Patent Application
20050281413
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of parametric loudspeakers. More particularly, this invention relates to the operation of parametric loudspeakers in a saturated air medium, or above and below saturation levels in the air medium while maintaining significantly reduced distortion.
2. Related Art
Audio reproduction has long been considered a well-developed technology. Over the decades, sound reproduction devices have moved from a mechanical needle on a tube or vinyl disk, to analog and digital reproduction over laser and many other forms of electronic media. Advanced computers and software now allow complex programming of signal processing and manipulation of synthesized sounds to create new dimensions of listening experience, including applications within movie and home theater systems. Computer generated audio is reaching new heights, creating sounds that are no longer limited to reality, but extend into the creative realms of imagination.
Nevertheless, the actual reproduction of sound at the interface of electro-mechanical speakers with the air has remained substantially the same in principle for almost one hundred years. Such speaker technology is clearly dominated by dynamic speakers, which constitute more than 90 percent of commercial speakers in use today. Indeed, the general class of audio reproduction devices referred to as dynamic speakers began with the simple combination of a magnet, voice coil and cone, driven by an electronic signal. The magnet and voice coil convert the variable voltage of the signal to mechanical displacement, representing a first stage within the dynamic speaker as a conventional multistage transducer. The attached cone provides a second stage of impedance matching between the electrical transducer and air envelope surrounding the transducer, enabling transmission of small vibrations of the voice coil to emerge as expansive compression waves that can fill an auditorium. Such multistage systems comprise the current fundamental approach to reproduction of sound, particularly at high energy levels.
A lesser category of speakers, referred to generally as film or diaphragmatic transducers, relies on movement of an emitter surface area of film that is typically generated by electrostatic or planar magnetic driver members. Although electrostatic speakers have been an integral part of the audio community for many decades, their popularity has been quite limited. Typically, such film emitters are known to be low-power output devices having limited applications. With a few exceptions, commercial film transducers have found primary acceptance as tweeters and other high frequency devices in which the width of the film emitter is equal to or less than the propagated wavelength of sound. Attempts to apply larger film devices have resulted in poor matching of resonant frequencies of the emitter with sound output, as well as a myriad of mechanical control problems such as maintenance of uniform spacing from the stator or driver, uniform application of electromotive fields, phase matching, frequency equalization, etc.
As with many well-developed technologies, advances in the state of the art of sound reproduction have generally been limited to minor enhancements and improvements within the basic fields of dynamic and electrostatic systems. Indeed, substantially all of these improvements operate within the same fundamental principles that have formed the basics of well-known audio reproduction. These include the concept that (i) sound is generated at a speaker face, (ii) based on reciprocating movement of a transducer (iii) at frequencies that directly stimulate the air into the desired audio vibrations. From this basic concept stems the myriad of speaker solutions addressing innumerable problems relating to the challenge of optimizing the transfer of energy from a dense speaker mass to the almost massless air medium that must propagate the sound.
A second fundamental principle common to prior art dynamic and electrostatic transducers is the fact that sound reproduction is based on a linear mode of operation. In other words, the physics of conventional sound generation rely on mathematics that conform to linear relationships between absorbed energy and the resulting wave propagation in the air medium. Such characteristics enable predictable processing of audio signals, with an expectation that a given energy input applied to a circuit or signal will yield a corresponding, proportional output when propagated as a sound wave from the transducer.
In such conventional systems, maintaining the air medium in a linear mode is extremely important. If the air is driven excessively into a nonlinear state, severe distortion occurs and the audio system is essentially unacceptable. This nonlinearity occurs when the air molecules adjacent the dynamic speaker cone or emitter diaphragm surface are driven to excessive energy levels that exceed the ability of the air molecules to respond in a corresponding manner to speaker movement. In simple terms, when the air molecules are unable to match the movement of the speaker so that the speaker is loading the air with more energy than the air can dissipate in a linear mode, then a nonlinear response occurs, leading to severe distortion and speaker inoperability. Conventional sound systems are therefore built to avoid this limitation, ensuring that the speaker transducer operates strictly within a linear range.
Parametric sound systems, however, represent an anomaly in audio sound generation. Instead of operating within the conventional linear mode, parametric sound can only be generated when the air medium is driven into a nonlinear state. Within this unique realm of operation, audio sound is not propagated from the speaker or transducer element. Instead, the transducer is used to propagate carrier waves of high-energy, ultrasonic bandwidth beyond human hearing. The ultrasonic wave therefore functions as the carrier wave, which can be modulated with audio input that develops sideband characteristics capable of decoupling in air when driven to the nonlinear condition. In this manner, it is the air molecules and not the speaker transducer that will generate the audio component of a parametric system. Specifically, it is the sideband component of the ultrasonic carrier wave that energizes the air molecule with audio signal, enabling eventual wave propagation at audio frequencies.
Another fundamental distinction of a parametric speaker system from that of conventional audio is that high-energy transducers as characterized in prior art audio systems do not appear to provide the necessary energy required for effective parametric speaker operation. For example, the dominant dynamic speaker category of conventional audio systems is well known for its high-energy output. Clearly, the capability of a cone/magnet transducer to transfer high-energy levels to surrounding air is evident from the fact that virtually all high-power audio speaker systems currently in use rely on dynamic speaker devices. In contrast, low output devices such as electrostatic and other diaphragm transducers are virtually unacceptable for high-power requirements. As an obvious example, consider the outdoor audio systems that service large concerts at stadiums and other outdoor venues. Normally, massive dynamic speakers are necessary to develop direct audio to such audiences. To suggest that a low-power film diaphragm might be applied in this setting would be considered foolish and impractical.
In summary, whereas conventional audio systems rely on well accepted acoustic principles of (i) generating audio waves at the face of the speaker transducer, (ii) based on a high-energy output device such as a dynamic speaker, (iii) while operating in a linear mode, the present inventors have discovered that just the opposite design criteria are preferred for parametric applications. Specifically, effective parametric sound is effectively generated using (i) a comparatively low-energy emitter, (ii) in a nonlinear mode, (iii) to propagate an ultrasonic carrier wave with a modulated sideband component that is decoupled in air (iv) at extended distances from the face of the transducer. In view of these distinctions, it is not surprising that much of the conventional wisdom developed over decades of research in conventional audio technology is simply inapplicable to problems associated with the generation parametric sound.
Despite developments in parametric sound, two main problems remain. First, is that parametric loudspeakers have historically only been capable of producing limited acoustic output. While it is clear that greater signal levels are needed, designers have historically limited the levels at which parametric speakers are driven in order to avoid driving the surrounding air medium into saturation. Saturation occurs where the air molecules are driven to such a high level of intensity, that they no longer accurately respond to the vibrations of the emitter. In prior parametric speakers, air saturation was avoided because high levels of distortion would typically result. Instead, parametric loudspeakers have required larger diameter, higher cost emitters to avoid saturating the air medium. While higher acoustic outputs and lower cost, smaller emitters are desirable in a parametric loudspeaker, these features have thus far been largely unattainable.
The second problem that still plagues parametric sound is that of reducing distortion levels at higher output levels. Based on the prior art Berktay solution, a reproduced audio frequency input signal should be distortion free where the signal has been square rooted before passing through double sideband AM modulation.
When the square-root processing is applied, testing by the inventors has shown that distortion is reduced only when the ultrasound level is small, and can increase dramatically with the ultrasound intensity. These data show that the prior art Berktay, square root preprocessing solution cannot effectively reduce distortion with high levels of ultrasound pressure. Furthermore, the square-root preprocessing method is not valid for a wide range of ultrasonic amplitudes, and particularly not valid for the higher intensity outputs required for improved parametric sound pressure levels. Finally, to perfectly reproduce the Berktay solution, an infinite number of terms are required, which is impractical to implement. It has been found that with square-root preprocessing, THD (Total Harmonic Distortion) can range between a few percent to as high as 50 percent or more as levels increase.
Accordingly, it would be an improvement over the current state of the art to provide a system of minimized size requirements that can provide higher acoustic output levels, while maintaining low distortion levels at all output levels.
It has been recognized that it would be advantageous to develop a parametric loudspeaker that is capable of producing high acoustic output levels while maintaining minimized size requirements and maintaining low distortion levels. In particular, it would be advantageous to develop a parametric loudspeaker that is capable of operating in a saturated air medium while maintaining low distortion levels.
The invention provides a parametric method and loudspeaker system for operating in a saturated air medium. An ultrasonic carrier signal and an audio input signal are modulated by a parametric modulator preprocessor to produce a parametric ultrasonic signal. The amplitude of the parametric ultrasonic signal is sufficient to continuously maintain operation of the parametric loudspeaker system in the saturated medium. An electro-acoustical emitter is coupled to the parametric modulator preprocessor for emitting a parametric ultrasonic wave at an amplitude sufficient to continuously maintain operation of the parametric loudspeaker system in the saturated medium. Numerous variations of this embodiment are also provided.
The invention further provides a method and parametric loudspeaker system for operating in both a non-saturated air medium and a saturated air medium. The system includes an ultrasonic carrier signal source and an audio input signal source for providing an ultrasonic carrier signal and an audio input signal. A signal processor is coupled to the ultrasonic carrier and audio input signal sources. The signal processor operates in a first predetermined signal processing mode when the parametric loudspeaker is operating in the non-saturated air medium. The signal processor operates in a second predetermined signal processing mode when the parametric loudspeaker is operating in the saturated air medium for creating a double sideband parametric ultrasonic signal. An electro-acoustical emitter, which is coupled to the signal processor, emits a parametric ultrasonic wave into the surrounding air. Numerous variations of this embodiment are also provided.
Additional features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the detailed description which follows, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which together illustrate, by way of example, features of the invention.
The following drawings illustrate exemplary embodiments for carrying out the invention. Like reference numerals refer to like parts in different views or embodiments of the present invention in the drawings.
a is a reference diagram for
b is a block diagram of a conventional audio system.
c is flow diagram illustrating the complexities of a parametric audio system, and defining the terminology of a parametric audio system.
a is a plot of the modulation index of an ultrasonic parametric signal having a constant ultrasonic carrier signal level for continually driving the surrounding air into saturation.
b and 3c are plots of the modulation index of an ultrasonic parametric signal, wherein a dynamic carrier is employed to maintain the surrounding air medium in a saturated state.
d is a plot of the modulation index of an ultrasonic parametric signal, wherein a modulation index of one is reached when a maximum audio input signal level is received.
a and 6b are plots illustrating one embodiment where the modulation index of the parametric ultrasonic signal is lower when operating in the non-saturated air mode, and is higher when operating in the saturated air mode.
Reference will now be made to the exemplary embodiments illustrated in the drawings, and specific language will be used herein to describe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the invention is thereby intended. Alterations and further modifications of the inventive features illustrated herein, and additional applications of the principles of the inventions as illustrated herein, which would occur to one skilled in the relevant art and having possession of this disclosure, are to be considered within the scope of the invention.
Because parametric sound is a relatively new and developing field, and in order to identify the distinctions between parametric sound and conventional audio systems, the following definitions, along with explanatory diagrams, are provided. While the following definitions may also be employed in future applications from the present inventor, the definitions are not meant to retroactively narrow or define past applications or patents from the present inventors, their associates, or assignees.
a serves the purpose of establishing the meanings that will be attached to various block diagram shapes in
The block labeled 102 will represent any acoustic compression wave. As opposed to an audio signal, which is in electronic form, an acoustic compression wave is propagated into the air. The block 102 representing acoustic compression waves will be used whether the compression wave corresponds to a sonic wave, an ultrasonic wave, or a parametric ultrasonic wave. Throughout this application, any time the word ‘wave’ is used, it refers to an acoustic compression wave which is propagated into the air.
The block labeled 104 will represent any process that changes or affects the audio signal or wave passing through the process. The audio passing through the process may either be an electronic audio signal or an acoustic compression wave. The process may either be a manufactured process, such as a signal processor or an emitter, or a natural process such as an air medium.
The block labeled 106 will represent the actual audible sound that results from an acoustic compression wave. Examples of audible sound may be the sound heard in the ear of a user, or the sound sensed by a microphone.
b is a flow diagram 110 of a conventional audio system. In a conventional audio system, an audio input signal 111 is supplied which is an electronic representation of the audio wave being reproduced. The audio input signal 111 may optionally pass through an audio signal processor 112. The audio signal processor is usually limited to linear processing, such as the amplification of certain frequencies and attenuation of others. Very rarely, the audio signal processor 112 may apply non-linear processing to the audio input signal 111 in order to adjust for non-linear distortion that may be directly introduced by the emitter 116. If the audio signal processor 112 is used, it produces an audio processed signal 114.
The audio processed signal 114 or the audio input signal 111 (if the audio signal processor 112 is not used) is then emitted from the emitter 116. As discussed in the section labeled ‘related art’, conventional sound systems typically employ dynamic speakers as their emitter source. Dynamic speakers are typically comprised of a simple combination of a magnet, voice coil and cone. The magnet and voice coil convert the variable voltage of the audio processed signal 114 to mechanical displacement, representing a first stage within the dynamic speaker as a conventional multistage transducer. The attached cone provides a second stage of impedance matching between the electrical transducer and air envelope surrounding the emitter 116, enabling transmission of small vibrations of the voice coil to emerge as expansive acoustic audio wave 118. The acoustic audio wave 118 proceeds to travel through the air 120, with the air substantially serving as a linear medium. Finally, the acoustic audio wave reaches the ear of a listener, who hears audible sound 122.
c is a flow diagram 130 that clearly highlights the complexity of a parametric sound system as compared to the conventional audio system of
The audio processed signal 134 or the audio input signal 131 (if the audio signal processor 132 is not used) is then parametrically modulated with an ultrasonic carrier signal 136 using a parametric modulator 138. The ultrasonic carrier signal 136 may be supplied by any ultrasonic signal source. While the ultrasonic carrier signal 136 is normally fixed at a constant ultrasonic frequency, it is possible to have an ultrasonic carrier signal that varies in frequency. The parametric modulator 138 is configured to produce a parametric ultrasonic signal 140, which is comprised of an ultrasonic carrier signal, which is normally fixed at a constant frequency, and at least one sideband signal, wherein the sideband signal frequencies vary such that the difference between the sideband signal frequencies and the ultrasonic carrier signal frequency are the same frequency as the audio input signal 131. The parametric modulator 138 may be configured to produce a parametric ultrasonic signal 140 that either contains one sideband signal (single sideband modulation, or SSB), or both upper and lower sidebands (double sideband modulation, or DSB).
The parametric ultrasonic signal 140 is then emitted from the emitter 146, producing a parametric ultrasonic wave 148 which is propagated into the air 150. The parametric ultrasonic wave 148 is comprised of an ultrasonic carrier wave and at least one sideband wave. The parametric ultrasonic wave 148 drives the air into a substantially non-linear state. Because the air serves as a non-linear medium, acoustic heterodyning occurs on the parametric ultrasonic wave 148, causing the ultrasonic carrier wave and the at least one sideband wave to decouple in air, producing a decoupled audio wave 152 whose frequency is the difference between the ultrasonic carrier wave frequency and the sideband wave frequencies. Finally, the decoupled audio wave 152 reaches the ear of a listener, who hears audible sound 154. The end goal of parametric audio systems is for the decoupled audio wave 152 to closely correspond to the original audio input signal 131, such that the audible sound 154 is ‘pure sound’, or the exact representation of the audio input signal. However, because of limitations in parametric loudspeaker technology, including the difficulty of producing a decoupled audio wave 152 having significant intensity over a wide band of audio frequencies, attempts to produce ‘pure sound’ with parametric loudspeakers have been largely unsuccessful. The above process describing parametric audio systems is thus far substantially known in the prior art.
The above system has previously been operated such that the surrounding air is driven into non-linearity, while attempting to avoid driving the air into saturation. The present invention introduces an apparatus and method for increasing acoustic output levels by operating the parametric speaker in a saturated air medium, while maintaining minimized distortion levels. The invention includes a method for reducing distortion in a decoupled audio wave by emitting a DSB parametric ultrasonic wave from a parametric loudspeaker system into a saturated air medium.
In accordance with the present invention,
The present inventors have discovered that if the above system 200 is employed to drive the surrounding air into saturation using a DSB parametric ultrasonic signal, distortion can be kept to a minimum even while operating in saturation mode. Prior systems have been largely incapable of operating in saturation while maintaining low distortion. The reason is likely because prior systems have ordinarily employed the Berktay square-rooting solution to compensate for Berktay's prediction that the resulting decoupled audio wave along the axis of the beam is proportional to the second time derivative of the square of the amplitude modulation envelope. However, the present inventors have discovered that Berktay's prediction does not hold true when air is driven into saturation. Instead, when air is driven into saturation, the squared terms disappear, and the square of the amplitude modulation envelope is no longer necessary. Therefore, as long as the surrounding air medium is being driven into saturation, the non-square rooted waveform can be DSB amplitude modulated, and emitted into the air, and low distortion will be maintained. Although prior systems may occasionally drive the surrounding air into saturation, the benefit of low distortion was usually not obtained, because the systems were normally employing the Berktay square-rooting technique even when operating in saturation. Furthermore, even when the prior systems did drive the surrounding air into saturation, it was normally considered an undesirable result of an abnormal peak in audio levels. Far from being an undesirable result, the current embodiment of the present invention actually has the purpose of continually driving the surrounding air into saturation, and obtains high efficiency and low distortion by doing so.
Numerous variations to the system 200 can be made without deviating from the scope of the invention. For example, as illustrated in
In another variation, illustrated in
In another variation, illustrated in
With all of the above embodiments where the air is continuously driven into saturation, a major benefit is achieved over the majority of prior parametric loudspeakers. Parametric loudspeakers have historically purposely avoided driving the air into saturation, thereby decreasing their acoustic output levels in exchange for minimizing distortion levels. Parametric loudspeakers have largely been left to either choose a high modulation index yielding high efficiency, or low modulation index yielding low distortion. However, both high efficiency and low distortion was largely unobtainable, because as soon as the modulation index was raised to a high level to obtain high efficiency, the distortion levels would increase. If the modulation index were dropped to a lower level to decrease distortion levels, the efficiency level also dropped. Conversely, the present invention can obtain both high efficiency and low distortion. This is obtained by purposefully driving the air into saturation, thereby dramatically increasing output levels, while maintaining minimized distortion. Furthermore, the size requirement of the parametric loudspeaker system is maintained at a minimum, because a large emitter is no longer needed to avoid driving the surrounding air into saturation.
As illustrated in
Method 400 may also include the additional step of further adjusting linear parameters of the parametric ultrasonic signal to compensate for errors in a linear response of acoustic output of the electro-acoustical emitter such that when the parametric ultrasonic signal is emitted, the parametric ultrasonic wave is propagated, having an acoustic modulation index that is optimized. Here, the “acoustic modulation index” refers to the modulation index of the parametric ultrasonic wave that is actually propagated into the air, as opposed to the “electrical modulation index”, which refers to the modulation index of the electronic parametric ultrasonic signal. The acoustical modulation index often differs from the electrical modulation index due to various parameters of the acoustic output of the electro-acoustical emitter, such as the frequency response of the emitter. Therefore, the acoustic modulation index of the parametric ultrasonic wave that actually reaches the listener may be different than the modulation index that was intended to be produced. This method compensates for the linear response of the acoustic output such that the acoustic modulation index is optimized.
Method 400 may also include the additional step of further adjusting linear parameters of the parametric ultrasonic signal to compensate for a linear response of the parametric loudspeaker system such that when the parametric ultrasonic signal is emitted from the parametric loudspeaker system, the parametric ultrasonic wave is propagated, having sidebands that are more closely matched at least at a predefined point in space over at least one sideband frequency range. U.S. patent application No. 60/513,804 is hereby incorporated by reference to describe the above procedures.
The linear response of the acoustic output that is compensated for may be a function of physical characteristics of the parametric loudspeaker system, such as the frequency response, and an environmental medium wherein the parametric ultrasonic wave is propagated. For example, the environmental medium may attenuate certain frequencies more rapidly than other frequencies. The linear parameters that are adjusted to compensate for the linear response of the acoustic output may include the amplitude of the signal, directivity of the propagated wave, time delays of the signal, and the phase of the signal.
For example, if the parametric loudspeaker had a frequency response that attenuated the sidebands at a faster rate than the carrier frequency, the above method may create an electronic modulation index of 1.25, such that when the propagated parametric ultrasonic wave reaches the listener, it will have an acoustic modulation index of 1. Additionally, the frequency response of nearly all loudspeakers (including parametric loudspeakers) tend to attenuate one sideband at a higher rate than the other sideband. Therefore, the emitted parametric ultrasonic wave will have upper and lower sidebands that are no longer matched. The above method may create a parametric ultrasonic signal wherein the amplitudes of the sideband signals have been altered to compensate for the unequal sideband attenuation of the loudspeaker. Therefore, the emitted parametric ultrasonic wave will have sidebands that are substantially matched.
In another embodiment of the present invention, illustrated in
The signal processor 505 is configured to operate in a first predetermined signal processing mode whenever the parametric loudspeaker is operating at an amplitude and frequency that do not drive the surrounding air into saturation. The signal processor 505 is configured to operate in a second predetermined signal processing mode whenever the parametric loudspeaker is driving the surrounding air into saturation. While numerous variations can be made to the first predetermined signal processing mode, the second predetermined signal processing mode fundamentally creates a DSB parametric ultrasonic signal. Slight variations can also be made to the second predetermined signal processing mode, while still fundamentally creating a DSB parametric ultrasonic signal.
In one embodiment, the first predetermined signal processing mode creates a DSB parametric ultrasonic signal having a low modulation index, as illustrated in
In one variation of the above embodiment, the modulation index of the DSB parametric ultrasonic signal is artificially increased when the parametric loudspeaker system operates above the audio input signal level 707 that drives the surrounding air into saturation. As illustrated in
In a further variation of the above embodiment, the point at which the modulation index of the DSB parametric ultrasonic signal begins to be artificially increased may correspond to the point at which an increase in the amplitude of the audio input signal results in a decrease in the distortion level of the decoupled audio wave. This principal is illustrated jointly by the 700 and 702 plots. When the audio input signal level is quite low, the modulation index of the parametric ultrasonic signal is also low (704), and the overall distortion level in the resultant decoupled audio wave is also low (712) because the sidebands are low enough that high levels of distortion in the decoupled audio wave are avoided. As the audio input signal level increases, the resultant increase in the modulation index level causes an increase in the distortion level of the decoupled audio wave (714). When the audio input signal reaches the level which begins to drive the surrounding air into saturation (707 and 710), the level of distortion in the decoupled audio wave naturally begins to decrease. When the air is saturated, the modulation index can be increased 706, which causes the air to be driven deeper into saturation, thereby causing the level of distortion to decrease even more 708. Furthermore, the high modulation index while operating in a saturated air medium creates a very efficient system. Although the modulation index is lower while operating in the non-saturated air medium, the lower resultant efficiency is not a significant detriment, since the corresponding lower audio input signal is also low, and therefore, high power levels are largely unnecessary. The system may be configured such that the maximum allowable level of distortion 710 is always less then a predetermined value. For example, the system may be configured such that the distortion level at 710 is always less than 5%.
In another variation of the system of
In another variation of the system of
The above square-rooting embodiments may further include changing gradually from the first predetermined signal processing mode, where the first predetermined signal processing mode is one of the square-rooting modes, to the second predetermined signal processing mode, where the second predetermined signal processing mode is one of the non-square-rooting modes, as the parametric loudspeaker transitions from operating in the non-saturated air medium to operating in the saturated air medium.
Various techniques may be employed during the transition from non-saturated to saturated operation. For example, in one embodiment, the audio input signal (Sin) is raised to the power N (SinN) prior to being parametrically modulated to produce the parametric ultrasonic signal. While operating in the first predetermined signal processing mode, N=½, thereby square-rooting Sin. As the parametric loudspeaker gradually changes from the first to the second predetermined signal processing mode, N gradually changes from ½ to 1.
In another embodiment, the audio input signal (Sin) is multiplied by a number N prior to being parametrically modulated, and the result is raised to the ½ power:
(Sin*N)1/2
N approximately equals one while operating in the first predetermined signal processing mode, and gradually changes until fully operating in the second predetermined signal processing mode, where:
(Sin*N)1/2≈Sin
In other words, although a square-rooting function is being performed in both the first and the second predetermined signal processing modes, the second predetermined signal processing mode is still configured such that the DSB parametric ultrasonic signal is produced wherein the modulation envelope substantially matches an amplitude modulated version of a non-square-rooted audio input signal.
The above mentioned techniques used for transitioning from the first predetermined signal processing mode to the second predetermined signal processing mode are merely given by way of example, and many other transitioning techniques can be devised by one of ordinary skill in the art. The mere use of a first and a second processing mode for operating in non-saturated and saturated air mediums, with or without employing a gradual transition technique between the two processing modes, is sufficient to fall within the scope of the present embodiment.
In another embodiment of the invention, a parametric loudspeaker system is disclosed for operating in both a non-saturated air medium and a saturated air medium. The system includes ultrasonic carrier and audio input signal sources for providing an ultrasonic carrier signal and an audio input signal. A parametric modulator is coupled to the ultrasonic carrier and audio input signal sources. The parametric modulator modulates the ultrasonic carrier signal with the audio input signal to produce a DSB parametric ultrasonic signal having a predetermined modulation index value. The system also includes a parametric ultrasonic signal processor coupled to the parametric modulator, configured to artificially increase the modulation index when the audio input signal exceeds a predetermined level. An electro-acoustical emitter is coupled to the parametric ultrasonic signal processor for emitting a parametric ultrasonic wave into a surrounding air medium.
The system may be configured to begin to artificially increase the modulation index when the audio input exceeds a level which causes the surrounding air medium to enter into saturation. The level of the audio input which causes the surrounding air to enter into saturation may further correspond to a decrease in the distortion level of the decoupled audio wave. This principle was illustrated in
As illustrated in
It is to be understood that the above-referenced arrangements are illustrative of the application for the principles of the present invention. Numerous modifications and alternative arrangements can be devised without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention while the present invention has been shown in the drawings and described above in connection with the exemplary embodiments of the invention. It will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that numerous modifications can be made without departing from the principles and concepts of the invention as set forth in the examples.
The following is provided by way of example:
Priority of U.S. Provisional patent application Ser. No. 60/588,129 filed on Jul. 14, 2004 is claimed. Priority of U.S. Provisional patent application Ser. No. 60/513,804 is claimed. This is a Continuation-in-Part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/384,084 filed Aug. 26, 1999.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60588129 | Jul 2004 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 09384084 | Aug 1999 | US |
| Child | 11181363 | Jul 2005 | US |
