Patent Description:
The invention is defined by the subject-matter of the appended independent claims.

Some exemplary embodiments are related to a processor of a first wireless audio output device. The processor establishes a communication link to a source device using a wireless communication protocol, receives source audio data from the source device, receives secondary audio data from a second wireless audio output device and combines primary audio data from the first wireless audio output device with the secondary audio data into a consolidated audio packet. The consolidated packet is then transmitted to the source device.

Other exemplary embodiments are related to a first wireless audio output device comprising a transceiver configured to communicate with a source device and a processor communicatively coupled to the transceiver and configured to perform operations. The first wireless audio output device establishes a communication link to a source device using a wireless communication protocol, receives source audio data from the source device, receives secondary audio data from a second wireless audio output device and combines primary audio data from the first wireless audio output device with the secondary audio data into a consolidated audio packet. The consolidated packet is then transmitted to the source device.

Further exemplary embodiments are related to a method performed by a first wireless audio output device. The first wireless audio output device receives source audio data in a first slot of a first transmission interval from a source device and transmits a consolidated audio packet to the source device. The consolidated audio packet comprising primary audio data generated by the first wireless audio output device and secondary audio data generated by a second wireless audio output device in a second slot of the second transmission interval.

The exemplary (or example) embodiments may be further understood with reference to the following description and the related appended drawings, wherein like elements are provided with the same reference numerals. The exemplary embodiments relate to implementing techniques for transmission of audio data from both of a pair of audio output devices to a user equipment (UE).

The exemplary embodiments are described with regard to the UE providing audio data to one or more wireless audio output devices. Throughout this description, the terms "UE" and "source device" may be used interchangeably. However, any reference to a UE or a source device is merely provided for illustrative purposes. The exemplary embodiments may be utilized with any electronic component equipped with hardware, software, and/or firmware configured to communicate with wireless audio output devices using a short-range communication protocol.

The UE may communicate with one or more wireless audio output devices. The term "wireless audio output device" generally refers to an electronic device that is configured to wirelessly receive audio data and generate audio output. Various examples described herein may reference wireless audio buds (e.g., ear buds, wireless headphones, etc.), which is a specific type of wireless audio output device. Throughout this description, any reference to wireless audio output devices or wireless audio buds is merely provided for illustrative purposes. The exemplary embodiments may be utilized with any electronic component equipped with hardware, software and/or firmware configured to communicate with a source device via a wireless communication protocol and generate audio output, e.g., wireless speakers.

The exemplary embodiments are also described with regard to a short-range communication protocol that enables short-range communication between two or more devices. Various examples described herein may reference Bluetooth (e.g., Bluetooth, Bluetooth Low-Energy (BLE), etc.), which is a specific type of short-range communication protocol. However, the exemplary embodiments may be implemented using any type of wireless communication protocol or personal area network (PAN), e.g., WiFi Direct, etc. Throughout this description, any reference to the terms such as, "Bluetooth," "short-range communication protocol," "short-range connection," or "short-range communication link" is merely provided for illustrative purposes. The exemplary embodiments may apply to any appropriate type of communication protocol.

In addition, the exemplary techniques will be described with regard to an example scenario that includes a pair of wireless audio buds that includes a primary bud and a secondary bud. Presently, audio data may be transmitted from the source device (e.g., the UE) to both audio buds. However, microphone audio data is transmitted only from one of the audio buds (e.g., the primary bud).

The exemplary embodiments are configured to transmit microphone audio data from both wireless audio buds to the source device (e.g., the UE). As a result, improved noise cancelling of the microphone audio is realized. As will be described in more detail below, the exemplary embodiments include the secondary bud sending its microphone audio data to the primary bud, which transmits both the primary and secondary microphone audio data to the source device.

In another aspect, the exemplary embodiments may include one or both wireless audio buds providing the source device voice accelerometer data in addition to the microphone audio data. The voice accelerometer may collect physiological data such as vocal cord movement, breathing, coughing, sneezing, etc. The source device may utilize this voice accelerometer data in a variety of different applications such as, for example, health-related applications, noise filtering, etc..

<FIG> shows an example arrangement <NUM> of UE <NUM> and wireless audio buds <NUM>, <NUM> according to various exemplary embodiments. The exemplary arrangement <NUM> includes a UE <NUM>. Those skilled in the art will understand that the UE <NUM> may represent any type of electronic component that is capable of communicating with one or more wireless audio output devices. Specific examples of the UE <NUM> include, but are not limited to, mobile phones, tablet computers, desktop computers, smartphones, embedded devices, wearables, Internet of Things (IoT) devices, video game consoles, media players, entertainment devices, smart speakers, smart TVs, streaming devices, etc. As mentioned above, the terms "UE" and "source device" may be used interchangeably throughout this description.

The UE <NUM> may communicate with a pair of wireless audio buds <NUM>, <NUM> (e.g., ear buds, wireless headphones, etc.). However, any reference to wireless audio buds is merely provided for illustrative purposes. The exemplary embodiments may apply to scenarios that include any appropriate type of audio output device, including one or more wireless speakers and devices with one or more integrated speakers.

The example arrangement <NUM> also illustrates various types of communication links and/or interactions that may occur when using the short-range communication protocol. In some embodiments, a network of these connections may represent a PAN.

The arrangement <NUM> shows a source-to-audio bud (S2B) link <NUM> between the UE <NUM> and the wireless audio bud <NUM> (primary bud). In addition, an audio bud-to-audio bud (B2B) link <NUM> is shown between the wireless audio bud <NUM> and the wireless audio bud <NUM> (secondary bud). In this example, the communication links <NUM>, <NUM> may be Bluetooth connections or any other appropriate type of connection. Therefore, the UE <NUM> and the wireless audio buds <NUM>, <NUM> may be equipped with an appropriate chipset to communicate using a short-range communication protocol.

In some embodiments, the wireless audio bud <NUM> may be enabled to eavesdrop <NUM> (or snoop) on data being exchanged on the S2B link <NUM>. In some embodiments, the wireless audio bud <NUM> may establish a S2B link <NUM> with the UE <NUM>. This additional S2B link <NUM> may be used instead of or in addition to the eavesdrop <NUM> and the B2B link <NUM>.

Communication links (e.g., S2B <NUM>, S2B <NUM>, B2B <NUM>) may be established using a manual approach, an automated approach or a combination thereof. The manual approach refers to a process in which user input at one or more of the devices triggers the initiation of a connection establishment procedure. The automated approach refers to a mechanism in which connection establishment is initiated without a user-supplied command, e.g., using sensor data, proximity detection, an automated trigger, and/or other operations.

The arrangement <NUM> illustrates a possible network of short-range connections among the UE <NUM> and the wireless audio buds <NUM>, <NUM>. In some embodiments, the UE <NUM> and the audio bud <NUM> have a primary/secondary relationship over the S2B link <NUM> where the UE <NUM> is in control and/or has priority over the audio bud <NUM>. Similarly, the UE <NUM> and the audio bud <NUM> may also have a primary/secondary relationship over the S2B link <NUM> where the UE <NUM> is in control and/or has priority over the audio bud <NUM>.

In addition, the audio bud <NUM> and the audio bud <NUM> may have a primary/secondary relationship over the B2B link <NUM> where the audio bud <NUM> is in control and/or has priority over the audio bud <NUM>. In other embodiments, devices connected via a short-range communication protocol (e.g., S2B link <NUM>, S2B link <NUM>, B2B link <NUM>) may have a mutual relationship where the devices share or negotiate certain responsibilities.

A primary/secondary relationship between audio buds may be dynamic. For example, at a first time, the audio bud <NUM> may be set as the primary bud and the audio bud <NUM> may be set as the secondary bud. Subsequently, a predetermined condition may trigger the audio bud <NUM> to be set as the primary bud. Thus, at a second time, the audio bud <NUM> may be set as the primary bud and the audio bud <NUM> may be set as the secondary bud. During a session (e.g., streaming, a call, etc.), the pair of audio buds <NUM>, <NUM> may switch roles any number of times. However, for purposes of the following description, the wireless audio bud <NUM> will be referred to as the primary bud and the wireless audio bud <NUM> will be referred to as the secondary bud.

<FIG> shows an example UE <NUM> according to various exemplary embodiments. The UE <NUM> will be described with regard to the arrangement <NUM> of <FIG>. The UE <NUM> may include a processor <NUM>, a memory arrangement <NUM>, a display device <NUM>, an input/output (I/O) device <NUM>, a transceiver <NUM> and other components <NUM>. The other components <NUM> may include, for example, an audio input device, an audio output device, a power supply, a data acquisition device, ports to electrically connect the UE <NUM> to other electronic devices, etc..

The processor <NUM> may be configured to execute a plurality of engines of the UE <NUM>. For example, the engines may include a packet management engine <NUM>. The packet management engine <NUM> may be configured to perform operations related to processing microphone audio packets from both wireless audio buds <NUM>,<NUM> and voice accelerometer data, as will be described in greater detail below.

The above referenced engine <NUM> being an application (e.g., a program) executed by the processor <NUM> is merely provided for illustrative purposes. The functionality associated with the engine <NUM> may also be represented as a separate incorporated component of the UE <NUM> or may be a modular component coupled to the UE <NUM>, e.g., an integrated circuit with or without firmware. For example, the integrated circuit may include input circuitry to receive signals and processing circuitry to process the signals and other information. The engines may also be embodied as one application or separate applications. In addition, in some UEs, the functionality described for the processor <NUM> is split among two or more processors such as a baseband processor and an applications processor. The exemplary embodiments may be implemented in any of these or other configurations of a UE.

The memory arrangement <NUM> may be a hardware component configured to store data related to operations performed by the UE <NUM>. The display device <NUM> may be a hardware component configured to show data to a user while the I/O device <NUM> may be a hardware component that enables the user to enter inputs. The display device <NUM> and the I/O device <NUM> may be separate components or integrated together such as a touchscreen.

The transceiver <NUM> may represent one or more hardware components configured to perform operations related to wireless communication. For example, the transceiver <NUM> may represent one or more radios configured to communicate with a cellular network, a PAN, a wireless local area network (WLAN), etc. As indicates above, the exemplary embodiments may include the UE <NUM> communicating with a first audio output device over a first frequency band and a second audio output device over a second different frequency band. Accordingly, the transceiver <NUM> may operate on a variety of different frequencies or channels (e.g., set of consecutive frequencies).

<FIG> shows an example audio output device <NUM> according to various exemplary embodiments. The audio output device <NUM> may represent either or both of the audio buds <NUM>, <NUM> shown in the arrangement <NUM>.

The device <NUM> may include a transceiver <NUM>, a processor <NUM> and a controller <NUM>. In addition, the device <NUM> may include other components (not shown) such as, but not limited to, a microphone, a memory, a battery and ports to electrically connect the device <NUM> to other electronic devices.

The transceiver <NUM> may represent one or more hardware components configured to perform operations related to wireless communication. For example, the transceiver <NUM> may represent one or more radios configured to communicate with a PAN or any other appropriate type of network. The transceiver <NUM> may enable a short-range connection to be established using frequencies or channels associated with the short-range connection (e.g., Bluetooth). In some embodiments, these frequencies may include the <NUM> and <NUM> bands. Accordingly, the transceiver <NUM> may operate on a variety of different frequencies or channels (e.g., set of consecutive frequencies).

The processor <NUM> may be configured to execute a plurality of engines for the audio output device <NUM>. For example, the processor <NUM> may perform operations related to receiving connection information from a source device and joining an existing audio session. In some embodiments, the processor <NUM> may be represented as a separate incorporated component of the audio output device <NUM> or may be a modular component coupled to the audio output device <NUM>, e.g., an integrated circuit with or without firmware. For example, the processor <NUM> may be a chip or integrated circuit compatible with the short-range communication protocol that includes input circuitry to receive signals and processing circuitry to process the signals and other information. The engines may also be embodied as one application or separate applications. In some embodiments, the functionality described for the processor <NUM> is split among two or more processors such as a baseband processor and an applications processor. In other embodiments, the transceiver <NUM> may also be configured to execute engines and/or operations for the audio output device <NUM>.

The controller <NUM> may be configured to control the communication functions of the transceiver <NUM> and/or the processor <NUM>. In addition, the controller <NUM> may also control non-communication functions related to the other components such as the memory, the battery, etc. Accordingly, the controller <NUM> may perform operations associated with an applications processor. The exemplary embodiments may be implemented in any of these or other configurations of an audio output device.

<FIG> shows an example method <NUM> of transmitting primary and secondary microphone audio data to a source device (e.g., UE <NUM>) according to various exemplary embodiments. Throughout the description of the method <NUM> there may be references to a primary bud and a secondary bud. However, as indicated above, the exemplary embodiments are not limited to one of the wireless audio buds <NUM>,<NUM> being a primary bud and the other being a secondary bud.

At <NUM>, a short-range connection is established between a source device (e.g., UE <NUM>) and a first audio output device (e.g., wireless audio bud <NUM>). The short-range connection may be established using either a manual approach or an automated approach. In some embodiments, the audio bud <NUM> may provide connection information directly to the audio bud <NUM>. This connection information may facilitate the establishment of the B2B link <NUM>, the eavesdrop <NUM> and/or the S2B link <NUM>.

At <NUM>, the source device provides audio data to the first and second wireless audio output devices (wireless audio buds <NUM>, <NUM>). The primary bud (e.g., wireless audio bud <NUM>) receives the audio data from the source device over the S2B link <NUM>. The secondary bud (e.g., wireless audio bud <NUM>) may receive the audio data via the eavesdrop link <NUM>. The audio data may be any type of payload data that may provide the basis for generating audio output. To provide some examples, the audio data may be part of a voice call or a data call.

At <NUM>, the wireless audio output device determines whether both audio output devices received the audio packets from the source device. If one of the audio output devices (e.g., wireless audio bud <NUM>) did not receive the audio packets from the source device successfully, then, at <NUM>, the other one of the audio output devices (e.g., wireless audio bud <NUM>) may transmit the lost audio packet to the device that did not receive it successfully. This lost packet transmission may occur over the B2B link <NUM>. In other embodiments, the source device may retransmit the audio packet(s) that were not received successfully by both audio output devices.

If, however, the audio data from the source device is successfully received by both audio output devices, then, at <NUM>, the primary bud (e.g., wireless audio bud <NUM>) receives microphone audio data from the secondary bud (e.g., wireless audio bud <NUM>). The secondary bud may transmit its microphone audio data to the primary bud over the B2B link <NUM>. This B2B link <NUM> is the same link referenced above for the lost packets. Thus, the same B2B link may be used to deliver the lost packets and the microphone audio data.

At <NUM>, the primary bud (e.g., wireless audio bud <NUM>) transmits its microphone audio data and the secondary microphone audio data received from the secondary bud to the source device. In some embodiments, the primary bud may also transmit data from a voice accelerometer to the source device. In some embodiments, the voice accelerometer data is from the primary bud's accelerometer. In some embodiments, the voice accelerometer data is alternatively from the secondary bud's accelerometer and is sent to the primary bud along with the secondary bud's microphone audio data at <NUM>. In some embodiments, the source device may use the accelerometer data to monitor and/or process user health-related parameters. Although not shown in the method <NUM>, the operations <NUM>-<NUM> may be performed for each audio data packet or for a set of one or more audio data packets provided by the source device.

<FIG> shows a diagram illustrating an example of an extended synchronous connection oriented (eSCO) data traffic between a UE <NUM> and an audio output device (e.g., wireless ear buds <NUM>,<NUM>) according to various exemplary embodiments. The UE <NUM> transmits audio data packets to the audio output device(s) in UE audio slot <NUM>. If the UE transmission fails, the UE <NUM> may retransmit the audio data in the UE audio retransmission slot 502a. The primary bud (e.g., wireless ear bud <NUM>) transmits microphone audio data packets (both the primary and secondary microphone audio data) as well as any voice accelerometer data packets in the audio output device audio data slot <NUM>. If the audio output device audio data transmission fails, then the output device may retransmit the audio data in the audio output device audio retransmission slot 504a.

In addition to the original transmission slots <NUM> and the retransmission slots <NUM>, the eSCO data traffic includes B2B slots <NUM> in which the secondary bud (e.g., wireless ear bud <NUM>) transmits its microphone audio data <NUM> to the primary bud. The B2B slots may also be referred to as peer-to-peer slots. Typically, the B2B slots <NUM> are used when one audio output device needs to transmit source audio to the other audio output device that did not successfully receive the source audio. However, because this happens rarely, the secondary microphone audio can be transmitted in the B2B slots <NUM> to advantageously save bandwidth. When one of the audio output devices does need to transmit the source audio to the other audio output device that did not successfully receive the source audio, this source audio transmission can occur over the B2B slots <NUM> instead of the transmission of the secondary microphone audio. In such a scenario, the secondary bud may continue to transmit the secondary microphone audio data in the next instance of the B2B slots (the next interval).

In some embodiments, there may be multiple retransmission slots. For example, there may be one or more UE audio retransmission slots and/or one or more audio output device audio retransmission slots. In this type of scenario, the B2B slots <NUM> may occur after both audio output devices successfully received the packets from the UE <NUM> (e.g., the source device). Thus, reference to a single UE audio retransmission slot 502a and a single audio output device audio retransmission slot 504a is provided as an example and the exemplary embodiments may apply to any appropriate number of retransmissions slots.

<FIG> shows a diagram illustrating an example method of composing consolidated data packets for eSCO transmissions according to various exemplary embodiments. <FIG> shows primary mic sampling, secondary mic sampling, packet consolidation and eSCO traffic on the same time axis <NUM>.

As illustrated in <FIG>, the primary microphone (e.g., wireless ear bud <NUM> microphone) is sampled at 602a, 604a, 606a, and 608a and the secondary microphone (e.g., wireless ear bud <NUM> microphone) is sampled at 602b, 604b, 606b, and 608b. In some embodiments, like in the example shown in <FIG>, the sampling of the primary and secondary microphones is synchronized based on eSCO timing. Thus, the timing of the sampling corresponds to the duration between the eSCO traffic. However, there is no requirement that the sampling be synchronized and/or correlate to the eSCO traffic. In an actual operating scenario, the timing of the operations and traffic shown <FIG> may occur with any appropriate timing.

In this example, the first interval of eSCO traffic includes source device audio packets <NUM>, output device audio packets <NUM>, and secondary bud audio packets 602b. While the plural "packets" is being used in this example, it is possible that a singular "packet" is included for one or more of the transmissions in the interval. As explained above, the source device audio packets <NUM> may be transmitted by the source device over the S2B link <NUM> to the primary bud (e.g., wireless ear bud <NUM>) in the UE audio slot of the first interval. In some embodiments, the output device audio packets <NUM> in the audio output device audio data slot of the first interval of eSCO traffic may not include any payload data. For example, the primary bud may wait to receive the secondary bud audio packets 602b before sending the output device audio packets to the source device in a subsequent interval.

As noted above, the secondary bud audio packets 602b are transmitted to the primary bud in the B2B slots of an eSCO transmission interval. After receiving the secondary bud audio packets 602b, the primary bud performs a packet consolidation for the primary and secondary bud audio packets 602a,b. In the second eSCO interval, the source audio packets are again sent from the source device to the primary bud. In this interval, however, the primary bud transmits the consolidated packet having the primary and secondary audio data (microphone audio) to the source device. The second interval also includes the secondary bud's subsequent audio packets 604b in the B2B slots of the eSCO interval.

An example of a consolidated audio packet <NUM> is illustrated in <FIG>. The consolidated audio packet may include a packet header <NUM>, the primary audio data <NUM>, the secondary audio data <NUM>, and voice accelerometer data <NUM>. The packet header <NUM> may include information that indicates what type of data is included in the payload of the consolidated audio packet <NUM>, e.g., each consolidated audio packet <NUM> is not required to include all of the primary audio data <NUM>, the secondary audio data <NUM>, and the voice accelerometer data <NUM>.

Returning to <FIG>, the eSCO intervals may continue in the manner described above, unless one of the audio output devices needs to transmit a source audio packet to the other audio output device that did not successfully receive the source audio packet. In such a scenario, the eSCO interval would include the source audio data packets <NUM>, the primary bud audio packets, and the source audio packets that were not successfully received by one of the audio output devices.

Those skilled in the art will understand that the above-described exemplary embodiments may be implemented in any suitable software or hardware configuration or combination thereof. An exemplary hardware platform for implementing the exemplary embodiments may include, for example, an Intel x86 based platform with compatible operating system, a Windows OS, a Mac platform and MAC OS, a mobile device having an operating system such as iOS, Android, etc. The exemplary embodiments of the above-described method may be embodied as a program containing lines of code stored on a non-transitory computer readable storage medium that, when compiled, may be executed on a processor or microprocessor.

Claim 1:
A method performed by a first wireless audio output device (<NUM>), comprising:
establishing (<NUM>) a communication link to a source device (<NUM>) using a short range (<NUM>) wireless communication protocol;
receiving (<NUM>) source audio data from the source device;
receiving (<NUM>) secondary audio data from a second wireless audio output device (<NUM>) via an audio bud-to-audio bud, B2B, link (<NUM>);
combining primary audio data from the first wireless audio output device with the secondary audio data into a consolidated audio packet (<NUM>); and
transmitting (<NUM>) the consolidated audio packet to the source device,
wherein the first wireless audio output device is a primary wireless audio bud (<NUM>) and the second wireless audio output device is a secondary wireless audio bud (<NUM>);
and the method is characterized by having the consolidated audio packet further including accelerometer data from a voice accelerometer of one of the first wireless audio output device or the second wireless audio output device.