Optical vibration detection system and method

• US 11,085,871 B2
• Filed: 06/29/2017
• Issued: 08/10/2021
• Est. Priority Date: 07/06/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Bragi GmbH
• Original Assignee: Bragi GmbH
• Inventors: Kingscott, Lisa
• Primary Examiner(s): Ratcliffe, Luke D
• Application Number:
  US15/637,826
• Publication Number:
  US 20180011006A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,503 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G01H 9/002 for representing acoustic field distribution sonar systems for imaging G01S7/56, G01S15/89; acoustic holography G03H3/00
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 21/1702 with opto-acoustic detection, e.g. for gases or analysing solids
• CPC Class Codes: G10K 2210/129 Vibration, e.g. instead of, or in addition to, acoustic noise
• 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 23/008 using optical signals for detecting or generating sound
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2460/13 Hearing devices using bone conduction transducers
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 5/033 Headphones for stereophonic communication details thereof, e.g. relating to batteries, cables or control elements H04R1/10

Abstract

A system includes at least one earpiece wherein each earpiece comprises an earpiece housing, a light source operatively connected to each earpiece housing and configured to transmit substantially coherent light toward an outer surface of a user'"'"'s body, a light receiver operatively connected to the earpiece housing proximate to the light source and configured to receive reflected light from the outer surface of the user'"'"'s body, and one or more processors disposed within the earpiece housing and operatively connected to the light source and light receiver, wherein one or more processors is configured to determine bone vibration measurements from the reflected light. A method of determining bone vibrations includes providing at least one earpiece, transmitting substantially coherent light toward an outer surface of a user'"'"'s body using the earpiece, receiving reflected light from the outer surface of the user'"'"'s body using the earpiece, and determining bone vibration measurements using the earpiece.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

at least one earpiece;

wherein each earpiece comprises an earpiece housing;

a light source operatively connected to the earpiece housing and configured to transmit light toward an outer surface of a user'"'"'s body;

a light receiver operatively connected to the earpiece housing proximate to the light source configured to receive reflected light from the light transmitted to the outer surface of the user'"'"'s body; and

at least one processor disposed within the earpiece housing and operatively connected to the light source and the light receiver, wherein the at least one processor is configured to determine bone vibration measurements from the reflected light and to modify an audio signal to correct for the bone vibration measurements;

a transceiver disposed within the earpiece housing and operatively connected to the at least one earpiece;

an output speaker operatively connected to the at least one processor;

wherein the at least one earpiece is configured to transmit an audio signal configured to neutralize the bone vibrations using the output speaker of the earpiece.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the at least one earpiece comprises a set of earpieces.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein the light source transmits the light intermittently toward the outer surface of the user'"'"'s body.

4. The system of claim 3 wherein the light source transmits the light toward multiple points on the outer surface of the user'"'"'s body.

5. The system of claim 4 wherein the light receiver is further configured to receive the reflected light from multiple points on the outer surface of the user'"'"'s body.

6. The system of claim 1 wherein the light source and the light receiver comprise a laser Doppler vibrometer.

7. The system of claim 1 wherein the bone vibration measurements comprise the velocity of at least one bone vibration.

8. The system of claim 7 wherein the bone vibration measurements further comprise the displacement pattern of the at least bone vibration.