LOW LATENCY ULTRA WIDEBAND COMMUNICATIONS HEADSET AND OPERATING METHOD THEREFOR

• US 20100002893A1
• Filed: 07/07/2008
• Published: 01/07/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 07/07/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Bosch Security Systems Incorporated (Robert Bosch GmbH)
• Original Assignee: Telex Communications Incorporated (Robert Bosch GmbH)
• Inventors: Theverapperuma, Lalin S., Aly-Youssef, Talal, Zehnder, Darcy
• Granted Patent: US 8,670,573 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 381/82
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/1083 Reduction of ambient noise active noise reduction per se G10K11/175; protective devices for the ear, e.g. providing acoustic protection A61F11/06
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2410/01 Noise reduction using microphones having different directional characteristics
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2420/07 Applications of wireless loudspeakers or wireless microphones

Abstract

A wireless communication system for use in aircraft includes a wireless headset having at least one ear cup with a housing. A first ultra wideband transceiver is disposed in the ear cup housing. A base station includes a second ultra wideband transceiver. The second ultra wideband transceiver wirelessly communicates with the first ultra wideband transceiver.

Claims

1. A wireless communication system for use in aircraft, comprising:

a wireless headset including at least one ear cup having a housing;

a first ultra wideband transceiver disposed in the ear cup housing; and

a base station including a second ultra wideband transceiver, said second ultra wideband transceiver being configured to wirelessly communicate with said first ultra wideband transceiver.

2. The system of claim 1 further comprising an intercom in communication with the base station.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein the at least one ear cup comprises first and second ear cups having respective first and second ear cup housings, the first ultra wideband transceiver being disposed in the first ear cup housing, the system further comprising an antenna electrically connected to the first ultra wideband transceiver and projecting outwardly from the first ear cup housing.

4. The system of claim 3 further comprising a battery and battery charging circuit disposed in the second ear cup housing, the battery being configured to provide electrical power to the first ultra wideband transceiver.

5. A method of operating a wireless communication system for use in aircraft, comprising the steps of:

providing a wireless headset within the aircraft, the headset including a first ultra wideband transceiver;

providing an intercom within the aircraft;

electrically connecting a base station to the intercom, the base station including a second ultra wideband transceiver; and

wirelessly and bi-directionally communicating data packets between the first and second ultra wideband transceivers, the communicating including transmitting a plurality of frames, each of the frames including a plurality of said data packets, at least one of the data packets in each frame having never before been transmitted, and at least one of the data packets in each frame having been earlier transmitted.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein each of the data packets is transmitted approximately between four and eight times.

7. The method of claim 6 comprising the further step of creating a most probable version of each said data packet based on the four to eight transmissions of each said data packet.

8. The method of claim 5 wherein each of the transceivers converts analog signals to digital data, each of the transceivers inputting a first portion of the digital data while simultaneously processing a second portion of the digital data.

9. The method of claim 5 wherein each of the transceivers converts digital data to analog signals, each of the transceivers outputting a first portion of the digital data while simultaneously processing a second portion of the digital data.

10. The method of claim 5 wherein a single said data packet that has never before been transmitted is included in each said frame.

11. The method of claim 5 comprising the further step of adjusting a speed with which the data packets are played on the headset, the adjusting being dependent upon a measured level of latency.

12. The method of claim 5 wherein each frame includes at least one of a frame number, packet number, and cyclic redundancy check.

13. The method of claim 5 wherein each said data packet occupies a different position within each said frame in which said data packet is transmitted.

14. A method of operating a wireless communication system for use in aircraft comprising the steps of:

providing a wireless headset within the aircraft, the headset including a first ultra wideband transceiver, a microphone and a speaker;

generating a first side tone within the headset dependent upon a first microphone signal received from the microphone;

transmitting the first side tone generated within the headset to the speaker;

providing an intercom within the aircraft, the intercom having a microphone input and a headset output;

electrically connecting a base station to the microphone input and the headset output of the intercom, the base station including a second ultra wideband transceiver;

wirelessly and bi-directionally communicating signals between the first and second ultra wideband transceivers;

transmitting a second microphone signal from the second ultra wideband transceiver to the microphone input of the intercom, the second microphone signal being a delayed reproduction of the first microphone signal from the headset microphone;

generating a second side tone within the intercom dependent upon the second microphone signal received from the second ultra wideband transceiver;

transmitting the second side tone generated within the intercom to the second ultra wideband transceiver via the headset output of the intercom;

generating a side tone cancellation signal within the base station dependent upon the microphone signal from the second ultra wideband transceiver; and

transmitting the side tone cancellation signal generated within the base station to the second ultra wideband transceiver such that the side tone cancellation signal substantially cancels out the second side tone received by the second ultra wideband transceiver.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein the side tone cancellation signal is generated using a normalized least mean square based adaptive filter.

16. The method of claim 15 wherein the first side tone is generated using a normalized least mean square based adaptive filter.

17. The method of claim 14 wherein the step of wirelessly and bi-directionally communicating signals includes wirelessly transmitting the first microphone signal from the first ultra wideband transceiver to the second ultra wideband transceiver.

18. The method of claim 17 comprising the further step of converting the first microphone signal from an analog signal to a digital signal before being wirelessly transmitted from the first ultra wideband transceiver to the second ultra wideband transceiver.

19. The method of claim 18 wherein the first microphone signal is arranged in a plurality of data packets before being wirelessly transmitted from the first ultra wideband transceiver to the second ultra wideband transceiver, each of the data packets being transmitted approximately between four and eight times.

20. The method of claim 14 wherein each of the first and second side tones and the side tone cancellation signal is an analog signal.