Wireless listening device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11589150-B2
Application number	US-202117496748-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 7, 2021
Priority date	Jan 7, 2021
Publication date	Feb 21, 2023
Grant date	Feb 21, 2023

Abstract

A portable acoustic device comprising: a device housing that defines an internal cavity, the device housing comprising a speaker housing portion and a stem portion extending away from the speaker housing portion; a first acoustic port formed through a wall of the speaker housing; an audio driver disposed within the speaker housing portion and aligned to emit sound through the acoustic first port; a battery disposed within the speaker housing portion and positioned an opposite side of the audio driver than the acoustic port; an antenna disposed in the stem; a user input region disposed along the stem; and a system in a chip disposed in the stem, the system in a chip comprising: a processor that controls operation of the portable wireless acoustic device, charging circuitry, an accelerometer, a wireless communication controller, support components for the antenna and support components for the user input region.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A portable wireless acoustic device comprising:
a device housing that defines an internal cavity, the device housing comprising a speaker housing portion and a stem portion extending away from the speaker housing portion;
a first acoustic port formed through a wall of the speaker housing portion;
an audio driver disposed within the speaker housing portion and aligned to emit sound through the first acoustic port;
a battery disposed within the speaker housing portion and positioned on an opposite side of the audio driver than the first acoustic port;
an antenna disposed in the stem;
a user input region disposed along the stem; and
a system in a chip disposed in the stem, the system in a chip comprising: a processor that controls operation of the portable wireless acoustic device, charging circuitry, an accelerometer, a wireless communication controller, support components for the antenna and support components for the user input region.

2. The portable acoustic device set forth in claim 1 further comprising:
a second port formed through a surface of the device housing that faces a user's ear when the portable wireless acoustic device is worn by the user; and
an optical sensor operatively coupled to the second port, the optical sensor comprising an emitter that emits radiation of a first wavelength and of a second wavelength, different than the first wavelength, through the second port and a detector operable to detect radiation of the first and second wavelength after the radiation is reflected off the user's ear;
wherein the first and second wavelengths have different frequency dependences on human skin.

3. The portable acoustic device set forth in claim 2 wherein the processor is operatively coupled to receive output from the detector, and is configured to calculate a ratio of detected radiation of the first wavelength to detected radiation of the second wavelength and generate an in-ear detect signal based on the calculated ratio being within a predetermined range.

4. The portable acoustic device set forth in claim 3 wherein the processor generates the in-ear detect signal based on a combination of a signal output by the accelerometer and the calculated ratio of detected radiation of the first wavelength to detected radiation of the second wavelength.

5. The portable acoustic device set forth in claim 1 wherein:
the speaker housing portion includes a front volume acoustically separated from a back volume, the front volume being disposed between the audio driver and the first acoustic port and the back volume being disposed behind the audio driver;
the battery is disposed within the back volume;
the battery has an exterior surface and includes first and second electrical interconnects extending away from the exterior surface that enable the battery to be operatively coupled to the one or more electronic components within the device housing; and
the battery comprises a hydrophobic coating deposited over an entire exterior surface of the battery except for the first and second electrical interconnects.

6. The portable acoustic device set forth in claim 1 wherein:
the audio driver cooperates with an inner surface of the speaker housing to define a front volume within the speaker housing portion for the audio driver that is sealed to an ambient environment except for a free flowing air path to the ambient environment through the first acoustic port;
the portable acoustic device further comprises a microphone disposed within the front volume of the device housing; and
wherein the processor is operatively coupled to receive output from the microphone and is configured to change an audio profile of the audio driver based on output from the microphone.

7. The portable wireless acoustic device set forth in claim 1 further comprising:
one or more electronic components that require power to operate; and
wherein the battery: (i) is operable to provide power to the one or more electronic components; (ii) has an exterior surface; (iii) includes first and second electrical interconnects extending away from the exterior surface and configured to enable the battery to be operatively coupled to the one or more electronic components; and (iv) includes a hydrophobic coating deposited over an entire exterior surface of the battery except for the first and second electrical interconnects.

8. The portable wireless acoustic device of claim 7 wherein:
the device housing includes a front volume acoustically separated from a back volume, the front being disposed between the audio driver and the acoustic port and the back volume being disposed behind the audio driver; and
the battery is disposed within the back volume.

9. The portable wireless acoustic device of claim 8 wherein the front volume, the back volume and the battery are all disposed within the speaker housing.

10. The portable wireless acoustic device of claim 8 further comprising a bass port formed through the speaker housing and fluidly coupled to the back volume.

11. The portable wireless acoustic device of claim 8 wherein the battery comprises first and second opposing exterior surfaces and the battery is positioned within the housing so that the first exterior surface faces the acoustic port.

12. The portable wireless acoustic device of claim 8 wherein the hydrophobic coating comprises a type N parylene.

13. The portable wireless acoustic device of claim 12 wherein the battery further comprises a second hydrophobic coating sprayed over a portion of the battery facing the back volume.

14. The portable wireless acoustic device of claim 13 wherein the second hydrophobic coating comprises a fluorochemical acrylic polymer.

15. The portable wireless acoustic device of claim 8 wherein the hydrophobic coating is between 15 - 30 microns thick.

16. The portable wireless acoustic device set forth in claim 1
wherein the audio driver cooperates with an inner surface of the speaker housing to define a front volume within the device housing for the audio driver that is sealed to an ambient environment except for a free flowing air path to the ambient environment through the acoustic port; and wherein the portable wireless acoustic device further comprises:
a microphone disposed within the front volume of the device housing; and
a processor operatively coupled to receive output from the microphone, the processor configured to change an audio profile of the audio driver based on output from the microphone.

17. The earphone set forth in claim 16 wherein the speaker housing is sized and shaped to fit within a user's ear without any portion of the earphone being inserted into the user's ear canal.

18. The earphone set forth in claim 16 wherein the microphone is tuned to listen to low frequencies in the front volume that are indicative of a quality of fit of the earphone in a user's ear, and the processor is configured to adjust the audio settings of the audio driver based on the output from the microphone.

19. The earphone set forth in claim 16 wherein the processor is configured to boost low frequency sound generated by the audio driver if the processor determines that the speaker housing forms a poor seal in a user's ear.

Assignees

• Apple Inc

Inventors

• Panecki Lee M
• Chawan Arun D
• Canning Julia C
• Minerbi Michael B
• Wang Pengchuan
• Tse Kyle
• Twehues Brian R
• Bong Sean T
• Zhou Eric X
• Huwe Ethan L
• Grinker Scott C
• Sang Haochuan
• Kuster Martin
• Docherty Sean J
• Buck Ryan
• Kuboyama Yuta

Classifications

• H04R1/1025

  Accumulators specially adapted for earpieces; Arrangements specially adapted for charging thereof · CPC title

• H04R1/1016 Primary

  Earpieces of the intra-aural type · CPC title

• H04R1/22

  for obtaining desired frequency characteristic only  {(circuit for combining transducers having different responses H04R3/00; for hearing aids H04R25/407)} · CPC title

• H04R2201/107

  Monophonic and stereophonic headphones with microphone for two-way hands free communication · CPC title

• H04R1/2819

  for loudspeaker transducers · CPC title