Wireless control of operating characteristics of microphone-including arrangement for users of power sports equipment

• US 7,062,301 B1
• Filed: 02/25/2005
• Issued: 06/13/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 02/25/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: PVP Communications, Inc.
• Original Assignee: PVP Communications, Inc.
• Inventors: Dieringer, Michael D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Gary, Erika A.
• Application Number:
  US11/066,032
• Time in Patent Office: 473 Days
• Field of Search: 455/569.1, 455/90.2, 455/90.3, 455/345, 455/575.9
• US Class Current: 455/569.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/385 Transceivers carried on the body, e.g. in helmets
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 2001/3855 carried in a belt or harness

Abstract

A communication system for use by a rider of power sports equipment having enables the rider to control the operating characteristics, such as the operating mode, of a microphone-including arrangement of a two-way radio or public address (PA) equipment while the rider maintains his grip about the handlebars of the power sports equipment for operation thereof. Furthermore, the communication system does not involve any connecting wires which may otherwise extend between any components of the system which are carried by the rider and any components of the system which are carried by the power sports equipment.

Claims

1. In a communication system for use by a rider of power sports equipment having handlebars about which the hands of the rider are positioned during operation of the power sports equipment and wherein there is carried by the rider a portable two-way radio and there is incorporated within the power sports equipment at least one of a two-way radio and public address (PA) equipment to which voice-carrying signals can be routed for transmission or broadcast therefrom and wherein the communication system includes a microphone-including arrangement including a microphone to be carried by the rider and a manually-operable switch mounted upon the handlebars of the power sports equipment for controlling operating characteristics of the communication system as the hands of the rider remain positioned about the handlebars of the power sports equipment, the improvement comprising:

the microphone-including arrangement and the portable two-way radio being connectable to one another so that messages which are spoken by the rider into the microphone of the microphone-including arrangement can be conducted to the portable two-way radio for transmission therefrom;

a control unit mountable upon the power sports equipment and connectable to the manually-operable switch mountable upon the handlebars of the power sports equipment; and

the control unit and the microphone-including arrangement including means for wirelessly communicating with one another so that control of operating characteristics of the communication system can be had by way of the manually-operable switch mounted upon the handlebars of the power sports equipment without any need for wires connected between the microphone-including arrangement and the power sports equipment;

the microphone-including arrangement including means for wirelessly relaying voice-carrying signals from the microphone-including arrangement;

the control unit includes means for capturing the voice-carrying signals relayed wirelessly from the microphone-including arrangement, and the capturing means is connectable to one of the two-way radio and the PA equipment incorporated within the power sports equipment for conductance thereto of the voice-carrying signals which are received by the capturing means; and

the microphone-including arrangement including a multi-path switch for selectively routing voice-carrying signals which are emitted from the microphone-including arrangement to the portable two-way radio for transmission therefrom or wirelessly to the control unit for conductance of the voice-carrying signals to one of the two-way radio and the PA equipment incorporated within the power sports equipment;

the manually-operable switch mounted upon the handlebars is cooperable with the control unit to effect the condition of the multi-path switch so that actuation of the manually-operable switch selectively routes voice-carrying signals which are emitted from the microphone-including arrangement to the portable two-way radio for transmission therefrom or wirelessly to the control unit for conductance to one of the two-way radio and the PA equipment incorporated within the power sports equipment for transmission or broadcast therefrom.

2. The improvement as defined in claim 1 wherein the microphone-including arrangement is adapted to operate in a talk mode during which voice messages spoken by the rider are received by the microphone of the microphone-including arrangement and are relayed therefrom in the form of voice-carrying signals and a non-talk mode;

and

the control unit includes means for sending a wireless switching signal to the microphone-including arrangement for switching the operating mode of the microphone-including arrangement between the non-talk and talk modes upon actuation of the manually-operable switch mounted upon the handlebars.

3. The improvement as defined in claim 2 wherein there is incorporated within the power sports equipment a two-way radio and each of the portable two-way radio and the two-way radio incorporated within the power sports equipment is adapted to receive voice-carrying signals transmitted thereto from a remote source, and

the microphone-including arrangement includes a speaker for emitting audible messages which correspond to voice-carrying signals routed to the microphone-including arrangement and cooperates with each of the portable two-way radio and the two-way radio incorporated within the power sports equipment so that during the non-talk mode of operation of the microphone-including arrangement, voice-carrying signals which are received by either the portable two-way radio or the two-way radio incorporated within the power sports equipment from a remote source are routed to the speaker of the microphone-including arrangement for the rider to hear and so that during the talk mode of operation of the microphone-including arrangement, voice-carrying signals which are produced by the microphone-including arrangement are routed to the portable two-way radio or the two-way radio incorporated within the power sports equipment for transmission therefrom.

4. The improvement as defined in claim 1 wherein there is incorporated within the power sports equipment both a two-way radio and public address (PA) equipment to which voice-carrying signals are desired to be conducted for transmission or broadcast therefrom;

the manually-operable switch is a first manually-operable switch and is connectable to the control unit so that actuation of the first manually-operable switch routes voice-carrying signals which are emitted from the microphone-including arrangement wirelessly to the capturing means of the control unit and then to the two-way radio incorporated within the power sports equipment for transmission therefrom to a remote site; and

the improvement includes a second manually-operable switch mounted upon the handlebars of the power sports equipment and which is connectable to the control unit so that actuation of the second manually-operable switch routes voice-carrying signals which are emitted from the microphone-including arrangement wirelessly to the capturing means of the control unit and then to the PA equipment incorporated within the power sports equipment for broadcast therefrom.

5. The improvement as defined in claim 1 wherein there is incorporated within the power sports equipment a two-way radio for receiving voice-carrying signals which are transmitted thereto from a remote source;

the control unit is connectable to the two-way radio incorporated within the power sports equipment for receiving voice-carrying signals which are transmitted thereto from a remote source and includes means for wirelessly relaying the received voice-carrying signals from the control unit;

the portable two-way radio is adapted to receive voice-carrying signals which are transmitted thereto from a remote source for conductance to the microphone-including arrangement;

the microphone-including arrangement includes a speaker and means for capturing the voice-carrying signals relayed wirelessly from the control unit and for accepting voice-carrying signals conducted thereto from the portable two-way radio; and

the improvement further comprises an electronic switch associated with the microphone-including arrangement for selectively routing to the speaker either the voice-carrying signals which are captured by the capturing means of the microphone-including unit or the voice-carrying signals which are accepted by the accepting means of the microphone-including unit so that the rider can hear through the speaker voice messages which correspond to the captured or the accepted voice-carrying signals;

the electronic switch being predisposed in a condition for routing to the speaker a predetermined one of the captured voice-carrying signals and the accepted voice-carrying signals so that until actuated, the electronic switch is maintained in its predisposed condition, and so that when the electronic switch is actuated, the condition of the switch is altered so that the other of the captured voice-carrying signals and the accepted voice-carrying signals are routed to the speaker, and the electronic switch is responsive to a wireless switching signal generated for the purpose of altering the condition of the electronic switch; and

the control unit includes means for sending a wireless switching signal to the electronic switch of the microphone-including arrangement upon the occurrence of a predetermined event so that the condition of the electronic switch is thereby altered.

6. The improvement as defined in claim 5 wherein the power sports equipment includes a kickstand for supporting the power sports equipment when the power sports equipment is not in operation and is pivotally movable relative to the remainder of the power sports equipment between a substantially vertical condition for supporting the power sports equipment as aforesaid and a non-vertical condition for storage of the kickstand, and the improvement further includes a kickstand switch associated with the kickstand which is adapted to sense the existence of a substantially vertical condition of the kickstand and is connected to the wireless switching signal-sending means of the control unit for sending a wireless switching signal to the electronic switch of the microphone-including arrangement when the kickstand is arranged in its substantially non-vertical condition so that the condition of the electronic switch is thereby altered.

7. The improvement as defined in claim 6 wherein the electronic switch is in a predisposed condition so that, unless the electronic switch is actuated, the accepted voice-carrying signals conducted from the portable two-way radio are routed to the speaker and so that when actuated, the condition of the electronic switch is altered so the captured voice-carrying signals relayed from the control unit are routed to the speaker.

8. The improvement as defined in claim 1 wherein there is carried by the power sports equipment both a two-way radio to which voice-carrying signals relayed from the microphone-including arrangement can be delivered for transmission therefrom and public address (PA) equipment including a loudspeaker to which voice-carrying signals relayed from the microphone-including arrangement can be delivered for broadcast from the loudspeaker thereof;

the capturing means of the control unit is connectable to the two-way radio;

the manually-operable switch is a first switch and is connected to the control unit so that upon actuation of the first switch, the voice-carrying signals which are received by the capturing means of the control unit are conducted to the two-way radio for transmission therefrom;

the capturing means of the control unit is connectable to the PA equipment; and

the system further includes a second manually-operable switch being mountable upon the handlebars of the power sports equipment and connected to the control unit so that upon actuation of the second switch, the voice-carrying signals which are received by the capturing means of the control unit are conducted to the PA equipment for broadcast from the loudspeaker thereof.

9. The improvement as defined in claim 1 wherein the manually-operable switch includes a switch button which is supported for movement between an extended condition and a depressed condition and which is spring-biased from the depressed condition toward the extended condition so that the manually-operable switch is actuated upon movement of the switch button from the extended condition to the depressed condition.

10. The improvement as defined in claim 1 wherein each of the portable two-way radio and the one of the two-way radio and PA equipment incorporated within the power sports equipment is adapted to operate in a talk mode during which voice messages which are spoken by the rider and are received either by the portable two-way radio or the one of the two-way radio and PA equipment incorporated within the power sports equipment for transmission or broadcast therefrom and a non-talk mode during which any voice-carrying signals which are received by either the portable two-way radio or the two-way radio from a remote source is routed to the microphone-including arrangement and can be heard by the rider as voice messages which correspond to the voice-carrying signals received by a corresponding radio, and

there is associated with each of the portable two-way radio and the one of the two-way radio and PA equipment an electronic switch which, unless actuated, maintains the corresponding portable two-way radio or the one of the two-way radio and PA equipment in a non-talk mode and which, when actuated, places the corresponding radio or PA equipment in a talk mode;

and

the manually-operable switch mounted upon the handlebars cooperates with the electronic switch so that actuation of the manually-operable switch effects the actuation of the electronic switch so that the corresponding radio or PA equipment is thereby placed in a talk mode.

11. The improvement as defined in claim 1 wherein there is incorporated within the power sports equipment a two-way radio and

the multi-path switch is in a predisposed condition so that unless the multi-path switch is actuated, the voice-carrying signals which are emitted from the microphone-including arrangement are routed to the control unit for conductance to the two-way radio which is incorporated within the power sports equipment and so that when the multi-path switch is actuated, the voice-carrying signals which are emitted from the microphone-including arrangement are routed to the portable two-way radio for broadcast therefrom.

12. The improvement as defined in claim 1 wherein there is incorporated within the power sports equipment a two-way radio, and each of the portable two-way radio and the two-way radio of the power sports equipment is adapted to receive voice-carrying signals transmitted thereto from a remote source;

the microphone-including arrangement includes a speaker for emitting audible messages which correspond to voice-carrying signals routed to the microphone-including arrangement and cooperates with the portable two-way radio so that voice-carrying signals which are received by the portable two-way radio from a remote source can be routed to the microphone-including arrangement so that audible messages which correspond to the received voice-carrying signals can be heard by the rider through the speaker thereof and cooperates with the two-way radio of the power sports equipment so that voice-carrying signals which are received by the two-way radio of the power sports equipment from a remote source can be routed to the microphone-including arrangement so that audible messages which correspond to the received voice-carrying signals can be heard by the rider through the speaker thereof;

the microphone-including arrangement includes an electronic switch which is disposed along the electrical path of voice-carrying signals routed to the microphone-including unit from the portable two-way radio and the two-way radio of the power sports equipment and which is in a predisposed condition so that unless the electronic switch is actuated, audible messages which correspond to the voice-carrying signals which are routed to the microphone-including arrangement from the portable two-way radio can be heard by the rider through the speaker thereof and so that when the electronic switch is actuated, audible messages which correspond to the voice-carrying signals which are routed to the microphone-including arrangement from the two-way radio of the power sports equipment can be heard by the rider through the speaker thereof; and

the microphone-including arrangement further includes a manually-operable switch which, unless actuated, permits the portable two-way radio to remain in a non-talk mode so that voice-carrying signals which are received by the portable two-way radio from a remote source continue to be routed to the microphone-including arrangement and which, when actuated, renders the portable two-way radio in a talk mode during which messages which are spoken by the rider into the microphone of the microphone-including arrangement are conducted to the portable two-way radio for transmission to a remote site.

13. In a communication system for use by a rider of power sports equipment having handlebars about which the hands of the rider are positioned during operation of the power sports equipment and public address (PA) equipment to which voice-carrying signals are desired to be conducted for broadcast therefrom and wherein there is carried by the rider a two-way portable radio and wherein the communication system includes a microphone-including arrangement to be carried by the rider and a manually-operable switch mounted upon the handlebars of the power sports equipment for controlling operating characteristics of the communication system as the hands of the rider remain positioned about the handlebars of the power sports equipment, the improvement comprising:

a control unit mountable upon the power sports equipment and connectable to the manually-operable switch mountable upon the handlebars of the power sports equipment; and

the control unit and the microphone-including arrangement including means for wirelessly communicating with one another so that control of operating characteristics of the communication system can be had by way of the manually-operable switch mounted upon the handlebars of the power sports equipment without any need for wires connected between the microphone-including arrangement and the power sports equipment;

the microphone-including arrangement is adapted to operate in a talk mode during which messages spoken by the rider are received by the microphone of the microphone-including arrangement and are relayed therefrom in the form of voice-carrying signals and a non-talk mode;

the microphone-including arrangement is connectable to the two-way portable radio so that the voice-carrying signals which are relayed from the microphone-including arrangement are conducted to the two-way portable radio for transmission therefrom to a remote site;

the control unit includes means for capturing the voice-carrying signals relayed wirelessly from the microphone-including arrangement, and the capturing means is connectable to the PA equipment for conducting the voice-carrying signals which are captured by the capturing means of the control unit to the PA equipment; and

the manually-operable switch mounted upon the handlebars is cooperable with the control unit so that by actuating the manually-operable switch, voice-carrying signals which are relayed from the microphone-including arrangement are captured by the capturing means of the control unit and are subsequently conducted from the capturing means to the PA equipment for broadcast therefrom.

14. The improvement as defined in claim 13 wherein the manually-operable switch includes a switch button which is supported for movement between an extended condition and a depressed condition and which is spring-biased from the depressed condition toward the extended condition so that the manually-operable switch is actuated upon movement of the switch button from the extended condition to the depressed condition.

15. In a communication system for use by a rider of power sports equipment wherein there is incorporated within the power sports equipment public address (PA) equipment to which voice-carrying signals are desired to be routed for broadcast therefrom and wherein the communication system includes a microphone-including arrangement including a microphone to be carried by the rider, the improvement comprising:

the microphone-including arrangement including means for wirelessly relaying voice-carrying signals which correspond to messages spoken by the rider into the microphone of the microphone-including arrangement;

a control unit mountable upon the power sports equipment and including means for capturing the voice-carrying signals relayed wirelessly from the microphone-including arrangement, and the capturing means is connectable to the PA equipment incorporated within the power sports equipment for conductance thereto of the voice-carrying signals which are captured by the capturing means;

the control unit further including an internal switch which, when actuated, routes voice-carrying signals which are relayed from the microphone-including arrangement and captured by the capturing means of the control unit to the PA equipment for broadcast therefrom; and

the microphone-including arrangement includes means for remotely actuating the internal switch of the control unit enabling the rider to broadcast messages spoken into the microphone-including arrangement over the PA equipment.