Integrated audiovisual system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11856346-B2
Application number	US-202217734995-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 2, 2022
Priority date	Jun 11, 2019
Publication date	Dec 26, 2023
Grant date	Dec 26, 2023

Abstract

An integrated audio-visual system is disclosed for delivering an event to one or more spectators. The integrated audio-visual system includes one or more loudspeakers that are positioned behind one or more visual displays to be effectively behind the one or more visual displays to be shielded from the field of view of the one or more spectators. The one or more visual displays are specially designed and manufactured to allow sound associated with the event to propagate from the one or more loudspeakers with minimal acoustical distortion and/or minimum acoustical vibration while presenting a visual representation of the event to the one or more spectators. Moreover, the one or more loudspeakers and the one or more visual displays are situated to be a predetermined displacement from each other to further minimize acoustical distortion.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A venue for hosting an event, the venue comprising:
a plurality of seats configured to accommodate an audience that is to experience the event; and
an integrated audio-visual system configured to deliver sound and a visual representation of the event to the audience, the integrated audio-visual system comprising:
a loudspeaker configured to generate the sound; and
a visual display configured to deliver the visual representation, the visual display comprising a plurality of openings configured to allow the sound to propagate through the visual display,
wherein the loudspeaker and the visual display are situated to be a displacement distance from each other within the venue to allow a wavefront of the sound to form between the loudspeaker and the visual display before the sound is to propagate through the visual display.

2. The venue of claim 1 , wherein the venue comprises a music theater or a sporting venue, and
wherein the event comprises a musical event, a theatrical event, a sporting event, or a motion picture.

3. The venue of claim 1 , wherein the loudspeaker comprises one or more super tweeters, one or more tweeters, one or more mid-range speakers, one or more woofers, one or more subwoofers, or one or more full-range speakers.

4. The venue of claim 1 , wherein the visual display comprises one or more light-emitting diode (LED) displays, one or more organic light-emitting diode (OLED) displays, or one or more quantum dots (QDs) displays.

5. The venue of claim 1 , wherein the visual display comprises a plurality of visual display panels that functionally cooperate to deliver the visual representation of the event, and
wherein the venue further comprises a mechanical housing configured to secure the plurality of visual display panels to one another to form the visual display.

6. The venue of claim 5 , wherein the mechanical housing comprises a plurality of mechanical cross members configured to secure the plurality of visual display panels as a series of rows and a series of columns of visual display panels on the mechanical housing.

7. The venue of claim 1 , wherein the sound comprises a plurality of planar wavefronts, and
wherein the loudspeaker and the visual display are situated to be the displacement distance from each other within the venue to allow a first wavefront from among the plurality of planar wavefronts to form between the loudspeaker and the visual display before the sound is to propagate through the visual display.

8. The venue of claim 7 , wherein the plurality of planar wavefronts comprises a plurality of parallel planes of constant phase of the sound that are normal to a phase velocity vector extending from the loudspeaker.

9. The venue of claim 1 , wherein the displacement distance is 50 centimeters (cm).

10. The venue of claim 1 , wherein the sound comprises a plurality of sound waves having a plurality of phases; and
wherein the wavefront of the sound is to form when the plurality of phases are in phase with respect to one another.

11. An integrated audio-visual system, comprising:
a loudspeaker configured to generate sound associated with an event; and
a visual display configured to deliver a visual representation of the event, the visual display comprising a plurality of openings configured to allow the sound to propagate through the visual display,
wherein the loudspeaker and the visual display are situated to be a displacement distance from each other within a venue to allow a wavefront of the sound to form between the loudspeaker and the visual display before the sound is to propagate through the visual display.

12. The integrated audio-visual system of claim 11 , wherein the loudspeaker comprises one or more super tweeters, one or more tweeters, one or more mid-range speakers, one or more woofers, one or more subwoofers, or one or more full-range speakers.

13. The integrated audio-visual system of claim 11 , wherein the visual display comprises one or more light-emitting diode (LED) displays, one or more organic light-emitting diode (OLED) displays, or one or more quantum dots (QDs) displays.

14. The integrated audio-visual system of claim 11 , wherein the visual display comprises a plurality of visual display panels that functionally cooperate to deliver the visual representation, and
wherein the integrated audio-visual system further comprises a mechanical housing configured to secure the plurality of visual display panels to one another to form the visual display.

15. The integrated audio-visual system of claim 14 , wherein the mechanical housing comprises a plurality of mechanical cross members configured to secure the plurality of visual display panels as a series of rows and a series of columns of visual display panels on the mechanical housing.

16. The integrated audio-visual system of claim 11 , wherein the sound comprises a plurality of planar wavefronts, and
wherein the loudspeaker and the visual display are situated to be the displacement distance from each other within the venue to allow a first wavefront from among the plurality of planar wavefronts to form between the loudspeaker and the visual display before the sound is to propagate through the visual display.

17. The integrated audio-visual system of claim 16 , wherein the plurality of planar wavefronts comprises a plurality of parallel planes of constant phase of the sound that are normal to a phase velocity vector extending from the loudspeaker.

18. The integrated audio-visual system of claim 11 , wherein the displacement distance is 50 centimeters (cm).

19. The integrated audio-visual system of claim 11 , wherein the sound comprises a plurality of sound waves having a plurality of phases; and
wherein the wavefront of the sound is to form when the plurality of phases are in phase with respect to one another.

20. A method for delivering sound associated with an event to an audience within a venue, the method comprising:
generating, by a loudspeaker, the sound;
forming a wavefront of the sound before the sound is to propagate through a visual display; and
propagating the sound through the visual display to the audience within the venue,
wherein the loudspeaker and the visual display are situated to be a displacement distance from each other within the venue to allow the wavefront of the sound to form between the loudspeaker and the visual display before the sound is to propagate through the visual display.

21. The method of claim 20 , wherein the propagating comprises propagating the sound through a plurality of openings of the visual display.

22. The method of claim 20 , further comprising delivering, by the visual display, a visual representation of the event to the audience within the venue.

23. The method of claim 20 , wherein the forming comprises forming the wavefront of the sound within a displacement distance of 50 centimeters (cm) between the loudspeaker and the visual display.

24. The method of claim 20 , wherein the sound comprises a plurality of sound waves having a plurality of phases; and
wherein the forming comprises forming the wavefront of the sound when the plurality of phases are in phase with respect to one another.

Assignees

• Msg Entertainment Group Llc
• Holoplot Gmbh

Inventors

• Hockman Erik
• Luthwaite Alex
• Yacoub Hanna Emad

Classifications

• H04R5/02 Primary

  Spatial or constructional arrangements of loudspeakers · CPC title

• H04R1/028 Primary

  associated with devices performing functions other than acoustics, e.g. electric candles · CPC title

• G06F3/147

  using display panels · CPC title

• H04R1/403

  loud-speakers · CPC title

• H04R3/12

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