Methods and systems to provide automatic configuration of wireless speakers

• US 8,320,824 B2
• Filed: 09/24/2007
• Issued: 11/27/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 09/24/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Jawbone Innovations, LLC
• Original Assignee: AliphCom, Inc. (AliphCom Corp.)
• Inventors: Banks, Jano, Buuck, David, Boone, Jeff, Norenberg, Jon, Bozarth, Brad, Wiles, Eric, Northway, David
• Primary Examiner(s): Rego, Dominic E
• Application Number:
  US11/860,004
• Publication Number:
  US 20090081948A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,891 Days
• Field of Search: 455/130, 455/132, 455/137, 455/144, 455/151.2, 455/153.2, 455/402, 455/3.05, 455/3.06, 340/310.11, 340/538, 340/288, 34053811-53815, 381/7, 381/28, 381/89
• US Class Current: 455/3.06
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2205/024 Positioning of loudspeaker enclosures for spatial sound reproduction
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2420/07 Applications of wireless loudspeakers or wireless 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
• CPC Class Codes: H04S 7/301 Automatic calibration of stereophonic sound system, e.g. with test microphone
• CPC Class Codes: H04S 7/302 Electronic adaptation of stereophonic sound system to listener position or orientation H04S7/301 takes precedence

Abstract

An apparatus is described that includes an AV receiver with a wireless audio module (WAM) host. The apparatus further includes a plurality of wireless speakers each having a WAM device to enable bi-directional communications with the WAM host. The apparatus further includes a wireless input/output device or a plurality of wireless input/output devices embedded in speakers to enable bidirectional communications with the WAM host in order to automatically configure the plurality of wireless speakers to optimize audio parameters of the wireless speakers. The automatic configuration includes determining a location for each speaker in order to identify each speaker. The automatic configuration further includes setting time delay parameters for each speaker. The automatic configuration further includes setting volume parameters for each speaker.

Claims

1. An apparatus, comprising:

an audio receiver with a wireless audio module (WAM) host, the WAM host including a High-Definition Multimedia interface (“

HDMI”

) over which to communicate HDMI data representing audio signals wirelessly;

a plurality of wireless speakers each having a WAM device to enable bidirectional communications with the WAM host to receive the HDMI data representing the audio signals wirelessly; and

a wireless input/output device configured to receive the audio signals at a configuration position from each wireless speaker in at least a subset of the plurality of wireless speakers and to transmit audio information wirelessly to the WAM host to automatically configure the subset of the plurality of wireless speakers to optimize audio parameters of the wireless speakers, the WAM host being configured to use the audio information from the wireless input/output device to optimize the audio parameters relative to the configuration position from which the wireless input/output device transmits to the WAM host,

wherein a wireless speaker of the plurality of wireless speakers is automatically configured to optimize an audio parameter as a function of a distance of the wireless speaker.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the automatic configuration comprises determining a location for each speaker in order to identify each speaker relative to the configuration position at which wireless input/output device is disposed, the configuration position located within an area enclosed by the subset of the plurality of wireless speakers.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the automatic configuration comprises setting time delay parameters for each speaker.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the automatic configuration comprises setting volume parameters for each speaker.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the wireless input/output device comprises a wireless microphone.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the wireless input/output device is embedded in a remote control device to operate the receiver,

wherein the receiver is located in one of a TV, a DVD player, and an integrated TV/DVD player, a high definition multimedia interface (HDMI) TV, a HDMI DVD player, and an integrated HDMI TV/DVD player.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the plurality of wireless speakers comprise a front left speaker, a front right speaker, a center speaker, a surround left speaker, a surround right speaker, and a subwoofer speaker.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

a first ultra-wideband (“

UWB”

) device disposed in the WAM host; and

a second ultra-wideband (“

UWB”

) device disposed in each of the WAM devices,

wherein the first and the second UWB devices are configured to communicate the HDMI data wirelessly.

9. A system, comprising:

source of either audio signals or video signals, or both, including a wireless audio module (WAM) host, the WAM host including a High-Definition Multimedia Interface (“

HDMI”

) configured to communicate uncompressed audio wirelessly;

a plurality of wireless speakers each having a wireless transceiver to enable bi-directional communications with the WAM host, each of the plurality of wireless speakers being configured to receive the uncompressed audio wirelessly and to generate audio based on the uncompressed audio; and

a wireless input/output device at a configuration position, the wireless input/output device configured to receive the audio from each of the plurality of wireless speakers and to communicate audio information wirelessly to the WAM host to automatically configure the plurality of wireless speakers to optimize audio parameters of the wireless speakers based on locations of each of the plurality of wireless speakers relative to the configuration position,

wherein at least one wireless speaker of the plurality of wireless speakers is automatically configured to optimize an audio parameter as a function of a location of the wireless speaker.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the automatic configuration comprises determining a location for each speaker in order to identify each speaker.

11. The system of claim 9, wherein the automatic configuration comprises setting time delay parameters and volume parameters for each speaker.

12. The system of claim 9, wherein the source comprises one of an AV receiver, a DVD player, a HDMI display, a HDMI integrated DVD player/display, a high definition multimedia interface (HDMI) AV receiver, a HDMI DVD player, a HDMI display, and a HDMI integrated DVD player/display.

13. A method comprising:

transmitting wirelessly data representing uncompressed audio from a wireless audio module (WAM) host as a High-Definition Multimedia Interface (“

HDMI”

) audio data, the HDMI audio data being communicated in an ultra wideband (“

UWB”

) host-to-speaker architecture;

receiving at one or more wireless speakers the HDMI audio data, each of the one or more wireless speakers having a wireless transceiver to enable bi-directional communications with the WAM host;

transmitting from each of the plurality of wireless speakers audio based on the HDMI audio data to a wireless input/output device at a configuration position;

receiving the audio at the wireless input/output device;

enabling bi-directional communications between the wireless input/output device and the WAM host to communicate audio information wirelessly; and

configuring automatically the plurality of wireless speakers to optimize audio parameters of the wireless speakers based on locations of each of the plurality of wireless speakers relative to the configuration position,

wherein at least one wireless speaker of the plurality of wireless speakers is being automatically configured to optimize an audio parameter based on a distance from the wireless speaker to the configuration position.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

determining a location for each speaker in order to identify each speaker.

15. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

setting time delay parameters and volume parameters for each speaker.

16. The method of claim 13, wherein receiving the audio further comprises:

receiving the audio into a microphone in the wireless input/output device.

17. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

identifying a front left speaker, a front right speaker, a center speaker, a surround left speaker, a surround right speaker, and a subwoofer speaker.