Patentamt
`European
`Patent Office
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`Europfiismes
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`
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`3:335:12...“
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`(19)
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`(12)
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`illlililii IllilIilli Iilli iliil ilill iii" ilill iliil lililIIIIIIIIilliiil Iilli
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`(11)
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`EP 2 272 259 B1
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`EUROPEAN PATENT SPECIFICATION
`
`(45) Date of publication and mention
`of the grant of the patent:
`18.07.2012 Bulletin 2012/29
`
`(21) Application number: 09731146.8
`
`(22) Date of filing: 07.04.2009
`
`(51) Int Cl.:
`H04R 1/02 (2995.01)
`
`(86) International application number:
`PCT/U52009IO39754
`
`(87) International publication number:
`WO 2009/126614 (15.10.2009 Gazette 2009/42)
`
`(54) WIRELESS EARPHONE THAT TRANSITIONS BETWEEN WIRELESS NETWORKS
`
`DRAHTLOSER KOPFHORER MIT UBERGANG ZWISCHEN DRAHTLOSEN NETZWERKEN
`
`ECOUTEUR SANS FIL QUI EFFECTUE DES TRANSITIONS ENTRE DES RESEAUX SANS FIL
`
`(84) Designated Contracting States:
`AT BE BG CH CY CZ DE DK EE ES FI FR GB GR
`HR HU IE IS IT LI LT LU LV MC MK MT NL NO PL
`PT RO SE SI SK TR
`
`(30) Priority: 07.04.2008 US 123265P
`
`(43) Date of publication of application:
`12.01.2011 Bulletin 2011/02
`
`(60) Divisional application:
`12167648.0
`
`(73) Proprietor: Koss Corporation
`Milwaukee, WI 53212 (US)
`
`(72) Inventors:
`- PELLAND, Michael, J.
`Princeton
`
`WI 54968-8738 (US)
`
`
`
`- KOSS, Michael. J.
`Milwaukee
`
`WI 53217 (US)
`- SAGAN, Michael
`Marshall
`
`WI 53559 (US)
`- RECKAMP, Steven
`Sun Prairie
`
`WI 53590-3812 (US)
`
`(74) Representative: Parry, Simon James et al
`Mewburn Ellis LLP
`33 Gutter Lane
`
`London
`EC2V 8AS (GB)
`
`(56) References cited:
`WO-A1-2007/139578
`US-A1- 2007 049 198
`US-A1- 2007 165 875
`
`US-A1- 2005 198 233
`US-A1- 2007 116 316
`US-A1- 2008 062 939
`
`Bose Exhibit 1009
`Bose V. Koss
`
`Note: Within nine months of the publication of the mention of the grant of the European patent in the European Patent
`Bulletin, any person may give notice to the European Patent Office of opposition to that patent, in accordance with the
`Implementing Regulations. Notice of opposition shall not be deemed to have been filed until the opposition fee has been
`paid. (Art. 99(1) European Patent Convention).
`
`Printed by .JouveI 75001 PARIS (FR)
`
`EP2272259B1
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`EP 2 272 259 B1
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`Description
`
`PRIORITY CLAIM
`
`[0001] The present application claims priority to United
`States provisional application serial number61l123,265,
`filed April 7, 2008.
`
`BACKGROUND
`
`[0002] Digital audio players, such as MP3 players and
`iPods, that store and play digital audio files, are very pop-
`ular. Such devices typically comprise a data storage unit
`forstoring and playing the digital audio, and a headphone
`set that connects to the data storage unit, usually with a
`1/
`" or a 3.5 mm jack and associated cord. Often the
`headphones are in-eartype headphones. The cord, how-
`ever, between the headphones and the data storage unit
`can be cumbersome and annoying to users, and the
`length of the cord limits the physical distance between
`the data storage unit and the headphones. Accordingly,
`some cordless headphones have been proposed, such
`as the Monster iFreePlay cordless headphones from Ap-
`ple Inc., which include a docking port on one of the ear-
`phones that can connect directly to an iPod Shuffle. Be-
`cause they have the docking port, however, the Monster
`iFreePlay cordless headphones from Apple are quite
`large and are not in- ear type phones. Recently, cordless
`headphones that connect wirelessly via IEEE 802.11 to
`a WLAN-ready laptop or personal computer (PC) have
`been proposed, but such headphones are also quite
`large and not in-ear type phones.
`[0003] USZOO7/0165875A1 discloses a multiple-an-
`tennae wireless multimedia headset having peer-to—peer
`networking capability and which is configured for con-
`venient hand off between multiple wireless interfaces.
`[0004] According to a first aspect of the present inven-
`tion, there is provided an earphone as defined in claim 1.
`[0005] According to a second aspect of the present
`invention, there is provided a method as defined in claim
`19
`
`[0006] When the data source and the earphone are
`out of range via the ad hoc wireless network, they may
`transition automatically to a common infrastructure wire-
`less network (e.g., a wireless LAN). If there is no common
`infrastructure wireless network for both the data source
`
`and the earphone, the earphone may connect via an
`available infrastructure wireless network to a host server.
`
`The host server may, for example, broadcast streaming
`audio to the earphone and/ortransmit to the earphone a
`network address (e.g., an Internet Protocol (IP) address)
`for a network-connected content serverthat streams dig-
`ital audio. The earphone may then connect to the content
`server using the IP address. The content server may be
`an Internet radio server, including, for example, an Inter-
`net radio server that broadcasts streaming audio from
`the data source or some other content.
`
`[0007] These and other advantageous, unique as-
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`pects of the wireless earphone are described below.
`
`FIGURES
`
`[0008] Various embodiments of the present invention
`are described herein by way of example in conjunction
`with the following figures, wherein:
`
`Figures 1A-1 E are views of a wireless earphone ac-
`cording to various embodiments of the present in-
`vention;
`Figures 2A—2D illustrate various communication
`modes for a wireless earphone according to various
`embodiments of the present invention;
`Figure 3 is a block diagram of a wireless earphone
`according to various embodiments ofthe present in-
`vention;
`Figures 4A-4B show the wireless earphone connect-
`ed to another device according to various embodi-
`ments of the present invention;
`Figure 5 is a diagram of a process implemented by
`a host server according to various embodiments of
`the present invention;
`Figure 6 is a diagram of a process implemented by
`the wireless earphone to transition automatically be-
`tween wireless networks according to various em-
`bodiments of the present invention;
`Figures 7, 8 and 10 illustrate communication sys-
`tems involving the wireless earphone according to
`various embodiments of the present invention;
`Figure 9 is a diagram of a headset including a wire-
`less earphone and a microphone according to vari-
`ous embodiments of the present invention; and
`Figure 11 is a diagram ofa pairofwireless earphones
`with a dongle according to various embodiments of
`the present invention.
`
`DESCRIPTION
`
`In one general aspect, the present invention is
`[0009]
`directed to a wireless earphone that receives streaming
`audio data via ad hoc wireless networks and infrastruc-
`
`ture wireless networks, and that transitions seamlessly
`between wireless networks. The earphone may comprise
`one or more in-ear, on-ear, or over-ear speaker ele-
`ments. Two exemplary in-ear earphone shapes for the
`wireless earphone 10 are shown in Figures 1A and 13,
`respectively, although in other embodiments the ear-
`phone may take different shapes and the exemplary
`shapes shown in Figures 1A and 1B are not intended to
`be limiting. In one embodiment, the earphone transitions
`automatically and seamlessly, without user intervention,
`between communication modes. That is, the earphone
`may transition automatically from an ad hoc wireless net-
`work to an infrastructure wireless network, without user
`intervention. As used herein, an “ad hoc wireless net-
`work" is a network where two (or more) wireless-capable
`devices, such as the earphone and a data source, com-
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`EP 2 272 259 B1
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`municate directly and wirelessly, without using an access
`point. An "infrastructure wireless network," on the other
`hand, is a wireless network that uses one or more access
`points to allow a wireless-capable device, such as the
`wireless earphone, to connect to a computer network,
`such as a LAN or WAN (including the Internet).
`[0010]
`Figures 1A and 1B show example configura-
`tions for a wireless earphone 10 according to various
`embodiments of the present invention. The examples
`shown in Figures 1A and 1B are not limiting and other
`configurations are within the scope of the present inven-
`tion. As shown in Figures 1A and 1B, the earphone 10
`may comprise a body 12. The body 12 may comprise an
`ear canal portion 14 that is inserted in the ear canal of
`the user of the earphone 10. In various embodiments,
`the body 12 also may comprise an exterior portion 15
`that is not inserted into user’s ear canal. The exterior
`
`portion 15 may comprise a knob 16 or some other user
`control (such as a dial, a pressure-activated switch, lever,
`etc.) for adjusting the shape of the ear canal portion 14.
`That is, in various embodiments, activation (e.g. rotation)
`of the knob 16 may cause the ear canal portion 14 to
`change shape so as to, for example, radially expand to
`fit snugly against all sides of the user’s ear canal. Further
`details regarding such a shape-changing earbud ear-
`phone are described in application PCT/USOB/88656,
`filed 31 December 2008, entitled "Adjustable Shape Ear-
`phone,". The earphone 10 also may comprise a trans-
`ceiver circuit housed within the body 12. The transceiver
`circuit, described further below, may transmitand receive
`the wireless signals, including receive streaming audio
`for playing by the earphone 10. The transceiver circuit
`may be housed in the exterior portion 15 of the earphone
`10 and/or in the ear canal portion 14.
`[0011] Although the example earphones 10 shown in
`Figures 1A and 13 include a knob 16 for adjusting the
`shape of the ear canal portion 14, the present invention
`is not so limited, and in other embodiments, different
`means besides a knob 16 may be used to adjust the ear
`canal portion 14. In addition, in other embodiments, the
`earphone 10 may not comprise a shape-changing ear
`canal portion 14.
`[0012]
`In various embodiments, the user maywear two
`discrete wireless earphones 10: one in each ear. In such
`embodiments, each earphone 10 may comprise a trans-
`ceiver circuit In such embodiments, the earphones 10
`may be connected by a string or some other cord-type
`connector to keep the earphones 10 from being separat-
`ed.
`
`In other embodiments, as shown in Figure 1C,
`[0013]
`a headband 19 may connect the two (left and right) ear-
`phones 10. The headband 19 may be an over-the-head
`band, as shown in the example of Figure 1C, orthe head-
`band may be a behind-the-head band. In embodiments
`comprising a headband 19, each earphone 10 may com-
`prise a transceiver circuit; hence, each earphone 10 may
`receive and transmit separately the wireless communi-
`cation signals. In other embodiments comprising a head-
`
`band 19, only one earphone 10 may comprise the trans-
`ceiver circuit, and a wire may run along the headband 19
`to the other earphone 10 to connect thereby the trans-
`ceiver circuit to the acoustic transducer in the earphone
`that does not comprise the transceiver circuit. The em-
`bodiment shown in Figure 1C comprises on-ear ear-
`phones 10; in other embodiments, in-ear or over-ear ear-
`phones may be used.
`[0014]
`In other embodiments, the earphone 10 may
`comprise a hanger bar 17 that allows the earphone 10
`to clip to, or hang on, the user’s ear, as shown in the
`illustrated embodiment of Figures 1D-1 E. Figure 1D is a
`perspective view of the earphone and Figure 1E is a side
`view according to one embodiment. As shown in the il-
`lustrated embodiment, the earphone 10 may comprise
`dual speaker elements 106-A, 106-B. One of the speaker
`elements (the smaller one) 106—A is sized to fit into the
`cavum concha of the listener’s ear and the other element
`
`(the larger one) 106-B is not. The listener may use the
`hanger bar to position the earphone on the listener’s ear.
`In that connection, the hanger bar may comprise a hor-
`izontal section that rests upon the upper external curva-
`ture of the listener’s ear behind the upper portion of the
`auricula (or pinna). The earphone may comprise a
`knurled knob that allows the user to adjust finely the dis-
`tance between the horizontal section of the hanger bar
`and the speakerelements, thereby providing, in such em-
`bodiments, another measure of adjustability forthe user.
`More details regarding such a dual element, adjustable
`earphone may be found in United States provisional pat-
`ent application Serial No. 61/054,238.
`[0015]
`Figures 2A—2D illustrate various communica-
`tion modes for a wireless data communication system
`involving the earphone 10 according to embodiments of
`the present invention. As shown in Figure 2A, the system
`comprises a data source 20 in communication with the
`earphone 10 via an ad hoc wireless network 24. The ear-
`phone 10, via its transceiver circuit (described in more
`detail below), may communicate wirelessly with a data
`source 20, which may comprise a wireless network
`adapter 22 for transmitting the digital audio wirelessly.
`For example, the data source 20 may be a digital audio
`player (DAP), such as an mp3 player or an iPod, or any
`other suitable digital audio playing device, such as a lap-
`top or personal computer, that stores and/or plays digital
`audio files.
`In other embodiments, the data source 20
`may generate analog audio, and the wireless network
`adapter 22 may encode the analog audio into digital for-
`mat for transmission to the earphone 10.
`[0016] The wireless network adapter 22 may be an in-
`tegral part of the data source 20, or it may be a separate
`device that is connected to the data source 20 to provide
`wireless connectivity forthe data source 20. Forexample,
`the wireless network adapter 22 may comprise a wireless
`network interface card (WNIC) or other suitable trans-
`ceiver that plugs into a USB port or other port orjack of
`the data source 20 (such as a TRS connector) to stream
`data, e.g., digital audio files, via a wireless network (e.g.,
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`EP 2 272 259 B1
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`the ad hoc wireless network 24 or an infrastructure wire-
`
`less network). The digital audio transmitted from the data
`source 20 to the earphone 10 via the wireless networks
`may comprise compressed or uncompressed audio. Any
`suitable file format may be used for the audio, including
`mp3, lossy or lossless WMA, Vorbis, Musepack, FLAC,
`WAV, AIFF, AU, or any other suitable file format.
`[0017] When in range, the data source 20 may com-
`municate with the earphone 10 via the ad hoc wireless
`network 24 using any suitable wireless communication
`protocol,
`including Wi-Fi
`(e.g.,
`IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n),
`WiMAX (IEEE 802.16), Bluetooth, Zigbee, UWB, or any
`other suitable wireless communication protocol. For pur-
`poses of the description to follow, it is assumed that the
`data source 20 and the earphone 10 communicate using
`a Wi-Fi protocol, although the invention is not so limited
`and other wireless communication protocols may be
`used in other embodiments of the invention. The data
`
`source 20 and the earphone 10 are considered in range
`for the ad hoc wireless network 24 when the signal
`strengths (e.g., the RSSI) of the signals received by the
`two devices are above a threshold minimum signal
`strength level. For example, the data source 20 and the
`earphone 10 are likely to be in range for an ad hoc wire-
`less network when then are in close proximity, such as
`when the wearer of the earphone 10 has the data source
`20 on his/her person, such as in a pocket, strapped to
`theirwaistorarm, or holding the data source in their hand.
`[0018] When the earphone 10 and the data source 20
`are out of range for the ad hoc wireless network 24, that
`is, when the received signals degrade below the thresh-
`old minimum signal strength level, both the earphone 10
`and the data source 20 may transition automatically to
`communicate over an infrastructure wireless network
`
`(such as a wireless LAN (WLAN) 30 that is in the range
`of both the earphone 10 and the data source 20, as shown
`in Figure 2B. The earphone 10 and the data source 20
`(e.g.,
`the wireless network adapter 22) may include
`firmware, as described further below, that cause the com-
`ponents to make the transition to a common infrastruc-
`ture wireless network 30 automatically and seamlessly,
`e.g., without user intervention. The earphone 10 may
`cache the received audio in a buffer or memory fora time
`period before playing the audio. The cached audio may
`be played after the connection over the ad hoc wireless
`network is lost to give the earphone 10 and the data
`source 20 time to connect via the infrastructure wireless
`network.
`
`For example, as shown in Figure 2B, the infra-
`[0019]
`structure network may comprise an access point 32 that
`is in the range of both the data source 20 and the ear-
`phone 10. The access point 32 may be an electronic hard-
`ware device that acts as a wireless access point for, and
`that is connected to, a wired and/or wireless data com-
`munication network 33, such as a LAN or WAN, for ex-
`ample. The data source 20 and the earphone 10 may
`both communicate wirelessly with the access point 32
`using the appropriate network data protocol (a Wi-Fi pro-
`
`tocol, for example). The data source 20 and the earphone
`10 may both transition automatically to an agreed-upon
`WLAN 30 that is in the range of both devices when they
`cannot communicate satisfactorily via the ad hocwireless
`network 24. A procedure for specifying an agreed-upon
`infrastructure wireless network 30 is described further
`
`below. Alternatively, the infrastructure wireless network
`30 may have multiple access points 32a-b, as shown in
`Figure 2C. In such an embodiment, the data source 20
`may communicate wirelessly with one access point 32b
`and the earphone 10 may communicate wirelessly with
`another access point 32a of the same infrastructure wire-
`less network 30. Again, the data source 20 and the ear-
`phone 10 may transition to an agreed-upon WLAN.
`[0020]
`If there is no suitable common infrastructure
`wireless network over which the earphone 10 and the
`data source 20 can communicate, as shown in Fig. 2D,
`the earphone 10 may transition to communicate with an
`access point 32a for an available (first) wireless network
`(e.g., WLAN) 303 that is in the range ofthe earphone 10.
`In this mode, the earphone 10 may connect via the wire-
`less network 30a to a network-enabled host server 40.
`
`The host sewer 40 may be connected to the wireless
`network 30a via an electronic data communication net-
`work 42, such as the lnternet.
`In one mode, the host
`server 40 may transmit streaming digital audio via the
`networks 33a, 42 to the earphone 10. In another mode,
`the host server 40 may transmit to the earphone 10 a
`network address, such as an Internet Protocol (IP) ad-
`dress, for a streaming digital audio content server 70 on
`the network 42. Using the received IP address, the ear-
`phone 10 may connect tothe streaming digital audio con-
`tent server 70 via the networks 30a, 42 to receive and
`process digital audio from the streaming digital audio
`content server 70.
`
`[0021] The digital audio content server 70 may be, for
`example, an Internet radio station server. The digital au-
`dio content server 70 may stream digital audio over the
`network 42 (e.g., the Internet), which the earphone 10
`may receive and process.
`In one embodiment,
`the
`streaming digital audio content server 70 may stream
`digital audio received by the streaming digital audio con-
`tent server 70 from the data source 20. For example,
`where the data source 20 is a wireless-capable device,
`such as a portable DAP, the data source 20 may connect
`to the streaming digital audio content server 70 via a wire-
`less network 30b and the network 42. Alternatively,
`where for example the data source 20 is non-wireless-
`capable device, such as a PC, the data source 20 may
`have a direct wired connection to the network 42. After
`
`being authenticated by the streaming digital audio con-
`tent server 70, the data source 20 may stream digital
`audio to the streaming digital audio content server 70,
`which may broadcast the received digital audio over the
`network 42 (e.g., the Internet).
`In such a manner, the
`user of the earphone 10 may listen to audio from the data
`source 20 even when (i) the earphone 10 and the data
`source 20 are not in communication via an ad hoc wire-
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`less network 24 and (ii) the earphone 10 and the data
`source 20 are not in communication via a common local
`infrastructure wireless network 30.
`
`Figure 3 is a block diagram of the earphone 10
`[0022]
`according to various embodiments of the present inven-
`tion. In the illustrated embodiment, the earphone 10 com-
`prises a transceiver circuit 100 and related peripheral
`components. As shown in Figure 3, the peripheral com-
`ponents of the earphone 10 may comprise a power
`source 102, a microphone 104, one or more acoustic
`transducers 106 (e.g., speakers), and an antenna 108.
`The transceiver circuit 100 and some of the peripheral
`components (such as the power source 102 and the
`acoustictransducers 106) may be housed within the body
`12 of the earphone 10 (see Figure 1). Other peripheral
`components, such as the microphone 104 and the an-
`tenna 108 may be external to the body 12 ofthe earphone
`10. In addition, some ofthe peripheral components, such
`as the microphone 104, are optional in various embodi-
`ments.
`
`In various embodiments, the transceiver circuit
`[0023]
`100 may be implemented as a single integrated circuit
`(IC), such as a system-on-chip ($00), which is conducive
`to miniaturizing the components of the earphone 10,
`which is advantageous if the earphone 10 is to be rela-
`tively small in size, such as an in-ear earphone (see Fig-
`ures 1A-1B for example).
`In alternative embodiments,
`however, the components of the transceiver circuit 100
`could be realized with two or more discrete ICs or other
`
`components, such as separate ICs for the processors,
`memory, and RF (e.g., Wi-Fi) module, for example.
`[0024] The power source 102 may comprise, for ex-
`ample, a rechargeable or non-rechargeable battery (or
`batteries). In other embodiments, the power source 102
`may comprise one or more ultracapacitors (sometimes
`referred to as supercapacitors) that are charged by a
`primary power source. In embodiments where the power
`source 102 comprises a rechargeable battery cell or an
`ultracapacitor, the battery cell or ultracapacitor, as the
`case may be, may be charged for use, for example, when
`the earphone 10 is connected to a docking station or
`computer. The docking station may be connected to or
`part of a computer device, such as a laptop computer or
`PC.
`In addition to charging the rechargeable power
`source 102, the docking station and/or computer may
`facilitate downloading of data to and/or from the ear-
`phone 10. In other embodiments, the power source 102
`may comprise capacitors passively charged with RF ra-
`diation, such as described in U.S. Patent No. 7,027,311.
`The power source 102 may be coupled to a power source
`control module 103 of transceiver circuit 100 that controls
`
`and monitors the power source 102.
`[0025] The acoustic transducer(s) 106 may be the
`speaker element(s) for conveying the sound to the user
`of the earphone 10. According to various embodiments,
`the earphone 10 may comprise one or more acoustic
`transducers 106. For embodiments having more than
`one transducer, one transducer may be larger than the
`
`othertransducer, and a crossover circuit(notshown) may
`transmit the higherfrequencies to the smallertransducer
`and may transmit the lower frequencies to the larger
`transducer. More details regarding dual element ear-
`phones are provided in U.S. Patent 5,333,206, assigned
`to Koss Corporation, which is incorporated herein by ref-
`erence in its entirety.
`[0026] The antenna 108 may receive and transmit the
`wireless signals from and to the wireless networks 24, 3
`0. A RF(e.g.,Wi-Fi) module 110 ofthe transceiver circuit
`100 in communication with the antenna 108 may, among
`otherthings, modulate and demodulate the signals trans-
`mitted from and received by the antenna 108. The RF
`module 110 communicates with a baseband processor
`112, which performs other functions necessary for the
`earphone 10 to communicate using the Wi-Fi (or other
`communication) protocol.
`[0027] The baseband processor 112 may be in com-
`munication with a processor unit 114, which may com-
`prise a microprocessor 1 16 and a digital signal processor
`(DSP) 118. The microprocessor 1 16 may control the var-
`ious components of the transceiver circuit 100. The DSP
`114 may, for example, perform various sound quality en-
`hancements to the digital audio received by the base-
`band processor 112,
`including noise cancellation and
`sound equalization. The processor unit 114 may be in
`communication with a volatile memory unit 120 and a
`non-volatile memory unit 122. A memory management
`unit 124 may control the processor unit’s access to the
`memory units 120, 122. The volatile memory 122 may
`comprise, for example, a random access memory (RAM)
`circuit. The non-volatile memory unit 122 may comprise
`a read only memory (ROM) and/orflash memory circuits.
`The memory units 120, 122 may store firmware that is
`executed by the processor unit 114. Execution of the
`firmware by the processor unit 114 may provide various
`functionality for the earphone 10, such as the automatic
`transition between wireless networks as described here-
`
`in. The memory units 120, 122 may also cache received
`digital audio.
`[0028] A digital-to—analog converter (DAC) 125 may
`convert the digital audio from the processor unit 114 to
`analog form for coupling to the acoustic transducer(s)
`106. An IZS interface 126 or other suitable serial or par-
`allel bus interface may provide the interface between the
`processor unit 1 14 and the DAC 125. An analog-to-digital
`converter (ADC) 128, which also communicates with the
`PS interface 126, may convert analog audio signals
`picked up by the microphone 104 for processing by the
`processor unit 114.
`[0029] The transceiver circuit 100 also may comprise
`a USB or other suitable interface 130 that allows the ear-
`
`phone 10 to be connected to an external device via a
`USB cable or other suitable link. As shown in Figure 4A,
`the external device may be a docking station 200 con-
`nected to a computer device 202. Also,
`in various em-
`bodiments, the earphone 10 could be connected directly
`to the computer 202 without the docking station 200. In
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`addition, the external device may be a DAP 210, as
`shown in Figure 4B. In that way, the earphone 10 could
`connect directly to a data source 20, such as the DAP
`210 or the computer 202, through the USB port 130. In
`addition, through the USB port 130, the earphone 10 may
`connect to a PC 202 or docking station 202 to charge up
`the power source 1 02 and/orto get downloads (e.g., data
`or firmware).
`[0030] According to various embodiments, the ear-
`phone 10 may have an associated web page that a user
`may access through the host server 40 (see Figure 2D)
`or some other server. An authenticated user could log
`onto the website from a client computing device 50 (e.g.,
`laptop, PC, handheld computer device, etc.,
`including
`the data source 20) (see Figure 2D) to access the web
`page for the earphone 10 to set various profile values for
`the earphone 10. For example, at the web site, the user
`could set various content features and filters, as well as
`adjust various sound control features, such as treble,
`bass, frequency settings, noise cancellation settings, etc.
`In addition, the user could set preferred streaming audio
`stations, such as preferred Internet radio stations or other
`streaming audio broadcasts. That way, instead of listen-
`ing to streaming audio from the data source 20, the user
`could listen to Internet radio stations or other streaming
`audio broadcasts received by the earphone 10. In such
`an operating mode, the earphone user, via the web site,
`may prioritize a number of Internet radio stations or other
`broadcast sources (hosted by streaming digital audio
`content servers 70). With reference to Figure 7, the host
`server 40 may send the IP address for the earphone us-
`er’s desired (e.g., highest priority) Internet radio station
`to the earphone 10. A button 11 on the earphone 10,
`such as on the rotating dial 16 as shown in the examples
`of Figures 1Aand 1B, may allowthe userto cycle through
`the preset preferred Internet radio stations. That is, for
`example, when the user presses the button 11, an elec-
`tronic communication may be transmitted to the host
`server 40 via the wireless network 30, and in response
`to receiving the communication, the host server 40 may
`send the IP address for the user's next highest rated In-
`ternet radio station via the network 42 to the earphone
`10. The earphone 10 may then connect to the streaming
`digital audio content server 70 for that Internet radio sta-
`tion using the IP address provided by the host server 40.
`This process may be repeated, e.g., cycled through, for
`each preset Internet radio station configured by the user
`of the earphone 10.
`[0031] At the web site for the earphone 10 hosted on
`the host sen/er 40, in addition to establishing the identi-
`fication of digital audio sources (e.g., IDs for the user’s
`DAP or PC) and earphones, the user could set parental
`orother usercontrols. Forexample, the usercould restrict
`certain Internet radio broadcasts based on content or pa-
`rental ratings, etc. That is, for example, the user could
`configure a setting through the web site that prevents the
`hostserver40from sending an IP addressforastreaming
`digital audio content server 70 that broadcasts explicit
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`content based on a rating for the content. In addition, if
`a number of different earphones 10 are registered to the
`same user, the user could define separate controls for
`the different earphones 10 (as well as customize any
`other preferences or settings particularto the earphones
`10, including Internet radio stations, sound quality set-
`tings, etc. that would later be downloaded to the ear-
`phones 10). In addition, in modes where the host server
`40 streams audio to the earphone 10, the host server 40
`may log the files or content streamed to the various ear-
`phones 10, and the user could view at the web site the
`files or content that were played by the earphones 10. In
`that way, the user could monitor the files played by the
`earphones 10.
`[0032]
`In addition, the host server 40 may provide a
`so-called eavesdropping function according to various
`embodiments. The eavesdropping service could be ac-
`tivated via the web site. When the service is activated,
`the host server 40 may transmit the content that it is de-
`livering to a first earphone 10a to another, second ear-
`phone 10b, as shown in Figure 8. Alternatively, the host
`server 40 may transmit to the second earphone 10b the
`most recent IP address for a streaming digital audio con-
`tent server 70 that was sent to the first earphone 10a.
`The second earphone 10b may then connect to the
`streaming digital audio content server 70 that the first
`earphone 10a is currently connected. That way, the user
`of the second earphone 10b, which may be a parent, for
`example, may directly monitorthe content being received
`by the first earphone 10a, which may belong to a child
`of the parent.
`[0033] This function also could be present in the ear-
`phones 10 themselves, allowing a parent (or other user)
`tojoin an ad-hoc wireless network and listen to what their
`child (or other listener) is hearing. For example, with ref-
`erence to Figure 10, a first earphone 10a may receive
`wireless audio, such as from the data source 20 or some
`other source, such as the host server 40. The first ear-
`phone 10a may be programmed with firmware to broad-
`cast the received audio to a second earphone 10b via an
`ad hoc wireless network 24. That way, the wearer of the
`second earphone 10b can monitor in real-time the con-
`tent being played by the first earphone 10a.
`[0034] At the web site, the user may also specify the
`identification number (“ID") of their earphone(s) 10, and
`the host server 40 may translate the ID to the current
`internet protocol (IP) addresses for the earphone 10 and
`for the data source 20. This allows the user to find his or
`her data source 20 even when it is behind a firewall or
`
`on a changing IP address. That way, the host server 40
`can match the audio from the data source 20 to the ap-
`propriate earphone 10 based on the specified device ID.
`The user also could specify a number of different data
`sources 20. For example, the user’s DAP may have one
`specified IP address and the user’s home (or work) com-
`puter may have another specified IP address. Via the
`web site hosted by the host server 40, the user could
`specify or prioritize from which source (e.g., the user’s
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`DAP or computer) the earphone 10 is to receive content.
`[0035] The host server 40 (or some other server) may
`also push firmware upgrades and/or data updates to the
`earphone 10 using the IP addresses of the earphone 10
`