Retrofit digital network speaker system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10686943-B2
Application number	US-201916380059-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 10, 2019
Priority date	Nov 17, 2016
Publication date	Jun 16, 2020
Grant date	Jun 16, 2020

Abstract

Described herein is a retrofit digital speaker system comprising two or more retrofitted speaker enclosures, each of the two or more retrofitted speaker enclosures (enclosures) comprising: at least one speaker; and an analog-and-digital interface adapted to receive digitally encoded audio signals, electrical power, and digital command signals, and wherein the digitally encoded audio signals, electrical power, and digital command signals are transmitted over existing two wire analog audio cables, and further wherein the two or more retrofitted speaker enclosures are wired in a daisy chain fashion, via the existing two wire analog audio cables.

First claim

We claim:

1. A retrofit digital network speaker commissioning system comprising:
two or more speaker enclosures wired together in a serial manner by a single two wire analog audio cable, each of the two or more speaker enclosure including one or more speakers; and
a commissioning computer, the commissioning computer including a commissioning software application (App), the App adapted to generate a plurality of commands adapted to
generate a first test signal to a first speaker enclosure through a first data path between the commissioning computer and the first speaker enclosure,
determine a first data path data throughput rate in the first path,
generate a second test signal to a second speaker enclosure through a second data path between the commissioning computer and the second speaker enclosure, and
determine a second data path throughput rate in the second path.

2. The commissioning system according to claim 1 , wherein the second data path comprises:
the first data path;
the first speaker enclosure; and
a path between the first speaker enclosure and the second speaker enclosure.

3. The commissioning system according to claim 1 , wherein each speaker enclosure comprises:
a respective relay in the data path that is adapted to be normally open so that data communications cannot pass through the speaker enclosure.

4. The commissioning system according to claim 3 , wherein
when a relay is closed in a speaker enclosure, data communications can be both used by the respective speaker enclosure, and one or more subsequent speaker enclosures.

5. The commissioning system according to claim 3 , wherein
the App is further adapted to generate a command that closes the first relay when determining the second data path throughput rate.

6. The commissioning system according to claim 5 , wherein
the App is further adapted to determine an nth data throughput rate for an nth data path,
by generating one or more commands that close n−1 relays in the first n−1 speaker enclosures.

7. The commissioning system according to claim 1 , wherein
the App is adapted to determine each of the first and second data path throughput rates by
transmitting a plurality of sets of known data at increasing transmission rates,
receiving back from the respective enclosure the data received at the enclosure, and
determining the respective data throughput rate based on a comparison between the transmitted and received data, wherein the data throughput rate is that transmission rate that corresponds to a first percentage of correctly received data at the enclosure.

8. The commissioning system according to claim 7 , wherein
the App is further adapted to generate additional sets of commands and known data to discover and measure data throughput rates for additional paths between the commissioning computer and any remaining subsequent speaker enclosures that make up the retrofit digital network speaker system.

9. The commissioning system according to claim 8 , wherein
the App is further adapted to generate a table that lists retrofitted speaker enclosures versus respective data throughput rates, and wherein
the App is still further adapted to apply a compression algorithm to the digitally encoded audio signals and digital command signals that increases the compression of the digitally encoded audio signals and digital command signals in direct proportion to the data throughput rate to the respective retrofitted speaker enclosures that the digitally encoded audio signals and digital command signals are being directed to.

10. The commissioning system according to claim 1 , wherein each of the one or more speaker enclosures further comprises:
at least one microphone (mic) adapted to receive and convert acoustic audible sounds to an electrical analog audio signal and output the same;
at least one coder-decoder circuit (CODEC) adapted to receive and convert the output electrical analog audio signal into a digitally encoded audio signal and output the same; and
at least one digital signal processor (DSP) adapted to receive and process the output digitally encoded audio signal.

11. The Commissioning system according to claim 10 , wherein
the DSP is further adapted to add a time date stamp to the digitally encoded audio signal.

12. The commissioning system according to claim 10 , wherein
the DSP is further adapted to receive digitally encoded audio signals generated by the App, and output the same to the CODEC, and further wherein
the CODEC is further adapted to receive and decode the digitally encoded audio signals from the DSP to produce output analog audio signals, to be broadcast by the one or more speakers in the speaker enclosure.

13. The commissioning system according to claim 10 , wherein
the APP, mic, CODEC, and DSP are adapted to do one or more of
(a) determine if an audio signal is being broadcast as intended,
(b) determine a quality of the broadcast audio signal (distortion, frequency response, sound pressure levels (SPL)),
(c) provide full duplex intercom,
(d) perform gunshot detection,
(e) perform acoustic echo cancellation, and
(f) compensate for ambient noise.

14. The commissioning system according to claim 1 , wherein,
the App is further adapted to generate and transmit a first command to the first retrofitted speaker enclosure requesting an identification number of the first retrofitted speaker enclosure, and wherein
the App is further adapted to receive a first response to the first command from the first retrofitted speaker enclosure, wherein the first response comprises at least a first identification number corresponding to the first retrofitted speaker enclosure.

15. The commissioning system according to claim 14 , wherein
the App is further adapted to generate and transmit a second command to the first retrofitted speaker enclosure closing a normally open relay in series with the two wire daisy chained analog audio cables,
the App is further adapted to generate a third command to the second retrofitted speaker enclosure requesting an identification number of the second retrofitted speaker enclosure, and wherein
the App is further adapted to receive a second response to the third command from the second retrofitted speaker enclosure, wherein the second response comprises at least a second identification number corresponding to the second retrofitted speaker enclosure.

16. A method for commissioning a retrofit digital network speaker system, the method comprising:
wiring two or more speaker enclosures together in a serial manner by a single two wire analog audio cable, each of the two or more speaker enclosure including one or more speakers, the first of the two or more speaker enclosures being wired to a commissioning computer that contains the App;
generating, by the App, a first test signal to a first speaker enclosure through a first data path between the commissioning computer and the first speaker enclosure;
determining, by the App, a first data path data throughput rate in the first path;
generating, by the App, a second test signal to a second speaker enclosure through a second data path between the commissioning computer and the second speaker enclosure; and
determining a second data path throughput rate in the second path.

17. The method according to claim 16 , wherein the second data path comprises:
the first data path;
the first speaker enclosure; and
a path between the first speaker enclosure and the second speaker enclosure.

18. The method according to claim 16 , wherein each speaker encl

Assignees

• Crestron Electronics Inc

Inventors

• Labosco Mark
• Marra Alexander

Classifications

• H04R29/007

  for public address systems (public address systems per se H04R27/00) · CPC title

• H04R2227/005

  Audio distribution systems for home, i.e. multi-room use · CPC title

• H04R2227/003

  Digital PA systems using, e.g. LAN or internet · CPC title

• H04R27/00 Primary

  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 title

• H04R3/12

  for distributing signals to two or more loudspeakers {(specially adapted for hearing aids H04R25/407)} · CPC title