Headset with memory

• US 7,283,635 B1
• Filed: 12/09/1999
• Issued: 10/16/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 12/09/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Plantronics, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Plantronics, Inc.
• Inventors: Khamashta, Robert M., Anderson, Arthur G.
• Primary Examiner(s): Mei; Xu
• Application Number:
  US09/458,353
• Time in Patent Office: 2,868 Days
• Field of Search: 381/74, 381/309, 381/60, 381/384, 379/395.01, 379/387.01, 379/430, 379/404, 455/575.2
• US Class Current: 381/74
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/60 including speech amplifiers
• 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 1/6058 involving the use of a headset accessory device connected to the portable telephone
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/10 Earpieces; Attachments therefor ; Earphones; Monophonic headphones H04R1/28 takes precedence; stereophonic headphones H04R5/033
• 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

Abstract

A headset having a built-in memory to store parameter settings relating to headset performance characteristics such as headphone(s) and/or microphone performance characteristics. The performance characteristics can be measured during headset production and stored in the memory. A host adapter may communicate with the headset through a serial communications port of the headset. The host adapter may read the headset performance characteristics and adjust signals transmitted to and received from the headset in accordance thereto. When the headset is used in a system, the system parameters can be manually set and stored in the headset memory. When the headset is used again in the same system, the system parameters can be read from the memory and automatically set. The memory may also store product history information of the headset such as production date, serial and model numbers, and/or any service history.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising:

a headset having a memory for storing a user-adjustable preference setting, the memory being configured to allow the user-adjustable preference setting to be repeatedly modified by the user and stored during use of the headset; and

a host adapter configured to be selectively coupled to the headset and configured to process audio signals received from and/or transmitted to the headset using a performance parameter set in accordance with the preference setting, wherein the host adapter is capable of accessing the memory in order to read the user-adjustable preference setting.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the host adapter accesses the memory through a serial port in order to read the preference setting from the memory.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the memory is implemented with a headphone of the headset.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the memory is implemented within a cable quick disconnect of the headset.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the preference setting is one of a preferred volume level, a preferred treble level, a preferred bass level and a preferred balance level.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the performance parameter of the host adapter may be further manually adjusted by a user to a new preference level, which is then stored in the memory, thereby overwriting the previously stored preference setting.

7. A method for automatically setting performance parameters of a host adapter to various user defined preferences for different users of the host adapter, the method comprising:

storing a first and second set of user defined preferences for a first and a second user, respectively, in a headset having a memory device, the memory being configured to be selectively coupled to the host adapter capable of accessing the memory; and

selectively retrieving one of the first and second sets of user defined preferences from the memory when the headset is coupled to the host adapter, and thereafter setting each of the performance parameters of the host adapter to the set of user defined preferences retrieved from the memory, the host adapter being configured to use the performance parameters to process audio signals received from and/or transmitted to the headset, the selectively retrieving being dependent on the headset being used by the first or the second user.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the first set of user defined preferences includes at least one of a volume level preferred by the first user, a bass level preferred by the first user, a treble level preferred by the first user, and a balance level preferred by the first user.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the second set of user defined preferences includes at least one of a volume level preferred by the second user, a bass level preferred by the second user, a treble level preferred by the second user, and a balance level preferred by the second user.

10. A system for automatically setting performance parameters of a host adapter to various user defined preferences for different users of the host adapter, the system comprising:

the host adapter configured to use the performance parameters to process audio signals received from and/or transmitted to a headset;

the headset, the headset having memory for storing a first set of user defined preferences for a first user and storing a second set of user defined preferences for a second user;

a memory interface within the host adapter for selectively retrieving the first set of user defined preferences when the headset with memory is selectively coupled to the host adapter and used by the first user, thereafter setting a series of performance parameters of the host adapter to the first set of user defined preferences; and

for selectively retrieving the second set of user defined preferences when the headset with memory is selectively coupled to the host adapter and used by the second user, thereafter setting the performance parameters of the host adapter to the second set of user defined preferences.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the first set of user defined preferences includes at least one of a volume level preferred by the first user, a bass level preferred by the first user, a treble level preferred by the first user, and a balance level preferred by the first user.

12. The system of claim 10, wherein the second set of user defined preferences include a volume level preferred by the second user, a bass level preferred by the second user, a treble level preferred by the second user, and a balance level preferred by the second user.

13. A host adapter for providing signals to and from a headset having a memory device, the host adapter comprising:

an adjustable series of performance parameters for processing the signals provided to and from the headset;

a memory interface for retrieving a first set of user defined preferences when the headset with memory device is selectively coupled to the host adapter and used by a first user, the host adapter thereafter setting the adjustable series of performance parameters of the host adapter to the first set of user defined preferences in order to adjust the signals provided to and from the headset with memory in accordance with the first set of user defined preferences; and

for retrieving a second set of user defined preferences when the headset with memory is selectively coupled to the host adapter and used by a second user, the host adapter thereafter setting the adjustable series of performance parameters of the host adapter to the second set of user defined preferences in order to adjust the signals provided to and from the headset in accordance with the second set of user defined preferences.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the adjustable series of performance parameters include a volume level, a bass level, a treble level, and a balance level.

15. The system of claim 13, wherein the first set of user defined preferences includes at least one of a volume level preferred by the first user, a bass level preferred by the first user, a treble level preferred by the first user, and a balance level preferred by the first user.

16. The system of claim 13, wherein the second set of user defined preferences includes at least one of a volume level preferred by the second user, a bass level preferred by the second user, a treble level preferred by the second user, and a balance level preferred by the second user.

17. A method for retrieving headset preference settings from a headset with memory, comprising:

identifying a headset user selected from a plurality of headset users via a user login;

retrieving a set of headset preference settings associated with the identified headset user from the headset memory by a host adapter, the host adapter being selectively coupled to the headset memory, the retrieving being based on the identity of the headset user, and the host adapter having performance parameters corresponding to the headset preference settings;

setting the performance parameters of the host adapter to the headset preference settings associated with the identified headset user retrieved from the headset memory, the host adapter being configured to process audio signals received from and/or transmitted to the headset using the performance parameters set in accordance with the retrieved set of headset preference settings; and

repeating said identifying, retrieving and setting upon each user login.

18. A method of claim 17, further comprising:

matching the identity of the headset user with a performance parameter memory starting address in the headset memory, and

transferring the memory starting address in the headset memory to the host adapter, wherein said reading from the headset memory is based on the memory starting address.