IP Library Granted Patent US 12,513,456
Granted Patent B2
US 12,513,456 · App. 18/277,942 · Granted Dec 30, 2025

Sound system

Inventors: Masahiro Fukui (Tokyo, JP); Kazunori Kobayashi (Tokyo, JP); Noriyoshi Kamado (Tokyo, JP); Ryotaro Sato (Tokyo, JP)
Assignee: NTT, Inc.
H04R1/323
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,513,456
App. No.
18/277,942
Granted
Dec 30, 2025
Kind
B2
Abstract

There is provided an acoustic system for a user who uses a seat of an airplane, an automobile, or the like, which reproduces a sound that cannot be heard by surrounding users without using earphones or headphones. An acoustic system including a speaker system including one speaker unit that emits a sound based on an acoustic signal of a predetermined sound source, in which a sound emitted from the speaker unit is hearable in a region to be audible near the speaker unit, and by a sound emitted from the speaker unit in a back surface direction coming around to a front surface direction, the sound emitted from the speaker unit in the front surface direction and the sound emitted from the speaker unit in the back surface direction cancel each other in a region in the front surface direction far from the speaker unit.

Claims (12)

1 . An acoustic system comprising:

a speaker system including a speaker unit that emits a sound based on an acoustic signal of a predetermined sound source, wherein

a sound emitted from the speaker unit is hearable in a region to be audible near the speaker unit,

a member that holds the speaker unit without being housed in a speaker box is attached to the speaker unit, and

by a sound emitted from the speaker unit in a back surface direction coming around to a front surface direction, the sound emitted from the speaker unit in the front surface direction and the sound emitted from the speaker unit in the back surface direction cancel each other in a region in the front surface direction far from the speaker unit, wherein

the acoustic system further comprising microphones for collecting a voice of a user, the microphones being installed in a region other than the region to be audible,

the speaker unit forms a predetermined angle obliquely with respect to a ground plane of the acoustic system, and

the microphones are arranged on a plane parallel to the ground plane of the acoustic system and location of the microphones are below location of the speaker unit.

2 . The acoustic system according to claim 1 , wherein

a baffle plate is attached to the speaker unit,

the baffle plate is a member that elongates a path along which a sound emitted from the speaker unit in the back surface direction comes around to the front surface direction of the speaker unit, and

the region to be audible increases as a size of the baffle plate increases.

Assignments (2)
CHANGE OF NAME Recorded Jan 1, 2026
From: NIPPON TELEGRAPH AND TELEPHONE CORPORATION
To: NTT, INC.
Reel/Frame 074164/0623 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Aug 18, 2023
From: FUKUI, MASAHIRO; KOBAYASHI, KAZUNORI; KAMADO, NORIYOSHI; SATO, RYOTARO
To: NIPPON TELEGRAPH AND TELEPHONE CORPORATION
Reel/Frame 064638/0814 →
Continuity (1)
Related Publication 20240129663A1 · Apr 18, 2024
References Cited (5)
US 20100041443A1 · Yokota · 2010 [cited by applicant]
JP S6195189U · 1986 [cited by applicant]
JP 2010045574A · 2010 [cited by applicant]
In-flight entertainment/Japan Airline first class, [online], [Searched on Feb. 1, 2021], Internet <URL: https://www.jal.co.jp/jp/ja/inter/service/first/entertainment/index.html> with its English version. [cited by applicant]
Articles presented on “Ntt R&D Forum 2020 Connect”; A-15, Nov. 16, 2020, Internet <URL: https://www.rd.ntt/forum/> 1. Explanatory panel: Media Processing Device Technology in the Remote World Era; Deliver only the sound… [cited by applicant]