US 10306389

Here's a concise summary of US Patent 10,306,389:

Title: Head wearable acoustic system with noise canceling microphone geometry apparatuses and methods

Assignee: Solos Technology Ltd (current assignee). The original assignee was Kopin Corp.

Inventors: Dashen Fan, Xi Chen, Hua Bao, Eric Frederic Davis.

Filing Date: October 18, 2015.

Issue Date: May 28, 2019.

Abstract:
A head wearable acoustic system includes a main acoustic channel and a reference acoustic channel, where at least one microphone of the main acoustic channel and at least one microphone of the reference acoustic channel are disposed on the head wearable acoustic system. The system can have a signal-to-noise ratio of the main acoustic channel that is greater than a signal-to-noise ratio of the reference acoustic channel. An acoustic signal processing system is coupled to the main acoustic channel and the reference acoustic channel. The processing system includes an adaptive noise cancellation unit which filters a main acoustic signal from the main acoustic channel and a single channel noise cancellation unit which further filters the main acoustic signal. A filter control is used to control the adaptive noise cancellation unit and the single channel noise cancellation unit, and a desired voice activity detector coupled to the filter control.

Plain-Language Overview of Independent Claims:

• Claim 1: This claim describes a head-wearable acoustic system designed for noise cancellation. It includes:

  • A main acoustic channel with at least one microphone on the wearable device, positioned to optimally capture desired audio, resulting in a higher signal-to-noise ratio (SNR_M).
  • A reference acoustic channel with at least one microphone on the wearable device, positioned to capture a lower level of desired audio relative to the main channel, resulting in a lower signal-to-noise ratio (SNR_R). The key is that SNR_M is greater than SNR_R.
  • An acoustic signal processing system connected to both channels. This system comprises:
    • An adaptive noise cancellation unit for initial filtering of unwanted noise from the main acoustic signal, utilizing both main and reference channel inputs.
    • A single-channel noise cancellation unit for further refining the filtered main acoustic signal.
    • A filter control unit to manage both noise cancellation units.
    • A desired voice activity detector (DVAD) connected to the filter control.

• Claim 14: This claim outlines a method for reducing noise in an acoustic signal using a head-wearable device. It involves:

  • Receiving a main acoustic signal from a main microphone on the device.
  • Receiving a reference acoustic signal from a reference microphone on the device.
  • The main microphone is positioned for better reception of desired audio (higher signal-to-noise ratio) compared to the reference microphone.
  • An adaptive noise cancellation unit is used to filter the main acoustic signal based on both main and reference signals.
  • A single-channel noise cancellation unit further filters the adaptively-filtered signal to reduce more unwanted noise.
  • A filter control unit, linked to a desired voice activity detector, manages the operations of both noise cancellation units.

• Claim 26: This claim details a head-wearable acoustic system with an emphasis on the filtering process and an auto-balancing feature. It includes:

  • A main acoustic channel with at least one microphone on the device, providing a main acoustic signal.
  • A reference acoustic channel with at least one microphone on the device, providing a reference acoustic signal.
  • A beamformer that processes the main and reference acoustic signals to create output main and reference channels, where the main channel has a higher signal-to-noise ratio than the reference channel.
  • An adaptive noise cancellation unit that filters the main channel output from the beamformer, using both main and reference beamformer outputs.
  • A single-channel noise cancellation unit that further filters the output of the adaptive noise cancellation unit.
  • A filter control unit connected to a desired voice activity detector, managing both noise cancellation units.
  • An auto-balancing unit coupled to the microphone signals, which balances the response of the microphones to far-field signals to maintain consistent performance.

• Claim 38: This claim specifies a method for reducing noise in an acoustic signal for a head-wearable device, focusing on the signal processing steps. It involves:

  • Receiving first, second, and optionally third acoustic signals from respective microphones on the head-wearable device.
  • Using a beamformer to create a main acoustic channel and a reference acoustic channel from these input signals, ensuring the main channel has a higher signal-to-noise ratio for desired audio than the reference channel.
  • Adaptively filtering the main acoustic channel output using both the main and reference beamformer outputs.
  • Further filtering the adaptively-filtered signal with a single-channel noise reduction unit.
  • Controlling both filtering steps with a filter control unit that utilizes a desired voice activity detector.
  • Employing an auto-balancing unit to balance the response of the microphones to far-field signals.

USPTO and CAFC 2026 Dockets:
As of April 26, 2026, US Patent 10,306,389 is active and has been cited in legal proceedings. Solos Technology Limited, the current assignee, filed a patent infringement lawsuit on January 23, 2026, in the District of Massachusetts (Case 1:26-cv-10304) against Meta Platforms, Oakley, Luxottica of America, and EssilorLuxottica USA. This patent (10,306,389) is one of five asserted patents in this case. There is also a case filed in the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, 26-1721. These indicate active litigation surrounding the patent in 2026.