Patents Examined by Paul C McCord
  • Patent number: 11962994
    Abstract: In some embodiments, a method comprises receiving audio content comprising left input channel signals and right input channel signals, and generating first and second input signals from the left and right input channel signals. The first input signal is based on a sum of the left and right input channel signals, and the second input signal is based on a difference of the left and right input channel signals. An array transfer function is applied to the first and second input signals to produced audio output signals, which can be provided to a plurality of audio transducers on one or more playback devices.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 18, 2022
    Date of Patent: April 16, 2024
    Assignee: Sonos, Inc.
    Inventors: Hilmar Lehnert, Paul MacLean
  • Patent number: 11948096
    Abstract: Techniques for improved federated learning are provided. One or more queries are issued to a plurality of participants in a federated learning system, and one or more replies are received from the plurality of participants. A first aggregated model is generated based on the one or more relies and a first influence vector. Upon determining that a predefined criterion is satisfied, a second influence vector modifying a weight of a first participant of the plurality of participants is generated. A second aggregated model is generated based on the one or more replies and the second influence vector.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 13, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 2, 2024
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Yi Zhou, Ali Anwar, Nathalie Baracaldo Angel, Hekio H. Ludwig
  • Patent number: 11950079
    Abstract: A delay estimation method includes determining a cross-correlation coefficient of a multi-channel signal of a current frame, determining a delay track estimation value of the current frame based on buffered inter-channel time difference information of at least one past frame, determining an adaptive window function of the current frame, performing weighting on the cross-correlation coefficient based on the delay track estimation value of the current frame and the adaptive window function of the current frame, to obtain a weighted cross-correlation coefficient, and determining an inter-channel time difference of the current frame based on the weighted cross-correlation coefficient.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 8, 2022
    Date of Patent: April 2, 2024
    Assignee: HUAWEI TECHNOLOGIES CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Eyal Shlomot, Haiting Li, Lei Miao
  • Patent number: 11947863
    Abstract: An intelligent audio analytic apparatus (IAAA) and method for space system. The IAAA comprises a processor, a computer readable medium, and a communication module. The instructions include audio data processing algorithms configured to identify and predict impending anomalies associated with the space system using at least one neural network.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 26, 2019
    Date of Patent: April 2, 2024
    Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
    Inventors: Samarjit Das, Joseph Szurley
  • Patent number: 11922931
    Abstract: Systems and methods are described for modifying a phonetic search index based on a use frequency associated with phonetic representations of text terms included in metadata of a media item. A first phonetic representation of a text term of the metadata, pronounced as a word, may be generated. A second phonetic representation of the text term may be generated by concatenating a phonetic representation of each letter in the text term. A database may be queried to determine use frequencies of the first and second phonetic representations, one of which may be selected based on a comparison of the use frequencies. A phonetic search index may be modified by including an entry for the selected phonetic representation. A voice query related to the media item may be received, and a reply to the voice query may be generated for output by performing a lookup in the modified phonetic search index.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 30, 2021
    Date of Patent: March 5, 2024
    Assignee: Rovi Guides, Inc.
    Inventors: Ajay Kumar Mishra, Jeffry Copps Robert Jose
  • Patent number: 11914969
    Abstract: Systems and methods are provided that train a machine-learned language encoding model through the use of a contrastive learning task. In particular, the present disclosure describes a contrastive learning task where the encoder learns to distinguish input tokens from plausible alternatives. In some implementations, on each training example the proposed method masks out some subset (e.g., 15%) of the original input tokens, replaces the masked tokens with samples from a “generator” (e.g., which may be a small masked language model), and then trains the encoder to predict whether each token comes from the original data or is a replacement produced by the generator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 19, 2022
    Date of Patent: February 27, 2024
    Assignee: GOOGLE LLC
    Inventors: Thang Minh Luong, Quoc V. Le, Kevin Stefan Clark
  • Patent number: 11915715
    Abstract: Techniques for performing conditional or controlled noise removal from audio that may contain background noise. The techniques involve obtaining audio from an environment that may have one or more unwanted noise sources, and converting the audio to digital audio data. The digital audio data is analyzed to detect whether there is noise in the audio. When noise is detected in the audio, noise removal is performed on the digital audio data to remove the noise from the audio. When noise is not detected in the audio, the digital audio data is further processed without performing noise removal on the digital audio data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 24, 2021
    Date of Patent: February 27, 2024
    Assignee: CISCO TECHNOLOGY, INC.
    Inventors: Keith Griffin, Svein Gunnar Storebakken Pettersen, Torjus Haukom
  • Patent number: 11900914
    Abstract: An online system receives, from a client device of a posting user, a script for a voice-based content item. The online system retrieves a voice synthesis model stored in the user profile of the posting user and generates a synthetic audio stream using the retrieved voice synthesis model and based on the received script. The online system presents the generated synthetic audio stream to the posting user and receives instructions for modifying the synthetic audio stream. The online system generates a second audio stream based on the received instructions and composes the voice-based tent item based on the generated second audio stream.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 7, 2021
    Date of Patent: February 13, 2024
    Assignee: Meta Platforms, Inc.
    Inventors: Maria Fernandez Guajardo, Trent Richard Walkiewicz
  • Patent number: 11876922
    Abstract: A method on a mobile device for a wireless network is described. An audio input is monitored for a trigger phrase spoken by a user of the mobile device. A command phrase spoken by the user after the trigger phrase is buffered. The command phrase corresponds to a call command and a call parameter. A set of target contacts associated with the mobile device is selected based on respective voice validation scores and respective contact confidence scores. The respective voice validation scores are based on the call parameter. The respective contact confidence scores are based on a user context associated with the user. A call to a priority contact of the set of target contacts is automatically placed if the voice validation score of the priority contact meets a validation threshold and the contact confidence score of the priority contact meets a confidence threshold.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 6, 2022
    Date of Patent: January 16, 2024
    Assignee: GOOGLE TECHNOLOGY HOLDINGS LLC
    Inventors: Kazuhiro Ondo, Michael P. Labowicz, Hideki Yoshino, Andrew K. Wells
  • Patent number: 11854557
    Abstract: A machine may be configured to generate one or more audio fingerprints of one or more segments of audio data. The machine may access audio data to be fingerprinted and divide the audio data into segments. For any given segment, the machine may generate a spectral representation from the segment; generate a vector from the spectral representation; generate an ordered set of permutations of the vector; generate an ordered set of numbers from the permutations of the vector; and generate a fingerprint of the segment of the audio data, which may be considered a sub-fingerprint of the audio data. In addition, the machine or a separate device may be configured to determine a likelihood that candidate audio data matches reference audio data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 26, 2022
    Date of Patent: December 26, 2023
    Assignee: Gracenote, Inc.
    Inventors: Jinyu Han, Robert Coover
  • Patent number: 11853184
    Abstract: Certain embodiments provide methods and systems for managing a sound profile. An example playback device includes a network interface and a non-transitory computer readable storage medium having stored therein instructions executable by the processor. When executed by the processor, the instructions are to configure the playback device to receive, via the network interface over a local area network (LAN) from a controller device, an instruction. The example playback device is to obtain, based on the instruction, via the network interface from a location outside of the LAN, data comprising a sound profile. The example playback device is to update one or more parameters at the playback device based on the sound profile. The example playback device is to play back an audio signal according to the sound profile.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 29, 2022
    Date of Patent: December 26, 2023
    Assignee: Sonos, Inc.
    Inventors: Christopher Kallai, Michael Darrell Andrew Ericson
  • Patent number: 11836414
    Abstract: Managing audio devices of an information handling system (IHS), including: performing initialization of audio-scenario database table, including: configuring, for audio scenarios at an IHS, an associated audio device, each audio device associated with an audio ID that uniquely identifies the audio device; generating the audio-scenario database table that indicates, for each audio scenario, an associated audio device ID of the audio device for the audio scenario; performing a steady-state monitoring of the IHS, including: identifying an initialization of a particular audio scenario, and in response, identifying active audio devices with respect to the IHS; comparing the audio ID of each of the active audio devices with the audio-scenario database table; matching, based on the comparing, a particular audio ID of a particular active audio device of the active audio devices with the audio-scenario database table; enabling, based on the matching, the particular active audio device for the particular audio scenario
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 23, 2021
    Date of Patent: December 5, 2023
    Assignee: Dell Products L.P.
    Inventors: Vivek Viswanathan Iyer, Chia-Hung Shih
  • Patent number: 11825152
    Abstract: An example first playback device includes programming to perform functions including receiving a first request to associate with a first playback queue that is stored remotely from, and persists unassociated with, any playback device of the media playback system. The functions also include associating with the first playback queue and designating the first playback queue as an active queue of the first playback device. The functions also include receiving a second request to enter into a group with a second playback device that is associated with a second playback queue, entering into the group with the second playback device, associating with the second playback queue, and designating the second playback queue as the active queue of the first playback device. The functions also include receiving a third request to leave the group, and after receiving the third request, de-designating the second playback queue as its active queue.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 26, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 21, 2023
    Assignee: Sonos, Inc.
    Inventors: Luis R. Vega-Zayas, Kristen Johansen, Paul Bates, Abhishek Kumar
  • Patent number: 11809780
    Abstract: Disclosed herein are playback devices, groups of playback devices, and methods of operating playback devices and groupings thereof to cause the playback devices in a group of playback devices to play audio content together in synchrony based on playback timing and clock timing, where the audio content and playback timing and the clock timing for use with playing the audio content according to the clock timing are provided by different playback devices in the group of playback devices.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 29, 2022
    Date of Patent: November 7, 2023
    Assignee: Sonos, Inc.
    Inventors: Luis Vega Zayas, Ted M. Lin
  • Patent number: 11792446
    Abstract: Example methods, apparatus, systems and articles of manufacture to reduce audio streaming latency between audio and Gigabit Ethernet subsystems are disclosed herein. An example integrated circuit disclosed herein to process an audio stream associated with an endpoint device on a network includes an Ethernet subsystem to access the network and an audio subsystem to process audio data associated with the audio stream. The disclosed example integrated circuit also includes a direct hardware path between the Ethernet subsystem and the audio subsystem to exchange audio data between the Ethernet subsystem and the audio subsystem without the audio data being processed by a first software driver that is to provide access to the Ethernet subsystem or a second software driver that is to provide access to the audio subsystem.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 6, 2020
    Date of Patent: October 17, 2023
    Assignee: Intel Corporation
    Inventors: Satheesh Chellappan, Kishore Kasichainula, Frank Baehren
  • Patent number: 11769532
    Abstract: A system for generating and distributing a digital mixtape. In one example, the system can receive a user command to generate a digital mixtape including a user-defined compilation of music. The user command identifies a recipient of the digital mixtape and identifies one or more media content items to be included in the music compilation for the recipient. The digital mixtape can also include audio recordings from the user to be added to the digital mixtape.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 17, 2019
    Date of Patent: September 26, 2023
    Assignee: Spotify AB
    Inventors: Henriette Susanne Martine Cramer, Sarah Mennicken, Kurt Jacobson, Rohit Kumar, Henrik Lindström, Karl Humphreys, Jennifer Thom-Santelli, Robert L. Williams
  • Patent number: 11770654
    Abstract: The present disclosure provides speaker device. speaker device includes frame, vibration unit fixed to frame and magnetic circuit unit driving vibration unit to vibrate and produce sound, where magnetic circuit unit is provided with magnetic gap; vibration unit includes diaphragm fixed to frame, holder fixed to diaphragm by injection molding and voice coil inserted in magnetic gap and connected to holder; holder includes bottom wall that is fixed to diaphragm and provided with pair of long edges and pair of short edges, and pair of side walls bending and extending from outer peripheries of short edges of bottom wall to magnetic circuit unit; side walls each are provided with chamfered portions on sides close to long edges. Present disclosure solves problem of deformation of holder molded in mold, thereby improving evenness of holder after molding.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 6, 2021
    Date of Patent: September 26, 2023
    Assignee: AAC Microtech (Changzhou) Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Ping Liang, Bin Zhao
  • Patent number: 11765516
    Abstract: Provided is a sounding device, including frame and vibration system and magnetic circuit unit fixed to the frame. The vibration system includes diaphragm, voice coil driving the diaphragm to vibrate and sound, holder fixed to diaphragm, and auxiliary diaphragm spaced from diaphragm. The holder includes holder main body, first connection portion formed from holder main body to magnetic circuit unit and second connection portion spaced from first connection portion. The voice coil is fixed to second connection portion. One end of the auxiliary diaphragm is fixed to frame. One end of first connection portion away from holder main body bends and extends away from second connection portion to form flange. One end of auxiliary diaphragm away from frame is fixed to flange. The sounding device may reduce accuracy deviation and hidden dangers of gluing failure caused by rear assembling of the auxiliary diaphragm.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 30, 2021
    Date of Patent: September 19, 2023
    Assignee: AAC Microtech (Changzhou) Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Bo Xiao, Ronglin Linghu, Tong Zhang, Chenliang Kong
  • Patent number: 11762625
    Abstract: An example method involves causing a control device to display a graphical user interface that comprises an indication of a first zone of a media playback system, wherein the media playback system comprises the first zone and a second zone, and wherein the graphical user interface does not comprise an indication of the second zone. The example method further involves detecting, by the control device, an input that indicates a command to cause the first zone to form a zone group with the second zone and play back a target media in synchrony with the second zone. The method further comprises, based on the detected input, causing the first zone to form a zone group with the second zone and play back the target media in synchrony with the second zone.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 14, 2021
    Date of Patent: September 19, 2023
    Assignee: Sonos, Inc.
    Inventor: Mark W. Triplett
  • Patent number: 11755642
    Abstract: Methods, apparatus, systems and articles of manufacture (e.g., physical storage media) to detect media watermarks in magnetic field data are disclosed herein. Example media monitors disclosed herein include a magnetic field estimator to determine first magnetic field data, the magnetic field estimator in communication with a magnetometer. Disclosed example media monitors also include a correlator to correlate the first magnitude field data with a reference sequence to determine second magnetic field data. Disclosed example media monitors further include a watermark decoder to process the second magnetic field data to detect an audio watermark encoded in an audio signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 25, 2022
    Date of Patent: September 12, 2023
    Assignee: The Nielsen Company (US), LLC
    Inventors: Alexander Topchy, Venugopal Srinivasan