Audio system and audio management method

Abstract

An audio system and an audio management method are provided. The audio system includes: a plurality of speaker devices and an audio management device. The speaker devices are placed in a listening environment, and each speaker device includes at least one transducer unit. The audio management device is configured to: receive an audio signal, wherein the audio signal is suitable for a standard arrangement and the audio signal includes information of corresponding audio component signals corresponding to corresponding standard positions in the standard arrangement; determine currently connected speaker devices in the listening environment in response to determining changes in speaker behavior in the listening environment, and acquire audio playback control parameters in the listening environment; and process the audio signal based on the audio playback control parameters to obtain a speaker feed signal for input to the currently connected speaker devices.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure relates to spatial audio processing technology, and more specifically to an audio system and an audio management method. Background Technology

[0002] Currently, various multi-channel, immersive, or other spatial audio formats require users to place multiple speakers in a strictly symmetrical manner and / or according to standard arrangements adapted to specific audio formats in order to obtain the best experience.

[0003] For example, on the Dolby website, each speaker environment guide provides a very detailed description of the angles of all the speakers in an audio system. The guide attempts to persuade users to recreate the environment in a pre-defined space (e.g., a professional studio for content production).

[0004] However, for a typical home environment, the physical space may not support this optimal speaker placement. For example, the user may not have the equipment to measure the precise angle of the speakers, and the speaker placement may deviate from the positions indicated in the guide. Sometimes, the room design may be asymmetrical, making it impossible to place the speakers as suggested by the guide.

[0005] Similarly, current spatial audio systems require all speakers in the environment to be in place. If one speaker goes offline, the system will either interrupt and stop playback or play while a channel is missing, resulting in a significant performance degradation.

[0006] As mentioned above, loudspeakers are highly limited in all current spatial audio systems, and there is no existing technology for managing changes in loudspeaker location and number. Summary of the Invention

[0007] The embodiments disclosed herein provide a solution for managing changes in a spatial audio system regarding changes in speaker location and number of speakers.

[0008] According to one aspect of this disclosure, an audio system is provided, comprising: a plurality of speaker devices placed in a listening environment, each speaker device including at least one transducer unit; and an audio management device configured to: receive an audio signal, wherein the audio signal is suitable for a standard arrangement and the audio signal includes information of corresponding audio component signals corresponding to corresponding standard positions in the standard arrangement; determine currently connected speaker devices in the listening environment in response to determining changes in speaker behavior in the listening environment, and acquire audio playback control parameters in the listening environment, wherein the speaker behavior is associated with the actual arrangement and / or state of the plurality of speaker devices; and process the audio signal based on the audio playback control parameters to obtain speaker feed signals for input to the currently connected speaker devices, such that audio output signals of transducer units included in the currently connected speaker devices can provide desired sound effects corresponding to the audio signal at a target listening position and listening direction.

[0009] In one example, the change in speaker behavior includes one or more of the following: the initial connection of multiple speaker devices in the listening environment to the audio management device; the removal or addition of one or more speaker devices in the listening environment; a low battery alarm for one or more speaker devices in the listening environment; or a change in position and / or orientation of one or more speaker devices in the listening environment, or the detection of displacement.

[0010] In one example, the audio playback control parameters include: parameters relating to the physical location and alignment of each speaker device currently connected to the listening environment; the target listening location and target listening direction in the listening environment; the speaker device characteristics of each currently connected speaker device; the spatial characteristics of the listening environment; and / or the spatial audio format of the audio to be played in the listening environment.

[0011] In one example, to process the audio signal, the audio management device is configured to: determine, based on the audio playback control parameters, one or more transducer units to which each audio component signal of the audio signal is to be transmitted, and transmission parameters for each path, wherein the transmission parameters include at least gain, delay, and filter parameters; apply the transmission parameters corresponding to each path of the audio component signal to the audio component signal for each audio component signal; and for each speaker device in the currently connected speaker devices, mix the audio component signals to the speaker device after the application of the transmission parameters to obtain the speaker feed signal of the speaker device.

[0012] In one example, to process the audio signal, the audio management device is configured to: determine transmission parameters for each path of each audio component signal based on the audio playback control parameters and the assumption that each audio component signal is to be transmitted to all transducer units, wherein the transmission parameters include at least gain, delay, and filter parameters; apply the transmission parameters corresponding to each path of the audio component signal to the audio component signal for each audio component signal; and for each speaker device in the currently connected speaker devices, mix the audio component signals to the speaker device after the application of the transmission parameters to obtain the speaker feed signal of the speaker device.

[0013] In one example, the first loudspeaker device includes two or more transducer units, and the loudspeaker feed signal of the first loudspeaker device is a mixed signal of audio component signals that have been applied with the transmission parameters and sent to the two or more transducer units, wherein the mixed signal is distributed at the first loudspeaker device to each transducer unit in the first loudspeaker device for processing and playback.

[0014] In one example, the plurality of speaker devices includes a first speaker device, a second speaker device, and a third speaker device, wherein: the first speaker device includes a first set of transducer units corresponding to different sound emission directions; the second speaker device is a portable speaker device and includes a second set of transducer units, the second set of transducer units including one or more tweeter transducer units and a woofer transducer unit; and the third speaker device includes a dedicated woofer transducer unit, wherein when the first speaker device, the second speaker device, and the third speaker device are all in standard operating condition, the desired sound effect corresponding to the audio signal is generated at the target listening position and the listening direction.

[0015] In one example, the first set of transducer units includes multiple transducer units physically placed in the same device and two sub-devices arranged at any location as needed. Each sub-device includes two transducer units, wherein the multiple transducer units correspond to a horizontal sound emission direction and an upward sound emission direction, and one of the two transducer units in each sub-device corresponds to a horizontal sound emission direction while the other transducer unit corresponds to an upward sound emission direction.

[0016] In one example, the audio signal from the upward direction reaches the target listening position through reflection from the upper wall of the listening environment.

[0017] In one example, the audio management device determines that the speaker behavior changes in response to a low-power state of the dedicated bass transducer unit, and reprocesses the audio signal such that at least a portion of the audio component signal destined for the bass transducer is processed and transmitted to the bass transducer unit included in the second speaker device.

[0018] According to one aspect of this disclosure, an audio management method for a listening environment is provided, wherein a plurality of speaker devices are present in the listening environment, and each speaker device includes at least one transducer unit, and the audio management method includes: acquiring an audio signal, wherein the audio signal is suitable for a standard arrangement and the audio signal includes information of corresponding audio component signals corresponding to corresponding standard positions in the standard arrangement; determining currently connected speaker devices in the listening environment in response to determining changes in speaker behavior in the listening environment, and acquiring audio playback control parameters in the listening environment, wherein the speaker behavior is associated with the actual arrangement and / or state of the plurality of speaker devices; and processing the audio signal based on the audio playback control parameters to obtain a speaker feed signal for input to the currently connected speaker device, such that an audio output signal of the transducer unit included in the currently connected speaker device can provide a desired sound effect corresponding to the audio signal at a target listening position and listening direction.

[0019] In this disclosure, the described audio system will enable several speaker devices (each speaker device including one or more transducer units) and provide a non-uniformly placed transducer unit arrangement that works in concert (different from the standard arrangement) so that the overall sound field and sound image sound like the standard arrangement. Therefore, the audio system has fewer restrictions on the arrangement of speaker devices, can be used in many scenarios and adapt to listening environments with different characteristics, and can be more flexible in the selection of speaker devices. Moreover, once the audio playback control parameters are obtained, speaker devices with different shapes and arrangements can be easily used to play audio signals. For example, Dolby Atmos can be played using a soundbar with a bar shape and any portable speaker. Attached Figure Description

[0020] These and / or other aspects, features, and advantages of this disclosure will become more apparent and readily understood from the following description of the embodiments in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

[0021] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of an audio system in one or more examples of this disclosure is shown;

[0022] Figure 2 The standard arrangement corresponding to the 7.1.4 multi-channel audio signal is shown;

[0023] Figures 3A to 3B Examples of signal transmission paths in an audio system, as shown in one or more examples of this disclosure, are illustrated.

[0024] Figure 4A The transmission of audio component signal A2 to speaker devices 10-1 and 10-2 is shown;

[0025] Figure 4B The transmission of audio component signals A2 and A3 to speaker device 10-2 is shown;

[0026] Figure 5 A specific implementation of the transducer unit arrangement in one or more examples of this disclosure is shown; and

[0027] Figure 6 A flowchart of an audio management method for a listening environment according to another aspect of this disclosure is shown. Detailed Implementation

[0028] This disclosure will now be described in detail with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof. However, this disclosure is not limited to the embodiments described herein, but may be implemented in many different forms. The described embodiments are provided only to make this disclosure thorough and complete, and to fully convey the concepts of this disclosure to those skilled in the art. Unless expressly excluded or should be excluded by the context, features of the described embodiments may be combined with or substituted for each other.

[0029] Unless otherwise defined, the technical or scientific terms used in this disclosure shall have the ordinary meanings understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure pertains. The terms “first,” “second,” etc., used in this disclosure do not indicate any order, quantity, or importance, but are merely used to distinguish different components.

[0030] For the purposes of this specification, the following terms have the same meaning. The term "listening environment" refers to any open, semi-enclosed, or fully enclosed area, such as a room that can be used to play audio content alone or together with video or other content, and can be found in homes, cinemas, theaters, auditoriums, studios, game consoles, etc. Such an area may have one or more surfaces, such as walls or baffles that can directly or diffusely reflect sound waves. The terms "loudspeaker unit," "speaker," or "loudspeaker" refer to a device that includes one or more transducer units in an integral enclosure, and the terms "cabinet" or "housing" refer to an integral enclosure surrounding one or more transducer units. The term "transducer unit" refers to a single electroacoustic transducer that generates and transmits sound in response to an input electro-audio signal, and may be referred to as a "driver." The term "loudspeaker feed signal" can refer to an audio signal sent from an audio management device to the loudspeaker unit to play sound through the one or more transducer units included in the loudspeaker unit.

[0031] The term "sound direction" can refer to the direction of sound transmission of the output audio signal corresponding to a transducer unit, and is usually implemented through acoustic design (such as waveguides) or parametric subarrays based on digital signal processors (DSPs). Types of "sound direction" can include horizontal sound direction and upward sound direction, and accordingly, the sound transmission channels of the transducer unit are called horizontal channels and upward channels (used as height channels).

[0032] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of an audio system from one or more examples of this disclosure is shown. Optionally, the audio system can be used in a home entertainment environment (home theater, home television, etc.).

[0033] like Figure 1 As shown, the audio system 100 may include a plurality of speaker devices 10 (10⁻¹, 10⁻², ..., 10⁻N, where N is an integer greater than 1) (as a speaker system) and an audio management device 20. The plurality of speaker devices 10 may be placed in a listening environment, and each speaker device 10 may include one or more transducer units. Each speaker device receives managed audio signals from the audio management device 20, for example, via a wireless communication connection. Typically, the speaker devices are separate entities from the audio management device, which may also be part of and housed within one of the speaker devices. In one example, the audio system may also include a user interface (e.g., a display or touchscreen), which may be coupled to or be part of the audio management device 20.

[0034] The audio management device 20 may include one or more processors that are communicatively connected to multiple speaker devices 10 in the environment, enabling the multiple speaker devices 10 to receive managed audio signals for playback. Additionally, the audio management device 20 may also communicate with the multiple speaker devices 10, for example, via a wireless communication interface, to exchange information and signals with each other.

[0035] Each of the multiple speaker units 10 has only standard inputs, such as mono, stereo, 5.1, 7.1, ATMOS (with height channel), etc., and can have any suitable size and configuration, such as soundbar, floorstanding speaker, bookshelf speaker, satellite speaker, etc. In addition to the transducer units, each speaker unit may also include one or more sensors, one or more memories, and one or more processors, enabling the detection and transmission of the speaker unit's status, mapping the positions of the multiple speaker units, and locally processing managed audio signals received from the audio management device on the speaker unit for playback, or distributing them to the transducer units for playback (if any), etc.

[0036] Transducer units can be individually addressable and oriented in different directions (e.g., forward, upward, sideways, etc.) to reproduce, for example, immersive audio, and each transducer unit can be considered a single sound-emitting unit. Transducer units can be classified as low-frequency woofers, tweeters, and mid-range transducer units, and low-frequency woofers can be implemented to support signal content with low-frequency effects (LFE) channels. In some cases, speaker units with side-firing and upward-firing transducer units can be used for immersive audio applications using reflected signals.

[0037] Typically, as mentioned earlier, if the speakers are placed in their standard positions according to the guidelines, ideal sound can be achieved at the standard listening position and listening direction. However, in many cases, as mentioned earlier, the standard arrangement may not be met. For example, even if all speaker units function properly, more than one transducer unit may be included in the housing as a single speaker unit (e.g., such as...). Figure 2 The transducer unit in the main body of the soundbar shown is located in a position determined by the position of the speaker unit. Therefore, due to the shape of the speaker unit, the transducer unit may not be placed in every standard position.

[0038] exist Figure 2In this context, assuming a 7.1.4 multi-channel audio signal is to be played, under normal circumstances, these transducer units should be arranged in each standard position according to the standard arrangement corresponding to the 7.1.4 multi-channel audio signal. For example, for seven transducer units corresponding to the horizontal channels, one transducer unit needs to be arranged in front, left front, right front, left, right, left rear, and right rear positions relative to the listening direction (e.g., front, left front, right front, left, right, left rear, and right rear). Figure 2 (as shown by the dashed circle in the image).

[0039] exist Figure 2 In the illustration, the actual arrangement of multiple loudspeaker devices is shown with solid lines, where each loudspeaker device may include one or more transducer units (not shown). Therefore, the actual arrangement of the loudspeaker devices mentioned in the context of this application may refer to the arrangement of these transducer units (also known as "transducer unit arrangement"). Figure 2 As shown in the solid box, the front speaker unit (relative to the listening position and direction) is a soundbar containing multiple transducer units (not shown). The left and right front transducer units (relative to the listening position and direction) do not overlap with the dashed circle, and the right transducer unit does not overlap with the dashed circle. In other words, the actual positions of these transducer units are not all located at the standard positions according to the 7.1.4 multi-channel audio signal, so the listening experience at the listening position will be reduced.

[0040] Therefore, the solution disclosed herein can enable, as Figure 2 The non-uniformly arranged loudspeakers (including transducer units) shown in the solid-line box work together to make the entire sound field and sound image sound like... Figure 2 The uniformly arranged transducer units, as shown by the dashed circles in the diagram, are the same as those for the 7.1.4 multi-channel audio signal.

[0041] In each application scenario, existing speaker units may be identical to each other, but they may also typically belong to different speaker unit types and be located in different locations. Generally, speaker units are usually placed in listening environments where the location is not strictly limited, but can at least roughly correspond to any suitable surround sound or immersive audio standard arrangement (e.g., arranged according to the established 7.1.4 placement guidelines). That is to say, even if a standard arrangement cannot be met, available speaker units can be arranged in a manner similar to the standard arrangement.

[0042] It should be noted that in this disclosure, when the target listening position is expressed as an absolute position, the target listening position may change. However, the position of each loudspeaker device and each transducer unit can be represented or defined with reference to the target listening position and listening orientation (as a reference position and orientation, e.g., the origin and positive direction of a coordinate system). Therefore, each target listening position with a target listening orientation can be considered as a fixed position with a fixed listening orientation, and this disclosure focuses on the position of the loudspeaker device and transducer unit relative to each other and relative to a fixed position and a fixed listening orientation.

[0043] In this respect, the audio management device 20 of this disclosure can be configured to perform the following operations to achieve the desired sound effect at the target listening position and listening direction, even if the actual arrangement (the position of the speaker devices (and / or their transducer units) and the number of speaker devices) differs from the standard arrangement.

[0044] Audio management device 20 can acquire audio signals adapted to a standard setup (standard position, standard listening position, and standard listening orientation), and the audio signal includes information about corresponding audio component signals corresponding to the corresponding standard position in the standard setup. For example, the audio signal can be a multi-channel audio signal, an immersive audio signal, Dolby Atmos, or an audio signal with other spatial formats, which has been or can be decoded into different audio component signals for playback by a speaker device. Whether it is an object-based format (such as Dolby Atmos), a higher-order Ambisonics (HOA, scene-based) for reproducing the sound field experience, or any other format introduced in the future, audio management device 20 needs to understand the incoming format and decode it in an optimized manner for rendering and processing. The audio signal can be acquired from an external device or from internal memory storing the audio signal.

[0045] Then, the audio management device 20 can determine the currently connected speaker devices in the listening environment in response to determining changes in speaker behavior in the listening environment, and acquire audio playback control parameters in the listening environment, wherein the speaker behavior is associated with the actual arrangement of the plurality of speaker devices and / or the state of the plurality of speaker devices. The audio management device 20 can further process the audio signal based on the audio playback control parameters to obtain a speaker feed signal for input to the currently connected speaker device, such that the audio output signal of the transducer unit included in the currently connected speaker device can provide the desired sound effect corresponding to the audio signal at the target listening position and listening direction.

[0046] The goal of audio management is to ensure that when a speaker system of any arrangement and characteristics outputs sound based on the speaker feed signal, the user can experience essentially the same sound as in a standard arrangement at the target listening position and listening direction.

[0047] For example, the audio management device 20 may include or be coupled to a codec that receives audio signals from an audio source, decodes the signals, and transmits the decoded signals to a processing and adjustment unit (e.g., implemented by hardware, software, or a combination thereof) that generates speaker feed signals for transmission to various speaker devices in the listening environment.

[0048] In one example implementation, the change in speaker behavior may include one or more of the following: initial connection of a plurality of speaker devices in the listening environment to the audio management device; removal or addition of one or more speaker devices in the listening environment; low battery alarm of one or more speaker devices in the listening environment; or a change in position and / or orientation of one or more speaker devices in the listening environment, or detection of their displacement, for example, by a sensor such as a gravity sensor. That is, the audio management device 20 can receive information from the speaker devices in the listening environment to check their connection status, their location, battery status, etc.

[0049] In one example implementation, the audio playback control parameters include: i) parameters relating to the physical location and alignment of each speaker device currently connected to the listening environment; ii) the target listening location and target listening direction in the listening environment; iii) the speaker device characteristics of each currently connected speaker device; iv) the spatial characteristics of the listening environment; and / or v) the spatial audio format of the audio to be played in the listening environment; etc.

[0050] Parameters related to physical location and alignment may include the horizontal angle, alignment angle, and vertical height (if applicable) of each speaker unit, as well as the distances between them. These parameters can be obtained manually through visual estimation or through measuring tools such as laser angle and distance measuring tools. Alternatively, multiple speaker units (as a speaker system) can also be positioned and their alignment evaluated by running automated detection or calibration processes, such as test tones, infrared sensors, and other means. As an example, each speaker unit may have dual microphones built in, and by sequentially playing a sinusoidal sweep signal on each speaker unit, the relative angles between any three speaker units can be calculated, and by combining all the triangulation information, the position of the speaker units and / or the direction they face in the listening environment can be mapped. In some cases, the speaker units and / or their transducer units may be considered point sources, and it may not be necessary to determine their orientation. Additionally, the positions of the transducer units within each speaker unit can be mapped based on their location and transducer unit configuration. The mapped positions of the speaker system can be transmitted to the audio management device 20 via a wireless communication interface. In some cases, the user interface of an audio system may include a display for showing the arrangement of speaker units (and transducer units) and the listening position.

[0051] Users can specify the target listening position and target listening orientation in the listening environment through the user interface. In other cases, users can input other audio playback control parameters through the user interface. The user interface can be of any existing type, such as a touch screen, allowing users to input information. For example, if the user chooses to manually input information, the position determined based on the input information is assumed to be the origin of the spatial vector and the target listening position, while the orientation determined based on the input information is assumed to be 0 degrees and the target listening orientation. If the physical position of the speaker devices is determined through an automatic detection or calibration process of the speaker system, the target listening orientation (user orientation) can be intelligently defined based on the most probable forward position. Of course, users can always manually define the target listening position and specify the target listening orientation (the orientation they are facing) in the system graph. For another example, users can specify the orientation they are facing by setting any speaker device to "forward," by explicitly specifying which speaker device corresponds to the left front channel, or by other interactions (such as touching the left front speaker device) or by using NFC, UWB technology to specify the role of a speaker device in the audio system. Users have many ways to specify a speaker device, and once specified, the remaining speaker devices can be easily mapped. Given that the audio system has a camera sensor, it may even be possible to detect the current orientation of the user's face and define the forward orientation for the entire system.

[0052] Each speaker unit's speaker unit characteristics represent local information about the speaker unit, including battery status and technical specifications (if metadata for the technical specifications is shared via a protocol). For example, this allows the audio management device to know the remaining playback time of a particular speaker unit (if battery powered). The audio management device also obtains characteristics of the speaker unit's channels, such as woofer, horn, and beamform. If not specified, the speaker unit is treated as a single sound source pointing in the direction the speaker unit is facing.

[0053] For example, the speaker unit characteristics of each speaker unit may include: i. the transducer (transducer unit) configuration of the speaker unit, such as size, power, number, relative mechanical position and transducer unit characteristics, crossover frequency (if any); ii. acoustic structure, such as waveguides, horns; iii. channel configuration, such as stereo, multichannel; iv. integration algorithms, such as beamforming, upmixing algorithms; v. battery performance, such as playback time; vi. acoustic performance, such as frequency response, maximum loudness.

[0054] Furthermore, if the audio management device supports calibration algorithms for the listening environment, this allows for the detection of spatial information such as room size, reflection time, and gain, and even detailed room configuration. Combined with speaker unit channel functionality, the audio management device can further enhance the listener experience by leveraging the characteristics of the speaker units, such as side-firing and up-firing speaker units or beamforming.

[0055] In other words, whenever the behavior of multiple speaker devices changes, the audio management device 20 will perform reconfiguration based on the aforementioned audio playback control parameters to manage the playback of audio signals using the currently connected speaker devices.

[0056] After the audio management device 20 obtains information about audio playback control parameters (e.g., the arrangement of speaker units (and transducer units), further details about acoustic characteristics, power, etc.), the device management device 20 processes the audio signal and outputs it to each speaker unit.

[0057] When the audio management device processes an audio signal, it determines, based on the audio playback control parameters, one or more transducer units to which each audio component signal of the audio signal should be sent, and the transmission parameters for each path, wherein the transmission parameters include at least gain, delay, and filter parameters. Optionally, the transmission parameters may further include phase, etc. Then, for each audio component signal, the audio management device applies the transmission parameters corresponding to each path of the audio component signal to the audio component signal, and for each speaker device in the currently connected speaker device, the audio component signal sent to the speaker device (and / or its transducer unit) after applying the corresponding transmission parameters is mixed to obtain the speaker feed signal of the speaker device.

[0058] For example, transmission parameters for each path can be applied to the audio component signals via hardware circuitry in an audio management device or via software programs or a combination thereof.

[0059] In another example, it can generally be assumed that each audio component signal is output through all speaker units in all speaker devices to facilitate computation (e.g., matrix calculation) and / or speed up determination. Therefore, for each audio component signal, the transmission parameters on the path to each transducer unit can be calculated; that is, the determination of one or more transducers to which each audio component signal of the audio signal should go can be omitted. Specifically, the audio management device 20, based on the audio playback control parameters and according to the assumption that each audio component signal goes to all transducers in all speaker devices, determines the transmission parameters for each path of each audio component signal of the audio signal, wherein the transmission parameters include at least gain, delay, and filter parameters; for each audio component signal, the transmission parameters corresponding to each path of the audio component signal are applied to the audio component signal; and for each speaker device in the currently connected speaker devices, the audio component signal to that speaker device after the application of the transmission parameters is mixed to obtain the speaker feed signal of that speaker device.

[0060] Figures 3A to 3B Examples of signal transmission paths in an audio system, one or more, are shown in this disclosure. It should be understood that... Figures 3A to 3B The structures described herein are merely exemplary and should not be construed as limiting the audio systems disclosed herein.

[0061] like Figure 3AAs shown, after decoding the audio signal into audio component signals (A1, A2, ..., AM as shown), the signal processing and adjustment unit determines the transmission parameters for each path (a total of M*P paths, where P is the number of transducer units in the N speaker units), and performs delay, scaling, and filtering on the audio component signals according to the relevant transmission parameters (e.g., using hardware circuitry (e.g., buffers, amplifiers, and / or filters, etc.), and optionally in combination with software). For example, if the gain on a path is 0, it indicates that the corresponding audio component signal is not actually transmitted on that path. Then, at the interface toward the speaker units, the audio component signals (A1 to AM) after applying the transmission parameters can be collected and mixed at the interface as a mixed signal sent to the speaker units. It should be noted that, as Figure 3A As shown, at least a portion of the signal processing unit, the adjustment unit, the codec, and the processor can communicate with each other and can be functionally and physically integrated together.

[0062] As mentioned earlier, in some cases, it is possible to first determine which one or more transducer units each audio component of the audio signal should be routed to. In this case, as an example, Figure 3B Different audio component signals are illustrated to be transmitted along different paths. For example, audio component signal A1 travels from port D1 to interface 1 facing speaker device 10-1, while audio component signal A2 travels from port D2 to interface 1 facing speaker device 10-1, and from D2 to interface 2 facing speaker device 10-2, and so on. A signal processing unit and an adjustment unit (e.g., including a processor, buffer, amplifier, and / or filter, etc.) determine the path of each audio component signal and the associated transmission parameters for each path, and perform delay, scaling, and filtering on the audio component signals according to the associated transmission parameters. Then, at the interface facing the speaker device, the audio component signals, after the transmission parameters have been applied, can be collected and mixed at that interface as a mixed signal sent to the speaker device.

[0063] Optionally, the audio management device determines the transducer unit arrangement of the currently connected speaker device based on audio playback control parameters, and determines the transmission parameters for each path based on the transducer unit arrangement and the characteristics of the currently connected speaker device (e.g., transducer unit configuration, sound transmission distance to the target listening position, location of the speaker device or reflecting sound source, etc.).

[0064] For example, when determining the transmission parameters for each path based on the transducer unit arrangement, the distance from each loudspeaker and / or its transducer unit to the target listening position needs to be considered. Delay and gain can be applied to the audio component signals sent to each loudspeaker unit and its transducer unit (if any), so that the sound played from each transducer unit arrives at the target listening position simultaneously and with approximately the same sound pressure level. Additionally, an equalizer (EQ) can be included in the processing and adjustment unit, or applied to each loudspeaker unit, so that the sound emitted by each loudspeaker unit at the target listening position has a matched power and frequency response (spectral balance or timbre).

[0065] The transmission parameters can be calculated using a vector-based amplitude translation (VBAP) algorithm. VBAP is used as an example here, and the details are well-known in the prior art and are the same as those in the prior art, so they will not be described here. Other algorithms should be selected based on the target sound quality and implementation efficiency, and not just limited to VBAP. For example, for the audio component signals of a given source audio channel (e.g., the left channel audio channel in a 7.1.4 environment as indicated in the ATMOS Standard Guide), the audio component signals can be virtualized using a VBAP algorithm, where delay, gain, and / or filter parameters corresponding to each participating transducer unit can be calculated with the goal of generating a virtual sound at a standard location in a standard arrangement when they are played together, and that the virtual sound contributes to the overall sound of the target listening position and the listening position. All transducer units of the horizontal or vertical channels can participate, and typically include tweeters and midrange transducer units, rather than woofers, considering sound localization characteristics.

[0066] For example, based on Figure 3B The structure shown, Figure 4A The transmission of audio component signal A1 to speaker devices 1 and 2 is shown, while Figure 4B The transmission of audio component signals A1 and A2 to speaker device 1 is shown. It should be understood that... Figures 4A to 4B The structures described herein are merely exemplary and should not be construed as limiting the audio systems described herein. For example, each audio component signal may be directed separately to transducer units in any number of speaker devices; and the transmission parameters supplied may further include filter parameters and / or phase.

[0067] like Figure 4AAs shown, the audio management device uses the VBAP algorithm to determine the path of audio component signal A2 to the transducers in speaker units 10-1 and 10-2 based on the transducer unit arrangement, and determines transmission parameters P1 (e.g., gain 80%, delay 2 ms) and P2 (e.g., gain 110%, delay 1 ms) for the paths to speaker unit 1 and speaker unit 2, respectively. The audio management device then applies transmission parameter P1 to audio component signal A1 and transmission parameter P2 to audio component signal A2 to obtain the managed (processed) audio signal on the routing path to speaker unit 1 and the managed audio signal on the routing path to speaker unit 2.

[0068] like Figure 4B As shown, the audio management device uses the VBAP algorithm and determines the transducers in speaker units 1 and 2, and the transducers in speaker units 2 and 3, based on the transducer unit arrangement. That is, audio component signals A2 and A3 will be transmitted to speaker unit 2. In other words, the managed audio signal obtained from audio component signals A2 and A3 will be mixed and fed to speaker unit 10-2 so as to be included in the audio feed signal at speaker unit 2.

[0069] Additionally, as mentioned above, each loudspeaker device may have more than one transducer unit, and in this case, the loudspeaker feed signal of the loudspeaker device is a mixed signal of each processed audio component signal of the transducer unit included in the loudspeaker device, wherein the mixed signal will be distributed to each transducer unit in the loudspeaker device for processing and playback, for example via an audio frequency crossover (e.g., a crossover) in the loudspeaker device.

[0070] In the above description, the transducer unit can transmit sound directly to the listener at the receiving position. However, depending on the acoustic structure and characteristics of these speaker devices (or transducer units), some speaker devices (or transducer units) can transmit sound to the listener through reflection. In this case, because the audio management device knows the location of each transducer unit of each speaker device and its acoustic structure and characteristics, the audio management device can further calculate and assign transmission parameters. For example, in Figure 5 The soundbar shown (and) Figure 2 In a soundbar (similar to the one in the image), the leftmost and rightmost transducer units can be housed in specially designed waveguides to project sound to the sides. This is in... Figure 5The example illustrates this, where positions p1 and p6 are reflection points created by the two beams (used for sound transmission) projected onto walls or reflective surfaces in the listening environment, thus forming secondary sound sources caused by sound reflection. When using algorithms such as VBAP, audio management devices should not use the physical location of each transducer unit, but rather consider the locations of these secondary sound sources corresponding to some transducer units. Similarly, for transducer units with upward projection to produce height channels or relying on ceiling reflections, audio management devices should consider these secondary sound sources, and so on. Figure 5 In the example, there are 7 direct and secondary sound sources (transmission parameters can be calculated based on the distance of the 7 sound sources to the target listening position), and the target is still to achieve the desired sound effect at the target listening position.

[0071] As can be seen from the above description, since each loudspeaker unit (including one or more transducer units) only has standard inputs, such as mono, stereo, 5.1, 7.1, or ATMOS (with height channels), the arrangement of this loudspeaker unit differs from the standard arrangement. Therefore, when the entire audio system requires this loudspeaker unit to utilize its transducer units in a way that differs from the simple crossover x-channel audio system in the standard arrangement, the audio management device will be designed to manage a special mix of audio component signals and deliver it as a feed to that specific loudspeaker unit. For example, as... Figure 5 As shown, the soundbar has nine transducer units, with two detachable speaker sub-units located roughly at the rear left and right. Each detachable speaker sub-unit produces the sound specified by the audio management device according to this overall topology (transducer unit arrangement). Locally, the soundbar is unaware of this topology; for example, it receives a special 5.0.4 signal, a mixture of nine audio component signals managed by the audio management device for the nine transducer units. Its "left surround" and "right surround" are not what a standard 5.0.4 track would typically output, but rather what the entire audio system needs to work spatially and frequency-wise in coordination with all the other speaker units (and transducers) managed by the audio management device.

[0072] For a specific implementation, the plurality of speaker devices may include a first speaker device, a second speaker device, and a third speaker device. The first speaker device includes a first set of transducer units corresponding to different sound directions. The second speaker device is a portable speaker device and includes a second set of transducer units, which includes one or more tweeter transducers (e.g., two tweeter transducers for stereo channels) and a woofer transducer unit. The third speaker device includes a dedicated woofer transducer unit. When the first, second, and third speaker devices are all in standard speaker device operating condition (e.g., fully charged and correctly connected), the desired sound effect corresponding to the audio signal is generated at the target listening position and the target listening direction.

[0073] Furthermore, the first loudspeaker device, the second loudspeaker device, and the third loudspeaker device can be as follows: Figure 5 The selection and arrangement are as shown. Specifically, the first set of transducer units includes multiple transducer units physically placed in the same device (within the same housing or enclosure) and two sub-devices arranged at any location as needed, each sub-device comprising two transducer units. The multiple transducer units correspond to a horizontal sound emission direction and an upward sound emission direction, and one of the two transducer units in each sub-device corresponds to a horizontal sound emission direction, while the other transducer unit corresponds to an upward sound emission direction. The audio signal is reflected by the upper wall or ceiling in the listening environment via the upward sound emission direction to reach the target listening position.

[0074] Furthermore, such as Figure 5As further illustrated, this diagram shows a universal soundbar product that supports up to 5.0.4 playback via nine transducer units: three front horizontal transducers (horizontal output direction), labeled 1, 2, and 3; two side and rear horizontal transducers, labeled 4 and 5 respectively; plus four height transducers (upward output direction), labeled 6, 7, 8, and 9. The soundbar body comprises three horizontal transducers, two height transducers, and two SODs (Surround On Demand, which are detachable transducers designed to function as surround satellite speakers when removed and as part of the soundbar when installed). These SODs output sound upwards as height transducers. A pseudo-5.0.4 signal is fed into the soundbar. Room characteristics are detected through the soundbar's self-calibration, and the leftmost and rightmost transducer units provide a wide sound image. A height sensor unit can take over the height information from the raw audio signal (e.g., Dolby Atmos format). The two horizontal transducer units in the SOD also contribute to the horizontal sound field. The audio management device tricks the soundbar into playing a 5.0.4 channel signal that is inaudible in normal environments, but it works well with all speaker units.

[0075] For further reference Figure 5 A third speaker unit (including a large bass transducer unit with dedicated powerful bass performance) can be used to help manage all low-frequency audio signals. Another transducer unit in the third speaker unit can also simply be used as a single transducer unit facing the front of the third speaker unit. Both the bass transducer unit on the portable speaker and the third speaker unit are capable of transmitting low-frequency audio signals. Typically, the bass transducer unit on the portable speaker will not function fully because the audio management system recognizes that the dedicated bass transducer unit is significantly stronger than the bass transducer unit on the portable speaker. However, when the power state of the dedicated bass transducer unit drops, the audio management device will trigger a reconfiguration, and the bass transducer unit on the portable speaker unit will take over more low-frequency responsibility. That is, the audio management device determines that the speaker behavior changes in response to the low-power state of the dedicated bass transducer unit and reprocesses the audio signal so that at least a portion of the audio component signal destined for the bass transducer is processed and transmitted to the bass transducer unit included in the second speaker unit.

[0076] Additionally, the third speaker unit may include one or more tweeter transducers. For example, a third speaker unit typically has a powerful woofer transducer with a frequency crossover of 150 Hz, while the tweeter transducer typically does not have strong stereo performance.

[0077] Based on the above description, refer to Figures 2 to 5 The described audio system will enable several speaker units (each speaker unit includes one or more transducer units) and provide a non-uniformly placed arrangement of transducer units working together (different from the standard arrangement) so that the overall sound field and sound image sound like the standard arrangement. Therefore, the audio system has fewer restrictions in terms of speaker unit arrangement, can be used in many scenarios and adapt to listening environments with different characteristics, and may have more flexibility in the selection of speaker units. For example, a soundbar with a bar shape and any portable speaker can be used to play Dolby Atmos.

[0078] According to another aspect of this disclosure, an audio management method for a listening environment is provided, wherein multiple speaker devices exist in the listening environment, and each speaker device may include one or more transducer units.

[0079] Figure 6 A flowchart of an audio management method for a listening environment according to another aspect of this disclosure is shown.

[0080] like Figure 6 As shown, in step 610, an audio signal is acquired, wherein the audio signal is applicable to a standard arrangement and the audio signal includes information of a corresponding audio component signal corresponding to a corresponding standard position in the standard arrangement.

[0081] In step 620, in response to determining changes in speaker behavior in the listening environment, the currently connected speaker devices in the listening environment are determined, and audio playback control parameters in the listening environment are obtained, wherein the speaker behavior is associated with the actual arrangement of the plurality of speaker devices and / or the state of the plurality of speaker devices.

[0082] In step 630, the audio signal is processed based on the audio playback control parameters to obtain a speaker feed signal for input to the currently connected speaker device, such that the audio output signal of the transducer unit included in the currently connected speaker device can provide the desired sound effect corresponding to the audio signal at the target listening position and listening direction.

[0083] More details for each step will be available in the reference section. Figures 2 to 6 The above will be described separately, and will not be described again here.

[0084] The audio management method can be implemented using one or more processors in conjunction with one or more memories containing the above-described stored instructions. The one or more processors described herein (e.g., processors included in an audio management device) can include one or more intelligent hardware devices, such as a central processing unit (CPU), a microcontroller, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), etc. The one or more processors can include multiple processors, including general-purpose / application processors, digital signal processors (DSPs), modem processors, etc. One or more of the processors can include multiple devices (e.g., multiple processors). Additionally, the method can be implemented in conjunction with circuitry (e.g., buffers, delay circuits, and / or amplifiers, etc.). Each memory described herein can be a non-transitory storage medium, which can include random access memory (RAM), flash memory, optical disc storage, and / or read-only memory (ROM), etc.

[0085] As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” also include the plural forms unless the context explicitly indicates otherwise. For example, “processor” can include one or more processors. As used herein, the terms “comprising,” “including,” and / or “containing” specify the presence of the stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and / or components, but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and / or groups thereof.

[0086] Furthermore, as used herein, the "or" signifier used in a list of items (ending with "at least one of..." or "one or more of...") separates the list such that a list of, for example, "at least one of A, B, or C" or "one or more of A, B, or C" represents A, or B, or C, or AB, or AC, or BC, or ABC (i.e., A and B and C), or a combination of more than one feature (e.g., AA, AAB, ABBC, etc.).

[0087] The block diagrams involved in this disclosure are not intended to require or imply that connections and arrangements must be made in the manner shown in the block diagrams. Those skilled in the art will understand that the specific embodiments described above are merely examples and not limitations, and various modifications, combinations, partial combinations, and substitutions of the embodiments of this disclosure can be made according to design requirements and other factors, and such modifications, combinations, partial combinations, and substitutions are within the scope of the appended claims or their equivalents, and are therefore protected by this disclosure.

Claims

1. An audio system comprising: A plurality of loudspeaker devices are placed in a listening environment, and each loudspeaker device includes at least one transducer unit; as well as An audio management device, the audio management device being configured to: Acquire an audio signal, wherein the audio signal is suitable for a standard arrangement and the audio signal includes information about corresponding audio component signals corresponding to corresponding standard positions in the standard arrangement; In response to determining changes in speaker behavior in the listening environment, the currently connected speaker devices in the listening environment are determined, and audio playback control parameters in the listening environment are obtained, wherein the speaker behavior is associated with the actual arrangement and / or state of the plurality of speaker devices. as well as The audio signal is processed based on the audio playback control parameters to obtain a speaker feed signal for input to the currently connected speaker device, such that the audio output signal of the transducer unit included in the currently connected speaker device can provide the desired sound effect corresponding to the audio signal at the target listening position and listening direction.

2. The audio system of claim 1, wherein the variation in speaker behavior includes one or more of the following: The initial connection between the plurality of speaker devices in the listening environment and the audio management device; The removal or addition of one or more speaker devices in the listening environment; Low battery alarm for one or more of the plurality of speaker devices in the listening environment; or Changes in the position and / or orientation of one or more speaker devices in the listening environment, or detection of their displacement.

3. The audio system according to claim 1, wherein the audio playback control parameters include: Parameters relating to the physical location and alignment of each speaker device currently connected to the listening environment; The target listening location and target listening direction in the listening environment; Speaker device characteristics of each currently connected speaker device; The spatial characteristics of the listening environment; and / or The spatial audio format of the audio to be played in the listening environment.

4. The audio system of claim 1, wherein, for processing the audio signal, the audio management device is configured to: Based on the audio playback control parameters, determine one or more transducer units to which each audio component signal of the audio signal is to be transmitted and the transmission parameters for each path, wherein the transmission parameters include at least gain, delay and filter parameters; For each audio component signal, the transmission parameters corresponding to each path of the audio component signal are applied to the audio component signal; as well as For each of the currently connected speaker devices, the audio component signal to the speaker device after applying the transmission parameters is mixed to obtain the speaker feed signal of the speaker device.

5. The audio system of claim 1, wherein, for processing the audio signal, the audio management device is configured to: Based on the audio playback control parameters, and assuming that each audio component signal is to be transmitted to all transducer units, the transmission parameters for each path of each audio component signal are determined, wherein the transmission parameters include at least gain, delay, and filter parameters. For each audio component signal, the transmission parameters corresponding to each path of the audio component signal are applied to the audio component signal; as well as For each of the currently connected speaker devices, the audio component signal to the speaker device after applying the transmission parameters is mixed to obtain the speaker feed signal of the speaker device.

6. The audio system of claim 5, wherein the first loudspeaker device comprises two or more transducer units. The loudspeaker feed signal of the first loudspeaker device is a mixed signal of audio component signals that have been applied with the transmission parameters and sent to the two or more transducer units, and The mixed signal is distributed at the first loudspeaker device to each transducer unit in the first loudspeaker device for processing and playback.

7. The audio system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of speaker devices comprises a first speaker device, a second speaker device, and a third speaker device, wherein: The first loudspeaker device includes a first set of transducer units corresponding to different sound emission directions; The second loudspeaker device is a portable loudspeaker device and includes a second set of transducer units, the second set of transducer units including one or more tweeter transducer units and one woofer transducer unit; and The third loudspeaker device includes a dedicated bass transducer unit. When the first speaker device, the second speaker device, and the third speaker device are all in standard operating condition, the desired sound effect corresponding to the audio signal is generated at the target listening position and the listening direction.

8. The audio system of claim 7, wherein the first group of transducer units comprises a plurality of transducer units physically placed in the same device and two sub-devices arranged at any location as needed, each sub-device comprising two transducer units. The plurality of transducer units correspond to a horizontal sound emission direction and an upward sound emission direction, and one of the two transducer units in each sub-device corresponds to a horizontal sound emission direction, while the other transducer unit corresponds to an upward sound emission direction.

9. The audio system of claim 8, wherein the audio signal in the upward direction reaches the target listening position by reflection from the upper wall of the listening environment.

10. The audio system of claim 7, wherein the audio management device determines that the speaker behavior changes in response to a low-power state of the dedicated bass transducer unit, and reprocesses the audio signal such that at least a portion of the audio component signal leading to the bass transducer is processed and transmitted to the bass transducer unit included in the second speaker device.

11. An audio management method for a listening environment, wherein the listening environment contains a plurality of speaker devices, and each speaker device includes at least one transducer unit, the audio management method comprising: Acquire an audio signal, wherein the audio signal is suitable for a standard arrangement and the audio signal includes information about corresponding audio component signals corresponding to corresponding standard positions in the standard arrangement; In response to determining changes in speaker behavior in the listening environment, the currently connected speaker devices in the listening environment are determined, and audio playback control parameters in the listening environment are obtained, wherein the speaker behavior is associated with the actual arrangement and / or state of the plurality of speaker devices. as well as The audio signal is processed based on the audio playback control parameters to obtain a speaker feed signal for input to the currently connected speaker device, such that the audio output signal of the transducer unit included in the currently connected speaker device can provide the desired sound effect corresponding to the audio signal at the target listening position and listening direction.

12. The audio management method of claim 11, wherein the change in speaker behavior includes one or more of the following: The initial connection between the plurality of speaker devices in the listening environment and the audio management device; The removal or addition of one or more speaker devices in the listening environment; Low battery alarm for one or more of the plurality of speaker devices in the listening environment; or Changes in the position and / or orientation of one or more speaker devices in the listening environment, or detection of their displacement.

13. The audio management method according to claim 11, wherein the audio playback control parameters include: Parameters relating to the physical location and alignment of each speaker device currently connected to the listening environment; The target listening location and target listening direction in the listening environment; Speaker device characteristics of each currently connected speaker device; The spatial characteristics of the listening environment; and / or The spatial audio format of the audio to be played in the listening environment.

14. The audio management method according to claim 11, wherein processing the audio signal includes: Based on the audio playback control parameters, determine one or more transducer units to which each audio component signal of the audio signal is to be transmitted and the transmission parameters for each path, wherein the transmission parameters include at least gain, delay and filter parameters; For each audio component signal, the transmission parameters corresponding to each path of the audio component signal are applied to the audio component signal; as well as For each of the currently connected speaker devices, the audio component signal to the speaker device after applying the transmission parameters is mixed to obtain the speaker feed signal of the speaker device.

15. The audio management method according to claim 14, wherein processing the audio signal comprises: Based on the audio playback control parameters, and assuming that each audio component signal is to be transmitted to all transducer units, the transmission parameters for each path of each audio component signal are determined, wherein the transmission parameters include at least gain, delay, and filter parameters. For each audio component signal, the transmission parameters corresponding to each path of the audio component signal are applied to the audio component signal; as well as For each of the currently connected speaker devices, the audio component signal to the speaker device after applying the transmission parameters is mixed to obtain the speaker feed signal of the speaker device.

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