IP Library Granted Patent US 10,748,521
Granted Patent B1
US 10,748,521 · App. 16/445,952 · Granted Aug 18, 2020

Real-time detection of conditions in acoustic devices

Inventors: James P. Mulvey (Reading, MA); David J. Warkentin (Boston, MA); Emery M. Ku (Somerville, MA)
Assignee: Bose Corporation
G10K11/17853G10K11/17823G10K2210/1081G10K2210/3011G10K2210/3026G10K2210/3028
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 10,748,521
App. No.
16/445,952
Granted
Aug 18, 2020
Kind
B1
Abstract

This document describes a method that includes receiving a driver signal for an acoustic transducer of an acoustic device. The method also includes receiving a signal from a microphone of the acoustic device, and, processing the driver signal through a filter to provide a reference signal. The filter has a transfer function associated with a condition of the acoustic device. The method also includes comparing the signal to the reference signal to determine whether the signal has a threshold similarity to the reference signal, and, indicating the condition of the acoustic device in respond to the determined threshold similarity.

Claims (40)

1. A method, comprising:

receiving a driver signal for an acoustic transducer of an acoustic device;

receiving a signal from a microphone of the acoustic device;

processing the driver signal through a first filter to provide a first reference signal and at least a second filter to provide a second reference signal, each filter having a transfer function associated with a different condition of the acoustic device;

comparing the signal to each of the first and second reference signals to determine whether the signal has a threshold similarity to the respective reference signal; and

indicating one or more conditions of the acoustic device in response to the determined threshold similarity between the signal and each of the first and second reference signals.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more conditions include removal of the acoustic device from a user.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more conditions include blockage of an acoustic output of the acoustic device.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more conditions include acoustic leakage in an acoustic channel between the acoustic device and a user.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more conditions include damage to the acoustic device.

6. The method of claim 1 , comprising:

setting the acoustic device in a low power mode in response to the indication of the one or more conditions.

7. The method of claim 1 , comprising:

adjusting one or more parameters of the driver signal in response to the indication of the one or more conditions.

8. The method of claim 1 , comprising:

transmitting a notification to a user device associated with the acoustic device in response to the indication of the one or more conditions.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the notification is configured to cause the user device to display the indication of the one or more conditions.

10. The method of claim 8 , wherein the notification is configured to cause the user device to pause audio playback to the acoustic device.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the signal is a feedback signal and the microphone is a feedback microphone.

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein comparing the signal to each of the first and second reference signals to determine whether the signal has a threshold similarity to the respective reference signal comprises determining a similarity over a predetermined number of samples.

13. The method of claim 1 , wherein the driver signal comprises an anti-noise signal.

14. An acoustic device comprising:

a microphone for capturing audio; and

a controller comprising one or more processing devices, wherein the controller is configured to:

receive a driver signal for an acoustic transducer of the acoustic device,

receive a signal from the microphone of the acoustic device,

process the driver signal through a first filter to provide a first reference signal and at least a second filter to provide a second reference signal, each filter having a transfer function associated with a different condition of the acoustic device,

compare the signal to each of the first and second reference signals to determine whether the signal has a threshold similarity to the respective reference signal, and

indicate one or more conditions of the acoustic device in response to the determined threshold similarity between the signal and each of the first and second reference signals.

15. The acoustic device of claim 14 , wherein the one or more conditions include removal of the acoustic device from a user.

16. The acoustic device of claim 14 , wherein the one or more conditions include blockage of an acoustic output of the acoustic device.

17. The acoustic device of claim 14 , the one or more conditions include acoustic leakage in an acoustic channel between the acoustic device and a user.

18. The acoustic device of claim 14 , wherein the one or more conditions include damage to the acoustic device.

19. One or more non-transitory machine-readable storage devices storing machine-readable instructions that cause one or more processing devices to execute operations comprising:

receiving a driver signal for an acoustic transducer of an acoustic device;

receiving a signal from a microphone of the acoustic device;

processing the driver signal through a first filter to provide a first reference signal and at least a second filter to provide a second reference signal, each filter having a transfer function associated with a different condition of the acoustic device;

comparing the signal to each of the first and second reference signals to determine whether the signal has a threshold similarity to the respective reference signal; and

indicating one or more conditions of the acoustic device in response to the determined threshold similarity between the signal and each of the first and second reference signals.

20. The one or more non-transitory machine-readable storage devices of claim 19 , wherein the one or more conditions include at least one of removal of the acoustic device from a user, blockage of an acoustic output of the acoustic device, acoustic leakage in an acoustic channel between the acoustic device and a user, or damage to the acoustic device.

Assignments (2)
SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Feb 28, 2025
From: BOSE CORPORATION
To: BANK OF AMERICA, N.A., AS ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT
Reel/Frame 070438/0001 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Dec 10, 2019
From: MULVEY, JAMES P.; WARKENTIN, DAVID J.; KU, EMERY M.
To: BOSE CORPORATION
Reel/Frame 051233/0967 →
Cited By (2)
US 12,302,059 US 12,452,577