Active acoustic filter with location-based filter characteristics

• US 9,524,731 B2
• Filed: 04/08/2015
• Issued: 12/20/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 04/08/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Dolby Laboratories Licensing Corporation (Dolby Laboratories Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Doppler Labs, Inc.
• Inventors: Wiggins, Dan, Lanman, III, Richard Fritz, Kraft, Noah
• Primary Examiner(s): Zhang, Leshui
• Application Number:
  US14/681,843
• Publication Number:
  US 20150312677A1
• Time in Patent Office: 622 Days
• Field of Search: 381/72, 381/73.1, 381/74, 381/92, 381/26, 381/61, 381/63, 381/66, 381/71.4, 381/71.6, 381/71.8, 381/71.9, 381/71.11, 381/71.12, 381/98, 381/99, 381/100, 381/101, 381/102, 381/103, 700/94, 455/414.1, 455/414.2, 455/404.2, 455/404.1, 455/440, 455/422.1, 455/456.1, 455/456.2, 455/456.3, 455/456.4, 455/456.6, 455/457
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/165 Management of the audio stream, e.g. setting of volume, audio stream path
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 2021/02082 the noise being echo, reverberation of the speech
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 21/0208 Noise filtering
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/1016 Earpieces of the intra-aural type
• 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 2225/55 Communication between hearing aids and external devices via a network for data exchange
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2460/07 Use of position data from wide-area or local-area positioning systems in hearing devices, e.g. program or information selection
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 3/04 for correcting frequency response
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services

Abstract

There is disclosed active acoustic filter systems and methods. A processor is disposed within a housing configured to interface with a user'"'"'s ear. A memory stores data defining one or more locations and a respective set of location-based processing parameters associated with each of the one or more locations. A personal computing device external to the housing is coupled to the processor via a first wireless communications link. The personal computing device determines a current location of the active acoustic filter system. The processor generates digitized processed sound by processing digitized ambient sound in accordance with a set of location-based processing parameters retrieved from the memory, the retrieved set of location-based processing parameters associated with the current location of the active acoustic filter system as determined by the personal computing device.

Claims

1. An active acoustic filter system, comprising:

a housing configured to interface with a user'"'"'s ear;

a microphone, a preamplifier, and an analog to digital converter to convert ambient sound experienced by the housing into digitized ambient sound;

a processor disposed within the housing;

a memory disposed within the housing and storing data defining one or more locations and a respective set of location-based processing parameters associated with each of the one or more locations, wherein at least one set of the one or more sets of location-based processing parameters were manually entered by the user at least in part by the user inputting one or more inputs that adjust a decibel level associated with one or more user selected frequency bands of an audible frequency spectrum associated with ambient sound experienced by the housing and wherein the one or more inputs are stored in the memory in association with the respective set of location-based processing parameters and a location of the active acoustic filter; and

a digital to analog converter, an amplifier, and a speaker to convert digitized processed sound into processed output sound, wherein a personal computing device is external to the housing and coupled to the processor via a first wireless communications link, the personal computing device is configured to determine a current location of the active acoustic filter system,

wherein the processor generates the digitized processed sound by processing the digitized ambient sound in accordance with a set of location-based processing parameters retrieved from the memory, the retrieved set of location-based processing parameters associated with the current location of the active acoustic filter system, and

wherein the processed output sound is a modified version of the ambient sound experienced by the housing that is processed based on the current location of the active acoustic filter.

2. The active acoustic filter system of claim 1,

wherein

the microphone, the preamplifier, the analog to digital converter, the digital to analog converter, the amplifier, and the speaker are disposed within the housing.

3. The active acoustic filter system of claim 1, wherein:

the housing is an earbud housing configured to fit, at least partially, within and be supported by the user'"'"'s ear.

4. The active acoustic filter system of claim 1, wherein

data identifying the current location of the active acoustic filter is transmitted from the personal computing device to the processor via the first wireless communications link.

5. The active acoustic filter system of claim 1, wherein:

the memory is disposed in the personal computing device, and

the location-based processing parameters associated with the current location of the active acoustic filter are transmitted from the personal computing device to the processor via the first wireless communications link.

6. The active acoustic filter system of claim 1, wherein:

the processor is further to add a secondary audio feed to the digitized processed sound, the secondary audio feed received from a device external to the active acoustic filter system.

7. The active acoustic filter system of claim 1, wherein:

the personal computing device is configured to receive a secondary audio feed via a second wireless communications link and to send the secondary audio feed to the processor via the first wireless communications link, and

the processor is further configured to add the secondary audio feed to the digitized processed sound.

8. The active acoustic filter system of claim 1, wherein the personal computing device further comprises one or more of:

hardware and software to perform a geo-location process to determine the current location of the active acoustic filter system, and

hardware and software to provide a user interface for a user to identify the current location.

9. The active acoustic filter system of claim 1, wherein processing digitized ambient sound includes one or more of equalization, reverberation, and noise suppression.

10. The active acoustic filter system of claim 1, wherein inputting the one or more inputs that adjust the decibel level associated with one or more user selected frequency bands of an audible frequency spectrum associated with ambient sound inputted to the housing includes increasing the decibel level associated with one or more user selected frequency bands of the audible frequency spectrum, decreasing the decibel level associated with one or more user selected frequency bands of the audible frequency spectrum, or increasing the decibel level associated with a first user selected frequency bands of the audible frequency spectrum and decreasing the decibel level associated with a second user selected frequency bands of the audible frequency spectrum.

11. The active acoustic filter system of claim 1, wherein the current location of the active acoustic filter system is the location of the active acoustic filter system associated with the one or more inputs.

12. The active acoustic filter system of claim 1, wherein the personal computing device provides a user interface to receive the one or more inputs.

13. A method for processing ambient sound experienced by a housing to provide processed sound to an ear of a user, comprising:

determining a current location;

determining whether or not location-based processing parameters for the current location are available;

in the event the location-based process parameters are available, retrieving the location-based processing parameters for the current location;

in the event the location-based processing parameters are not available;

prompting the user to enter processing parameters via a user interface of a personal computing device, wherein the processing parameters entered by the user at least include one or more inputs adjusting a decibel level associated with one or more user selected frequency bands of an audible frequency spectrum associated with the ambient sound experienced by the housing;

prompting the user to identify the current location via the user interface; and

storing the processing parameters that at least include the one or more inputs entered by the user as location-based processing parameters for the current location as identified by the user,

wherein the ambient sound is processed, by a processor within the housing that is configured to interface with the ear of the user, in accordance with the location-based processing parameters associated with the current location to provide the processed sound, wherein the processed sound is a modified version of the ambient sound experienced by the housing.

14. The method for processing ambient sound of claim 13, wherein determining a current location is performed by a personal computing device separate from the housing.

15. The method for processing ambient sound of claim 14, wherein retrieving the location-based processing parameters for the current location further comprises:

the personal computing device sending data identifying the current location to the processor via a wireless communications link; and

the processor retrieving the location-based processing parameters for the current location from a memory within the housing.

16. The method for processing ambient sound of claim 14, further comprising:

the personal computing device sending the location-based processing parameters, retrieved from a memory within one of the personal computing device and a cloud, to the processor via a wireless communications link.

17. The method for processing ambient sound of claim 13, further comprising:

the processor adding a secondary audio feed to the processed sound, the secondary audio feed received by the processor via a wireless communications link.

18. The method for processing ambient sound of claim 13, wherein processing the ambient sound includes one or more of equalization, reverberation, and noise suppression.

19. The method for processing ambient sound of claim 13, further comprising exporting the processed sound to a remote device via a wireless communications link.

20. The method for processing ambient sound of claim 13, wherein the housing is an earbud housing configured to fit, at least partially, within and be supported by the user'"'"'s ear.