GB2575430A - Audio system and headphone unit - Google Patents

Audio system and headphone unit Download PDF

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Publication number
GB2575430A
GB2575430A GB1809641.2A GB201809641A GB2575430A GB 2575430 A GB2575430 A GB 2575430A GB 201809641 A GB201809641 A GB 201809641A GB 2575430 A GB2575430 A GB 2575430A
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GB
United Kingdom
Prior art keywords
headphone
control unit
unit
audio
control
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Withdrawn
Application number
GB1809641.2A
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GB201809641D0 (en
Inventor
gillies Paul
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Silent Disco King
Original Assignee
Silent Disco King
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Silent Disco King filed Critical Silent Disco King
Priority to GB1809641.2A priority Critical patent/GB2575430A/en
Publication of GB201809641D0 publication Critical patent/GB201809641D0/en
Priority to PCT/GB2019/051646 priority patent/WO2019239140A2/en
Publication of GB2575430A publication Critical patent/GB2575430A/en
Withdrawn legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04R—LOUDSPEAKERS, MICROPHONES, GRAMOPHONE PICK-UPS OR LIKE ACOUSTIC ELECTROMECHANICAL TRANSDUCERS; DEAF-AID SETS; PUBLIC ADDRESS SYSTEMS
    • H04R1/00—Details of transducers, loudspeakers or microphones
    • H04R1/10—Earpieces; Attachments therefor ; Earphones; Monophonic headphones
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04R—LOUDSPEAKERS, MICROPHONES, GRAMOPHONE PICK-UPS OR LIKE ACOUSTIC ELECTROMECHANICAL TRANSDUCERS; DEAF-AID SETS; PUBLIC ADDRESS SYSTEMS
    • H04R27/00—Public address systems
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04R—LOUDSPEAKERS, MICROPHONES, GRAMOPHONE PICK-UPS OR LIKE ACOUSTIC ELECTROMECHANICAL TRANSDUCERS; DEAF-AID SETS; PUBLIC ADDRESS SYSTEMS
    • H04R29/00—Monitoring arrangements; Testing arrangements
    • H04R29/007—Monitoring arrangements; Testing arrangements for public address systems
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04R—LOUDSPEAKERS, MICROPHONES, GRAMOPHONE PICK-UPS OR LIKE ACOUSTIC ELECTROMECHANICAL TRANSDUCERS; DEAF-AID SETS; PUBLIC ADDRESS SYSTEMS
    • H04R5/00—Stereophonic arrangements
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04R—LOUDSPEAKERS, MICROPHONES, GRAMOPHONE PICK-UPS OR LIKE ACOUSTIC ELECTROMECHANICAL TRANSDUCERS; DEAF-AID SETS; PUBLIC ADDRESS SYSTEMS
    • H04R5/00—Stereophonic arrangements
    • H04R5/033—Headphones for stereophonic communication
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04R—LOUDSPEAKERS, MICROPHONES, GRAMOPHONE PICK-UPS OR LIKE ACOUSTIC ELECTROMECHANICAL TRANSDUCERS; DEAF-AID SETS; PUBLIC ADDRESS SYSTEMS
    • H04R2420/00—Details of connection covered by H04R, not provided for in its groups
    • H04R2420/07—Applications of wireless loudspeakers or wireless microphones
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H05—ELECTRIC TECHNIQUES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • H05B—ELECTRIC HEATING; ELECTRIC LIGHT SOURCES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; CIRCUIT ARRANGEMENTS FOR ELECTRIC LIGHT SOURCES, IN GENERAL
    • H05B47/00—Circuit arrangements for operating light sources in general, i.e. where the type of light source is not relevant
    • H05B47/10—Controlling the light source
    • H05B47/155—Coordinated control of two or more light sources
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H05—ELECTRIC TECHNIQUES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • H05B—ELECTRIC HEATING; ELECTRIC LIGHT SOURCES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; CIRCUIT ARRANGEMENTS FOR ELECTRIC LIGHT SOURCES, IN GENERAL
    • H05B47/00—Circuit arrangements for operating light sources in general, i.e. where the type of light source is not relevant
    • H05B47/10—Controlling the light source
    • H05B47/175—Controlling the light source by remote control
    • H05B47/19—Controlling the light source by remote control via wireless transmission

Abstract

In a first arrangement the audio system which comprises one or more wireless headphone units 2. A control unit 6 transmits control signals to the one or more headphone units. The one or more headphone units are operable to transmit data to the control unit. The control signal transmitted from the control unit to the headphone unit(s) and/or the data transmitted from the headphone unit to the control unit are communicated via a separate channel from the audio signal. The system may find applications in conferences, audio tours and concert situations such as silent discos. In a second arrangement the headphones may be replaced by loudspeakers.

Description

Audio System and Headphone Unit
Technical Field
The present invention relates to an audio system and headphone unit.
Background
Headphone units, in the form of two ear parts joined by a band which extends over the head of a wearer, are common. The ear parts generally cover the ear of the wearer, and each include a speaker which generates sounds which are delivered to the wearer’s ears. Wireless headphone units are known, which include a wireless receiver which receives a transmitted analogue audio signal, and uses this to drive the speakers within the ear parts. The wireless headphones contain a battery, to power the wireless receiver and speakers.
Headphone units of this type can be used in a number of applications, such as conferences, audio tours and silent discos. Existing headphone units are relatively limited in functionality.
Embodiments of the present invention seek to provide enhanced functionality compared with existing systems.
Summary of the Invention
According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided an audio system, comprising:
one or more headphone units, each comprising first and second ear parts connected by a band which in use extends over a wearer’s head, a wireless receiver for wirelessly receiving an audio signal, first and second speakers respectively mounted into the first and second ear parts, for emitting sounds based on the received audio signal; and a control unit for transmitting a control signal to the one or more headphone units;
wherein the one or more headphone units is operable to transmit data to the control unit; and wherein the control signal transmitted from the control unit to the headphone unit and/or the data transmitted from the headphone unit to the control unit, are communicated via a separate channel from the audio signal.
The data may be status data comprising one or more of (a) a reporting message indicating that the headphone unit is active, (b) a battery level message indicating a current battery level of the headphone unit, (c) a volume message indicating a current audio volume level being used at the headphone unit, (d) a current audio channel being used by the headphones. Other types of status data may be provided, such as information regarding movement of the unit.
The control signal may be a channel select signal indicating a target audio channel, and the headphone unit may be responsive to receipt of the channel select signal to switch the receiver to receive an audio signal via the target audio channel.
The headphone units may comprise one or more display elements provided on one or more of the first and/or second ear parts and the band, and the display elements may be controlled based on the control signal received from the control unit.
The display elements may comprise a display screen located on one or both of the first and second ear parts, and the display screen may be operable to display a static or video image based on the control signal received from the control unit.
The headphone unit may comprise a data store which stores static and/or video image data for playback on the display screen(s), and the control signal may be used to select static and/or video images to display from the image data stored in the data store.
The display elements may comprise a plurality of LEDs, the LEDs being individually controllable (or controllable in groups, each group being a sub-set of the plurality) based on the control signal received from the control unit. The LEDs may be multicolour LEDs, and the colour of each LED (or group of LEDs) may be individually controllable based on the control signal received from the control unit. A selected plurality of the headphone units may be provided with control signals which synchronise the illumination patterns of the LEDs of the selected plurality of headphone units.
The headphone unit may comprise a data store for storing pre-recorded audio signals, in which case the control signal may be used to select an audio signal to playback via the speakers from the pre-recorded audio signals.
The control unit may be operable to allocate headphone units into separate groups, and to send common control signals to all headphone units within a given group. The control unit may be operable to control individual headphone units separately.
Each headphone unit may be associated with a unique identifier for use by the control unit in controlling any one or a subset of the headphone units with a single control signal.
The headphone units are operable to communicate wirelessly with an external device. In this case, the data transmitted from the headphone unit to the control unit may comprise external data received from the external device.
The control unit or the headphone unit may be operable to determine or estimate a position of the headphone unit and/or a distance between the headphone unit and the control unit.
In one embodiment, the determined or estimated position or distance of a plurality of headphone units is used by the control unit to control the display elements of different ones of a plurality of headphone units in accordance with their position and/or distance from the control unit.
The determined or estimated position or distance of a headphone unit may be used to select the target audio channel.
The headphone unit may comprise an input device, and the data transmitted from the headphone unit to the control unit may comprise an indication of a user input to the input device.
The headphone unit may comprise a camera, and the data transmitted from the headphone unit to the control unit may comprise image and/or video data captured by the camera.
The control signal may comprise a control schedule, transmitted periodically, for controlling the operation of the headphone unit for a period of time.
The control unit and/or headphone unit may be operable to identify a quality problem with transmission of the audio signal to the headphone units, and to modify the transmission. Modifying the transmission may for example comprise adjusting a transmission frequency, or switching the audio signal onto a different channel.
The headphone unit may be operable to determine a reception quality of the audio signal, and to transmit an indication of the reception quality to the control unit.
The control unit may be operable to transmit the audio signal to the one or more headphone units.
The headphone unit may comprise a motion sensor, and wherein the headphone unit is responsive to detected movement to transmit a motion detected signal to the control unit.
The headphone unit may be responsive to detected movement when in a dormant mode to transmit an awake signal to the control unit and/or is responsive to a period of inactivity when in an active mode to transmit a dormancy signal to the control unit. The motion detected signal may indicate one or both of a direction and an intensity of the detected movement.
The control unit may be operable to transmit new audio and/or video data to the headphone device for storage in a storage device of the headphone unit.
The control signal may be a power down signal sent to all wirelessly connected headphone units, and the headphone units may be responsive to the power down signal to switch off.
The headphone unit may comprise a microphone, and the control unit may be operable to activate a transmission capability for the headphone unit to transmit the voice of the wearer to one or more of the control unit and/or one or more of the other headphone units.
The headphone unit may comprise a vibration device, and the control unit may be operable to cause the vibration device of the headphone unit to vibrate.
According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a headphone unit comprising first and second ear parts connected by a band which in use extends over a wearer’s head, a wireless receiver for wirelessly receiving an audio signal, and first and second speakers respectively mounted into the first and second ear parts, for emitting sounds based on the received audio signal;
wherein the headphone unit is controllable by a control signal received from a separate control unit and is operable to transmit data to the control unit.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an audio system, comprising:
one or more speaker units, each comprising a wireless receiver for wirelessly receiving an audio signal, and one or more speakers for emitting sounds based on the received audio signal; and a control unit for transmitting a control signal to the one or more speaker units;
wherein the one or more speaker units is operable to transmit data to the control unit.
Brief Description of the Drawings
Embodiments of the present invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings where like parts are provided with corresponding reference numerals and in which:
Figure 1 schematically illustrates a headphone system according to an embodiment of the invention; and
Figure 2 schematically illustrates a headphone unit according to an embodiment of the invention.
Detailed Description
Referring to Figure 1, an audio system 1 is shown. The audio system 1 comprises a number of headphone units 2. Each of the headphone units 2 comprises first and second ear parts 3a, 3b connected by a band 4 which in use extends over a wearer’s head. The headphone units 2 are in wireless communication with a control unit 6. The wireless communication comprises a bidirectional digital data link, and a unidirectional analogue audio transmission from the control unit 6 to the headphone units 2, over multiple audio channels. As will be explained below, the digital data link is capable of bearing control signals from the control unit 6 to one, all or a subset of the headphones 2, and is capable of bearing status signals from one, all or a subset of the headphones 2 to the control unit 6. As a result, the control unit 6 is able to monitor the current status of all headphone units 2 and is able to control the operation of all headphone units 2. A transmitter for the audio channels (analogue transmission) may be provided as part of the control unit 6, or may be a separate item of equipment. Further, multiple audio transmitters may be provided, to boost geographic coverage. Further, multiple audio transmitters may each transmit on different channels (which may for example be at different frequencies), in which case by tuning a headphone unit to a different channel, that headphone unit will be able to play audio from a different audio transmitter.
Referring to Figures 2A and 2B, a single headphone unit 2 is shown. Figure 2A (top part of page) shows the headphone unit 2 when viewed from the front. In Figure 2A, most components (except for the speakers) are shown in only one cup of the headphone unit, but it will be appreciated that the electrical components (except for the speakers, which must be provided one per cup) can be distributed between the two cups in any configuration - with a wired connection passing over the head pand
4. In Figure 2B, side views of the two ear cups 3a, 3b, viewed in the direction of the block arrows to the left and right of Figure 2A, are provided. Generally, all headphone units within a particular system (and which are configured for communication with the control unit 6 of Figure 1) will be of the type shown in Figure
2. The headphone unit 2 comprises various electronics, including controller 9 for controlling the overall operation of the headphone unit 2, an analogue receiver 5 for wirelessly receiving an audio signal transmitted from the control unit 6, and a digital transceiver 8 for bidirectionally communicating with the control unit 6. First and second speakers 7a, 7b are respectively mounted into the first and second ear parts 3a, 3b. These emit sounds based on the received audio signal. In addition to the audio signal, the control unit 6 transmits a control signal to one or more of the headphone units 2, which is received by the digital transceiver 8. This control signal allows the control unit 6 to selectively control individual ones or groups of the headphone units 2 to carry out particular functions. In addition, the headphone units 2 have a transmitter 8 which permits them to transmit data to the control unit 6. The data transmitted from the headphone units 2 to the control unit 6 may be of many different types, for example status data indicating a status of the headphone unit 2. This status data may include one or more of (a) a reporting message indicating that the headphone unit is active, (b) a battery level message indicating a current battery level of the headphone unit, (c) a volume message indicating a current audio volume level being used at the headphone unit, (d) a current audio channel being used by the headphones, (e) an indication of the motion of the headphone unit and (f) signal strength information regarding the signal strength of the analogue audio channel to which the headphone unit 2 is currently tuned.
This status information may be used by the control unit 6 for many purposes, for example to display the current status of each headphone unit to an operator of the control unit 6 on a display screen, or to enable the control unit 6 to carry out particular functions in relation to headphones in dependence on the status data. In one example, the battery level information may be used by the control unit 6 to influence the operation of a headphone in dependence on battery state. For example, a headphone unit 2 having a low battery state may be controlled to switch off certain functionality (such as a display screen and LEDs). Alternatively (or in addition), the control unit 6 may be responsive to a determination that a particular headphone unit 2 has a battery level below a predetermined threshold/a particular battery state to transmit a control signal to that headphone unit 2 causing the headphone unit 2 to provide an audible indication (such as the playing of a voice announcement or soundclip through the headphones) to the user that their battery power is low, such that they can make arrangements to acquire a replacement headphone unit before their current headphone unit runs out of power. It will be appreciated that, in another embodiment, the headphone unit 2 may carry out this notification function without input from the control unit 6.
The control signal transmitted from the control unit 6 to the headphone unit 2 and/or the data transmitted from the headphone unit 2 to the control unit 6, are communicated via a separate channel from the audio signal. In particular, the audio signal is transmitted using analogue UHF radio, whereas the control signal and data can be expected to be transmitted using a separate digital (wireless) channel. While it would be possible to use digital transmissions for the audio signal too, the hardware costs required to achieve this would be higher.
It is expected that different audio channels may be transmitted by the control unit 6 (or by other, separate, transmitters, as discussed above), in each case on different analogue channels (frequencies). The headphone unit 2 tunes to a particular frequency to listen to a particular audio channel. In order to permit the control unit 6 to control which audio channels are being listened to by which of the headphone units, the control signal may be a channel select signal indicating a target audio channel, for example in the form of a channel number or label, or a frequency to which to tune the audio receiver 5. The headphone unit 2 is responsive to receipt of the channel select signal to switch (tune) the receiver 5 to receive an audio signal via the target audio channel. The headphone units 2 can be controlled in this way on an individual basis, or in groups.
The headphone units each comprise one or more display elements provided on the first and second ear parts 3a, 3b and the band 4. The display elements are controlled based on the control signal received from the control unit 6. In this case, the control signal is a visual effects signal. The display elements include a display screen 10 located on the side of each of the first and second ear parts 3a, 3b. Each display screen 10 is operable to display a static or video image based on the visual effects control signal received from the control unit. In addition, the display elements comprise a plurality of LEDs 11a, 11b, provided on the band 4 and ear parts 3a, 3b respectively. The LEDs 11 are individually controllable based on the visual effects control signal received from the control unit 6. Preferably, the LEDs 11 are multicolour LEDs, and the colour and/or intensity/luminance of each LED is individually controllable based on the visual effects control signal received from the control unit
6. In an alternative embodiment, the LEDs 11 are controllable not individually, but in groups.
Different ones or groups of the headphone units 2 may be controlled to provide different visual effects. For example, a selected plurality of the headphone units 2 can be targeted with a visual effects control signal which synchronise the illumination patterns of the LEDs of the selected plurality. In this way, particular headphones 2 or groups of headphones 2 can be controlled to illuminate in a first colour, while other headphones or groups of headphones can be controlled to illuminate in a second colour different from the first colour. The same principle can be applied to as many different colours and respective groups as are required. If the headphone units are being used by individuals at a particular venue, the colour may be used to aid with grouping people together - both to enable the individuals of a (colour) group to find each other, and also to enable the operator of the control unit 6 to identify where particular users or groups of users are located. In any case, the LED Multicolour lights are fully individually controllable for synchronised patterns around the head band 4 and ear cups 3a, 3b. Moreover, the colour displays 10 integrated into each ear cup can show logos and small animations - trigger-able via the digital link. As with the LEDs 11, the displays 10 may be controlled such that particular individual headphone units 2 or groups of headphone units 2 display a common static or video image.
The headphone unit 2 comprises a data store 12 which stores the static and/or video image data for playback on the display screen(s). The visual effects control signal is used to select static and/or video images to display from the image data stored in the data store. This avoids the need to transmit image data from the control unit 6 to the headphone units 2 in real time, since the image/video data is stored locally at the headphone units 2. The data store 12 may also store pre-recorded audio signals which can be played by the speakers 7a, 7b. In this case, an audio clip control signal is used to select an audio signal from the data store 12 to playback via the speakers 7a, 7b from the pre-recorded audio signals. The pre-recorded audio signals may either replace or be superimposed over the analogue audio received at the headphone unit 2 via the analogue channel.
In order to provide flexible control of a large number of headphone units 2, the control unit 6 is able to allocate headphone units 2 into separate groups, and to send common control signals to all headphone units 2 within a given group. This may be achieved by having each headphone unit 2 have its own unique identifier. The control unit 6 is aware of the unique identifier of all headphone units 2 (or at least all currently active headphone units), and is able to associated particular unique identifiers with groups. Then, when a transmission is to be made to a particular group, the control signal is tagged with the unique identifiers of those headphones which make up that group. Then, only headphone units which receive a control signal tagged with (or including) their own unique identifier will be responsive to that control signal. All other headphone units will disregard the control signal, once they determine that their unique identifier is not present. In this way, the control unit 6 is operable to control individual headphone units 2 separately, or to control a subset of the headphone units with a single control signal (which includes the unique identifiers of all headphone units 2 within the subset). In a similar manner, all status signals communicated from headphone units 2 to the control unit 6 include, or are tagged with, the unique identifier of the headphone unit 2 transmitting the status signal.
In addition to being able to communicate bidirectionally with the control unit 6, the headphone units 2 are operable to communicate wirelessly with an external device. Such an external device might for example be a treadmill or other exercise device. In this case, the headphone unit 2 is able to acquire external data from the external device, and transmit it to the control unit 6. As a result, the control unit 6 may be aware of the activity of particular users. In one example, the display screens of particular headphones may be controlled in dependence on that activity. In the case of a treadmill, the current speed, or distance travelled, in relation to a particular treadmill may be acquired by the headphone unit 2 of a user operating that treadmill, and forwarded to the control unit 6. The control unit 6 may be able to compare the received data from multiple headphones and (for example) cause a ranking of “1st”, “2nd” and “3rd” to be displayed on the display screens of users based on the external data for those users. Spectators can then see who is winning a race or competition at a glance. A similar effect could be achieved with colour coding using the LEDs 11 - that is, different colours may be associated respectively with different placings. Further, particular displayed images or LED colours/patterns could be used to indicate milestones. For example, when a user has achieved a first activity milestone (for example has run 1km), the LEDs on their headphone unit may be illuminated with a first colour (for example green), while if the user has achieved a second activity milestone (for example has run 5km), the LEDs on their headphone unit may be illuminated with a second colour (for example red). Also, audio clips may be played to the wearer in dependence on activity level - such as an audible io indication of current ranking or activity level. In some cases, the audio clip may be controlled entirely at the headphone unit 2 (that is, the headphone unit 2 makes a determination of when and what audio clip to play based on activity level) while on other cases the decision is made at least partially at the control unit 6, with the headphone unit 2 being controlled by control signals.
The control unit 6 or the headphone unit 2 may be operable to determine or estimate a position of the headphone unit 2 and/or a distance between the headphone unit 2 and the control unit 6. The determined or estimated position or distance of a plurality of headphone units 2 can then be used by the control unit 6 to control the display elements of different ones of the headphone units in accordance with their position and/or distance from the control unit. Alternatively, the determined or estimated position or distance of a headphone unit can be used to select the target audio channel. In this way, different regions of a venue can have associated audio channels. For example, at a conference, different rooms or areas may have a different audio commentary. As the wearer moves around the venue, the position of the headphone unit 2 is tracked by the control unit 6, and when the headphone unit 2 moves from one area to another area, a control signal may be directed to that headphone unit 2 instructing a change of audio channel. The position of the headphone unit can be tracked in a number of ways. For example, the signal strength of the audio signal received via the analogue channel may be used as an indicator of distance from the analogue audio transmitter. The signal strength (or error rate, or other metric) of the digital signals received at the headphone unit 2 from the control unit 6 (or associated digital transmitter) may be used as an indicator of distance. The signal strength (or error rate, or other metric) of the digital signals received at the control unit 6 from a headphone unit 2 may be used as an indicator of distance. Other technologies could also be used, such as infra-red sensors (discussed below), Bluetooth beacons or similar. GPS type technology could also be used for larger venues. Rather than using different audio channels to provide different audio commentary, the different audio channels may represent different transmitters disposed around an event venue - each providing the same audio signal but on different frequencies. The multiple transmitters provide an increase in geographical coverage. By determining either the absolute position of a headphone unit 2, or its relative proximity to two or more transmitters, a closest transmitter can be selected, and the headphone unit 2 caused to tune to a frequency/channel associated with that transmitter. In one implementation, each headphone unit 2 transmits a beacon signal on a periodic or on-demand basis, which is received by the control unit 6 (or one of a number of receivers disposed around the venue). The unique identifier of the headphone unit is provided in the beacon signal, and the receivers are able to determine the signal strength (and thus probable distance away) of the headphone unit 2. In the case of multiple receivers (preferably at least 3 within range), the position of the headphone unit 2 can be triangulated, giving a relatively accurate position.
The position of the headphone units (for example approximately how far each pair of headphones 2 is from the base/control unit) is also used to allow for localised patterns I radiating patterns of light to be generated. In other words, the LEDs of particular headphones can be illuminated at times which provide an overall effect of patterns of light throughout the venue.
The headphone unit comprises an input device 15. In the present case this is a single button, but it will be understood that multiple buttons, or a dial, or any other input device could be used instead. In any case, data indicative of a manipulation of the input device 15 is transmitted from the headphone unit 2 to the control unit 6. One use for this could be a “voting” button, enabling users to provide feedback to the control unit 6 regarding a choice they have been given to make.
The headphone unit 2 also comprises a camera 16, and the data transmitted from the headphone unit 2 to the control unit 6 comprises image and/or video data captured by the camera. The image and/or video data may then be used by the control unit 6, for example to display images onto a large display screen at the venue.
The control signal may comprise a control schedule, transmitted periodically, for controlling the operation of the headphone unit 2 for a period of time. This alternative to real-time control may be more effective where the desired operations can be known in advance, since there is a reduced risk of operational failure due to some of the multiple signals used to affect real-time control not being received by the headphone unit 2 due to interference or wireless dead-spots at the venue.
The control unit 6 and/or headphone units 2 are operable to identify a quality problem with transmission of the audio signal to the headphone units, and to modify the transmission to compensate. For example, the analogue receiver 5 of the headphone 2 may comprise circuitry to determine the signal reception quality of the audio signal. The headphone unit 2 may independently switch/tune to an alternative (backup) analogue channel bearing the same audio signal, or adjust the tuning. Alternatively, the headphone unit 2 may report the determined signal reception quality back to the control unit 6. Then, modifying the transmission may be achieved by adjusting a transmission frequency or power of the audio signal at the control unit 6 (or associated transmitter), or by switching the audio signal onto a different channel. A control signal may be transmitted to the headphone unit 2 to cause the headphone unit 2 to switch to receiving the audio signal on the different channel.
In one example implementation, the control unit 6 is operable to transmit the audio signal to the one or more headphone units. However, in an alternative example implementation, one or more separate transmitters may transmit the audio signal, for example from different locations around the venue. The control unit 6 may be able to control these transmitters, or may instead control only the headphone units 2.
The headphone unit 2 comprises a motion sensor 17. This could be an accelerometer or gyroscope for example. The headphone unit 2 is responsive to detected movement to transmit a motion detected signal to the control unit 6. The motion detected signal may in one example simply indicated that the headphone unit 2 has moved. Alternatively, the motion detected signal may indicate one or both of a direction and an intensity of the detected movement. This could be used for example to enable a user to feed back a “yes” indication (represented by a nod of the head) or a “no” indication (represented by a shake of the head). The vigor of the nodding or shaking action, which would influence the intensity of the detected movement, could be used to represent a degree of affirmation or disagreement felt by the user. This could be used as a voting system, to enable users to vote for or against something, for example options for music tracks to be played via the audio signal.
The headphone unit 2 has an active mode and a dormant mode. When in the dormant mode, the headphone unit 2 draws little power, but is able to detect motion via the motion sensor 2. It may also be able to carry out certain other low power functions, such as receive control signals from the control unit 6. The headphone unit 2 is responsive to detected movement when in a dormant mode to switch to the active mode (in which it is able to carry out the functionality described elsewhere), and to transmit an awake signal to the control unit 6 to inform the control unit 6 that it is in the active mode. Similarly, responsive to a period of inactivity (no movement) when in the active mode, the headphone unit switches into the dormant mode to save battery life, and preferably transmits a dormancy signal to the control unit 6. In this way, the control unit 6 is aware of which of the headphone unit 2 are currently in use.
Generally, the data store 12 is only read from during headphone operation at a venue. However, when offline (for example, when dormant or switched off, and preferably when being charged) the control unit 6 is operable to transmit new audio and/or video data to the headphone device for storage in the data store 12 of the headphone unit. This can be transferred in non-real time at a low data rate (noting that the nature of the digital channel between the control unit 6 and the headphone unit 2 may not have the bandwidth for real time transfer). This provides an effective way of updating the storage device with the latest data while the headphone unit 2 is on charge and not being used.
Another type of control signal which may be transmitted from the control unit 6 to the headphone units 2 is a power down signal. This may be sent to all wirelessly connected headphone units, for example at the end of an event. Alternatively, the power down signal may be provided to a subset of the headphone units 2. For example, if users of the headphones are associated with a particular session, or time slot at an event, the headphone units 2 associated with that session or timeslot may be deactivated at the end of the session or timeslot. The headphone units 2 are responsive to the power down signal to switch off (or transition into the dormant mode). An audio indication that the headphone unit 2 is being switched off may be provided to the wearer in the form of the playback of a stored audio clip through the speakers 7a, 7b. A visual indication that the headphone unit 2 is being switched off may be provided to other (surrounding) users in the form of a particular graphic on the display 10, or a particular colour or pattern of illumination of the LEDs 11.
The headphone unit also comprises a microphone. The control unit is operable to activate a transmission capability for the headphone unit 2 to transmit the voice of the wearer to one or more of the control unit 6 and/or one or more of the other headphone units 2. This would enable questions to be asked of any audience, for example. In the case of direct headphone-to-headphone voice transmission, this could be achieved by the control unit 6 allocating a transmission frequency, whereby the audio signal generated by the microphone is transmitted from the headphones 2, at that transmission frequency, for reception by the analogue receiver 5 of other headphones. However, in order to achieve this, the headphone unit 2 would require an analogue broadcast capability. In an alternative embodiment in which the headphone units 2 are able to communicate directly with each other via the digital channel, the voice signal could be transmitted directly to all or a subset of other headphone units via such a direct headphone-to-headphone digital link.
Alternatively (and more simply), the voice signal could be sent back to the control unit 6 via the digital channel, and then broadcast to all the other headphone users (via the analogue channel), or if sufficiently low bandwidth transmitted from the control unit 6 to all or a selected subset of headphone units 2 via the digital channel. In the case where the voice signal is being broadcast via an analogue channel, the control unit 6 may also control which of the headphone units is tuned to receive the voice data at the specified frequency. In this way, the control unit 6 is able to select which users are speaking, and which users are listening. It may for example be beneficial to not send the voice transmission to the headphone associated with the microphone, so as not to confuse the person speaking into the microphone and/or cause echo/feedback.
The headphone unit 2 also comprises a vibration device. The control unit 6 is operable (by way of a control signal) to cause the vibration device of the headphone unit 2 to vibrate momentarily, or under certain circumstances. This may be used simply for added effect, or may be used for example, to get the wearer’s attention.
The headphone unit 2 also comprises an IR (infra-red) sensor. This enables infrared transmitters to be set up around objects or rooms in a museum for example, and as the headphone wearer comes into proximity to a particular IR transmitter, data encoded in the infra-red signal indicates to the headphone unit 2 which channel to switch to. This is an example of the headphone unit 2 being able to carry out particular functions automatically without being controlled by the control unit 6. In another example, the same set up in a nightclub could mean the headphones automatically switch to certain channels depending on the location of the user and/or a path taken by a user through the nightclub. Further, by using a simple IR remote control, it is possible to switch whole groups of headphones on or off easily, or cause them to change channels, or trigger light shows using the display elements.
In one embodiment, a mechanism is provided for two headphone users to get to know each other and/or swap contact information with minimal effort and awkwardness. In particular, the headphone units may cycle pieces of information about the wearer on the display screen - this information could include, name, age, relationship status, job etc. If another nearby user wishes, based on this information, to introduce themselves, they could exchange contact information by simple headphone use or contact. For instance, both users may interact with their respective user interfaces (press bump button) and touch headphones together, or bring them into close proximity. Alternatively, each headphone user may have a unique identifier which is displayed on the display screen (or otherwise marked on the headphones). Another user may “add” or “like” in association with that unique identifier, which facilitates a connection. If all users have provided their contact information centrally, this may be exchanged in response to this connection.
By using the accelerometer, it is possible to detect an impact, or “bump” where two users tap their headphone units together to initiate a connection. One option is to provide IR communication between the headphones. By having an IR transmitter located in one ear cup and a receiver located in the other cup, both facing forward, then when user A talks to user B, user As transmitter would align with user B’s receiver and vice versa. This could be used to implement a low range and basic quality audio link and I or for sharing data. This function could be activated by a head movement or a button press (muting or reducing the volume of the received audio and activating the microphone to IR converter). In a noisy environment, this enables private conversations to be had between two users, since in this mode background audio can be suppressed, and voices captured via respective microphones can be provided to the other person at a suitable volume through their ear speakers. While in this mode, a status signal may be provided to the control unit indicating the private conversation is underway, and the display elements of the two users may be controlled to indicate that the two individuals are in private conversation with each other (for example by way of using common colours, or patterns of illumination - with the colours and/or patterns being unique (within the event environment) to a private conversation.
Generally, the headphones have (in addition to the analogue radio receiver used for the audio) a digital control wireless link to one or many base units at the venue which allows for the above two way control and monitoring of the headphones by the control units. A PC based software application may interface with the base unit(s) and allows for this control and sequencing.
In the above, a headphone unit and control unit having a rich variety of features is described. It will be appreciated that, in practice, a working system may only include a subset of these features.
It will be appreciated that certain features of the invention could be applied to a speaker system (instead of a headphone system) using a similar set up.

Claims (25)

Claims
1. An audio system, comprising:
one or more headphone units, each comprising first and second ear parts connected by a band which in use extends over a wearer’s head, a wireless receiver for wirelessly receiving an audio signal, first and second speakers respectively mounted into the first and second ear parts, for emitting sounds based on the received audio signal; and a control unit for transmitting a control signal to the one or more headphone units;
wherein the one or more headphone units is operable to transmit data to the control unit; and wherein the control signal transmitted from the control unit to the headphone unit and/or the data transmitted from the headphone unit to the control unit, are communicated via a separate channel from the audio signal.
2. An audio system according to claim 1, wherein the data is status data comprising one or more of (a) a reporting message indicating that the headphone unit is active, (b) a battery level message indicating a current battery level of the headphone unit, (c) a volume message indicating a current audio volume level being used at the headphone unit, (d) a current audio channel being used by the headphones.
3. An audio system according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the control signal is a channel select signal indicating a target audio channel, and wherein the headphone unit is responsive to receipt of the channel select signal to switch the receiver to receive an audio signal via the target audio channel.
4. An audio system according to any preceding claim, wherein the headphone units comprise one or more display elements provided on one or more of the first and/or second ear parts and the band, and wherein the display elements are controlled based on the control signal received from the control unit.
5. An audio system according to claim 4, wherein the display elements comprise a display screen located on one or both of the first and second ear parts, and wherein the display screen is operable to display a static or video image based on the control signal received from the control unit.
6. An audio system according to claim 5, wherein the headphone unit comprises a data store which stores static and/or video image data for playback on the display screen(s), and wherein the control signal is used to select static and/or video images to display from the image data stored in the data store.
7. An audio system according to claim 4, wherein the display elements comprise a plurality of LEDs, the LEDs being individually controllable based on the control signal received from the control unit.
8. An audio system according to claim 7, wherein the LEDs are multi-colour LEDs, and the colour of each LED is individually controllable based on the control signal received from the control unit.
9. An audio system according to claim 7 or claim 8, wherein a selected plurality of the headphone units can be provided with control signals which synchronise the illumination patterns of the LEDs of the selected plurality.
10. An audio system according to any preceding claim, wherein the headphone unit comprises a data store for storing pre-recorded audio signals, and wherein the control signal is used to select an audio signal to playback via the speakers from the pre-recorded audio signals.
11. An audio system according to any preceding claim, wherein the control unit is operable to allocate headphone units into separate groups, and to send common control signals to all headphone units within a given group.
12. An audio system according to any preceding claim, wherein the control unit is operable to control individual headphone units separately.
13. An audio system according to any preceding claim, wherein each headphone unit is associated with a unique identifier for use by the control unit in controlling any one or a subset of the headphone units with a single control signal.
14. An audio system according to any preceding claim, wherein the headphone units are operable to communicate wirelessly with an external device.
15. An audio system according to claim 14, wherein the data transmitted from the headphone unit to the control unit comprises external data received from the external device.
16. An audio system according to any preceding claim, wherein the control unit or the headphone unit is operable to determine or estimate a position of the headphone unit and/or a distance between the headphone unit and the control unit.
17. An audio system according to claim 4 and claim 16, wherein the determined or estimated position or distance of a plurality of headphone units is used by the control unit to control the display elements of different ones of a plurality of headphone units in accordance with their position and/or distance from the control unit.
18. An audio system according to claim 3 and claim 16, wherein the determined or estimated position or distance of a headphone unit is used to select the target audio channel.
19. An audio system according to any preceding claim, wherein the headphone unit comprises an input device, and wherein the data transmitted from the headphone unit to the control unit comprises an indication of a user input to the input device.
20. An audio system according to any preceding claim, wherein the headphone unit comprises a camera, and the data transmitted from the headphone unit to the control unit comprises image and/or video data captured by the camera.
21. An audio system according to any preceding claim, wherein the control signal comprises a control schedule, transmitted periodically, for controlling the operation of the headphone unit for a period of time.
22. An audio system according to any preceding claim, wherein the control unit and/or headphone unit are operable to identify a quality problem with transmission of the audio signal to the headphone units, and to modify the transmission.
23. Any audio system according to claim 23, wherein modifying the transmission comprises adjusting a transmission frequency or switching the audio signal onto a different channel.
24. A headphone unit comprising first and second ear parts connected by a band which in use extends over a wearer’s head, a wireless receiver for wirelessly receiving an audio signal, and first and second speakers respectively mounted into the first and second ear parts, for emitting sounds based on the received audio signal;
wherein the headphone unit is controllable by a control signal received from a separate control unit and is operable to transmit data to the control unit.
25. An audio system, comprising:
or more speaker units, each comprising a wireless receiver for wirelessly receiving an audio signal, and one or more speakers for emitting sounds based on the received audio signal; and a control unit for transmitting a control signal to the one or more speaker units;
wherein the one or more speaker units is operable to transmit data to the control unit.
GB1809641.2A 2018-06-13 2018-06-13 Audio system and headphone unit Withdrawn GB2575430A (en)

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