# US 2013/0156207 A1 · Optimizing audio processing functions by dynamically compensating for variable distances between speaker(s) and microphone(s) in an accessory device > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 2013/0156207 A1 - Document ID: US20130156207A1 - Status: Published application - Kind: A1 - Application number: 13/664,639 - Filed: 2012-10-31 - Published: 2013-06-20 - Earliest claimed: 2011-12-16 - Assignees: QUALCOMM Incorporated - Inventors: Erik Visser; Michael Joseph Contour; Eric S. Mattis; Joseph Robert Fitzgerald; Kwokleung Chan - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20130156207A1 ## CPC - H04B 7/26: at least one of which is mobile - H03G 3/20: Automatic control ({H03G3/005 takes precedence;} combined with volume compression or expansion H03G7/00) - H04M 1/0206: {Portable telephones comprising a plurality of mechanically joined movable body parts, e.g. hinged housings} - H04M 1/035: {Improving the acoustic characteristics by means of constructional features of the housing, e.g. ribs, walls, resonating chambers or cavities} - H04M 1/20: Arrangements for preventing acoustic feed-back (H04M1/62 takes precedence) - H04M 9/082: {using echo cancellers (echo cancellers per se H04B3/23)} - H04R 3/02: for preventing acoustic reaction {, i.e. acoustic oscillatory feedback (specially adapted for hearing aids H04R25/453)} - H04R 2201/401: 2D or 3D arrays of transducers - H04R 2499/11: Transducers incorporated or for use in hand-held devices, e.g. mobile phones, PDA's, camera's - H04B: TRANSMISSION - H03G: CONTROL OF AMPLIFICATION - H04M: TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION (circuits for controlling other apparatus via a telephone cable and not involving telephone switching apparatus G08) - 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) ## Abstract An accessory device having multiple speakers and/or microphones to perform a number of audio functions, for use with mobile devices, are provided. The audio transducers (e.g., microphones and/or speakers) may be housed in one or more extendable and/or rotationally adjustable arms. To compensate for the unwanted signal feedback between the speakers and microphones, acoustic echo cancellation may be implemented to determine the proper distance and relative location between the speakers and microphones. Acoustic echo cancellation removes the echo from voice communications to improve the quality of the sound. The removal of the unwanted signals captured by the microphones may be accomplished by characterizing the audio signal paths from the speakers to the microphones (speaker-to-microphone path distance profile), including the distance and relative location between the speakers and microphones. The optimal distance and relative location between the speakers and microphones is provided to the user to optimize performance. ## Claims ### Claim 1 An accessory device comprising: a housing; one or more extendable and/or rotationally adjustable arms secured to the housing, each of the one or more adjustable arms coupled to an audio transducer from a first plurality of audio transducers; an audio module, in communication with the first plurality of audio transducers, for ascertaining one or more distances between audio transducers in the first plurality of audio transducers and a second plurality of audio transducers to obtain a transducer-to-transducer path distance profile; and a communication interface, coupled to the audio module, for sending the transducer-to-transducer path distance profile to a mobile device. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The accessory device of claim 1, wherein the first plurality of audio transducers includes at least one of: microphones, speakers, or microphones and speakers. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The accessory device of claim 1, wherein the audio module ascertains the one or more distances automatically by: sending an audible or higher than audible frequency signal, and measuring a shortest time delay between when the signal was sent and when it was received between a first audio transducer from the first plurality of audio transducers and a second audio transducer from the second plurality of audio transducers. ### Claim 4 (depends on 3) The accessory device of claim 3, wherein the audio module is further adapted to: encode the audible or higher than audible frequency signal into an encoded signal that reduces an impact of noise sources during transmission, and monitor for a code correlation between the encoded signal and received signals, by audio transducers from the first plurality of audio transducers and the second plurality of audio transducers, to ascertain a match. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The accessory device of claim 1, wherein the audio module further ascertains the one or more distances by refining the one or more distances by using temperature and humidity information to select a speed of sound propagation from a lookup table. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The accessory device of claim 1, wherein the second plurality of audio transducers includes at least one of: internal speakers, external speakers, or internal and external speakers. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The accessory device of claim 1, further comprising: a speaker driving circuit to send higher than audible frequency sound, through at least one audio transducer from the first plurality of audio transducers and the second plurality of audio transducers, at a higher volume than the audible sound to raise the higher than audible frequency sound above an ambient noise floor. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The accessory device of claim 1, wherein the audio transducer from the first plurality of audio transducers is variably adjustable relative to the second plurality of audio transducers by extension and/or rotation of the adjustable arms. ### Claim 9 (depends on 1) The accessory device of claim 1, wherein a distance between each audio transducer in the first plurality of audio transducers and each audio transducer in the second plurality of audio transducers is estimated to obtain the transducer-to-transducer path distance profile. ### Claim 10 (depends on 1) The accessory device of claim 1, wherein predefined detents in the one or more extendable and/or rotationally adjustable arms are used to determine the distance between two audio transducers. ### Claim 11 (depends on 10) The accessory device of claim 10, wherein one or more sensors located on the one or more extendable and/or rotationally adjustable arms are used to detect a position of the one or more extendable and/or rotationally adjustable arms. ### Claim 12 (depends on 1) The accessory device of claim 1, further comprising: a visual indicator located within the housing for indicating to a user to adjust a transducer-to-transducer spacing between the audio transducers in the first plurality and second plurality of audio transducers. ### Claim 13 (depends on 1) The accessory device of claim 1, wherein a digital gain and an analog gain of sound propagation paths for at least some of the audio transducers from the first plurality of audio transducers and second plurality of audio transducers are dynamically adjusted by the mobile device. ### Claim 14 (depends on 13) The accessory device of claim 13, wherein the digital gain and analog gain of sound propagation paths for at least some of the audio transducers from the first plurality of audio transducers and second plurality of audio transducers are adjusted to ensure audio output from speaker audio transducers does not saturate input into microphone audio transducers. ### Claim 15 (depends on 1) The accessory device of claim 1, wherein the transducer-to-transducer path distance profile is transmitted to the mobile device wirelessly. ### Claim 16 (depends on 1) The accessory device of claim 1, wherein at least one or more other audio transducers from the second plurality of transducers are detachable from the accessory device. ### Claim 17 (depends on 1) The accessory device of claim 1, wherein each of the one or more extendable and/or rotationally adjustable arms is independently adjustable. ### Claim 18 (depends on 1) The accessory device of claim 1, wherein the audio module further ascertains a volume for audio transducers in at least one of the first plurality of audio transducers or the second plurality of audio transducers and sends the volume to the mobile device to determine a signal to noise ratio. ### Claim 19 (depends on 1) The accessory device of claim 1, wherein the audio module further adjusts a maximum volume limit of one or more speaker audio transducers, from at least one of the first plurality or second plurality of audio transducers, based on a distance from the one or more speaker audio transducers to one or more microphone audio transducers. ### Claim 20 (depends on 1) The accessory device of claim 1, wherein the audio module further ascertains a distance between one or more microphone audio transducers, from at least one of the first plurality or second plurality of audio transducers, and one or more speaker audio transducers as a user interface to control other functions of the accessory device or mobile device. ### Claim 21 (depends on 1) The accessory device of claim 1, further comprising a slot extending horizontally along a top surface of the housing and wherein a first end of a first section of a plurality of sections of the one or more extendable and/or rotationally adjustable arms is slideably engaged with the slot allowing the one or more extendable and/or rotationally adjustable arms to move horizontally across the housing. ### Claim 22 A method operational on an accessory device for optimizing audio processing functions, comprising: ascertaining one or more distances between audio transducers in a first plurality of audio transducers, coupled to extendable and/or rotationally adjustable arms of the accessory device, and a second plurality of audio transducers to obtain a transducer-to-transducer path distance profile; and sending the transducer-to-transducer path distance profile to a mobile device. ### Claim 23 (depends on 22) The method of claim 22, further comprising: automatically ascertaining the one or more distances by sending an audible or higher than audible frequency signal and measuring a shortest time delay between when the signal was sent and when it was received between a first audio transducer from the first plurality of audio transducers and a second audio transducer from the second plurality of audio transducers. ### Claim 24 (depends on 23) The method of claim 23, further comprising: encoding the audible or higher than audible frequency signal into an encoded signal that reduces an impact of noise sources during transmission, and monitoring for a code correlation between the encoded signal and received signals, by audio transducers from the first plurality of audio transducers and the second plurality of audio transducers, to ascertain a match. ### Claim 25 (depends on 22) The method of claim 22, further comprising: ascertaining the one or more distances by refining the one or more distances by using temperature and humidity information to select a speed of sound propagation from a lookup table. ### Claim 26 (depends on 22) The method of claim 22, wherein ascertaining the one or more distances includes, sending higher than audible frequency sound, through at least one audio transducer from the first plurality of audio transducers and the second plurality of audio transducers, at a higher volume than the audible sound to raise the higher than audible frequency sound above an ambient noise floor. ### Claim 27 (depends on 22) The method of claim 22, further comprising: determining a distance between two audio transducers, from the first plurality and second plurality of audio transducers, based on a position of predefined detents in one or more extendable and/or rotationally adjustable arms that are part of the accessory device and to which the first plurality of audio transducers are coupled. ### Claim 28 (depends on 22) The method of claim 22, further comprising: determining at least some of the one or more distances based on a position indicated by one or more sensors located in one or more extendable and/or rotationally adjustable arms that are part of the accessory device and to which the first plurality of audio transducers are coupled. ### Claim 29 (depends on 22) The method of claim 22, further comprising: ascertaining a volume for at least some of the audio transducers in the first plurality or second plurality of audio transducers; and sending the volume to the mobile device to determine a signal to noise ratio. ### Claim 30 (depends on 22) The method of claim 22, further comprising: adjusting a maximum volume limit of one or more speaker audio transducers, from at least one of the first plurality or second plurality of audio transducers, based on a distance from the speaker audio transducers to one or more microphone audio transducers. ### Claim 31 (depends on 22) The method of claim 22, further comprising: ascertaining a distance between one or more microphone audio transducers, from at least one of the first plurality or second plurality of audio transducers, and one or more speaker audio transducers as a user interface to control other functions of the accessory device or mobile device. ### Claim 32 (depends on 22) The method of claim 22, further comprising: receiving adjustments, from the mobile device, to the transducer-to-transducer path distance profile to optimize performance of the mobile device. ### Claim 33 (depends on 22) The method of claim 22, further comprising: providing visual feedback to a user to manually adjust a transducer-to-transducer spacing between the audio transducers in the first plurality and second plurality of audio transducers. ### Claim 34 An accessory device, comprising: means for ascertaining one or more distances between audio transducers in a first plurality of audio transducers, coupled to extendable and/or rotationally adjustable arms of the accessory device, and a second plurality of audio transducers to obtain a transducer-to-transducer path distance profile; and means for sending the transducer-to-transducer path distance profile to a mobile device. ### Claim 35 (depends on 34) The accessory device of claim 34, further comprising: means for automatically ascertaining the one or more distances by sending an audible or higher than audible frequency signal and measuring a shortest time delay between when the signal was sent and when it was received between a first audio transducer from the first plurality of audio transducers and a second audio transducer from the second plurality of audio transducers. ### Claim 36 (depends on 34) The accessory device of claim 34, further comprising: means for encoding the audible or higher than audible frequency signal into an encoded signal that reduces an impact of noise sources during transmission, and means for monitoring for a code correlation between the encoded signal and received signals, by audio transducers from the first plurality of audio transducers and the second plurality of audio transducers, to ascertain a match. ### Claim 37 (depends on 34) The accessory device of claim 34, further comprising: means for ascertaining the one or more distances by refining the one or more distances by using temperature and humidity information to select a speed of sound propagation from a lookup table. ### Claim 38 (depends on 34) The accessory device of claim 34, further comprising: means for sending higher than audible frequency sound, through at least one audio transducer from the first plurality of audio transducers and the second plurality of audio transducers, at a higher volume than the audible sound to raise the higher than audible frequency sound above an ambient noise floor. ### Claim 39 (depends on 34) The accessory device of claim 34, further comprising: means for determining a distance between two audio transducers, from the first plurality and second plurality of audio transducers, based on a position of predefined detents in one or more extendable and/or rotationally adjustable arms that are part of the accessory device and to which the first plurality of audio transducers are coupled. ### Claim 40 (depends on 34) The accessory device of claim 34, further comprising: means for determining at least some of the one or more distances based on the position indicated by one or more sensors located in one or more extendable and/or rotationally adjustable arms that are part of the accessory device and to which the first plurality of audio transducers are coupled. ### Claim 41 (depends on 34) The accessory device of claim 34, further comprising: means for refining the one or more distances by using temperature and humidity information to select a speed of sound propagation from a lookup table. ### Claim 42 (depends on 34) The accessory device of claim 34, further comprising: means for ascertaining a volume for at least some of the audio transducers in the first plurality or second plurality of audio transducers; and means for sending the volume to the mobile device to determine a signal to noise ratio. ### Claim 43 (depends on 34) The accessory device of claim 34, further comprising: means for adjusting a maximum volume limit of one or more speaker audio transducers, from at least one of the first plurality or second plurality of audio transducers, based on a distance from the speaker audio transducers to one or more microphone audio transducers. ### Claim 44 (depends on 34) The accessory device of claim 34, further comprising: means for ascertaining a distance between one or more microphone audio transducers, from at least one of the first plurality or second plurality of audio transducers, and one or more speaker audio transducers as a user interface to control other functions of the accessory device or mobile device. ### Claim 45 (depends on 34) The accessory device of claim 34, further comprising: means for receiving adjustments, from the mobile device, to the transducer-to-transducer path distance profile to optimize performance of the mobile device. ### Claim 46 A machine-readable medium having instructions stored thereon, which when executed by at least one processor of an accessory device causes the at least one processor to: ascertain one or more distances between audio transducers in a first plurality of audio transducers, coupled to extendable and/or rotationally adjustable arms of the accessory device, and a second plurality of audio transducers to obtain a transducer-to-transducer path distance profile; and send the transducer-to-transducer path distance profile to a mobile device. ### Claim 47 (depends on 46) The machine-readable medium of claim 46, including further instructions which when executed by the at least one processor causes the at least one processor to: automatically ascertain the one or more distances by sending an audible or higher than audible frequency signal and measuring a shortest time delay between when the signal was sent and when it was received between a first audio transducer from the first plurality of audio transducers and a second audio transducer from the second plurality of audio transducers. ### Claim 48 (depends on 46) The machine-readable medium of claim 46, including further instructions which when executed by the at least one processor causes the at least one processor to: ascertain a volume for at least some of the audio transducers in the first plurality or second plurality of audio transducers; and send the volume to the mobile device to determine a signal to noise ratio.