Patent Application
20180276957
The present disclosure relates in general to personal electronic devices, and in particular to devices interacting with users via production of electronic audio signals.
With the proliferation of smartphones, tablets, laptop computers, wearable computing devices, and the like, electronic devices capable of playing music or other audio content have become ubiquitous. Users enjoy listening to audio content in a wide variety of locations, with some users listening to audio content nearly continually throughout the day. Use of electronic audio devices has become particularly popular via earphones/headphones, in public or group settings, such as coffee shops, while walking, or in office settings.
However, use of audio devices, particularly via headphones, may convey social messages that are unintended or undesired, and may limit or impair social interactions with others. For example, users wearing headphones may be perceived as unapproachable by others when in a public domain, thereby forcing users to choose between enjoying audio content and making themselves available for social interaction. Such binary choices may inhibit an individual's creativity or productivity. For example, some workplaces may impose a “no headphones at work” rule, presuming that everyone who wears headphones is unapproachable or purposefully declining interaction with others. However, such prohibitions preclude headphone use by other individuals, who may use music or other audio content to focus or be more productive, while still inviting interaction with others. In other circumstances, an individual may utilize a laptop PC in a bar or other public setting for casual entertainment purposes, while being receptive to social engagement with others. However, such laptop use may give rise to social connotations of business and unapproachability.
A user's intentions may also be confused in an opposite manner, such as when an uncommon device is used to carry out a high priority task. For example, in many social settings, there may be an assumption that mobile phone users are engaged in casual content consumption. If the user uses a mobile phone to engage in important work communications, e.g. while at a bar or restaurant, the user may be constantly interrupted as their approachability status is not understood.
Traditional headphones and other electronic devices may include visual cues of various sorts, but they generally reflect the operating state of the device itself, rather than the social intentions of the user. For example, a power light may illuminate to indicate a device's operability; and the light may flash or change color to indicate low battery level. However, such cues are not helpful in communicating the user's social intention and/or level of sensory perception to others. Lack of control over peer understanding of social intentions implied by use of personal electronic devices (such as approachability connotations) and the impact of personal electronic devices on a user's sensory perception, may cause many individuals to abstain from using a device in some circumstances, or to use devices in a non-optimal manner. Even worse, these effects may also impact or limit individuals' daily social interactions, promoting separation or disconnection from other individuals.
Systems and methods enable users to control visual cues to others that are reflective of the user's social intentions and/or sensory awareness during use of personal electronic devices. In some embodiments, the visual cues may be provided by visual indicators on headphones, such as a multi-color LED positioned to be visible to others during use, which change status based on the user's desired interactions with others, or based on how a device's mode of operation impacts the user's ability to perceive external sounds. An LED embedded within an earphone may, for example, glow red when a user prefers not to be interrupted, or glow green when a user is open to interaction with others. Additionally or alternatively, an LED embedded within an earphone may, for example, glow red when a user's personal electronic device is engaged in a mode of operation that significantly impairs the user's ability to hear external sounds (such as during an announcement, while playing audio at high volume), or glow greed otherwise. The visual indicator status may be controlled manually by a user, such as via toggling of a button or switch mounted on headphones, or via a user-configurable setting on a smartphone app interacting with the headphones. The visual indicator status may additionally or alternatively be controlled automatically, such as based on a headphone audio processing setting, the nature or source of audio content with which the user is engaging, or based on an active application operating on an associated electronic device such as a smartphone or laptop computer. The visual indicator may additionally or alternatively be external to the personal electronic device, such as a separate sign or display. Visual cues may implement multiple discrete states, or may vary along a continuum of color and/or illumination level. A cloud server may track a user's visual cue state, for use in controlling or otherwise interacting with other network-connected services.
While this invention is susceptible to embodiment in many different forms, there are shown in the drawings and will be described in detail herein several specific embodiments, with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered as an exemplification of the principles of the invention to enable any person skilled in the art to make and use the invention, and is not intended to limit the invention to the embodiments illustrated.
Embodiments of the present invention are generally directed to personal electronic devices located on or around an individual's person during use, providing visual indication of a user's social state (such as their readiness for social interaction with others) or state of digital immersion (such as their ability to perceive external sounds or other stimuli).
Wireless transceiver 208 enables digital communication between headphones 10 and other devices, such as personal electronic device 240. In some embodiments, transceiver 208 is a Bluetooth™ transceiver. Digital-to-audio converter 210 converts digital audio signals received by headphones 10 (e.g. via transceiver 208) into analog audio signals, which may then be applied to transducers 212 (which may include, without limitation, audio amplifiers and loudspeakers) to generate sound output.
Light emitting diode (“LED”) unit 214 is controlled by processor 200. In some embodiments, LED unit 214 is a multicolor LED unit capable of turning on and off, varying color and varying brightness. As is known in the art, LED unit 214 may include multiple light emitting diodes of different colors and/or brightnesses operating together to produce varying light output. In some embodiments, LED unit 214 will include multiple LED units operating together, such as one LED unit 214A mounted in a left earphone, and a second LED unit 214B mounted in a right earphone, such that one of LED units 214 may be visible to individuals proximate a wearer of headphones 10, regardless of their position relative to the wearer.
Headphones 10, and in particular transceiver 208, communicate via wireless communication link 220, with personal electronic device (“PED”) 240. In varying embodiments and use cases, PED 240 may be, without limitation: a smartphone, tablet computer, laptop computer, desktop computer, smart watch, smart glasses, other wearable computing devices, home assistant, smart home appliance, or smart television. Headphones 10 may also be utilized in conjunction with multiple PEDs.
PED 240 includes transceiver 241, which in some embodiments may be a Bluetooth transceiver adapted for bidirectional digital communications with headphones transceiver 208. PED 240 also includes user interface components 242, which may include a touch-sensitive display screen. Battery 243 provides power to PED 240 during portable use. Microprocessor 244 implements application logic stored within memory 245, and otherwise controls the operation of PED 240.
In operation, a user may engage in tapping action 330 to transition between red S300 and green S310 illuminated states. From either state S300 or S310, headphone UI components 206 may be used to power down the headphones (action 332, e.g. long press on a power button), thereby transitioning LEDs 214 to an unilluminated state S320. From state S320, headphones 10 may be powered on (action 334, e.g. long press on a power button) to transition to green state S310.
Thus, the visual cue illumination status is changed by actuation of a trigger. In the embodiment of
Each of the illuminated states corresponds to a different audio mode of headphones 10. Thus, when headphones 10 are initially powered on (action 465), they occupy a “hear through” mode of operation, and LED 214 is placed in GREEN state S400 by processor 200. The user may toggle the headphones to a modified mode of operation, such that processor 200 transitions LED 214 to ORANGE state S410. The state toggling may be implemented locally by a tap action 450, or remotely via use of PED 240, such as a control signal generated by a PED app and conveyed by transceiver 241 to transceiver 206 (app control signal 455). Similarly, from ORANGE state S410, tap action 450 or app control signal 455 may be used to transition to RED state S420. In turn, tap action 450 or app control signal 455 may then be used to transition back to GREEN state S400. From any of states S400, S410 or S420, a POWER OFF action may be used to transition to unilluminated state S430.
In some embodiments, an audio modification profile implemented by headphones 10 may be optimized for a desired level of interaction with others. For example, a “conversation mode” may provide not only play-through of ambient sounds, but equalization of exterior ambient sounds to maximize clarity of audio content commonly found in human speech, while simultaneously attenuating music or other audio content being played back to ensure the sound level, and/or the distribution of audio playback content over the frequency spectrum, do not prevent effective conversation. Such a conversation mode may be associated with a GREEN visual cue, thereby encouraging the types of interaction for which the audio modification profile is best suited. Similarly, an “office” mode of operation may apply audio signal processing to allow a wearer to perceive nearby human speech with limited attenuation, while masking distant sounds, frequencies outside the primary range of human speed, and other typical office noises. Such an office mode may be associated with an ORANGE visual cue, indicating to others the user's intent for productivity, while conveying receptiveness to important communications. A “focus” mode of operation may apply full noise cancellation functions to minimize the user's perception of outside sounds, while playing through music or other audio content without attenuation. Such a “focus” mode may be associated with a RED visual cue, thereby indicating to others that the wearer is fully engaged and desires minimum interruption. By coupling a visual indication of a user's intent with an associated mode of audio processing, misunderstandings may be avoided, such as where a co-worker believes they are being ignored when, in fact, headphone noise cancellation prevents the wearer from perceiving attempted communications.
While the exemplary embodiment of headphones 10 is illustrated in the context of wireless headphones, it is contemplated and understood that other embodiments may be implemented in a wired headphones application.
In some embodiments, visual cues as described herein may be implemented by means other than an LED. For example, LCD or other light emitting displays may be used. Non-light emitting indicators may be used, such as e-ink displays. In some embodiments, a device may include components (such as a portion of a device casing) which are capable of adaptively changing colors (e.g. electrochromic materials, or magnetochromic materials) to indicate status as described herein. These and other mechanisms for indicating a user's availability for social interaction may be provided.
In some embodiments, devices other than headphones may include visual cues. For example, a smartphone case may include a battery, which may be used to extend the power reserve for a smartphone, but which may also power circuitry analogous to aspects of headphones 10 (such as a microprocessor, transceiver, UI, and a visual indicator such as an LED or LCD) to provide a visual cue while an individual is utilizing the smartphone. In other embodiments, a visual cue may be incorporated into an article of clothing or jewelry, such as a button or fabric clothing with electrochromic printing. In such embodiments, at some level, a control circuit will vary the state of a visual indicator (or proxy therefor) based on application logic as described herein.
In another embodiment, a laptop computer may implement a visual cue by varying the color of a display border, or varying the color of a logo displayed on the backside of a laptop screen.
In another headphone embodiment, the color of all or some portion of the headphone body itself may change appearance to indicate a visual cue. One such embodiment is illustrated in
In some embodiments, an application state on one device, such as PED 240, may be used to control a visual cue on the same or different device, such as headphones 10.
In some embodiments, rather than having a visual cue state determined by a single criterion, numerous factors may be evaluated to determine a visual cue state. For example, a visual cue on headphones may be set to a RED state at all times during which full noise cancelling functions are active. However, when full noise cancelling functions are not active, the visual cue state may be dependent upon a remote device application monitoring function, such as that of
In some embodiments, rather than providing a limited number of discrete states for a visual cue (e.g. red, orange, green), a visual cue state may be represented along a continuum. For example, a visual cue may transition in a color continuum, from red to green. In other embodiments, a visual cue may transition in illumination intensity (e.g. very bright red indicating maximal discouragement of interaction, with multiple states of lesser illumination indicating progressively less discouragement of interaction). Continuum-based embodiments may be particularly effective when a large number of factors are used in a weighted determination of visual cue state.
In some embodiments, a user's visual cue or accessibility status may be reported to a cloud service, which may be used for controlling other network-based services. For example, in
While certain embodiments of the invention have been described herein in detail for purposes of clarity and understanding, the foregoing description and Figures merely explain and illustrate the present invention and the present invention is not limited thereto. It will be appreciated that those skilled in the art, having the present disclosure before them, will be able to make modifications and variations to that disclosed herein without departing from the scope of the invention or any appended claims.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62474659 | Mar 2017 | US |
