Arraying speakers for a uniform driver field

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2017193977-A1
Application number	US-201715465968-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Mar 22, 2017
Priority date	Jun 25, 2015
Publication date	Jul 6, 2017
Grant date	—

Abstract

A method and system for a noise cancellation comprises an amplifier in communication with the three or more speakers disposed in an area. A system controller produces a driver signal for each of the speakers in response to a signal from at least one microphone detecting sound in the area and communicates the driver signals to the amplifier. The amplifier drives each speaker with the driver signal produced for that speaker. In response to the driver signals, the speakers emit sound that combined produces a substantially uniform sound pressure field for a particular zone within the area. The substantially uniform sound pressure field produced by the speakers has a magnitude and phase adapted to attenuate a noise field in the area corresponding to the sound detected by the at least one microphone.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A method of attenuating noise comprising:
producing a driver signal for each of three or more speakers disposed in an area in response to a signal produced in response to sound detected within the area by at least one microphone; and generating within a particular zone in the area, by combined sound emitted by the three or more speakers in response to the driver signals, a substantially uniform sound pressure field that attenuates a noise field corresponding to the sound detected by the at least one microphone.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the substantially uniform sound pressure field has a magnitude and phase that is adapted to attenuate the noise field corresponding to the sound detected by the at least one microphone.

3 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising arranging the three or more speakers along a common plane.

4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the three or more speakers include a left speaker, a center speaker, and a right speaker, the particular zone surrounds an expected location of a head of an occupant of the area, the left and right speakers are disposed an equal distance from the expected location of the head of the occupant, and the center speaker is closer to the expected location of the head of the occupant than the left and right speakers.

5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein producing a driver signal for each of three or more speakers in response to the signal from the at least one microphone comprises:
producing a command signal configured to attenuate noise in the particular zone in the area in response to the signal from the at least one microphone; and applying signal transformations, based on predetermined parameter values, to the command signal to produce the driver signals used to drive the three or more speakers in such manner that the combined sound emitted by the three or more speakers produce the substantially uniform sound pressure field for the particular zone.

6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein each driver signal is generated by applying a gain to the command signal.

7 . The method of claim 6 , wherein a sum of the gains for the set of driver signals is approximately equal to one.

8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein one of the driver signals includes a delay.

Assignees

• Bose Corp

Inventors

• Torres Wade P
• Easterbrook David
• Bender Paul T
• Warkentin David J
• Isabelle Steven H
• Struzik Ryan C

Classifications

• G10K2210/1282

  Automobiles · CPC title

• H04R1/028

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

• G10K2210/102

  Two dimensional · CPC title

• H04R2201/405

  Non-uniform arrays of transducers or a plurality of uniform arrays with different transducer spacing · CPC title

• H04S7/302

  Electronic adaptation of stereophonic sound system to listener position or orientation (H04S7/301 takes precedence) · CPC title