System and method for communicating audio data signals via an audio communications medium

• US 6,934,370 B1
• Filed: 06/16/2003
• Issued: 08/23/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 06/16/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Rui, Yong, Malvar, Henrique S., Leban, Roy, Cutler, Ross Garrett
• Primary Examiner(s): Chan, Wing F.
• Application Number:
  US10/462,243
• Time in Patent Office: 799 Days
• Field of Search: 37910201-10203, 379/102.06, 379/102.07, 704/273, 704/205, 382/100, 375/140, 341/52, 341/139, 713/193, 713/176, 380/253, 705/57, 705/58, 705/55, 709/204, 709/205, 348/14.08, 348/473, 348/469
• US Class Current: 379/102.01
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/4541 Directories for service discovery
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/51 Discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 11/06 Simultaneous speech and data transmission, e.g. telegraphic transmission over the same conductors
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 11/08 specially adapted for optional reception of entertainment or informative matter
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/567 Multimedia conference systems

Abstract

A system for communicating audio data signals comprises a source computer that performs an action, generates an event message corresponding to the action, converts the event message into an audio data signal, and communicates the audio data signal through its speaker. A source telephone receives a voice signal from a participant and the audio data signal through its microphone and communicates the audio data signal and voice as coherent sound via an audio communications medium. A recipient telephone receives the audio data signal from the coherent sound communicated via the audio communications medium and communicates the audio data signal via its speaker. A recipient computer receives the audio data signal through its microphone, extracts the event message from the audio data signal, and performs an action based on the event message from the audio data signal. The audio communications medium can comprise a telephone communications system or air.

Claims

1. A source computing system for communicating audio data signals, comprising:

a first portion that determines that an event occurring at the source computing system is to be communicated;

a second portion that communicates an audio data signal for combination with a voice signal to produce coherent sound that is communicated via an audio communications medium, the audio data signal indicative of the event and comprising data generated by the source computing system;

a telephone that receives the voice signal and communicates the voice signal; and

a dongle that receives the voice signal communicated from the telephone and the audio data signal communicated from the source computing system, combines the voice signal and the audio data signal to produce the coherent sound, and communicates the coherent sound via the audio communications medium.

2. The system according to claim 1, wherein the audio communications medium comprises air.

3. The system according to claim 1, wherein the audio communications medium comprises a telephone communications system.

4. The system according to claim 1, wherein the source computing system comprises a speaker that communicate the audio data signal.

5. The system according to claim 4, wherein the source computing system further comprises:

a source application program that generates the data;

a source transcoder that determines whether to communicate the generated data to a recipient computing system and that forwards the generated data in response to a determination to communicate the generated data to the recipient computing system; and

an encoder logically coupled to the source transcoder that converts the generated data into the audio data signal and outputs the audio data signal to the speaker.

6. The system according to claim 5, wherein the recipient computing system comprises a microphone that receives the audio data signal.

7. The system according to claim 6, wherein the recipient computing system further comprises:

a decoder that extracts the generated data from the audio data signal;

a transcoder logically coupled to the decoder that interprets the data from the audio data signal and issues an instruction to perform an action based on the data from the audio data signal; and

a recipient application program that performs the action corresponding to the instruction.

8. The system according to claim 1, further comprising:

a source telephone that receives the audio data signal communicated by the source computing system and the voice signal, combines the audio data signal and the voice signal to produce the coherent sound, and communicates the coherent sound via the audio communications medium.

9. The system according to claim 1, wherein the audio data signal comprises one of a beep, tone, watermark, spectrum modulation, volume change, and white noise.

10. The system according to claim 1, wherein the source computing system comprises a source communications device.

11. The system according to claim 5, wherein the recipient computing system comprises at least one of a camera, video camera, directional microphone array, and telephone.

12. The system according to claim 5, further comprising:

a recipient dongle that receives the coherent sound communicated via the audio communications medium, separates the voice signal and the audio data signal, and communicates the audio data signal to the recipient computing system.

13. The system according to claim 1, wherein the source computing system comprises at least one of a camera, video camera, directional microphone array, and telephone.

14. A system for communicating audio data signals, comprising:

a source computing system that communicates generated data in response to performing an action;

a source telephone that receives a voice signal and communicates the voice signal; and

a source dongle that receives the voice signal from the source telephone and the generated data from the source computing system, the source computing system having determined to communicate the generated data, converts the generated data into an audio data signal comprising the generated data, combines the voice signal and the audio data signal to produce coherent sound, and communicates the coherent sound via an audio communications medium.

15. The system according to claim 14, wherein the coherent sound is communicated to a recipient computing system comprising a recipient dongle that receives the coherent sound communicated via the audio communications medium, separates the voice signal and the audio data signal, extracts the generated data from the audio data signal, and communicates an instruction to the recipient computer based on the generated data.

16. The system according to claim 14, wherein the audio communications medium comprises air.

17. The system according to claim 14, wherein the audio communications medium comprises a telephone communications system.

18. The system according to claim 14, wherein the audio data signal comprises one of a beep, tone, watermark, spectrum modulation, volume change, and white noise.

19. The system according to claim 14, wherein the dongle comprises:

an encoder that converts the generated data into the audio data signal; and

a mixer that combines the audio data signal and the voice signal to produce the coherent sound and that outputs the coherent sound for communication via the audio communications medium.

20. The system according to claim 14, wherein the coherent sound is communicated to a recipient computing system comprising a recipient dongle that receives the coherent sound communicated via the audio communications medium, separates the voice signal and the audio data signal, and communicates the audio data signal to the recipient computer.

21. A recipient computing system for receiving data signals, comprising:

a first portion that receives an audio data signal from coherent sound, the coherent sound comprising the audio data signal combined with a voice signal and communicated via an audio communications medium, the audio data signal comprising data generated by a source communications device and determined by a source computing system to be communicated to the recipient computing system; and

a second portion that performs an action based on generated data in the audio data signal.

22. The system according to claim 21, wherein the source communications device comprises at least one of a camera, video camera, directional microphone array, and telephone.

23. The system according to claim 21, wherein the audio communications medium comprises air.

24. The system according to claim 21, wherein the audio communications medium comprises a telephone communications system.

25. The system according to claim 21, wherein the source communications device comprises a telephone.

26. The system according to claim 21, wherein the recipient computing system comprises a microphone that receives the audio data signal.

27. The system according to claim 26, wherein the recipient computing system further comprises:

a decoder that extracts the generated data from the audio data signal;

a recipient transcoder logically coupled to the decoder that issues an instruction to perform an action based on the generated data; and

a recipient application program that performs the action based on the instruction.

28. The system according to claim 21, wherein the recipient computing system comprises at least one of a camera, video camera, directional microphone array, and telephone.

29. The system according to claim 21, wherein the recipient computing system comprises a recipient communications device.

30. The system according to claim 29, wherein the recipient communications device comprises:

a decoder that extracts the generated data from the audio data signal;

a recipient transcoder logically coupled to the decoder that issues an instruction to perform an action based on the generated data; and

a data display that performs the action corresponding to the instruction.

31. A method for communicating data signals, comprising:

determining that an event should be communicated to a computing system to cause the computing system to perform an action;

generating an audio data signal comprising data corresponding to the event;

combining the audio data signal with a voice signal to produce coherent sound; and

communicating the coherent sound via an audio communications medium.

32. The method according to claim 31, wherein the generating step comprises:

performing an action;

generating the data comprising an event message corresponding to the action; and

converting the data into the audio data signal.

33. A device for communicating audio data signals, comprising:

a component that generates data corresponding to an event;

a transcoder that determines whether to communicate the generated data; and

an encoder logically coupled to the transcoder that, when the transcoder determines to communicate the generated data, converts the generated data into an audio data signal and that outputs the audio data signal for combination with a voice signal into coherent sound that is communicated via an audio communications medium.

34. The device according to claim 33, further comprising a mixer that combines the audio data signal and the voice signal into the coherent sound.

35. The device according to claim 33, wherein the audio communications medium comprises air.

36. The device according to claim 33, wherein the audio communications medium comprises a telephone communications system.

37. The device according to claim 33, wherein the audio data signal comprises one of a beep, tone, watermark, spectrum modulation, volume change, and white noise.

38. The device according to claim 33, wherein the device comprises at least one of a camera, video camera, directional microphone array, dongle, and telephone.

39. A device for receiving audio data signals, comprising:

a splitter that receives coherent sound comprising a voice signal and an audio data signal and separates the voice signal and the audio data signal, the audio data signal comprising data corresponding to an event;

a decoder that receives the audio data signal from the splitter and that extracts the data from the audio data signal; and

a transcoder logically coupled to the decoder that interprets the data from the audio data signal and issues an instruction that causes a software component to perform an action based on the data from the audio data signal.

40. The device according to claim 39, wherein the audio communications medium comprises air.

41. The device according to claim 39, wherein the audio communications medium comprises a telephone communications system.

42. The device according to claim 39, wherein the audio data signal comprises one of a beep, tone, watermark, spectrum modulation, volume change, and white noise.

43. The device according to claim 39, wherein the device comprises at least one of a camera, video camera, directional microphone array, dongle, and telephone.

44. The device according to claim 39, wherein the software component is a presentation graphics application.

45. The device according to claim 39, wherein the software component is a videoconferencing application.

46. An encoder for communicating audio data signals, comprising:

a first portion that converts generated data corresponding to an event into an audio data signal, the generated data determined by a transcoder to be communicated; and

a second portion that outputs the audio data signal for combination with a voice signal to produce coherent sound that is communicated via an audio communications medium.

47. The encoder according to claim 46, wherein the audio data signal comprises one of a beep, tone, watermark, spectrum modulation, volume change, and white noise.

48. The encoder according to claim 46, wherein the encoder comprises at least one of a camera, video camera, directional microphone array, dongle, and telephone.

49. The encoder according to claim 46, further comprising a mixer that combines the audio data signal and the voice signal into the coherent sound.