Playback device calibration

• US 10,154,359 B2
• Filed: 09/26/2017
• Issued: 12/11/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 09/09/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sonos, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Sonos, Inc.
• Inventors: Sheen, Timothy W.
• Primary Examiner(s): Chin, Vivian
• Assistant Examiner(s): Hamid, Ammar
• Application Number:
  US15/716,313
• Publication Number:
  US 20180020306A1
• Time in Patent Office: 441 Days
• Field of Search: 381 56- 59, 369 2
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2227/003 Digital PA systems using, e.g. LAN or internet
• 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: H04R 29/008 Visual indication of individual signal levels visual indication of stereophonic sound image H04S7/40
• CPC Class Codes: H04S 7/303 Tracking of listener position or orientation

Abstract

Examples described herein involve calibrating a playback device. An example implementation receives, from a network microphone device (NMD), data indicating second audio signal detected by the NMD at multiple locations between a first physical location and a second physical location within a given environment while the network microphone device is moving from the first physical location to the second physical location, the second audio signal representing acoustic echo of a first audio signal played by a playback device. Based on the detected second audio signal, the implementation determines an audio characteristic of the given environment. Based on the determined audio characteristic, the implementation determines an audio processing algorithm to adjust audio output of the playback device in the given environment to have a pre-determined audio characteristic that is representative of desired audio playback qualities. The implementation causes the playback device to apply the determined audio processing algorithm.

Claims

1. Tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon instructions, that when executed by one or more processors of a computing system, cause the computing system to perform functions comprising:

while a playback device is playing a first audio signal in a given environment, receiving, via a network interface from a network microphone device, data indicating a second audio signal detected by the network microphone device at a plurality of locations between a first physical location and a second physical location within the given environment while the network microphone device is moving from the first physical location to the second physical location, wherein the second audio signal represents at least one or more reflections of the first audio signal played by the playback device;

based on the detected second audio signal at the plurality of locations between the first physical location and the second physical location, determining an audio characteristic of the given environment;

based on the determined audio characteristic of the given environment, determining an audio processing algorithm to adjust audio output of the playback device in the given environment to have a pre-determined audio characteristic, wherein the pre-determined audio characteristic is representative of desired audio playback qualities; and

causing, via the network interface, the playback device to apply the determined audio processing algorithm when the playback device plays audio content in the given environment.

2. The tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein causing the playback device to apply the determined audio processing algorithm comprises:

transmitting, to the playback device, data indicating parameters corresponding to the determined audio processing algorithm.

3. The tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the functions further comprise:

prior to receiving the data indicating the second audio signal, transmitting, to the playback device, data indicating the first audio signal.

4. The tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein determining the audio characteristic of the given environment comprises determining the audio characteristic of the given environment further based on the first audio signal.

5. The tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein determining the audio characteristic of the given environment comprises determining the audio characteristic of the given environment further based on an audio characteristic of the network microphone device.

6. The tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein determining the audio characteristic of the given environment comprises determining the audio characteristic of the given environment further based on an audio characteristic of the playback device.

7. The tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the audio characteristic of the given environment comprises a frequency response of the given environment.

8. The tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein predetermined audio characteristic comprises a predetermined frequency response.

9. The tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the playback device is one of a plurality of playback devices in a bonded zone.

10. A method comprising:

while a playback device is playing a first audio signal in a given environment, receiving, via a network interface of a computing system from a network microphone device, data indicating a second audio signal detected by the network microphone device at a plurality of locations between a first physical location and a second physical location within the given environment while the network microphone device is moving from the first physical location to the second physical location, wherein the second audio signal represents at least one or more reflections of the first audio signal played by the playback device;

based on the detected second audio signal at the plurality of locations between the first physical location and the second physical location, determining, via the computing system, an audio characteristic of the given environment;

based on the determined audio characteristic of the given environment, determining, via the computing system, an audio processing algorithm to adjust audio output of the playback device in the given environment to have a pre-determined audio characteristic, wherein the pre-determined audio characteristic is representative of desired audio playback qualities; and

causing, via the network interface of the computing system, the playback device to apply the determined audio processing algorithm when the playback device plays audio content in the given environment.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein causing the playback device to apply the determined audio processing algorithm comprises:

transmitting, to the playback device, data indicating parameters corresponding to the determined audio processing algorithm.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the method comprises:

prior to receiving the data indicating the second audio signal, transmitting, to the playback device, data indicating the first audio signal.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein determining the audio characteristic of the given environment comprises determining the audio characteristic of the given environment further based on the first audio signal.

14. The method of claim 10, wherein determining the audio characteristic of the given environment comprises determining the audio characteristic of the given environment further based on an audio characteristic of the network microphone device.

15. The method of claim 10, wherein determining the audio characteristic of the given environment comprises determining the audio characteristic of the given environment further based on an audio characteristic of the playback device.

16. The method of claim 10, wherein the audio characteristic of the given environment comprises a frequency response of the given environment.

17. The method of claim 10, wherein predetermined audio characteristic comprises a predetermined frequency response.

18. The method of claim 10, wherein the playback device is one of a plurality of playback devices in a bonded zone.

19. A computing system comprising:

a network interface;

one or more processors;

data storage having stored therein instructions, that are executable by the one or more processors to cause the computing system to perform functions comprising;

while a playback device is playing a first audio signal in a given environment, receiving, via the network interface from a network microphone device, data indicating a second audio signal detected by the network microphone device at a plurality of locations between a first physical location and a second physical location within the given environment while the network microphone device is moving from the first physical location to the second physical location, wherein the second audio signal represents at least one or more reflections of the first audio signal played by the playback device;

based on the detected second audio signal at the plurality of locations between the first physical location and the second physical location, determining an audio characteristic of the given environment;

based on the determined audio characteristic of the given environment, determining an audio processing algorithm to adjust audio output of the playback device in the given environment to have a pre-determined audio characteristic, wherein the pre-determined audio characteristic is representative of desired audio playback qualities; and

causing the playback device to apply the determined audio processing algorithm when the playback device plays audio content in the given environment.

20. The computing system of claim 19, wherein the audio characteristic of the given environment comprises a frequency response of the given environment, and wherein predetermined audio characteristic comprises a predetermined frequency response.