I 1111111111111111 11111 lllll 111111111111111 11111 1111111111111111 IIII IIII IIII
`
`US008571544B2
`
`US 8,571,544 B2
`
`(IO) Patent No.:
`c12) United States Patent
`(45)Date of Patent:
`
`Oct. 29, 2013
`Pelland et al.
`
`
`
`(54)SYSTEM WITH WIRELESS EARPHONES
`
`(56)
`
`
`
`References Cited
`
`U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
`
`et al.
`5,784,685 A 7/1998 Stanford
`
`
`
`
`
`6,792,091 B2 9/2004 Lemchen et al.
`
`(Continued)
`
`FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS
`
`(75)Inventors: Michael J. Pelland, Princeton, WI (US);
`
`
`
`
`
`
`Michael J. Koss, Milwaukee, WI (US);
`
`
`Michael Sagan, Marshall, WI (US);
`
`
`Steven Reckamp, Brooklyn, NY (US);
`
`
`Gregory J. Hallingstad, Madison, WI
`
`
`(US); Jeffrey K. Bovee, Lake Geneva,
`
`WI (US); Morgan J. Lowery, DeForest,
`WI (US)
`
`JP
`WO
`
`(73)Assignee: Koss Corporation, Milwaukee, WI (US)
`
`
`
`
`
`2004-320597 A 11/2004
`
`
`WO 2006/047724 A2 5/2006
`
`(Continued)
`
`( *) Notice: Subject to any disclaimer, the term ofthis
`
`
`
`
`
`
`patent is extended or adjusted under 35
`Supplementary European Search Report for European Application
`
`
`
`
`
`U.S.C. 154(b) by O days.
`
`
`No. 09731146.8 mailed Jun. 10, 2011, 7 pages.
`
`OTHER PUBLICATIONS
`
`(21)Appl. No.: 13/459,291
`
`
`
`Apr. 30, 2012 (22)Filed:
`
`(65)
`
`
`
`Prior Publication Data
`
`
`
`
`
`US 2012/0213381 Al Aug. 23, 2012
`
`(Continued)
`
`Primary Examiner - Kiet Doan
`
`
`
`(74)Attorney, Agent, or Firm - K&L Gates LLP
`
`(57)
`
`ABSTRACT
`
`
`
`7, 2008.
`
`A system comprising a wireless network adapter and a pair of
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`earphone. The wireless network adapter is external to a digital
`Related U.S. Application Data
`
`
`
`audio to the digital audio player and configu red to connect
`
`
`
`player via an audio jack of the digital audio player. The
`
`
`
`(63)Continuation of application No. 12/936,488, filed as
`
`
`
`
`wireless network adapter is for encoding analog audio
`
`
`application No. PCT/US2009/039754 onApr. 7, 2009,
`
`
`
`
`received from the digital audio player into digital format and
`now Pat. No. 8,190,203.
`
`
`
`
`wirelessly transmitting the digitally-formatted audio. The
`(60)Provisional application No. 61/123,265, filed on Apr.
`
`
`
`
`
`pair of earphones is in direct wireless communication with
`
`
`
`the wireless network adapter and are configu red to be worn
`
`
`simultaneously by a user. Each earphone in the pair of ear­
`(51)Int. Cl.
`
`
`
`
`phones comprises: (i) a transceiver that is for receiving the
`H04W40/00 (2009.01)
`
`
`
`
`digitally-formatted audio from the wireless network adapter
`(52)U.S. Cl.
`
`
`
`via the wireless network, and converting the digitally-format­
`
`USPC . ... ... ... .. ... ... ... ... ... .. ... ... ... ... ... .. ... ... ... ... 455/425
`
`
`
`
`ted audio received via the wireless network to analog audio
`
`
`( 58)Field of Classification Search
`
`
`
`
`
`signals; and (ii) at least one acoustic transducer connected to
`
`
`USPC .................. 455/569.1, 462, 466, 556.1, 66.1,
`
`
`
`
`
`the transceiver, wherein the at least one acoustic transducer is
`
`
`
`455/343.2, 575.2, 553.1; 381/74, 57,401,
`
`
`for outputting the analog audio sign als.
`
`381/17, 103, 309
`
`
`See application file for complete search history.
`
`
`
`
`
`7 Claims, 16 Drawing Sheets
`
`"'
`
`APPLE 1083
`
`1
`
`

`

`US 8,571,544 B2
` Page 2
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`(56)
`
`References Cited
`
`U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
`
`2008/0004052 Al*
`2008/0062939 Al
`2008/0076489 Al*
`2008/0101279 Al
`2008/0291891 Al
`2009/0063703 Al*
`2010/0246788 Al
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`............ 455/466
`
`1/2008 Bloebaum et al.
`3/2008 Van Horn
`3/2008 Roseneretal. ........... 455/575.2
`5/2008 Russell
`11/2008 Jerlhagen
`3/2009 Finkelstein etal.
`9/2010 Menard etal.
`
`.......... 709/240
`
`8/2005 Lemchen etal.
`6,937,712 B2
`2/2006 Glaser
`7,003,515 BL
`4/2006 Vanderelli
`7,027,311 B2
`8/2006 Takahashi
`7,099,370 B2
`10/2006 Hall
`7,120,388 B2
`11/2006 Hachimuraet al.
`7,139,585 B2
`
`
`7,599,679 B2 WO 2007/136620 A2—11/200710/2009 Awiszus WO
`
`7,697,899 B2
`4/2010 Rofougaran
`WO
`WO 2007/139578 Al
`12/2007
`7,764,775 B2
`7/2010 Tarkoff etal.
`WO
`WO 2008/054985 A2
`5/2008
`7,805,210 B2
`9/2010 Cucos
`WO
`WO 2009/086555 Al
`7/2009
`2004/0157649 Al*
`8/2004 Jannard etal. ......0.. 455/569.1
`2005/0064853 Al
`3/2005 Radpour
`2005/0198233 Al
`9/2005 Manchester
`International Search Report for International Application No. PCT/
`........... 700/94
`2005/0240296 Al* 10/2005 Nishiguchiet al.
`
`2006/0206487 Al—9/2006 Harada US09/39754 mailed Jun. 11, 2009, 2 pages.
`2006/0212442 Al
`9/2006 Conrad
`International Preliminary Examination Report
`for International
`2006/0212444 Al
`9/2006 Handman
`Application No. PCT/US09/39754 mailed Oct. 28, 2010, 8 pages.
`2007/0008984 Al
`1/2007 Philips
`Wri
`.
`.
`:
`:
`3007/0037615 Al
`9/2007 Glezerman
`ritten Opinion of the International Searching Authority for Inter-
`2007/0049198 Al
`3/2007 Walsh et al.
`national Application No. PCT/US09/39754 mailed Jun. 11, 2009, 5
`2007/0116316 Al
`5/2007 Goldberg
`pages.
`—
`_.
`.
`2007/0147630 Al
`6/2007 Chiloyan
`IT Review,
`“LTB 802.11 WiFi Headphones”, http://itreview.
`2007/0150963 A1*
`6/2007 Leeetal. vccccccccccccees 726/27
`belproject.com/item/1536 accessed on Mar. 13, 2008 (4 pages).
`2007/0165875 Al
`7/2007 Rezvani
`2007/0230727 Al
`10/2007 Sanguino
`
`FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS
`
`OTHER PUBLICATIONS
`
`* cited by examiner
`
`2
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`US 8,571,544 B2
`
`Oct. 29, 2013
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`Sheet 1 of 16
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`
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`3
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`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Oct. 29, 2013
`
`Sheet 2 of 16
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`US 8,571,544 B2
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`4
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`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Oct. 29, 2013
`
`Sheet 3 of 16
`
`US 8,571,544 B2
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`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Oct. 29, 2013
`
`Sheet 4 of 16
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`US 8,571,544 B2
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`ao
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`N
`
`
`AdHocWireless
`
`Network
`
`6
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Oct. 29, 2013
`
`Sheet 5 of 16
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`US 8,571,544 B2
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`02
`
`VWiVd
`
`doYNOS
`
`
`
`7
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`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Oct. 29, 2013
`
`Sheet 6 of 16
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`US 8,571,544 B2
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`ViVvd
`
`AOYNOS
`
`
`
`8
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`

`

`U.S. Patent
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`Oct. 29, 2013
`
`Sheet 7 of 16
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`US 8,571,544 B2
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`
`YAAIESLNSLNOOO1GNY
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`U.S. Patent
`
`Oct. 29, 2013
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`Sheet 8 of 16
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`US 8,571,544 B2
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`elt
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`

`U.S. Patent
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`Oct. 29, 2013
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`Sheet 9 of 16
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`US 8,571,544 B2
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`11
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`11
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`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Oct. 29, 2013
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`Sheet 10 of 16
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`US 8,571,544 B2
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`
`
`CURRENT
`DATA RATE
`
`SIZE OF
`UPDATE
`
` TRANSMIT UPDATE TO
`
`UPDATE OK TO BE
`
`
`SENT WIRELESSLY?
`
`
`TRANSMIT
`
`EARPHONE VIA HOST
`UPDATE
`WIRELESSLY
`COMPUTER
` 51
`
`
`
`Fig. 5
`
`12
`
`12
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`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Oct. 29, 2013
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`Sheet 11 of 16
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`US 8,571,544 B2
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`614
`
`
`
`COMMUNICATE
`
`VIA AB HOC WIRELESS
`NETWORK?
`
`NO
`
`62
`
`
`
`EXCHANGEDATA REGARDING LOCAL
`INFRASTRUCTURE NETWORKS
`
`
`
`nonrt+4
`
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`INFRASTRUCTURE
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`WIRELESS NETWORK
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`
`COMMUNICATEVIA n™ INFRASTRUGTURE
`WIRELESS NETWORK
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`64
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`OK?
`
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`
`| CONNECT TO HOST SERVER
`
`HOST SERVER SENDSIP
`ADDRESS
`
`68
`
`67
`
`
`
`
`EARPHONE CONNECT TO STREAMING DIGITAL
`AUBIO CONTENT SERVER USING iP ADDRESS
`
`
`
`LOSECONNECTION?
`
`69
`
`13
`
`13
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
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`Oct. 29, 2013
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`Sheet 12 of 16
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`US 8,571,544 B2
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`16
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`U.S. Patent
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`U.S. Patent
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`

`US 8,571,544 B2
`
`1
`SYSTEM WITH WIRELESS EARPHONES
`
`2
`FIGS. 2A-2Dillustrate various communication modes for
`
`PRIORITY CLAIM
`
`The present application claimspriority as a continuation to
`U.S. nonprovisional patent application Ser. No. 12/936,488,
`filed Dec. 20, 2010, which is a national stage entry of PCT/
`US09/39754,filed Apr. 7, 2009, which claimspriority to U.S.
`provisional patent application Ser. No. 61/123,265, filed Apr.
`7, 2008.
`
`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 headphoneset that connects to
`the data storage unit, usually with a 44" or a3.5 mm jack and
`associated cord. Often the headphonesare in-ear type head-
`phones. The cord, however, between the headphonesand the
`data storage unit can be cumbersome and annoyingto users,
`and the length ofthe cord limits the physical distance between
`the data storage unit and the headphones. Accordingly, some
`cordless headphones have been proposed, such as the Mon-
`ster 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 head-
`phones from Apple are quite large and are not in-ear type
`phones. Recently, cordless headphones that connect wire-
`lessly via IEEE 802.11 to a WLAN-ready laptop or personal
`computer (PC) have been proposed, but such headphonesare
`also quite large and notin-ear type phones.
`
`SUMMARY
`
`In one general aspect, the present inventionis directed to a
`wireless earphone that comprises a transceiver circuit for
`receiving streaming audio from a data source, suchasa digital
`audio player or a computer, over an ad hoc wireless network.
`Whenthe data source and the earphoneare out of range via
`the ad hoc wireless network, they may transition automati-
`cally to a commoninfrastructure wireless network (e.g., a
`wireless LAN). If there is no commoninfrastructure wireless
`network for both the data source and the earphone, the ear-
`phone 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 connectto 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 wire-
`less earphoneare described below.
`
`FIGURES
`
`invention are
`Various embodiments of the present
`described herein by way of example in conjunction with the
`following figures, wherein:
`FIGS. 1A4-1E are views ofa wireless earphone according to
`various embodiments of the present invention;
`
`10
`
`15
`
`20
`
`25
`
`30
`
`35
`
`40
`
`45
`
`50
`
`55
`
`60
`
`65
`
`a wireless earphone according to various embodiments ofthe
`present invention;
`FIG.3 is a block diagram ofa wireless earphone according
`to various embodiments ofthe 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 wire-
`less earphone to transition automatically between wireless
`networks according to various embodiments of the present
`invention;
`FIGS. 7, 8 and 10 illustrate communication systems
`involving the wireless earphone according to various embodi-
`ments 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 ofa 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 embodimentsthe ear-
`phone maytake different shapes and the exemplary shapes
`shown in FIGS. 1A and 1Bare notintendedto be limiting. In
`one embodiment, the earphonetransitions automatically and
`seamlessly, without user intervention, between communica-
`tion modes. That is, the earphone may transition automati-
`cally from an ad hoc wireless network to an infrastructure
`wireless network, without user intervention. 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 (includingthe Internet).
`FIGS. 1A and 1B show example configurations for a wire-
`less 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 ofthe user ofthe earphone10. 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 someotheruser control (such asa dial,
`apressure-activated switch, lever, etc.) for adjusting the shape
`of the ear canal portion 14. Thatis, in various embodiments,
`activation (e.g. rotation) of the knob 16 may cause the ear
`canal portion 14 to change shapeso as to, for example, radi-
`ally expand to fit snugly against all sides of the user’s ear
`canal. Further details regarding such a shape-changing ear-
`
`19
`
`19
`
`

`

`US 8,571,544 B2
`
`3
`4
`For example, the data source 20 may be a digital audio player
`bud earphoneare described in application PCT/US08/88656,
`filed 31 Dec. 2008, entitled “Adjustable Shape Earphone,”
`(DAP), such as an mp3playeror an iPod,or any other suitable
`whichis incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. The
`digital audio playing device, such as a laptop or personal
`earphone 10 also may comprise a transceiver circuit housed
`computer, that stores and/orplays digital audio files. In other
`within the body 12. The transceivercircuit, described further
`embodiments, the data source 20 may generate analog audio,
`below, may transmit and receive the wireless signals, includ-
`and the wireless network adapter 22 may encode the analog
`ing receive streaming audio for playing by the earphone 10.
`audio into digital format for transmission to the earphone 10.
`Thetransceiver circuit may be housedin the exterior portion
`The wireless network adapter 22 may be anintegral part of
`15 of the earphone 10 and/orin the ear canal portion 14.
`the data source 20, or it may be a separate device that is
`Although the example earphones 10 shown in FIGS. 1A
`connected to the data source 20 to provide wireless connec-
`and 1B include a knob 16 for adjusting the shape of the ear
`canalportion 14, the present invention is not so limited, and in
`tivity for the data source 20. For example, the wireless net-
`other embodiments, different means besides a knob 16 may
`work adapter 22 may comprise a wireless network interface
`be used to adjustthe ear canal portion 14. In addition, in other
`card (WNIC)or other suitable transceiver that plugs into a
`embodiments, the earphone 10 may not comprise a shape-
`USBport or otherport or jack of the data source 20 (such as
`changing ear canal portion 14.
`a TRSconnector) to stream data, e.g., digital audio files, via
`In various embodiments, the user may wear twodiscrete
`a wireless network(e.g., the ad hoc wireless network 24 or an
`wireless earphones 10: one in eachear. In such embodiments,
`infrastructure wireless network). The digital audio transmit-
`each earphone 10 may comprise a transceivercircuit. In such
`ted from the data source 20to the earphone10 via the wireless
`embodiments, the earphones 10 may be connected byastring
`networks may comprise compressed or uncompressed audio.
`or someother cord-type connector to keep the earphones 10
`Anysuitable file format may be usedfor the audio, including
`from being separated.
`In other embodiments, as shown in FIG. 1C, a headband 19
`mp3,
`lossy or lossless WMA, Vorbis, Musepack, FLAC,
`may connectthe two (left and right) earphones 10. The head-
`WAV, AIFF, AU, or any other suitable file format.
`band 19 may be an over-the-head band, as shown in the
`Whenin range, the data source 20 may communicate with
`example of FIG. 1C, or the headband may be a behind-the-
`the earphone 10 via the ad hoc wireless network 24 using any
`head band. In embodiments comprising a headband 19, each
`suitable wireless communication protocol, including Wi-Fi
`earphone 10 may comprise a transceiver circuit; hence, each
`(e.g., IEEE 802.1 1a/b/g/n), WiMAX (IEEE 802.16), Blue-
`earphone 10 mayreceive and transmit separately the wireless
`tooth, Zigbee, UWB, or any other suitable wireless commu-
`communication signals. In other embodiments comprising a
`nication protocol. For purposesofthe description to follow,it
`headband 19, only one earphone 10 may comprisethe trans-
`is assumedthat the data source 20 and the earphone 10 com-
`ceivercircuit, and a wire may run along the headband19to the
`municate using a Wi-Fi protocol, although the inventionis not
`other earphone10 to connect thereby thetransceivercircuit to
`so limited and other wireless communication protocols may
`be used in other embodiments of the invention. The data
`the acoustic transducerin the earphonethat does not comprise
`the transceiver circuit. The embodiment shown in FIG. 1C
`comprises on-ear earphones10; in other embodiments, in-ear
`or over-ear earphones may be used.
`In other embodiments, the earphone 10 may comprise a
`hangerbar 17 that allows the earphone 10 to clip to, or hang
`on, the user’s ear, as shownin the illustrated embodimentof
`FIGS. 1D-1E. FIG. 1D is a perspective view of the earphone
`and FIG. 1F 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 sizedto fit into
`the cavum conchaof the listener’s ear and the other element
`
`15
`
`35
`
`40
`
`45
`
`source 20 and the earphone 10 are consideredin range for the
`ad hoc wireless network 24 when the signal strengths (e.g.,
`the RSSJ)ofthe signals received by the two devices are above
`a threshold minimumsignal 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 andthe data source 20
`may transition automatically to communicate over an infra-
`structure wireless network (such as
`a wireless LAN
`(WLAN)) 30 thatis 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 commoninfrastruc-
`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 for a time period before
`playing the audio. The cached audio maybe playedafter the
`connection overthe ad hoc wireless networkis lost to give the
`earphone 10 and the data source 20 time to connect via the
`infrastructure wireless network.
`For example, as shown in FIG. 2B, the infrastructure net-
`work 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 wire-
`less 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
`
`(the larger one) 106-Bis 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 thatallows the user to
`adjust finely the distance between the horizontal section of
`the hangerbar and the speaker elements, 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 United States provisional patent
`application Ser. No. 61/054,238, which is incorporated herein
`by reference in its entirety.
`FIGS. 2A-2Dillustrate various communication modes for
`
`a wireless data communication system involving the ear-
`phone 10 according to embodimentsofthe present invention.
`As shownin 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 transceiver circuit (de-
`scribed in more detail below), may communicate wirelessly
`with a data source 20, which may comprise a wireless net-
`work adapter 22 for transmitting the digital audio wirelessly.
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`may both communicate wirelessly with the access point 32
`using the appropriate network data protocol (a Wi-Fi proto-
`col, 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 wireless network
`24. A procedure for specifying an agreed-uponinfrastructure
`wireless network 30 is described further below. Alternatively,
`the infrastructure wireless network 30 may have multiple
`access points 32a-b, as shownin FIG. 2C. In such an embodi-
`ment, the data source 20 may communicate wirelessly with
`one access point 324 and the earphone 10 may communicate
`wirelessly with another access point 32a of the sameinfra-
`structure wireless network 30. Again, the data source 20 and
`the earphone 10 maytransition to an agreed-upon WLAN.
`If there is no suitable common infrastructure wireless net-
`
`work 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 32¢ for an
`available (first) wireless network (e.g., WLAN) 30a thatis 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 communi-
`cation network 42, such as the Internet. In one mode,the host
`server 40 may transmit streaming digital audio via the net-
`works 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 networks
`30a, 42 to receive and process digital audio from the stream-
`ing digital audio content server 70.
`Thedigital audio content server 70 maybe, 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 mayreceive and process. In
`one embodiment, the streaming digital audio content server
`70 maystream digital audio received by the streaming digital
`audio content server 70 from the data source 20. For example,
`wherethe data source 20 is a wireless-capable device, such as
`a portable DAP,the data source 20 may connectto the stream-
`ing digital audio content server 70 via a wireless network 305
`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 digi-
`tal audio content server 70, the data source 20 may stream
`digital audio to the streaming digital audio content server 70,
`which may broadcastthe received digital audio over the net-
`work42 (e.g., the Internet). In such a manner,the user of the
`earphone 10 maylisten to audio from the data source 20 even
`when (1) the earphone 10 and the data source 20 are not in
`communication via an ad hoc wireless network 24 and (11) the
`earphone10 and the data source 20 are not in communication
`via a commonlocalinfrastructure 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 someofthe peripheral com-
`ponents (suchas the powersource 102 andthe acoustic trans-
`ducers 106) may be housed within the body 12 of the ear-
`
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`phone 10 (see FIG. 1). Other peripheral components, such as
`the microphone 104 and the antenna 108 may be external to
`the body 12 of the earphone 10. In addition, some of the
`peripheral components, such as the microphone 104, are
`optional in various embodiments.
`In various embodiments, the transceiver circuit 100 may be
`implemented as a single integrated circuit (IC), such as a
`system-on-chip (SoC), which is conducive to miniaturizing
`the componentsof the earphone 10, which is advantageousif
`the earphone 10 is to be relatively small in size, such as an
`in-ear earphone (see FIGS. 1A-1B for example). In alterna-
`tive embodiments, however, the components of the trans-
`ceiver circuit 100 could be realized with two or more discrete
`ICs or other components, such as separate ICs for the proces-
`sors, memory, and RF(e.g., Wi-Fi) module, for example.
`The power source 102 may comprise, for example, 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 superca-
`pacitors) 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 chargedfor use,
`for example, when the earphone 10 is connected to a docking
`station or computer. The docking station may be connected to
`or part ofa computer device, such as a laptop computer or PC.
`In addition to charging the rechargeable power source 102,
`the docking station and/or computer mayfacilitate download-
`ing of data to and/or from the earphone 10. In other embodi-
`ments, the power source 102 may comprise capacitors pas-
`sively charged with RF radiation, such as described in US.
`Pat. No. 7,027,311. The power source 102 may be coupled to
`a powersource control module 103 of transceiver circuit 100
`that controls and monitors the power source 102.
`The acoustic transducer(s) 106 may be the speaker
`element(s) for conveying the soundto the user ofthe earphone
`10. According to various embodiments, the earphone 10 may
`comprise one or more acoustic transducers 106. For embodi-
`ments having more than one transducer, one transducer may
`be largerthanthe other transducer, and a crossovercircuit (not
`shown) may transmit the higher frequencies to the smaller
`transducer and may transmit the lower frequencies to the
`larger transducer. More details regarding dual element ear-
`phones are provided in U.S. Pat. No. 5,333,206, assigned to
`Koss Corporation, which is incorporated herein by reference
`in its entirety.
`The antenna 108 mayreceive and transmit the wireless
`signals from andto the wireless networks 24, 30. A RF (e.g.,
`Wi-Fi) module 110 of the transceiver circuit 100 in commu-
`nication with the antenna 108 may, among other things,
`modulate and demodulate the signals transmitted from and
`received by the antenna 108. The RF module 110 communi-
`cates with a baseband processor 112, which performs other
`functions necessary for the earphone 10 to communicate
`using the Wi-Fi (or other communication) protocol.
`The baseband processor 112 may be in communication
`with a processor unit 114, which may comprise a micropro-
`cessor 116 and a digital signal processor (DSP) 118. The
`microprocessor 116 may control the various components of
`the transceiver circuit 100. The DSP 114 may, for example,
`perform various sound quality enhancements to the digital
`audio received by the baseband processor 112, including
`noise cancellation and sound equalization. The processor unit
`114 may be in communication with a volatile memory unit
`120 anda non-volatile memory unit 122. A memory manage-
`ment unit 124 may control the processor unit’s access to the
`memory units 120, 122. The volatile memory 122 may com-
`prise, for example, a random access memory (RAM)circuit.
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`US 8,571,544 B2
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`7
`The non-volatile memory unit 122 may comprise a read only
`memory (ROM)and/or flash memory circuits. The memory
`units 120, 122 may store firmware that is executed by the
`processor unit 114. Execution of the firmware by the proces-
`sor unit 114 may provide various functionality for the ear-
`phone10, such as the automatic transition between wireless
`networks as described herein. The memory units 120, 122
`mayalso cache received digital audio.
`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 I°S interface
`126 or other suitable serial or parallel bus interface may
`provide the interface between the processor unit 114 and the
`DAC 125. An analog-to-digital converter (ADC) 128, which
`also communicates with the I?S interface 126, may convert
`analog audio signals picked up by the microphone 104 for
`processing by the processor unit 114.
`The transceiver circuit 100 also may comprise a USB or
`other suitable interface 130 that allows the earphone 10 to be
`connected to an external device via a USB cable or other
`
`suitable link. As shown in FIG.4A,the external device may be
`a docking station 200 connected to a computer device 202.
`Also, in various embodiments, the earphone 10 could be
`connected directly to the computer 202 without the docking
`station 200. In addition, the external device may be a DAP
`210, as shown in FIG.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
`102 and/or to get downloads(e.g., data or firmware).
`According to various embodiments, the earphone 10 may
`have an associated web page that a user may access through
`the host server 40 (see FIG. 2D) or someother 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 FIG. 2D) to
`access the web pagefor the earphone10 to set variousprofile
`values for the earphone 10. For example, at the website, the
`user could set various content features andfilters, as well as
`adjust various sound control features, such as treble, bass,
`frequency settings, noise cancellation settings, etc. In addi-
`tion, the user could set preferred streaming audio stations,
`such as preferred Internet radio stations or other streaming
`audio broadcasts. That way, instead of listening to streaming
`audio from the data source 20, the user couldlisten to Internet
`radio stations orother streaming audio broadcasts received by
`the earphone 10. In such an operating mode, the earphone
`user, via the web site, may prioritize a numberof Internet
`radio stations orother broadcast sources (hosted by streaming
`digital audio content