Playback device calibration user interfaces

• US 9,668,049 B2
• Filed: 08/14/2015
• Issued: 05/30/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 06/28/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sonos, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Sonos, Inc.
• Inventors: Sheen, Timothy, Wilberding, Dayn
• Primary Examiner(s): Holder, Regina N
• Application Number:
  US14/826,856
• Publication Number:
  US 20160014512A1
• Time in Patent Office: 655 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/165 Management of the audio stream, e.g. setting of volume, audio stream path
• CPC Class Codes: H03G 9/005 of digital or coded signals
• CPC Class Codes: H03G 9/025 frequency-dependent volume compression or expansion, e.g. multiple-band systems H03G9/10, H03G9/18 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/24 Structural combinations of separate transducers or of two parts of the same transducer and responsive respectively to two or more frequency ranges
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2227/005 Audio distribution systems for home, i.e. multi-room use
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 27/00 Public address systems circuits for preventing acoustic reaction H04R3/02; circuits for distributing signals to loudspeakers H04R3/12; monitoring or testing arrangements for public address systems H04R29/007; amplifiers H03F
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 3/04 for correcting frequency response
• CPC Class Codes: H04S 7/301 Automatic calibration of stereophonic sound system, e.g. with test microphone

Abstract

Examples described herein involve providing playback device calibration user interfaces to guide a calibration process for one or more playback devices in a playback environment. In one example, providing the user interfaces involves receiving audio data from the microphone for a predetermined duration of time, and while receiving the audio data, dynamically providing for display on a graphical interface, (i) representations of frequency responses determined based on audio data that have been received from the microphone, and (ii) representations of times within the predetermined duration of time that correspond to the displayed representations of frequency responses.

Claims

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

receiving audio data continuously from a microphone for a predetermined duration of time;

upon receiving a first subset of the audio data and while continuing to receive the audio data during the predetermined duration of time, generating first data configured to be displayed on a graphical display, the first data comprising;

(i) a representation of a first frequency response based on at least the first subset of the audio data; and

(ii) a representation of a first time within the predetermined duration of time, the first time corresponding to a time at which the first subset of audio data was received from the microphone;

subsequently, upon receiving a second subset of the audio data and while continuing to receive the audio data during the predetermined duration of time, generating second data configured to be displayed on the graphical display, comprising;

(i) a representation of a second frequency response based on at least (a) the first subset of the audio data, and (b) the second subset of the audio data; and

(ii) a representation of a second time within the predetermined duration of time, the second time corresponding to a time at which the second subset of audio data was received from the microphone.

2. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the representation of the first frequency response comprises a representation of the first frequency response along a concentric frequency axis.

3. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the representation of the first time within the predetermined duration of time comprises a representation of the first time within the predetermined duration of time along an axis of the representation of the first frequency response.

4. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the representation of the second time within the predetermined duration of time comprises a representation of the second time within the predetermined duration of time along an axis of the representation of the second frequency response.

5. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein generating the representation of the first frequency response comprises:

determining, by the computing device, the first frequency response based on at least the first subset of the audio data; and

generating, by the computing device, the first data configured to be displayed, the first data indicating the determined first frequency response.

6. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein generating the representation of the first frequency response comprises:

transmitting, by the computing device, to a remote server, at least the first subset of the audio data; and

receiving by the computing device, from the remote server, data indicating the first frequency response.

7. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1, further configured for:

prior to receiving the audio data, receiving an input to initiate audio calibration of at least one playback device; and

sending to at least one playback device, a message to cause the at least one playback device to play a calibration tone, wherein the audio data comprises audio corresponding to the calibration tone.

8. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 7, further configured for after the predetermined duration of time, sending, to the at least one playback device, a message to terminate playback of the calibration tone.

9. The non-transitory computer-readable medium claim 7, wherein the message sent to the playback device to play the calibration tone indicates the predetermined duration of time for which the at least one playback device is to play the calibration tone.

10. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the functions further comprise:

prior to receiving the audio data, generating data configured to be displayed on the graphical display comprising an indication to orient the computing device in a particular manner.

11. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the functions further comprise:

after receiving the audio data from the microphone for the predetermined duration of time, generating data for display on the graphical display including a graphical representation indicating that an audio signal processing algorithm is being determined; and

subsequently, generating data for display on the graphical display including a representation of third frequency response by applying the audio signal processing algorithm to a frequency response of the audio data.

12. A network device, comprising:

a microphone;

a processor; and

memory configured for;

receiving audio data continuously from the microphone for a predetermined duration of time;

upon receiving a first subset of the audio data and while continuing to receive the audio data during the predetermined duration of time, generating first data configured to be displayed on a graphical display, comprising;

(i) a representation of a first frequency response based on at least the first subset of the audio data; and

(ii) a representation of a first time within the predetermined duration of time, the first time corresponding to a time at which the first subset of audio data was received from the microphone; and

subsequently, upon receiving a second subset of the audio data and while continuing to receive the audio data during the predetermined duration of time, generating second data configured to be displayed on the graphical display, comprising;

(i) a representation of a second frequency response based on at least (a) the first subset of the audio data and (b) the second subset of the audio data, and

(ii) a representation of a second time within the predetermined duration of time, the second time corresponding to a time at which the second subset of audio data was received from the microphone.

13. The network device of claim 12, wherein the representation of the first frequency response comprises a representation of the first frequency response along a concentric frequency axis.

14. The network device of claim 12, wherein the representation of the first time within the predetermined duration of time comprises a representation of the first time within the predetermined duration of time along an axis of the representation of the first frequency response.

15. The network device of claim 12, wherein the representation of the second time within the predetermined duration of time comprises a representation of the second time within the predetermined duration of time along an axis of the representation of the second frequency response.

16. The network device of any of claim 12, wherein generating the representation of the first frequency response comprises:

determining, by the network device, the first frequency response based on at least the first subset of the audio data; and

generating, by the network device, the first data configured to be displayed comprising the determined first frequency response.

17. A method comprising:

receiving by a network device, audio data continuously from a microphone for a predetermined duration of time;

upon receiving a first subset of the audio data and while continuing to receive the audio data during the predetermined duration of time, generating, by the network device, first data configured to be displayed on a graphical display, comprising;

(i) a representation of a first frequency response based on at least the first subset of the audio data; and

(ii) a representation of a first time within the predetermined duration of time, the first time corresponding to a time at which the first subset of audio data was received from the microphone; and

subsequently, upon receiving a second subset of the audio data and while continuing to receive the audio data during the predetermined duration of time, generating, by the network device, second data configured to be displayed on the graphical display, comprising;

(i) a representation of a second frequency response based on at least (a) the first subset of the audio data and (b) the second subset of the audio data, and (ii) a representation of a second time within the predetermined duration of time, the second time corresponding to a time at which the second subset of audio data was received from the microphone.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the representation of the first frequency response comprises a representation of the first frequency response along a concentric frequency axis.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein the representation of the first time within the predetermined duration of time comprises a representation of the first time within the predetermined duration of time along an axis of the representation of the first frequency response.

20. The method of claim 17, wherein generating the representation of the first frequency response comprises:

determining, by the network device, the first frequency response based on at least the first subset of the audio data; and

generating, by the network device, the first data configured to be displayed, the data indicating the determined first frequency response.