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GoogleGranted patentWearablesInterest 7/10

Google patents earbuds that detect jaw movement to switch modes

Google describes a system where wireless earbuds use their metal parts as antennas to sense tiny electrical changes caused by jaw and muscle movement. The device checks if these signals are strong enough to confirm it is being worn, then looks for specific patterns to detect if the user is moving their jaw.

Why it mattersThis could allow earbuds to automatically adjust settings or switch to a listening mode when the user starts talking or chewing, without needing extra sensors.

In the filing’s own words

The present disclosure provides a system and method using a charge collection antenna in a wearable device to collect charge variation based on a user's jawbone and muscle motion. The collected charge variation may be used to determine an on-body status of the wearable device. For example, in wireless earbuds, information acquired from a charge collection antenna may be used to determine whether the earbud is worn in-ear by the user. The collected charge variation may also be used to detect jaw motion by the user.

What exactly they claim (claim 1)

1. A method for determining a state of a wearable electronic device using one or more metal components of the wearable electronic device as an antenna, the method comprising: receiving, by the one or more metal components of the wearable electronic device, charge variation data; determining, by one or more processors, whether the received charge variation data exceeds a predetermined threshold; determining, by the one or more processors, that the wearable electronic device is being worn by a user when the received charge variation data exceeds the predetermined threshold; detecting, with the one or more processors, peaks in the received charge variation data when the device is determined to be worn by the user; determining, with the one or more processors based on the detected peaks, whether a jaw of the user is moving; and operating the wearable electronic device in an active mode when it is determined that the wearable electronic device is being worn by the user; or operating the wearable electronic device in a listening mode when it is determined that the jaw of the user is moving.

Facts

Company
Google (Google LLC)
Official title
Method and system of static charge variation sensing based human jaw motion detection for user voice
Patent number
US12732733B2
Application number
18712527
Filed
Dec 14, 2021
Granted
Sep 8, 2026
Inventors
6
Claims
20

Classified under

H04R 1/1041 Electricity & electronicsG10K 11/17821 Physics & computingH04R 1/1025 Electricity & electronicsH04R 1/1083 Electricity & electronics
Read the full filing (official PDF) ↗ Open in the Patent Tracker

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Summaries are simplified from the filing’s own abstract and first claim. A patent filing is not a product announcement.
Patent data and drawings: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Nebula is not affiliated with or endorsed by the USPTO.