Playback based on wireless signal

• US 10,334,386 B2
• Filed: 05/26/2016
• Issued: 06/25/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 12/29/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sonos, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Sonos, Inc.
• Inventors: Reilly, Jonathon, Van Erven, Niels
• Primary Examiner(s): Chin, Vivian C
• Assistant Examiner(s): Suthers, Douglas J
• Application Number:
  US15/166,241
• Publication Number:
  US 20160277861A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,125 Days
• Field of Search: 381 81, 381 80, 381 77, 381 17, 381 58, 381 18, 381310
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 3/023 Monitoring or calibrating
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 3/80 using ultrasonic, sonic or infrasonic waves
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/165 Management of the audio stream, e.g. setting of volume, audio stream path
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2227/005 Audio distribution systems for home, i.e. multi-room use
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2430/01 Aspects of volume control, not necessarily automatic, in sound systems
• 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 29/001 for loudspeakers H04R29/007 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 29/008 Visual indication of individual signal levels visual indication of stereophonic sound image H04S7/40
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: H04S 7/302 Electronic adaptation of stereophonic sound system to listener position or orientation H04S7/301 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04S 7/303 Tracking of listener position or orientation
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 20/40 Control techniques providing energy savings, e.g. smart controller or presence detection

Abstract

Systems, methods, and apparatus to calibrate sounds fields are disclosed. An example implementation involves a playback device detecting a change in a strength of a wireless signal received by the playback device via a wireless network interface. Based on the detected change of the wireless signal, the playback device generates localization data. The playback device also generates an analog audio signal based on at least (i) a digital audio signal and (ii) the generated localization information and plays the generated analog audio signal.

Claims

1. A playback device comprising:

one or more speakers;

at least one amplifier configured to drive the one or more speakers;

a wireless network interface compatible with the IEEE 802.11 or 802.15 wireless communications standards to operate in one of (a) a 2.4 Ghz frequency band or (b) a 5 Ghz frequency band;

one or more processors; and

a housing carrying the one or more speakers, the at least one amplifier, the wireless network interface, the one or more processors, and a computer-readable media having instructions encoded therein, wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the playback device to perform functions comprising;

detecting a change in a signal strength of a wireless signal transmitted by a portable device and received by the playback device via the wireless network interface;

based on the detected change in the signal strength of the wireless signal, generating localization data indicating a location of the portable device relative to the playback device;

generating an analog audio signal based on at least (i) a digital audio signal and (ii) the generated localization data, the analog audio signal adjusting a sweet spot of the one or more speakers to include the location of the portable device relative to the playback device; and

playing the generated analog audio signal via the one or more speakers and the at least one amplifier.

2. The playback device of claim 1, wherein detecting the change in the signal strength of the wireless signal comprises comparing an expected signal strength of the wireless signal with an actual received signal strength of the wireless signal.

3. The playback device of claim 1, wherein the playback device is a first playback device of a media playback system, and wherein generating localization data indicating the location of the portable device relative to the playback device comprises:

receiving, via the wireless network interface from a second playback device, location data indicating the location of the portable device relative to the second playback device; and

triangulating a position of the portable device based on the change in the signal strength of the wireless signal received by the first playback device and the location data indicating the location of the portable device relative to the second playback device, the second playback device comprising one or more speakers housed in a separate housing from the housing of the first playback device.

4. The playback device of claim 1, wherein playing the generated analog audio signal comprises playing the generated analog audio signal in synchrony with a second playback device.

5. The playback device of claim 1, the functions further comprising:

receiving, via a microphone carried in the housing of the playback device, acoustic wave information representing sound emitted by a speaker of the portable device; and

determining a distance of a listener from the playback device based on time delay between the speaker of the portable device emitting the audio and receiving the audio via the microphone carried in the housing of the playback device, wherein generating the localization data is further based on the received determined distance of the portable device from the playback device.

6. The playback device of claim 1, the functions further comprising:

receiving, via the wireless network interface, a stream of network packets from the portable device, wherein generating the localization data is further based on received signal strength information (RSSI) in the received network packets.

7. The playback device of claim 1, wherein the playback device is a first playback device, and wherein the functions further comprise sending the generalized localization data to a second playback device, the second playback device comprising one or more speakers housed in a separate housing from the housing of the first playback device.

8. The playback device of claim 1, wherein the generated localization data comprises a number of listeners, and wherein generating the analog audio signal comprises generating an analog audio signal that adjusts the sweet spot of the one or more speakers to include multiple listeners.

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

detecting a change in a signal strength of a wireless signal transmitted by a portable device and received by the playback device via a wireless network interface, the wireless network interface carried in a housing of the playback device and compatible with the IEEE 802.11 or 802.15 wireless communications standards to operate in one of (a) a 2.4 Ghz frequency band or (b) a 5 Ghz frequency band;

based on the detected change in the signal strength of the wireless signal, generating localization data indicating a location of the portable device relative to the playback device;

generating an analog audio signal based on at least (i) a digital audio signal and (ii) the generated localization data, the analog audio signal adjusting a sweet spot of one or more speakers to include the location of the portable device relative to the playback device; and

playing the generated analog audio signal via the one or more speakers and at least one amplifier configured to drive the one or more speakers, the one or more speakers and the at least one amplifier carried in the housing of the playback device.

10. The tangible, non-transitory, computer-readable media of claim 9, wherein detecting the change in the signal strength of the wireless signal comprises comparing an expected signal strength of the wireless signal with an actual received signal strength of the wireless signal.

11. The tangible, non-transitory, computer-readable media of claim 9, wherein the playback device is a first playback device of a media playback system, and wherein generating localization data indicating the location of the portable device relative to the playback device comprises:

receiving, via the wireless network interface from a second playback device, location data indicating the location of the portable device relative to the second playback device; and

triangulating a position of the portable device based on the change in the signal strength of a wireless signal received by the first playback device and the location data indicating the location of the portable device relative to the second playback device, the second playback device comprising one or more speakers housed in a separate housing from the housing of the first playback device.

12. The tangible, non-transitory, computer-readable media of claim 9, wherein the playback device is a first playback device of a media playback system, and wherein playing the generated analog audio signal comprising playing the generated analog audio signal in synchrony with a second playback device, the second playback device comprising one or more speakers housed in a separate housing from the housing of the first playback device.

13. The tangible, non-transitory, computer-readable media of claim 9, the functions further comprising:

receiving, via a microphone carried in the housing of the playback device, acoustic wave information representing sound emitted by a speaker of the portable device; and

determining a distance of a listener from the playback device based on time delay between the speaker of the portable device emitting the audio and receiving the audio via the microphone carried in the housing of the playback device, wherein generating the localization data is further based on the received determined distance of the portable device from the playback device.

14. The tangible, non-transitory, computer-readable media of claim 9, wherein the generated localization data comprises a number of listeners, and wherein generating the analog audio signal comprises generating an analog audio signal that adjusts the sweet spot of the one or more speakers to include multiple listeners.

15. A method comprising:

a playback device detecting a change in a signal strength of a wireless signal transmitted by a portable device and received by the playback device via a wireless network interface, the wireless network interface carried in a housing of the playback device and compatible with the IEEE 802.11 or 802.15 wireless communications standards to operate in one of (a) a 2.4 Ghz frequency band or (b) a 5 Ghz frequency band;

based on the detected change in the signal strength of the wireless signal, the playback device generating localization data indicating a location of the portable device relative to the playback device;

the playback device generating an analog audio signal based on at least (i) a digital audio signal and (ii) the generated localization data, the analog audio signal adjusting a sweet spot of one or more speakers to include the location of the portable device relative to the playback device; and

the playback device playing the generated analog audio signal, via the one or more speakers and at least one amplifier configured to drive the one or more speakers, the one or more speakers and the at least one amplifier carried in the housing of the playback device.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein detecting the change in the signal strength of the wireless signal comprises comparing an expected signal strength of the wireless signal with an actual received signal strength of the wireless signal.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein the playback device is a first playback device of a media playback system, and wherein generating localization data indicating the location of the portable device relative to the playback device comprises:

receiving, via the wireless network interface from a second playback device, location data indicating the location of the portable device relative to the second playback device; and

triangulating a position of the portable device based on the change in a strength of a wireless signal received by the first playback device and the location data indicating the location of the portable device relative to the second playback device, the second playback device comprising one or more speakers housed in a separate housing from the housing of the first playback device.

18. The method of claim 15, wherein the playback device is a first playback device of a media playback system, wherein playing the generated analog audio signal comprising playing the generated analog audio signal in synchrony with a second playback device of the media playback system, the second playback device comprising one or more speakers housed in a separate housing from the housing of the first playback device.

19. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

receiving, via a microphone carried in the housing of the playback device, acoustic wave information representing sound emitted by a speaker of the portable device; and

determining a distance of a listener from the playback device based on time delay between the speaker of the portable device emitting the audio and receiving the audio via the microphone carried in the housing of the playback device, wherein generating the localization data is further based on the received determined distance of the portable device from the playback device.

20. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

receiving, via the wireless network interface, a stream of network packets from the portable device, wherein generating the localization data is further based on received signal strength information (RSSI) in the received network packets.