PATENT DOCUMENT

Publication Number: US-10771884-B2
Application Number: US-201916352588-A
Country: US
Kind Code: B2

Title: Electronic devices with coherent self-mixing proximity sensors

Abstract:
An electronic device such as an earbud may have control circuitry mounted in a housing. The housing may have portions such as an ear portion with a speaker port through which a speaker plays audio and a stalk portion that extends from the ear portion. Proximity sensors may be formed in the electronic device. For example, one or more proximity sensors may be formed on the ear portion to detect when a user has inserted an earbud into the ear of the user and/or one or more proximity sensors may be formed on a stalk portion to detect when a user is holding an earbud by the stalk or when a user is providing finger touch input such as taps, swipes, and/or other gestures on the stalk portion. The proximity sensors may be optical proximity sensors such as coherent self-mixing proximity sensors.

Claims:
What is claimed is: 
     
       1. An earbud, comprising:
 a housing; 
 a speaker in the housing; 
 a self-mixing proximity sensor in the housing, wherein the self-mixing proximity sensor includes a laser with a laser cavity configured to emit output light that illuminates a target and wherein a portion of the output light that has illuminated the target reenters the laser cavity and causes self-mixing fluctuations in a power of the output light; and 
 control circuitry in the housing that is configured to gather proximity measurements with the self-mixing proximity sensor. 
 
     
     
       2. The earbud defined in  claim 1  wherein the control circuitry is configured to take action based on the proximity sensor measurements. 
     
     
       3. The earbud defined in  claim 2  wherein the action taken comprises an action selected from the group consisting of: audio playback pausing, audio playback resumption, entering a sleep state, and exiting a sleep state. 
     
     
       4. The earbud defined in  claim 2  wherein the laser is a vertical cavity surface emitting laser. 
     
     
       5. The earbud defined in  claim 1  wherein the laser is a semiconductor laser. 
     
     
       6. The earbud defined in  claim 5  wherein the self-mixing proximity sensor includes a photodiode and wherein the control circuitry includes a drive circuit configured to modulate the semiconductor laser and includes a sense circuit configured to use the photodiode to measure the self-mixing fluctuations. 
     
     
       7. The earbud defined in  claim 5  wherein the control circuitry is configured to detect a ripple frequency in one of: a) a junction voltage for the semiconductor laser and b) a bias current for the semiconductor laser using a frequency-extracting transform. 
     
     
       8. The earbud defined in  claim 5  wherein the control circuitry is configured to detect a ripple frequency in one of: a) a photodiode output signal, b) a junction voltage for the semiconductor laser, and c) a bias current for the semiconductor laser using a frequency-extracting transform. 
     
     
       9. The earbud defined in  claim 8  wherein the frequency-extracting transform comprises a Fourier transform and wherein the control circuitry is configured to fit an interpolating curve to the output of the frequency-extracting transform to detect the ripple frequency. 
     
     
       10. The earbud defined in  claim 8  wherein the control circuitry is configured to measure a distance between the self-mixing proximity sensor and a target object using the ripple frequency. 
     
     
       11. The earbud defined in  claim 1  wherein the control circuitry is configured to detect a ripple frequency in one of: a) a photodiode output signal, b) a junction voltage for the laser, and c) a bias current for the laser. 
     
     
       12. An earbud, comprising:
 a housing having a speaker port; 
 a self-mixing proximity sensor in the housing, wherein the self-mixing proximity sensor includes a laser with a laser cavity configured to emit output light that illuminates a target and wherein a portion of the output light that has illuminated the target reenters the laser cavity and causes self-mixing fluctuations in a power of the output light; 
 a speaker configured to supply audio through the speaker port; and 
 control circuitry configured to adjust earbud operation in response to measurements from the self-mixing proximity sensor. 
 
     
     
       13. The earbud defined in  claim 12  wherein the self-mixing proximity sensor includes an infrared laser. 
     
     
       14. The earbud defined in  claim 13  wherein the control circuitry is configured to adjust earbud operation by controlling the audio. 
     
     
       15. The earbud defined in  claim 12  wherein the control circuitry is configured to determine target distances with the self-mixing proximity sensor using a frequency transform that produces output. 
     
     
       16. The earbud defined in  claim 15  wherein the control circuitry is configured to produce the target distances by fitting an interpolating curve to the output. 
     
     
       17. An earbud, comprising:
 a housing having a stalk portion and an ear portion with a speaker port; 
 a self-mixing proximity sensor in the stalk portion, wherein the self-mixing proximity sensor includes a laser with a laser cavity configured to emit output light that illuminates a target and wherein a portion of the output light that has illuminated the target reenters the laser cavity and causes self-mixing fluctuations in a power of the output light; 
 a speaker configured to play audio through the speaker port; and 
 control circuitry configured to gather finger touch input using a measurement from the self-mixing proximity sensor. 
 
     
     
       18. The earbud defined in  claim 17  wherein the self-mixing proximity sensor comprises one of multiple self-mixing proximity sensors in the stalk portion and wherein the control circuitry is configured to gather a finger touch input from a user using each of the self-mixing proximity sensors. 
     
     
       19. The earbud defined in  claim 18  wherein each of the self-mixing proximity sensors includes a semiconductor laser. 
     
     
       20. The earbud defined in  claim 19  wherein the control circuitry comprises a drive circuit configured to modulate each of the semiconductor lasers with a triangular wave drive signal. 
     
     
       21. The earbud defined in  claim 17  wherein:
 the laser is a vertical cavity surface emitting laser; and 
 the control circuitry is configured to use the self-mixing proximity sensor to measure a distance between the self-mixing proximity sensor and an external target by applying a frequency transform to a selected one of: 1) output from a photodiode configured to monitor light from the vertical cavity surface emitting laser, 2) a junction voltage of the vertical cavity surface emitting laser; and 3) a bias current for the vertical cavity surface emitting laser.

Description:
This application claims the benefit of provisional patent application No. 62/653,444, filed Apr. 5, 2018, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. 
    
    
     FIELD 
     This relates generally to electronic devices, and, more particularly, to optical sensors for electronic devices. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Electronic devices may contain optical sensors. For example, earbuds may contain optical proximity sensors based on infrared light-emitting diodes and infrared photodetectors. An optical proximity sensor may use an infrared light-emitting diode to emit infrared light. The emitted infrared light may reflect or backscatter off of an object in the vicinity of the proximity sensor. The strength of the reflected or backscattered light may be measured using an infrared photodetector to determine whether the object is near or far from the sensor. An earbud can use a proximity sensor to gather information on the operating state of the earbud such as whether the earbud has been inserted into the ear of a user. 
     Challenges can arise in gathering operating state information with an optical proximity sensor. For example, the intensity of emitted infrared light that is reflected or backscattered from a nearby object can be affected by the reflectivity and bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF) of the object, which can lead to measurement inaccuracies. 
     SUMMARY 
     An electronic device such as an earbud may have control circuitry mounted in a housing. The housing may have portions such as an ear portion with a speaker port through which a speaker plays audio and a stalk portion that extends from the ear portion. 
     Proximity sensors may be formed in the electronic device. For example, one or more proximity sensors may be formed on the ear portion to detect when a user has inserted an earbud into the ear of the user and/or one or more proximity sensors may be formed on a stalk portion to detect when a user is holding an earbud by the stalk or when a user is providing finger touch input such as taps, swipes, and/or other gestures on the stalk portion. 
     The proximity sensors may be optical proximity sensors such as self-mixing proximity sensors. A self-mixing proximity sensor may have a coherent or partially coherent source of electromagnetic radiation. The source of radiation may, for example, be a coherent light source such as an infrared vertical cavity surface-emitting laser, a quantum cascade laser, or other laser. The self-mixing proximity sensor may also have a light detector such as a photodiode and/or other electromagnetic-radiation-sensitive element. 
     The control circuitry can apply a frequency-extracting transform such as a fast Fourier transform to the laser bias current signal, laser junction voltage signal, or photodiode output signal and can interpolate output from the fast Frequency transform using a curve fitting technique based on a Gaussian, sine cardinal, or any other interpolating function to produce a target distance measurement corresponding to an absolute distance between the self-mixing proximity sensor and a user&#39;s body or other external target. 
     Based on information from the self-mixing proximity sensors, the control circuitry can take actions such as pausing and resuming audio playback, entering and exiting a low-power sleep state, and other control operations for an earbud or other electronic device. A user may supply finger touch input or other input to one or more self-mixing sensors, a one-dimensional array of self-mixing proximity sensors, or a two-dimensional array of self-mixing sensors and the control circuitry can take action based on the input (e.g., to increase or decrease playback volume, etc.). 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic diagram of an illustrative electronic device having a self-mixing proximity sensor in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view of an illustrative earbud with a self-mixing proximity sensor in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 3A  is a side view of an illustrative self-mixing proximity sensor in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIGS. 3B, 3C, 3D, and 3E  are side views of illustrative laser and photodiode configurations for a self-mixing proximity sensor in accordance with embodiments. 
         FIG. 4  is a circuit diagram of self-mixing proximity sensor circuitry in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 5A  is a circuit diagram of illustrative self-mixing proximity sensor driving circuitry in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIGS. 5B, 5C, and 5D  show illustrative self-mixing proximity sensor drive signals in accordance with embodiments. 
         FIGS. 6A, 6B, 6C, and 6D  are circuit diagrams of illustrative self-mixing proximity sensor measurement circuitry in accordance with embodiments. 
         FIG. 7  is a graph of illustrative self-mixing sensor signals in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 8  is a graph in which fast Fourier transform amplitude has been plotted as a function of frequency and has been fit with a Gaussian curve in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 9  is a flow chart of illustrative operations involved in gathering and using self-mixing proximity sensor measurements in accordance with an embodiment. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     An illustrative electronic device of the type that may be provided with one or more optical proximity sensors such as coherent self-mixing proximity sensors is shown in  FIG. 1 . Electronic device  10  may be a computing device such as a laptop computer, a computer monitor containing an embedded computer, a tablet computer, a cellular telephone, a media player, or other handheld or portable electronic device, a smaller device such as a wristwatch device, a pendant device, a headphone or earpiece device such as a wireless earbud, a device embedded in eyeglasses or other equipment worn on a user&#39;s head, or other wearable or miniature device, a television, a computer display that does not contain an embedded computer, a gaming device, a navigation device, an embedded system such as a system in which electronic equipment with a display is mounted in a kiosk or automobile, a cover for a tablet computer or other device, a keyboard in a cover, a keyboard in a computer, a stand-alone keyboard accessory, a mouse or other pointing device, a stylus, a voice-controlled speaker device, equipment that implements the functionality of two or more of these devices, or other electronic equipment. Illustrative configurations in which electronic device  10  is an earbud may sometimes be described herein as an example. 
     As shown in  FIG. 1 , electronic device  10  may have control circuitry  16 . Control circuitry  16  may include storage and processing circuitry for supporting the operation of device  10 . The storage and processing circuitry may include storage such as hard disk drive storage, nonvolatile memory (e.g., flash memory or other electrically-programmable-read-only memory configured to form a solid state drive), volatile memory (e.g., static or dynamic random-access-memory), etc. Processing circuitry in control circuitry  16  may be used to control the operation of device  10 . The processing circuitry may be based on one or more microprocessors, microcontrollers, digital signal processors, baseband processors, power management units, audio chips, application specific integrated circuits, etc. 
     Input-output circuitry in device  10  such as input-output devices  12  may be used to allow data to be supplied to device  10  and to allow data to be provided from device  10  to external devices. Control circuitry  16  and input-output devices  12  may be mounted in a housing for device  10  (e.g., a housing formed from polymer, glass, ceramic, metal, silicon, germanium, zinc selenide, other materials, and/or combinations of these materials). 
     Input-output devices  12  may include buttons, joysticks, scrolling wheels, touch pads, key pads, keyboards, microphones, speakers, tone generators, vibrators, cameras, light-emitting diodes and other status indicators, displays, data ports, etc. A user can control the operation of device  10  by supplying commands through input-output devices  12  and may receive status information and other output from device  10  using the output resources of input-output devices  12 . 
     Input-output devices  12  may also include sensors  18 . Sensors  18  may include one or more optical proximity sensors such as an optical self-mixing proximity sensor. Sensors  18  may also include one or more additional sensors such as an ambient light sensor, a capacitive proximity sensor, a magnetic sensor, an inertial measurement unit (e.g., a sensor that includes an accelerometer, compass, and/or gyroscope for measuring motion and orientation), a force sensor, a capacitive touch sensor, a temperature sensor, a pressure sensor, a gas sensor, a microphone, or other sensors. 
       FIG. 2  is a perspective view of an illustrative wireless earbud. Wireless earbud  20  may have a speaker such as speaker  25  mounted in alignment with an opening in housing  22  such as speaker port  24 . Housing  22  may be formed from polymer, glass, ceramic, metal, fabric, other materials, and/or combinations of these materials. As an example, housing  22  may be formed from a rigid polymer. Housing  22  may include stalk portion  22 - 1  and ear portion  22 - 2 . Speaker port  24  may be formed in ear portion  22 - 2 , which is configured for insertion into the ear of a user. Stalk portion  22 - 1  may have an elongated shape that protrudes from ear portion  22 - 2 . 
     During insertion of earbud  20  into an ear of a user, a user&#39;s fingers may grasp stalk portion  22 - 1  (as an example). Earbud  20  may have one or more proximity sensors at locations such as locations  26 . The proximity sensors may be formed on ear portion  22 - 2  (e.g., to monitor when ear portion  22 - 2  is adjacent to portions of a user&#39;s ear and thereby determine when earbud  20  is in a user&#39;s ear). If desired, proximity sensors may also be formed on stalk portion  22 - 1 . In configurations in which proximity sensors are located on stalk portion  22 - 1 , the proximity sensors can be used to monitor when a user is grasping stalk  22 - 1 . Stalk-mounted proximity sensors and/or proximity sensors on ear portion  22 - 2  (e.g., a one-dimensional or two-dimensional arrays of sensors) can also serve as a touch sensor to gather user finger input. For example, a touch sensor formed from proximity sensors may gather finger touch input such as user taps on stalk portion  22 - 1 , user finger swipes along the length of stalk portion  22 - 1  and/or other user input (sometimes referred to as finger gestures or finger input). 
       FIG. 3A  is a diagram of an illustrative self-mixing proximity sensor (sometimes referred to as a self-mixing sensor or proximity sensor) and an associated target. As shown in  FIG. 3A , self-mixing proximity sensor  30  may include a laser such as vertical cavity surface emitting laser  32  (e.g., self-mixing proximity sensor  30  may be a coherent self-mixing sensor having a diode laser or other coherent or partially coherent source of light or other electromagnetic radiation). Laser  32  may have thin-film interference filter mirrors  36  (sometimes referred to as Bragg reflectors) each of which is formed from a stack of thin-film layers of alternating index of refraction. Active region  38  may be formed between mirrors  36 . The lower mirror in laser  32  may have a nominal reflectivity of 100% or, in configurations such as bottom-emitting configurations, may have a nominal reflectivity of less than 100%. In some cases, the laser can emit from both the top and bottom. This is particularly useful if the laser is sitting above a photodetector. The upper mirror in laser  32  may have a slightly lower reflectivity, so that laser  32  emits light  46  towards target  48 . Laser  32  may be controlled by applying a drive signal to terminals  40  using control circuitry  16  (e.g., a drive circuit in circuitry  16 ). Sensing circuitry in circuitry  16  can measure the light output of laser  32 . 
     Emitted light  46  may have a wavelength of 850 nm or other suitable wavelength (e.g., a visible wavelength, an ultraviolet wavelength, an infrared wavelength, a near-infrared wavelength, etc.). Target  48  may be, for example, a user&#39;s body part (e.g., ears, fingers, etc.). When emitted light  46  illuminates target  48 , some of emitted light  46  will be reflected backwards towards proximity sensor  30 . Proximity sensor  30  may include a light sensitive element (e.g., a light detector) such as photodiode  34 . Terminals  44  of photodiode  34  may be coupled to sensing circuitry in control circuitry  16 . This circuitry gathers photodiode output signals that are produced in response to reception of reflected light  50 . In addition to using a photodiode, self-mixing can be detected using laser junction voltage measurements (e.g., if the laser is driven at a constant bias current) or laser bias current (e.g., if the laser is driven at a constant voltage). Target  48  is located at a distance X from proximity sensor  30 . 
     Some of light  50  that is reflected or backscattered from target  48  reenters the laser cavity of laser  32  and perturbs the electric field coherently, which also reflects as a perturbation to the carrier density in laser  32 . These perturbations in laser  32  causes coherent self-mixing fluctuations in the power of emitted light  46  and associated operating characteristics of laser  32  such as laser junction voltage and/or laser bias current. These fluctuations may be monitored. For example, the fluctuations in the power of light  46  may be monitored using photodiode  34 . In the example of  FIG. 3A , photodiode  34  and laser  32  are formed adjacent to each other on the upper surface of substrate  42 . Other configurations may be used, if desired. For example, photodiode  34  may be formed or bonded under laser  32 , may be monolithically integrated into laser  32 , or may be formed or bonded on top of laser  32 . In the example of  FIG. 3B , photodiode  34  is an integrated monolithic photodiode that is formed under laser  32 . In the example of  FIG. 3C , photodiode  34  is an integrated monolithic photodiode that is formed above laser  32 . In the example of  FIG. 3D , laser  32  has been coupled to a separate photodiode  34  using coupling structures  37  (e.g., epoxy/glue/solder). In the example of  FIG. 3D , laser  32  has been coupled to separate photodiode  34  using solder bumps  39 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 4 , control circuitry  16  includes circuitry for implementing a driver for laser  32  (drive circuit  16 - 1 ) and circuitry for implementing a sensing circuit for photodiode  34  (sense circuit  16 - 2 ). Drive circuit  16 - 1  is used in applying a modulated drive current Id to laser  32 . Sense circuit  16 - 2  is used in gathering signals PDout from photodiode  34  that are processed by control circuitry  16  or output signals may be gathered using junction voltage or bias current measurements. 
     A modulation scheme is used for driving laser  32  for the purpose of inducing a wavelength modulation and a photodiode signal processing scheme or junction voltage or bias current processing scheme is used in processing the measured self-mixing fluctuations in output power to that allow control circuitry  16  to determine the distance X between proximity sensor  30  and target  48  in accordance with the principles of self-mixing interferometry. 
     A modulation scheme for driving laser  32  may, for example, use a triangular wave drive signal that, due to the dependence of output wavelength on drive current magnitude of laser  32 , continuously varies the wavelength of light  46  between a first wavelength WL 1  and a second wavelength WL 2  during each half-period of the triangular wave. The wavelength variations of light  46  cause the self-mixing interference signal of laser  32  to exhibit ripples. The processing scheme used on the photodiode signal uses a frequency extraction transform to extract the period of the ripples, from which distance X may be calculated. Distance X may, for example, be determined within less than 0.2 mm, less than 0.15 mm, less than 0.1 mm, or other suitable accuracy. Due to this high accuracy, measurements of where earbud  20  is placed within a user&#39;s ear and other measurements with proximity sensor  30  can be made with a high confidence. The frequency extraction transform can have a temporal resolution (e.g., wavelet transform) or not (e.g., Fourier transform). 
       FIG. 5A  is a circuit diagram of an illustrative drive circuit for controlling the light output of laser  32 . As shown in  FIG. 5A , drive circuit  16 - 1  may have an operational amplifier such as operational amplifier  55  that is configured to form a summing amplifier. A direct-current (DC) signal is received at input  51  and an alternating-current (AC) signal is received at input  53 . The signals on inputs  51  and  53  may be voltages that are adjusted to create a desired current through the Rsense resistor and through laser  32 . For instance, a voltage of 5 mA*Rsense may be provided to input  51  to bias the laser at 5 mA. The AC signal on input  53  may be, for example, a triangular wave with an AC current of 1 mA peak-to-peak. The control signals supplied to inputs  51  and  53  (e.g., by voltage sources in control circuitry  16 ) may be summed and a resulting control voltage proportional to the sum of these input signals may be supplied to the gate of transistor  52  by the output of operational amplifier  55 . In some embodiments, transistor  52  may be omitted. In some embodiments, only one of inputs  51  and  53  may exist. 
     Resistor Rsense may be coupled in series with transistor  52  (e.g., the source-drain terminals of transistor  52 ) and laser  32  between positive power supply VDD and ground. The value of Rsense may help define the bias current component of drive current Id for laser  32 . During operation, the triangle wave AC drive signal that is supplied to the gate input of transistor  52  drives a corresponding triangle wave AC drive signal (current Id) through laser  32 . The frequency of the AC drive signal may be, for example, 2 kHz, 1-100 kHz, at least 100 Hz, at least 500 Hz, at least 1 kHz, at least 10 kHz, less than 200 kHz, less than 20 kHz, or other suitable frequency. If desired, other drive signals can be used such as the single-step drive signal of  FIG. 5B , the two-step drive signal of  FIG. 5C , or a drive signal with more than two steps. A triangle wave can also be quickly sampled. In this case the drive current appears as shown in  FIG. 5D . Other drive schemes may be used, if desired. 
     The wavelength of light  46  that is emitted from laser  32  is affected by the refractive index and length of the laser cavity formed from mirrors  36  in laser  32 . The temperature of laser  32  may vary for some driving current frequencies in accordance with the triangular wave component of drive current Id, which, in turn, modulates the output wavelength of light  46 , so that the self-mixing proximity sensor can measure target distance X. If desired, other wavelength modulation techniques may be used (e.g., refractive index modulation through free carrier modulation, cavity length modulation using a microelectromechanical systems cavity length modulator, temperature modulation using a temperature controller such as a thermoelectric cooling controller, etc.). Configurations in which the refractive index of laser  32  is modulated thermally to modulate the wavelength of output light  46  are described herein as an example. 
       FIG. 6A  is a circuit diagram of an illustrative sensing circuit for photodiode  34 . As shown in  FIG. 6A , sense circuit  16 - 2  may have operational amplifier  58  and resistor Rf configured to form a transimpedance amplifier that converts current signals from photodiode  34  into output voltage Vsig. The photodiode output PDout produced in response to received light  50  may be filtered by a high-pass filter formed from resistor R and capacitor  56 . Photodiode  34  and resistor R may be coupled in series between positive power supply Vdd and ground. Capacitor  56  may have a first terminal coupled to the output of photodiode  34  (e.g., the node coupling photodiode  34  to resistor R) and the input of the transimpedance amplifier formed from operational amplifier  58 . Output signal Vsig can be processed using digital and/or analog processing techniques to extract distance information (target distance X) during operation of the self-mixing proximity sensor. 
     In other embodiments, the high-pass filter formed by resistor R and capacitor  56  may be omitted and the underlying triangular signal can be subtracted using analog or digital subtraction. In an analog arrangement, a digital-to-analog converter can synthesize a triangular wave that can be subtracted from the photodiode signal using an analog subtractor. The remaining signal can then be amplified or the photodiode signal may be directly amplified and digitized. Then, the triangle may be subtracted using a digital subtraction block. 
       FIG. 6B  is an illustrative laser current measurement circuit that may be used to measure the current of laser  32 . In the example of  FIG. 6B , laser  32  is coupled between power supply V and ground in series with sensing resistor  85 . Amplifier  87  supplies the voltage drop across resistor  85 , which is proportional to the output of laser  32 , to analog-to-digital converter  89 . Analog-to-digital converter  89  supplies corresponding digitized data to processing circuitry in circuitry  16  for additional processing. 
     The illustrative laser current measurement circuit of  FIG. 6C  is an operational amplifier sensing circuit. Resistor  91  is coupled to a first terminal of operational amplifier  92 . Ground or a reference voltage is connected to a second terminal of operational amplifier  92 . Feedback resistor Rf is coupled between the output of operational amplifier  92  and the first input, thereby forming a transimpedance amplifier. The magnitude of resistor Rf, which influences the gain of the transimpedance amplifier can be relatively large, so the circuit of  FIG. 6C  may exhibit better signal-to-noise performance than the circuit of  FIG. 6B . 
     The circuit of  FIG. 6D  may be used to measure the voltage of laser  32 . In the voltage measurement circuit of  FIG. 6D , operational amplifier  94  receives control voltage Vin. The output of operational amplifier  94  is coupled to the gate of transistor  96 . (In some embodiments, transistor  96  may not be used.) The negative input of operational amplifier  94  is coupled to ground through resistor  98 . Operational amplifier  94  and transistor  96  form a voltage-controlled current source (e.g., a current source in which voltage Vin controls the bias current applied by transistor  96  to laser  32 ). In this configuration, self-mixing results in a change of the voltage of laser. This voltage is measured using voltage amplifier  100 . Analog-to-digital converter  89  may be used to digitize the output signal from amplifier  100 . The arrangement of  FIG. 6D  may allow a constant bias current to be established for laser  32  and may be satisfactory for schemes in which the light output of laser  32  is modulated. 
     An illustrative signal processing approach is shown in  FIG. 7 . 
     The first (uppermost) trace of  FIG. 7  shows how drive current Id may be modulated using an AC signal such as a triangle wave. This modulates the temperature of laser  32  and therefore the output wavelength of light  46 . For example, the wavelength of light  46  may vary between a first value WL 1  (when drive signal Id is at a minimum) and wavelength WL 2  (when drive signal Id is at a maximum). In accordance with the principles of self-mixing interferometry, the modulation of the wavelength of light  46  allows the self-mixing proximity sensor to measure target distance X without varying distance X. 
     The second (second to uppermost) trace of  FIG. 7  shows how the resulting output signal PDout from photodiode  34  contains self-mixing interference ripples  60 . In configurations in which laser current or laser voltage are measured, the self-mixing interference ripples will appear in the measured current or voltage. 
     Sense circuit  16 - 2  (e.g., the operational amplifier circuit of  FIG. 6 ) is configured to differentiate signal PDout (or the measured current or voltage of laser  32 ). As a result, signal Vsig at the output of sense circuit  16 - 2  is ideally a square wave onto which ripples  60  are imposed, as shown in the third (third from uppermost) trace of  FIG. 7 . To facilitate subsequent signal processing (e.g., processing to perform a frequency extraction transform), the mean of signal Vsig during high periods  64  may be subtracted from signal Vsig during high periods  64  (digitally or using analog circuitry in control circuitry  16 ), thereby equalizing the DC component in periods  62  and  64 , as shown in the fourth (lowermost) trace of  FIG. 7 . 
     A frequency-extraction transform such as a fast Fourier transform (FFT) or other frequency-extraction transform (e.g., a Hilbert transform, a continuous or discrete wavelet transform, a multiple signal classification method, etc.) may be applied to signal Vsig to determine the frequency of ripples  60 . A graph in which the output of an FFT process has been plotted as a function of frequency is shown in  FIG. 8 . With one illustrative approach, the ripple frequency can be determined by identifying the frequency associated with the peak (e.g., peak  68 ) in the FFT amplitude curve of  FIG. 8 . Frequencies with lower peaks in the FFT output can be assumed to be associated with noise and can be ignored. A more accurate frequency assessment can be made by fitting a curve to the peaks in the curve (e.g., processing the output amplitude of the FFT algorithm at each of the output frequencies of the FFT algorithm to identify the ripple frequency). As shown in the example of  FIG. 8 , a curve such as Gaussian curve  70  may be fit to the frequency peaks of the output of the FFT process to accurately identify ripple frequency fp of ripples  60  (e.g., to identify frequency fp from peak  72  in Gaussian curve  70 ). The frequency fp may then be used in calculating target distance X. 
     Illustrative operations associated with operating electronic device  10  (e.g., earbud  20 ) are shown in  FIG. 9 . 
     During the operations of block  80 , device  10  may use control circuitry such as drive circuit  16 - 1  to modulate the wavelength of output light  46  from laser  32  while using control circuitry such as sense circuit  16 - 2  to measure corresponding self-mixing fluctuations in the output light, junction voltage, or bias current (e.g., reflected or backscattered output light  50 , which shares its self-mixing intensity fluctuations with light  46 ). For example, drive circuit  16 - 1  may include a digital-to-analog circuit that supplies analog drive signals to a low-pass filter (e.g., a filter with a 10 kHz cut-off frequency) and may include a voltage-to-current converter that receives the low-pass filtered voltage from the low-pass filter and supplies a corresponding current to laser  32 . For sensing, sense circuit  16 - 2  may include a high-pass filter such as a first-order RC filter with a cut-off frequency of 40 kHz that filters output signals from photodiode  34 , a transimpedance amplifier that converts filtered output current from the high-pass filter to a voltage, and an analog-to-digital converter that can be used to gather digital data for the self-mixing fluctuations by converting the voltage to a digital signal. The transimpedance amplifier may have a bandwidth that is selected to accommodate the maximum desired distance to be measured and the applied wavelength modulation. 
     During the operations of block  82 , preprocessing operations may be performed by control circuitry  16  (e.g., to differentiate signal PDout, to convert the square wave signal of the third trace of  FIG. 7  to the signal V of the fourth trace of  FIG. 7 , etc.). For example, control circuitry  16  may identify the rising and falling sides of the PDout signal ( FIG. 7 ) to facilitate subsequent processing of these segments of the PDout data using corresponding first and second fast Fourier transform operations. 
     Following preprocessing, control circuitry  16  (e.g., general purpose processing circuitry and/or hardwired circuitry configured to facilitate computation of a transform) can be used to perform a frequency-extraction transform on the acquired and preprocessed data. For example, a Fourier transform such as a fast Fourier transform (FFT) may applied to the preprocessed data during the operations of block  84 . In particular, a first instance of an FFT may be applied to the rising side of the PDout signal and a second instance of the FFT may be applied to the falling side of the PDout signals. By applying first and second FFTs to the rising and falling segments of the PDout signal, target distance can be estimated accurately, even in scenarios in which the target is moving. The frequency-extraction transform operations of block  84  produce the FFT amplitude curve of  FIG. 8 . Alternatively, or in addition, time-frequency analysis methods such as continuous and/or discrete wavelet transform methods can be used for frequency analysis. 
     During the operations of block  86 , curve fitting or other signal processing techniques may be used to identify the ripple frequency fp from the FFT output data. For example, a Gaussian curve, sine cardinal, or any other interpolation function may be fit to the amplitude peaks in the FFT output spectrum, as described in connection with  FIG. 8 . 
     During the operations of block  88 , control circuitry  16  can use equation 1 to determine the absolute distance of target  48  from self-mixing sensor  30  (e.g., the value of target distance X may be determined).
 
 X=λ   2 ( fp )/4Δλ(triangle-wave frequency)  (1)
 
     In equation 1, the triangle-wave frequency is the frequency of the laser modulation signal, fp is the peak frequency obtained from the FFT, λ, is the wavelength of light  46  (e.g., wavelength WL 1  of  FIG. 7 ) and Δλ is the spread in wavelength achieved during modulation (e.g., WL 2 -WL 1  of  FIG. 7 ). 
     During the operations of block  90 , control circuitry  16  may take suitable action based on the measured distance X. For example, control circuitry  16  can use coherent self-mixing proximity measurements from one or more sensors  30  and/or other sensors  18  (e.g., accelerometers that produce accelerometer data, etc.) in determining the operating state of device  10 . Control circuitry  16  can then adjust the operation of device  10  based on the operating state. 
     For example, sensors on an earbud such as sensors  30  and/or other sensors  18  may gather data from locations  26  (e.g., locations on stalk portion  22 - 1  and/or ear portion  22 - 2 ) to determine whether device  10  is being held in a user&#39;s fingers, whether ear portion  22 - 2  is in a user&#39;s ear, etc. In earbud configurations, these determinations may be used to determine whether device  10  (e.g., earbud  20 ) is in a charging case, is at rest (e.g., on a table top), is being held (e.g., by the stalk in a user&#39;s fingers), is being worn in a user&#39;s ear, and/or other operating modes. In devices other than earbuds, other operating state information can be gathered. For example, in a keyboard or button that includes a self-mixing sensor  30  under each finger press location (e.g., each key location), control circuitry  16  can analyze sensor data to gather finger press data, in a configuration in which device  10  is a cellular telephone, self-mixing proximity sensor measurements may be used to determine whether the cellular telephone is resting on a table or is being pressed against the user&#39;s head, and/or in other devices self-mixing proximity sensor data may be used in determining other operating mode information. 
     In some configurations, self-mixing proximity sensors  30  may be used in gathering touch sensor input. For example, a one-dimensional or two-dimensional array of sensors  30  may be located on stalk portion  22 - 1  of housing  22  of earbud  20  or elsewhere on the housing of an electronic device. As a user&#39;s finger(s) moves over the sensors  30 , touch gesture input (e.g., taps, swipes, pinch-to-zoom gestures, and/or other finger touch sensor input or touch sensor input from other body parts and/or external objects) can be gathered and used by control circuitry  16  in controlling device  10 . 
     During the operations of block  90 , control circuitry  16  can take suitable action based on the detected operating state of earbud  20  and/or other input (e.g., user touch input, other operating mode information, etc.). If, as an illustrative example, control circuitry  16  detects that a user has removed earbud  20  from the user&#39;s ear and is now holding earbud  20  in the user&#39;s fingers, control circuitry  16  can pause audio that was being played for the user by control circuitry  16  using a speaker in earbud  20 . The audio playback can be automatically resumed when the user replaces earbud  20  in the user&#39;s ear. As another example, when control circuitry  16  detects that earbud  20  is in a case or is resting on a table, earbud  20  (e.g., control circuitry  16 ) can be placed in a low power sleep state and the speaker in earbud  20  can be temporarily deactivated. In general, any suitable actions can be taken by control circuitry  16  in response to proximity sensor measurements from proximity sensor(s)  30  and/or other sensors  18  (e.g., pausing audio playback, resuming audio playback, entering a low-power sleep state, entering a higher-power wake mode by awakening from a low-power sleep state, etc.). Finger touch input and/or other input that is received using an array of self-mixing proximity sensors can be used to adjust playback volume (e.g., as a user swipes in one direction to increase volume or another opposing direction to decrease volume), can be used as typing input (e.g., keyboard input), and/or can be used in controlling other operations in device  10 . 
     
       
         
           
               
             
               
                   
               
               
                 Table of Reference Numerals 
               
               
                   
               
             
            
               
                   
               
            
           
           
               
               
               
               
            
               
                 10 
                 Electronic Device 
                 12 
                 Input-Output Device 
               
               
                 16 
                 Control Circuitry 
                 16-1 
                 Drive Circuit 
               
               
                 16-2 
                 Sensor Circuit 
                 18 
                 Sensors 
               
               
                 20 
                 Earbud 
                 22 
                 Housing 
               
               
                 22-1 
                 Stalk Portion 
                 22-2 
                 Ear Portion 
               
               
                 24 
                 Port 
                 25 
                 Speaker 
               
               
                 26 
                 Locations 
                 30 
                 Proximity Sensor 
               
               
                 32 
                 Laser 
                 34 
                 Photodiode 
               
               
                 36 
                 Mirrors 
                 38 
                 Region 
               
               
                 40 
                 Terminals 
                 42 
                 Substrate 
               
               
                 44 
                 Terminals 
                 46 
                 Light 
               
               
                 48 
                 Target 
                 50 
                 Light 
               
               
                 51 
                 Input 
                 52 
                 Transistor 
               
               
                 53 
                 Input 
                 55 
                 Amplifier 
               
               
                 56 
                 Capacitor 
                 58 
                 Operational 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 Amplifier 
               
               
                 60 
                 Ripples 
                 62 
                 Periods 
               
               
                 64 
                 High Periods 
                 85 
                 Resistor 
               
               
                 87 
                 Amplifier 
                 89 
                 Analog-to-Digital 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 Converter 
               
               
                 91 
                 Resistor 
                 92 
                 Amplifier 
               
               
                 94 
                 Amplifier 
                 100  
                 Amplifier 
               
               
                 96 
                 Transistor 
                 98 
                 Resistor 
               
               
                 37 
                 Coupling Structures 
                 39 
                 Solder Bumps 
               
               
                   
               
            
           
         
       
     
     The foregoing is merely illustrative and various modifications can be made to the described embodiments. The foregoing embodiments may be implemented individually or in any combination.

Metadata:
Filing Date: 20190313
Publication Date: 20200908
Grant Date: 20200908
Priority Date: 20180405
Inventors: Mutlu, Mehmet
WINKLER, MARK T.
SHAMIR, ORIT A.
Assignee: APPLE INC
CPC Classifications: [{"code": "G01D5/34", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G01B11/026", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G01J1/0403", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04R2460/15", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04R29/001", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04R1/1041", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H03K17/943", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G01S7/4916", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04R1/1041", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04R1/1016", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04R1/1041", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G01S17/08", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04R1/1091", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H03K17/945", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04R1/1016", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04R29/001", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G01J1/0403", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04R1/1041", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04R1/1016", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H03K17/945", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04R2460/15", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}]
Family ID: 68099136