Setup management for ear tip selection fitting process

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12526567-B2
Application number	US-202318331808-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 8, 2023
Priority date	Jul 8, 2019
Publication date	Jan 13, 2026
Grant date	Jan 13, 2026

Abstract

A method performed by a programmed processor of an in-ear headphone that is to be worn by a user. The method obtains, over a wireless communication link and via a first wireless connection that uses an accessory profile, a first request, from an audio source device, to start a measurement process. In response to obtaining the request, the method 1) establishes, over the link, a second wireless connection that uses an audio distribution profile between the headphone and the source device, 2) obtains, via the second wireless connection, an audio signal for driving a speaker of the headphone to output sound, 3) responsive to the outputted sound, determining a fit parameter, and 4) transmitting the fit parameter to the source device via the first wireless connection.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A method performed by a programmed processor of an audio source device, the method comprising:
a) transmitting, over a wireless BLUETOOTH link and via a BLUETOOTH Serial Port Profile (SPP) wireless connection, a request to start a fitting process to an in-ear headphone, wherein the fitting process determines whether an ear tip of the in-ear headphone fits properly within an ear canal of a user; b) obtaining, over the wireless BLUETOOTH link and via the BLUETOOTH SPP wireless connection, an acknowledgement message from the in-ear headphone that acknowledges the request has been received and that the in-ear headphone has started the fitting process; c) in response to obtaining the acknowledgement message and while the in-ear headphone and the audio source device are wirelessly connected via the BLUETOOTH SPP wireless connection,
establishing, over the wireless BLUETOOTH link, a BLUETOOTH Advanced Audio Distribution Profile (A2DP) wireless connection between the in-ear headphone and the audio source device, and
transmitting, over the wireless BLUETOOTH link and via the BLUETOOTH A2DP wireless connection, an audio signal to be used by the in-ear headphone to perform a measurement; and
d) obtaining, over the wireless BLUETOOTH link and via the BLUETOOTH SPP wireless connection, a fit parameter that is a result of the measurement from the in-ear headphone.

2 . The method of claim 1 further comprising:
determining whether the fit parameter is less than a set of previously obtained fit parameters that were each a result of a performance of the measurement; and
in response to determining that the fit parameter is below the set of previously obtained fit parameters, notifying the user of the in-ear headphone that the ear tip does not properly fit within the ear canal of the user.

3 . The method of claim 2 , wherein the audio source device comprises a display, wherein notifying the user comprises displaying a notification on the display that indicates that the ear tip does not properly fit or to instruct the user to replace the ear tip with a different ear tip.

4 . The method of claim 1 further comprising, in response to obtaining the acknowledgement message, transmitting a command message to establish the BLUETOOTH A2DP wireless connection with the in-ear headphone, wherein the audio signal is transmitted to the in-ear headphone upon obtaining an acknowledgement message from the in-ear headphone that the BLUETOOTH A2DP wireless connection has been established.

5 . The method of claim 1 further comprising determining whether the fit parameter is indicative of the fitting process performed by the in-ear headphone being a success or a failure.

6 . The method of claim 5 , wherein, in response to the fit parameter being a success, the method further comprises 1) stopping transmission of the audio signal and 2) transmitting a request to the in-ear headphone to tear down the BLUETOOTH A2DP wireless connection.

7 . The method of claim 5 , wherein, in response to the fit parameter being a failure, the method further comprises performing operations a)-d) in order to determine whether another fit parameter will be a success or a failure.

8 . An electronic device comprising:
at least one processor; and memory having stored therein instructions which when executed by the at least one processor causes the electronic device to:
a) transmit, over a wireless BLUETOOTH link and via a BLUETOOTH Serial Port Profile (SPP) wireless connection, a request to start a fitting process to an in-ear headphone, wherein the fitting process determines whether an ear tip of the in-ear headphone fits properly within an ear canal of a user;
b) obtain, over the wireless BLUETOOTH link and via the BLUETOOTH SPP wireless connection, an acknowledgement message from the in-ear headphone that acknowledges the request has been received and that the in-ear headphone has started the fitting process;
c) in response to obtaining the acknowledgement message and while the in-ear headphone and the electronic device are wirelessly connected via the BLUETOOTH SPP wireless connection,
establish, over the wireless BLUETOOTH link, a BLUETOOTH Advanced Audio Distribution Profile (A2DP) wireless connection between the in-ear headphone and the electronic device, and
transmit, over the wireless BLUETOOTH link and via the BLUETOOTH A2DP wireless connection, an audio signal to be used by the in-ear headphone to perform a measurement; and

d) obtain, over the wireless BLUETOOTH link and via the BLUETOOTH SPP wireless connection, a fit parameter that is a result of the measurement from the in-ear headphone.

9 . The electronic device of claim 8 , wherein the memory has further instructions to:
determine whether the fit parameter is less than a set of previously obtained fit parameters that were each a result of a performance of the measurement; and in response to determining that the fit parameter is below the set of previously obtained fit parameters, notify the user of the in-ear headphone that the ear tip does not properly fit within the ear canal of the user.

10 . The electronic device of claim 8 comprises one of a smart phone, a desktop computer, a laptop computer, or a smart watch.

11 . The electronic device of claim 8 , wherein the memory has further instructions to, in response to obtaining the acknowledgement message, transmit a command message to establish the BLUETOOTH A2DP wireless connection with the in-ear headphone, wherein the audio signal is transmitted to the in-ear headphone upon obtaining an acknowledgement message from the in-ear headphone that the BLUETOOTH A2DP wireless connection has been established.

12 . The electronic device of claim 8 , wherein the memory has further instructions to determine whether the fit parameter is indicative of the fitting process performed by the in-ear headphone being a success or a failure.

13 . The electronic device of claim 12 , wherein the memory has further instructions to, in response to the fit parameter being a success, 1) stop transmission of the audio signal and 2) transmit a request to the in-ear headphone to tear down the BLUETOOTH A2DP wireless connection.

14 . The electronic device of claim 12 , wherein, in response to the fit parameter being a failure, the memory has further instructions to perform operations a)-d) in order to determine whether another fit parameter will be a success or a failure.

15 . A processor of an electronic device that is configured to:
transmit, over a wireless BLUETOOTH link and via a BLUETOOTH Serial Port Profile (SPP) wireless connection, a request to start a fitting process to an in-ear headphone, wherein the fitting process determines whether an ear tip of the in-ear headphone fits properly within an ear canal of a user; obtain, over the wireless BLUETOOTH link and via the BLUETOOTH SPP wireless connection, an acknowledgement message from the in-ear headphone that acknowledges the request has been received and that the in-ear headphone has started the fitting process; in response to obtaining the acknowledgement message and while the in-ear headphone and the electronic device are wirelessly connected via the BLUETOOTH SPP wireless connection,
establish, over the wireless BLUETOOTH link, a BLUETOOTH Advanced Audio Distribution Profile (A2DP) wireless connection between the in-ear headphone and the electronic device, and
transmit, over the wireless BLUETOOTH link and via the BLUETOOTH A2DP wireless connection, an audio signal to be used by the in-ear headphone to perform a measurement; and
obtain, over the wireless

Assignees

• Apple Inc

Inventors

• Sun Kang
• Hariharan Sriram
• Watson Robert D
• Ranade Sarang S
• Durfee Kevin

Classifications

• H04W4/80

  Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication · CPC title

• H04L65/60

  Network streaming of media packets · CPC title

• H04R2420/07

  Applications of wireless loudspeakers or wireless microphones · CPC title

• H04L67/303

  Terminal profiles · CPC title

• H04R1/1016 Primary

  Earpieces of the intra-aural type · CPC title