Hardware Timer Synchronization for Wireless Earphone Audio Lag

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Solution Overview

Problem

Wireless earphones often experience out-of-sync playback due to differences in processing speed and power between the earphones and the connected portable terminal, affecting the user's listening experience.

Innovation Solution

Incorporating a hardware timer with a higher resolution than the operating system, allowing for precise synchronization of playback events between master and slave electronic devices, such as earphones, by calculating and executing playback instructions at predefined time intervals.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of operation

If wireless earphones are used to enable portability and wireless connection, then ease of operation is improved, but playback synchronization deteriorates due to processing speed differences

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvewireless connection convenienceVSAvoidplayback synchronization

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary actions by having the master earphone transmit playback event signals to the slave earphone before the actual playback occurs. This allows the slave earphone to prepare and synchronize its playback timing in advance, compensating for processing speed differences between devices.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The system implements feedback by having the master earphone send playback event signals to the slave earphone, creating a communication loop that allows the slave to adjust its playback timing based on the master's actual playback events, ensuring synchronization despite different processing speeds.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

2Measurement precision

If hardware timer with higher resolution is used to improve playback synchronization precision, then measurement precision is improved, but device complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveplayback timing precisionVSAvoidhardware timer requirement

Core Design Contradiction:

Measurement precisionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The system changes the time resolution parameter by introducing a hardware timer with higher resolution (e.g., 10ns) compared to the OS timer (e.g., 10ms). This parameter change enables precise measurement and control of playback intervals, achieving synchronization accuracy that would be impossible with standard OS timing alone.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

Data Source

PatentUS10805062B2Electronic device and system for synchronizing playback time of sound source

Publication Date: 2020.10.13 SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO LTD

AI summary

An electronic device is provided. The electronic device includes a hardware timer, a memory, a communication circuit, and a processor. The processor is configured to measure a first time point of the hardware timer in response to a playback event received via the communication circuit from a master paired with the electronic device, calculate a second time point by adding a predefined first time interval to the first time point, and execute an instruction to play back a sound source at the second time point. A first resolution of the hardware timer is set to be higher than a second resolution of an operating system (OS).