APPARATUS AND METHODS FOR TIME SYNCHRONIZATION OF WIRELESS AUDIO DATA STREAMS
First Claim
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1. A method of operating a wireless audio system, the method comprising:
- establishing a wireless communication network between an audio source device and a plurality of speaker devices;
establishing a common network clock used by the audio source device and the plurality of speaker devices and which is timed relative to defined repetitively occurring signals of the wireless communication network;
receiving a command from the audio source device at each of the speaker devices via the wireless communication network that defines a timing event relative to the common network clock when each of the speaker devices is to initiate sound generation from a packet of audio data received from the audio source device; and
within each of the speaker devices, initiating sound generation from a packet of audio data previously received from the audio source device in response to occurrence of the timing event.
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Abstract
A wireless audio data distribution system streams audio data from an audio source device to a plurality of speaker devices across a wireless communication network. The speaker devices synchronize the start of their decoding of received audio data and compensate for relative skew over time of internal clocks in response to occurrence of timing events that are defined relative to signaling from the wireless communication network.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method of operating a wireless audio system, the method comprising:
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establishing a wireless communication network between an audio source device and a plurality of speaker devices; establishing a common network clock used by the audio source device and the plurality of speaker devices and which is timed relative to defined repetitively occurring signals of the wireless communication network; receiving a command from the audio source device at each of the speaker devices via the wireless communication network that defines a timing event relative to the common network clock when each of the speaker devices is to initiate sound generation from a packet of audio data received from the audio source device; and within each of the speaker devices, initiating sound generation from a packet of audio data previously received from the audio source device in response to occurrence of the timing event. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A wireless speaker device comprising:
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a wireless transceiver that is configured to establish a time division multiple access (TDMA) network with an audio source device, to receive from the audio source device packets of audio data in defined ones of sequentially occurring communication frames of the TDMA network, and to receive a command from the audio source device; an audio data buffer; a start audio decoding event detector that is configured to determine from the received command a timing event, which is defined relative to repetitively occurring signaling for the frames of the TDMA network, when the start audio decoding event detector is to generate an audio start signal to initiate audio decoding, and to generate the audio start signal in response to occurrence of the timing event; a decoder circuit that is configured to temporarily store a received packet of audio data in the audio data buffer awaiting audio decoding, and to carry out decoding of the packet of buffered audio data in response to the audio start signal; and a speaker circuit that is configured to generate sound in response to the decoded audio packet from the decoder circuit.
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20. A wireless audio source device comprising:
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a wireless transceiver that is configured to establish a time division multiple access (TDMA) network with a plurality of speaker devices; and a controller that is configured to sequentially transmit packets of audio data to different ones of the speaker devices through corresponding different sequentially occurring communication frames of the TDMA network, and to broadcast a command to the speaker devices that defines a timing event relative to repetitively occurring signaling for the frames of the TDMA network when each of the speaker devices is to initiate audio decoding and sound generation from a packet of audio data received from the audio source device.
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Specification