JP2010028543A - Wireless headphone system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a wireless headphone system which allows listening to music with a plurality of wireless headphones, with no degradation in quality of audio. <P>SOLUTION: The wireless headphone system includes an audio source unit P1 and wireless headphones H1-H5. The audio source unit P1 determines a communication path so that audio data is transmitted in the order of wireless headphones H1, H2, H3, H4, and H5, and transmits the determined communication path to the wireless headphones H1-H5. The audio data accumulated in the audio source unit P1 is firstly transmitted to the wireless headphone H1 through the communication path. The wireless headphone H1 reproduces the received audio data and transfers it to the wireless headphone H2 through the communication path. The audio data is transferred to the wireless headphones H3-H5 likewise thereafter. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a wireless headphone system that performs wireless communication between an audio source unit and a plurality of wireless headphones.

  Conventionally, in a wireless headphone system composed of an audio source unit and a plurality of wireless headphones, when a plurality of users listen to the same audio through a plurality of wireless headphones, the audio data is transmitted from one audio source unit to all the wireless headphones. Had been sent against.

Note that Patent Documents 1 to 5 are known as prior art references relating to the present application.
JP 2001-287598 A JP 2002-112383 A JP 2003-018251 A JP 2003-115906 A Japanese Patent No. 3575368

  However, in the conventional method of transmitting audio data only from the audio source unit, the communication capacity required for transmitting the audio data increases in proportion to the number of wireless headphones of the transmission destination. Therefore, when the product of the data rate of audio data and the number of wireless headphones exceeds the transmission rate of wireless communication, it is necessary to lower the audio data quality by lowering the audio data rate.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a wireless headphone system capable of listening to audio using a plurality of wireless headphones without degrading the quality of audio.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and the invention according to claim 1 is a wireless headphone system having an audio source unit and a plurality of wireless headphones, wherein the audio source unit receives audio data. An audio data accumulating unit for accumulating; a headphone recognizing unit for recognizing presence of the wireless headphones; a communication path determining unit for determining a communication path for transmitting the audio data to the plurality of wireless headphones recognized by the headphone recognizing unit; A communication path transmitting means for transmitting the determined communication path to the plurality of wireless headphones; and an audio data transmitting means for transmitting the audio data to the wireless headphones designated as a transmission destination in the communication path, Wai Less headphones include audio data receiving means for receiving audio data from the audio source unit, an audio decoding unit for decoding the received audio data, an audio output unit for reproducing the decoded audio data, and the audio source Communication path receiving means for receiving the communication path from a unit; and audio data transmitting means for transmitting the received audio data to the wireless headphones designated as a transmission destination on the received communication path. It is a wireless headphone system.

  The invention according to claim 2 is the invention according to claim 1, wherein the wireless headphones further connect the wireless headphones in the communication path when the communication connection with the other wireless headphones is disconnected. It is characterized by comprising a communication connection resumption means for resuming communication connection with the other connection destination apparatus.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect of the present invention, the audio source unit further comprises download means for downloading the audio data from an external communication device through a network. It is characterized by that.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to any one of the first to third aspects, the wireless headphones further includes a reproduction condition designating unit for designating a reproduction condition for the audio data. It is characterized by having.

  According to the present invention, the wireless headphones transfer the audio data received from the audio source unit to the other wireless headphones, so that the communication load is not concentrated on the audio source unit. Therefore, audio data can be transmitted to a plurality of wireless headphones without degrading the audio quality.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing the configuration of an audio source unit according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram showing the configuration of the wireless headphones according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  In FIG. 1, an audio source unit P1 stores audio data. The wireless communication unit 11 in the audio source unit P1 has a function for performing wireless communication with the wireless communication unit 21 in the wireless headphones H1 in FIG. In this wireless communication, additional information necessary for transmission data is added, modulation for wireless communication is performed, and output from an antenna for wireless communication.

  The read control unit 12 reads audio data designated by the user from the audio data storage unit 13 and outputs the audio data to the wireless communication unit 11. The audio data storage unit 13 stores audio data downloaded from a server on the Internet. Note that the stored audio data is compressed in the MP3 format or the like in order to reduce the amount of communication.

  The playback condition designating unit 14 is used to input a user's designation of playback conditions such as a list of audio to be played, playback order, presence / absence of repetition, and volume. The download control unit 15 is connected to a server on the Internet and controls download of audio data.

  The communication path control unit 16 searches for wireless headphones that can communicate using the wireless communication unit 11 (wireless communication unit 21 that can communicate in the wireless headphone H1), and if wireless communication headphones are found, information on the wireless headphones is obtained. Hold. The wireless headphones are searched sequentially to create a list of a plurality of wireless headphones. The audio data communication path is determined based on the list, and information on the determined communication path is transmitted to each wireless headphone using the wireless communication unit 11 and the wireless communication unit 21.

  In FIG. 2, a wireless headphone H1 is a wireless headphone that receives and reproduces audio data from the audio source unit P1 of FIG. The wireless communication unit 21 in the wireless headphone H1 receives a radio signal from the audio source unit P1 and demodulates the received signal. Further, the wireless communication unit 21 attaches additional information necessary for wireless communication to transmit audio data to another wireless headphone designated by the communication path, performs modulation for wireless communication, and performs wireless communication. Output from the antenna.

  The audio decoding unit 22 expands compressed audio data received by the wireless communication unit 21. The audio output unit 23 includes a speaker and an amplifier for driving the speaker, and reproduces audio data expanded by the audio decoding unit 22.

  The control unit 25 has a switch (playback condition designating unit) for operating settings and a function of controlling each unit in the wireless headphones H1.

  Next, the operation of the above-described embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a wireless headphone system including two audio source units P1 and P2 and five wireless headphones H1, H2, H3, H4, and H5. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a connection relationship configured as a network unit in the wireless headphone system of FIG. The audio source unit P2 has the same configuration as the audio source unit P1. The wireless headphones H2, H3, H4, and H5 have the same configuration as the wireless headphones H1.

  In FIG. 4, the audio source unit P1 and the wireless headphones H1 and H2 have a connection relationship in which the wireless headphone H1 is a master (M in the figure) and the audio source unit P1 and the wireless headphones H2 are slaves (S in the figure). is there.

  Here, the master plays a central role in controlling wireless communication in a network having the same connection relationship, and the slave is wireless communication in accordance with an instruction from the master in the network having the same connection relationship. Is to do.

  Similarly, the audio source unit P2 and the wireless headphones H2 and H3 are connected to each other with the wireless headphone H2 as a master and the audio source unit P2 and the wireless headphones H3 as a slave. The wireless headphones H3 and H4 are in a connection relationship with the wireless headphones H3 as a master and the wireless headphones H4 as a slave.

  The wireless headphones H4 and H5 are in a connection relationship with the wireless headphones H4 as a master and the wireless headphones H5 as a slave. The wireless headphones H1 and H5 are in a connection relationship with the wireless headphones H5 as a master and the wireless headphones H1 as a slave.

  Next, a procedure for transmitting audio data from the audio source unit P1 to the wireless headphones H1 to H5 will be described with reference to FIGS. First, the audio source unit P1 is set to a state of searching for a device connectable to the own device, and the wireless headphones H1 to H5 are set to a state of responding to the search from the audio source unit P1.

  After the above setting is completed, the audio source unit P1 receives responses to the search from the wireless headphones H1 to H5, thereby recognizing the presence of the wireless headphones H1 to H5 (headphone recognition means). The audio source unit P1 notifies the user by means such as displaying on the liquid crystal panel that the wireless headphones H1 to H5 have been recognized.

  If there is wireless headphones that are not recognized by the audio source unit P1 because the power is not turned on or the search response mode is not set, the reason for the cause being removed by the user is removed. The audio source unit P1 can be recognized.

  Next, the audio source unit P1 determines a communication path for transmitting audio data (communication path determination means). As a method for determining a communication path, any method such as a method of determining at random or a method of determining based on a specific algorithm may be used. In the present embodiment, a case where audio data is transferred in the order of H1, H2, H3, H4, and H5 as shown in FIG. 5 as a communication path will be described as an example. When the communication path is determined, the audio source unit P1 transmits information on the communication path from the wireless communication unit 11 to all the wireless headphones H1 to H5 (communication path transmission means).

  On the other hand, when the user designates audio to be reproduced by operating the audio source unit P1, the operation is detected by the reproduction condition designation unit 14. The read control unit 12 reads the audio data designated by the user from the audio data storage unit 13 and outputs it to the wireless communication unit 11. The wireless communication unit ll modulates the read audio data with additional information necessary for communication by wireless control, and transmits the audio data from the wireless communication unit 11 to the wireless headphones H1 according to the determined communication path (audio). Data transmission means). The audio data transmitted here is compressed in the MP3 format or the like.

  When the wireless headphone H1 receives audio data with the wireless communication unit 21 (audio data receiving means), the audio decoding unit 22 performs decompression after demodulation and outputs the audio data from the audio output unit 23. Based on the communication path received from P1, the wireless communication unit 21 transmits to the wireless headphones H2 (audio data transmitting means).

  Similarly, the wireless headphones H2 reproduce the received audio data and transmit the received audio data to the wireless headphones H3 based on the communication path received from the audio source unit P1.

  The wireless headphone H3 reproduces the received audio data and transmits the received audio data to the wireless headphone H4 based on the communication path received from the audio source unit P1.

  The wireless headphone H4 reproduces the received audio data and transmits the received audio data to the wireless headphone H5 based on the communication path received from the audio source unit P1.

  The wireless headphone H5 reproduces the received audio data. However, since the next transmission destination is not specified in the communication path received from the audio source unit P1, transmission to another wireless headphone is not performed.

  Thereafter, the same audio received from the audio source unit P1 is reproduced by the wireless headphones H1 to H5. The wireless headphones H1 can change the audio playback condition with respect to the audio source unit P1, and can perform operations such as pause playback, music feed, and music return. When the user operates the wireless headphones H1 to change the playback condition, the operation is captured by the control unit 25, and an instruction to change the playback condition is transmitted to the wireless communication unit 11 of the audio source unit P1 via the wireless communication unit 21. The contents of the change instruction are executed by the audio source unit P1. For changing the playback condition of each individual wireless headphone such as volume change or mute, the operation is taken in by the control unit 25 and an instruction to change the playback condition is issued to the audio output unit 23.

  Next, a procedure for transmitting audio data from the audio source unit P2 to the wireless headphones H1 to H5 will be described with reference to FIGS. Also in this case, the audio source unit P2 first searches for the wireless headphones H1 to H5 in the same manner as the procedure for transmitting audio data from the audio source unit P1 to the wireless headphones H1 to H5 described with reference to FIGS. Confirm the existence of.

  Subsequently, the audio source unit P2 determines a communication path, and transmits information on the determined communication path to all of the wireless headphones H1 to H5. Here, a case where audio data is transferred in the order of H2, H3, H4, H5, and H1, as shown in FIG. 7 as a communication path will be described as an example.

  First, the audio source unit P2 transmits audio data to the wireless headphones H2 according to the communication path. When the wireless headphone H2 receives the audio data, the wireless headphone H2 demodulates and expands the received audio data and outputs the audio, and transmits the received audio data to the wireless headphone H3 according to the communication path received from the audio source unit P2.

  Similarly, when the wireless headphone H3 receives the audio data, the received audio data is demodulated and expanded and output as audio, and the received audio data is transmitted to the wireless headphone H4 according to the communication path received from the audio source unit P2. To do.

  When the wireless headphone H4 receives the audio data, the wireless headphone H4 demodulates and expands the received audio data to output the audio, and transmits the received audio data to the wireless headphone H5 according to the communication path received from the audio source unit P2.

  When the wireless headphone H5 receives the audio data, it demodulates and expands the received audio data and outputs the audio, and transmits the received audio data to the wireless headphone H1 according to the communication path received from the audio source unit P2.

  When the wireless headphone H1 receives the audio data, it demodulates and expands the received audio data and outputs the audio. However, since the next transmission destination is not specified in the communication path received from the audio source unit P2, another wireless data is transmitted. No transmission to headphones.

  9 and 10, the operation when the wireless headphones H3 are removed from the components of the wireless headphone system while audio data is being transmitted through the communication path shown in FIG. 5 will be described. When the wireless headphones H3 are removed from the components of the wireless headphone system, the communication between the wireless headphones H2 and the wireless headphones H3 and the communication between the wireless headphones H3 and the wireless headphones H4 are disconnected.

  When the wireless headphone H2 detects that the communication with the wireless headphone H3 is disconnected, it is determined that the wireless headphone H3 has been removed from the constituent elements, and the audio data of the wireless headphone H3 is referenced with reference to the communication path received from the audio source unit P1. Search for a destination. In the present embodiment, the transmission destination of the wireless headphones H3 is the wireless headphones H4, and the wireless headphones H2 issue a communication connection request to the wireless headphones H4.

  On the other hand, when the wireless headphone H4 detects that the communication with the wireless headphone H3 is disconnected, it is determined that the wireless headphone H3 has been removed from the constituent elements, and a state of waiting for a communication connection request from another wireless headphone or an audio source unit is entered. enter.

  Thereafter, when the wireless headphone H4 receives the communication connection request from the wireless headphone H2, the communication connection is established between the wireless headphone H2 and the wireless headphone H4 (communication connection restarting means). After establishing the communication connection, the communication path is changed so that the audio data is transmitted in the order of H1, H2, H4, and H5.

  As described above, in the audio source unit and the wireless headphones, it is recognized that the component is disconnected by detecting the disconnection of the communication connection, and the device connected to the component is checked with reference to the held communication path. As a result, the communication connection excluding the component can be resumed.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was explained in full detail, the concrete structure is not restricted to this embodiment, The design change etc. of the range which does not deviate from the summary of this invention are included.

  The present invention is suitable for use in a wireless headphone system that performs wireless communication between an audio source unit and a plurality of wireless headphones.

It is the block diagram which showed the structure of the audio source unit concerning embodiment of this invention. It is the block diagram which showed the structure of the wireless headphones concerning embodiment of this invention. It is the figure which showed the wireless headphone system comprised from two audio source units and five wireless headphones. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a connection relationship configured as a network unit in the wireless headphone system of FIG. 3. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a communication path for transferring audio data from the audio source unit P1 to the wireless headphones H1 to H5 in the wireless headphone system of FIG. It is the figure which showed the flow of the audio data at the time of transferring audio data by the communication path of FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a communication path for transferring audio data from the audio source unit P2 to the wireless headphones H1 to H5 in the wireless headphone system of FIG. It is the figure which showed the flow of the audio data at the time of transferring audio data by the communication path of FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a communication path when wireless headphones H3 are removed from the components in the wireless headphone system of FIG. 3. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a flow of audio data when audio data is transferred through the communication path of FIG. 9.

Explanation of symbols

  P1 ... Audio source unit, H1, H2, H3, H4, H5 ... Wireless headphones, 11 ... Wireless communication unit, 12 ... Read control unit, 13 ... Audio data storage unit, 14 ... Reproduction condition designation unit, 15 ... Download control unit , 16: Communication path control unit, 21 ... Wireless communication unit, 22 ... Audio decoding unit, 23 ... Audio output unit, 25 ... Control unit

Claims (4)

In a wireless headphone system having an audio source unit and a plurality of wireless headphones,
The audio source unit is
An audio data storage unit for storing audio data;
Headphones recognition means for recognizing the presence of the wireless headphones;
Communication path determining means for determining a communication path for transmitting the audio data to the plurality of wireless headphones recognized by the headphone recognition means;
Communication path transmitting means for transmitting the determined communication path to the plurality of wireless headphones;
Audio data transmitting means for transmitting the audio data to the wireless headphones designated as a transmission destination in the communication path;
Comprising
The wireless headphones are:
Audio data receiving means for receiving audio data from the audio source unit;
An audio decoding unit for decoding the received audio data;
An audio output unit for reproducing the decoded audio data;
Communication path receiving means for receiving the communication path from the audio source unit;
Audio data transmitting means for transmitting the received audio data to the wireless headphones designated as a transmission destination in the received communication path;
A wireless headphone system comprising:   The wireless headphones further include communication connection resuming means for resuming communication connection with a device that is another connection destination of the wireless headphones via the communication path when communication connection with the other wireless headphones is disconnected. The wireless headphone system according to claim 1, wherein:   The wireless headphone system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the audio source unit further includes a download unit that downloads the audio data from an external communication device through a network.   The wireless headphones system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the wireless headphones further include a playback condition specifying means for specifying a playback condition of the audio data.

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