{
  "patent_number": "US 9949013",
  "country": "US",
  "title": "How Wireless Earbuds Detect Hand Gestures Using Invisible Light or Sound",
  "original_title": "Near field gesture control system and method",
  "summary": "A system for wireless earbuds that uses pulses of infrared light or ultrasound to detect hand movements near the ear, allowing users to control devices without touching them.",
  "what_it_does": "This patent describes a way for small earbuds to 'see' hand gestures by bouncing invisible energy pulses off a user's fingers. The earbud contains an emitter that sends out pulses of infrared light or ultrasound and a detector that measures how those pulses bounce back. To save battery, the device normally pulses slowly, but it automatically speeds up the sampling rate once it detects an object nearby. The processor then analyzes these reflections to figure out if you swiped your finger or tapped the device, even while underwater.",
  "what_it_does_not_cover": [
    "Does not cover gesture control that relies on physical touch or mechanical buttons.",
    "Does not cover gesture detection that uses external cameras or sensors located outside the earbud housing.",
    "Does not cover voice-activated commands or speech recognition.",
    "Does not cover gesture systems that do not use a proximity-based sampling rate adjustment."
  ],
  "filed": "2016-08-23",
  "granted": "2018-04-17",
  "expires": null,
  "status": "active",
  "holder": "Bragi GmbH",
  "holder_url": "https://patentbrief.org/company/bragi-gmbh",
  "inventors": [
    {
      "name": "Nikolaj Hviid",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/nikolaj-hviid"
    },
    {
      "name": "Friedrich Christian Förstner",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/friedrich-christian-frstner"
    },
    {
      "name": "Eric Christian Hirsch",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/eric-christian-hirsch"
    }
  ],
  "times_cited": 1,
  "tags": [
    "consumer_electronics",
    "mechanical",
    "telecommunications"
  ],
  "abstract": "An earpiece includes an earpiece housing, a processor disposed within the earpiece housing, and a gesture based interface operatively connected to the processor and configured to detect changes in an energy field associated with user gestures. The processor is configured to interpret the changes in the energy field to determine the user gestures.",
  "url": "https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/9949013/airpods-charging-case",
  "markdown_url": "https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/9949013/airpods-charging-case/md",
  "google_patents_url": "https://patents.google.com/patent/US9949013",
  "relatedPatents": []
}