Sound masking system
First Claim
1. A direct field sound making system for providing a direct path sound masking signal to a predetermined area of a building, said predetermined area including a ceiling and a floor, said system comprising:
- a sound masking signal generator operative to provide two or more mutually incoherent electrical sound masking signals; and
a plurality of loudspeaker assemblies, each loudspeaker assembly comprising an input coupled to said masking signal generator to receive the electrical sound masking signal from one channel of said generator, wherein each of the plurality of loudspeaker assemblies is operative to emit an acoustic sound masking signal corresponding to said electrical sound masking signal, wherein each of the loudspeaker assemblies has a low directivity index, and wherein each of the plurality of loudspeaker assemblies is constructed and oriented to provide the acoustic sound masking signal in a direct path into said predetermined area.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A sound masking system according to the invention is disclosed in which one or more sound masking loudspeaker assemblies are coupled to one or more electronic sound masking signal generators. The loudspeaker assemblies in the system of the invention have a low directivity index and preferably emit an acoustic sound masking signal that has a sound masking spectrum specifically designed to provide superior sound masking in an open plan office. Each of the plurality of loudspeaker assemblies is oriented to provide the acoustic sound masking signal in a direct path into the predetermined area in which masking sound is needed. In addition, the sound masking system of the invention can include a remote control function by which a user can select from a plurality of stored sets of information for providing from a recipient loudspeaker assembly an acoustic sound masking signal having a selected sound masking spectrum.
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Citations
35 Claims
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1. A direct field sound making system for providing a direct path sound masking signal to a predetermined area of a building, said predetermined area including a ceiling and a floor, said system comprising:
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a sound masking signal generator operative to provide two or more mutually incoherent electrical sound masking signals; and
a plurality of loudspeaker assemblies, each loudspeaker assembly comprising an input coupled to said masking signal generator to receive the electrical sound masking signal from one channel of said generator, wherein each of the plurality of loudspeaker assemblies is operative to emit an acoustic sound masking signal corresponding to said electrical sound masking signal, wherein each of the loudspeaker assemblies has a low directivity index, and wherein each of the plurality of loudspeaker assemblies is constructed and oriented to provide the acoustic sound masking signal in a direct path into said predetermined area. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A direct sound making system for providing a sound masking signal to a predetermined area of a building, said predetermined area including a ceiling and a floor, said system comprising:
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a sound masking signal generator operative to provide two or more signal channels of mutually incoherent electrical sound masking signals; and
a plurality of loudspeaker assemblies, each loudspeaker assembly comprising an input coupled to said masking signal generator to receive the electrical sound masking signal from said generator, wherein each of the plurality of loudspeaker assemblies is operative to emit an acoustic sound masking signal corresponding to said electrical sound masking signal, wherein each of the loudspeaker assemblies has a low directivity index, and wherein each of the plurality of loudspeaker assemblies is constructed and oriented to provide the acoustic sound masking signal in a direct path into said predetermined area; and
wherein the acoustic sound masking signal has a corresponding sound masking spectrum, said sound masking spectrum having a roll off of between 2 and 4 dB between 800-1600 Hz, a roll off of between 3 and 6 dB between 1600-3200 Hz, and a roll off of between 4 and 7 dB between 3200-6000 Hz. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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29. A sound making system for providing a sound masking signal to a predetermined area of a building, said predetermined area including a ceiling and a floor, said system comprising:
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a sound masking signal generator operative to provide one or more channels of mutually incoherent electrical sound masking signals, the sound masking signal generator including a plurality of stored sets of information for providing from a recipient loudspeaker assembly an acoustic sound masking signal having a selected sound masking spectrum, wherein one of the stored plurality of sets of information is selected and used to provide the one or more electrical sound masking signals; and
a plurality of loudspeaker assemblies, each loudspeaker assembly comprising an input coupled to said masking signal generator to receive the electrical sound masking signal from one channel of said generator, wherein each of the plurality of loudspeaker assemblies is operative to emit an acoustic sound masking signal corresponding to said electrical sound masking signal, and wherein the acoustic sound masking signal has a sound masking spectrum corresponding to the selected stored set of information; and
a remote control unit remotely coupled to said masking signal generator and operative to signal said masking signal generator to adjust at least one frequency component of the selected sound masking spectrum. - View Dependent Claims (30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35)
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Specification