SMART TOOL FOR HEADPHONES

• US 20140064511A1
• Filed: 08/05/2013
• Published: 03/06/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 08/31/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Desai, Vishruti R.
• Granted Patent: US 9,736,587 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 381/74
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1895 for short real-time information, e.g. alarms, notifications, alerts, updates
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/4872 Non-interactive information services
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/1041 Mechanical or electronic switches, or control elements switches in general H01H
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2420/07 Applications of wireless loudspeakers or wireless microphones
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 27/00 Public address systems circuits for preventing acoustic reaction H04R3/02; circuits for distributing signals to loudspeakers H04R3/12; monitoring or testing arrangements for public address systems H04R29/007; amplifiers H03F
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 3/12 for distributing signals to two or more loudspeakers specially adapted for hearing aids H04R25/407
• 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

Systems, methods, and devices of the various embodiments enable headphone users to he hear audible announcements of relevance to the user. In the various embodiments, a user device, such as headphones, may receive an announcement, determine whether the announcement is of interest to the user, and pause the current audio output by the headphones and enable the user to hear the announcement. In an embodiment, an announcement system may transmit announcements audibly and via a wireless channel, for example via broadcast and/or multicast transmission, to enable user devices to receive announcements and play relevant announcements via the headphones. In another embodiment, an announcement system may embedded announcement identifiers within audible announcements to enable a user device to identify announcements of interest. In another embodiment, a user device may filter received audio to identify announcements of interest to the user based on recognized subject matter within the received audio.

Claims

1. A method for ensuring that audible announcements are heard by a user wearing headphones, comprising:

receiving an announcement in the headphones via a wireless link;

determining, in a processor within the headphones, whether the announcement is relevant to a user of the headphones;

pausing a current audio output of the headphones in response to determining that the announcement is relevant to the user; and

playing the announcement over the headphones in response to determining that the announcement is relevant to the user.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

establishing a short range communication link between the headphones and an announcement system prior to receiving the announcement;

determining, in the processor within the headphones, whether the short range communication link is active; and

resuming the current audio output of the headphones after playing the announcement,

wherein;

pausing a current audio output of the headphones in response to determining that the announcement is relevant to the user comprises only pausing a current audio output of the headphones in response to determining that the announcement is relevant to the user and the short range communication link is active; and

playing the announcement over the headphones in response to determining that the announcement is relevant to the user comprises only playing the announcement over the headphones in response to determining that the announcement is relevant to the user and the short range communication link is active.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving an announcement in the headphones via a wireless link comprises receiving an announcement in the headphones via a Wi-Fi channel.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein:

the announcement includes header information; and

determining, in the processor within the headphones, whether the announcement is relevant to a user of the headphones comprises determining, in the processor within the headphones, whether the announcement is relevant to a user of the headphones based at least in part on the header information.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the header information includes an announcement identifier or location identifier.

6. The method of claim 3, further comprising receiving a hidden service set ID from an announcement system in the headphones via a short range communication link,

wherein receiving an announcement in the headphones via a Wi-Fi channel comprises receiving an announcement in the headphones via a Wi-Fi channel corresponding to the hidden service set ID.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein determining, in the processor within the headphones, whether the announcement is relevant to a user of the headphones comprises:

obtaining a profile of the user wearing the headphones; and

determining, in the processor within the headphones, whether the announcement is relevant to the user of the headphones based at least in part on the profile of the user wearing the headphones.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

scanning a barcode with a barcode scanner on the headphones or a device connected to the headphones to generate an indication of barcode information prior to receiving the announcement at the headphones;

registering the headphones with an announcement system based on the indication of barcode information prior to receiving the announcement; and

determining, in the processor within the headphones, whether the headphones are registered with the announcement system,

wherein;

pausing a current audio output of the headphones in response to determining that the announcement is relevant to the user comprises pausing a current audio output of the headphones in response to determining that the announcement is relevant to the user and the headphones are registered with the announcement system; and

playing the announcement over the headphones in response to determining that the announcement is relevant to the user comprises only playing the announcement over the headphones in response to determining that the announcement is relevant to the user and the headphones are registered with the announcement system.

9. A method for ensuring that audible announcements are heard by a user wearing headphones, comprising:

receiving an announcement including an embedded announcement identifier by a microphone;

determining whether the announcement is relevant to a user of the headphones based at least in part on the embedded announcement identifier in the announcement;

pausing a current audio output of the headphones in response to determining that the announcement is relevant to the user; and

playing the announcement over the headphones in response to determining that the announcement is relevant to the user.

10. A method for ensuring that audible announcements are heard by a user wearing headphones, comprising:

receiving an audible announcement;

filtering the audible announcement to isolate speech within the announcement;

converting the speech to text;

recognizing subject matter in the text;

determining whether the recognized subject matter in the text matches a user indication of relevant subject matter;

pausing a current audio output of the headphones in response to determining that the recognized subject matter in the text matches a user indication of relevant subject matter; and

playing the announcement over the headphones in response to determining that the recognized subject matter in the text matches a user indication of relevant subject matter.

11. A method for ensuring that audible announcements are heard by a user wearing headphones, comprising:

receiving an announcement;

receiving an indication of a light signal;

determining whether the announcement is relevant to a user of the headphones based at least in part on information included within the light signal;

pausing a current audio output of the headphones in response to determining that the announcement is relevant to the user; and

playing the announcement over the headphones in response to determining that the announcement is relevant to the user.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the light signal is an encoded announcement identification.

13. Headphones, comprising:

means for receiving an announcement in the headphones via a wireless link;

means for determining whether the announcement is relevant to a user of the headphones;

means for pausing a current audio output of the headphones in response to determining that the announcement is relevant to the user; and

means for playing the announcement over the headphones in response to determining that the announcement is relevant to the user.

14. The headphones of claim 13, further comprising:

means for establishing a short range communication link between the headphones and an announcement system prior to receiving the announcement;

means for determining whether the short range communication link is active; and

means for resuming the current audio output of the headphones after playing the announcement,

wherein;

means for pausing a current audio output of the headphones in response to determining that the announcement is relevant to the user comprises means for only pausing a current audio output of the headphones in response to determining that the announcement is relevant to the user and the short range communication link is active; and

means for playing the announcement over the headphones in response to determining that the announcement is relevant to the user comprises means for only playing the announcement over the headphones in response to determining that the announcement is relevant to the user and the short range communication link is active.

15. The headphones of claim 13, wherein means for receiving an announcement in the headphones via a wireless link comprises means for receiving an announcement in the headphones via a Wi-Fi channel.

16. The headphones of claim 15, wherein:

the announcement includes header information; and

means for determining whether the announcement is relevant to a user of the headphones comprises means for determining, at the headphones, whether the announcement is relevant to a user of the headphones based at least in part on the header information.

17. The headphones of claim 16, wherein the header information includes an announcement identifier or location identifier.

18. The headphones of claim 15, further comprising means for receiving a hidden service set ID from an announcement system in the headphones via a short range communication link,

wherein means for receiving an announcement in the headphones via a Wi-Fi channel comprises means for receiving an announcement in the headphones via a Wi-Fi channel corresponding to the hidden service set ID.

19. The headphones of claim 13, wherein means for determining whether the announcement is relevant to a user of the headphones comprises:

means for obtaining a profile of the user wearing the headphones; and

means for determining whether the announcement is relevant to the user of the headphones based at least in part on the profile of the user wearing the headphones.

20. The headphones of claim 13, further comprising:

means for scanning a barcode with a barcode scanner on the headphones or a device connected to the headphones to generate an indication of barcode information prior to receiving the announcement at the headphones;

means for registering the headphones with an announcement system based on the indication of barcode information prior to receiving the announcement; and

means for determining whether the headphones are registered with the announcement system,

wherein;

means for pausing a current audio output of the headphones in response to determining that the announcement is relevant to the user comprises means for pausing a current audio output of the headphones in response to determining that the announcement is relevant to the user and the headphones is registered with the announcement system; and

means for playing the announcement over the headphones in response to determining that the announcement is relevant to the user comprises means for only playing the announcement over the headphones in response to determining that the announcement is relevant to the user and the headphones registered with the announcement system.

21. A device, comprising:

means for receiving an announcement including an embedded announcement identifier by a microphone;

means for determining whether the announcement is relevant to a user wearing headphones based at least in part on the embedded announcement identifier in the announcement;

means for pausing a current audio output of the headphones in response to determining that the announcement is relevant to the user; and

means for playing the announcement over the headphones in response to determining that the announcement is relevant to the user.

22. A device, comprising:

means for receiving an audible announcement;

means for filtering the audible announcement to isolate speech within the announcement;

means for converting the speech to text;

means for recognizing subject matter in the text;

means for determining whether recognized subject matter in the text matches a user indication of relevant subject matter;

means for pausing a current audio output of headphones in response to determining that the recognized subject matter in the text matches a user indication of relevant subject matter; and

means for playing the announcement over the headphones in response to determining that the recognized subject matter in the text matches a user indication of relevant subject matter.

23. A device, comprising:

means for receiving an announcement;

means for receiving an indication of a light signal;

means for determining whether the announcement is relevant to a user wearing headphones based at least in part on information included within the light signal;

means for pausing a current audio output of the headphones in response to determining that the announcement is relevant to the user; and

means for playing the announcement over the headphones in response to determining that the announcement is relevant to the user.

24. The device of claim 23, wherein the light signal is an encoded announcement identification.

25. Headphones, comprising:

a wireless transceiver;

a speaker; and

a processor connected to the wireless transceiver and speaker, wherein the processor is configured with processor-executable instructions to perform operations comprising;

receiving an announcement via a wireless link with the wireless transceiver;

determining whether the announcement is relevant to a user of the headphones;

pausing a current audio output of the speaker in response to determining that the announcement is relevant to the user; and

playing the announcement over the speaker in response to determining that the announcement is relevant to the user.

26. The headphones of claim 25, further comprising a short range wireless transceiver connected to the processor,

wherein the processor is configured with processor-executable instructions to perform operations further comprising:

establishing a short range communication link between the headphones and an announcement system with the short range wireless transceiver prior to receiving the announcement;

determining whether the short range communication link is active; and

resuming the current audio output of the speaker after playing the announcement, and

wherein the processor is configured with processor-executable instructions to perform operations such that;

pausing a current audio output of the speaker in response to determining that the announcement is relevant to the user comprises only pausing a current audio output of the speaker in response to determining that the announcement is relevant to the user and the short range communication link is active; and

playing the announcement over the speaker in response to determining that the announcement is relevant to the user comprises only playing the announcement over the speaker in response to determining that the announcement is relevant to the user and the short range communication link is active.

27. The headphones of claim 25, wherein the processor is configured with processor-executable instructions to perform operations such that receiving an announcement in the headphones via a wireless link comprises receiving an announcement in the headphones via a Wi-Fi channel.

28. The headphones of claim 27, wherein the processor is configured with processor-executable instructions to perform operations such that:

the announcement includes header information; and

determining whether the announcement is relevant to a user of the headphones comprises determining, at the headphones, whether the announcement is relevant to a user of the headphones based at least in part on the header information.

29. The headphones of claim 28, wherein the processor is configured with processor-executable instructions to perform operations such that the header information includes an announcement identifier or location identifier.

30. The headphones of claim 27, further comprising a short range wireless transceiver connected to the processor,

wherein the processor is configured with processor-executable instructions to perform operations further comprising receiving a hidden service set ID from an announcement system in the headphones via a short range communication link with the short range wireless transceiver, and

wherein the processor is configured with processor-executable instructions to perform operations such that receiving an announcement in the headphones via a Wi-Fi channel comprises receiving an announcement in the headphones via a Wi-Fi channel corresponding to the hidden service set ID.

31. The headphones of claim 25, wherein the processor is configured with processor-executable instructions to perform operations such that determining whether the announcement is relevant to a user of the headphones comprises:

obtaining a profile of the user wearing the headphones; and

determining whether the announcement is relevant to the user of the headphones based at least in part on the profile of the user wearing the headphones.

32. The headphones of claim 25, further comprising a barcode scanner coupled to the processor, wherein the processor is configured with processor-executable instructions to perform operations further comprising:

generating an indication of barcode information of a barcode scanned by the barcode scanner prior to receiving the announcement at the headphones;

registering the headphones with an announcement system based on the indication of barcode information prior to receiving the announcement; and

determining whether the headphones are registered with the announcement system,

wherein the processor is configured with processor-executable instructions to perform operations such that;

pausing a current audio output of the speaker in response to determining that the announcement is relevant to the user comprises pausing a current audio output of the speaker in response to determining that the announcement is relevant to the user and the headphones are registered with the announcement system; and

playing the announcement over the speaker in response to determining that the announcement is relevant to the user comprises only playing the announcement over the speaker in response to determining that the announcement is relevant to the user and the headphones are registered with the announcement system.

33. A device, comprising:

a microphone; and

a processor connected to the microphone, wherein the processor is configured with processor-executable instructions to perform operations comprising;

receiving an announcement including an embedded announcement identifier from the microphone;

determining whether the announcement is relevant to a user wearing headphones based at least in part on the embedded announcement identifier in the announcement;

pausing a current audio output of the headphones in response to determining that the announcement is relevant to the user; and

playing the announcement over the headphones in response to determining that the announcement is relevant to the user.

34. A device, comprising:

a microphone; and

a processor connected to the microphone, wherein the processor is configured with processor-executable instructions to perform operations comprising;

receiving an audible announcement via the microphone;

filtering the audible announcement to isolate speech within the announcement;

converting the speech to text;

recognizing subject matter in the text;

determining whether the recognized subject matter in the text matches a user indication of relevant subject matter;

pausing a current audio output of headphones in response to determining that the recognized subject matter in the text matches a user indication of relevant subject matter; and

playing the announcement over the headphones in response to determining that the recognized subject matter in the text matches a user indication of relevant subject matter.

35. A device, comprising:

a microphone;

a light sensor; and

a processor connected to the microphone and light sensor, wherein the processor is configured with processor-executable instructions to perform operations comprising;

receiving an announcement via the microphone;

receiving an indication of a light signal from the light sensor;

determining whether the announcement is relevant to a user wearing headphones based at least in part on information included within the light signal;

pausing a current audio output of the headphones in response to determining that the announcement is relevant to the user; and

playing the announcement over the headphones in response to determining that the announcement is relevant to the user.

36. The device of claim 35, wherein the processor is configured with processor-executable instructions to perform operations such that the light signal is an encoded announcement identification.

37. A non-transitory processor readable medium having stored thereon processor-executable instructions configured to cause a processor of headphones to perform operations comprising:

receiving an announcement via a wireless link;

determining whether the announcement is relevant to a user of the headphones;

pausing a current audio output of the headphones in response to determining that the announcement is relevant to the user; and

playing the announcement over the headphones in response to determining that the announcement is relevant to the user.

38. The non-transitory processor readable medium of claim 37, wherein the stored processor-executable instructions are configured to cause a processor of headphones to perform operations further comprising:

establishing a short range communication link between the headphones and an announcement system prior to receiving the announcement;

determining whether the short range communication link is active; and

resuming the current audio output of the headphones after playing the announcement, and

wherein the stored processor-executable instructions are configured to cause a processor of headphones to perform operations such that;

pausing a current audio output of the headphones in response to determining that the announcement is relevant to the user comprises only pausing a current audio output of the headphones in response to determining that the announcement is relevant to the user and the short range communication link is active; and

playing the announcement over the headphones in response to determining that the announcement is relevant to the user comprises only playing the announcement over the headphones in response to determining that the announcement is relevant to the user and the short range communication link is active.

39. The non-transitory processor readable medium of claim 37, wherein the stored processor-executable instructions are configured to cause a processor of headphones to perform operations such that receiving an announcement via a wireless link comprises receiving an announcement via a Wi-Fi channel.

40. The non-transitory processor readable medium of claim 39, wherein the stored processor-executable instructions are configured to cause a processor of headphones to perform operations such that:

the announcement includes header information; and

determining whether the announcement is relevant to a user of the headphones comprises determining whether the announcement is relevant to a user of the headphones based at least in part on the header information.

41. The non-transitory processor readable medium of claim 40, wherein the stored processor-executable instructions are configured to cause a processor of headphones to perform operations such that the header information includes an announcement identifier or location identifier.

42. The non-transitory processor readable medium of claim 39, wherein the stored processor-executable instructions are configured to cause a processor of headphones to perform operations further comprising receiving a hidden service set ID from an announcement system via a short range communication link, and

wherein the stored processor-executable instructions are configured to cause a processor of headphones to perform operations such that receiving an announcement via a Wi-Fi channel comprises receiving an announcement via a Wi-Fi channel corresponding to the hidden service set ID.

43. The non-transitory processor readable medium of claim 37, wherein the stored processor-executable instructions are configured to cause a processor of headphones to perform operations such that determining whether the announcement is relevant to a user of the headphones comprises:

obtaining a profile of the user wearing the headphones; and

determining whether the announcement is relevant to the user of the headphones based at least in part on the profile of the user wearing the headphones.

44. The non-transitory processor readable medium of claim 37, wherein the stored processor-executable instructions are configured to cause a processor of headphones to perform operations further comprising:

generating an indication of barcode information of a barcode scanned by a barcode scanner prior to receiving the announcement at the headphones;

registering the headphones with an announcement system based on the indication of barcode information prior to receiving the announcement; and

determining whether the headphones are registered with the announcement system, and

wherein the stored processor-executable instructions are configured to cause a processor of headphones to perform operations such that;

pausing a current audio output of the headphones in response to determining that the announcement is relevant to the user comprises pausing a current audio output of the headphones in response to determining that the announcement is relevant to the user and the headphones are registered with the announcement system; and

playing the announcement over the headphones in response to determining that the announcement is relevant to the user comprises only playing the announcement over the headphones in response to determining that the announcement is relevant to the user and the headphones are registered with the announcement system.

45. A non-transitory processor readable medium having stored thereon processor-executable instructions configured to cause a processor to perform operations comprising:

receiving an announcement including an embedded announcement identifier from a microphone;

determining whether the announcement is relevant to a user wearing headphones based at least in part on the embedded announcement identifier in the announcement;

pausing a current audio output of the headphones in response to determining that the announcement is relevant to the user; and

playing the announcement over the headphones in response to determining that the announcement is relevant to the user.

46. A non-transitory processor readable medium having stored thereon processor-executable instructions configured to cause a processor to perform operations comprising:

receiving an audible announcement;

filtering the audible announcement to isolate speech within the announcement;

converting the speech to text;

recognizing subject matter in the text;

determining whether the recognized subject matter in the text matches a user indication of relevant subject matter;

pausing a current audio output of headphones in response to determining that the recognized subject matter in the text matches a user indication of relevant subject matter; and

playing the announcement over the headphones in response to determining that the recognized subject matter in the text matches a user indication of relevant subject matter.

47. A non-transitory processor readable medium having stored thereon processor-executable instructions configured to cause a processor to perform operations comprising:

receiving an announcement;

receiving an indication of a light signal from the light sensor;

determining whether the announcement is relevant to a user wearing headphones based at least in part on information included within the light signal;

pausing a current audio output of the headphones in response to determining that the announcement is relevant to the user; and

playing the announcement over the headphones in response to determining that the announcement is relevant to the user.

48. The non-transitory processor readable medium of claim 47, wherein the stored processor-executable instructions are configured to cause a processor to perform operations such that the light signal is an encoded announcement identification.