Patents Examined by William A Jerez Lora
  • Patent number: 12089029
    Abstract: An information processing apparatus, a control method, and a control program capable of providing an experience close to one experienced in a real space to a user are provided. An information processing apparatus includes: an acquisition unit configured to acquire terminal position information of a communication terminal; a holding unit configured to hold a predetermined area and acoustic-image localization position information of an audio content to be output to the communication terminal while associating them with each other; a generation unit configured to generate acoustic-image localization information based on the acoustic-image localization position information and the terminal position information when the terminal position information is included in the predetermined area; and an output unit configured to output the acoustic-image localization information.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 11, 2020
    Date of Patent: September 10, 2024
    Assignee: NEC CORPORATION
    Inventors: Toshikazu Maruyama, Shizuko Kanegae, Izumi Endo, Kazunari Someya, Goh Shibata, Kiyoshi Morisaki
  • Patent number: 12080302
    Abstract: A method (1900) for audio signal filtering. The method includes generating (s1902) a pair of filters for a certain location specified by an elevation angle ? and an azimuth angle ?, the pair of filters consisting of a right filter (hr(?,?)) and a left filter (hl(?, ?)); filtering (s1904) an audio signal using the right filter; and filtering (s1906) the audio signal using the left filter. Generating the pair of filters comprises: i) obtaining at least a first set of elevation basis function values at the elevation angle: ii) obtaining at least a first set of azimuth basis function values at the azimuth angle; iii) generating the right filter using: a) at least the first set of elevation basis function values, b) at least the first set of azimuth basis function values, and c) right filter model parameters; and iv) generating the left filter using: a) at least the first set of elevation basis function values, b) at least the first set of azimuth basis function values, and c) left filter model parameters.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 15, 2020
    Date of Patent: September 3, 2024
    Assignee: TELEFONAKTIEBOLAGET LM ERICSSON (PUBL)
    Inventors: Mengqiu Zhang, Erlendur Karlsson
  • Patent number: 12069447
    Abstract: An image capture device with beamforming for wind noise optimized microphone placements is described. The image capture device includes a front facing microphone configured to capture an audio signal. The front facing microphone co-located with at least one optical component. The image capture device further includes at least one non-front facing microphone configured to capture an audio signal. The image capture device further includes a processor configured to generate a forward facing beam using the audio signal captured by the front facing microphone and the audio signal captured by the at least one non-front facing microphone, generate an omni beam using the audio signal captured by the at least one non-front facing microphone, and output an audio signal based on the forward facing beam and the omni beam.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 20, 2023
    Date of Patent: August 20, 2024
    Assignee: GoPro, Inc.
    Inventor: Erich Tisch
  • Patent number: 12035114
    Abstract: Examples of the disclosure relate to an apparatus comprising means for: using a radiofrequency beam having a wavelength below approximately 10 mm to interrogate one or more acoustic reporters in an audio environment; analysing one or more sound signals reported by the one or more acoustic reporters to determine positions of one or more sound sources providing the one or more sound signals; and using the positions of the one or more sound sources to determine one or more sound propagation paths within the audio environment.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 9, 2021
    Date of Patent: July 9, 2024
    Assignee: NOKIA TECHNOLOGIES OY
    Inventors: Phil Catton, Christopher Wright, Wai Lau
  • Patent number: 12035115
    Abstract: In a speaker distortion correction device, an input signal passes through a nonlinear-portion correction filter and is input into a linear inverse filter. An output signal from the linear inverse filter is output into a speaker through an amplifier. For the nonlinear-portion correction filter, transfer characteristics (filter coefficients) are set that eliminate distortion due to nonlinear characteristics of the speaker. With a difference, as an error, between vibration of the speaker without distortion relative to an input signal and vibration of a vibration system of the speaker measured by a vibration measurement unit, an adaptive-algorithm execution unit performs an adaptive operation that adaptively updates filter coefficients of the linear inverse filter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 8, 2022
    Date of Patent: July 9, 2024
    Assignee: ALPS ALPINE CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Yuji Saito, Hiroki Toita, Hiroyuki Taguchi, Ryosuke Tachi, Tatsuya Mashiko
  • Patent number: 12035098
    Abstract: Disclosed is a smart head-mounted device. The smart head-mounted device comprises a lens and an arm connected to the lens, the same arm being provided with a sound production unit including a first sound production apparatus and a second production apparatus. The first sound production apparatus and a second production apparatus radiate sound waves outward through their respective sound outlets, have opposite phases during operation, and are apart from the same ear hole of a wearer by different distances.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 26, 2019
    Date of Patent: July 9, 2024
    Assignee: Goertek Inc.
    Inventors: Tongyan Xu, Chengxiang Zhai
  • Patent number: 12028669
    Abstract: Example embodiments described herein involve reducing the formation of ice on external modules by incorporating a heater within the module. The system may include a microphone module for an autonomous vehicle. The microphone module may include a housing and a microphone inside an opening of the housing. The system may further include a cover abutting the opening of the housing. The cover may enclose the microphone within the housing and seal the opening of the housing. The system may also include a heater adjacent to the opening of the housing and configured to prevent ice from forming over the opening. The heater may at least partially surround the opening.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 20, 2023
    Date of Patent: July 2, 2024
    Assignee: Waymo LLC
    Inventor: Cheng-Han Wu
  • Patent number: 12022271
    Abstract: Individual loudspeaker dynamics processing configuration data, for each of a plurality of loudspeakers of a listening environment, may be obtained. Listening environment dynamics processing configuration data may be determined, based on the individual loudspeaker dynamics processing configuration data. Dynamics processing may be performed on received audio data based on the listening environment dynamics processing configuration data, to generate processed audio data. The processed audio data may be rendered for reproduction via a set of loudspeakers that includes at least some of the plurality of loudspeakers, to produce rendered audio signals. The rendered audio signals may be provided to, and reproduced by, the set of loudspeakers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 27, 2020
    Date of Patent: June 25, 2024
    Assignees: Dolby Laboratories Licensing Corporation, DOLBY INTERNATIONAL AB
    Inventors: Alan J. Seefeldt, Joshua B. Lando, Daniel Arteaga
  • Patent number: 12003913
    Abstract: A system comprises a first ear-worn electronic device configured to be worn by a wearer, and a second electronic device comprising a second ear-worn electronic device or other electronic device. A wireless transceiver operably coupled to an antenna is disposed in each of the electronic devices. One or both of the first ear-worn electronic device and the second electronic device are configured to transmit signals at a plurality of different frequencies in accordance with a frequency hopping sequence, collect 2-D RSSI data comprising an RSSI value as a function of frequency and of time in response to transmission of the signals, detect a particular input gesture of a plurality of input gestures of the wearer using the 2-D RSSI data, and implement a predetermined function of at least one of the first ear-worn electronic device and the second electronic device in response to detecting the particular input gesture.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 27, 2020
    Date of Patent: June 4, 2024
    Assignee: Starkey Laboratories, Inc.
    Inventors: Dong Xue, Zhenchao Yang, Gregory J. Haubrich, Stephen Paul Flood
  • Patent number: 11996079
    Abstract: An active noise reduction device reduces noise in a space in an automobile. The active noise reduction device includes: a reference signal input terminal that receives a reference signal outputted by a reference signal source and having a correlation with the noise, the reference signal source being attached to the automobile; a compressor that compresses and outputs the reference signal received by the reference signal input terminal and having an amplitude greater than or equal to a threshold; an adaptive filter unit that applies an adaptive filter to the reference signal outputted from the compressor to generate a canceling signal to be used to output a canceling sound for reducing the noise; and a filter coefficient updater that updates a coefficient of the adaptive filter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 16, 2022
    Date of Patent: May 28, 2024
    Assignee: PANASONIC AUTOMOTIVE SYSTEMS CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Mitsuhiro Tani
  • Patent number: 11997472
    Abstract: The present technology relates to a signal processing device, signal processing method, and program capable of providing a higher realistic feeling. A signal processing device includes: an acquisition unit that acquires audio data of an audio object and metadata including position information indicating a position of the audio object and direction information indicating a direction of the audio object; and a signal generation unit that generates a reproduction signal for reproducing a sound of the audio object at a listening position on the basis of listening position information indicating the listening position, listener direction information indicating a direction of a listener at the listening position, the position information, the direction information, and the audio data. The present technology is applicable to a transmission reproduction system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 10, 2020
    Date of Patent: May 28, 2024
    Assignee: Sony Group Corporation
    Inventors: Ryuichi Namba, Makoto Akune, Keiichi Aoyama, Yoshiaki Oikawa
  • Patent number: 11990881
    Abstract: An example method of operation may include identifying speakers and microphones connected to a network controlled by a controller, assigning a preliminary output gain to the speakers used to apply test signals, measuring ambient noise detected from the microphones, recording chirp responses from all microphones simultaneously based on the test signals, deconvolving all chirp responses to determine a corresponding number of impulse responses, and measuring average sound pressure levels (SPLs) of each of the microphones to obtain a SPL level based on an average of the SPLs.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 9, 2023
    Date of Patent: May 21, 2024
    Assignee: Biamp Systems, LLC
    Inventors: Eugene Goff, Ray Dippert, Matthew V. Kotvis, Samarth Behura
  • Patent number: 11985489
    Abstract: In a sound processing method of operating audio equipment to perform sound processing relating to audio content in accordance with one embodiment, a distributor terminal communicates with the audio equipment and at least one listener terminal, the distributor terminal distributes the audio content from the distributor terminal to the at least one listener terminal, the distributor terminal specifies an operation listener terminal, from among the at least one listener terminal, that is permitted to change a sound processing parameter of the audio equipment, the operation listener terminal accepts the sound processing parameter changed by the operation listener terminal, the operation listener terminal transmits the sound processing parameter changed by the operation listener terminal to the distributor terminal, and the audio equipment performs the sound processing based on the changed sound processing parameter changed by the operation listener terminal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 7, 2022
    Date of Patent: May 14, 2024
    Assignee: YAMAHA CORPORATION
    Inventors: Hiroshi Kotaki, Mitsutaka Goto, Mizuyuki Shirai, Akihiro Sonogi, Takahiro Senda, Hitomi Shimizu
  • Patent number: 11985487
    Abstract: Methods, apparatus, systems, and articles of manufacture are disclosed to enhance and audio signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 31, 2022
    Date of Patent: May 14, 2024
    Assignee: Intel Corporation
    Inventors: Hector Cordourier Maruri, Willem Beltman, Jose Rodrigo Camacho Perez, Paulo Lopez Meyer, Julio Zamora Esquivel, Alejandro Ibarra Von Borstel
  • Patent number: 11977671
    Abstract: Techniques for implementing an augmented audio conditioning (AAC) system are described herein. In some examples, the AAC system can store conditioning data comprising crowd noise experiences associated with context-relevant environments and/or actions associated with an activity. The AAC system can detect an action of a user who is training in a conditioning environment and determine that the action is associated with the activity. In some examples, the AAC system can also determine an association between the action of the user and audio data representing a crowd noise experience of a context-relevant environment during an event. Furthermore, the AAC system can, in response to detecting the action of the user, output the audio-conditioning data into the conditioning environment to simulate the crowd noise experience of the context-relevant environment during the event.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 20, 2023
    Date of Patent: May 7, 2024
    Assignee: Moea Technologies, Inc.
    Inventor: John Correia
  • Patent number: 11979721
    Abstract: A wearable device can provide an audio module that is operable to provide audio output from a distance away from the ears of the user. For example, the wearable device can be worn on clothing of the user and direct audio waves to the ears of the user. Such audio waves can be focused by a parametric array of speakers that limit audibility by others. Thus, the privacy of the audio directed to the user can be maintained without requiring the user to wear audio headsets on, over, or in the ears of the user. The wearable device can further include microphones and/or connections to other devices that facilitate calibration of the audio module of the wearable device. The wearable device can further include user sensors that are configured to detect, measure, and/or track one or more properties of the user.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 9, 2023
    Date of Patent: May 7, 2024
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Daniel A. Podhajny, Joshua A. Hoover, Nicholas R. Trincia, Yue Chen, Seul Bi Kim, Chad J. Miller, Kristen L. Cretella, Yi Zou, William Leith
  • Patent number: 11974104
    Abstract: A linearity compensation method for a sound producing device (SPD) includes steps of: applying a test signal on a first SPD; obtaining an acoustic measurement result generated from the first SPD according to the test signal; generating a compensation curve according to the acoustic measurement result; and performing a linearity compensation operation on a second SPD according to the compensation curve.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 13, 2022
    Date of Patent: April 30, 2024
    Assignee: xMEMS Labs, Inc.
    Inventors: Jemm Yue Liang, Yanchen Lu, Hao-Hsin Chang
  • Patent number: 11967337
    Abstract: In some examples, a non-transitory computer-readable medium stores machine-readable instructions which, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to cause a playback device to produce a sound using an audio file; cause a recording device to record the sound; compare the audio file to the recorded sound; determine, based on the comparison, whether the recorded sound comprises a noise not present in the audio file; and cause, based on the determination, a second recording device to be selected, a multiplexer to select a second playback device, or a combination thereof.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 23, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 23, 2024
    Assignee: HEWLETT-PACKARD DEVELOPMENT COMPANY, L.P.
    Inventors: Hassan A. Syed, Hoang Van Ngo, Steve Mark Brauns, Kwok Chi Kwong
  • Patent number: 11956616
    Abstract: An apparatus comprises a receiver (201) receiving a multi-channel audio signal representing audio for a scene. An extractor (203) extracts at least one directional audio component by applying a spatial filtering to the multi-channel signal where the spatial filtering is dependent on the multi-channel audio signal. A feature processor (205) determines a set of features for the first directional audio component and a categorizer (207) determines a first audio source category out of a plurality of audio source categories for the directional audio signal in response to the set of features. An assigner (209) assigns a first audio source property to the first directional audio component from a set of audio source properties for the first audio source category. The apparatus may provide very advantageous categorization and characterization of individual audio sources/components present in a multi-channel signal. This may be advantageous e.g. for visualization of audio events.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 2, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 9, 2024
    Assignee: STEELSERIES FRANCE
    Inventors: Maxime Baelde, Nathan Souviraa-Labastie, Raphaƫl Greff
  • Patent number: 11950062
    Abstract: A system configured to improve sound source localization (SSL) processing by reducing a number of direction vectors and grouping the direction vectors into direction cells is provided. The system performs clustering to generate a smaller set of direction vectors included in a delay-direction codebook, reducing a size of the codebook to the number of unique delay vectors. In addition, the system groups the direction vectors into direction cells having a regular structure (e.g., predetermined uniformity and/or symmetry), which simplifies SSL processing and results in a substantial reduction in computational cost. The system may also select between multiple codebooks and/or dynamically adjust the codebook to compensate for changes to the microphone array. For example, a device with a microphone array fixed to a display that can tilt may adjust the codebook based on a tilt angle of the display to improve accuracy.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 31, 2022
    Date of Patent: April 2, 2024
    Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Wai Chung Chu, Carlo Murgia