Wireless Earphones With Automatic Network Switching for Audio Streaming
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional wireless headphones are either cumbersome due to cords or large in size, and lack the ability to seamlessly transition between ad hoc and infrastructure wireless networks, limiting their usability and convenience.
Innovation Solution
A wireless earphone system that includes a transceiver circuit for receiving streaming audio over ad hoc and infrastructure wireless networks, automatically transitioning between them without user intervention, and connects to a host server for streaming audio or network addresses, allowing for seamless audio playback even when out of range from the primary data source.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If wireless headphones use a docking port to connect directly to a digital audio player, then cordless audio playback is achieved, but the headphones become quite large and are not in-ear type phones
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical docking port connection with a wireless communication system using Bluetooth or other wireless protocols. This eliminates the need for a physical docking interface, allowing the headphones to be much smaller and fit in-ear while still achieving cordless audio playback from digital audio players.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the docking port functionality from the headphone design, separating the wireless communication capability into a standalone transceiver system. This allows the main headphone body to be minimized to in-ear dimensions while the wireless communication functions are handled by a compact transceiver module.
2Ease of operation
If wireless headphones use IEEE 802.11 to connect to a WLAN-ready laptop or PC, then cordless audio playback is achieved, but the headphones are quite large and not in-ear type phones
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a universal wireless communication system that can operate with multiple protocols (Bluetooth, IEEE 802.11, and other wireless standards). This multi-functional approach allows the same compact in-ear headphone design to work with various devices including digital audio players, laptops, and PCs, eliminating the need for device-specific large docking ports.
3Reliability
If headphones use a cord to connect to the data storage unit, then stable audio transmission is achieved, but the cord is cumbersome and annoying to users
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical cord connection with wireless communication technology, eliminating the physical cable that causes user inconvenience. The wireless transceiver system maintains reliable audio transmission stability through error correction protocols and continuous connection management, while completely removing the cumbersome cord from the user experience.
4Ease of operation
If the cord length is limited, then the data storage unit and headphones can be connected, but the physical distance between them is restricted
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical cord-based connection system with wireless communication, which eliminates the physical distance constraint imposed by cord length. The wireless transceiver enables the data storage unit and headphones to communicate over much greater distances without any physical connection, providing users with freedom of movement while maintaining connection capability.
Data Source
AI summary
A system comprising a wireless earphone set and a client computing device, both of which are communicable with a host server via the Internet. The host server stores configuration parameters for the wireless earphone set that are transmittable to the wireless earphone set via the Internet, and that are configurable by an authenticated user of the client computing device via the host server to generate updated configuration parameters for the wireless earphone set. The updated configuration parameters for the wireless earphone set are transmitted by the host server to the wireless earphone set via the Internet.