Acoustic in-ear detection for earpiece

• US 8,705,784 B2
• Filed: 01/23/2009
• Issued: 04/22/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 01/23/2009
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.), Sony Mobile Communications AB (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Haartsen, Jacobus Cornelis, Sampimon, Gerrit, Trip, Bart
• Primary Examiner(s): Ensey, Brian
• Application Number:
  US12/358,285
• Publication Number:
  US 20100189268A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,915 Days
• Field of Search: 381/310, 381/FOR.126, 381/FOR.133, 381/323, 381/312, 381/328, 381/330, 381/370, 381/380, 381/381, 381/384, 607/6, 600/301, 600322-324, 600/340, 600/483, 600/485, 600/500, 600/508, 600/528, 600/559
• US Class Current: 381/328
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6817 Ear canal
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/10 Earpieces; Attachments therefor ; Earphones; Monophonic headphones H04R1/28 takes precedence; stereophonic headphones H04R5/033
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2460/15 Determination of the acoustic seal of ear moulds or ear tips of hearing devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 29/00 Monitoring arrangements; Testing arrangements for hearing aids H04R25/30; detection of loudspeaker connection H04R5/04; sound-field adaptation dependent on speaker detection H04S7/308

Abstract

An apparatus comprising an earpiece and a signal processor is disclosed. The earpiece is suitable to be applied at an auditory opening of a user'"'"'s ear. The earpiece comprises a speaker enabled to be supplied with an audio signal for rendering, and a microphone arranged in vicinity of the speaker to acquire a sound signal from sounds present inside the auditory opening when the earpiece is applied at the ear. The signal processor is arranged to determine whether the earpiece is applied at the user'"'"'s ear by analysis of the acquired sound signal comprising any of a sound signal component of an in-ear sound type present when the earpiece is applied or an outside-ear sound type present when the earpiece is not applied. A method and a computer program are also disclosed.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising

an earpiece suitable to be applied at an auditory opening of a user'"'"'s ear, the earpiece comprising

a speaker enabled to be supplied with an audio signal for generating sound, and

a microphone arranged in vicinity of the speaker to acquire a sound signal from sounds present inside the auditory opening when the earpiece is applied at the ear;

a signal processor, wherein the signal processor is arranged to determine whether the earpiece is applied at the user'"'"'s ear by analysis of the acquired sound signal comprising any of a sound signal component of an in-ear sound type present when the earpiece is applied or an outside-ear sound type present when the earpiece is not applied, the signal processor being arranged to determine a distribution over frequency of the acquired sound signal to determine whether the earpiece is applied at the user'"'"'s ear;

the in-ear sound type signal component comprising a physiological sound signal, wherein the physiological sound signal comprises a signal component associated with heart beat sounds of the user; and

the signal processor comprising a low pass filter being arranged to extract the heart beat sounds by low pass filtering the physiological sound signal in the low pass filter to detect a heart beat signal.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the physiological sound signal further comprises a signal component associated with breathing sounds of the user.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the low pass filter has a cutoff frequency between 3 and 10 Hz, preferably between 3 and 5 Hz, preferably 4 Hz.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the outside-ear sound type comprises ambient noise, and the signal processor is arranged to determine the earpiece not being applied when ambient noise sound exceeds a threshold level.

5. The apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the threshold level is determined by measurement of ambient noise by another microphone associated with the earpiece and arranged to always acquire a sound signal from sounds present outside the auditory opening.

6. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the signal processor is arranged to subtract the audio signal from the sound signal to provide the sound signal component.

7. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an application controller arranged to control features of an application based on the determination whether the earpiece is applied or not.

8. The apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the application controller is arranged to interrupt the application generating sound associated with the audio signal when the earpiece is determined to not be applied, and arranged to resume the application generating sound when the earpiece is determined to be applied.

9. The apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the application controller is arranged to control the application establishing communication associated with the audio signal when the earpiece is determined to be applied, and arranged to control the application terminating the communication when the earpiece is determined to not be applied.

10. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the analysis is based on any of frequency characteristics and periodicity of the acquired sound signal.

11. A method, for an apparatus comprising an earpiece suitable to be applied at a user'"'"'s ear for outputting an audio signal in the user'"'"'s ear when the earpiece is applied at the ear, comprising

acquiring a sound signal by a microphone of the earpiece arranged in vicinity of a speaker to acquire the sound signal from sounds present in an auditory opening of the ear of the user when the earpiece is applied at the ear;

determining whether the earpiece is applied at the user'"'"'s ear by analyzing of the acquired sound signal comprising any of a sound signal component of an in-ear sound type present when the earpiece is applied or an outside-ear sound type present when the earpiece is not applied, the analyzing comprising determining a distribution over frequency of the acquired sound signal to determine whether the earpiece is applied at the user'"'"'s ear;

the in-ear sound type signal component comprising a physiological sound signal, wherein the physiological sound signal comprises a signal component associated with heart beat sounds of the user;

extracting the heart beat sounds by low pass filtering the physiological sound signal in a low pass filter to detect a heart beat signal; and

the determining comprises determining that the earpiece is applied when heart beat sounds are detectable.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein the physiological sound signal further comprises a signal component associated with breathing sounds of the user, and the determining comprises determining that the earpiece is applied when breathing sounds are detectable.

13. The method according to claim 11, wherein the low pass filter has a cutoff frequency between 3 and 10 Hz, preferably between 3 and 5 Hz, preferably 4 Hz.

14. The method according to claim 11, wherein the outside-ear sound type comprises ambient noise, and the determining comprises determining that the earpiece is not applied when ambient noise sound exceeds a threshold level.

15. The method according to claim 14, further comprising determining the threshold by measurement of ambient noise outside the auditory opening by another microphone associated with the earpiece.

16. The method according to claim 11, further comprising subtracting the audio signal from the sound signal to provide the sound signal component.

17. The method according to claim 11, further comprising controlling features of an application based on the determination.

18. The method according to claim 17, further comprising

interrupting outputting sound associated with the audio signal when the earpiece is determined to not be applied;

and

resuming the outputting sound when the earpiece is determined to be applied.

19. The method according to claim 17, further comprising

establishing communication associated with the audio signal when the earpiece is determined to be applied;

and

terminating the communication when the earpiece is determined to not be applied.

20. The method according to claim 11, wherein the analyzing is based on any of frequency characteristics and periodicity of the acquired sound signal.

21. A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising program code comprising instructions which when executed by a processor is arranged to cause the processor to perform

supplying an audio signal to a speaker of an earpiece suitable to be applied at a user'"'"'s ear for outputting the audio signal in the user'"'"'s ear when the earpiece is applied at the ear;

acquiring a sound signal by a microphone of the earpiece arranged in vicinity of the speaker to acquire the sound signal from sounds present in an auditory opening of the ear of the user when the earpiece is applied at the ear;

determining whether the earpiece is applied at the user'"'"'s ear by analysis of the acquired sound signal comprising any of a sound signal component of an in-ear sound type present when the earpiece is applied or an outside-ear sound type present when the earpiece is not applied, the analysis comprising determining a distribution over frequency of the acquired sound signal to determine whether the earpiece is applied at the user'"'"'s ear;

the in-ear sound type signal component comprising a physiological sound signal, wherein the physiological sound signal comprises a signal component associated with heart beat sounds of the user;

instructions for extracting the heart beat sounds by low pass filtering the physiological sound signal in a low pass filter to provide a heart beat signal; and

the instructions for determining comprises instructions for determining that the earpiece is applied when heart beat sounds are detectable.

22. The computer readable medium according to claim 21, wherein the physiological sound signal further comprises a signal component associated with breathing sounds of the user, and the instructions for determining comprises instructions for determining that the earpiece is applied when breathing sounds are detectable.

23. The computer readable medium according to claim 21, wherein the low pass filter has a cutoff frequency between 3 and 10 Hz, preferably between 3 and 5 Hz, preferably 4 Hz.

24. The computer readable medium according to claim 21, wherein the outside-ear sound type comprises ambient noise, and the instructions for determining comprises instructions for determining that the earpiece is not applied when ambient noise sound exceeds a threshold level.

25. The computer readable medium according to claim 24, further comprising instructions for determining the threshold by measurement of ambient noise outside the auditory opening by another microphone associated with the earpiece.

26. The computer readable medium according to claim 22, further comprising instructions for subtracting the audio signal from the sound signal to provide the sound signal component.

27. The computer readable medium according to claim 21, further comprising instructions for controlling features of an application based on the determination.

28. The computer readable medium according to claim 27, further comprising instructions for

interrupting outputting sound associated with the audio signal when the earpiece is determined to not be applied;

and

resuming the outputting sound when the earpiece is determined to be applied.

29. The computer readable medium according to claim 27, further comprising instructions for

establishing communication associated with the audio signal when the earpiece is determined to be applied;

and

terminating the communication when the earpiece is determined to not be applied.

30. The computer readable medium according to claim 21, wherein the analysis is based on any of frequency characteristics and periodicity of the acquired sound signal.

31. An apparatus comprising

two earpieces suitable to be applied at auditory openings of a user'"'"'s ear, each earpiece comprising a microphone arranged to acquire a sound signal from sounds present inside the auditory opening when the earpiece is applied at the ear;

a signal processor, wherein the signal processor is arranged to determine a distribution over frequency of the acquired sound signal to determine whether each earpiece is applied at the user'"'"'s ear by analysis of the acquired sound signal comprising any of a sound signal component of an in-ear sound type present when the earpiece is applied or an outside-ear sound type present when the earpiece is not applied; and

a controller arranged to control a machine based on the determination whether the earpieces are applied or not.