Method and apparatus for ultrasonic directional sound applicable to vehicles
First Claim
1. A method to at least produce audio output sound, for a user, from audio input signals, the audio output sound comprising at least a first portion of the audio output sound and a second portion of the audio output sound, with the frequencies of at least a part of the first portion of the audio output sound being less than all the frequencies of the second portion of the audio output sound, the method comprising:
- providing ultrasonic input signals as inputs to an ultrasonic speaker to generate at least ultrasonic output sound to be transformed in air into the second portion of the audio output sound, the second portion of the audio output sound being directional; and
providing non-ultrasonic input signals as inputs to a non-ultrasonic speaker to generate at least the first portion of the audio output sound, wherein the non- ultrasonic speaker is configured not to generate ultrasonic sound,wherein at least the first portion of the audio output sound is combined in air with the second portion of the audio output sound to form the audio output sound, andwherein at least the ultrasonic input signals and the non-ultrasonic input signals are from the audio input signals.
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Abstract
Methods and systems to produce audio output signals from audio input signals. In one embodiment, a first portion of the audio input signals can be pre-processed, with the output used to modulate ultrasonic carrier signals, thereby producing modulated ultrasonic signals. The modulated ultrasonic signals can be transformed into a first portion of the audio output signals, which is directional. Based on a second portion of the audio input signals, a standard audio speaker can output a second portion of the audio output signals. Another embodiment further produces distortion compensated signals based on the pre-processed signals. The distortion compensated signals can be subtracted from the second portion of the audio input signals to generate inputs for the standard audio speaker to output the second portion of the audio output signals. In yet another embodiment, noise can be added during pre-processing of the first portion of the audio input signals.
144 Citations
50 Claims
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1. A method to at least produce audio output sound, for a user, from audio input signals, the audio output sound comprising at least a first portion of the audio output sound and a second portion of the audio output sound, with the frequencies of at least a part of the first portion of the audio output sound being less than all the frequencies of the second portion of the audio output sound, the method comprising:
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providing ultrasonic input signals as inputs to an ultrasonic speaker to generate at least ultrasonic output sound to be transformed in air into the second portion of the audio output sound, the second portion of the audio output sound being directional; and providing non-ultrasonic input signals as inputs to a non-ultrasonic speaker to generate at least the first portion of the audio output sound, wherein the non- ultrasonic speaker is configured not to generate ultrasonic sound, wherein at least the first portion of the audio output sound is combined in air with the second portion of the audio output sound to form the audio output sound, and wherein at least the ultrasonic input signals and the non-ultrasonic input signals are from the audio input signals. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A computer-implemented method to at least produce a first audio output sound for a first user, and a second audio output sound for a second user by an ultrasonic speaker system, the method comprising:
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generating at least a first ultrasonic output sound and a second ultrasonic sound by the ultrasonic speaker system, with the first ultrasonic output sound to be transformed in air into at least a portion of the first audio output sound, the at least a portion of the first audio output sound being directional in at least a first direction, and with the second ultrasonic output sound to be transformed in air into at least a portion of the second audio output sound, the at least a portion of the second audio output sound being directional in at least a second direction; tracking the first user and tracking the second user; and steering the first direction of the at least a portion of the first audio output sound towards the first user based on the tracking the first user, and steering the second direction of the at least a portion of the second audio output sound towards the second user based on the tracking of the second user. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. An electronic system at least for producing audio output sound, for a user, from audio input signals, the audio output sound comprising at least a first portion of the audio output sound and a second portion of the audio output sound, with the frequencies of at least a part of the first portion of the audio output sound being less than all the frequencies of the second portion of the audio output sound, the system comprising:
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an ultrasonic speaker configured to receive ultrasonic input signals to generate at least ultrasonic output sound to be transformed in air into the second portion of the audio output sound, the second portion of the audio output sound being directional; and a non-ultrasonic speaker configured to receive non-ultrasonic input signals to generate at least the first portion of the audio output sound, wherein the non-ultrasonic speaker is configured not to generate ultrasonic sound, wherein at least the first portion of the audio output sound is combined in air with the second portion of the audio output sound to form the audio output sound, and wherein at least the ultrasonic input signals and the non-ultrasonic input signals are from the audio input signals. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. An electronic system at least for producing audio output sound for a user comprising:
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an ultrasonic speaker configured to receive ultrasonic input signals to generate at least ultrasonic output sound to be transformed in air into at least a portion of the audio output sound, the at least a portion of the audio output sound being directional in at least a direction; imaging circuitries configured to track an area of the user; steering circuitries configured to steer the direction of the at least a portion of the audio output sound towards the area of the user being tracked, as the user moves; and a directional microphone configured to receive voice inputs from the user with the directional microphone directed towards the user. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 43)
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25. An electronic system at least for producing audio output sound for a user comprising:
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an ultrasonic speaker configured to receive ultrasonic input signals to generate at least ultrasonic output sound to be transformed in air into at least a portion of the audio output sound, the at least a portion of the audio output sound being directional in at least a direction; imaging circuitries configured to track an area of the user; and steering circuitries configured to steer the direction of the at least a portion of the audio output sound towards the area of the user being tracked, as the user moves, wherein the electronic system is configured to operate in a mode selected at least from a first mode and a second mode, wherein in the first mode, the system is configured to output the at least a portion of the audio output sound, and wherein in the second mode, the system is configured to output audio sound produced from an audio speaker that is non-ultrasonic. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27)
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28. A computer-implemented method by an electronic system, with at least an ultrasonic speaker, at least for producing audio sound for a user, the computer-implemented method comprising:
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generating at least ultrasonic sound by at least the ultrasonic speaker to be transformed in air into at least a portion of the audio sound, the at least a portion of the audio sound being directional in at least a direction; tracking an area of the user; steering the direction of the at least a portion of the audio sound towards the area of the user being tracked, as the user moves; operating in a first mode with the electronic system generating at least the ultrasonic sound; and operating in a second mode with the electronic system generating at least another portion of the audio sound produced by an audio speaker of the electronic system, the another portion of the audio sound being non-ultrasonic. - View Dependent Claims (29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 50)
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44. An electronic system at least for producing audio sound for a user comprising:
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an ultrasonic speaker configured to generate at least ultrasonic sound to be transformed in air into at least a portion of the audio sound, the at least a portion of the audio sound being directional in at least a direction; and a controller configured to track an area of the user, and to steer the direction of the at least a portion of the audio sound towards the area of the user being tracked, as the user moves; an audio speaker that is configured to generate at least another portion of the audio sound, with the another portion of the audio sound being non-ultrasonic, wherein the electronic system is configured to operating in a first mode to generate at least the ultrasonic sound, and a second mode to generate at least the another portion of the audio sound by the audio speaker. - View Dependent Claims (45, 46, 47, 48, 49)
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Specification