WO2006134524A1

WO2006134524A1 - Multiple-source signal rendering device

Info

Publication number: WO2006134524A1
Application number: PCT/IB2006/051834
Authority: WO
Inventors: Jian Zhang; Xin Chen; Feng Li; Yongqin Zeng
Original assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V.
Priority date: 2005-06-17
Filing date: 2006-06-09
Publication date: 2006-12-21

Abstract

The present invention discloses a multiple-source signal rendering device for selectively rendering a signal from one of a plurality of signal source devices. The multiple- source signal rendering device comprises an interface for receiving signals from at least two of the signal source devices; a signal source device controller for selecting a signal from the at least two signals according to a selective message; and a rendering device for rendering the selected signal. According to the multiple-source signal rendering device provided in the present invention, an user may selectively switch the rendering signals among a plurality of signal source devices, thereby having great flexibility.

Description

MULTIPLE-SOURCE SIGNAL RENDERING DEVICE

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a multiple- source signal rendering device, and more particularly to a multiple-source signal rendering device for rendering signals from a plurality of signal source devices in a wired or wireless network.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In daily life, it is very popular for people to listen to music, broadcast or speech programs by wearing earphones when taking vehicles or walking, or even during work.

Devices providing such a function include Walkman, MP3 player, mobile phone, portable radio and so on. However, this may also bring people some inconvenience. For example, one may miss important calls from his mobile phone or an appointment reminder from PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) when listening to music. Therefore, it is desired to provide a technical solution that can prevent missing calls or other reminders while one is using earphones.

With the development of wireless communication technology, it is not necessary to use complex coupling lines, and the audio source devices may communicate conveniently by a wireless network among each other, which has established a foundation for realizing the above-mentioned function. In the existing technology, for example, the Sony Ericsson

K700i (a mobile phone with MP3 player function) has a similar function. If there is a phone call while MP3 is being played, the mobile phone may turn down the volume of or pause the MP3 player to remind the user of the incoming call. The mobile phone returns to the normal MP3 playing mode when the call ends. However, there are still some drawbacks that are difficult to overcome in the above- mentioned technical scheme. For example, in the above-mentioned network architecture, the number of the audio source devices can only be two. Nowadays, most people have various audio source devices comprising a mobile phone, an MP3 player, a PDA and/or a laptop. If switches cannot be done freely among these devices, much inconvenience will come to the user.

An earphone disclosed in US Patent Application US 2004/0209569 published on Oct. 21, 2004 may selectively receive a desired speech program from a plurality of APs (access points) connected to a server subsystem. The plurality of access points each obtain a speech program from their own audio source device, and all the APs and the earphone are in the same network and all the APs communicate with the earphone by choosing a different channel through a manually operated switch of the earphone.

In the above-mentioned network architecture, the control nodes in the network shall be able to recognize all the audio source devices and communicate with them, which makes the network relatively complex (for example, with an additional multiplexer). And it is not flexible for the audio source devices or the APs to be added in or disconnected from the network. Besides, when an audio source device is in an activated state, the corresponding access point should be turned on, which is undesired for the sake of saving electricity of the access point.

In view of the above, the above-mentioned techniques cannot support the plurality of audio source devices conveniently and are power consuming and inconvenient in use. Therefore, it is desired to provide a simple, convenient and power-saving audio rendering device which may also support a plurality of audio source devices and switch among them freely.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a multiple-source signal rendering device in which the user may selectively switch signals among a plurality of signal source devices with great flexibility and convenience.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, a multiple-source signal rendering device for selectively rendering a signal from one of a plurality of signal source devices comprises an interface for receiving signals from at least two of the signal source devices; a signal source device controller for selecting a signal from the at least two signals according to a selective message; and a rendering device for rendering the selected signal.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, the multiple-source signal rendering device (such as a Bluetooth earphone) provides great convenience for users. The number of signal (such as audio signal) source devices that it supports at a time may vary in a range at will, and the users may switch among the signal source devices with great flexibility. In addition, the signal source device will only communicate mutually with the multiple-source signal rendering device while the signal source devices are not required to recognize each other. Accordingly, the network structure becomes relatively simple. Furthermore, through the editable predetermined strategy and the setting of a priority list, signals (such as calls and appointments) sent by an important signal source device will not be missed. Besides, the multiple-source signal rendering device of the present invention only makes little modification to the currently available hardware, whereby only a relatively low cost is needed. An overall understanding to the objects and effectiveness of the present invention will become apparent from the following description and claims with reference to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 depicts a schematic diagram of a wireless network system according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 depicts a structural schematic diagram of a wireless audio rendering device according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 depicts a flow chart of a rendering process of a wireless audio data according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 depicts a flow chart of adding a plurality of audio source devices to an audio source device list in a Bluetooth network according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 depicts a flow chart of transmitting audio data to a wireless audio rendering device when the wireless audio rendering device is idle according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 depicts a flow chart of transmitting audio data to a wireless audio rendering device when the wireless audio rendering device is occupied by another audio source device according to one embodiment of the present invention. In all the above-mentioned accompanying drawings, like reference numerals are used for identifying the same, similar or corresponding features and functions.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The technical solution of the present invention will be illustrated in detail with combination of several embodiments of the present invention. In one embodiment of the present invention, the multiple-source signal rendering device is illustrated by a wireless audio rendering device as an example. A wireless audio rendering device, such as an earphone, a loudspeaker box and the like, is no longer only an accessory with rendering functions, but also controls a plurality of audio source devices within the overall network. The plurality of audio source devices may be switched freely through the wireless audio rendering device in the embodiment of the present invention with greatest flexibility and convenience. Referring to FIG. 1, a schematic diagram of a wireless network system according to one embodiment of the present invention. The system sends audio data of three (or more) audio source devices to a wireless audio rendering device 100 and can be automatically switched among the audio source devices.

For the convenience of illustration, the wireless communication protocol among the components of the wireless audio transmitting system shown in FIG. 1 is a Bluetooth protocol. It should be noted that other protocols used for a short distance wireless communication, such as Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11b protocol), ZigBee (IEEE 802.15.4 protocol), Ultra Wide Band protocol or NFC (Near Field Communication) protocol, may also be applied to the wireless communication of the technical solution of the present invention. Through the following teachings of the present invention, those of ordinary skill in the art may easily extend the technical solution of the present invention to other fields of wireless communication. However, the extension shall also fall into the scope of the following claims.

As shown in FIG. 1, the wireless network system comprises a wireless audio rendering device 100, a first audio source device 110, a second audio source device 120 and a third audio source device 130, wherein the wireless audio rendering device 100 is an earphone, the first audio source device 110 is a mobile phone, the second audio source device 120 is an MP3 player and the third audio source device 130 is a PDA.

Each device of the wireless network system (such as Bluetooth piconet system) comprises a wireless interface (such as a Bluetooth interface). An independent Bluetooth piconet is set up by using each of the audio source devices as a master unit according to the Bluetooth protocol, thereby forming a Bluetooth Scatternet. The wireless audio rendering device 100 is added to each of Bluetooth piconets of the audio source devices 110, 120 and 130 as a slave unit, so that the audio source devices 110, 120 and 130 can send audio data to the wireless audio rendering device 100.

The wireless audio rendering device 100 in FIG. 1 may play different roles in different piconets. For example, it acts as the first slave unit in the piconet where the first audio source device 110 is in, the second slave unit in the piconet where the second audio source device 120 is in, and the third slave unit in the piconet where the third audio source device 130 is in.

The piconet of each audio source device may also comprise other slave units, such as the first slave unit 140 (such as a stereo system) in the piconet of the second audio source device 120 and the first slave unit 150 (such as a desktop mini stereo system) as well as the second slave unit 160 (such as a display) in the third audio source device 130.

In a piconet, a master unit may communicate with all the slave units while the slave units usually cannot communicate with each other. According to one embodiment of the present invention, the wireless audio rendering device 100 is added to the piconet of the audio source device as a slave unit and as a slave unit of many other piconets simultaneously.

For a Bluetooth protocol, if a device has no data to transmit for a long time, it may switch into a "sniff', "hold" or "park" state. That is, the device may "sleep" so as to save electrical power consumption and alleviate the processing load. Since only slave units may "sleep", the wireless audio rendering device 100 is added to all the piconets as a slave unit and may be switched into a "sleep" state when no data is transmitted for a long time so as to save electrical power consumption and alleviate the processing load, as shown in the embodiment of FIG. 1.

Referring to FIG. 2, a structural schematic diagram of a wireless audio rendering device according to one embodiment of the present invention.

The wireless audio rendering device comprises a wireless interface 200, an audio source device controller 210 and a loudspeaker 220. The loudspeaker 220 is coupled to the wireless interface 200 to render audio data from the wireless interface 200. The audio source device controller 210 is also coupled to the wireless interface 200, through which the audio source device controller 210 controls and selects the audio source device and outputs the selected audio data of the audio source device. The wireless interface 200 may communicate with all the audio source devices. Thus, when the wireless interface 200 is occupied by one audio source device, it still can receive other render requests.

The audio source device controller 210 may have an audio source device list containing all the audio source devices which can communicate with the wireless interface 200.

When an audio source device is activated to request the wireless audio rendering device to render the audio data of the audio source device, the wireless interface 200 forwards the request to the audio source device controller 210. The audio source device controller 210 then determines whether the audio data of the audio source device can be rendered or not and sends the result back to the wireless interface 200. If the rendering is agreed, the request will be accepted by the wireless interface 200 and the audio data from the audio source device will be received and forwarded to the loudspeaker 220 for rendering. If the rendering is refused, the request will be refused by the wireless interface 200.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, the audio source device controller 210 makes a judgment based on a predetermined strategy stored in a predetermined strategy storage device 230. The predetermined strategy may comprise a strategy database or some judgment criteria, so as to perform particular actions upon particular requests. For example, a judgment criterion of the strategy may be "accept the request whenever a call comes" or "refuse the request whenever a reminder of an Email comes".

According to one embodiment of the present invention, the predetermined strategy may further comprise a priority strategy. The priority strategy may be a priority list. The priority levels of the audio source devices are described in the priority list. For example, the priority list may be set as follows: an incoming call > (">" means that the priority level is superior to) an appointment reminder from PDA or PC > a short message from mobile phone > a remainder of an e-mail from PDA > music from the MP3 rendering device, and so on. For example, the predetermined strategy of the priority list may be: if the current wireless audio rendering device is idle, the request of the audio source device at any priority level can be received; if the current wireless audio rendering device is occupied by an audio source device, when the audio source device controller receives a render request from a second audio source device, the priority levels of the two audio source devices will be compared. If the priority level of the current audio source device is superior, the new render request will be refused; if the priority level of the current audio source device is inferior, the new render request will be accepted, so the current linkage will be disconnected and a new linkage will be connected to the second audio source device and the audio data of the second audio source device will be rendered. The predetermined strategy of the wireless audio rendering device may be modified or set by users themselves. As shown in FIG. 2, according to one embodiment of the present invention, the wireless audio rendering device further comprises a user interface 240 for receiving the input of the user so that the user may create or edit the predetermined strategy through the user interface 240.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, the user interface 240 may be a physical key in combination with a display screen (not shown). The user completes the setting of predetermined strategy of the audio source device following the prompts on the display screen. According to another embodiment of the present invention, the user interface 240 may also be incorporated into the wireless interface 200. The user may complete the settings through the wireless interface 200 by the software running on the PDA or PC. It should be noted to those skilled in the art that the wireless audio rendering device according to one embodiment of the present invention may also be implemented in a wired network such as Internet or local network Intranet and so on. In this case, the interface of the wireless audio rendering device may be a wired network interface.

It should be noted to those skilled in the art that the wireless audio rendering device according to one embodiment of the present invention may be changed and modified according to the content and disclosure of the present invention without departing from the scope of the present invention so that it can be used for rendering video data. In that case, the rendering device may be a display device.

Referring to FIG. 3, a flow chart of a rendering process of wireless audio data according to one embodiment of the present invention.

In a system with a plurality of audio source devices, each audio source device is coupled to the wireless audio rendering device through the wireless network. When these audio source devices are in a non-working state, i.e., when no audio data is required to transmit to the wireless audio rendering device, the audio source device is in a non- activated state; otherwise, it is in an activated state.

When the wireless audio rendering device is turned on, it first searches all the audio source devices, so that later it can deal with requests from all the audio source devices. As shown in FIG. .3, in Step S300, a plurality of audio source devices are added to the audio source device list in the wireless audio rendering device, i.e., "identifying" each audio source device.

In Step S310, when an audio source device is activated, determining whether to render the audio data of the activated audio source device or not, i.e., the controller in the wireless audio rendering device determines whether the audio data sent by the audio source device is allowed to be rendered by the wireless audio rendering device or not. In Step S320, if the rendering request is accepted, the audio data of the audio source device is received by the wireless interface in the wireless audio rendering device and sent to the loudspeaker for rendering. In Step S330, if the rendering request is refused, a refusal signal is sent to the audio source device.

Referring to FIG. 4, a flow chart of adding a plurality of audio source devices to the audio source device list in a Bluetooth network according to one embodiment of the present invention. In Step S410, the wireless audio rendering device searches if there is a new Bluetooth piconet or not. For a Bluetooth network, each piconet is set up by a master unit. At the very beginning, all the Bluetooth devices are in a standby state and there is no coupling therebetween, but they are all monitoring the request for setting up a network. If a Bluetooth device is desired to set up a network coupling, it sends an inquiry request to all the other Bluetooth devices and the other Bluetooth devices respond to this request. In this way, a Bluetooth piconet is set up with the Bluetooth device that sends the inquiry request as a master unit.

Based on the above-mentioned process, according to one embodiment of the present invention, in Step S410, the step of searching if there is a new audio source device may comprise the step of searching all the Bluetooth piconets and determining whether the master unit of the Bluetooth piconet has been recorded in the audio source device list. If it has not been recorded, it is indicated that there is a new Bluetooth piconet, and Step S420 is proceeded to. In Step S420, whether the master unit of the Bluetooth piconet belongs to the user is determined. That is, whether the user is authorized to communicate with the master unit of the Bluetooth piconet is determined. As the wireless network communication is adopted, a corresponding authentication is rather necessary. In Step S430, the wireless audio rendering device is added to the new Bluetooth piconet. According to one embodiment of the present invention, the wireless audio rendering device is added to the Bluetooth piconet as a slave unit. In Step S440, the wireless audio rendering device adds the audio source device to the audio source device list. The wireless audio rendering device is required to know not only the name or codename of the new audio source device, but also the information such as the network address (e.g.,

Bluetooth address) of the audio source device and its type or predetermined strategy.

After Step S440 has been completed, Step S410, where the next new Bluetooth piconet is being searched for, is proceeded to. If no new Bluetooth piconet is found, turns to Step S450, and the wireless audio source device is in a "wait" state. The wireless audio source device may continue to monitor whether there is a new audio source device or not when it is in a "wait" state. For example, the above-mentioned steps S420 to S450 are repeated after a certain time period. Referring to FIG. 5, a flow chart of transmitting audio data to the wireless audio rendering device according to one embodiment of the present invention when the wireless audio rendering device is idle. In this embodiment, all the audio source devices are supposed to have been added to the audio source device list.

In Step S500, an audio source device is activated. That is, its audio data is expected to be transmitted to the wireless audio rendering device. For example, when a call comes in, a mobile phone is activated; or when it is time for an appointment reminder, the PDA or PC for giving such a reminder is activated.

In Step S510, the wireless audio rendering device receives the request from the audio source device. According to one embodiment of the present invention, the request may comprise the name or codename (for example mobile phone or PDA) and type (for example a call or a short message) of the audio source device. It may even comprise the emergency or priority level of the request.

In Step S520, determining whether the user has already had a predetermined strategy for the audio source device. If affirmative, whether the strategy accepts or refuses the rendering request, in Step S540 is determined. If the render request is accepted, in Step

S560, the request is accepted and the audio data from the audio source device is received, and then the user starts to use the audio source device in Step S580. If the render request is refused, in Step S570, a response of refusal is simply sent to the audio source device, and then in Step S590, the rendering request of the audio source device is refused. According to one embodiment of the present invention, the refused audio source device may be changed to a non-activated state.

If there is no predetermined strategy in the audio source device in Step S520, the user will be reminded in Step S530. The reminder may comprise the name or codename and type of the audio source device. Then in Step S550, the wireless audio rendering device determines whether the user should accept or refuse the reminder. If the reminder is accepted, Step S560 is proceeded to. The request is accepted and the audio data from the audio source device is received, and then in Step S580, the user starts to use the audio source device. If the reminder is refused, proceed to Step S570. A response of refusal is sent to the audio source device, and then in Step S590, the rendering request of the audio source device is refused.

Referring to FIG.6, a flow chart of transmitting audio data to the wireless audio rendering device when the wireless audio rendering device has been occupied by another audio source device according to one embodiment of the present invention. In the present embodiment, all the audio source devices are supposed to have been added to the audio source device list.

In Step S600, an audio source device is activated, that is, audio data is expected to be transmitted to the wireless audio rendering device. For example, when a call comes in, a mobile phone is activated; or when it is time for an appointment reminder, the PDA or PC for giving such a reminder is activated.

In Step S610, the wireless audio rendering device receives a request from the newly activated audio source device. In Step S620, the priority levels of the currently rendered audio source device and the newly activated audio source device are compared according to the audio source device priority list. If the priority level of the newly activated audio source device is superior to or the same as that of the currently rendered audio source device, proceed to Step S630; otherwise, proceed to Step S680, and a signal of refusal will be sent to the newly activated audio source device.

In Step S630, whether the user has already had a predetermined strategy for the audio source device is determined. If affirmative, whether the strategy accepts or refuses the render request in Step S650 is determined. If the render request is accepted, the request is accepted and the audio data from the audio source device is received in Step S670. Then in Step S690, the wireless audio rendering device starts to render the audio data of the new audio source device. If the render request is refused in Step S650, a response of refusal will be sent to the audio source device in Step S680, and then in Step S695, the wireless audio rendering device continues rendering the audio data of the original audio source device. According to one embodiment of the present invention, the refused audio source device may be changed into a non-activated state.

If there is no predetermined strategy for the audio source device in Step S630, the wireless audio rendering device will turn down the volume of the rendered audio data and give a reminder of the new audio source device to the user in Step S640. Then in Step S660, the wireless audio rendering device determines whether the user should accept or refuse the reminder. If the reminder is accepted, proceeding to Step S670. The request is accepted and the audio data from the audio source device is received, and then in Step S690, the wireless audio rendering device starts to render the audio data of the new audio source device. If the reminder is refused, proceeding to Step S680. A response of refusal will be sent to the audio source device, and then in Step S695, the wireless audio rendering device continues rendering the audio data of the original audio source device.

If the user starts to use the new audio source device, the wireless audio rendering device may send a message, i.e., quit or pause, to the original audio source device. When the original audio source device receives the quit signal, it changes into a non-activated state, for example, the mobile phone being hung up or the MP3 rendering device being stopped. If the user wants to reuse the original audio source device, he/she has to turn on the device again. When the original audio source device receives a pause signal, a varied processing will be made depending on the type of the original audio source device, for example, the mobile phone will hold the line temporarily or the MP3 rendering device will turn to a pause state. Once the rendering of the new audio source device ends, the original audio source device will be reconnected to the wireless audio rendering device.

According to the embodiments of the present invention, the wireless audio rendering device provides great convenience to the user. The audio source device utilizing the Bluetooth technology may compose a Bluetooth piconet with no more than seven other Bluetooth equipment, so that a Bluetooth equipment (such as Bluetooth earphone) may belong to eight different piconets simultaneously, and furthermore, the user may switch among the audio source devices freely, which has provided a great flexibility. In addition, the audio source device only communicates with the wireless audio rendering device mutually, and the audio source devices are not required to know each other. Therefore, the network is relatively simple. Furthermore, important calls and appointments will not be missed by setting an editable predetermined strategy and a priority list.

The content and features of the technology of the present invention have been disclosed as the above description; however, numerous alternatives and modifications may be made based on the description and disclosure of the present invention by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the following claims. Accordingly, the scope of the present invention should not be limited to the embodiments described herein; instead, all the alternatives and modifications of the present invention without departing from the scope of the present invention shall be contemplated in the following claims.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. A multiple- source signal rendering device for selectively rendering a signal from one of a plurality of signal source devices, comprising: an interface for receiving signals from at least two of the signal source devices; a signal source device controller for selecting a signal from the at least two signals according to a selective message; and a rendering device for rendering the selected signal.

2. The device according to claim 1, wherein the interface comprises a wireless interface.

3. The device according to claim 1, wherein the signal comprises at least one audio signal.

4. The device according to claim 3, wherein the rendering device comprises a loudspeaker for rendering the audio signal.

5. The device according to claim 1, wherein the selective message comprises a predetermined strategy, the predetermined strategy comprises priority messages of the multiple signal source devices.

6. The device according to claim 5, wherein the signal source device controller selects a signal from the at least two signals according to the predetermined strategy.

7. The device according to claim 1, further comprising a storage device for storing the selective message.

8. The device according to claim 1, further comprising a user interface for receiving an input of a user so as to create or edit the selective message.