Wearable Audio Head On-Off Detection Calibration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional wearable audio devices face issues with unreliable detection of on/off states, leading to false triggering and failure to detect don/doff events, which hinders user experience.
Innovation Solution
A wearable audio device with a control circuit that uses a combination of internal and external microphones to determine the acoustic transfer function, calibrates a proximity sensor after detecting a change from on-head to off-head state, and adjusts device functions based on state changes, ensuring accurate detection and power management.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a single sensor system is used for on/off state detection, then device complexity is reduced, but detection reliability deteriorates due to false triggering and failure to detect don/doff events
Solution Approach 1:
The detection system is segmented into two distinct sensor systems: a first sensor system (internal microphone) for detecting on-head to off-head state changes, and a second sensor system (proximity sensor) for detecting off-head to on-head state changes. Each sensor system is specialized for specific detection tasks, improving overall reliability while maintaining manageable complexity through functional division.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent combines multiple sensor systems (microphone-based acoustic detection and proximity sensor detection) into a unified detection framework. The control circuit integrates signals from both sensor systems to determine device state, achieving higher reliability through complementary detection mechanisms that verify each other's findings.
2Speed
If the proximity sensor is used continuously for state detection, then detection responsiveness is improved, but power consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The proximity sensor operates periodically rather than continuously. The control circuit activates the proximity sensor only when needed to detect transitions from off-head to on-head state, after the device has been determined to be in an off-head state by the first sensor system. This periodic operation maintains detection responsiveness while significantly reducing power consumption compared to continuous operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary detection using the first sensor system (internal microphone) to determine when the device is in an off-head state. Only after this preliminary determination does the system activate the second sensor system (proximity sensor) for calibration and subsequent state detection. This staged approach ensures responsive detection while minimizing sensor operation time and power consumption.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution provides reliable detection of on/off states, reducing false triggers and improving user experience by accurately managing device functions and power consumption.
Implementation Method 1
an internal microphone acoustically coupled to an ear canal of a user, where the internal microphone generates an electrical signal responsive to an acoustic signal incident at the internal microphone
Implementation Method 2
an acoustic transducer for providing audio playback of an audio signal to a user
Implementation Method 3
a proximity sensor; and a control circuit coupled with the acoustic transducer, the internal microphone and the proximity sensor
Data Source
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AI summary
Various implementations include wearable audio devices (10) and related methods for controlling such devices. Some approaches include: detecting a change from an on-head state to an off-head state with a first sensor system (18); calibrating a second, distinct sensor system (36) after detecting the change from the on-head state to the off-head state; detecting a change from the off-head state to the on-head state using the calibrated second sensor system (36); and adjusting an operating state of at least one function of the wearable audio device (10) in response to detecting the change from the on-head state to the off-head state or detecting the change from the off-head state to the on-head state.