Portable terminal and sound detector, which both communicate using body area network, and data controlling method therefor

• US 9,426,591 B2
• Filed: 01/28/2010
• Issued: 08/23/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 01/28/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Song, Jong-keun, Kim, Dong-wook
• Primary Examiner(s): Goins, Davetta W
• Assistant Examiner(s): GANMAVO, KUASSI A
• Application Number:
  US12/695,690
• Publication Number:
  US 20100189272A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,399 Days
• Field of Search: 381/55, 381/56, 381/58, 381/59, 381/397, 381/315, 381/312, 381/323, 455 78- 83, 455/193.1, 455/193.2, 455/195.1, 455/197.3
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/16 Sound input; Sound output speech processing G10L
• CPC Class Codes: H03G 5/00 Tone control or bandwidth control in amplifiers
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/00 Details of transmission systems, not covered by a single one of groups H04B3/00 - H04B13/00; Details of transmission systems not characterised by the medium used for transmission
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 13/005 Transmission systems in which the medium consists of the human body
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/6058 involving the use of a headset accessory device connected to the portable telephone
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2225/00 Details of deaf aids covered by H04R25/00, not provided for in any of its subgroups
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 25/50 Customised settings for obtaining desired overall acoustical characteristics
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 25/558 Remote control, e.g. of amplification, frequency
• 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: H04W 4/80 Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication

Abstract

A sound detector communicates with a portable terminal by manipulation of the portable terminal by a user and may reproduce data communicated between the sound detector and the portable terminal.

Claims

1. A sound detector which communicates with a portable terminal and another sound detector using a body area network (BAN), the sound detector comprising:

a sensing unit which senses first hearable data from outside the sound detector and the portable terminal,

a sound detector side transmitter/receiver which communicates with the portable terminal and the another sound detector and receives second hearable data and control data using a body area network (BAN) of a user according to a manipulation of the portable terminal by the user;

a sound detector side controller which amplifies the first hearable data sensed by the sensing unit and determines a reproduction mode for reproducing at least one of the amplified first hearable data and the second hearable data according to a manipulation of the portable terminal by the user and the control data; and

a sound detector side reproducing unit which reproduces the amplified first hearable data or the second hearable data according to the reproduction mode,

wherein the control data comprises sound detector information, user information and hearable data edit information,

wherein the sound detector information comprises information corresponding to an up-to-date record of previous and current operations of the sound detectors,

wherein the user information comprises a result of a hearing test performed for the user,

wherein the hearable data edit information comprises compensation gain corresponding to an audiogram of the user, and

wherein the sound detector side controller adaptively updates the control data when a change of the sensed first hearable data exceeds a predetermined threshold value, and the sound detector side transmitter/receiver transmits the updated control data to the another sound detector using the body area network.

2. The sound detector of claim 1, wherein

the sound detector side controller transmits at least one of the amplified first hearable data and the second hearable data to the sound detector side reproducing unit.

3. The sound detector of claim 1, wherein the sound detector is configured as a hearing aid.

4. The sound detector of claim 1, wherein

the sound detector side transmitter/receiver receives the second hearable data and the control data from the portable terminal, and

the sound detector side controller converts the amplified first hearable data or the second hearable data according to the control data to generate converted first hearable data or converted second hearable data, and

the sound detector side reproducing unit reproduces the converted first hearable data or the converted second hearable data.

5. The sound detector of claim 1, further comprising a sound detector side storage unit.

6. The sound detector of claim 5, wherein data stored in the sound detector side storage unit is updated according to the manipulation of the portable terminal.

7. The sound detector of claim 1, wherein an operation mode of the sound detector is set according to the control data received from the portable terminal.

8. The sound detector of claim 1, wherein the sound detector is worn on an ear of the user.

9. The sound detector of claim 1, wherein the sound detector side reproducing unit reproduces the first hearable data or the second hearable data by transmitting the first hearable data or the second hearable data using one of air conduction and bone conduction.

10. A method of controlling a sound detector, the method comprising:

receiving control data, which controls the sound detector, from a portable terminal and another sound detector according to a manipulation of the portable terminal by a user by using a body area network (BAN); and

amplifying first hearable data sensed by the sound detector according to the control data;

selecting at least one of the amplified first hearable data and second hearable data, which is received from the portable terminal, based on the received control data,

wherein the selecting is performed by the sound detector,

wherein the control data comprises sound detector information, user information and hearable data edit information,

wherein the sound detector information comprises information corresponding to an up-to-date record of previous and current operations of the sound detector,

wherein the user information comprises a result of a hearing test performed for the user,

wherein the hearable data edit information comprises compensation gain corresponding to an audiogram of the user, and

wherein the control data is updated when a change of the sensed first hearable data exceeds a predetermined threshold value, and the updated control data is transmitted to the another sound detector using the body area network.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

sensing the first hearable data from outside the sound detector and the portable terminal.

12. The method of claim 10, further comprising converting the amplified first hearable data or the second hearable data to be reproduced in the sound detector according to the control data.

31. A non-transitory computer readable recording medium having stored thereon a computer program for executing any one of the methods of claims 10, 17, and 22.

13. A sound detector system comprising:

a first sound detector comprising;

a sound detector side controller;

a sound detector side transmitter/receiver; and

a sensing unit which senses first hearable data; and

a second sound detector, wherein

the sound detector side controller adaptively updates control data of the first sound detector when a change of the first hearable data sensed by the sensing unit exceeds a predetermined threshold value, and

the sound detector side transmitter/receiver communicates the updated control data to the second sound detector and transmits the updated control data to the another sound detector using the body area network (BAN) of a user,

wherein the control data comprises sound detector information, user information and hearable data edit information,

wherein the sound detector information comprises information corresponding to an up-to-date record of previous and current operations of the sound detector,

wherein the user information comprises a result of a hearing test performed for the user, and

wherein the hearable data edit information comprises compensation gain corresponding to an audiogram of the user.

14. The sound detector system of claim 13, wherein an operation mode of at least one of the first sound detector and the second sound detector is determined according to the control data.

15. The sound detector system of claim 13, wherein the first sound detector further comprises a sound detector side reproducing unit which reproduces the first hearable data sensed by the sensing unit.

16. The sound detector system of claim 15, wherein

the sound detector side controller converts the amplified first hearable data or the second hearable data according to the updated control data to generate converted first hearable data or converted second hearable data, and

the sound detector side reproducing unit reproduces the converted first hearable data or the converted second hearable data.

17. A method of controlling data of a sound detector comprising a first sound detector and a second sound detector, the method comprising:

sensing first hearable data from outside the first sound detector and the second sound detector to generate sensed first hearable data;

adaptively updating control data of the first sound detector when a change of the sensed first hearable data exceeds a predetermined threshold value; and

transmitting the updated control data to the second sound detector using the body area network (BAN) of a user,

wherein the control data comprises sound detector information, user information and hearable data edit information,

wherein the sound detector information comprises information corresponding to an up-to-date record of previous and current operations of the sound detector,

wherein the user information comprises a result of a hearing test performed for the user, and

wherein the hearable data edit information comprises compensation gain corresponding to an audiogram of the user.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein an operation mode of the first sound detector is determined according to the control data.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein an operation mode of the second sound detector is determined according to the updated control data.

20. The method of claim 17, further comprising reproducing the sensed first hearable data.

21. The method of claim 17, wherein the reproducing the sensed first hearable data comprises:

converting the sensed and amplified first hearable data according to the updated control data to generate converted first hearable data; and

reproducing the converted first hearable data.

22. A method of determining hearable data reproduced in a sound detector which communicates with a portable terminal and another sound detector using body area network (BAN), the method comprising:

sensing first hearable data in the sound detector from outside of the sound detector;

receiving second hearable data previously stored in the portable terminal and control data, which controls the sound detector, from the portable terminal; and

determining a reproduction mode for reproducing at least one of the amplified first hearable data and the second hearable data in response to a manipulation of the portable terminal by a user,

wherein the control data comprises sound detector information, user information and hearable data edit information,

wherein the sound detector information comprises information corresponding to an up-to-date record of previous and current operations of the sound detector,

wherein the user information comprises a result of a hearing test performed for the user,

wherein the hearable data edit information comprises compensation gain corresponding to an audiogram of the user, and

wherein the control data is adaptively updated when a change of the sensed first hearable data exceeds a predetermined threshold value and the updated control data is transmitted from the another sound detector to the sound detector using body area network.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the reproduction mode comprises one selected from the group consisting of a mode for reproducing the first hearable data, a mode for reproducing the second hearable data, and a mode for simultaneously reproducing the first hearable data and the second hearable data.

24. The method of claim 22, wherein the reproduction mode is determined based on predetermined rules.

25. The method of claim 22, wherein when the reproduction mode is the mode in which the first hearable data and the second hearable data are simultaneously reproduced, setting information for reproducing each of the first hearable data and the second hearable data is further determined.

26. The method of claim 22, wherein the reproduction mode is determined in the portable terminal, and

wherein the receiving the second hearable data and the control data comprises receiving the second hearable data and the control data according to the reproduction mode determined in the portable terminal.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein the receiving is performed by using a body area network (BAN).

28. The method of claim 26, wherein the reproduction mode is determined in the sound detector, and

wherein the receiving the second hearable data comprises receiving the second hearable data, if the second hearable data is reproduced in the sound detector according to the determined reproduction mode.

29. The method of claim 28, wherein the receiving is performed by using a body area network (BAN).

30. The method of claim 22, further comprising reproducing at least one of the first hearable data and the second hearable data in the sound detector according to the determined reproduction mode.

32. A sound reproducing system comprising:

a sound detector for sensing and amplifying first hearable data from outside, wherein the sound detector communicates with a portable terminal and another sound detector using a body area network (BAN); and

a portable terminal for determining a reproduction mode for reproducing at least one of the amplified first hearable data and second hearable data previously stored in the portable terminal or received in correspondence to manipulation of the portable terminal by a user and transmitting control data according to the determined reproduction mode to the sound detector by using a body area network (BAN),

wherein the sound detector reproduces at least one of the amplified first hearable data and the second hearable data by referring to the control data received in the sound detector,

wherein the control data comprises sound detector information, user information and hearable data edit information,

wherein the sound detector information comprises information corresponding to an up-to-date record of previous and current operations of the sound detector,

wherein the user information comprises a result of a hearing test performed for the user,

wherein the hearable data edit information comprises compensation gain corresponding to an audiogram of the user, and

wherein the control data is adaptively updated when a change of the sensed first hearable data exceeds a predetermined threshold value and the updated control data is transmitted from the another sound detector to the sound detector using body area network.