Abstract:
Apparatuses for playing signals received from the internet or other information highway or a stored database on one or more speakers are described. The apparatus has a receiver for receiving information from preselected addresses; a processor for interpreting the signals; and at least one speaker for playing signals from the internet. There is at least display device connected to the receiver for displaying an image received from the internet. The processor selects images that correspond with the signals played by the speaker.

Description:
[0001]    This application is a continuation in part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/401,773, filed on Jan. 9, 2017, which is a continuation under 35 USC §120 of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/161,658, filed on May 23, 2016, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/710,707, filed on May 13, 2015, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/856,795, filed on Apr. 4, 2013 (now U.S. Pat. No. 9,060,040 issued Jun. 16, 2015), which is a continuation in part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/331,469 filed on Dec. 20, 2011 (now U.S. Pat. No. 8,467,722 issued Jun. 18, 2013), which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/180,901 filed Jul. 28, 2008 (now U.S. Pat. No. 8,099,039 issued Jan. 17, 2012), which claims the benefit of priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/954,879, filed Aug. 9, 2007, the entirety of all of which is hereby incorporated by reference. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    This application relates to the field of internet receivers that are capable of receiving Internet radio signals or audio signals from a stored playlist. More specifically, this application relates to speakers and video screens that relate to a specific station that is received through these devices by Bluetooth, Wi-Fi or Wi-Max. It is also noted that one Bluetooth, Wi-Fi or Wi-Max Internet receiver may be used to supply signals to multiple speakers and screens. 
         [0003]    Internet Radio Stations are easy to broadcast and with Wi-Fi and Wi-Max can be transmitted to virtually every part of the world. In fact, the problem is that so many stations are available on the Internet that it is hard for them to get traction. It is hard for those stations to get traffic even when they have been “selected” by the service. Therefore, there is a need in the art for an Internet Radio player which can help an Internet Radio Station gain market share. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0004]    The present invention relates to Internet Radio receivers that area wirelessly connected to speakers and screens that are programmed to have a pre-set theme. The theme may be of any number of topics, such as sports, holidays, a particular movie or character, or a culture. Thus, music and programming appropriate to the theme is played through the speaker automatically, while a visual feature, such as a hologram or video display is focused onto or emanating from the speaker, so that the speaker takes on a visual theme of the programming. The speaker is configured with an amplifier and a microprocessor that causes the receiver to send signals from only a pre-set number of thematically appropriate stations or playlists that are saved in a database or streamed from the internet to the receiver. The microprocessor is connected with a holographic projector or other type of projector, and along with the playlist or station, causes the projector to project an image that coordinates with the playlist being played. The image can be projected onto the speaker, or can be projected from the speaker so that the speaker takes on the appearance of the image. 
         [0005]    The receiver has a processor that connects to an address on the internet or other information highway or to a stored playlist on a computer. The receiver is wirelessly connected to the speakers or video screens via either Wifi, or BLUETOOTH® technology. Any connection to the internet, however, can be used. The internet receiver can be incorporated into a mobile telephone. The receiver also incorporates a transmitter to transmit the internet signals to the various speakers, with a different internet signal being transmitted to each speaker or screen. 
         [0006]    The receiver has a processor that connects to one of a plurality of preselected addresses on the internet or other information highway or to a stored playlist. The apparatus also has an interface for selecting the one of the plurality of preselected addresses. The preselected addresses are related to different themes that correlate with the different visual displays. For example, on a mobile telephone with internet capability, the mobile telephone could have a plurality of applications that relate to internet radio stations installed on it. Selecting one of the applications causes the mobile telephone to communicate with the speaker that corresponds to the theme of the radio station or internet site and cause that speaker to play the content of the selected site. 
         [0007]    Selecting the particular theme also activates the display to correlate with the audio being played. The appearance is configured via a display screen, a projection or holographic displays emanating from the speaker or toward the speaker. For example, the speaker could also comprise a holographic projector that projects 2D or 3D images or videos onto an area or onto the speaker. These images or videos are correlated with the theme selected and the audio being played. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0008]      FIG. 1  illustrates a block diagram of an Internet Radio broadcast receiving station; 
           [0009]      FIG. 2  shows an embodiment where a smartphone communicates wirelessly with a speaker and video screen to play the selected programming; 
           [0010]      FIG. 3  shows the user interface displaying the various options for radio stations for a speaker; 
           [0011]      FIG. 4  shows an embodiment employing a holographic projector as the display; and 
           [0012]      FIG. 5  shows the holographic projector projecting an image onto the speaker. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0013]    As used in this specification and the appended claims, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” include plural referents unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. Thus, for example, reference to “a radio” includes a combination of two or more radios, and the like. 
         [0014]    As used in this specification and the appended claims, “internet” refers not only to the internet, but also to any wide area network or local area network. Use of the term “internet” is not intended to limit the present invention to communications received via the world wide web. 
         [0015]    As used in this specification and the appended claims, “pre-selected” means that the internet radio address, or URL, has been programmed into the radio. The pre-selected address may be a default address, or a selection of addresses to which the user can set the radio to default. 
         [0016]    As used in this specification and the appended claims, a “speaker” means any sound emitting device and is not limited to standard electromechanical transducer type speakers. Non-limiting examples of suitable speakers are piezoelectric speakers, electrostatic speakers, flat panel speakers and digital speakers. 
         [0017]    As used in the specification and the appended claims, a “smartphone” is a mobile telephone equipped with internet capability. 
         [0018]    As used in the specification and the appended claims, an “application” or “app” is a software program installed on a smartphone, which can perform certain functions directly or is used to directly connect the smartphone to an internet-based program via a link on the display screen of the smartphone. 
         [0019]    Referring to  FIG. 1 , one or more Internet Radio Broadcasters  10   a ,  10   b  and  10   c , provide electronic signals through the internet  12 . The signals can be received by a combination Wi-Fi/Wi-Max receiver/radio  16  and played by multiple speakers  18   a ,  18   b  and  18   c . The receiver  16  has a processor  15  and a user interface  17  for controlling the preselected stations, as well as volume from each of the speakers. The processor assigns each one of internet radio stations  10   a ,  10   b ,  10   c  to one of speakers  18   a ,  18   b ,  18   c  so that each speaker plays a different radio station. The receiver  16  is wirelessly connected to the internet or other information highway. In a preferred embodiment, the receiver/processor/interface are embodied in a smartphone  60 , shown in  FIG. 2 . 
         [0020]    The receiver  16  connects to the internet or other information highway and the processor  15  directs the receiver to a preselected address on the internet or other information highway. The each of the speakers  18   a ,  18   b ,  18   c  displays an ornamental design related to the topic of the signals received from the preselected address on the internet or other information highway. Each speaker  18   a - 18   c  plays a different channel and the ornamental design matches the theme of the signals being played. 
         [0021]    Detailed embodiments of the invention have a processor  15  that connects to a plurality of preselected addresses on the internet or other information highway. The apparatus also has an interface  17  allowing the user to control various aspects of each of the speakers such as volume and channel selection within the theme of the speaker. 
         [0022]    The ornamental design of some embodiments may be selected from the group consisting of: holiday themes, garden themes, spa themes, patriotic themes, sports, etc. The ornamental design of the speaker may be a representation of an edifice, a character, a piece of art or other similar representation. The apparatus defaults to an internet radio station which is correlated with the ornamental design when power is supplied to the speaker. 
         [0023]      FIG. 2  shows a speaker  20  according to one or more embodiments of the invention. The speaker  20  shown has an ornamental design related to football. The user can supply power to the speaker by either connection of a power cord  23  to a standard power outlet or by battery power (not shown). Any buttons and dials on the speaker can be shaped in accordance with the ornamental design. For example, the user may power the speaker  20  by pressing a power button  25 , shown as a football-shaped button. 
         [0024]    The speaker  20  is programmed with a specific internet radio station controlled by the processor  15  in smartphone  60 . This radio station will act as a default station related to the ornamental design. Here, the speaker  20  may tune to an internet radio station associated with the National Football League, or a station that broadcast college football games. The user may be able program smartphone  60  to add additional internet radio stations via an application that can be downloaded to smartphone  60 . 
         [0025]    Once powered, speaker  20  is designed to broadcast the default internet radio station or playlist. The mobile phone  60  communicates via WiFi or other method to speaker  20  or via a wired connection  23  using, for example, an Ethernet connection to a computer or an internet appliance, USB, IEEE-1394, serial, parallel, or any other suitable connection. 
         [0026]    The speaker  20  can also have a screen  29  which can display information related to the theme of the internet radio station that is being broadcast. For example, the screen  29  can display a football themed graphic, a picture of a prominent player or any other graphic that is related to the content of the station being played. Screen  29  can be placed on a speaker  20  even without extra ornamentation, so that the display  24  is the only ornamentation to indicate the theme of the speaker. The ornamentation displayed by screen  24  is transmitted to speaker  20  from smartphone  60 . The software application installed in smartphone  60  connects to a database with graphics that match the topic being transmitted, and transmits these graphics to the screen  24 . The display could also be one that is projected from the speaker or as a hologram, as shown in  FIG. 5 . 
         [0027]    A software application loaded onto mobile telephone creates the user interface  17  that allows the user view and control the programming associated with the application, as shown in  FIG. 4 . 
         [0028]    As shown in  FIG. 3 , the software could offer a selection of different themed programming as displayed on a display  17  of smartphone  60 . The user can pick one of the icons  50  for play through speaker  32 . This sends the desired programming through the audio speaker  32  as well as programs the display, such as display  29  in  FIG. 2 , or a holographic projector  200 , as shown in  FIG. 5 . 
         [0029]    As shown in  FIG. 4 , holographic projector  200  is connected with a speaker  250  to form the themed ornament according to the invention. Speaker  250  is wirelessly connected to a microprocessor contained in a mobile telephone  300 . Mobile telephone  300  contains a receiver which receives audio signals from the internet and transmits them to the speaker. In addition, the receiver also receives still images or video data from the internet and transmits them to holographic projector  200 . The microprocesser controls the transmission so that images or videos are always correlated with the audio content selected. This way, the images projected by projector  200  correspond to the audio signals being played by speaker  250 . In some instances a video with accompanying sound can play via the speaker and projector. In other instances, the video or still images transmitted are representative of a general theme of the audio signals. For example the system can play a music video through both the projector and speakers. Or, the speakers can play Christmas music and the projector can transmit an image of a Christmas tree, as shown in  FIG. 5 . The microprocessor combines the video and audio data together if the two are not already combined in a single streaming transmission from the internet, so that video and audio are transmitted simultaneously to the projector and speaker. 
         [0030]    Projector  200  can be any type of holographic projector that is configured to project 2D or 3D images into a space. Projector  200  can consist of a light source  201 , an object lens  202 , a spacial filter  203 , a collimating lens  204 , a light modulator  205  and an optical lens  206 . These elements can produce a high quality 3D holographic image  209 . 
         [0031]    The projector  200  can be set up so that it projects the image onto the speaker to transform the appearance of the speaker into the projected image, as shown in  FIG. 5 , where projector  200  projects an image of a Christmas tree onto the speaker, so that it appears as if the tree itself were playing the audio programming. Alternatively, the projector  200  can be arranged so that it projects directly from the speaker, to obscure the visibility of the speaker with the hologram. Either way, it looks like the sound is emanating directly from the hologram. 
         [0032]    The various embodiments and aspects of the invention described here can be employed individually or in conjunction with other embodiments and aspects. Descriptions of individual aspects and embodiments does not preclude the inclusion of other aspects, embodiments or additional structural components. 
         [0033]    It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the details of construction or process steps set forth in the following description. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or being carried out in various ways. 
         [0034]    While there have been shown, described and pointed out fundamental novel features of the invention as applied to preferred embodiments or aspects thereof, it will be understood that various omissions and substitutions and changes in the form and details of the device illustrated and in its operation may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention. It is the intention, therefore, to be limited only as indicated by the scope of the claims appended hereto.