Bone-conduction transducer array for spatial audio

• US 9,002,020 B1
• Filed: 10/22/2012
• Issued: 04/07/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 10/22/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Kim, Eliot, Heinrich, Mitchell, Dong, Jianchun
• Primary Examiner(s): HUBER, PAUL W
• Application Number:
  US13/656,798
• Time in Patent Office: 897 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 381/56
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/028 associated with devices performing functions other than acoustics, e.g. electric candles
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 17/10 Resonant transducers, i.e. adapted to produce maximum output at a predetermined frequency
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2460/13 Hearing devices using bone conduction transducers
• 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 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]

Abstract

Systems and methods for a bone-conduction transducer array configured to provide spatial audio are described, in which the bone-conduction transducer array may be coupled to a head-mountable device so as to provide sound, for example, to a wearer of the head-mountable device. Audio information and a vibration transducer from an array of vibration transducers coupled to the head-mountable computing device may be caused to vibrate based at least in part on the audio signal so as to transmit a sound. Information indicating a movement of the wearable computing device toward a given direction may be received. One or more parameters associated with causing the at least one vibration transducer to emulate the sound from the given direction may then be determined, wherein the one or more parameters are representative of a correlation between the audio information and the information indicating the movement.

Claims

1. A non-transitory computer readable medium having stored thereon instructions executable by a wearable computing device to cause the wearable computing device to perform functions comprising:

receiving audio information associated with an audio signal;

causing at least one vibration transducer from an array of vibration transducers coupled to the wearable computing device to vibrate based at least in part on the audio signal so as to transmit a sound;

receiving information indicating a movement of the wearable computing device toward a given direction; and

determining one or more parameters associated with causing the at least one vibration transducer to emulate the sound from the given direction, wherein the one or more parameters are representative of a correlation between the audio information and the information indicating the movement.

2. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein the wearable computing device includes a head-mountable computing device.

3. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein the array of vibration transducers are configured to transmit sound to a wearer of the head-mountable computing device via a bone structure of the wearer.

4. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein the wearable computing device includes a head-mountable computing device that includes a sensor coupled to the head-mountable computing device configured to detect the movement of a wearer, wherein the sensor includes one or more of a gyroscope, an inertial measurement unit, and an accelerometer.

5. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein the information indicating the movement comprises an angular distance between a first position of the wearable computing device and a second position of the wearable computing device.

6. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 5, wherein the correlation between the audio information and the information indicating the movement includes an association of the audio information with the second position of the wearable computing device.

7. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein the one or more parameters include at least one vibration transducer identifier and respective audio information associated with the at least one vibration transducer identifier, wherein the respective audio information includes at least a portion of the audio information and wherein the at least one vibration transducer identifier identifies a given vibration transducer from the array of vibration transducers to vibrate to emulate the sound from the given direction.

8. A method, comprising:

receiving audio information associated with an audio signal;

causing at least one vibration transducer from an array of vibration transducers coupled to a wearable computing device to vibrate based at least in part on the audio signal so as to transmit a sound;

receiving information indicating a movement of the wearable computing device toward a given direction; and

determining one or more parameters associated with causing the at least one vibration transducer to emulate the sound from the given direction, wherein the one or more parameters are representative of a correlation between the audio information and the information indicating the movement.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the wearable computing device includes a head-mountable computing device.

10. The method of claim 8, further comprising causing the at least one vibration transducer from the array of vibration transducers coupled to the wearable computing device to vibrate based at least in part on the one or more parameters so as to emulate the sound from the given direction.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein causing at least one vibration transducer from an array of vibration transducers coupled to the wearable computing device to vibrate based at least in part on the audio signal so as to transmit sound comprises causing a first vibration transducer to vibrate and causing a second vibration transducer to vibrate.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein causing at least one vibration transducer from an array of vibration transducers coupled to the wearable computing device to vibrate is further based at least in part on a delay function, wherein the delay function is configured to determine an audio delay between the first vibration transducer and the second vibration transducer.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the delay function is further configured to determine one or more subsequent audio delays between the first vibration transducer and the second vibration transducer, wherein the one or more subsequent audio delays are based at least in part on a movement of the wearable computing device.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the one or more subsequent audio delays comprises a first audio delay and a second audio delay, wherein the first audio delay is associated to a first position of the wearable computing device and the second audio delay is associated to a second position of the wearable computing device.

15. A system, comprising:

a head-mountable device (HMD); and

a processor coupled to the HMD, wherein the processor is configured to;

receive audio information associated with an audio signal,

cause at least one vibration transducer from an array of vibration transducers coupled to the HMD to vibrate based on the audio signal so as to transmit a sound,

receive information indicating a movement of the HMD toward a given direction, and

determine one or more parameters associated with causing the at least one vibration transducer to emulate the sound from the given direction, wherein the one or more parameters are representative of a correlation between the audio information and the information indicating the movement.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the at least one vibration transducer includes at least one piezoelectric thin-film vibration transducer.

17. The system of claim 15, wherein the array of vibration transducers are configured to transmit sound to a wearer of the HMD via a bone structure of the wearer.

18. The system of claim 15, wherein the information indicating the movement of the HMD includes information indicating one or more of a rotational movement of the HMD, a lateral movement of the HMD, and a longitudinal movement of the HMD.

19. The system of claim 15, wherein causing at least one vibration transducer from an array of vibration transducers coupled to the HMD to vibrate based at least in part on the audio signal so as to transmit sound comprises causing a first vibration transducer to vibrate and causing a second vibration transducer to vibrate, and wherein causing at least one vibration transducer from an array of vibration transducers coupled to the wearable computing device to vibrate is further based at least in part on a delay function configured to determine an audio delay between the first vibration transducer and the second vibration transducer.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the delay function includes at least one head-related transfer function (HRTF).