Volume control for mobile device using a wireless device
AssigneeApple Inc.
InventorsDavid J. Shoemaker, Eugene Dvortsov
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A wearable device can facilitate automatic adjustment of a volume control and/or other settings of a host device based on properties of the ambient environment. For example, when a host device generates an audible alert, a wearable device can sample the ambient sound to detect a distinct contribution corresponding to the audible alert; if the contribution is outside acceptable levels, the wearable device can notify the host device to adjust the alert volume and/or other alert characteristics. Adjustments to host-device settings can also be made based on comparing audio signals collected by the host device and the wearable device.
Claims18
A method of operating a wearable device, the method comprising:
- receiving, by the wearable device, a notification indicating that a host device is preparing to sound an alert sound;
- collecting, by the wearable device, a first audio signal at least in response to receiving the notification, the first audio signal comprising at least a reference signal corresponding to the alert sound generated by a speaker of a host device paired with the wearable device;
- extracting, by the wearable device, a first component of the first audio signal;
- determining, by the wearable device, a property of the first component, the property being indicative of a strength of a contribution of the reference signal with respect to the first audio signal;
- based at least in part on the determined property, generating, by the wearable device, a message for the host device paired with the wearable device, the message including an instruction to the host device to adjust a volume setting of the alert sound generated by the speaker of the host device;
- and
- transmitting, by the wearable device, the generated message from the wearable device to the host device paired with the wearable device, the instruction in the generated message configured to instruct the host device paired with the wearable device to adjust the volume setting of the alert sound.
A wearable device, comprising:
- at least one memory configured to store computer-executable instructions;
- and
- at least one processor in communication with the at least one memory configured to execute the computer-executable instructions to at least:
- receive a notification indicating that a host device is preparing to sound an alert sound;
- collect a first audio signal at least in response to receiving the notification, the first audio signal comprising at least a reference signal corresponding to the alert sound generated by a speaker of the host device paired with the wearable device;
- extract a first component of the first audio signal;
- determine a property of the first component, the property being indicative of a strength of a contribution of the reference signal with respect to the first audio signal;
- based at least in part on the determined property, generate a message for the host device paired with the wearable device, the message including an instruction to the host device to adjust a volume setting of the alert sound generated by the speaker of the host device;
- and
- transmit the generated message from the wearable device to the host device paired with the wearable device, the instruction in the generated message configured to instruct the host device paired with the wearable device to adjust the volume setting of the alert sound.
A computer-readable storage medium storing computer-executable instructions for implementing a wearable device that, when executed by at least one processor, configure the at least one processor to perform operations comprising:
- receiving a notification indicating that a host device is preparing to sound an alert sound;
- collecting a first audio signal at least in response to receiving the notification, the first audio signal comprising at least a reference signal corresponding to the alert sound generated by a speaker of the host device paired with the wearable device;
- extracting a first component of the first audio signal;
- determining a property of the first component, the property being indicative of a strength of a contribution of the reference signal with respect to the first audio signal;
- based at least in part on the determined property, generating a message for the host device paired with the wearable device, the message including an instruction to the host device to adjust a volume setting of the alert sound generated by the speaker of the host device;
- and
- transmitting the generated message from the wearable device to the host device paired with the wearable device, the instruction in the generated message configured to instruct the host device paired with the wearable device to adjust the volume setting of the alert sound.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.