Adjusting a volume level of a phone for a detected hearing aid

• US 9,654,618 B2
• Filed: 07/08/2015
• Issued: 05/16/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 07/08/2015
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Garcia, Guilhaume, Deleuze, Ivan
• Primary Examiner(s): Lai, Daniel
• Application Number:
  US14/793,837
• Publication Number:
  US 20170013117A1
• Time in Patent Office: 678 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 18/22 Matching criteria, e.g. proximity measures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/165 Management of the audio stream, e.g. setting of volume, audio stream path
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/761 Proximity, similarity or dissimilarity measures
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/10 Human or animal bodies, e.g. vehicle occupants or pedestrians; Body parts, e.g. hands
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/165 using facial parts and geometric relationships
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/171 Local features and components; Facial parts eye characteristics G06V40/18; Occluding parts, e.g. glasses; Geometrical relationships
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72478 for hearing-impaired users
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/52 including functional features of a camera

Abstract

A system, method and computer program product for adjusting a volume level of a phone for a detected hearing aid. The phone has a camera and a speaker. The field of vision of the camera and field of sound transmission of the speaker overlap. The computer program product includes a computer-readable storage device having computer-readable program instructions therein. The method and the instruction perform the following steps: detecting an ear image of a user in one or more pictures of the user taken from the camera in preparation for a phone call; detecting a hearing aid image in conjunction with the ear image; and causing a volume level of the speaker to be set for hearing aid performance as a result of detecting the hearing aid image in conjunction with the ear image.

Claims

1. A phone having a camera and a speaker, wherein a field of vision of the camera and a field of sound transmission of the speaker overlap, said phone comprising a processor and a computer-readable storage device having computer-readable program instructions stored therein, the program instructions executable by the processor of the phone to perform a method comprising:

said processor detecting an ear image of a user in one or more pictures of the user taken from the camera in preparation for a phone call;

said processor detecting a hearing aid image in conjunction with the ear image; and

said processor causing a switch to set a volume level of the speaker for hearing aid performance as a result of said detecting the hearing aid image in conjunction with the ear image.

2. The phone of claim 1, wherein said detecting the hearing aid image in conjunction with the ear image comprises:

comparing the one or more pictures with reference images of an ear with a hearing aid in place.

3. The phone of claim 1, wherein said detecting the ear image comprises:

comparing the one or more pictures with reference images of an ear.

4. The phone of claim 1, wherein said causing the volume level of the phone to be set comprises causing the volume level of the phone to be set based on a type of the hearing aid detected in the hearing aid image.

5. The phone of claim 1, said method further comprising:

after said causing the switch to set the volume level of the speaker for hearing aid performance, said processor causing the phone to take a second picture of the user;

said processor detecting the ear image of the user in the second picture of the user; and

said processor not detecting in the second picture of the user the hearing aid image in conjunction with the ear image.

6. The phone of claim 5, said method further comprising:

said processor causing the phone to take pictures until a threshold time is reached.

7. The phone of claim 5, wherein said causing the volume level of the phone to be set comprises causing the volume level of the phone to be set according to background noise for communication without the hearing aid.

8. The phone of claim 1, said method further comprising:

said processor causing the phone to take a second picture if no hearing aid image or ear image is detected in a first picture taken from the camera.

9. The phone of claim 1, said method further comprising:

said processor causing the phone to take a picture in preparation for a phone call in response to a phone range finder detecting objects within a range associated with a user ear range.

10. A method for adjusting a volume level of a phone for a detected hearing aid, said phone having a camera and a speaker, wherein a field of vision of the camera and a field of sound transmission of the speaker overlap, said method comprising:

a processor of said phone detecting an ear image of a user in one or more pictures of the user taken from the camera in preparation for a phone call;

said processor detecting a hearing aid image in conjunction with the ear image; and

said processor causing a switch to set a volume level of the speaker for hearing aid performance as a result of said detecting the hearing aid image in conjunction with the ear image.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein said detecting the hearing aid image in conjunction with the ear image comprises:

comparing the one or more pictures with reference images of an ear with a hearing aid in place.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein said detecting the hearing aid comprises:

comparing the one or more pictures with reference images of an ear.

13. The method of claim 10, said processor causing the speaker level of the phone to be set comprises causing the volume level of the phone to be set based on a type of a hearing aid detected in the hearing aid image.

14. The method of claim 10, said method further comprising:

after said causing the switch to set the volume level of the speaker for hearing aid performance, said processor causing the phone to take a second picture of the user;

said processor detecting the ear image of the user in the second picture of the user; and

said processor not detecting in the second picture of the user the hearing aid image in conjunction with the ear image.

15. The method of claim 14, said method further comprising:

said processor causing the phone to take pictures until a threshold time is reached.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein said processor causing the volume level of the phone to be set comprises causing the volume level of the phone to be set according to background noise for communication without the hearing aid.

17. The method of claim 10, said method further comprising:

said processor causing the phone to take a second picture in response to no hearing aid image or ear image being detected in a first picture taken from the camera.

18. The method of claim 10, said method further comprising:

said processor causing said phone to take a picture in preparation for a phone call in response to a phone range finder detecting objects within a range associated with a user ear range.

19. A computer program product for configuring a phone for a hearing aid, the phone having a camera and a speaker, wherein a field of vision of the camera and a field of sound transmission of the speaker overlap, the computer program product comprising a computer-readable storage device having computer-readable program instructions stored therein, the program instructions executable by a processor of the phone to perform the steps of:

said processor detecting an ear image of a user in one or more pictures of the user taken from the camera in preparation for a phone call;

said processor detecting a hearing aid image in conjunction with the ear image; and

said processor causing a switch to set a volume level of the speaker for hearing aid performance as a result of said detecting the hearing aid image in conjunction with the ear image.