Ear device, ear device notification system, ear device notification method and program

Abstract

To detect when an ear device falls out of the ear.SOLUTION: An ear device 100 includes a wearing detection unit 150 that detects that the ear device is being worn on the ear, a touch detection unit 160 that detects that the user has touched it, and a control unit 110 that determines that the ear device has fallen when the wearing detection unit 150 detects that the ear device is not being worn on the ear even though the touch detection unit 160 does not detect that the user has touched it.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an ear device, an ear device notification system, an ear device notification method, and a program. [Background technology]

[0002] Because ear devices such as wireless earphones and hearing aids are small and lightweight, users may not notice if they are dropped. Regarding this problem, Patent Document 1 discloses a hearing aid device that makes it easy to find a hearing aid in one ear even if it is lost. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2010-45772 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The hearing aid device disclosed in Patent Document 1 determines that the ear device is no longer attached to the ear (has been removed from the ear or fallen) if feedback continues for a predetermined period of time (e.g., 30 seconds). However, it cannot distinguish whether the user intentionally removed the ear device or whether it fell unintentionally.

[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned situation, and aims to provide an ear device, an ear device notification system, an ear device notification method, and a program that can detect when the ear device has fallen from the ear. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to achieve the above object, one aspect of the ear device according to the present invention is to a wearing detection unit that detects whether the earphone is being worn on the ear; a touch detection unit that detects a touch by a user; a control unit that determines that the earphone has fallen when the touch detection unit does not detect that the user has touched the earphone but the wearing detection unit detects that the earphone is not being worn on the ear; and Equipped with. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to the present invention, it is possible to detect when an ear device falls from an ear. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of an ear device notification system. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the ear device. [Figure 3] 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a procedure for a fall detection process. [Figure 4] 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a procedure for a notification instruction receiving process. [Figure 5] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of an ear device notification system including a mobile terminal. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of a mobile terminal. [Figure 7] 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a procedure for a fall detection process in an ear device notification system including a mobile terminal. [Figure 8] 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a procedure for terminal communication processing. [Figure 9] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of an ear device notification system with only one ear device. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] The ear device notification system and the like will be described with reference to the drawings, in which the same or corresponding parts are designated by the same reference numerals.

[0010] As shown in FIG. 1, the ear device notification system 1000 comprises two ear devices 100 (when there is no need to distinguish between ear device 100R worn on the right ear and ear device 100L worn on the left ear, they are referred to as ear devices 100) which are hearing aids including sound collectors that are worn by the user in the ears, and which communicate and operate via a short-range wireless communication standard such as Bluetooth (registered trademark).

[0011] The ear device 100 is a hearing aid that adjusts the sounds being spoken in the surroundings to make them easier for the user to hear (for example, by removing noise or performing acoustic processing such as amplification for each frequency band) before outputting them, and also has a function (notification function) that generates an alarm sound to notify the user if the ear device falls without the user noticing.

[0012] To explain in more detail, the ear device 100, like a typical hearing aid, normally picks up the voice of the person speaking with a microphone 131, adjusts the voice to be easy for the user to hear, and outputs it from a speaker 141. As shown in Fig. 1, the ear device 100 has a touch sensor 161 in the part that is held with the fingers, so that when the user removes the ear device 100, the touch sensor 161 can detect the user's touch. In addition, as shown in Fig. 1, the ear device 100 has a distance sensor 151 in the part that is inserted into the ear, so that it can detect whether or not the ear device is being worn in the ear.

[0013] Based on these sensors, the ear device 100 determines that it has fallen if it has fallen off the ear without the user's intention to remove it. The ear device 100 that determines that it has fallen emits a loud alarm sound and sends a notification instruction (a packet instructing the other ear device 100 (that should not have fallen) to the other ear device 100). The ear device 100 that receives the notification instruction also emits an alarm sound to notify the user that the ear device 100 has fallen.

[0014] When the user finds and picks up the ear device 100 that has fallen and is emitting the alarm sound, the picked-up ear device 100 detects the user's touch and stops the alarm sound.

[0015] The above has been a summary of the functions of the ear device notification system 1000. Next, the functional configuration of the ear device 100 included in the ear device notification system 1000 will be described.

[0016] The ear device 100 is a small wearable device, specifically an earphone-type hearing aid worn in the user's ear as shown in Fig. 1. As shown in Fig. 2, the ear device 100 has a functional configuration including a control unit 110, a memory unit 120, a sound acquisition unit 130, a sound output unit 140, a wearing detection unit 150, a touch detection unit 160, and a communication unit 170.

[0017] The control unit 110 is configured with at least one processor, such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) or a DSP (Digital Signal Processor). The control unit 110 performs various processes for operating the ear device 100 by executing programs stored in the storage unit 120. The control unit 110 supports multi-thread processing and can execute multiple processes in parallel, for example, a fall detection process (FIG. 3) and a notification instruction reception process (FIG. 4) described below can be executed simultaneously in parallel.

[0018] The storage unit 120 stores programs executed by the control unit 110 and necessary data. The storage unit 120 may include, but is not limited to, a RAM (Random Access Memory), a ROM (Read Only Memory), a flash memory, etc. Note that the storage unit 120 may be provided inside the control unit 110.

[0019] The sound acquisition unit 130 includes a microphone 131, an A / D (Analog / Digital) converter, etc., and acquires ambient sounds. The control unit 110 then performs predetermined acoustic processing on the audio data obtained by A / D converting the sound acquired by the sound acquisition unit 130 with the microphone 131 at a predetermined sampling frequency (for example, 44.1 kHz), and adjusts the sound to be easy for the user to hear.

[0020] The sound output unit 140 includes a D / A (Digital / Analog) converter, a speaker 141, etc., and outputs audio data adjusted by the control unit 110 from the speaker 141. More specifically, the control unit 110 performs acoustic processing such as amplification on the digital data of sound acquired by the sound acquisition unit 130 (data obtained by acquiring and A / D converting sounds around the user) based on setting values ​​set for each user (various acoustic parameters related to hearing such as the amplification degree of each frequency band), and outputs the processed data as sound from the speaker 141 of the sound output unit 140.

[0021] The wearing detection unit 150 includes a distance sensor 151 and detects whether the ear device 100 is worn in the user's ear based on the distance from the ear detected by the distance sensor 151. Note that the sensor included in the wearing detection unit 150 is not limited to the distance sensor 151, and any sensor that can detect whether the ear device 100 is worn in the user's ear (e.g., multiple microphones, a touch sensor, a pressure sensor, a push button switch, a capacitance sensor, a temperature sensor, etc.) can be used. For example, if the ear device 100 is a canal-type earphone, wearing it in the ear canal creates an effect similar to that of an earplug, generating a sound pressure difference between the inside and outside of the ear canal. Therefore, if the wearing detection unit 150 includes a microphone inside the ear canal and an external microphone, it can detect whether the ear device 100 is worn in the ear based on whether the sound pressure difference between the inside and outside microphones is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold.

[0022] The touch detection unit 160 includes a touch sensor 161 and detects whether or not the user has touched the ear device 100. When the user puts the ear device 100 on or takes it off from their ear, they need to pinch the ear device 100, and the touch detection unit 160 detects the touch at that time. The touch detection unit 160 may also function as an operation input unit for the ear device 100 so that the user can change the volume or the like by touch operation. Note that the sensor included in the touch detection unit 160 is not limited to the touch sensor 161, and any sensor (for example, a push button switch, a pressure sensor, a temperature sensor, etc.) that can detect whether or not the ear device 100 is being held by the user can be used.

[0023] The communication unit 170 is a communication interface for transmitting and receiving data via Bluetooth (registered trademark) with the other ear device 100 (the ear device 100R for the ear device 100L, and the ear device 100L for the ear device 100R). Note that the communication standard supported by the communication unit 170 is not limited to Bluetooth (registered trademark), and it may also be a communication interface compatible with a wireless LAN (Local Area Network) or the like.

[0024] Next, the fall detection process and the notification instruction reception process, which are processes performed by the ear device 100 to realize the above-described functions, will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. It is assumed that the ear device 100L and the ear device 100R have been paired in advance via Bluetooth (registered trademark). When the ear device 100 is turned on, the control unit 110 of each ear device 100 (ear device 100L, 100R) starts executing the fall detection process and the notification instruction reception process in parallel. The ear device 100 is normally placed in a charger when not in use, and is automatically turned on when removed from the charger. Although not shown to avoid complication, when the ear device 100 is turned off, for example by being placed in a charger, the control unit 110 ends the fall detection process and the notification instruction reception process.

[0025] First, the drop detection process will be described with reference to Fig. 3. First, the control unit 110 determines whether or not the ear device 100 is worn on the ear using the wearing detection unit 150 (step S101). If the ear device 100 is not yet worn on the ear (step S101; No), the process returns to step S101.

[0026] If the ear device 100 is attached to the ear (step S101; Yes), the control unit 110 determines whether the ear device 100 has fallen off the ear (not attached) using the attachment detection unit 150 (step S102). If the ear device 100 has not fallen off (is attached to the ear) (step S102; No), the process returns to step S102.

[0027] If the ear device 100 has fallen off (is not worn on the ear) (step S102; Yes), the control unit 110 determines whether or not the touch detection unit 160 has detected a touch by the user (step S103). If a touch has been detected (step S103; Yes), the control unit 110 determines that the ear device 100 has been removed from the ear by the user, and returns to step S101.

[0028] If no touch is detected (step S103; No), the control unit 110 determines that the ear device 100 itself has fallen, and transmits a notification instruction to the other ear device 100 via the communication unit 170 (step S104). Then, the control unit 110 causes the sound output unit 140 to generate an alarm sound at a volume equal to or greater than the volume threshold (for example, maximum volume (second volume, described later)) (step S105).

[0029] Then, the control unit 110 determines whether or not a touch by the user has been detected by the touch detection unit 160 (step S106). If a touch has been detected (step S106; Yes), the control unit 110 determines that the dropped ear device 100 has been picked up by the user, stops the generation of the alarm sound by the sound output unit 140, and transmits an alarm stop instruction (a packet instructing to stop the alarm sound) to the other ear device 100 via the communication unit 170 (step S107), and returns to step S101.

[0030] If no touch is detected (step S106; No), the control unit 110 determines whether or not an alarm stop instruction has been received via the communication unit 170 (step S108). If an alarm stop instruction has not been received (step S108; No), the process returns to step S106.

[0031] When the alarm stop instruction is received (step S108; Yes), the control unit 110 stops the generation of the alarm sound by the sound output unit 140 (step S109), and returns to step S101. This allows the user to stop the generation of the alarm sound by touching the ear device 100 worn on the ear, without having to pick up the dropped ear device 100.

[0032] The fall detection process has been described above. Next, the notification instruction reception process will be described with reference to FIG.

[0033] First, the control unit 110 determines whether or not a notification instruction has been received from the other ear device 100 via the communication unit 170 (step S201). If a notification instruction has not been received (step S201; No), the process returns to step S201.

[0034] When the notification instruction is received (step S201; Yes), the control unit 110 determines whether or not the wearing detection unit 150 detects wearing (whether the ear device 100 is worn in the ear) (step S202). If wearing is detected (step S202; Yes), the control unit 110 causes the sound output unit 140 to generate an alarm sound at a normal volume (first volume) (step S203), and proceeds to step S205.

[0035] If the control unit 110 does not detect that the ear device 100 is being worn (step S202; No), the control unit 110 (determines that this ear device 100 has also fallen) causes the sound output unit 140 to generate an alarm sound at a volume equal to or greater than the volume threshold (for example, maximum volume as a second volume greater than the first volume) (step S204), and proceeds to step S205.

[0036] In step S205, the control unit 110 determines whether or not an alarm stop instruction has been received from the other ear device 100 via the communication unit 170. If an alarm stop instruction has been received (step S205; Yes), the control unit 110 stops the generation of the alarm sound by the sound output unit 140 (step S206) and returns to step S201.

[0037] If the alarm stop instruction has not been received (step S205; No), the control unit 110 determines whether or not a touch by the user has been detected by the touch detection unit 160 (step S207. If a touch has not been detected (step S207; No), the process returns to step S205.

[0038] If a touch is detected (step S207; Yes), the control unit 110 stops the generation of the alarm sound by the sound output unit 140 (step S208) and returns to step S201. Note that in step S208, the control unit 110 may not only stop the alarm sound but also send an alarm stop instruction to the other ear device 100 via the communication unit 170.

[0039] The notification instruction receiving process has been described above. By the drop detection process described above, the control unit 110 can detect that the ear device 100 has fallen from the ear, and the ear device 100 that has fallen from the ear will emit a loud alarm sound and send a notification instruction to the other ear device 100 (worn on the ear). Then, the ear device 100 that has received the notification instruction will also emit an alarm sound through the notification instruction receiving process. Therefore, if the ear device 100 has fallen from the ear, the user can immediately notice that it has fallen.

[0040] In the above description, the control unit 110 generates an alarm sound to notify the user that the ear device 100 has fallen, but the means of notifying the user is not limited to generating an alarm sound. For example, the control unit 110 may cause the sound output unit 140 to emit an announcement such as "It has fallen." Furthermore, if the ear device 100 is equipped with a vibrator, the control unit 110 may notify the user by vibrating the vibrator.

[0041] In the above description, the dropped ear device 100 generates a loud alarm sound in step S204. However, the means by which the dropped ear device 100 notifies the user is not limited to generating a loud alarm sound. For example, the control unit 110 may generate a howling sound instead of generating an alarm sound in step S204. In this case, in steps S206 and S208, the control unit 110 stops the howling instead of stopping the alarm sound. To generate the howling, the howling prevention function of the ear device 100 is turned off, the microphone gain (gain of the sound acquisition unit 130) of the microphone 131 of the sound acquisition unit 130 is maximized, and the volume output from the speaker 141 of the sound output unit 140 is maximized. To stop the howling, the microphone gain of the microphone 131 and the volume output from the speaker 141 are restored, and the howling prevention function is turned on.

[0042] Furthermore, the ear device 100 is not limited to a hearing aid, but may be a hearing aid such as a sound collector, or a wireless earphone such as a TWS (True Wireless Stereo) earphone. For example, as shown in Fig. 5 , the following describes an ear device notification system 1001 that includes two ear devices 101 that are TWS earphones (when there is no need to distinguish between an ear device 101R worn on the right ear and an ear device 101L worn on the left ear, they will be referred to as ear devices 101) and a mobile terminal 200, which operate by being communicatively connected via a short-range wireless communication standard such as Bluetooth (registered trademark).

[0043] The mobile terminal 200 is a smartphone or a portable music player, and calls on the mobile terminal 200 can be made using the ear device 101, and music played on the mobile terminal 200 can be heard on the ear device 101. The touch detection unit 160 of the ear device 101 may also function as an operation input unit for the ear device 101 so that the user can change the volume, change the song being played, etc. by touch operation. Some hearing aids, such as hearing aids and sound collectors, have a function (streaming mode function) to wirelessly connect to the mobile terminal 200 and output music being played on the mobile terminal 200 or audio during a call on the mobile terminal 200 from the hearing aid, and the ear device 101 may be a hearing aid (hearing aid, sound collector, etc.) with such a streaming mode function.

[0044] The mobile terminal 200 is, for example, a smartphone, and includes, as its functional configuration, a control unit 210, a storage unit 220, a display unit 230, an operation input unit 240, and a communication unit 250, as shown in FIG.

[0045] The control unit 210 is configured with a processor such as a CPU. The control unit 210 performs various processes for operating the mobile terminal 200 using programs stored in the storage unit 220. For example, the control unit 210 executes terminal communication processing, which will be described later. The control unit 210 supports multi-thread processing and can execute multiple processes in parallel.

[0046] The storage unit 220 stores programs executed by the control unit 210 and necessary data. The storage unit 220 may include, but is not limited to, RAM, ROM, flash memory, etc. Alternatively, the storage unit 220 may be provided inside the control unit 210.

[0047] The display unit 230 includes a display device such as a liquid crystal display or an organic EL (Electro-Luminescence) display.

[0048] The operation input unit 240 is a user interface such as a push button switch or a touch panel integrated with the display unit 230, and receives operation input from the user. The control unit 210 can acquire what kind of operation input the user has performed based on the detection results of a tap operation or the like on the touch panel of the operation input unit 240 or the pressed state of a switch.

[0049] The communication unit 250 is a communication interface for the mobile terminal 200 to perform data communication with the ear device 101, external devices (e.g., other smartphones, tablets, PCs (Personal Computers)), etc., and to acquire information from the Internet. The communication unit 250 may include a wireless communication interface for communication via Bluetooth (registered trademark) or wireless LAN, for example.

[0050] When distinguishing between the control units 110, 210 of the ear device 101 and the mobile terminal 200, the control unit 110 is called an ear device control unit or simply a control unit, and the control unit 210 is called a terminal control unit. When distinguishing between the communication units 170, 250 of the device, the communication unit 170 is called an ear device communication unit or simply a communication unit, and the communication unit 250 is called a terminal communication unit. The same applies to the storage units 120, 220.

[0051] In the ear device notification system 1001, if an ear device 101 is dropped, each ear device 101 emits an alarm sound to notify the user of the drop, similar to the above-described ear device notification system 1000. Furthermore, if music is being played or a call is being made on the mobile terminal 200, the music or call audio is stopped to notify the user of the drop.

[0052] Next, a description will be given of the fall detection process and the notification instruction reception process, which are processes performed by the ear device 101 to realize the above-mentioned functions. These processes have much in common with the fall detection process (FIG. 3) and the notification instruction reception process (FIG. 4) in the ear device 100, so mainly the differences will be described. It is assumed that pairing has been performed in advance between the ear device 101L and the ear device 101R, and between the ear device 101 and the mobile terminal 200. Then, when the ear device 101 is turned on, the control unit 110 of each ear device 101 (ear device 101L, 101R) starts to execute the fall detection process and the notification instruction reception process in parallel.

[0053] First, the fall detection process will be described with reference to Fig. 7. First, the process from step S121 to step S123 is the same as the process from step S101 to step S103 in Fig. 3, and therefore description thereof will be omitted. In step S124, the control unit 110 determines that the ear device 101 itself has fallen, and transmits a notification instruction to the mobile terminal 200 and the other ear device 101 via the communication unit 170.

[0054] Then, the control unit 110 determines whether or not the streaming mode function is being executed between the mobile terminal 200 and the ear device 101 (step S125). For example, the streaming mode function is being executed when a call on the mobile terminal 200 is being made through the ear device 101 or music being played on the mobile terminal 200 is being listened to through the ear device 101. If the streaming mode function is not being executed (step S125; No), the process proceeds to step S127.

[0055] If the streaming mode function is being executed (step S125; Yes), the control unit 110 sends a playback stop instruction (a packet instructing the mobile terminal 200 to stop the function being played by the streaming mode function (music playback, call, etc.)) via the communication unit 170 (step S126), and proceeds to step S127.

[0056] The processing from step S127 to step S128 is the same as the processing from step S105 to step S106 in Fig. 3, and therefore description thereof will be omitted. If a touch is detected in step S128 (step S128; Yes), control unit 110 determines that the dropped ear device 101 has been picked up by the user, stops generation of the alarm sound by sound output unit 140, and transmits an alarm stop instruction to mobile terminal 200 and the other ear device 101 via communication unit 170 (step S129), and returns to step S121.

[0057] If no touch is detected in step S128 (step S128; No), the control unit 110 determines whether or not an alarm stop instruction has been received from the mobile terminal 200 or the other ear device 101 via the communication unit 170 (step S130). If an alarm stop instruction has not been received (step S130; No), the process returns to step S128.

[0058] When the alarm stop instruction is received (step S130; Yes), the control unit 110 stops the generation of the alarm sound by the sound output unit 140 (step S131), and returns to step S121. This allows the user to stop the generation of the alarm sound by touching the ear device 101 worn on the ear or by performing an alarm stop operation from the mobile terminal 200, without having to pick up the dropped ear device 101.

[0059] The fall detection process has been described above. The notification instruction reception process is almost the same as the notification instruction reception process of the ear device 100 described with reference to Fig. 4, but the processes of steps S205 and S208 are slightly different, so the processes of these steps will be described.

[0060] In step S205, the control unit 110 determines whether or not an alarm stop instruction has been received from the mobile terminal 200 or the other ear device 101 via the communication unit 170. In step S208, the control unit 110 stops the generation of the alarm sound from the sound output unit 140, and transmits an alarm stop instruction to the mobile terminal 200 and the other ear device 101 via the communication unit 170.

[0061] The notification instruction reception process has been described above. Although not shown to avoid complication, when the ear device 101 is turned off, for example by being placed on a charger, the control unit 110 ends the execution of the fall detection process and the notification instruction reception process. Next, the terminal communication process executed by the mobile terminal 200 will be described with reference to Fig. 8. When the mobile terminal 200 is turned on, this terminal communication process may be executed in parallel with other necessary processes, or the execution of the terminal communication process may be started in response to a user instruction.

[0062] First, the control unit 210 determines whether or not the user has instructed the end of the terminal communication process via the operation input unit 240 (step S300). If an instruction to end has been received (step S300; Yes), the control unit 210 ends the terminal communication process. If an instruction to end has not been received (step S300; No), the control unit 210 determines whether or not a notification instruction has been received from the ear device 101 via the communication unit 250 (step S301). If a notification instruction has not been received (step S301; No), the process returns to step S301.

[0063] If the notification instruction is received (step S301; Yes), the control unit 210 notifies the user that the ear device 101 has fallen (step S302). The notification method here can be any method such as vibration of a vibrator, output of an alarm sound, or display on a screen. Alternatively, no notification may be given depending on the user's settings (for example, silent mode setting, etc.).

[0064] Then, the control unit 210 determines whether or not a playback stop instruction has been received from the ear device 101 via the communication unit 250 (step S303). If a playback stop instruction has not been received (step S303; No), the process proceeds to step S305. If a playback stop instruction has been received (step S303; Yes), the control unit 210 stops playback (music playback, call, etc.) in the streaming mode function (step S304), and proceeds to step S305. Note that in step S303, instead of the above determination, it may also determine whether or not the streaming mode function is being executed.

[0065] In step S305, the control unit 210 determines whether or not an alarm stop instruction has been received from the ear device 101 via the communication unit 250. If an alarm stop instruction has been received (step S305; Yes), the control unit 210 stops the notification to the user that started in step S302 (step S306) and returns to step S301. Note that, although not shown to avoid complication, if the control unit 210 stopped playback in the streaming mode function in step S304, it also resumes playback in the streaming mode function in step S306.

[0066] If an alarm stop instruction has not been received (step S305; No), control unit 210 determines whether or not a notification stop operation (user operation to instruct stopping of the alarm sound) has been accepted by operation input unit 240 (step S307). The type of operation to be used as the notification stop operation is arbitrary, but for example, control unit 210 may display notification stop button 241 on display unit 230 in advance in step S302 or the like as shown in Fig. 5, and determine whether or not the user has touched notification stop button 241 in step S307.

[0067] If the notification stop operation has not been accepted (step S307; No), the process returns to step S305. On the other hand, if the notification stop operation has been accepted (step S307; Yes), the control unit 210 stops the notification to the user that started in step S302, sends an alarm stop instruction to the ear device 101 (step S308), and returns to step S301. Although not shown to avoid complication, if the control unit 210 stopped playback in the streaming mode function in step S304, the control unit 210 also resumes playback in the streaming mode function in step S308.

[0068] The above has described the terminal communication processing. Note that in the above-described terminal communication processing (FIG. 8), if step S301 (determine whether a notification instruction has been received) is Yes, step S302 (notify the user of a fall) is performed before step S304 (stop playback in the streaming mode function). However, this order may be reversed. That is, if the streaming mode function is being executed, step S304 (stop playback in the streaming mode function) may be performed first, and then step S302 (notify the user of a fall) may be performed after a predetermined time has elapsed (if the user does not notice that the ear device 101 has fallen even after a predetermined time has elapsed since playback in the streaming mode function was stopped). Correspondingly, in the fall detection processing (FIG. 7), step S125 (determine whether the mode is streaming) and step S126 (send a playback stop instruction) may be performed before step S124 (send a notification instruction).

[0069] Furthermore, the process in step S126 of the above-described fall detection process (FIG. 7) is described as "sending a playback stop instruction to the mobile terminal," but the process may be changed depending on the function being performed by the streaming mode function. For example, when music is being played, a playback stop instruction is simply sent, but when a call is in progress, the ear device 101 may stream an announcement such as "It appears that the ear device has fallen from your ear, so the call will be paused," before sending the playback stop instruction. When a call is in progress, streaming such an announcement allows the other party on the call to be informed that the ear device 101 has fallen.

[0070] Then, in step S304 of the terminal communication processing (FIG. 8), the processing may also be changed depending on the function being executed by the streaming mode function. For example, when music is being played, the music playback may be paused and a playback resume button 242 may be displayed on the display unit 230 as shown in FIG. 5. Also, when a call is in progress, the call may be put on hold after an announcement is made from the ear device 101 and a call resume button 243 may be displayed on the display unit 230 as shown in FIG. 9. In these cases, the playback resume button 242 or the call resume button 243 has the same function as the notification stop button 241, and when these buttons are pressed, the control unit 210 stops the notification and resumes playback or the call using the streaming function.

[0071] The ear device 101 executes the above-described drop detection process and notification instruction reception process, and the mobile terminal 200 executes the above-described terminal communication process, so that when the ear device 101 falls, the mobile terminal 200 and both ear devices 101 notify the user that the ear device 101 has fallen. Therefore, if the ear device 101 falls from the ear, the user can immediately notice that it has fallen. Also, if the user was listening to music or making a call on the mobile terminal 200 through the ear device 101 (using the streaming mode function) through the ear device 101, the mobile terminal 200 stops playback in the streaming mode function, so the user can more naturally notice that the ear device 101 has fallen (without hearing an alarm sound).

[0072] Furthermore, although the above description has been given of the case where the ear device notification system 1001 includes two ear devices 101 (ear device 101L and ear device 101R) and the mobile terminal 200, the ear device notification system does not necessarily have to include two ear devices 101. For example, as shown in Fig. 9, the ear device notification system 1002 may include one ear device 102 (worn on one ear of the user) and the mobile terminal 200.

[0073] In the ear device notification system 1002, there is only one ear device 102, and there is no "other ear device 102." Therefore, the process of "sending a notification instruction to the other ear device" in step S124 of the fall detection process (FIG. 7) is not necessary, and the process of "sending an alarm stop instruction to the other ear device" in step S129 is also not necessary. In either case, the control unit 110 only needs to send each instruction to the mobile terminal 200. Furthermore, the ear device 102 does not need to execute the notification instruction reception process (FIG. 4).

[0074] The ear device notification systems 1000, 1001 assume that the ear devices 100, 101 rarely fall from both ears at the same time, and notify the user of the fall by emitting an alarm sound at a normal volume or stopping music playback for the ear device 100, 101 that has not fallen. However, because there is only one ear device 102 in the ear device notification system 1002, when the ear device 102 falls, there is no ear device 102 attached to the ear. Therefore, there is no need to perform processing assuming the presence of an ear device attached to the ear, which can simplify the processing of the entire system.

[0075] The ear devices 100, 101, and 102 are not limited to hearing aids or other hearing aids, but can also be realized by wireless earphones or computers having the above-described configuration. The mobile terminal 200 is not limited to a smartphone, but can also be realized by a smart watch, tablet, PC, or other computer capable of communicating with the ear devices 101 and 102.

[0076] Specifically, it has been described that the program executed by the control unit 110 of the ear devices 100, 101, 102 is pre-stored in the storage unit 120, and the program executed by the control unit 210 of the mobile terminal 200 is pre-stored in the storage unit 220. However, the program may be stored and distributed on a computer-readable recording medium such as a flexible disk, a CD-ROM (Compact Disc Read Only Memory), a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc), an MO (Magneto-Optical disc), a memory card, a USB memory, or the like, and the program may be read and installed on a computer to configure a computer that can execute each of the above-mentioned processes.

[0077] Furthermore, the program may be superimposed on a carrier wave and applied via a communication medium such as the Internet. For example, the program may be posted and distributed on a bulletin board system (BBS) on a communication network. The program may then be started and executed under the control of an operating system (OS) in the same way as other application programs, thereby enabling the above-described processes to be performed.

[0078] In addition, the control unit 110 and the control unit 210 may be configured by any single processor such as a single processor, a multiprocessor, or a multi-core processor, or may be configured by combining any of these processors with processing circuits such as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) or an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array).

[0079] Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to such specific embodiments, and the present invention includes the inventions described in the claims and their equivalents. [Explanation of symbols]

[0080] 100, 100L, 100R, 101, 101L, 101R, 102...ear device, 110, 210...control unit, 120, 220...storage unit, 130...sound acquisition unit, 131...microphone, 140...sound output unit, 141...speaker, 150...wearing detection unit, 151...distance sensor, 160...touch detection unit, 161...touch sensor, 170, 250...communication unit, 200...mobile terminal, 230...display unit, 240...operation input unit, 241...notification stop button, 242...resume playback button, 243...call resume button, 1000, 1001, 1002...ear device notification system

Claims

1. a wearing detection unit that detects whether the earphone is being worn on the ear; a touch detection unit that detects a touch by a user; a control unit that determines that the earphone has fallen when the touch detection unit does not detect that the user has touched the earphone but the wearing detection unit detects that the earphone is not being worn on the ear; and An ear device comprising:

2. Further comprising a communication unit for communicating with the other ear device; The control unit If it is determined that the ear device has fallen, the communication unit notifies the other ear device. The ear device of claim 1 .

3. The control unit If it is determined that the device has fallen, an alarm sound will be generated at a volume above the volume threshold. The ear device of claim 2 .

4. The control unit If a touch is detected by the touch detection unit after it has been determined that the device has fallen, the alarm sound is stopped. The ear device of claim 3 .

5. The control unit When a notification instruction is received from the other ear device, if the wearing detection unit detects that the other ear device is being worn, an alarm sound is generated at a normal volume. The ear device of claim 2 .

6. The communication unit also communicates with a mobile terminal, The control unit By connecting to the mobile terminal via the communication unit in streaming mode, audio data played by the mobile terminal can be acquired, If it is determined that the device has fallen, it is determined whether or not the device is connected to the mobile terminal in the streaming mode; If it is determined that the connection is in the streaming mode, an instruction is given to the mobile terminal to stop playback. The ear device of claim 2 .

7. Equipped with two ear devices, Each of the two ear devices comprises: a communication unit for communicating with the other ear device; a wearing detection unit that detects whether the earphone is being worn on the ear; a touch detection unit that detects a touch by a user; If the touch detection unit does not detect a touch by the user but the wearing detection unit detects that the earphone is not being worn on the ear, it is determined that the earphone has fallen; If it is determined that the ear device has fallen, the communication unit sends a notification instruction to the other ear device; generating an alarm sound when the notification instruction is received from the other ear device; A control unit; Equipped with Ear device notification system.

8. The control unit If the touch detection unit does not detect a touch by the user, but the wearing detection unit detects that the earphone is not being worn on the ear, it is determined that the earphone has fallen. Ear device notification method.

9. In the control section, If the touch detection unit does not detect a touch by the user, but the wearing detection unit detects that the earphone is not being worn on the ear, it is determined that the earphone has fallen. A program that executes a process.

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