Audio system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12464283-B2
Application number	US-202318228950-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 1, 2023
Priority date	Aug 19, 2022
Publication date	Nov 4, 2025
Grant date	Nov 4, 2025

Abstract

In implementations of an audio system, when overheating of a speaker is detected, a controller controls first and second selectors to input an audio signal output by an audio source device to a cooling processing section and cause output of the cooling processing section to be output to the speaker. In the cooling processing section, a mixer mixes an audio signal obtained by removing a low-frequency component from the input audio signal by a high-pass filter with a cooling signal at an infrasonic frequency generated by a cooling signal generator and adjusted with a gain by a gain adjuster. An audio signal obtained by mixing the audio signal with the cooling signal is output from the cooling processing section via a nonlinear inverse filter. A gain setting section sets the gain such that power of the cooling signal matches power of the low-frequency component extracted by a low-pass filter.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1 . An audio system having a speaker and an audio source device configured to output a first audio signal, the audio system comprising:
an overheating detector configured to detect occurrence of an overheated state of the speaker; a cooling processing section configured to output a second audio signal; a switching section configured to switch an audio signal to be output to the speaker between the first audio signal and the second audio signal; and a controller configured to cause the switching section to switch the audio signal to be output to the speaker to the second audio signal when the overheating detector detects the occurrence of the overheated state of the speaker in a state in which the switching section outputs the first audio signal to the speaker; wherein at least in a state in which the switching section outputs the second audio signal to the speaker, the cooling processing section is configured to output, as the second audio signal, a signal obtained by mixing a signal obtained by removing a low-frequency component from the first audio signal output by the audio source device with a cooling signal at an infrasonic frequency lower than an audible frequency range; and wherein the cooling processing section includes a gain adjuster configured to adjust a gain for the cooling signal such that power of the cooling signal output from the gain adjuster matches power of the low-frequency component of the first audio signal output by the audio source device.

2 . The audio system according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a sensor attached to the speaker and configured to detect vibration of a vibration system of the speaker; and a signal corrector configured to correct the first audio signal; wherein the switching section is configured to switch the audio signal to be output to the speaker between the first audio signal corrected by the signal corrector and the second audio signal; and wherein the signal corrector is configured to correct the first audio signal output by the audio source device so as to cancel distortion of output of the speaker based on the vibration detected by the sensor.

3 . The audio system according to claim 2 , wherein:
the cooling processing section includes a gain adjuster configured to adjust a gain for the cooling signal such that power of the cooling signal output from the gain adjuster matches power of the low-frequency component of the first audio signal output by the audio source device.

4 . The audio system according to claim 2 , further comprising:
a temperature detector configured to detect a temperature of the speaker; wherein when the temperature detector detects a temperature higher than a first threshold value, the overheating detector is configured to detect the occurrence of the overheated state of the speaker; and wherein when the temperature detector detects a temperature equal to or lower than a second threshold value equal to or lower than the first threshold value in a state in which the switching section outputs the second audio signal to the speaker, the controller is configured to cause the switching section to switch the audio signal to be output to the speaker to the first audio signal.

5 . An audio system having a speaker and an audio source device configured to output a first audio signal, the audio system comprising:
an overheating detector configured to detect occurrence of an overheated state of the speaker; a cooling processing section configured to output a second audio signal; a switching section configured to switch an audio signal to be output to the speaker between the first audio signal and the second audio signal; and a controller configured to cause the switching section to switch the audio signal to be output to the speaker to the second audio signal when the overheating detector detects the occurrence of the overheated state of the speaker in a state in which the switching section outputs the first audio signal to the speaker; wherein at least in a state in which the switching section outputs the second audio signal to the speaker, the cooling processing section is configured to output, as the second audio signal, a signal obtained by mixing a signal obtained by removing a low-frequency component from the first audio signal output by the audio source device with a cooling signal at an infrasonic frequency lower than an audible frequency range; a temperature detector configured to detect a temperature of the speaker; wherein when the temperature detector detects a temperature higher than a first threshold value, the overheating detector is configured to detect the occurrence of the overheated state of the speaker; and wherein when the temperature detector detects a temperature equal to or lower than a second threshold value equal to or lower than the first threshold value in a state in which the switching section outputs the second audio signal to the speaker, the controller is configured to cause the switching section to switch the audio signal to be output to the speaker to the first audio signal.

6 . The audio system according to claim 5 , wherein:
the cooling processing section includes a gain adjuster configured to adjust a gain for the cooling signal such that power of the cooling signal output from the gain adjuster matches power of the low-frequency component of the first audio signal output by the audio source device.

7 . The audio system according to claim 5 , wherein:
the cooling processing section includes a nonlinear inverse filter configured to correct the second audio signal to be output by the cooling processing section so as to cancel nonlinear distortion of the speaker.

8 . The audio system according to claim 5 , wherein the cooling processing section includes:
a gain adjuster configured to adjust a gain for the cooling signal such that power of the cooling signal output from the gain adjuster matches power of the low-frequency component of the first audio signal output by the audio source device, and a nonlinear inverse filter configured to correct the second audio signal to be output by the cooling processing section so as to cancel nonlinear distortion of the speaker.

Assignees

• Alps Alpine Co Ltd

Inventors

• Saito Yuji
• Taguchi Hiroyuki
• Egami Katsuhiko
• Toita Hiroki

Classifications

• H04R2430/01

  Aspects of volume control, not necessarily automatic, in sound systems · CPC title

• H04R29/001

  for loudspeakers (H04R29/007 takes precedence) · CPC title

• H04R9/06 Primary

  Loudspeakers · CPC title

• H04R9/022

  Cooling arrangements · CPC title

• H04R3/08

  of electromagnetic transducers · CPC title