Patent ID: 8280066

Claim:
A method of enhancing the provision of feedforward-based ANR to at least one ear of a user of a personal ANR device having a first earpiece and a second earpiece, the method comprising: disposing a first feedforward microphone on the first earpiece; disposing a first acoustic driver within the first earpiece; disposing a second feedforward microphone on the second earpiece; employing both first feedforward reference sounds detected by the first feedforward microphone and second feedforward reference sounds detected by the second feedforward microphone in deriving first feedforward anti-noise sounds to be acoustically output by the first acoustic driver transmitting the first feedforward reference sounds to the second earpiece; deriving the first feedforward anti-noise sounds from the first feedforward reference sounds and the second feedforward reference sounds using a first ANR circuit disposed within the first earpiece; transmitting the second feedforward reference sounds to the first earpiece; and deriving second feedforward anti-noise sounds from the first feedforward reference sounds and the second feedforward reference sounds using a second ANR circuit disposed within the second earpiece; configuring a first plurality of digital filters of the first ANR circuit to: receive digital data representing the first feedforward reference sounds from an ADC of the first ANR circuit; receive digital data representing the second feedforward reference sounds from the second ANR circuit through a first interface of the first ANR circuit; and output digital data representing the first feedforward anti-noise sounds to provide feedforward-based ANR; and configuring a second plurality of digital filters of the second ANR circuit to: receive digital data representing the second feedforward reference sounds from an ADC of the second ANR circuit; receive digital data representing the first feedforward reference sounds from the first ANR circuit through a second interface of the second ANR circuit; and output digital data representing the second feedforward anti-noise sounds to provide feedforward-based ANR.