Patents Examined by Xu Mei
  • Patent number: 12271656
    Abstract: An example method includes receiving data indicating a configuration of one or more playback devices. The one or more playback devices may include one or more transducers. The method further includes, based on the received data, associating each of one or more audio streams respectively with at least one transducer of the one or more transducers. The method further includes generating the one or more audio streams and sending at least one of the generated one or more audio streams to each of the one or more playback devices. An example non-transitory computer readable medium and an example computing device related to the example method are also disclosed herein.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 2, 2023
    Date of Patent: April 8, 2025
    Assignee: Sonos, Inc.
    Inventors: Ted Lin, Romi Kadri
  • Patent number: 12273689
    Abstract: A method includes determining multiple sound-exposure doses (111) for multiple time intervals of a discretized and rolling sequence (100) of time intervals (101-109). The method also includes determining a cumulative sound-exposure dose based on a combination of the sound-exposure doses (111). The combination comprises a weighted contribution of the sound-exposure dose of at least one earliest time interval of the rolling sequence (100) of time intervals (101-109).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 9, 2021
    Date of Patent: April 8, 2025
    Assignee: Sony Group Corporation
    Inventor: Peter Isberg
  • Patent number: 12267072
    Abstract: An electronic device includes a sampling circuit and a summing circuit coupled with the sampling circuit. The sampling circuit samples a pulse width of a first input pulse of a PWM input signal since a first time point on a rising edge of a clock pulse of a clock signal. The summing circuit generates a first output pulse of a PWM output signal since a second time point on a falling edge of the clock pulse. A pulse width of the first output pulse is a summation of the pulse width of the first input pulse and a pulse width of a second input pulse of the PWM input signal, and the second input pulse is the next pulse after the first input pulse.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 23, 2023
    Date of Patent: April 1, 2025
    Assignee: Elite Semiconductor Microelectronics Technology Inc.
    Inventors: Chih-Sheng Chang, Isaac Y. Chen
  • Patent number: 12262187
    Abstract: A speaker apparatus includes a pair of left and right speaker blocks that respectively have acoustic output sections and that are arranged inside a backrest. The pair of speaker blocks are arranged horizontally side by side relative to a headrest located on a front surface side of the backrest, and at least part of the headrest is located within a range of a nominal directivity angle of acoustics output from the acoustic output sections. This ensures that, of the acoustics output from the acoustic output section of the speaker block on the left side, at least some acoustics that head for the right ear are blocked by the headrest and that, of the acoustics output from the acoustic output section of the speaker block on the right side, at least some acoustics that head for the left ear are blocked by the headrest.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 20, 2021
    Date of Patent: March 25, 2025
    Assignee: SONY GROUP CORPORATION
    Inventors: Atsushi Homma, Takahiro Hayasaka
  • Patent number: 12256200
    Abstract: To avoid damage from overheating, playback device operation can be modulated based on input from temperature sensors. An example method includes obtaining, via one or more temperature sensors carried by the playback device, temperature data. Based on the temperature data, a first temperature parameter is detected. In response to detecting the first temperature parameter, a gain of audio playback is decreased by a first amount. After decreasing the gain of audio playback by the first amount, a second temperature parameter is detected. In response to detecting the second temperature parameter, the gain of audio playback is decreased by a second amount different than the first amount.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 2, 2023
    Date of Patent: March 18, 2025
    Assignee: Sonos, Inc.
    Inventors: Hilmar Lehnert, Aurelio Ramos
  • Patent number: 12238474
    Abstract: The present invention provides a speaker box including a housing, a sound unit and a magnetic circuit coupling valve. The sound unit includes a bracket, a vibration system and a magnetic circuit system including a secondary magnet. The housing includes a bottom cover having leakage holes. The magnetic circuit coupling valve is accommodated in a rear cavity and includes a support, a negative stiffness diaphragm and a coil. The negative stiffness diaphragm faces to the leakage holes. The coil receives an external control signal and generates an electromagnetic field with the secondary magnet to drive the negative stiffness diaphragm to seal the leakage holes, or make the leakage holes open, or make the leakage holes partially open or closed. Compared with a related technology, the speaker box has fine acoustic performance and is able to accurately control communication of a rear cavity with the outside.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 28, 2022
    Date of Patent: February 25, 2025
    Assignee: AAC Technologies Pte. Ltd.
    Inventors: Yao Hui, Yufen Chu, Jiujian Liu, Weimin Chen
  • Patent number: 12219331
    Abstract: A system for presenting audio content to a user. The system comprises one or more microphones coupled to a frame of a headset. The one or more microphones capture sound from a local area. The system further comprises an audio controller integrated into the headset and communicatively coupled to an in-ear device worn by a user. The audio controller identifies one or more sound sources in the local area based on the captured sound. The audio controller further determines a target sound source of the one or more sound sources and determines one or more filters to apply to a sound signal associated with the target sound source in the captured sound. The audio controller further generates an augmented sound signal by applying the one or more filters to the sound signal and provides the augmented sound signal to the in-ear device for presentation to a user.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 26, 2023
    Date of Patent: February 4, 2025
    Assignee: Meta Platforms Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: William Owen Brimijoin, II, Nils Thomas Fritiof Lunner, Philip Robinson, Ravish Mehra
  • Patent number: 12218642
    Abstract: In some embodiments, a method for processing an audio signal in an audio processing apparatus is disclosed. The method includes receiving an audio signal and a parameter, the parameter indicating a location of an auditory event boundary. An audio portion between consecutive auditory event boundaries constitutes an auditory event. The method further includes applying a modification to the audio signal based in part on an occurrence of the auditory event. The parameter may be generated by monitoring a characteristic of the audio signal and identifying a change in the characteristic.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 8, 2024
    Date of Patent: February 4, 2025
    Assignee: Dolby Laboratories Licensing Corporation
    Inventors: Brett G. Crockett, Alan J. Seefeldt
  • Patent number: 12207070
    Abstract: A sound output control device includes: an orientation detecting unit configured to detect a state of orientation of a face of a user; an ambient sound obtaining unit configured to obtain ambient sound; an ambient sound reducing processing unit configured to perform, based on the ambient sound, processing of reducing the ambient sound; and a sound output control unit configured to cause sound to be output with the ambient sound reduced by the ambient sound reducing processing unit, when the detected orientation of the face of the user is in a first state, and make audibility of the ambient sound higher than in a state where the ambient sound has been reduced by the ambient sound reducing processing unit, when the detected orientation of the face of the user is in a second state changed from the first state.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 16, 2022
    Date of Patent: January 21, 2025
    Assignee: JVCKENWOOD Corporation
    Inventors: Tatsuru Kobayashi, Toshikazu Fujii, Kazuo Nomura, Tatsuhiro Sukegawa, Shinji Kamimura, Jeong-ju Choe
  • Patent number: 12207061
    Abstract: A signal processing method and device of a MEMS microphone and a MEMS microphone are disclosed. The method comprises: acquiring a first electrical signal obtained by converting a received optical signal by an optical sensor disposed near a sound hole of the MEMS microphone; acquiring a second electrical signal output by the MEMS microphone; and judging that the second electrical signal is an interference signal when within a substantially overlapping time range, the first electrical signal acquired reaches a preset first threshold value and the second electrical signal acquired meets a preset condition.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 16, 2020
    Date of Patent: January 21, 2025
    Assignee: GOERTEK INC.
    Inventors: Dingyun Li, Kang An, Jie Wu, Kaifa Shu, Zheng Yang, Zongxia Zhu, Feifei Han
  • Patent number: 12194925
    Abstract: A vehicle and a controlling method of the same include a speaker outputting virtual engine sound integrated with a head lamp. The vehicle includes the head lamp; a head lamp case in which the head lamp is provided; a speaker for outputting a virtual engine sound, and provided inside the head lamp case; and a temperature sensor configured to sense an internal temperature of the head lamp case; where an internal cross-sectional area of the head lamp case may increase in a direction toward a front of the vehicle based on a position where the speaker is provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 18, 2023
    Date of Patent: January 14, 2025
    Assignees: Hyundai Motor Company, Kia Corporation
    Inventor: Yonghwan Hwang
  • Patent number: 12192733
    Abstract: A method for audio processing, the method comprising: determining at least one input audio object that includes an input audio object signal and an input audio object location, wherein the input audio object location includes a distance and a direction relative to a listener location; depending on the distance, applying a delay, a gain, and/or a spectral modification to the input audio object signal to produce a first dry signal; depending on the direction, panning the first dry signal to the locations of a plurality of speakers around the listener location to produce a second dry signal; depending on one or more predetermined room characteristics, generating an artificial reverberation signal from the input audio object signal; mixing the second dry signal and the artificial reverberation signal to produce a multichannel audio signal; and outputting each channel of the multichannel audio signal by one of the plurality of speakers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 27, 2022
    Date of Patent: January 7, 2025
    Assignee: Harman International Industries, Incorporated
    Inventors: Friedrich Von Tuerckheim, Adrian Von Dem Knesebeck
  • Patent number: 12191822
    Abstract: Disclosed is a hybrid power supply-based high-power loudspeaker box, and a power-supplying method for increasing the power of the loudspeaker box. A battery power-supplying unit and a power supply power-supplying unit are arranged in a power supply management module to supply power for a power amplification unit, an audio input unit receives input audio, the power amplification unit amplifies an audio signal, and the amplified audio signal drives a loudspeaker to make a sound so as to meet high-power output of the loudspeaker box. The power-supplying method is suitable for the high-power loudspeaker box. High power exceeding the power supply power is output under a condition that a powered voltage of the power supply power-supplying unit is constant.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 9, 2022
    Date of Patent: January 7, 2025
    Assignee: Shenzhen Hanke Technology Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Zhao Han
  • Patent number: 12192691
    Abstract: An assembly including a speaker and a stand. The speaker including a speaker housing, speaker components supported in the speaker housing and operable to produce and audio output, and a rechargeable power source operable to power the speaker components. The stand being operable to support the speaker, the stand including a stand housing and a stand electrical circuit connectable to an external power source. The speaker and the stand are operable to perform a charging operation, the charging operation including the speaker supported on the stand and power supplied to the rechargeable power source. During the charging operation, the speaker components are operable to produce the audio output.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 18, 2023
    Date of Patent: January 7, 2025
    Assignee: Kohler Co.
    Inventors: Kenneth Scott Hanna, Michael James Soetaert, Keith Scott Ruh, William Clement Kuru, Gregory de Swarte
  • Patent number: 12183341
    Abstract: A personalized sound management system for an acoustic space includes at least one transducer, a data communication system, one or more processors operatively coupled to the data communication system and the at least one transducer, and a medium coupled to the one or more processors. The processors access a database of sonic signatures and display a plurality of personalized sound management applications that perform at least one or more tasks among identifying a sonic signature, calculating a sound pressure level, storing metadata related to a sonic signature, monitoring sound pressure level dosage levels, switching to an ear canal microphone in a noisy environment, recording a user's voice, storing the user's voice in a memory of an earpiece device, or storing the user's voice in a memory of a server system, or converting received text received in texts or emails to voice using text to speech conversion. Other embodiments are disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 7, 2023
    Date of Patent: December 31, 2024
    Assignee: ST CasesTech, LLC
    Inventors: Steven Goldstein, John P. Keady
  • Patent number: 12185081
    Abstract: An apparatus circuitry including configured to: obtain two or more audio signal sets, wherein each audio signal set is associated with a position; obtain at least one parameter value for at least two of the audio signal sets; obtain the positions associated with at least the at least two of the audio signal sets; obtain a listener position; generate at least one audio signal based on at least one audio signal from at least one of the two or more audio signal sets based on the positions associated with the at least the at least two of the audio signal sets and the listener position; generate at least one modified parameter value based on the obtained at least one parameter value for the at least two of the audio signal sets, the positions associated with the at least two of the audio signal sets and the listener position; and process the at least one audio signal based on the at least one modified parameter value to generate a spatial audio output.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 3, 2021
    Date of Patent: December 31, 2024
    Assignee: Nokia Technologies Oy
    Inventors: Juha Vilkamo, Mikko-Ville Laitinen, Archontis Politis
  • Patent number: 12185072
    Abstract: According to an example embodiment, an electronic device may include: a communicator comprising communication circuitry configured to establish communication with a pair of earphones, and a processor configured to: determine whether each of the earphones is being worn and initiate recording of a sound input through a microphone of an earphone determined to be in a worn state among the earphones.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 8, 2022
    Date of Patent: December 31, 2024
    Assignee: SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Heejin Kim, Kyungsam Min, Chahee Park, Hyunyoung Yang, Myoungwoo Nam, Inje Hwang
  • Patent number: 12185084
    Abstract: An apparatus including circuitry configured to: receive a spatial audio signal, the spatial audio signal including at least one audio signal and spatial metadata associated with the at least one audio signal; obtain a room effect control indication; and determine, based on the room effect control indication, whether a room effect is to be applied to the at least one audio signal, wherein the circuitry is configured, when the room effect is to be applied to the spatial audio signal, to: generate a first part binaural audio signal based on the at least one audio signal and spatial metadata; generate a second part binaural audio signal based on the at least one audio signal, at least the second part binaural audio signal is generated with at least in part the room effect so as to have a different response than a response of the first part binaural audio signal; and combine the first part binaural audio signal and the second part binaural audio signal to generate a combined binaural audio signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 29, 2020
    Date of Patent: December 31, 2024
    Assignee: Nokia Technologies Oy
    Inventors: Juha Vilkamo, Mikko-Ville Laitinen
  • Patent number: 12170874
    Abstract: According to an embodiment, a digital microphone includes an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) for receiving an analog input signal; a DC blocker component coupled to the ADC; a digital low pass filter coupled to the DC block component; and a nonlinear compensation component coupled to the digital low pass filter for providing a digital output signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 18, 2022
    Date of Patent: December 17, 2024
    Assignee: INFINEON TECHNOLOGIES AG
    Inventors: Dietmar Straeussnigg, Niccoló De Milleri, Hong Chen, Simon Gruenberger, Andreas Wiesbauer
  • Patent number: 12170875
    Abstract: A multi-stream rendering system and method may render and play simultaneously a plurality of audio program streams over a plurality of arbitrarily placed loudspeakers. At least one of the program streams may be a spatial mix. The rendering of said spatial mix may be dynamically modified as a function of the simultaneous rendering of one or more additional program streams. The rendering of one or more additional program streams may be dynamically modified as a function of the simultaneous rendering of the spatial mix.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 27, 2020
    Date of Patent: December 17, 2024
    Assignees: Dolby Laboratories Licensing Corporation, Dolby International AB
    Inventors: Alan J. Seefeldt, Joshua B. Lando, Daniel Arteaga, Mark R. P Thomas, Glenn N. Dickins