential acoustic signal has a first directivity. A second integrated circuit bypasses and outputs the second acoustic signal which is omnidirectional.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 26, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 22, 2022
    Assignee: FORTEMEDIA, INC.
    Inventors: Yen-Son Paul Huang, Tsung-Lung Yang
  • Patent number: 11282493
    Abstract: An adaptive noise filtering system and method detect sounds using a sensor onboard a vehicle system. A value of a signal associated with operation of the vehicle system is determined. One or more sounds detected by the sensor are filtered out based on the value of the signal that is determined. Operation of the vehicle system may be controlled using the remaining sound(s).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 20, 2019
    Date of Patent: March 22, 2022
    Assignee: Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corporation
    Inventor: Brian E. Kurz
  • Patent number: 11282488
    Abstract: A flow controlled sound generation system is disclosed that includes one or more fluid pumps to control air flow through a sound channel. The air flow is modulated through one or more valves to produce audible frequency pressure waves.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 29, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 22, 2022
    Assignee: DeftIO LLC
    Inventor: Manjirnath Chatterjee
  • Patent number: 11284196
    Abstract: Diaphragms (4, 5, 6, 7) each include laminated layers including a piezoelectric layer. The diaphragms (4, 5, 6, 7) are each warped to oscillate due to expansion and contraction of the piezoelectric layer or due to an oscillatory force from the outside. The diaphragms have mutually different resonance frequencies. A casing (2) has an internal space (2C) for accommodating the diaphragms (4, 5, 6, 7) and a fixing part (2D) for fixing a portion of each of the diaphragms (4, 5, 6, 7). The casing (2) transmits oscillations between the diaphragms (4, 5, 6, 7) and the outside via the fixing part (2D).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 14, 2017
    Date of Patent: March 22, 2022
    Assignee: DAI-ICHI SEIKO CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Kenji Ogata, Shogo Kurogi, Keita Matsuoka, Yoshiyuki Watanabe
  • Patent number: 11276388
    Abstract: A beamforming system comprises an input module, a phase-difference module, a delay distribution module, and a delay estimation module configured to make a final delay estimation based on the delay distribution. The final delay estimation is applied to align one of two selected channels and combine the two channels to obtain a signal of interest. The phase-difference module calculates phase differences for a range of frequency bins. The delay estimation module considers all possible delays derived from the phase differences, including multiples of ±2? to overcome the ambiguity in high frequency bins when the spacing between two acoustic sensors is longer than the half of the wavelengths.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 31, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 15, 2022
    Assignee: NUVOTON TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION
    Inventor: Powen Ru
  • Patent number: 11272279
    Abstract: This disclosure includes several different features suitable for use in circumaural and supra-aural headphones designs. Designs that enhance user comfort and improve user control of the headphones are discussed. Various sensor configurations and electronic component positions are also discussed. User convenience features that include detachable cushions and automatically detecting the donning and doffing of headphones are also discussed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 16, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 8, 2022
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventor: Daniel R. Bloom
  • Patent number: 11265638
    Abstract: A low-profile earbud is disclosed that sits securely within an ear of a user. The earbud includes a protruding portion that passes through a channel defined by the tragus and anti-tragus of the ear. In some embodiments, the protruding portion can take the form of a cable configured to supply power and transfer data to the earbud. In some embodiments, the protruding portion can provide additional space for electrical components and sensors supporting the earbud.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 13, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 1, 2022
    Assignee: APPLE INC.
    Inventors: Glenn K. Trainer, Scott C. Grinker, Ethan L. Huwe, Craig M. Stanley
  • Patent number: 11259133
    Abstract: A microphone assembly includes a substrate defining a port, a MEMS transducer, a guard ring, and a can. The MEMS transducer is coupled to the substrate such that the MEMS transducer is positioned over the port. The guard ring is coupled to the substrate and surrounds the MEMS transducer. The guard ring includes a plurality of edges that further includes a first edge and an opposing second edge. A portion of the first edge and a portion of the second edge have a reduced thickness relative to adjacent ones of the plurality of edges. The can is coupled to the guard ring such that the substrate and the can cooperatively define an interior cavity.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 10, 2020
    Date of Patent: February 22, 2022
    Assignee: Knowles Electronics, LLC
    Inventors: Norman Dennis Talag, Anthony Schmitz
  • Patent number: 11249716
    Abstract: A display device includes a display panel which includes a first substrate, a second substrate, and a light emitting element layer disposed between the first substrate and the second substrate and outputting light to the second substrate, a first sound generator which is disposed on a surface of the first substrate and outputs sound by vibrating the display panel, and a first buffer member which is disposed on the surface of the first substrate, where a height of the first buffer member is smaller than that of the first sound generator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 8, 2019
    Date of Patent: February 15, 2022
    Assignee: SAMSUNG DISPLAY CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Yi Joon Ahn, Ga Na Kim, Byeong Hee Won, Jae Been Lee, Jae Woo Im
  • Patent number: 11250870
    Abstract: In accordance with an aspect of the disclosure, an electronic device comprises a communication circuitry configured to establish a voice call with an external electronic device; a microphone; a memory configured to store a first sound quality enhancement parameter; and a processor, wherein the processor is configured to: obtain an audio signal associated with speech through the microphone, during the voice call; transmit, to a server, voice data based on the audio signal when the ratio is within a first range; transmit, to the server, noise data based on the audio signal, when the ratio is within a second range; receive an updated sound quality enhancement parameter from the server with the communication circuit during the voice call; and adjust the first sound quality enhancement parameter stored in the memory, based on the updated sound quality enhancement parameter received from the server.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 5, 2019
    Date of Patent: February 15, 2022
    Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Gunwoo Lee, Hangil Moon, Soonho Baek, Beakkwon Son, Jaemo Yang
  • Patent number: 11252513
    Abstract: The application relates to a MEMS transducer package comprising: a package substrate the package substrate comprising a substrate channel, the substrate channel comprising first and second channel portions, wherein the first portion extends in a first direction between a first channel opening in a side surface of the substrate and a junction between the first and second channel portions, and wherein the second portion extends in a second direction between said junction and a second channel opening at, or underlying, a substrate opening provided in an upper surface of the package substrate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 19, 2020
    Date of Patent: February 15, 2022
    Assignee: Cirrus Logic, Inc.
    Inventors: Roberto Brioschi, Rkia Achehboune, David Patten
  • Patent number: 11235970
    Abstract: Disclosed herein is a MEMS ASIC. In some examples, the MEMS ASIC can include a MEMS, an analog front end (AFE) amplifier, an analog-to-digital converter (ADC), an overload detector, and a high-ohmic (HO) block. The HO block and the MEMS can form a high-pass filter (HPF). The impedance of the HO block can be related to the DC operating level of the AFE amplifier and the cutoff frequency of the HPF. In some examples, an overload event can occur, and the overload detector can be configured to adjust the impedance of the HO block to reduce the settling time of the MEMS ASIC. Methods of using the MEMS ASIC to reduce the settling time of the MEMS ASIC due to an overload event are disclosed herein.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 30, 2019
    Date of Patent: February 1, 2022
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventor: Eddie L. Ng
  • Patent number: 11239825
    Abstract: A MEMS resonator is described.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 22, 2018
    Date of Patent: February 1, 2022
    Assignee: FemtoDx, Inc.
    Inventors: Pritiraj Mohanty, Shyamsunder Erramilli
  • Patent number: 11234073
    Abstract: The disclosed computer-implemented method may include accessing environment information identifying an undesired sound source within an environment. The method may further include determining, based on the accessed environment information, a spatial location of the undesired sound source in the environment that is to be attenuated using an active noise cancelling (ANC) signal. The method may also include forming a microphone beam, using two or more microphones, directed at the determined spatial location, where the microphone beam is configured to capture audio information from the determined spatial location. Still further, the method may include generating an ANC signal using the audio information captured using the microphone beam, and playing back the generated ANC signal to attenuate the undesired sound source at the determined spatial location. Various other methods, systems, and computer-readable media are also disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 14, 2019
    Date of Patent: January 25, 2022
    Assignee: Facebook Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Buye Xu, Antonio John Miller, Jacob Ryan Donley
  • Patent number: 11234082
    Abstract: A carrier substrate and a method for making a carrier substrate are disclosed. In an embodiment a carrier substrate includes a substrate body having a multilayer structure, electrical connection pads on a top surface of the substrate body, an organic cushion layer on the top surface of the substrate body, electrically conductive elongated parts arranged on top of the cushion layer, wherein each conductive elongated part is contacted to a respective electric connection pad and a solder pad located at an end of each elongated part distant from the respective connection pad.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 7, 2018
    Date of Patent: January 25, 2022
    Assignee: TDK CORPORATION
    Inventor: Wolfgang Pahl