Method of checking earphone wearing state

• US 9,351,090 B2
• Filed: 10/02/2013
• Issued: 05/24/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 10/02/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.), Sony Mobile Communications Incorporated (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Tachibana, Makoto, Shiina, Takashi, Naruse, Tetsuya, Shirai, Yuichi, Yajima, Chikashi, Takatsuka, Susumu
• Primary Examiner(s): Teshale, Akelaw
• Application Number:
  US14/043,957
• Publication Number:
  US 20140093088A1
• Time in Patent Office: 965 Days
• Field of Search: 348/272, 348/302, 348/107, 348/334, 348/58, 348/309, 348/311, 348/328, 348/330, 348/71.6, 348/358, 381/107, 381/334, 381/355, 381/58
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/1041 Mechanical or electronic switches, or control elements switches in general H01H
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2460/07 Use of position data from wide-area or local-area positioning systems in hearing devices, e.g. program or information selection
• 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 5/033 Headphones for stereophonic communication details thereof, e.g. relating to batteries, cables or control elements H04R1/10

Abstract

An information processing apparatus that detects an output from a 3-axis acceleration sensor included in an earphone unit worn by a user while the user is in a still state; monitors the output of the 3-axis acceleration sensor while a nodding gesture is performed by the user; detects a time when an angle of the nodding gesture reaches a maximum; and determines an earphone wearing state based on the output from the 3-axis acceleration sensor in the still state and the output from the 3-axis acceleration sensor at the time of detecting the maximum nodding angle.

Claims

1. An information processing apparatus comprising:

circuitry configured to

detect an output from a 3-axis acceleration sensor included in an earphone unit worn by a user while the user is in a still state;

monitor the output of the 3-axis acceleration sensor while a nodding gesture is performed by the user;

detect a time when an angle of the nodding gesture reaches a maximum by detecting an extremum in the output for a specific axis of the 3-axis acceleration sensor that varies during the nodding gesture; and

determine an earphone wearing state based on the output from the 3-axis acceleration sensor in the still state and the output from the 3-axis acceleration sensor at the time of detecting the maximum nodding angle.

2. The information processing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the circuitry is configured to:

detect the time when the angle of the nodding gesture reaches the maximum by detecting a zero-crossing of a gyroscope included in the earphone unit that varies during the nodding gesture.

3. The information processing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the circuitry is configured to:

determine whether the earphone unit is being worn on the user'"'"'s left ear or right ear based on whether an output corresponding to a specific axis of the 3-axis acceleration sensor that varies during the nodding gesture exhibits convex variation or concave variation.

4. The information processing apparatus of claim 1, wherein

provided that three mutually orthogonal axes of an earphone unit-specific three-dimensional coordinate system are an Xs axis, a Ys axis, and a Zs axis, that mutually orthogonal axes of a three-dimensional coordinate system in which the user is disposed are an Xu axis, a Yu axis, and a Zu axis, in which the Xs axis corresponds to a front and back direction of the earphone unit, the Ys axis corresponds to a top and bottom direction of the earphone, the Zs axis is orthogonal to the Xs axis and the Ys axis, the Xu axis corresponds to a front and back direction of the user, the Yu axis corresponds to a top and bottom direction of the user, and the Zu axis is orthogonal to the Xu axis and the Yu axis, and

provided that φ

is a tilt angle of the Ys axis with respect to the Yu axis about the Z axis in both coordinate systems, that ψ

is a tilt angle of the Ys axis with respect to the Yu axis about the X axis in both coordinate systems, and that θ

is a tilt angle of the Xs axis with respect to the Xu axis about the Y axis in both coordinate systems when the user is wearing the earphone unit,

the circuitry is further configured to;

compute a maximum nodding angle α

based on the extremum;

compute the angles φ and

ψ

based on gravitational acceleration and an output of the 3-axis acceleration sensor while the user is in the still state; and

compute the angle θ

based on the angles φ

, ψ

, and α

as well as the output of 3-axis acceleration sensor when the extremum is detected for the specific axis of the 3-axis acceleration sensor that varies during the nodding gesture.

5. A method comprising:

detecting an output from a 3-axis acceleration sensor included in an earphone unit worn by a user while the user is in a still state;

monitoring the output of the 3-axis acceleration sensor while a nodding gesture is performed by the user;

detecting a time when an angle of the nodding gesture reaches a maximum by detecting an extremum in the output for a specific axis of the 3-axis acceleration sensor that varies during the nodding gesture; and

determining, by circuitry, an earphone wearing state based on the output from the 3-axis acceleration sensor in the still state and the output from the 3-axis acceleration sensor at the time of detecting the maximum nodding angle.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein

detecting the time when the angle of the nodding gesture reaches the maximum includes detecting a zero-crossing of a gyroscope included in the earphone unit that varies during the nodding gesture.

7. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

determining whether the earphone unit is being worn on the user'"'"'s left ear or right ear based on whether an output corresponding to a specific axis of the 3-axis acceleration sensor that varies during the nodding gesture exhibits convex variation or concave variation.

8. The method of claim 5, wherein

provided that three mutually orthogonal axes of an earphone unit-specific three-dimensional coordinate system are an Xs axis, a Ys axis, and a Zs axis, that mutually orthogonal axes of a three-dimensional coordinate system in which the user is disposed are an Xu axis, a Yu axis, and a Zu axis, in which the Xs axis corresponds to a front and back direction of the earphone unit, the Ys axis corresponds to a top and bottom direction of the earphone, the Zs axis is orthogonal to the Xs axis and the Ys axis, the Xu axis corresponds to a front and back direction of the user, the Yu axis corresponds to a top and bottom direction of the user, and the Zu axis is orthogonal to the Xu axis and the Yu axis, and

provided that φ

is a tilt angle of the Ys axis with respect to the Yu axis about the Z axis in both coordinate systems, that ψ

is a tilt angle of the Ys axis with respect to the Yu axis about the X axis in both coordinate systems, and that θ

is a tilt angle of the Xs axis with respect to the Xu axis about the Y axis in both coordinate systems when the user is wearing the earphone unit,

the method further comprising;

computing a maximum nodding angle α

based on the extremum;

computing the angles φ and

ψ

based on gravitational acceleration and an output of the 3-axis acceleration sensor while the user is in the still state; and

computing the angle θ

based on the angles φ

, ψ

, and α

as well as the output of 3-axis acceleration sensor when the extremum is detected for the specific axis of the 3-axis acceleration sensor that varies during the nodding gesture.

9. A non-transitory computer readable medium including computer-program instructions, which when executed by an information processing apparatus, cause the information processing apparatus to:

detect an output from a 3-axis acceleration sensor included in an earphone unit worn by a user while the user is in a still state;

monitor the output of the 3-axis acceleration sensor while a nodding gesture is performed by the user;

detect a time when an angle of the nodding gesture reaches a maximum by detecting an extremum in the output for a specific axis of the 3-axis acceleration sensor that varies during the nodding gesture; and

determine an earphone wearing state based on the output from the 3-axis acceleration sensor in the still state and the output from the 3-axis acceleration sensor at the time of detecting the maximum nodding angle.

10. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 9, the computer-program instructions causing the information processing apparatus to:

detect the time when the angle of the nodding gesture reaches the maximum by detecting a zero-crossing of a gyroscope included in the earphone unit that varies during the nodding gesture.

11. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 9, the computer-program instructions causing the information processing apparatus to:

determine whether the earphone unit is being worn on the user'"'"'s left ear or right ear based on whether an output corresponding to a specific axis of the 3-axis acceleration sensor that varies during the nodding gesture exhibits convex variation or concave variation.

12. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 9, wherein

provided that three mutually orthogonal axes of an earphone unit-specific three-dimensional coordinate system are an Xs axis, a Ys axis, and a Zs axis, that mutually orthogonal axes of a three-dimensional coordinate system in which the user is disposed are an Xu axis, a Yu axis, and a Zu axis, in which the Xs axis corresponds to a front and back direction of the earphone unit, the Ys axis corresponds to a top and bottom direction of the earphone, the Zs axis is orthogonal to the Xs axis and the Ys axis, the Xu axis corresponds to a front and back direction of the user, the Yu axis corresponds to a top and bottom direction of the user, and the Zu axis is orthogonal to the Xu axis and the Yu axis, and

provided that φ

is a tilt angle of the Ys axis with respect to the Yu axis about the Z axis in both coordinate systems, that ψ

is a tilt angle of the Ys axis with respect to the Yu axis about the X axis in both coordinate systems, and that θ

is a tilt angle of the Xs axis with respect to the Xu axis about the Y axis in both coordinate systems when the user is wearing the earphone unit,

the computer-program instructions causing the information processing apparatus to;

compute a maximum nodding angle α

based on the extremum;

compute the angles φ and

w based on gravitational acceleration and an output of the 3-axis acceleration sensor while the user is in the still state; and

compute the angle θ

based on the angles φ

, ψ

, and α

as well as the output of 3-axis acceleration sensor when the extremum is detected for the specific axis of the 3-axis acceleration sensor that varies during the nodding gesture.