Headphones with orientation sensors

• US 10,524,040 B2
• Filed: 11/16/2018
• Issued: 12/31/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 01/29/2018
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Hajati, Arman, Datta, Supratik
• Primary Examiner(s): Holder, Regina N
• Application Number:
  US16/194,130
• Publication Number:
  US 20190238968A1
• Time in Patent Office: 410 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/1008 Earpieces of the supra-aural or circum-aural type
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/1041 Mechanical or electronic switches, or control elements switches in general H01H
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/1058 Manufacture or assembly
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2201/023 Transducers incorporated in garment, rucksacks or the like
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 5/033 Headphones for stereophonic communication details thereof, e.g. relating to batteries, cables or control elements H04R1/10
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 5/04 Circuit arrangements, e.g. for selective connection of amplifier inputs/outputs to loudspeakers, for loudspeaker detection, or for adaptation of settings to personal preferences or hearing impairments combinations of amplifiers H03F3/68; stereophonic systems H04S

Abstract

An electronic device such as a pair of headphones may be provided with ear cups having speakers for playing audio to a user. Capacitive sensor electrodes may be used in capturing capacitive sensor ear images that are processed by a machine learning classifier to determine whether the headphones are being worn in a reversed or unreversed orientation. The capacitive sensor electrodes may include grill electrodes that overlap at least part of a speaker grill, cushion electrodes that make capacitive sensor measurements through ring-shaped ear cup cushions that surround the speaker grills, and ring electrodes. The ring electrodes may be formed from metal traces on a flexible printed circuit. The flexible printed circuit may include a portion that wraps around each speaker grill and that is surrounded by a corresponding one of the cushions.

Claims

1. Headphones configured to be worn in an orientation that is unreversed or reversed, comprising:

first and second ear cups, wherein each of the first and second ear cups includes;

a speaker;

a grill with openings overlapping the speaker; and

a cushion surrounding the grill;

capacitive sensor circuitry including cushion electrodes; and

control circuitry configured to gather capacitive sensor ear images at least partly through the cushion of at least one of the first and second ear cups using the cushion electrodes.

2. The headphones defined in claim 1 wherein the control circuitry is configured to determine the orientation based on the capacitive sensor ear images gathered with the cushion electrodes.

3. The headphones defined in claim 2 further comprising grill electrodes, wherein the control circuitry is configured to gather the capacitive sensor ear images at least partly through the grill of at least one of the first and second ear cups using the grill electrodes.

4. The headphones defined in claim 3 further comprising a ring of ring electrodes that surrounds the grill and that is surrounded by the cushion electrodes, wherein the control circuitry is configured to gather the capacitive sensor ear images at least partly with the ring electrodes.

5. The headphones defined in claim 4 wherein the control circuitry is configured to determine the orientation by applying a machine learning classifier to the capacitive sensor ear images.

6. The headphones defined in claim 4 wherein at least some of the grill electrodes have a polar layout.

7. The headphones defined in claim 4 wherein the first and second ear cups each have a fabric covering layer.

8. The headphones defined in claim 7 wherein the first and second ear cups each have a mesh layer with openings and wherein the grill of each of the first and second ear cups is interposed between the mesh layer of that ear cup and the fabric covering layer of that ear cup.

9. The headphones defined in claim 4 further comprising a flexible printed circuit having metal traces that form at least the ring electrodes and the grill electrodes.

10. The headphones defined in claim 4 wherein the grill electrodes are arranged in a ring pattern on a printed circuit substrate with a central opening overlapping one of the speakers.

11. Headphones, configured to be worn in an orientation that is unreversed or reversed, comprising:

first and second ear cups, wherein each of the first and second ear cups includes;

a speaker;

a grill with openings overlapping the speaker; and

a ring-shaped cushion;

capacitive sensor circuitry including a ring of ring electrodes in each of the first and second ear cups that surrounds the grill and that is surrounded by the ring-shaped cushion; and

control circuitry configured to gather capacitive sensor ear images at least partly using the ring electrodes.

12. The headphones defined in claim 11 wherein the control circuitry is configured to determine the orientation based on the capacitive sensor ear images gathered with the ring electrodes.

13. The headphones defined in claim 12 further comprising cushion electrodes in the first and second ear cups, wherein the control circuitry is configured to gather the capacitive sensor ear images at least partly by making capacitive sensor measurements through the cushions with the cushion electrodes.

14. The headphones defined in claim 13 further comprising grill electrodes overlapped by each of the grills, wherein the control circuitry is configured to gather the capacitive sensor ear images at least partly through the grills using the grill electrodes.

15. The headphones defined in claim 14 wherein the control circuitry is configured to determine the orientation by applying a machine learning classifier to the capacitive sensor ear images.

16. The headphones defined in claim 15 further comprising a flexible printed circuit having metal traces that form at least the grill electrodes.

17. The headphones defined in claim 16 wherein the flexible printed circuit has an opening that overlaps a central portion of the grill.

18. The headphones defined in claim 17 wherein the metal traces further form at least some of the ring electrodes.

19. A wearable device, comprising:

a first ear cup having a first speaker overlapped by a first speaker grill and having a first ring-shaped cushion that surrounds the first speaker grill;

a second ear cup having a second speaker overlapped by a second speaker grill and having a second ring-shaped cushion that surrounds the second speaker grill;

a support structure that couples the first and second ear cups; and

capacitive sensor circuitry configured to capture capacitive sensor ear images at least partly by making capacitive sensor measurements through the first and second ring-shaped cushions using cushion electrodes that are overlapped by the first and second ring-shaped cushions.

20. The wearable device defined in claim 19 further comprising:

first and second flexible printed circuits having metal traces that form ring electrodes, wherein the first flexible printed circuit wraps at least partly around the first speaker grill and is surrounded by the first ring-shaped cushion and wherein the second flexible printed circuit wraps at least partly around the second speaker grill and is surrounded by the second ring-shaped cushion.