Audio I O headset plug and plug detection circuitry

• US 9,301,045 B2
• Filed: 06/13/2013
• Issued: 03/29/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 01/05/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Johnson, Timothy, Pantfoerder, Achim
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Tu X
• Application Number:
  US13/917,432
• Publication Number:
  US 20130343561A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,020 Days
• Field of Search: 455/557, 455/569.1, 455/575.2
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 13/703 operated by engagement or disengagement of coupling parts, e.g. dual-continuity coupling partH01R13/71 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 2201/16 for telephony
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 24/58 Contacts spaced along longitudinal axis of engagement
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 29/00 Coupling parts for selective co-operation with a counterpart in different ways to establish different circuits, e.g. for voltage selection, for series-parallel selection, programmable connectors
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/6058 involving the use of a headset accessory device connected to the portable telephone
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72409 by interfacing with external accessories hands-free H04M1/60
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72412 using two-way short-range wireless interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/1041 Mechanical or electronic switches, or control elements switches in general H01H
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 3/00 Circuits for transducers , loudspeakers or microphones

Abstract

A single prong, multiple signal conducting plug and plug detection circuitry is provided. The plug may be electrically coupled to a stereo headset including a microphone. The plug may include four signal conducting regions arranged in a predetermined order along the length of the prong. Detection circuitry may be operative to determine whether a microphone type of plug (e.g., a four region plug including a microphone region and two audio regions, or a three region plug including microphone region and only one audio region) or a non-microphone type of plug (e.g., stereo plug) is inserted into the jack of an electronic device (e.g., mobile phone). Detection circuitry may also detect user activated functions performed in response to user activation of one or more switches included with the headset. For example, the headset may include a single switch for performing a function with respect to a microphone (e.g., end-call function).

Claims

1. A portable electronic device comprising:

a jack constructed to receive a plug having a single prong and a plurality of signal conducting regions, wherein the jack includes a plurality of connectors which correspond at least to the plurality of signal conducting regions of the plug;

a plug detection circuit electrically coupled to the jack, the plug detection circuit to detect receipt of the plug, and to provide a headset detect signal; and

processing logic electrically coupled to the plug detection circuit, the processing logic to cause a bias power to be supplied to a transistor, the transistor to provide a microphone signal, the processing logic further to determine whether a microphone is coupled to one of the plurality of signal conducting regions of the plug by processing the headset detect signal and the microphone signal received from the transistor, wherein a microphone connector of the jack is to electrically couple the transistor to ground when a plug received at the jack does not have a microphone coupled to one of the plurality of signal conducting regions.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein the processing logic is further to sample the microphone signal a period of time after the headset detect signal is asserted to determine that a microphone is coupled to one of the plurality of signal conducting regions.

3. The device of claim 1, wherein the portable electronic device is a portable media player.

4. The device of claim 1, wherein the portable electronic device is a mobile telephone.

5. The device of claim 1, wherein the plurality of connectors of the jack include:

the microphone connector, an audio signal connector, and a ground connector.

6. The device of claim 5, wherein each of the plurality of connectors of the jack electrically couples with a signal conducting region of the plug when the plug is received by the jack.

7. The device of claim 1, further comprising a bias power source electrically coupled to the received plug, to provide the bias power to the transistor, the transistor operative to provide the microphone signal to the processing logic.

8. A system comprising:

a headset including a microphone, a speaker, and a single prong plug including a plurality of signal conducting regions including a microphone region, a ground region, and a speaker region; and

a portable electronic device comprising processing logic, a jack for receiving the single prong plug, and plug detection circuitry, wherein the plug detection circuitry is operative to,

provide a headset detect signal to the processing logic indicating receipt of the single prong plug of the headset, cause a bias power to be supplied to the microphone region by a bias power source, and provide a microphone signal to the processing logic via a transistor,

wherein the processing logic is to detect presence of the microphone region via the headset detect signal and the microphone signal, and

wherein a microphone connector of the jack is to electrically couple the transistor to ground when the single prong plug received at the jack does not have a microphone coupled to one of the plurality of signal conducting regions.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the bias power source is to monitor the headset detect signal and provide the bias power to the transistor in response to the headset detect signal.

10. The system of claim 8, wherein the jack comprises a plurality of signal conducting regions including the microphone connector, an audio signal connector, and a ground connector.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the headset further comprises an additional speaker and wherein the plug detection circuitry is further operative to detect the additional speaker via the speaker region of the single prong plug.

12. A non-transitory machine-readable medium storing instructions, which cause one or more processors on a portable electronic device to perform operations to detect receipt of a single prong plug of a headset via a plug detect circuit coupled to an audio jack, the operations comprising:

receiving the single prong plug, the plug including a plurality of signal conducting regions;

monitoring the plug detect circuit for a headset detect signal, wherein the headset detect signal is provided to the one or more processors in response to receiving the single prong plug of the headset;

receiving the headset detect signal from the plug detect circuit;

in response to receiving the headset detect signal from the plug detect circuit, enabling a bias power source coupled to the plug detect circuit;

sampling a microphone signal received from the audio jack; and

determining if a microphone of the headset is coupled to the single prong plug based on the sampling, the determining comprising determining a default microphone signal, comparing the default microphone signal with a sample of the microphone signal gathered during the sampling, and determining that a microphone of the headset is coupled to the single prong plug when the sample of the microphone signal differs from the default microphone signal.

13. The medium of claim 12,

wherein the bias power source is additionally coupled to a microphone connector of the audio jack.

14. The medium as in claim 12, wherein the portable electronic device is a portable media player.

15. The medium as in claim 12, wherein the portable electronic device is a mobile telephone.

19. The medium as in claim 12, wherein the determining if the microphone of the headset is coupled to the single prong plug based on the sampling additionally comprises sampling the microphone signal received from the audio jack a period of time after the headset detect signal is asserted.

16. A method at a portable electronic device to detect receipt of a single prong plug of a headset coupled to an audio jack, the method comprising:

receiving a single prong plug having a plurality of signal conducting regions;

providing a headset detect signal in response to receiving the single prong plug;

causing a bias power to be supplied to a transistor in response to the headset detect signal, the transistor to provide a microphone signal; and

detecting presence of a microphone region in the plurality of the signal conducting regions of the single prong plug via the headset detect signal and the microphone signal provided via a transistor, wherein a microphone connector of the audio jack electrically couples the transistor to ground when a plug received at the audio jack does not have a microphone coupled to one of the plurality of signal conducting regions.

17. The method as in claim 16, wherein the portable electronic device is a portable media player.

18. The method as in claim 16, wherein the portable electronic device is a mobile telephone.

20. A system for detecting a type of plug to be received by a portable electronic device, the system comprising:

a jack for receiving a single prong plug having a plurality of signal conducting regions;

plug detection circuitry coupled to the jack; and

processing logic coupled to the plug detection circuitry, the processing logic to,

receive a headset detect signal from the plug detection circuitry,

enable a bias power source coupled to the plug detection circuitry,

sample a microphone signal received from the jack,

compare a default microphone signal with the sample of the microphone signal received from the jack, and

determine that a microphone of the headset is coupled to the single prong plug when the sample of the microphone signal differs from the default microphone signal.

21. The system as in claim 20, the processing logic further to sample the microphone signal received from the jack a period of time after the headset detect signal is asserted.

22. The system as in claim 20, wherein the plurality of signal conducting regions of the jack include a microphone connector, an audio signal connector, and a ground connector.

23. The system as in claim 22, the processing logic to enable the bias power source coupled to the plug detection circuitry in response to receipt of the headset detect signal from the plug detection circuitry.

24. The system as in claim 23, wherein the bias power source is to supply a bias power to a transistor, the transistor to provide the microphone signal.

25. The system as in claim 24, wherein the microphone connector of the jack is to electrically couple the transistor to ground when the single prong plug received at the jack does not have a microphone coupled to one of the plurality of signal conducting regions.