Orientation-responsive acoustic array control
AssigneeBose Corporation
InventorsEric J. Freeman, John Joyce
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An audio device includes a casing configured for operation in a first orientation and a second orientation different from the first orientation, an orientation input device disposed on the casing to detect an orientation of the casing relative to the direction of the force of gravity, and a plurality of acoustic drivers disposed on the casing and operable to form a plurality of acoustic interference arrays, each of which is associated with one of a plurality of audio channels. The acoustic drivers of the audio device operate in a first frequency range and modify at least one of the acoustic interference arrays in response to a change in the orientation detected by the orientation input device.
Claims19
An audio device comprising:
- a casing having an elongate axis and comprising a plurality of acoustic drivers, the casing positionable between a first orientation and a second orientation different from the first orientation;
- a gravity detector to automatically detect the orientation of the casing relative to the direction of the force of gravity, such that the gravity detector can be used to detect when the casing is positioned in the first orientation or positioned in the second orientation;
- and
- a first infrared sensor and a second infrared sensor, wherein
- in response to the casing being positioned in the first orientation, the first infrared sensor is enabled so that it is configured to receive infrared signals from an external control device, and the second infrared sensor is disabled, and
- in response to the casing being positioned in the second orientation, the second infrared sensor is enabled so that it is configured to receive infrared signals from the external control device, and the first infrared sensor is disabled;
- wherein the audio device is a portion of an audio system comprising the audio device and a subwoofer comprising a separate casing;
- and
- wherein the audio device and the subwoofer cooperate to acoustically output audio received from another device, such that the audio device is configured to output a portion of the received audio comprising sounds in a first frequency range, and the subwoofer is configured to output a portion of the received audio comprising sounds in a second frequency range lower than the first frequency range.
An audio device comprising:
- a casing having an elongate axis and comprising a plurality of acoustic drivers, the casing positionable between a first orientation and a second orientation different from the first orientation, wherein the second orientation is 90 degrees about the elongate axis of the casing relative to the first orientation;
- a gravity detector to automatically detect the orientation of the casing relative to the direction of the force of gravity, such that the gravity detector can be used to detect when the casing is positioned in the first orientation or positioned in the second orientation;
- a first infrared sensor and a second infrared sensor, wherein:
- in response to detecting that the casing is positioned in the first orientation, the first infrared sensor is enabled so that it is configured to receive infrared signals from an external control device, and the second infrared sensor is disabled;
- and
- in response to detecting that the casing is positioned in the second orientation, the second infrared sensor is enabled so that it is configured to receive infrared signals from the external control device, and the first infrared sensor is disabled;
- and
- a first visual indicator and a second visual indicator, wherein:
- in response to detecting that the casing is positioned in the first orientation, the first visual indicator is enabled so that it is configured to provide visual indications of status, and the second visual indicator is disabled;
- and
- in response to detecting that the casing is positioned in the second orientation, the second visual indicator is enabled so that it is configured to provide visual indications of status, and the first visual indicator is disabled.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.