Generating a warning message if a portable part associated with a wireless audio conferencing system is not charging

• US 9,420,434 B2
• Filed: 05/07/2013
• Issued: 08/16/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 05/07/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Revolabs, Inc. (Yamaha Corporation)
• Original Assignee: REVO Labs Incorporated
• Inventors: Root, Timothy
• Primary Examiner(s): Appiah, Charles
• Assistant Examiner(s): YI, ALEXANDER J.
• Application Number:
  US13/889,071
• Publication Number:
  US 20140335838A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,197 Days
• Field of Search: 455/416, 455/411, 455/410, 455/418, 455/421, 320/107, 700/245, 901/1, 340/636.1
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1827 Network arrangements for conference optimisation or adaptation
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/56 Arrangements for connecting several subscribers to a common circuit, i.e. affording conference facilities video conference systems H04N7/15
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/06 Selective distribution of broadcast services, e.g. multimedia broadcast multicast service [MBMS]; Services to user groups; One-way selective calling services

Abstract

A wireless audio conferencing system has one base station and a number of portable parts each of which is able to establish a communication link with the base station. The base station is controlled to initiate and to terminate communication sessions with other communication devices over a communications network such as a LAN or a WAN, and the base station includes a DSP the implements a digital radio and system application functionality that monitors and stores certain operational state characteristics associated with the portable parts. The base station uses the stored operational state characteristics associated with each portable part to determine whether, at the end of a communication session, a portable part is connected to a charging tray or not, and if not, the base station operates to transmit a warning message indicating that a portable part is not being charged.

Claims

1. In a wireless audio conferencing system connected to an external network, a method of generating a warning message, comprising:

detecting and recording by a base station, associated with the wireless audio conferencing system, one or more operational state characteristics associated with a first one of a plurality of portable parts linked to it during a communication session, the communication session being established between the base station and a remote audio conferencing system, and the plurality of portable parts being comprised of at least one wireless loudspeaker and at least two or more wireless microphones all of which are wirelessly linked to the base station during the communication session;

terminating the communication session, and the base station using the recorded one or more operational state characteristics associated with the first one portable part to determine that it is not returned to a charging tray for charging; and

generating and sending to an audio conferencing administrative process running on a server connected to the external network or to another one of the other plurality of the portable parts linked to the base station a warning message indicating that the first one of the plurality of the portable parts is not returned to the charging tray for charging at the termination of the communication session;

wherein the server connected to the external network is not associated with the wireless audio conferencing system, and the operational state characteristics associated with the first one of the plurality of the portable parts is any one or more of an indication that the first one of the plurality of the portable parts is within range or is not within range of the base station, is turned on, is turned off, the battery is charged, the battery charge is low, and if a number of active portable part session links does not match a number of terminated portable part session links at the termination of the communication session.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the detected operational state characteristic is one of an indication that the first one of the plurality of the portable part is within range or is not within range of the base station, is turned on, is turned off, the battery is charged, and the battery charge is low.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the base station comprises a digital radio having computer program instructions that when operated on by a digital signal processing device causes the base station to detect and to record the operational state characteristics of the plurality of portable parts linked to it during the communication session.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the record of the operational state characteristic associated with the first one of the plurality of the portable parts is uniquely identified by the identity of the first one of the plurality of the portable parts.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of portable parts comprises one or more of a wireless microphone, a wireless loud speaker and a wireless control device.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the warning message is sent to one or more of the wireless loudspeakers, the wireless microphones, a remote administrative server, and a communication device under the control of a meeting participant.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising the base station waiting a selected period of time after the communication session is terminated for each one of the plurality of the portable part to be returned to the charging tray before sending the warning message.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the base station determines that any one or more of the plurality of the portable parts is not returned to the charging tray at the termination of the communication session if a number of active portable part session links does not match a number of terminated portable part session links.

9. A wireless audio conferencing system connected to an external network, comprising:

a base station and a plurality of portable parts, the base station having a digital radio device operating to support a wireless communication link with each one of the plurality of the portable parts and to initiate an audio conferencing session, and having computer program instructions for execution by the base station that causes it to detect and record one or more of an operational state characteristic associated with at least a first one of the plurality of the portable parts linked to it during a communication session, the communication session being established between the base station and a remote audio conferencing system, and when the communication session is terminated, the base station uses the recorded one or more operational state characteristics associated with the at least first one portable part to determine that the first one portable part is not returned to a charging tray for charging, and generating and sending to an audio conferencing administrative process running on a server connected to the external network or to another one of the other portable parts linked to the base station a warning message indicating that the first one portable part is not returned to the charging tray for charging at the termination of the communication session;

wherein the server connected to the external network is not associated with the wireless audio conferencing system, the plurality of the portable parts are comprised of at least one loudspeaker and at least two or more wireless microphones all of which are wirelessly linked to the base station during the communication session, and the operational state characteristics associated with the first one of the plurality of the portable parts is any one or more of an indication that the first one of the plurality of the portable parts is within range or is not within range of the base station, is turned on, is turned off, the battery is charged, the battery charge is low, and if a number of active portable part session links does not match a number of terminated portable part session links at the termination of the communication session.

10. The wireless audio system of claim 9, wherein the one or more detected operational state characteristics is an indication that the portable part is within range of the base station, the portable part is out of range of the base station, the portable part is turned on, the portable part is turned off automatically, the portable part is turned off manually, the portable part battery is charged, and the portable part battery charge is low.

11. The wireless audio conferencing system of claim 9, wherein the operational state characteristics associated with each of the plurality of the portable parts is stored in a record that is uniquely identified by the identity of each of the portable part.

12. The wireless audio conferencing system of claim 9, wherein the plurality of the portable parts comprises one or more of a wireless microphone, a wireless loud speaker and a wireless control device.

13. The wireless audio conferencing system of claim 9, wherein the warning message is sent to one or more of the wireless loudspeakers, the wireless microphones, a remote administrative server, and a communication device under the control of a meeting participant.

14. The wireless audio conferencing system of claim 9, further comprising the base station waiting a selected period of time after the communication session is terminated for the portable part to be returned to the charging tray before sending the warning message.

15. The wireless audio conferencing system of claim 9, wherein the base station determines that the portable part is not returned to the charging tray at the termination of the communication session after an examination of the record of the operational characteristics associated with the portable part indicates that the communication link between it and the portable part is still active.

16. In a wireless audio conferencing system connected to an external network, a method of generating a warning message, comprising:

a base station associated with the wireless audio conferencing system detecting and recording that a first one of a plurality of portable parts linked to it during a communication session is moving out of range, is turned off, has a low battery condition, or that a number of active portable part session links does not match a number of terminated portable part session links at the termination of the communication session;

the base station using the recording to determine that the communication session is not terminated; and

generating and sending a warning message to an audio conference administrative process running on a server connected to the external network or sending the warning message to another one of the other plurality of the portable parts linked to the base station indicating that the first one portable part is to be returned to the charging tray for charging;

wherein the server connected to the external network is not associated with the wireless audio conferencing system, and the plurality of the portable parts is comprised of at least one wireless loudspeaker and two or more wireless microphones all of which are wirelessly linked to the base station during the communication session, the communication session being established between the base station and a remote audio conferencing system.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the portable part is a wireless microphone.