Abstract:
A device for coupling to a connector on an ear cup of a headset includes a mating connector corresponding to the connector of the headset. The mating connector includes a crossover conductor coupled to a first and a second terminal within the mating connector, a position sensor for determining a position of the device, and a data connection outputting data from the position sensor. The position data is usable to adjust three-dimensional audio signals to account for the direction the user is looking.

Description:
PRIORITY CLAIM 
       [0001]    This application is a divisional application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/617,254, filed Sep. 14, 2012, now U.S. Pat. No. ______. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    This disclosure relates to providing powered accessory devices for headsets. 
         [0003]    U.S. Patent Publication 2010/0260361, fully incorporated herein by reference, describes a headset with a modular connection allowing a down-cable, optionally supporting a boom microphone, to be connected to either ear cup, with a crossover plug connected to the opposite ear cup to connect an audio signal provided by the down-cable to the acoustic driver in the ear cup to which the plug is connected.  FIGS. 1A and 1B  are derived from  FIGS. 1 and 4  of that publication. As shown in  FIG. 1A , the system incorporates a headset assembly  10 , a down-cable assembly  20  and a crossover plug  30 . The headset assembly  10  incorporates a first ear cup  12   a  having an acoustic driver  14   a  and a connector  16   a  (both seen more clearly in  FIG. 1B ), a second ear cup  12   b  having an acoustic driver  14   b  and a connector  16   b , and a headband  18  that couples together the ear cups  12   a  and  12   b . The down-cable assembly  20  incorporates an electrically conductive cable  22 , an upper coupling  24  to couple one end of the conductive cable  22  to either of the connectors  16   a  and  16   b , a communications microphone  26   a , a microphone boom  26   b  coupling the microphone  26   a  to the upper coupling  24 , and a lower coupling  28  for connecting the other end of the conductive cable  22  to another device (not shown) such as an aircraft communications panel, a mobile phone, or a portable radio. The plug  30  is able to be coupled to either of the connectors  16   a  and  16   b.    
         [0004]    As shown in  FIG. 1B , multiple electrical conductors (e.g., electrical cabling or other form of electrical conductors) are carried by the headband  18  to convey electrical signals between the earpieces  12   a  and  12   b . Power and ground conductors  40  and  42  are connected to corresponding conductors  50  and  52  in the upper coupling  24  of the down-cable  20  via terminals  60   a  and  62   a  in the connector  16   a . The power and ground conductors  40  and  42  are also connected to power and ground terminals  60   b  and  62   b  in the second ear cup  12   b  so that the down-cable  20  can be connected to that ear cup instead and still provide power to the headset. The power and ground conductors  40  and  42  provide power to first power electronics  64   a  in the first ear cup  12   a  and second power electronics  64   b  in the second ear cup  12   b . A crossover conductor  44  is connected to crossover terminals  66   a  and  66   b  in corresponding ear cup connectors  16   a  and  16   b , but is not electrically coupled to anything else within either ear cup. The connectors  16   a  and  16   b  have left and right audio signal terminals  68   a  and  68   b , respectively, coupled to the acoustic transducers  14   a  and  14   b.    
         [0005]    In the example of  FIG. 1B , a crossover conductor  46  in the crossover plug  30  connects the crossover terminal  66   b  to the right audio signal terminal  68   b  in connector  16   b . In the upper coupling  24  of the down-cable  20 , a left audio conductor  54  is coupled to the left audio signal terminal  68   a  in the connector  16   a , while a right audio conductor  56  is connected to the crossover terminal  66   a , from which the crossover conductor  44  conducts the right audio signal to the crossover terminal  66   b  in the connector  16   b . In this way, the crossover conductor  46  couples the right audio from the crossover terminal  66   b  to the right audio terminal  68   b . If the down-cable  20  and crossover plug  30  were reversed, the right audio conductor  56  would be connected directly to the right audio terminal  68   b  to deliver audio signals to the right transducer  14   b  (via the power electronics  64   b ), while the crossover conductors  44  and  46  would couple the left audio signals from the to the left audio conductor  54  to the left audio terminal  68   a  through the crossover terminals  60   a  and  60   b . This allows the down-cable  20  to be connected to either ear cup, without having to provide both left and right signals across the headband, and without any need to detect which side the down cable is connected to. 
         [0006]    The design described in publication 2010/0260361 is implemented commercially in the A20® Aviation Headset from Bose® Corporation of Framingham, Mass. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0007]    In general, in one aspect, a device for coupling to a connector on an ear cup of a headset includes a mating connector corresponding to the connector of the headset, the mating connector including a crossover conductor coupled to a first and a second terminal within the mating connector, and a lamp configured to direct light onto a surface external to the device. 
         [0008]    Implementations may include one or more of the following. A power conductor and a ground conductor may couple power and ground terminals of the lamp to third and fourth terminals in the mating connector. A battery compartment may have positive and negative terminals for coupling to a battery, and a power conductor and a ground conductor coupling power and ground terminals of the lamp to the positive and negative battery terminals. A second power conductor and a second ground conductor may couple the positive and negative battery terminals of the lamp to third and fourth terminals in the mating connector. A body may house the mating connector, with a boom extending from the body including a first aperture through which light from the lamp may exit the boom and a cover, rotatable around the boom and having a second aperture, blocks the first aperture when the cover in a first rotation position and aligns the second aperture with the first aperture when the cover in a second rotation position, and a switch is electrically coupled to the lamp and mechanically coupled to the cover, such that rotating the cover between the first and second rotation positions activates the switch to turn the lamp on when the cover is in the second rotation position and off when the cover is in the first rotation position. 
         [0009]    In general, in one aspect, a device for coupling to a connector on an ear cup of a headset includes a mating connector corresponding to the connector of the headset, the mating connector including a crossover conductor coupled to a first and a second terminal within the mating connector, a position sensor for determining a position of the device, and a data connection outputting data from the position sensor. 
         [0010]    Implementations may include one or more of the following. A second position sensor may determine a position of the device on a second axis, orthogonal to a first axis on which the first position sensor determines position. The first and second position sensors may include gyroscopes responsive to rotation around the respective first and second axes. The first and second position sensors may include accelerometers responsive to displacement along the respective first and second axes. The first and second position sensors may include magnetometers responsive to changes in magnetic fields associated with movement of the device around the respective first and second axes. 
         [0011]    In general, in one aspect, a system for providing directional audible information to a user includes a headset having a first ear cup having a first connector and a second ear cup having a second connector, both of the first and the second connectors being operable for connection to an aircraft radio. An acoustic imaging system is operable to receive a sound signal and first data identifying a first directional location, relative to a first external reference, associated with the sound, receive second data identifying a direction the user may be looking relative to a second external reference, generate binaural audio signals that represent the sound at a second directional location when perceived by the user, the second directional location corresponding to the first directional location and adjusted according to the direction the user may be looking, such that the user perceives the direction of the source of the sound to be at the first directional location relative to the first external reference, and output the binaural audio signals. An accessory device for coupling to either of the first or the second connector of the headset includes a mating connector corresponding to the connectors of the headset, the mating connector including a crossover conductor coupled to a first and a second terminal within the mating connector, a position sensor for determining a position of the accessory device, and a data connection outputting data from the position sensor to the acoustic imaging system. The data from the position sensor includes the second data representative of the direction the user may be looking relative to the external reference. 
         [0012]    Implementations may include one or more of the following. The acoustic imaging system may be coupled to the aircraft radio, and the system may be configured to mix the binaural audio signals output by the acoustic imaging system with communications audio signals from the radio and deliver the mixed signals to the headset. The binaural audio signals output by the acoustic imaging system may be provided to the headset independently of signals from the aircraft radio. The accessory device may include a second data connection receiving the binaural audio signals from the acoustic imaging system and an audio output for providing the binaural audio signals to the headset through the mating connector. The accessory device may include a wireless transmitter for communication with the acoustic imaging system, and the acoustic imaging system may include a wireless receiver for communication with the accessory device. The first and second data may include two-dimensional location data. The two-dimensional location data may a horizontal angle away from a vertical origin of the first or second external reference, and a vertical angle away from a horizontal angle of the first or second external reference. The first external reference may be the Earth, the vertical origin of the first external reference may be a line parallel to gravity and ahead of the direction an aircraft may be traveling, and the horizontal origin of the first external reference may be the horizon. The second external reference may be an aircraft in which the user is located, the vertical origin of the second external reference may be a line directly in front of the aircraft and vertical when the aircraft is level, and the horizontal origin of the second external reference may be in a plane intersecting the user&#39;s ears and perpendicular to gravity when the aircraft is level. 
         [0013]    In general, in one aspect, a device for coupling to a connector on an ear cup of a headset includes a mating connector corresponding to the connector of the headset, the mating connector including a crossover conductor coupled to a first and a second terminal within the mating connector, and a wireless transceiver coupled to a third and a fourth terminal within the mating conductor. 
         [0014]    In general, in one aspect, a device for coupling to a connector on an ear cup of a headset includes a mating connector corresponding to the connector of the headset, the mating connector including a crossover conductor coupled to a first and a second terminal within the mating connector, and a portable power supply coupled to a third and a fourth terminal within the mating conductor. 
         [0015]    Advantages include the ability to provide modular accessories to a headset without requiring cumbersome attachment mechanisms. Power may be provided from the headset to the accessory, from the accessory to the headset, or shared between them. 
         [0016]    Other features and advantages will be apparent from the description and the claims. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0017]      FIG. 1A  shows a headset with a cable and terminator that can be attached to either ear cup. 
           [0018]      FIG. 1B  shows a schematic diagram of example wiring for the headset of  FIG. 1A . 
           [0019]      FIGS. 2 ,  4 ,  5 ,  6 ,  7 ,  8 ,  9 ,  10 , and  11  show schematic diagrams of modular accessories and their connection to a headset like that of  FIG. 1A . 
           [0020]      FIGS. 3A ,  3 B, and  3 C show an example of a modular accessory for use with a headset like that of  FIG. 1A . 
       
    
    
     DESCRIPTION 
       [0021]    Additional capabilities may be added to a headset through the use of modular accessories that connect in place of the crossover plug described above. In  FIG. 1B , note that power and ground conductors  40  and  42  are connected to corresponding terminals  60   a ,  60   b ,  62   a , and  62   b  in each ear cup, but are not used by the crossover plug  30 . As shown in  FIG. 2 , a modular accessory  100  connected in place of the crossover plug  30  may use the power available from the power and ground terminals  60   b  and  62   b  (or terminals  60   a  and  62   a  if connected to the first ear cup) for its own operation. Alternatively, the modular accessory  100  may provide power to the headset via those same conductors, in place of, or to supplement, the power provided by the down-cable  20 . Several such accessories are described below. In other examples, the power available from the headset is insufficient to power the accessory, which supplies its own power, but is used to confirm for the accessory that the headset is in use. In still other examples, the power from the headset isn&#39;t needed by the accessory at all, but the connector  16   a  or  16   b  provides a useful attachment point for the accessory. 
         [0022]    One type of accessory for this application is a reading lamp  102 , as shown in  FIGS. 3A ,  3 B,  3 C, and  4 . For aviation headsets, such as the headset  104 , pilots or passengers may need to view flight documents, e.g., a chart  106 , and instrumentation, e.g., a control panel  108 , in dark cockpits. Providing a small lamp  102  connected directly to the headset  10  keeps the light focused on whatever the user is looking at. Using the attachment point provided by the connector  16   a  or  16   b  ( FIG. 1B ) provides a more elegant and simple solution than other means of attaching a lamp to the headset, such as zip ties, glue, or hook-and-loop fasteners. It also leaves the user with one fewer piece of equipment to keep track of. A LED light source  110  will generally be sufficient, while having a low enough power requirement to either be powered by the headset power or by a small on-board battery  112 . In particular, a red LED will help retain the user&#39;s dark-adapted vision and may be compatible with military night vision goggle systems. 
         [0023]    A switch  114  is included which allows the user to turn the lamp on and off as needed. In some examples, the light source  110  is located at the end of a short boom  116 , and the switch  114  is connected to a rotatable section  118  at the end of the boom. Turning the rotatable section  118  (arrow  120  in  FIG. 3B ) turns the lamp  102  on and off. In some examples, the light source  110  may be part of the rotatable section  118  and rotate with it, or it may be located within the rotatable section and exposed or concealed by an aperture such as a window  122  in the rotatable section  118 . The act of rotating the section  118  then serves to expose or conceal the light source  110 , along with activating the switch  114  to turn it on when exposed and off when concealed. This provides a more intuitive interface to the user than a traditional push-button or toggle switch, in which the operation of the switch has no natural relationship to the state of the lamp. 
         [0024]    Another type of accessory that may be coupled to the headset  10  through the connector  16   a  or  16   b  is a head-tracking sensor module. As shown in  FIG. 5 , a head tracking sensor module  200  includes sensors  202 , such as gyroscopes, accelerometers, or magnetic field sensors, that measure the one-, two-, or three-dimensional angle of the headset, from which the direction the user is looking may be inferred. In a one-dimensional example, the rotation of the user&#39;s head in a horizontal plane is measured, i.e., how far left or right the user is looking. A second dimension would typically be elevation from the horizontal plane, i.e., how far up or down from the horizon the user is looking. In some examples, a third dimension, the side-to-side tilt of the user&#39;s head could also be measured. The sensor data is provided to an external processing system  204  through a data connection, such as a wireless link  206 . 
         [0025]    This information can then be used by two- or three-dimensional acoustic imaging systems to modify the sounds sent to the headset  10  to that the intended two- or three-dimensional position of a sound, relative to the vehicle, is adjusted to compensate for the actual direction the user is facing. For example, if an audible warning indicating the presence of another aircraft is meant to be positioned at 45 degrees to the right, relative to the aircraft&#39;s heading (the direction the aircraft is pointing), but the pilot is already looking 30 degrees to the right, then the sound should be delivered to the headset so that the pilot perceives it to be 15 degrees farther to the right of where he is facing. Vertical information, if present in the audio system and measured by the sensor module  200 , can be similarly compensated. In some examples, vertical distance is provided as the relative elevation distance between the two aircraft. This may be combined with the lateral distance between them (absolute or projected into a horizontal plane, such as the ground) to compute the angle up or down at which the other aircraft can be observed. 
         [0026]    In the example of  FIG. 5 , the external processing system  204  is connected to the aircraft&#39;s warning system  208  and radio  210 . The processing system  204  receives the audio signals and intended position data from the warning system  208  and the actual head position information from the sensor module  200  (plus any available information about the aircraft&#39;s heading, such as from a GPS system  212 ), and modifies the audio signals based on the transfer function of the headset  10  so that the sounds will be heard from the correct location. It then provides the modified audio signals to the radio  210  for delivery to the headset. 
         [0027]    Alternatively, the headset  10  may be directly connected to the external processing system  204  through its down-cable  20 , such that the audio from the radio  210  is mixed with the modified directional audio signals within the external processing system  204  and delivered to the headset  10  by the processing system  204 . In this embodiment, the wireless link  206  may be omitted, as the data from the sensors  202  can be delivered to the processing system  204  via the down-cable  20 , for example by modulating it onto the power line  40  in the headset. 
         [0028]    In some examples, directional information for warning sounds is delivered to an aircraft based on the direction the aircraft is moving (its “ground track”), which may not match the aircraft&#39;s actual heading (i.e., due to crosswinds adding a sideways component to the aircraft&#39;s movement), let alone the direction the pilot is facing within the aircraft. In such a situation, the audio system may compensate for both the aircraft&#39;s real heading relative to its ground track as well as the pilot&#39;s head position relative to the aircraft heading. 
         [0029]    Similar systems may be used on ground vehicles, such as to warn a driver about nearby vehicles or to inform a gunner of the direction of a target, and on ships for similar purposes, when the available directional information is based on the heading of the vehicle or weapons platform, but the user may be looking another direction. A further example is use by a dismounted soldier, who may have a sniper-detection or other combat information system located in a backpack or otherwise on his body that produces audible indications of the direction of threats or squad mates. Adjusting audio warnings based on the direction the soldier is looking relative to the position of the detection system allows him to immediately know which direction the threat is located in. Similarly, if the relative position of other soldiers communicating over a radio is known, their voices can be delivered to the soldier&#39;s headset in the correct spatial position, helping maintain situational awareness. In a civilian context, such a system may be used to help a crane operator keep track audibly of the direction of a spotter communicating from the ground, to name one example. 
         [0030]    As with the lighting example, using the connector on the headset minimizes the amount of equipment the user must have attached to his head or helmet, while allowing the headset itself to remain relatively simple, that is, the sensors and related circuitry do not need to be integrated into the headset. If power available to the headset, such as from a vehicle intercom to which it is attached, is sufficient to power the sensor system, then the power and ground lines  40  and  42  may be used. If that power is not sufficient, or not always available, as in the case of a dismounted soldier using a portable radio, then an on-board battery  214  within the sensor module  200  may provide the required power. 
         [0031]    Additional accessories that may make use of a connection socket on a headset are shown in  FIGS. 6 through 11 . In these figures, we refer to the ear cup  12 , connector  16 , and components including driver  14 , ANR circuit  64 , audio conductor  119 , and terminals  60 ,  62 ,  66 , and  68  generically, without specifying the right or left ear cup. Some figures also show additional signal terminals between the headset and the accessory—while minimizing changes to the headset provides the advantages discussed above, additional accessory features may be enabled by increasing the connectivity between the accessory and the headset, such as providing a data channel between processors located in each. In some examples, the audio and other signals between the headsets may be digitized and multiplexed, allowing the number of wires in the headband to be kept low. 
         [0032]    In  FIG. 6 , an accessory  300  includes a battery circuit  302  coupled to the power and ground terminals, and optionally a power switch  304  to control whether power is provided or a power supply circuit  306  to control the flow of voltage and current between the battery and the headset. Such a battery circuit may be combined with any of the other accessories discussed here, or may be the entire purpose of the accessory device. Additional features may include a charge indicator light  308 , and external charging contacts or plug  310  for recharging the battery. An accessory with such a battery circuit may be used with a variety of other accessories by plugging the accessory with the battery circuit  302  into one ear cup and the other accessory into the other. The battery accessory may also be used on its own to power the ANR circuits of a headset that doesn&#39;t otherwise need to be plugged in. In some examples, two accessories with batteries may be used, one attached to each ear cup, to further extend the time in which the headset can be operated. When the headset is plugged into a power supply through the down cable, the power supply circuit  306  may use that power to recharge the battery circuit  302 . 
         [0033]    In  FIG. 7 , a biometric monitoring accessory  350  includes biometric or environmental sensors  352  that measure, for example, blood or atmospheric oxygen levels and heart rate of the user. When a processor  354  determines that the sensor data indicates a problem, such as hypoxia or CO poisoning, it injects a warning signal into the crossover conductor  46 , causing the warning to be output by the acoustic driver  14  of the ear cup  12  the monitoring accessory  350  is coupled to. Atmospheric sensors may also be used to derive air pressure in the environment of the headset (i.e., in a cockpit), and adjust performance of the headset, such as by compensating noise cancellation filters based on the speed of sound in the actual cockpit pressure environment. The accessory  350  may make such adjustments itself, if it has appropriate connections to the headset electronics, or it may simply communicate the available data to another controller. 
         [0034]    In some applications, a number of headsets are connected to an aircraft intercom, so that the passengers can communicate with the pilot. In  FIG. 8 , a wireless communication accessory  400  includes a short-range two-way radio  402  that allows the passengers&#39; headsets to communicate with each other and the pilot over a local wireless network, avoiding the need to plug into or even provide wired connections to the aircraft intercom at passenger seating positions. In some examples, the radio circuit  402  provides audio output at terminals  66  and  68 , one for the near-side ear cup and one for the cross-over cable for the far side ear cup; in this example, the usual cross-over plug  30  would be attached to the opposite ear cup. In other examples, additional connections may be provided in the connectors, so that the accessory can provide audio to both ear cups when the normal down-cable assembly  20  is used. 
         [0035]    In some examples, the accessory  400  includes a built-in or boom microphone  404 . A push-to-talk button  406  allows the user to indicate when they wish to speak to other passengers. In other examples, no microphone is provided, and the user can only listen to conversations on the intercom. The no-microphone version may also be used by the pilot, since the pilot headset already has the boom microphone from the down-cable assembly  20 , but in that case an additional cable and terminals are needed in the headset to bring the microphone signal across the headband from the down-cable assembly  20  to the wireless accessory  400  for transmission to other wireless headsets. In some examples, the push-to-talk button is provided even when the boom microphone is not, as it may be used with the boom microphone in the down-cable assembly  20  (not shown). Some intercom systems include a receiver for such a switch, and providing the switch in a module that connects integrally to the headset avoids the need to attach a stand-alone switch to the user&#39;s clothing or other equipment. In other examples, the pilot may use the version with a microphone to communicate over the aircraft radio, if it is equipped with a compatible transceiver, in place of the wired down-cable assembly  20 . This eliminates the need for the pilot to be tethered to the control panel, though that may not be permitted in some situations. 
         [0036]    In some examples, the radio  402  can also communicate with accessories such as mobile phones or portable music players, allowing the passengers to use their aircraft headsets to make phone calls or listen to entertainment audio. The radio  402  may be a general-purpose radio transceiver circuit such as a Bluetooth® or WiFi® transceiver, or it may be a custom circuit. The radio  402  may alternatively or additionally receive broadcast radio signals, such as commercial broadcasts or localized broadcasts, such as may be provided at a car race. 
         [0037]    In the example of  FIG. 9 , an accessory  450  includes a temperature control system  452  which operates to heat or cool the headset by pumping an appropriate fluid through a tube  454  to modified ear cushions  456 . This may be useful in applications where the user&#39;s head is exposed to undesirable temperature environments, such as where the headset prevents the user from wearing a hat in a cold environment, or where the headset itself is the source of discomfort in a hot environment. 
         [0038]    In the example of  FIG. 10 , an accessory  500  includes a microphone array  502  and array signal processor  504 . Such a microphone array provides a talk-through feature, allowing the user to hear the sounds in their environment that would otherwise be blocked by the headset. While the array is shown with two microphones, more may be used in some applications. If paired with a similar microphone array in the other ear cup, or even the boom microphone, the talk-through feature may provide directional awareness to the user. 
         [0039]    In some examples, two of the down-cable assembly  20  are used, one for each ear cup. The two assemblies may be slightly different, such as using different connectors for connecting to different types of radio or intercom, or providing different microphone types or bias voltages. One use for such an arrangement is to allow the user to easily connect to both radio types without having to obtain a specialized single down-cable assembly able to connect to both radios. 
         [0040]    In yet another example, shown in  FIG. 11 , a camera accessory  550  includes a camera  552 . Applications for a headset-mounted camera include recording the pilot&#39;s operation of an aircraft as part of the flight record, allowing an instructor to see what a trainee pilot sees (whether live or after a flight), or simply recording the flight from the pilot&#39;s point of view for entertainment purposes. The camera accessory may include a trigger switch  554 , built-in or wirelessly connected, to allow the pilot or a third party, such as an instructor, to initiate the capture of a still image or start and stop recording. A camera accessory may also be used with or integrated into the head-tracking accessory  204 . Head motion data may be used to stabilize the image from the camera, or to map it to specific locations in a display when viewed later. For example, if a recording from the pilot&#39;s point of view is to be played back on a flight simulator, the picture should stay in place relative to the simulator, rather than moving around to follow where the pilot was looking. 
         [0041]    In various of the above or other applications, two accessory modules may be used which need to communicate with each other. This may be accomplished in several ways, including the provision of additional wires in the headband, running an added wire between the modules separately from the headset, or by providing wireless transceivers, such as those discussed in regard to  FIG. 8 , in both modules. Any of the various accessories described may be combined with one or more of the others, such as combining the camera accessory with the wireless audio communication accessory or the head tracking with the biometric monitoring. 
         [0042]    Other implementations are within the scope of the following claims and other claims to which the applicant may be entitled.