Patents Examined by Yosef K Laekemariam
  • Patent number: 12133018
    Abstract: An imaging element includes a storage portion that is incorporated in the imaging element and stores image data obtained by imaging, a control portion that is incorporated in the imaging element and controls storage of the image data in the storage portion and stores attribute information of the image data in the storage portion, an output portion that is incorporated in the imaging element and outputs the image data stored in the storage portion, and a reception portion that receives an instruction related to the attribute information, in which the output portion outputs the attribute information corresponding to the instruction received by the reception portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 17, 2022
    Date of Patent: October 29, 2024
    Assignee: FUJIFILM CORPORATION
    Inventors: Tomoyuki Kawai, Ryo Hasegawa, Hitoshi Sakurabu, Makoto Kobayashi, Kazufumi Sugawara
  • Patent number: 12133040
    Abstract: A headset charging system and a headset charging method thereof are provided. The headset charging system includes an earphone device and a charging device. The earphone device or the charging device adjusts a charge current to switch between a first current and a second current, so as to perform data transmission between the earphone device and the charging device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 13, 2022
    Date of Patent: October 29, 2024
    Assignee: Merry Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Hung-Yuan Li
  • Patent number: 12132868
    Abstract: There is provided a telepresence system that includes a network that connects a plurality of bases, and a plurality of telepresence apparatuses that transmit and receive video images and sound via the network, and share the video images and the audio between the respective bases. Further, in each of the telepresence apparatuses, a presentation device that performs presentation for prompting communication by users at different bases is disposed at the center of a shared communication space in which the users communicate with each other.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 27, 2020
    Date of Patent: October 29, 2024
    Assignee: SONY GROUP CORPORATION
    Inventors: Yusuke Sakai, Masahiro Yamaguchi, Yosuke Fujimoto
  • Patent number: 12126963
    Abstract: Examples of the present disclosure relate to a method, computer-readable medium, and system for vehicle assistive hearing. An example may include transmitting an assistive listening device pairing signal into a vehicle. The method may further include identifying a plurality of digital audio sources in the vehicle, wherein at least one of the audio sources is a vehicle alert system for the vehicle. In an example, the method may categorize the priority of the plurality of digital audio sources. In an example, the method may generate a stream of audio from the plurality of digital audio sources with volume adjusted for each audio source according to the priority of the digital audio source. The method may transmit the stream of audio for a paired assistive listening device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 15, 2021
    Date of Patent: October 22, 2024
    Assignee: Panasonic Automotive Systems Company of America, Division of Panasonic Corporation of North America
    Inventors: Katherine Jennette Freund, Edo Omanovic
  • Patent number: 12120457
    Abstract: Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to the technical field of communications. Disclosed are a conference creation method, a server end, a terminal, and a storage medium. In the present disclosure, the conference creation method is applied to a video conference terminal. The method includes: establishing a point-to-point video conference with an opposite-end device, and obtaining an identity identifier of the opposite-end device; generating a data conference creation request containing identity identifiers of two parties of the conference, wherein the two parties of the conference include the video conference terminal and the opposite-end device; and transmitting the data conference creation request to a data conference server end, so that the data conference server end creates a data conference corresponding to the point-to-point video conference according to the identity identifiers of the two parties of the conference.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 10, 2020
    Date of Patent: October 15, 2024
    Assignee: ZTE CORPORATION
    Inventor: Zhou Wang
  • Patent number: 12112094
    Abstract: A system for enhancing audio including a plurality of sensors, an output device, and a processor in communication with the plurality of sensors and the output device. The processor is configured to process data captured by the plurality of sensors, and based on that, modify an output of the output device. The processor also is configured to determine whether there are a plurality of users associated with a video conferencing session, determine which user of the plurality of users is speaking, and enhance the audio or video output of the speaking user on the output device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 3, 2023
    Date of Patent: October 8, 2024
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Aleksandar Pance, Brett Bilbrey, Darby E. Hadley, Martin E. Johnson, Ronald Nadim Isaac
  • Patent number: 12112750
    Abstract: A method for estimating a user's location in an environment may involve receiving output signals from each microphone of a plurality of microphones in the environment. At least two microphones of the plurality of microphones may be included in separate devices at separate locations in the environment and the output signals may correspond to a current utterance of a user. The method may involve determining multiple current acoustic features from the output signals of each microphone and applying a classifier to the multiple current acoustic features. Applying the classifier may involve applying a model trained on previously-determined acoustic features derived from a plurality of previous utterances made by the user in a plurality of user zones in the environment. The method may involve determining, based at least in part on output from the classifier, an estimate of the user zone in which the user is currently located.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 28, 2020
    Date of Patent: October 8, 2024
    Assignee: Dolby Laboratories Licensing Corporation
    Inventors: Mark R. P. Thomas, Richard J. Cartwright
  • Patent number: 12108192
    Abstract: An electronic system, a method, and a computer program product generate an image stream with spherical background effects for multiple participants presented in a shared virtual venue during a video call. The method includes generating a composite image stream of the first foreground image superimposed at a first assigned location and a second foreground image superimposed at a second assigned location on a spherical background image. The method includes communicating the composite image stream to first and second electronic devices oriented to respective first and second vantage points associated with the first and second assigned locations of a virtual venue presented within the spherical background image. The method includes rotating the spherical background image relative to the first and the second vantage point presented to a respective display device of the first and the second electronic devices in relation to movement of a corresponding first participant and second participant.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 26, 2022
    Date of Patent: October 1, 2024
    Assignee: Motorola Mobility LLC
    Inventors: Amit Kumar Agrawal, Jeffrey S. Vanhoof, Bill Ryan, Daniel M Vacura
  • Patent number: 12101612
    Abstract: A smart speaker power controller may be configured to receive power conforming to one of a plurality of power modes from an input power source. The power controller may be further configured to communicate the power mode to at least one component of a processing system or at least one component of an audio system for operating the smart speaker according to the received power mode, including determining a current limit of a power converter; determining a shutdown voltage threshold and safely shutting down the smart speaker if the input voltage falls below the threshold, and/or modifying audio operation of the smart speaker in response to the power mode. The smart speaker can further include an audio power supply controller configured to monitor energy required to reproduce an audio signal and to servo a power supply voltage provided to an audio amplifier in response to this energy level.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 11, 2023
    Date of Patent: September 24, 2024
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Zhigang Dang, Daniel Naito, Evan Thompson, Peter Poon, Manasi Lagare, Michael Nussbaum, David Sumberg
  • Patent number: 12096111
    Abstract: In one aspect, a device may include at least one processor and storage accessible to the at least one processor. The storage may include instructions executable by the at least one processor to provide at least a first image to a model as input, where the model may have been trained using groups of training images that show respective different parts of faces of one or more people but not full faces of the one or more people. The instructions may also be executable to receive, as output from the model, an indication regarding a facial body part. Based on the indication, the instructions may be executable to present a notification during a video conference, where the notification may indicate at least one action to take for a full face to be shown in a video stream as part of the video conference.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 18, 2022
    Date of Patent: September 17, 2024
    Assignee: Lenovo (Singapore) Pte. Ltd.
    Inventors: John W. Nicholson, Daryl C. Cromer, Howard Locker
  • Patent number: 12096204
    Abstract: Disclosed herein are systems and methods for presenting mixed reality audio. In an example method, audio is presented to a user of a wearable head device. A first position of the user's head at a first time is determined based on one or more sensors of the wearable head device. A second position of the user's head at a second time later than the first time is determined based on the one or more sensors. An audio signal is determined based on a difference between the first position and the second position. The audio signal is presented to the user via a speaker of the wearable head device. Determining the audio signal comprises determining an origin of the audio signal in a virtual environment. Presenting the audio signal to the user comprises presenting the audio signal as if originating from the determined origin. Determining the origin of the audio signal comprises applying an offset to a position of the user's head.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 18, 2023
    Date of Patent: September 17, 2024
    Assignee: Magic Leap, Inc.
    Inventor: Anastasia Andreyevna Tajik
  • Patent number: 12089021
    Abstract: A method and an apparatus for virtual listening scene construction and a storage medium are provided. The method includes the following. Target audio is determined, where the target audio is used to characterize a sound feature in a target scene. A position of a sound source of the target audio is determined. Dual-channel audio of the target audio is obtained by performing audio-visual modulation on the target audio according to the position of the sound source, where the dual-channel audio of the target audio during simultaneous output is able to produce an effect that the target audio is from the position of the sound source. The dual-channel audio of the target audio is rendered into target music to produce an effect that the target music is played in the target scene.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 24, 2022
    Date of Patent: September 10, 2024
    Assignee: Tencent Music Entertainment Technology (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Zhenhai Yan
  • Patent number: 12081915
    Abstract: An audio-video communication system comprises a wireless exterior module located proximate an entrance, a computerized controller running a software application, and a remote peripheral device. The wireless exterior module includes a proximity sensor for detecting a person at the entrance, a video camera for recording an image of the person at the entrance, a microphone for recording the person at the entrance, a speaker for playing audio to the person at the entrance, a transmitter for communicating sounds and images of the person at the entrance, and a receiver for receiving communications at the wireless exterior module. The computerized controller is disposed in wireless electronic communication with the wireless exterior module via the transmitter and the receiver of the wireless exterior module. The remote peripheral device is configured to electronically communicate with the computerized controller for viewing an image from the video camera communicated from the wireless exterior module.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 17, 2022
    Date of Patent: September 3, 2024
    Assignee: SB IP Holdings LLC
    Inventor: Ronald Carter
  • Patent number: 12075189
    Abstract: A computing system includes a first camera, a second camera, a microphone, and a display. The computing system is configured to independently activate the first camera and/or the second camera. The computing system first receives a user input initiating a two-way camera operation using both the first camera and the second camera. In response to the user input, the computing system activates the first camera and generates a first visualization, displaying a first image generated by the first camera, and activates the second camera and generates a second visualization, displaying a second image generated by the second camera. Both the first visualization and the second visualization are simultaneously displayed on the display of the computing system, while functions of each of the first camera and second camera can be started, stopped paused unpaused or modified individually.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 2, 2022
    Date of Patent: August 27, 2024
    Assignee: UDO, LLC
    Inventor: Steven Ryan Facer
  • Patent number: 12069109
    Abstract: A local background replacement image (LBGRI) is received at a first device of a first conference participant. The first device is connected to an audio-visual conference that includes conference participants. The conference participants include the first conference participant and a second participant. A source output image that includes a source foreground segment representative of the second participant is received from a second device of the second participant. The LBGRI is combined with the source foreground segment to generate a target output image. The target output image is output at the first device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 28, 2022
    Date of Patent: August 20, 2024
    Assignee: Zoom Video Communications, Inc.
    Inventor: Shane Paul Springer
  • Patent number: 12069468
    Abstract: A method of room calibration comprises measuring a plurality of impulse responses at a plurality of measurement points in a room for each speaker of a plurality of speakers. The method also comprises determining a plurality of transfer functions at the plurality of measurement points for each speaker based on the plurality of impulse responses. Furthermore, the method also comprises weighting and summing the transfer functions to obtain a weighted and summed sound curve for each speaker.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 20, 2019
    Date of Patent: August 20, 2024
    Assignee: Harman International Industries, Incorporated
    Inventors: Jianwen Zheng, Shao-Fu Shih
  • Patent number: 12069469
    Abstract: Embodiments are disclosed for head dimension estimation for spatial audio applications. In an embodiment, a method comprises: obtaining, using one or more processors of an audio headset worn on a user's head, acceleration samples and rotation rate samples over a specified time window while the user rotates their head, the acceleration samples and rotation rate samples measured using motion sensors in the headset; determining a function that relates the acceleration samples to the rotation rate samples; comparing the function to a plurality of reference functions, where each reference function corresponds to a different head dimension in a nominal range of head dimensions; and estimating a dimension of the user's head based on the comparing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 17, 2021
    Date of Patent: August 20, 2024
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Ozhan Turgut, Halil Ibrahim Basturk, Alexander Singh Alvarado, Adam S. Howell, Hung A. Pham
  • Patent number: 12061832
    Abstract: Cloud-connected wireless screen extension is performed to facilitate a screen share of content using a virtual display instantiated based on a connection between a first device and a second device. A virtual display is instantiated at a first device associated with a conference participant of a video conference based on a connection established between the first device and a second device. A screen share of first content during the video conference is then facilitated from the first device via the second device using the virtual display while second content excluded from the screen share is output at a display of the first device. In this way, the second device can be adapted as an additional (e.g., extended) display available for screen sharing content from the first device during a video conference.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 26, 2022
    Date of Patent: August 13, 2024
    Assignee: Zoom Video Communications, Inc.
    Inventors: Graeme Lambourne Geddes, Shawn Michael Rolin
  • Patent number: 12061838
    Abstract: A nonlinear control system and a speaker protection system are disclosed. In particular, a control system for adapting an audio output from a speaker in the proximity of an object is disclosed. The controller is configured to accept one or more input signals, and one or more estimated states produced by the model to produce one or more control signals. A speaker protection system and a quality control system are disclosed. More particularly, a system for clamping the input to a speaker dependent upon an estimate of the proximity, acoustic volume, and/or acoustic coupling of the speaker to a nearby object is disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 16, 2022
    Date of Patent: August 13, 2024
    Assignee: Cirrus Logic Inc.
    Inventors: Pär Gunnars Risberg, Carl Lennart Ståhl, Landy Toth
  • Patent number: 12052551
    Abstract: The present embodiments generally relate to enabling participants in an online gathering with networked audio to use a cancelling auralizer at their respective locations to create a common acoustic space or set of acoustic spaces shared among subgroups of participants. For example, there are a set of network connected nodes, and the nodes can contain speakers and microphones, as well as participants and node mixing-processing blocks. The node mixing-processing blocks generate and manipulate signals for playback over the node loudspeakers and for distribution to and from the network. This processing can include cancellation of loudspeaker signals from the microphone signals and auralization of signals according to control parameters that are developed locally and from the network.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 17, 2023
    Date of Patent: July 30, 2024
    Assignees: The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University, University of Limerick
    Inventors: Jonathan S. Abel, Eoin F. Callery