Orientation-Responsive Use of Acoustic Reflection

• US 20120263335A1
• Filed: 04/14/2011
• Published: 10/18/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 04/14/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Bose Corporation
• Original Assignee: Bose Corporation
• Inventors: Breen, John J., Carbone, Richard J., Freeman, Eric J.
• Granted Patent: US 8,934,655 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 381/387
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/403 loud-speakers
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2203/12 Beamforming aspects for stereophonic sound reproduction with loudspeaker arrays
• CPC Class Codes: H04S 2400/07 Generation or adaptation of the Low Frequency Effect [LFE] channel, e.g. distribution or signal processing

Abstract

An audio device incorporates first acoustic driver at least partially overlain by a first acoustic reflector to define a first effective direction of maximum acoustic radiation and a second acoustic driver at least partially overlain by a second acoustic reflector to define a second effective direction of maximum acoustic radiation, wherein when the audio device is positioned in a room such that the direction of maximum acoustic radiation of the first acoustic driver is substantially perpendicular to the direction of the force of gravity, the first effective direction of maximum acoustic radiation is bent more towards a listening position at which a listener is expected to be located than the first direction of maximum acoustic radiation and away from a floor, and the second effective direction of maximum acoustic radiation is bent more towards the listening position than the second direction of maximum acoustic radiation and away from a wall.

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;

a first acoustic driver disposed on the casing and having a first direction of maximum acoustic radiation, wherein the first direction of maximum acoustic radiation extends towards a listening position at which a listener is expected to be positioned to listen to acoustic output of the audio device at a time when the audio device is in the first orientation;

a second acoustic driver disposed on the casing and having a second direction of maximum acoustic radiation, wherein the first direction of maximum acoustic radiation is not parallel to the second direction of maximum acoustic radiation, and wherein the second direction of maximum acoustic radiation extends towards the listening position at a time when the audio device is in the second orientation; and

a first acoustic reflector disposed on the casing to partially overlie the first acoustic driver to reflect sounds acoustically output by the first acoustic driver within a first predetermined range of frequencies such that the first acoustic reflector and the first acoustic driver cooperate to define a first effective direction of maximum acoustic radiation extending from the first acoustic driver at an angle relative to the first direction of maximum acoustic radiation.

2. The audio device of claim 1, wherein at a time when the audio device is in the first orientation, the first direction of maximum acoustic radiation extends substantially perpendicular to the direction of the force of gravity, and the first effective direction of maximum acoustic radiation extends at an angle relative to the first direction of maximum acoustic radiation such that the first effective direction of maximum acoustic radiation extends more closely towards the listening position than the first direction of maximum acoustic radiation.

3. The audio device of claim 2, wherein the first effective direction of maximum acoustic radiation extends at an angle upward from the first direction of maximum acoustic radiation, enabling the first effective direction of maximum acoustic radiation to extend away from a table surface atop which the audio device may be placed in the first orientation.

4. The audio device of claim 1, wherein at a time when the audio device is in the second orientation, the first direction of maximum acoustic radiation extends substantially parallel to the direction of the force of gravity, and the first effective direction of maximum acoustic radiation extends at an angle relative to the first direction of maximum acoustic radiation such that the first effective direction of maximum acoustic radiation extends more closely towards the listening position than the first direction of maximum acoustic radiation.

5. The audio device of claim 4, wherein the angle of the first effective direction of maximum acoustic radiation towards the listening position from the first direction of maximum acoustic radiation enables the first effective direction of maximum acoustic radiation to extend away from a wall to which the audio device may be mounted in the second orientation.

6. The audio device of claim 1, further comprising a second acoustic reflector disposed on the casing to overlie the second acoustic driver to reflect sounds acoustically output by the second acoustic driver within a second predetermined range of frequencies such that the second acoustic reflector and the second acoustic driver cooperate to define a second effective direction of maximum acoustic radiation extending from the second acoustic driver at an angle relative to the second direction of maximum acoustic radiation.

7. A method comprising:

disposing a first acoustic reflector on a casing of an audio device to at least partially overlie a first acoustic driver of the audio device such that first acoustic reflector reflects sounds acoustically output by the first acoustic driver within a first predetermined range of frequencies to define a first effective direction of maximum acoustic radiation extending from the first acoustic driver at an angle relative to a first direction of maximum acoustic radiation of the first acoustic driver;

disposing a second acoustic reflector on a casing of an audio device to at least partially overlie a second acoustic driver of the audio device such that second acoustic reflector reflects sounds acoustically output by the second acoustic driver within a second predetermined range of frequencies to define a second effective direction of maximum acoustic radiation extending from the second acoustic driver at an angle relative to a second direction of maximum acoustic radiation of the second acoustic driver; and

wherein the first and second directions of maximum acoustic radiation do not extend in parallel, the first effective direction of maximum acoustic radiation is angled closer towards the second direction of maximum acoustic radiation than the first direction of maximum acoustic radiation, and the second effective direction of maximum acoustic radiation is angled closer towards the first direction of maximum acoustic radiation than the second direction of maximum acoustic radiation.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the first and second directions of maximum acoustic radiation are perpendicular to each other.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein at a time when the audio device is oriented relative to the direction of the force of gravity in a first orientation such that the first direction of maximum acoustic radiation extends substantially horizontally towards a listening position at which a listener is expected to be located in a room, the first effective direction of maximum acoustic radiation is angled upwards towards the listening position and away from a floor of the room and the second effective direction of maximum acoustic radiation is angled towards the listening position and away from a wall of the room.