Granted Patent B2

US 12,538,068 · App. 18/003,539 · Granted Jan 27, 2026

Inventors: Koya Sato (Tokyo, JP); Kohei Asada (Tokyo, JP); Tetsunori Itabashi (Tokyo, JP)

Assignee: SONY GROUP CORPORATION

H04R1/1083G10K11/17857G10K11/17881G10K2210/1081H04R2460/01

Abstract

Claims (90)

1 . An acoustic output device, comprising:

a housing;

one or more outward microphones on the housing, wherein

the one or more outward microphones are toward an outer portion of the housing;

a plurality of drivers inside the housing, wherein

a first driver of the plurality of drivers is configured to generate a first sound based on a wearing state of the housing, and

the housing is associated with a listener;

one or more internal microphones inside the housing, wherein

a first internal microphone of the one or more internal microphones is configured to collect the first sound generated by the first driver; and

circuitry is configured to:

measure in-ear characteristic of the listener based on the first sound collected by the first internal microphone;

select a second driver of the plurality of drivers as a microphone, wherein

the second driver is configured to collect the first sound generated by the first driver, and

the second driver is at a different position from the first driver;

measure the in-ear characteristic of the listener based on the first sound collected by the second driver; and

generate, based on the first sound collected by the first internal microphone, a first acoustic control signal to control the first driver to reproduce an object sound source, wherein

the reproduction of the object sound source is based on meta information of the object sound source, and

the first driver is further configured to generate a first acoustic control sound based on the first acoustic control signal.

2 . The acoustic output device according to claim 1 , wherein

a third driver of the plurality of drivers is configured to emit a first sound wave in a first direction of an ear canal of the listener,

the listener is associated with the acoustic output device,

a fourth driver of the plurality of drivers is configured to emit a second sound wave in a second direction,

the second direction is different from the first direction, and

the second direction is in an oblique direction with respect to the ear canal.

3 . The acoustic output device according to claim 2 , wherein

a first outward microphone of the one or more outward microphones is configured to collect a second sound, and

the circuitry includes a first filter configured to generate the first acoustic control signal for the first driver based on the second sound collected by the first outward microphone.

4 . The acoustic output device according to claim 3 , wherein

a second outward microphone of the one or more outward microphones is configured to collect a third sound, and

the circuitry further includes a second filter configured to generate a second acoustic control signal for the second driver based on the third sound collected by the second outward microphone.

5 . The acoustic output device according to claim 4 , wherein

the first outward microphone is further configured to collect the second sound in a third direction,

the second outward microphone is further configured to collect the third sound in a fourth direction, and

the fourth direction is different from the third direction.

6 . The acoustic output device according to claim 5 , wherein

the first driver is further configured to generate the first acoustic control sound based on the first acoustic control signal and the second sound collected by the first outward microphone, and

the second driver is further configured to generate a second acoustic control sound based on the second acoustic control signal and the third sound collected by the second outward microphone.

7 . The acoustic output device according to claim 3 , wherein

a second internal microphone of the one or more internal microphones is configured to collect a third sound, and

the circuitry further includes a second filter configured to generate a second acoustic control signal for the second driver based on the third sound collected by the second internal microphone.

8 . The acoustic output device according to claim 7 , wherein

a third internal microphone of the one or more internal microphones is configured to collect a fourth sound, and

the circuitry further includes a third filter configured to generate a third acoustic control signal for the third driver based on the fourth sound collected by the third internal microphone.

9 . The acoustic output device according to claim 8 , wherein

the second internal microphone is further configured to collect the third sound in a fifth direction inside the housing,

the third internal microphone is further configured to collect the fourth sound in a sixth direction inside the housing, and

the sixth direction is different from the fifth direction.

10 . The acoustic output device according to claim 9 , wherein

the first driver is further configured to generate the first acoustic control sound based on the first acoustic control signal and the first sound collected by the first internal microphone, and

the second driver is further configured to generate a second acoustic control sound based on the second acoustic control signal and the third sound collected by the second internal microphone.

11 . The acoustic output device according to claim 10 , wherein

each of the one or more outward microphones is wearable on each of a left side of the listener and a right side of the listener,

the each of the one or more outward microphones is further configured to collect a specific sound,

the circuitry is further configured to set localization of an enhancement sound based on the specific sound collected by the each of the one or more outward microphones, and

each of the plurality of drivers is further configured to generate an output signal of the enhancement sound based on the localization.

12 . The acoustic output device according to claim 3 , wherein the circuitry is further configured to:

control communication with a terminal device; and

execute a function based on the communication with the terminal device and an instruction from the terminal device.

13 . The acoustic output device according to claim 1 , wherein the circuitry is further configured to determine, based on the measured in-ear characteristic of the listener, a condition that indicates the wearing state of the housing.

14 . The acoustic output device according to claim 1 , wherein the first acoustic control sound includes a noise canceling sound to cancel a sound leaked from an outside of the housing into the housing.

15 . The acoustic output device according to claim 1 , wherein the first acoustic control sound includes an enhancement sound to enhance a sound generated in a specific direction of outside of the housing.

16 . A method, comprising:

in an acoustic output device that includes a housing, one or more outward microphones on the housing, one or more internal microphones inside the housing, a plurality of drivers inside the housing, and circuitry:

generating, by a first driver of the plurality of drivers, a first sound based on a wearing state of the housing, wherein

the housing is associated with a listener, and

the one or more outward microphones are toward an outer portion of the housing;

collecting, by a first internal microphone of the one or more internal microphones, the first sound generated by the first driver;

measuring, by the circuitry, in-ear characteristic of the listener based on the first sound collected by the first internal microphone;

selecting, by the circuitry, a second driver of the plurality of drivers as a microphone;

collecting, by the second driver, the first sound generated by the first driver, wherein

the second driver is at a different position from the first driver;

measuring, by the circuitry, the in-ear characteristic of the listener based on the first sound collected by the second driver;

generating, by the circuitry, based on the first sound collected by the first internal microphone, a first acoustic control signal to control the first driver to reproduce an object sound source, wherein

the reproduction of the object sound source is based on meta information of the object sound source; and

generating, by the first driver, a first acoustic control sound based on the first acoustic control signal.

17 . An acoustic output device, comprising:

a housing;

one or more outward microphones on the housing, wherein

the one or more outward microphones are toward an outer portion of the housing;

a plurality of drivers inside the housing, wherein

a first driver of the plurality of drivers is configured to generate a first sound based on a wearing state of the housing,

the housing is associated with a listener,

the plurality of drivers includes a second driver, and

the second driver is at a different position than the first driver;

one or more internal microphones inside the housing, wherein

a first internal microphone of the one or more internal microphones is configured to collect the first sound generated by the first driver; and

circuitry is configured to:

measure in-ear characteristic of the listener based on the first sound collected by the first internal microphone; and

generate, based on the first sound collected by the first internal microphone, a first acoustic control signal, wherein

the first driver is further configured to generate a first acoustic control sound based on the first acoustic control signal.

Assignments (1)

Priority Claims (1)

Continuity (1)

References Cited (20)