WIRELESS MICROPHONE SYSTEM

• US 20130251173A1
• Filed: 12/09/2011
• Published: 09/26/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 12/10/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: TOA Corporation
• Original Assignee: TOA Corporation
• Inventors: Ejima, Ken'ichi, Ogura, Takashi, Moriguchi, Koji
• Granted Patent: US 9,131,292 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 381/77
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0428 wherein the data content is protected, e.g. by encrypting or encapsulating the payload
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/00 Cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for secret or secure communications; Network security protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/08 Mouthpieces; Microphones; Attachments therefor
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2420/07 Applications of wireless loudspeakers or wireless microphones
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 3/00 Circuits for transducers , loudspeakers or microphones
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/03 Protecting confidentiality, e.g. by encryption

Abstract

Provided is a wireless microphone system comprising a microphone and a wireless receiver, wherein the wireless microphone system is provided with: a normal communication mode in which communication is performed by using a normal unique word (UWN) preset in both the microphone and the wireless receiver devices; a confidential setting mode in which a confidential unique word (UWX) is transmitted without being set in either of said devices; and a confidential communication mode in which communication is performed by both said devices by using the confidential unique word (UWX) set by the confidential setting mode.

Claims

1. A wireless microphone system including a microphone that transmits a transmission signal, which contains an audio signal and additional information for processing the audio signal, and a wireless receiver, which receives the transmission signal and processes the audio signal contained in the received transmission signal based on the additional information, the wireless microphone system comprising:

a normal communication mode in which the microphone and the wireless receiver communicate with each other using normal additional information as the additional information that is set in advance in the microphone and the wireless receiver;

a privacy setting mode in which the microphone sets privacy additional information that differs from the normal additional information in the microphone and transmits the privacy additional information to the wireless receiver; and

a privacy communication mode in which the microphone and the wireless receiver communicate with each other using the privacy additional information serving as the additional information set in the microphone and the wireless receiver in the privacy setting mode.

2. The wireless microphone system according to claim 1, wherein

the microphone includes a transmission unit that transmits a normal transmission signal in which the normal additional information is added to the audio signal, a privacy transmission signal in which the privacy additional information is added to the audio signal, and a privacy setting transmission signal in which the normal additional information is added to the privacy additional information;

the wireless receiver includes a reception unit that receives the normal transmission signal, the privacy transmission signal, and the privacy setting transmission signal;

the normal communication mode is a mode in which the microphone transmits the normal transmission signal through the transmission unit, and the wireless receiver receives the normal transmission signal with the reception unit;

the privacy setting mode is a mode in which the microphone transmits the privacy setting transmission signal through the transmission unit, and the wireless receiver receives the privacy setting transmission signal with the reception unit; and

the privacy communication mode is a mode in which the microphone transmits the privacy transmission signal through the transmission unit, and the wireless receiver receives the privacy transmission signal with the reception unit.

3. The wireless microphone system according to claim 2, wherein:

in the privacy setting mode, the microphone transmits the privacy setting transmission signal throughout a set time after the privacy setting mode starts and saves the privacy additional information contained in the privacy setting transmission signal;

in the privacy communication mode, the microphone forms the privacy transmission signal using the saved privacy additional information and transmits the privacy transmission signal;

in the privacy setting mode, the wireless receiver saves the privacy additional information contained in the privacy setting transmission signal when receiving the privacy setting transmission signal from the microphone; and

in the privacy communication mode, the wireless receiver processes the privacy transmission signal using the saved privacy additional information.

4. The wireless microphone system according to claim 2, wherein, the microphone randomly forms the privacy additional information whenever the privacy setting mode is set, and forms the privacy setting transmission signal and the privacy transmission signal using the formed privacy additional information;

and

whenever successfully receiving the privacy additional information while set in the privacy setting mode, the wireless receiver updates the saved privacy additional information with the newly received privacy additional information, and processes the privacy setting transmission signal and the privacy transmission signal using the updated privacy additional information.

5. The wireless microphone system according to claim 2, wherein:

the microphone stores multiple pieces of privacy additional information, randomly selects one of the pieces of privacy additional information whenever the privacy setting mode is set, and forms the privacy setting transmission signal and the privacy transmission signal using the selected privacy additional information; and

whenever successfully receiving the privacy additional information while set in the privacy setting mode, the wireless receiver updates the saved privacy additional information with the newly received privacy additional information, and processes the privacy setting transmission signal and the privacy transmission signal using the updated privacy additional information.

6. The wireless microphone system according to claim 2, wherein:

the microphone and the wireless receiver each include an operation unit through which the privacy setting mode is set;

the microphone and the wireless receiver are each set in the privacy setting mode in correspondence with operation through the corresponding operation unit; and

in the privacy setting mode, the wireless receiver receives the privacy setting transmission signal only when the operation unit of the wireless receiver is continuously operated.

7. The wireless microphone system according to claim 2, wherein:

the additional information is a unique word for detecting the audio signal;

the normal transmission signal is obtained by adding a normal unique word as the normal additional information to the audio signal;

the privacy transmission signal is obtained by adding a privacy unique word as the additional information, which differs from the normal unique word, to the audio signal; and

the privacy setting transmission signal is obtained by adding the normal unique word to the privacy unique word.

8. The wireless microphone system according to claim 2, wherein:

the microphone encodes the audio signal with key information as the additional information to form an encoded audio signal, adds the key information to the encoded audio signal, and transmits the encoded audio signal;

the normal transmission signal is obtained by adding normal key information as the normal additional information to the encoded audio signal;

the privacy transmission signal is obtained by adding privacy key information as the additional information, which differs from the normal key information, to the encoded audio signal; and

the privacy setting transmission signal is obtained by adding the normal key information to the privacy key information.

9. The wireless microphone system according to claim 1, wherein execution of the privacy setting mode is prohibited from when the privacy setting mode of the microphone is terminated until when a transmission prohibiting period ends.

10. The wireless microphone system according to claim 1, wherein execution of the privacy setting mode is prohibited from when the privacy setting mode of the wireless receiver is terminated until when a reception prohibiting period ends.

11. The wireless microphone system according to claim 1, wherein, if the wireless receiver, which is in the privacy setting mode, successively fails to receive the transmission signal from the microphone a set number of times, an operation for setting the wireless receiver to a privacy setting mode is invalidated.

12. The wireless microphone system according to claim 1, wherein when operations for setting the wireless receiver to the privacy setting mode are performed for a set number of times within a set period, a subsequent operation for setting the wireless receiver to the privacy setting mode is invalidated.

13. The wireless microphone system according to claim 1, wherein when the microphone is in the privacy setting mode, and a reception signal received by the wireless receiver is smaller than a reference reception level, the wireless receiver does not process the reception signal.

14. The wireless microphone system according to claim 1, wherein a radio wave intensity of when the microphone transmits a transmission signal in the privacy setting mode is set to be smaller than a radio wave intensity of when a transmission signal is transmitted in the normal communication mode.