Apple Inc.

Ching-Yu John Tam

Shaohai Chen

A hearing aid compatible portable electronic audio device is configured to automatically determine whether or not the device is being used by a hearing impaired user who is wearing a hearing aid, and select a mode of operation based on this determination. The device includes a proximity sensor and a magnetic field sensor. The proximity sensor is used to detect a change in distance of the device to the user's ear. The magnetic field sensor is used to detect a change in magnetic field caused by the device moving relative to the hearing aid. The device selects between a normal audio mode of operation and a hearing aid compatible mode of operation based on both the change in detected distance and the change in detected magnetic field. Other embodiments are also described and claimed.

Hearing aid detection

A mobile device that includes a motion sensor, multiple vibrators, and a motor speed determinator module. The motion sensor senses and records vibrations of the mobile device while the multiple vibrators are simultaneously running. The sensed vibrations are transmitted to the motor speed determinator module, which transfers the sensed vibrations into the frequency domain. The vibrations caused by each of the multiple vibrators are represented by peaks in the frequency representation. In one embodiment, the motor speed determinator module drives each vibrator such that the rotational speed and phase of each vibrator are equal or essentially equal. This is represented in the spectral representation of the frequency domain as the overlapping of each peak into a single peak.

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Los Gatos, CA, United States of America

Ching-Yu John Tam