Measuring loudspeaker nonlinearity and asymmetry

Abstract

Loudspeaker parameters are measured separately for various forward and rearward cone displacements, using a test signal that permits measurement of parameters at various degrees of either forward or rearward cone movement. The test signal uses a brief frequency sweep signal such as a logarithmic sweep signal, in combination with a very low frequency (VLF) audio tone having a fundamental frequency below, e.g., 10 Hz. The very low frequency audio tone may have a sine wave shape, a square wave shape or a clipped sine wave shape.

Claims

1. A method of testing a speaker, comprising: applying a test drive signal to the speaker, the test drive signal comprising a brief frequency sweep signal in combination with a very low frequency audio tone having a fundamental frequency below 10 Hz; determining first response parameters of the speaker associated with the test drive signal at a first cone excursion of the speaker; determining second response parameters of the speaker associated with the test drive signal at a second cone excursion of the speaker; and comparing the first and second response parameters to determine whether they differ by more than a target threshold.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: in response to determining that the first and second response parameters differ by a value greater than the target threshold, determining that at least one characteristic of the speaker is unacceptable.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising: in response to determining that the first and second response parameters differ by a value less than the target threshold, determining that at least one characteristic of the speaker is acceptable.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the very low frequency tone has a fundamental frequency below 5 Hz.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the very low frequency tone has a fundamental frequency below 1 Hz.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the very low frequency tone has a shape selected from the group consisting of a sine wave shape, a square wave shape, and a clipped sine wave shape.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the low frequency tone is produced at a plurality of amplitudes.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the frequency sweep signal is a logarithmic frequency sweep signal.

9. An apparatus to test a speaker, comprising: an audio band output having electrical terminals for connection to the speaker; an audio power amplifier with extended low frequency response to approximately 0.2 Hz connected to the electrical terminals for connection to the speaker; an audio band input; at least one processing unit; and a memory, the memory containing program code configured to be executed by the at least one processing unit to: output a test signal to the electrical output terminals, wherein the test signal comprises a very low frequency tone with a fundamental frequency below 10 Hz, receive a a measure of voltage and current at the electrical terminals for connection to the speaker, determine an impedance of the speaker from the measured voltage and current, and calculate characteristic parameters of the speaker including at least resonance frequency from the voltage and current.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the very low frequency tone has a fundamental frequency below 5 Hz.

11. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the very low frequency tone has a fundamental frequency below 1 Hz.

12. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the very low frequency tone has a shape selected from the group consisting of a sine wave shape, a square wave shape, and a clipped sine wave shape.

13. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the low frequency tone is produced at a plurality of amplitudes.

14. A program product, comprising: program code that is configured to produce a test drive signal for application to a speaker, the test drive signal comprising a brief frequency sweep signal in combination with a very low frequency audio tone having a fundamental frequency below 10 Hz; determine first response parameters of the speaker associated with the test drive signal at a first cone excursion of the speaker; determine second response parameters of the speaker associated with the test drive signal at a second cone excursion of the speaker; and compare the first and second response parameters to determine whether they differ by more than a target threshold; and a non-transitory computer recordable medium bearing the program code.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the very low frequency tone has a fundamental frequency below 5 Hz.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein the very low frequency tone has a fundamental frequency below 1 Hz.

17. The method of claim 14, wherein the very low frequency tone has a shape selected from the group consisting of a sine wave shape, a square wave shape, and a clipped sine wave shape.

18. The method of claim 14, wherein the low frequency tone is produced at a plurality of amplitudes.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) The foregoing aspects and details embodiments of the invention will be further understood by reference to the drawings appended hereto, in which:

(2) FIG. 1 is an illustration of a testing system consistent with embodiments of the invention.

(3) FIG. 2 is an illustration of a logarithmic frequency sweep test signal.

(4) FIG. 3 is an illustration of a series of logarithmic frequency sweep test signals at increasing amplitudes.

(5) FIG. 4 is an illustration of one embodiment of a novel test signal in accordance with principles of the present invention, comprising a very low frequency sine wave combined with a frequency sweep signal.

(6) FIG. 5 is an illustration of a second embodiment of a novel test signal in accordance with principles of the present invention, comprising a very low frequency square wave combined with a frequency sweep signal.

(7) FIG. 6 is an illustration of a third embodiment of a novel test signal in accordance with principles of the present invention, comprising a very low frequency waveform in the form of a clipped sine wave, combined with a frequency sweep signal during the clipped peaks of the very low frequency waveform.

(8) FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a sequence of operations to provide drive signals for the loudspeaker of FIG. 1 consistent with embodiments of the invention.

(9) FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a sequence of operations to determine whether the loudspeaker of FIG. 1 is acceptable based upon the various impedances or resistances of the loudspeaker determined from corresponding drive signals.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

(10) FIG. 1 is an illustration of a testing system 10 consistent with embodiments of the invention. In particular, the testing system includes a computer 12 connected to testing equipment 14 that is configured to provide one or more signals via electrical output terminals at 16 to a speaker 18. The testing equipment 14 is further configured to measure characteristics of one or more audio band signals produced by the loudspeaker via a connection 20.

(11) In particular, the computer 12 may include at least one computer, computer system, computing device, server, disk array, or programmable device such as a multi-user computer, a single-user computer, a handheld device, a networked device (including a computer in a cluster configuration), etc. The computer 12 includes at least one central processing unit (“CPU”) 22 coupled to a memory 24. CPU 22 is typically implemented in hardware using circuit logic disposed in one or more physical integrated circuit devices, or chips, and may be one or more microprocessors, micro-controllers, field programmable gate arrays, or ASICs, while memory 24 may include random access memory (RAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), static random access memory (SRAM), flash memory, EEPROM and/or another digital storage medium, and is typically implemented using circuit logic disposed on one or more physical integrated circuit devices, or chips. As such, memory 24 may be considered to include memory storage physically located elsewhere in the computer 12, e.g., any cache memory in the at least one CPU 22, as well as any storage capacity used as a virtual memory.

(12) The computer 12 is under the control of an operating system (not shown) and executes or otherwise relies upon various computer software applications, components, programs, files, objects, modules, etc. (illustrated as “Application” 26). The application 26, in turn, is configured to control the testing equipment 14 to send signals to, and measure characteristics of signals from, the speaker 18. The testing equipment 14 may be connected to the computer 12 through a Universal Serial Bus (“USB”) connection, and, in specific embodiments, may be a Dayton Audio Test System (DATS) speaker tester as distributed by Parts Express International, Inc., of Springboro, Ohio. In specific embodiments, application 26 may be DATS software also distributed by Parts Express and configured to interoperate with the testing equipment 14 when such testing equipment is the DATS speaker tester.

(13) FIG. 2, discussed above, illustrate a logarithmically swept frequency test signal 110, usable as a component of the present invention herein.

(14) FIG. 4 is an illustration of one embodiment of a novel test signal 120 produced by the system 10 in accordance with principles of the present invention, comprising a very low frequency sine wave 126 combined with frequency sweep signals 122, 124. In this signal, the logarithmic frequency sweep signal 112 and 124 conventionally used in DATS, which is brief in duration (0.7 sec), is combined with a very low frequency (VLF) tone 126 so that the combination tone can then be used to measure the impedance at the separate positive and negative peaks of the VLF tone. Impedance measurements sufficient to extract speaker parameters are performed separately at the positive and negative peak of the single-cycle VLF waveform. Using this “sweep plus VLF tone” method, the system 10 can calculate the driver's parameters separately for each signal polarity over a wide range of VLF levels and corresponding cone excursions. By varying the VLF signal level the system 10 can control the cone displacement at the time the measurement is made and thus measure the driver parameters for various forward and rearward cone displacements.

(15) In the illustrated case, the very low frequency (VLF) tone is a sine wave 126 at 0.1 Hz, having a period of 10 seconds. This VLF wave 126 has positive and negative peaks which are long enough to generate and acquire a sweep 122 and 124 at each peak of the VLF tone. The sweep can be repeated with the VLF amplitude incremented, resulting in a series of measurements that capture the impedance response of the loudspeaker over a range of cone displacements. The application 26 then analyzes each captured impedance sweep and calculate parameters for that particular excursion and polarity.

(16) To implement this method testing equipment 14 incorporates a power amplifier that can reliably deliver the specified VLF test signal to a speaker. Experience with analog power amplifiers suggests that when they are driven with high power signals much below 20 Hz the result can be excessive thermal dissipation and potential failure. Thus, a power amplifier must be selected that can operate far below 20 Hz without failing. An off-the-shelf audio power amplifier was appropriately modified in order to extend its response below 0.1 Hz (as most audio amplifiers are limited to around 5-10 Hz). Very extended low frequency response can pose a safety hazard to the unit under test if switching transients are not handled carefully. In order to minimize the driver safety issue, the amplifier low-frequency bandwidth should be extended only as low as necessary to pass the test signal.

(17) The VLF sine wave shown in FIG. 4 slowly shifts between the peak displacement levels of the sweep. A long duration VLF cycle has a lower fundamental frequency, requiring a power amplifier with a similar or lower cutoff frequency. In order to raise this low frequency cutoff, the VLF period (cycle time) can be made as short as possible while cleanly acquiring the test sweep.

(18) FIG. 5 is an illustration of a second embodiment of a novel test signal 130 in accordance with principles of the present invention, in which the very low frequency is a square wave 136 combined with frequency sweep signals 132 and 134. This VLF signal 136 has a substantially faster transition between peak levels (peak cone excursion) than the sine wave shown in FIG. 4, but may produce a very loud and abusive “click” at each vertical segment of the waveform.

(19) FIG. 6 is an illustration of a third embodiment of a novel test signal 140 in accordance with principles of the present invention, comprising a very low frequency waveform 146 in the form of a clipped sine wave, combined with frequency sweep signals 142 and 144 during the clipped peaks of the very low frequency waveform. This VLF waveform uses sine wave segments at the beginning, center, and end of the waveform in order to achieve fast but smooth transitions between base levels of the test signal, but the sine wave shape is clipped to a maximum and minimum value. This VLF period is much shorter than the sine wave of FIG. 4 and is almost as brief as the square wave of FIG. 5, but without annoying loud clicks.

(20) Using the VLF and frequency sweep signals described herein, comprehensive testing of a loudspeaker may be efficiently performed. More specifically, the testing equipment 14 is configured to provide a plurality of drive signals to the speaker 18 (e.g., such as frequency sweeps and VLF signals at multiple voltage levels) and measure the voltages provided from the speaker 18 in response to those drive signals. The testing equipment 14 or, alternatively, the application 26, then calculates the complex impedance or resistance of the speaker 18 for each particular drive signal based on data about the voltage and/or current from the speaker 18 at the level of that drive signal. The application 26 subsequently determines whether the resonant frequencies or resistances at the various drive levels shift unacceptably as the drive levels vary, or whether peaks of the resonant frequencies or resistances at the various drive levels increase or decrease unacceptably as the drive levels vary.

(21) By way of example, shifts in the resonant frequencies of the complex impedances beyond a frequency threshold or shifts in the peaks of the complex impedances beyond a peak threshold indicate that a speaker 18 may not be functioning properly. Such shifts may be caused by incorrectly aligned components of the speaker 18, component failure of the speaker 18, or unsuitable components for the speaker 18, but are generally caused by foreign objects introduced to the speaker 18. These foreign objects can cause buzz and rub in the sound produced by the speaker 18 but may not be audible or detectable using conventional testing methodologies. However, the foreign objects in the speaker 18 also often change the resistance and complex impedances of the speaker 18 at its resonant frequency.

(22) Thus, embodiments of the invention determine the resonant frequency of the speaker 18 at various drive levels and determine the corresponding complex impedances, then analyze those complex impedances or resistances to determine loudspeaker parameters and whether the speaker 18 is acceptable.

(23) In one embodiment, the application 26 may be configured to reject a speaker 18 when the shift in the resonant frequencies of the drive levels exceeds a target frequency threshold. In some embodiments, the target frequency threshold may be set to about 500% more or less than the resonant frequency when the drive signal is at 0 dBu. However, in alternative embodiments, the target frequency threshold may be set lower, such as from about 30% to about 40%, which provides an acceptable range in which the resonant frequencies of the complex impedances of the various drive signals may vary. In still further alternative embodiments, the shift in the resonant frequency at a particular cone excursion may be determined with respect to the resonant frequency of a previous or subsequent drive signal. In those embodiments, when there is a shift in the resonant frequency from a first drive signal to a second drive signal that meets or exceeds the target frequency threshold, the speaker 18 may be rejected. One having ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the target frequency threshold may be user-defined, and thus include different ranges or values than those disclosed above.

(24) In additional or alternative embodiments, the application 26 is configured to reject a speaker 18 when the shift in the magnitude of the peaks of the complex impedance at the resonant frequencies of the drive levels exceeds a target peak threshold. In some embodiments, the target peak threshold may be set from about 100% to about 150% more or less than the peak of the complex impedance at the resonant frequency when the drive signal is at 0 dBu. In still further alternative embodiments, the peak of the complex impedance at the resonant frequency of a particular cone excursion may be determined with respect to the peak of the complex impedance at the resonant frequency of a previous or subsequent cone excursion. In those embodiments, when there is a shift in the peak from a first drive signal to a second drive signal that meets or exceeds the target peak threshold, the speaker 18 may be rejected. One having ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the target peak threshold may be user-defined, and thus include different ranges or values than those disclosed above. In still further embodiments, the impedance data from the speaker under test are compared to the data from a known good reference speaker. By using data from a known good speaker for the first (reference) impedance measurement a speaker under test can be screened with a single sweep thereby, providing increased efficiency for continuous production testing.

(25) The routines executed to implement embodiments of the invention, whether implemented as part of an operating system or a specific application, component, program, object, module, or sequence of instructions executed by a computer 12 or testing equipment 14 will be referred to herein as a “sequence of operations,” a “program product,” or, more simply, “program code.” The program code typically comprises one or more instructions that are resident at various times in various memory and storage devices, and that, when read and executed by one or more processing units, such as CPU 22 of the computer 12 or a processing unit (not shown) of the testing equipment 14, cause that computer 12 or testing equipment 14 to perform the steps necessary to execute steps, elements, and/or blocks embodying the various aspects of the invention by thus using the processor(s).

(26) A person having ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the various aspects of the present invention are capable of being distributed as a program product in a variety of forms, and that the invention applies equally regardless of the particular type of computer readable signal bearing media used to actually carry out the distribution. Examples of computer readable signal bearing media include but are not limited to physical and tangible recordable type media such as volatile and nonvolatile memory devices, floppy and other removable disks, hard disk drives, optical disks (e.g., CD-ROM's, DVD's, BLU-RAY's, etc.), among others.

(27) In addition, various program code described hereinafter may be identified based upon the application or software component within which it is implemented in. However, it should be appreciated that any particular program nomenclature that follows is used merely for convenience, and thus the invention should not be limited to use solely in any specific application identified and/or implied by such nomenclature. Furthermore, given the typically endless number of manners in which computer programs may be organized into routines, procedures, methods, modules, objects, and the like, as well as the various manners in which program functionality may be allocated among various software layers that are resident within a typical computer (e.g., operating systems, libraries, APIs, applications, applets, etc.), it should be appreciated that the invention is not limited to the specific organization and allocation of program functionality described herein.

(28) FIG. 7 is a flowchart 200 illustrating a sequence of operations to provide drive signals for the speaker 18 consistent with embodiments of the invention. In some embodiments, the sequence of operations of FIG. 7 may be performed by the computer 12, by testing equipment 14 under control of the computer 12, or independently by the testing equipment 14. In any event, when a user has selected to begin testing of the speaker 18, the computer 12 or testing equipment 14 provides an initial drive signal (e.g., a swept sine wave signal of a particular magnitude that sweeps across a range of frequencies) (block 202) and measures the impedance or resistance of the speaker 18 for the drive signal (block 204). The computer 12 or testing equipment 14 then determines whether the test is over (block 206). When the test is not over (“No” branch of decision block 206), the computer 12 or testing equipment 14 increments or decrements the magnitude of the drive signal (block 208) and the sequence of operations returns to block 204. When the test is over (“Yes” branch of decision block 206), the sequence of operations may end.

(29) FIG. 8 is a flowchart 210 illustrating a sequence of operations to determine whether the speaker 18 is acceptable based upon the various impedances or resistances of the speaker 18 determined from corresponding drive signals. In some embodiments, the sequence of operations of FIG. 8 may be performed by the computer 12, by testing equipment 14 under control of the computer 12, or independently by the testing equipment 14. In any event, the computer 12 or testing equipment 14 determines an impedance or resistance for the speaker 18 as well as the resonant frequency for the speaker 18 with relation to at least two drive signals (e.g., determining the resonant frequency at each drive signal and the peak impedance or resistance at the resonant frequency of each drive signal) (block 212). The computer 12 or testing equipment 14 may then determine whether the resonant frequencies of the speaker 18 for the at least two drive signals differs by a value that meets or exceeds a target frequency threshold (block 214). When the resonant frequencies of the speaker 18 for the at least two drive signals does not differ by a value that meets or exceeds a target frequency threshold (“No” branch of decision block 214), the computer 12 or testing equipment 14 may then determine whether the magnitude of the impedance or resistance for the resonant frequencies of the speaker 18 for the at least two drive signals differs by a value that meets or exceeds a target peak threshold (block 216). When the magnitude of the peaks at the resonant frequencies of the speaker 18 for the at least two drive signals does not differ by a value that meets or exceeds the target peak threshold (“No” branch of decision block 216), the computer 12 or testing equipment determines that the speaker 18 is acceptable (block 218) and the sequence of operations may end. However, when the resonant frequencies of the speaker 18 for the at least two drive signals differs by a value that meets or exceeds a target frequency threshold (“Yes” branch of decision block 214) or when the magnitude of the peaks for the resonant frequencies of the speaker 18 for the at least two drive signals differs by a value that meets or exceeds the target peak threshold (“Yes” branch of decision block 216), the computer 12 or testing equipment 14 determines that the speaker 18 is unacceptable (block 220) and the sequence of operations may end.

(30) In still further embodiments, the resonant frequency or magnitude of the impedance of a speaker under test for a first cone excursion is compared to the resonant frequency or the magnitude of the impedance of a known good speaker for a second cone excursion, or compared to the average resonant frequency or average magnitude of the impedances of a plurality of known good speakers for the second cone excursion. This data for the speaker under test is compared to the data for the reference speaker(s). While it is normal for individual speakers to vary in resonance frequency or magnitude of the impedance at their resonant frequencies, the variations that result from defects or other issues are generally far beyond what is considered normal. For example, a speaker might normally have a resonance frequency that varies ±20% around a resonance frequency for a known good speaker for a drive signal of about 100 Hz. Embodiments of the invention may therefore be configured to accept speakers exhibiting normal variance of the resonant frequency and reject speakers that exhibit resonant frequency deviations from the norm, such as ±30% around the resonant frequency of a known good speaker at a particular drive level, or the average resonant frequency of a plurality of known good speakers at the particular drive level. In general, some preliminary testing has indicated that rejected speakers exhibit deviations of ±100% around a known good resonant frequency or average resonant frequency. Correspondingly, the magnitude of the impedance normally varies from speaker to speaker. As such, embodiments of the invention may be configured to accept speakers exhibiting normal variance of the magnitude of the impedance for a resonant frequency and reject a speaker that exhibits deviations in the magnitude of the impedance at the resonant frequency from the norm, such as a ±30% difference from the magnitude of the impedance of a speaker for its resonant frequency, or a ±30% difference from the average magnitude of the impedance of a plurality of speakers for their resonant frequencies.

(31) In light of the foregoing, speaker defects may be determined with respect to multiple frequency sweeps of drives signals at different cone excursions for the same speaker. The data from one or more of the multiple sweeps is then compared to data from one or more different sweeps of the multiple sweeps at different cone excursions to determine whether the speaker under test is acceptable. Alternatively, speaker defects may be determined with respect to a single sweep of a drive signal for a speaker at a specific cone excursion. The data from the single sweep is then compared to data from one or more sweeps of one or more reference speakers (e.g., speakers known to be acceptable, or otherwise good) to determine whether the speaker under test is acceptable.

(32) While the present invention has been illustrated by a description of embodiments thereof, and the embodiments have been described in considerable detail, it is not the intention of the applicants to restrict or in any way limit the scope of the appended claims to such detail. Additional advantages and modifications will readily appear to those having ordinary skill in the art.

(33) By way of example, the computer 12 and testing equipment may include more or fewer components that those illustrated. Also by way of example, although the testing equipment 14 is illustrated as separate from the computer 12, one having ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the testing equipment 14 may be internal to, or otherwise integral with, the components of the computer 12. As such, the computer 12 may utilize I/O interfaces or specialized hardware to produce the various drive signals, and similarly utilize I/O interfaces or specialized hardware to measure characteristics of the signals from the speaker 18. In those embodiments, the application 26 may be configured to utilize the components of the computer 12, and in specific embodiments may be the TRUERTA real time audio spectrum analyzer software distributed by True Audio of Andersonville, Tenn. Moreover, one having ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the computer 12 or testing equipment 14 may determine that the speaker 18 is not acceptable when the difference between first and second resonant frequencies is equal to the target frequency threshold and/or when the different between the magnitude of the impedance or resistance at two resonant frequencies is equal to the target peak threshold.

(34) The invention in its broader aspects is therefore not limited to the specific details, representative apparatus and method, and illustrative example shown and described. Accordingly, departures may be made from such details without departing from the spirit or scope of the general inventive concept.