Personal Acoustic Device Position Determination
AssigneeBose Corporation
InventorsEdwin C. Johnson, JR., Benjamin D. Burge
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Apparatus and method for determining an operating state of a personal acoustic device by receiving signal from first and second movement sensors indicating movement detected by each, wherein the first movement sensor is disposed on a portion of the personal acoustic device structured to be worn on a user's head to enable the first movement sensors to detect movements of a user's head when the personal acoustic device is in position on the user's head such that a casing of the personal acoustic device is adjacent an ear of the user, and wherein the second movement sensor is disposed on a portion of the personal acoustic device structure to not be worn on a user's head.
Claims31
A method of controlling a personal acoustic device comprising:
- receiving a first signal from a first movement sensor, wherein the first movement sensor is disposed on a first portion of the personal acoustic device structured to be worn on a head of a user to enable the first movement sensor to detect movements of the user's head at a time when the personal acoustic device is in position on the user's head such that a casing of the personal acoustic device is adjacent an ear of the user, and wherein the first signal indicates a detected movement of the first portion;
- receiving a second signal from a second movement sensor, wherein the second movement sensor is disposed on a second portion of the personal acoustic device structured to not be worn on the user's head to provide a reference against which to compare the movements detected by the first movement sensor, and wherein the second signal indicates a detected movement of the second portion;
- distinguishing a differential mode movement between the detected movement of the first portion and the detected movement of the second portion from a common mode movement;
- analyzing a characteristic of the differential mode movement to determine whether the differential mode movement indicates a movement of the user's head relative to the reference caused by the user;
- and
- determining that the personal acoustic device is in position on the user's head in response to determining that the differential mode movement indicates a movement of the user's head relative to the reference caused by the user.
A personal acoustic device comprising:
- a first casing structured to be positioned adjacent an ear of a user;
- a second casing structured to be positioned away from both ears of the user;
- a first movement sensor disposed on a portion of the personal acoustic device that includes the first casing and that is structured to be worn on the user's head to enable the first movement sensor to detect movements of the user's head at a time when the personal acoustic device is in position on the user's head such that the first casing is adjacent an ear of the user;
- a second movement sensor disposed on the second casing to provide a reference against which to compare movements detected by the first movement detector;
- and
- a control circuit coupled to the first and second movement sensors, and structured to:
- receive a first signal from the first movement sensor indicating a detected movement of the portion;
- receive a second signal from the second movement sensor indicating a detected movement of the second casing;
- distinguish a differential mode movement between the detected movement of the portion and the detected movement of the second casing from a common mode movement;
- analyze a characteristic of the differential mode movement to determine whether the differential mode movement indicates a movement of the user's head relative to the reference caused by the user;
- and
- determine that the personal acoustic device is in position on the user's head in response to determining that the differential mode movement indicates a movement of the user's head relative to the reference caused by the user.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.