Systems and methods of distributing audio to one or more playback devices

• US 9,886,234 B2
• Filed: 01/28/2016
• Issued: 02/06/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 01/28/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sonos, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Sonos, Inc.
• Inventors: Lin, Ted, Kadri, Romi
• Primary Examiner(s): ISLAM, MOHAMMAD K
• Application Number:
  US15/009,319
• Publication Number:
  US 20170220315A1
• Time in Patent Office: 740 Days
• Field of Search: 455 306, 386357, 381 23
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/165 Management of the audio stream, e.g. setting of volume, audio stream path
• CPC Class Codes: H03G 3/3005 in amplifiers suitable for low-frequencies, e.g. audio amplifiers H03G3/32, H03G3/34 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H03G 5/165 Equalizers; Volume or gain control in limited frequency bands
• CPC Class Codes: H03G 7/002 in untuned or low-frequency amplifiers, e.g. audio amplifiers H03G7/007, H03G7/001, H03G7/008, H03G7/02, H03G7/06 take precedence
• 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 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 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: H04R 3/12 for distributing signals to two or more loudspeakers specially adapted for hearing aids H04R25/407

Abstract

An example method includes receiving data indicating a configuration of one or more playback devices. The one or more playback devices may include one or more transducers. The method further includes, based on the received data, associating each of one or more audio streams respectively with at least one transducer of the one or more transducers. The method further includes generating the one or more audio streams and sending at least one of the generated one or more audio streams to each of the one or more playback devices. An example non-transitory computer readable medium and an example computing device related to the example method are also disclosed herein.

Claims

1. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by a computing device, cause the computing device to perform functions comprising:

receiving, via the computing device, data indicating a configuration of a plurality of playback devices, wherein each of the plurality of playback devices comprises one or more transducers, wherein a first playback device of the plurality of playback devices comprises a first transducer of a first type, and at least a second transducer of a second type, wherein the first type is different from the second type, and wherein the received data includes one or more first parameters corresponding to the first transducer, and further includes one or more second parameters corresponding to the second transducer;

based on the received data, associating, via the computing device, the first transducer with a first audio channel, and associating the second transducer with a second audio channel;

decoding, via the computing device, audio data into a plurality of audio streams, wherein decoding the audio data into the plurality of audio streams comprises generating, for each of the one or more transducers, a corresponding audio stream by processing audio content of the audio channel associated with the transducer based on the one or more parameters corresponding to the transducer, wherein the plurality of audio streams include a first audio stream and a second audio stream, wherein generating the first audio stream comprises processing audio content of the first audio channel based on the one or more first parameters, and wherein generating the second audio stream comprises processing audio content of the second audio channel based on the one or more second parameters; and

sending, via the computing device, at least the generated first and second audio streams to the first playback device for play back by the first and second transducers, respectively.

2. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 1, the functions further comprising:

receiving, from a control device, a command to generate the plurality of audio streams, wherein at least one of the plurality of audio streams is generated in response to receiving the command.

3. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 1, the functions further comprising:

receiving, from a playback device of the plurality of playback devices, a command to generate at least one of the plurality of audio streams,

wherein at least one of the plurality of audio streams is generated in response to receiving the command.

4. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein the data is received via a user-interface of the computing device.

5. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein the data is received from a playback device of the plurality of playback devices.

6. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein the data maps each of the plurality of audio streams to at least one respective transducer of the plurality of playback devices.

7. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 1, the functions further comprising:

based on the data, determining a quantity of audio streams to be generated by the computing device,

wherein generating the plurality of audio streams comprises generating the determined quantity of audio streams.

8. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein generating the first audio stream further comprises processing the audio content of the first audio channel according to a respective first audio processing algorithm.

9. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 8, wherein processing the audio content of the first channel according to the first audio processing algorithm comprises performing frequency-dependent amplification to the audio content of the first audio channel.

10. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 8, wherein processing the audio content of the first channel according to the first audio processing algorithm further comprises performing frequency-dependent attenuation to the audio content of the first audio channel.

11. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 8, wherein processing the audio content of the first channel according to the first audio processing algorithm further comprises performing volume limiting to the audio content of the first audio channel.

12. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 8, wherein processing the audio content of the first channel according to the first audio processing algorithm further comprises performing phase delay to the audio content of the first channel.

13. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 8, wherein processing the audio content of the first channel according to the first audio processing algorithm further comprises adding a reverberation effect to the audio content of the first channel.

14. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 8, wherein processing the audio content of the first channel according to the first audio processing algorithm further comprises performing two or more of the following to the audio content of the first channel:

frequency-dependent amplification, frequency-dependent attenuation, volume limiting, phase delay, and adding a reverberation effect.

15. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein the first transducer is associated with a first audio channel and further associated with a second audio channel, and wherein generating the first audio stream further comprises mixing the audio content of the first and second channels to generate the first audio stream.

16. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 1, the functions further comprising:

retrieving digital audio content from memory accessible by the computing device or from another computing device,

wherein generating at least one of the plurality of audio streams comprises using the retrieved digital audio content to generate the at least one of the plurality of audio streams.

17. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 1, the functions further comprising:

receiving analog audio content via an input port of the computing device; and

converting the analog audio content to digital audio content,

wherein generating at least one of the plurality of audio streams comprises using the digital audio content to generate the at least one of the plurality of audio streams.

18. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein generating at least one of the plurality of audio streams comprises performing one or more of the following to digital audio content:

sample rate conversion, file format conversion, or bit depth conversion.

19. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein sending the at least one of the generated audio streams comprises sending the at least one of the generated audio streams to the corresponding one of the plurality of playback devices via a group coordinator device.

20. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 1, the functions further comprising:

sending playback timing data to the plurality of playback devices for playing the plurality of audio streams in synchrony.

21. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 1, the functions further comprising

sending, to the plurality of playback devices, data mapping each of the plurality of audio streams to the respective at least one transducer of the plurality of playback devices.

22. A method of operating a computing device, the method comprising:

receiving, via the computing device, data indicating a configuration of a plurality of playback devices, wherein each of the plurality of playback devices comprises one or more transducers, wherein a first playback device of the plurality of playback devices comprises a first transducer of a first type, and at least a second transducer of a second type, wherein the first type is different from the second type, and wherein the received data includes one or more first parameters corresponding to the first transducer, and further includes one or more second parameters corresponding to the second transducer;

based on the received data, associating, via the computing device, the first transducer with a first audio channel, and associating the second transducer with a second audio channel;

decoding, via the computing device, audio data into a plurality of audio streams, wherein decoding the audio data into the plurality of audio streams comprises generating, for each of the one or more transducers, a corresponding audio stream by processing audio content of the audio channel associated with the transducer based on the one or more parameters corresponding to the transducer, wherein the plurality of audio streams include a first audio stream and a second audio stream, wherein generating the first audio stream comprises processing audio content of the first audio channel based on the one or more first parameters, and wherein generating the second audio stream comprises processing audio content of the second audio channel based on the one or more second parameters; and

sending, via the computing device, at least the generated first and second audio streams to the first playback device for play back by the first and second transducers, respectively.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the first transducer is associated with a first audio channel and further associated with a second audio channel, wherein generating the first audio stream further comprises mixing the audio content of the first and second channels to generate the first audio stream.

24. The method of claim 22, further comprising:

retrieving, by the computing device, digital audio content from memory accessible by the computing device or from another computing device,

wherein generating the plurality of audio streams comprises using the retrieved digital audio content to generate the plurality of audio streams.

25. The method of claim 22, further comprising:

receiving, by the computing device, analog audio content via an input port of the computing device; and

converting the analog audio content to digital audio content,

wherein generating at least oneof the plurality of audio streams comprises using the digital audio content to generate the at least one of the plurality of audio streams.

26. A computing device comprising:

one or more processors; and

a non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the computing device to perform functions comprising;

receiving, via the computing device, data indicating a configuration of a plurality of playback devices, wherein each of the plurality of playback devices comprises one or more transducers, wherein a first playback device of the plurality of playback devices comprises a first transducer of a first type, and at least a second transducer of a second type, wherein the first type is different from the second type, and wherein the received data includes one or more first parameters corresponding to the first transducer, and further includes one or more second parameters corresponding to the second transducer;

based on the received data, associating, via the computing device, the first transducer with a first audio channel, and associating the second transducer with a second audio channel;

decoding, via the computing device, audio data into a plurality of audio streams, wherein decoding the audio data into the plurality of audio streams comprises generating, for each of the one or more transducers, a corresponding audio stream by processing audio content of the audio channel associated with the transducer based on the one or more parameters corresponding to the transducer, wherein the plurality of audio streams include a first audio stream and a second audio stream, wherein generating the first audio stream comprises processing audio content of the first audio channel based on the one or more first parameters, and wherein generating the second audio stream comprises processing audio content of the second audio channel based on the one or more second parameters; and

sending, via the computing device, at least the generated first and second audio streams to the first playback device for play back by the first and second transducers, respectively.

27. The computing device of claim 26, wherein the instructions for generating the first audio stream further include processing audio content of the first audio channel according to a respective first audio processing algorithm.

28. The computing device of claim 27, wherein the instructions for generating the first audio stream further include processing the audio of the content of the first audio channel according to the first audio processing algorithm using the one or more first parameters.

29. The computing device of claim 27, wherein processing the audio content of the first channel according to the first audio processing algorithm further comprises performing frequency-dependent amplification or frequency-dependent attenuation to the audio content of the first channel.

30. The computing device of claim 27, wherein processing the audio content of the first channel according to the first audio processing algorithm further comprises performing volume limiting to the audio content.

31. The computing device of claim 27, wherein processing the audio content of the first channel according to the first audio processing algorithm further comprises performing phase delay to the audio content of the first channel.