Sound reproduction device

• US 8,750,543 B2
• Filed: 07/12/2011
• Issued: 06/10/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 09/08/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd. (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Takeda, Katsu, Konno, Fumiyasu, Fukushima, Susumu, Shoji, Rihito
• Primary Examiner(s): Chin, Vivian
• Assistant Examiner(s): Tran, Con P
• Application Number:
  US13/820,441
• Publication Number:
  US 20130163795A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,064 Days
• Field of Search: 381/303, 381/300, 381/77, 381/79, 381/307, 381/387
• US Class Current: 381/303
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/26 Spatial arrangements of separate transducers responsive to two or more frequency ranges
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/323 for loudspeakers H04R1/34 and H04R1/40 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2217/03 Parametric transducers where sound is generated or captured by the acoustic demodulation of amplitude modulated ultrasonic waves
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2499/15 Transducers incorporated in visual displaying devices, e.g. televisions, computer displays, laptops
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 5/02 Spatial or constructional arrangements of loudspeakers
• CPC Class Codes: H04S 2400/01 Multi-channel, i.e. more than two input channels, sound reproduction with two speakers wherein the multi-channel information is substantially preserved

Abstract

Provided is a sound reproduction device including a loudspeaker and a superdirective speaker. The loudspeaker is configured so that a sound pressure of audible sound produced therefrom decreases as the sound travels farther away from the loudspeaker. The superdirective speaker is configured so that a sound pressure of audible sound produced therefrom has a peak at a predetermined distance from the superdirective speaker, and is configured to use an ultrasonic wave as a carrier wave. The loudspeaker and the superdirective speaker are positioned such that a loudspeaker sound field of the audible sound produced from the loudspeaker and a superdirective speaker sound field of the audible sound produced from the superdirective speaker overlap with each other at a position of a listener.

Claims

1. A sound reproduction device comprising:

a loudspeaker; and

a superdirective speaker, wherein;

the loudspeaker is configured so that a sound pressure of audible sound produced therefrom decreases as the sound travels farther away from the loudspeaker,

the superdirective speaker is configured so that a sound pressure of audible sound produced therefrom has a peak at a predetermined distance from the superdirective speaker, and is configured to use an ultrasonic wave as a carrier wave, and

the loudspeaker and the superdirective speaker are positioned such that a loudspeaker sound field of the audible sound produced from the loudspeaker and a superdirective speaker sound field of the audible sound produced from the superdirective speaker directly reach a position of a listener and overlap with each other at the position of the listener, and such that a portion where the sound pressure of the audible sound produced from the superdirective speaker is greater than the sound pressure of the audible sound produced from the loudspeaker at the position of the listener is provided, and a sound field having a three-dimensional effect and allowing the listener to hear the sound from the superdirective speaker clearly while being less influenced by the sound from the loudspeaker is produced around the listener.