US 10,945,062 B2Granted

Headphone with off-ear and on-ear detection

AssigneeAvnera Corporation

InventorsAmit Kumar, Eric Sorensen, Shankar Rathoud

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Abstract

A headphone having a speaker, a feedforward microphone, a feedback microphone, and an OED processor. The speaker is configured to transmit an audio playback signal based on a headphone audio signal. The feedforward microphone is configured to sense an ambient noise signal and transmit a feedforward microphone signal based at least in part on the ambient noise signal. The feedback microphone is configured to sense a total audio signal and transmit a feedback microphone signal based at least in part on the total audio signal, in which the total audio signal is the sum of the audio playback signal and at least a portion of the ambient noise level. The OED processor is configured to determine whether the headphone is off ear or on ear, based at least in part on the headphone audio signal, the feedforward microphone signal, and the feedback microphone signal.

Claims19

Dependent claims

A headphone comprising:

a speaker configured to transmit an audio playback signal based on a headphone audio signal;
a feedforward microphone configured to sense an ambient noise signal and transmit a feedforward microphone signal based at least in part on the ambient noise signal;
a feedback microphone configured to sense a total audio signal and transmit a feedback microphone signal based at least in part on the total audio signal, in which the total audio signal is the sum of the audio playback signal and at least a portion of the ambient noise signal;
and
an OED processor configured to receive the headphone audio signal, the feedforward microphone signal, and the feedback microphone signal, the OED processor further configured to determine whether the headphone is off ear or on ear, based at least in part on the headphone audio signal, the feedforward microphone signal, and the feedback microphone signal by assessing whether a characteristic of one or more of the headphone audio signal, the feedforward microphone signal, and the feedback microphone signal exceeds one or more thresholds or parameters, and iteratively performing the assessing process until a preset number of identical, consecutive assessments is obtained the assessing process.

2 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 16/274,075Filed 12 Feb 2019 · division
Priority: 10 Jul 2015
Published: US 2019/0182578 A113 Jun 2019
Granted: 9 Mar 2021
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification19 codes

H04R 1/1041
Earpieces; Attachments therefor ; Earphones; Monophonic headphones: mechanical or electronic switches, or control elements
G10K 11/17823
Characterised by the analysis of the input signals only: reference signals, e.g. ambient acoustic environment
G10K 11/17825
Characterised by the analysis of the input signals only: error signals
G10K 11/17827
Characterised by the analysis of the input signals only: desired external signals, e.g. pass-through audio such as music or speech

Family

Application62/190,864Us provisional application · filed 10 Jul 2015
Application14/850,859Parent of this continuation · filed 10 Sep 2015
Application15/946,194Parent of this division · filed 5 Apr 2018
US 9,967,647 B2Parent of this continuation · filed 18 May 2018
US 2019/0182578 A1Pre-grant publication · published 13 Jun 2019
US 10,231,047 B2Parent of this division
Application15/946,194Parent of this continuation
US 2017/0013345 A1Published application
US 2018/0227659 A1Published application
US 10,945,062 B2This patent

From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.