PATENT DOCUMENT

Publication Number: US-8290537-B2
Application Number: US-21080308-A
Country: US
Kind Code: B2

Title: Sidetone adjustment based on headset or earphone type

Abstract:
A portable telephony device has a mobile phone housing. Integrated in the housing are memory to store a telephony module, an earphone type detect module, a headphone port, and a processor. The headphone port may be a wired headset jack to receive a mating wired headset plug, or it may be a communications subsystem that makes a wireless connection with a wireless headset. The earphone type detect module, when executed by the processor, is to determine what type of earphone or headset is connected to the headphone port. The telephony module when executed by the processor is to adjust a sidetone function of the device as a function of the determined type of earphone, and apply sidetone in accordance with said adjusted sidetone function. Other embodiments are also described and claimed.

Claims:
1. A machine-implemented method for operating a telephony device, comprising:
 automatically
 determining what type of earphone or headset is connected to the device by selecting from amongst a plurality of different types that include differing ear sealing levels, wherein the ear sealing levels indicate the air tightness between the earphone or headset and an ear, 
 adjusting a sidetone function of the device, that is to be applied to produce sidetone in the connected earphone or headset, based on the determined type, and 
 applying sidetone to the connected earphone or headset in accordance with said adjusted sidetone function. 
 
 
     
     
       2. The method of claim wherein said determining what type of earphone or headset comprises:
 reading a stored binary string through a headphone port of the device to which the earphone or headset is connected, wherein the stored binary string comprises identifiers for the connected earphone or headset by one of a) brand and model designation, b) serial number or unique identifier, and c) earphone design. 
 
     
     
       3. The method of  claim 2  further comprising:
 making a wireless connection to a wireless headset, wherein the earphone is a part of the wireless headset. 
 
     
     
       4. The method of  claim 1  wherein said determining what type of earphone or headset comprises:
 measuring an impedance value through a headphone port of the device to which the earphone or headset is connected, and comparing the measured impedance value to a plurality of previously stored, different impedance ranges, wherein each of the ranges is associated with a) a different type of earphone and b) a corresponding sidetone function parameter. 
 
     
     
       5. The method of  claim 1  further comprising:
 placing the electronic device in its digital media player operating mode; and 
 playing audio through the connected earphone or headset, while the device is in said digital media player operating mode, without applying the sidetone. 
 
     
     
       6. A machine-implemented method for operating a telephony device, comprising:
 automatically
 determining whether an earphone or headset that is connected to the device is or is not a sealing in-ear type, wherein sealing indicates the air tightness between the earphone or headset and an ear, 
 adjusting a sidetone function of the device based on said determination, and 
 applying sidetone to the connected earphone or headset, while the device is operating in its telephone mode working a telephone call, in accordance with said adjusted sidetone function. 
 
 
     
     
       7. The method of  claim 6  wherein said adjusting a sidetone function comprises:
 reducing a low frequency response and increasing a high frequency response of the sidetone function, when it is determined the earphone or headset is a sealing in-ear type. 
 
     
     
       8. A machine-implemented method for operating a portable telephony device, comprising:
 displaying on a built-in screen of the device a plurality of user-selectable earphone or headset profiles each of which is associated with a respective sidetone parameter and has text that refers to its earphone&#39;s or headset&#39;s ear canal sealing level, wherein the ear canal sealing level indicates the isolation, due to contact between the earphone or headset and an ear, of a user from external sounds; 
 receiving a selection from the plurality of user-selectable earphone or headset profiles; and 
 applying sidetone during a call, in accordance with the respective sidetone parameter of said selection. 
 
     
     
       9. The method of  claim 8  wherein each of the user-selectable profiles has text that refers to its earphone&#39;s or headset&#39;s brand and/or model. 
     
     
       10. The method of  claim 8  wherein each of the user-selectable profiles has an image of its earphone or headset. 
     
     
       11. The method of  claim 8  wherein the user selectable profiles include profiles for a wired headset and a wireless headset. 
     
     
       12. A portable telephony device comprising:
 a mobile phone housing having integrated therein a) memory to store an earphone type detect module, b) a telephony module, c) a headphone port, and d) a processor, the processor being coupled to the memory and the headphone port, and 
 the earphone type detect module, when executed by the processor, is to determine what type of earphone or headset is connected to the headphone port, and 
 the telephony module is to adjust a sidetone function of the device as a function of the determined type of earphone or headset based on one of the following earphone types: sealed in-ear, partially sealed in-ear, non-sealing in-ear, outside ear, and none, and apply sidetone in accordance with said adjusted sidetone function, wherein sealing indicates the air tightness between the earphone or headset and an ear. 
 
     
     
       13. The device of  claim 12  wherein the earphone type detect module is to read a stored binary string through the headphone port to which an earphone is connected, wherein the stored binary string comprises identifiers for the connected earphone by one of a) brand and model designation, b) serial number or unique identifier, and c) earphone design. 
     
     
       14. The device of  claim 12  wherein the headphone port is a wireless communications subsystem that is to connect with a wireless headset. 
     
     
       15. The device of  claim 12  wherein the earphone type detect module is to measure an impedance value through the headphone port to which an earphone is connected, and compare the measured impedance value to a plurality of previously stored, different impedance ranges, wherein each of the ranges is associated with a) a different type of earphone and b) a corresponding sidetone function parameter. 
     
     
       16. A portable multifunction device comprising:
 a mobile phone housing having integrated therein a) memory to store an earphone type detect module, a telephony module and a digital media player module, b) a headphone port, and c) a processor, the processor being coupled to the memory and the headphone port, 
 the digital media player module, when executed by the processor, is to play sound without applying sidetone through the headphone port, 
 the earphone type detect module, when executed by the processor, is to determine whether an earphone or headset that is connected to the headphone port is or is not a sealing in-ear type, wherein sealing indicates the isolation, due to contact between the earphone or headset and an ear, of a user from external sounds, and 
 the telephony module, when executed by the processor, is to direct sound of a phone call, with sidetone in accordance with said determination, through the headphone port. 
 
     
     
       17. The device of  claim 16  wherein the telephone module is to reduce a low frequency response and increase a high frequency response of the sidetone function, when it is determined the earphone or headset is a sealing in-ear type. 
     
     
       18. A portable telephony device comprising:
 a mobile phone housing having integrated therein a) memory to store instructions, b) a headphone port, c) a processor, and d) a screen, the processor being coupled to the memory, the headphone port, and the screen, and 
 the processor to execute the stored instructions to thereby display on the screen a plurality of user-selectable earphone or headset profiles, wherein each of the user-selectable profiles has text that refers to its headset&#39;s or earphone&#39;s ear canal sealing level, and apply sidetone in accordance with a selection made from the user-selectable earphone or headset profiles, wherein the ear canal sealing levels indicate the air tightness between the earphone or headset and an ear. 
 
     
     
       19. The device of  claim 18  wherein each of the user-selectable profiles has text that refers to its headset&#39;s or earphone&#39;s brand and/or model. 
     
     
       20. The device of  claim 18  wherein each of the user-selectable profiles has an image of its headset or earphone. 
     
     
       21. The device of  claim 20  further comprising stored instructions in the memory that, when executed by the processor, prompt a user of the device when a detected headphone type is not in a stored table of assailable earphone or headset profiles 
     
     
       22. The device of  claim 20  further sing stored instructions in the memory that, when executed by the processor, display a graphic equalizer on the screen, and then store sidetone settings in a new, user-selectable earphone or headset profile based on user interaction with the displayed graphic equalizer

Description:
FIELD 
     An embodiment of the invention is directed to technology for implementing telephone call communications using earphones or headsets, and in particular to implementing sidetone (feeding back a small amount of the talker&#39;s voice during a call), so that the talker hears some of his own voice through the earphone. 
     BACKGROUND 
     To enable a talker to hear some of her own voice during a telephone call conversation, telephone handsets implement a sidetone function that feeds back some of the talkers voice to the receiver of the handset. Doing so gives the talker a better feel for the conversation as he can respond to hearing his own voice by adjusting how loudly he speaks, which also benefits the listener at the other end of the conversation. In some telephony handsets, the sidetone level can be manually adjusted by the talker. For example, if the talker is in a noisy environment, such as a windy day or near a railroad track or airport, he can lower the sidetone level, which may help him better hear the other side of the conversation. 
     Consumers are welcoming the use of in-ear earphones (or simply earbuds) for listening to music that is being played by their portable multifunction devices such as the IPOD and IPHONE handheld devices by Apple Inc. Earbuds facilitate listening to high fidelity sound by making an airtight seal with the users ear canal, behind the earbud&#39;s sound output port. The IPHONE device is a multi-function handheld device that can also be used as a cellular telephone handset, i.e. it has “mobile phone” or telephony functionality. Users of such devices may also want to make and answer wireless telephone calls while wearing the earbuds. Therefore, the multi-function device also needs to provide the proper sidetone level through its earbuds, when it is being used as a telephone handset. 
     SUMMARY 
     An embodiment of the invention is a machine-implemented method for operating a telephony device by automatically determining the type of earphone or headset that is connected to the device, and adjusting a sidetone function of the device, based on the determined type of earphone. Sidetone is then applied to the connected earphone, while the device is operating in its telephone mode working a telephone call, in accordance with the adjusted sidetone function. 
     In another embodiment, the telephony device automatically determines whether a connected earphone is or is not a sealing, in-ear type. A sidetone function is then adjusted based on that determination. Sidetone is then applied to the connected earphone, in accordance with the adjusted sidetone function. For example, a low frequency response of the sidetone function is reduced while a high frequency response of the function is increased, when it has been determined that the connected earphone is a sealing in-ear type. 
     In a further embodiment of the invention, a portable telephony device has a built-in screen on which a number of user-selectable earphone or headset profiles are displayed. Each profile includes a respective set of one or more sidetone parameters that define aspects of the frequency response of a sidetone generator. The user makes a selection from these profiles, and the device in response applies sidetone (during a call) in accordance with the respective sidetone parameters of the selection. 
     The above summary does not include an exhaustive list of all aspects of the present invention. It is contemplated that the invention includes all systems and methods that can be practiced from all suitable combinations of the various aspects summarized above, as well as those disclosed in the Detailed Description below and particularly pointed out in the claims filed with the application. Such combinations have particular advantages not specifically recited in the above summary. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The embodiments of the invention are illustrated by way of example and not by way of limitation in the figures of the accompanying drawings in which like references indicate similar elements. It should be noted that references to “an” or “one” embodiment of the invention in this disclosure are not necessarily to the same embodiment, and they mean at least one. 
         FIG. 1  is a block diagram of a portable telephony device that is capable of automatically selecting different sidetones for a variety of different earphones that may be plugged in. 
         FIG. 2A  is a circuit diagram of components internal to the telephony device that enable an example technique for automatic determination of the type of earphone using a wired headphone port. 
         FIG. 2B  shows a circuit diagram of an example technique for automatic determination of earphone type using a wireless headphone port. 
         FIG. 3  shows a circuit diagram of an alternative technique for determining the type of connected earphone. 
         FIG. 4  depicts an example portable telephony device having a touch screen that is displaying earphone options for manual selection by the user. 
         FIG. 5  is a more detailed block diagram of an example portable telephony device being a multi-function device that has sidetone selection ability for multiple types of earphones. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     In this section several embodiments of this invention are explained with reference to the appended drawings. Whenever the shapes, relative positions and other aspects of the parts described in the embodiments are not clearly defined, the scope of the invention is not limited only to the parts shown, which are meant merely for the purpose of illustration. 
       FIG. 1  is a block diagram of a portable or mobile telephony device  100  that is capable of automatically selecting the appropriate sidetone for a variety of different earphones that may be plugged into it. The telephony device  100  is made of a housing  149  within which are integrated several components, including a receiver  111  (earpiece speaker), a microphone  113  (mouthpiece), a display screen (not shown), and an antenna  102  and associated circuitry for performing a phone call with a destination phone over a wireless telephony network (not shown). The telephony device  100  may also have a subscriber identity module (SIM) card, which is a detachable smart card that contains the subscription information of its user or owner  99 , and may also contain a contacts list of the user  99 . A downlink telephony voice processing block  104  includes the needed hardware and/or software to perform a wireless phone call using any known cellular telephone communication network protocols, including, for example, global system for mobile communications (GSM), enhanced data rate for GSM evolution (EDGE), worldwide interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX), and voice over internet protocol (VOIP) via a wireless protocol such as wireless local area networking in accordance with IEEE 802.11g (WiFi). The downlink processing  104  delivers the audio signal received from the cellular network (which includes conversation of one or more other participants  97 ,  98  in the phone call) to a switch  103 . 
     The switch  103  can alternatively deliver the downlink voice signal to either a receiver  111  (earpiece) or a headphone port  105 . The headphone port  105  may be a headphone jack with or without associated analog circuitry. Alternatively, the headphone port  105  may be a wireless headset subsystem, e.g. one that operates in accordance with a Bluetooth wireless communications protocol. In addition, there may also be a speakerphone (not shown) that may be coupled to the output of the switch  103 , so that the phone call can be heard by the user  99  through the speakerphone, rather than through the receiver  111  or headphone port  105 . The switch  103  would, for example, automatically route the downlink voice signal to the headphone port  105  if the insertion of a headphone plug  169  has been detected through the headphone port  105 . As shown in  FIG. 1 , there may be several different types of earphones from which the user  99  of the telephony device  100  can select, to listen to music or engage in a phone call using the device  100 . The earphone may be part of a wireless headset  161 . Alternatively, the earphone may be part of a wired headphone or headset assembly  162 ,  164 ,  166 ,  168  which connects to a mating headphone jack (of the headphone port  105 ) through an attached headphone plug  169  as shown. Note that the terms “headphone” and “headset” are interchangeable here. 
     To enable a two-way conversation during a wireless phone call, an uplink telephone voice processing block  197  is provided that includes the needed hardware and/or software to deliver the audio signal generated by the internal microphone  113  or an external microphone of a headset, to the antenna  102  and its associated RF circuitry, for transmission into the wireless telephony network. 
     The telephony device  100  may be a multi-function device in that it could have, for example, a digital media player  124  integrated in the housing  149 . An example is an MP3 player that is capable of decoding compressed music files for playback through the headphone port  105  or the speakerphone (not shown). When the device  100  is operating in a digital media player mode, the sidetone is turned off, so that there may be no feedback from the microphone  113  to the receiver  111  or headphone port  105 . In contrast, when the device  100  is operating in a telephone mode and working a live, two-way telephone call, a sidetone signal is produced by the sidetone generator  108  (based on input received from the microphone  113  or from an external, headset microphone). This sidetone is fed to the receiver  111  or headphone port  105  (through the switch  103 ). The sidetone would be combined by the switch  103  with the downlink voice signal (from downlink telephony voice processing  104 ) and then delivered to either the receiver  111  or headphone port  105 . 
     When using in-ear earphones, such as the earphones of headset assemblies  162 ,  164 , and  166  depicted in  FIG. 1 , the user may be somewhat isolated from external sounds during a wireless phone call. The degree of isolation, however, depends greatly upon the seal that the in-ear earphones (or earbuds) make with the user&#39;s ear canal. Higher end and more expensive earbuds tend to make a relatively tight seal in the ear canal, thereby greatly isolating the user from external sounds. Such external sounds may be detrimental to the quality of the sound detected by the microphone and that is then transmitted to the participants  97 ,  98  at far end of the conversation (via uplink telephone voice processing circuitry  107 ). Because of the relatively tight seal of the earbud, the user  99  at the near end of the conversation would have little to no feedback of, for example, the level or nature of the external noise in her environment that is also picked up by the microphone. For example, assume the user  99  is outside walking on a windy day and has plugged into the device  100  a set of headphones  164  whose earbuds make a relatively tight seal to her ears. It would be extremely difficult for the user  99  to know that her headset microphone is picking up wind noise, unless the sidetone being applied to the connected earbud is increased, e.g. the sidetone gain is increased. A similar situation exists for the user  99  if she is using the earbud for a phone call made while she is in a loud room or in another place that is inherently noisy. The solution here is to “stimulate” the user  99  with a lower level of sidetone so that she speaks more loudly into the microphone, to thereby hear herself better and overcome the external noise. This enables the far side of the conversation to also better hear the user  99  over the external noise. 
     In accordance with an embodiment of the invention, the telephony device  100  can automatically determine what type of earphone is connected to its headphone port  105 . The reference to “earphone” here is intended to include not just in-ear earphones (earbuds), with or without associated external microphones, but also outside-the-ear headsets  168  such as those that have an external microphone boom. The earphones and the associated external microphone can in each case be communicatively coupled to or connected to the headphone port  105 , by inserting the headphone plug  169  into a mating jack of the headphone port  105  in the case of a wired interface, or by performing wireless protocol handshaking and then completing a wireless connection in the case of a wireless interface (e.g., a Bluetooth interface). Referring to  FIG. 1  still, this determination of the type of earphone may be made by an earphone type detector  106 , which includes hardware circuitry and/or software being executed by a processor, that has been designed to sense signals in the headphone port  105  to make its decision, as described below in connection with  FIG. 2A ,  FIG. 2B , and  FIG. 3 . 
     Once the type of earphone has been determined, a sidetone function of the device, that is to be applied to produce sidetone in, for example, the connected earphone through the headphone port  105 , is adjusted. This may be done as depicted in  FIG. 1 , by adjusting the frequency response or transfer function of a sidetone generator  108 . Once again, the sidetone generator  108  may be implemented as hardware circuitry and/or software being executed by a processor, which takes as input an audio signal generated by the internal microphone  113  or by an external microphone that is part of the headset assembly  161 ,  162 ,  164 ,  166 , or  168 . The sidetone generator  108  may include a digital filter and perhaps analog signal conditioning components whose frequency response may be adjusted by adjusting its filter coefficients (in the case of for example finite impulse response, FIR, or infinite impulse response, IIR, filters implemented by a digital signal processor, DSP) or by setting DSP and/or analog gain or attenuation levels. The generator  108  produces an output sidetone signal that is fed to the switch  103 . The latter then combines the sidetone signal with the downlink telephony signal (from downlink voice processing  104 ) and provides this combination signal to either the receiver  111  or, in this case, to the headphone port  105  (because the user  99  has connected an earphone to the port  105 ). This results in the user  99  of the device  100  hearing a “small” sampling of his voice during a two-way telephone call. The sidetone applied to the connected earphone would be in accordance with the adjusted sidetone function. The sidetone gain may be adjusted (based on the type of earbud that is connected to the headphone port  105 ). As another example, the sidetone function may be adjusted by reducing a low frequency response while increasing a high frequency response of the sidetone generator  108 , when it has been determined that the connected earphone is a sealing in-ear type (as opposed to a non-sealing type). Thus, for instance, the frequency response would be reduced below 300 Hz, and increased above 2 kHz, whenever the connected earphone is a sealing type. Of course, other low and high frequency ranges are possible. 
     Still referring to  FIG. 1 , the type of earphone may be determined by selecting from amongst multiple, predetermined types whose characteristics or identifiers have been previously stored in the device  100 . Thus, for example, in  FIG. 1 , the earphone type detector  106  may refer to a stored lookup table of various types of earphones, to obtain the corresponding or associated sidetone parameters in accordance with which the sidetone function is adjusted. In this example, there are two sidetone parameters listed, namely a low frequency parameter and high frequency parameter. More generally however, a simpler or more complicated set of parameters may be defined. The stored lookup table may include records or entries for the following types of earphones: well-sealed, in-ear; not so well-sealed in-ear; non-sealing in-ear, and outside-the-ear. In addition, there may also be a further record or entry for the situation where no earphone is connected (“none”)—that may correspond to the instance where the user  99  has no headset connected to any headphone port  105  and the device  100  has in response automatically activated either the receiver  111  or the speakerphone for the telephone call. 
     In another embodiment of the invention, the earphone type detector  106  automatically determines only whether an earphone that is connected to the headphone port is or is not a sealing in-ear type. In that case, the device  100  would contain a set of sidetone parameters associated with a generally sealing in-ear type, and another set of sidetone parameters associated with a generally non-sealing earphone. Once again, the sidetone function would be adjusted based on that determination, and sidetone would be applied to the connected earphone in accordance with the adjusted sidetone function. 
     There are several techniques for automatically determining the type of earphone or headset that is connected.  FIG. 2A  shows one embodiment where the device  100 , through processor  224  executing instructions in memory  222 , reads a stored binary string  240  through the headphone port  105  to which a wired headset is connected. The wired headset has an earphone case  234  and an associated, external microphone  232 . Both are cabled together to the same headset plug  169  (see  FIG. 1 ), which the user has plugged into a mating headset jack of the headphone port  105 . A tip  238  may be fitted to the sound port of the earphone case  234  as shown, to provide a seal with the user&#39;s ear canal. Inside the device  100 , an interface circuit  226  connects the processor  224  and the headphone port  105 , to enable the needed signal translations, for example, between wired signaling in a headset jack and signaling by the processor  224 . The binary string  240  may be stored inside the earphone case  234 , e.g. in solid-state memory within a receiver case  236  that also contains the sound generating driver of the earphone. Any suitable form of digital conductive signaling may be used to read the stored binary string  240  through the earphone cable in this case. The information provided in the binary string  240  may identify or describe the earphone type by, for example, a brand and/or model designation, a manufacturer serial number, or an earphone design code (e.g., one that indicates how well the tip  238  seals with the user&#39;s ear canal). 
     To simplify the task of the earphone or headset manufacturer, the binary string  240  need only identify the type of earphone or headset as described here, without having to specifically reference any sidetone parameters. The latter may be determined through, for example, laboratory testing of the earphone by the manufacturer of the telephony device  100 . Those sidetone parameters could then be stored in the memory  222 , by the manufacturer of the device  100 . 
       FIG. 2B  depicts another technique for automatically determining the type of earphone or headset that is connected. In this case, both the headphone port  105  and the headset  161  are wireless communications subsystems that connect with each other to support simultaneous wireless voice channels, namely downstream (from microphone  232 ) and upstream (to receiver case  236 ). The example shown uses a pair of mating Bluetooth transceiver chips  229 ,  239 , though other short range wireless communications protocols are possible. In the headset  161 , an audio codec is coupled between the transceiver chip  239  and the microphone  232 /earphone receiver case  236 . The headset  161 , being a wireless unit, has its own rechargeable power unit. In this embodiment, the processor  224  recognizes or detects that a wireless headset  161  is connected to the headphone port  105 , and then proceeds with accessing the non-volatile memory (integrated in the headset  161 ) in which the binary string  240  is stored. The binary string  240  may also include other protocol-dependent data, e.g. BlueTooth media access control, MAC, address. 
       FIG. 3  depicts another technique for automatically determining the type of earphone that is connected. In this case, the device  100 , through its processor  224  running a program stored in the memory  222 , will measure or detect an impedance value, Z, through the headphone port  105  to which the earphone is connected. The impedance ( 340 ) may be a discrete or distributed impedance within, for example, the receiver case  236  of the earphone as shown. The interface circuit  226  may need to be provided with the requisite analog circuitry to make the impedance measurement through the headphone port  105 . The processor  224  may then compare the measured impedance value Z to a number of previously stored, different impedance ranges (as depicted in  FIG. 3 ). These ranges may have been previously determined and stored as a table in the memory  222 , by the manufacturer of the device  100  for instance. Each contemplated earphone type may be identified by its respective impedance range. The stored table may also store, for each earphone type, a corresponding set of sidetone function parameters that have been previously determined, e.g. through testing by the manufacturer of the device  100 . 
     Turning now to  FIG. 4 , an example portable telephony device  100  is depicted as having a touch screen  412  that is displaying earphone options for manual selection by the user. The touch screen  412  has on screen several virtual buttons that are associated with user-selectable earphone or headset profiles. These profiles cover different types of earphones, including in this example outside-ear, in-ear, SHURE and BOSE brand models, and none. There may be profiles that have text referring to earphone brand and/or model, text referring to earphone ear canal sealing level, and/or graphics depicting the earphone. Though not shown, each profile includes a respective set of sidetone parameters stored in the device  100 . The user interface program running in the device  100  at this time will then receive a selection by the user, from the list virtual buttons associated with the different earphone profiles. The device  100  will then apply sidetone during the current (or subsequent) telephone call, in accordance with the respective sidetone parameters of the selection. In this manual approach, the user of the device  100  is expected to have knowledge of the particular type of earphone she will be connecting to the device. A similar, manual sidetone selection method may be invoked when a headset is detected for which there is no predefined profile stored in the device  100 . In that case, there may be a virtual graphic equalizer option that is then displayed in the touch screen. This could prompt an advanced user to configure his own sidetone settings, and then stores and associates such configured sidetone settings with a profile for a new headset type. When the user selects a desired profile for this new headset type, its profile may be added to the look up table for future reference and automatic selection as previously described. 
       FIG. 5  shows a more detailed block diagram of an example portable telephony device  100  being a multi-function device that has the above-described sidetone selection ability. In this embodiment, the processor  224  (which may actually consist of one or more microprocessors or processor cores or microcontrollers) runs several programs or modules that are stored in memory  222 , and which implement higher level functionality of the following processes: detecting the type of connected earphone or headset (module  540 ); initiating and disconnecting a wireless telephone call in response to input commands from the user, and answering an incoming call (telephony module  530 ), the retrieval and playback of digital media files such as compressed music files (media player module  534 ), a web browser application (browsing module  536 ), and the user&#39;s contacts/address book (module  538 ). The functions of the sidetone generator  108  and the earphone type detector  106  described above may be implemented for the most part by programming the processor  224 , for example as part of the telephony module  530 . The interface circuitry  226  may include various known hardware and/or software components that provide the needed translation between signals of the peripheral input/out components of the device  100  (e.g., receiver  111 , microphone  113 , headphone port  105 , and antenna  102 ) and signaling by the processor  224 . For example, the interface circuitry  226  may include an audio codec for use by the telephony and digital media player modules when processing input or output sound and voice signals, and a cellular baseband processor for use by the telephony module to work a telephone call over various cellular communication networks. 
     It should be noted that although the functions above, such as earphone or headset type detection and sidetone generation, are described as being implemented as part of certain modules, those functions may alternatively be implemented as part of different modules if doing so provides other advantages. For example, the type detection function might be implemented within an operating system program of the device  100 , rather than as part of a higher layer application program. 
     To conclude, various aspects of a methodology for selecting the appropriate sidetone in a telephone device have been described. As explained above, an embodiment of the invention may be a machine-readable medium having stored thereon instructions which program a processor to perform some of the operations described above. In other embodiments, some of these operations might be performed by specific hardware components that contain hardwired logic. Those operations might alternatively be performed by any combination of programmed data processing components and custom hardware components. 
     A machine-readable medium may include any mechanism for storing information in a form readable by a machine (e.g., a computer or a processor), such as Compact Disc Read-Only Memory (CD-ROMs), Read-Only Memory (ROMs), Random Access Memory (RAM), and Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EPROM). 
     The invention is not limited to the specific embodiments described above. For example,  FIG. 2A  and  FIG. 3  depict the receiver case  236  (inside the earphone case  234 ) as containing the circuitry for the binary string  240  or impedance  340 , both of which provide information about the type of earphone or headset. An alternative however may be to locate or house such circuitry in the casing of the external microphone (see  FIG. 4 ). Accordingly, other embodiments are within the scope of the claims.

Metadata:
Filing Date: 20080915
Publication Date: 20121016
Grant Date: 20121016
Priority Date: 20080915
Inventors: LEE MICHAEL M.
GREGG JUSTIN
SEGUIN CHAD G.
Assignee: APPLE INC
CPC Classifications: [{"code": "H04M1/6058", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04M1/585", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04M1/6058", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04M1/585", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04M1/72448", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04M1/72448", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}]
Family ID: 42007689