Method and system of extending battery life of a wireless microphone unit

• US 9,516,398 B2
• Filed: 03/23/2016
• Issued: 12/06/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 07/26/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Watchguard Video Incorporated (Motorola Solutions, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Enforcement Video Incorporated (Enforcement Technology Group Incorporated)
• Inventors: Cilia, Andrew
• Primary Examiner(s): Le, Lana N
• Application Number:
  US15/078,122
• Publication Number:
  US 20160205455A1
• Time in Patent Office: 258 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 19/012 Comfort noise or silence coding
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/6058 involving the use of a headset accessory device connected to the portable telephone
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/6066 including a wireless connection
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/04 Structural association of microphone with electric circuitry therefor in deaf-aid sets H04R25/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2420/07 Applications of wireless loudspeakers or wireless microphones
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 29/004 for microphones H04R29/007 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 3/00 Circuits for transducers , loudspeakers or microphones

Abstract

A method of extending battery life of a wireless microphone unit includes muting the wireless microphone unit responsive to a mute signal from a base station unit, transmitting, by the wireless microphone unit, compressed muted audio data, wherein the compressed muted audio data is compressed via a first compression scheme, determining, by the wireless microphone unit, whether an unmute signal has been received from the base station unit, and responsive to a determination that the unmute signal has been received, unmuting the wireless microphone unit. The method further includes discontinuing transmission of the compressed muted audio data and transmitting compressed audio data via a second compression scheme, wherein the first transmitting step causes the wireless microphone unit to consume less power per unit of transmission time than the second transmitting step.

Claims

1. A method of extending battery life of a microphone unit, the method comprising:

muting the microphone unit responsive to a mute signal from a base station unit;

transmitting, by the microphone unit, compressed muted audio data;

determining, by the microphone unit, whether an unmute signal has been received from the base station unit;

responsive to a determination that the unmute signal has been received, unmuting the microphone unit; and

wherein the base station unit comprises a recording device configured to record the compressed muted audio data.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein, responsive to the muting step, the muted audio data defaults to zero.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the compressed muted audio data comprises at least one string of zeros compressed into a short string of data.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the at least one string of zeros represents silence.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein, responsive to the muting step, audio data representing silence is received by a transmit/receive unit of the microphone unit.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein, responsive to the unmuting step, the microphone unit performs the following steps:

discontinuing transmission of the compressed muted audio data; and

transmitting compressed audio data utilizing at least one of Digital Speech Standard (DSS), Advanced Audio Coding (AAC), and MP3.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein, responsive to the unmuting step, the microphone unit performs the following steps:

discontinuing transmission of the compressed muted audio data; and

transmitting uncompressed audio data.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the muting step comprises disconnecting a sound pickup device of the microphone unit from a transmit/receive unit of the microphone unit.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the muting step comprises muting the microphone unit utilizing analog mute circuitry.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein the muting step comprises muting the microphone unit utilizing digital mute circuitry.

11. The method according to any of claim 1, wherein the steps are performed in the order listed.

12. The method according to any of claim 1, wherein the microphone unit comprises a wireless microphone unit.

13. The method according to any of claim 1, wherein the compressed muted audio data comprises run-length-encoded muted audio data.

14. An article of manufacture for extending battery life of a microphone unit, the article of manufacture comprising:

at least one non-transitory computer readable medium;

processor instructions contained on the at least one non-transitory computer readable medium, the processor instructions configured to be readable from the at least one non-transitory computer readable medium by at least one processor and thereby cause the at least one processor to operate as to perform the following steps;

muting the microphone unit responsive to a mute signal from a base station unit;

transmitting, by the microphone unit, compressed muted audio data;

determining, by the microphone unit, whether an unmute signal has been received from the base station unit;

responsive to a determination that the unmute signal has been received, unmuting the microphone unit; and

wherein the base station unit comprises a recording device configured to record the compressed muted audio data.

15. The article of manufacture according to any of claim 14, wherein the microphone unit comprises a wireless microphone unit.

16. The article of manufacture according to claim 14, wherein the compressed muted audio data comprises run-length-encoded muted audio data.

17. A system for extending battery life of a microphone unit, the system comprising:

a microphone unit;

a base station unit configured to wirelessly communicate with the microphone unit;

wherein the microphone unit is configured to;

enter a mute mode responsive to receiving a mute signal from a base station unit;

transmit compressed muted audio data;

determine whether an unmute signal has been received from the base station unit;

responsive to a determination that the unmute signal has been received, unmute the microphone unit; and

wherein the base station unit comprises a recording device configured to record the compressed muted audio data.