Did You Know...
...that the inventor of the electric motor was a blacksmith named Thomas Davenport? Described as "a brilliantly unsuccessful inventor", Davenport invented the first rotary electric motor. In 1836 he headed out -- on foot -- from his Vermont home to file a patent application at the Patent Office in Washington, D.C. By the time he got there, he had squandered away his money and couldn't afford the $30 filing fee so he turned around and went home. When he later mailed in his application with money he'd raised, the Patent office was destroyed in a fire. He did finally get credit for his invention on Feb. 5, 1837.
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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 8184824 | Differentiated audio The present invention provides novel methods and devices for providing audio to players of a gaming machine and to nearby players. According to preferred implementations, sounds intended for a person currently using a gaming machine are distinguished from second sou... | 05/22/2012 |
| 8175287 | Sound device A sound device includes an input terminal for electronic signal input; a line out terminal adapted to output electronic signals input on the input terminal to an external area; a delay arrangement adapted to delay electronic signals input on the input terminal for a... | 05/08/2012 |
| 8155340 | Method and apparatus for rendering ambient signals An apparatus and method for communications is disclosed. The apparatus includes a receiver configured to scale an audio signal, and a transducer circuit configured to provide an ambient signal in response to an ambient condition, wherein the receiver is further conf... | 04/10/2012 |
| 8150056 | Audio signal transmitting apparatus, audio signal receiving apparatus, audio signal transmission system, audio signal transmission method, and program There is provided an audio signal transmitting apparatus which can communicate with a plurality of external connection apparatuses and transmits audio signals to the external connection apparatuses. The audio signal transmitting apparatus includes an external output... | 04/03/2012 |
| 8150057 | Companion microphone system and method Systems and methods for wireless communication can include a first unit configured to synchronously transmit a first digital audio packet redundantly in at least a first dedicated slot and a second dedicated slot over a time period, and a second unit configured to r... | 04/03/2012 |
| 8150058 | Mode switching noise cancellation for microphone-speaker combinations used in two way audio communications An audio host device has an electrical interface having a speaker contact, a microphone contact, and a reference contact. The reference contact is shared by a microphone and a speaker. The reference contact is also directly coupled to a power return plane of the aud... | 04/03/2012 |
| 8144892 | Audio amplification system A wireless audio amplification system for classrooms and the like includes a system that allows for advanced listening and learning audio tools. The invention combines radio frequency and infrared technologies into one integrated system. A microphone includes a radi... | 03/27/2012 |
| 8144893 | Mobile microphone A method centrally controls communication at a single venue. A central communications point with a moderator is provided. User information, at least at the venue, is provided to users for transmitting electronic signals to the central communication point. The modera... | 03/27/2012 |
| 8135141 | Audio signal transmitting apparatus, audio signal receiving apparatus, audio signal transmission system, audio signal transmission method, and program There is provided an audio signal transmitting apparatus including: a channel mapping unit which determines the audio signals allocated to each of the channels and generates channel mapping information representing types of the audio signals allocated to each of the... | 03/13/2012 |
| 8130973 | Superdirectional acoustic system and projector A superdirectional acoustic system for reproducing a sound signal supplied from a real sound source by using a superdirectional speaker and producing a virtual sound source in a vicinity of a sound wave reflection surface. The system includes an ultrasonic speaker, ... | 03/06/2012 |
| 8121305 | Fetal communication system A compact fetal sound system delivers high-fidelity sound to a fetus in utero through a miniature, abdominally mounted driver with a convex diaphragm. No gel is necessary at the interface between the diaphragm and the mother's abdomen. Digital signal processing shap... | 02/21/2012 |
| 8121306 | Range-sensitive wireless microphone with out-of-range recording feature A range-sensitive wireless-microphone method includes receiving an audio input, converting the received audio input into digital data, buffering the digital data, and transmitting the buffered digital data. The method also includes determining whether the transmitte... | 02/21/2012 |
| 8116475 | Audio generating module An audio generating module is disclosed comprising a transmitting medium, a power unit and a transmitting unit. The power unit is used for providing power. The transmitting unit, situated in the transmitting medium, connects to the power unit for receiving power, an... | 02/14/2012 |
| 8107640 | Car-use extended device and setting method for operation interface of car-use control system A car-use extended device is applied to electrically communicate to a car-use audio device to form a car-use control system, so as to simulate a user-to-machine operation interface for controlling an electronic computing device installed with an operation system to ... | 01/31/2012 |
| 8103016 | Network system and audio signal processor An audio network system that performs transport of audio signals among nodes by cascading a plurality of nodes each including two sets of transmission I/Fs and reception I/Fs, and circulating among the nodes in each fixed period an audio transport frame generated by... | 01/24/2012 |
| 8094830 | Video/sound output device and external speaker control device A television set includes: an internal speaker which outputs sound; a memory which holds information; a remote controller receiver which receives an instruction from the outside of the television set; a microcomputer which causes, based on a mode specifying instruct... | 01/10/2012 |
| 8090115 | Transmitting/receiving system, transmitting device, and device including speaker In a television receiver, based on speaker information of each of one or more devices including speakers which is a memory of the television receiver, a transmitting audio signal to be transmitted to each device including a speaker, in which synchronization is estab... | 01/03/2012 |
| 8077876 | Delivery system, transmission apparatus, and delivery method A delivery system is disclosed, which has a transmission apparatus and a plurality of reception terminals communicably connected through a network. The transmission apparatus includes a correction section which pre-obtains a plurality of types of correction coeffici... | 12/13/2011 |
| 8054986 | Method and apparatus for computer communication using audio signals An acoustic communication device includes a computer device having an acoustic transmitter and/or an acoustic receiver. A signal processing module processes sound signals such that the transmitter and/or receiver are employed to permit acoustic communication between... | 11/08/2011 |
| 8045728 | Conference audio system It is possible to shorten a delay time from utterance to output from a speaker even in a conference audio system including an automatic mute release device. An A/D converter that converts audio signals from a plurality of microphones into digital signals, an audio l... | 10/25/2011 |
| 8041050 | Audio data reproduction system, audio data reproduction method, and electronic device used in the system When a PC (a transmission device) transmits an externally taken-in audio file to an electronic dictionary (a receiving device), the PC encodes the audio file and stores the compressed audio file into its own memory temporarily. On the basis of the file management da... | 10/18/2011 |
| 8041049 | Method for controlling output from ultrasonic speaker and ultrasonic speaker system The invention maintains optimum sound quality even when a listener changes his/her angle formed between a sound wave emitting axis of an ultrasonic transducer and a front direction axis of the listener with respect to the sound wave emitting axis. An ultrasonic spea... | 10/18/2011 |
| 8009838 | Electrostatic loudspeaker array A speaker system that includes an audio signal-receiving interface, a modulating circuit, a phase-control circuit, and a number of speaker units. The audio signal-receiving interface is configured to receive an audio signal, and the modulating circuit is coupled wit... | 08/30/2011 |
| 8000479 | Wireless speaker adapter The instant abstract is neither intended to define the invention disclosed in this specification nor intended to limit the scope of the invention in any way. An apparatus is provided that can adapt a conventional audio playing device and speaker system to wireless o... | 08/16/2011 |
| 7953232 | Guiding device and method of controlling the same A guiding device controls the directivity of a sound that is reproduced from a speaker in accordance with an attribute of contents. ... | 05/31/2011 |
| 7912227 | Sound reproducing screen for an ultrasonic converting and reproducing method A sound reproducing screen for an ultrasonic converting and reproducing method wherein a sound signal is carried on the ultrasonic wave which is transmitted via the screen which has a lattice structure in which a plurality of cells is continuously arranged. Using th... | 03/22/2011 |
| 7899193 | Time aligned group audio reproduction in narrowband and broadband networks A method for synchronizing media reproduction across heterogeneous networks is presented. The networks include end-to-end IP broadband and narrowband simulcast networks that contain broadband and narrowband devices associated with a common communications group. A co... | 03/01/2011 |
| 7873174 | Method of controlling output of ultrasonic speaker, ultrasonic speaker system, and display device A method of controlling an output of an ultrasonic speaker that reproduces audible-frequency-band signal sounds by modulating carrier waves with audible-frequency-band signal waves output from a signal source and driving an ultrasonic transducer with the modulated w... | 01/18/2011 |
| 7835530 | Systems and methods for determining sound of a moving object A system for the capturing and relay of sounds from a moving object is described. A plurality of microphone units are positioned at various locations on the moving object to capture sounds. Signals are generated based on captured sounds and transmitted from the movi... | 11/16/2010 |
| 7804965 | Microphone system and microphone apparatus A microphone system including a main unit for controlling the entire system and microphones having cascade connections from the main unit assuming the main-unit side upstream and the opposite side downstream. The microphone includes communication control means for c... | 09/28/2010 |
| 7801315 | Method and device for driving a directional speaker A directional speaker that vibrates a diaphragm to send sound waves includes reproducing signal generation means 10 for outputting a reproducing audible signal; ultrasonic signal generation means 20 for outputting a carrier wave signal at a frequency i... | 09/21/2010 |
| 7783058 | System for verifying the identification of a device A system for verifying the identification of a device. A codec is configured to measure at least one electrical characteristic of a device connected to a jack and to identify the device based on the measured electrical characteristic. An updateable database is popul... | 08/24/2010 |
| 7773761 | Method and apparatus to generate an audio beam with high quality The present invention proposes a system in which an ultrasonic carrier beam is modulated using an audio input signal. The audio signal is divided into frequency bands, and that frequencies in different ones of these bands are treated differently. Specifically, diffe... | 08/10/2010 |
| 7756277 | Distributed audio system A distributed stereo system includes two (or more) speakers; a source of audio signals; an amplifier in the same room as the speakers that drives the speakers; and a mains-operated electrical power supply to power the amplifier. The amplifier is remote from the sign... | 07/13/2010 |
| 7729498 | Modulator processing for a parametric speaker system A parametric loudspeaker system using improved modulators to compensate for the non-linearity of the parametric process in air when driving the air at saturation levels and below saturation levels. The parametric loudspeaker uses a pre-processed single sideband modu... | 06/01/2010 |
| 7711126 | Audio distribution system with local integrally wall mounted control point nodes An integrally mounted control point node for use in an audio distribution system and including a control processor for receiving command signals and providing audio control signals to response thereto; a command signal generator for producing the command signals in ... | 05/04/2010 |
| 7711125 | Audio distribution system An audio distribution system comprises a plurality of individual signal conditioning circuits connected in series. Each circuit comprises a signal conditioning unit to which an audio input (13) is fed. The output from the unit is fed to a precision signal add... | 05/04/2010 |
| 7706548 | Method and apparatus for computer communication using audio signals An acoustic communication device includes a computer device having an acoustic transmitter and/or an acoustic receiver. A signal processing module processes sound signals such that the transmitter and/or receiver are employed to permit acoustic communication between... | 04/27/2010 |
| 7672465 | System and method for synchronization using GPS in home network The audio speakers in a PLC-based home entertainment network receive GPS timing information. Audio packets from an audio source are timestamped with satellite timing information, so that the speakers can substantially simultaneously play audio using the timestamps a... | 03/02/2010 |
| 7668318 | Distributed stereo system This invention concerns a distributed stereo audio system. Distributed stereo audio systems are used to provide stereo sound to several rooms or areas from a single source of signal. The system includes two or more speakers for the broadcast of stereo audio signals;... | 02/23/2010 |
