SYSTEMS AND METHODS EMPLOYING MULTIPLE INDIVIDUAL WIRELESS EARBUDS FOR A COMMON AUDIO SOURCE

• US 20090154739A1
• Filed: 12/13/2007
• Published: 06/18/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 12/13/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: At&T Delaware Intellectual Property, Inc. (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Zellner, Samuel
• Granted Patent: US 8,180,078 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 381/311
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/00 Speech recognition G10L17/00 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/1041 Mechanical or electronic switches, or control elements switches in general H01H
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/1066 Constructional aspects of the interconnection between earpiece and earpiece support earpiece support for monophonic headphones H04R1/105; earpiece support for stereophonic headphones H04R5/0335
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2201/107 Monophonic and stereophonic headphones with microphone for two-way hands free communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2420/07 Applications of wireless loudspeakers or wireless microphones
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 25/554 using a wireless connection, e.g. between microphone and amplifier or using Tcoils
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 3/00 Circuits for transducers , loudspeakers or microphones
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 5/033 Headphones for stereophonic communication details thereof, e.g. relating to batteries, cables or control elements H04R1/10
• CPC Class Codes: H04S 7/308 Electronic adaptation dependent on speaker or headphone connection

Abstract

Multiple individual wireless earbuds provide audio from a common audio source. A user may thereby enjoy audio in both ears while also benefiting from an entirely wireless configuration. The individual wireless earbuds may each receive the audio signal from the common audio source and then produce audio accordingly. Each earbud may have a channel setting to define whether a given earbud will produce left channel or right channel audio for a multi-channel audio signal. The individual wireless earbuds may alternatively have a master-slave configuration where a master earbud receives a wireless audio signal from the common source, plays audio based on the audio signal, and transmits a wireless signal based on the wireless audio signal to the slave earbud. The slave earbud then plays audio based on the wireless signal from the master earbud.

Claims

1. An earbud system, comprising:

a first earbud that comprises a first speaker and a first wireless receiver that is in wireless communication with an audio source and that receives an audio signal from the audio source, the received audio signal being provided to the first speaker to produce sound from the first earbud; and

a second earbud that comprises a second speaker and a second wireless receiver that is in wireless communication with the audio source concurrently with the first wireless receiver and that receives the audio signal from the audio source, the received audio signal being provided to the second speaker to produce sound from the second earbud.

2. The earbud system of claim 1, wherein the audio signal is received by the first wireless receiver and by the second wireless receiver as a digital signal following a first protocol and wherein the first and second wireless receivers are responsive to the first protocol to deliver the audio signal to the first and second speakers.

3. The earbud system of claim 1, wherein the audio signal includes multiple channels of audio, wherein the first earbud has a channel selection, and wherein the first wireless receiver provides a channel of the audio signal to the first speaker based on the selected channel.

4. The earbud system of claim 3, wherein the channel selection comprises a switch.

5. The earbud system of claim 4, wherein the first earbud has an ear hanger that has a pivotal connection and wherein the switch is manipulated by pivoting the ear hanger between a left ear position and a right ear position.

6. The earbud system of claim 1, wherein at least the first earbud further comprises a transceiver that wirelessly communicates with a mobile communications device, a microphone that produces an electrical signal, and wherein the transceiver provides incoming audio to the first speaker and wherein the microphone provides the electrical signal to the transceiver which sends the electrical signal to the mobile communications device.

7. The earbud system of claim 1, wherein at least the first earbud further comprises a transceiver that wirelessly communicates with a mobile communications network, a microphone that produces an electrical signal, and wherein the transceiver provides incoming audio to the first speaker and wherein the microphone provides the electrical signal to the transceiver which sends the electrical signal to the mobile communications network.

8. The earbud system of claim 1, wherein at least the first earbud further comprises at least one of a camera and a corresponding memory, an audio recorder in electrical communication with the first receiver, a noise cancellation circuit in electrical communication with the first receiver, and a video receiver.

9. The earbud system of claim 1, where at least the first earbud has a transmitter that transmits signals and wherein the signals transmitted by the first earbud are received by the second earbud.

10. The earbud system of claim 9, wherein the signals instruct the second earbud regarding outputting of the audio signal received from the audio source.

11. The earbud system of claim 10, wherein the audio signal includes multiple channels of audio and wherein the signals transmitted by the first earbud instruct the second earbud as to which of the multiple audio channels to output via the second speaker.

12. An earbud system, comprising:

a first earbud that receives a first wireless audio signal from an audio source, that transmits a second wireless audio signal, and that outputs audio corresponding to the first audio signal via a first speaker; and

a second earbud that receives the second wireless audio signal from the first earbud and that outputs audio corresponding to the second audio signal via a second speaker.

13. The earbud system of claim 12, wherein the second wireless audio signal is a duplicate of the first wireless audio signal.

14. The earbud system of claim 12, wherein the first wireless audio signal includes multiple channels of audio, wherein the first earbud outputs audio via the first speaker for at least one of the multiple channels of audio, wherein the second wireless audio signal includes a subset of the multiple channels of audio, and wherein the second earbud outputs audio via the second speaker corresponding to at least one channel of audio from the subset.

15. The earbud system of claim 12, wherein the first earbud has an ear hanger that has a pivotal connection and wherein an audio channel selection is made in response to pivoting the ear hanger between a left ear position and a right ear position.

16. The earbud system of claim 12, wherein at least the first earbud further comprises a transceiver that wirelessly communicates with a mobile communications device, a microphone that produces an electrical signal, wherein the transceiver provides incoming audio to the first speaker, and wherein the microphone provides the electrical signal to the transceiver which sends the electrical signal to the mobile communications device.

17. An earbud, comprising:

a housing that fits onto an ear;

a wireless receiver that receives a first wireless signal from an audio source;

a speaker that plays audio based on the first wireless signal; and

a wireless transmitter that sends a second wireless signal to a second device different than the audio source.

18. The earbud of claim 17, wherein the wireless transmitter sends the second wireless signal to a slave earbud, the second wireless signal being based on the received first wireless signal.

19. The earbud of claim 17, further comprising a microphone that produces an electrical signal, wherein the wireless transmitter sends a second wireless signal to a communications device, the second wireless signal being based on the electrical signal.

20. The earbud of claim 19, further comprising a second wireless receiver that receives a third wireless signal from the communications device and wherein the speaker plays audio based on the third wireless signal in place of the audio corresponding to the first wireless signal when receiving the third wireless signal concurrently with the first wireless signal.