Open-Ear Audio Volume Control for Ambient Noise and Leakage
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing audio devices that do not obstruct the ear canal, such as open-ear headphones, struggle to maintain a comfortable listening experience as ambient noise levels change, often requiring manual volume adjustments and may cause audio leakage that disturbs others.
Innovation Solution
An open audio device that automatically adjusts sound pressure level (SPL) based on ambient noise by detecting the difference between audio and ambient noise levels, applying different threshold adjustments to various frequency bands, and outputting an adjusted audio signal that exceeds ambient noise by a specified threshold.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If open audio devices are used to allow users to hear ambient noise, then user awareness of surroundings is improved, but audio leakage that disturbs others increases
Solution Approach 1:
The audio device dynamically adjusts the volume level based on detected ambient noise conditions. The system transitions from static volume settings to adaptive volume control, automatically increasing or decreasing playback levels in response to changing environmental acoustic conditions, thereby resolving the contradiction between maintaining awareness and preventing leakage.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements a feedback loop where the audio device continuously monitors ambient noise levels and uses this information to adjust its output volume. The detected ambient sound serves as feedback that triggers automatic volume modulation, creating a closed-loop control system that balances user needs with consideration for surrounding people.
2Object-generated harmful factors
If manual volume adjustment is required to maintain comfortable listening, then audio leakage control is improved, but ease of operation deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The audio device performs self-adjustment of volume levels without requiring user intervention. The system autonomously detects ambient noise conditions and modifies its own output accordingly, eliminating the need for manual volume control while maintaining optimal listening conditions and minimizing audio leakage automatically.
Solution Approach 2:
The feedback mechanism enables the device to automatically respond to environmental changes. By continuously monitoring ambient sound levels and adjusting volume in real-time, the system removes the burden of manual adjustment from the user while effectively controlling audio leakage based on actual acoustic conditions.
3Device complexity
If uniform volume adjustment is applied across all frequencies, then device complexity is reduced, but listening comfort deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies different volume adjustments to different frequency bands rather than treating all frequencies uniformly. By segmenting the audio spectrum and applying frequency-specific gain adjustments, the system optimizes listening comfort for various types of ambient noise while maintaining manageable device complexity through standardized processing techniques.
Data Source
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AI summary
Methods and apparatus are provided for automatically adjusting, by an audio device, the SPL of its audio output. As described herein, the SPL is adjusted based on detected ambient noise. According to aspects, audio device iteratively adjusts the SPL based on the ambient noise. According to aspects, the SPL is adjusted to be greater than the ambient noise by a threshold SPL amount. According to aspects, the audio device outputs sound in substantially a first direction and the microphone detects sound substantially outside of the first direction. The adjusted sounds are output by the audio device.