Voice Device Light Assembly with Acoustic Diffuser
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing voice-controlled devices face challenges in accurately recognizing voice commands due to acoustic echo and require complex echo cancellation techniques, which can be inefficient and affect user interaction in home environments.
Innovation Solution
The voice-controlled device is designed with speakers positioned away from the microphone and includes a diffuser element to reduce noise, and a light ring for visual feedback, allowing for more accurate speech recognition and user interaction through voice commands without the need for mechanical inputs or displays.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If speakers are positioned close to the microphone in voice-controlled devices, then the device structure is compact, but acoustic echo increases and voice recognition accuracy decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the speaker from the immediate proximity of the microphone by positioning the speaker at a distance of at least 0.5 inches from the microphone. This spatial separation removes the source of acoustic echo from the microphone's immediate environment, thereby improving voice recognition accuracy without requiring complex echo cancellation techniques.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a diffuser element as an intermediary component between the speaker and the microphone. This diffuser element scatters and redistributes sound waves, preventing direct acoustic echo from reaching the microphone while maintaining the benefits of close speaker-microphone positioning for compact device design.
2Productivity
If complex acoustic echo cancellation techniques are used, then voice recognition can be maintained, but processing time increases and system efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and eliminates the need for complex echo cancellation processing by physically separating the speaker from the microphone. This hardware-level solution removes the acoustic echo problem at its source, allowing the system to process voice commands efficiently without time-consuming signal processing for echo cancellation.
3Adaptability or versatility
If mechanical inputs and displays are included, then user interaction options increase, but device complexity and size increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces mechanical input devices (keyboards, buttons) and visual displays with voice-based interaction. The system uses acoustic sensors to capture voice commands and processes them to determine user intentions, eliminating the need for mechanical components and reducing overall device complexity while maintaining versatile user interaction capabilities.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This configuration enhances the signal-to-noise ratio for voice recognition, reducing the need for acoustic echo cancellation and providing effective voice command processing, enabling seamless user interaction in home environments.
Implementation Method 1
a light reflector, which includes multiple cavities (e.g., one cavity for each lighting element). The surface of the light reflector may reflect the light from the lighting element upwards towards the light ring
Implementation Method 2
The voice-controlled device is designed with speakers positioned away from the microphone and includes a diffuser element to reduce noise
Data Source
AI summary
Devices that include light assemblies for providing visual feedback to users that operate the electronic devices. In some instances, the devices comprise voice-controlled devices and, therefore, include one or more microphones for receiving audible commands from the users. After receiving a command, for instance, one such voice-controlled device may cause a corresponding light assembly of the device to illuminate in some predefined manner. This illumination may indicate to the user that device has received the command. In other instances, the devices may illuminate the lighting assembly for an array of other purposes. For instance, one such device may illuminate the corresponding light assembly when powering on or off, playing music, outputting information to a user (e.g., via a speaker or display), or the like.