Mobile terminal and method of pairing mobile terminal with hearing apparatus

• US 9,549,240 B2
• Filed: 07/10/2014
• Issued: 01/17/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 12/06/2013
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Kim, Yang Wook, Shin, Hee Suk, Woo, Ju Hwan, Sohn, Jun Il, Kwon, See Youn, Uhm, Jun Whon, Choi, Jong Min, Han, Jong Hee, Kim, Dong Wook
• Primary Examiner(s): Tran, Thang
• Application Number:
  US14/328,537
• Publication Number:
  US 20150163585A1
• Time in Patent Office: 922 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/1091 Details not provided for in groups H04R1/1008 - H04R1/1083
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2420/07 Applications of wireless loudspeakers or wireless microphones
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 25/554 using a wireless connection, e.g. between microphone and amplifier or using Tcoils

Abstract

Disclosed are a terminal and a method of pairing a terminal with a hearing apparatus. The method of pairing a terminal involves verifying whether a hearing apparatus is in contact with a terminal, and pairing the terminal with the hearing apparatus in response to a determination that the hearing apparatus is in contact with the terminal.

Claims

1. A method of pairing a terminal, the method comprising:

verifying, based on a form of an object in physical contact with a touch display of the terminal, whether the object in contact with the terminal is a hearing apparatus; and

pairing the terminal with the hearing apparatus in response to a determination that the hearing apparatus is in contact with the touch display of the terminal.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the verifying comprises determining that the hearing apparatus is in contact with the touch display of the terminal in response to detecting a magnetic field induced by the hearing apparatus.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the verifying comprises, in response to detecting a contact with the touch display of the terminal that is different from a contact of a body of a user with the touch display of the terminal, transmitting a hearing apparatus identifying signal and determining that the hearing apparatus is in contact with the touch display of the terminal after receiving a reply signal from the hearing apparatus.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining whether the terminal is able to use a pairing function,

wherein the pairing is performed in response to a determination that the terminal is able to use the pairing function.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the determining comprises determining that the terminal is not able to use the pairing function in response to a determination that the terminal is performing an application unrelated to the pairing.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein the determining comprises determining that the terminal is not able to use the pairing function in response to a determination that the pairing function of the terminal is in an off state.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising:

setting the pairing function of the terminal to be in an on state in response to the pairing function of the terminal being in an off state and determining that the terminal is able to use the pairing function.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the pairing comprises transmitting a pairing attempt signal from the terminal and pairing the terminal with a hearing apparatus responding to the pairing attempt signal.

13. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising a program comprising instructions to cause a computer to perform the method of claim 1.

9. A method of pairing a terminal, comprising:

verifying, based on a comparison between an image taken by the terminal and sample images of hearing apparatuses, whether the image taken by a terminal comprises a hearing apparatus; and

pairing the terminal with the hearing apparatus in response to the image taken by the terminal comprising the hearing apparatus or information associated with the hearing apparatus.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the information associated with the hearing apparatus comprises at least one of a quick response code, a barcode, an advertisement, or an image on a storage case of the hearing apparatus.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the pairing comprises:

identifying a type of the hearing apparatus using the image taken by the terminal;

transmitting a pairing attempt signal corresponding to the identified type; and

pairing the terminal with a hearing apparatus responding to the pairing attempt signal.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein the image is taken by a single lens camera of the terminal that is not an infrared camera.

14. A terminal, comprising:

a hearing apparatus contact verifier configured to verify, based on a form of an object in physical contact with a touch display of the terminal, whether the object in contact with the terminal is a hearing apparatus; and

a pairer configured to pair the terminal with the hearing apparatus in response to the hearing apparatus being in contact with the touch display of the terminal.

15. The terminal of claim 14, wherein the hearing apparatus contact verifier is configured to determine that the hearing apparatus is in contact with the touch display of the terminal in response to a magnetic field induced by a magnet disposed in the hearing apparatus being detected by a magnetic sensor.

16. The terminal of claim 15, wherein the hearing apparatus contact verifier is configured to verify whether the hearing apparatus is in contact with the touch display of the terminal in response to a touch being detected through a touch screen of the touch display of the terminal.

17. The terminal of claim 16, wherein the hearing apparatus contact verifier is configured to, in response to detecting the touch through the touch screen, determine whether the touch is different from a contact with a body of a user and transmit a hearing apparatus identifying signal in response to a determination that the touch is different.

18. The terminal of claim 14, further comprising:

a pairing function determiner configured to determine whether the terminal is able to use a pairing function,

wherein the pairer is configured to pair the terminal with the hearing apparatus in response to the pairing function determiner determining that the terminal is able to use the pairing function.

19. A terminal comprising:

a camera;

an image verifier configured to verify, based on a comparison between an image taken by the terminal and sample images of hearing apparatuses, whether the image taken by the camera comprises a hearing apparatus; and

a pairer configured to pair the terminal with the hearing apparatus in response to the image verifier determining that the image taken by the camera comprises the hearing apparatus or the information associated with the hearing apparatus.

20. The terminal of claim 19, wherein the camera is a single lens camera that is not an infrared camera.

21. The terminal of claim 19, wherein the information associated with the hearing apparatus comprises at least one of a quick response code, a barcode, an advertisement, or an image on a storage case of the hearing apparatus.

22. The terminal of claim 19, wherein the image verifier is further configured to receive information on a type of the hearing apparatus from a server.