# US 10,375,504 B2 · Mechanism to output audio to trigger the natural instincts of a user

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- Number: US 10,375,504 B2
- Document ID: US10375504B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 15/840,917
- Filed: 2017-12-13
- Published: 2019-06-13
- Granted: 2019-08-06
- Earliest claimed: 2017-12-13
- Assignees: QUALCOMM Incorporated
- Applicants: QUALCOMM Incorporated
- Inventors: Srivathsa Sridhara; Ravi Shekhar; Vishal Agarwal; Giriraj Goyal
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10375504B2

## CPC

- H04S 7/303: {Tracking of listener position or orientation}
- H04B 17/318: Received signal strength
- H04S 7/304: {For headphones}
- H04R 2420/07: Applications of wireless loudspeakers or wireless microphones
- H04S 2400/11: Positioning of individual sound objects, e.g. moving airplane, within a sound field (H04S2420/13 takes precedence)
- H04W 4/80: Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication
- H04S: STEREOPHONIC SYSTEMS
- H04B: TRANSMISSION
- H04R: LOUDSPEAKERS, MICROPHONES, GRAMOPHONE PICK-UPS OR LIKE ACOUSTIC ELECTROMECHANICAL TRANSDUCERS; ELECTRIC HEARING AIDS; PUBLIC ADDRESS SYSTEMS (producing sounds with frequency not determined by supply frequency G10K)
- H04W: WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS (broadcast communication H04H; communication systems using wireless links for non-selective communication, e.g. wireless extensions H04M1/72)

## Abstract

There is a need to enable a wireless device to output signals such that the natural instincts of the user may be triggered. The present disclosure provides a solution by enabling a wireless device to determine a time delay and intensity difference associated with an audio output at a subset output devices based at least in part on a perceived spatial placement of at least one signal, a position of the transmitting device, and/or a signal strength associated with the signal. Using the time delay and the intensity difference, the output devices farthest from the transmitting device may output the at least one signal using the time delay and the intensity difference such that the user may detecting differences in the sound wave's time of arrival and intensity at the left ear versus the right ear, and thus, perceive the location of the audio source.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A method of wireless communication for a first device having a plurality of audio output devices, comprising:
receiving, at the first device, at least one audio signal from a second device via a wireless communication link;
determining a perceived spatial placement of the at least one audio signal, wherein the perceived spatial placement is based on a spatial relationship between the at least one audio signal and the first device or between the at least one audio signal and the second device;
determining a signal strength associated with the at least one audio signal;
determining a position of the second device relative to the first device based at least in part on a first reference point associated with the first device or a second reference point associated with the second device;
determining a time delay associated with an audio output at a subset of the plurality of audio output devices based at least in part on the perceived spatial placement of the at least one audio signal;
determining an intensity difference associated with the audio output at the subset of the plurality of audio output devices based at least in part on one or more of the position of the second device or the signal strength associated with the at least one audio signal; and
outputting audio at the plurality of audio output devices, the audio being output at the subset of the plurality of audio output devices based at least in part on the time delay and the intensity difference.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, further comprising:
determining an output time associated with an output of the plurality of audio output devices.

### Claim 3 (depends on 2)

The method of claim 2, further comprising:
determining an output intensity associated with the output of the plurality of audio output devices based at least in part on the signal strength associated with the at least one audio signal.

### Claim 4 (depends on 3)

The method of claim 3, wherein the determining the position of the second device relative to the first device comprises:
determining whether the second device is positioned one or more of left, right, above, or below the first reference point associated with the first device; or
determining whether the first device is positioned one or more of left, right, above, or below the second reference point associated with the second device.

### Claim 5 (depends on 4)

The method of claim 4, wherein:
the time delay and the intensity difference are determined based at least in part on whether the second device is positioned to the one or more of left, right, above, or below the first reference point associated with the first device; or
the time delay and the intensity difference are determined based at least in part on whether the first device is positioned to the one or more of left, right, above, or below the second reference point associated with the second device.

### Claim 6 (depends on 5)

The method of claim 5, wherein the subset of the plurality of audio output devices includes either a set of right output devices or a set of left output devices, and wherein the outputting the audio at the plurality of audio output devices comprises:
outputting the audio at the set of right output devices using the time delay and the intensity difference when the second device is positioned to the one or more of left, above, or below the first reference point associated with the first device or when the first device is positioned to the one or more of right, above, or below the second reference point associated with the second device; and
outputting the audio at the set of left output devices using the output time and the output intensity when the second device is positioned to the one or more of left, above, or below the first reference point associated with the first device or when the first device is positioned to the one or more of right, above, or below the second reference point associated with the second device.

### Claim 7 (depends on 6)

The method of claim 6, wherein the outputting the audio at the plurality of audio output devices comprises:
outputting the audio at the set of left output devices using the time delay and the intensity difference when the second device is positioned to the one or more of right, above, or below the first reference point associated with the first device or when the first device is positioned to the one or more of left, above, or below the second reference point associated with the second device; and
outputting the audio at the set of right output devices using the output time and the output intensity when the second device is positioned to the one or more of right, above, or below the first reference point associated with the first device or when the first device is positioned to the one or more of left, above, or below the second reference point associated with the second device.

### Claim 8 (depends on 7)

The method of claim 7, wherein the time delay and the intensity difference are both equal to zero when the second device is positioned along the first reference point or when the first device is positioned along the second reference point.

### Claim 9 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the perceived spatial placement is associated with one or more of an angle of arrival (AoA), an angle of departure (AoD), camera tracking, or a gyroscope measurement.

### Claim 10 (depends on 9)

The method of claim 9, wherein when the position of the second device is determined with respect to the first reference point associated the first device, the position is determined based at least in part on one or more of the AoA or the AoD of the at least one audio signal.

### Claim 11 (depends on 9)

The method of claim 9, wherein when the position of the first device is determined with respect to the second reference point associated the second device, the position is determined based at least in part on one or more of the camera tracking or the gyroscope measurement.

### Claim 12 (depends on 11)

The method of claim 11, wherein the at least one audio signal includes information associated with the camera tracking.

### Claim 13

An apparatus for wireless communication for a first device with a plurality of audio output devices, comprising:
means for receiving, at the first device, at least one audio signal from a second device;
means for determining a perceived spatial placement of the at least one signal, wherein the perceived spatial placement is based on a spatial relationship between the at least one signal and the first device or between the at least one signal and the second device;
means for determining a signal strength associated with the at least one audio signal;
means for determining a position of the second device relative to the first device based at least in part on a first reference point associated with the first device or a second reference point associated with the second device;
means for determining a time delay associated with an audio output at a subset of the plurality of audio output devices based at least in part on the perceived spatial placement of the at least one audio signal;
means for determining an intensity difference associated with the audio output at the subset of the plurality of audio output devices based at least in part on one or more of the position of the second device or the signal strength associated with the at least one audio signal; and
means for outputting audio at the plurality of audio output devices, the audio being output at the subset of the plurality of audio output devices based at least in part on the time delay and the intensity difference.

### Claim 14 (depends on 13)

The apparatus of claim 13, further comprising:
means for determining an output time associated with an output of the plurality of audio output devices.

### Claim 15 (depends on 14)

The apparatus of claim 14, further comprising:
means for determining an output intensity associated with an output of the plurality of audio output devices based at least in part on the signal strength associated with the at least one audio signal.

### Claim 16 (depends on 15)

The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the means for determining the position of the second device relative to the first device is configured to:
determine whether the second device is positioned one or more of left, right, above, or below the first reference point associated with the first device; or
determine whether the first device is positioned one or more of left, right, above, or below the second reference point associated with the second device.

### Claim 17 (depends on 16)

The apparatus of claim 16, wherein:
the time delay and the intensity difference is determined based at least in part on whether the second device is positioned to the one or more of left, right, above, or below the first reference point associated with the first device; or
the time delay and the intensity difference is determined based at least in part on whether the first device is positioned to the one or more of left, right, above, or below the second reference point associated with the second device.

### Claim 18 (depends on 17)

The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the subset of the plurality of audio output devices includes either a set of right output devices or a set of left output devices, and wherein the means for outputting the audio at the plurality of audio output devices is configured to:
output the audio at the set of right output devices using the time delay and the intensity difference when the second device is positioned to the one or more of left, above, or below the first reference point associated with the first device or when the first device is positioned to the one or more of right, above, or below the second reference point associated with the second device; and
output the audio at the set of left output devices using the output time and the output intensity when the second device is positioned to the one or more of left, above, or below the first reference point associated with the first device or when the first device is positioned to the one or more of right, above, or below the second reference point associated with the second device.

### Claim 19 (depends on 18)

The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the means for outputting the audio at the plurality of audio output devices is configured to:
output the audio at the set of left output devices using the time delay and the intensity difference when the second device is positioned to the one or more of right, above, or below the first reference point associated with the first device or when the first device is positioned to the one or more of left, above, or below the second reference point associated with the second device; and
output the audio at the set of right output devices using the output time and the output intensity when the second device is positioned to the one or more of right, above, or below the first reference point associated with the first device or when the first device is positioned to the one or more of left, above, or below the second reference point associated with the second device.

### Claim 20 (depends on 19)

The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the time delay and the intensity difference are both equal to zero when the second device is positioned along the first reference point or when the first device is positioned along the second reference point.

### Claim 21 (depends on 13)

The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the perceived spatial placement is associated with one or more of an angle of arrival (AoA), an angle of departure (AoD), camera tracking, or a gyroscope measurement.

### Claim 22 (depends on 21)

The apparatus of claim 21, wherein when the position of the second device is determined with respect to the first reference point associated the first device, the position is determined based at least in part on one or more of the AoA or the AoD of the at least one audio signal.

### Claim 23 (depends on 21)

The apparatus of claim 21, wherein when the position of the first device is determined with respect to the second reference point associated the second device, the position is determined based at least in part on one or more of the camera tracking or the gyroscope measurement.

### Claim 24 (depends on 23)

The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the at least one audio signal includes information associated with the camera tracking.

### Claim 25

An apparatus for wireless communication for a first device with a plurality of audio output devices, comprising:
a memory; and
at least one processor coupled to the memory and configured to:
receive, at the first device, at least one audio signal from a second device via a wireless communication link;
determine a perceived spatial placement of the at least one signal, wherein the perceived spatial placement is based on a spatial relationship between the at least one signal and the first device or between the at least one signal and the second device;
determine a signal strength associated with the at least one audio signal;
determine a position of the second device relative to the first device based at least in part on a first reference point associated with the first device or a second reference point associated with the second device;
determine a time delay associated with an audio output at a subset of the plurality of audio output devices based at least in part on the perceived spatial placement of the at least one audio signal;
determine an intensity difference associated with the audio output at the subset of the plurality of audio output devices based at least in part on one or more of the position of the second device or the signal strength associated with the at least one audio signal; and
output audio at the plurality of audio output devices, the audio being output at the subset of the plurality of audio output devices based at least in part on the time delay and the intensity difference.

### Claim 26 (depends on 25)

The apparatus of claim 25, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:
determine an output time associated with an output of the plurality of audio output devices.

### Claim 27 (depends on 26)

The apparatus of claim 26, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:
determine an output intensity associated with an output of the plurality of audio output devices based at least in part on the signal strength associated with the at least one audio signal.

### Claim 28 (depends on 27)

The apparatus of claim 27, wherein the at least one processor is configured to determine the position of the second device relative to the first device by:
determining whether the second device is positioned one or more of left, right, above, or below the first reference point associated with the first device; or
determining whether the first device is positioned one or more of left, right, above, or below the second reference point associated with the second device.

### Claim 29 (depends on 28)

The apparatus of claim 28, wherein:
the time delay and the intensity difference is determined based at least in part on whether the second device is positioned to the one or more of left, right, above, or below the first reference point associated with the first device; or
the time delay and the intensity difference is determined based at least in part on whether the first device is positioned to the one or more of left, right, above, or below the second reference point associated with the second device.

### Claim 30 (depends on 29)

The apparatus of claim 29, wherein the subset of the plurality of audio output devices includes either a set of right output devices or a set of left output devices, and wherein the at least one processor is configured to output the audio at the plurality of audio output devices by:
outputting the audio at the set of right output devices using the time delay and the intensity difference when the second device is positioned to the one or more of left, above, or below the first reference point associated with the first device or when the first device is positioned to the one or more of right, above, or below the second reference point associated with the second device; and
outputting the audio at the set of left output devices using the output time and the output intensity when the second device is positioned to the one or more of left, above, or below the first reference point associated with the first device or when the first device is positioned to the one or more of right, above, or below the second reference point associated with the second device.

### Claim 31 (depends on 30)

The apparatus of claim 30, wherein the at least one processor is configured to output the audio at the plurality of audio output devices by:
outputting the audio at the set of left output devices using the time delay and the intensity difference when the second device is positioned to the one or more of right, above, or below the first reference point associated with the first device or when the first device is positioned to the one or more of left, above, or below the second reference point associated with the second device; and
outputting the audio at the set of right output devices using the output time and the output intensity when the second device is positioned to the one or more of right, above, or below the first reference point associated with the first device or when the first device is positioned to the one or more of left, above, or below the second reference point associated with the second device.

### Claim 32 (depends on 31)

The apparatus of claim 31, wherein the time delay and the intensity difference are both equal to zero when the second device is positioned along the first reference point or when the first device is positioned along the second reference point.

### Claim 33 (depends on 25)

The apparatus of claim 25, wherein the perceived spatial placement is associated with one or more of an angle of arrival (AoA), an angle of departure (AoD), camera tracking, or a gyroscope measurement.

### Claim 34 (depends on 33)

The apparatus of claim 33, wherein when the position of the second device is determined with respect to the first reference point associated the first device, the position is determined based at least in part on one or more of the AoA or the AoD of the at least one audio signal.

### Claim 35 (depends on 33)

The apparatus of claim 33, wherein when the position of the first device is determined with respect to the second reference point associated the second device, the position is determined based at least in part on one or more of the camera tracking or the gyroscope measurement.

### Claim 36 (depends on 35)

The apparatus of claim 35, wherein the at least one audio signal includes information associated with the camera tracking.

### Claim 37

A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer executable code for a first device with a plurality of audio output devices, comprising code to: receive, at the first device, at least one audio signal from a second device via a wireless communication link; determine a perceived spatial placement of the at least one signal, wherein the perceived spatial placement is based on a spatial relationship between the at least one signal and the first device or between the at least one signal and the second device; determine a signal strength associated with the at least one audio signal; determine a position of the second device relative to the first device based at least in part on a first reference point associated with the first device or a second reference point associated with the second device; determine a time delay associated with an audio output at a subset of the plurality of audio output devices based at least in part on the perceived spatial placement of the at least one audio signal; determine an intensity difference associated with the audio output at the subset of the plurality of audio output devices based at least in part on one or more of the position of the second device or the signal strength associated with the at least one audio signal; and output audio at the plurality of audio output devices, the audio being output at the subset of the plurality of audio output devices based at least in part on the time delay and the intensity difference.

### Claim 38 (depends on 37)

The computer-readable medium of claim 37, further comprising code to:
determine an output time associated with an output of the plurality of audio output devices.

### Claim 39 (depends on 38)

The computer-readable medium of claim 38, further comprising code to:
determine an output intensity associated with an output of the plurality of audio output devices based at least in part on the signal strength associated with the at least one audio signal.

### Claim 40 (depends on 39)

The computer-readable medium of claim 39, wherein the code to determine the position of the second device relative to the first device is configured to:
determine whether the second device is positioned one or more of left, right, above, or below the first reference point associated with the first device; or
determine whether the first device is positioned one or more of left, right, above, or below the second reference point associated with the second device.

### Claim 41 (depends on 40)

The computer-readable medium of claim 40, wherein:
the time delay and the intensity difference is determined based at least in part on whether the second device is positioned to the one or more of left, right, above, or below the first reference point associated with the first device; or
the time delay and the intensity difference is determined based at least in part on whether the first device is positioned to the one or more of left, right, above, or below the second reference point associated with the second device.

### Claim 42 (depends on 41)

The computer-readable medium of claim 41, wherein the subset of the plurality of audio output devices includes either a set of right output devices or a set of left output devices, and wherein the code to output the audio at the plurality of audio output devices is configured to:
output the audio at the set of right output devices using the time delay and the intensity difference when the second device is positioned to the one or more of left, above, or below the first reference point associated with the first device or when the first device is positioned to the one or more of right, above, or below the second reference point associated with the second device; and
output the audio at the set of left output devices using the output time and the output intensity when the second device is positioned to the one or more of left, above, or below the first reference point associated with the first device or when the first device is positioned to the one or more of right, above, or below the second reference point associated with the second device.

### Claim 43 (depends on 42)

The computer-readable medium of claim 42, wherein the code to output the audio at the plurality of audio output devices is configured to:
output the audio at the set of left output devices using the time delay and the intensity difference when the second device is positioned to the one or more of right, above, or below the first reference point associated with the first device or when the first device is positioned to the one or more of left, above, or below the second reference point associated with the second device; and
output the audio at the set of right output devices using the output time and the output intensity when the second device is positioned to the one or more of right, above, or below the first reference point associated with the first device or when the first device is positioned to the one or more of left, above, or below the second reference point associated with the second device.

### Claim 44 (depends on 43)

The computer-readable medium of claim 43, wherein the time delay and the intensity difference are both equal to zero when the second device is positioned along the first reference point or when the first device is positioned along the second reference point.

### Claim 45 (depends on 37)

The computer-readable medium of claim 37, wherein the perceived spatial placement is associated with one or more of an angle of arrival (AoA), an angle of departure (AoD), camera tracking, or a gyroscope measurement.

### Claim 46 (depends on 45)

The computer-readable medium of claim 45, wherein when the position of the second device is determined with respect to the first reference point associated the first device, the position is determined based at least in part on one or more of the AoA or the AoD of the at least one audio signal.

### Claim 47 (depends on 45)

The computer-readable medium of claim 45, wherein when the position of the first device is determined with respect to the second reference point associated the second device, the position is determined based at least in part on one or more of the camera tracking or the gyroscope measurement.

### Claim 48 (depends on 47)

The computer-readable medium of claim 47, wherein the at least one audio signal includes information associated with the camera tracking.