In-ear speaker hybrid audio transparency system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11336986-B2
Application number	US-202016844604-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 9, 2020
Priority date	Jan 19, 2016
Publication date	May 17, 2022
Grant date	May 17, 2022

Abstract

A user content audio signal is converted into sound that is delivered into an ear canal of a wearer of an in-ear speaker, while the in-ear speaker is sealing off the ear canal against ambient sound leakage. An acoustic or venting valve in the in-ear speaker is automatically signaled to open, so that sound inside the ear canal is allowed to travel out into an ambient environment through the valve, while activating conversion of an ambient content audio signal into sound for delivery into the ear canal. Both user content and ambient content are heard by the wearer. The ambient content audio signal is digitally processed so that certain frequency components have been gain adjusted, based on an equalization profile, so as to compensate for some of the insertion loss that is due to the in-ear speaker blocking the ear canal. Other embodiments are also described and claimed.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An insertable in-ear speaker configured as a hybrid transparency system, the insertable in-ear speaker comprising:
a user content sound system to receive an audio signal, and convert the audio signal into sound for delivery into an ear in which the in-ear speaker has been inserted;
an ambient sound augmentation system having an external microphone which is configured to pick up sound in the ambient environment of the in-ear speaker, as a microphone audio signal, wherein the system is activated to process the microphone audio signal before converting the microphone audio signal into sound for delivery into the ear, and to increase a gain of a plurality of frequency components of the microphone audio signal in accordance with a profile comprising a plurality of acoustic characteristics associated with the ear;
a valve that can be configured between i) an open state and a closed state;
an active noise control (ANC) subsystem that is activated to produce anti-noise for delivery into the ear; and
logic to signal the valve into the open state while activating the sound augmentation system, and then signal the valve into the closed state while activating the ANC subsystem.

2. The insertable in-ear speaker of claim 1 , wherein the valve is an active, venting or acoustic valve, and the logic is to activate the ambient sound augmentation system in response to signaling the valve into the open state.

3. The insertable in-ear speaker of claim 1 , wherein the profile comprises an equalization profile comprising two or more of the plurality of acoustic characteristics.

4. The insertable in-ear speaker of claim 3 , wherein the two or more of the plurality of acoustic characteristics are selected from the following:
a sound pressure associated with the ear;
a particle velocity associated with the ear;
a particle displacement associated with the ear;
an acoustic intensity associated with the ear;
an acoustic power associated with the ear;
a sound energy associated with the ear;
a sound energy density associated with the ear;
a sound exposure associated with the ear;
an acoustic impedance associated with the ear;
an audio frequency associated with the ear; or
a transmission loss associated with the ear.

5. The insertable in-ear speaker of claim 1 , wherein the ambient sound augmentation system includes an electro-acoustic transducer or speaker driver that is shared by the user content sound system, to convert the microphone audio signal and the audio signal.

6. The insertable in-ear speaker of claim 1 , wherein the external microphone is located in a concha when the in-ear speaker has been inserted into the ear.

7. The insertable in-ear speaker of claim 1 wherein the plurality of acoustic characteristics associated with the ear includes two or more of the following:
a sound pressure associated with the ear;
a particle velocity associated with the ear;
a particle displacement associated with the ear;
an acoustic intensity associated with the ear;
an acoustic power associated with the ear;
a sound energy associated with the ear;
a sound energy density associated with the ear;
a sound exposure associated with the ear;
an acoustic impedance associated with the ear;
an audio frequency associated with the ear; or
a transmission loss associated with the ear.

8. A method for operating an insertable in-ear speaker as a hybrid transparency system, comprising:
converting a user content audio signal into user content sound that is delivered into an ear of a wearer of the in-ear speaker;
signaling an acoustic or venting valve in the in-ear speaker to open, so that sound inside the ear canal is allowed to travel out into an ambient environment through the valve, while converting an ambient content audio signal into ambient content sound that is delivered into the ear, so that both the user content sound and the ambient content sound are heard by the wearer; and while the valve is open and the ambient content audio signal is being converted into ambient content sound in the ear, digitally processing the ambient content audio signal so that a plurality of its frequency components are gain boosted, and while the valve is closed, an acoustic noise cancellation (ANC) system is producing an anti-noise into the ear.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein conversion of the ambient content audio signal into sound is signaled in response to signaling the valve to open.

10. The method of claim 8 wherein the ambient content audio signal is digitally processed in accordance with an equalization profile being a plurality of acoustic characteristics associated with the ear and that includes two or more of the following:
a sound pressure associated with the ear;
a particle velocity associated with the ear;
a particle displacement associated with the ear;
an acoustic intensity associated with the ear;
an acoustic power associated with the ear;
a sound energy associated with the ear;
a sound energy density associated with the ear;
a sound exposure associated with the ear;
an acoustic impedance associated with the ear;
an audio frequency associated with the ear; or
a transmission loss associated with the ear.

11. The method of claim 8 wherein signaling the acoustic or venting valve in the in-ear speaker to open is in response to a measurement by a sensor.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein the sensor comprises at least one of an accelerometer, a sound sensor, a barometric sensor, an image sensor, a proximity sensor, an ambient light sensor, a vibration sensor, a gyroscopic sensor, a compass, a barometer, or a magnetometer.

13. An insertable in-ear speaker configured as a hybrid transparency system, the insertable in-ear speaker comprising:
a user content sound system to receive a user content audio signal, being a recorded audio program signal or a downlink audio signal of a phone call, and convert the user content audio signal into sound for delivery into an ear in which the in-ear speaker has been inserted;
an ambient sound augmentation system having a microphone which is configured to pick up sound in the ambient environment of the in-ear speaker as a microphone audio signal, wherein the system is activated to process the microphone audio signal before converting the microphone audio signal into sound;
a valve that can be configured into a first state that allows sound inside the ear to travel out into the ambient environment through the valve, and into a second state that restricts sound inside the ear from traveling out into the ambient environment through the valve;
an active noise control (ANC) subsystem that is activated to produce anti-noise for delivery into the ear; and
logic to signal the valve into the first state while activating the sound augmentation system, and then signal the valve into the second state while activating the ANC subsystem, and wherein the signaling of the valve into the first state is in response to a measurement by a motion sensor.

14. The in-ear speaker of claim 13 wherein the logic is configured to signal the valve based on an operating state of an external electronic device that is providing the user content audio signal.

15. The in-ear speaker of claim 13 wherein the motion sensor comprises an accelerometer installed within a housing of the in-ear speaker, and wherein the signaling of the valve into the first state or into the second state is in response to a measurement by the accelerometer.

16. The in-ear speaker of claim 13 wherein the ambient sound augmentation system includes an electro-acoustic transducer or speake

Assignees

• Apple Inc

Inventors

• Grinker Scott C

Classifications

• H04R1/1041 Primary

  Mechanical or electronic switches, or control elements (switches in general H01H) · CPC title

• H04R2460/01

  Hearing devices using active noise cancellation · CPC title

• G10K11/1785

  Methods, e.g. algorithms; Devices (G10K11/1781, G10K11/1783 take precedence) · CPC title

• H04R1/1083

  Reduction of ambient noise (active noise reduction per se G10K11/175; protective devices for the ear, e.g. providing acoustic protection A61F11/06) · CPC title

• G10K11/17873

  using a reference signal without an error signal, e.g. pure feedforward · CPC title