Patent Description:
With continuous improvement of living standards, more users choose a stereo system to enhance audio effects. Currently, an audio field center position of the stereo system may be determined according to locations of sound boxes in the stereo system. When the user is located in the audio field center position, on-the-spot experience of the user is better. Thus, the audio field center position is the position of optimized audio reception by the user at this position, wherein it is desirable to adjust the audio field center position to the actual user position upon movement of the user.

In actual scenes, movement of the user in the space where the stereo system is placed requires the user to manually adjust the stereo system to maintain good audio effect, for the purpose of improving the audio effect.

Manually adjusting audio field settings of the stereo system is cumbersome and requires professional adjustment of the audio field settings of the stereo system, otherwise the audio field effect required by the user cannot be achieved.

<CIT> and <CIT> disclose an audio system, including a plurality of speakers, a plurality of receivers and an audio processing part. The audio processing part calculates the location of the tag apparatus by analyzing the electric waves received from the receivers.

In order to overcome existing problems in the related art, embodiments of the present disclosure provide an audio field adjusting method, an audio field adjusting apparatus and a storage medium.

In a first aspect, the embodiments of the present disclosure provide an audio field adjusting method as defined in claim <NUM>.

Preferably, after determining the audio field center position, the method further includes: obtaining the user position fed back by the UWB module in each of the plurality of the sound boxes again, re-determining the audio field center position according to the user position; and according to the re-determined audio field center position, the audio field position of each of the plurality of the sound boxes, so that the adjusted audio field position of the stereo system is the re-determined audio field center position.

Preferably, the number of the sound boxes is greater than or equal to <NUM>.

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide an audio field adjusting apparatus as defined in claim <NUM>.

Preferably, the determining unit is further configured to re-determine the audio field center position according to the user positions re-fed back by the UWB modules in each of the plurality of the sound boxes. The adjusting unit is further configured to: according to the re-determined audio field center position, adjust the audio field position of each of the plurality of the sound boxes, so that the adjusted audio field position of the stereo system is the re-determined audio field center position.

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium stores computer-executable instructions, when the computer-executable instructions are executed by a processor, the audio field adjusting method according to the embodiments of the first aspect or any of the embodiments of the first aspect is implemented.

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a stereo system implementing the audio field adjusting method in the first aspect of the present disclosure. Therein, the UWB module in the mobile terminal carried by the user is configured to provide the user position to the UWB module in each of the plurality of the sound boxes.

Preferably, each of the plurality of the sound boxes is configured to interact with the UWB module in the mobile terminal , to obtain a position relationship between the UWB module in each of the plurality of the sound boxes and the UWB module in the mobile terminal.

The technical solutions according to the embodiments of the present disclosure may include the following beneficial effects. The stereo system determines the audio field center position according to the user position fed back by the UWB module in each of the plurality of the sound boxes, and adjusts an audio field position of each of the plurality of the sound boxes according to the audio field center position, so that an audio field position of the stereo system is the audio field center position. In the present disclosure, the audio field center position is accurately adjusted according to the location of the user, and the audio field effect of the stereo system is improved.

It is understood that the above general description and the following detailed description are only exemplary and explanatory, and do not limit the present disclosure.

Exemplary embodiments (examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings) are elaborated below. The following description refers to the accompanying drawings, in which identical or similar elements in two drawings are denoted by identical reference numerals unless indicated otherwise. Implementations set forth in the following exemplary embodiments do not represent all implementations in accordance with the subject disclosure. Rather, they are mere examples of the apparatus (i.e., device) and method in accordance with certain aspects of the subject disclosure as recited in the accompanying claims. The exemplary implementation modes may take on multiple forms, and should not be taken as being limited to examples illustrated herein. Instead, by providing such implementation modes, embodiments herein may become more comprehensive and complete, and comprehensive concept of the exemplary implementation modes may be delivered to those skilled in the art. Implementations set forth in the following exemplary embodiments do not represent all implementations in accordance with the subject disclosure. Rather, they are merely examples of the apparatus and method in accordance with certain aspects herein as recited in the accompanying claims.

A term used in some embodiments herein is merely for describing the embodiment instead of limiting the subject disclosure. A singular form "a" and "the" used in some embodiments herein and the appended claims may also be intended to include a plural form, unless clearly indicated otherwise by context. Further note that a term "and / or" used herein may refer to and contain any combination or all possible combinations of one or more associated listed items.

Note that although a term such as first, second, third may be adopted in some embodiments herein to describe various kinds of information, such information should not be limited to such a term. Such a term is merely for distinguishing information of the same type. For example, without departing from the scope of the embodiments herein, the first information may also be referred to as the second information. Similarly, the second information may also be referred to as the first information. Depending on the context, a "if" as used herein may be interpreted as "when" or "while" or "in response to determining that.

In addition, described characteristics, structures or features may be combined in one or more implementation modes in any proper manner. In the following descriptions, many details are provided to allow a full understanding of embodiments herein. However, those skilled in the art will know that the technical solutions of embodiments herein may be carried out without one or more of the details; alternatively, another method, component, device, option, etc., may be adopted. Under other conditions, no detail of a known structure, method, device, implementation, material or operation may be shown or described to avoid obscuring aspects of embodiments herein.

A block diagram shown in the accompanying drawings may be a functional entity which may not necessarily correspond to a physically or logically independent entity. Such a functional entity may be implemented in form of software, in one or more hardware modules or integrated circuits, or in different networks and/or processor devices and/or microcontroller devices.

In addition, a term such as "first," "second," etc., may serve but for description purposes and should not be construed as indication or implication of relevancy, or implication of a quantity of technical features under consideration. Accordingly, a feature with an attributive "first," "second," etc., may expressly or implicitly include at least one such feature. Herein by "multiple", it may mean two or more unless indicated otherwise expressly.

Exemplary embodiments are described in detail here, examples of which are shown in the drawings. When referring to the drawings below, unless otherwise indicated, the same numerals in different drawings represent the same or similar elements. The embodiments described in the following exemplary embodiments do not represent all embodiments consistent with the present disclosure. Rather, they are merely examples of devices and methods consistent with some aspects of the present disclosure as detailed in the appended claims.

Ultra Wide Band (UWB) technologies refer to carrier-free communication technologies adopting nanosecond-level non-sinusoidal wave narrow pulse transmission technologies, which have characteristics such as high transmission rate, strong anti-interference ability, cost-efficient and low power consumption, and is widely applied in sort-range high-speed data transmission scenarios.

In some scenarios, movements of the user in the space where the stereo system is placed may require the user to manually adjust the stereo system to maintain good audio effects.

Manually adjusting audio field settings of the stereo system can be inconvenient and require professional adjustment of the audio field settings of the stereo system, otherwise the audio field effect required by the user cannot be achieved.

The exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure are applicable for an application scenario in which the audio field position of a stereo system is adjusted. In this scenario, the stereo system may be, for example, a home theater stereo system including an audio controller and a plurality of sound boxes, and the home theater stereo system supports the function of dynamically adjusting the position of the audio field.

<FIG> is a flowchart of an audio field adjusting method according to an exemplary embodiment. As illustrated in <FIG>, the audio field adjusting method is applicable for a stereo system, and the method includes the following steps.

At step S11, a user position fed back by the UWB module in each of the plurality of the sound boxes is obtained.

In the present disclosure, the audio controller in the stereo system is configured to obtain the user position fed back by the UWB module in each of the plurality of the sound boxes.

Each of the plurality of the sound boxes includes an Ultra-Wide Band (UWB) module, and the user carries a device comprising an UWB module. For example, the UWB module carried by the user may be a mobile terminal such as a smartphone installed with the UWB module, or a UWB positioning device. Each of the plurality of the sound boxes interacts with the UWB module carried by the user through the installed UWB module, to obtain a position relation between a user and the UWB module in each of the plurality of the sound boxes through the UWB module, and the position relationship with the user is send to the audio controller of the stereo system.

When determining the audio field center position, the audio controller of the stereo system needs to perform plane modeling on the plane where the stereo system is located according to the area of the space where the stereo system is located and the initial positions of the sound boxes, in which the plane where the stereo system is located is converted into a plane grid, the sound boxes are used as nodes of the grid, and connections of adjacent sound boxes are used as edges of the grid, thus a grid-like plane is generated. The plane grid of the space where each sound box is placed in the grid-like plane is initially configured. Therefore, in order to accurately locate the model plane, the audio controller of the stereo system requires the number of the sound boxes to be greater than or equal to <NUM>.

At step S12, an audio field center position is determined according to the user position fed back by the UWB module in each of the plurality of the sound boxes.

In the present disclosure, the audio controller calculates the current location of the user based on the user position fed back by the UWB module in each of the plurality of the sound boxes and the initial location of each sound box configured in the audio controller, and determines the current location of the user as the audio field center position.

At step S13, according to the audio field center position, an audio field position of each of the plurality of the sound boxes is adjusted, so that an audio field position of the stereo system is the audio field center position.

In the present disclosure, when the user is moving, the UWB modules installed in the sound boxes and the UWB module-mounted device carried by the user interact in real time to obtain the user position, so that the user position is accurate. The sound boxes feedback the user position to the stereo system, and then the stereo system obtains the accurate user position feedback by the sound boxes. Based on the user position, the stereo system determines the audio field center position, and obtains the accurate audio field center position. Based on the accurate audio field center position, by adjusting the setting parameters of an equalizer, the audio controller in the stereo system may adjust the audio field position of each sound box to obtain the audio field center position of the stereo system.

<FIG> is an exemplary diagram of an audio field adjusting method according to an exemplary embodiment. As illustrated in <FIG>, the stereo system includes an audio controller and <NUM> sound boxes including sound box A-sound box F, and each sound box includes an Ultra-Wide Band (UWB) module.

The audio controller of the stereo system performs plane modeling on the plane of the space where the stereo system is located according to the area of the space where the stereo system is located and the initial positions of the sound boxes, that is, the plane of the space where the stereo system is located is converted into a grid. For example, the space where the stereo system is located is converted by grid side length of <NUM> meters to generate a grid-like plane. The plane grid of the space where the stereo system is located is initially configured. Sound box A to sound box F obtain the position relations d1 to d6 with the user through the installed UWB module, and sends the positional relations with the user to the audio controller. The audio controller determines the current user position according to the user positions fed back by the UWB modules in the six sound boxes and the initial grid position of the sound boxes, that is, the grid position of the plane where the current user is placed in the space. The grid position where the user is currently located is determined as the audio field center position. According to the audio field center position, the audio controller adjusts the setting parameters of the equalizer to adjust the audio field position of each sound box, so that the audio field position of the stereo system is the audio field center position.

In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the stereo system determines the audio field center position according to the user positions fed back by the UWB modules in each sound box, and according to the audio field center position, adjusts the audio field position of each sound box so that the audio field of the stereo system becomes the audio field center position. In the present disclosure, the audio field center position is dynamically and accurately adjusted according to the user position, and the audio field effect of the sound box is improved.

<FIG> is a flowchart of an audio field adjusting method according to an exemplary embodiment. As illustrated in <FIG>, the audio field adjusting method applicable for a stereo system includes the following steps.

At step S21, a user position fed back by the UWB module in each of the plurality of the sound boxes is obtained.

At step S22, an audio field center position is determined according to the user position fed back by the UWB module in each of the plurality of the sound boxes.

At step S23, according to the user position re-fed back by the UWB module in each of the plurality of the sound boxes, the audio field center position is re-determined.

In the actual scene, the user moves frequently in the space where the stereo system is placed. In order to ensure good sound experience of the user, the stereo system needs to be dynamically re-determine the audio field center position according to the user position fed back by the UWB module in each of the plurality of the sound boxes. Furthermore, according to the newly determined audio field center position, the audio field position of each sound box is readjusted by adjusting the setting parameters of the equalizer, so that the adjusted audio field position of the stereo system is the newly determined audio field center position.

At step S24, according to the re-determined audio field center position, the audio field position of each of the plurality of the sound boxes is adjusted, so that the adjusted audio field position of the stereo system is the re-determined audio field center position.

In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the audio field center position is re-determined according to the user position re-feedback by the UWB module in each sound box, and the audio field center position is dynamically adjusted to improve user audio experience of the stereo system. The adjusting can be automatic adjusting dynamically based the user position in real time.

Based on the same inventive concept, the present disclosure also provides an audio field adjusting apparatus.

It is understood that, in order to realize the above-mentioned functions, the apparatus for controlling the intelligent control device (such as an intelligent voice control device) according to the embodiments of the present disclosure includes modules of hardware structure and/or software to implement various function. With reference to the units and algorithm steps of the examples disclosed in the embodiments of the present disclosure, the embodiments of the present disclosure are implemented in the form of hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is executed by hardware or hardware driven by computer software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Those skilled in the art may use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered to exceed the scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present disclosure.

<FIG> is a block diagram of an audio field adjusting apparatus <NUM> according to an exemplary embodiment. As illustrated in <FIG>, the audio field adjusting apparatus is applicable for a stereo system, the stereo system contains a plurality of sound boxes, and each of the plurality of sound boxes comprises an Ultra-Wide Band (UWB) module, the apparatus includes: an obtaining unit <NUM>, a determining unit <NUM>, and an adjusting unit <NUM>.

The obtaining unit <NUM> is configured to obtain a user position fed back by the UWB module in each of the plurality of the sound boxes.

The determining unit <NUM> is configured to determine an audio field center position according to the user position fed back by the UWB module in each of the plurality of the sound boxes.

The adjusting unit <NUM> is configured to according to the audio field center position, adjust an audio field position of each of the plurality of the sound boxes, so that an audio field position of the stereo system is the audio field center position.

In an embodiment, the determining unit <NUM> determines the audio field center position according to the user positions fed back by the UWB modules in each of the plurality of the sound boxes in the following manners: calculating a current user location according to an initial position of each of the plurality of the sound boxes and the user position fed back by the UWB module in each of the plurality of the sound boxes; and determining the current user position as the audio field center position.

In an embodiment, the determining unit <NUM> is further configured to re-determine the audio field center position according to the user positions re-fed back by the UWB modules in each of the plurality of the sound boxes. The adjusting unit is further configured to: according to the re-determined audio field center position, adjust the audio field position of each of the plurality of the sound boxes, so that the adjusted audio field position of the stereo system is the re-determined audio field center position.

In an embodiment, the number of the sound boxes is greater than or equal to <NUM>.

<FIG> is a block diagram of an audio field adjusting apparatus <NUM> according to an exemplary embodiment. As illustrated in <FIG>, the audio field adjusting apparatus is applicable for a plurality of sound boxes included in a stereo system, each of the plurality of the sound boxes includes an Ultra Wide Band (UWB) module, and the apparatus includes: an obtaining unit <NUM> and a sending unit <NUM>.

The obtaining unit <NUM> is configured to obtain a position relation between a user and the UWB module in each of the plurality of the sound boxes through the UWB module. The sending unit <NUM> is configured to send the position relation to the stereo system.

Regarding the apparatus in the above embodiment, the specific manner in which each module performs operations has been described in detail in the embodiment related to the method, which is not repeated herein.

In the stereo system implementing the method according to embodiments of the present disclosure, there is a user-associated UWB module configured to provide the user position to the UWB module in each of the plurality of the sound boxes. In an embodiment, the user-associated UWB module is in a mobile terminal of a user. In another embodiment, the mobile terminal of the user is a UWB positioning device. The mobile terminal of the user may be a smartphone installed with the user-associated UWB module.

In an embodiment, each of the plurality of the sound boxes is configured to interact with the user-associated UWB module, to obtain a position relationship between a user and the UWB module in each of the plurality of the sound boxes and the user-associated UWB module.

The stereo system also includes an audio controller configured to obtain and the position relationship. The user position is movable, and the position relationship accordingly is variable. The adjusting is automatic adjusting dynamically based the user position in real time.

<FIG> is a block diagram of an audio field adjusting apparatus <NUM> according to an exemplary embodiment. For example, the apparatus <NUM> may be a mobile phone, a computer, a digital broadcasting terminal, a tablet device, a medical device, a fitness device and a personal digital assistant.

As illustrated in <FIG>, the apparatus <NUM> may include one or more of the following components: a processing component <NUM>, a memory <NUM>, a power component <NUM>, a multimedia component <NUM>, an audio component <NUM>, an input/output (I/O) interface <NUM>, a sensor component <NUM>, and a communication component <NUM>.

The memory <NUM> is configured to store various types of data to support the operation of the apparatus <NUM>. Examples of such data include instructions for any applications or methods operated on the apparatus <NUM>, contact data, phonebook data, messages, pictures, video, etc. The memory <NUM> may be implemented using any type of volatile or non-volatile memory devices, or a combination thereof, such as a static random access memory (SRAM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), a programmable read-only memory (PROM), a read-only memory (ROM), a magnetic memory, a flash memory, a magnetic or optical disk.

The multimedia component <NUM> includes a screen providing an output interface between the apparatus <NUM> and the user. In some embodiments, organic light-emitting diode (OLED) or other types of displays can be employed.

When the apparatus <NUM> is in an operation mode, such as a shooting mode or a video mode, the front camera and/or the rear camera may receive external multimedia data. Each front camera and rear camera can be a fixed optical lens system or have focal length and optical zoom capabilities.

The audio component <NUM> is configured to output and/or input audio signals. For example, the audio component <NUM> includes a microphone ("MIC") configured to receive an external audio signal when the apparatus <NUM> is in an operation mode, such as a call mode, a recording mode, and a voice recognition mode. The received audio signal may be further stored in the memory <NUM> or transmitted via the communication component <NUM>. In some embodiments, the audio component <NUM> further includes a speaker to output audio signals.

The sensor component <NUM> includes one or more sensors to provide status assessments of various aspects of the apparatus <NUM>. For instance, the sensor component <NUM> may detect an open/closed status of the apparatus <NUM>, relative positioning of components, e.g., the display and the keypad, of the apparatus <NUM>, a change in position of the apparatus <NUM> or a component of the apparatus <NUM>, a presence or absence of user contact with the apparatus <NUM>, an orientation or an acceleration/deceleration of the apparatus <NUM>, and a change in temperature of the apparatus <NUM>. In some embodiments, the sensor component <NUM> may further include an acceleration sensor, a gyro sensor, a magnetic sensor, a pressure sensor, or a temperature sensor.

The communication component <NUM> is configured to facilitate communication, wired or wirelessly, between the apparatus <NUM> and other devices. The apparatus <NUM> can access a wireless network based on a communication standard, such as WiFi, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, or a combination thereof. In one exemplary embodiment, the communication component <NUM> receives a broadcast signal or broadcast associated information from an external broadcast management system via a broadcast channel. In one exemplary embodiment, the communication component <NUM> further includes a near field communication (NFC) module to facilitate short-range communications. For example, the NFC module may be implemented based on a radio frequency identity (RFID) technology, an infrared data association (IrDA) technology, an ultra-wideband (UWB) technology, a Bluetooth (BT) technology, and other technologies.

In exemplary embodiments, the apparatus <NUM> may be implemented with one or more application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), digital signal processors (DSPs), digital signal processing devices (DSPDs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), controllers, micro-controllers, microprocessors, or other electronic components, for performing the above described methods.

In exemplary embodiments, there is also provided a non-transitory computer readable storage medium including instructions, such as included in the memory <NUM>, executable by the processor <NUM> in the apparatus <NUM>, for performing the above-described methods. For example, the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium may be a ROM, a RAM, a CD-ROM, a magnetic tape, a floppy disc, an optical data storage device, and the like.

The various device components, modules, components, blocks, or portions may have modular configurations, or are composed of discrete components, but nonetheless can be referred to as "modules" in general. In other words, the "components," "modules," "blocks," "portions," or "units" referred to herein may or may not be in modular forms, and these phrases may be interchangeably used.

In the present disclosure, the terms "installed," "connected," "coupled," "fixed" and the like shall be understood broadly, and can be either a fixed connection or a detachable connection, or integrated, unless otherwise explicitly defined. These terms can refer to mechanical or electrical connections, or both. Such connections can be direct connections or indirect connections through an intermediate medium. These terms can also refer to the internal connections or the interactions between elements. The specific meanings of the above terms in the present disclosure can be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art on a case-by-case basis.

In the description of the present disclosure, the terms "one embodiment," "some embodiments," "example," "specific example," or "some examples," and the like can indicate a specific feature described in connection with the embodiment or example, a structure, a material or feature included in at least one embodiment or example. In the present disclosure, the schematic representation of the above terms is not necessarily directed to the same embodiment or example.

In some embodiments, the control and/or interface software or app can be provided in a form of a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having instructions stored thereon is further provided. For example, the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium can be a ROM, a CD-ROM, a magnetic tape, a floppy disk, optical data storage equipment, a flash drive such as a USB drive or an SD card, and the like.

It should be understood that "a plurality" or "multiple" as referred to herein means two or more. "And/or," describing the association relationship of the associated objects, indicates that there may be three relationships, for example, A and/or B may indicate that there are three cases where A exists separately, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists separately. The character "/" generally indicates that the contextual objects are in an "or" relationship.

In the present disclosure, it is to be understood that the terms "lower," "upper," "under" or "beneath" or "underneath," "above," "front," "back," "left," "right," "top," "bottom," "inner," "outer," "horizontal," "vertical," and other orientation or positional relationships are based on example orientations illustrated in the drawings, and are merely for the convenience of the description of some embodiments, rather than indicating or implying the device or component being constructed and operated in a particular orientation. Therefore, these terms are not to be construed as limiting the scope of the present disclosure.

Claim 1:
An audio field adjusting method, performed by an audio controller in a stereo system, wherein the stereo system comprises a plurality of sound boxes, and each of the plurality of sound boxes comprises an Ultra-Wide Band (UWB) module, the method comprises:
obtaining (S11) a user position fed back by the UWB module in each of the plurality of the sound boxes interacting with an UWB module in a mobile terminal carried by the user;
determining (S12) an audio field center position by plane modeling according to the user position fed back by the UWB module in each of the plurality of the sound boxes; and
according to the audio field center position, adjusting (S13) an audio field position of each of the plurality of the sound boxes, such that an audio field position of the stereo system is the audio field center position,
characterized in that
determining the audio field center position by plane modeling according to the user position fed back by the UWB module in each of the plurality of the sound boxes, comprises:
performing plane modeling on a plane where the stereo system is located according to an area of a space where the stereo system is located and initial positions of the sound boxes, wherein the plane where the stereo system is located is converted into a plane grid, the sound boxes are used as nodes of the grid, and connections of adjacent sound boxes are used as edges of the grid, to generate a grid-like plane;
calculating a grid position where the user is currently placed according to an initial grid position of each of the plurality of the sound boxes and the user position fed back by the UWB module in each of the plurality of the sound boxes; and
determining the grid position where the user is currently placed as the audio field center position.