Intelligent headphone

• US 9,992,567 B2
• Filed: 07/10/2017
• Issued: 06/05/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 05/23/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fender Musical Instruments Corporation
• Original Assignee: Federal Musical Instruments Corporation
• Inventors: Lott, Phillip Dale
• Primary Examiner(s): Edun, Muhammad N
• Application Number:
  US15/645,244
• Publication Number:
  US 20170318377A1
• Time in Patent Office: 330 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0428 wherein the data content is protected, e.g. by encrypting or encapsulating the payload
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0861 using biometrical features, e.g. fingerprint, retina-scan cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication using biological data H04L9/3231
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/1041 Mechanical or electronic switches, or control elements switches in general H01H
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/1083 Reduction of ambient noise active noise reduction per se G10K11/175; protective devices for the ear, e.g. providing acoustic protection A61F11/06
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2227/003 Digital PA systems using, e.g. LAN or internet
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2420/07 Applications of wireless loudspeakers or wireless microphones
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2460/01 Hearing devices using active noise cancellation
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 27/00 Public address systems circuits for preventing acoustic reaction H04R3/02; circuits for distributing signals to loudspeakers H04R3/12; monitoring or testing arrangements for public address systems H04R29/007; amplifiers H03F
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/02 Protecting privacy or anonymity, e.g. protecting personally identifiable information [PII]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/03 Protecting confidentiality, e.g. by encryption
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/062 Pre-authentication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/065 Continuous authentication

Abstract

An intelligent headphone may be configured at least with a headphone having a shape, size, and material to engage an ear of a user. The headphone may have at least a controller, accelerometer, and audio processor. The headphone accelerometer can be positioned to allow speech of the user to be sensed.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

positioning an audio driver, audio processor, and accelerometer wholly within a housing, the audio processor electrically connected to the accelerometer and audio driver;

contacting an auditory meatus of an ear of user with the housing;

detecting at least vibration and movement characteristics of a head of a user with the accelerometer;

detecting speech intensity and movement speed characteristics of the head of the user associated with the dental, skeletal, and muscular configuration of the head of the user with the accelerometer; and

altering sound generated by the audio driver in response to the at least vibration and movement characteristics to conform to a stored audio profile of the user.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the audio profile is generated by the audio processor in response to the detected at least vibration and movement characteristics.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the audio processor detects if the user is talking via the detection of at least vibration and movement characteristics.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the audio processor detects what the user is saying via the detection of at least vibration and movement characteristics.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the user speaks as a password to activate capabilities of the audio processor.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the audio processor and accelerometer detect at least one non-verbal gesture of the user.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the audio processor further alters the sound generated by the audio driver in response to the at least one detected non-verbal gesture.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the audio processor correlates the at least one non-verbal gesture with command to a remotely connected computing device.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the audio processor alters the sound generated by the audio driver in response to at least one biometric parameter of the user sensed by the accelerometer.

10. An apparatus comprising a housing sized to contact an auditory meatus of an ear of a user, an audio driver, audio processor, and accelerometer contained wholly within the housing, the audio processor electrically connected to the accelerometer and audio driver, the accelerometer positioned to detect at least vibration, speech intensity, movement speed, and movement characteristics of a head of the user associated with the dental, skeletal, and muscular configuration of the head of the user, the audio processor configured to alter sound generated by the audio driver in response to the detected at least vibration and movement characteristics to conform to a stored audio profile of the user.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein a non-volatile memory is positioned wholly within the housing and connected to the audio processor.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the audio profile of the user is stored in the non-volatile memory.

13. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein a wireless adapter is positioned wholly within the housing and connected to the audio processor.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein audio profile of the user is stored in a remote host connected to the audio processor via the wireless adapter.

15. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein a sensor is positioned wholly within the housing.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the sensor is a microphone.

17. A method comprising:

positioning an audio driver, audio processor, microphone, and accelerometer wholly within a housing, the audio processor electrically connected to the accelerometer and audio driver;

contacting an auditory meatus of an ear of user with the housing;

detecting at least vibration and movement characteristics of a head of a user with the accelerometer;

receiving audio signals with the microphone;

identifying a plurality of different types of sound in the received audio signal with the audio processor; and

altering sound generated by the audio driver in response to the at least vibration and movement characteristics and identified plurality of different types of sound to conform to a stored audio profile of the user, the audio profile accounting for the anatomy of the ear of the user.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein at least one of the plurality of different types of sound is delayed by the audio processor to account for the anatomy of the ear of the user.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein the plurality of different types of sound correspond to a translation of mechanical sound waves into nerve pulses perceived by a brain of the user.