Case for wireless earbuds and associated method of delivering haptics to a user

Abstract

The case can have earbud sockets defined in a housing and operable to selectively receive and house the wireless earbuds; a battery; a linear actuator; an antenna; a controller powered by the case battery and operable to: charge the wireless earbuds via the case battery when the wireless earbuds are housed in the earbud sockets; receive a signal via the antenna; and drive the linear actuator based on the signal.

Description

CASE FOR WIRELESS EARBUDS AND ASSOCIATED METHOD OF DELIVERING HAPTICS TO A USERBACKGROUND

[0001] Wireless earbuds are a type of headphones which are configured in a way to be held in position relative the ear of a user simply by their shape, and which have integrated electronics allowing them to receive audio signals via wireless communication such as Bluetooth, as opposed to via wires. Wireless earbuds can be referred to as peripheral devices when adapted to communicate via Bluetooth, in which case the audio signals can be emitted from a host device with which they can be paired for data exchange. The host device can be in the form of a computerized electronic device such as a smartphone or smart watch, or standalone media player to name some examples. Wireless earbuds have become more and more popular in recent years with the rise in popularity of smartphones and smart watches, and availability of electronic technology allowing to perform the processing of the wireless signal and the driving of the electroacoustic transducers integrated within the wireless earbuds in a way which consumes limited energy, has a small volume (footprint), has a low weight, and a relatively low cost. Accordingly, wireless earbuds may be used to play various types of audio signals which can be generated by the associated computerized electronic device (host device). Such various types of audio signals can include telephone, video conference, music, movies, video game audio, audible indicators or other sound effects associated to various applications (e.g., audible alert or ring), etc.

[0002] It has become common for wireless earbuds to be sold as a kit with a case. The case can serve the function of housing the wireless earbuds when they are not in use, which can be particularly helpful when the wireless earbuds are small and could otherwise easily become lost. Another popular functionality of the case is to serve as a charger for the wireless earbuds. Indeed, the wireless earbuds can have contact or contactless charging ports, and the case can have corresponding charging ports. The case can have earbud sockets which can have a shape mating with the shape of the wireless earbuds, and which can be shaped and configured in such a way that when the earbuds are received within the earbud sockets, their charging ports are engaged with the charging ports of the case, allowing energy to be transferred from the case to the batteries of the wireless earbuds.

[0003] Since the case is larger than the wireless earbuds, it can house a bigger battery, and it can also be easier to integrate a wired charging socket connectable to a household electrical outlet via an adapted wire and transformer into the case than into the wireless earbuds themselves. Accordingly, the case can house a case battery, and electronics adapted to selectively charge the case battery using power delivered to the wired charging socket and to selectively charge the earbuds housed in the earbud sockets using power from the case battery (and / or power from the wired charging socket).

[0004] While wireless earbuds, and their associated cases have been widely popular and met significant commercial success, consumers are always eager for novelty and for new and advanced functionalities which could even further improve user experience. There thus always remains room for improvement.SUMMARY

[0005] The field of haptics refers to delivering tactile sensations to users, i.e., sensations which are sensed via tactile receptors of the user’s skin based on solid contact / mechanical coupling. By contrast, sound is conveyed in the form of waves of pressure variations travelling in air, which are sensed by the user’s ears. While the human ear can be sensitive to frequencies between 20 and 20 000 Hz, the sense of touch is typically sensitive to a much narrower band of frequencies, such as between 2 and 2000 Hz for instance (typically 2 and 500 Hz, or even 5 and 300 Hz). While electronic devices configured for emitting sound typically involve one or more electroacoustic transducer (professional audio uses different electroacoustic transducers for different sub-bands of the audible spectrum, commonly referred to as tweeters, mids, woofers and subwoofers), devices configured for emitting haptics involve an actuator. Actuators which are specially configured to produce haptic effects are referred to haptic motors. A consideration in haptics is the strength of the mechanical coupling between the actuator and the user’s skin, and the presence of damping materials between the actuator and the user’s skin can impede user experience.

[0006] While rotary actuators of the type having an eccentric mass have been used to provide haptics, such rotary actuators are typically limited in the extent of sensations, or in the extent of haptic features, which they can convey. Indeed, rotary actuators are typically used togenerate vibrations at a constant or progressively ramping frequency, and amplitude is not fully independent from frequency. More recently, linear actuators have been developed which can generate much more complex and rich haptic features, including some having acoustic traits such as sharpness, frequency, intensity and duration for instance. In parallel, haptics has become integrated in some entertainment devices which can be used to enhance a user’s cinematic experience. In some cases, movies can include a distinct “haptics” channel destined specifically to the haptics experience and being distinct from the video and audio channels (e.g., Dolby 5.1) for instance.

[0007] One sometimes criticized aspect of earbuds are the fact that the diaphragm which is driven to produce the sound waves by the electroacoustic transducer is relatively small, which can limit the representation of lower frequency waves (which have longer wavelengths) in the audio signal that is effectively conveyed to the user’s ears.

[0008] It was found that in some embodiments, the user experience for wireless earbuds could be significantly enhanced by integrating a haptic motor to the case, and by further equipping the case with electronics adapted to receive a signal, and to drive the haptic motor based on the signal. The signal can be received wirelessly via an antenna for instance. To this end, the electronics can include a Bluetooth module, which can be embodied as a Bluetooth chip for instance, which can provide for the function of pairing the case as a peripheral to a host device such as a smartphone, smartwatch, or standalone media player, and addressing auxiliary functions such as communication protocols, unpacking data packets, etc. In some cases, converting data packets to an audio or haptic signal can be performed using an audio processor, for instance. Additional functions may be performed by electronics forming part of the case, such as extracting a haptic signal, or otherwise transforming or adapting an audio signal to a haptic signal. Such functions may be performed by a haptic extraction module which may involve a low pass filter or frequency converter for instance. Accordingly, a user may wear his / her case mechanically coupled to his / her skin, such as by wearing it in a pocket of a closely fitting garment for instance, and receive tactile sensations. The tactile sensations may be coordinated with sound emitted by the wireless earbuds for instance. Various use cases are possible.

[0009] In accordance with one aspect, there is provided a case for wireless earbuds, the case comprising : a housing; earbud sockets defined in the housing and operable to selectively receive and house the wireless earbuds; a battery housed in the housing; a linear actuator housed in the housing; an antenna; a controller housed in the housing, powered by the case battery, and operable to: charge the wireless earbuds via the case battery when the wireless earbuds are housed in the earbud sockets; receive a signal via the antenna; and drive the linear actuator based on the signal.

[0010] In accordance with another aspect, there is a method of delivering haptics to a user, the method comprising : the user wearing wireless earbuds in user ears; the user wearing a case for the wireless earbuds mechanically coupled to user skin; a host device emitting a signal including an audio signal; the wireless earbuds driving an electroacoustic transducer at frequencies between 20 and 20 000Hz based on the audio signal, thereby delivering audio to the user ears; the case receiving a signal associated to the audio signal, and, simultaneously to said driving of said electroacoustic transducer, driving a linear actuator at frequencies between 2 and 1000 Hz based on the signal, thereby delivering haptics to the user skin.

[0011] Many further features and combinations thereof concerning the present improvements will appear to those skilled in the art following a reading of the instant disclosure.DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

[0012] In the figures,

[0013] Fig. 1 is a schematic view of an example of a system for delivering haptics to a user;

[0014] Fig. 2 is a perspective view of an example of wireless earbuds and of a case therefor shown in an open configuration;

[0015] Fig. 2A is a cross-sectional view of the case of Fig. 2 shown in the closed configuration;

[0016] Fig. 3 is a block diagram of components of the case of Fig. 2;

[0017] Fig. 4A is a schematic, simplified view of a example linear actuator, Fig. 4B presents the force response curve thereof, and Fig. 4C presents the frequency response curve thereof;

[0018] Fig. 5 is a schematic view of an other example of a system for delivering haptics to a user; and

[0019] Fig. 6 is a schematic view of a computer.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0020] Fig. 1 shows an example of a system 110 for delivering a multisensory experience, including sound and haptics, to a user. The system 110 includes a host device 112, embodied in this example as a smartphone having a media player application 114, and peripherals 116. The peripherals 116 include wireless earbuds 118 and a case 120 for the wireless earbuds 118, which are shown in greater detail in Fig. 2. In this example, the host device 112 is configured for emitting one or more signals which may be received by the case 120 and the wireless earbuds 118. Various means of wireless transmission may be used, including simple radio broadcasting for instance, though it may be preferred in some embodiments to use more advanced means, such as a telecommunications protocol like Bluetooth for instance, which implies pairing of the host device 112 with the peripherals 116 and a specific communication protocol via which transferred data packets can be received and correctly interpreted by the peripherals 116. Depending on the embodiment, the host device 112 may send a same signal, such as an audio signal for instance, to both devices (118, 120), or different signals for the wireless earbuds 118 and for the case 120, such as one or more audio channels and one or more haptic channels, respectively. The details of the signals being emitted by the host device can depend on the media being played, or more largely, on one or more software application being run on the host device 112.

[0021] Fig. 2 presents the case 120 and the wireless earbuds 118 in greater detail. The case 120 has a housing 122 having an external wall 124 having one or more cavity 126 defined therein. In practice, the case 120 can have a main portion 128 having an opening 130, and a cover 132 hinged in a manner to allow selective opening and closing of the opening 130. The main portion 128 can have an external wall 124 wall and an inner wall 134 separated by a spacing such as shown more clearly in Fig. 2A. The inner wall 134 can be shaped in a manner to define earbud sockets 136 for instance, which can communicate with the opening in a manner for the earbuds 118 to be easily engageable into or out from the earbud sockets 136via the opening 130 when the cover 132 is open. The earbud sockets 136 can have charging ports 138 which are configured to couple with charging ports 140 of the earbuds 118 when the earbuds 118 are engaged in the sockets 136.

[0022] The case 120 can have a number of components, such as a battery (which can be referred to as the case battery by contradistinction with the earbud batteries which are not shown), a haptics motor 144, and a controller 146. The haptics motor 144 can be more specifically a linear actuator 144a, an example of which will be presented in greater detail below. The expression “controller” is used here in a broad manner to refer to electronics configured and operable to perform functions in an automated manner. The expression controller is used in the singular as including the plural. Accordingly, different functions of the controller 146 may be performed by distinct electronic chips, or by a same electronic chip depending on the embodiment, as known to person having ordinary skill in the art. The expression “module” is used to refer to any processing hardware and any software instructions stored in non-transitory memory hardware coupled to any processing hardware and which are operable to execute associated functions, independently of the details of the exact hardware implementation (e.g., independently of how the execution of the function is performed by a same chip or shared or distributed amongst more than one chip or other hardware). The battery 142, the linear actuator 144a, and one or more hardware elements forming the controller 146 can be housed within the housing 122, such as within one or more cavity 126 formed in the housing 122. In one embodiment, the battery 142, the linear actuator 144a and the controller 146 can be disposed between the internal wall 134 and the external wall 124 of the case 120, for instance. The case 120 can further include a charging port 150 which can be configured for selective connection to a charging cable, for instance.

[0023] The haptic motor 144a can be mechanically coupled to a portion of the external wall 124 of the case 120. As shown in Fig. 2A for instance, the linear actuator 144a can be mechanically secured against an internal face of a portion of the external wall 124, for the forces caused by the activation of the linear actuator 144a to be conveyed as directly as feasible to the portion of the external wall 124 which can, in turn, be disposed directly or indirectly into contact with the user’s skin, so as to be mechanically coupled thereto.

[0024] Fig. 3 presents a block diagram of some hardware elements of the case 120, excluding namely the housing.

[0025] The controller 146 can have an earbud charging module. The earbud charging module can perform the function of delivering electrical power from the battery 142 to the earbud charging port 150 to charge the earbuds 118. An earbud sensor (not shown) may be integrated to the case and configured in a manner for providing an indication to the earbud charging module of whether or not earbuds 118 are disposed in the sockets 136, and the charging of the earbuds 118 can be controlled in a manner to activate contingent upon the earbuds 118 having been determined to be disposed in the sockets 136. A charging sensor (not shown) may be integrated to the case 120, which may be distinct or the same as the earbud sensor. The charging sensor may be configured to sense state of charge of the earbud batteries for instance, and / or state of charge of the case battery 142 for instance. The earbud charging module may be configured to interrupt the charging of the earbuds 118, or to switch to a maintenance charge mode, when the state of charge of the earbud batteries is determined to be at or around 100%.

[0026] The controller 146 can have a wireless receiving module. The wireless receiving module can be adapted to receive or exchange data with a host device via a telecommunications protocol. The telecommunications protocol can be Bluetooth for instance, in which case the wireless receiving module can be adapted to perform functions such as pairing the case 120 with a host device 110, exchanging data with the host device 110, unpacking received data packets, etc.

[0027] The controller 146 can have a signal processing module. The signal processing module can be adapted to convert data packets into an audio signal for instance. The signal processing module can involve an audio processor for instance. In some cases, a single chip may perform more than one function, such as a Bluetooth chip which combines the functions of wireless receiving and of signal processing.

[0028] The controller 146 can have a haptic extraction module. Indeed, in some embodiments, the signal received may not be suitable for driving the haptic motor 144 in its initial state, and may need to be transformed for better suitability. For instance, if the signal is an audio signal,it may include frequencies higher than haptic frequencies (e.g. frequencies above 1000Hz, frequencies above 500 Hz, or even frequencies above 300 Hz). It may not be desired to drive the haptic motor 144 with such higher frequencies for various reasons. One example reason is that high frequencies may lead to undesirable noise being emitted by the case 120. Accordingly, it may be desired to transform the initial state of the signal into a state which is suitable for driving the haptics motor 144 and which can be referred to as a haptics signal. The haptics signal may have only frequencies between 2 and 1000Hz, only frequencies between 2 and 500Hz, or only frequencies between 5 and 350 Hz for instance. The function of transforming the initial state of the signal for better suitability for haptics can be performed by a portion of an entirety of one or more hardware element which will be referred to herein as a haptic extraction module for simplicity. In one embodiment where in the initial state, the signal is an audio signal, the haptic extraction module may consist of simply a low pass filter which filters out the higher frequencies. In a more elaborate embodiment, the haptic extraction module may perform a more complex transfer function, such as frequency scaling and / or frequency shifting of the audio frequencies onto a haptic frequency band. Various alternate embodiments are possible. In some embodiments, the signal received may be directly suitable for driving the haptic motor 144 in its initial state. This may be the case, for instance, in the case where a haptics channel is specifically communicated to the case. In such embodiments, the haptic extraction module may be omitted.

[0029] The controller 146 can have an actuator control module. The actuator control module can perform the function of driving the haptic motor using energy from the case battery 142 for instance, and based on the signal (which may be in the initial state or in the form of a haptics signal representing a transformation of the initial state depending on the embodiment).

[0030] Fig. 4A shows a relatively simple example of a linear actuator 22 which can be used as a haptics motor for providing haptics feedback. The linear actuator 22 can be said to generally include a mass 12 which can be moved linearly back and forth along a linear path 24. The linear path 24 can be defined by a linear guide, such as by being circumscribed by a guide 26 defining a linear path 24 longer than the mass 12 for instance, in which the mass 12 can be slidingly engaged.

[0031] The linear actuator 22 also includes some form of drive force generator (not shown) which is configured for selectively imparting a drive force, or not, onto the mass 12 to spur its movement along the linear path 24. In the case where the mass 12 has one or more magnetic segment(s), the drive force generator can be an electromagnet which is magnetically coupled to a permanent magnetic field of the mass 12, for instance, but other forms of drive force generator, or ways of driving the movement of the mass, may be preferred in other embodiments.

[0032] The linear actuator 22 is further provided with a reactive force path which, in the example presented in Figs. 4A to 4C, is entirely provided by means of a compression spring 14 which is secured between the mass 12 and the guide 26 at one end 28. In this embodiment, the compression spring 14 has a spring constant k which can remain constant along the entire span of displacement along the linear path 24, and therefore generate a linear force response curve 18 (Fig. 4B). The force response curve 18 of the reactive force path 32, represented here by dashed boxes in Fig. 4A, is presented in Fig. 4B. As shown on the left hand side of the rest position 16 of Fig. 4B, the reactive force path 32 generates a progressively (linearly) increasing return force 30. The farther the mass is moved along the linear path from the rest position 16 towards the left, the more the spring 14 is stretched, following a typical mass / spring behaviour, governed by the equation F = kx (where x is displacement). As shown on the right hand side of the rest position 16 of Fig. 4B, the reactive force path 32 offers a progressively increasing return force 30 the farther the mass is moved towards the right from the rest position 16, compressing the spring 14.

[0033] In this case, the force response curve 18 is linear, in the sense that it has a constant slope k, and the force response is proportional to the distance from the rest position 16. Since the maximum extent of the linear displacement path 34 and the amplitude of the maximum displacement 34 can vary from one embodiment to another, it may be practical to provide values of slope k in relative units. Indeed, independently of the embodiment, the linear displacement path 24 can have a static rest position 16, also known as an equilibrium position, from which the mass 12 can be moved by the drive force generator in two directions, to corresponding ends 28, 36 of the linear displacement path 24. The ends 28, 36 of the linear displacement path 24 can be defined by the reactive force path, and can even be delimited byhard stops for instance, or can be defined by properties such as the maximum force and frequency of the drive force generator, and friction, which can be translated into a maximum extent of displacement at perfect resonance for instance. The maximum force 38 and the maximum extent / span of displacement 34 are thus properties of a given linear actuator independently of the details of implementation. To define normalized units, let us define units in which half of the full span of the linear displacement path 24 is equal to the maximum return force 38. For example 1 of the maximum extent of displacement 34 can have a value of 1 in units of maximum displacement, and the maximum return force 38 exerted by the reactive force path can have a value of 1 in units of maximum return force 38. The slope can thus be expressed in units of increasing force per units of increasing displacement. In the context of a linear reactive force path, using the definition presented above, the slope remains constantly equal to 1 in these units along the entire extent of displacement, on either side of the rest position 16. The slope is also 1 at the rest position 16, clearly defining the static rest position 16. The force response curve 18 is also symmetrical, providing an equal return force 30 independently of the mass position orientation relative to the equilibrium position 16.

[0034] The shape of the force response curve 18 is thus also a property of the linear actuator, and will be defined by the force element(s) of the reactive force path. In this embodiment of FIG. 4A, there is a single force element, the compression spring 14, which entirely defines the force response curve 18 but it is understood that other embodiments (e.g. embodiments in which the force element(s) is / are one or more magnet(s), one or more spring(s), and / or combinations thereof) can be used in alternate embodiments, examples of which will be presented below, which can lead, for instance, to response paths which are not linear or which have a different slope.

[0035] The shape of the force response curve 18 will entrain dynamic effects which can be visualized during operation. In this example, for instance, the force response curve 18 includes a first region 40 of increasing return force 30 extending from the rest position 16 to the first end 28 of the linear displacement path 24, on a first side of the rest position 16, and a second region 42 of increasing return force 30 extending from the equilibrium position 16 to the second end 36 of the linear displacement path 24, on a second side of the equilibrium position 16. The two regions 40, 42 of increasing return force 30 define the entirety of the force responsecurve 18. The return force 30 always acts in the orientation of the displacement, which can be due to the fact that the linear displacement path 24 constrains the movement within that orientation, but acts in opposite directions depending on the side relative to the rest position 16, and thus always acting in a manner to return the mass 12 to the rest position 16, hence the expression “return” force.

[0036] If moved to one side against the return bias of the spring 14, and suddenly freed from the external force, the spring 14 will pull the mass 12 back past the rest position 16, an the mass 12 will oscillate back and forth around the rest position 16 for a certain amount of time before its energy is dissipated in friction and the mass 12 settles back at the ‘static’ rest position 16 (which can be a region instead of a point in a non-linear system, but a point is typically preferred in haptics). The frequency at which the mass 12 will oscillate back and forth is the natural frequency of the linear actuator, and will be denoted herein as Wo. Wo depends, in the simplified case of a force response curve having constant slope presented in Fig. 4B, on the slope of the force response curve 18 which, in this embodiment, is directly related to the spring constant k. If the drive force generator is configured to provide drive energy repetitively into the system 10 at a frequency close to the natural frequency Wo, which can be done by operating a coil with alternating current for instance, the repetitively added energy will add up into a “resonance”, and the moving mass 12 will reach greater and greater amplitudes of displacement and acceleration until it meets a dynamic equilibrium oscillation, in which the energy losses due to friction will correspond to the amount of energy introduced into the system at each cycle.

[0037] The expression “provide drive energy repetitively into the system at a frequency close to the natural frequency” may be best understood by referring to Fig. 4C. Fig. 4C presents a graph which shows the force (acceleration) response spectrum 20 of the linear actuator 22 of Fig. 4A as a function of drive frequency, for a given drive energy amplitude. Indeed, if the same amount of energy is provided to the mass 12, but at a different frequency than Wo, the mass 12 will still be driven but some of the energy will not be efficiently transferred into movement since the movement of the spring 14 will not resonate with the drive and as such, the amplitude of acceleration and displacement of the mass 12 driven by the drive force will be lesser. Indeed, the peak shown in the frequency response graph corresponds with thefrequency Wo. One can see that the force response generated will diminish progressively as the drive frequency is shifted farther and farther away from the natural frequency Wo.

[0038] In a context where the drive force generator has a maximal drive force generator value (maximum amount of drive energy), which, in the case of an electromagnet (coil) drive can correspond to a maximum voltage for instance, the maximal drive force generator will only produce the maximal acceleration response value Gmax if its maximum voltage input is correctly timed to oscillate between positive and negative at the natural frequency Wo, and the maximal drive force generator value will generate a smaller acceleration response the farther away it is operated from the natural frequency Wo„ and in this example of FIG. 40 a shift of 1 / 5thin frequency from Wo will produce only a negligible acceleration response, perhaps below 5% of the maximum acceleration response value. In some alternate embodiment, the frequency response characteristics (e.g. the natural frequency Wo) of a linear actuator 22 can be selected and / or changed by moving a force element from one location to another. In some embodiments, the frequency response characteristics may include more than one peak frequency.

[0039] Here again, since the frequency response spectrum 20 is defined by the force response curve 18, which in turn in defined by the force element(s) which define the reactive force path, the frequency response spectrum 20 of a linear actuator 22 can be said to be a property of the linear actuator, similarly to how the force response curve 18 can be a property of the linear actuator 22 or the details of the force element(s) are properties of the linear actuator 22.

[0040] Fig. 5 presents another example embodiment of a system 210 for providing haptics to a user. In this embodiment, the case 120 can have an additional functionality of relaying the signal received from the host device 112 to the headphones. For instance, the case 120 can be paired with the headphones 118 in addition to being paired with the host device 112. The case 120 can simultaneously unpack and relay data packets received from the host device 112, for instance. In still an alternate embodiment, rather than being paired with a smartphone or standalone media player as a host device, the case 120 can be paired to the earbuds 118, and the earbuds can be further paired with the host device 112. The earbuds 118 may perform the function of relaying the signal to the case 120. While such alatter alternate embodiment is possible, it may be technically less feasible in cases where earbuds 118 are of very small volume, as such earbuds 118 may have less volume to house electronics than the case 120.

[0041] Referring to Fig. 6, it will be understood that the expression “computer” 400 as used herein is not to be interpreted in a limiting manner. It is rather used in a broad sense to generally refer to the combination of some form of one or more processing units 412 and some form of memory system 414 accessible by the processing unit(s). In many embodiments, the host device, the earbuds and / or the case can be considered to be “computers” or to include a “computer”. A “controller” may include a “computer”. The memory system can be of the non- transitory type. The use of the expression “computer”, or “controller”, in its singular form as used herein includes within its scope the combination of a two or more computers or controllers working collaboratively to perform a given function. Moreover, the expression “computer” or “controller” as used herein includes within its scope the use of partial capabilities of a given processing unit. Example computers include desktop, laptop, smartphone, smart watch, less elaborated controller devices, etc.

[0042] A processing unit can be embodied in the form of a general-purpose micro-processor or microcontroller, a digital signal processing (DSP) processor, an integrated circuit, a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a reconfigurable processor, and a programmable read-only memory (PROM, to name a few examples.

[0043] The memory system can include a suitable combination of any suitable type of computer-readable memory located either internally, externally, and accessible by the processor in a wired or wireless manner, either directly or over a network such as the Internet. A computer-readable memory can be embodied in the form of random-access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), compact disc read-only memory (CDROM), electro-optical memory, magneto-optical memory, erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), and electrically-erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), Ferroelectric RAM (FRAM)to name a few examples.

[0044] A computer can have one or more input / output (I / O) interface to allow communication with a human user and / or with another computer via an associated input, output, orinput / output device such as a keyboard, a mouse, a touchscreen, an antenna, a port, etc. Each I / O interface can enable the computer to communicate and / or exchange data with other components, to access and connect to network resources, to serve applications, and / or perform other computing applications by connecting to a network (or multiple networks) capable of carrying data including the Internet, Ethernet, plain old telephone service (POTS) line, public switch telephone network (PSTN), integrated services digital network (ISDN), digital subscriber line (DSL), coaxial cable, fiber optics, satellite, mobile, wireless (e.g. Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, WiMAX), SS7 signaling network, fixed line, local area network, wide area network, to name a few examples.

[0045] It will be understood that a computer can perform functions or processes via hardware or a combination of both hardware and software. For example, hardware can include logic gates included as part of a silicon chip of a processor. Software (e.g. application, process) can be in the form of data such as computer-readable instructions stored in a non-transitory computer-readable memory accessible by one or more processing units. With respect to a computer or a processing unit, the expression “configured to” relates to the presence of hardware or a combination of hardware and software which is operable to perform the associated functions. Different elements of a computer, such as processor and / or memory, can be local, or in part or in whole remote and / or distributed and / or virtual.

[0046] As can be understood, the examples described above and illustrated are intended to be exemplary only. The scope is indicated by the appended claims.

Claims

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1. A case for wireless earbuds, the case comprising : a housing; earbud sockets defined in the housing and operable to selectively receive and house the wireless earbuds; a battery housed in the housing; a linear actuator housed in the housing; an antenna; a controller housed in the housing, powered by the case battery, and operable to: charge the wireless earbuds via the case battery when the wireless earbuds are housed in the earbud sockets; receive a signal via the antenna; and drive the linear actuator based on the signal.

2. The case of claim 1 wherein the housing has an external wall, an internal wall defining the earbud sockets, a spacing between the external wall and the internal wall, the linear actuator being disposed in the spacing and mechanically coupled to the external wall.

3. The case of claim 1 further comprising an electrical connector, the controller further operable to charge the battery via electrical power received from the electrical connector when the electrical connector is connected to an external electrical power source.

4. The case of any one of claim 1 to 3 wherein the controller has a processor and non- transitory memory storing instructions, the instructions being executable by the processor to perform said charging, receiving, and driving.

5. The case of claim 4 wherein the instructions being further executable by the processor to extract a haptic signal from the signal, wherein said driving the linear actuator based on the signal is based on the haptic signal.

6. The case of claim 5 wherein the instructions being further executable by the processor to extract an audio signal from the signal, said extracting a haptic signal from the signal including applying a low-pass filter to the audio signal.

7. The case of any one of claims 4 to 6 wherein the instructions are further executable by the processor to collaborate in the pairing of the case with a host device, to control data exchange with the host device via a telecommunications protocol, including receiving the signal.

8. The case of claim 7 wherein the instructions are further executable by the processor to process data received from the host device into an audio signal.

9. The case of any one of claims 1 to 8 further comprising a motion sensor, the controller further operable to selectively activate or deactivate said driving based on an input from the motion sensor.

10. The case of any one of claims 1 to 9 wherein the controller is further operable to relay at least a portion of the signal to a peripheral device.

11. The case of any one of claims 1 to 10 wherein said driving is performed solely at frequencies between 2 Hz and 1000 Hz.

12. The case of any one of claims 1 to 11 further comprising an amplifier operable to amplify at least a portion of the signal upstream of said driving the linear actuator.

13. A method of delivering haptics to a user, the method comprising : the user wearing wireless earbuds in user ears; the user wearing a case for the wireless earbuds, the case mechanically coupled to user skin;a host device emitting a signal including an audio signal; the wireless earbuds driving an electroacoustic transducer at frequencies between 20 and 20 000Hz based on the audio signal, thereby delivering audio to the user ears; and the case receiving a signal associated to the audio signal, and, simultaneously to said driving of said electroacoustic transducer, driving a linear actuator at frequencies between 2 and 1000 Hz based on the signal, thereby delivering haptics to the user skin.

Images