(12) United States Patent
`US 10,469,934 B2
`(10) Patent N0.:
`
` Koss et al. (45) Date of Patent: *Nov. 5, 2019
`
`
`US010469934B2
`
`(54) SYSTEM WITH WIRELESS EARPHONES
`
`(71) Applicant: :(os; Corporation, Milwaukee, WI
`US
`
`(72)
`
`Inventors: Michael J. Koss, Milwaukee, WI (US);
`Michael J. Pelland, Princeton, WI
`’
`(US); Michael Sagan, Fairfield, CA
`(Us), Steve“ R“ ReCkamP’ cry§tal
`Lake, IL (US); Gregory J. Halllngstad,
`Deforest, WI (US); Jeflery K. Bovee,
`Sterling, IL (US); Morgan J. Lowery,
`Deforest, WI (US)
`
`.
`.
`(73) Ass1gnee: KOSS CORPORATION, M1lwaukee,
`WI (US)
`
`JP
`JP
`
`(58) Field of Classification Search
`CPC ............................ H04R 2201/107; H04R 3/00
`(Continued)
`References Cited
`
`(56)
`
`U-S- PATENT DOCUMENTS
`an or
`e
`.
`a
`a
`5 734 685 A
`7/1998 St
`f d tal
`6,006,115 A
`12/1999 Wingate
`C t'
`d
`( on mue )
`
`FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS
`2004-320597
`11/2004
`2008-67258 A
`3/2008
`(Continued)
`
`OTHER PUBLICATIONS
`
`( * ) Notice:
`
`Subject. to any disclaimer, the term of this
`patent 1s extended or adjusted under 35
`U.S.C. 154(1)) by 0 days.
`This patent is subject to a terminal dis-
`claimer.
`
`(21) Appl. No.: 16/375,879
`22
`E] d:
`A . 5 2019
`1e
`pr
`’
`Prior Publication Data
`
`)
`(
`(65)
`
`Aug. 1’ 2019
`US 2019/0238970 A1
`Related U.S. Application Data
`
`(63) Continuation of application No. 16/182,927, filed on
`Nov. 7, 2018, which is a continuation of application
`(Continued)
`
`(51)
`
`Int. C1.
`H04R 1/10
`H04M ”02
`
`(2006.01)
`2006.01
`.(
`d
`)
`C
`( ont1nue )
`
`.
`(52) U'S' Cl'
`CPC ............. H04R 1/1041 (2013.01), H03G 3/02
`(2013.01); H03K 17/9622 (2013.01);
`(Continued)
`
`Supplementary European Search Report for European Application
`NO' 097311468 dated Jun' 10’ 2911’ 7 pages'
`(Contmued)
`
`Primary Examiner 7 Kiet M Doan
`(74) Attorney, Agent, or Firm 7 K&L Gates LLP
`
`ABSTRACT
`(57)
`Apparatus comprises adapter and speaker system. Adapter is
`configured to plug into port of personal digital audio player.
`Speaker system is in communication with adapter, and
`comprises multiple acoustic transducers, programmable pro-
`cessor c1rcu1t, and w1reless commun1catlon c1rcu1t. In first
`operational mode, processor circuit receives, Via adapter,
`and processes digital audio content from personal digital
`audio player into which adapter is plugged, and the multiple
`acoustic transducers output the received audio content from
`the personal digital audio .player. In second operational
`mode, wtireless commurgcatloln 01501111 rece1ves d1g1tala11d1o
`content
`rom a remote
`1g1ta au 10 source over a w1re ess
`network, processor circuit processes the digital audio con-
`tent received from remote digital audio source, and the
`multiple acoustic transducers output
`the audio content
`received from the remote digital audio source.
`
`62 Claims, 16 Drawing Sheets
`
`
`
`Page 1 of 32
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`US 10,469,934 B2
`
`Page 2
`
`Related US. Application Data
`
`7,337,027
`7,467,021
`7,512,414
`7,599,679
`7,650,168
`7,680,490
`7,697,899
`7,734,055
`7,764,775
`7,805,210
`7,861,312
`7,962,482
`8,023,663
`8,027,638
`8,055,007
`8,073,137
`8,086,281
`8,102,836
`8,190,203
`8,295,516
`8,335,312
`8,401,202
`8,478,880
`8,483,755
`8,553,865
`8,571,544
`8,655,420
`8,792,945
`9,049,502
`9,497,535
`9,729,959
`2003/0182003
`2004/0107271
`2005/0064853
`2005/0136839
`2005/0198233
`2006/0083388
`2006/0206487
`2006/0212442
`2006/0212444
`2006/0238878
`2006/0268830
`2007/0008984
`2007/0037615
`2007/0049198
`2007/0053543
`2007/0136446
`
`2007/0165875
`2007/0253603
`2007/0297618
`2008/0019557
`2008/0031470
`2008/0062939
`2008/0076489
`2008/0194209
`2008/0215777
`2008/0226094
`2008/0242312
`2008/0298606
`2008/0311852
`2009/0029743
`
`2009/0116678
`2009/0129605
`2009/0248178
`2010/0290642
`2011/0275323
`
`2013/0039510
`2013/0099507
`2015/0237439
`2017/0318378
`
`B2
`B2
`B2
`B2
`B2
`B2
`B2
`B2
`B2
`B2
`B2
`B2
`B2
`B2
`B2
`B2
`B2
`B2
`B2
`B2
`B2
`B2
`B2
`B2
`B2
`B2
`B1
`B2
`B2
`B1
`B2
`A1
`A1
`A1
`A1
`A1
`A1
`A1
`A1
`A1
`A1
`A1
`A1
`A1
`A1
`A1
`
`A1
`A1
`A1
`A1
`A1
`A1
`A1
`A1
`A1
`A1
`A1
`A1
`A1
`A9*
`
`A1
`A1
`A1
`A1
`
`A1
`A1
`A1
`A1
`
`2/2008
`12/2008
`3/2009
`10/2009
`1/2010
`3/2010
`4/2010
`6/2010
`7/2010
`9/2010
`12/2010
`6/2011
`9/2011
`9/2011
`11/2011
`12/2011
`12/2011
`1/2012
`5/2012
`10/2012
`12/2012
`3/2013
`7/2013
`7/2013
`10/2013
`10/2013
`2/2014
`7/2014
`6/2015
`11/2016
`8/2017
`9/2003
`6/2004
`3/2005
`6/2005
`9/2005
`4/2006
`9/2006
`9/2006
`9/2006
`10/2006
`11/2006
`1/2007
`2/2007
`3/2007
`3/2007
`6/2007
`
`7/2007
`11/2007
`12/2007
`1/2008
`2/2008
`3/2008
`3/2008
`8/2008
`9/2008
`9/2008
`10/2008
`12/2008
`12/2008
`1/2009
`
`5/2009
`5/2009
`10/2009
`11/2010
`11/2011
`
`2/2013
`4/2013
`8/2015
`11/2017
`
`Nishiguchi et a1.
`Yuen
`Jannard et a1.
`Awiszus
`Bailey
`Bloebaum et a1.
`Rofougaran
`Chiloyan
`Tarkoff et a1.
`Cucos
`Lee et a1.
`Handman
`Goldberg
`Sanguino
`Kim
`Weinans et a1.
`Rabu et a1.
`Jerlhagen
`Pelland et a1.
`Kondo et a1.
`Gerhardt et a1.
`Brooking
`Finkelstein et a1.
`Kumar
`Menard et a1.
`Pelland et a1.
`Pelland et a1.
`Russell et a1.
`Pelland et a1.
`Koss et a1.
`Koss et a1.
`Takashima
`Ahn et a1.
`Radpour
`Seshadri et a1.
`Manchester
`Rothschild
`Harada
`Conrad
`Handman et a1.
`Miyake
`Evans
`Phillips
`Glezerman
`Walsh et a1.
`Lee
`Rezvani
`
`..............
`
`Rezvani
`Kimura et a1.
`Nurmi et a1.
`BeVirt et a1.
`Angelhag
`Van Horn
`Rosener et a1.
`Haupt et a1.
`Richenstein et a1.
`Rutschman
`Paulson et a1.
`Johnson et a1.
`Hansen et a1.
`Lair
`....................
`
`BeVirt et a1.
`Camp et a1.
`Paulson et a1.
`Haseagawa
`Goldman ............
`
`Pelland et a1.
`Moriya et a1.
`Koss et a1.
`Koss et a1.
`
`. H04B 7/0871
`709/219
`
`H04M 1/6066
`455/569.1
`
`H04M1/04
`455/41.2
`
`KOSS—2035
`
`|PR2021-00686
`
`No. 15/962,305, filed on Apr. 25, 2018, now Pat. \o.
`10,206,025, which is a continuation of application
`No. 15/650,362, filed on Jul. 14, 2017, now Pat. \o.
`9,986,325, which is a continuation of application \
`15/293,785, filed on Oct. 14, 2016, now Pat. \
`9,729,959, which is a continuation of application \
`15/082,040, filed on Mar. 28, 2016, now Pat. \
`9,497,535, which is a continuation of application \
`14/695,696, filed on Apr. 24, 2015, now Pat. \
`9,438,987, which is a continuation of application \
`13/609,409, filed on Sep. 11, 2012, now Pat. \
`9,049,502, which is a continuation of application \
`13/459 ,291, filed on Apr. 30, 2012, now Pat. \
`8, 571 ,5,44 which1s a continuation of application \o.
`12/936 ,4,88 filed as application No. PCT/US2009/
`039754 on Apr. 7, 2009, now Pat. No. 8, 190,203.
`
`
`
`99.09.099.099
`
`
`
`(60) Provisional application No. 61/123,265, filed on Apr.
`7, 2008.
`
`(51)
`
`(2006.01)
`(2006.01)
`(2006.01)
`(2018.01)
`(2006.01)
`(2009.01)
`(2006.01)
`(2006.01)
`(2008.01)
`(2006.01)
`(2006.01)
`(2009.01)
`(2009.01)
`
`Int. Cl.
`H04R 5/033
`H04R 5/04
`H03K 17/96
`H04W 4/80
`H04R 3/00
`H04W 48/20
`H03G 3/02
`H04R 1/02
`H04H 20/95
`H04L 29/12
`H04R 25/00
`H04W 84/18
`H04W 84/12
`(52) US. Cl.
`CPC ......... H04H 20/95 (2013.01); H04L 61/6068
`(2013.01); H04M 1/0254 (2013.01); H04R
`1/02 (2013.01); H04R 1/1091 (2013.01);
`H04R 3/00 (2013.01); H04R 5/033 (2013.01);
`H04R 5/04 (2013.01); H04W 4/80 (2018.02);
`H04W 48/20 (2013.01); H03K 2217/960785
`(2013.01); H04R 25/554 (2013.01); H04R
`2201/103 (2013.01); H04R 2201/107
`(2013.01); H04R 2225/55 (2013.01); H04R
`2420/07 (2013.01); H04W 84/12 (2013.01);
`H04W 84/18 (2013.01)
`(58) Field of Classification Search
`USPC ..... 455/466, 41.2, 556.1, 421, 569.1, 575.2,
`455/553.1; 381/58, 312, 309, 74; 700/94
`See application file for complete search history.
`
`(56)
`
`References Cited
`U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
`
`6,389,463 B2
`6,671,494 B1
`6,674,864 B1
`6,792,091 B2
`6,937,712 B2
`7,003,515 B1
`7,027,311 B2
`7,095,455 B2
`7,099,370 B2
`7,120,388 B2
`7,139,585 B2
`7,266,390 B2
`
`5/2002 Bolas
`12/2003 James
`1/2004 Kitamura
`9/2004 Lemchen et a1.
`8/2005 Lemchen et a1.
`2/2006 Glaser
`4/2006 Vanderelli
`8/2006 Jordan
`8/2006 Takahashi
`10/2006 Hall
`11/2006 Hachimura et a1.
`9/2007 Mathews
`
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`US 10,469,934 B2
`Page 3
`
`(56)
`
`References Cited
`U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
`
`2018/0249240 A1
`2019/0075390 A1
`
`8/2018 Koss et a1.
`3/2019 Koss et a1.
`
`FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS
`
`W0 W0 2009/0086555 A1
`W0
`WO 2006/047724 A2
`W0
`WO 2007/136620 A2
`W0
`WO 2007/139578 A1
`W0
`WO 2008/033478 A1
`W0
`WO 2008/054985 A2
`
`7/2000
`5/2006
`11/2007
`12/2007
`3/2008
`5/2008
`
`OTHER PUBLICATIONS
`
`International Search Report for International Application No. PCT/
`USO9/39754 dated Jun. 11, 2009, 2 pages.
`International Preliminary Examination Report for International Appli-
`cation No. PCT/USO9/39754 dated Oct. 28, 2010, 8 pages.
`Written Opinion of the international Searching Authority for Inter-
`national Application No. PCT/USO9/39754 dated Jun. 11, 2009, 5
`pages.
`IT Review, “LTB 802.11 WiFi Headphones”, http://itreVieWbelproject.
`com/item/1536 accessed on Mar. 13, 2008 (4 pages).
`
`* cited by examiner
`
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`US 10,469,934 B2
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`US 10,469,934 B2
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`U.S. Patent
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`Nov. 5, 2019
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`US 10,469,934 B2
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`1
`SYSTEM WITH WIRELESS EARPHONES
`
`PRIORITY CLAIM
`
`The present application claims priority as a continuation
`to US. nonprovisional patent application Ser. No. 16/182,
`927, filed Nov. 7, 2018, which is a continuation of US.
`nonprovisional patent application Ser. No. 15/962,305, filed
`Apr. 25, 2018, now US. Pat. No. 10,206,025, which is a
`continuation of US. nonprovisional patent application Ser.
`No. 15/650,362, filed Jul. 14, 2017, now US. Pat. No.
`9,986,325, issued May 29, 2018, which is a continuation of
`US. nonprovisional patent application Ser. No. 15/293,785,
`filed Oct. 14, 2016, now US. Pat. No. 9,729,959, issued
`Aug. 8, 2017, which is a continuation of US. nonprovisional
`patent application Ser. No. 15/082,040, filed Mar. 28, 2016,
`now US. Pat. No. 9,497,535, issued Nov. 15, 2016, which
`is a continuation of US. nonprovisional patent application
`Ser. No. 14/695,696, filed Apr. 24, 2015, now US. Pat. No.
`9,438,987, issued on Sep. 6, 2016, which is a continuation
`of US. nonprovisional patent application Ser. No. 13/609,
`409, filed Sep. 11, 2012, now US. Pat. No. 9,049,502, issued
`Jun. 2, 2015, which is a continuation of US. nonprovisional
`patent application Ser. No. 13/459,291, filed Apr. 30, 2012,
`now US. Pat. No. 8,571,544, issued Oct. 29, 2013, which is
`a continuation of US. patent application Ser. No. 12/936,
`488, filed Dec. 20, 2010, now US. Pat. No. 8,190,203,
`issued May 29, 2012, which is a national stage entry of
`PCT/US2009/039754,
`filed Apr. 7, 2009, which claims
`priority to US. provisional patent application Ser. No.
`61/123,265, filed Apr. 7, 2008, all of which are incorporated
`herein by reference in their entireties.
`
`CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED
`APPLICATIONS
`
`U.S. nonprovisional patent application Ser. No. 14/031,
`938, filed Sep. 13, 2013, now US. Pat. No. 8,655,420,
`issued Feb. 18, 2014, is also a continuation of US. nonpro-
`visional patent application Ser. No. 13/609,409, filed Sep.
`11, 2012, now US. Pat. No. 9,049,502, mentioned above.
`
`BACKGROUND
`
`Digital audio players, such as MP3 players and iPods, that
`store and play digital audio files, are very popular. Such
`devices typically comprise a data storage unit for storing and
`playing the digital audio, and a headphone set that connects
`to the data storage unit, usually with a 1A" or a 3.5 mm jack
`and associated cord. Often the headphones are in-ear type
`headphones. The cord, however, 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 pro-
`posed, such as the Monster iFreePlay cordless headphones
`from Apple Inc., which include a docking port on one of the
`earphones that can connect directly to an iPod Shuffle.
`Because 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 head-
`phones 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.
`
`SUMMARY
`
`In one general aspect, the present invention is directed to
`a wireless earphone that comprises a transceiver circuit for
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`receiving streaming audio from a data source, such as a
`digital audio player or a computer, over an ad hoc wireless
`network. 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 wireless 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/or
`transmit to the earphone a network address (e.g., an Internet
`Protocol
`(IP) address) for a network-connected content
`server that streams digital 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 Internet radio server that broadcasts streaming
`audio from the data source or some other content.
`
`These and other advantageous, unique aspects of the
`wireless earphone are described below.
`
`FIGURES
`
`invention are
`Various embodiments of the present
`described herein by way of example in conjunction with the
`following figures, wherein:
`FIGS. 1A-1E are views of a wireless earphone according
`to various embodiments of the present invention;
`FIGS. 2A-2D illustrate various communication modes for
`
`a wireless earphone according to various embodiments of
`the present invention;
`FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a wireless earphone accord-
`ing to various embodiments of the present invention;
`FIGS. 4A-4B show the wireless earphone connected to
`another device according to various embodiments of the
`present invention;
`FIG. 5 is a diagram of a process implemented by a host
`server according to various embodiments of the present
`invention;
`FIG. 6 is a diagram of a process implemented by the
`wireless earphone to transition automatically between wire-
`less networks according to various embodiments of the
`present invention;
`FIGS. 7, 8 and 10 illustrate communication systems
`involving the wireless earphone according to various
`embodiments of the present invention;
`FIG. 9 is a diagram of a headset including a wireless
`earphone and a microphone according to various embodi-
`ments of the present invention; and
`FIG. 11 is a diagram of a pair of wireless earphones with
`a dongle according to various embodiments of the present
`invention.
`
`DESCRIPTION
`
`In one general aspect, the present invention is directed to
`a wireless earphone that receives streaming audio data via ad
`hoc wireless networks and infrastructure wireless networks,
`and that transitions seamlessly between wireless networks.
`The earphone may comprise one or more in-ear, on-ear, or
`over-ear speaker elements. Two exemplary in-ear earphone
`shapes for the wireless earphone 10 are shown in FIGS. 1A
`and 1B, respectively, although in other embodiments the
`earphone may take different shapes and the exemplary
`shapes shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B are not intended to be
`limiting. In one embodiment, the earphone transitions auto-
`matically and seamlessly, without user
`intervention,
`between communication modes. That is, the earphone may
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`transition automatically from an ad hoc wireless network to
`an infrastructure wireless network, without user interven-
`tion. As used herein, an “ad hoc wireless network” is a
`network where two (or more) wireless-capable devices, such
`as the earphone and a data source, communicate 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).
`FIGS. 1A and 1B show example configurations for a
`wireless earphone 10 according to various embodiments of
`the present invention. The examples shown in FIGS. 1A and
`1B are not limiting and other configurations are within the
`scope of the present invention. As shown in FIGS. 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 embodi-
`ments, 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 adjust-
`ing 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 earphone are described in application PCT/
`US08/88656, filed 31 Dec. 2008, entitled “Adjustable Shape
`Earphone,” which is incorporated herein by reference in its
`entirety. The earphone 10 also may comprise a transceiver
`circuit housed within the body 12. The transceiver circuit,
`described further below, may transmit and receive the wire-
`less 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.
`Although the example earphones 10 shown in FIGS. 1A
`and 1B 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.
`In various embodiments, the user may wear two discrete
`wireless earphones 10: one in each ear. In such embodi-
`ments, each earphone 10 may comprise a transceiver 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 separated.
`In other embodiments, as shown in FIG. 1C, a headband
`19 may connect the two (left and right) earphones 10. The
`headband 19 may be an over-the-head band, as shown in the
`example of FIG. 1C, or the headband may be a behind-the-
`head band. In embodiments comprising a headband 19, each
`earphone 10 may comprise a transceiver circuit; hence, each
`earphone 10 may receive and transmit separately the wire-
`less communication signals. In other embodiments compris-
`ing a headband 19, only one earphone 10 may comprise the
`transceiver 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 embodiment
`shown in FIG. 1C comprises on-ear earphones 10; in other
`embodiments, in-ear or over-ear earphones may be used.
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`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
`FIGS. 1D-1E. FIG. 1D is a perspective view ofthe earphone
`and FIG. IE is a side view according to one embodiment. As
`shown in the illustrated 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 horizontal
`section that rests upon the upper external curvature 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 distance between the
`horizontal section of the hanger bar and the speaker ele-
`ments,
`thereby providing,
`in such embodiments, another
`measure of adjustability for the user. More details regarding
`such a dual element, adjustable earphone may be found in
`US. provisional patent application Ser. No. 61/054,238,
`which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
`FIGS. 2A-2D illustrate various communication modes for
`
`a wireless data communication system involving the ear-
`phone 10 according to embodiments of the present inven-
`tion. As shown in FIG. 2A, the system comprises a data
`source 20 in communication with the earphone 10 via an ad
`hoc wireless network 24. The earphone 10, via its trans-
`ceiver circuit (described in more detail below), may com-
`municate 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 laptop 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
`format for transmission to the earphone 10.
`The wireless network adapter 22 may be an integral part
`of the data source 20, or it may be a separate device that is
`connected to the data source 20 to provide wireless connec-
`tivity for the data source 20. For example,
`the wireless
`network adapter 22 may comprise a wireless network inter-
`face card (WNIC) or other suitable transceiver that plugs
`into a USB port or other port or jack of the data source 20
`(such as a TRS connector) to stream data, e.g., digital audio
`files, via a wireless network (e.g.,
`the ad hoc wireless
`network 24 or an infrastructure wireless network). The
`digital audio transmitted from the data source 20 to the
`earphone 10 via the wireless networks may comprise com-
`pressed 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.
`
`When in range, the data source 20 may communicate 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 purposes 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 inven-
`tion is not so limited and other wireless communication
`
`protocols may be used in other embodiments of the inven-
`tion. The data source 20 and the earphone 10 are considered
`in range for the ad hoc wireless network 24 when the signal
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`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 wireless 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 their waist or arm, or holding the
`data source in their hand.
`
`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 threshold 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 FIG. 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 components to make the transition to a common
`infrastructure wireless network 30 automatically and seam-
`lessly, e.g., without user intervention. The earphone 10 may
`cache the received audio in a buffer or memory for a 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.
`
`the infrastructure
`For example, as shown in FIG. 2B,
`network may comprise an access point 32 that is in the range
`of both the data source 20 and the earphone 10. The access
`point 32 may be an electronic hardware device that acts as
`a wireless access point for, and that is connected to, a wired
`and/or wireless data communication network 33, such as a
`LAN or WAN, for example. 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 protocol, 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 hoc wire-
`less 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 FIG.
`2C. In such an embodiment, the data source 20 may com-
`municate wirelessly with one access point 32b and the
`earphone 10 may communicate wirelessly with another
`access point 32a of the same infrastructure wireless network
`30. Again, the data source 20 and the earphone 10 may
`transition to an agreed-upon WLAN.
`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) 30a that
`is in the range of the earphone 10. In this mode, the earphone
`10 may connect via the wireless network 30a to a network-
`enabled host server 40. The host server 40 may be connected
`to the wireless network 30a via an electronic data commu-
`nication network 42, such as the Internet. 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) address, for a
`streaming digital audio content server 70 on the network 42.
`Using the received IP address, the earphone 10 may connect
`to the streaming digital audio content server 70 via the
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`networks 30a, 42 to receive and process digital audio from
`the streaming digital audio content server 70.
`The digital audio content server 70 may be, for example,
`an Internet radio station server. The digital audio 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 content 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 wireless 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
`content 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 wireless network 24 and (ii)
`the earphone 10 and the data source 20 are not in commu-
`nication via a common local infrastructure wireless network
`30.
`
`FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the earphone 10 according to
`various embodiments of the present invention. In the illus-
`trated embodiment, the earphone 10 comprises a transceiver
`circuit 100 and related peripheral components. As shown in
`FIG. 3, the peripheral components 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 acoustic transducers 106) may be housed within the body
`12 of the earphone 10 (see FIG