WO2014111826A2 - A controllable stimulus system and a method of controlling an audible stimulus and a visual stimulus - Google Patents

A controllable stimulus system and a method of controlling an audible stimulus and a visual stimulus Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2014111826A2
WO2014111826A2 PCT/IB2014/058086 IB2014058086W WO2014111826A2 WO 2014111826 A2 WO2014111826 A2 WO 2014111826A2 IB 2014058086 W IB2014058086 W IB 2014058086W WO 2014111826 A2 WO2014111826 A2 WO 2014111826A2
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WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
signal
audio
audio signal
lighting control
sub
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PCT/IB2014/058086
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French (fr)
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WO2014111826A3 (en
Inventor
Robert Godlieb
Willem Joosten
Jasper Zuidervaart
Roland Van Straaten
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Koninklijke Philips N.V.
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Application filed by Koninklijke Philips N.V. filed Critical Koninklijke Philips N.V.
Publication of WO2014111826A2 publication Critical patent/WO2014111826A2/en
Publication of WO2014111826A3 publication Critical patent/WO2014111826A3/en

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Classifications

    • G—PHYSICS
    • G04—HOROLOGY
    • G04G—ELECTRONIC TIME-PIECES
    • G04G11/00—Producing optical signals at preselected times
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G04—HOROLOGY
    • G04G—ELECTRONIC TIME-PIECES
    • G04G13/00—Producing acoustic time signals
    • G04G13/02—Producing acoustic time signals at preselected times, e.g. alarm clocks
    • G04G13/021—Details
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H05—ELECTRIC TECHNIQUES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • H05B—ELECTRIC HEATING; ELECTRIC LIGHT SOURCES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; CIRCUIT ARRANGEMENTS FOR ELECTRIC LIGHT SOURCES, IN GENERAL
    • H05B47/00—Circuit arrangements for operating light sources in general, i.e. where the type of light source is not relevant
    • H05B47/10—Controlling the light source
    • H05B47/155—Coordinated control of two or more light sources

Definitions

  • the invention relates to the field of controllable stimulus systems and to a control device and an audio-visual source for use in such a controllable stimulus system.
  • the invention further relates to a method of controlling an audible stimulus and a visual stimulus.
  • US2010/0278016 discloses a wake up stimulus control system.
  • the system comprises a control unit and a stimulus source.
  • a user may provide a user-determinable wake up time to the control unit.
  • the control unit controls the stimulus source to gradually increase the stimulus output in dependence on the user- determined wake up time.
  • the preferred stimulus is light and in an alternative embodiment, the stimulus is an audible stimulus.
  • the patent application does not discuss how a combination of a visual and an audible stimulus may be provided. However, in line with the disclosure of the document, it may be expected that such a combination consists of a juxtaposition of a first control system to control a light source and a second control system to control a loudspeaker. This is relatively expensive because of the need to implement two parallel control systems and/or the need to have several pairs of wires between the control unit and the stimulus source.
  • a first aspect of the invention provides a controllable stimulus system.
  • a second aspect of the invention provides a control device.
  • a third aspect of the invention provides an audio-visual source.
  • a fourth aspect of the invention provides a method of controlling an audible stimulus and a visual stimulus.
  • Advantageous embodiments are defined in the dependent claims.
  • a controllable stimulus system in accordance with the first aspect of the invention comprises a control device and an audio-visual source.
  • the control device provides an audio signal and comprises a source of an input audio signal, a controller and an audio output which provides a combined audio signal.
  • the controller combines a lighting control signal and the input audio signal into the combined audio signal.
  • the lighting control signal indicates a required light emission.
  • the audio-visual source provides an audible stimulus and a visual stimulus.
  • the audio-visual source comprises an audio input, a splitter, an audio source and a light source.
  • the audio input receives the combined audio signal from the control device.
  • the splitter splits the received combined audio signal into an output audio signal and the lighting control signal.
  • the audio source plays the output audio signal and the light source issues a light emission in response to the lighting control signal.
  • the transmission of the input audio signal and the lighting control signal is performed via a standard audio transmission channel between the audio output of the control device and the audio input of the audio-visual source.
  • a standard audio transmission channel between the audio output of the control device and the audio input of the audio-visual source.
  • well-known standard audio connectors, plugs, jacks, cables, etc. may be used for the transmission of audio and control information. This reduces the complexity of known systems because no additional control information transmission means must be provided between the control device and the audiovisual source.
  • the audio-visual source can be less complex because it requires, in addition to a known light source (which is capable of issuing a light emission in response to the lighting control information) and a known audio source
  • the splitter may be manufactured by means of some relatively simple electronics.
  • the tasks and functions to be performed by the control device may be carried out by well-known devices, including means to generate audio, control means (like a processor), and an audio output.
  • devices such as (smart) mobile phones, media players, (portable) computers, tablet computers, etc.
  • these devices may be complex, only a relatively simple computer program must be executed by the processor of these devices to turn them into a control device for the controllable stimulus system of the first aspect of the invention.
  • controllable stimulus system of the invention is a less complex controllable stimulus system for controlling a light emission and playing audio compared to the known system discussed in the Background of the invention section.
  • the source of an input audio signal of the control device may be an audio input means, or may be an audio signal generator which is available in the control device.
  • the controller of the control device may, for example, also comprise the source of an input audio signal, especially when the controller is capable of generating the audio signal.
  • the control device may comprise a storage means on which audio files are stored and the controller may read these audio files from the storage means and convert the information of the audio files into the input audio signal.
  • the source of an input audio signal controls which audible stimulus is provided by the audio-visual source because, after splitting the combined audio signal into the output audio signal and the lighting control signal, the content of the output audio signal is strongly related to the audio input signal.
  • the lighting control signal indicates a required light emission by a light source, such as a required light intensity and/or a required color of the light emission.
  • the lighting control signal may also indicate that the light source should be off.
  • the controller may be configured to generate the lighting control signal.
  • the input audio signal and the lighting control signal are combined into a combined audio signal such that it may be split, at the audio-visual source, into an output audio signal and the lighting signal and such that the generated combined audio signal can suitably be provided via the audio output to the audio input of the audio-visual source.
  • the invention is not limited to analogue or digital audio signals.
  • the input audio signal, the combined audio signal and the output audio signal may be analogue or digital. Alternatively, combinations of analogue and digital signals may be used in combination with appropriate analogue to digital and digital to analogue converters.
  • the operation of the splitter of the audio-visual source and the operation of the controller of the control device are interrelated.
  • the splitter performs a task which is the opposite of the combining task of the controller. It is however not always possible to completely reverse the combination operation of the controller. Therefore, within the context of the invention, the output audio signal strongly relates to the input audio signal and represents for a listener, within specific accuracy levels, about the same content as the input audio signal.
  • the audio source at least comprises a loudspeaker, but may also comprise some electronics to amplify the output audio signal.
  • the light source is capable of issuing a light emission.
  • a light emission must be interpreted broadly - it is the emission of light in the visible spectral range and may also include the emission of light at wavelengths outside the visible spectral range.
  • the light emission may be characterized by several parameters, such as light emission distribution, emitted color of light, color point of the light emission, (normalized) emitted light intensity, etc.
  • the lighting control signal comprises information which relates to one or more of these characteristics of the light emission and the lighting control signal indicates what is required at a specific moment in time (for example, the moment in time directly following the moment in time at which the lighting control signal is received by the light source).
  • the light source receives the lighting control signal and generates a light emission in accordance with the received information (insofar as the received information matches the capabilities of the light source).
  • the lighting control signal indicates whether the light source must emit light or must be off. It is to be noted that the light source may comprise a single light emitter or a plurality of light emitters.
  • the lighting control signal comprises a compensation sub-signal and the controller of the control device is configured to generate the compensation sub-signal in dependence on other signal components of the lighting control signal.
  • the compensation sub-signal is generated to obtain a substantially constant disturbance level in the output audio signal compared to the input audio signal.
  • the disturbance level that remains in the output audio signal after splitting the combined audio signal is relatively constant.
  • the disturbances are the result of combining the input audio signal with, and splitting it from, the lighting control signal. Constant means that, although specific signal components of the lighting control signal vary, an average human user does not experience variation in the remaining
  • Disturbances may be expressed as Signal-to-Noise ratio of the input audio signal and of the output audio signal.
  • the disturbances are expressed as-signal-to noise ratio of signals and noise which are within the audible spectral range. It is to be noted that this embodiment only relates to disturbances which are the result of combining and splitting the audio signal and the lighting control signal. Thus, the embodiment does not relate to possible noise that is e.g. received on the audio transmission line between the audio output and the audio input.
  • the compensation sub-signal is generated to keep an amount of energy of the lighting control signal constant. In other words, if less energy is present in the other signal components of the lighting control signal, the amount of energy present in the compensation sub-signal is increased, and vice versa.
  • This further embodiment provides a substantially constant disturbance level in the output audio signal compared to the input audio signal.
  • the controller is configured to predict a noise level of the output audio signal, based on the lighting control signal and the generated compensation sub-signal, and the compensation sub- signal is generated to keep the noise level in the output audio signal substantially constant.
  • the control is capable of predicting the amount of noise in the output audio signal generated by the splitter of the audio-visual source on the basis of knowledge about the lighting control signal and the (previously) generated compensation sub-signal. When this prediction reveals that the noise level in the output audio signal is not kept substantially constant, the generated compensation sub-signal is adapted such that the noise level remains substantially constant.
  • the controller of the control device applies a control algorithm which comprises a feedback loop to keep the noise level in the output audio signal substantially constant.
  • the prediction of the noise level is based on the controller performing approximately the same operation as the splitter of the audio-visual source to obtain an instance of the output audio signal in the controller such that the amount of noise may be measured in this instance of the output audio signal.
  • the audible spectral range is a spectral range which comprises frequencies which can be heard by the (average) human ear.
  • the amount of noise is measured to predict how much noise will be present in the output audio signal.
  • the control device comprises input means to receive a user-determinable moment in time.
  • the source of an input audio signal is configured to generate the input audio signal in dependence on the user- determinable moment in time.
  • the controller is configured to generate the lighting control signal in dependence on the user-determinable moment in time.
  • the user provides input related to a specific moment in time and the input audio signal as well as the lighting control signal are generated on the basis of the specific moment in time.
  • the controllable stimulus system may operate as a wake up system which provides audible and visible stimuli at a moment in time that is determined by the user of the controllable stimulus system.
  • devices such as (smart) mobile phones, media players, (portable) computers, tablet computers comprise input means already to receive time and date, and, thus, the control device according to this optional embodiment may be obtained by a relatively simple adaptation of the programs running on these devices.
  • the lighting control signal comprises at least two lighting control sub-signals.
  • the light source comprises at least two light emitters.
  • the lighting control sub-signals each indicate a required light emission by a corresponding one of the light emitters.
  • the light source is configured to control the light emitters in dependence on the respective lighting control sub-signals.
  • each one of the light emitters, or each group of light emitters may be controlled independently of each other, resulting in more freedom of control.
  • the lighting control sub-signals indicate a light intensity to be emitted by the single light emitters (or groups of light emitters), much more specific light intensities emitted by the light source as a whole may be controlled.
  • a first lighting control sub-signal is capable of controlling a single light emitter to emit 6 intensity levels (0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8, 1, wherein 1 is the maximum intensity emitted by a single light emitter)
  • a second lighting control sub-signal is capable of controlling a group of 5 light emitters to emit a specific group intensity level (0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
  • the controllable intensity levels of the light source as a whole by the lighting control signal as a whole are 0, 0.2 ..
  • the source of the input audio signal may also gradually increase the volume of the input audio signal. The gradual increase of the volume may be synchronized with the gradual increase of the light intensity to be emitted.
  • the gradual increase of the volume is asynchronous with the gradual increase of the light intensity.
  • a user wants to increase the light intensity first, and when the light intensity is at the highest level, the volume of the audio signal should increase.
  • the lighting control signal is in a first frequency band and the first frequency band is above the common hearing limit of an average user. If the lighting control signal is above the common hearing limit, it is possible to combine and split the audio signal and the lighting control signal such that the distortion of the audio signal and of the lighting control signal is kept within acceptable limits.
  • the lighting control signal comprises different sub-signals
  • all lighting control sub-signals of the lighting control signal preferably are in different sub-bands of the first frequency band. This precludes that the different sub-signals influence each other in the lighting control signal.
  • the compensation sub-signal preferably is in a sub-band of the first frequency band which is different from one or more sub-bands of the first frequency band comprising the other signal components. This precludes that the compensation sub-signal distorts the other signal components of the lighting control signal.
  • the combining of the input audio signal and the lighting control signal comprises adding the lighting control signal to the input audio signal.
  • the splitter comprises a low-pass filter to obtain the output audio signal and comprises at least one bandpass filter allowing the passage of frequencies in at least a sub-band of the first frequency band to obtain the lighting control signal.
  • the splitter can be implemented in relatively simple (analogue) electronics, thereby preventing that the audio-visual source becomes complex.
  • the lighting control signal indicates a required light intensity of the light emission of the light source and the required light intensity is indicated in the lighting control signal by means of
  • Pulse- Width Modulation allows a relatively simple driving circuit for the light source. Without being visible to the human naked eye, the light source may be switched on and off by the pulses and the width of the pulses may determine the percentage of time that the light source emits light. Thus, the driving circuit of the light source may be a single controllable switch (such as, for example, a transistor). In an embodiment, the duty cycle of the Pulse- Width Modulation is shorter than 1/100 second.
  • the audio input signal and the combined audio signal both comprise a first audio sub-channel and a second audio sub-channel.
  • the lighting control signal is modulated at a specific frequency.
  • the controller is configured to combine the input audio signal and the lighting control signal by adding the lighting control signal to the first audio sub-channel of the input audio signal to obtain the first audio sub-channel of the combined audio signal, and by adding a 180 degree phase-shifted lighting control signal to the second audio sub-channel of the input audio signal to obtain the second audio sub-channel of the combined audio signal.
  • the splitter is configured to obtain the output audio signal by adding the first audio sub-channel of the combined audio signal to the second audio sub-channel of the combined audio signal and, preferably, dividing the addition result by two, and the splitter is configured to obtain the lighting control signal by subtracting the second audio sub-channel of the combined audio signal from the first audio sub-channel of the combined audio signal and filtering the subtraction result with a bandpass filter which allows the passage of the specific frequency.
  • the lighting control signal is provided to both sub-channels in opposite phases, which allows relatively easy splitting of this embodiment at the audio-visual source.
  • the audio output signal is not stereo and only comprises a single audio channel.
  • the audio input signal and the combined audio signal both comprise a first audio sub-channel and a second audio sub-channel.
  • the controller is configured to obtain the first audio sub-channel of the combined audio signal by adding the first audio sub-channel of the input audio signal to the second audio sub-channel of the input audio signal and, preferably, dividing the addition result by two.
  • the controller is further configured to obtain the second audio sub-channel of the combined audio signal by providing the lighting control signal to the second audio subchannel.
  • the splitter is configured to provide the first audio sub-channel of the combined audio channel to the audio source and to provide the second audio sub-channel of the combined audio signal to the light source.
  • the stereo input audio signal is mixed into a mono audio signal which is provided via a single audio sub-channel to the audio-visual source, and the second audio sub-channel of the combined audio signal, which is not used for audio, is used to provide the lighting control signal to the audio-visual source.
  • the splitter of the audio-visual source may be relatively simple and does not require a lot of hardware, thereby reducing the complexity of the audio-visual source.
  • control device is one of: a mobile phone, a smart phone, a computer, a laptop, a tablet computer, a media player, a television, a stereo set, a HiFi system, a radio, an optical disk player, a set-top box or a digital broadcasting tuner.
  • a control device for providing an audio signal and for use in a controllable stimulus system.
  • the controllable stimulus system comprises the control device and also an audio-visual source for providing an audible stimulus and a visual stimulus.
  • the control device comprises a source of an input audio signal, a controller for combining a lighting control signal and the input audio signal into a combined audio signal, and an audio output for providing the combined audio signal to the audio-visual source.
  • the lighting control signal indicates a required light emission by a light source of the audio-visual source.
  • an audio-visual source for providing an audible stimulus and a visual stimulus on the basis of a received combined audio signal and for use in a controllable stimulus system.
  • the controllable stimulus system comprises the audio-visual source and comprises a control device for providing an audio signal which is combined with a lighting control signal.
  • the audio-visual source comprises an audio input for receiving a combined audio signal from the control device, a splitter for splitting the received combined audio signal into an output audio signal and the lighting control signal, an audio source for playing the output audio signal, and a light source for issuing a light emission in response to the lighting control signal.
  • a method of controlling an audible stimulus and a visual stimulus comprises the steps of i) providing an input audio signal, ii) combining the input audio signal with a lighting control signal to obtain a combined audio signal, the lighting control signal indicating a required light emission by a light source, iii) providing the combined audio signal from a control device to an audio-visual source, iv) splitting the combined audio signal into an output audio signal and the lighting control signal, v) playing the audio signal by means of an audio source, vi) issuing a light emission by means of a light source in response to the lighting control signal.
  • control device the audio-visual source and the method of controlling an audible stimulus and a visual stimulus according to, respectively, the second, the third and the fourth aspect of the invention provide the same benefits as the controllable stimulus system according to the first aspect of the invention and have similar embodiments with similar effects as the corresponding embodiments of the system.
  • Fig. 1 schematically shows an embodiment of a controllable stimulus system comprising a control device and an audio-visual source
  • Fig. 2a schematically shows another embodiment of a controllable stimulus system comprising a media player
  • Fig. 2b schematically shows a circuitry of an embodiment of the audio-visual source
  • Fig. 3 a schematically shows an example of combining and splitting an audio signal and a lighting control signal
  • Fig. 3b schematically shows a circuitry of a low-pass filter and a bandpass filter
  • Fig. 4a schematically shows a further embodiment of a control device
  • Fig. 4b schematically shows an audio signal, a lighting control signal and a generated compensation signal
  • Fig. 5a schematically shows a first alternative embodiment of a controllable stimulus system
  • Fig. 5b schematically shows signals of the first alternative embodiment of Fig.
  • Fig. 6 schematically shows a second alternative embodiment of a controllable stimulus system
  • Fig. 7 schematically shows a method of controlling an audible stimulus and a visual stimulus.
  • FIG. 1 schematically shows an embodiment of a controllable stimulus system 100 which comprises a control device 110 and an audio-visual source 150.
  • the controllable stimulus system 100 is suitable for controlling a light output of a light source 154 and of an audio source 166.
  • the control device 110 comprises a source 112 of an input audio signal 116.
  • the input audio signal 116 is received by a controller 120.
  • the controller 120 combines the input audio signal 116 and a lighting control signal 160 to obtain a combined audio signal 130.
  • the lighting control signal 160 indicates a required light emission by a light source (which might be light source 154 of the audio-visual source 150).
  • the combined audio signal 130 comprises audio information (which is based on the input audio signal 160) and lighting control information (which is based on the lighting control signal 160).
  • the controller 120 provides the combined audio signal 130 to an audio output 124 of the control device 110.
  • the source 112 of an input audio signal 116 may be an input port of the control device 110 to which an audio signal may be applied by another device.
  • the source 112 of an input audio signal 116 may be a dedicated audio source such as an audio processor which plays music from a data storage, a CD player, etc.
  • the source 112 of an input audio signal 116 is an integral part of the controller 120, when, for example, the controller 120 is a general purpose processor which may operate under the control of a computer program product as an audio source.
  • the controller 120 comprises a combiner 118 which is configured to combine the lighting control signal 160 with the input audio signal 116. In another embodiment, the controller 120 also comprises a lighting control signal generator 122 which generates the lighting control signal 160.
  • the audio output 124 of the control device is an output which is especially suitable for providing an audio signal.
  • Such an audio output 124 may have an appropriate connector type which is generally accepted as an audio output connector.
  • the audio output 124 may be designed such that a signal in the audio spectral range may be transmitted via the audio output 124.
  • the audio-visual source 150 comprises an audio input 156 for receiving the combined audio signal 130, a splitter 152, an audio source 166 and a light source 154.
  • the received combined audio signal 130 is provided to the splitter 152 which splits the received combined audio signal 130 into an output audio signal 162 and the lighting control signal 160.
  • the lighting control signal 160 is provided to the light source 154 which issues a light emission in response to the lighting control signal 160 and according to the lighting control signal 160 (insofar as the indicated light emission by the lighting control signal 160 matches the capabilities of the light source 154).
  • the light source 154 comprises at least one light emitter and a light emitter driving circuitry (not shown) which transforms the received lighting control signal into an appropriate driving signal for the light emitter.
  • the audio source 166 comprises a loudspeaker and may optionally comprise an amplifying circuitry which amplifies the received output audio signal 162 to an appropriate power level.
  • the received combined audio signal 130, and, thus, the output audio signal 162 comprises an appropriate power level for playing the output audio signal 162 at a high enough volume level to a user.
  • the lighting control signal 160 is modulated at a relatively high frequency which cannot be heard by the human ear.
  • the controller 120 adds the modulated lighting control signal to the input audio signal.
  • the splitter 152 comprises a bandpass filter 158 for filtering the (modulated) lighting control signal 160 out of the combined audio signal 130 and comprises a low-pass filter 164 for filtering the output audio signal 162 out of the combined audio signal 130.
  • Fig. 2a schematically shows another embodiment of a controllable stimulus system 200 which comprises a media player 210 and which comprises a lighting device 250 with a loudspeaker 166.
  • the media player 210 fulfills the role of control device of the controllable stimulus system 200.
  • the media player 210 comprises processing logic for generating an input audio signal (e.g. a song is played).
  • the media player 210 also runs an application on its processor which generates a lighting control signal and which mixes the lighting control signal with the input audio signal.
  • the mixed audio signal (fulfilling the role of the combined audio signal) is provided to the audio output jack 224 of the media player 210.
  • the media player 210 drawn in Fig. 2a comprises a display 212 which is touch sensitive.
  • the touch sensitive display 212 also fulfills the role of an input device.
  • the application that is executed by the processor of the media player 210 is capable of receiving a user-determinable moment in time, which is used by the application as a wake-up time.
  • the application starts, at the user-determinable moment in time, to generate the input audio signal and the lighting control signal such that the user is awakened by sound and light.
  • the volume of the input audio signal is gradually increased and the lighting control signal is generated such that the light intensity of the light emission gradually increases together with the gradually increasing volume.
  • the gradual increase of the volume of the input audio signal is asynchronous with the gradual increase of the indicated light intensity of the lighting control signal, however, the moment in time that the lighting control signal indicates that the light intensity has to increase and the moment in time that the volume of the input audio signal increases may be related to each other - for example, when the lighting control signal indicates that the light intensity should be at its highest level, the increase of the volume of the input audio signal may start.
  • the mixed audio signal is provided to an audio input of the lighting device 250 with a loudspeaker 166.
  • the lighting device 250 comprises a light emitter 154 which emits, in response to receiving the lighting control signal, a light emission in accordance with the required light emission.
  • the lighting device 250 also comprises a splitter (not shown) which receives the mixed audio signal and which splits the mixed audio signal into an output audio signal, which is provided to the loudspeaker 166, and into the lighting control signal, which is provided to the light emitter 154.
  • Fig. 2b schematically shows a circuitry of an embodiment of the audio-visual source.
  • circuit elements of the control device e.g. the control device 110 of Fig. 1 or of the media player 210 of Fig. 2a
  • circuit elements of the audio-visual source e.g. the audio-visual source 150 of Fig. 1 or the lighting device 250 of Fig. 2a
  • a source 212 of an audio signal generates an input audio signal which is provided to controller 220 which combines the input audio signal with a lighting control signal 230.
  • the input audio signal is present within a spectral range in which the average human ear is capable of distinguishing sounds.
  • the lighting control signal 230 comprises, in the example of fig. 2b, three different lighting control sub-signals fl .f3.
  • the lighting control signal 230 is present in a first frequency band which has a lowest frequency that is above the average hearing limit of the human ear.
  • the lighting control signal 230 is present in a frequency band from 16.5kHz to 19.5kHz.
  • Each one of the lighting control sub-signals fl f3 is present in the first frequency band and they are each present in different frequency sub-bands of the first frequency band.
  • the first lighting control sub-signal fl is present in a frequency sub-band from 16.5kHz to 17.5kHz
  • the second lighting control sub-signal f2 is present in a frequency sub-band from 17.5kHz to 18.5kHz
  • the third lighting control sub-signal f3 is present in a frequency sub-band from 18.5kHz to 19.5kHz.
  • the different lighting control sub- signals are, for example, modulated at, respectively, 17 kHz, 18kHz and 19kHz.
  • the controller 220 combines the lighting control signal 230 with the input audio signal by, for example, adding all signals such that a combined audio signal Aud* is obtained.
  • the combined audio signal Aud* is provided to the audio-visual source which provides the received combined audio signal Aud* to a splitter which comprises three bandpass filters 257, 258, 259 and a low-pass filter 164.
  • the three bandpass filters 257, 258, 259 split the combined audio signal Aud* into the respective three lighting control sub- signals.
  • the first bandpass filter 257 allows the passage of frequencies from 16.5kHz to 17.5kHz
  • the second bandpass filter 258 allows the passage of frequencies from 17.5kHz to 18.5kHz
  • the third bandpass filter 259 allows the passage of frequencies from 18.5kHz to 19.5kHz.
  • the low-pass filter 164 allows the passage of frequencies below 16.5kHz such that an output audio signal is obtained that is provided to a loudspeaker 166.
  • the light source 254 comprises three different light emitters 290, 294, 298. Each one of the light emitters 290, 294, 298 is driven by a respective Field Effect Transistor (FET) 292, 296, 299. Because the lighting control sub-signals are modulated at relatively high frequencies (which cannot be observed by the human naked eye), each one of the lighting control sub-signals is directly coupled to one of the FETs 292, 296, 299. Thus, the respective light emitters are also driven at the relatively high modulation frequencies.
  • the first lighting control signal fl may comprise a signal of 17kHz for a specific period of time. Consequently, during the specific period of time, the (first) light emitter 290 emits light at a frequency at 17kHz.
  • the (first) light emitter 290 does not emit light.
  • the signals of the lighting control sub-channels may also be provided to a low-pass filter or a rectifying circuit before being provided to the FETs 292, 296, 299, as a result of which the signal provided to the FETs 292, 296, 299 has a relatively constant voltage during a pulse (of the pulse-width modulation scheme).
  • the three light emitters 290, 294, 298 may be switched on and off.
  • the lighting control signal 230 is capable of controlling four different light intensity levels emitted by the light source 154: no light emitter on, 1 light emitter on, 2 light emitters on, 3 light emitters on.
  • the lighting control (sub-)signal(s) indicate by means of pulse-width modulation which light intensity must be emitted by the respective light emitters 290, 294, 298.
  • the duty cycle of the chosen pulse- width modulation scheme must be chosen lower than 1/70 second, so that a user of the system is not able to see that the generated light intensity is generated by means of pulse-width modulation.
  • the pulses of a generated pulse- width modulation signal may be modulated at the previously discussed relatively high frequencies.
  • pulse-width modulation in addition to the modulation at the previously discussed relatively high frequencies, enables more emitted light intensities per light emitter 290, 294, 298 to be controlled, and, thus more emitted light intensities of the light source can be controlled by the lighting control signal as a whole.
  • This embodiment allows the controlling of a gradually increasing light intensity during a specific period of time, which is, for example, useful in a wake-up light.
  • the duty cycle of the chosen pulse-width modulation scheme is shorter than 1/100 second.
  • Fig. 3 a schematically shows an example of combining and splitting an audio signal 316 and a lighting control signal 360.
  • the lighting control signal 360 is modulated at, for example, 20kHz and pulses of a 20kHz signal are provided to control a light emitter in the on state during the pulses.
  • the controller of the control device adds 318 the lighting control signal to the audio signal 316 to obtain the combined audio signal 330.
  • a reverse operation is performed by, for example, filtering 358 the audio signal 316 out of the combined audio signal 330 by means of, for example, a low-pass filter, and by, for example, filtering 364 the lighting control signal 360 out of the combined audio signal 330 by means of, for example, a bandpass filter.
  • FIG. 3b schematically shows a circuitry of a low-pass filter 372 and a bandpass filter 370 for use in, for example, the splitter 152 of the audio-visual source 150 of Fig. 1.
  • a power source which provides a positive voltage V+ and which provides a negative voltage V-.
  • the values of the positive voltage V+ and the negative voltage V- are +5 volts and -5 volts.
  • the values of the positive voltage V+ and the negative voltage V- are +2 volts and -2 volts.
  • the bandpass filter 370 allows the passage of spectral components with frequencies in a specific frequency range. In an example, the specific frequency range is from 18.5 kHz to 19.5 kHz.
  • the combined audio signal is received at the In terminal of the circuitry and the lighting control signal is provided at the Output terminal of the circuitry.
  • the low-pass filter 372 allows the passage of spectral components with frequencies below a specific frequency. In an example, the specific frequency is 17 kHz.
  • the combined audio signal is received at the In terminal of the circuitry and the output audio signal is provided at the Speaker terminal of the circuitry.
  • the presented low-pass filter 372 and the bandpass filter 370 are examples of such filters and that they may also be implemented in different ways. A skilled person in the field of audio signals may also select other appropriate filters. It is to be noted that the filters 370, 372 are designed for analogue signals. If the combined audio signal is a digital signal, appropriate digital low-pass and bandpass filters must be selected by the skilled person.
  • Fig. 4a schematically shows a further embodiment of a control device 410.
  • the control device 410 comprises, in line with the control device 110 of Fig. 1, a source 112 of an input audio signal 116, a controller 420, and an audio output 124 for providing a combined audio signal 430.
  • the control device 410 of Fig. 4a further comprises an input means 434 for receiving a user-determinable moment in time.
  • the user may provide to the input means 434 a moment in time at which an audible and visual wake-up stimulus must be provided by a controllable stimulus system which comprises the control device 410 of Fig. 4a.
  • the controller 420 comprises, in line with the optional embodiments of the controller 120 of Fig. 1, a combiner 418 and a lighting control signal generator 122 for generating the lighting control signal 160.
  • the controller 420 of the control device 410 further comprises an internal clock 436 which registers the current date and time, and it further comprises a compensation signal generator 434.
  • the controller 420 and its elements are configured to generate, in dependence on the user-determinable moment in time, a lighting control signal and, simultaneously, the controller controls the source 114 of the input audio signal 116 to generate the input audio signal 116.
  • the lighting control signal indicates, during a period of time, that the light intensity of the (required) light emission has to increase gradually and, simultaneously, the volume of the input audio signal 116 increases gradually as well.
  • the increase of the volume of the input audio signal may also be asynchronous with respect to the increase of the light intensity indicated by the lighting control signal.
  • the lighting control signal generator 122 may generate a pulse- width modulated lighting control signal 160 which indicates a required light intensity of the light emission that is being controlled by the lighting control signal 160. Furthermore, the lighting control signal generator 122 may modulate the pulses of the pulse-width modulated lighting control signal 160 at a relatively high frequency above the average hearing limit of users. The modulation of the pulses of the pulse-width modulated lighting control signal 160 may also be performed by a sub-circuit of the combiner 418. Additionally, the lighting control signal generator 122 may generate a plurality of lighting control sub-signals which are integrated into one lighting control signal 160 and each one of the lighting control sub-signals may be modulated at a different
  • the compensation signal generator 434 generates a compensation signal 432 in dependence on the lighting control signal 160.
  • the combiner 418 combines the input audio signal 118, the lighting control signal 160 and the compensation signal 432 into the combined audio signal 430, for example, by adding all the signals together.
  • the splitter of the audio-visual source reverses the operation of the controller which combines the input audio signal with the lighting control signal.
  • the distortions may comprise harmonics of the modulation frequency of the lighting control signal which may be audible as noise in the output audio signal.
  • the lighting control signal varies, and, consequently, such a noise level varies as well.
  • the human ear is relatively sensitive to varying noise levels.
  • the lighting control signal comprises pulses (for example, as the result of pulse-width modulation), the transitions from on to off and vice versa result, after splitting, in audible ticks in the output audio signals.
  • the compensation signal 432 generated by the compensation signal generator 434 is generated such that the distortions of the output audio signal are kept within acceptable limits.
  • the compensation signal may be generated such that the noise level in the output audio signal is about constant in the output audio signal. This may be done by creating a compensation signal such that the sum of the lighting control signal and the compensation signal have about the same amount of energy over time.
  • the compensation signal may be generated such that, at the moment in time that the (modulated) lighting control signal is equal to zero (in between pulses), the compensation signal comprises a signal which is modulated at another (relatively high) frequency than the modulation frequency of the lighting control signal.
  • Fig. 4b schematically shows an audio signal 452, a lighting control signal 454 and a generated compensation signal 456 of, for example, the control device of Fig. 4a.
  • the audio signal 452 only has spectral components which are below a specific maximum frequency that can still be heard by an average human ear.
  • the lighting control signal 454 comprises pulses (of a pulse-width modulated light intensity control signal) which are modulated at a first frequency fl .
  • the compensation signal 456 comprises pulses which are modulated at a second frequency f2 (being different from the first frequency fl) at moments in time that the lighting control signal 454 does not comprise a (modulated) pulse.
  • the controller of the control device adds 318 the audio signal 452, the lighting control signal 454 and the compensation signal 456 together, resulting in a combined audio signal which has always a signal component of a relatively high frequency (fl or f2) such that the noise level, which results after splitting in the output audio signal, is about constant.
  • the lighting control signal may be subdivided into lighting control sub-signals which are all modulated at different frequencies. Based on the teaching provided above, the skilled person knows how to generate a compensation signal for such a lighting control signal. For example, when all lighting control sub-signals comprise a modulated pulse, the compensation signal does not comprise a modulated pulse.
  • the compensation signal may comprise, during this specific interval of time, a modulated pulse which has a lower amplitude such that the amount of energy present in the compensation signal is about 2/3 of the amount of energy present in the lighting control signal when all lighting control sub-signals comprise a modulated pulse, et cetera.
  • the controller 420 of the control device 410 predicts the amount of noise introduced in the output audio signal as a result of the combining and splitting of the input audio signal and the lighting control signal.
  • the controller also comprises a splitter (here shown as) similar to the splitter 152 of the audio visual device such that the controller obtains an instance of the output audio signal as well and such that it may measure the expected amount of noise in the output audio signal.
  • the control is able to predict, on the basis of analytical formulas, how much noise is introduced in the output audio signal by the actual lighting control signal 160 and the generated compensation signal 432. These analytical formulas may also be based on empirical tests.
  • Fig. 5a schematically shows a first alternative embodiment of a controllable stimulus system 500.
  • the controllable system comprises a control device 510 and an audiovisual source 550.
  • the control device 510 comprises a source 512 of an input audio signal 516.
  • the input audio signal comprises two sub-channels li, ri.
  • the control device 510 comprises a controller 520 which receives the input audio signal and comprises a combiner 518 and a lighting control signal generator 522.
  • the lighting control signal generator 522 generates a lighting control signal 560 which indicates the intensity to be emitted by a light source and comprises a pulse-width modulator 549 and a frequency modulator 548.
  • the pulse-width modulator 549 generates a pulse-width modulated signal which indicates a light intensity to be emitted.
  • the pulse-width modulated signal is provided to the frequency modulator 548 which modulates the pulses of the pulse-width modulated signal at a relatively high frequency (which is a frequency above the average hearing limit, but which is low enough to be transmitted via a general audio connection).
  • the output of the frequency modulator 548 is the lighting control signal 560.
  • the lighting control signal is provided to the combiner 518 which also receives the two sub-channels li, ri of the input audio signal 516.
  • the combiner 518 generates a combined audio signal 530 which also comprises two sub-channels lc, rc.
  • the lighting control signal is added 544 to one of the sub-channels of the input audio signal 516 to obtain one of the sub-channels of the combined audio signal 530.
  • the lighting control signal 560 is added to a first sub-channel li of the input audio signal 516 to obtain a first sub-channel lc of the combined audio signal 530.
  • the lighting control signal 560 is also phase shifted through 180° 542 and the phase shifted lighting control signal is added to another one of the sub-channels of the combined audio signal 530.
  • the phase shifted lighting control signal is added to a second sub-channel ri of the input audio signal 516 to obtain a second sub-channel rc of the combined audio signal 530.
  • the combined audio signal 530 is provided to an audio output 124.
  • the audio-visual source 550 comprises a splitter 552, a light source 154 and an audio source 166.
  • the audio-visual source 550 also comprises an audio input 156 for receiving the combined audio signal 530.
  • the light source 154 issues a light emission in response to receiving the lighting control signal 560 in accordance with the required light emission of the lighting control signal 560.
  • the audio source receives an output audio signal 562 and plays this output audio signal 562 to the user.
  • the audio source 166 is a mono audio source and is only able to play a single audio channel.
  • the splitter 522 splits the received combined audio signal 530 and provides the lighting control signal 560 to the light source 154 and the output audio signal to the audio source 166.
  • the splitter 552 comprises a first means 554 which subtracts the second sub-channel rc from the first sub-channel lc of the combined audio signal.
  • the signal provided by the first means 554 is provided to a bandpass filter 564 which only allows the passage of signals in a frequency band in which the lighting control signal 560 is modulated.
  • the output of the bandpass filter 564 is the lighting control signal 560.
  • the splitter 552 also comprises a second means 556 which generates a mono output audio signal 562 which is provided to the audio source 166.
  • the second means 556 adds the first sub-channel lc to the second sub-channel rc of the combined audio signal 530 and divides the addition result by two, thereby obtaining a mono audio signal. Because the lighting control signal is provided to the first sub-channel lc and the second sub-channel rc with opposite phases, the (mono) output audio signal 562 does not comprise any
  • Fig. 5b schematically shows signals of the first alternative embodiment of Fig. 5a.
  • the input audio sub-channels li, ri of the input audio signal 516 are shown respectively in diagrams 580 and 582.
  • Diagram 584 presents the lighting control signal 560 and diagram 586 presents the phase shifted lighting control signal.
  • Diagram 588 presents the content of the first sub-channel lc of the combined audio signal 530 (in other words, the signal presented in diagram 588 is the sum of the signals of diagrams 580 and 584).
  • Diagram 590 presents the content of the second sub-channel rc of the combined audio signal 530 (in other words, the signal presented in diagram 590 is the sum of the signals of diagrams 582 and 586).
  • the output audio signal is presented, which is the output signal of the second means 556 of the splitter 552.
  • the output signal of the first means 554 of the splitter 552 is presented.
  • the lighting control signal 560 is obtained.
  • Fig. 6 schematically shows a second alternative embodiment of a controllable stimulus system 600.
  • the controllable stimulus system 600 is similar to the lighting control signal of Fig. 5a.
  • the audio-visual source 650 of Fig. 6 has also an audio source 166 which is only capable of playing a mono output audio signal 562.
  • control device 510 of Fig. 5a and the control device 610 of Fig. 6 is that sub-channels li, ri of the stereo input audio signal 561 are already combined by the controller 620 of the control device 510 into a mono audio channel which is provided to a single sub-channel of the combined audio signal 630 (for example to a first sub-channel lc of the combined audio signal 630).
  • the controller 620 comprises a combiner 618 which comprises a means 642 for mixing the two sub-channels li, ri of the input audio signal 516 into a single sub-channel 1 of the combined audio signal 630.
  • the means 642 adds a first sub-channel li to a second sub-channel ri of the input audio signal and divides the addition result by two.
  • the combiner 618 also receives a lighting control signal 660 which is provided directly to a second sub-channel rc of the combined audio signal 630. It is not necessary anymore for the lighting control signal 660 to be modulated at a relatively high frequency above the average hearing limit.
  • the lighting control signal generator 622 may still comprise the same pulse-width modulator 549, but may comprise another frequency modulator 648 which operates at another frequency (compared to the frequency used by the lighting control signal generator 522 of Fig. 5a).
  • the splitter 652 of the audio-visual source 650 is not a complex splitter: the first sub-channel lc of the combined audio signal 630 is directly provided to the audio source 166 and the second sub-channel rc of the combined audio signal 630 is directly provided to the light source 154.
  • Fig. 7 schematically shows a method 700 of controlling an audible stimulus and a visual stimulus.
  • the method comprises the stage of: i) providing 702 an input audio signal, ii) combining 704 the input audio signal with a lighting control signal to obtain a combined audio signal, the lighting control signal indicating a required light emission by a light source, iii) providing 706 the combined audio signal from a control device to an audiovisual source, iv) splitting 708 the combined audio signal into an output audio signal and the lighting control signal, v) playing 710 the audio signal by means of an audio source, vi) issuing 712 a light emission by means of a light source in response to the lighting control signal.
  • any reference signs placed between parentheses shall not be construed as limiting the claim.
  • Use of the verb "comprise” and its conjugations does not exclude the presence of elements or steps other than those stated in a claim.
  • the article "a” or “an” preceding an element does not exclude the presence of a plurality of such elements.
  • the invention may be implemented by means of hardware comprising several distinct elements, and by means of a suitably programmed computer. In the device claim enumerating several means, several of these means may be embodied by one and the same item of hardware. The mere fact that certain measures are recited in mutually different dependent claims does not indicate that a combination of these measures cannot be used to advantage.

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Abstract

A controllable stimulus system 100, a control device 110, an audio-visual source 150 and a method of controlling an audible and a visual stimulus are provided. The controllable stimulus system 100 comprises a control device 110 and an audio-visual source 50. The control device 110 provides an audio signal and comprises a source 112 of an input audio signal 116, a controller 120 and an audio output 124 which provides a combined audio signal 130. The controller 120 combines a lighting control signal 160 and the input audio signal 116 into the combined audio signal 130. The lighting control signal 116 indicates a required light emission by a light source. The audio-visual source 150 comprises an audio input 156, a splitter 152, an audio source 166 and a light source 154. The audio input 156 receives the combined audio signal 130. The splitter 152 splits the received combined audio signal 130 into an output audio signal 162 and the lighting control signal 160. The audio source 166 plays the output audio signal 162 and the light source 154 issues a light emission in response to the lighting control signal 160.

Description

A controllable stimulus system and a method of controlling an audible stimulus and a visual stimulus
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to the field of controllable stimulus systems and to a control device and an audio-visual source for use in such a controllable stimulus system.
The invention further relates to a method of controlling an audible stimulus and a visual stimulus.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Published patent application US2010/0278016 discloses a wake up stimulus control system. The system comprises a control unit and a stimulus source. A user may provide a user-determinable wake up time to the control unit. The control unit controls the stimulus source to gradually increase the stimulus output in dependence on the user- determined wake up time. In the patent application, the preferred stimulus is light and in an alternative embodiment, the stimulus is an audible stimulus. The patent application does not discuss how a combination of a visual and an audible stimulus may be provided. However, in line with the disclosure of the document, it may be expected that such a combination consists of a juxtaposition of a first control system to control a light source and a second control system to control a loudspeaker. This is relatively expensive because of the need to implement two parallel control systems and/or the need to have several pairs of wires between the control unit and the stimulus source.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the invention to provide a controllable stimulus system capable of playing audio and emitting light in a controlled manner that is less complex than the known systems.
A first aspect of the invention provides a controllable stimulus system. A second aspect of the invention provides a control device. A third aspect of the invention provides an audio-visual source. A fourth aspect of the invention provides a method of controlling an audible stimulus and a visual stimulus. Advantageous embodiments are defined in the dependent claims. A controllable stimulus system in accordance with the first aspect of the invention comprises a control device and an audio-visual source. The control device provides an audio signal and comprises a source of an input audio signal, a controller and an audio output which provides a combined audio signal. The controller combines a lighting control signal and the input audio signal into the combined audio signal. The lighting control signal indicates a required light emission. The audio-visual source provides an audible stimulus and a visual stimulus. The audio-visual source comprises an audio input, a splitter, an audio source and a light source. The audio input receives the combined audio signal from the control device. The splitter splits the received combined audio signal into an output audio signal and the lighting control signal. The audio source plays the output audio signal and the light source issues a light emission in response to the lighting control signal.
In the controllable stimulus system according to the first aspect of the invention, the transmission of the input audio signal and the lighting control signal is performed via a standard audio transmission channel between the audio output of the control device and the audio input of the audio-visual source. Thus, well-known standard audio connectors, plugs, jacks, cables, etc. may be used for the transmission of audio and control information. This reduces the complexity of known systems because no additional control information transmission means must be provided between the control device and the audiovisual source. Furthermore, in particular, the audio-visual source can be less complex because it requires, in addition to a known light source (which is capable of issuing a light emission in response to the lighting control information) and a known audio source
(loudspeaker), only a splitter which is capable of splitting the combined audio signal into the respective output audio signal and the lighting control signal. Especially when the audio signal and the lighting control signal are combined in specific ways, the splitter may be manufactured by means of some relatively simple electronics. Furthermore, the tasks and functions to be performed by the control device may be carried out by well-known devices, including means to generate audio, control means (like a processor), and an audio output. Today, users have many such devices, such as (smart) mobile phones, media players, (portable) computers, tablet computers, etc. Although these devices may be complex, only a relatively simple computer program must be executed by the processor of these devices to turn them into a control device for the controllable stimulus system of the first aspect of the invention. No additional hardware must be provided and, thus, the complexity of the control device is kept within acceptable limits. Alternatively, the control device is manufactured of special-purpose hardware. If a specific way of combining the lighting control signal with the audio signal is selected, the controller of the control device does not have to be a complex controller. Thus, the controllable stimulus system of the invention is a less complex controllable stimulus system for controlling a light emission and playing audio compared to the known system discussed in the Background of the invention section.
The source of an input audio signal of the control device may be an audio input means, or may be an audio signal generator which is available in the control device. The controller of the control device may, for example, also comprise the source of an input audio signal, especially when the controller is capable of generating the audio signal. For example, the control device may comprise a storage means on which audio files are stored and the controller may read these audio files from the storage means and convert the information of the audio files into the input audio signal. The source of an input audio signal controls which audible stimulus is provided by the audio-visual source because, after splitting the combined audio signal into the output audio signal and the lighting control signal, the content of the output audio signal is strongly related to the audio input signal.
The lighting control signal indicates a required light emission by a light source, such as a required light intensity and/or a required color of the light emission. The lighting control signal may also indicate that the light source should be off. The controller may be configured to generate the lighting control signal.
The input audio signal and the lighting control signal are combined into a combined audio signal such that it may be split, at the audio-visual source, into an output audio signal and the lighting signal and such that the generated combined audio signal can suitably be provided via the audio output to the audio input of the audio-visual source. This basically means that the combined audio signal must have characteristics of a general audio signal: for example, the combined audio signal must be in a specific frequency range and must be within a specific dynamic range. It is to be noted that the invention is not limited to analogue or digital audio signals. The input audio signal, the combined audio signal and the output audio signal may be analogue or digital. Alternatively, combinations of analogue and digital signals may be used in combination with appropriate analogue to digital and digital to analogue converters.
The operation of the splitter of the audio-visual source and the operation of the controller of the control device are interrelated. The splitter performs a task which is the opposite of the combining task of the controller. It is however not always possible to completely reverse the combination operation of the controller. Therefore, within the context of the invention, the output audio signal strongly relates to the input audio signal and represents for a listener, within specific accuracy levels, about the same content as the input audio signal.
The audio source at least comprises a loudspeaker, but may also comprise some electronics to amplify the output audio signal.
The light source is capable of issuing a light emission. A light emission must be interpreted broadly - it is the emission of light in the visible spectral range and may also include the emission of light at wavelengths outside the visible spectral range. The light emission may be characterized by several parameters, such as light emission distribution, emitted color of light, color point of the light emission, (normalized) emitted light intensity, etc. The lighting control signal comprises information which relates to one or more of these characteristics of the light emission and the lighting control signal indicates what is required at a specific moment in time (for example, the moment in time directly following the moment in time at which the lighting control signal is received by the light source). The light source receives the lighting control signal and generates a light emission in accordance with the received information (insofar as the received information matches the capabilities of the light source). In a relatively simple embodiment, the lighting control signal indicates whether the light source must emit light or must be off. It is to be noted that the light source may comprise a single light emitter or a plurality of light emitters.
In an embodiment of the controllable stimulus system, the lighting control signal comprises a compensation sub-signal and the controller of the control device is configured to generate the compensation sub-signal in dependence on other signal components of the lighting control signal. The compensation sub-signal is generated to obtain a substantially constant disturbance level in the output audio signal compared to the input audio signal. Thus, in other words, the disturbance level that remains in the output audio signal after splitting the combined audio signal is relatively constant. The disturbances are the result of combining the input audio signal with, and splitting it from, the lighting control signal. Constant means that, although specific signal components of the lighting control signal vary, an average human user does not experience variation in the remaining
disturbances in the output audio signal. Disturbances may be expressed as Signal-to-Noise ratio of the input audio signal and of the output audio signal. In an embodiment, the disturbances are expressed as-signal-to noise ratio of signals and noise which are within the audible spectral range. It is to be noted that this embodiment only relates to disturbances which are the result of combining and splitting the audio signal and the lighting control signal. Thus, the embodiment does not relate to possible noise that is e.g. received on the audio transmission line between the audio output and the audio input.
In a further embodiment of the controllable stimulus system, the compensation sub-signal is generated to keep an amount of energy of the lighting control signal constant. In other words, if less energy is present in the other signal components of the lighting control signal, the amount of energy present in the compensation sub-signal is increased, and vice versa. This further embodiment provides a substantially constant disturbance level in the output audio signal compared to the input audio signal.
In another alternative embodiment of the controllable stimulus system, the controller is configured to predict a noise level of the output audio signal, based on the lighting control signal and the generated compensation sub-signal, and the compensation sub- signal is generated to keep the noise level in the output audio signal substantially constant. In this optional embodiment, the control is capable of predicting the amount of noise in the output audio signal generated by the splitter of the audio-visual source on the basis of knowledge about the lighting control signal and the (previously) generated compensation sub-signal. When this prediction reveals that the noise level in the output audio signal is not kept substantially constant, the generated compensation sub-signal is adapted such that the noise level remains substantially constant. Thus, in other words, the controller of the control device applies a control algorithm which comprises a feedback loop to keep the noise level in the output audio signal substantially constant. In an embodiment, the prediction of the noise level is based on the controller performing approximately the same operation as the splitter of the audio-visual source to obtain an instance of the output audio signal in the controller such that the amount of noise may be measured in this instance of the output audio signal. In another embodiment, based on analytical formulas, it has been calculated how much noise will be introduced by the lighting control signal and the generated compensation control signal in an audible spectral range of the combined audio signal. The audible spectral range is a spectral range which comprises frequencies which can be heard by the (average) human ear. In another embodiment, using the audible spectral range of the combined audio signal, the amount of noise is measured to predict how much noise will be present in the output audio signal.
In an embodiment of the controllable stimulus system, the control device comprises input means to receive a user-determinable moment in time. The source of an input audio signal is configured to generate the input audio signal in dependence on the user- determinable moment in time. The controller is configured to generate the lighting control signal in dependence on the user-determinable moment in time. Thus, the user provides input related to a specific moment in time and the input audio signal as well as the lighting control signal are generated on the basis of the specific moment in time. By virtue thereof, the user is capable of determining when the audio signal is generated and when the lighting control signal is generated. In other words, the controllable stimulus system may operate as a wake up system which provides audible and visible stimuli at a moment in time that is determined by the user of the controllable stimulus system. It is further to be noted that devices such as (smart) mobile phones, media players, (portable) computers, tablet computers comprise input means already to receive time and date, and, thus, the control device according to this optional embodiment may be obtained by a relatively simple adaptation of the programs running on these devices.
In an embodiment of the controllable stimulus system, the lighting control signal comprises at least two lighting control sub-signals. The light source comprises at least two light emitters. The lighting control sub-signals each indicate a required light emission by a corresponding one of the light emitters. The light source is configured to control the light emitters in dependence on the respective lighting control sub-signals. Thus, each one of the light emitters, or each group of light emitters (when the number of light emitters is larger than the number of lighting control sub-signals) may be controlled independently of each other, resulting in more freedom of control. Especially when the lighting control sub-signals indicate a light intensity to be emitted by the single light emitters (or groups of light emitters), much more specific light intensities emitted by the light source as a whole may be controlled. For example, when a first lighting control sub-signal is capable of controlling a single light emitter to emit 6 intensity levels (0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8, 1, wherein 1 is the maximum intensity emitted by a single light emitter), and when a second lighting control sub-signal is capable of controlling a group of 5 light emitters to emit a specific group intensity level (0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5), then the controllable intensity levels of the light source as a whole by the lighting control signal as a whole are 0, 0.2 .. 5.8 (with incremental steps of 0.2 between 0.2 and 5.8). Such a flexibility in controlling the intensity levels of the light source of the audio-visual source is especially useful when the controllable stimulus system is used as a wake-up controllable stimulus system. In such a system, starting at a particular moment in time, an emitted light intensity of the light source has to gradually increase. In order to make a user-friendly wake-up controllable stimulus system, a user needs to have the possibility to control the emission of very small light intensities and the user would like to have the possibility to control the gradual increase in small steps. In an embodiment, the source of the input audio signal may also gradually increase the volume of the input audio signal. The gradual increase of the volume may be synchronized with the gradual increase of the light intensity to be emitted. However, in another embodiment, the gradual increase of the volume is asynchronous with the gradual increase of the light intensity. Especially in wake- up lights, a user wants to increase the light intensity first, and when the light intensity is at the highest level, the volume of the audio signal should increase.
In an embodiment of the controllable stimulus system, the lighting control signal is in a first frequency band and the first frequency band is above the common hearing limit of an average user. If the lighting control signal is above the common hearing limit, it is possible to combine and split the audio signal and the lighting control signal such that the distortion of the audio signal and of the lighting control signal is kept within acceptable limits. When the lighting control signal comprises different sub-signals, all lighting control sub-signals of the lighting control signal preferably are in different sub-bands of the first frequency band. This precludes that the different sub-signals influence each other in the lighting control signal. When the lighting control signal comprises the compensation sub- signal, the compensation sub-signal preferably is in a sub-band of the first frequency band which is different from one or more sub-bands of the first frequency band comprising the other signal components. This precludes that the compensation sub-signal distorts the other signal components of the lighting control signal.
In an embodiment of the controllable stimulus system, the combining of the input audio signal and the lighting control signal comprises adding the lighting control signal to the input audio signal. The splitter comprises a low-pass filter to obtain the output audio signal and comprises at least one bandpass filter allowing the passage of frequencies in at least a sub-band of the first frequency band to obtain the lighting control signal. In this embodiment, the splitter can be implemented in relatively simple (analogue) electronics, thereby preventing that the audio-visual source becomes complex.
In an embodiment of the controllable stimulus system, the lighting control signal indicates a required light intensity of the light emission of the light source and the required light intensity is indicated in the lighting control signal by means of
Pulse- Width Modulation. The use of Pulse-Width Modulation, especially when the duty cycle is shorter than 1/70 second, allows a relatively simple driving circuit for the light source. Without being visible to the human naked eye, the light source may be switched on and off by the pulses and the width of the pulses may determine the percentage of time that the light source emits light. Thus, the driving circuit of the light source may be a single controllable switch (such as, for example, a transistor). In an embodiment, the duty cycle of the Pulse- Width Modulation is shorter than 1/100 second.
In another embodiment of the controllable stimulus system, the audio input signal and the combined audio signal both comprise a first audio sub-channel and a second audio sub-channel. The lighting control signal is modulated at a specific frequency. The controller is configured to combine the input audio signal and the lighting control signal by adding the lighting control signal to the first audio sub-channel of the input audio signal to obtain the first audio sub-channel of the combined audio signal, and by adding a 180 degree phase-shifted lighting control signal to the second audio sub-channel of the input audio signal to obtain the second audio sub-channel of the combined audio signal. The splitter is configured to obtain the output audio signal by adding the first audio sub-channel of the combined audio signal to the second audio sub-channel of the combined audio signal and, preferably, dividing the addition result by two, and the splitter is configured to obtain the lighting control signal by subtracting the second audio sub-channel of the combined audio signal from the first audio sub-channel of the combined audio signal and filtering the subtraction result with a bandpass filter which allows the passage of the specific frequency. In this embodiment use is made of the fact that audio signals often comprise a left and a right sub-channel. The lighting control signal is provided to both sub-channels in opposite phases, which allows relatively easy splitting of this embodiment at the audio-visual source. The audio output signal is not stereo and only comprises a single audio channel.
In another embodiment of the controllable stimulus system, the audio input signal and the combined audio signal both comprise a first audio sub-channel and a second audio sub-channel. The controller is configured to obtain the first audio sub-channel of the combined audio signal by adding the first audio sub-channel of the input audio signal to the second audio sub-channel of the input audio signal and, preferably, dividing the addition result by two. The controller is further configured to obtain the second audio sub-channel of the combined audio signal by providing the lighting control signal to the second audio subchannel. The splitter is configured to provide the first audio sub-channel of the combined audio channel to the audio source and to provide the second audio sub-channel of the combined audio signal to the light source. In this embodiment, the stereo input audio signal is mixed into a mono audio signal which is provided via a single audio sub-channel to the audio-visual source, and the second audio sub-channel of the combined audio signal, which is not used for audio, is used to provide the lighting control signal to the audio-visual source. Thus, the splitter of the audio-visual source may be relatively simple and does not require a lot of hardware, thereby reducing the complexity of the audio-visual source.
Optionally, the control device is one of: a mobile phone, a smart phone, a computer, a laptop, a tablet computer, a media player, a television, a stereo set, a HiFi system, a radio, an optical disk player, a set-top box or a digital broadcasting tuner.
According to a second aspect of the invention, a control device for providing an audio signal and for use in a controllable stimulus system is provided. The controllable stimulus system comprises the control device and also an audio-visual source for providing an audible stimulus and a visual stimulus. The control device comprises a source of an input audio signal, a controller for combining a lighting control signal and the input audio signal into a combined audio signal, and an audio output for providing the combined audio signal to the audio-visual source. The lighting control signal indicates a required light emission by a light source of the audio-visual source.
According to a third aspect of the invention, an audio-visual source for providing an audible stimulus and a visual stimulus on the basis of a received combined audio signal and for use in a controllable stimulus system is provided. The controllable stimulus system comprises the audio-visual source and comprises a control device for providing an audio signal which is combined with a lighting control signal. The audio-visual source comprises an audio input for receiving a combined audio signal from the control device, a splitter for splitting the received combined audio signal into an output audio signal and the lighting control signal, an audio source for playing the output audio signal, and a light source for issuing a light emission in response to the lighting control signal.
According to a fourth aspect of the invention, a method of controlling an audible stimulus and a visual stimulus is provided. The method comprises the steps of i) providing an input audio signal, ii) combining the input audio signal with a lighting control signal to obtain a combined audio signal, the lighting control signal indicating a required light emission by a light source, iii) providing the combined audio signal from a control device to an audio-visual source, iv) splitting the combined audio signal into an output audio signal and the lighting control signal, v) playing the audio signal by means of an audio source, vi) issuing a light emission by means of a light source in response to the lighting control signal.
The control device, the audio-visual source and the method of controlling an audible stimulus and a visual stimulus according to, respectively, the second, the third and the fourth aspect of the invention provide the same benefits as the controllable stimulus system according to the first aspect of the invention and have similar embodiments with similar effects as the corresponding embodiments of the system.
These and other aspects of the invention are apparent from and will be elucidated with reference to the embodiments described hereinafter.
It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that two or more of the above- mentioned options, implementations, and/or aspects of the invention may be combined in any way deemed useful.
Modifications and variations of the system, the control device, the audiovisual source and/or the method, which correspond to the described modifications and variations of the system, can be carried out by a person skilled in the art on the basis of the present description.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
In the drawings:
Fig. 1 schematically shows an embodiment of a controllable stimulus system comprising a control device and an audio-visual source,
Fig. 2a schematically shows another embodiment of a controllable stimulus system comprising a media player,
Fig. 2b schematically shows a circuitry of an embodiment of the audio-visual source,
Fig. 3 a schematically shows an example of combining and splitting an audio signal and a lighting control signal,
Fig. 3b schematically shows a circuitry of a low-pass filter and a bandpass filter,
Fig. 4a schematically shows a further embodiment of a control device,
Fig. 4b schematically shows an audio signal, a lighting control signal and a generated compensation signal,
Fig. 5a schematically shows a first alternative embodiment of a controllable stimulus system,
Fig. 5b schematically shows signals of the first alternative embodiment of Fig.
5 a,
Fig. 6 schematically shows a second alternative embodiment of a controllable stimulus system, and Fig. 7 schematically shows a method of controlling an audible stimulus and a visual stimulus.
It should be noted that items denoted by the same reference numerals in different Figures have the same structural features and the same functions, or are the same signals. Where the function and/or structure of such an item have been explained, there is no necessity for repeated explanation thereof in the detailed description.
The Figures are purely diagrammatic and not drawn to scale. Particularly for clarity, some dimensions are exaggerated strongly.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
A first embodiment is shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 1 schematically shows an embodiment of a controllable stimulus system 100 which comprises a control device 110 and an audio-visual source 150. The controllable stimulus system 100 is suitable for controlling a light output of a light source 154 and of an audio source 166.
The control device 110 comprises a source 112 of an input audio signal 116. The input audio signal 116 is received by a controller 120. The controller 120 combines the input audio signal 116 and a lighting control signal 160 to obtain a combined audio signal 130. The lighting control signal 160 indicates a required light emission by a light source (which might be light source 154 of the audio-visual source 150). Thus, the combined audio signal 130 comprises audio information (which is based on the input audio signal 160) and lighting control information (which is based on the lighting control signal 160). The controller 120 provides the combined audio signal 130 to an audio output 124 of the control device 110.
In an embodiment, the source 112 of an input audio signal 116 may be an input port of the control device 110 to which an audio signal may be applied by another device. In another embodiment, the source 112 of an input audio signal 116 may be a dedicated audio source such as an audio processor which plays music from a data storage, a CD player, etc. In another embodiment, the source 112 of an input audio signal 116 is an integral part of the controller 120, when, for example, the controller 120 is a general purpose processor which may operate under the control of a computer program product as an audio source.
In an embodiment, the controller 120 comprises a combiner 118 which is configured to combine the lighting control signal 160 with the input audio signal 116. In another embodiment, the controller 120 also comprises a lighting control signal generator 122 which generates the lighting control signal 160.
In an embodiment, the audio output 124 of the control device is an output which is especially suitable for providing an audio signal. Such an audio output 124 may have an appropriate connector type which is generally accepted as an audio output connector. Alternatively, or additionally, the audio output 124 may be designed such that a signal in the audio spectral range may be transmitted via the audio output 124.
The audio-visual source 150 comprises an audio input 156 for receiving the combined audio signal 130, a splitter 152, an audio source 166 and a light source 154. The received combined audio signal 130 is provided to the splitter 152 which splits the received combined audio signal 130 into an output audio signal 162 and the lighting control signal 160. The lighting control signal 160 is provided to the light source 154 which issues a light emission in response to the lighting control signal 160 and according to the lighting control signal 160 (insofar as the indicated light emission by the lighting control signal 160 matches the capabilities of the light source 154). The light source 154 comprises at least one light emitter and a light emitter driving circuitry (not shown) which transforms the received lighting control signal into an appropriate driving signal for the light emitter. The audio source 166 comprises a loudspeaker and may optionally comprise an amplifying circuitry which amplifies the received output audio signal 162 to an appropriate power level. In another embodiment, the received combined audio signal 130, and, thus, the output audio signal 162 comprises an appropriate power level for playing the output audio signal 162 at a high enough volume level to a user.
In an example, the lighting control signal 160 is modulated at a relatively high frequency which cannot be heard by the human ear. The controller 120, for example, adds the modulated lighting control signal to the input audio signal. In this example, in line with the example of the lighting control signal 160, the splitter 152 comprises a bandpass filter 158 for filtering the (modulated) lighting control signal 160 out of the combined audio signal 130 and comprises a low-pass filter 164 for filtering the output audio signal 162 out of the combined audio signal 130.
It is to be noted that the invention is not limited to input / combined / output audio signals 116, 130, 162 which are stereo or mono.
Fig. 2a schematically shows another embodiment of a controllable stimulus system 200 which comprises a media player 210 and which comprises a lighting device 250 with a loudspeaker 166. The media player 210 fulfills the role of control device of the controllable stimulus system 200. The media player 210 comprises processing logic for generating an input audio signal (e.g. a song is played). The media player 210 also runs an application on its processor which generates a lighting control signal and which mixes the lighting control signal with the input audio signal. The mixed audio signal (fulfilling the role of the combined audio signal) is provided to the audio output jack 224 of the media player 210. The media player 210 drawn in Fig. 2a comprises a display 212 which is touch sensitive. The touch sensitive display 212 also fulfills the role of an input device. The application that is executed by the processor of the media player 210 is capable of receiving a user-determinable moment in time, which is used by the application as a wake-up time. In an example, the application starts, at the user-determinable moment in time, to generate the input audio signal and the lighting control signal such that the user is awakened by sound and light. In yet a further example, the volume of the input audio signal is gradually increased and the lighting control signal is generated such that the light intensity of the light emission gradually increases together with the gradually increasing volume. In another embodiment, the gradual increase of the volume of the input audio signal is asynchronous with the gradual increase of the indicated light intensity of the lighting control signal, however, the moment in time that the lighting control signal indicates that the light intensity has to increase and the moment in time that the volume of the input audio signal increases may be related to each other - for example, when the lighting control signal indicates that the light intensity should be at its highest level, the increase of the volume of the input audio signal may start.
The mixed audio signal is provided to an audio input of the lighting device 250 with a loudspeaker 166. The lighting device 250 comprises a light emitter 154 which emits, in response to receiving the lighting control signal, a light emission in accordance with the required light emission. The lighting device 250 also comprises a splitter (not shown) which receives the mixed audio signal and which splits the mixed audio signal into an output audio signal, which is provided to the loudspeaker 166, and into the lighting control signal, which is provided to the light emitter 154.
Fig. 2b schematically shows a circuitry of an embodiment of the audio-visual source. At the left end 211 of the picture, circuit elements of the control device (e.g. the control device 110 of Fig. 1 or of the media player 210 of Fig. 2a) are shown. At the right end 251, circuit elements of the audio-visual source (e.g. the audio-visual source 150 of Fig. 1 or the lighting device 250 of Fig. 2a) are shown. In the control device, a source 212 of an audio signal generates an input audio signal which is provided to controller 220 which combines the input audio signal with a lighting control signal 230. The input audio signal is present within a spectral range in which the average human ear is capable of distinguishing sounds. For example, the highest audio frequency is 16 kHz. The lighting control signal 230 comprises, in the example of fig. 2b, three different lighting control sub-signals fl .f3. The lighting control signal 230 is present in a first frequency band which has a lowest frequency that is above the average hearing limit of the human ear. For example, the lighting control signal 230 is present in a frequency band from 16.5kHz to 19.5kHz. Each one of the lighting control sub-signals fl f3 is present in the first frequency band and they are each present in different frequency sub-bands of the first frequency band. For example, the first lighting control sub-signal fl is present in a frequency sub-band from 16.5kHz to 17.5kHz, the second lighting control sub-signal f2 is present in a frequency sub-band from 17.5kHz to 18.5kHz, and the third lighting control sub-signal f3 is present in a frequency sub-band from 18.5kHz to 19.5kHz. The different lighting control sub- signals are, for example, modulated at, respectively, 17 kHz, 18kHz and 19kHz. The controller 220 combines the lighting control signal 230 with the input audio signal by, for example, adding all signals such that a combined audio signal Aud* is obtained.
The combined audio signal Aud* is provided to the audio-visual source which provides the received combined audio signal Aud* to a splitter which comprises three bandpass filters 257, 258, 259 and a low-pass filter 164. The three bandpass filters 257, 258, 259 split the combined audio signal Aud* into the respective three lighting control sub- signals. Thus, the first bandpass filter 257 allows the passage of frequencies from 16.5kHz to 17.5kHz, the second bandpass filter 258 allows the passage of frequencies from 17.5kHz to 18.5kHz, and the third bandpass filter 259 allows the passage of frequencies from 18.5kHz to 19.5kHz. The low-pass filter 164 allows the passage of frequencies below 16.5kHz such that an output audio signal is obtained that is provided to a loudspeaker 166.
The light source 254 comprises three different light emitters 290, 294, 298. Each one of the light emitters 290, 294, 298 is driven by a respective Field Effect Transistor (FET) 292, 296, 299. Because the lighting control sub-signals are modulated at relatively high frequencies (which cannot be observed by the human naked eye), each one of the lighting control sub-signals is directly coupled to one of the FETs 292, 296, 299. Thus, the respective light emitters are also driven at the relatively high modulation frequencies. For example, the first lighting control signal fl may comprise a signal of 17kHz for a specific period of time. Consequently, during the specific period of time, the (first) light emitter 290 emits light at a frequency at 17kHz. When the first lighting control signal fl does not comprise the 17kHz signal, the (first) light emitter 290 does not emit light. Thus, by providing pulses of a 17kHz signal in the first lighting control sub-signal, the light emission of the (first) light emitter 290 may be switched on for the duration of the pulse. In an additional embodiment, the signals of the lighting control sub-channels may also be provided to a low-pass filter or a rectifying circuit before being provided to the FETs 292, 296, 299, as a result of which the signal provided to the FETs 292, 296, 299 has a relatively constant voltage during a pulse (of the pulse-width modulation scheme).
By using the three lighting control sub-signals, the three light emitters 290, 294, 298 may be switched on and off. Thereby, the lighting control signal 230 is capable of controlling four different light intensity levels emitted by the light source 154: no light emitter on, 1 light emitter on, 2 light emitters on, 3 light emitters on.
In an embodiment, the lighting control (sub-)signal(s) indicate by means of pulse-width modulation which light intensity must be emitted by the respective light emitters 290, 294, 298. The duty cycle of the chosen pulse- width modulation scheme must be chosen lower than 1/70 second, so that a user of the system is not able to see that the generated light intensity is generated by means of pulse-width modulation. The pulses of a generated pulse- width modulation signal may be modulated at the previously discussed relatively high frequencies. The use of pulse-width modulation (in addition to the modulation at the previously discussed relatively high frequencies), enables more emitted light intensities per light emitter 290, 294, 298 to be controlled, and, thus more emitted light intensities of the light source can be controlled by the lighting control signal as a whole. This embodiment allows the controlling of a gradually increasing light intensity during a specific period of time, which is, for example, useful in a wake-up light. In another embodiment, the duty cycle of the chosen pulse-width modulation scheme is shorter than 1/100 second.
Fig. 3 a schematically shows an example of combining and splitting an audio signal 316 and a lighting control signal 360. The lighting control signal 360 is modulated at, for example, 20kHz and pulses of a 20kHz signal are provided to control a light emitter in the on state during the pulses. The controller of the control device adds 318 the lighting control signal to the audio signal 316 to obtain the combined audio signal 330. At the audio-visual source a reverse operation is performed by, for example, filtering 358 the audio signal 316 out of the combined audio signal 330 by means of, for example, a low-pass filter, and by, for example, filtering 364 the lighting control signal 360 out of the combined audio signal 330 by means of, for example, a bandpass filter. Fig. 3b schematically shows a circuitry of a low-pass filter 372 and a bandpass filter 370 for use in, for example, the splitter 152 of the audio-visual source 150 of Fig. 1. At the left end of Fig. 3b there is a power source which provides a positive voltage V+ and which provides a negative voltage V-. In an example, the values of the positive voltage V+ and the negative voltage V- are +5 volts and -5 volts. In another example, the values of the positive voltage V+ and the negative voltage V- are +2 volts and -2 volts. The bandpass filter 370 allows the passage of spectral components with frequencies in a specific frequency range. In an example, the specific frequency range is from 18.5 kHz to 19.5 kHz. The combined audio signal is received at the In terminal of the circuitry and the lighting control signal is provided at the Output terminal of the circuitry. The low-pass filter 372 allows the passage of spectral components with frequencies below a specific frequency. In an example, the specific frequency is 17 kHz. The combined audio signal is received at the In terminal of the circuitry and the output audio signal is provided at the Speaker terminal of the circuitry.
It should be noted that the presented low-pass filter 372 and the bandpass filter 370 are examples of such filters and that they may also be implemented in different ways. A skilled person in the field of audio signals may also select other appropriate filters. It is to be noted that the filters 370, 372 are designed for analogue signals. If the combined audio signal is a digital signal, appropriate digital low-pass and bandpass filters must be selected by the skilled person.
Fig. 4a schematically shows a further embodiment of a control device 410.
The control device 410 comprises, in line with the control device 110 of Fig. 1, a source 112 of an input audio signal 116, a controller 420, and an audio output 124 for providing a combined audio signal 430.
The control device 410 of Fig. 4a further comprises an input means 434 for receiving a user-determinable moment in time. The user may provide to the input means 434 a moment in time at which an audible and visual wake-up stimulus must be provided by a controllable stimulus system which comprises the control device 410 of Fig. 4a.
The controller 420 comprises, in line with the optional embodiments of the controller 120 of Fig. 1, a combiner 418 and a lighting control signal generator 122 for generating the lighting control signal 160. The controller 420 of the control device 410 further comprises an internal clock 436 which registers the current date and time, and it further comprises a compensation signal generator 434. The controller 420 and its elements are configured to generate, in dependence on the user-determinable moment in time, a lighting control signal and, simultaneously, the controller controls the source 114 of the input audio signal 116 to generate the input audio signal 116. In an optional embodiment, the lighting control signal indicates, during a period of time, that the light intensity of the (required) light emission has to increase gradually and, simultaneously, the volume of the input audio signal 116 increases gradually as well. As discussed previously, the increase of the volume of the input audio signal may also be asynchronous with respect to the increase of the light intensity indicated by the lighting control signal.
In an embodiment, in line with previously discussed embodiments, the lighting control signal generator 122 may generate a pulse- width modulated lighting control signal 160 which indicates a required light intensity of the light emission that is being controlled by the lighting control signal 160. Furthermore, the lighting control signal generator 122 may modulate the pulses of the pulse-width modulated lighting control signal 160 at a relatively high frequency above the average hearing limit of users. The modulation of the pulses of the pulse-width modulated lighting control signal 160 may also be performed by a sub-circuit of the combiner 418. Additionally, the lighting control signal generator 122 may generate a plurality of lighting control sub-signals which are integrated into one lighting control signal 160 and each one of the lighting control sub-signals may be modulated at a different
(relatively high) frequency.
The compensation signal generator 434 generates a compensation signal 432 in dependence on the lighting control signal 160. The combiner 418 combines the input audio signal 118, the lighting control signal 160 and the compensation signal 432 into the combined audio signal 430, for example, by adding all the signals together.
As shown in Fig. 3 a, in the most ideal case the splitter of the audio-visual source reverses the operation of the controller which combines the input audio signal with the lighting control signal. However, in practical systems, such a complete reversion is not possible and the audio signal will be distorted. The distortions may comprise harmonics of the modulation frequency of the lighting control signal which may be audible as noise in the output audio signal. The lighting control signal varies, and, consequently, such a noise level varies as well. The human ear is relatively sensitive to varying noise levels. Furthermore, especially when the lighting control signal comprises pulses (for example, as the result of pulse-width modulation), the transitions from on to off and vice versa result, after splitting, in audible ticks in the output audio signals.
The compensation signal 432 generated by the compensation signal generator 434 is generated such that the distortions of the output audio signal are kept within acceptable limits. For example, the compensation signal may be generated such that the noise level in the output audio signal is about constant in the output audio signal. This may be done by creating a compensation signal such that the sum of the lighting control signal and the compensation signal have about the same amount of energy over time. For example, the compensation signal may be generated such that, at the moment in time that the (modulated) lighting control signal is equal to zero (in between pulses), the compensation signal comprises a signal which is modulated at another (relatively high) frequency than the modulation frequency of the lighting control signal. The sum of such a (modulated) compensation signal and such a (modulated) lighting control signal does not comprise transitions between "on" and "completely off and has only transitions between different frequencies, which results, to a lesser extent, in audible distortions of the output audio signal.
Fig. 4b schematically shows an audio signal 452, a lighting control signal 454 and a generated compensation signal 456 of, for example, the control device of Fig. 4a. The audio signal 452 only has spectral components which are below a specific maximum frequency that can still be heard by an average human ear. The lighting control signal 454 comprises pulses (of a pulse-width modulated light intensity control signal) which are modulated at a first frequency fl . The compensation signal 456 comprises pulses which are modulated at a second frequency f2 (being different from the first frequency fl) at moments in time that the lighting control signal 454 does not comprise a (modulated) pulse. The controller of the control device adds 318 the audio signal 452, the lighting control signal 454 and the compensation signal 456 together, resulting in a combined audio signal which has always a signal component of a relatively high frequency (fl or f2) such that the noise level, which results after splitting in the output audio signal, is about constant.
As discussed previously, the lighting control signal may be subdivided into lighting control sub-signals which are all modulated at different frequencies. Based on the teaching provided above, the skilled person knows how to generate a compensation signal for such a lighting control signal. For example, when all lighting control sub-signals comprise a modulated pulse, the compensation signal does not comprise a modulated pulse. If, for example, one lighting control sub-signal comprises a modulated pulse in a specific interval of time, and two other lighting control sub-signals do not comprise a modulated pulse in this specific interval of time, the compensation signal may comprise, during this specific interval of time, a modulated pulse which has a lower amplitude such that the amount of energy present in the compensation signal is about 2/3 of the amount of energy present in the lighting control signal when all lighting control sub-signals comprise a modulated pulse, et cetera. In another embodiment (not shown), the controller 420 of the control device 410 predicts the amount of noise introduced in the output audio signal as a result of the combining and splitting of the input audio signal and the lighting control signal. This predicted noise level is provided to the compensation signal generator 434 to generate a compensation signal 432 which results in a substantially constant noise level in the output audio signal. It is to be noted that only the constant noise level with respect to the combining and the splitting of the input audio signal and the lighting control signal is meant. In other embodiments, the controller also comprises a splitter (here shown as) similar to the splitter 152 of the audio visual device such that the controller obtains an instance of the output audio signal as well and such that it may measure the expected amount of noise in the output audio signal. In yet another embodiment, the control is able to predict, on the basis of analytical formulas, how much noise is introduced in the output audio signal by the actual lighting control signal 160 and the generated compensation signal 432. These analytical formulas may also be based on empirical tests.
Fig. 5a schematically shows a first alternative embodiment of a controllable stimulus system 500. The controllable system comprises a control device 510 and an audiovisual source 550.
The control device 510 comprises a source 512 of an input audio signal 516. The input audio signal comprises two sub-channels li, ri. The control device 510 comprises a controller 520 which receives the input audio signal and comprises a combiner 518 and a lighting control signal generator 522. The lighting control signal generator 522 generates a lighting control signal 560 which indicates the intensity to be emitted by a light source and comprises a pulse-width modulator 549 and a frequency modulator 548. The pulse-width modulator 549 generates a pulse-width modulated signal which indicates a light intensity to be emitted. The pulse-width modulated signal is provided to the frequency modulator 548 which modulates the pulses of the pulse-width modulated signal at a relatively high frequency (which is a frequency above the average hearing limit, but which is low enough to be transmitted via a general audio connection). The output of the frequency modulator 548 is the lighting control signal 560. The lighting control signal is provided to the combiner 518 which also receives the two sub-channels li, ri of the input audio signal 516. The combiner 518 generates a combined audio signal 530 which also comprises two sub-channels lc, rc. The lighting control signal is added 544 to one of the sub-channels of the input audio signal 516 to obtain one of the sub-channels of the combined audio signal 530. For example, the lighting control signal 560 is added to a first sub-channel li of the input audio signal 516 to obtain a first sub-channel lc of the combined audio signal 530. The lighting control signal 560 is also phase shifted through 180° 542 and the phase shifted lighting control signal is added to another one of the sub-channels of the combined audio signal 530. For example, the phase shifted lighting control signal is added to a second sub-channel ri of the input audio signal 516 to obtain a second sub-channel rc of the combined audio signal 530. The combined audio signal 530 is provided to an audio output 124.
The audio-visual source 550 comprises a splitter 552, a light source 154 and an audio source 166. The audio-visual source 550 also comprises an audio input 156 for receiving the combined audio signal 530. The light source 154 issues a light emission in response to receiving the lighting control signal 560 in accordance with the required light emission of the lighting control signal 560. The audio source receives an output audio signal 562 and plays this output audio signal 562 to the user. The audio source 166 is a mono audio source and is only able to play a single audio channel. The splitter 522 splits the received combined audio signal 530 and provides the lighting control signal 560 to the light source 154 and the output audio signal to the audio source 166. The splitter 552 comprises a first means 554 which subtracts the second sub-channel rc from the first sub-channel lc of the combined audio signal. The signal provided by the first means 554 is provided to a bandpass filter 564 which only allows the passage of signals in a frequency band in which the lighting control signal 560 is modulated. The output of the bandpass filter 564 is the lighting control signal 560. The splitter 552 also comprises a second means 556 which generates a mono output audio signal 562 which is provided to the audio source 166. The second means 556 adds the first sub-channel lc to the second sub-channel rc of the combined audio signal 530 and divides the addition result by two, thereby obtaining a mono audio signal. Because the lighting control signal is provided to the first sub-channel lc and the second sub-channel rc with opposite phases, the (mono) output audio signal 562 does not comprise any
high-frequency component of the lighting control signal 560.
Fig. 5b schematically shows signals of the first alternative embodiment of Fig. 5a. The input audio sub-channels li, ri of the input audio signal 516 are shown respectively in diagrams 580 and 582. Diagram 584 presents the lighting control signal 560 and diagram 586 presents the phase shifted lighting control signal. Diagram 588 presents the content of the first sub-channel lc of the combined audio signal 530 (in other words, the signal presented in diagram 588 is the sum of the signals of diagrams 580 and 584). Diagram 590 presents the content of the second sub-channel rc of the combined audio signal 530 (in other words, the signal presented in diagram 590 is the sum of the signals of diagrams 582 and 586). In diagram 592 the output audio signal is presented, which is the output signal of the second means 556 of the splitter 552. In diagram 594 the output signal of the first means 554 of the splitter 552 is presented. In diagram 594 it can be seen that after applying a bandpass filter 564 to this signal, the lighting control signal 560 is obtained.
Fig. 6 schematically shows a second alternative embodiment of a controllable stimulus system 600. The controllable stimulus system 600 is similar to the lighting control signal of Fig. 5a. More in particular, the audio-visual source 650 of Fig. 6 has also an audio source 166 which is only capable of playing a mono output audio signal 562.
An important difference between the control device 510 of Fig. 5a and the control device 610 of Fig. 6 is that sub-channels li, ri of the stereo input audio signal 561 are already combined by the controller 620 of the control device 510 into a mono audio channel which is provided to a single sub-channel of the combined audio signal 630 (for example to a first sub-channel lc of the combined audio signal 630). In order to do this, the controller 620 comprises a combiner 618 which comprises a means 642 for mixing the two sub-channels li, ri of the input audio signal 516 into a single sub-channel 1 of the combined audio signal 630. The means 642 adds a first sub-channel li to a second sub-channel ri of the input audio signal and divides the addition result by two. The combiner 618 also receives a lighting control signal 660 which is provided directly to a second sub-channel rc of the combined audio signal 630. It is not necessary anymore for the lighting control signal 660 to be modulated at a relatively high frequency above the average hearing limit. Thus, the lighting control signal generator 622 may still comprise the same pulse-width modulator 549, but may comprise another frequency modulator 648 which operates at another frequency (compared to the frequency used by the lighting control signal generator 522 of Fig. 5a).
The splitter 652 of the audio-visual source 650 is not a complex splitter: the first sub-channel lc of the combined audio signal 630 is directly provided to the audio source 166 and the second sub-channel rc of the combined audio signal 630 is directly provided to the light source 154.
Fig. 7 schematically shows a method 700 of controlling an audible stimulus and a visual stimulus. The method comprises the stage of: i) providing 702 an input audio signal, ii) combining 704 the input audio signal with a lighting control signal to obtain a combined audio signal, the lighting control signal indicating a required light emission by a light source, iii) providing 706 the combined audio signal from a control device to an audiovisual source, iv) splitting 708 the combined audio signal into an output audio signal and the lighting control signal, v) playing 710 the audio signal by means of an audio source, vi) issuing 712 a light emission by means of a light source in response to the lighting control signal.
It should be noted that the above-mentioned embodiments illustrate rather than limit the invention, and that those skilled in the art will be able to design many alternative embodiments without departing from the scope of the appended claims.
In the claims, any reference signs placed between parentheses shall not be construed as limiting the claim. Use of the verb "comprise" and its conjugations does not exclude the presence of elements or steps other than those stated in a claim. The article "a" or "an" preceding an element does not exclude the presence of a plurality of such elements. The invention may be implemented by means of hardware comprising several distinct elements, and by means of a suitably programmed computer. In the device claim enumerating several means, several of these means may be embodied by one and the same item of hardware. The mere fact that certain measures are recited in mutually different dependent claims does not indicate that a combination of these measures cannot be used to advantage.

Claims

CLAIMS:
1. A controllable stimulus system (100, 200, 500, 600) comprising
a control device (110, 210, 410, 510, 610) for providing an audio signal, the control device (110, 210, 410, 510, 610) comprising
a source (112, 512) of an input audio signal (116, 516),
- a controller (120, 420, 520, 620) for combining a lighting control signal (160,
230, 360, 560, 660) and the input audio signal (116, 516) into a combined audio signal (130, 330, 430, 530, 630), wherein the lighting control signal (160, 230, 360, 560, 660) indicates a required light emission,
an audio output (124) for providing the combined audio signal (130, 330, 430, 530, 630),
an audio-visual source (150, 250, 550, 650) for providing an audible stimulus and a visual stimulus, the audio-visual source (150, 250, 550, 650) comprising
an audio input (156) for receiving the combined audio signal (130, 330, 430, 530, 630) from the control device (110, 210, 410, 510, 610),
- a splitter (152, 552, 652) for splitting the received combined audio signal (130,
330, 430, 530, 630) into an output audio signal (162, 562, 592) and the lighting control signal (160, 230, 360, 560, 660),
an audio source (166) for playing the output audio signal (162, 562, 592), a light source (154) for issuing a light emission in response to the lighting control signal (160, 230, 360, 560, 660).
2. A controllable stimulus system (100, 200, 500, 600) according to claim 1, wherein
the lighting control signal (160, 230, 360, 560, 660) comprises a compensation sub-signal (432,456),
the controller (120, 420, 520, 620) of the control device (110, 210, 410, 510, 610) is configured to generate the compensation sub-signal (432,456) in dependence on other signal components of the lighting control signal (160, 230, 360, 560, 660), the compensation sub-signal (432,456) being generated to obtain a substantially constant disturbance level in the output audio signal (162, 562, 592) compared to the input audio signal (116, 516).
3. A controllable stimulus system (100, 200, 500, 600) according to claim 2, wherein the compensation sub-signal (432,456) is generated to keep an amount of energy of the lighting control signal (160, 230, 360, 560, 660) constant.
4. A controllable stimulus system (100, 200, 500, 600) according to claim 2, wherein the controller (120, 420, 520, 620) is configured to predict a noise level of the output audio signal (162, 562, 592), based on the lighting control signal (160, 230, 360, 560, 660) and the generated compensation sub-signal (432,456), and wherein the compensation sub- signal (432,456) is generated to keep the noise level in the output audio signal (162, 562, 592) substantially constant.
5. A controllable stimulus system (100, 200, 500, 600) according to claim 1, wherein
the control device (110, 210, 410, 510, 610) comprises input means (434) to receive a user-determinable moment in time,
the source (112, 512) of an input audio signal (116, 516) is configured to generate the input audio signal (116, 516) in dependence on the user-determinable moment in time,
the controller (120, 420, 520, 620) is configured to generate the lighting control signal (160, 230, 360, 560, 660) in dependence on the user-determinable moment in time.
6. A controllable stimulus system (100, 200, 500, 600) according to claim 1, wherein
the lighting control signal (160, 230, 360, 560, 660) comprises at least two lighting control sub-signals (fl, f2, f3),
- the light source (154) comprises at least two light emitters (290, 294, 298), the lighting control sub-signals (fl, f2, f3) each indicating a required light emission by a corresponding one of the light emitters (290, 294, 298), and the light source (154) being configured to control the light emitters (290, 294, 298) in dependence on the respective lighting control sub-signals (fl, f2, f3).
7. A controllable stimulus system (100, 200, 500, 600) according to claim 1, wherein the lighting control signal (160, 230, 360, 560, 660) is in a first frequency band, the first frequency band being above the common hearing limit of an average user.
8. A controllable stimulus system according to claim 2, wherein the lighting control signal (160, 230, 360, 560, 660) is in a first frequency band, the first frequency band being above the common hearing limit of an average user, and wherein the compensation sub-signal (432,456) is in a sub-band of the first frequency band which is different from one or more sub-bands of the first frequency band comprising the other signal components.
9. A controllable stimulus system (100, 200, 500, 600) according to claim 6, wherein the lighting control signal (160, 230, 360, 560, 660) is in a first frequency band, the first frequency band being above the common hearing limit of an average user, and wherein all lighting control sub-signals (fl, f2, f3) of the lighting control signal (160, 230, 360, 560, 660) are in different sub-bands of the first frequency band.
10. A controllable stimulus system (100, 200, 500, 600) according to claim 7, 8, or 9, wherein
- the combining of the input audio signal (116, 516) and the lighting control signal (160, 230, 360, 560, 660) comprises adding (220, 318) the lighting control signal (160,
230, 360, 560, 660) to the input audio signal (116, 516),
the splitter (152, 552, 652) comprises a low-pass filter (164, 372) to obtain the output audio signal (162, 562, 592) and comprises at least one bandpass filter (158, 257, 258, 259, 370) allowing the passage of frequencies in at least a sub-band of the first frequency band to obtain the lighting control signal (160, 230, 360, 560, 660).
11. A controllable stimulus system (100, 200, 500, 600) according to claim 1, wherein the lighting control signal (160, 230, 360, 560, 660) indicates a required light intensity of the light emission of the light source and the required light intensity is indicated in the lighting control signal (160, 230, 360, 560, 660) by means of Pulse- Width Modulation.
12. A controllable stimulus system (100, 200, 500, 600) according to claim 1, wherein the audio input signal (116, 516) and the combined audio signal (130, 330, 430, 530, 630) both comprise a first audio sub-channel (li, lc) and a second audio sub-channel (ri, rc),
the lighting control signal (160, 230, 360, 560, 660) is modulated at a specific frequency,
the controller (120, 420, 520, 620) is configured to combine the input audio signal (116, 516) and the lighting control signal (160, 230, 360, 560, 660) by adding the lighting control signal (160, 230, 360, 560, 660) to the first audio sub-channel (li) of the input audio signal (116, 516) to obtain the first audio sub-channel (lc) of the combined audio signal (130, 330, 430, 530, 630), and by adding a 180 degree phase-shifted lighting control signal to the second audio sub-channel (ri) of the input audio signal (116, 516) to obtain the second audio sub-channel (rc) of the combined audio signal (130, 330, 430, 530, 630),
the splitter (152, 552, 652) is configured to obtain the output audio signal (162, 562, 592) by adding the first audio sub-channel (lc) of the combined audio signal (130, 330, 430, 530, 630) to the second audio sub-channel (rc) of the combined audio signal (130, 330, 430, 530, 630), and the splitter (152, 552, 652) is configured to obtain the lighting control signal (160, 230, 360, 560, 660) by subtracting the second audio sub-channel (rc) of the combined audio signal (130, 330, 430, 530, 630) from the first audio sub-channel (lc) of the combined audio signal (130, 330, 430, 530, 630) and filtering the subtraction result with a bandpass filter (564) which allows the passage of the specific frequency.
13. A controllable stimulus system (100, 200, 500, 600) according to claim 1, wherein
the audio input signal (116, 516) and the combined audio signal (130, 330, 430, 530, 630) both comprise a first audio sub-channel (li, lc) and a second audio sub-channel (ri, rc),
the controller (120, 420, 520, 620) is configured to obtain the first audio subchannel (rc) of the combined audio signal (130, 330, 430, 530, 630) by adding the first audio sub-channel (li) of the input audio signal (116, 516) to the second audio sub-channel (ri) of the input audio signal (116, 516), and the controller (120, 420, 520, 620) is further configured to obtain the second audio sub-channel (rc) of the combined audio signal (130, 330, 430, 530, 630) by providing the lighting control signal (160, 230, 360, 560, 660) to the second audio sub-channel (rc),
the splitter (152, 552, 652) is configured to provide the first audio sub-channel (lc) of the combined audio signal (130, 330, 430, 530, 630) to the audio source (166) and is configured to provide the second audio sub-channel (rc) of the combined audio signal (130, 330, 430, 530, 630) to the light source (154).
14. A controllable stimulus system (100, 200, 500, 600) according to claim 1, wherein the control device (110, 210, 410, 510, 610) is one of: a mobile phone, a smart phone, a computer, a laptop, a tablet computer, a media player, a television, a stereo set, a HiFi system, a radio, an optical disk player, a set-top box or a digital broadcasting tuner.
15. A control device (110, 210, 410, 510, 610) for providing an audio signal and for use in a controllable stimulus system (100, 200, 500, 600), the controllable stimulus system (100, 200, 500, 600) comprising the control device (110, 210, 410, 510, 610) and comprising an audio-visual source (150, 250, 550, 650) for providing an audible stimulus and a visual stimulus, the control device (110, 210, 410, 510, 610) comprising
a source (112, 512) of an input audio signal (116, 516),
a controller (120, 420, 520, 620) for combining a lighting control signal (160, 230, 360, 560, 660) and the input audio signal (116, 516) into a combined audio signal (130, 330, 430, 530, 630), wherein the lighting control signal (160, 230, 360, 560, 660) indicates a required light emission by a light source of the audio- visual source,
an audio output (124) for providing the combined audio signal (130, 330, 430, 530, 630) to the audio-visual source (150, 250, 550, 650).
16. An audio-visual source (150, 250, 550, 650) for providing an audible stimulus and a visual stimulus on the basis of a received combined audio signal (130, 330, 430, 530, 630) and for use in a controllable stimulus system (100, 200, 500, 600), the controllable stimulus system (100, 200, 500, 600) comprising the audio-visual source (150, 250, 550, 650) and comprising a control device (110, 210, 410, 510, 610) for providing an audio signal (116, 516) which is combined with a lighting control signal (160, 230, 360, 560, 660), the audiovisual source (150, 250, 550, 650) comprising
- an audio input (156) for receiving a combined audio signal (130, 330, 430,
530, 630) from the control device (110, 210, 410, 510, 610),
a splitter (152, 552, 652) for splitting the received combined audio signal (130, 330, 430, 530, 630) into an output audio signal (162, 562, 592) and the lighting control signal (160, 230, 360, 560, 660), an audio source (166) for playing the output audio signal (162, 562, 592), a light source (154) for issuing a light emission in response to the lighting control signal (160, 230, 360, 560, 660).
17. A method (700) of controlling an audible stimulus and a visual stimulus, the method (700) comprising the steps of:
providing (702) an input audio signal,
combining (704) the input audio signal with a lighting control signal to obtain a combined audio signal, the lighting control signal indicating a required light emission, providing (706) the combined audio signal from a control device to an audiovisual source,
splitting (708) the combined audio signal into an output audio signal and the lighting control signal,
playing (710) the audio signal by means of an audio source,
issuing (712) a light emission by means of a light source in response to the lighting control signal.
PCT/IB2014/058086 2013-01-17 2014-01-07 A controllable stimulus system and a method of controlling an audible stimulus and a visual stimulus WO2014111826A2 (en)

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US20100278016A1 (en) 2007-01-22 2010-11-04 Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. Wake up stimulus control system

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EP2364067B1 (en) * 2000-06-21 2013-12-11 Philips Solid-State Lighting Solutions, Inc. Method and apparatus for controlling a lighting system in response to an audio input
FR2899056B1 (en) * 2006-03-27 2021-05-14 Outside In Cambridge Ltd DAWN SIMULATOR
BRPI0916465A2 (en) * 2008-07-15 2018-02-06 Sharp Kk data transmission apparatus, data transmission method, audiovisual environment control apparatus, audiovisual environment control system and audiovisual environment control method
US8262228B2 (en) * 2009-02-23 2012-09-11 International Business Machines Corporation Light and color surround

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