/Patent Tracker
AmazonGranted patentAudio & voiceInterest 6/10

Amazon patents speaker design that points away from mic for better voice control

Amazon describes a design for voice-controlled devices where the speaker is aimed away from the microphone to reduce background noise. This physical arrangement helps the device hear user commands more clearly without needing complex software to filter out its own sound.

Why it mattersThis design could make smart speakers and similar devices respond to voice commands more accurately by reducing the chance of the device hearing itself.

In the filing’s own words

Voice-controlled devices that include one or more speakers for outputting audio. In some instances, the device includes at least one speaker within a cylindrical housing, with the speaker aimed or pointed away from a microphone coupled to the housing. For instance, if the microphone resides at or near the top of the cylindrical housing, then the speaker may point downwards along the longitudinal axis of the housing and away from the microphone. By pointing the speaker away from the microphone, the microphone will receive less sound from the speaker than if the speaker were pointed toward the microphone). Because the voice-controlled device may perform speech recognition on audio signals generated by the microphone, less sound from the speaker represented in the audio signal may result in more accurate speech recognition, and/or a lesser need to perform acoustic echo cancelation (AEC) on the generated audio signals.

What exactly they claim (claim 1)

1. A method comprising: determining, using one or more processors of an electronic device, that audio data generated using one or more microphones of the electronic device represents speech corresponding to a predefined wake command; based on the determining that audio data generated using the one or more microphones represents speech corresponding to a predefined wake command, causing a lighting element of the electronic device to illuminate in a predefined manner; determining, using the one or more processors of the electronic device, that audio data generated using the one or more microphones represents speech corresponding to a first operational request, and based on the determining that audio data generated using the one or more microphones represents speech corresponding to a first operational request, causing one or more speakers of the electronic device to output sound.

Facts

Company
Amazon (Amazon Technologies, Inc.)
Official title
Audio assemblies for electronic devices
Patent number
US12739544B2
Application number
18641953
Filed
Apr 22, 2024
Granted
Sep 15, 2026
Inventors
5
Claims
20

Classified under

H04R 1/025 Electricity & electronicsG06F 3/167 Physics & computingH04R 1/02 Electricity & electronicsH04R 1/04 Electricity & electronicsH04R 3/00 Electricity & electronicsG10L 15/20 Physics & computing
Read the full filing (official PDF) ↗ Open in the Patent Tracker

More from Amazon in Audio & voice

Summaries are simplified from the filing’s own abstract and first claim. A patent filing is not a product announcement.
Patent data and drawings: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Nebula is not affiliated with or endorsed by the USPTO.