Earpiece with cellular connectivity

• US 20170208393A1
• Filed: 01/13/2017
• Published: 07/20/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 01/15/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Bragi GmbH
• Original Assignee: Bragi GmbH
• Inventors: Boesen, Peter Vincent
• Granted Patent: US 10,200,790 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/05 specially adapted for use on head, throat or breast
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/6033 for providing handsfree use or a loudspeaker mode in telephone sets arrangements for preventing acoustic echo H04M9/08
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/6066 including a wireless connection
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72412 using two-way short-range wireless interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/02 including a Bluetooth interface
• 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 1/1058 Manufacture or assembly
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/1091 Details not provided for in groups H04R1/1008 - H04R1/1083
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2420/07 Applications of wireless loudspeakers or wireless microphones
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2420/09 Applications of special connectors, e.g. USB, XLR, in loudspeakers, microphones or headphones
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2499/11 Transducers incorporated or for use in hand-held devices, e.g. mobile phones, PDA's, camera's
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 5/033 Headphones for stereophonic communication details thereof, e.g. relating to batteries, cables or control elements H04R1/10
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/70 Services for machine-to-machine communication [M2M] or machine type communication [MTC]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/80 Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0206 in access points, e.g. base stations access point devices per se H04W88/08
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/042 Public Land Mobile systems, e.g. cellular systems
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

An earpiece includes an earpiece housing, a processor disposed within the ear piece housing, a speaker operatively connected to the processor, at least one microphone operatively connected to the processor, and a cellular transceiver disposed within the earpiece housing and operatively connected to the processor. The cellular transceiver may be a low energy long term evolution (LTE) cellular transceiver. The ear piece may include an inertial sensor disposed within the earpiece housing and operatively connected to the processor. The earpiece may further include a short range transceiver disposed within the earpiece housing. The short range transceiver may be a Bluetooth transceiver. The earpiece may also include a slot within the earpiece housing for receiving an identity module.

Claims

1. An earpiece comprising:

an earpiece housing;

a processor disposed within the ear piece housing;

a speaker operatively connected to the processor;

at least one microphone operatively connected to the processor;

a cellular transceiver disposed within the earpiece housing and operatively connected to the processor.

2. The earpiece of claim 1 wherein the cellular transceiver is a low energy long term evolution (LTE) cellular transceiver.

3. The earpiece of claim 2 further comprising an inertial sensor disposed within the earpiece housing and operatively connected to the processor.

4. The earpiece of claim 1 further comprising a short range transceiver disposed within the earpiece housing.

5. The earpiece of claim 4 wherein the short range transceiver is a Bluetooth transceiver.

6. The earpiece of claim 1 further comprising a slot within the earpiece housing for receiving an identity module.

7. The earpiece of claim 1 further comprising a plurality of contacts stored on a machine readable storage medium operatively connected to the processor.

8. The earpiece of claim 1 wherein the processor is configured to provide for voice control of the earpiece.

9. The earpiece of claim 1 wherein the earpiece housing is an ear bud housing.

10. A system comprising:

a set of earpieces comprising a left ear piece and a right ear piece, each of the earpieces comprising an ear piece housing, a processor disposed within the ear piece housing, a speaker operatively connected to the processor, at least one microphone operatively connected to the processor, a cellular transceiver disposed within the ear piece housing and operatively connected to the processor, and a short range transceiver for operatively communicating with the other of the set of earpieces.

11. The system of claim 10 wherein the cellular transceiver is a low energy long term evolution (LTE) cellular transceiver.

12. The system of claim 10 wherein each of the earpieces further comprise an inertial sensor disposed within the earpiece housing and operatively connected to the processor.

13. The system of claim 12 further comprising a slot within each of the earpiece housings to receive an identity module.

14. The system of claim 10 wherein the left ear piece and the right ear piece are configured to determine to use either the cellular transceiver of the left ear piece or the cellular transceiver of the right ear piece based on available battery life in the left earpiece and available battery life in the right earpiece.

15. The system of claim 10 wherein the left ear piece and the right ear piece are configured to provide for sending stereo communications by sensing audio at the left ear piece and sending audio at the right ear piece and communicating the audio at the left ear piece and the audio at the right ear piece over a cellular communications channel using either the cellular transceiver of the left ear piece or the cellular transceiver of the right ear piece.

16. The system of claim 15 wherein the left ear piece and the right ear piece are configured to provide for reproducing stereo communications by receiving over the communications channel a stereo communication comprising a left channel and a right channel and transducing audio associated with the left channel at the left ear piece and transducing audio associated with the right channel at the right ear piece.

17. The system of claim 10 wherein the ear piece housing of each of the earpieces is an ear bud housing.

18. The system of claim 10 wherein at least one of the left ear piece and the right ear piece comprises an inertial sensor operatively connected to the processor and wherein the processor is configured to receive user input as head movement to determine whether or not to take a call using the cellular transceiver.

20. The system of claim 18 wherein the ear piece housing of each of the ear pieces is an ear bud housing.

19. A system comprising:

a set of earpieces comprising a left ear piece and a right ear piece, each of the earpieces comprising an ear piece housing, a processor disposed within the ear piece housing, a speaker operatively connected to the processor, at least one microphone operatively connected to the processor, and a short range transceiver;

a charging case comprising a case housing, a short range transceiver disposed therein and a cellular transceiver disposed therein;

wherein each of the set of earpieces is configured to communicate with the short range transceiver of the charging case using the short range transceiver of the earpiece.