Electronic devices with orientation sensing

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11601756-B2
Application number	US-201916584799-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 26, 2019
Priority date	Aug 25, 2015
Publication date	Mar 7, 2023
Grant date	Mar 7, 2023

Abstract

An electronic device such as a pair of headphones may be provided with left and right speakers for playing audio to a user. Control circuitry in the electronic device may play audio through the speakers in an unreversed configuration in which left channel audio is played through a first of the speakers that is adjacent to a left ear of the user and right channel audio is played through a second of the speakers that is adjacent to a right ear of the user or a reversed configuration in which these channel assignments are reversed. The headphones may have ear cups that house the speakers. Capacitive touch sensors, force sensors, and other sensors on the ear cups may measure ear shapes and finger grip positions on the ear cups to determine whether to operate in the unreversed or reversed configuration. Sensors may gather gestures and other user touch input.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An electronic device that is configured to be worn by a user, the electronic device comprising:
speakers;
ear cups having inner surfaces, opposing outer surfaces, and peripheral surfaces that extend from the inner surfaces to the outer surfaces, wherein each of the ear cups includes a respective one of the speakers and wherein each of the ear cups have an inner opening and a peripheral portion on the inner surface that surrounds the inner opening;
sensors on the inner surfaces of the ear cups that extend from the inner opening to the peripheral portion, wherein the sensors gather information on a shape of ears of the user and detect whether the peripheral portion of inner surface of the ear cups are in contact with the ears of the user; and
capacitive touch sensors on the peripheral surfaces of the ear cups, wherein the capacitive touch sensors are configured to detect a grip of the user in response to detecting multiple fingers and are configured to detect a finger motion of the user in response to detecting a single finger.

2. The electronic device defined in claim 1 wherein the sensors comprise an array of touch sensors that detect whether the ear cups are in contact with the ears of the user.

3. The electronic device defined in claim 2 wherein each of the touch sensors of the array of touch sensors comprises electrodes that make capacitive measurements to determine whether the ear cups are in contact with the ears of the user.

4. The electronic device defined in claim 3 wherein the array of touch sensors is a rectangular array and wherein the electrodes are arranged in rows and columns that extend from the inner opening to the peripheral portion of the ear cups.

5. The electronic device defined in claim 3 wherein the electrodes are ring-shaped electrodes that at least partially surround the inner opening and wherein the ring-shaped electrodes extend from the inner opening to the peripheral portion of the ear cups.

6. The electronic device defined in claim 5 wherein the array of touch-sensors includes at least three concentric ring-shaped electrodes.

7. The electronic device defined in claim 5 wherein the ring-shaped electrodes are bisected into first and second halves, wherein the first half of the ring-shaped electrodes is on a first side of the inner opening, and wherein the second half of the ring-shaped electrodes is on a second side of the inner opening, opposite the first side.

8. The electronic device defined in claim 5 wherein the ring-shaped electrodes are split into quadrants, wherein first and second quadrants of the ring-shaped electrodes are formed on a first side of the inner opening, and wherein third and fourth quadrants of the ring-shaped electrodes are formed on a second side of the inner opening, opposite the first side.

9. The electronic device defined in claim 5 wherein the array of touch sensors further comprises radially extending electrodes that extend from the inner opening to the peripheral portion and that intersect the ring-shaped electrodes.

10. The electronic device defined in claim 2 wherein one of the ear cups is a right ear cup and one of the ear cups is a left ear cup, the electronic device further comprising:
control circuitry that is configured to determine whether a right ear and a left ear of the user are respectively adjacent to the right and left ear cups based on the gathered information on the shape of the ear of the user, and wherein the control circuitry is configured to:
in response to determining that the right and left ears are respectively adjacent to the right and left ear cups, play audio out of the speakers in an unreversed configuration, and
in response to determining that the right and left ears are respectively adjacent to the left and right ear cups, play audio out of the speakers in a reversed configuration.

11. The electronic device defined in claim 1 wherein the sensors comprise hybrid force-touch sensors that make first capacitive measurements to determine whether an ear of the user is adjacent to the sensors and second capacitive measurements to determine whether the ear is applying a force to the ear cup.

12. The electronic device defined in claim 11 wherein the hybrid force-touch sensors comprise first and second electrodes separated by a layer of compressible elastomeric material.

13. Headphones that play audio into left and right ears of a user, the headphones comprising:
left and right ear cups having respective left and right speakers that respectively play first and second audio into the left and right ears of the user in an unreversed configuration and that respectively play the first and second audio into the right and left ears of the user in a reversed configuration;
sensors on inner surfaces of the left and right ear cups, wherein the sensors extend from an inner portion to a peripheral portion of the ear cups, the sensors overlap outer portions of the left and right ears in directions normal to the inner surfaces, the sensors include radially extending electrodes and ring-shaped electrodes that intersect the radially extending electrodes;
control circuitry that is configured to determine whether the left and right ears of the user are respectively adjacent to the left and right ear cups by using pattern recognition operations on output from the sensors and that is configured to play audio in the unreversed configuration in response to determining that the left and right ears are respectively adjacent to the left and right ear cups and that is configured to play audio in the reversed configuration in response to determining that the right and left ears are respectively adjacent to the left and right ear cups; and
capacitive touch sensors on an outer edge portion of the left and right ear cups, wherein the capacitive touch sensors are configured to receive touch input from the user, the control circuitry is configured to adjust the audio based on the received touch input, and the capacitive touch sensors are configured to detect a grip of the user in response to detecting multiple fingers and are configured to detect a finger motion of the user in response to detecting a single finger.

14. The headphones defined in claim 13 wherein the ear cups have inner openings that overlap the speakers and wherein the radially extending electrodes extend from the inner opening to the peripheral portion of each ear cup.

15. The headphones defined in claim 13 wherein the capacitive touch sensors are configured to receive a swipe gesture from the user along the outer edge portion and wherein the control circuitry is configured to change a volume of the audio in response to the swipe gesture.

16. Headphones that are worn by a user, the headphones comprising:
speakers;
ear cups, wherein each of the ear cups includes a respective one of the speakers, each of the ear cups has an inner opening and a peripheral portion, and each of the ear cups has an outer edge portion;
capacitive touch sensors with first capacitive touch sensor electrodes located on inner surfaces of the ear cups and radially extending electrodes that intersect the first capacitive touch sensor electrodes, wherein each of the first capacitive touch sensor electrodes has a ring shape that surrounds one of the speakers, wherein the first capacitive touch sensor electrodes and the radially extending electrodes extend from the inner opening to the peripheral portion, and wherein the capacitive touch sensors gather information on a shape of ears of the user and detect whether the peripheral portion of the ear cups are in contact with the ears of

Assignees

• Apple Inc

Inventors

• Peterson Jonathan R
• Sunshine Daniel D
• Hamada yohji
• Podhajny Daniel A
• Crews Kathryn P
• Minoo Jahan
• Kindlon David M

Classifications

• G06F2218/12

  Classification; Matching · CPC title

• G06F3/04144

  using an array of force sensing means (position sensing using the local deformation of sensor cells G06F3/0447) · CPC title

• G06F3/042

  by opto-electronic means · CPC title

• G06F3/0446 Primary

  using a grid-like structure of electrodes in at least two directions, e.g. using row and column electrodes · CPC title

• G06F3/044

  by capacitive means · CPC title