Gaming Headset Charging Cradle with Far-Field Microphone
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing audio headsets for gaming often require charging during use, which is unsafe, and using a charging cradle renders the microphone and speakers unavailable, posing a challenge in maintaining communication while charging.
Innovation Solution
An audio headset with a processor, near-field and far-field microphones, and a cradle detection circuit that allows charging via a cradle while shutting off the near-field microphone and speaker, allowing far-field microphone use for communication and routing audio signals to a remote speaker for continued audio receipt during charging.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If the headset is placed in a charging cradle to charge the battery safely, then the charging safety is improved, but the microphone and speakers become unavailable to the user
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the microphone system into two independent parts: a near-field microphone that is disabled during charging, and a far-field microphone that remains operational. This segmentation allows the headset to maintain communication capability while charging safely in the cradle, resolving the contradiction between charging safety and microphone availability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a far-field microphone as an intermediary communication channel that operates independently from the near-field microphone. This intermediary allows the user to maintain audio communication through the cradle charging process, eliminating the need to choose between safe charging and available microphone.
2Ease of operation
If a USB charger is used to charge the headset during use, then the charging convenience is improved, but the safety risks increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the charging function from the headset body and places it in a separate charging cradle. This extraction removes the headset from the user's head during charging, eliminating safety risks associated with USB charging during use while maintaining charging convenience through the dedicated cradle interface.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If the near-field microphone is shut off during charging, then the charging safety is improved, but the communication capability is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements multi-functionality in the microphone system by providing both near-field and far-field microphones that serve different communication needs. The near-field microphone handles close-range communication while the far-field microphone provides remote audio capture, ensuring universal communication capability remains intact even when the near-field mic is disabled during charging.
Data Source
AI summary
An audio headset may comprise a case, near field microphone and far field microphone. A speaker, processor, memory, battery, charging interface and cradle detection circuit may be mounted to the case. Processor-executable instructions embodied in the memory, may be configured to implement a battery charging method. The headset may be shut off in response to placement of the headset in a charging cradle. The far-field microphone is turned on but not the near-field microphone. The battery may then be charged from the cradle. A headset having near-field and far-field microphones may be used to distinguish between user speech and competing sounds by generating signals from the sounds detected by each microphone and comparing the strengths of the signals. The signals may be processed as user speech if they are of comparable strength. Otherwise, the near-field signal may be processed as user speech and the far-field signal as competing sounds.