Electronic equipment with ambient noise sensing input circuitry

• US 9,858,948 B2
• Filed: 06/29/2016
• Issued: 01/02/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 09/29/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Armstrong-Muntner, Joel S., Allec, Nicholas Paul Joseph, Mu, Xiaoyi
• Primary Examiner(s): GAY, SONIA L
• Application Number:
  US15/197,506
• Publication Number:
  US 20170090865A1
• Time in Patent Office: 552 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/167 Audio in a user interface, e.g. using voice commands for navigating, audio feedback
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 25/51 for comparison or discrimination
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/028 associated with devices performing functions other than acoustics, e.g. electric candles
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/2807 Enclosures comprising vibrating or resonating arrangements for the reduction of undesired resonances or vibrations H04R1/2869
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2410/05 Noise reduction with a separate noise microphone
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2499/11 Transducers incorporated or for use in hand-held devices, e.g. mobile phones, PDA's, camera's
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 29/001 for loudspeakers H04R29/007 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 3/005 for combining the signals of two or more microphones specially adapted for hearing aids H04R25/407

Abstract

An electronic device may include one or more microphones that monitor ambient noise and generate ambient noise data. The electronic device may include processing circuitry that receives the ambient noise data and compares the ambient noise data to a baseline ambient noise profile to detect changes in the ambient noise. Changes in the ambient noise may be caused by user gestures. The electronic device may compare the changes in the ambient noise to characteristic changes in ambient noise that are associated with user gestures to determine the user gesture made by a user. The processing circuitry may modify the operation of the electronic device based on the user gesture. An ambient noise input device may include surface features or movable components that cause the characteristic changes in the ambient noise. Ambient noise input devices may provide feedback to guide a user to provide input using ambient noise sensing.

Claims

1. An electronic device that operates in the presence of ambient noise, the electronic device comprising:

a microphone that measures the ambient noise; and

processing circuitry that, based on the measured ambient noise, identifies a user gesture that comprises movement of a user'"'"'s hand relative to the electronic device without physically contacting the electronic device and without physically contacting a surface on which the electronic device rests, wherein the processing circuitry modifies the operation of the electronic device in response to the user gesture.

2. The electronic device defined in claim 1, wherein the processing circuitry determines a change in the ambient noise and identifies the user gesture based on the change in the ambient noise.

3. The electronic device defined in claim 2, wherein the processing circuitry determines the change in the ambient noise by comparing the measured ambient noise to a baseline ambient noise profile.

4. The electronic device defined in claim 2, wherein the user gesture causes the change in the ambient noise.

5. The electronic device defined in claim 2, further comprising:

an additional microphone that measures the ambient noise, wherein the processing circuitry identifies the user gesture by comparing ambient noise measurements from the microphone and the additional microphone.

6. The electronic device defined in claim 2, further comprising:

memory that stores a plurality of different predetermined ambient noise changes that are each associated with a different user gesture, wherein the processing circuitry identifies the user gesture by comparing the change in the ambient noise to the plurality of different predetermined ambient noise changes.

7. A method of sensing ambient noise with an electronic device that includes a microphone and processing circuitry, the method comprising:

generating ambient noise information with the microphone;

detecting a change in the ambient noise information using the processing circuitry;

identifying a user gesture associated with the change in the ambient noise information using the processing circuitry, wherein the user gesture comprises movement of a user'"'"'s hand relative to the electronic device without physically contacting the electronic device and without physically contacting a surface on which the electronic device rests; and

with the processing circuitry, adjusting an operational parameter of the electronic device in response to the user gesture.

8. The method defined in claim 7, wherein determining the user gesture further comprises:

comparing the change in the ambient noise information to a plurality of predetermined ambient noise changes stored in memory in the electronic device, wherein each of the predetermined ambient noise changes corresponds to a different user gesture.

9. The method defined in claim 7, further comprising:

generating additional ambient noise information with an additional microphone in the electronic device; and

determining the user gesture based on the ambient noise information and the additional ambient noise information.

10. The method defined in claim 7, wherein detecting the change in the ambient noise information comprises comparing the ambient noise information to a baseline ambient noise profile, and wherein the change in the ambient noise is at least partially caused by the user gesture.

11. The method defined in claim 7, wherein the electronic device comprises a display and the user gesture comprises a user sliding a finger on a surface, wherein adjusting the operational parameter comprises scrolling through content displayed on the display.

12. The method defined in claim 7, wherein adjusting the operational parameter comprises an action selected from group consisting of:

providing an audible cue to the user through a speaker in the electronic device, performing an action in a gaming application, zooming into a display screen displayed on a display of the electronic device, zooming out of a display screen displayed on a display of the electronic device, and switching between different display screens displayed on a display of the electronic device.

13. An electronic device that gathers user input comprising:

a microphone that detects changes in ambient noise relative to a baseline ambient noise profile;

processing circuitry that identifies user gestures based on the detected changes in the ambient noise;

a light source that provides visual feedback in response to identification of the user gestures by the processing circuitry; and

a tone generator that generates a tone that supplements the baseline ambient noise profile when the processing circuitry cannot identify the user gestures.

14. The electronic device defined in claim 13, wherein the feedback comprises a visible outline projected onto a surface on which the electronic device rests.

15. The electronic device defined in claim 14, wherein the visible outline indicates an area in which the user gestures can be identified by the processing circuitry.

16. The electronic device defined in claim 15, wherein the area is determined during a calibration process in which the microphone detects the changes in the ambient noise caused by the user gestures.

17. The electronic device defined in claim 13 further comprising an output device that directs a user to move the electronic device to a different location when the processing circuitry cannot identify the user gestures.