Loudspeaker device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12156004-B2
Application number	US-202117924890-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 28, 2021
Priority date	Dec 8, 2020
Publication date	Nov 26, 2024
Grant date	Nov 26, 2024

Abstract

A loudspeaker device includes: a first loudspeaker that outputs a sound; a second loudspeaker that is adjacent to the first loudspeaker in a predetermined direction and outputs a sound in a direction intersecting with a direction in which the first loudspeaker outputs the sound; and a phase switching circuit that switches between a first switching state and a second switching state, the first switching state being a state in which an input sound signal is inputted to both the first loudspeaker and the second loudspeaker, the second switching state being a state in which the input sound signal is inputted to one of the first loudspeaker and the second loudspeaker while an inverted sound signal obtained by inverting a phase of the input sound signal is inputted to the other of the first loudspeaker and the second loudspeaker.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A loudspeaker device comprising:
a first loudspeaker that outputs a sound;
a second loudspeaker that is adjacent to the first loudspeaker in a predetermined direction and outputs a sound in a direction intersecting with a direction in which the first loudspeaker outputs the sound; and
a phase control circuit that switches between a first switching state and a second switching state, the first switching state being a state in which an input sound signal is inputted to both the first loudspeaker and the second loudspeaker, the second switching state being a state in which the input sound signal is inputted to one of the first loudspeaker and the second loudspeaker while an inverted sound signal is inputted to an other of the first loudspeaker and the second loudspeaker, the inverted sound signal being obtained by inverting a phase of the input sound signal.

2. The loudspeaker device according to claim 1 ,
wherein the direction in which the first loudspeaker outputs the sound forms an angle from 60° to 120° with the direction in which the second loudspeaker outputs the sound.

3. The loudspeaker device according to claim 1 ,
wherein the first loudspeaker and the second loudspeaker are placed so that one of the first loudspeaker and the second loudspeaker is located in the direction in which an other outputs the sound.

4. The loudspeaker device according to claim 1 the loudspeaker device further comprising:
a third loudspeaker adjacent to the first loudspeaker and the second loudspeaker in a lateral direction intersecting with the predetermined direction, the third loudspeaker outputting a sound based on a sound signal different from the input sound signal and the inverted sound signal.

5. The loudspeaker device according to claim 1 ,
wherein an angle that the direction in which the first loudspeaker outputs the sound forms with the direction in which the second loudspeaker outputs the sound is variable.

6. The loudspeaker device according to claim 5 , the loudspeaker device further comprising:
a controller that adjusts, in response to the angle, a gain of one of the input sound signal and the inverted sound signal to be inputted to the first loudspeaker and the second loudspeaker.

7. The loudspeaker device according to claim 1 ,
wherein the loudspeaker device includes a plurality of pairs of the first loudspeaker and the second loudspeaker, and
the plurality of pairs of the first loudspeaker and the second loudspeaker form a line array configuration in a lateral direction intersecting with the predetermined direction.

8. The loudspeaker device according to claim 1 , the loudspeaker device further comprising:
an input terminal that receives the input sound signal,
wherein the phase control circuit determines whether to output the input sound signal received from the input terminal or the inverted sound signal obtained by inverting the phase of the input sound signal,
in the first switching state, the input sound signal outputted from the phase control circuit is inputted to the first loudspeaker and the input sound signal from the input terminal is inputted to the second loudspeaker, and
in the second switching state, the inverted sound signal outputted from the phase control circuit is inputted to the first loudspeaker and the input sound signal from the input terminal is inputted to the second loudspeaker.

Assignees

• Panasonic Ip Man Co Ltd

Inventors

• Washio Nobuhiko
• Kawamura Akihisa
• Sakaguchi Atsushi
• Kakuhari Isao

Classifications

• H04R2430/20

  Processing of the output signals of the acoustic transducers of an array for obtaining a desired directivity characteristic (H04R2203/12 takes precedence) · CPC title

• H04R1/403

  loud-speakers · CPC title

• G10K11/17857

  Geometric disposition, e.g. placement of microphones · CPC title

• G10K2210/3212

  Actuator details, e.g. composition or microstructure · CPC title

• G10K2210/108

  Communication systems, e.g. where useful sound is kept and noise is cancelled · CPC title