Application US20190192077 Consumer Sleep Technology

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10115045 Canada Inc

Application US20190192077

Published 2019-06-27

System And Method For Extracting And Analyzing In-ear Electrical Signals

A system for sensing in-ear electrical signals includes a left electrode tip, a right electrode tip, and a signal acquisition subsystem. Each electrode tip includes: an elastic substrate configured to conform against an internal surface of an ear canal of a user; a sense electrode, a reference electrode, and a driven ground electrode each arranged on the outer surface of the elastic substrate. The signal acquisition subsystem is configured to, during a sampling period: output a left time series of a left voltage differential between the left sense electrode and the right reference electrode; and output a right time series of a right voltage differential between the right sense electrode and the left reference electrode.

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3 Independent Claims

1. A system for sensing in-ear electrical signals, comprising: a left electrode tip comprising: a left elastic substrate defining an outer surface and configured to conform the outer surface against an internal surface of a left ear canal of a user; a left sense electrode arranged on the outer surface of the left elastic substrate; a left reference electrode arranged on the outer surface of the left elastic substrate; and a left driven ground electrode arranged on the outer surface of the left elastic substrate; a right electrode tip comprising: a right elastic substrate defining an outer surface and configured to conform the outer surface against an internal surface of a right ear canal of a user; a right sense electrode arranged on the outer surface of the right elastic substrate; a right reference electrode arranged on the outer surface of the right elastic substrate; and a right driven ground electrode arranged on the outer surface of the right elastic substrate; and a signal acquisition subsystem configured to, during a first period: output a left voltage signal representing potential difference between the left sense electrode and the right reference electrode; and output a right voltage signal representing potential difference between the right sense electrode and the left reference electrode.
12. An electrode tip for sensing in-ear electrical signals, comprising: an elastic substrate defining an outer surface and an inner surface and configured to conform the outer surface against an internal surface of an ear canal of a user when the electrode tip is inserted into the ear canal of the user; a sense electrode arranged on the outer surface of the elastic substrate; a reference electrode arranged on the outer surface of the elastic substrate; a driven ground electrode arranged on the outer surface of the elastic substrate; and an interface coupled to the inner surface of the elastic substrate and configured to transiently engage an earpiece housing and expose: a first electrical tab electrically coupled to the sense electrode; a second electrical tab electrically coupled to the reference electrode; and a third electrical tab electrically coupled to the driven ground electrode.
19. A method for extracting in-ear electrical signals from a user, comprising: during a first period: receiving, from a left electrode tip in a bilateral output mode, a first left voltage signal representing potential difference between a left sense electrode, coupled to the left electrode tip, and a right reference electrode, coupled to a right electrode tip; and receiving, from the right electrode tip in a bilateral output mode, a first right voltage signal representing potential difference between a right sense electrode, coupled to the right electrode tip, and a left reference electrode, coupled to the left electrode tip; detecting whether the left electrode tip is seated within an ear canal and whether the right electrode tip is seated within an ear canal based on the first left voltage signal and the first right voltage signal; and in response to detecting that the left electrode tip is seated within an ear canal and that the right electrode tip is not seated within an ear canal, during a second period: transmitting a command to a signal acquisition subsystem, electrically coupled to the left electrode tip and the right electrode tip, the command instructing the signal acquisition subsystem to switch the bilateral output mode of the left electrode tip to a unilateral output mode of the left electrode tip; and receiving, from the left electrode tip in the unilateral output mode, a second left voltage signal representing potential difference between the left sense electrode and the left reference electrode based on the second left voltage signal and the second right voltage signal.