FI20245214A1

FI20245214A1 - An office pod for generating masking sound

Info

Publication number: FI20245214A1
Application number: FI20245214A
Authority: FI
Inventors: Tomi Nokelainen; Timo Inkinen; Miika Vilermo
Original assignee: Framery Oy
Priority date: 2024-02-22
Filing date: 2024-02-22
Publication date: 2025-08-23
Also published as: WO2025176931A1

Abstract

Embodiments concern an office pod comprising a ventilation unit; a masking sound emitter to emit masking sound to an area surrounding the office pod; and a control unit for controlling the masking sound emitter according to a determined target level of the masking sound, said target level of the masking sound having been determined from a pre-determined adjustment map based on an overall noise around the office pod, the overall noise comprising at least a ventilation noise generated by the ventilation unit. In addition, the embodiments concern a method for determining a target level of a masking sound.

Description

AN OFFICE POD FOR GENERATING MASKING SOUND

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application generally relates to office pods. In particular, the present application relates to office pods for generating masking sound to an area.

BACKGROUND

[0002] This section illustrates useful background information without admission of any technique described herein being representative of the state of the art.

[0003] Soundproof spaces, i.e., office pods, such as phone booths or conference rooms, are typically sealed structures that also have technology enabling video conferences and remote working. In offices one or more of such office pods can be arranged to provide privacy for meetings and phone calls.

SUMMARY

[0004] It is an aim of the present invention aims to provide an improved office pod which - in addition to its capability to provide a private space — also provides masking sound to an area where the office pod is situated.

[0005] Various aspects of examples of the invention are set out in the claims.

[0006] According to a first example aspect of the present invention, there is provided an office pod comprising a ventilation unit; a masking sound emitter to emit s 25 masking sound to an area surrounding the office pod; and a control unit for controlling

N the masking sound emitter according to a determined target of the masking sound,

S said target level of the masking sound having been determined from a pre-determined

N adjustment map based on an overall noise around the office pod (300), the overall

E noise comprising at least a ventilation noise generated by the ventilation unit. + 30 [0007] According to an embodiment, the office pod further comprises means

O for detecting at least one other office pod, said at least one other office pod generating

O noise to an area.

[0008] According to an embodiment, the office pod further comprises means for determining a level of noise generated by said at least one other office pod. 1

[0009] According to an embodiment, the office pod further comprises means for determining a distance to said at least one other office pod and defining a corrected level of the noise based on the distance.

[0010] According to an embodiment, the office pod further comprises means for adding to the overall noise, a sum of corrected levels of the noise originating from said least one other office pod.

[0011] According to an embodiment, the office pod further comprises means for generating a communication channel to said at least one other office pod.

[0012] According to an embodiment, the control unit is configured to determine the target level of the masking sound.

[0013] According to an embodiment, the control unit is configured to receive the target level of the masking sound from a cloud server.

[0014] According to a second example aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for determining optimal settings for a masking sound provided by an office pod, wherein the method comprises determining an overall noise around the office pod, the overall noise comprising at least a ventilation noise of the office pod; determining a target level of the masking sound based on the determined overall noise from a predetermined adjustment map; and affecting a masking sound emitter of the office pod to generate masking sound according to the determined target level.

[0015] According to an embodiment, the method further comprises detecting at least one other office pod, said at least one other pod generating noise to an area.

[0016] According to an embodiment, the method further comprises determining a level of noise generated by said at least one other office pod.

[0017] According to an embodiment, the method further comprises s 25 determining a distance to said at least one other office pod and defining a corrected

N level of the noise based on the distance.

S [0018] According to an embodiment, the method further comprises adding to

N the overall noise a sum of corrected levels of the noise originating from said at least

E one other office pod. + 30 [0019] According to an embodiment, the method is executed by a control unit

O of the office pod.

O [0020] According to an embodiment, the method is executed in a cloud server.

[0021] Different non-binding example aspects and embodiments of the present invention have been illustrated in the foregoing. The embodiments in the 2 foregoing are used merely to explain selected aspects or steps that may be utilized in implementations of the present invention. Some embodiments may be presented only with reference to certain example aspects of the invention. It should be appreciated that corresponding embodiments may apply to other example aspects as well.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0022] For a more complete understanding of example embodiments of the present invention, reference is now made to the following descriptions taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 shows a simplified example of an office pod;

Fig. 2a shows an exploded view of one example of an office pod;

Fig. 2b shows an assembly of the office pod of Figure 2a with a door, roof skin plates and lower corner skin plates;

Fig. 3 shows a partial view of an office pod having a sound masking emitter according to an embodiment;

Fig. 4 shows a partial cross-sectional view of a sound masking emitter according to an embodiment as installed into a roof module of an office pod;

Fig. 5 shows a simplified example of an office pod and a control unit according to an embodiment;

Fig. 6 shows a simplified example of a group of office pods;

Fig. 7 shows an example of group of office pods with a capability for short range communication;

Fig. 8 shows an example of a three-dimensional adjustment map that can be s 25 used to adjust focal pod's masking sound;

N Fig. 9 shows an illustrative example of a two-dimensional determination of

S mutual placement of pods based on distance measurement;

N Fig. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a method for adjusting masking sound

E according to an embodiment; + 30 Fig. 11 is a flowchart illustrating a cloud-based method for determining optimal

O settings of masking sound for a plurality of office pods; and

O Fig. 12 is a flowchart illustrating general steps for a method according to an embodiment. 3

DESCRIPTON

[0023] The following description and figures are illustrative and are not to be unnecessarily construed as limiting. The specific details are provided for a thorough understanding of the disclosure. However, in certain instances, well-known or conventional details are not described in order to avoid obscuring the description.

Reference in this specification to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the disclosure.

[0024] In the drawings, following components are illustrated: 100, 200, 300, 500, 600, 600_a, 600 b, 700_a, 700_b, 700_c, 700_d, 700 e, 900 a, 900 b, 900 c, 900 d an office pod 120, 220, 320 a door 140 a sidewall 170, 270, 370, 470 a roof 180, 280 a floor 210 a front frame 215 a rear frame 230(a,b), 240(a,b) skin layers 251, 252, 261, 262 connectors 270 ceiling structure 271, 371, 571, 671, 671 a, 671 b ventilation unit 293, 294 corner elements 360, 460, 560, 660, 660 a, 660 b masking sound emitter s 25 562,662, 662 a, 662 b control unit &

S [0025] The present invention relates to an office pod, i.e., an office booth, (later

N referred to as “a pod”) comprising means for emitting masking sound and to a solution

E for adjusting masking soundscape provided by a pod. According to an embodiment, + 30 the adjusting of the masking sound generated by the pod can be based on overall

O noise originating from the pod itself, e.g., ventilation noise. According to another

O embodiment, the adjusting can be based on overall noise (e.g., ventilation noise and/or masking sound) generated by a plurality of pods when the distance of the plurality of pods is taken into account (e.g., with respect of sound attenuation as a function of the 4 distance at which said plurality of pods reside with respect to each other). It is to be noticed that in this disclosure term “overall noise” refers to noise that is generated by one or more pods in the office. Another term referring to “overall noise” could be “booth noise”/”pod noise” since the noise is generated by one or more office pods or by devices in the one or more office pods. Therefore, the overall noise for the purpose of the present solution, does not comprise noise generated by the people speaking or air conditioning arranged in the office or any other building infrastructure noise. Thus, the overall noise that is interesting for the present embodiments is something that can be determined without recording with microphones, but computed from e.g., settings data.

[0026] Masking sound systems are well-known in offices, as an example.

Masking sound is ambient background sound that matches the freguency of human speech or otherwise is spectrally arranged to mask human speech, whereupon the speech is less distracting than without the sound masking. In this context, term Speech

Transmission Index (STI) comes up, to indicate the effect of transmission channel on the intelligibility of speech at a certain distance from the speech source. When the STI is “high”, the intelligibility of the speech at a certain distance is high. When the STI is “low”, the speech is at the same distance less intelligible. The purpose of the masking sound systems is to lower the STI so that the speech in a space such as an open-plan office becomes less disturbing, especially less intelligible. Masking sound systems are often fixedly installed by technicians, who determine the optimum locations for the devices of the masking sound, especially the loudspeakers that emit the masking sound. The intention in such cases is to cover a determined area, such as an open- plan office space, with the masking sound, and the placement of the masking sound emitters, such as loudspeakers, is defined to achieve this. Thus, the masking sound s 25 emitters can be placed optimally to produce the desired masking soundscape and after

N being installed and adjusted, the system is run with such setting as the devices remain

S immovable, for example as installed to an office space ceiling.

N [0027] Typically, white, or pink noise has been considered suitable masking

E sounds because such noises effectively lower STI. However, during developing the + 30 present embodiments, it was found out that any faint noise (e.g., a humming sound)

O affects (lowers) STI, by reducing the intelligibility of the speech. Therefore, for the

O purposes of the present embodiments, any sound that lowers the STI can be used as a masking sound. For a balanced simultaneous achievement of STI reduction (best: ‘hissing’ noise) and perceived pleasantness of listening next to a pod (best: ‘non- 5 hissing’ noise), a suitable masking sound is a pink noise or a pseudorandom noise at 40 to 45 dB, for example 42dB, level immediately next to the pod on the outside and/or with a slope (towards the higher frequencies) of -3 to -9 dB per octave, for example - dB per octave. 5 [0028] In the present solution, the masking sound system is achieved by providing a masking sound emitter to a pod, e.g., by placing it in or onto a roof module of the pod. In a configuration of a plurality of pods, the masking sound emitters can be provided to more than one pod, whereby these masking sound emitters create background sound for the area where the pods are located. The purpose of the masking sound system is to keep the soundscape in the area constant regardless of the variations in other background noise being generated by one or more pods. A desired level (i.e., target level) for masking sound is 40 to 45 dB, whereupon having the constant soundscape means keeping the noise in the range [40dB, 45dB].

[0029] Figure 1 shows a simplified example of an office pod, in which a sound masking emitter according to an embodiment of the invention may be used. The office pod 100 of this example comprises a plurality of interconnected parts comprising at least a door 120, sidewalls 140, a roof 170 and a floor 180. An office pod according to another example may comprise all the other parts except the floor. An office pod according to yet another example may comprise only the sidewalls and the door. The pod can be equipped as any meeting room with electronic devices and furniture. The pod can be a movable meeting room.

[0030] Figure 2a shows an exploded view of selected (not necessarily all) parts of a pod 200, and Figure 2b shows an assembly of a pod 200 comprising parts shown in Figure 2a and a door 220, roof skin plates and lower corner skin plates. The pod s 25 200 in the example of Figure 2a comprises a front frame 210, a rear frame 215, wall

N elements comprising a left-hand side skin layer 230, and a right-hand side skin layer

S 240. In the example of Figure 2a, the front frame 210 comprises an aperture for a door.

N [0031] In the pod 200, the left-hand side skin layer 230 is attached in between

E the front frame 210 and the rear frame 215 at the left-hand side of the pod 200, and + 30 the right-hand side skin layer 240 is attached in between the front frame 210 and the

O rear frame 215 at the right-hand side of the pod 200.

O [0032] The left-hand side skin layer 230 comprises an attachment point at each corner (or corner region) of the layer 230. Similarly, the right-hand side skin layer 240 comprises an attachment point at each corner (or corner region) of the layer 240. 6

The skin layers 230, 240 may not be directly attached to the front and rear frames 210, 215, but there may be connectors 251, 252, 261, 262 connecting the front and rear frames 210, 215, and the skin layers 230, 240 are attached to the front and rear frames 210, 215 via respective connectors.

[0033] In the embodiments shown in Figures 2a and 2b, the left-hand side skin layer 230 is attached at its top corners (or corner regions) at attachment points to a first (upper) connector 251 attached in between the front and rear frames 210, 215 at the upper left-hand side of the pod 200. Similarly, the left-hand side skin layer 230 is attached at its lower corners (or corner regions) at attachment points to a second (lower) connector 252 attached in between the front and rear frames 210, 215 at the lower left-hand side of the pod 200.

[0034] The right-hand side skin layer 240 is attached at its top corners (or corner regions) at attachment points to a third (upper) connector 261 attached in between the front and rear frames 210, 215 at the upper right-hand side of the pod 200. And, similarly, the right-hand side skin layer 240 is attached at its lower corners (or corner regions) at attachment points to a fourth (lower) connector 262 attached in between the front and rear frames 210, 215 at the lower right-hand side of the pod 200.

[0035] The office pod 200 further comprises a roof 270 and a floor 280 attached to the front frame 210 and to the rear frame 220.

[0036] In certain embodiments, the roof 270 is configured to implement a ventilation function. For this purpose, in certain embodiments, the roof 270 comprises an integrated ventilation unit 271 comprising at least one fan. It is to be appreciated that the location of the ventilation unit may not be necessarily the roof, but it can be s 25 situated elsewhere, e.g., in the wall or in the floor.

N [0037] In certain embodiments, as shown in Figures 2a and 2b, the pod 200

S comprises a first corner piece 293 positioned in between the front frame 210 and the a rear frame 215 at top-left corner of the pod 200. Similarly, a second corner piece 294

E is positioned in between the front frame 210 and the rear frame 215 at top-right corner + 30 of the pod 200. According to other embodiments, the skin layers can be designed to

O form corners for the pod, whereupon separate corner pieces are not needed.

O [0038] Figures 2a and 2b further show the lower connectors i.e., the second and fourth connector 252, 262 integrated with the floor structure 280.

[0039] Yet further, Figures 2a and 2b show the left-hand side skin layer 230 7 formed of two sub-pieces 230a and 230b. Similarly, the right-hand side skin layer 240 is formed of two sub-pieces 240a and 240b. Instead of having two sub-pieces, both side skin layers may each be formed of one or more than two pieces.

[0040] The separate and connected sub-pieces 230a and 230b (240a and 240b, respectively) of the skin layers 230 (240) in between the frames 210, 215 are generally in the form of a planar, uniform surface (forming a sound stopping layer) to provide desired acoustic behavior, preferably by way of being tuned to provide soundproofing particularly at human speech frequencies.

[0041] When the office pod 200 has been assembled, i.e., all the parts have been connected, a pod as shown in Figure 2b is formed.

[0042] As mentioned above, the present embodiments relate to an office pod generating masking sound. Such a pod can be a pod of Figure 1 or a pod of Figure 2.

Figure 3 shows an example of a pod having the sound masking emitter. It is to be realized that Figure 3 is a partial view of a pod 300 according to an embodiment. The pod 300 comprises a roof 370, a ventilation unit 371 comprising one or more fans and a door 320. The other elements of the pod 300, not shown in Figure 3, can be equivalent to the ones shown in Figures 2a and 2b. For generating the masking sound, the pod 300 also comprises masking sound emitter 360. The masking sound emitter 360 can been fixed to (e.g., embedded into or attached onto) the roof 370 of the pod 300. The purpose of the masking sound emitter 360 is to generate background sound for the area where the pod is located.

[0043] Figure 4 illustrates a more detailed example, but partial, cross-sectional view of a masking sound emitter 460 being arranged to the roof 470 of the pod 400.

In this example, the masking sound emitter 460 is a loudspeaker that is facing upwards s 25 from the office pod. In Figure 4, the masking sound emitter 460 is placed into a hole

N on the roof. However, according to another example, the masking sound emitter can

S be located on the surface of the roof, e.g., attached by a magnet or being releasably

N fixed by other means. The masking sound emitter may have a deflector or reflector

E being placed above the masking sound emitter. For example, if the ceiling of the space + 30 in which the pod is located is close to the masking sound emitter, the ceiling can act

O as a reflector. On the other hand, if the ceiling is on high, an additional deflector or

O reflector may be used to divert the sound to the pod's surroundings.

[0044] It is to be appreciated that deviating from what has been shown in

Figure 4, the masking sound emitter can be placed in the ventilation unit, whereupon 8 no separate holes are needed. Alternatively, the masking sound emitter can be placed elsewhere, e.g., under the pod or inside or onto the pod walls.

[0045] As shown in the example of Figure 3, the pod comprises the ventilation unit 371. It is appreciated that a pod may comprise more than one ventilation units 371. The purpose of the ventilation unit is to ascertain adequate exchange of air and to prevent the temperature and/or the exhale-generated carbon dioxide level within the pod from rising unpleasantly high. The ventilation unit 371 may comprise one or more fans, which during operation generates some noise. The more people are present in the pod, the more ventilation is needed, which creates more fan(s)- produced noise. The ventilation noise with the masking sound together may be considered disturbingly loud, and therefore the masking sound needs to be adjusted, for example by decreasing masking sound in response to increasing ventilation noise, so that the overall noise is still effective in the STI reduction function but also non- disturbing to anyone in the surroundings of the pod. Therefore, one of the aims of the present solution is to provide a method and a technical means for adjusting the masking sound emitted by the masking sound emitter.

[0046] Figure 5 illustrates a simplified example of a pod 500 having a ventilation unit 571 and a masking sound emitter 560. In addition, the pod 500 comprises a control unit 562 that can be an embedded computer. Such a control unit 562 may act as a sound source for the masking sound emitter 560 by producing e.g., looped masking sound, i.e., repeating sections of sound material in continuous manner. Alternatively, the control unit 562 may generate desired masking sound parametrically with no pre-recorded sound material. The control unit 562 may be an automatic adjustment system for the masking sound. Alternatively, the control unit 562 s 25 may be a centralized unit configured to automatically adjust also other functionalities

N in the pod. For example, the control unit 562 may be configured to automatically adjust

S the ventilation based on the temperature sensor or person detection system,

N whereupon the adjustment made to the ventilation may automatically control the

E adjustment of the masking sound. The ventilation unit 571, when in operation, + 30 produces noise to the outside of the pod. This noise can be considered one type of

O masking sound. However, this noise is not constant, since the noise produced by

O ventilation unit 571 will increase and decrease relative to the number of the people in the pod and/or as a function of user(s)-selected ventilation setting. For the reasons that the noise of the ventilation unit is not constant, adjusting of the additional masking 9 sound is needed. For example, when the noise of the ventilation unit is very low, additional masking sound is needed to make the speech less intelligible in the area surrounding the pod and/or between the inside and the outside of the pod. As another example, when the noise the ventilation unit is very high, the need for additional masking sound is smaller. However, in order to keep the masking soundscape constant, the amount of masking sound should be adjusted according to the level of the noise coming from the ventilation unit 571. Therefore, the control unit 562 is also configured to control the level of the masking sound. For that, the control unit 562 comprises sound adjusting means which can be a computer program module or an algorithm for determining the optimal level (i.e., a desired level or a target level) of the masking sound. Therefore, the sound adjusting means is configured to dynamically determine — based on the noise generated by one or more ventilation units of the pod 500 — how the level and/or the spectrum of the masking sound should be adjusted so that the soundscape is kept constant. The optimal settings for the masking sound emitter can be determined by utilizing a pre-determined two-dimensional (2D) adjustment map (e.g., an adjustment curve) that shows what is the noise level of the ventilation for different settings (e.g., 10%, 20%, 30%, ..., 50%..., 80%, 90%, 100%) and what is the corresponding desired (i.e., target) level of the masking sound, which further instructs how the masking sound emitter should be adjusted.

[0047] Expressed differently, the masking sound emitter may be adjusted according to the following principle, where the loudness of the masking noise Lmn is adjusted down as the loudness of the fan noise Ls increases, in order to maintain the loudness of the overall target noise level Z;

Linn = Lt — L fn (Eguation 1)

I 25 [0048] The adjusting means is configured to determine the current setting of

N the ventilation, and with that information to determine e.g., from the adjustment map,

S the corresponding ventilation noise, and the desired level (i.e., target level) for the

N masking sound. Therefore, the adjustment is not based on real-time noise captured

E: by a microphone, but on a pre-determined adjustment map, which is discussed in a * 30 more detailed manner later. The control unit 562 makes the adjustment according to

S the pre-determined settings, whereupon the sound produced by the masking sound

S emitter will become controlled accordingly. In addition to the features discussed in this paragraph, the control unit 562 may have other computerized operations as well. For 10 example, the data concerning the current settings of the ventilation may be available in the control unit, when the control unit is configured to also control the ventilation.

Other examples of such operations may include any one or more of the following: lighting control, networking settings, presence detectors, interface to a central unit, provision of a user interface such as a touchscreen etc.

[0049] The previous example relates to a situation where there is one pod in an area. However, often offices and other open areas are populated by a group of pods, wherein a group of pods comprises more than one pod. In such a configuration, each (or two or more) of these pods may have respective masking sound emitters and ventilation units, whereupon the adjustment of the masking sound can be individually implemented in a same way as in the previous example. However, when the pods are located close to each other, it is clear that the ventilation noise and the masking sound from the pods may overlap. Therefore, in any adjustment of the masking sound, such an overlap should be taken into account. When more than one pod generates masking sound to an area, the location of these pods affects greatly to the masking sound. For example, if five pods are placed wall-to-wall next to each other, the masking sound nearby the row may be significantly different from a situation where the same number of pods are evenly spread out in the space. Thus, the masking sound generated by the pods, if they are close to each other, may undesirably add up, if the sound is not adjusted. The problem will become more apparent, if all the pods were occupied at the same time, whereupon the simultaneous noise of the ventilation units will be added on top of the masking sound.

[0050] Figure 6 illustrates an example of a group of pods 600, 600 a, 600 b, wherein the masking sound of focal pod 600 is being adjusted. At least the focal pod s 25 600 comprises a masking sound emitter 600 and a control unit 662. The other pods

N 600 a, 600 b may at least comprise ventilation units 671 a, 671 b, but if they also

S operate as masking sound sources, they may comprise respective masking sound

N emitter 660 a, 660 b and respective control units 662 a, 662b. The control units 662,

E 662 a, 662 b comprise adjusting means and are configured to operate in a similar + 30 wayas discussed with reference to Figure 5. However, in the situation of Figure 6, the

O adjusting means — while determining how the masking sound of a focal pod 600 should

O be adjusted — should also take into account the overall noise generated by the other pods 600 a, 600 b. The overall noise can be formed at least of the ventilation noise, but also of masking sound coming from other pods 600 a, 600 b, if these pods 11 generate masking sound. Therefore, the sound adjusting means is configured to dynamically determine, without using any microphones, — based on the noise generated by one or more ventilation units of the focal pod 600, and the overall noise generated by the other pods 600_a, 600_b — how the level of the masking sound coming from the focal pod should be adjusted so that the soundscape (in this case in the immediate vicinity of the focal pod 600) is kept constant.

[0051] As discussed with the earlier example, the optimal settings for the masking sound emitter can be determined by utilizing a pre-determined adjustment map, which in this example comprises also a third dimension relating to a distance to other pods and how the distance affects to the noise in the area of the focal pod. Thus, the adjusting means is configured to determine the current setting of the ventilation for all the pods 600, 600 a, 600 b, and with that information to determine from the map the corresponding ventilation noise and the needed level for the masking sound. The current setting of the other pods’ ventilation can be determined from a central management system on the cloud, or when the pods create a short-range wireless communication network (e.g., Bluetooth, WiFi) or an loT (Internet of Things) system, the ventilation setting can be directly communicated from one pod to another. In addition, if the other pods 600 a, 600 b comprise masking sound emitters, the level of that sound is taken into account when defining the overall noise coming from the other pods. In addition, the adjusting means is configured to determine the distance of each of the other pods 600 a, 600 b with respect to the focal pod 600, and to determine how that affects to the overall noise. The control unit 662 makes the adjustment according to the determined settings, whereupon the sound produced by the masking sound emitter of the focal pod 600 will become controlled accordingly. s 25 [0052] Expressed differently, the masking the masking sound emitter of a focal

N pod 600 (denoted immediately below with the notation FP) may be adjusted, in a

S scenario comprising other pods (denoted immediately below with the notation OPI,

N OP2 ... OPn), according to the following principle: z Linn rp = Le pp = Lfn FP — dcop1(Lmnop, + Lfop,) - = 30 deopillmnopa + Lrop,) + — ACopn(Lmnopn + Lrop,) (Equation 2)

LO .

N wherein

N Lmn = loudness of masking noise

Lt rp = loudness of the target noise level next to the focal pod FP 12

Zm = loudness of fan noise dc= distance coefficient for noise attenuation

[0053] In the example of Figure 6, the control unit 662 of the focal pod 600 needs to know, how far there are other pods to determine how these other pods affects to the soundscape in the close vicinity of the focal pod 600. For solving this, the pods can determine their mutual distance based on e.g., short-range signalling. Figure 7 shows an example of a group of pods 700_a, 700_b, 700_c, 700_d, 700_e having masking sound emitters. It is to be appreciated that the group of pods may comprise different number of pods than what has been shown in Figure 7. In addition, it is to be appreciated that instead of all, only some of the pods in the group of pods may comprise the masking sound emitters. The pods 700_a, 700_b, 700_c, 700 d, 700_e may also comprise ventilation units.

[0054] According to an embodiment, a signal strength is measured between pods to determine the mutual distance between pods. In particular, the pod whose masking sound is to be controlled, should measure its mutual distance to other pods.

As shown in Figure 7, the pods 700_a, 700_b, 700_c, 700_d, 700_e have been assembled with short-range wireless communication system, e.g., Bluetooth™ to generate a network between the pods. It is to be appreciated that instead of

Bluetooth™, any other short range communication technology can be used, such as — WiFi. In the system of Figure 7, it is possible to detect pods’ mutual distances based on e.g., the received signal strength indicator (RSSI) between pods. Alternatively, the distances can be determined based on Time-of-Flight (ToF) or WiFi signal strength.

The measurement result on the mutual distances may be used to determine how the noise is received (heard) at a certain location, and how the masking sound from a focal s 25 pod should be adjusted to keep the soundscape constant in the close vicinity of the

N focal pod.

S [0055] To determine how the distance affects to the loudness or level of sound

N coming from a pod, it is possible to perform laboratory measurements. In effect, this

E means determining the distance coefficient for noise attenuation dc as a function of s 30 distance (Equation 2). In such a measurement it is tested how much masking sound

O is received (heard) at different distances from a pod, thereby providing a component

O in a contribution for masking sound of a pod at a given distance. In addition, it is possible to perform laboratory measurements on how much ventilation-provided 13 sound is received (heard) with different ventilation settings at different distances from a pod, thereby providing another component in the contribution for masking sound at a given distance. The results of these measurements can provide a third dimension for the adjustment map.

[0056] When the mutual distance of the pods in an area such as an office is measured periodically, an even masking soundscape can be maintained even if pods were relocated in or added to or removed from the area.

[0057] As discussed, in the present embodiments the source for information relating to the target level of masking sound is an adjustment map, either two- or three- dimensional. Two-dimensional adjustment map can simply be a curve, whereas the three-dimensional adjustment map can be three-dimensional surface. Therefore, when term “adjustment map” is used in the present embodiments, the variations on the type of it are to be appreciated. Thus, the term “adjustment map” covers also other types of data representations, for example look-up-tables, lists, data tree models and maps with four or more dimensions etc. An example of a three-dimensional (3D) adjustment map is shown in Figure 8. An adjustment map can be stored in the control unit so that the adjustment means can directly see, what is the needed optimization for the masking sound. According to another example, an adjustment map can be stored in the cloud. The map shown in Figure 8 is only illustrative on the principle, and therefore any values derived therefrom should not be used as actual measurement values. Two of the dimensions are focal pod's fan setting and masking sound setting (level), which are taken into account when there are no other pods in the area, or when the other pods are located so far from the focal pod that they do not affect to the soundscape around the focal pod. As a third dimension, there is “Other pods’ noise s 25 contribution at focal pod”, which is based on the measurement data from the laboratory

N testing on how much sound is received (heard) at different distances. The map shown

S in Figure 8 can be used in determining on how focal pod's masking sound should be

N adjusted for example when the noise from other pods is heard with higher decibels

E (e.g., 35 or 40 dB), but the focal pod's own fan setting is 0% (assuming that no noise + 30 is coming from the fan). The adjustment map may be stored in the control unit of the

O pod, or data therein can be retrieved from the cloud. However, such an adjustment

O map serves the adjustment means to determine the optimal settings for generating the masking sound.

[0058] When the adjustment map is stored in the cloud, pods can send data 14 concerning their fan settings and data concerning their distances to other identified pods to the cloud via a data transfer network formed between a pod and a cloud. The cloud comprises means for determining a masking sound for each of the pod when contributions from other pods are observed. The cloud further comprises means for transmitting data concerning a respective masking sound for each identified pod over the data transfer network. Then the operations concerning determining the masking sounds can implemented in centralized manner in the cloud instead of implementing independently in each of the pods. In effect, such cloud-based operation enables controlling the evenness of soundscape across all the pods which is advantageous e.g., with respect to controlling the evenness of soundscape in an office in which the pods are located. Moreover, such cloud-based operation enables controlling the soundscape with respect to any particular location within the space in which the pods are located.

[0059] Instead of defining pods’ mutual distances each time, it is possible to — utilize MAC (Media Access Control) addresses together with the RSSI measurement, to generate floorplan-like map of pods automatically that shows pods placement in the area. Such generation may be premised on triangulation based on the results from distance measurements as explained above. Such an example is shown in Figure 9.

Figure 9 illustrates an example of where distances d1, d2, d3 from a focal pod 900_a to other pods 900 b, 900 c, 900 d have been determined, whereby the mutual distances and locations in a two-dimensional space such as a floorplan can be determined by triangulation for all the pods 900 a, 900 b, 900 c, 900 d.

[0060] The present embodiments can be further improved when the pods are eguipped with means for scanning the surrounding space. Such means may comprise s 25 LIDAR (Light detection and ranging) or a radar, such as a mmWave radar. When such

N means are used, the pods can additionally create an actual representation of the

S surrounding office place, i.e., automatically create an actual floorplan of the office as

N well as place the pods on the floorplan.

E [0061] In addition, with the help of such means it is possible to scan the + 30 distance between the pod and the ceiling of the area. It is realized that the masking

O sound behaves differently depending on whether the ceiling is, for example, 1 meter

O or 5 meters away from the pod, as upwards-directed masking sound is reflected from the office ceiling and thereafter dissipates to the surroundings of the pod. For example, if the office ceiling is very close to an upwards-directed masking sound emitter, the 15 masking sound is heard louder in the immediate surroundings than in the case of the ceiling being far above the masking sound emitter. Such an information can further be used for determining the adjustment of the masking sound.

[0062] The method for determining settings for the masking sound may be based on an algorithm that determines the noise level of the ventilation unit and based on that, determines from the adjustment map the needed masking sound. If the algorithm detects other pods nearby, the algorithm determines noise levels of their ventilation units being summed with their masking sound levels. In addition, the algorithm detects the distances to these nearby pods, and determines, how the distance affects to the noise perceived at the current location. By using all these data, the algorithm selects masking sound settings so that the soundscape is kept constant.

Thus, a sum function of masking sound levels at a given pod can be calculated by knowing how much nearby pods at known distances add to the masking sound produced by the focal pod itself.

[0063] If the pod does not detect any pods nearby, for example when the other pods are outside Bluetooth range, or there are no other pods in the area, it is possible to assume that the pod is acoustically alone in which case the masking sound can be driven in a default or solitary mode in which no adjustment needs to be made (unless adjustment based on the fan noise of the pod itself).

[0064] Figure 10 is flowchart illustrating a method according to an embodiment. The method is for determining the optimal settings for the masking sound generated by a pod. The method for determining the control signal comprises steps for determining a current level of the masking sound 1000; determining a level of ventilation noise 1010. If there are not any other pods nearby 1015 “no”, it is checked s 25 what should be the desired level (i.e., target level) of the masking sound at the

N determined level of the ventilation noise 1020. The current level of the masking sound

S is compared to the desired level of the masking sound 1030, and if they are different,

N the current level of the masking sound is adjusted to the desired level of the masking

E sound 1040. + 30 [0065] If there are other pods nearby 1015 “yes”, the distances to each of the

O other pods are determined 1050. The distances can be determined by using any

O suitable method, for example, utilizing a short-range wireless communication. In addition, the level of noise originating from the each of the other pods is determined 1060. This can be done by utilizing the known level (e.g., signaled by other pods) of 16 the ventilation and determining (e.g., from a two-dimensional adjustment map or a specific noise map having correspondence between a ventilation setting and noise level) how much noise the ventilation generates at the known level. This noise can be ventilation noise or masking sound or their combination. For the determined noise, it is checked how the distance affects to the level of the noise 1070, which means that how the noise is received (“heard”) at the location of the focal pod. A corrected level of noise is defined by to be the noise as heard at a focal pod. Then, a level of overall noise is defined to be the sum of corrected levels of the noise 1080, which is used for determining what should be the desired level (i.e., target level) of the masking sound at the defined level of the overall noise 1090. The current level of the masking sound is compared to the desired level 1030, and if they are different, the current level is adjusted to the desired level 1040.

[0066] Figure 11 is a flowchart illustrating a method according to another embodiment. The method is a cloud-based method for determining optimal settings — for the masking sound generated by a pod when there are other pods in the same area. Cloud-based here means that the method steps are implemented in a cloud server. The method may generally comprise receiving from two or more pods first data concerning fan settings of the respective pod 1110. This means that each identified pod sends their respective fans settings to the cloud, where the noise of the ventilation can be determined. In addition, the method comprises receiving from the two or more pods second data concerning distance of a respective pod to other of the two or more pods 1120. The first and second data is received from the office pods by means of a data transfer network between a pod and a cloud. The cloud is configured to determine for each of the pods their respective level of masking sound 1130. In the determining, s 25 the cloud is configured to use the first data of the other pods, i.e., ventilation settings

N indicating the ventilation noise generated by the other pods, and to use the second

S data which indicates how far these other pods are from the pod whose masking sound

N is being determined. In the determining, a pre-determined adjusting map stored in the

E cloud is used. When the determined level of the masking sound has been determined + 30 for each pod, these determined levels of the masking sound are transmitted to the

O respective pods through the data transfer network, and in particular to the control units

O of these pods. The control units adjust the masking sound according to the determined level.

[0067] So, the method for determining target level for a masking sound emitted 17 from a pod generally comprises at least the steps that are illustrated in Figure 12. The method thus comprises determining 1210 an overall noise around the pod, the overall noise comprising at least a ventilation noise of the pod; determining 1220 a target level of the masking sound based on the determined overall noise from a predetermined adjustment map; and affecting 1230 a masking sound emitter of the office pod to generated masking sound according to the determined target level. If other pods are nearby, the method further comprises adding to the overall noise a sum of corrected levels of the noise originating from said at least one other pod. When the method is implemented in the office pod, the affecting comprises adjusting the masking sound level in the control unit to the target level, which directly controls the masking sound emitter. When the method is implemented in a cloud server, the affecting comprises transmitting information concerning the target level to the control unit of the office pod, wherein the control unit adjusts the masking sound level to the target level thus controlling the masking sound emitter. The advantages achieved by the present — solution is that the overall noise (ventilation noise and masking sound) generated by the pods is kept constant, which makes the noise less disturbing or not disturbing at all. Since the method is implemented without microphone or other recording systems, any privacy issues or concerns can be prevented and the resulting system is simpler without such additional elements.

[0068] Examples of methods for determining optimal settings for the masking sound have been presented by Figures 10 — 12. These methods can be executed whenever manually reguested. However, according to an embodiment, execution of the methods may be automatically started when it is noticed that fan settings in the pod is changed. It is appreciated that in such case, at least the masking sound of the s 25 respective pod should be adjusted accordingly. However, if there are other pods

N nearby, it is to be determined, how the change affects to their masking sound as well.

S This can be done in the cloud or at each pod individually.

N [0069] Without in any way limiting the scope, interpretation, or application of

E the claims appearing below, a technical effect of one or more of the embodiments + 30 disclosed herein is providing a pod that is capable of generating masking sound to an

O area where the pod is located. Another technical effect of one or more of the

O embodiments disclosed herein is providing a method for determining a target level of the masking sound generated by the pod based on e.g., distances between pod and/or other noise in the environment. 18

[0070] Although various aspects of the invention are set out in the independent claims, other aspects of the invention comprise other combinations of features from the described embodiments and/or the dependent claims with the features of the independent claims, and not solely the combinations explicitly set out in the claims.

[0071] It is also noted herein that while the foregoing describes example embodiments of the invention, these descriptions should not be viewed in a limiting sense. Rather, there are several variations and modifications which may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention as defined in the appended claims. <

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Claims

1. An office pod (300) comprising - a ventilation unit; - a masking sound emitter to emit masking sound to an area surrounding the office pod; and - a control unit for controlling the masking sound emitter according to a determined target level of the masking sound, said target level of the masking sound having been determined from a pre-determined adjustment map based on an overall noise around the office pod, the overall noise comprising at least a ventilation noise generated by the ventilation unit.

2. The office pod (300) according to claim 1, further comprising means for detecting at least one other office pod, said least one other office pod generating noise to an area.

3. The office pod (300) according to claim 2, further comprising means for determining a level of noise generated by said at least one other office pod.

4. The office pod (300) according to claim 3, further comprising means for determining a distance to said at least one other office pod and defining a corrected level of the noise based on the distance.

5. The office pod (300) according to claim 4, further comprising means for adding to < the overall noise a sum of corrected levels of the noise originating from said at S least one other office pod. N

= 6. The office pod (300) according to any of the claims 2 to 5, further comprising N means for generating a communication channel to said at least one other pod. T a

= 7. The office pod (300) according to any of the claims 1 to 6, wherein the control 3 unit is configured to determine the target level of the masking sound. oo Al

8. The office pod (300) according to claim 1, wherein the control unit is configured to receive the target level of the masking sound from a cloud server.

9. A method for determining a target level for a masking sound provided by an office pod (300), the method comprising - determining an overall noise around the office pod, the overall noise comprising at least a ventilation noise of the office pod; and - determining a target level of the masking sound based on the determined overall noise from a predetermined adjustment map; and - affecting a masking sound emitter of the office pod to generate masking sound according to the determined target level.

10. The method according to claim 9, further comprising detecting at least one other office pod, said at least one other office pod generating noise to an area.

11. The method according to claim 10, further comprising determining a level of noise generated by said at least one other office pod.

12. The method according to claim 11, further comprising determining a distance to said at least one other office pod and defining a corrected level of the noise based on the distance.

13. The method according to claim 12, further comprising adding to the overall noise a sum of corrected levels of the noise originating from said at least one other office pod.

14. The method according to any of the claims 9 to 13, wherein the method is s executed by a control unit of the office pod. & N

15. The method according to any of the claims 9 to 13, wherein the method is N executed in a cloud server. I = < oN LO < N O N 21