US 12,342,127 B2
Microphone array system
J. Douglas Rollow, IV, San Francisco, CA (US); Lance Reichert, San Francisco, CA (US); and Daniel Voss, Hannover (DE)
Assigned to Sennheiser electronic SE & Co. KG, Wedemark (DE)
Filed by Sennheiser electronic SE & Co. KG, Wedemark (DE)
Filed on Apr. 21, 2023, as Appl. No. 18/137,657.
Application 18/137,657 is a division of application No. 17/834,592, filed on Jun. 7, 2022, granted, now 11,765,498.
Application 17/834,592 is a continuation of application No. 17/234,939, filed on Apr. 20, 2021, granted, now 11,509,999, issued on Nov. 22, 2022.
Application 17/234,939 is a continuation of application No. 16/666,567, filed on Oct. 29, 2019, granted, now 11,064,291, issued on Jul. 13, 2021.
Application 16/666,567 is a continuation in part of application No. 15/780,787, granted, now 10,834,499, issued on Nov. 10, 2020, previously published as PCT/EP2016/079720, filed on Dec. 5, 2016.
Application 15/780,787 is a continuation of application No. 14/959,387, filed on Dec. 4, 2015, granted, now 9,894,434, issued on Feb. 13, 2018.
Prior Publication US 2023/0262381 A1, Aug. 17, 2023
This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.
Int. Cl. H04R 3/00 (2006.01); H04R 1/40 (2006.01); H04R 3/04 (2006.01)
CPC H04R 1/406 (2013.01) [H04R 3/005 (2013.01); H04R 3/04 (2013.01); H04R 2201/401 (2013.01); H04R 2201/405 (2013.01); H04R 2430/23 (2013.01)] 28 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A microphone array unit, which is ceiling mounted in a conference room, the microphone array unit comprising:
a carrier board comprising a lower side or surface side directed down from the ceiling when the microphone array unit is mounted in the conference room and an upper side or ceiling side directed opposite to the surface side;
a plurality of microphone capsules arranged in or on the carrier board, wherein the microphone capsules are configured to acquire sound coming from the lower side or surface side; and
a processing unit configured to receive output signals of the microphone capsules and to execute audio beam forming based on the received output signals of the microphone capsules for predominantly acquiring sound coming from an audio source in a given direction on the surface side of the carrier board;
wherein the processing unit is configured to repetitively re-identify the direction of the audio source and to adjust the audio beam forming to the re-identified direction.