Miniature Surround-Sound Loudspeaker

• US 20080159571A1
• Filed: 07/12/2005
• Published: 07/03/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 07/13/2004
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: 1 Corporation
• Original Assignee: 1 Limited
• Inventors: Hooley, Anthony
• Application Number:
  US11/632,438
• Publication Number:
  US 20080159571A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 381/307
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/403 loud-speakers
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 17/00 Piezoelectric transducers; Electrostrictive transducers piezoelectric or electrostrictive elements in general H10N30/00; details of piezoelectric or electrostrictive motors, generators or positioners H10N30/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2201/401 2D or 3D arrays of transducers
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2217/03 Parametric transducers where sound is generated or captured by the acoustic demodulation of amplitude modulated ultrasonic waves
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2499/11 Transducers incorporated or for use in hand-held devices, e.g. mobile phones, PDA's, camera's
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2499/15 Transducers incorporated in visual displaying devices, e.g. televisions, computer displays, laptops
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 3/12 for distributing signals to two or more loudspeakers specially adapted for hearing aids H04R25/407
• CPC Class Codes: H04S 2400/09 Electronic reduction of distortion of stereophonic sound systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04S 2420/01 Enhancing the perception of the sound image or of the spatial distribution using head related transfer functions [HRTF's] or equivalents thereof, e.g. interaural time difference [ITD] or interaural level difference [ILD]
• CPC Class Codes: H04S 5/005 of the pseudo five- or more-channel type, e.g. virtual surround
• CPC Class Codes: H04S 7/303 Tracking of listener position or orientation

Abstract

A portable sound system for use in portable devices such as laptops or mobile phones is described using the principles of parametric sound generation to create a virtual headphone-like system using focusable and steerage beams of ultrasonic sound emitted from a portage phased array or similar source of ultrasonic sound beams, focused at the vicinity of the left and right ear of the user. The system being also capable of producing audible surround sound and adapted to compensate for head motion through use of an optical based tracking system.

Claims

1. Portable sound system, comprising one or more ultrasonic antennae adapted to generate at least one focused beam of ultrasonic sound, with parametric sound generation being highly localised around the focal point.

2. The portable sound system of claim 1, adapted to generate two or more focused beams of ultrasonic sound.

3. The portable sound system of claim 1, wherein the antenna is an electronically steerable phased array.

4. The portable sound system of claim 1, wherein the at least one focused beam is in operation focused at a focal point in the immediate vicinity of a user'"'"'s ear.

5. The portable sound system of claim 4, adapted to generate two focused beams being in operation focused simultaneously at focal points in the immediate vicinity of a user'"'"'s left and right ear respectively.

6. The portable sound system of claim 1, wherein the drive signal for the one or more ultrasonic antennae is pre-distorted to compensate for the non-linear effects of parametric sound generation.

7. The portable sound system of claim 6, wherein the drive signal for the one or more ultrasonic antennae is processed as determined by a Head Related Transfer Function (HRTF).

8. The portable sound system of claim 7, wherein the drive signal for the one or more ultrasonic antennae is processed as determined by a Head Related Transfer Function (HRTF) to provide a surround sound effect.

9. The portable sound system of claim 1, further comprising a tracking system adapted to determine a focal point of a focused beam in dependence on the motion of a user'"'"'s head.

10. The portable sound system of claim 9, wherein the tracking system comprises a camera and an image recognition system.

11. A portable device comprising a portable sound system in accordance with claim 1.

12. A method of generating two or more sound channels, said method comprising:

focusing at focal points in the vicinity of a user'"'"'s left and right ear, respectively, focused beams of ultrasonic sound at sufficiently high intensity to generate a non-linear sound mixing and using said mixing to create audible sound emanating from the focal points.

13. The method of claim 12, using an electronically steerable phased array as antenna for the ultrasonic sound.

14. The method of claim 12, comprising the step of pre-distorting the ultrasonic beams to compensate for the non-linear effects of parametric sound generation.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein a Head Related Transfer Function is used to generate a surround sound effect.

16. The method of claim 12, wherein a tracking system is used to determine a focal point of a focused beam in dependence of the motion on a user'"'"'s head.