WIRELESS EARPIECE WITH LOCAL AUDIO CACHE

• US 20140270227A1
• Filed: 03/14/2013
• Published: 09/18/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 03/14/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cirrus Logic Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Cirrus Logic Incorporated
• Inventors: Swanson, Eric J.
• Granted Patent: US 9,210,493 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 381/74
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/60 of audio data
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/1016 Earpieces of the intra-aural type
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/1025 Accumulators or arrangements for charging secondary cells per se H01M10/00; charging in general H02J7/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/1041 Mechanical or electronic switches, or control elements switches in general H01H
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2201/103 Combination of monophonic or stereophonic headphones with audio players, e.g. integrated in the headphone
• 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 earpiece may include a local memory for storing audio files that can be played back by the user. The wireless earpiece may fit entirely within the user'"'"'s ear canal. Audio files, for example music files, may be loaded on the wireless earpiece by docking the wireless earpiece with a mobile device, which includes a larger memory storing the user'"'"'s library of music files. The wireless earpiece may also be charged while docked with the mobile device by receiving power from the mobile device'"'"'s larger battery. To provide stereo sound, two wireless earpieces may be worn by the user and docked separately with the mobile device. Each of the two wireless earpieces may store a single channel of an audio file, which is separated by the mobile device during synchronization.

Claims

1. A wireless earpiece, comprising:

a memory configured to store audio files received from a mobile device;

a battery configured to store energy received from a mobile device; and

a speaker configured to generate audio from the audio files.

2. The wireless earpiece of claim 1, in which the wireless earpiece is configured to store an intelligently-selected cache of audio files in the memory.

3. The wireless earpiece of claim 2, in which the intelligently-selected cache of audio files comprises music files selected according to at least one of whether a song was recently played, whether an artist was recently played, and whether a genre was recently played.

4. The wireless earpiece of claim 1, in which the wireless earpiece is configured to receive audio files from the mobile device while receiving energy for the battery from the mobile device.

5. The wireless earpiece of claim 4, in which the wireless earpiece is configured to dock inside the mobile device while receiving audio files and energy from the mobile device.

6. The wireless earpiece of claim 5, in which the wireless earpiece is configured to wirelessly receive audio files and energy from the mobile device.

7. The wireless earpiece of claim 1, in which the memory is flash memory, and the audio files stored in the memory are uncompressed.

8. The wireless earpiece of claim 1, further comprising a radio configured to receive data from the mobile device.

9. The wireless earpiece of claim 8, in which the radio is configured to receive control data from the mobile device.

10. The wireless earpiece of claim 8, further comprising a synchronization circuit configured to synchronize the wireless earpiece with a second wireless earpiece.

11. The wireless earpiece of claim 10, in which the wireless earpiece is configured to store a first channel of the music files and the second wireless earpiece is configured to store a second channel of the music files, and the synchronization circuit is configured to synchronize playback of the first channel and the second channel by the wireless earpiece and the second wireless earpiece.

12. The wireless earpiece of claim 1, further comprising a digital signal processor (DSP) configured to decompress audio files from the memory for playback by the speaker.

13. The wireless earpiece of claim 12, further comprising a reference microphone configured to measure ambient sound, in which the digital signal processor is coupled to the reference microphone and configured to control the speaker to cancel ambient sound.

14. A system, comprising:

a mobile device comprising;

a first battery; and

a first memory configured to store audio files; and

a wireless earpiece, comprising;

a speaker;

a second battery; and

a second memory configured to store audio files received from the mobile device.

15. The system of claim 14, in which the mobile device further comprises a first docking interface configured to transfer power and data to the wireless earpiece, and in which the wireless earpiece further comprises a second docking interface configured to receive power and data from the mobile device.

16. The system of claim 15, the mobile device configured to include a storage location for the wireless earpiece, such that when the wireless earpiece is inserted in the storage location the first docking interface couples to the second docking interface.

17. The system of claim 15, in which the first docking interface and the second docking interface are configured to transfer data wirelessly.

18. The system of claim 15, in which the first docking interface and the second docking interface are configured to transfer power wirelessly.

19. The system of claim 15, further comprising a second wireless earpiece having a third docking interface configured to couple to the first docking interface of the mobile device.

20. The system of claim 19, the second wireless earpiece comprising a unique identifier configured to differentiate the second wireless earpiece from the wireless earpiece at the first docking interface, the wireless earpiece and the second wireless earpiece each configured to receive one channel of an audio file through the first docking interface.

21. A computer program product, comprising:

a non-transitory computer readable medium comprising code to execute the steps comprising;

identifying a wireless earpiece is docked with a mobile device;

selecting audio files for storage in a memory of the wireless earpiece; and

transferring data of the selected audio files to the wireless earpiece.

22. The computer program product of claim 21, the medium further comprising code to execute the step of preparing the data for transfer to the wireless earpiece by reducing the selected audio files to a single channel.

23. The computer program product of claim 21, the medium further comprising code to execute the step of preparing the data for transfer to the wireless earpiece by decompressing the selected audio files.