SIMULTANEOUS MUTLI-SOURCE AUDIO OUTPUT AT A WIRELESS HEADSET

• US 20100150383A1
• Filed: 12/12/2008
• Published: 06/17/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 12/12/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Sampat, Kuntal
• Granted Patent: US 9,883,271 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 381/311
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/10 Earpieces; Attachments therefor ; Earphones; Monophonic headphones H04R1/28 takes precedence; stereophonic headphones H04R5/033
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/1041 Mechanical or electronic switches, or control elements switches in general H01H
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2420/01 Input selection or mixing for amplifiers or loudspeakers
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2420/07 Applications of wireless loudspeakers or wireless microphones
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 5/033 Headphones for stereophonic communication details thereof, e.g. relating to batteries, cables or control elements H04R1/10

Abstract

A wireless headset supports simultaneous connections to two or more audio sources and can concurrently output audio from the different sources. The audio may include voice and/or audio playback, e.g., music playback. The wireless headset includes a first transceiver configured to receive a first audio input from a first source, a second transceiver configured to receive a second audio input from a second source, and an audio mixer configured to combine the first and second audio inputs into output audio.

Claims

1. A wireless headset, comprising:

a first transceiver configured to receive a first audio input from a first source;

a second transceiver configured to receive a second audio input from a second source; and

an audio mixer configured to combine the first and second audio inputs into output audio.

2. The wireless headset of claim 1, wherein the audio mixer comprises:

a matrix element configured to weight each of the first and second audio inputs, thereby producing weighted audio inputs.

3. The wireless headset of claim 2, wherein the matrix element is configured to sum the weighted audio inputs.

4. The wireless headset of claim 1, wherein the audio mixer selectively combines the first and second audio inputs by:

including only the first audio input in the output audio;

including only the second audio input in the output audio;

or

including both the first and second audio inputs in the output audio.

5. The wireless headset of claim 1, wherein the first audio input represents voice.

6. The wireless headset of claim 5, wherein the second audio input represents stereo audio.

7. The wireless headset of claim 1, further comprising a microphone configured to produce a third audio input, wherein the audio mixer is configured to combine the first, second and third audio inputs into the output audio.

8. The wireless headset of claim 1, wherein the first and second transceivers are Bluetooth transceivers.

13. The method of claim 5, wherein the second audio input represents stereo audio.

9. A method for outputting audio at a wireless headset, comprising:

receiving, at the wireless headset, a first audio input from a first source;

receiving, at the wireless headset, a second audio input from a second source;

mixing the first and second audio inputs into output audio; and

outputting the output audio from the wireless headset.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein mixing includes:

weighting each of the first and second audio inputs, thereby producing weighted audio inputs; and

summing the weighted audio inputs.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein mixing includes selectively combining the first and second audio inputs by:

including only the first audio input in the output audio;

including only the second audio input in the output audio;

or including both the first and second audio inputs in the output audio.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein the first audio input represents voice.

14. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

receiving a third audio input from a microphone; and

mixing the first, second and third audio inputs into the output audio.

15. The method of claim 9, wherein the first and second audio inputs are received at a first Bluetooth transceiver and a second Bluetooth transceiver, respectively.

16. A computer-readable medium embodying a set of instructions executable by one or more processors, comprising:

code for receiving, at a wireless headset, a first audio input from a first source;

code for receiving, at the wireless headset, a second audio input from a second source;

code for mixing the first and second audio inputs into output audio; and

code for outputting the output audio from the wireless headset.

17. The computer-readable medium of claim 16, wherein code for mixing includes:

code for weighting each of the first and second audio inputs, thereby producing weighted audio inputs; and

code for summing the weighted audio inputs.

18. The computer-readable medium of claim 16, wherein the code for mixing includes code for selectively combining the first and second audio inputs by:

including only the first audio input in the output audio;

including only the second audio input in the output audio;

or

including both the first and second audio inputs in the output audio.

19. The computer-readable medium of claim 16, wherein the first audio input represents voice.

20. The computer-readable medium of claim 19, wherein the second audio input represents stereo audio.

21. The computer-readable medium of claim 16, further comprising:

code for receiving a third audio input from a microphone; and

code for mixing the first, second and third audio inputs into the output audio.

22. An apparatus, comprising:

means for receiving, at a wireless headset, a first audio input from a first source;

means for receiving, at the wireless headset, a second audio input from a second source;

means for mixing the first and second audio inputs into output audio; and

means for outputting the output audio from the wireless headset.

23. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the mixing means includes:

means for weighting each of the first and second audio inputs, thereby producing weighted audio inputs; and

means for summing the weighted audio inputs.

24. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the mixing means includes means for selectively combining the first and second audio inputs by:

including only the first audio input in the output audio;

including only the second audio input in the output audio;

or

including both the first and second audio inputs in the output audio.

25. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the first audio input represents voice.

26. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein the second audio input represents stereo audio.

27. The apparatus of claim 22, further comprising:

means for receiving a third audio input from a microphone; and

means for mixing the first, second and third audio inputs into the output audio.

28. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein each of the receiving means includes a Bluetooth transceiver.

29. The apparatus of claim 22, further comprising means for applying a time-varying gain to at least one of the first audio input or the second audio input.