COORDINATED ANR REFERENCE SOUND COMPRESSION

• US 20100274564A1
• Filed: 03/30/2010
• Published: 10/28/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 04/28/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Bose Corporation
• Original Assignee: Bose Corporation
• Inventors: Bakalos, Pericles Nicholas, Carreras, Ricardo F.
• Granted Patent: US 8,315,405 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 704/500
• CPC Class Codes: G10K 11/17823 Reference signals, e.g. ambient acoustic environment
• CPC Class Codes: G10K 11/17833 by using a self-diagnostic function or a malfunction prevention function, e.g. detecting abnormal output levels
• CPC Class Codes: G10K 11/17853 of the filter
• CPC Class Codes: G10K 11/17855 for improving speed or power requirements
• CPC Class Codes: G10K 11/17857 Geometric disposition, e.g. placement of microphones
• CPC Class Codes: G10K 11/17881 the reference signal being an acoustic signal, e.g. recorded with a microphone
• CPC Class Codes: G10K 11/17885 additionally using a desired external signal, e.g. pass-through audio such as music or speech
• CPC Class Codes: G10K 2210/1081 Earphones, e.g. for telephones, ear protectors or headsets
• CPC Class Codes: G10K 2210/3026 Feedback
• CPC Class Codes: G10K 2210/3027 Feedforward
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 21/0208 Noise filtering
• CPC Class Codes: H03G 3/32 the control being dependent upon ambient noise level or sound level
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/1083 Reduction of ambient noise active noise reduction per se G10K11/175; protective devices for the ear, e.g. providing acoustic protection A61F11/06
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2460/01 Hearing devices using active noise cancellation

Abstract

Apparatus and method of an ANR circuit providing both feedforward-based and feedback-based ANR, possibly of a personal ANR device, compressing both feedforward and feedback reference sounds detected by feedforward and feedback microphones, respectively, in response to the acoustic energy of the feedforward reference noise sound reaching a predetermined level.

Claims

1. A ANR circuit comprising:

a first VGA to compress a feedforward reference sound represented by a signal output by a feedforward microphone detecting an external noise sound in an environment external to a casing as the feedforward reference sound;

a second VGA to compress a feedback reference sound represented by a signal output by a feedback microphone detecting a cavity noise sound within a cavity defined by the casing as the feedback reference sound;

at least one filter to generate a feedforward anti-noise sound from the feedforward reference sound;

at least another filter to generate a feedback anti-noise sound from the feedback reference sound; and

a compression controller coupled to the first and second VGAs to operate the first and second VGAs to coordinate compression of the feedforward and feedback reference sounds in response to the acoustic energy of the external noise sound reaching a first threshold.

2. The ANR circuit of claim 1, wherein the first VGA is an analog VGA interposed between the feedforward microphone and the at least one filter, and wherein the compression controller monitors the acoustic energy of the external noise sound by monitoring the signal output by the feedforward microphone.

3. The ANR circuit of claim 1, further comprising a first ADC to convert the signal output by the feedforward microphone from analog to digital form, wherein the first VGA is a digital VGA interposed between first ADC and the at least one filter, and wherein the compression controller receives the signal from the feedforward microphone in digital form through the first ADC to monitor the acoustic energy of the external noise sound.

4. The ANR circuit of claim 1, further comprising a DAC to convert a combination of the feedforward and feedback anti-noise sounds from being represented with digital data to being represented by an analog signal to be conveyed to an audio amplifier to drive an acoustic driver to acoustically output the combination of feedforward and feedback anti-noise sounds into the cavity, wherein:

the compression controller receives the digital data representing the combination of the feedforward and feedback anti-noise sounds; and

the compression controller is structured to determine that the acoustic energy of the external noise sound reaches the first threshold in response to the amplitude of the combination of the feedforward and feedback anti-noise sounds reaching another threshold.

5. The ANR circuit of claim 1, further comprising an audio amplifier outputting an analog signal representing a combination of the feedforward and feedback anti-noise sounds to an acoustic driver to cause the acoustic driver to acoustically output the combination of the feedforward and feedback anti-noise sounds into the cavity, wherein:

the compression controller monitors the analog signal output by the audio amplifier and representing the combination of the feedforward and feedback anti-noise sounds; and

the compression controller is structured to determine that the acoustic energy of the external noise sound reaches the first threshold in response to the amplitude of the analog signal representing the combination of the feedforward and feedback anti-noise sounds reaching another threshold.

6. The ANR circuit of claim 1, further comprising a DAC to convert a combination of the feedforward and feedback anti-noise sounds from being represented with digital data to being represented by an analog signal to be conveyed to an audio amplifier to drive an acoustic driver to acoustically output the combination of feedforward and feedback anti-noise sounds into the cavity, wherein:

the compression controller monitors the analog signal output by the DAC; and

the compression controller is structured to determine that the acoustic energy of the external noise sound reaches the first threshold in response to detecting an occurrence of an audio artifact in the analog signal.

7. The ANR circuit of claim 1, further comprising an audio amplifier outputting an analog signal representing a combination of the feedforward and feedback anti-noise sounds to an acoustic driver to cause the acoustic driver to acoustically output the combination of the feedforward and feedback anti-noise sounds into the cavity, wherein:

the compression controller monitors the analog signal output by the audio amplifier; and

the compression controller is structured to determine that the acoustic energy of the external noise sound reaches the first threshold in response to detecting an occurrence of an audio artifact in the analog signal.

8. The ANR circuit of claim 1, wherein the compression controller is structured to change the first threshold in response to a change in what audible frequency is predominant in the external noise sound.

9. The ANR circuit of claim 8, wherein the compression controller is structured to lower the first threshold in response to what audible frequency is predominant in the external noise sound changing from a higher audible frequency to a lower audible frequency, and to raise the first threshold in response to what audible frequency is predominant in the external noise sound changing from a lower audible frequency to a higher audible frequency.

10. The ANR circuit of claim 1, wherein the compression controller is structured to operate the first VGA to compress the feedforward reference sound to an increasingly greater degree than the compression controller operates the second VGA to compress the feedback reference sound as the acoustic energy of the external noise sound rises further above the first threshold.

11. The ANR circuit of claim 1, wherein:

the compression controller is structured to operate the first VGA and the second VGA to compress both the feedforward and feedback reference sounds in response to the acoustic energy of the external noise sound reaching the first threshold;

the compression controller is structured to operate the first VGA to compress the feedforward reference sound and operates the second VGA to refrain from compressing the feedback reference sound in response to the acoustic energy of the external noise sound remaining below the first threshold while rising above a second threshold; and

the second threshold is lower than the first threshold.

12. The ANR circuit of claim 11, wherein:

the compression controller is structured to operate the first VGA to compress the feedforward reference sound to an increasingly greater degree as the acoustic energy of the external noise sound rises further above the first threshold until the firsts VGA is operated to have a gain close to zero; and

the compression controller is structured to operate the second VGA to compress the feedback reference sound to an increasingly greater degree as the acoustic energy of the external noise sound rises further above the first threshold and without regard to whether or not the first VGA has been operated to have a gain close to zero.

13. The ANR circuit of claim 11, wherein:

the compression controller is structured to operate the first VGA to compress the feedforward reference sound to an increasingly greater degree as the acoustic energy of the external noise sound rises further above the first threshold until the acoustic energy reaches a third threshold;

the third threshold is higher than the first threshold; and

the compression controller is structured to operate the second VGA to compress the feedback reference sound to an increasingly greater degree as the acoustic energy of the external noise sound rises further above the first threshold and without regard to whether or not the acoustic energy of the external noise sound rises above the third threshold.

14. A personal ANR device comprising:

a first casing defining a first cavity structured to be acoustically coupled to a first ear canal of a first ear of a user of the personal ANR device;

a first feedforward microphone carried by the first casing in a manner that acoustically couples the first feedforward microphone to an environment external to the first casing to detect a first external noise sound in the environment external to the first casing, and structured to output a signal representing the first external noise sound as a first feedforward reference sound;

a first feedback microphone disposed within the first cavity to detect a cavity noise sound within the first cavity, and structured to output a signal representing the cavity noise sound as a first feedback reference sound;

a first acoustic driver disposed within the first casing to acoustically output a first feedforward anti-noise sound and first feedback anti-noise sound into the first cavity; and

a first ANR circuit coupled to the first feedforward microphone to receive the signal representing the first feedforward reference sound, coupled to the first feedback microphone to receive the signal the representing first feedback reference sound, and coupled to the first acoustic driver to drive the first acoustic driver to acoustically output the first feedforward and first feedback anti-noise sounds;

wherein the first ANR circuit is structured to generate the first feedforward anti-noise sound from the first feedforward reference sound, structured to generate the first feedback anti-noise sound from the first feedback reference sound, and structured to coordinate compression of the first feedforward and first feedback reference sounds in response to the acoustic energy of the first external noise sound reaching a first threshold.

15. The personal ANR device of claim 14, further comprising:

a second casing defining a second cavity structured to be acoustically coupled to a second ear canal of a second ear of the user;

a second feedforward microphone carried by the second casing in a manner that acoustically couples the second feedforward microphone to an environment external to the second casing to detect a second external noise sound in the environment external to the second casing, and structured to output a signal representing the second external noise sound as a second feedforward reference sound;

a second feedback microphone disposed within the second cavity to detect a cavity noise sound within the second cavity, and structured to output a signal representing the cavity noise sound as a second feedback reference sound; and

a second acoustic driver disposed within the second casing to acoustically output a second feedforward anti-noise sound and second feedback anti-noise sound into the second cavity.

16. The personal ANR device of claim 15, further comprising a second ANR circuit coupled to the second feedforward microphone to receive the signal representing the second feedforward reference sound, coupled to the second feedback microphone to receive the signal the representing second feedback reference sound, and coupled to the second acoustic driver to drive the second acoustic driver to acoustically output the second feedforward and second feedback anti-noise sounds;

wherein the second ANR circuit is structured to generate the second feedforward anti-noise sound from the second feedforward reference sound, structured to generate the second feedback anti-noise sound from the second feedback reference sound, and structured to coordinate compression of the second feedforward and second feedback reference sounds in response to the acoustic energy of the second external noise sound reaching the first threshold.

17. The personal ANR device of claim 15, wherein:

the first ANR circuit is coupled to the second feedforward microphone to receive the signal representing the second feedforward reference sound, coupled to the second feedback microphone to receive the signal the representing second feedback reference sound, and coupled to the second acoustic driver to drive the second acoustic driver to acoustically output the second feedforward and second feedback anti-noise sounds; and

the first ANR circuit is structured to generate the second feedforward anti-noise sound from the second feedforward reference sound, and structured to generate the second feedback anti-noise sound from the second feedback reference sound.

18. The personal ANR device of claim 17, wherein the first ANR circuit is structured to coordinate compression of the second feedforward and second feedback reference sounds in response to the acoustic energy of the second external noise sound reaching the first threshold.

19. The personal ANR device of claim 17, wherein the first ANR circuit is structured to coordinate compression of the first feedforward, the first feedback, the second feedforward and the second feedback reference sounds in response to the acoustic energy of the first external noise sound reaching the first threshold.

20. The personal ANR device of claim 14, wherein the ANR circuit is structured to change the first threshold in response to a change in what audible frequency is predominant in the first external noise sound.

21. The personal ANR device of claim 20, wherein the ANR circuit is structured to lower the first threshold in response to what audible frequency is predominant in the external noise sound changing from a higher audible frequency to a lower audible frequency, and to raise the first threshold in response to what audible frequency is predominant in the external noise sound changing from a lower audible frequency to a higher audible frequency.

22. The personal ANR device of claim 14, wherein the ANR circuit compresses the first feedforward reference sound to an increasingly greater degree than the ANR circuit compresses the first feedback reference sound as the acoustic energy of the first external noise sound rises further above the first threshold.

23. The personal ANR device of claim 14, wherein:

the ANR circuit is structured to compress both the first feedforward and first feedback reference sounds in response to the acoustic energy of the first external noise sound reaching the first threshold;

the ANR circuit is structured to compress the feedforward reference sound and refrains from compressing the first feedback reference sound in response to the acoustic energy of the first external noise sound remaining below the first threshold while rising above a second threshold; and

the second threshold is lower than the first threshold.

24. The personal ANR device of claim 23, wherein:

the ANR circuit is structured to compress the feedforward reference sound to an increasingly greater degree as the acoustic energy of the first external noise sound rises further above the first threshold until the feedforward reference has been compressed to a degree where the feedforward reference sound has been reduced in amplitude to close to zero; and

the ANR circuit is structured to compress the feedback reference sound to an increasingly greater degree as the acoustic energy of the first external noise sound rises further above the first threshold and without regard to whether or not the feedforward reference sound has been reduced in amplitude to close to zero.

25. A method comprising:

employing an external noise sound detected in an environment external to a casing of a personal ANR device as a feedforward reference sound to generate a feedforward anti-noise sound;

employing a cavity noise sound detected in a cavity defined by the casing and structured to be acoustically coupled to an ear canal as a feedback reference sound to generate a feedback anti-noise sound;

acoustically outputting the feedforward and feedback anti-noise sounds into the cavity; and

coordinating compression of the feedforward and feedback reference sounds in response to the acoustic energy of the external noise sound reaching a first threshold.

26. The method of claim 25, further comprising monitoring the feedforward reference sound by monitoring a signal output by a feedforward microphone that represents the feedforward reference sound to determine the acoustic energy of the external noise sound.

27. The method of claim 25, wherein acoustically outputting the feedforward and feedback anti-noise sounds into the cavity comprises driving an acoustic driver with an output of an audio amplifier to cause the acoustic driver to acoustically output the feedforward and feedback anti-noise sounds, and further comprising monitoring the output of the audio amplifier to detect an audio artifact indicative of the acoustic energy of the external noise reaching the first threshold.

28. The method of claim 25, further comprising changing the first threshold in response to a change in what audible frequency is predominant in the external noise sound.

29. The method of claim 28, further comprising lowering the first threshold in response to what audible frequency is predominant in the external noise sound changing from a higher audible frequency to a lower audible frequency, and raising the first threshold in response to what audible frequency is predominant in the external noise sound changing from a lower audible frequency to a higher audible frequency.

30. The method of claim 25, further comprising compressing the feedforward reference sound to an increasingly greater degree than the feedback reference sound as the acoustic energy of the external noise sound rises further above the first threshold.

31. The method of claim 25, further comprising:

compressing both the feedforward and feedback reference sounds in response to the acoustic energy of the external noise sound reaching the first threshold;

compressing the feedforward reference sound and refraining from compressing the feedback reference sound in response to the acoustic energy of the external noise sound remaining below the first threshold while rising above a second threshold, wherein the second threshold is lower than the first threshold.

32. The method of claim 31, further comprising:

compressing the feedforward reference sound to an increasingly greater degree as the acoustic energy of the external noise sound rises further above the first threshold until the feedforward reference has been compressed to a degree where the feedforward reference sound has been reduced in amplitude to close to zero; and

compressing the feedback reference sound to an increasingly greater degree as the acoustic energy of the external noise sound rises further above the first threshold and without regard to whether or not the feedforward reference sound has been reduced in amplitude to close to zero.