Patent Publication Number: US-2004058674-A1

Title: Multi-homing and multi-hosting of wireless audio subsystems

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001] The present invention relates to wireless communications, and in particular to providing wireless communications between one or more audio subsystems and one or more communications client systems.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002] Wireless headsets and like devices that facilitate voice communications are becoming commonplace. These headsets provide a bi-directional wireless link to a base device, which is further connected to and facilitates communications with a circuit-switched telephony network or a packet-switched multimedia communications network. Typically, each headset is linked to a common base device, wherein any given headset can only facilitate communications with a single base device. If there is a need for the headset to communicate with a different base device, significant reconfiguration is required.  
       [0003] Although the wireless headsets provide increased mobility and eliminate a wired connection with the base device, people often need to move from location to location and need to communicate on different communication systems in those different locations. Unfortunately, when moving from one location to another, a headset configured to operate in association with a first base device in the first location is generally not compatible with another base device in a second location. If the headset is compatible, significant reconfiguration is necessary to facilitate communications. The reconfiguration will likely destroy the configuration with the first base device, and will thus require the user to reconfigure the headset to talk to the first base device upon returning to the first location.  
       [0004] Additionally, headsets often allow users to control volume and other performance characteristics to customize the headset to the user. If the user has to change headsets or reconfigure the headset for a different base device, the customization settings must be reset or adjusted. Accordingly, there is a need for a communication system wherein wireless headsets can readily and automatically associate themselves with base devices in different locations to allow users to use a common headset in different locations.  
       [0005] In addition to the need for facilitating such mobility of headsets from location to location, there is a need for a communication system allowing headsets to be used in a conference setting, wherein people within a given conference room or area can use their respective headsets to facilitate bi-directional communications during a conference call. In a typical conference room setting, individual speaking characteristics and hearing capabilities result in many participants not being able to hear or be heard in an effective manner. Further, as participants in the conference call move around the conference room setting and interact with other people, white boards, and multimedia devices, their ability to hear and be heard continuously changes. As such, there is a need for a conference room setting wherein each of the participants can control audio levels on an individual basis. Additionally, the ability for individual participants to control their own mute functions is highly desirable.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0006] The present invention provides for multi-hosting or multi-homing of wireless audio subsystems to one or more communications client systems to facilitate wireless, voice communications. For multi-hosting, the client system is capable of simultaneously hosting multiple, wireless audio subsystems to enable multi-party participation in communication events, such as conference calls and the like. Typically, the client system is associated with a circuit-switched or packet-switched telephony system, wherein a conference call can be effected between the participants in proximity to the client system using individual, wireless audio subsystems, such as headsets, all interacting equally with remote participants in the conference call. For multi-homing, multiple client systems can be placed at different locations, wherein the client systems cooperate with the audio subsystems when they are within a defined proximity of one another to facilitate a communication session between the audio subsystem and the proximate client system.  
       [0007] Those skilled in the art will appreciate the scope of the present invention and realize additional aspects thereof after reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments in association with the accompanying drawing figures. 
     
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES  
     [0008] The accompanying drawing figures incorporated in and forming a part of this specification illustrate several aspects of the invention, and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the invention.  
     [0009]FIG. 1 is a block representation of a client system interacting with multiple audio subsystems according to one embodiment of the present invention.  
     [0010]FIG. 2 is a block representation of an audio subsystem configured to automatically be recognized by client systems in different locations according to one embodiment of the present invention.  
     [0011]FIG. 3 is a block representation of a client system according to one embodiment of the present invention.  
     [0012]FIG. 4 is a block representation of an audio subsystem according to one embodiment of the present invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
     [0013] The embodiments set forth below represent the necessary information to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention and illustrate the best mode of practicing the invention. Upon reading the following description in light of the accompanying drawing figures, those skilled in the art will understand the concepts of the invention and will recognize applications of these concepts not particularly addressed herein. It should be understood that these concepts and applications fall within the scope of the disclosure and the accompanying claims.  
     [0014] The present invention provides for multi-hosting or multi-homing of wireless audio subsystems to one or more communications client systems to facilitate wireless, voice communications. For multi-hosting, the client system is capable of simultaneously hosting multiple, wireless audio subsystems to enable multi-party participation in communication events, such as conference calls and the like. Typically, the client system is associated with a circuit-switched or packet-switched telephony system, wherein a conference call can be effected between the participants in proximity to the client system using individual, wireless audio subsystems, such as headsets, all interacting equally with remote participants in the conference call. The communications client system can be any voice-capable telephony or multimedia communications client, such as a properly enabled wired or wireless telephone, a multimedia personal computer or web based client, a personal digital assistant voice client, or any other communications client capable of reaching other parties via some from of communications network. Participants using the audio subsystems can control volume levels and audio characteristics on an individual basis. Further, the audio subsystems and the client system are configured to automatically establish a communication session once they are within an operable proximity.  
     [0015] For multi-homing, multiple client systems can be of the same or different client technologies and placed at different locations, wherein the client systems cooperate with the audio subsystems when they are within a defined proximity of one another to facilitate a communication session between the audio subsystem and the proximate client system. Again, recognition and establishment of the communication session between the audio subsystems and the proximate client system allows for individuals associated with the audio subsystems to roam from one location to the next and have a communication session established for them automatically. The multi-homing embodiment allows individuals to readily participate in communication sessions in different locations, utilizing the same or different client technologies, as well as establishing customized audio and acoustical configurations that remain in place regardless of location or client technology. In the multi-homing environment, it is possible that a single audio subsystem may be interacting with multiple clients of similar or different technologies in the same vicinity if the audio subsystem is enabled to have multiple simultaneous interactions or is able to interact on a first come first served basis. An example would be using the same headset on an office telephone, a mobile telephone, and a multimedia personal computer client, all of which happen to be on in an office at some instant in time. Further detail is provided below, wherein a multi-hosting embodiment is described followed by a multi-homing embodiment. Notably, these embodiments are discussed separately, but the operability for both multi-hosting and multi-homing can be provided in combination with one another.  
     [0016] With reference to FIG. 1, a multi-hosting embodiment is described wherein a client system  10  is configured to facilitate wireless communications with a plurality of audio subsystems  12 , which are illustrated as being full-duplex headsets capable of providing wireless communications with an audio client  14  of the client system  10 . The client system  10  is preferably associated with a communications network  16  capable of providing wireless, packet- or circuit-switched communications with existing networks, such as a cellular network, Internet, public switched telephone network (PSTN), and the like. The client system  10  can be any type of telephone, mobile telephone, internet-based client, or communication client capable of session control and media transport. The audio subsystems  12  can be of many forms, one of the most likely being a small wirelessly linked personal headset with an integrated microphone and speaker system operating in association with a control system and transceiver electronics. This configuration allows participants to gather around a client system  10  and have individual audio interfaces with personal volume settings, muting, and the like, while participating in the same communication event. Depending on the complexity of the audio subsystem  12 , various levels of signal processing, including equalization, may also be provided.  
     [0017] Preferably, the audio client  14  and the audio subsystems  12  are configured to automatically recognize one another and establish a wireless link between one another once the audio subsystem  12  is within an operable proximity to the audio client  14 . For example, the audio client  14  may be configured to provide relatively limited communication coverage for a conference room setting, wherein when individuals wearing the audio subsystems  12  walk into the conference room, a wireless communication link can be established between the audio client  14  and the joining audio subsystem  12 . For security purposes, each audio subsystem  12  may have a unique identification code and the audio client  14  may be configured to support communications only with authorized audio subsystems  12 . Typically, the audio subsystems  12  will also need to recognize the audio client  14  to facilitate bi-directional communications. The client system  10  may be dynamically configured to change authorized participants from one conference to another. Those skilled in the art will recognize the various techniques for allowing the client system  10  and the audio subsystems  12  to identify and authenticate one another prior to facilitating a communication link supporting voice communications.  
     [0018] The client system  10  will preferably provide at a minimum all of the basic functionality of a traditional telephonic conferencing device, wherein the input/output interface for local participants will be the audio client  14 , which supports wireless communications with the audio subsystems  12 . The audio client  14  may also incorporate the appropriate signal processing circuitry to facilitate level control, echo cancellation, and audio feedback characteristics for all the local participants and the audio from the incoming telephony lines, channels, or sessions. Further, the audio client  14  will provide the appropriate mixing and level equalization for the lines, channels, and subsystems along with that for each of the audio subsystems  12 . The mixing is required because the individual audio subsystems  12  for participants in the conference room must be mixed together to varying degrees prior to delivering signals back to each of the audio subsystems  12  and over the line, channel, or session to those systems and participants not in the local vicinity of the client system  10 . Typically, the audio client  14  will mix all of the audio received from the audio subsystems  12  for delivery to the remote participants, and if multiple lines are involved, include audio from those lines, channels, or sessions.  
     [0019] For participants using the audio subsystems  12 , the audio client  14  may or may not include the voice input from the participant associated with a particular audio subsystem  12 , or may provide voice at varying levels from that at a point lower than the other participants to a level higher than the other participants, depending on the desires of the individual. Given the mobility of the audio subsystems  12  with respect to the client system  10 , local participants can readily move about the client system  10  without negatively impacting audio in either direction. Further, participants joining the conference locally can join automatically, and those departing the conference may depart automatically, wherein the communication for the joining participant will initiate automatically and for the departing participant will cease automatically. Individual users of the client system  10  as well as the audio subsystems  12  are preferably able to dynamically enter data to control which audio subsystems  12  can communicate with each client system  10 .  
     [0020] With reference to FIG. 2, a multi-homing embodiment is illustrated, wherein multiple client systems  10 A- 10 D are located at different locations and operate under the control of a central control system  18 . Each client system  10 A- 10 D is coupled to the telephone network  16 , and can automatically establish wireless communication links with an audio subsystem  12  once the audio subsystem  12  and the client system  10 A- 10 D are within an operable proximity of one another. For example, at time t 1 , audio subsystem  12  is within an operable proximity of client system  10 A and a first communication link is established to support a communication session. When the audio subsystem  12  is moved to a second location within an operable proximity to client system  10 B at time t 2 , a second communication link is established with client system  10 B to support a communication session, and so forth. Typically, the communication link between the audio subsystem  12  and the client system  10 A is broken after the audio subsystem  12  leaves the operable proximity about client system  10 A prior to entering into operable proximity of client system  10 B. As such, the audio subsystem  12  can move from one client system  10 A- 10 D to another, and a communication link is automatically established once the audio subsystem  12  is within an operable proximity, assuming the audio subsystem  12  and the client system  10 A- 10 D are authorized to establish the communication link. In one embodiment, an audio subsystem  12 , such as a headset, can roam between similar but geographically diverse client systems  10 A- 10 D in a coordinated network implementation. In another embodiment, the same headset can roam between a mobile telephone, Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) client, and office telephone, as well as some conference room telephones, all of which act as client systems  10 . In the latter case, the actual client technologies are dissimilar and no central coordination exists. Further, the invention allows for simultaneous communication links between an audio subsystem  12  and multiple client systems  10 .  
     [0021] For authorization, the central control system  18  can download operable identifications or codes to each of the respective client systems  10 A- 10 D to identify the audio subsystems  12  with which communication links can be established. Further, the individual client systems  10 A- 10 D can communicate with the audio subsystems  12  to provide configuration information for authentication and identify client systems  10 A- 10 D with which the audio subsystem  12  can communicate. Again, those skilled in the art will recognize various techniques with which to control access and provide authentication for secured communications between the audio subsystems  12  and the client systems  10 A- 10 D.  
     [0022] By allowing an individual to use the same audio subsystem  12  with many different client systems  10  in a seamless fashion or all at the same time, the need for the individual to use different audio subsystems  12  is eliminated, thus providing a common set of audio settings and characteristics customized to the participant when moving between client systems  10 A- 10 D. The use of an audio client  14  in association with a client system  10  allows a common audio subsystem  12  to efficiently integrate with disparate communication technologies provided by different client systems  10 , sequentially or simultaneously.  
     [0023] Next, a high level overview of the audio subsystems and client systems of the present invention is provided with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. In the preferred embodiments, the client systems  10  are configured to automatically recognize authorized audio subsystems  12  that come within an operable range, and establish a wireless communication link to facilitate half- or full-duplex voice communications. An exemplary communication technology providing automatic recognition for limited or short-range communication is referred to as Bluetooth. In the preferred embodiment, the client systems  10  and the audio subsystems  12  communicate according to the Bluetooth Communication specification and associated protocols. Automatic recognition and device authentication are also made possible using Bluetooth. Those skilled in the art will recognize the numerous other standard and proprietary communication technologies capable of being used to implement the present invention.  
     [0024] Turning first to FIG. 3, a client system  10  with an integrated audio client  14  configured according to one embodiment of the present invention is illustrated. To facilitate wireless communications with the audio subsystems  12 , the client system  10  generally includes a control system  20 , a baseband processor  22 , transmit circuitry  24 , receive circuitry  26 , and one or more antennas  28 . The client system  10  will also include a communications network interface  30 , mixing circuitry  32 , speaker  34 , microphone  36 , audio processing circuitry  38 , and a user interface  40 .  
     [0025] The receive circuitry  26  receives radio frequency signals through antenna  28  bearing information from one or more remote transmitters provided by audio subsystems  12 . Preferably, a low noise amplifier and a filter (not shown) cooperate to amplify and remove broadband interference from the signal for processing. Downconversion and digitization circuitry (not shown) will then downconvert the filtered, received signal to an intermediate or baseband frequency signal, which is then digitized into one or more digital streams.  
     [0026] The received information may include data and control information. The baseband processor  22  processes the digitized received signal to extract the information or data bits conveyed in the received signal. This processing typically comprises demodulation, decoding, and error correction operations. As such, the baseband processor  22  is generally implemented in one or more digital signal processors (DSPs) and application specific integrated circuits (ASICs) or software algorithms. The received information is then sent to the mixing circuitry  32 , which will mix the received audio signals with audio signals received from other audio subsystems  12  communicating with the client system  10  and any other conference signals provided via the communications network  16  as necessary and send the resultant mix of signals to the communications network interface  30  for delivery across the communications network  16 . The resultant mix of signals may also be mixed with incoming signals for the communications network  16  and delivered to the speaker  34  under control of the audio processing circuitry  38 . In such a case, the audio processing circuitry  38  will convert the audio signals to an analog format and amplify the signals for audible playback via the speaker  34 .  
     [0027] On the transmit side, the mixing circuitry  32  receives voice signals from the communications network interface  30  and signals received from the other participating audio subsystems  12  from the baseband processor  22  and mixes the signals to create a mixed signal for delivery back to the baseband processor  22 , which encodes the mixed signal for transmission. Notably, the mixing function may be provided in the baseband processing. Further, the communications network interface  30  and mixing circuitry  32  may be configured to convert analog signals from the communications network  16  to a digital format corresponding to the baseband processor  22 . The mixed signal is output to the transmit circuitry  24  from the baseband processor  22 , where it is modulated by a carrier signal having a desired transmit frequency or frequencies. A power amplifier (not shown) will amplify the modulated carrier signal to a level appropriate for transmission, and deliver the modulated carrier signal to one or more antennas  28  through a matching network (not shown) for wireless transmission to the audio subsystems  12 . The user interface  40  may be used to provide basic telephonic and conferencing control of the client system  10 , such as dialing, muting, level control, and the like.  
     [0028] With reference to FIG. 4, an audio subsystem  12  configured according to one embodiment of the present invention is illustrated. Similarly to the client system  10 , the audio subsystem  12  will include a control system  42 , a baseband processor  44 , transmit circuitry  46 , receive circuitry  48 , one or more antennas  50 , user interface circuitry  52 , a speaker  54 , and microphone  56 , and audio processing circuitry  58 . The receive circuitry  48  receives radio frequency signals through one or more antennas  50  bearing voice information from the client system  10 . Preferably, a low noise amplifier and a filter (not shown) cooperate to amplify and remove broadband interference from the signal for processing. Downconversion and digitization circuitry (not shown) will then downconvert the filtered, received signal to an intermediate or baseband frequency signal, which is then digitized into a digital stream. The baseband processor  44  processes the digitized received signal to extract the information or data bits conveyed in the received signal. This processing typically comprises demodulation, decoding, and error correction operations. The resultant signal is converted to an analog voice signal, processed, and amplified before being sent to speaker  54  via the audio processing circuitry  58 . The baseband processor  44  is generally implemented in one or more digital signal processors (DSPs) and application specific integrated circuits (ASICs) or software algorithms.  
     [0029] For transmission, voice signals picked up by the microphone  56  are digitized by the audio processing circuitry  58  and sent to the baseband processor  44  for encoding for transmission. The encoded data is output to the transmit circuitry  46 , where it is used by a modulator to modulate a carrier signal that is at a desired transmit frequency or frequencies. A power amplifier (not shown) will amplify the modulated carrier signal to a level appropriate for transmission, and deliver the modulated carrier signal to the one or more antennas  50  through a matching network (not shown).  
     [0030] Based on user input received via the user interface circuitry  52 , the control system  42  can control the audio processing circuitry  58  to provide level control, equalization, microphone muting, and the like for the incoming or outgoing signals. These settings may be stored and used when communicating with any client system  10 .  
     [0031] Although the above embodiments provide significant processing in the digital domain, those skilled in the art will recognize that analog embodiments are possible and considered within the scope of the present invention. Those skilled in the art will recognize improvements and modifications to the preferred embodiments of the present invention. All such improvements and modifications are considered within the scope of the concepts disclosed herein and the claims that follow.