Calibration of audio playback devices

• US 10,045,142 B2
• Filed: 09/07/2017
• Issued: 08/07/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 04/12/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sonos, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Sonos, Inc.
• Inventors: McPherson, Patrick, Shih, Shao-Fu, Hartung, Klaus
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Khai N
• Application Number:
  US15/698,283
• Publication Number:
  US 20170374482A1
• Time in Patent Office: 334 Days
• Field of Search: 381 56, 381 58, 381 59
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2227/005 Audio distribution systems for home, i.e. multi-room use
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 27/00 Public address systems circuits for preventing acoustic reaction H04R3/02; circuits for distributing signals to loudspeakers H04R3/12; monitoring or testing arrangements for public address systems H04R29/007; amplifiers H03F
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 29/007 for public address systems public address systems per se H04R27/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04S 7/301 Automatic calibration of stereophonic sound system, e.g. with test microphone

Abstract

An audio playback device comprises a microphone, a speaker, and a processor. The processor is arranged to output by the speaker first audio content and receive by the microphone an indication of the first audio content. A first acoustic response of a room in which the audio playback device is located is determined based on the received indication of first audio content. A mapping is applied to the first acoustic response to determine a second acoustic response. The second acoustic response is indicative of an approximated acoustic response of the room at a spatial location different from a spatial location of the microphone. The second audio content output by the speaker is adjusted based on the second response.

Claims

1. An audio playback device comprising:

a microphone;

a speaker;

a processor comprising instructions, which when executed, cause the processor to;

output by the speaker first audio content;

receive by the microphone an indication of the first audio content;

determine a first acoustic response of a room comprising a microphone location response, in which the audio playback device is located, wherein the determination of the microphone location response is based on the received indication of the first audio content by the microphone, wherein the microphone is on or proximate to the playback device;

applying a mapping to the microphone location response to determine a corresponding second acoustic response comprising a mapped room response, wherein the second acoustic response is indicative of an approximated acoustic response of the room at a spatial location different from a spatial location of the microphone,

wherein the mapped room response comprises a historical room response from a set of historical room responses that has a lowest difference as compared to the microphone location response; and

adjust based on the second acoustic response second audio content output by the speaker.

2. The audio playback device of claim 1, wherein the mapping is defined by a set of first acoustic responses and a set of second acoustic responses;

wherein a response of the set of first acoustic responses is an acoustic response of a given room at a fixed location and a response of the set of second acoustic responses is based on acoustic responses at a plurality of spatial locations different from the fixed location in the given room.

3. The audio playback device of claim 1, wherein applying the mapping comprises determining a distance between the first acoustic response and a response of the set of first acoustic responses.

4. The audio playback device of claim 1, wherein the mapping is weighted by an acoustic configuration of the audio playback device.

5. The audio playback device of claim 1, wherein the first audio content and the second audio content are different portions of a same song.

6. The audio playback device of claim 1, wherein the mapped room response comprises a combination of a plurality of room responses having a lowest combined difference as compared to the microphone location response.

7. A method comprising:

outputting first audio content by a speaker of an audio playback device;

receiving an indication of the first audio content by a microphone of the audio playback device;

determining a first acoustic response of a room comprising a microphone location response in which the audio playback device is located, wherein the determination of the microphone location response is based on the received indication of the first audio content by the microphone, wherein the microphone is on or proximate to the playback device;

applying a mapping to the microphone location response to determine a corresponding second acoustic response comprising a mapped room response, wherein the second acoustic response is indicative of an approximated acoustic response of the room at a spatial location different from a spatial location of the microphone,

wherein the mapped room response comprises a historical room response from a set of historical room responses that has a lowest difference as compared to the microphone location response; and

adjusting based on the second acoustic response audio content output by the speaker.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the mapping is defined by a set of first acoustic responses and a set of second acoustic responses;

wherein a response of the set of first acoustic responses is an acoustic response of a given room at a fixed location and a response of the set of second acoustic responses is based on acoustic responses at a plurality of spatial locations different from the fixed location in the given room.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein applying the mapping comprises determining a distance between the first acoustic response and a response of the set of first acoustic responses.

10. The method of claim 7, wherein the mapping is weighted by an acoustic configuration of the audio playback device.

11. The method of claim 7, further comprising storing the first acoustic response on a server in communication with the audio playback device.

12. The method of claim 7, wherein applying the mapping comprises sending the first acoustic response to a remote server in communication with the audio playback device and receiving the second acoustic response from the remote server.

13. The method of claim 7, wherein the mapped room response comprises a combination of a plurality of room responses having the lowest difference as compared to the microphone location response.

14. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium including instructions for execution by a processor, the instructions, when executed, cause the processor to implement a method comprising:

outputting first audio content by a speaker of an audio playback device;

receiving an indication of the first audio content by a microphone of the audio playback device;

determining a first acoustic response of a room comprising a microphone location response, in which the audio playback device is located, wherein the determination of the microphone location response is based on the received indication of the first audio content by the microphone, wherein the microphone is on or proximate to the playback device;

applying a mapping to the microphone location response to determine a corresponding second acoustic response comprising a mapped room response, wherein the second acoustic response is indicative of an approximated acoustic response of the room at a spatial location different from a spatial location of the microphone,

wherein the mapped room response comprises a historical room response from a set of historical room responses that has a lowest difference as compared to the microphone location response; and

adjusting based on the second acoustic response second audio content output by the audio playback device.

15. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 14, wherein the mapping is defined by a set of first acoustic responses and a set of second acoustic responses;

wherein a response of the set of first acoustic responses is an acoustic response of a given room at a fixed location and a response of the set of second acoustic responses is based on acoustic responses at a plurality of spatial locations different from the fixed location in the given room.

16. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 14, wherein applying the mapping comprises determining a distance between the first acoustic response and a response of the set of first acoustic responses.

17. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 14, wherein the mapping is weighted by an acoustic configuration of the audio playback device.

18. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 14, wherein the first audio content and the second audio content are different portions of a same song.

19. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 14, wherein applying the mapping comprises sending the first acoustic response to a remote server in communication with the audio playback device and receiving the second acoustic response from the remote server.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 14, wherein the mapped room response comprises a combination of a plurality of room responses having the lowest difference as compared to the microphone location response.