Digital communications system with variable-bandwidth traffic channels

• US 8,457,157 B2
• Filed: 02/27/2012
• Issued: 06/04/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 02/08/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Sander, Wendell B., Corlett, Barry, Tupman, David John, Sander, Brian, Terlizzi, Jeffrey J., Bright, Andrew, Sharma, Anup
• Primary Examiner(s): Jiang, Charles C
• Application Number:
  US13/405,969
• Publication Number:
  US 20120155491A1
• Time in Patent Office: 463 Days
• Field of Search: 370/464, 370/468, 381/1, 381300-302
• US Class Current: 370/468
• CPC Class Codes: H04J 3/1682 Allocation of channels according to the instantaneous demands of the users, e.g. concentrated multiplexers, statistical multiplexers
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/6058 involving the use of a headset accessory device connected to the portable telephone

Abstract

Electronic devices and equipment may communicate over a wired communications path. The wired communications path may include one or more wires and may be associated with a headphone cable. Data may be conveyed in the form of a digital data stream containing multiple traffic channels. The digital data stream may include superframes, each of which has multiple frames of data. The frames of data may each contain a number of data slots. Some of the slots in a superframe may be used exclusively by a particular one of the traffic channels. Boundary slots may be shared between traffic channels. Data interface circuitry may implement a data dispersion algorithm that determines the pattern in which data from each traffic channel is distributed within each boundary slot. Transmitting data interface circuitry may merge traffic channels into a single data stream. Receiving data interface circuitry may reconstruct the traffic channels.

Claims

1. A method for conveying data over a communications path, comprising:

with a transmitting data interface, obtaining data corresponding to a plurality of traffic channels; and

with transmitting data allocation circuitry in the transmitting data interface, combining the data from each of the plurality of traffic channels into a single data stream, wherein the data stream comprises a plurality of frames, each frame comprising a plurality of data slots including at least one boundary slot, wherein the boundary slot carries data for one of the plurality of traffic channels in a first subset of the frames, wherein the boundary slot carries data for another of the plurality of traffic channels in a second subset of the frames, wherein at least two of the traffic channels carry audio data.

2. The method defined in claim 1 wherein the transmitting data interface forms part of an electronic device that communicates over the communications path with a receiving data interface in electronic equipment, the method further comprising:

with the transmitting data interface, transmitting the data stream to the receiving data interface.

3. The method defined in claim 2 wherein the receiving data interface comprises receiving data allocation circuitry, the method further comprising:

receiving the transmitted data stream with the receiving data interface; and

with the receiving data allocation circuitry in the receiving data interface, reconstructing the plurality of traffic channels.

4. The method defined in claim 3 wherein the electronic equipment comprises a plurality of endpoints, the method further comprising:

providing the reconstructed traffic channels to respective endpoints in the plurality of endpoints.

5. The method defined in claim 3 wherein the electronic equipment comprises a plurality of speakers, the method further comprising:

providing the reconstructed traffic channels to respective speakers in the plurality of speakers.

6. The method defined in claim 3 wherein combining the data from each of the plurality of traffic channels into the single data stream comprises combining the audio data from each of the plurality of traffic channels into the single data stream.

7. The method defined in claim 2 wherein at least some of the slots in each frame are empty and wherein transmitting the data stream comprises transmitting frames that include empty slots.

8. A headset accessory that is configured to receive data from an electronic device over a communications path, comprising:

a stereo audio connector in the path that has at least first and second terminals;

a differential receiver that receives differential data signals from the first and second terminals and that supplies a corresponding digital data stream, wherein the digital data stream comprises a plurality of frames, wherein each frame comprises a plurality of data slots including at least one boundary slot, wherein the boundary slot carries data for one of the traffic channels in a first subset of the frames and wherein the boundary slot carries data for another of the traffic channels in a second subset of the frames, wherein at least two of the traffic channels carry audio data; and

a data interface that receives the digital data stream and that extracts multiple traffic channels of data from the digital data stream.

9. The headset accessory defined in claim 8 further comprising a pair of speakers, wherein the data interface provides each of the extracted traffic channels to a respective one of the speakers.

10. The headset accessory defined in claim 9 wherein the digital data stream comprises a plurality of frames, and wherein each frame comprises a plurality of data slots, the data interface comprising:

data allocation circuitry that extracts the multiple traffic channels of data from the digital data stream.

11. The headset accessory defined in claim 9 wherein the stereo audio connector comprises a male tip-ring-ring-sleeve stereo audio connector.

12. The headset accessory defined in claim 8 wherein the data interface comprises:

data allocation circuitry that extracts the multiple traffic channels of data from the digital data stream.

13. The headset accessory defined in claim 12 wherein the data interface comprises a plurality of buffers coupled to the data allocation circuitry and wherein each of the multiple traffic channels of data is passed through a respective one of the buffers.

14. The headset accessory defined in claim 13 further comprising at least one microphone that gathers microphone signals, wherein the data interface is configured to transmit digital versions of the microphone signals over the communications path.

15. An electronic device, comprising:

audio circuitry that generates digital audio signals in a plurality of traffic channels;

a connector having at least first and second contacts, wherein the connector is electrically coupled to a wired communications path; and

data interface circuitry that transmits the digital audio signals through the first and second contacts in a data stream having a plurality of frames, each frame having a plurality of data slots, wherein at least some of the data slots are filled with the digital audio signals and wherein at least one of the data slots is a boundary slot that conveys the first and second traffic channels in respective frames.

16. The electronic device defined in claim 15 wherein the plurality of traffic channels include at least first and second traffic channels with different capacities and wherein the data interface circuitry is configured to transmit data bytes for the first and second traffic channels in the data slots that are filled with the digital audio signals.

17. The electronic device defined in claim 16 wherein at least some of the data slots in each frame are empty and wherein the connector comprises an audio connector.

18. The electronic device defined in claim 17 wherein the audio connector comprises at least a tip contact, a ring contact, and a sleeve contact.

19. The electronic device defined in claim 18 further comprising a differential transmitter associated with the data interface circuitry that transmits the data stream through first and second contacts, wherein the first and second contacts are part of an audio connector and are selected from the group consisting of:

a left audio contact, a right audio contact, a microphone contact, and a ground contact.