Systems and methods for active noise cancellation

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12499863-B2
Application number	US-202017439389-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 30, 2020
Priority date	Oct 31, 2019
Publication date	Dec 16, 2025
Grant date	Dec 16, 2025

Abstract

A method for canceling noises generated by a respiratory system that is configured to supply pressurized air to a user during a sleep session comprises generating sound data using a microphone; generating, using or one or more sensors, respiration data associated with respiration of the user of the respiratory system; analyzing the sound data to determine if noise associated with operation of the respiratory system is occurring; and causing a speaker to emit sound waves based at least in part on (i) the sound data, (ii) the respiration data, (iii) data related to the operation of the respiratory system, or (iv) any combination of (i), (ii), and (iii), the emitted sound waves being configured to acoustically cancel at least a portion of the noise associated with operation of the respiratory system.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A method for canceling noises generated by a respiratory system that is configured to supply pressurized air to a user during a sleep session, the method comprising:
generating sound data using a microphone; generating, using one or more sensors, respiration data associated with respiration of the user of the respiratory system; analyzing the sound data to determine if noise associated with operation of the respiratory system is occurring; causing a speaker to emit sound waves based at least in part on (i) the sound data, (ii) the respiration data, (iii) data related to the operation of the respiratory system, or (iv) any combination of (i), (ii), and (iii), the emitted sound waves being configured to acoustically cancel at least a portion of the noise associated with operation of the respiratory system; and determining a current stage of the sleep session of the user based at least in part on (i) the sound data, (ii) the respiration data, or (iii) both, wherein the speaker is caused to emit the sound waves configured to acoustically cancel at least the portion of the noise associated with operation of the respiratory system when the user is in a first stage of the sleep session, and to acoustically cancel less of the noise associated with operation of the respiratory system when the user is in a second stage of the sleep session, wherein the first stage is a REM sleep stage and the second stage is a non-REM sleep stage, and wherein the user is asleep during both the REM sleep stage and the non-REM sleep stage.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the second stage is a light sleep stage.

3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the noise associated with the operation of the respiratory system is caused by (i) the supply of the pressurized air during the sleep session, (ii) the respiratory system generating the pressurized air during the sleep session, (iii) air leaking from a user interface during the sleep session, (iv) the user breathing during the sleep session, or (v) any combination of (i)-(iv).

4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the sound waves emitted by the speaker are configured to destructively interfere with the noise associated with the operation of the respiratory system.

5 . The method of claim 4 , wherein the sound waves emitted by the speaker are 180 degrees out of phase with the noise associated with the operation of the respiratory system.

6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the noise associated with the operation of the respiratory system includes one or more respiratory system-associated sound waves and the sound waves emitted by the speaker include one or more speaker-associated sound waves, each of the one or more speaker-associated sound waves corresponding to at least one of the one or more respiratory system-associated sound waves.

7 . The method of claim 6 , wherein each of the one or more speaker-associated sound waves and the corresponding respiratory system-associated sound wave of each of the one or more speaker-associated sound waves have substantially identical frequencies and amplitudes, and are 180 degrees out of phase with each other.

8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein at least a portion of the speaker is in fluid communication with at least a portion of the respiratory system.

9 . The method of any claim 8 , wherein the respiratory system includes a motor configured to supply the pressurized air, and wherein the speaker is coupled to a speaker enclosure such that the speaker is in fluid communication with at least one chamber of the motor.

10 . The method of claim 9 , wherein the respiratory system includes an enclosed air path between the speaker and the at least one chamber of the motor.

11 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the respiratory system includes a respiratory device, and wherein the microphone is positioned outside of the respiratory device and the speaker is positioned inside of the respiratory device.

12 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the respiratory system includes a respiratory device, and wherein the microphone is positioned in an air inlet of the respiratory device and the speaker is in fluid communication with an inner chamber of a blower motor of the respiratory system.

13 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
receiving feedback sound data; and modifying, based at least in part on the received feedback sound data, the one or more sound waves emitted by the speaker.

14 . The method of claim 13 , further comprising:
analyzing the feedback sound data to determine whether an amount of the noise associated with operation of the respiratory system that has been acoustically cancelled is less than a desired threshold amount; and modifying the one or more sound waves emitted by the speaker.

15 . The method of claim 14 , wherein the modifying includes increasing an amplitude of at least one of the one or more sound waves emitted by the speaker.

16 . The method of claim 13 , further comprising:
analyzing the feedback sound data to determine whether the noise associated with operation of the respiratory system includes at least one sound wave having a frequency not matched by a frequency of any of the one or more sound waves being emitted by the speaker; and modifying the one or more sound waves emitted by the speaker.

17 . The method of claim 16 , wherein the modifying includes modifying a frequency of at least one of the one or more sound waves emitted by the speaker.

18 . The method of claim 13 , further comprising:
analyzing the feedback sound data to determine whether the noise associated with operation of the respiratory system is being amplified by the one or more sound waves emitted by the speaker; and modifying the one or more sound waves emitted by the speaker.

19 . The method of claim 18 , wherein the modifying includes incrementally shifting a phase of at least one of the one or more sound waves being emitted by the speaker.

20 . The method of claim 13 , further comprising:
continually receiving the feedback sound data; incrementally modifying the one or more sound waves being emitted by the speaker; receiving additional feedback sound data; and further modifying the one or more sound waves being emitted by the speaker.

21 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the modification includes (i) a phase of at least one of the one or more sound waves emitted by the speaker, (ii) a frequency of at least one of the one or more sound waves emitted by the speaker, (iii) an amplitude of at least one of the one or more sound waves emitted by the speaker, or (iv) any combination of (i), (ii), and (iii).

22 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the feedback sound data is generated by a feedback microphone.

23 . The method of claim 22 , wherein the feedback microphone is positioned closer to the user than to the speaker.

24 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising causing the speaker to emit one or more sounds waves configured to form a masking sound, the masking sound aiding in preventing the noise associated with the operation of the respiratory system from waking up the user.

25 . The method of claim 24 , wherein the masking sound includes white noise, pink noise, brown noise, soothing sounds, or any combination thereof.

26 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
analyzing the sound data to identify a first noise associated with operation of the res

Assignees

• ResMed Pty Ltd
• Resmed Sensor Tech Ltd

Inventors

• Atkinson Timothy
• Shouldice Redmond
• Kapadia Jeegarkumar Subhashchandra

Classifications

• A61M2230/65

  Impedance, e.g. conductivity, capacity · CPC title

• A61M2230/63

  Motion, e.g. physical activity · CPC title

• A61M2230/60

  Muscle strain, i.e. measured on the user · CPC title

• A61M2230/50

  Temperature · CPC title

• A61M2230/432

  partial CO2 pressure (P-CO2) · CPC title