Integrated Audiovisual System

Abstract

To provide an integrated audiovisual system that delivers an event to one or more spectators.SOLUTION: The integrated audiovisual system includes one or more loudspeakers that are positioned behind one or more visual displays to be effectively behind the one or more visual displays to be shielded from the field of view of the one or more spectators. The one or more visual displays are specially designed and manufactured to allow sound associated with the event to propagate from the one or more loudspeakers with minimal acoustical distortion and / or minimum acoustical vibration while presenting a visual representation of the event to the one or more spectators. Moreover, the one or more loudspeakers and the one or more visual displays are situated to be a predetermined displacement from each other to further minimize acoustical distortion.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Background technology]

[0001] (CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS) This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62 / 859,930, filed June 11, 2019, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

[0002] The U.S. media and entertainment industry is the largest in the world. The U.S. media and entertainment industry accounts for one-third of the global media and entertainment industry, which distributes events (e.g., music events, theatrical events, sporting events, and / or film events) to audiences for their viewing enjoyment. Currently, venues (e.g., music venues and / or sporting venues, to name a few) distribute these events to audiences using conventional audiovisual systems having various display screens surrounded by loudspeakers in full view of the audience. Not only do these conventional loudspeakers occupy space within the venue that could be used to display the events, but venues often also undergo various measures to shield these conventional loudspeakers from the audience's view. Summary of the Invention [Means for solving the problem]

[0003] The following disclosure provides many different embodiments or examples for implementing different features of the provided subject matter. Specific examples of components and arrangements are described below to simplify the disclosure. These are, of course, examples only and are not intended to be limiting. For example, the formation of a first feature over a second feature in the following description may include embodiments in which the first and second features are formed so that they are in direct contact, or may include embodiments in which an additional feature may be formed between the first and second features such that the first and second features may not be in direct contact. In addition, the present disclosure may repeat reference numbers and / or letters in the examples. This repetition does not, in itself, dictate a relationship between the discussed embodiments and / or configurations.

[0004] overview An integrated audiovisual system for broadcasting an event to one or more spectators is disclosed. The integrated audiovisual system includes one or more loudspeakers positioned behind one or more visual displays so as to be virtually shielded from the view of the one or more spectators. The one or more visual displays are specially designed and manufactured to present a visual representation of the event to the one or more spectators while allowing sounds associated with the event to propagate from the one or more loudspeakers with minimal acoustic distortion and / or minimal acoustic vibration. Additionally, the one or more loudspeakers and the one or more visual displays are mounted at a predetermined displacement from one another to further minimize acoustic distortion. The present invention provides, for example, the following. (Item 1) 1. An integrated audiovisual system comprising: one or more loudspeakers configured to generate sound; a visual display configured to deliver a visual representation of an event, the visual display comprising a plurality of openings configured to allow the sound to propagate through the visual display; Equipped with An integrated audiovisual system, wherein the loudspeaker and the visual display are mounted at a displaced distance from each other, allowing the sound wavefront to form between the loudspeaker and the visual display before the sound propagates through the visual display. (Item 2) Item 1. The integrated audiovisual system of item 1, wherein the loudspeakers comprise one or more line arrays of loudspeakers. (Item 3) The visual display comprises a plurality of visual display panels, each display panel of the plurality of visual display panels: a printed circuit board; a plurality of visual emitting elements arranged in a plurality of rows and a plurality of columns on the printed circuit board to form an array of visual emitting elements; Equipped with Item 2. The integrated audiovisual system of item 1, wherein the plurality of openings are installed between adjacent ones of the plurality of rows. (Item 4) Each display panel of the plurality of visual display panels comprises: a plurality of first transmission lines installed along rows of the plurality of rows; a plurality of second transmission lines installed along the rows of the plurality of rows; Furthermore, 4. The integrated audiovisual system of claim 3, wherein the plurality of openings are installed between adjacent ones of the plurality of second transmission lines. (Item 5) visual emitting elements of the plurality of visual emitting elements along each row of the plurality of rows are separated by a row distance; visual emitting elements of the plurality of visual emitting elements along each column of the plurality of columns are separated by a column distance; 4. The integrated audiovisual system of item 3, wherein the row distance is equal to the column distance. (Item 6) Item 6. The integrated audiovisual system of item 5, wherein the row distance and the column distance are 6 millimeters (mm) or 9 mm. (Item 7) The plurality of visual emitting elements include: Multiple light-emitting diodes (LEDs), Multiple organic light-emitting diode (OLED) displays, or Multiple quantum dots (QDs) Item 4. An integrated audiovisual system according to item 3, comprising: (Item 8) Item 10. The integrated audiovisual system of item 1, wherein the plurality of openings are characterized as being rectangular in geometric shape. (Item 9) Item 9. The integrated audiovisual system of item 8, wherein the rectangular geometric shape is further radially shaped according to a radius. (Item 10) Item 10. The integrated audiovisual system of item 1, wherein the loudspeakers are positioned behind the visual display so as to be shielded from the view of one or more spectators of the event. (Item 11) Item 2. The integrated audiovisual system of item 1, wherein the displacement distance is 50 centimeters (cm). (Item 12) 1. A visual display for an integrated audiovisual system, said visual display comprising: a plurality of visual display panels, each visual display panel of the plurality of visual display panels comprising: a plurality of visual emitting elements mounted along a plurality of rows and a plurality of columns; a plurality of first transmission lines installed along rows of the plurality of rows; a plurality of second transmission lines installed along rows of the plurality of rows; a plurality of openings located between adjacent rows from the plurality of rows and between adjacent transmission lines of the plurality of second transmission lines; a plurality of visual display panels, each comprising: a visual display mechanical housing configured to arrange the plurality of visual display panels in a second plurality of rows and a second plurality of columns to form an array of visual display panels, the plurality of visual display panels operatively cooperating to deliver a visual representation of an event; and A visual display comprising: (Item 13) the plurality of visual emission elements are arranged in a second plurality of rows and a second plurality of columns to form an array of visual emission elements; Item 13. The visual display of item 12, wherein the plurality of openings are mounted between adjacent rows of the second plurality of rows. (Item 14) The plurality of visual display panels include: a plurality of first transmission lines installed along rows of the second plurality of rows; a plurality of second transmission lines installed along rows of the second plurality of rows; Equipped with Item 14. The visual display of item 13, wherein the plurality of openings are located between adjacent ones of the plurality of second transmission lines. (Item 15) visual emitting elements of the plurality of visual emitting elements along each row of the second plurality of rows are separated by a row distance; visual emitting elements of the plurality of visual emitting elements along each row of the second plurality of rows are separated by a row distance; Item 14. The visual display of item 13, wherein the row distance is equal to the column distance. (Item 16) A visual display panel, comprising: a substrate having a plurality of openings; a plurality of visual emission elements coupled to the substrate and arranged in a plurality of rows and a plurality of columns to form an array of visual emission elements, each opening of the plurality of openings being located between adjacent ones of the plurality of rows; a plurality of first transmission lines formed on the substrate and installed along rows of the plurality of rows; a plurality of second transmission lines formed on the substrate and installed along the rows of the plurality of rows; Equipped with The visual display panel, wherein each opening of the plurality of openings is further mounted between adjacent transmission lines of the plurality of second transmission lines. (Item 17) visual emitting elements of the plurality of visual emitting elements along each row of the plurality of rows are separated by a row distance; visual emitting elements of the plurality of visual emitting elements along each column of the plurality of columns are separated by a column distance; Item 17. The visual display panel of item 16, wherein the row distance is equal to the column distance. (Item 18) Item 18. The visual display panel of item 17, wherein the row distance and the column distance are 6 millimeters (mm) or 9 mm. (Item 19) Item 17. The visual display panel of item 16, wherein the visual display panel is one of a plurality of visual display panels, the plurality of visual display panels being arranged in a second plurality of rows and a second plurality of columns to form a visual for delivering a visual representation of an event. (Item 20) Item 17. The visual display panel of item 16, wherein the plurality of openings are characterized as being rectangular in geometric shape. (Item 21) Item 21. The visual display panel of item 20, wherein the rectangular geometric shape is further radially shaped according to a radius. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0005] Aspects of the present disclosure are best understood from the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. It should be noted that, according to standard industry practice, features have not been drawn to scale. In fact, dimensions of features may be arbitrarily increased or decreased for clarity of discussion.

[0006] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 illustrates a pictorial representation of an exemplary venue, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0007] [Figure 2] FIG. 2 illustrates a pictorial representation of an exemplary integrated audiovisual system that may be implemented within an exemplary venue, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0008] [Figure 3A] 3A and 3B illustrate simplified diagrams of an example operation of an example integrated audiovisual system according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 3B] 3A and 3B illustrate simplified diagrams of an example operation of an example integrated audiovisual system according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0009] [Figure 4] FIG. 4 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary visual display that can be implemented within an exemplary integrated audiovisual system, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0010] [Figure 5] FIG. 5 illustrates an example arrangement of visual display panels that can be implemented in an example integrated audiovisual system, according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0011] [Figure 6] FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary visual display panel that can be implemented within an exemplary integrated audiovisual system, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0012] Example Venues FIG. 1 illustrates a pictorial representation of an exemplary venue according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. In the exemplary embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, venue 100 represents a location for hosting an event. For example, venue 100 can represent a music venue (e.g., a music theater, a music club, and / or a concert hall), a sports venue (e.g., a game arena, a convention center, and / or an arena), and / or any other suitable venue that will be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. The event can represent a music event, a theatrical event, a sporting event, a movie, and / or any other suitable event that will be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. As illustrated in FIG. 1, one or more spectators 102 experience a visual and / or aural representation of the event that is streamed from an integrated audiovisual system 104 within venue 100. Although the discussion of integrated audiovisual system 104 described herein and other integrated audiovisual systems that follow describes these integrated audiovisual systems as delivering audio and visual representations of an event, those skilled in the art will recognize that the audio and visual representations delivered by these integrated audiovisual systems need not relate to the same event without departing from the spirit and scope of this disclosure. For example, these integrated audiovisual systems may deliver the audio of a musical song that is not related to the visual representation of a movie.

[0013] As described in further detail below, the integrated audiovisual system 104 delivers an audiovisual viewing experience of an event to one or more audience members 102 through the precise and accurate integration of its audiovisual components. For example, the audiovisual components in the integrated audiovisual system 104 may include one or more loudspeakers for delivering sounds representing the audio components of the event to one or more audience members 102. As used herein, the term "loudspeaker" or "loudspeakers" refers to electrical, mechanical, and / or electromechanical devices that convert electrical audio signals into corresponding sounds. The loudspeaker(s) may include one or more super tweeters, one or more tweeters, one or more midrange speakers, one or more woofers, one or more subwoofers, and one or more full-range speakers, to name a few examples. As used herein, the term "sound" refers to electrical waveforms within the common audio frequencies, those frequencies within the range audible to the average person. Those skilled in the art will generally recognize that the commonly accepted standard range of human audible frequencies is approximately 20 Hertz (Hz) to approximately 20 Kilohertz (kHz). In some situations, at least some of these loudspeakers may be specifically arranged to form one or more line arrays of loudspeakers. In this example, the audiovisual component in the integrated audiovisual system 104 may further include one or more visual displays (e.g., one or more Light Emitting Diode (LED) displays, one or more Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED) displays, and / or one or more Quantum Dot (QD) displays, to name a few examples) for delivering visual components of the event to one or more audience members 102.

[0014] The one or more visual displays are specially designed and manufactured to present a visual representation of the event to the one or more spectators 102 while allowing sounds associated with the event to propagate from the one or more loudspeakers to the one or more spectators 102 with minimal acoustic distortion and / or minimal acoustic vibration, as further described in more detail below. For example, the one or more visual displays are specially designed and manufactured on one or more substrates (e.g., printed circuit boards or semiconductor substrates, to name a few examples) having openings to allow sounds associated with the event to propagate from the one or more loudspeakers and pass effectively through the one or more visual displays onto the one or more spectators 102. Additionally, the one or more loudspeakers and the one or more visual displays are mounted within the integrated audiovisual system 104 at a predetermined displacement distance from each other. This predetermined displacement may allow for shaping of one or more wavefronts of sound before the sound passes through the openings in the one or more visual displays, further minimizing acoustic distortion.

[0015] Exemplary Integrated Audiovisual System That Can Be Implemented Within an Exemplary Venue 2 illustrates a pictorial representation of an exemplary integrated audiovisual system that may be implemented within an exemplary venue, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. As described below, integrated audiovisual system 200 is specially designed and manufactured to allow sound representing an audio component of an event to propagate through one or more visual displays while these visual displays deliver a visual representation of the event. As illustrated in FIG. 2, integrated audiovisual system 200 includes visual display mechanical housing 202, visual display 204, loudspeaker mechanical housing 206, and one or more loudspeakers 208. Integrated audiovisual system 200 may represent an exemplary embodiment of integrated audiovisual system 104, as described above in FIG. 1.

[0016] The visual display mechanical housing 202 represents a mechanical housing for securing the visual display 204. The visual display mechanical housing 202 can be implemented using one or more metallic materials (e.g., iron, steel, copper, bronze, brass, aluminum, or magnesium, to name a few examples), one or more non-metallic materials (e.g., wood, plastic, or glass), and / or any combination thereof. As illustrated in FIG. 2 , the visual display mechanical housing 202 represents a frame or housing for mechanically securing the visual display 204 from substantial acoustic vibrations that may occur as sound passes through the visual display 204. As described in further detail below, the visual display 204 can include multiple visual display panels that functionally cooperate to deliver a visual representation of an event. In the exemplary embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2 , the visual display mechanical housing 202 can include one or more mechanical cross members 210 for securing the multiple visual display panels to the visual display mechanical housing 202. The one or more mechanical cross members 210 can be designed and manufactured to allow sounds associated with an event to propagate from the one or more loudspeakers 208 through the visual display mechanical housing 202 with minimal distortion and / or minimal acoustic vibration.

[0017] The visual display 204 delivers the visual component of the event. In the exemplary embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2, the visual display 204 includes a plurality of visual display panels that functionally cooperate to deliver a visual representation of the event. In this exemplary embodiment, the plurality of visual display panels are mechanically attached to the visual display mechanical housing 202 using one or more mechanical cross members 210. For example, the plurality of visual display panels can be arranged as a series of rows and a series of columns of visual display panels to form an array of visual display panels. In this example, the rows of visual display panels can be mechanically attached to the mechanical cross members 210. The plurality of visual display panels also include visual emitting elements 212 (e.g., light emitting diodes (LEDs), organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs), and / or quantum dots (QDs), to name a few examples) to deliver the visual representation of the event. In the exemplary embodiment, the visual emitting elements 212 can be arranged as a series of rows and a series of columns of visual emitting elements to form an array of visual emitting elements 212 to deliver the visual representation of the event, as illustrated in FIG. 2. However, those skilled in the art will recognize other possible arrangements for the visual emitting element 212 without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. As further illustrated in FIG. 2 , the visual emitting element 212 can be mounted on a substrate 214 (e.g., a printed circuit board or a semiconductor substrate, to name a few examples). In an exemplary embodiment, the visual emitting element 212 can be mounted on the substrate 214 using reflow soldering and / or wave soldering, to name a few examples. As further illustrated in FIG. 2 , the substrate 214 can include one or more openings 216 to allow sound associated with an event to propagate through the visual display 204 with minimal distortion and / or vibration, as described in more detail below. The one or more openings 216 represent geometric regions within the visual display 204 within which the substrate 214 has been removed.In the exemplary embodiment illustrated in Figure 2, the one or more openings 216 may be characterized as being a rectangular geometric shape as illustrated in Figure 2, a circular geometric shape, or a polygonal geometric shape, to name a few examples, and / or any suitable irregular geometric shape (e.g., an irregular polygonal geometric shape, to name one example) is also possible without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. Note that the number of visual emitting elements 212 and / or one or more openings 216 illustrated in Figure 2 is for illustrative purposes only. Those skilled in the art will recognize that visual display 204 may include more or fewer visual emitting elements 212 and / or one or more openings 216 than those illustrated in Figure 2 without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure.

[0018] The loudspeaker mechanical enclosure 206 represents a mechanical enclosure for virtually securing one or more loudspeakers 208 behind the visual display 204. The loudspeaker mechanical enclosure 206 can be implemented using one or more metallic materials (e.g., iron, steel, copper, bronze, brass, aluminum, or magnesium, to name a few examples), one or more non-metallic materials (e.g., wood, plastic, or glass), and / or any combination thereof. As illustrated in FIG. 2 , the loudspeaker mechanical enclosure 206 represents a frame or enclosure for mechanically securing one or more loudspeakers 208. In an exemplary embodiment, the loudspeaker mechanical enclosure 206 is designed and manufactured to mechanically damp at least a portion of the acoustic vibrations generated by the one or more loudspeakers 208 when providing sound. In the exemplary embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2, loudspeaker mechanical enclosure 206 mechanically positions one or more loudspeakers 208 effectively behind visual display 204 so that they are shielded from the view of one or more audience members.

[0019] The one or more loudspeakers 208 deliver sounds representative of the audio components of the event. The one or more loudspeakers 208 can include one or more super tweeters, one or more tweeters, one or more mid-range speakers, one or more woofers, one or more subwoofers, one or more full-range speakers, and / or any other suitable device capable of reproducing the audible frequency range or portions thereof that will be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of this disclosure. In some situations, the one or more loudspeakers 208 can include multiple loudspeakers mounted in a theoretical line to form one or more line arrays of in-phase fed loudspeakers. In some situations, the loudspeakers in each line array of loudspeakers are of similar speaker types (e.g., super tweeters, tweeters, mid-range speakers, woofers, subwoofers, or full-range speakers). In other situations, multiple line arrays of loudspeakers may be stacked on top of each other at slightly different vertical angles to cover a greater depth of field than a single line array of loudspeakers. As described in further detail below, the visual display 204 and one or more loudspeakers 208 are mounted at a predetermined displacement from each other. This predetermined displacement allows for shaping of the sound by the one or more loudspeakers 208 before the sound passes through the opening in the visual display 204, further minimizing acoustic distortion.

[0020] Exemplary Operation of an Exemplary Integrated Audiovisual System 3A and 3B illustrate simplified diagrams of an exemplary operation of an exemplary integrated audiovisual system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. As described above in FIG. 2, one or more auditory speakers 208 generate an auditory waveform representing an audio component of an event propagating through visual display 204 while visual display 204 delivers a visual representation of the event. As illustrated in FIG. 3A, one or more loudspeakers 208 generate a sound 302 representing an audio component of an event propagating through visual display 204. FIG. 3A illustrates an exemplary side view of visual display 204 and one or more loudspeakers 208. Those skilled in the art will recognize that waveform 302 may differ from that depicted in FIGS. 3A and 3B based on different implementations of visual display 204 and / or one or more loudspeakers 208 without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. In the exemplary embodiment illustrated in Figure 3A, sound 302 represents a plane wave that can be characterized by plane wavefronts 304.1-304.k. Plane wavefronts 304.1-304.k representing surfaces of constant phase of sound 302 are further illustrated in Figure 3B as being parallel planes that are normal to phase velocity vector 306.

[0021] In the exemplary embodiment illustrated in Figures 3A and 3B, visual display 204 can introduce acoustic distortion into sound 302 as it propagates through an opening in visual display 204. However, as illustrated in Figures 3A and 3B and described above, visual display 204 and one or more loudspeakers 208 can be mounted at a predetermined displacement, shown as displacement distance D in Figures 3A and 3B, from one another to minimize this acoustic distortion. Displacement distance D allows one or more of plane wavefronts 304.1-304.k to form before sound 302 passes through an opening in visual display 204, minimizing acoustic distortion of sound 302 as it passes through the opening in visual display 204. In the exemplary embodiment, displacement distance D is approximately 50 centimeters (cm).

[0022] Exemplary Visual Displays That Can Be Implemented in Exemplary Integrated Audiovisual Systems 4 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary visual display that can be implemented within an exemplary integrated audiovisual system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. Visual display system 400 distributes the visual components of an event to one or more spectators, as described above. In the exemplary embodiment illustrated in FIG. 4, visual display system 400 includes processor 402, routing fabric 404.1-404.s, and visual display panels 406.1.1-406.rs. Visual display system 400 can represent an exemplary embodiment of visual display 204, as described above in FIG. 2.

[0023] Processor 402 controls the overall configuration and / or operation of visual display system 400. In an exemplary embodiment, processor 402 may be installed remotely from routing fabric 404.1-404.s and visual display panels 406.1.1-406.rs. For example, visual display system 400 may be located within a venue, such as venue 100, as described above. In this exemplary embodiment, processor 402 may be implemented using a series of one or more processors that may be mounted in one or more equipment racks in different locations (e.g., in different rooms) within the venue than the visual display panels 406.1.1-406.rs. In the exemplary embodiment illustrated in FIG. 4, processor 402 receives digital video data 450 representing the visual components of an event for distribution to one or more audience members. Preferably, the event may be pre-recorded and stored on a machine-readable medium that can be read and executed by one or more processors. A machine-readable medium may include any mechanism for storing or transmitting information in a form readable by a machine (e.g., a computing network). For example, the machine-readable medium can include non-transitory machine-readable media (e.g., read-only memory (ROM), random-access memory (RAM), magnetic disk storage media, optical storage media, flash memory devices, and others). As another example, the machine-readable medium can include transitory machine-readable media (e.g., electrical, optical, acoustic, or other forms of propagated signals (e.g., carrier waves, infrared signals, digital signals, etc.)). A media distribution system can then provide the event stored on the machine-readable medium to the processor as digital video data 450. This media distribution system can reside within a venue, such as venue 100, or outside the venue with the capability to serve multiple venues. Alternatively, digital video data 450 representing the event can be streamed to processor 402 in real time or near real time as the event is occurring.In an exemplary embodiment, the processor 402 may supplement the digital video data 450 with complementary digital data (e.g., virtual promotions and graphic effects) prior to delivering the digital video data 450 to the visual display panels 406.1.1-406.rs.

[0024] Processor 402 processes digital video data 450 and provides control signals 452.1-452.s. In the exemplary embodiment illustrated in FIG. 4, each control signal among control signals 452.1-452.s configures a corresponding group of visual display panels (e.g., a corresponding column of visual display panels) among visual display panels 406.1.1-406.rs to deliver its corresponding portion of the visual component of the event to one or more spectators. For example, processor 402 may map, referred to as a pixel map, digital video data 450 from image space into display space for display on visual display panels 406.1.1-406.rs. In this example, pixels of digital video data 450 may be assigned to various coordinates in image space, and visual display panels 406.1.1-406.rs may be assigned to various coordinates in display space. In this example, processor 402 translates or maps pixels of digital video data 450 from image space to display space. Processor 402 then provides control signals 452.1-452.s to cause display panels 406.1.1-406.rs to display digital video data 450 within the display space. In an exemplary embodiment, control signals 452.1-452.s may represent serial control signals, with those serial control signals corresponding to groups of visual display panels among visual display panels 406.1.1-406.rs (e.g., corresponding to corresponding columns of visual display panels). Alternatively, or in addition, control signals 452.1-452.s may represent parallel control signals, with those parallel control signals corresponding to individual visual display panels among visual display panels 406.1.1-406.rs. In some situations, digital video data 450 may be encoded according to a video coding format (e.g., a version of the Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG) video coding format or a version of the AOMedia Video 1 (AV1) video coding format, to name a few examples).In these situations, the processor 402 decodes the digital video data 450 according to the format before processing the digital video data 450, as described in further detail below, for delivery to the visual display panels 406.1.1-406.rs. Optionally, the processor 402 can perform motion compensation, an inverse discrete cosine transform (iDCT), an inverse modified discrete cosine transform (iMDCT), an in-loop deblocking filter, intra-frame prediction, inverse quantization (IQ), variable length decoding (VLD), spatio-temporal deinterlacing, automatic interlaced / progressive source detection, and / or bitstream processing and perfect pixel positioning to manipulate an image or sequence of images of an event within the digital video data 450.

[0025] Routing fabrics 404.1-404.s selectively route control signals 452.1-452.s as control signals 454.1.1-454.rs for delivery to visual display panels 406.1.1-406.rs. In some situations, processor 402 may be communicatively coupled to routing fabrics 404.1-404.s using a suitable communications medium (e.g., one or more Ethernet networking cables (e.g., one or more Category 5 (Cat 5) or Category 6 (Cat 6) Ethernet networking cables, to name a few examples), one or more fiber optic cables, and / or one or more copper-core communications cables (e.g., one or more coaxial cables, one or more ribbon cables, one or more shielded cables, and / or one or more twin-ax cables, to name a few examples). 4, routing fabrics 404.1-404.s can convert control signals 452.1-452.s from serial control signals to provide control signals 454.1.1-454.rs as parallel control signals for delivery to visual display panels 406.1.1-406.rs. As described in further detail below, visual display panels 406.1.1-406.rs can be arranged as a series of r rows and a series of s columns of visual display panels to form an array of visual display panels.

[0026] The visual display panels 406.1.1-406.rs utilize control signals 454.1.1-454.rs to collectively deliver visual components of an event to one or more spectators. In an exemplary embodiment, the visual display panels 406.1.1-406.rs may be arranged as a series of r rows and a series of s columns of visual display panels to form an array of visual display panels. In the exemplary embodiment illustrated in FIG. 4, the visual display panels 406.1.1-406.rs utilize control signals 454.1.1-454.rs to control the operation of various visual emitting elements of the visual display panels 406.1.1-406.rs to collectively deliver visual components of an event to one or more spectators. In this exemplary embodiment, the control signals 454.1.1-454.rs may represent output signals, ground signals, clock signals, and / or any other suitable signals that may be used to control the operation of various visual emitting elements as would be apparent to one skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. Additionally, the various visual emitting elements may include light emitting diodes (LEDs), organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs), quantum dots (QDs), and / or any combination thereof to deliver a visual representation of an event. Control signals 454.1.1-454.rs may be utilized to activate (i.e., turn on) these various visual emitting elements to emit light with a color and / or intensity that depends on the chemistry of the various visual emitting elements. Alternatively, or in addition, control signals 454.1.1-454.rs may be utilized to deactivate (i.e., turn off) these various visual emitting elements so that they do not emit light. For example, control signals 454.1.1-454.rs may be configured to forward bias the various visual emitting elements, activating them, or reverse bias the various visual emitting elements, deactivating them.

[0027] Exemplary arrangements of visual display panels that can be implemented in an exemplary integrated audiovisual system

[0033] Figure 5 illustrates an example arrangement of visual display panels that may be implemented in an example integrated audiovisual system according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure. As described above in Figure 4, visual display panels 406.1.1-406.rs may be arranged as a series of r rows and a series of s columns of visual display panels to form an array of visual display panels. Figure 5 illustrates such an arrangement of visual display panels 406.1.1-406.rs in a series of r rows and a series of s columns.

[0028] Exemplary Visual Display Panels That Can Be Implemented in Exemplary Integrated Audiovisual Systems FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary visual display panel that can be implemented within an exemplary integrated audiovisual system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. In the exemplary embodiment illustrated in FIG. 6, visual display panel 600 can be specially designed and manufactured to present a visual representation of the event to one or more spectators while allowing sounds of the event (e.g., sound 302) as described above in FIG. 3 to propagate from one or more loudspeakers to one or more spectators at the event with minimal acoustic distortion and / or minimal acoustic vibration. As described below, visual display panel 600 is specifically designed and manufactured on a printed circuit board having openings to allow sounds associated with the event to propagate from one or more loudspeakers and effectively pass through visual display panel 600 onto one or more spectators. As illustrated in FIG. 6, visual display panel 600 includes visual emitting elements 602.1.1-602.mn mounted on printed circuit board 604.

[0029] In the exemplary embodiment illustrated in FIG. 6, visual emitting elements 602.1.1-602.mn may be arranged in a series of m rows and a series of n columns on printed circuit board 604 to form a rectangular array of visual emitting elements. However, one skilled in the art will recognize that other arrangements of visual emitting elements 602.1.1-602.mn are possible without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. For example, visual emitting elements 602.1.1-602.mn and / or printed circuit board 604 may be any suitable regular geometric shape (e.g., rectangular geometric shapes as illustrated in FIG. 6, circular geometric shapes, or polygonal geometric shapes, to name a few examples) and / or any suitable irregular geometric shape (e.g., irregular polygonal geometric shapes, to name one example) are possible without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. Additionally, while the visual emitting elements 602.1.1-602.mn and the printed circuit board 604 have similar geometric arrangements in FIG. 6, those skilled in the art will recognize that the geometric arrangements of the visual emitting elements 602.1.1-602.mn and the printed circuit board 604 may vary without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. In exemplary embodiments, the visual emitting elements 602.1.1-602.mn may be mounted on the printed circuit board 604 using reflow soldering and / or wave soldering, to name a few examples. The visual emitting elements 602.1.1-602.mn may be implemented using light emitting diodes (LEDs), organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs), and / or one or more quantum dots (QDs), to name a few examples.

[0030] Also, as illustrated in the exploded view 606 of the visual display panel 600 of FIG. 6, the visual emitting elements 602.1.1 through 602.mn from each row in the series of m rows are spaced apart by approximately a row distance d R and the visual emitting elements 602.1.1 to 602.mn from each row in the series of n rows are spaced apart from one another by approximately the row distance d CIn an exemplary embodiment, the rows are spaced apart by a row distance d R and column distance d C are equidistant, for example, approximately 6 millimeters (mm) or approximately 9 mm. However, one skilled in the art will recognize that the spacing between the visual emitting elements 602.1.1-602.mn may differ from that depicted in FIG. 6 without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. R and column distance d C are selectively selected to provide one or more spectators with a relatively smooth viewing experience of the visual representation of the event while accounting for acoustic distortion of sounds associated with the event as the sounds associated with the event propagate through the visual display panel 600 to the one or more spectators. As will be explained in further detail below, the visual display panel 600 includes openings 608 for allowing sounds associated with the event to propagate from the one or more loudspeakers and effectively pass through the visual display panel 600 onto the one or more spectators. Also, as illustrated in FIG. 6, the size and / or shape of the openings 608 may be adjusted to accommodate the row distance d R and column distance d C Constrained by the larger row distance d R and / or a larger column distance d C allows for a larger opening 608. However, the row distance d R and / or column distance d C If is too large, the visual representation of the event may appear pixelated to one or more spectators. R and / or column distance d C If is too small, the visual display panel 600 may cause significant acoustic distortion of the sound associated with the event as the sound propagates through the visual display panel 600 .

[0031] As described above, the visual display panel 600 includes an opening 608 to allow sound associated with an event to propagate from one or more loudspeakers to one or more audience members. As illustrated in Figure 6, the opening 608 represents a geometric area within the visual display panel 600 from which the printed circuit board 604 has been removed. In the exemplary embodiment illustrated in Figure 6, the opening 608 can be characterized as being a rectangular geometric shape as illustrated in Figure 6, a circular geometric shape, or a polygonal geometric shape, to name a few examples, and / or a rectangular geometric shape, to name a few examples. Any suitable irregular geometric shape, such as an irregular polygonal geometric shape, is also contemplated without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. Optionally, opening 608 can be radially shaped according to a radius R, as illustrated in Figure 6. This optional radial shaping effectively shapes the transition between the edges of opening 608, further minimizing distortion of sound as it propagates through visual display panel 600.

[0032] 6, the openings 608 traverse between a series of n rows of visual emitting elements 602.1.1-602.mn. As shown in exploded view 606, the openings 608 traverse from a first set 610 of visual emitting elements 602.1.1-602.mn, along the first row of the n rows, through a second set 612 of visual emitting elements 602.1.1-602.mn, and along the second row of the n rows to a third set 614 of visual emitting elements 602.1.1-602.mn. This illustrated arrangement of openings 608 in exploded view 606 allows control signals (e.g., control signals 454.1.1-454.rs, to give one example) to be routed through a series of m rows and a series of n columns to control the operation of visual emitting elements 602.1.1-602.mn. As shown in FIG. 6, visual display panel 600 includes transmission lines 616.1-616.m and transmission lines 618.1-618.n for routing these control signals through a series of m rows and a series of n columns to control the operation of visual emitting elements 602.1.1-602.mn. Transmission lines 616.1-616.m and transmission lines 618.1-618.n can be implemented using planar waveguides (e.g., stripline or microstrip, to give some examples). 6, transmission lines 616.1-616.m are installed along rows in a series of m rows and route their control signals to visual emitting elements 602.1.1-602.mn along those rows, and transmission lines 618.1-618.n are installed along columns in a series of n columns and route their control signals to rows along those columns. Alternatively, or in addition, transmission lines 618.1-618.n route their control signals to visual emitting elements 602.1.1-602.mn along those columns, and transmission lines 616.1-616.m route their control signals to columns along those rows.

[0033] conclusion The detailed description has referred to the accompanying figures to illustrate exemplary embodiments consistent with this disclosure. References to an "exemplary embodiment" in this disclosure indicate that the described exemplary embodiment may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but not all exemplary embodiments necessarily include the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Also, such phrases do not necessarily refer to the same exemplary embodiment. Furthermore, any feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with an exemplary embodiment may be included independently or in any combination with features, structures, or characteristics of other exemplary embodiments, whether or not explicitly described.

[0034] The Detailed Description is not intended to be limiting. Rather, the scope of the present disclosure is defined solely by the following claims and their equivalents. It is understood that the Detailed Description section, and not the Abstract section, is intended to be used to interpret the claims. While the Abstract section may describe one or more exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, it does not describe every exemplary embodiment and is therefore not intended to limit the present disclosure and the following claims and their equivalents in any way.

[0035] The exemplary embodiments described within this disclosure are provided for illustrative purposes and are not intended to be limiting. Other exemplary embodiments are possible, and modifications may be made to the exemplary embodiments while remaining within the spirit and scope of this disclosure. This disclosure is described with the aid of functional components that illustrate implementations of defined functions and their relationships. The boundaries of these functional components are arbitrarily defined herein for convenience of description. Alternative boundaries may be defined so long as those defined functions and relationships are appropriately performed.

[0036] Embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in hardware, firmware, a software application, or any combination thereof. Embodiments of the present disclosure may also be implemented as instructions stored on a machine-readable medium, which may be read and executed by one or more processors. A machine-readable medium may include any mechanism for storing or transmitting information in a form readable by a machine (e.g., a computing network). For example, a machine-readable medium may include non-transitory machine-readable media (e.g., read-only memory (ROM), random-access memory (RAM), magnetic disk storage media, optical storage media, flash memory devices, and others). As another example, a machine-readable medium may include transitory machine-readable media (e.g., electrical, optical, acoustic, or other forms of propagated signals (e.g., carrier waves, infrared signals, digital signals, etc.)). Furthermore, firmware, software applications, routines, and instructions may be described herein as performing certain actions. However, it should be understood that such description is for convenience only and that such actions actually result from a computing device, processor, controller, or other device executing firmware, software applications, routines, instructions, etc.

[0037] The detailed description of the exemplary embodiments has fully revealed the general nature of the present disclosure, such that others, by applying the knowledge of those skilled in the art, may readily modify and / or adapt such exemplary embodiments for various applications without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure and without undue experimentation. Such adaptations and modifications are therefore intended to be within the meaning and range of equivalents of the exemplary embodiments based on the teaching and guidance presented herein. It is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology used herein is for purposes of description and not of limitation, as the terminology or terminology used herein would be interpreted by one of ordinary skill in the art in light of the teachings herein.

Claims

1. A venue for hosting an event, said venue comprising: a plurality of seats configured to accommodate an audience that will experience the event; an integrated audiovisual system configured to deliver visual and audio representations of the event to the audience; The integrated audiovisual system comprises: a loudspeaker configured to generate the sound; a visual display configured to deliver the visual representation, the visual display comprising a plurality of openings configured to allow the sound to propagate through the visual display; and Equipped with A venue wherein the loudspeakers and the visual display are mounted at a displaced distance from each other within the venue, allowing the sound wavefront to form between the loudspeakers and the visual display before the sound propagates through the visual display.

2. The venue of claim 1 , wherein the venue comprises a music theater or a sports venue, and the event comprises a music event, a theatrical event, a sporting event, or a movie.

3. 10. The venue of claim 1, wherein the loudspeakers include one or more super tweeters, one or more tweeters, one or more mid-range speakers, one or more woofers, one or more subwoofers, or one or more full-range speakers.

4. 10. The venue of claim 1, wherein the visual display comprises one or more light emitting diode (LED) displays, one or more organic light emitting diode (OLED) displays, or one or more quantum dot (QD) displays.

5. 10. The venue of claim 1, wherein the visual display comprises a plurality of visual display panels that functionally cooperate to deliver the visual representation of the event, and wherein the venue further comprises a mechanical enclosure configured to affix the plurality of visual display panels to one another to form the visual display.

6. 6. The venue of claim 5, wherein the mechanical enclosure comprises a plurality of mechanical cross members configured to secure the plurality of visual display panels onto the mechanical enclosure as a series of rows and a series of columns of visual display panels.

7. 10. The venue of claim 1, wherein the sound comprises a plurality of plane wavefronts, and the loudspeaker and the visual display are mounted within the venue at the displacement distance from one another to allow a first wavefront of the plurality of plane wavefronts to form between the loudspeaker and the visual display before the sound propagates through the visual display.

8. 8. The venue of claim 7, wherein the plurality of plane wavefronts comprises a plurality of parallel planes of constant phase of the sound that are normal to a phase velocity vector extending from the loudspeaker.

9. 10. The venue of claim 1, wherein the displacement distance is 50 centimeters (cm).

10. 10. The venue of claim 1, wherein the sound comprises a plurality of sound waves having a plurality of phases, the wavefront of the sound being formed when the plurality of phases are in phase with each other.

11. 1. An integrated audiovisual system, comprising: a loudspeaker configured to generate a sound associated with the event; a visual display configured to deliver a visual representation of the event, the visual display comprising a plurality of openings configured to allow the sound to propagate through the visual display; Equipped with An integrated audiovisual system, wherein the loudspeakers and the visual display are mounted at displaced distances from each other within a venue, allowing the sound wavefront to form between the loudspeakers and the visual display before the sound propagates through the visual display.

12. 12. The integrated audiovisual system of claim 11, wherein the loudspeakers include one or more super tweeters, one or more tweeters, one or more mid-range speakers, one or more woofers, one or more subwoofers, or one or more full-range speakers.

13. 12. The integrated audiovisual system of claim 11, wherein the visual display comprises one or more light-emitting diode (LED) displays, one or more organic light-emitting diode (OLED) displays, or one or more quantum dot (QD) displays.

14. 12. The integrated audiovisual system of claim 11, wherein the visual display comprises a plurality of visual display panels that functionally cooperate to deliver the visual representation, and wherein the integrated audiovisual system further comprises a mechanical housing configured to affix the plurality of visual display panels to one another to form the visual display.

15. 15. The integrated audiovisual system of claim 14, wherein the mechanical housing comprises a plurality of mechanical cross members configured to secure the plurality of visual display panels as a series of rows and a series of columns of visual display panels on the mechanical housing.

16. 12. The integrated audiovisual system of claim 11, wherein the sound comprises a plurality of plane wavefronts, and the loudspeaker and the visual display are mounted at the displacement distance from each other within the venue to allow a first wavefront of the plurality of plane wavefronts to form between the loudspeaker and the visual display before the sound propagates through the visual display.

17. 17. The integrated audiovisual system of claim 16, wherein the plurality of plane wavefronts comprises a plurality of parallel planes of constant phase of the sound normal to a phase velocity vector extending from the loudspeaker.

18. 12. The integrated audiovisual system of claim 11, wherein the displacement distance is 50 centimeters (cm).

19. 12. The integrated audiovisual system of claim 11, wherein the sound comprises a plurality of sound waves having a plurality of phases, the wavefront of the sound being formed when the plurality of phases are in phase with each other.

20. 1. A method for broadcasting sound associated with an event to an audience in a venue, the method comprising: a loudspeaker generating said sound; shaping a wavefront of the sound before it propagates through a visual display; transmitting the sound to the audience in the venue through a plurality of openings in the visual display; Including, The method wherein the loudspeakers and the visual display are mounted at displaced distances from each other within the venue, allowing the wavefront of the sound to form between the loudspeakers and the visual display before the sound propagates through the visual display.

21. 21. The method of claim 20, further comprising the visual display broadcasting a visual representation of the event to the audience within the venue.

22. 21. The method of claim 20, wherein said forming comprises forming the wavefront of the sound within a displacement distance of 50 centimeters (cm) between the loudspeaker and the visual display.

23. 21. The method of claim 20, wherein the sound comprises a plurality of sound waves having a plurality of phases, and said forming comprises forming the wavefront of the sound when the plurality of phases are in phase with each other.

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