Ultrasonic speaker assembly using variable carrier frequency to establish third dimension sound locating

• US 9,794,724 B1
• Filed: 07/20/2016
• Issued: 10/17/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 07/20/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Shintani, Peter, Carlsson, Gregory
• Primary Examiner(s): Blouin, Mark
• Application Number:
  US15/214,748
• Time in Patent Office: 454 Days
• Field of Search: 367199
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 11/00 Transmission systems employing sonic, ultrasonic or infrasonic waves
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/40 by combining a number of identical transducers specially adapted for hearing aids H04R25/405
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2217/03 Parametric transducers where sound is generated or captured by the acoustic demodulation of amplitude modulated ultrasonic waves

Abstract

Audio effects are played on ultrasonic (US) speakers mounted on a gimbal assembly. The audio effects channel demands an elevation, azimuth, and radial distance along which the audio effects are to be transmitted, and the gimbal assembly moves or a speaker is selected according to the audio effects channel. The demanded radial distance is established by altering the carrier frequency of the US sound.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

at least one ultrasonic (US) speaker configured to emit ultrasonic signals, the ultrasonic signals modulating demanded audio; and

at least one computer memory that is not a transitory signal and that comprises instructions executable by at least one processor to;

receive a control signal including a demanded distance from a reference at which the demanded audio carried by the ultrasonic signals are demanded to be audible; and

responsive to the demanded distance received in the control signal, establish an ultrasonic carrier frequency of the US speaker.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the instructions are executable to adjust the demanded distance based at least in part on air pressure to render an adjusted demanded distance, and establish the carrier frequency based on the adjusted demanded distance.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the control signal indicates a demanded sonic axis including an elevation component and an azimuth component.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the control signal is received from a computer game console outputting a main audio channel for playing on non-ultrasonic speakers.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the control signal represents at least one audio effect data in a received audio channel.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the audio effect data is established at least in part from input to a computer game input device.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the instructions are executable to:

responsive to a first demanded distance received in the control signal, establish a first ultrasonic carrier frequency of the US speaker; and

responsive to a second demanded distance received in the control signal, establish a second ultrasonic carrier frequency of the US speaker, the first and second demanded distances not being equal to each other, the first and second ultrasonic carrier frequencies not being equal to each other.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the demanded distance is relative to the US speaker.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the demanded distance is not relative to the US speaker, and a transformed demanded distance is correlated to the ultrasonic carrier frequency.

10. A method comprising:

establishing a carrier frequency of sound emitted by at least one ultrasonic (US) speaker according to a demanded distance; and

activating the US speaker to emit sound at the carrier frequency and according to a demanded azimuth and/or a demanded elevation.

11. The method of claim 10, comprising activating the US speaker to emit sound at the carrier frequency and according to a demanded azimuth.

12. The method of claim 10, comprising activating the US speaker to emit sound at the carrier frequency and according to a demanded elevation.

13. The method of claim 10, comprising activating the US speaker to emit sound at the carrier frequency and according to a demanded azimuth and a demanded elevation.

14. The method of claim 10, comprising:

responsive to a first demanded distance received in the control signal, establishing a first ultrasonic carrier frequency of the US speaker; and

responsive to a second demanded distance received in the control signal, establishing a second ultrasonic carrier frequency of the US speaker, the first and second demanded distances not being equal to each other, the first and second ultrasonic carrier frequencies not being equal to each other.

15. A device comprising:

at least one computer memory that is not a transitory signal and that comprises instructions executable by at least one processor to;

responsive to a first demanded distance received in a control signal, establish a first ultrasonic carrier frequency of an ultrasonic (US) speaker; and

responsive to a second demanded distance received in the control signal, establish a second ultrasonic carrier frequency of the US speaker, the first and second demanded distances not being equal to each other, the first and second ultrasonic carrier frequencies not being equal to each other.

16. The device of claim 15, comprising the processor.

17. The device of claim 15, comprising the US speaker.

18. The device of claim 15, wherein the control signal represents at least one audio effect data in a received audio channel.

19. The device of claim 15, wherein the first demanded distance is relative to the US speaker.

20. The device of claim 15, wherein the first demanded distance is not relative to the US speaker, and a transformed demanded distance is correlated to the first ultrasonic carrier frequency.