Earbuds with biometric sensing

• US 9,716,937 B2
• Filed: 09/16/2015
• Issued: 07/25/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 09/16/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Qian, Phillip, Andersen, Esge B.
• Primary Examiner(s): Gauthier, Gerald
• Application Number:
  US14/856,402
• Publication Number:
  US 20170078781A1
• Time in Patent Office: 678 Days
• Field of Search: 381 716, 381 74, 381309, 381375, 381380, 381 58, 381 92, 381311, 381328, 381374, 4555752, 600310, 600476, 34087007, 379430
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/01 Measuring temperature of body parts ; Diagnostic temperature sensing, e.g. for malignant or inflamed tissue clinical contact thermometers G01K13/20
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/02416 using photoplethysmograph signals, e.g. generated by infrared radiation A61B5/14552 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/14552 Details of sensors specially adapted therefor
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/14557 specially adapted to extracorporeal circuits
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6817 Ear canal
• 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 1/105 Earpiece supports, e.g. ear hooks for stereophonic headphones H04R5/0335
• 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 1/406 microphones
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2201/109 Arrangements to adapt hands free headphones for use on both ears
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2420/03 Connection circuits to selectively connect loudspeakers or headphones to amplifiers
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2420/07 Applications of wireless loudspeakers or wireless microphones
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2460/03 Aspects of the reduction of energy consumption in hearing devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 3/005 for combining the signals of two or more microphones specially adapted for hearing aids H04R25/407
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 5/033 Headphones for stereophonic communication details thereof, e.g. relating to batteries, cables or control elements H04R1/10
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 5/04 Circuit arrangements, e.g. for selective connection of amplifier inputs/outputs to loudspeakers, for loudspeaker detection, or for adaptation of settings to personal preferences or hearing impairments combinations of amplifiers H03F3/68; stereophonic systems H04S

Abstract

This application relates to earbuds configured with one or more biometric sensors. At least one of the biometric sensors is configured to be pressed up against a portion of the tragus for making biometric measurements. In some embodiments, the housing of the earbud can be symmetric so that the earbud can be worn interchangeably in either a left or a right ear of a user. In such an embodiment, the earbud can include a sensor and circuitry configured to determine and alter operation of the earbud in accordance to which ear the earbud is determined to be sitting in.

Claims

1. An earbud, comprising:

an earbud housing;

a sensor coupled to the earbud housing and configured to generate data related to the position of the earbud housing within an ear of a user of the earbud;

a microphone array disposed within the earbud housing and including a first microphone and a second microphone; and

circuitry configured to determine from at least the data whether the earbud is inserted in a user'"'"'s left ear or inserted in the user'"'"'s right ear and to adjust-an operational state of the microphone array in accordance with which of the left or right ear the circuitry determines the earbud is inserted in.

2. The earbud as recited in claim 1, wherein the microphone array comprises three microphones arranged in a triangular geometry.

3. The earbud as recited in claim 2, wherein adjusting the operational state of the microphones comprises assigning two of the three microphones to recording audio, the assigned microphones being arranged along a line oriented towards a mouth of the user.

4. The earbud as recited in claim 3, wherein the circuitry records only a portion of the audio detected by the two microphones, the portion of the audio corresponding to that audio that arrives from a direction of the mouth of the user.

5. The earbud as recited in claim 4, wherein the circuitry comprises a processor that determines which portion of the audio is arriving in the direction of the mouth of the user by executing a time difference of arrival determination.

6. The earbud as recited in claim 1, wherein the circuitry is also configured to select an audio channel from a multi-channel audio source in accordance with information provided by the sensor.

7. The earbud as recited in claim 1, wherein the sensor is an inertial sensor.

8. The earbud as recited in claim 1, wherein the sensor comprises an infrared proximity sensor that generates orientation data by measuring a distance between a surface of the earbud housing of the earbud and the ear of the user.

9. The earbud as recited in claim 1, wherein the sensor comprises a temperature sensor that generates orientation data by measuring an exterior temperature of at least two regions of an exterior surface of the earbud housing.

10. An earbud, comprising:

a housing defining an interior cavity and a sound port exiting the interior cavity and including first and second opening extending through the housing to the interior cavity;

a speaker disposed in the interior cavity and aligned with the sound port;

a microphone array disposed within the interior cavity, the microphone array including a first microphone associated with the first opening and a second microphone associated with the second opening;

one or more sensors coupled to the housing and configured to generate sensor data; and

a processor disposed within the housing and operatively coupled to receive the sensor data from the one or more sensors, the processor being configured to determine from the sensor data whether the earbud is inserted in a user'"'"'s left ear or inserted in the user'"'"'s right ear and adjust an operational state of the microphone array accordingly.

11. The earbud as recited in claim 10, wherein the different operational states of the first and second microphones comprise an audio recording state, a disabled state and a noise cancelling state.

12. The earbud as recited in claim 10, wherein the one or more sensors comprise a temperature sensing assembly including one or more sensing surfaces arranged along an exterior surface of the housing.

13. The earbud as recited in claim 12, wherein the temperature sensing assembly comprises a first temperature sensor and a second temperature sensor, the temperature sensing assembly being configured to determine an orientation of the earbud by determining which of the sensing surfaces are in direct contact with a surface of the ear.

14. The earbud as recited in claim 13, wherein the processor is configured to utilize temperature data received from the temperature sensor contacting the ear to measure core body temperature and temperature data received from the temperature sensor not contacting the ear to measure ambient temperature.

15. The earbud as recited in claim 10, wherein the one or more sensors comprise a biometric sensor selected from the group consisting of a heart rate sensor, a VO₂ sensor, a GSR (galvanic skin response) sensor, an EKG sensor, and an ICG sensor.

16. The earbud as recited in claim 10, wherein the shape and size of the device housing is symmetric, the symmetry of the device housing allowing the earbud to be worn in either ear of the user.

17. The earbud as recited in claim 10 wherein the one or more sensors comprise an electronic sensor.

18. The earbud as recited in claim 10 wherein the one or more sensors comprise a mechanical sensor.

19. An audio device, comprising:

a speaker;

a wireless transceiver;

a sensor configured to measure an orientation of the audio device in an ear of a user;

a microphone array;

an energy storage device providing power for the audio device; and

an earbud housing enclosing the speaker, the microphone array, the wireless transceiver, the sensor and the energy storage device

a processor configured to determine which ear of a user of the audio device is inserted in based at least upon the orientation of the audio device measured by the sensor and to change an operational state of the microphone array accordingly.

20. The audio device as recited in claim 19, wherein the sensor is an inertial sensor.

21. The audio device as recited in claim 19, wherein the microphone array comprises three microphones arranged in a triangular configuration.

22. The audio device as recited in claim 21, wherein adjusting the operational state of the microphone array comprises disabling one of the three microphones that data from the sensor indicates is not aligned with another one of the microphones and a mouth of the user.