LOUDSPEAKER BEAMFORMING FOR PERSONAL AUDIO FOCAL POINTS

• US 20140003622A1
• Filed: 06/28/2012
• Published: 01/02/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 06/28/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Avago Technologies International Sales Pte Limited (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Broadcom Corporation (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Inventors: Ikizyan, Ike, LeBlanc, Wilf
• Granted Patent: US 9,119,012 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 381/95
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 19/008 Multichannel audio signal coding or decoding using interchannel correlation to reduce redundancy, e.g. joint-stereo, intensity-coding or matrixing
• 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: H04R 3/00 Circuits for transducers , loudspeakers or microphones
• CPC Class Codes: H04S 7/301 Automatic calibration of stereophonic sound system, e.g. with test microphone
• CPC Class Codes: H04S 7/303 Tracking of listener position or orientation

Abstract

In one embodiment, a method comprising receiving at a microphone located at a first location audio received from plural speakers, the audio received at a first amplitude level; and responsive to moving the microphone away from the first location to a second location, causing adjustment of the audio provided by the plural speakers to target the first amplitude level at the microphone.

Claims

1. A system, comprising:

a microphone; and

feedback control logic, wherein the feedback control logic is configured to cause audio received at the microphone to target a defined amplitude level as the microphone is moved to a plurality of different locations.

2. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

an audio decoder configured to receive sourced audio from a media source and provide decoded audio among a plurality of different audio channels,

wherein the feedback control logic is configured to cause adjustments in one or more parameters in the decoded audio based on the amplitude level received at the microphone.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the feedback control logic comprises filtering functionality configured to cause the adjustments to the one or more parameters.

4. The system of claim 2, further comprising:

an encoder configured to encode the adjusted parameters and the decoded audio to provide a modified audio bitstream, the encoder configured to communicate the modified audio bitstream according to a communicated signal.

5. The system of claim 4, further comprising a transmitter, wherein the microphone, the feedback control logic, the audio decoder, the encoder, and the transmitter reside in a mobile device, wherein the transmitter is configured to communicate the signal to a media device that is separate from the mobile device.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the media device is configured to provide the audio received at the microphone through a plurality of speakers corresponding to different audio channels based on the signal.

7. The system of claim 4, further comprising a transmitter, wherein the microphone and the transmitter resides in a mobile device and the feedback control logic and the audio decoder reside in a media device that is separate from the mobile device, wherein the transmitter is configured to communicate the amplitude level at the microphone to the media device.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the media device is configured to provide the audio received at the microphone through a plurality of speakers corresponding to different audio channels based on the signal.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the audio received at the microphone is based on constructive interference, destructive interference, or a combination of both.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the microphone resides in a mobile device, and further comprising a second mobile device comprising a second microphone, wherein the feedback control logic is configured to de-emphasize the amplitude of the audio received at the microphone that also is within range of the second microphone.

11. A method, comprising:

receiving at a microphone located at a first location audio received from plural speakers, the audio received at a first amplitude level; and

responsive to moving the microphone away from the first location to a second location, causing adjustment of the audio provided by the plural speakers to target the first amplitude level at the microphone.

12. The method of claim 11, while receiving the audio at the microphone at the second location, causing adjustment of the audio provided by the plural speakers to null the audio at a second microphone located at a third location different than the first and second location.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the causing comprises adjusting audio amplitude, phase, frequency response, or a combination of both.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein the causing is continuous.

15. The method of claim 11, wherein the audio is distributed among plural audio channels.

16. The method of claim 11, wherein the first amplitude level is a maximum amplitude level.

17. A system, comprising:

a mobile device comprising;

a microphone; and

feedback control logic, wherein the feedback control logic is configured to cause audio received at the microphone from plural speakers to target a maximum amplitude level as the microphone is moved to a plurality of different locations.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the mobile device comprises an audio decoder and an audio encoder, wherein the audio decoder is configured to receive sourced audio and decode the sourced audio, wherein the feedback control logic is configured to adjust parameters of the decoded audio among plural audio channels, wherein the audio encoder is configured to provided a modified audio bitstream based on the decoded audio and the adjusted parameters.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the mobile device comprises a wireless audio transmitter configured to transmit the modified audio bitstream as a signal.

20. The system of claim 19, further comprising a second device in wireless communication with the mobile device, the second device comprising:

a wireless audio receiver configured to receive the signal and provide an audio bitstream;

an audio decoder configured to decode the audio bitstream and provide decoded audio among a plurality of channels;

plural digital to analog converters configured to digitize decoded audio;

plural amplifiers configured to amplify the digitized decoded audio; and

the plural speakers configured to provide the audio to the microphone based on constructive interference, destructive interference, or a combination of both.