Orientation-responsive acoustic array control

• US 10,264,384 B2
• Filed: 03/09/2017
• Issued: 04/16/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 04/14/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Bose Corporation
• Original Assignee: Bose Corporation
• Inventors: Freeman, Eric J., Joyce, John
• Primary Examiner(s): Ojo, Oyesola C
• Application Number:
  US15/454,699
• Publication Number:
  US 20170180852A1
• Time in Patent Office: 768 Days
• Field of Search: 381120
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/02 Casings; Cabinets ; Supports therefor; Mountings therein H04R1/28 takes precedence ; attachments for microphones H04R1/08; mounting of transducers in earpieces H04R1/1075
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/24 Structural combinations of separate transducers or of two parts of the same transducer and responsive respectively to two or more frequency ranges
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/2807 Enclosures comprising vibrating or resonating arrangements for the reduction of undesired resonances or vibrations H04R1/2869
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/2811 for loudspeaker transducers
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/34 by using a single transducer with sound reflecting, diffracting, directing or guiding means specially adapted for hearing aids H04R25/402
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2201/025 Transducer mountings or cabinet supports enabling variable orientation of transducer of cabinet
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2203/12 Beamforming aspects for stereophonic sound reproduction with loudspeaker arrays
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2205/022 Plurality of transducers corresponding to a plurality of sound channels in each earpiece of headphones or in a single enclosure
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2205/024 Positioning of loudspeaker enclosures for spatial sound reproduction
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2430/25 Array processing for suppression of unwanted side-lobes in directivity characteristics, e.g. a blocking matrix
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2499/13 Acoustic transducers and sound field adaptation in vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2499/15 Transducers incorporated in visual displaying devices, e.g. televisions, computer displays, laptops
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 29/005 Microphone arrays
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 3/005 for combining the signals of two or more microphones specially adapted for hearing aids H04R25/407
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 3/12 for distributing signals to two or more loudspeakers specially adapted for hearing aids H04R25/407
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 3/14 Cross-over networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 5/02 Spatial or constructional arrangements of loudspeakers
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 5/04 Circuit arrangements, e.g. for selective connection of amplifier inputs/outputs to loudspeakers, for loudspeaker detection, or for adaptation of settings to personal preferences or hearing impairments combinations of amplifiers H03F3/68; stereophonic systems H04S
• CPC Class Codes: H04S 3/008 in which the audio signals are in digital form, i.e. employing more than two discrete digital channels data reduction aspects thereof based on psychoacoustics G10L19/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04S 7/301 Automatic calibration of stereophonic sound system, e.g. with test microphone
• CPC Class Codes: H04S 7/307 : Frequency adjustment, e.g. tone control H04S7/301 takes precedence

Abstract

An audio device includes a casing configured for operation in a first orientation and a second orientation different from the first orientation, an orientation input device disposed on the casing to detect an orientation of the casing relative to the direction of the force of gravity, and a plurality of acoustic drivers disposed on the casing and operable to form a plurality of acoustic interference arrays, each of which is associated with one of a plurality of audio channels. The acoustic drivers of the audio device operate in a first frequency range and modify at least one of the acoustic interference arrays in response to a change in the orientation detected by the orientation input device.

Claims

1. An audio device comprising:

a casing rotatable about an axis between a first orientation and a second orientation different from the first orientation;

an orientation input device disposed on the casing to enable determination of an orientation of the casing relative to the direction of the force of gravity;

a plurality of acoustic drivers disposed on the casing and operable to form a plurality of acoustic interference arrays; and

a first visual indicator arranged on a first face of the casing and a second visual indicator arranged on a second face of the casing different from the first face, the first visual indicator configured to be viewable to a listener at a first listening position when the casing is positioned in the first orientation, the second visual indicator configured to be viewable to a listener at the first listening position when the casing is positioned in the second orientation,

wherein;

in response to the casing being in the first orientation, the plurality of acoustic drivers are operated to form at least a first acoustic interference array;

in response to the casing being in the second orientation, the plurality of acoustic drivers are operated to form at least a second acoustic interference array different from the first acoustic interference array;

the audio device is configured to disable the second visual indicator in response to the casing being in the first orientation; and

the audio device is configured to disable the first visual indicator in response to the casing being in the second orientation.

2. The audio device of claim 1, wherein:

the casing comprises an elongate shape extending along the axis; and

the plurality of acoustic drivers form a laterally extending row.

3. The audio device of claim 1, wherein the orientation input device comprises a gravity detector comprising an accelerometer.

4. The audio device of claim 1, wherein the orientation input device comprises a manually operable control.

5. The audio device of claim 1, further comprising a first infrared sensor and a second infrared sensor, the first infrared sensor being configured to receive infrared signals from an external control device when the casing is positioned in the first orientation, and the second infrared sensor being configured to receive infrared signals from the external control device when the casing is positioned in the second orientation.

13. The audio device of claim 1, wherein the first and second faces of the casing are perpendicular to each other.

6. A method comprising:

detecting an orientation of a casing of an audio device about an axis relative to a direction of the force of gravity;

operating a plurality of acoustic drivers disposed on the casing to form at least a first acoustic interference array in response to the casing being in a first orientation about the axis relative to the direction of the force of gravity;

operating the plurality of acoustic drivers to form at least a second acoustic interference array different from the first acoustic interference array in response to the casing being in a second orientation about the axis relative to the direction of the force of gravity;

operating a first visual indicator arranged on a first face of the casing to be viewable to a listener at a first listening position in response to the casing being in the first orientation;

operating a second visual indicator arranged on a second face of the casing, different from the first face, to be viewable to a listener at the first listening position in response to the casing being in the second orientation;

automatically disabling the second visual indicator in response to the casing being in the first orientation; and

automatically disabling the first visual indicator in response to the casing being in the second orientation.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising:

monitoring a gravity detector disposed on the casing to determine the orientation of the casing;

providing a first plurality of coefficients to a plurality of filters in response to determining that the casing is in the first orientation; and

providing a second plurality of coefficients to the plurality of filters in response to determining that the casing is in the second orientation.

14. The method of claim 6, wherein the first and second faces of the casing are perpendicular to each other.

8. An audio system comprising:

a casing rotatable about an axis between a first orientation and a second orientation different from the first orientation;

an orientation input device to detect an orientation of the casing relative to the direction of the force of gravity;

a plurality of acoustic drivers disposed on the casing, each acoustic driver operating in a first frequency range, and the plurality of acoustic drivers configured to form a plurality of acoustic interference arrays;

a first visual indicator arranged on a first face of the casing and a second visual indicator arranged on a second face of the casing different from the first face, the first visual indicator configured to be viewable to a listener at a first listening position when the casing is positioned in the first orientation, the second visual indicator configured to be viewable to a listener at the first listening position when the casing is positioned in the second orientation; and

a subwoofer separate from the casing, the subwoofer comprising at least one acoustic driver to acoustically output audio in a second frequency range lower than the first frequency range,

wherein;

in response to the casing being in the first orientation, the plurality of acoustic drivers are configured to form at least a first acoustic interference array;

in response to the casing being in the second orientation, the plurality of acoustic drivers are configured to form at least a second acoustic interference array different from the first acoustic interference array;

the audio system is configured to disable the second visual indicator in response to the casing being in the first orientation; and

the audio system is configured to disable the first visual indicator in response to the casing being in the second orientation.

9. The audio system of claim 8, wherein the casing comprises a wireless transmitter to provide the subwoofer with audio signals to be acoustically output in the second frequency range.

10. The audio system of claim 8, wherein the casing comprises an elongate shape extending along the axis, and the plurality of acoustic drivers form a laterally extending row.

11. The audio system of claim 8, wherein the casing comprises a first infrared sensor and a second infrared sensor, the first infrared sensor being configured to receive infrared signals from an external control device when the casing is positioned in the first orientation, and the second infrared sensor being configured to receive infrared signals from the external control device when the casing is positioned in the second orientation.

12. The audio system of claim 8, wherein the orientation input device comprises a gravity detector comprising an accelerometer.

15. The audio system of claim 8, wherein the first and second faces of the casing are perpendicular to each other.