Bose Corporation

Dale McElhone

Christopher R Paetsch

Daniel M Gauger, Jr

John Allen Rule

Michael Patrick O'Connell

Binu K Oommen

Katie Janine Moenkhaus

Ryan C Struzik

Ankita D Jain

Ryan terMeulen

Mihir D Shetye

Tegan M Ayers

Jeffrey M Ellenbogen

Jonathan Zonenshine

Adam C Furman

Lifun Lin

Jahn Dmitri Eichfeld

Andrew Todd Sabin

Richard E Saffran

Joseph H Cattell

Daniel Ross Tengelsen

John Harlan Wendell

Jack E Read

Mikhail Ioffe

Romain Kirszenblat

David Rolland Crist

Cory Roberts

Mehul Amrit Trivedi

Andrew Jackson Stockton, X

Andrew Farrell

Robert Heinz Haslinger

Harsh A Mankodi

Kyle A Vecchiarino

Andrew Poynot

Mikaela Alison Shannon

Victoria A Grace

Colin Roddy

Michelle Daniels

Grace Carroll

Patrick William Buzza

Jr Daniel M Gauger

Aspects of the present disclosure provide methods and apparatuses for estimating a biometric parameter using multiple sensors. As described herein, multiple sensors are strategically used to output with increased confidence a biometric parameter. Multiple sensors are strategically used to save power while determining an accurate biometric estimation. Additionally, multiple sensors are used to detect and categorize a sleep apnea event.

Biometric detection using multiple sensors

The technology described in this document can be embodied in a method that includes receiving an input signal representing audio captured by a microphone of an active noise reduction (ANR) headphone, processing, by one or more processing devices, a portion of the input signal to determine a noise level in the input signal, and determining that the noise level satisfies a threshold condition. The method also includes, in response to determining that the noise level satisfies the threshold condition, generating an output signal in which ANR processing on the input signal is controlled in accordance with a target loudness level of the output signal, and driving an acoustic transducer of the ANR headphone using the output signal.

Compressive hear-through in personal acoustic devices

A headset that can detect the voice activity of a user includes an inner microphone generating an inner microphone signal; an outer microphone generating an outer microphone signal, wherein the inner microphone and outer microphone are positioned such that, when the headset is worn by a user, the inner microphone is disposed nearer to the user's head; and a voice-activity detector determining a sign of a phase difference between the inner microphone signal and the outer microphone signal and generating a voice activity detection signal representing a user's voice activity when the sign of the phase difference indicates that the outer microphone received an audio signal after the inner microphone received the audio signal.

Voice activity detection

An acoustic device includes at least one acoustic transducer disposed such that, in a head-worn state, the at least one acoustic transducer is in an open-ear configuration in which an ear canal of a user of the acoustic device is unobstructed. The acoustic device also includes an array of two or more first microphones that captures audio preferentially from a first direction as compared to at least a second direction different from the first direction, wherein the audio captured using the array is processed and played back through the at least one acoustic transducer, and an active noise reduction (ANR) engine that includes one or more processing devices. The ANR engine is configured to generate a driver signal for the at least one acoustic transducer, the driver signal having phases that reduce effects of audio captured from at least the second direction.

Active noise reduction in open ear directional acoustic devices

Aspects of the present disclosure provide methods, apparatuses, and systems for closed-loop sleep protection and/or sleep regulation. According to an aspect, a biosignal parameter and ambient noise are measured. The biosignal parameter is used to determine sleep condition of a subject. The sleep condition is determined based on one or more of personalized sleep data or historical sleep data collected using a subset of society. Based on the sleep condition, an arousal threshold is determined. Based on the ambient noise and the determined sleep condition, one or more actions are taken to regulate sleep and avoid sleep disruption.

Biometric feedback as an adaptation trigger for active noise reduction, masking, and breathing entrainment

Various aspects include active noise reduction (ANR) devices and approaches, one approach including: receiving an input signal representing audio captured by a feedforward microphone of an ANR headphone; receiving an error signal representing audio captured by an error measurement sensor; generating an anti-noise signal configured to reduce a noise signal over a frequency range; and applying a gain to at least one of the input signal or the anti-noise signal over the frequency range based on the error signal, where the gain is calculated by: filtering the anti-noise signal over the frequency range to generate a filtered feedforward signal, and filtering the error signal over the frequency range to generate a filtered error signal; estimating a feedforward path contribution to the error signal; and determining the gain based on a correlation between the filtered error signal and the filtered feedforward signal with the assigned feedforward path contribution to the error signal.

Gain-adaptive active noise reduction (ANR) device

Various implementations include systems for processing audio signals. In particular implementations, a system includes at least one microphone configured to capture acoustic signals; a wearable hearing assist device configured to amplify captured acoustic signals from the at least one microphone and output amplified audio signals to a transducer; a voice activity detector (VAD) configured to detect voice signals of a user from the captured acoustic signals; and a voice suppression system configured to suppress the voice signals of the user from the amplified audio signals being output to the transducer.

Hearing assist device employing dynamic processing of voice signals

A wearable audio system with a first active portion that in its normal use position is carried on a user's body on a first side of the mid-sagittal plane and a second active portion that in its normal use position is carried on the user's body on a second side of the mid-sagittal plane. Sound is transmitted from one active portion and received at the other active portion. The received sound is used to estimate whether the active positions are in their use positions.

Wearable audio system use position detection

Aspects of the present disclosure provide methods, apparatuses, and systems for closed-loop sleep protection and/or sleep regulation. According to an aspect, a biosignal parameter and ambient noise are measured. The biosignal parameter is used to determined sleep condition of a subject. The sleep condition is determined based on: (1) one or more of personalized sleep data, (2) historical sleep data collected for a subset of society, or (3) a combination of both. Based on the sleep condition, an arousal threshold is determined. Based on the ambient noise and the determined sleep condition, one or more actions are taken to regulate sleep and avoid sleep disruption by using sound masking or active noise reduction (ANR).

Aspects of the present disclosure provide an audio product for obtaining biologically-relevant information associated with a user comprising. The audio product includes at least two electrodes, a processor, and an electroacoustic transducer coupled to the processor. The processor is configured to receive at least one signal affected by an action of the user obtained via the first electrode or the second electrode and take one or more actions based on the at least one signal. The at least one action may control another device, in an effort to provide hands-free control of the other device.

In-ear electrical potential sensor

Methods and apparatus are provided for automatically adjusting, by an audio device, the SPL of its audio output. As described herein, the SPL is adjusted based on approximated noise in an ear canal of occluded ears as determined by an accelerometer measuring the user's motion. According to aspects, the audio device adjusts a tone of the signal by adjusting the SPL of a set of frequencies and also adjusts the overall gain of the full frequency spectrum of the audio signal. The tone may be adjusted more quickly as compared to the overall broadband gain.

Accelerometer-driven automatic volume and tone control

Technology described in this document can be embodied in a method that includes receiving an input signal captured by one or more sensors associated with an active noise reduction (ANR) device, processing the input signal using a first filter disposed in an ANR signal flow path to generate a first signal for an acoustic transducer of the ANR device, and processing the input signal in a pass-through signal flow path disposed in parallel with the ANR signal flow path to generate a second signal for the acoustic transducer. The pass-through signal flow path is configured to allow at least a portion of the input signal to pass through to the acoustic transducer in accordance with a variable gain associated with the pass-through signal flow path. The method also includes generating an output signal for the acoustic transducer based on combining the first signal with the second signal.

Parallel active noise reduction (ANR) and hear-through signal flow paths in acoustic devices

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Marlborough, MA, United States of America

Dale McElhone