US 2023/0069810 A9Published application

Audio Playback Settings for Voice Interaction

AssigneeSonos, Inc.

InventorsKlaus Hartung, Romi Kadri

Life of this patent

Estimating the term…

Loading patent…

Abstract

Example techniques relate to voice interaction in an environment with a media playback system that is playing back audio content. In an example implementation, while playing back first audio in a given environment at a given loudness: a playback device (a) detects that an event is anticipated in the given environment, the event involving playback of second audio and (b) determines a loudness of background noise in the given environment, the background noise comprising ambient noise in the given environment. The playback device ducks the first audio in proportion to a difference between the given loudness of the first audio and the determined loudness of the background noise and plays back the ducked first audio concurrently with the second audio.

Claims20

Dependent claims

A playback device comprising:

a network interface;
one or more microphones;
an audio stage comprising an amplifier;
one or more speakers;
one or more processors;
a housing, the housing carrying at least the network interface, the one or more microphones, the audio stage, the one or more speakers, the one or more processors, and data storage having stored therein instructions executable by the one or more processors to cause the playback device to perform functions comprising:
while playing back first audio in a given environment at a given loudness via the audio stage and the one or more speakers:
(a) recording, via the one or more microphones, audio into a buffer;
(b) detecting, within the recorded audio, a wake word to invoke a voice assistant;
(c) in response to detecting the wake word:
(i) ducking the first audio while recording, into the buffer, audio representing a voice input to the voice assistant and (ii) sending, to the voice assistant, the recorded audio in the buffer representing the voice input to the voice assistant;
(d) receiving, from the voice assistant in response to the voice input, second audio representing a spoken response to the voice input;
and
in response to receiving the second audio representing the spoken response to the voice input, ducking the first audio while playing back the ducked first audio concurrently with the second audio representing the spoken response to the voice input via the audio stage and the one or more speakers.

11 more elements

A method to be performed by a playback device, the method comprising:

while playing back first audio in a given environment at a given loudness via an audio stage and one or more speakers:
(a) recording, via one or more microphones, audio into a buffer;
(b) detecting, within the recorded audio, a wake word to invoke a voice assistant;
(c) in response to detecting the wake word:
(i) ducking the first audio while recording, into the buffer, audio representing a voice input to the voice assistant and (ii) sending, to the voice assistant, the recorded audio in the buffer representing the voice input to the voice assistant;
(d) receiving, from the voice assistant in response to the voice input, second audio representing a spoken response to the voice input;
and
in response to receiving the second audio representing the spoken response to the voice input, ducking the first audio while playing back the ducked first audio concurrently with the second audio representing the spoken response to the voice input via the audio stage and the one or more speakers.

5 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 16/806,747Filed 2 Mar 2020
Priority: 27 Sep 2016
Published: 2 Mar 2023
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification16 codes

H04R 29/007
Monitoring arrangements; Testing arrangements: for public address systems
G06F 3/165
Sound input; Sound output: management of the audio stream, e.g. setting of volume, audio stream path
G10L 15/22
Speech recognition: procedures used during a speech recognition process, e.g. man-machine dialogue
H03G 3/32
In amplifiers having semiconductor devices: the control being dependent upon ambient noise level or sound level

Family

Application15/277,810Continuation · filed 27 Sep 2016
Application15/946,585Continuation · filed 5 Apr 2018
Application16/806,747Continuation
US 10,582,322 B2Related patent
US 11,641,559 B2Related patent
US 2018/0091913 A1Published application
US 2018/0332417 A1Published application
US 2020/0204938 A1Published application
US 9,942,678 B1Related patent
US 2023/0069810 A9This patent

From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.

Timeline

Citations

Open elsewhere

Building an agent or pulling many patents? Use the API or MCP server instead of scraping pages. Get an API key