US 8,452,020 B2 · Adjustment of acoustic properties based on proximity detection

Abstract

One or more acoustic transducers of a device may be adjusted based on automatic detection of device proximity to the user. In a mobile telephone, when the user is using the receiver and holding the telephone against his/her ear, if the telephone detects that the user has moved the telephone further from his/her ear, the telephone will raise the receiver volume. Similarly, if the user is using the speaker, the telephone will adjust the speaker volume as user distance from the telephone changes. In another embodiment the telephone may fade between the receiver and the speaker. Volume is not the only acoustic property that could be adjusted according to user proximity. Frequency response is another property that could be adjusted, such as using appropriate electronic filtering, or by turning on another transducer that is not otherwise being used.

Claims12

Dependent claims

An audio device comprising:

a plurality of audio transducers, each of which is provided to operate over a different range of values of an acoustic property, said acoustic property comprising a frequency response and said plurality of audio transducers including a receiver speaker and a handsfree speaker;
a proximity detector that outputs a proximity signal based on a distance between a user and said audio device;
and
control circuitry that performs adjusting of said acoustic property of at least some of said audio transducers based on said proximity signal, wherein said adjusting includes boosting or deemphasizing one or more frequencies based on the distance between the user and said audio device.

1 more element

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Adjustment of acoustic properties based on proximity detection

Life of this patent

Adjustment of acoustic properties based on proximity detection

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims12