Sound Leak Mitigation Module for Personal Listening Devices

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Solution Overview

Problem

Sound leakage from personal listening devices such as headphones and earbuds poses a disturbance to others and can also compromise privacy during confidential communications.

Innovation Solution

An audio source device equipped with a sound leak mitigation module that identifies the type of personal listening device being used and adjusts the audio output to minimize sound leakage, optionally enabling a live transcription feature to compensate for volume reductions.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Object-generated harmful factors

If the volume of audio playback is reduced to minimize sound leakage, then sound leakage is reduced, but the user may miss important information

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesound leakageVSAvoidimportant information

Core Design Contradiction:

Object-generated harmful factorsVSLoss of information

Solution Approach 1:

The patent introduces a transcription service as an intermediary that converts audio content to text, allowing users to access important information through text display rather than relying solely on audio playback. This mediator enables information preservation even when audio volume is reduced to minimize sound leakage.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent replaces the mechanical/audio system with an electronic/digital system by substituting audio playback with text-based transcription display. Users can read transcribed text instead of listening to audio, eliminating the conflict between audio volume reduction and information preservation.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

2Loss of information

If live transcription is enabled to compensate for volume reduction, then information preservation is improved, but device complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveinformation preservationVSAvoiddevice complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

Loss of informationVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent uses a transcription service as an external intermediary system that handles the complex tasks of audio processing and text generation. By offloading this functionality to a separate service, the core device maintains simplicity while still providing information preservation through transcription.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Data Source

PatentUS20250138778A1Sound leak mitigation for a personal listening device

Publication Date: 2025.05.01 MOTOROLA MOBILITY LLC

AI summary

In aspects of sound leak mitigation for a personal listening device, an audio source device, such as a mobile device, can include a device interface to connect the audio source device to a personal listening device for audio playback. The audio source device implements a sound leak mitigation module that detects the personal listening device connected to the audio source device via the device interface and can determine that the personal listening device exhibits sound leakage during the audio playback. The sound leak mitigation module can mitigate the sound leakage from the personal listening device during the audio playback.