Patents Examined by Qin Zhu
  • Retroactive sound identification system
    Patent number: 10643637
    Abstract: A method for identifying at least one characteristic of a sound-producing object includes storing, in a memory, audio data acquired from an auditory environment via at least one microphone; receiving an input indicating a user request to identify a characteristic of a sound-producing object included in the auditory environment; determining, via a processor and based on a portion of the audio data acquired from the auditory environment prior to the user request, the characteristic of the sound-producing object; and causing information corresponding to the characteristic of the sound-producing object to be output via at least one output device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 6, 2018
    Date of Patent: May 5, 2020
    Assignee: Harman International Industries, Inc.
    Inventors: Adam Boulanger, Joseph Verbeke, Stefan Marti, Davide Di Censo, Sven Kratz
  • Headphones execute voice command to move binaural sound
    Patent number: 10645511
    Abstract: A digital signal processor (DSP) in headphones processes sound with head-related transfer functions (HRTFs) to produce binaural sound that externally localizes away from a head of a user wearing the headphones. The headphones include a microphone that receives a voice command that causes the headphones to move a location of the binaural sound.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 2, 2019
    Date of Patent: May 5, 2020
    Inventors: Glen A. Norris, Philip Scott Lyren
  • Controlling a location of binaural sound with a command
    Patent number: 10645512
    Abstract: A wearable electronic device (WED) worn on a head of a user displays first and second virtual images. A digital signal processor (DSP) processes sound to a first sound localization point (SLP) at the first virtual image and to a second SLP at the second virtual image. A command controls the first and second SLPs when a head orientation of the user is directed to the SLP.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 18, 2019
    Date of Patent: May 5, 2020
    Inventors: Glen A. Norris, Philip Scott Lyren
  • Headphones execute voice command to intelligent personal assistant and move binaural sound
    Patent number: 10638242
    Abstract: A digital signal processor (DSP) in headphones processes sound with head-related transfer functions (HRTFs) to produce binaural sound that externally localizes away from a head of a user wearing the headphones. The headphones include a microphone that receives a voice command to an intelligent personal assistant that causes the headphones to change a location of the binaural sound.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 2, 2019
    Date of Patent: April 28, 2020
    Inventors: Glen A. Norris, Philip Scott Lyren
  • Head mounted display that moves binaural sound in response to a voice command
    Patent number: 10638241
    Abstract: A method provides a voice in binaural sound to a first user during an electronic communication between the first user wearing a head mounted display (HMD) and a second user. The method includes designating a sound localization point (SLP) with a handheld portable electronic device (HPED), processing the voice of the second user with a digital signal processor (DSP) in the HMD, and moving the voice of the second user in response to a microphone in the HMD receiving a voice command from the first user.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 2, 2019
    Date of Patent: April 28, 2020
    Inventors: Glen A. Norris, Philip Scott Lyren
  • Wearable electronic device executes voice command to intelligent personal assistant and moves binaural sound
    Patent number: 10631114
    Abstract: A digital signal processor (DSP) in a wearable electronic device (WED) worn on a head of a user processes sound with head-related transfer functions (HRTFs) to produce binaural sound that externally localizes away from the head of the user wearing the WED. The WED includes a microphone that receives a voice command to an intelligent personal assistant that causes the WED to move a location of the binaural sound.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 2, 2019
    Date of Patent: April 21, 2020
    Inventors: Glen A. Norris, Philip Scott Lyren
  • Hearing device incorporating user interactive auditory display
    Patent number: 10620905
    Abstract: A hearing device comprises a processor configured to generate a virtual auditory display comprising a sound field, a plurality of disparate sound field zones, and a plurality of quiet zones that provide acoustic contrast between the sound field zones. The sound field zones and the quiet zones remain positionally stationary within the sound field. One or more sensors are configured to sense a plurality of inputs from the wearer. The processor is configured to facilitate movement of the wearer within the sound field in response to a navigation input received from the one or more sensors. The processor is also configured to select one of the sound field zones for playback via a speaker or actuation of a hearing device function in response to a selection input received from the one or more sensors.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 16, 2018
    Date of Patent: April 14, 2020
    Assignee: Starkey Laboratories, Inc.
    Inventors: Karim Helwani, Tao Zhang, Simon Carlile
  • Coprime microphone array system
    Patent number: 10602265
    Abstract: A coprime microphone array (CMA) system, comprising: a CMA arrangement that includes a pair of uniform linear microphone subarrays that are coincident and have a coprime number of microphones; a computing system that processing signals from each microphone in the CMA arrangement and generates sound localization information.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 4, 2016
    Date of Patent: March 24, 2020
    Assignee: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
    Inventors: Ning Xiang, Dane Bush
  • Wearable electronic device selects HRTFs based on eye distance and provides binaural sound
    Patent number: 10595143
    Abstract: A method provides a voice in binaural sound to a user. A wearable electronic device (WED) selects head-related transfer functions (HRTFs) based on a distance between eyes of the user. A digital signal processor (DSP) in the WED processes the voice with the HRTFs to generate the voice in the binaural sound that localizes at a sound localization point (SLP) at a location in empty space to the user.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 2, 2019
    Date of Patent: March 17, 2020
    Inventors: Glen A. Norris, Philip Scott Lyren
  • Method and apparatus for acoustic crosstalk cancellation
    Patent number: 10595150
    Abstract: An acoustic crosstalk canceller is determined for an asymmetric audio playback device, by determining a transfer function of an acoustic stereo playback path having asymmetries defined by speakers of the playback device. The transfer function is inverted to determine an inverse transfer function. The inverse transfer function is regularised by applying frequency dependent regularisation parameters to obtain an acoustic crosstalk canceller. Also, the inverse transfer function could be regularised for symmetric playback paths by applying aggregated frequency dependent regularisation parameters to obtain an acoustic crosstalk canceller without band branching.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 2, 2017
    Date of Patent: March 17, 2020
    Assignee: Cirrus Logic, Inc.
    Inventor: Vitaliy Sapozhnykov
  • Electronic glasses that provide binaural sound
    Patent number: 10587973
    Abstract: A method provides a voice in binaural sound to a user. The method includes designating a sound localization point (SLP) with a handheld portable electronic device (HPED) and tracking the SLP with electronic glasses worn on a head of the user. A processor processes the voice with head-related transfer functions (HRTFs) to generate the voice in the binaural sound that localizes at the SLP at a location in empty space at physical object.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 2, 2019
    Date of Patent: March 10, 2020
    Inventors: Glen A. Norris, Philip Scott Lyren
  • Method and system for analysing sound
    Patent number: 10587967
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a method and system for analysing audio (eg. music) tracks. A predictive model of the neuro-physiological functioning and response to sounds by one or more of the human lower cortical, limbic and subcortical regions in the brain is described. Sounds are analysed so that appropriate sounds can be selected and played to a listener in order to stimulate and/or manipulate neuro-physiological arousal in that listener. The method and system are particularly applicable to applications harnessing a biofeedback resource.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 14, 2017
    Date of Patent: March 10, 2020
    Assignee: X-SYSTEM LIMITED
    Inventors: Nigel Osborne, Robert Ashcroft, Paul Robertson, Peter Kingsley
  • Headphones that provide binaural sound
    Patent number: 10587974
    Abstract: Headphones include a digital signal processor (DSP) that processes sound into binaural sound that externally localizes to a user wearing the headphones at a sound localization point (SLP) in empty space at least one meter away from a head of the user. A microphone receives a voice command that executes to change the sound from playing as the binaural sound that externally localizes to the user at the SLP in empty space at least one meter away from the head of the user to playing as stereo sound.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 2, 2019
    Date of Patent: March 10, 2020
    Inventors: Glen A. Norris, Philip Scott Lyren
  • Headphones that provide binaural sound and receive head gestures
    Patent number: 10587972
    Abstract: Headphones provide binaural sound to a user wearing the headphones. The headphones store HRTFs of the user and include head tracking and a digital signal processor (DSP). The DSP processes sound into binaural sound that externally localizes to a sound localization point (SLP) at least one meter away from a head of the user. The headphones receive head gestures from the user.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 15, 2019
    Date of Patent: March 10, 2020
    Inventors: Glen A. Norris, Philip Scott Lyren
  • Methods and apparatus to perform audio watermarking and watermark detection and extraction
    Patent number: 10580421
    Abstract: Methods and apparatus to perform audio watermarking and watermark detection and extraction are disclosed. Example apparatus disclosed herein to embed a code into an audio signal include means for selecting frequency components to be used to represent the code, different sets of frequency components to represent respectively different information, respective ones of the frequency components in the sets of frequency components located in respective code bands, there being multiple code bands and spacing between adjacent code bands being equal to or less than the spacing between adjacent frequency components in the code bands. Disclosed example apparatus further include means for synthesizing the frequency components to be used to represent the code and means for combining the synthesized frequency components with an audio block of the audio signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 7, 2018
    Date of Patent: March 3, 2020
    Assignee: The Nielsen Company (US), LLC
    Inventors: Alexander Pavlovich Topchy, Arun Ramaswamy, Venugopal Srinivasan
  • Audio system, audio device, and audio device setting method
    Patent number: 10567900
    Abstract: Provided is an audio system, including: at least two audio devices capable of holding communication among one another; and a stereo pair setting unit configured to set a stereo pair in which one of two audio devices included among the at least two audio devices serves as a parent device, and another of the two audio devices serves as a child device, in which: the parent device is configured to play, with a delay, a first-channel audio signal included in a first audio signal, and to transmit to the child device a second audio signal including at least a second-channel audio signal, which is included in the first audio signal; and the child device is configured to receive the second audio signal from the parent device to play the second-channel audio signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 29, 2017
    Date of Patent: February 18, 2020
    Assignee: Yamaha Corporation
    Inventors: Katsuaki Tanaka, Tomoyoshi Akutagawa, Yuki Suemitsu
  • MEMS microphone and method for manufacturing the same
    Patent number: 10547954
    Abstract: A microphone includes a substrate, an opening in the substrate, and a support structure in the opening. The support structure includes a first bracket formed in a closed-loop pattern and a second bracket connecting the first bracket to a periphery of the opening. The support structure in the opening increases the mechanical reliability of the microphone.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 12, 2018
    Date of Patent: January 28, 2020
    Assignees: SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING INTERNATIONAL (SHANGHAI) CORPORATION, SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING INTERNATIONAL (BEIJING) CORPORATION
    Inventor: Hui Shi
  • Actuator systems for oral-based appliances
    Patent number: 10536789
    Abstract: Actuator systems for oral-based appliances utilizing transducers which are attached, adhered, or otherwise embedded into or upon a dental or oral appliance to form a hearing aid assembly. Such oral appliances may be a custom-made device which receives incoming sounds and transmits the processed sounds via a vibrating transducer element. The transducer element may utilize electromagnetic or piezoelectric transducer mechanisms and may be positioned directly along the dentition or along an oral appliance housing in various configurations.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 23, 2019
    Date of Patent: January 14, 2020
    Assignee: SoundMed, LLC
    Inventors: Christoph Menzel, Amir Abolfathi
  • Vehicle speaker arrangement
    Patent number: 10531194
    Abstract: An audio system for a vehicle is provided with a woofer speaker having a front side for producing a required bass-range acoustic output in a passenger compartment of the vehicle and a back side having an infinite baffle. The audio system includes a bass-compatible speaker disposed in the passenger compartment of the vehicle. A controller is in communication with the woofer and the bass-compatible speaker and is programmed to distribute the required bass-range sound output to the woofer and the bass-compatible speaker based on at least one of a vehicle speed and a sound output level of the audio system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 28, 2016
    Date of Patent: January 7, 2020
    Assignee: HARMAN INTERNATIONAL INDUSTRIES, INCORPORATED
    Inventors: Christopher Ludwig, Bradford Hamme, Riley Winton
  • Sound collecting device and sound collecting method
    Patent number: 10531188
    Abstract: A sound collecting device, comprising stereo microphones that are arranged apart in a direction intersecting obliquely with respect to a direction that is vertical to a direction connecting the user and an subject, and arranged at different distances in the direction that joins the user and the subject, and a processor for directivity control that adjust directivity of speech signals from the stereo microphones.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 5, 2018
    Date of Patent: January 7, 2020
    Assignee: OLYMPUS CORPORATION
    Inventor: Junichi Uchida