System With Speaker, Transceiver and Related Devices

• US 20180014134A1
• Filed: 09/22/2017
• Published: 01/11/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 08/31/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Bose Corporation
• Original Assignee: Bose Corporation
• Inventors: Mayman, Avrum G., Yewell, Scott Talbot, Zamir, Lee, Drimusz, Laszlo Otto
• Granted Patent: US 10,080,089 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1632 External expansion units, e.g. docking stations
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 13/36 for access to common bus or bus system
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 13/4072 Drivers or receivers G06F13/4086 takes precedence; for multistate logic circuits H03K19/0002
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 13/4081 Live connection to bus, e.g. hot-plugging current or voltage limitation during live insertion H02H9/004
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 13/42 Bus transfer protocol, e.g. handshake; Synchronisation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 27/00 Modulated-carrier systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2205/021 Aspects relating to docking-station type assemblies to obtain an acoustical effect, e.g. the type of connection to external loudspeakers or housings, frequency improvement
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2227/003 Digital PA systems using, e.g. LAN or internet
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2420/07 Applications of wireless loudspeakers or wireless microphones
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 27/00 Public address systems circuits for preventing acoustic reaction H04R3/02; circuits for distributing signals to loudspeakers H04R3/12; monitoring or testing arrangements for public address systems H04R29/007; amplifiers H03F
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 3/00 Circuits for transducers , loudspeakers or microphones
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 3/12 for distributing signals to two or more loudspeakers specially adapted for hearing aids H04R25/407
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 5/02 Spatial or constructional arrangements of loudspeakers

Abstract

An audio system includes a base station, an interface that enables transmission of audio content from a handheld media device to the base station via a cable, and one or more remote speakers configured to receive the audio content from the base station. The base station includes a housing, a speaker integrated within the housing to produce an audible signal from the audio content provided by the handheld media device, and a transceiver integrated within the housing for wirelessly transmitting the audio content to the one or more remote speakers. The one or more remote speakers are configured to wirelessly relay the audio content, thereby to supply the audio content beyond the transmission range of the transceiver.

Claims

1. An audio system comprising:

a base station;

an interface that enables transmission of audio content from a handheld media device to the base station via a cable; and

one or more remote speakers configured to receive the audio content from the base station,

wherein the base station comprises;

a housing;

a speaker integrated within the housing to produce an audible signal from the audio content provided by the handheld media device; and

a transceiver integrated within the housing for wirelessly transmitting the audio content to the one or more remote speakers, and

wherein the one or more remote speakers are configured to wirelessly relay the audio content, thereby to supply the audio content beyond the transmission range of the transceiver.

2. The audio system of claim 1, wherein the interface comprises a cradle capable of receiving the handheld media device, wherein the cradle is coupled to the base station via the cable for transmitting signals containing the audio content between the cradle and the base station.

3. The audio system of claim 1, wherein the base station is configured to provide the audio content to the one or more remote speakers such that the audio content is played back substantially simultaneously by the base station and the one or more remote speakers.

4. The audio system of claim 1, wherein the cable is mechanically coupled to the handheld media device via an electrical connector.

5. The audio system of claim 1, wherein a network is established among the transceiver and the one or more remote speakers, the network being one or more of a mesh network and a point-to-point network.

6. The audio system of claim 1, wherein the one or more remote speakers comprise a plurality of remote speakers, the plurality of remote speakers being configured to relay the audio content amongst each other, thereby to supply the audio content beyond the transmission range of the first transceiver.

7. The audio system of claim 1, further including a remote control that can transmit one or more signals to the one or more remote speakers to identify which remote speaker or group of remote speakers shall receive signals from the transceiver.

8. The audio system of claim 1, wherein the cable couples the handheld media device to the base station via a connector that utilizes an interface technique selected from the group consisting of:

a universal serial bus port;

a serial port, a parallel port, and an IEEE 1394 port.

9. The audio system of claim 1, wherein the cable includes a connector that connects directly to the handheld media device.

10. The audio system of claim 1, wherein the interface comprises a cradle capable of receiving the handheld media device, wherein the handheld media device includes a first connector that couples the handheld media device to the cradle, and wherein the cable couples the cradle to the base station via a second connector for transmitting signals containing the audio content between the cradle and the base station.

11. The audio system of claim 10, wherein the second connector utilizes an interface technique selected from the group consisting of:

a universal serial bus port;

a serial port, a parallel port, an IEEE 1394 port.

12. The audio system of claim 1, wherein the transceiver complies with one or more protocols to transmit audio content including master/slave, server/client, and peer/peer.

13. The audio system of claim 1, wherein the transceiver can produce two channels for wireless transmission that can carry separate sets of audio content.

14. The audio system of claim 1, wherein the transceiver is configured to wirelessly transmit control information, in addition to the audio content, to control operations of the remote speaker.

15. The audio system of claim 1, the transceiver is configured to wirelessly transmit digital information in addition to the audio content, and wherein one or more of the one or more remote speakers comprises a display for presenting textual or graphical data included in the digital information transmitted from the transceiver.

16. The audio system of claim 1, further including a remote control that can transmit a signal that initiates transmission of a signal from the transceiver that mutes at least one of the one or more remote speakers.

17. The audio system of claim 1, further including a remote control that can control the speaker in the housing and that can transmit a signal for selecting one or more of the one or more remote speakers for operation.

18. The audio system of claim 17, wherein the signal can be transmitted to the transceiver that identifies one or more of the one or more remote speakers that are to be provided audio content for producing audible signals.

19. A method comprising:

transmitting a first signal containing audio content from a handheld media device to a base station via a cable;

producing a first audible signal from the audio content via a speaker integrated within a housing of the base station;

wirelessly transmitting a second signal containing the audio content to a remote speaker via a transceiver that is integrated in the housing of the base station;

producing a second audible signal from the audio content via the remote speaker;

wirelessly relaying the audio content from the remote speaker to an other remote speaker that is disposed beyond the transmission range of the transceiver of the base station; and

producing a third audible signal from the audio content via the other remote speaker.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the steps of producing the first audible signal and producing the second audible signal comprise simultaneously producing the first and second audible signals from the audio content at the base station and the remote speaker, respectively.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the steps of producing the first audible signal, producing the second audible signal, and producing the third audible signal comprise simultaneously producing the first, second, and third audible signals from the audio content at the base station, the remote speaker, and the other remote speaker, respectively.