BLUETOOTH HEADSET

• US 20140233752A1
• Filed: 07/02/2013
• Published: 08/21/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 02/21/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Original Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Inventors: SEO, Sangwoo, YOO, Hyunsun
• Granted Patent: US 9,445,175 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 381/74
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/035 Improving the acoustic characteristics by means of constructional features of the housing, e.g. ribs, walls, resonating chambers or cavities
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/05 specially adapted for use on head, throat or breast
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/6066 including a wireless connection
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/02 including a Bluetooth interface
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/04 including near field communication means, e.g. RFID
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/12 including a sensor for measuring a physical value, e.g. temperature or motion telephones including GPS signal receivers H04M2250/10
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/10 Earpieces; Attachments therefor ; Earphones; Monophonic headphones H04R1/28 takes precedence; stereophonic headphones H04R5/033
• 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 including a body having an earphone coupling portion; a wireless module provided in the body and configured to wirelessly receive an audio signal from a mobile terminal; a speaker provided in the body; an earphone connected to the body via a cable and configured to be coupled to the body via an earphone coupling portion; a coupling sensor provided the body and configured to sense whether the earphone is coupled to the earphone coupling portion; and a controller configured to output the audio signal received from the mobile terminal via the speaker and not via the earphone, when the coupling sensor senses the earphone is coupled to the earphone coupling portion, and output the audio signal received from the mobile terminal via the earphone and not via the speaker, when the coupling sensor senses the earphone is separated from the earphone coupling portion.

Claims

1. A wireless headset, comprising:

a body having an earphone coupling portion;

a wireless module provided in the body and configured to wirelessly receive an audio signal from a mobile terminal;

a speaker provided in the body;

an earphone connected to the body via a cable and configured to be separably coupled to the earphone coupling portion;

a coupling sensor provided the body and configured to sense whether the earphone is coupled to the earphone coupling portion; and

a controller configured to;

output the audio signal received from the mobile terminal via the speaker and not via the earphone, when the coupling sensor senses the earphone is coupled to the earphone coupling portion, and

output the audio signal received from the mobile terminal via the earphone and not via the speaker, when the coupling sensor senses the earphone is separated from the earphone coupling portion.

2. The wireless headset according to claim 1, wherein the speaker includes an audio hole formed adjacent to a user'"'"'s ear when the user wears the headset.

3. The wireless headset according to claim 2, wherein the speaker further includes a waveguide provided in the audio hole, the waveguide having a taper shape with a cross section getting larger toward the audio hole.

4. The wireless headset according to claim 3, wherein the waveguide includes curved projections formed on an inner surface of the waveguide.

5. The wireless headset according to claim 2, wherein the body includes a C-shaped neckband configured to be worn around the user'"'"'s neck, and

wherein the audio hole points upward when the user is wearing the neckband around their neck.

6. The wireless headset according to claim 5, wherein the audio hole comprises:

a first audio hole that is opened upward, when the user wears the neckband around their neck in a first position with one end of the neckband on a right side of the user and the other end of the neckband on a left side of the user;

a second audio hole that is opened upward, when the user wears the neckband around their neck in a second position with said one end of the neckband on the left side of the user and the other end of the neckband on the right side of the user; and

covers configured to open and close the first and second audio holes, respectively, and

wherein the controller is further configured to open the cover of the first audio hole and close the cover of the second audio hole, when the user wears the neckband in the first position, and to open the cover of the second audio hole and close the cover of the first audio hole, when the user wears the neckband in the second position.

7. The wireless headset according to claim 6, further comprising:

a gyroscope configured to sense a direction of the neckband,

wherein the controller is further configured to open and close the covers based on the direction sensed by the gyroscope.

8. The wireless headset according to claim 5, wherein the speaker is configured to be rotated, and

wherein the controller is further configured to automatically rotate the speaker to position the audio hole to point upward based on the direction in which the user wears the neck band.

9. The wireless headset according to claim 5, further comprising:

a microphone formed in one end of the neckband,

wherein the speaker is formed in other end of the neckband.

10. The wireless headset according to claim 5, further comprising:

a microphone formed in one end of the neckband,

wherein the speaker is formed in each end of the neckband and only one speaker positioned in the other end of the neckband is operated when a sound is input via the microphone.

11. The wireless headset according to claim 1, wherein the earphone coupling portion includes a pair of earphone coupling portions formed in both ends of the body respectively configured to couple a pair of earphones.

12. The wireless headset according to claim 11, wherein the controller is further configured to output the audio signal via the speaker, when one of the earphones is separated from the earphone coupling portion and the other earphone is not separated in a preset time period.

13. The wireless headset according to claim 11, wherein the controller is further configured to transmit a control signal to the mobile terminal to activate a call function of the mobile terminal, when one of the earphones is separated and the other earphone is not separated in a preset time period.

14. The wireless headset according to claim 11, wherein the controller is further configured to transmit a control signal to the mobile terminal to activate a music playing function of the mobile terminal, when both of the earphones are separated from the earphone coupling portions.

15. The wireless headset according to claim 1, further comprising:

a button provided in right and left portions of the body symmetrically to wireless transmit a control signal to the mobile terminal using a short range communication method to activate a specific function of the mobile terminal; and

a gyroscope configured to distinguish an upper portion from a lower position of the body,

wherein the controller is further configured to switch over functions of the left and right buttons, when the gyroscope senses that upper and lower position of the body is switched.

16. The wireless headset according to claim 1, wherein the earphone includes a temperature sensor, and

wherein the controller is further configured to output sounds via the earphone only when the temperature sensor senses a temperature higher than a reference temperature.

17. The wireless headset according to claim 1, wherein the body further comprises:

a wearable neckband; and

a gyroscope configured to sense the position of the body,

wherein the earphone includes a gyroscope configured to sense a position of the earphone, and

wherein the controller is further configured to output sounds via the earphone only when the position of the earphone is higher than the position of the body.

18. The wireless headset according to claim 1, wherein the body includes a vibration motor configured to vibrate when an alarm function is activated in the mobile terminal.

19. The wireless headset according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the earphone and the earphone coupling portion include a magnet to magnetically couple the earphone and the earphone coupling portion.

20. The wireless headset according to claim 1, wherein the coupling sensor is further configured to sense the earphone is coupled to the earphone coupling portion using at least one of a hall IC, a static pressure sensor, a capacity sensor and a proximity sensor.