Audio settings of multiple speakers in a playback device

• US 9,872,119 B2
• Filed: 07/12/2016
• Issued: 01/16/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 03/17/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sonos, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Sonos, Inc.
• Inventors: Bush, William H.
• Primary Examiner(s): BERNARDI, BRENDA C
• Application Number:
  US15/207,682
• Publication Number:
  US 20160323686A1
• Time in Patent Office: 553 Days
• Field of Search: 381 59, 381103, 381122
• CPC Class Codes: H03G 3/32 the control being dependent upon ambient noise level or sound level
• CPC Class Codes: H03G 5/165 Equalizers; Volume or gain control in limited frequency bands
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2430/01 Aspects of volume control, not necessarily automatic, in sound systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 29/00 Monitoring arrangements; Testing arrangements for hearing aids H04R25/30; detection of loudspeaker connection H04R5/04; sound-field adaptation dependent on speaker detection H04S7/308
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 29/002 Loudspeaker arrays
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 3/00 Circuits for transducers , loudspeakers or microphones
• 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 7/305 Electronic adaptation of stereophonic audio signals to reverberation of the listening space H04S7/301 takes precedence

Abstract

Techniques described herein may involve dynamically adjusting the equalization of multiple speakers in a playback device. An example implementation involves a playback device emitting, via a first speaker, a first audio signal and emitting, via a second speaker, a second audio signal. The playback device may detect, via a microphone, an audio signal representing (i) at least a portion of the first audio signal and (ii) at least a portion of the second audio signal. The implementation may further involve the playback device determining one or more reflection characteristics based on the detected audio signal. The example implementation may also involve identifying a first audio setting and a second audio setting based on one or more reflection characteristics and applying (i) the first audio setting to playback of media content via the first speaker and (ii) the second audio setting to playback of media content via the second speaker.

Claims

1. A playback device of a media playback system, the media playback system consisting of the playback device, the playback device comprising:

a first speaker that is contained within a housing of the playback device;

a second speaker that is contained within the housing of the playback device;

a microphone that is contained within the housing of the playback device;

a processor; and

memory having stored thereon instructions executable by the processor to cause the playback device to perform functions comprising;

emitting, via the first speaker, a first audio signal;

detecting, via the microphone, an audio signal representing at least a portion of the first audio signal and at least a portion of a reverberation of the first audio signal;

determining one or more reflection characteristics based on the detected audio signal;

identifying a first audio setting and a second audio setting based on the one or more reflection characteristics; and

applying (i) the first audio setting to playback of media content via the first speaker and (ii) the second audio setting to playback of media content via the second speaker.

2. The playback device of claim 1, wherein the functions further comprise emitting, via the second speaker, a second audio signal, and wherein detecting the audio signal representing at least a portion of the first audio signal comprises detecting an audio signal representing at least the portion of the first audio signal and at least a portion of the second audio signal.

3. The playback device of claim 2, wherein determining one or more reflection characteristics based on the detected audio signal comprises determining a first reflection characteristic based on a first portion of the detected audio signal representing the portion of the first audio signal and determining a second reflection characteristic based on a second portion of the detected audio signal representing the portion of the second audio signal, and wherein identifying the first audio setting and the second audio setting based on the one or more reflection characteristics comprises identifying the first audio setting based on the first reflection characteristic and the second audio setting based on the second reflection characteristic.

4. The playback device of claim 2, wherein determining one or more reflection characteristics based on the detected audio signal comprises:

determining (i) time-of-flight for the first audio signal to reflect back to the microphone and (ii) time-of-flight for the second audio signal to reflect back to the microphone.

5. The playback device of claim 2, wherein determining one or more reflection characteristics based on the detected audio signal comprises:

determining (i) a response of a surrounding environment to the first audio signal and (ii) a response of the surrounding environment to the second audio signal.

6. The playback device of claim 5, wherein identifying the first audio setting and the second audio setting based on the one or more reflection characteristics comprises:

determining (i) a difference between the determined response of the surrounding environment to the first audio signal and a desired response of the first speaker and (ii) determining a difference between the determined response of the surrounding environment to the second audio signal and a desired response of the second speaker;

determining, as the first audio setting, an equalization that offsets at least a portion of the difference between the determined response of the surrounding environment to the first audio signal and the desired response of the first speaker; and

determining, as the second audio setting, an equalization that offsets at least a portion of the difference between the determined response of the surrounding environment to the second audio signal and the desired response of the second speaker.

7. The playback device of claim 1, wherein playing media content via the first speaker and the second speaker comprises the first speaker playing a left channel of stereo media content and the second speaker playing a right channel of the stereo media content.

8. The playback device of claim 1, wherein playing media content via the first speaker and the second speaker comprises the first speaker and the second speaker playing respective channels of surround sound media content.

9. The playback device of claim 1, wherein the media playback system further consists of one or more additional playback devices that comprise one or more respective speakers, and wherein emitting the first audio signal comprises emitting, via the first speaker, the first audio signal while the one or more additional playback devices are not emitting audio via the one or more respective speakers.

10. A method for a playback device of a media playback system, the media playback system consisting of the playback device, the method comprising:

emitting, via a first speaker contained within a housing of a playback device, a first audio signal;

detecting, via a microphone contained within the housing of the playback device, an audio signal representing at least a portion of the first audio signal and at least a portion of a reverberation of the first audio signal;

determining one or more reflection characteristics based on the detected audio signal;

identifying a first audio setting and a second audio setting based on the one or more reflection characteristics; and

applying (i) the first audio setting to playback of media content via the first speaker and (ii) the second audio setting to playback of media content via a second speaker contained within the housing of the playback device.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the method further comprises emitting, via the second speaker, a second audio signal, and wherein detecting the audio signal representing at least a portion of the first audio signal comprises detecting an audio signal representing at least the portion of the first audio signal and at least a portion of the second audio signal.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein determining one or more reflection characteristics based on the detected audio signal comprises determining a first reflection characteristic based on a first portion of the detected audio signal representing the portion of the first audio signal and determining a second reflection characteristic based on a second portion of the detected audio signal representing the portion of the second audio signal, and wherein identifying the first audio setting and the second audio setting based on the one or more reflection characteristics comprises identifying the first audio setting based on the first reflection characteristic and the second audio setting based on the second reflection characteristic.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein determining one or more reflection characteristics based on the detected audio signal comprises:

determining (i) time-of-flight for the first audio signal to reflect back to the microphone and (ii) time-of-flight for the second audio signal to reflect back to the microphone.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein determining one or more reflection characteristics based on the detected audio signal comprises:

determining (i) a response of a surrounding environment to the first audio signal and (ii) a response of the surrounding environment to the second audio signal.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein identifying the first audio setting and the second audio setting based on the one or more reflection characteristics comprises:

determining (i) a difference between the determined response of the surrounding environment to the first audio signal and a desired response of the first speaker and (ii) determining a difference between the determined response of the surrounding environment to the second audio signal and a desired response of the second speaker;

determining, as the first audio setting, an equalization that offsets at least a portion of the difference between the determined response of the surrounding environment to the first audio signal and the desired response of the first speaker; and

determining, as the second audio setting, an equalization that offsets at least a portion of the difference between the determined response of the surrounding environment to the second audio signal and the desired response of the second speaker.

16. The method of claim 10, wherein the media playback system further consists of one or more additional playback devices that comprise one or more respective speakers, and wherein emitting the first audio signal comprises emitting, via the first speaker, the first audio signal while the one or more additional playback devices are not emitting audio via the one or more respective speakers.

17. A tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon instructions executable by a processor to cause a playback device of a media playback system, the media playback system consisting of the playback device, to perform functions comprising:

emitting, via a first speaker contained within a housing of the playback device, a first audio signal;

emitting, via a second speaker contained within the housing of the playback device, a second audio signal;

detecting, via a microphone contained within the housing of the playback device, an audio signal representing (i) at least a portion of the first audio signal and (ii) at least a portion of the second audio signal;

determining one or more reflection characteristics based on the detected audio signal;

identifying a first audio setting and a second audio setting based on the one or more reflection characteristics; and

applying (i) the first audio setting to playback of media content via the first speaker and (ii) the second audio setting to playback of media content via the second speaker.

18. The tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 17, wherein the functions further comprise emitting, via the second speaker, a second audio signal, and wherein detecting the audio signal representing at least a portion of the first audio signal comprises detecting an audio signal representing at least the portion of the first audio signal and at least a portion of the second audio signal.

19. The tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 18, wherein determining one or more reflection characteristics based on the detected audio signal comprises determining a first reflection characteristic based on a first portion of the detected audio signal representing the portion of the first audio signal and determining a second reflection characteristic based on a second portion of the detected audio signal representing the portion of the second audio signal, and wherein identifying the first audio setting and the second audio setting based on the one or more reflection characteristics comprises identifying the first audio setting based on the first reflection characteristic and the second audio setting based on the second reflection characteristic.

20. The tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 18, wherein determining one or more reflection characteristics based on the detected audio signal comprises:

determining (i) time-of-flight for the first audio signal to reflect back to the microphone and (ii) time-of-flight for the second audio signal to reflect back to the microphone.

21. The tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 18, wherein determining one or more reflection characteristics based on the detected audio signal comprises:

determining (i) a response of a surrounding environment to the first audio signal and (ii) a response of the surrounding environment to the second audio signal.

22. The tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 19, wherein identifying the first audio setting and the second audio setting based on the one or more reflection characteristics comprises:

determining (i) a difference between the determined response of the surrounding environment to the first audio signal and a desired response of the first speaker and (ii) determining a difference between the determined response of the surrounding environment to the second audio signal and a desired response of the second speaker;

determining, as the first audio setting, an equalization that offsets at least a portion of the difference between the determined response of the surrounding environment to the first audio signal and the desired response of the first speaker; and

determining, as the second audio setting, an equalization that offsets at least a portion of the difference between the determined response of the surrounding environment to the second audio signal and the desired response of the second speaker.

23. The tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 17, wherein the media playback system further consists of one or more additional playback devices that comprise one or more respective speakers, and wherein emitting the first audio signal comprises emitting, via the first speaker, the first audio signal while the one or more additional playback devices are not emitting audio via the one or more respective speakers.