A method, system and earphone pair for reducing power consumption

Abstract

This text describes a method for reducing power consumption, including: establishing a TWS connection between multiple sink devices including at least a first sink device and a second sink device, where the sink devices operate in a first operating mode or a second operating mode with power consumption less than the first operating mode; in the first operating mode, establishing a first type of communication flow between the source device and the sink device; in the second operating mode, establishing a second type of communication flow between the source device and the sink device; and during communication between the source device and the first sink device and the second sink device respectively, the first sink device and the second sink device change the operating mode according to the corresponding switching strategy based on changes in the Audio context. The present invention can reduce the power consumption of LE Audio TWS headphones to achieve power saving during calls.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to wireless communication technologies, and particularly to wireless communication between a mobile device and a peripheral device. Background Art

[0002] In recent years, with the development of wireless communication technologies, a brand-new LE Audio Bluetooth audio technology has been proposed, which has attracted the attention of the entire audio industry. Compared with Bluetooth Classic, the LE Audio technology adopts a brand-new coding format LC3 and a synchronization mechanism, and has advantages such as high sound quality, low latency, and low power consumption. Moreover, the technologies of "Multi-Stream Audio" and "Broadcast Audio" are introduced to enable simultaneous connection of multiple receiving devices, which improves stability while reducing latency, thus becoming a new level of Bluetooth audio technology.

[0003] The LE Audio technology is based on Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) wireless communication and can support the same audio products and use cases as Bluetooth Classic. At the same time, it can also improve performance and bring new application scenarios.

[0004] However, in existing technical solutions, for example, in the application scenario of headphones (such as TWS (True Wireless Stereo) headphones), the capability parameters of the two ears (i.e., the left ear and the right ear of a pair of headphones) are the same during initialization. This causes the mobile device to perform undifferentiated operations on the two ears during the process of establishing a call CIS (Connected Isochronous Stream) with the headphones, that is, to simultaneously establish a two-way CIS including uplink communication and downlink communication for the two ears.

[0005] During a call, if the microphone functions (corresponding to uplink communication) and receiving functions (corresponding to downlink communication) of both ears are enabled simultaneously, then it will result in collecting data using two microphones (i.e., the microphone of the left ear and the microphone of the right ear), which will consume double power because the consumption covers the operations of two microphones and the operations of two Bluetooth radio frequency transmissions.

[0006] In fact, for a call, users do not have too high requirements for the experience of the two-ear microphones. When the power of one earphone (left ear or right ear) becomes too low, still enabling the microphone for uplink communication will cause rapid power consumption.

[0007] Therefore, a solution for reducing the power consumption of LE Audio TWS headphones to achieve power saving during a call is needed. Summary of the Invention

[0008] According to one aspect of the present invention, a method for reducing power consumption is described, including: establishing a TWS connection between a plurality of sink devices including at least a first sink device and a second sink device, where the sink devices operate in a first operating mode or a second operating mode with power consumption less than the first operating mode; in the first operating mode, establishing a first type of communication flow between the source device and the sink device; in the second operating mode, establishing a second type of communication flow between the source device and the sink device; and during communication between the source device and the first sink device and the second sink device respectively, the first sink device and the second sink device change their operating modes according to corresponding switching strategies based on context changes.

[0009] In one embodiment, the first sink device and the second sink device changing their operating modes according to corresponding switching strategies based on context changes further includes: the first sink device switching its operating mode from the first operating mode to the second operating mode, and after the operating mode of the first sink device is switched, the communication flow between the source device and the first sink device is changed to the second type of communication flow corresponding to the switched second operating mode; and the second sink device switching its operating mode from the second operating mode to the first operating mode, and after the operating mode of the second sink device is switched, the communication flow between the source device and the second sink device is changed to the first type of communication flow corresponding to the switched first operating mode.

[0010] In one embodiment, the first sink device is one of a pair of earphones, and the second sink device is the other of the pair of earphones.

[0011] In one embodiment, the first operating mode is the master ear mode, and the second operating mode is the slave ear mode.

[0012] In one embodiment, the first type of communication flow is a bidirectional CIS, and the second type of communication flow is a unidirectional CIS.

[0013] In one embodiment, establishing the first type of communication flow between the source device and the sink device includes: the source device obtaining the supported ASE corresponding to the first type of communication flow from the sink device through GATT.

[0014] In one embodiment, establishing the second type of communication flow between the source device and the sink device includes: the source device obtaining the supported ASE corresponding to the second type of communication flow from the sink device through GATT.

[0015] In one embodiment, the supported ASE includes one or more of SNK ASE and SRC ASE.

[0016] In one embodiment, the corresponding handover strategy includes one or more of the following: an RSSI-based handover strategy; a power-based handover strategy; and a wearing state-based handover strategy.

[0017] According to another aspect of the present invention, a system for reducing power consumption is described, including: a source device; a plurality of sink devices including at least a first sink device and a second sink device, a TWS connection is established between the sink devices, and the sink devices operate in a first operating mode or a second operating mode with power consumption less than the first operating mode; wherein, in the first operating mode, the source device is configured to establish a first type of communication flow with the sink device, and in the second operating mode, the source device is configured to establish a second type of communication flow with the sink device, and wherein during the communication between the source device and the first sink device and the second sink device respectively, the first sink device and the second sink device change the operating mode according to the corresponding handover strategy based on the change of context.

[0018] In one embodiment, the first sink device and the second sink device change the operating mode according to the corresponding handover strategy based on the change of context further includes: the first sink device switches its operating mode from the first operating mode to the second operating mode, and after the operating mode of the first sink device is switched, the communication flow between the source device and the first sink device is changed to the second type of communication flow corresponding to the switched second operating mode; and the second sink device switches its operating mode from the second operating mode to the first operating mode, and after the operating mode of the second sink device is switched, the communication flow between the source device and the second sink device is changed to the first type of communication flow corresponding to the switched first operating mode.

[0019] In one embodiment, the first operating mode is the master ear mode, and the second operating mode is the slave ear mode.

[0020] In one embodiment, the first type of communication flow is a bidirectional CIS, and the second type of communication flow is a unidirectional CIS.

[0021] In one embodiment, the corresponding handover strategy includes one or more of the following: an RSSI-based handover strategy; a power-based handover strategy; and a wearing state-based handover strategy.

[0022] According to another aspect of the present invention, a pair of earphones for reducing power consumption is described, including: a first earphone that operates in a first operating mode and establishes a first type of communication stream corresponding to the first operating mode with a mobile device; a second earphone that operates in a second operating mode with power consumption less than the first operating mode and establishes a second type of communication stream corresponding to the second operating mode with the mobile device, wherein a TWS connection is established between the first earphone and the second earphone, and wherein the first earphone and the second earphone switch operating modes based on changes in context. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0023] In the drawings (which are not necessarily drawn to scale), the same numbers may describe similar components in different views. The same numbers with different letter suffixes may represent different instances of similar components. Some embodiments are illustrated by way of example and not limitation in the figures of the accompanying drawings, wherein:

[0024] Figure 1 A scheme of enabling two-way CIS for both ears simultaneously is exemplified.

[0025] Figure 2A It is a schematic diagram illustrating the communication between the left ear and the right ear in a pair of earphones in a binaural mode with a mobile device respectively.

[0026] Figure 2B It is a schematic diagram illustrating the master-slave switch between the left ear and the right ear in a pair of earphones according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0027] Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram illustrating a method for implementing the master-slave switch of an earphone according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0028] Figure 4 It is a schematic diagram illustrating a method for establishing communication between two earphones in a pair of earphones and a mobile device respectively according to an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0029] Embodiments of the present invention relate to LE Audio Bluetooth technology. LE Audio Bluetooth technology currently defines related specifications and protocols, including:

[0030] · Basic Audio Profile (BAP): The basic audio specification, which is a key specification of LE Audio, defines various roles and the capabilities that each role needs to support, as well as how to use each service to complete the transmission of audio applications. LE Audio supports point-to-point (unicast) audio mode and broadcast audio mode; in these two modes, different services can be used;

[0031] ·Published Audio Capabilities Service (PACS): The published audio capabilities service; this service defines the audio capabilities supported by this device, including but not limited to the number of supported codecs and each codec's capabilities. Through this service, the audio capabilities of the device can be obtained;

[0032] ·Audio Stream Control Service (ASCS): The audio stream control service, which defines a set of operation instructions for establishing, configuring, and closing an audio stream;

[0033] ·Broadcast Audio Scan Service (BASS): The broadcast audio scan service, which is used for a broadcast audio publisher to inform surrounding receivers of broadcast audio parameters; and

[0034] ·Low Complexity Comunication Codec (LC3): The low complexity communication codec, which is an audio codec for LE Audio. The LC3 encoder has a wide range of optional parameters and supports applications from 8KHz mono voice to 48KHZ multi-channel music. At the same time, compared with the SBC encoder used in the classic Bluetooth audio specification, the audio quality is greatly improved at the same bit rate.

[0035] In the LE Audio Bluetooth technology, when operating in unicast mode, the master device (e.g., a mobile device) discovers the PACS service of the slave device (e.g., headphones) through GATT service discovery operations and learns the audio parameters. And the master device discovers the ASCS service of the slave device through GATT service discovery operations and learns its current state.

[0036] GATT refers to the GATT (Generic Attribute Profile) protocol, which is a general specification for sending and receiving very short data segments. Currently, GATT is built on top of the low-power BLE Bluetooth connection. Specifically, GATT defines that two BLE devices communicate through a Service and a Client.

[0037] If the master device finds that the audio parameters of the slave device match and the state of the slave device is in the IDLE state, it can connect to the audio service.

[0038] Subsequently, the master device configures the audio codec parameters and audio transmission parameters through the operation codes defined by ASCS, and then turns on the audio. Specifically, the master device opens the CIS audio transmission stream at the link layer according to the configuration parameters in the way defined by the Bluetooth core protocol.

[0039] The slave device notifies the master device that the audio is receivable through the state of the ASE defined in the ASCS. Once the notification is received, the master device turns on the LC3 codec and transmits the encoded audio stream to the slave device through the CIS. Once the slave device receives the audio stream, it can be decoded and played.

[0040] In the LE Audio Bluetooth technology, the PACS service is used for the unicast audio mode and defines the audio capabilities of the slave device. For example, the PACS service defines the following attributes, including but not limited to: Sink PAC (Sink Device PAC), Sink AudioLocations (Sink Device Audio Locations), Source PAC (Source Device PAC), Source Audio Locations (Source Device Audio Locations), Available Source / Sink Audio Contexts (Available Audio Contexts), SupportedSource / SinkAudio Contexts (Supported Audio Contexts), and so on.

[0041] The attribute Source PAC is an audio transmission capability attribute and needs to be defined only when the device supports audio transmission. The attribute Sink PAC is an audio reception capability attribute and needs to be defined only when the device supports audio reception.

[0042] Note: In this article, the terms "master device / source device" refer to the sender of information, while the terms "slave device / sink device" refer to the receiver of information; and, in some embodiments, the term "master device" and the term "source device" can be used interchangeably, and the term "slave device" and the term "sink device" can be used interchangeably; in addition, it should be understood that this is only exemplary and not restrictive.

[0043] In the LE Audio Bluetooth technology, the ASCS service is used for audio control and interacts through a set of defined operation codes to achieve the purpose of controlling the audio state transition. For example, the ASCS service defines the following attributes, including but not limited to: Sink ASE (Sink Audio Stream Endpoint), Source ASE, ASE Control Point, and so on.

[0044] In the LE Audio Bluetooth technology, BASS is a broadcast audio scan service used to inform some parameters of the broadcast audio and belongs to an auxiliary service. For example, the BASS service defines the following attributes, including but not limited to: Broadcast Audio ScanControl Point, Broadcast Receive State, and so on.

[0045] In LE Audio Bluetooth technology, LC3 refers to the audio codec for LE Audio. Similar to MP3 and AAC, it belongs to frequency-domain coding.

[0046] LE Audio Bluetooth technology also involves Multi-Stream Audio. The Multi-Stream Audio technology enables multiple independent audio streams (CIS) to be established separately between a mobile phone and one or more headphone pairs (where each headphone pair includes a left ear and a right ear).

[0047] In addition, the solution of this application also involves TWS (True Wireless Stereo) headphones, which can achieve wireless separation of the left and right Bluetooth channels. The core principle of TWS technology is to divide the speakers into a main speaker (TWSMaster) and a slave speaker (TWS Slave). The main speaker is a speaker that can receive the audio and streaming media control signals transmitted by devices such as smartphones and laptop computers (sound sources) and transmit the audio to other TWS devices. The slave speaker refers to a speaker that can receive audio from the main speaker. TWS technology enables the audio to be transmitted from the main speaker to the slave speaker, realizing synchronous playback of the audio in two separate speakers, and thus realizing a stereo effect. In addition, in addition to the foregoing operation modes, TWS technology may also include: a slave ear monitoring mode; and a multi-connection mode, which is similar to the LE Audio technology described herein, where the mobile phone can establish two connections with two headphones respectively.

[0048] As described above, since the LE Audio Bluetooth technology introduces "Multi-Stream Audio", compared with the previous protocols, by using the LE Audio Bluetooth technology, two independent audio streams (CIS) can be established separately between a mobile phone and a headphone pair (for example, the left and right ear devices of the headphone pair). And these two audio streams can be independently controlled and can also be synchronized, such as the synchronization of the upstream audio stream and the downstream audio stream, thus bringing a new audio experience to TWS headphones.

[0049] In some embodiments of the present invention, after the mobile device and the headphone pair (specifically, the left and right ears of the headphone pair) establish a connection, the mobile device can read the PACS of the headphones through GATT to obtain the capabilities supported by the headphone audio. The obtained capabilities supported by the headphones may include but are not limited to; MEDIA (that is, whether media playback is supported), CONVERSATIONAL (that is, whether a call is supported), GAME and other supported capabilities, etc.

[0050] As described above, the attributes defined by the PACS service include Supported (Source / Sink) Audio Contexts and Available (Source / Sink) Audio Contexts. These two attributes can be used together as a reference for establishing a stream on the mobile device. Among them, the attribute Supported Audio Contexts indicates the capabilities supported by the headset, while the attribute Available Audio Contexts indicates the capabilities currently available on the headset.

[0051] For example, in some implementation cases, after the mobile device establishes a BLE connection with the headset and finds that the Source Available Audio Context of the headset supports CONVERSATIONAL (call) and the Sink Available Audio Context also supports CONVERSATIONAL (call), the mobile device can perform the call function in two-way CIS. When the Source Available Context is set to 0x0000, that is, the Source does not support the phone function, but the Sink still has the call capability, which realizes one-way CIS.

[0052] As described above, during a call, the microphones (upstream) and receivers (downstream) of the left and right ears of the headset pair are configured to be enabled simultaneously, which causes the two microphones to always perform data collection, thus consuming double the power consumption. In fact, for a call, if the user has low requirements for the experience of the binaural microphones, and when the battery of one headset (left or right ear) becomes too low, still enabling the microphone for upstream communication will cause the battery to be quickly depleted. Therefore, to overcome the above defects, the present application proposes a solution for saving power during calls of LE Audio TWS headsets, which reduces power consumption by dynamically controlling the microphones of the headset pair to achieve power saving during calls.

[0053] Figure 1 An example of a solution for enabling two-way CIS for both ears simultaneously is shown. As Figure 1 shown, both the left and right ears of the headset pair establish a two-way CIS including upstream communication and downstream communication with the mobile device. Specifically, when the left and right ears of the headset pair are initialized, they are configured with the same capability parameters, so that the mobile device performs indistinguishable operations on both ears during the process of establishing a call CIS, that is, establishes a two-way CIS including upstream communication and downstream communication with both ears respectively.

[0054] As described above, in a scenario where the left and right ears of a pair of earphones establish two-way CIS with a mobile device without distinction, since both the left and right ears enable uplink communication, the microphones of the left and right ears are always in a working state (i.e., always collecting data); at the same time, the uplink communication of the left and right ears also involves Bluetooth radio frequency transmission, so this operating mode results in double power consumption. This defect will be more obvious in the case of low battery power, because if the battery power of one earphone (left ear or right ear) becomes too low, still enabling the microphone for uplink communication will cause the battery power to be consumed quickly.

[0055] To achieve power consumption reduction, the present application proposes a solution for saving power during calls by dynamically controlling the microphone. The so-called "dynamic control of the microphone" means that by combining the master-slave concept into the use of the left and right ears of a pair of earphones, the left and right ears of the pair of earphones can freely switch between the master-slave modes.

[0056] As described above, the TWS connection technology is applied to the LE Audio Bluetooth technology. Specifically, a TWS connection is established between the left and right ears of a pair of earphones, and information exchange and synchronization are carried out between the left and right ears by means of this. In addition, since the solution of the present application introduces the master-slave concept in the use of a pair of earphones, the TWS connection is also used to determine the master-slave relationship between the two ears. In some embodiments, the left and right ears of a pair of earphones can perform different relatively independent operations respectively, while maintaining overall synchronization with each other.

[0057] It should be noted that the current protocols involved in the LE Audio Bluetooth technology (for example, also known as the "LE Audio protocol") do not define the master-slave concept for a pair of earphones. To achieve power consumption reduction, the solution of the present application introduces the master-slave concept to dynamically control the microphones of the earphones.

[0058] In some embodiments, in the dual-ear mode (i.e., both the left and right ears are in use), the left and right ears first establish a TWS connection. Once the TWS connection is established, one of the left and right ears can be selected as the master earphone (for example, also known as the "master ear").

[0059] In some embodiments, the master ear can establish two-way CIS with a mobile device to achieve uplink communication and downlink communication. In other words, the master ear that has established two-way CIS enables both the microphone function and the audio data receiving function at the same time, while the slave ear only enables the audio data receiving function for synchronous playback.

[0060] As described above, the master-slave concept introduced in the solution of this application endows the earphones with the ability to switch between master and slave. The master-slave switch of the earphones can be carried out based on specific strategies. For example, in some embodiments, the selection of the master and slave ears can be based on RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indicator), battery level, wearing state, etc.

[0061] In some embodiments, the wearing state can be selected as the main decision-making scheme to play a leading role during the entire use process to ensure the integrity of functionality. In some embodiments, the RSSI and battery level strategies can be selected as auxiliary means for reselecting the master and slave ears during the use process after the master and slave ears are established, so as to ensure the rationality and user-friendly design of the use of the earphones.

[0062] 1. Switching strategy based on RSSI:

[0063] In the initial state, the left ear is selected as the slave ear and the right ear is selected as the master ear. If the RSSI value of the master ear (i.e., the right ear) drops below a pre-set threshold level, and at the same time the RSSI of the slave ear remains at a relatively good level, then the master-slave switch can be carried out to reselect the master ear and the slave ear. That is, the original slave ear switches to the master ear, and the original master ear switches to the slave ear.

[0064] 2. Switching strategy based on battery level:

[0065] In the initial state, the left ear is selected as the slave ear and the right ear is selected as the master ear. If the battery level of the master ear (i.e., the right ear) drops below a pre-set threshold level, then the master-slave switch can be carried out. As described above, the master ear may be responsible for more services, so the master ear will consume battery power faster. For example, in some embodiments, when the earphones have been running for a period of time and the battery levels of both ears are lower than the threshold level, the relative battery levels of the current two ears can be considered and the master-slave switch can be carried out based on the relative battery levels of the current two ears. That is, the one with the higher battery level among the current two ears is reselected as the master ear, and the one with the lower battery level among the current two ears is reselected as the slave ear.

[0066] The switching strategy based on battery level and the switching strategy based on RSSI described above are both rationally specified based on the factor of "the importance of the master ear for services", which not only ensures that the one with relatively good signal and relatively sufficient battery is the master ear, but also ensures the normal use of the user.

[0067] 3. Switching strategy based on wearing state:

[0068] The switching strategy based on the wearing state refers to the strategy of switching the master ear and the slave ear based on the change of the user's behavior of wearing the earphones, which can be applied throughout the entire usage process of the earphones. The core principle of the switching strategy based on the wearing state lies in: the current wearing state of the earphones. Specifically, if one of the earphones is in the out box (outside the box, indicating that it has been or will be worn) state, while the other is in the box (inside the box, indicating that it has not been worn), the earphone in the out box state is selected as the master ear, and the earphone in the box state is selected as the slave ear. And subsequently, when the states of the two ears become the same (for example, both are outside the box), the original master-slave roles of the two can continue to be maintained.

[0069] In some embodiments, the initial states of both ears are in the box state. When the left ear is taken out of the box, the left ear can be defaulted to be in the wearing state and thus can be selected as the master ear; and if the right ear is also taken out of the box at this time, the master-slave roles of the left ear and the right ear continue to remain unchanged; subsequently until the right ear is also worn, at this time, the master-slave switching can be re-performed. For example, in the case where the right ear is defaulted as the master ear, the right ear worn later in time can be re-selected as the master ear, while the left ear worn earlier in time (which may be temporarily defaulted as the master ear because it was taken out of the box earlier than the right ear) can be switched to the slave ear at this time.

[0070] In the embodiments of the present invention, during the usage process of the earphones, when the earphones are in the dual-ear mode, the two ears can perform role switching according to their own and the behavior and state of the opposite ear (the other earphone relative to itself), that is, perform master-slave ear role switching according to the master-slave ear switching strategy.

[0071] It should be understood that although three switching strategies are described herein, the switching strategies applicable to the present invention are not limited to the described switching strategies; the above switching strategies are merely exemplary, not restrictive, and any suitable switching strategy can be used in combination with the embodiments of the present invention.

[0072] Figure 2A is a schematic diagram illustrating the communication between the left ear and the right ear of the earphone pair in the dual-ear mode with a mobile device (such as, Figure 2A the mobile phone illustrated in Figure 2A As shown, a TWS connection is established between the master ear and the slave ear, and a downlink CIS is established between the slave ear and the mobile device, while an uplink and downlink CIS is established between the master ear and the mobile device.

[0073] Figure 2B is a schematic diagram illustrating the master-slave switching between the left ear and the right ear of the earphone pair according to the embodiments of the present invention.

[0074] As Figure 2BAs shown on the left side, a TWS connection is established between the master ear (i.e., the right ear) and the slave ear (i.e., the left ear), and a downstream CIS (i.e., unidirectional CIS) is established between the slave ear and a mobile device (such as the connected mobile phone exemplified in Figure 2B ), while an upstream and downstream CIS (i.e., bidirectional CIS) is established between the master ear and the mobile device (such as the connected mobile phone exemplified in Figure 2B ).

[0075] As described above, during the use of the earphones, there may be a role switch between the master ear and the slave ear. For example, as described above, the role of the earphones may be switched due to changes in RSSI, battery level, or wearing status.

[0076] As Figure 2B exemplified on the right side of Figure 2B , after the master-slave switch of the left and right ears of the earphones, the left ear that originally served as the slave ear now switches to serve as the master ear, and the communication established between the left ear and the mobile device (such as the connected mobile phone exemplified in

[0077] ) changes from downstream CIS to upstream and downstream CIS. Figure 2B At the same time, as exemplified on the right side of Figure 2B , after the master-slave switch of the left and right ears of the earphones, the right ear that originally served as the master ear now switches to serve as the slave ear, and the communication established between the right ear and the mobile device (such as the connected mobile phone exemplified in

[0078] ) changes from upstream and downstream CIS to downstream CIS. Figure 2B As exemplified in

[0079] , when the earphones perform a master-slave switch, it will involve the switch between unidirectional CIS and bidirectional CIS. As described above, implementing unidirectional CIS / bidirectional CIS at the earphone end involves the configuration of the PACS service. The PACS service supports two types of Sink PAC: SRC PAC

[0080] The most significant difference between implementing unidirectional CIS and bidirectional CIS lies in whether the SRC ASE is configured on the headphone side. For example, in the unidirectional CIS mode, only the SINK ASE is configured on the headphone side (or only the SINK ASE is enabled in the case of configuring both the SINK ASE and the SRC ASE simultaneously), which enables the headphone to only act as a data receiver (i.e., the headphone receives data from the mobile device, also known as downlink communication). In the bidirectional CIS mode, both the SINK ASE and the SRC ASE are configured and enabled on the headphone side, which enables the headphone side to act as both a data receiver (i.e., the headphone receives data from the mobile device, also known as downlink communication) and a data sender (i.e., the headphone sends data to the mobile device, also known as uplink communication). In other words, compared with the unidirectional CIS mode, the bidirectional CIS mode adds uplink communication.

[0081] In addition, if it is necessary to implement the switch from the bidirectional CIS mode to the unidirectional CIS mode, only the state of the SRC ASE needs to be restored to the QOS state separately (for example, disabling the SRC ASE), which can close the uplink channel and thus implement the switch from the bidirectional CIS mode to the unidirectional CIS mode.

[0082] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating a method for implementing master-slave switching of headphones according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0083] In an embodiment of the present invention, a headphone pair includes two headphones: Headphone 1 and Headphone 2.

[0084] As Figure 3 shown, the method starts at step 301, where a TWS connection is established between Headphone 1 and Headphone 2. As described above, once a TWS connection is established between the two headphones, one of the two headphones can be selected as the master headphone based on a specific policy, and the other of the two headphones can be selected as the slave headphone based on a specific policy. As described above, the specific policy for selecting as the master headphone or the slave headphone may include but is not limited to: switching policies based on wearing status, etc.

[0085] As Figure 3 illustrated, in an embodiment of the present invention, Headphone 1 is selected as the master headphone, and Headphone 2 is selected as the slave headphone.

[0086] Once Headphone 1 is selected as the master headphone and Headphone 2 is selected as the slave headphone, then at step 302, a bidirectional CIS can be established between Headphone 1 and a mobile device (such as, Figure 3 the mobile phone illustrated in Figure 3 ), and at step 303, a unidirectional CIS is established between Headphone 2 and the mobile device (such as,

[0087] At step 304, the headset 1 currently operating as the master ear sends a master-slave switch request to the headset 2 currently operating as the slave ear. Once the master-slave switch request from the master ear is received, at step 305, the headset 2 updates the SourceAvailable Audio Context, and at step 306, notifies the mobile device of the change in its SourceAvailable Audio Context to indicate that it will switch to the master ear.

[0088] Once the mobile device receives the notification of the change in the Source Available Audio Context from the headset 2, at step 307, the mobile device establishes a two-way CIS with the headset 2 to replace the original one-way CIS. At step 308, the headset 2 sends a master-slave request reply to the headset 1, indicating that it has switched to the master ear.

[0089] Next, at step 309, the headset 1 updates the Source Available Audio Context, and at step 310, notifies the mobile device of the change in the Source Available Audio Context to indicate that it will switch to the slave ear.

[0090] Next, the headset 1 closes the uplink channel and, at step 311, establishes a one-way CIS communication with the mobile device to replace the original two-way CIS communication, whereby the headset 1 switches to the slave ear. As described above, closing the uplink channel can be achieved by changing the state of the SRC ASE. In some embodiments, the uplink channel can be closed by restoring the state of the SRC ASE to the QOS state.

[0091] Although in the above description, when performing the master-slave switch, first the left ear (originally acting as the slave ear) realizes the role switch by changing the one-way CIS to a two-way CIS, and then the right ear (originally acting as the master ear) realizes the role switch by changing the two-way CIS to a one-way CIS, it should be understood that depicting the role switch as occurring in sequence is merely exemplary and not restrictive, and moreover, in some embodiments, the process of role switch can occur concurrently or in any order as needed.

[0092] In addition, although the technical solution of the present invention has been described above in the usage scenario where the left and right earphones are used as the host device, it should be understood that this usage scenario is only exemplary and not restrictive. In some embodiments, the present invention can also be applied to other audio playback devices such as Bluetooth speakers. Moreover, the number of host devices is not limited to two. In the case of, for example, three or more earphones, one of them can be set as the master earphone and the others can be set as slave earphones, and the switching between the master earphone and the slave earphones can be performed according to the aforementioned switching strategy.

[0093] In addition, although the above embodiments describe the switching between the master earphone and the slave earphone, it should be understood that this is only exemplary and not restrictive; alternatively, the solution of the present application can also be used in combination with the scenario where both ears operate as master earphones or the scenario where both ears operate as slave earphones.

[0094] Figure 4 It is a schematic diagram illustrating a method in which two earphones in an earphone pair according to an embodiment of the present invention respectively establish communication with a mobile device.

[0095] In an embodiment of the present invention, the earphone pair includes two earphones: Earphone 1 and Earphone 2.

[0096] As shown in the append Figure 4 As shown, the method starts when the earphone pair is taken out of the case. Once the earphone pair is taken out of the case, at step 401, a TWS connection is established between the two ears. In the embodiment of the present invention, Earphone 1 can be selected as the master earphone, and Earphone 2 can be selected as the slave earphone. However, it should be understood that the configuration of selecting Earphone 1 as the master earphone and selecting Earphone 2 as the slave earphone is only exemplary and not restrictive. Alternatively, in other embodiments, Earphone 1 can be selected as the slave earphone, and Earphone 2 can be selected as the master earphone.

[0097] As described above, the parameter settings of the mobile phone LE Set CIG Parameters command should configure both SNKASE and SRC ASE simultaneously. Configuring only SINK ASE corresponds to the unidirectional CIS mode, in which the earphone only serves as a data receiver. Configuring both SNK ASE and SRC ASE simultaneously corresponds to the bidirectional CIS mode, in which, in addition to receiving data, the data transmission channel of the earphone can also be enabled to increase uplink communication.

[0098] In some embodiments, the configuration of Available Audio Contexts can be part of the initialization of the earphone. In some embodiments, in addition to configuring Available Audio Contexts, the earphone can continue other initialization operations and start normally after the initialization operation is completed.

[0099] At step 402, a BLE ACL (Asynchronous Connection Less) is established between a mobile device (such as, Figure 4 the mobile phone illustrated in

[0100] In some embodiments, the mobile device scans through LE broadcasts and establishes a connection with the headset. Once a BLE ACL has been established between the mobile device and headset 1, at step 404, the mobile device may query headset 1 for Available AudioContext.

[0101] As described above, the mobile device may obtain the currently supported and available capabilities of headset 1 through GATT to prepare for stream establishment.

[0102] As shown in the Figure 4 appendix, since headset 1 is the master earpiece, at step 405, headset 1 returns information about the availability of SRC ACE and SNK ACE to the mobile device. Similarly, once a BLE ACL has been established between the mobile device and headset 2, at step 406, the mobile device may query headset sub-component 1 for Available Audio Context. Likewise, the mobile device may obtain the currently supported and available capabilities of headset 2 through GATT to prepare for stream establishment.

[0103] As shown in the Figure 4 appendix, since headset 2 is the slave earpiece, at step 407, headset 2 returns information about the availability of SNK ASE to the mobile device.

[0104] At step 408, the mobile device may perform Codec configuration for the SRC and SNK roles of headset 1 to implement the two-way CIS mode of headset 1. At step 409, the mobile device may perform Codec configuration for the SNK role of headset 2 to implement the one-way CIS mode of headset 2.

[0105] Next, at step 410, the mobile device may perform QoS configuration for the SRC and SNK roles of headset 1. At step 411, the mobile device may perform QoS configuration for the SNK role of headset 2.

[0106] After performing Codec configuration and QoS configuration, at step 412, a two-way CIS stream is successfully established between the mobile device and headset 1, and at step 413, a one-way CIS stream is successfully established between the mobile device and headset 2.

[0107] As described above, during the use of the earphones, the left and right ears in the earphone pair can switch the roles of the master ear and the slave ear as needed. After the master-slave switch, the original unidirectional CIS is switched to a bidirectional CIS, and the original bidirectional CIS is switched to a unidirectional CIS, which ensures that during a call, the communication between the mobile device and the master ear is a bidirectional CIS, while the communication between the mobile device and the slave ear is a unidirectional CIS. In other words, during a call, a single microphone is used to provide uplink data, and the slave ear solves the power consumption problem caused by the dual microphones.

[0108] As described above, in the embodiments of the present invention, by customizing the master-slave roles of the left and right ears in the earphone pair, the microphone can be selectively turned on or off, thereby overcoming the power consumption problem caused by simultaneously turning on the microphones of both ears. In other words, since the microphone of the master ear is always kept in the operating state, while the microphone of the slave ear is turned off, there is always only one data uplink channel; with the change of the user's wearing behavior and based on the remaining battery level, the master-slave switch can be triggered, which will ensure that the two ears can alternately act as the master ear to bear the main power-consuming role, and thus can balance the usage time of the earphone pair as a whole.

[0109] Therefore, by adopting the solution of this application, the problem of high power consumption of the bilateral microphones caused by simultaneously establishing the bidirectional CIS streams of both ears in the dual-ear mode can be avoided. In other words, by dynamically switching the master-slave roles of the two ears and dynamically changing the usage mode of the microphones (for example, implementing the switch from bilateral microphones to a single microphone), the power consumption can be reduced.

[0110] This way of freely determining the use of the dual-ear microphones can cope with the selective use of the microphones by the user in complex usage scenarios to achieve a balance between call quality and power consumption. For example, in some embodiments, in modes such as AI voice and live broadcast, the microphones of both ears can be enabled simultaneously, while in the normal call mode, it can be dynamically switched to enable only the microphone of a single earphone.

[0111] Example implementation

[0112] Additional examples of the methods, devices, systems, and computer-readable storage media currently described and discussed herein include the following non-limiting implementations. Each of the following non-limiting examples can exist independently, or can be combined with any one or more of the other examples provided below or throughout this disclosure in any arrangement or combination.

[0113] Example 1 includes a method for reducing power consumption, including: establishing a TWS connection between a plurality of sink devices including at least a first sink device and a second sink device, where the sink devices operate in a first operation mode or a second operation mode with power consumption less than the first operation mode; in the first operation mode, establishing a first type of communication flow between the source device and the sink device; in the second operation mode, establishing a second type of communication flow between the source device and the sink device; and during communication between the source device and the first sink device and the second sink device respectively, the first sink device and the second sink device change the operation mode according to the corresponding switching strategy based on the change of context.

[0114] Example 2 includes the method of Example 1 or some other example herein, where the first sink device and the second sink device change the operation mode according to the corresponding switching strategy based on the change of context further includes: the first sink device switches its operation mode from the first operation mode to the second operation mode, and after the operation mode of the first sink device is switched, the communication flow between the source device and the first sink device is changed to the second type of communication flow corresponding to the switched second operation mode; and the second sink device switches its operation mode from the second operation mode to the first operation mode, and after the operation mode of the second sink device is switched, the communication flow between the source device and the second sink device is changed to the first type of communication flow corresponding to the switched first operation mode.

[0115] Example 3 includes the method of any one of Examples 1-2 or some other example herein, where the first sink device is one of a pair of earphones, and the second sink device is the other of the pair of earphones.

[0116] Example 4 includes the method of any one of Examples 1-3 or some other example herein, where the first operation mode is the master ear mode, and the second operation mode is the slave ear mode.

[0117] Example 5 includes the method of any one of Examples 1-4 or some other example herein, where the first type of communication flow is a bidirectional CIS, and the second type of communication flow is a unidirectional CIS.

[0118] Example 6 includes the method of any one of Examples 1-5 or some other example herein, where establishing the first type of communication flow between the source device and the sink device includes: the source device obtains the supported ASE corresponding to the first type of communication flow from the sink device through GATT.

[0119] Example 7 includes the method of any one of Examples 1-6 or some other example herein, where establishing the second type of communication flow between the source device and the sink device includes: the source device obtains the supported ASE corresponding to the second type of communication flow from the sink device through GATT.

[0120] Example 8 includes the method of any one of Examples 1-7 or some other example herein, wherein the supported ASEs include one or more of SNK ASE and SRC ASE.

[0121] Example 9 includes the method of any one of Examples 1-8 or some other example herein, wherein the source device is a mobile device.

[0122] Example 10 includes the method of any one of Examples 1-9 or some other example herein, wherein the corresponding handover strategy includes one or more of the following: an RSSI-based handover strategy; a power-based handover strategy; and a wear state-based handover strategy.

[0123] Example 11 includes a system for reducing power consumption, comprising: a source device; a plurality of sink devices including at least a first sink device and a second sink device, establishing a TWS connection between the sink devices, and the sink devices operating in a first operating mode or a second operating mode with power consumption less than the first operating mode; wherein, in the first operating mode, the source device is configured to establish a first type of communication flow with the sink devices, and in the second operating mode, the source device is configured to establish a second type of communication flow with the sink devices, and wherein during the communication between the source device and the first sink device and the second sink device respectively, the first sink device and the second sink device change the operating mode according to the corresponding handover strategy based on the change of context.

[0124] Example 12 includes the system of Example 11 or some other example herein, wherein the first sink device and the second sink device changing the operating mode according to the corresponding handover strategy based on the change of context further includes: the first sink device switching its operating mode from the first operating mode to the second operating mode, and after the operating mode of the first sink device is switched, the communication flow between the source device and the first sink device is changed to the second type of communication flow corresponding to the switched second operating mode; and the second sink device switching its operating mode from the second operating mode to the first operating mode, and after the operating mode of the second sink device is switched, the communication flow between the source device and the second sink device is changed to the first type of communication flow corresponding to the switched first operating mode.

[0125] Example 13 includes the system of any one of Examples 11-12 or some other example herein, wherein the first sink device is one of a pair of earphones, and the second sink device is the other of the pair of earphones.

[0126] Example 14 includes the system of any one of Examples 11-13 or some other example herein, wherein the first operating mode is the master ear mode, and the second operating mode is the slave ear mode.

[0127] Example 15 includes a system of any one of Examples 11-14 or some other example herein, wherein the first type of communication flow is a bidirectional CIS, and the second type of communication flow is a unidirectional CIS.

[0128] Example 16 includes a system of any one of Examples 11-15 or some other example herein, wherein the source device is a mobile device.

[0129] Example 17 includes a system of any one of Examples 11-16 or some other example herein, wherein the corresponding handover strategy includes one or more of the following: an RSSI-based handover strategy; a power-based handover strategy; and a wear state-based handover strategy.

[0130] Example 18 includes a pair of earphones for reducing power consumption, including: a first earphone that operates in a first operation mode and establishes a first type of communication flow corresponding to the first operation mode with a mobile device; a second earphone that operates in a second operation mode with power consumption less than the first operation mode and establishes a second type of communication flow corresponding to the second operation mode with the mobile device, wherein a TWS connection is established between the first earphone and the second earphone, and wherein the first earphone and the second earphone switch operation modes based on changes in context.

[0131] In this document, expressions such as "binaural", "earphone pair", "earphone", etc. may refer to a pair of earphones, a paired earphone, or more than two earphones, etc.; expressions such as "left ear", "right ear", "mono ear", "earphone 1", "earphone 2", "single earphone", "paired ear", etc. may refer to a single earphone, any one of the earphones in an earphone pair, any one of the paired earphones, or any one of multiple earphones, etc.; these expressions are merely exemplary and not restrictive.

[0132] In this document, expressions such as "earphone", "binaural", "earphone pair", "left ear", "right ear", "mono ear", "earphone 1", "earphone 2", "single earphone", "paired ear", etc. may refer to in-ear earphones, non-in-ear earphones, over-ear earphones, etc.

[0133] In this document, expressions such as "unidirectional CIS", "unidirectional CIS flow", "unidirectional CIS audio flow", "downlink CIS", "downlink CIS flow", "downlink CIS audio flow" are used interchangeably. Similarly, in this document, expressions such as "bidirectional CIS", "bidirectional CIS flow", "bidirectional CIS audio flow", "uplink and downlink CIS", "uplink and downlink CIS flow", "uplink and downlink CIS audio flow" are also used interchangeably.

[0134] In this document, expressions such as "mobile device", "device", etc. may refer to a mobile phone, cellular phone, smartphone, media entertainment device, player, smart TV, smart watch, handheld computer, palmtop computer, personal digital assistant (PDA), laptop device, set-top box, tablet device, PC, combination cellular phone / PDA, cellular phone, television, smart tablet computer, mobile Internet device (MID), messaging device, data communication device, or any other suitable smart device.

[0135] In this document, expressions such as "media", "information", "media stream", "audio stream", etc. may refer to any data of content for a user; examples of content may include, for example, data from audio, video, voice conversation, video conference, email ("email") message, voicemail message, alphanumeric symbols, graphics, images, video, text, etc. Data from a voice conversation may be, for example, speech information, silent periods, background noise, comfort noise, tones, etc.

[0136] "Wireless communication technology" in the text may include any one or more communication technologies (e.g., wired or wireless communication) and associated protocols, such as, for example, cellular networking protocols (such as 3GPP 4G or 5G standards), wireless local area network protocols (such as IEEE 802.11 / ), wireless wide area network protocols, Ethernet, Bluetooth Low Energy, IoT protocols (such as IEEE 802.15.4 or ), low power wide area network (LPWAN) or low power wide area network (LPWA) protocols, etc.

[0137] One or more aspects of at least one embodiment of the present invention may be implemented by representative instructions stored on a machine-readable medium that represent various logics in a processor, which, when read by the machine, cause the machine to fabricate logics for performing the techniques described herein.

[0138] For example, some embodiments can be implemented using a machine-readable medium or article of manufacture that can store instructions or instruction sets which, when executed by a machine, can cause the machine to perform methods and / or operations in accordance with the embodiments. Such a machine can include, for example, any suitable processing platform, computing platform, computing device, processing device, computing system, processing system, computer, processor, etc., and can be implemented using any suitable combination of hardware and / or software. A machine-readable medium or article of manufacture can include, for example, any suitable type of memory unit, memory device, memory article, memory medium, storage device, memory article, memory medium, and / or memory unit, such as, memory, removable or non-removable media, erasable or non-erasable media, writable or rewritable media, digital or analog media, hard disk, floppy disk, compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), recordable compact disc (CD-R), rewritable compact disc (CD-RW), optical disc, magnetic media, magneto-optical media, removable memory card or disk, various types of digital versatile disc (DVD), magnetic tape, tape cassette, etc. The instructions can include any suitable type of code, such as source code, compiled code, interpreted code, executable code, static code, dynamic code, encrypted code, etc., implemented using any suitable high-level, low-level, object-oriented, visual, compiled, and / or interpreted programming language.

[0139] In this document, as is common in patent documents, the term "a" is used to include one or more than one, independent of any other instance or usage of "at least one" or "one or more". In this document, the term "or" is used to mean non-exclusive "or", such that "A or B" includes "A but not B", "B but not A", and "A and B", unless otherwise indicated. Further, in the appended claims, the terms "comprising" and "including" are open-ended, i.e., a system, apparatus, article, or process that includes elements other than those listed after such terms in a claim is still considered to fall within the scope of that claim. Further, in the appended claims, the terms "first", "second", and "third", etc. are used only as labels and are not intended to indicate a numerical order of their objects.

[0140] The above description is intended to be illustrative, not restrictive. For example, the above-described examples (or one or more aspects thereof) can be used in conjunction with other embodiments. Such as, one of ordinary skill in the art can use other embodiments by reviewing the above description.

[0141] Numerous specific details have been set forth herein in order to provide a thorough understanding of these embodiments. However, those skilled in the art will understand that these embodiments may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known operations, components, and circuits have not been described in detail so as not to obscure these embodiments. It can be appreciated that the specific structural details and functional details disclosed herein may be representative and not necessarily limit the scope of these embodiments.

[0142] It should be noted that the methods described herein need not be performed in the recited order or any particular order. Additionally, the various activities described with reference to the methods identified herein may be performed serially or in parallel.

[0143] Although specific embodiments have been illustrated and described herein, it should be recognized that any arrangement contemplated to achieve the same purpose may be substituted for the specific embodiments shown. The disclosure herein is intended to cover any and all adaptations or variations of various embodiments. It should be understood that the above description has been presented in an illustrative rather than a restrictive manner.

[0144] For those skilled in the art, after reading the above description, combinations of the above embodiments and other embodiments not specifically described herein will be apparent. Accordingly, the scope of the various embodiments includes any other applications using the above components, structures, and methods.

Claims

1. A method for reducing power consumption, comprising: Establishing a TWS connection between a plurality of sink devices including at least a first sink device and a second sink device, wherein the sink devices operate in a first operating mode or a second operating mode with a power consumption less than the first operating mode; In the first operating mode, establishing a first type of communication flow between the source device and the sink device; In the second operating mode, establishing a second type of communication flow between the source device and the sink device; And During communication between the source device and the first sink device and the second sink device respectively, the first sink device and the second sink device dynamically change the operating mode according to the corresponding switching strategy based on the change of context and throughout the entire usage process, Wherein the first type of communication flow and the second type of communication flow correspond to different functions, Wherein the switching strategy includes a switching strategy based on RSSI, a switching strategy based on battery level, and a switching strategy based on wearing state, for ensuring rational and user-friendly usage and for reducing power consumption.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein The first sink device and the second sink device changing the operating mode according to the corresponding switching strategy based on the change of context further includes: The first sink device switches its operating mode from the first operating mode to the second operating mode, and after the operating mode of the first sink device is switched, the communication flow between the source device and the first sink device is changed to the second type of communication flow corresponding to the switched second operating mode; and The second sink device switches its operating mode from the second operating mode to the first operating mode, and after the operating mode of the second sink device is switched, the communication flow between the source device and the second sink device is changed to the first type of communication flow corresponding to the switched first operating mode.

3. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The first sink device is one of a pair of earphones, and the second sink device is the other of the pair of earphones.

4. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The first operating mode is the master ear mode, and the second operating mode is the slave ear mode.

5. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The first type of communication flow is a bidirectional CIS, and the second type of communication flow is a unidirectional CIS.

6. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, Establishing the first type of communication flow between the source device and the sink device includes: The source device obtains the supported ASE corresponding to the first type of communication flow from the sink device through GATT.

7. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, Establishing the second type of communication flow between the source device and the sink device includes: The source device obtains the supported ASE corresponding to the second type of communication flow from the sink device through GATT.

8. The method according to any one of claims 6 or 7, characterized in that, The supported ASE includes one or more of SNK ASE and SRCASE.

9. A system for reducing power consumption, comprising: A source device; A plurality of sink devices including at least a first sink device and a second sink device, establishing a TWS connection between the sink devices, and the sink devices operate in a first operating mode or a second operating mode with a power consumption less than the first operating mode; Wherein, in the first operation mode, the source device is configured to establish a first type of communication flow with the sink device, and in the second operation mode, the source device is configured to establish a second type of communication flow with the sink device. And wherein, during the communication between the source device and the first sink device and the second sink device respectively, the first sink device and the second sink device dynamically change the operation mode according to the corresponding switching strategy based on the change of context and throughout the entire usage process. Wherein the first type of communication flow and the second type of communication flow correspond to different functions. Wherein the switching strategy includes an RSSI-based switching strategy, a power-based switching strategy, and a wearing state-based switching strategy, for ensuring the rationalization and humanization of use and for reducing power consumption.

10. The system according to claim 9, characterized in that, The first sink device and the second sink device changing the operation mode according to the corresponding switching strategy based on the change of context further includes: The first sink device switches its operation mode from the first operation mode to the second operation mode, and after the operation mode of the first sink device is switched, the communication flow between the source device and the first sink device is changed to the second type of communication flow corresponding to the switched second operation mode; and The second sink device switches its operation mode from the second operation mode to the first operation mode, and after the operation mode of the second sink device is switched, the communication flow between the source device and the second sink device is changed to the first type of communication flow corresponding to the switched first operation mode.

11. The system according to claim 9, wherein The first operation mode is the master ear mode, and the second operation mode is the slave ear mode.

12. The system according to claim 9, wherein The first type of communication flow is a bidirectional CIS, and the second type of communication flow is a unidirectional CIS.

13. A pair of earphones for reducing power consumption, comprising: A first earphone, which operates in a first operation mode and establishes a first type of communication flow corresponding to the first operation mode with a mobile device; A second earphone, which operates in a second operation mode with power consumption less than that of the first operation mode and establishes a second type of communication flow corresponding to the second operation mode with the mobile device, wherein a TWS connection is established between the first earphone and the second earphone. Wherein, the first earphone and the second earphone dynamically switch the operation mode based on the change of context and throughout the entire usage process. And wherein the first type of communication flow and the second type of communication flow correspond to different functions. Wherein the switching strategy includes an RSSI-based switching strategy, a power-based switching strategy, and a wearing state-based switching strategy, for ensuring the rationalization and humanization of use and for reducing power consumption.

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