Earpiece with added ambient environment

• US 10,681,449 B2
• Filed: 07/25/2018
• Issued: 06/09/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 11/04/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Bragi GmbH
• Original Assignee: Bragi GmbH
• Inventors: Boesen, Peter Vincent, Dragicevic, Darko
• Primary Examiner(s): Anwah, Olisa
• Application Number:
  US16/044,827
• Publication Number:
  US 20180332381A1
• Time in Patent Office: 685 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/012 Head tracking input arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/017 Gesture based interaction, e.g. based on a set of recognized hand gestures interaction based on gestures traced on a digitiser G06F3/04883
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/1016 Earpieces of the intra-aural type
• 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 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 2460/13 Hearing devices using bone conduction transducers
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 29/001 for loudspeakers H04R29/007 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04S 7/304 For headphones

Abstract

An earpiece includes an earpiece housing, wherein the earpiece housing is configured to substantially encompass an opening of an ear canal to physically block ambient sound from entering the ear canal. The earpiece further includes a processor disposed within the earpiece housing, at least one microphone operatively connected to the processor and configured to sense ambient sound, and a speaker operatively connected to the processor. The processor is configured to process the ambient sound from the microphone and add additional ambient sound to produce a modified ambient sound at the speaker.

Claims

1. A set of wireless earpieces having a left earpiece and a right earpiece, comprising:

each of the left earpiece and the right earpiece comprising;

an earpiece housing configured to substantially encompass an opening of an ear canal to physically block ambient sound from entering the ear canal;

a processor disposed within the earpiece housing;

a transceiver operatively connected to the processor;

a memory operatively connected to the processor, wherein an additional ambient sound is stored on the memory;

a plurality of microphones operatively connected to the processor and configured to sense the ambient sound; and

a speaker operatively connected to the processor;

wherein the transceiver of the left earpiece is configured to communicate with the transceiver of the right earpiece; and

wherein the processor of the left earpiece is configured to process the ambient sound from the plurality of microphones of the left earpiece and add the additional ambient sound stored in the memory of the left earpiece to produce a first modified ambient sound at the speaker of the left earpiece and the processor of the right earpiece is configured to process the ambient sound from the plurality of microphones of the right earpiece and add the additional ambient sound stored in the memory of the right earpiece to produce a second modified ambient sound at the speaker of the right earpiece.

2. The set of wireless earpieces of claim 1, further comprising a wireless transceiver disposed within the earpiece housing of the left earpiece and operatively connected to the processor of the left earpiece and a wireless transceiver disposed within the earpiece housing of the right earpiece and operatively connected to the processor of the right earpiece.

3. The set of wireless earpieces of claim 2, further comprising a gestural interface operatively connected to the processor of the left earpiece and a gestural interface operatively connected to the processor of the right earpiece, wherein the processor of the left earpiece is configured to receive a selection of the additional ambient sound stored in the memory of the left earpiece through the gestural interface of the left earpiece and the processor of the right earpiece is configured to receive a selection of the additional ambient sound stored in the memory of the right earpiece through the gesture interface of the right earpiece.

4. The set of wireless earpieces of claim 3, further comprising a 9-axis inertial sensor disposed within the earpiece housing of the left earpiece and operatively connected to the processor of the left earpiece and a 9-axis inertial sensor disposed within the earpiece housing of the right earpiece and operatively connected to the processor of the right earpiece.

5. The set of wireless earpieces of claim 1, wherein the left earpiece further comprises a bone conduction microphone configured to receive voice commands for adding the ambient environment sound stored in the memory of the left earpiece and the right earpiece further comprises a bone conduction microphone configured to receive the voice commands for adding the ambient environment stored in the memory of the right earpiece.

6. The set of wireless earpieces of claim 3 wherein the gesture interface of the left earpiece is a capacitive touch interface and the gesture interface of the right earpiece is a capacitive touch interface.

7. A method of adding an ambient environment sound to sound reproduced with a pair of wireless earpieces having a left earpiece and a right earpiece, the method comprising:

receiving the ambient environment sound at a microphone of the left earpiece;

receiving the ambient environment sound at a microphone of the right earpiece;

receiving a voice command from a user to add one or more additional ambient sounds to the ambient environment sound;

processing the ambient environment sound from the microphone of the left earpiece at a processor of at least one of the left earpiece and the right earpiece to add the one or more additional ambient sounds to the ambient environment sound to produce a first modified ambient environment sound at the left earpiece and processing the ambient environment sound from the microphone of the right earpiece at a processor of at least one of the right earpiece and the left earpiece to add the one or more additional ambient sounds to the ambient environment sound from the microphone of the right earpiece to produce a second modified ambient environment sound at the right earpiece;

communicating the first modified ambient environment sound from the processor of at least one of the left earpiece and the right earpiece to a speaker of the left earpiece and communicating the second modified ambient environment sound from the processor of at least one of the right earpiece and the left earpiece to a speaker of the right earpiece; and

producing the first modified ambient environment sound at the speaker of the left earpiece and producing the second modified ambient environment sound at the speaker of the right earpiece.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein the voice command is received at a bone conduction microphone of at least one of the left earpiece and the right earpiece.