APPARATUS FOR MONITORING THE CONDITION OF AN OPERATOR AND RELATED SYSTEM AND METHOD
First Claim
1. An apparatus comprising:
- one or more speaker units, each speaker unit configured to provide audio signals to an operator, each speaker unit comprising an ear cuff configured to contact the operator'"'"'s head;
a support structure configured to secure the apparatus to the operator'"'"'s head; and
multiple sensors configured to measure one or more characteristics associated with the operator, at least one of the sensors embedded within or attached to at least one ear cuff of at least one speaker unit.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
An apparatus includes a headset having one or more speaker units. Each speaker unit is configured to provide audio signals to an operator. Each speaker unit includes an ear cuff configured to contact the operator'"'"'s head. The headset further includes multiple sensors configured to measure one or more characteristics associated with the operator. At least one of the sensors is embedded within at least one ear cuff of at least one speaker unit. The sensors could include an electrocardiography electrode, a skin conductivity probe, pulse oximetry light emitting diodes and photodetectors, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, or a temperature sensor. The apparatus could also include a processing unit configured to analyze audio signals captured by a microphone unit of the headset to identify respiration by the operator or at least one voice characteristic of the operator.
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Citations
23 Claims
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1. An apparatus comprising:
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one or more speaker units, each speaker unit configured to provide audio signals to an operator, each speaker unit comprising an ear cuff configured to contact the operator'"'"'s head; a support structure configured to secure the apparatus to the operator'"'"'s head; and multiple sensors configured to measure one or more characteristics associated with the operator, at least one of the sensors embedded within or attached to at least one ear cuff of at least one speaker unit. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 22)
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9. A system comprising:
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one or more speaker units, each speaker unit configured to provide audio signals to an operator, each speaker unit comprising an ear cuff configured to contact the operator'"'"'s head; a support structure configured to secure the apparatus to the operator'"'"'s head; multiple sensors configured to measure one or more characteristics associated with the operator, at least one of the sensors embedded within or attached to at least one car cuff of at least one speaker unit; and at least one processing unit configured to analyze measurements of the one or more characteristics to identify a measure of operator awareness associated with the operator. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 23)
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17. A method comprising:
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providing audio signals to an operator using one or more speaker units, each speaker unit comprising an ear cuff configured to contact the operator'"'"'s head, a support structure configured to secure the one or more speaker units to the operator'"'"'s head; and measuring one or more characteristics associated with the operator using multiple sensors, at least one of the sensors embedded within or attached to at least one ear cuff of at least one speaker unit. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20)
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21. An apparatus comprising:
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a cover configured to be placed over at least a portion of a speaker unit, the speaker unit configured to be secured to an operator'"'"'s head; wherein the cover comprises at least one sensor configured to measure one or more characteristics associated with the operator, the at least one sensor embedded within or attached to the cover.
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Specification