WO2015150725A1

WO2015150725A1 - Information/entertainment system using wireless audio distribution

Info

Publication number: WO2015150725A1
Application number: PCT/GB2015/000113
Authority: WO
Inventors: Werbayne Mcintyre; George Mcintyre
Original assignee: Werbayne Mcintyre
Priority date: 2014-04-03
Filing date: 2015-04-07
Publication date: 2015-10-08
Also published as: GB201505912D0; GB201406012D0; GB2527182A

Abstract

A method is described for transmitting entertainment or information consisting of both visual and audio data derived from a source to a plurality of users, without need for audible broadcasting of the audio data. The visual data is displayed on a visual display comprising one or more monitor display screens visible to the users. Separately, data derived from the audio data is transmitted in Bluetooth format via a scatternet comprising a plurality of personal portable handheld devices and a converter. The converter is coupled to receive the audio data and to convert it to Bluetooth data and configured to transmit the said Bluetooth data as a master in an initial piconet. Each personal portable handheld device, which may be a smartphone a tablet or a laptop, is associated with a respective one of the users, and is enabled both to serve as a slave in one piconet of the scatternet and as a master in another piconet of the scatternet, whereby the users may listen via their personal portable handheld devices to audio associated with the visual data displayed on the visual display.

Description

INFORMATION/ENTERTAINMENT SYSTEM USING WIRELESS

AUDIO DISTRIBUTION

Field of the Disclosure

This disclosure relates to information/entertainment systems.

Systems providing visual and audible entertainment and /or information come in many forms, and include conventional television systems, cinema, and public information systems, for example, at airports and stations.

Background to the Disclosure

In pubs, airport lounges, shop windows, airplanes, waiting rooms, buses, trains, and even at home, there are times where a monitor is displaying some video source but where it is either preferable not to, or inappropriate to, set the sound to audible levels.

Perhaps setting audible sound levels will disturb other people in the vicinity, or perhaps the ambient noise levels are too high to allow the audio to be heard. The monitor may be behind a shop window, or in a quiet zone. Whatever the reason there are many circumstances where it would be preferable to have the sound transmitted directly to the listeners who are interested and no one else. This has previously been realized for audio alone for so-called "silent discos", where patrons hire a set of headphones which may be tuned to often one of several alternative broadcast disco tunes, with the result that only the headphone wearer can hear audible sound.

It is Applicant's belief that up to now, in situations where a visual display appears publically on a monitor screen, for example in a bar or on a station concourse, even though there may be audio associated with the visual display, it will either be turned off or broadcast by loudspeakers at only a low volume so that only those members of the public sufficiently close to the speakers can hear the audio. In a bar, where there may be several monitor screens tuned to different channels, all are usually silent. Summary of the Disclosure

Applicant has sought to overcome this problem and to enable audio to be heard by those members of the public who wish to do so in such situations, without disturbing

l others who may not wish to hear the audio concerned, The present disclosure has arisen from Applicant's work to this end.

In accordance with one aspect of this disclosure, there is provided: an information/entertainment system for simultaneous use by a plurality of users, the system comprising: a plurality of Bluetooth-enabled portable handheld devices, each device being associated with one said user, each said device being selected from smartphones, tablets and laptops; a visual display comprising at least one monitor display screen, the visual display being positioned for simultaneous viewing by said plurality of users; an electronic device adapted to input a signal comprising a stream of visual and audio data, and to output at least said visual data to said visual display; a converter coupled directly or indirectly to the electronic device, and adapted to transmit a Bluetooth signal corresponding to the said audio data in a piconet; each said portable handheld device being enabled both to receive a Bluetooth signal as a slave in a piconet and to transmit a corresponding Bluetooth signal as a master in another piconet, whereby said plurality of handheld devices form a scatternet.

Bluetooth is a wireless technology standard (developed from IEEE 802.15.1) for exchanging data over short distances using UHF radio waves generally in the ISM band from 2.4 to 2.485 GHz. There are a number of versions of the Bluetooth Specification, and different implementations may use various of the protocols available in the Bluetooth protocol stack. However, the creation of a piconet in which a Bluetooth-enabled device may serve as one of master or a slave, and in which the master can transmit simultaneously to up to seven slaves is a feature generally present.

The information/entertainment system may have one or more of the following features: The electronic device to which the signal including both visual and audio data may be inputted may be a receiver adapted to receive a television signal from a source, which may be directly from an aerial or via a decoder box, or a television apparatus or home cinema apparatus adapted to receive a signal from a source in the form of a disc, tape or other recording medium player, or a drive-in movie apparatus. The monitor display screen may take any of the conventional display screen formats. The converter may be coupled into the stream of visual and audio data either upstream or downstream of the electronic device. Thus, it may take the form of a device attached in line between a decoder, such as a satellite signal decoder box and a television apparatus, or between a disc player and a television apparatus. Such coupling may suitably be by HDMI cables and male and female sockets or by male and female SCART connectors. The converter suitably converts the default LPCM stereo audio stream from the HDMI or SCART cable, and transmits the converted signal as a streamed Bluetooth audio net (hereafter: "SBAN") signal, the converter serving as a master in a piconet. Alternatively, the converter may be coupled to television apparatus, serving as the said electronic device, to receive an output from the television apparatus in digital audio, optical or audio return channel (ARC) format and derived from audio data in the input signal to the television apparatus, from which output, the converter is arranged to transmit a converted signal as a SBAN signal. In either event, a number of Bluetooth-enabled portable handheld devices in range may simultaneously receive the SBAN signal directly from the converter, each such handheld device being provided with software, suitably downloaded from an app store or pre- installed on the device, that enables the handheld device to scan for SBAN broadcasts. Where more than one available master is within range, the software may select among the available masters, the one with the fewest nodes separating it from the converter or the one transmitting at the highest power. Since the handheld devices are not fixed in position, the system is dynamic, the software, in addition to enabling a particular said handheld device to serve as a slave to receive the audio data and as a master to retransmit that data, causing the device to page other such devices in range to establish whether a better connection to a different master with fewer nodes separating it from the converter or with higher power is available rather than its current master and to seamlessly switch masters accordingly. The downloaded app enables the portable handheld device to establish a Bluetooth connection with a master in one piconet, the handheld device then serving as a slave, and also enabling the handheld device to serve as a master to retransmit the SBAN signal simultaneously to up to seven handheld devices of other users in a further piconet, thus forming a scattemet.

Each hop in the scatternet from one Bluetooth-enabled portable handheld device to another, including the reception of the audio signal in one piconet and re-transmission of the audio signal in another piconet will introduce a small delay. After several hops, the delay may be significant, being noticeable to a user as audio out of sync with the visual display. Accordingly, in the most preferred arrangement, this is compensated for by deliberate introduction of a buffering delay in the visual data passing to the visual display, the buffering delay corresponding to the delay apparent at the estimated maximum number of hops in the scattemet, and by transmitting the Bluetooth audio signal from the converter together with a digital countdown signal determining a level of audio delay by which the audio signal is to be buffered in a receiving Bluetooth-enabled portable handheld device in the scattemet, the countdown signal being reduced by one at each retransmission from a Bluetooth-enabled portable handheld device in the scattemet.

In a second and alternative aspect cf this disclosure, entertainment or information consisting of both visual and audio data derived from a source is transmitted to a plurality of users, without need for audible broadcasting of the audio data, by a method in which the visual data is displayed on one or more monitor display screens visible to the users while data derived from the audio data is separately transmitted in Bluetooth format via a scattemet formed by personal portable handheld devices associated with the users and a converter coupled to receive the audio data and to convert it to Bluetooth data transmitted as a master in an initial piconet, each such personal handheld device being enabled both to serve as a slave in one piconet of the scattemet and as a master in another piconet of the scattemet, whereby the users may listen via their personal portable handheld devices to audio associated with the visual data displayed on the one or more monitor display screens.

The mesh topology based upon Bluetooth low energy transmission is preferably a concurrent redundant mesh for most circumstances, and a broadcast mesh for when there is a high user density.

Brief Description of the Drawings

Reference may now be made to information/entertainment systems described hereinbelow by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 shows a generally schematic diagram illustrating an embodiment of information/entertainment system;

Fig. 2 shows a simplified circuit diagram of a converter in the system of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 shows a simplified circuit diagram of those parts of a Bluetooth-enabled portable handheld device in the system of Fig. 1 that are of significance in the working of the system as a whole; and Fig. 4 is an illustration of the external appearance of one embodiment of converter that may be employed in the system of Fig. 1.

Description of Preferred Embodiments

In the information/entertainment system illustrated in Fig. 1, a plurality of users 1, each have a Bluetooth-enabled portable handheld device 2, which may be a smartphone, a tablet, notebook or laptop computer. An electronic device 3 receives an input signal including both a visual 4 and audio 5 data stream from a source 6, here by HDMI connections. It will readily be understood that other forms of connection may equally well be employed, including SCART connectors. The source may take many different forms. It may comprise an aerial or a decoder box coupled to an aerial. It may comprise a disc, tape or other recording medium player. Where the system is embodied as a drive-in movie it may comprise the recorded movie. Electronic device 3 has an output 7, here also an HDMI connection, that outputs at least the visual data stream 4 via a converter 8 to a monitor display screen 9. Converter 8 is here shown coupled between electronic device 3, for example television apparatus, and monitor display screen 9, in each case by HDMI connectors, but it may equally well be connected upstream of the television apparatus, and receiving the visual and audio data from, say, a disc player or a satellite decoder box before it passes to the television apparatus, or may be connected to a television apparatus audio output of the digital audio, optical audio or ARC format to receive an output signal derived from the audio data.

Converter 8 is adapted to transmit a Bluetooth signal corresponding to the said audio data in a piconet 10, as explained in more detail below with reference to Fig. 2, and each portable handheld device 2 is enabled both to receive a Bluetooth signal as a slave in a piconet and to transmit a corresponding Bluetooth signal as a master in another piconet, as explained in more detail with reference to Fig. 3, whereby the several handheld devices form a scatternet 11.

Turning now to Figs. 2 and 4, in this embodiment, converter 8 comprises an HDMI "in" coupling 12 for receiving the visual 4 and audio 5 data from electronic device 3, and an HDMI "out" coupling 13 for an HDMI cable connecting to the monitor screen 9. The visual data signal passes through converter 8 unchanged, but preferably subject to a buffering delay, as explained in more detail below. Audio data may also pass through converter 8 to the display monitor, which may incorporate loudspeakers, with the same delay. The HDMI audio data signal line is also coupled to a digital high fidelity codec 14 for decoding the audio data signal. HDMI data contains multiplexed audio and video digital signals. At a minimum the data contains linear pulse-code modulation (LPCM) digital audio data which is extracted in a digital signal processor (DSP) core 15 using an audio de-multiplexer 16.

The LPCM digital audio data is passed to an SB AN application processor 17, which is suitably configured as a small computer with a central processor unit (CPU) 18 and random access memory (RAM), here 256MB DDR SDRAM 19, and persistent storage, here 16GB Flash NAND 20, that takes the extracted audio data and conveys it as an audio stream 21 to a Bluetooth transceiver module 22 based on instructions contained in firmware 23 loaded in the storage memory.

The firmware 23 also controls the Bluetooth station identifier used as the SBAN channel selector. Flash NAND storage 20 receives input from a user via a keypad 24 and keypad controller 25 to select a channel. An LCD display 26 controlled by an LCD controller 27 is used to indicate the selected channel and other information as the user manipulates the keypad 24.

The Bluetooth transceiver module 22 encodes the audio stream 21 using a processor 28 operating under the Advanced Audio Distribution Profile (A2DP) for Bluetooth devices and an audio subband (SBC) codec 29, here operating under the WiFi 805.11η and Bluetooth standards higher than Bluetooth 3.0, and transmits it on a Bluetooth antenna 30. Preferably, the Bluetooth devices operate to Bluetooth 4.1, or more preferably Bluetooth 4.2, standards. Antenna 30 serves as the master node in the primary piconet 10 in the scatternet 11 created by SBAN. It should be noted that the establishment of a scatternet 11 is not due to or controlled by the converter 8, but is solely created, and managed cooperatively by, the participating SBAN Player peers in the form of users and their enabled portable handheld devices 2.

Power is supplied to the unit via a DC Power input 31 and distributed around the system in conventional fashion to power, in particular, the SBAN application processor 17 and the Bluetooth antenna 30. Fig. 3 illustrates how what is in effect a SBAN player may operate on a portable handheld device 2, such as a suitably enabled smartphone. In general devices such as smartphones and tablets, will already include a Bluetooth subsystem. An audio network manager 32 is set up within the portable handheld device by an App downloaded on to the portable handheld device from an App store and allows connection to a selected SBAN channel. The audio network manager 32 does this by using the Bluetooth subsystem to scan for Bluetooth devices that have the standard SBAN prefix and are publishing availability of SBAN service. The user will be shown the list and may select the desired channel using a keypad or touchscreen of the device 2. Each piconet 10, 10a, 10b,... taking part in the scatternet 11 will be named appropriately and filtered accordingly so that the channel will show as a single SBAN channel to the user.

The audio network manager 32 will then establish a Bluetooth link to the scatternet via a scatternet administrator 33. The scatternet administrator 33 determines which node to connect to based upon a set of rules including proximity, load and availability. Once such a link has been established, an audio processor 34 in the portable handheld device can connect to an incoming audio stream 35 from Bluetooth antenna 30 of the portable handheld device to decode the digital audio stream using an audio codec 36 of the portable handheld device, and then convert it to an analog stereo stream 37 using a stereo digital-to-analogue converter (DAC) 38 of the portable handheld device for output to the device's speaker/headphones 39.

The audio network manager 32 will also create a new piconet of which this device is the master and will retransmit the un-decoded digital audio stream on this new piconet to extend the scatternet 11.

Fig. 4 shows how the converter 8 of Fig. 2 may be configured in practice. It comprises a casing 40 coupled by a flexible cable 41 to an external male HDMI coupling 42 serving as the HDMI "out" coupling 13. The HDMI "in" coupling 12 is a female socket 43 recessed in casing 40. Keypad 24 and LCD display 26 are formed in one face 44 of casing 40. LCD display 26 will normally show the SBAN channel on which the converter 8 is transmitting. A status indicator 45 is provided alongside LCD display 26 and is coupled to the SBAN application processor 17 (Fig. 2).

In use of indicator 45: ^■ A steady blue light means that it converter 8 is connected but no communications are taking place. There is no audio, or audio is muted at source.

^■ A fast flashing light means that converter 8 is transmitting audio data to one or more connected slaves.

■ A slow flashing means that the converter is ready to transmit but no slaves are connected. Audio data is being received but it is not being transmitted.

^■ A red light indicates "Off and means that the converter is not ready to make piconet connections. There may be a fault. No HDMI cable may be connected to the HDMI "in" coupling 12. When a venue administrator wishes to make audio associated with video content being broadcast in his establishment available to customers, for example a barman in a bar with a television set showing a sports fixture, the administrator must first insert a converter 8 in-line with his HDMI input signal to one of his monitors. The administrator connects output socket 46 of a supplied DC power adapter 47 to power socket 30, and configures the channel upon which he wants users to connect to avoid any conflicts. The default channel (0001) will normally be appropriate in non-crowded environments. Once the content is played through the HDMI input 12 to converter 8, the blue indicator lamp 45 will start blinking.

Clients of the establishment will be notified about the availability of SBAN and ihe channel on which it is being broadcast, for example by a printed card placed on or near the monitor, and having an SBAN Logo displayed, together with a QR code, which, when scanned using a camera function of their portable handheld device, connects that device via a mobile phone network to an app store to download the app needed to enable the portable handheld device to connect to the converter 8 and to be incorporated in a scatternet as described above, so that the user can hear the audio through the handheld device. Rather than having to select a channel using a screen of the portable handheld device, the QR code may include the channel number so that clients who already have the app will be automatically connected to the audio stream simply by scanning the code. As will readily be understood, by virtue of the scatternet, users beyond normal Bluetooth range from the converter 8 will still be able to hear the audio on their handheld devices.

In order to compensate for delays resulting from each hop in the scatternet 11 from one Bluetooth-enabled portable handheld device 2 to another, including the delay between reception of the audio signal in one piconet 10 and re-transmission of the audio signal in another piconet 10, a buffering delay is introduced in the visual display and a buffering delay of a varying incremental amount depending on the number of hops is introduced in the audio signal to the earphone or speaker of the user of a particular hand- held device 2. Thus a buffering delay may be deliberately introduced at converter 8 (Fig. 1) in the visual data passing to the visual display 9, the buffering delay corresponding to the delay that would be apparent at the estimated maximum number of hops in the scatternet 11. At the same time the Bluetooth audio signal transmitted from the converter 8 is accompanied by a digital countdown signal. At any receiving portable handheld device 2 in the scatternet 11, the digital countdown signal in the received Bluetooth signal is reduced by one before the Bluetooth signal is re-transmitted in a new piconet 10. The countdown signal in the received signal determines the incremental buffered delay to be applied in that portable handheld device 2 to the audio data passed to its speaker or earphones. The result is that the audio signal received at any particular portable handheld device 2 in the scatternet 11 and the visual display will appear to be substantially in sync to each user in the system.

The available bandwidth for the audio signal is in part determined by the mesh topology adopted for the Bluetooth low energy transmission. A concurrent redundant mesh provides best results under most circumstances, but a broadcast mesh is better when there is a high user density.

Disconnecting the power adapter 47 will turn off the converter, thus destroying the scatternet.

The converter is suitably provided with a factory re-set function, whereby holding down a central "OK" button of keypad 24 for 10 seconds after power is applied until the indicator lamp shows steady blue. On releasing the OK button the device restart with factory settings.

Provision may be made for updating the firmware 23 by connecting a USB drive to a USB port 48 (Fig. 2) coupled via a USB transceiver 49 to the Flash NAND memory. Firmware in the device looks for a correctly formatted drive containing a firmware update bundle of a particular naming convention in the root of the drive. If the connected drive is recognized as an update medium then the LED screen will show the progress of the update and the keypad 24 may be used to confirm the steps of the update process.

Claims

1. An information/entertainment system for simultaneous use by a plurality of users, the system comprising: a plurality of Bluetooth-enabled portable handheld devices, each device being associated with one said user, each said device being selected from smartphones, tablets and laptops; a visual display comprising at least one monitor display screen, the visual display being positioned for simultaneous viewing by said plurality of users; an electronic device adapted to input a signal comprising a stream of visual and audio data, and to output at least said visual data to said visual display; a converter coupled directly or indirectly to the electronic device, and adapted to transmit a Bluetooth signal corresponding to the said audio data in a piconet; each said portable handheld device being enabled both to receive a Bluetooth signal as a slave in a piconet and to transmit a corresponding Bluetooth signal as a master in another piconet, whereby said plurality of handheld devices form a scatternet.

2. An information/entertainment system according to Claim 1, wherein the said electronic device is a receiver adapted to receive a television signal from a source.

3. An information/entertainment system according to Claim 1 or Claim 2, wherein the converter is coupled into the stream of visual and audio data upstream of the electronic device, the converter taking the form of a device attached in line between a decoder and a television apparatus.

4. An information/entertainment system according to Claim 1 or Claim 2, wherein the converter is coupled into the stream of visual and audio data upstream of the electronic device, the converter taking the form of a device attached in line between a disc player and a television apparatus.

5. An information/entertainment system according to any preceding Claim, wherein the converter is coupled into the stream of visual and audio data by HDMI cables and male and female sockets or by male and female SCART connectors.

6. An information/entertainment system according to Claim 5, wherein the converter is adapted to convert a default LPCM stereo audio stream from a HDMI cable or a SCART connector, and to transmit the converted signal as a streamed Bluetooth audio net signal, the converter serving as a master in a piconet.

7. An information/entertainment system according to Claim 1 or Claim 2, wherein the converter is coupled to receive an output in digital audio, optical or audio return channel (ARC) format from a television apparatus, the television apparatus serving as the said electronic device, the output being derived from audio data in the input signal to the television apparatus, the converter being arranged to convert said output and to transmit the converted signal as a streamed Bluetooth audio net signal, the converter serving as a master in a piconet.

8. An information/entertainment system according to any preceding Claim, wherein each said Bluetooth-enabled portable handheld device is provided with software that enables the handheld device to scan for streamed Bluetooth audio net broadcasts.

9. An information/entertainment system according to Claim 8, wherein, when more than one available master is within range, the software enables each said Bluetooth- enabled portable handheld device to select the available master with the fewest nodes separating it from the converter or the available master transmitting at the highest power.

10. An information/entertainment system according to Claim 9, wherein the software is adapted to cause each said Bluetooth-enabled portable handheld device to page other such devices in range to establish whether a better connection to a different master with fewer nodes separating it from the converter or with higher power is available rather than its current master and to seamlessly switch masters accordingly.

11. An information/entertainment system according to any of Claims 8 to 10, wherein the said software is provided as an app downloadable from an app store, or as software pre-installed on a said device.

12. A method for transmitting entertainment or information consisting of both visual and audio data derived from a source to a plurality of users, without need for audible broadcasting of the audio data, the method comprising: displaying the visual data on a visual display comprising at least one monitor display screen visible to the users, and separately transmitting data derived from the audio data in Bluetooth format via a scatternet comprising a plurality of personal portable handheld devices and a converter; the converter being coupled to receive the audio data and to convert it to Bluetooth data and configured to transmit the said Bluetooth data as a master in an initial piconet; each personal portable handheld device being associated with one said user and being enabled both to serve as a slave in one piconet of the scattemet and as a master in another piconet of the scattemet, whereby the users may listen via their personal portable handheld devices to audio associated with the visual data displayed on the at least one monitor display screen.

13. A method according to Claim 12, wherein a buffered delay is introduced into the visual data stream, the delay corresponding to the delay in the audio signal that would be created by the estimated maximum number of hops in the scattemet including delay at a personal portable handheld device between reception of Bluetooth data in one piconet and its re-transmission in another piconet; and wherein the Bluetooth data corresponding to the audio data is accompanied by a digital countdown signal, the digital countdown signal being reduced by one at each personal portable handheld device before re-transmission, the digital countdown signal received by any particular personal portable handheld device in the scattemet determining a level of incremental buffered delay to be applied to audio data in the received data passing as an audio stream to that device so that the visual display and an audio stream derived from the audio data received at said particular device and passed to that device's speaker or earphone appear to the user of that device to be substantially in sync.