Acoustic position measurement

• US 9,794,720 B1
• Filed: 09/22/2016
• Issued: 10/17/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 09/22/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sonos, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Sonos, Inc.
• Inventors: Kadri, Romi
• Primary Examiner(s): Tran, Thang
• Application Number:
  US15/273,679
• Time in Patent Office: 390 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/406 microphones
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2203/12 Beamforming aspects for stereophonic sound reproduction with loudspeaker arrays
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2227/003 Digital PA systems using, e.g. LAN or internet
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2227/005 Audio distribution systems for home, i.e. multi-room use
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2420/07 Applications of wireless loudspeakers or wireless microphones
• 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 3/005 for combining the signals of two or more microphones specially adapted for hearing aids H04R25/407
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 3/04 for correcting frequency response
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 3/12 for distributing signals to two or more loudspeakers specially adapted for hearing aids H04R25/407
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 5/02 Spatial or constructional arrangements of loudspeakers
• CPC Class Codes: H04S 2400/13 Aspects of volume control, not necessarily automatic, in stereophonic sound systems
• 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

Disclosed herein are example techniques for acoustic position measurement in an example listening environment. One example includes determining a requirement for position information of a speaker-equipped device within a room in which a media playback system is located, and in response to determining the requirement for position information of the speaker-equipped device, determining a position of the speaker-equipped device relative to a microphone-equipped device of the media playback system based at least in part on a test sound emitted from the speaker-equipped device. After determining the position of the speaker-equipped device relative to the microphone-equipped device, some examples further include configuring one or more audio configuration parameters of the media playback system based on the position of the speaker-equipped device relative to the microphone-equipped device.

Claims

1. Tangible, non-transitory, computer-readable media having instructions encoded therein, wherein the instructions, when executed by one or more processors, cause a microphone-equipped device to perform a method comprising:

determining a requirement for position information of a speaker-equipped device within a room in which a media playback system is located, wherein determining a requirement for position information of the speaker-equipped device in the media playback system comprises receiving a command that causes the microphone-equipped device to configure a beamforming microphone array of the microphone-equipped device based at least in part on a location of the speaker-equipped device relative to the microphone-equipped device;

in response to determining the requirement for position information of the speaker-equipped device, determining a position of the speaker-equipped device relative to the microphone-equipped device based at least in part on a test sound emitted from the speaker-equipped device; and

after determining the position of the speaker-equipped device relative to the microphone-equipped device, configuring one or more audio configuration parameters of the media playback system based at least in part on the position of the speaker-equipped device relative to the microphone-equipped device, wherein configuring one or more audio configuration parameters of the media playback system based on the position of the speaker-equipped device relative to the microphone-equipped device comprises configuring the beamforming microphone array of the microphone-equipped device to attenuate sound originating from the position of the speaker-equipped device.

2. The tangible, non-transitory, computer-readable media of claim 1, wherein the speaker-equipped device is a second playback device, and wherein the microphone-equipped device is a first playback device of the media playback system;

wherein determining a requirement for position information of the speaker-equipped device further comprises receiving a command to configure surround sound processing parameters of the media playback system based at least in part on a position of the second playback device; and

wherein configuring one or more audio configuration parameters of the media playback system based on the position of the speaker-equipped device relative to the microphone-equipped device further comprises configuring one or more of a volume and/or delay processing parameter for one or more speakers of the first playback device.

3. The tangible, non-transitory, computer-readable media of claim 1, wherein the speaker-equipped device is a second playback device, and wherein the microphone-equipped device is a first playback device of the media playback system;

wherein determining a requirement for position information of the speaker-equipped device in the media playback system further comprises receiving a command for the first playback device to form a stereo pair with the second playback device of the media playback system; and

wherein configuring one or more audio configuration parameters of the media playback system based on the position of the speaker-equipped device relative to the microphone-equipped device further comprises configuring one or more of a volume and/or delay processing parameters of one or both of the first and second playback devices.

4. The tangible, non-transitory, computer-readable media of claim 1, wherein the speaker-equipped device is a second playback system, and wherein the microphone-equipped device is a first playback device of the media playback system;

wherein determining a requirement for position information of the speaker-equipped device in the media playback system comprises receiving a command to initiate a spatial calibration procedure for the media playback system, wherein the spatial calibration procedure comprises the first playback device playing one or more audio calibration tones and

the first playback device determining multiple positions of a controller device relative to the first playback device as the controller device is moved through the room in which the media playback system is located during the spatial calibration procedure.

5. The tangible, non-transitory, computer-readable media of claim 4, further comprising:

selecting a preferred position from the multiple positions of the controller device determined during the spatial calibration procedure; and

wherein configuring one or more audio configuration parameters of the media playback system based on the position of the speaker-equipped device relative to the microphone-equipped device further comprises configuring one or more of a volume and/or delay processing parameters of the media playback system based on the preferred position.

6. The tangible, non-transitory, computer-readable media of claim 1, wherein the speaker-equipped device is a playback device, and wherein the microphone-equipped device is a networked microphone device.

7. The tangible, non-transitory, computer-readable media of claim 1, wherein the media playback system comprises a playback device, a networked microphone device, and a controller device for the media playback system, wherein the playback device is the speaker-equipped device, wherein the networked microphone device is the microphone-equipped device;

and

wherein determining a position of the speaker-equipped device relative to a microphone-equipped device comprises determining the position of the playback device relative to the networked microphone device; and

wherein configuring one or more audio configuration parameters of the media playback system further comprises configuring the beamforming microphone array of the networked microphone device to attenuate sound originating from the position of the playback device and to amplify sound originating from the position of the controller device.

8. The tangible, non-transitory, computer-readable media of claim 1, wherein the speaker-equipped device is one of a playback device of the media playback system, a controller device of the media playback system, or a networked microphone device, and wherein the microphone-equipped device is one of a playback device of the media playback system, a controller device of the media playback system, or a networked microphone device.

9. The tangible, non-transitory, computer-readable media of claim 1 wherein determining a position of the speaker-equipped device relative to the microphone-equipped device of the media playback system based at least in part on the test sound emitted from the speaker-equipped device comprises determining (i) an angle of the speaker-equipped device relative to the microphone-equipped device and (ii) a distance between the speaker-equipped device and the microphone-equipped device.

10. The tangible, non-transitory, computer-readable media of claim 9, wherein determining the angle of the speaker-equipped device relative to the microphone-equipped device comprises solving for equation:

11. The tangible, non-transitory, computer-readable media of claim 9, wherein determining the distance between the speaker-equipped device and the microphone-equipped device comprises solving for equation:

d=v_s*(transmission delay)

wherein d is the distance between the speaker-equipped device and the microphone-equipped device, v_s is a speed of sound constant, and transmission delay is a measurement of delay between when a test sound is detected by the microphone-equipped device and when the test sound was played by the speaker-equipped device.

12. The tangible, non-transitory, computer-readable media of claim 1, wherein the media playback system comprises a first playback device and a second playback device, wherein the first playback device is the speaker-equipped device and the second playback device is the microphone-equipped device;

wherein determining a position of the speaker-equipped device relative to a microphone-equipped device comprises determining the position of the first playback device relative to the second playback device based at least in part on a first test sound emitted from the first playback device; and

wherein the method further comprises;

determining a position of the second playback device relative to the first playback device based at least in part on a second test sound emitted from the second playback device, wherein the second test sound emitted from the second playback device is different than the first test sound emitted from the first playback device.

13. The tangible, non-transitory, computer-readable media of claim 1, wherein the microphone-equipped device comprises a device clock and wherein the speaker-equipped device comprises a device clock, and wherein the method further comprises:

synchronizing the device clock of the microphone-equipped device with the device clock of the speaker-equipped device.

14. A microphone-equipped device comprising:

a network interface;

one or more processors; and

tangible, non-transitory computer-readable media having instructions encoded therein, wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the microphone-equipped device to perform functions comprising;

determining a requirement for position information of a speaker-equipped device within a room in which a media playback system is located, wherein determining a requirement for position information of the speaker-equipped device in the media playback system comprises receiving a command to configure a beamforming microphone array of the microphone-equipped device based at least in part on a location of the speaker-equipped device relative to the microphone-equipped device;

in response to determining the requirement for position information of the speaker-equipped device, determining a position of the speaker-equipped device relative to the microphone-equipped device of the media playback system based at least in part on a test sound emitted from the speaker-equipped device; and

after determining the position of the speaker-equipped device relative to the microphone-equipped device, configuring one or more audio configuration parameters of the media playback system based on the position of the speaker-equipped device relative to the microphone-equipped device, wherein configuring one or more audio configuration parameters of the media playback system based on the position of the speaker-equipped device relative to the microphone-equipped device comprises configuring the beamforming microphone array of the microphone-equipped device to attenuate sound originating from the position of the speaker-equipped device.

15. The microphone-equipped device of claim 14, wherein the speaker-equipped device is a second playback device of the media playback system, and wherein the microphone-equipped device is a first playback device of the media playback system;

wherein determining a requirement for position information of the speaker-equipped device in the media playback system further comprises receiving a command to initiate an audio calibration procedure for the media playback system, wherein the audio calibration procedure comprises the first playback device playing an audio calibration tone and

the first playback device determining multiple positions of a controller device relative to the first playback device as the controller device is moved through the room in which the media playback system is located during the audio calibration procedure.

16. The microphone-equipped device of claim 15, wherein the functions further comprise:

receiving an indication of a preferred position selected from the multiple positions of the controller device determined during the audio calibration procedure; and

wherein configuring one or more audio configuration parameters of the media playback system based on the position of the speaker-equipped device relative to the microphone-equipped device further comprises configuring one or more of a volume and/or delay processing parameters of the media playback system based on the preferred position.

17. The microphone-equipped device of claim 14, wherein the media playback system comprises a playback device, a networked microphone device, and a controller device for the media playback system, wherein the playback device is the speaker-equipped device, wherein the networked microphone device is the microphone-equipped device;

and

wherein determining a position of the speaker-equipped device relative to a microphone-equipped device comprises determining the position of the playback device relative to the networked microphone device; and

wherein configuring one or more audio configuration parameters of the media playback system further comprises configuring the beamforming microphone array of the networked microphone device to attenuate sound originating from the position of the playback device and to amplify sound originating from the position of the controller device.

18. The microphone-equipped device of claim 14, wherein determining a position of the speaker-equipped device relative to the microphone-equipped device of the media playback system based at least in part on the test sound emitted from the speaker-equipped device comprises determining (i) an angle of the speaker-equipped device relative to the microphone-equipped device and (ii) a distance between the speaker-equipped device and the microphone-equipped device.

19. A method comprising:

determining a requirement for position information of a speaker-equipped device within a room in which a media playback system is located;

in response to determining the requirement for position information of the speaker-equipped device, determining a position of the speaker-equipped device relative to one or more microphone-equipped devices of the media playback system based at least in part on a test sound emitted from the speaker-equipped device, wherein determining a requirement for position information of the speaker-equipped device in the media playback system comprises receiving a command to configure a beamforming microphone array of the microphone-equipped device based at least in part on a location of the speaker-equipped device relative to at least one of the one or more microphone-equipped devices; and

after determining the position of the speaker-equipped device relative to the one or more microphone-equipped devices, configuring one or more audio configuration parameters of the media playback system based on the position of the speaker-equipped device relative to the one or more microphone-equipped devices, wherein configuring one or more audio configuration parameters of the media playback system based on the position of the speaker-equipped device relative to the one or more microphone-equipped devices comprises configuring the beamforming microphone array of the microphone-equipped device to attenuate sound originating from the position of the speaker-equipped device.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein determining a position of the speaker-equipped device relative to the one or more microphone-equipped devices of the media playback system based at least in part on the test sound emitted from the speaker-equipped device comprises determining (i) an angle of the speaker-equipped device relative to one of the one or more microphone-equipped devices and (ii) a distance between the speaker-equipped device and the one of the one or more microphone-equipped devices.