3D Sound Field Using Bilateral Earpieces System and Method

• US 20170111740A1
• Filed: 10/11/2016
• Published: 04/20/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 10/20/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Bragi GmbH
• Original Assignee: Bragi GmbH
• Inventors: Martin, Toby, Hviid, Nikolaj
• Granted Patent: US 10,206,042 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/1016 Earpieces of the intra-aural type
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2225/025 In the ear hearing aids [ITE] hearing aids
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2420/07 Applications of wireless loudspeakers or wireless microphones
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2430/01 Aspects of volume control, not necessarily automatic, in sound systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 5/033 Headphones for stereophonic communication details thereof, e.g. relating to batteries, cables or control elements H04R1/10
• CPC Class Codes: H04S 7/303 Tracking of listener position or orientation
• CPC Class Codes: H04S 7/304 For headphones

Abstract

A set of wireless earpieces includes a left wireless earpiece comprising an earpiece housing sized and shaped to fit into an external auditory canal of a user, a speaker disposed within the earpiece and positioned to transduce audio towards a tympanic membrane associated with the external auditory canal of the user, a right wireless earpiece comprising an earpiece housing sized and shaped to fit into an external auditory canal of a user, a speaker disposed within the earpiece and positioned to transduce audio towards a tympanic membrane associated with the external auditory canal of the user, and wherein the left earpiece and the right earpiece are adapted to process sound in order to alter perception of the sound to match a pre-determined point of view for the user.

Claims

1. An set of wireless earpieces comprising:

a left wireless earpiece comprising an earpiece housing sized and shaped to fit into an external auditory canal of a user, a speaker disposed within the earpiece and positioned to transduce audio towards a tympanic membrane associated with the external auditory canal of the user;

a right wireless earpiece comprising an earpiece housing sized and shaped to fit into an external auditory canal of a user, a speaker disposed within the earpiece and positioned to transduce audio towards a tympanic membrane associated with the external auditory canal of the user;

wherein the left earpiece and the right earpiece are adapted to process sound in order to alter perception of the sound to match a pre-determined point of view for the user.

2. The set of wireless earpieces of claim 1 wherein at least one of the left wireless earpiece and the right wireless earpiece further includes a sensor to provide sensed data and wherein the sensed data is used to provide the pre-determined point of view for the user.

3. The set of wireless earpieces of claim 2 wherein the sensor is an inertial sensor.

4. The set of wireless earpieces of claim 3 wherein the inertial sensor is an accelerometer.

5. The set of wireless earpieces of claim 2 wherein the sensor is a physiological sensor.

6. The set of wireless earpieces of claim 5 wherein the physiological sensor is a pulse oximeter.

7. The set of wireless earpieces of claim 1 wherein the left earpiece and the right earpiece are adapted to process sound by inserting delays in sound signals.

8. The set of wireless earpieces of claim 1 wherein the left earpiece and the right earpiece are adapted to process sound by altering amplitudes of sound signals.

9. The set of wireless earpieces of claim 1 wherein the sound is altered such that it is perceived as emanating from behind the user.

10. A method comprising:

providing a left earpiece and a right earpiece;

selecting a point of view for a user within a sound field;

processing the sound field based on the point of view for the user to produce a left sound signal for the left earpiece and a right sound signal for the right earpiece; and

reproducing the left sound signal at the left earpiece and the right sound signal at the right earpiece.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein the step of selecting the point of view for the user within the sound field is based in part on sensor data collected from one or more sensors in the left earpiece or the right earpiece.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein the one or more sensors includes at least one inertial sensor.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein the at least one inertial sensor is an accelerometer.

14. The method of claim 11 wherein the one or more sensors includes at least one physiological sensor.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein the at least one physiological sensor comprises a pulse oximeter.

16. The method of claim 10 wherein the processing is performed on a computing device separate from the left earpiece and the right earpiece.

17. The method of claim 16 wherein the computing device is a mobile device.

18. The method of claim 17 wherein the mobile device is a mobile phone.