PATENT DOCUMENT

Publication Number: US-11800002-B2
Application Number: US-202016778473-A
Country: US
Kind Code: B2

Title: Audio data routing between multiple wirelessly connected devices

Abstract:
Apparatus and methods to communicate audio data from either an active wireless device or a requesting wireless device to one or more audio reproduction devices that are simultaneously communicatively coupled to both the active wireless device and to the requesting wireless device are disclosed. Responsive to a request from the requesting wireless device to transmit audio data to the one or more audio reproduction devices, the active wireless device determines whether to transmit audio data from the requesting wireless device based at least in part on an audio status of the active wireless device and a set of predetermined arbitration criteria that prioritizes among applications and operating system processes that generate the audio data.

Claims:
What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A method comprising:
 by a wireless ear bud:
 receiving audio data from an active wireless device via a wireless communication protocol; 
 receiving an interrupt request from a requesting wireless device via the wireless communication protocol; 
 determining whether to authorize the interrupt request and reproduce audio data associated with the requesting wireless device based at least in part on i) one or more predetermined arbitration criteria and ii) an audio status of the active wireless device, the audio status of the active wireless device comprising whether the active wireless device is communicating audio data or is operating in a muted state or an audio paused state in which audio data is not being communicated to the wireless ear bud; and 
 authorizing the interrupt request and reproducing the audio data associated with the requesting wireless device when the audio status of the active wireless device and the one or more predetermined arbitration criteria are satisfied, 
 wherein:
 the one or more predetermined arbitration criteria are satisfied when the audio status of the active wireless device comprises the active wireless device operating in the muted state or the audio paused state; 
 the one or more predetermined arbitration criteria are not satisfied:
 when the audio status of the active wireless device comprises the active wireless device sending a ringtone; and 
 when the audio data from the active wireless device comprises a voice call or a video call; and 
 
 the wireless ear bud receives the audio data associated with the requesting wireless device via a connection established using link keys generated by the active wireless device and provided to both the wireless ear bud and the requesting wireless device by the active wireless device. 
 
 
 
     
     
       2. The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 determining not to reproduce the audio data from the requesting wireless device when the interrupt request is not authorized. 
 
     
     
       3. The method of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the one or more predetermined arbitration criteria are satisfied when:
 the audio data from the active wireless device does not comprise any of: a ringtone, a voice call, or a video call; and 
 the audio data from the requesting wireless device is neither an alert nor navigation audio. 
 
 
     
     
       4. The method of  claim 1 , wherein when:
 i) the audio status of the active wireless device comprises the active wireless device communicating audio data having a first priority level to the wireless ear bud, and 
 ii) the audio data associated with the requesting wireless device comprises audio data having a second priority level that is equal to or higher than the first priority level:
 the wireless ear bud reproduces the audio data of the second priority level associated with the requesting wireless device, and 
 transmission of the audio data of the first priority level associated with the active wireless device is suspended. 
 
 
     
     
       5. The method of  claim 1 , wherein when:
 i) the audio status of the active wireless device comprises the active wireless device communicating audio data having a first priority level to the wireless ear bud, and 
 ii) the audio data associated with the requesting wireless device comprises audio data having a second priority level lower than the first priority level:
 the audio data of the second priority level associated with the requesting wireless device is not reproduced via the wireless ear bud. 
 
 
     
     
       6. The method of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the interrupt request indicates that the requesting wireless device seeks to send data to the wireless ear bud and identifies a type of the data; and 
 the method further comprises determining whether to prioritize the data from the requesting wireless device over the data from the active wireless device based at least in part on the one or more predetermined arbitration criteria, the audio status of the active wireless device, and the type of the data identified by the interrupt request. 
 
     
     
       7. The method of  claim 1 , further comprising, by the wireless ear bud:
 determining one or more operating parameters for communication with the active wireless device and/or the requesting wireless device, and 
 providing the one or more operating parameters to a second wireless ear bud that is monitoring communication between the wireless ear bud and the active wireless device and/or the requesting wireless device. 
 
     
     
       8. The method of  claim 7 , further comprising:
 operating the wireless ear bud as a primary wireless ear bud, wherein the second wireless ear bud operates as a secondary wireless ear bud; and 
 switching the wireless ear bud to operate as the secondary wireless ear bud based at least on criteria of the wireless ear bud and/or the second wireless ear bud, the criteria comprising wearing status of the wireless ear bud and of the second wireless ear bud. 
 
     
     
       9. The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 operating the wireless ear bud as a bridge to route communications between the active wireless device and the requesting wireless device when a link between the active wireless device and the requesting wireless device fails. 
 
     
     
       10. An apparatus configurable for operating in a wireless ear bud, the apparatus comprising:
 a processor; and 
 a memory storing processor-executable instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the wireless ear bud to:
 receive audio data from an active wireless device via a wireless communication protocol; 
 receive an interrupt request from a requesting wireless device via the wireless communication protocol; 
 determine whether to authorize the interrupt request and reproduce audio data associated with the requesting wireless device based at least in part on i) one or more predetermined arbitration criteria and ii) an audio status of the active wireless device, the audio status of the active wireless device comprising whether the active wireless device is communicating audio data or is operating in a muted state or an audio paused state in which audio data is not being communicated to the wireless ear bud; and 
 authorize the interrupt request and reproduce the audio data associated with the requesting wireless device when the audio status of the active wireless device and the one or more predetermined arbitration criteria are satisfied, 
 wherein:
 the one or more predetermined arbitration criteria are satisfied when the audio status of the active wireless device comprises the active wireless device operating in the muted state or the audio paused state; 
 the one or more predetermined arbitration criteria are not satisfied:
 when the audio status of the active wireless device comprises the active wireless device sending a ringtone; and 
 when the audio data from the active wireless device comprises a voice call or a video call; and 
 
 the wireless ear bud receives the audio data associated with the requesting wireless device via a connection established using link keys generated by the active wireless device and provided to both the wireless ear bud and the requesting wireless device by the active wireless device. 
 
 
 
     
     
       11. The apparatus of  claim 10 , wherein execution of the instructions further causes the wireless ear bud to:
 determine not to reproduce audio data from the requesting wireless device when the interrupt request is not authorized. 
 
     
     
       12. The apparatus of  claim 10 , wherein the one or more predetermined arbitration criteria are satisfied when:
 the audio data from the active wireless device does not comprise any of: a ringtone, a voice call, or a video call; and 
 the audio data from the requesting wireless device is neither an alert nor navigation audio. 
 
     
     
       13. The apparatus of  claim 10 , wherein when:
 (i) the audio status of the active wireless device comprises the active wireless device communicating audio data having a first priority level to the wireless ear bud, and 
 (ii) the audio data associated with the requesting wireless device comprises audio data having a second priority level that is equal to or higher than the first priority level:
 the wireless ear bud reproduces the audio data of the second priority level associated with the requesting wireless device, and 
 transmission of the audio data of the first priority level associated with the active wireless device is suspended. 
 
 
     
     
       14. The apparatus of  claim 10 , wherein when:
 i) the audio status of the active wireless device comprises the active wireless device communicating audio data having a first priority level to the wireless ear bud, and 
 ii) the audio data associated with the requesting wireless device comprises audio data having a second priority level lower than the first priority level:
 the audio data of the second priority level associated with the requesting wireless device is not reproduced via the wireless ear bud. 
 
 
     
     
       15. The apparatus of  claim 10 , wherein:
 the interrupt request indicates that the requesting wireless device seeks to send data to the wireless ear bud and identifies a type of the data; and 
 execution of the instructions further causes the wireless ear bud to determine whether to prioritize the data from the requesting wireless device over the data from the active wireless device based at least in part on the one or more predetermined arbitration criteria, the audio status of the active wireless device, and the type of the data identified by the interrupt request. 
 
     
     
       16. The apparatus of  claim 10 , wherein execution of the instructions further causes the wireless ear bud to:
 determine one or more operating parameters for communication with the active wireless device and/or the requesting wireless device, and 
 provide the one or more operating parameters to a second wireless ear bud that is monitoring communication between the wireless ear bud and the active wireless device and/or the requesting wireless device. 
 
     
     
       17. The apparatus of  claim 16 , wherein execution of the instructions further causes the wireless ear bud to:
 operate as a primary wireless ear bud, wherein the second wireless ear bud operates as a secondary wireless ear bud; and 
 switch the wireless ear bud to operate as the secondary wireless ear bud based at least on criteria of the wireless ear bud and/or the second wireless ear bud, the criteria comprising a wearing status of the wireless ear bud and of the second wireless ear bud. 
 
     
     
       18. The apparatus of  claim 10 , wherein execution of the instructions further causes the wireless ear bud to:
 operate as a bridge to route communications between the active wireless device and the requesting wireless device when a link between the active wireless device and the requesting wireless device fails. 
 
     
     
       19. A wireless ear bud comprising:
 an antenna for wireless communication; 
 a speaker for reproducing audio data; 
 a processor; and 
 a memory storing instructions that, when executed by the processor cause the wireless ear bud to:
 receive audio data from an active wireless device via a wireless communication protocol; 
 receive an interrupt request from a requesting wireless device via the wireless communication protocol; 
 determine whether to authorize the interrupt request and reproduce audio data associated with the requesting wireless device based at least in part on i) one or more predetermined arbitration criteria and ii) an audio status of the active wireless device, the audio status of the active wireless device comprising whether the active wireless device is communicating audio data or is operating in a muted state or an audio paused state in which audio data is not being communicated to the wireless ear bud; and 
 authorize the interrupt request and reproduce the audio data associated with the requesting wireless device when the audio status of the active wireless device and the one or more predetermined arbitration criteria are satisfied, 
 wherein:
 the one or more predetermined arbitration criteria are satisfied when the audio status of the active wireless device comprises the active wireless device operating in the muted state or the audio paused state; 
 the one or more predetermined arbitration criteria are not satisfied:
 when the audio status of the active wireless device comprises the active wireless device sending a ringtone; and 
 when the audio data from the active wireless device comprises a voice call or a video call; and 
 
 the wireless ear bud receives the audio data associated with the requesting wireless device via a connection established using link keys generated by the active wireless device and provided to both the wireless ear bud and the requesting wireless device by the active wireless device. 
 
 
 
     
     
       20. The wireless ear bud of  claim 19 , wherein execution of the instructions further causes the wireless ear bud to:
 determine one or more operating parameters for communication with the active wireless device and/or the requesting wireless device, and 
 provide the one or more operating parameters to a second wireless ear bud that is monitoring communication between the wireless ear bud and the active wireless device and/or the requesting wireless device.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     The present application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 15/920,172, filed Mar. 13, 2018, entitled “AUDIO DATA ROUTING BETWEEN MULTIPLE WIRELESSLY CONNECTED DEVICES,” set to issue as U.S. Pat. No. 10,554,800 on Feb. 4, 2020, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 15/169,554, filed May 31, 2016, entitled “AUDIO DATA ROUTING BETWEEN MULTIPLE WIRELESSLY CONNECTED DEVICES,” issued as 9,924,010 on Mar. 20, 2018, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/171,558 filed Jun. 5, 2015, entitled “AUDIO ROUTING BETWEEN MULTIPLE WIRELESSLY CONNECTED DEVICES,” the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety for all purposes. 
    
    
     FIELD 
     The present technology pertains to routing of data, including audio data, between multiple wirelessly connected devices. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Conventional technology allows one or more audio reproduction devices to be connected simultaneously to multiple wireless client devices. This conventional technology can result in an inferior user experience when each of the multiple wireless client devices attempts to send audio data to the one or more audio reproduction devices at or near the same time, resulting in conflicts, confusion, and sudden abrupt changes in output from the one or more audio reproduction devices. Thus, there exists a need to route audio data intelligently from multiple wirelessly connected devices to one or more audio reproduction devices. There also exists a need to improve communication between the one or more audio reproduction devices. 
     SUMMARY 
     Features and advantages of the disclosure will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or can be learned by practice of the herein disclosed principles. The features and advantages of the disclosure can be realized and obtained by means of the instruments and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims. These and other features of the disclosure will become more fully apparent from the following description and appended claims, or can be learned by the practice of the principles set forth herein. 
     Systems, methods, and non-transitory computer-readable storage media for providing an improved user experience by intelligently routing audio data from multiple wirelessly connected devices to one or more audio reproduction devices are disclosed. An example method includes detecting a current audio status of an active wireless device. The example method further includes determining whether to pass audio data from a requesting wireless device, either directly or via the active wireless device, to either one or both of a pair of wirelessly connected audio reproduction devices based at least in part on the current audio status of the active wireless device and predetermined arbitration criteria. The method can also include passing the audio data from the requesting wireless device to either one or both of the pair of wirelessly connected audio reproduction devices when the current audio status of the active wireless device and the audio data from the requesting wireless device meet the predetermined arbitration criteria. Other advantages are provided that allow maintaining communication between wirelessly connected audio reproduction devices and one or both of the active wireless device and the requesting wireless device. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       In order to describe the manner in which the above-recited and other advantages and features of the disclosure can be obtained, a more particular description of the principles briefly described above will be rendered by reference to specific embodiments thereof which are illustrated in the appended drawings. Understanding that these drawings depict only exemplary embodiments of the disclosure and are not therefore to be considered to be limiting of its scope, the principles herein are described and explained with additional specificity and detail through the use of the accompanying drawings. 
         FIG.  1    illustrates an example system including a pair of wireless audio reproduction devices connected to an active wireless device and to a requesting wireless device. 
         FIG.  2    illustrates an example system in which an active wireless device and a requesting wireless device both send audio data to either or both of a pair of wireless audio reproduction devices. 
         FIG.  3 A  illustrates an example set of predetermined arbitration criteria for determining whether to pass audio data from a requesting wireless device to either or both of a pair of wireless audio reproduction devices. 
         FIG.  3 B  illustrates another example set of predetermined arbitration criteria for determining whether to pass audio data from a requesting wireless device to either or both of a pair of wireless audio reproduction devices. 
         FIG.  4    illustrates an example method for determining whether to pass audio data from a requesting wireless device to either or both of a pair of wireless audio reproduction devices. 
         FIG.  5    illustrates an example method for establishing a connection between a secondary device and either or both of a pair of wireless audio reproduction devices. 
         FIG.  6 A  illustrates an example system bus computing system architecture for executing the disclosed technology. 
         FIG.  6 B  illustrates an example computer system having a representative chipset architecture for executing the disclosed technology. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION 
     Various embodiments of the disclosure are discussed in detail below. While specific implementations are discussed, it should be understood that this is done for illustration purposes only. A person skilled in the relevant art will recognize that other components and configurations may be used without parting from the spirit and scope of the disclosure. 
     The disclosed technology addresses the need in the art for routing audio data from multiple wirelessly connected devices to one or more wireless audio reproduction devices. The disclosed technology also addresses the need for improved communication between the one or more wireless audio reproduction devices. 
       FIG.  1    illustrates an example system  100  including a representative pair of wireless audio reproduction devices, e.g., a pair of wireless ear buds  102 ,  104 , connected to an active wireless device  108  and also connected to a requesting wireless device  106 . A user can wear either a single one of the wireless ear buds, e.g., ear bud  102  or ear bud  104 , or the user can wear both wireless ear buds  102 ,  104  to receive audio data and to reproduce audio based at least in part on the received audio data via one or both of the wireless ear buds  102 ,  104 . In one example, the audio data can be monophonic; in which case, wireless ear bud  102  and wireless ear bud  104  each receive the same audio data. In another example, the audio data can be stereophonic, such that wireless ear bud  102  and wireless ear bud  104  each receive different audio data corresponding to a left channel and a right channel. In other embodiments, where only a single wireless ear bud is used, monophonic audio data, at least one channel of stereophonic audio data, or both channels of stereophonic audio data can be sent to the single wireless ear bud in use. When both channels of stereophonic audio data are sent, the single wireless ear bud can mix the stereophonic audio data to present a monophonic audio reproduction of the stereophonic audio data. 
     The pair of wireless ear buds (e.g., wireless ear bud  102  and wireless ear bud  104 ) can be simultaneously connected to the active wireless device  108  and to the requesting wireless device  106 . The active wireless device  108  can have an active data connection, i.e., a data connection that is active, (e.g., sending audio data), and that has a higher priority than data connections of other wireless devices with respect to communication with one or more of the pair of wireless ear buds  102 ,  104 . The requesting wireless device  106  can also be connected to one or more of the pair of wireless ear buds  102 ,  104 , and the data connection of the requesting wireless device  106  can have a lower priority than the data connection of the active wireless device  108  with respect to one or more of the pair of wireless ear buds  102 ,  104 . The active wireless device  108  with the higher priority data connection can be referred to as a primary device, while the requesting wireless device  106  having the lower priority data connection can be referred to as a secondary device. 
     The requesting wireless device  106  can request to establish a higher priority for communication via its data connection with one or more of the pair of wireless ear buds  102 ,  104  such that the active wireless device  108  suspends communication over its corresponding data connection with one or more of the pair of wireless ear buds  102 ,  104 . In the example shown in  FIG.  1   , the active wireless device  108  can be referred to as a host device, and the requesting wireless device  106  can be referred to as a wearable device. 
     As shown in  FIG.  1   , in some embodiments, the active wireless device  108  can be, e.g., a smartphone device and the requesting wireless device  106  can be, e.g., a smart watch device. One of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that any wireless device can serve as either an active wireless device or as a requesting wireless device, including a desktop, notebook, laptop, tablet computer, smart phone, smart watch, hybrid device, wearable device such as glasses, etc. Also, the pair of wireless ear buds (i.e., wireless ear bud  102  and wireless ear bud  104 ), the active wireless device  108 , and the requesting wireless device  106  can each communicate with each other via any available wireless communication protocol, including proprietary wireless communication protocols and standards-based wireless communication protocols such as Bluetooth®, Wi-Fi, etc. Communication between the pair of wireless ear buds  102 ,  104 , the active wireless device  108 , and the requesting wireless device  106  can provide for a closed loop status control between the three wireless devices, thus avoiding delays and maintaining coordinated behavior. Also, the active wireless device  108  and the requesting wireless device  106  can manage audio data communication to the pair of wireless ear buds  102 ,  104 . 
     In one aspect of the disclosed technology, either one or both of the active wireless device  108  and the requesting wireless device  106  can be established as a priority connection, indicating a device to which the pair of wireless ear buds  102 ,  104  will attempt to connect if any links or connections are lost. 
     In one aspect of the disclosed technology, if a link between the active wireless device  108  and the requesting wireless device  106  drops, either one or both of the pair of wireless ear buds  102 ,  104  can serve as a communication conduit between the active wireless device  108  and the requesting wireless device  106 . For example, if a communication link, such as a Bluetooth link, between the active wireless device  108  and the requesting wireless device  106  fails, communication between the active wireless device  108  and the requesting wireless device  106  can be routed through the wireless ear bud  102  and/or the wireless ear bud  104 . Either or both of the pair of wireless ear buds  102 ,  104  can serve as a bridge or conduit between the active wireless device  108  and the requesting wireless device  106 , e.g., until a direct communication path is re-established between the active wireless device  108  and the requesting wireless device  106 . Various predetermined rules can govern the behavior of incoming calls, outgoing calls, media playback, use of a conduit mode, etc. for the reproduction of audio via the wireless ear buds  102 ,  104  connected to the active wireless device  108  and the requesting wireless device  106 . 
     In another aspect of the disclosed technology, one of the wireless ear buds in the pair of wireless ear buds  102 ,  104 , such as wireless ear bud  102 , can be established as a primary wireless ear bud and can communicate with the active wireless device  108  and/or with the requesting wireless device  106  to determine operating parameters for communication, such as one or more radio frequency channels, a radio frequency hopping schedule, link management parameters, messaging parameters, etc. The non-primary wireless ear (such as wireless ear bud  104 ) can obtain the operating parameters from the primary wireless ear bud  102  and/or by sniffing/monitoring communication between the primary wireless ear bud  102  and the active wireless device  108  or communication between the primary wireless ear bud  102  and the requesting wireless device  106 . In some aspects, the role of which wireless ear bud serves as the primary wireless ear bud can switch, e.g., manually or automatically, from one wireless ear bud to another wireless ear bud, e.g., based at least in part on one or more factors: (i) detection of a change in wearing status, such as between an out-of-ear wearing status (out-of-ear status) and an in-ear wearing status (in-ear status), (ii) battery levels, or (iii) a manual configuration of primary/secondary roles for the wireless ear buds  102 ,  104 . In other aspects, automatically switching the role of which wireless ear bud serves as the primary wireless ear bud can be disabled for accessibility concerns (e.g., if a user has diminished hearing in one ear). In yet another aspect, wireless ear bud  102  and wireless ear bud  104  can establish and use an independent link or communication channel with each other, e.g., to communicate performance and configuration data between them. 
     In another aspect of the disclosed technology, the active wireless device  108  can facilitate establishing a connection between the requesting wireless device  106  and either or both of the wireless ear buds  102 ,  104 . For example, the active wireless device  108  can generate parameters and/or keys necessary for a secondary wireless device, such as the requesting wireless device  106 , to establish a connection with either or both of the wireless ear buds  102 ,  104 . The active wireless device  108  can send parameters/keys to the requesting wireless device  106  to permit the requesting wireless device  106  to establish a connection with either one or both of the wireless ear buds  102 ,  104 . In some embodiments, the connection can be established autonomously, e.g., without intervention from a user of the active wireless device  108 . In an exemplary embodiment, for a Bluetooth connection, the requesting wireless device  106  can use keys received from the active wireless device  108  to automatically pair with either one or both of the wireless ear buds  102 ,  104 . 
     Although a pair of wireless ear buds is shown in  FIG.  1   , any number of wired or wirelessly connected audio reproduction devices can utilize the disclosed technology, including any type of wired or wireless audio headset. 
       FIG.  2    illustrates an example system  200  in which an active wireless device  208  and a requesting wireless device  206  both send audio data to either or both of a pair of wireless audio reproduction devices  202 ,  204 . More specifically,  FIG.  2    illustrates the active wireless device  208  and the requesting wireless device  206  sending data, including audio data, to either or both of a pair of wireless ear buds  202 ,  204 , the pair of wireless ear buds including wireless ear bud  202  and wireless ear bud  204 . Either or both of the pair of wireless ear buds  202 ,  204  can determine when to authorize an interrupt request from the requesting wireless device  206  based at least in part on a status of the active wireless device  208  and on predetermined arbitration rules. In one example, either or both of the pair of wireless ear buds  202 ,  204  will authorize an interrupt request from the requesting wireless device  206  when the status of the active wireless device  208  meets the predetermined arbitration rules, and will pass through audio data to the wireless ear buds  202 ,  204  so that a user can hear audio reproduction of the audio data. In a more specific example, either or both of the pair of wireless ear buds  202 ,  204  can authorize a voicemail interrupt request from the requesting wireless device  206  when the active wireless device  208  is in a music playing status, and the active wireless device  208  can pause music playing on the active wireless device  208  to allow audio data for the voicemail to pass through to the pair of wireless ear buds  202 ,  204 , thereby permitting a user to listen to audio reproduction of the voicemail audio data. Subsequently, the active wireless device  208  can un-pause the music playing on the active wireless device  208 , after completion of transfer of the voicemail audio data. 
     In another example, either one or both of the pair of wireless ear buds  202 ,  204  can be configured to not authorize an interrupt request from the requesting wireless device  206  when the status of the active wireless device  208  does not meet the predetermined arbitration rules, and will not allow audio data to pass through to the pair of wireless ear buds, and a user continues to hear audio from the active wireless device  208 . In a more specific example, either or both of the pair of wireless ear buds  202 ,  204  can determine to not authorize interrupt requests from the requesting wireless device  206  when the active wireless device  208  is in a voice call status or a video chat status. 
     In another embodiment, the requesting wireless device  206  can communicate with the active wireless device  208  to coordinate data transmission to the wireless ear bud  202  and/or the wireless ear bud  204 . For example, the requesting wireless device  206  can communicate with the active wireless device  208  (e.g. using a message, signal, interrupt, or the like) and indicate to the active wireless device  208  that the requesting wireless device  206  would like to send data to the wireless ear bud  202  and/or to the wireless ear bud  204 . The communication from the requesting wireless device  206  can identify the type of data that the requesting wireless device  206  would like to send. For example, the communication can indicate that the requesting wireless device  206  would like to send audio corresponding to an alarm or a voicemail to the wireless ear bud  202  and/or to the wireless ear bud  204 . The active wireless device  208  can determine its current status with respect to the wireless ear bud  202  and/or the wireless ear bud  204 . For example, the active wireless device  208  can determine that it is currently sending audio data to the wireless ear bud  202  and/or to the wireless ear bud  204 , the audio data corresponding to a voice call, music, video, etc. Based at least in part on the current status of the active wireless device  208  and on a set of predetermined arbitration rules, the active wireless device  208  can determine that the active wireless device  208  should maintain its higher priority and deny the request from the requesting wireless device  206 . Alternatively, based at least in part on the current status of the active wireless device  208  and on a set of predetermined arbitration rules, the active wireless device  208  can determine that the request from the requesting wireless device  206  should take priority over communication (if any) from the active wireless device  208 , and the active wireless device  208  can stop sending audio data to the wireless ear bud  202  and/or the wireless ear bud  204  to permit the requesting wireless device  206  to send audio data to the wireless ear bud  202  and/or the wireless ear bud  204 . 
       FIG.  3 A  illustrates a table  300  of example predetermined arbitration criteria for determining whether to pass audio data from a requesting wireless device  206  to either one or both of a pair of audio reproduction devices, e.g., a pair of wireless ear buds  202 ,  204 , associated with an active wireless device  208 . The table  300  of  FIG.  3    includes a list of sources for audio data for the active wireless device  208  and for the requesting wireless device  206 . The sources for audio data listed in table  300  can also be referred to as an audio status or state for the applicable wireless device. For example, the “Alert” source for the active wireless device  208  can indicate an audio status or state for the active wireless device  208  in which audio data for an alert is being communicated to one or both of the pair of audio reproduction devices, e.g., the pair of wireless ear buds  202 ,  204 . As another example, the “No Audio” source for the active wireless device  208  can indicate an audio status or state for the active wireless device  208  in which no audio data is being communicated to one or both of the pair of audio reproduction devices, e.g., the pair of wireless ear buds  202 ,  204 . As illustrated by table  300 , certain types of audio for which the requesting wireless device  206  would like to interrupt the active wireless device  208  to communicate audio data to the pair of wireless ear buds  202 ,  204  can take priority and be passed through to the pair of wireless ear buds  202 ,  204  in place of audio data from the active wireless device  208 . Whether to interrupt audio data from the active wireless device  208  depends on the type of audio data being sent (if any) by the active wireless device  208  and the type of audio data from the requesting wireless device  206 . When the active wireless device  208  is sending no audio data, any audio data from the requesting wireless device  206  can be communicated to the pair of wireless ear buds  202 ,  204 . When the active wireless device  208  is sending audio data for any of the types shown in rows  304 , audio data of types shown in columns  310  from the requesting wireless device  206  can interrupt communication of audio data from the active wireless device  208 , while audio data of types shown in columns  308  from the requesting wireless device  206  cannot interrupt communication of audio data from the active wireless device  208 . Additionally audio data for a voice/video call (included in columns  312 ) from the requesting wireless device  206  can interrupt audio data communication of the active wireless device  208  for any of the types shown in rows  304 , while a ringtone (also included in columns  312 ) can be an audio type that is not applicable to the requesting wireless device  206 . When the active wireless device  208  is sending audio data for any of the types shown in rows  306 , no audio data type from the requesting wireless device  206  can interrupt communication of audio data from the active wireless device  208 . 
     For the row  302  of the table  300 , the active wireless device  208  can be in a state in which no audio data is being sent to the pair of wireless ear buds  202 ,  204 , e.g., music is paused and/or a mute function is enabled on the active wireless device  208 , and while the active wireless device  208  is in this state, audio data from any source of the requesting wireless device  206  can be passed to either one or both of the pair of wireless ear buds  202 ,  204  to which the active wireless device  208  and the requesting wireless device  206  are wirelessly connected. Representative sources for audio data from the requesting wireless device  206  include: alert, navigation, music video, voice mail, alarm, voice call, video call, etc. listed in columns  308 ,  310 , and  312  of table  300 . 
     For the rows  304  of the table  300 , the active wireless device  208  is sending audio data corresponding to one of the following sources: alert, navigation, game audio, music, video, voice recorder, voicemail, personal assistant, or alarm to one or both of the pair of wireless ear buds  202 ,  204 . Depending on the type of source for audio data from the requesting wireless device  206 , the audio data from the active wireless device  208  can be interrupted, e.g., paused or muted, to allow the audio data from the requesting wireless device  206  to take priority for communication to one or both of the pair of wireless ear buds  202 ,  204 . As shown in the table  300 , audio data from the requesting wireless device  206  corresponding to an alert type source or to a navigation type source listed in columns  308  can be declined, e.g., not take priority, over audio data from the active wireless device  208  of types listed in rows  304  or  306 . As also shown in the table  300 , any audio data from the requesting wireless device  206  that corresponds to a music, video, voicemail, alarm, voice call, or video call type source, as listed in columns  310 , can be accepted, e.g., take priority, over audio data from the active wireless device  208  of types listed in rows  304 . 
     For the rows  306  of the table  300 , the active wireless device  208  is sending audio data corresponding to one of the following sources: ringtone, voice call, or video call to one or both of the pair of wireless ear buds  202 ,  204 . For any of these sources listed in rows  306 , the audio data from the active wireless device  208  can take priority over any type of audio data from the requesting wireless device  206 . As indicated in the rows of  306 , the predetermined arbitration criteria can determine that no audio data is to be passed from the requesting wireless device  206  to either or both of the pair wireless ear buds  202 ,  204  when audio data of the types listed in rows  306  are being communicated by the requesting wireless device  206 . Those of skill in the art should recognize that other arbitration rules for determining whether to pass audio data from the requesting wireless device  206  (and potentially interrupt transfer of audio data from the active wireless device  208 ) to either or both of the pair of wireless ear buds  202 ,  204  based at least in part on sources of audio data, and/or based at least in part on other status criteria of the active wireless device  208  are possible. 
       FIG.  3 B  illustrates a table  350  of another set of predetermined arbitration criteria to use to determine whether to allow audio data from a requesting wireless device  206  to be communicated to one or both of a pair of wireless ear buds  202 ,  204  (or equivalent audio reproduction devices). Different types of audio data, which can originate from different applications or operating system processes at the requesting wireless device  206  or at an active wireless device  208 , can be assigned different levels of priority. Exemplary priority levels as shown in  FIG.  3 B  can include “None” (a lowest priority level), and in increasing level of priority, “Low”, “Medium”, “High”, and “Critical” (a highest priority level). Representative sources for audio data for the different priority levels are listed in table  350 . For the “None” lowest priority level, audio data of the requesting wireless device that is not Bluetooth audio (or more generally is not routable to the pair of wireless ear buds  202 ,  204 ) or is a voice-over are representative examples. Additional representative examples for the “None” lowest priority level can include user interface sound effects, such as key clicks. For the “Low” priority level, audio data from a notification alert, a navigation direction, or a game application are representative examples. For the “Medium” priority level, audio data from a music playback application, a video playback application, a voicemail playback, or a device alarm are representative examples. For the “High” priority level, a ringtone is a representative example. Another representative “High” priority level audio data source is an emergency alert message. For the “Critical” highest priority level, audio data for a voice call (such as a cellular connection, a Voice over Internet Protocol connection, or a FaceTime Audio connection) or for a video call (such as FaceTime video connection) are representative examples. 
     Arbitration rules can account for the priority levels of audio data from different devices to determine which audio data takes priority for communication to the pair of wireless ear buds  202 ,  204 . In some embodiments, audio data that originates from the requesting wireless device  206  and that has an equal priority or a higher priority to audio data (if any) that originates from the active wireless device  208  can take priority, e.g., interrupt communication of audio data from the active wireless device  208  and allow communication of audio data from the requesting wireless device  206  to one or both of the pair of wireless ear buds  202 ,  204 . In some embodiments, any audio data from a requesting wireless device  206  that has a higher priority than a lowest priority level, e.g., at a “Low” or higher priority level, can be communicated to the pair of wireless ear buds  202 ,  204  when no audio data is being communicated by the active wireless device  208  to the pair of wireless ear buds  202 ,  204 . 
     In some embodiments, interruption of audio data communicated from the active wireless device  208  to the pair of wireless ear buds  202 ,  204  is automatically resumed after completion of communication of the audio data from the requesting wireless device  206 . Thus, for example, music playback based at least in part on audio data originating from the active wireless device  208  can be paused or muted to allow communication of audio data from the requesting wireless device  206 , when the audio data from the requesting wireless device  206  has an equal or higher priority to the music playback audio data (e.g., “Medium” priority level). After communication of the audio data from the requesting wireless device  206  completes, music playback by the active wireless device  208  can continue, e.g., by un-pausing or un-muting the audio data from the active wireless device  208 . 
     In some embodiments, a set of arbitration rules can be applied in a hierarchical order to determine which of two wireless devices, an active wireless device  208  and a requesting wireless device  206 , has priority for communicating audio data to a pair of audio reproduction devices, e.g., the pair of wireless ear buds  202 ,  204 . As a representative example, the active wireless device  208  can be considered a primary device that has a default priority for communication with the pair of wireless ear buds  202 ,  204  over the requesting wireless device  206 , which can be considered a secondary device. Communication for the requesting wireless device  206  can take priority over communication for the active wireless device  208  in response to selection of the requesting wireless device  206  via a user interface, e.g., by a user of the active wireless device  208  and/or the requesting wireless device  206  selecting to send audio data for the requesting wireless device  206  to the pair of wireless ear buds  202 ,  204 . When there is no manual selection of the requesting wireless device  206 , a determination of whether to send audio data from the requesting wireless device  206  or the active wireless device  208  to the pair of wireless ear buds  202 ,  204  can depend on a priority of the audio data of the requesting wireless device  206  relative to a priority of the audio data of the active wireless device  208 . In some embodiments, only audio data having a priority level above a lowest “None” priority level can be considered for communication to the pair of wireless ear buds  202 ,  204 . Thus, audio data having the lowest “None” priority level from the requesting wireless device  206  will not interrupt communication of audio data from the active wireless device  208 , when the active wireless device  208  is communicating audio data to the pair of wireless ear buds, and will not be communicated to the pair of wireless ear buds  202 ,  204  when the active wireless device  208  is not communicating any audio data. Audio data having at least a priority level above the lowest “None” priority level, e.g., at a “Low” or higher priority level, can be communicated to the pair of wireless ear buds  202 ,  204  from the requesting wireless device  206  when the active wireless device  208  is not communicating any audio data. Audio data from the requesting wireless device  206  having at least a priority level equal or higher to audio data from the active wireless device  208  can be communicated to the pair of wireless ear buds  202 ,  204 . 
     In an embodiment, a processor in one of the pair of wireless ear buds  202 ,  204  determines to accept an interrupt request from the requesting wireless device  206 , pauses or mutes the active wireless device  208 , and passes audio data from the requesting wireless device  206  through for audio reproduction by one or both of the pair of wireless ear buds  202 ,  204 , when predetermined arbitration criteria are met. In another embodiment, a processor within the active wireless device  208  determines to accept a request from the requesting wireless device  206  and pass through audio data from the requesting wireless device  206  to one or both of the pair of wireless ear buds  202 ,  204  when the predetermined arbitration criteria are met. Various embodiments are possible in which a processor in a wireless device, such as in a wireless ear bud  202 ,  204 , a requesting wireless device  206 , an active wireless device  208 , or another wirelessly connected wireless device can determine whether the predetermined arbitration criteria are met and allow audio data from the requesting wireless device  206  to pass through while muting or pausing audio data from the active wireless device  208  until the requesting wireless device  206  finishes passing through the audio data. 
       FIG.  4    illustrates a flow chart  400  of an example method for determining whether to pass audio data from a requesting wireless device  206  to one or more audio reproduction devices, e.g., to one or both of a pair of wireless ear buds  202 ,  204 . At  402 , a current audio status of an active wireless device  208  is detected. At  404 , it is determined whether to pass audio data from a requesting wireless device  206  to either or both of a pair of wireless ear buds  202 ,  204 , based at least in part on a current audio status of the active wireless device  208  and on predetermined arbitration criteria. When it is determined not to pass audio data from the requesting wireless device  206 , the method proceeds back to  402 . When it is determined to pass audio data from the requesting wireless device  206  to either one or both of the pair of wireless ear buds  202 ,  204 , at  406 , the audio data from the requesting wireless device  206  is passed through to either one or both of the pair of wireless ear buds  202 ,  204 , when the current audio status of the active wireless device  208  and the audio data from the requesting wireless device  206  meet the predetermined arbitration criteria. 
     The example method of  FIG.  4    can further include an aspect where detecting the current audio status of the active wireless device  208  includes detecting that the active wireless device  208  is operating in a music paused audio status, and where determining whether to pass the audio data from the requesting wireless device  206  to either one or both of the pair of wireless ear buds  202 ,  204 , in response to the current audio status of the active wireless device  208  and the predetermined arbitration criteria includes determining to pass audio data of one or more types and/or from one or more sources (which, in some embodiments, includes any type or from any source) from the requesting wireless device  206  to either one or both of the wireless ear buds  202 ,  204 . In some embodiments, this aspect can include determining to pass any alert, navigation, music, video, voicemail, alarm, voice call, or video call audio data from the requesting wireless device  206  to either one or both of the wireless ear buds  202 ,  204 . 
     The example method of  FIG.  4    can also include another aspect in which detecting the current audio status of the active wireless device  208  includes detecting that the active wireless device  208  is operating in a status in which audio data originates from one of the following sources: alert, navigation, game audio, music, video, voice recorder, voice mail, voice digital personal assistant, or alarm, and in which determining whether to pass the audio data from the requesting wireless device  206  to either one or both of the pair of wireless ear buds  202 ,  204  in response to the current audio status of the active wireless device  208  and the predetermined arbitration criteria includes determining not to pass audio data from any alert source or any navigation source and determining to pass audio data from any of the following sources: music, video, voicemail, alarm or voice call from the requesting wireless device  206  to either one or both of the wireless ear buds  202 ,  204 . 
     The example method of  FIG.  4    can include another aspect in which detecting the current audio status of the active wireless device  208  includes detecting that the active wireless device  208  is operating status in which audio data originates for a ringtone or a voice call, and in which determining whether to pass the audio data from the requesting wireless device  206  to either one or both of the pair of wireless ear buds  202  and  204  in response to the current audio status of the active wireless device  208  and the predetermined arbitration criteria includes determining not to pass any audio data from the requesting wireless device  206  to either one or both of the wireless ear buds  202 ,  204 . This aspect can include a specific embodiment, in which the determining not to pass any audio data from the requesting wireless device  206  to either one or both of the wireless ear buds  202 ,  204  includes determining not to pass audio data for any of the following sources: alert, navigation, music, video, voice mail, digital personal assistant, alarm, or ringtone audio from the requesting wireless device  206  to either one or both of the wireless ear buds  202 ,  204 . 
     Returning to  FIG.  1   , the active wireless device  108  and the requesting wireless device  106  are wirelessly connected to each other and both are connected to one or both of the pair of wireless ear buds  102 ,  104 . Aspects of the present technology also include a simplified connection process between devices. For purposes of discussion of this embodiment, the active wireless device  108  can be referred to as a primary device and the requesting wireless device  106  can be referred to as a secondary device. Either device can be designated as a primary or a secondary device depending on their roles in a connection process. Rather than putting each device into a connection state and taking steps to pair each device shown in  FIG.  1    with each other device (e.g., wireless ear buds  102 ,  104  with a primary device, wireless ear buds  102 ,  104  with a secondary device, and the primary device with the secondary device), it is possible to eliminate one or more active pairing steps utilizing a method as illustrated in  FIG.  5    and described further herein. 
       FIG.  5    illustrates a flowchart  500  of an example method for establishing a connection between a secondary device and either one or both of a pair of wireless ear buds  102 ,  104 . At  502 , a connection is established between a primary device and either one or both of the pair of wireless ear buds  102 ,  104 . In some embodiments, the established connection can be a Bluetooth connection that causes the primary device to be paired to either one or both of the pair of wireless ear buds  102 ,  104 . In some embodiments, a user can be required to enter or to confirm settings in order to facilitate an initial pairing between the primary device and one or both of the pair of wireless ear buds  102 ,  104 . 
     At  504 , the primary device generates a set of link keys, parameters, and/or settings, etc. that can be used to facilitate seamless pairing between the secondary device and either one or both of the pair of wireless ear buds  102 ,  104 . For example, the primary device can be a smartphone that has established a Bluetooth connection between itself and one or both of the wireless ear buds  102 ,  104 . The secondary device can be a smart watch device that is configured to communicate with the primary device and is capable of also establishing a Bluetooth connection with one or both of the wireless ear buds  102 ,  104 . Those that are skilled in the art will recognize that the primary device and the secondary device can include any type of wireless electronic device. 
     At step  506 , the primary device can share the link keys, parameters, and/or settings, etc. with either one or both of the pair of wireless ear buds  102 ,  104  and also with the secondary device. At step  508 , the secondary device can use the link keys, parameters, and/or settings, etc. to establish a connection with either one or both of the wireless ear buds  102 ,  104 . In some embodiments, the connection is established automatically without intervention by a user of the secondary device. The secondary device can detect the presence of the wireless ear buds  102 ,  104  and utilize the parameters generated by the primary device to automatically pair with the wireless ear buds  102 ,  104 . The secondary device can present an audible indication and/or a visual indication to the user to alert the user that a connection between the secondary device and one or both of the wireless ear buds  102 ,  104  has been successfully established. Those that are skilled in the art will recognize that the present technology is not limited to a primary device and a secondary device. In additional aspects of the present technology, the primary device can generate additional link keys or parameters that facilitate connections between secondary devices and any device/accessory that is currently paired or otherwise connected to the primary device. 
     In an embodiment, a method performed by an active wireless device  108  includes detecting an audio status of the active wireless device  108 , the active wireless device  108  and a requesting wireless device  106  both being simultaneously communicatively coupled to one or both of a pair of wireless ear buds  102 ,  104 . The method further includes the active wireless device  108  determining whether to transmit audio data from the requesting wireless device  106  to the one or both of the pair of wireless ear buds  102 ,  104  based at least in part on the audio status of the active wireless device  108  and predetermined arbitration criteria. Representative arbitration criteria include one or more rules for prioritizing between audio data associated with the active wireless device  108  and audio data associated with the requesting wireless device  106  based at least in part on priority levels for applications or operating system processes that generate audio data. Table  300 , illustrated in  FIG.  3 A , and Table  350 , illustrated in  FIG.  3 B , each summarize exemplary arbitration criteria and rules, in accordance with some embodiments. The method further includes the active wireless device  108  causing the audio data associated with the requesting wireless device  106  to be transmitted to one or both of the pair of wireless ear buds  102 ,  104  when the audio status of the active wireless device  108  and the audio data associated with the requesting wireless device  106  satisfy the predetermined arbitration criteria, where the audio status of the active wireless device  108  includes whether the active wireless device  108  is communicating audio data to one or both of the pair of wireless ear buds  102 ,  104 . 
     In some embodiments, the audio status of the active wireless device  108  includes the active wireless device  108  operating in a muted state or an audio paused state in which audio data associated with the active wireless device  108  is not being communicated to the one or both of the pair of wireless ear buds  102 ,  104 , in which case the audio data with the requesting wireless device  106  is transmitted to the one or both of the pair of wireless ear buds  102 ,  104 . In some embodiments, the audio status of the active wireless device  108  includes the active wireless device  108  communicating audio data having a first priority level to the one or both of the pair of wireless ear buds  102 ,  104 , and the audio data associated with the requesting wireless device  106  includes audio data having a second priority level that is equal to or higher than the first priority level, in which case the audio data of the second priority level associated with the requesting wireless device  106  is transmitted to the one or both of the pair of wireless ear buds  102 ,  104 , and transmission of the audio data of the first priority level associated with the active wireless device  108  is suspended. In some embodiments, the audio data having the second priority level associated with the requesting wireless device  106  includes audio data associated with a voice call or a video call. In some embodiments, the audio status of the active wireless device  108  includes the active wireless device  108  communicating audio data having a first priority level to the one or both of the pair of wireless ear buds  102 ,  104 , and the audio data associated with the requesting wireless device  106  includes audio data having a second priority level lower than the first priority level, in which case, the audio data of the second priority level associated with the requesting wireless device is not transmitted to the one or both of the pair of wireless ear buds  102 ,  104 . In some embodiments, the audio data having the first priority level associated with the active wireless device  108  includes audio data associated with a voice call or a video call, and the audio data having the second priority level associated with the requesting wireless device  106  includes audio data associated with an application or operating system process other than servicing a voice call or a video call. In some embodiments, the audio data having the second priority level associated with the requesting wireless device  106  includes audio data corresponding to at least one of an alert, an alarm, a navigation application, a game application, media playback, or a voice mail. In some embodiments, the method further includes the active wireless device  108  detecting a wearing status of the one or both of the pair of wireless ear buds  102 ,  104 , and audio data is transmitted to the one or both of the pair of wireless ear buds  102 ,  104  from either the active wireless device  108  or the requesting wireless device  106  when at least one wireless ear bud  102 ,  104  has an in-ear status. In some embodiments, audio data is not transmitted to the one or both of the pair of wireless ear buds  102 ,  104  from either the active wireless device  108  or the requesting wireless device  106  when both of the pair of wireless ear buds  102 ,  104  have an out-of-ear status. 
     In an embodiment, a non-transitory computer-readable medium stores processor-executable instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause an active wireless device  108  to: (i) detect an audio status of the active wireless device  108  communicatively coupled to at least one wireless ear bud of a pair of wireless ear buds  102 ,  104 ; (ii) receive a request to transmit data to the at least one wireless ear bud from a requesting wireless device  106 , the requesting wireless device  106  and the active wireless device  108  both being simultaneously communicatively coupled to the at least one wireless ear bud of the pair of wireless ear buds  102 ,  104 , the active wireless device  108  having control of an audio channel for transmission of audio data to the at least one wireless ear bud of the pair of wireless ear buds  102 ,  104 ; (iii) determine whether to grant the request to transmit the audio data associated with the requesting wireless device  106  to the at least one wireless ear bud based at least in part on the audio status of the active wireless device  108  and predetermined arbitration criteria; and (iv) grant the request to transmit the audio data associated with the requesting wireless device  106  to the at least one wireless ear bud when the audio status of the active wireless device  108  and the audio data associated with the requesting wireless device  106  satisfy the predetermined arbitration criteria. 
     In some embodiments, the audio status of the active wireless device  108  includes the active wireless device  108  operating in a muted state or an audio paused state in which audio data associated with the active wireless device  108  is not being communicated to the at least one wireless ear bud of the pair of wireless ear buds  102 ,  104 , in which case the request to transmit the audio data associated with the requesting wireless device  106  to the at least one wireless ear bud of the pair of wireless ear buds  102 ,  104  is granted. In some embodiments, the audio status of the active wireless device  108  includes the active wireless device  108  communicating audio data having a first priority level to the at least one wireless ear bud of the pair of wireless ear buds  102 ,  104 ; and the audio data associated with the requesting wireless device  106  includes audio data having a second priority level that is equal to or higher than the first priority level, in which case the request to transmit the audio data of the second priority level associated with the requesting wireless device  106  to the at least one of the pair of wireless ear buds  102 ,  104  is granted, and transmission of the audio data of the first priority level associated with the active wireless device  108  is suspended. In some embodiments, the audio status of the active wireless device  108  includes the active wireless device  108  communicating audio data having a first priority level to the at least one wireless ear bud of the pair of wireless ear buds  102 ,  104 ; and the audio data associated with the requesting wireless device  106  includes audio data having a second priority level lower than the first priority level, in which case the request to transmit the audio data of the second priority level associated with the requesting wireless device  106  to the at least one of the pair of wireless ear buds  102 ,  104  is not granted. In some embodiments, the active wireless device  108  detects a wearing status of the at least one wireless ear bud of the pair of wireless ear buds  102 ,  104 , and audio data is transmitted to the at least one wireless ear bud of the pair of wireless ear buds  102 ,  104  from either the active wireless device  108  or the requesting wireless device  106  when at least one wireless ear bud has an in-ear status. In some embodiments, audio data is not transmitted to the at least one wireless ear bud of the pair of wireless ear buds  102 ,  104  from either the active wireless device  108  or the requesting wireless device  106  when both of the pair of wireless ear buds has an out-of-ear status. 
     In an embodiment, an apparatus of an active wireless device  108  includes: (i) means for detecting an audio status of the active wireless device  108  communicatively coupled to at least one wireless ear bud of a pair of wireless ear buds  102 ,  104 ; (ii) means for receiving a request to transmit data to the at least one wireless ear bud from a requesting wireless device  106 , the requesting wireless device  106  and the active wireless device  108  both being simultaneously communicatively coupled to the at least one wireless ear bud of the pair of wireless ear buds  102 ,  104 , the active wireless device  108  having control of an audio channel for transmission of audio data to the at least one wireless ear bud of the pair of wireless ear buds  102 ,  104 ; (iii) means for determining whether to grant the request to transmit the audio data associated with the requesting wireless device  106  to the at least one wireless ear bud based at least in part on the audio status of the active wireless device  108  and predetermined arbitration criteria; and (iv) means for granting the request to transmit the audio data associated with the requesting wireless device  106  to the at least one wireless ear bud when the audio status of the active wireless device  108  and the audio data associated with the requesting wireless device  106  satisfy the predetermined arbitration criteria. 
     In some embodiments, the audio status of the active wireless device  108  includes the active wireless device  108  operating in a muted state or an audio paused state in which audio data associated with the active wireless device  108  is not being communicated to the at least one wireless ear bud of the pair of wireless ear buds  102 ,  104 , in which case the request to transmit the audio data associated with the requesting wireless device  106  to the at least one wireless ear bud of the pair of wireless ear buds  102 ,  104  is granted. In some embodiments, the audio status of the active wireless device  108  includes the active wireless device  108  communicating audio data having a first priority level to the at least one wireless ear bud of the pair of wireless ear buds  102 ,  104 ; and the audio data associated with the requesting wireless device  106  includes audio data having a second priority level that is equal to or higher than the first priority level, in which case the request to transmit the audio data of the second priority level associated with the requesting wireless device  106  to the at least one of the pair of wireless ear buds  102 ,  104  is granted, and transmission of the audio data of the first priority level associated with the active wireless device  108  is suspended. In some embodiments, the audio status of the active wireless device  108  includes the active wireless device  108  communicating audio data having a first priority level to the at least one wireless ear bud of the pair of wireless ear buds  102 ,  104 ; and the audio data associated with the requesting wireless device  106  includes audio data having a second priority level lower than the first priority level, in which case the request to transmit the audio data of the second priority level associated with the requesting wireless device  106  to the at least one of the pair of wireless ear buds  102 ,  104  is not granted. In some embodiments, the apparatus of the active wireless device  108  further includes means for detecting a wearing status of the at least one wireless ear bud of the pair of wireless ear buds  102 ,  104 , and audio data is transmitted to the at least one wireless ear bud of the pair of wireless ear buds  102 ,  104  from either the active wireless device  108  or the requesting wireless device  106  when at least one wireless ear bud has an in-ear status. In some embodiments, audio data is not transmitted to the at least one wireless ear bud of the pair of wireless ear buds  102 ,  104  from either the active wireless device  108  or the requesting wireless device  106  when both of the pair of wireless ear buds has an out-of-ear status. 
     In an embodiment, a wireless device, e.g., an active wireless device  108 , includes at least a processor, and a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing processor-executable instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the wireless device to: (i) detect an audio status of the wireless device; (ii) determine whether to allow a second wireless device, e.g., a requesting wireless device  106 , to transmit audio data associated with the second wireless device to one or more wireless audio reproduction devices based at least in part on the audio status of the wireless device and predetermined arbitration criteria; and (iii) allow the second wireless device to transmit the audio data associated with the requesting wireless device to the one or more wireless audio reproduction devices when the audio status of the wireless device and the audio data associated with the second wireless device satisfy the predetermined arbitration criteria, where the second wireless device and the wireless device are both simultaneously communicatively coupled to the one or more wireless audio reproduction devices, the wireless device having control of an audio channel for transmission of audio data to the one or more wireless audio reproduction devices. 
     In some embodiments, the audio status of the wireless device includes the wireless device operating in a muted state or an audio paused state in which audio data from the wireless device is not being communicated to the one or more wireless audio reproduction devices, in which case the audio data associated with the second wireless device is transmitted to the one or more wireless audio reproduction devices. In some embodiments, the audio status of the wireless device includes the wireless device communicating audio data having a first priority level to the one or more wireless audio reproduction devices, and the audio data associated with the second wireless device includes audio data having a second priority level that is equal to or higher than the first priority level, in which case the audio data of the second priority level associated with the second wireless device is transmitted to the one or more wireless audio reproduction devices, and transmission of the audio data of the first priority level associated with the wireless device is suspended. In some embodiments, the audio status of the wireless device includes the wireless device communicating audio data having a first priority level to the one or more wireless audio reproduction devices, and the audio data associated with the second wireless device includes audio data having a second priority level lower than the first priority level, in which case the audio data of the second priority level associated with the second wireless device is not transmitted to the one or more wireless audio reproduction devices. In some embodiments, the predetermined arbitration criteria include one or more rules for prioritizing between audio data associated with the wireless device and audio data associated with the second wireless device based at least in part on priority levels for applications or operating system processes that generate the audio data. 
       FIGS.  6 A and  6 B  illustrate exemplary system embodiments.  FIG.  6 A  illustrates an exemplary system  600  with a conventional system bus computing system architecture in which components of the exemplary system  600  are in electrical communication with each other using a bus  605 . Exemplary system  600  includes a processing unit (CPU or processor)  610  and a system bus  605  that couples various system components including the system memory  615 , such as read only memory (ROM)  620  and random access memory (RAM)  625 , to the processor  610 . 
     The system  600  can include a cache  612  of high-speed memory connected directly with, in close proximity to, or integrated as part of the processor  610 . The system  600  can copy data from the memory  615  and/or the storage device  630  to the cache  612  for quick access by the processor  610 . In this way, the cache  612  can provide a performance boost that avoids processor  610  delays while waiting for data. These and other modules can control or be configured to control the processor  610  to perform various actions. Other system memory  615  may be available for use as well. The memory  615  can include multiple different types of memory with different performance characteristics. The processor  610  can include any general purpose processor and a hardware module or software module, such as module 1  632 , module 2  634 , and module 3  636  stored in storage device  630 , configured to control the processor  610  as well as a special-purpose processor where software instructions are incorporated into the actual processor design. The processor  610  may essentially be a completely self-contained computing system, containing multiple cores or processors, a bus, memory controller, cache, etc. A multi-core processor may be symmetric or asymmetric. 
     To enable user interaction with the system  600 , an input device  645  can represent any number of input mechanisms, such as a microphone for speech, a touch-sensitive screen for gesture or graphical input, keyboard, mouse, motion input, speech and so forth. An output device  635  can also be one or more of a number of output mechanisms known to those of skill in the art. In some instances, multimodal systems can enable a user to provide multiple types of input to communicate with the system  600 . The communications interface  640  can generally govern and manage the user input and system output. There is no restriction on operating on any particular hardware arrangement and therefore the basic features here may easily be substituted for improved hardware or firmware arrangements as they are developed. 
     Storage device  630  is a non-volatile memory and can be a hard disk or other types of computer readable media which can store data that are accessible by a computer, such as magnetic cassettes, flash memory cards, solid state memory devices, digital versatile disks, cartridges, random access memories (RAMs)  625 , read only memory (ROM)  620 , and hybrids thereof. 
     The storage device  630  can include software modules  632 ,  634 ,  636  for controlling the processor  610 . Other hardware or software modules are contemplated. The storage device  630  can be connected to the system bus  605 . In one aspect, a hardware module that performs a particular function can include the software component stored in a computer-readable medium in connection with the necessary hardware components, such as the processor  610 , bus  605 , display  635 , and so forth, to carry out the function. 
       FIG.  6 B  illustrates a computer system  650  having a chipset architecture that can be used in executing the described methods and can include generating and displaying a graphical user interface (GUI). Computer system  650  is an example of computer hardware, software, and firmware that can be used to implement the disclosed technology. System  650  can include a processor  655 , representative of any number of physically and/or logically distinct resources capable of executing software, firmware, and hardware configured to perform identified computations. Processor  655  can communicate with a chipset  660  that can control input to and output from processor  655 . In this example, chipset  660  outputs information to output device  665 , such as a display, and can read and write information to storage device  670 , which can include magnetic media, and solid state media, for example. Chipset  660  can also read data from and write data to RAM  675 . A bridge  680  for interfacing with a variety of user interface components  685  can be provided for interfacing with chipset  660 . Such user interface components  685  can include a keyboard, a microphone, touch detection and processing circuitry, a pointing device, such as a mouse, and so on. In general, inputs to system  650  can come from any of a variety of sources, machine generated and/or human generated, e.g., by a user of system  650 . 
     Chipset  660  can also interface with one or more communication interfaces  690  that can have different physical interfaces. Such communication interfaces  690  can include interfaces for wired networks, wireless local area networks, broadband wireless networks, as well as wireless personal area networks. Some applications of the methods disclosed herein can include receiving ordered datasets over the physical interface or be generated by the machine itself by processor  655  and analyzing data stored in storage  670  or  675 . Further, the machine can receive inputs from a user via user interface components  685  and execute appropriate functions, such as browsing functions by interpreting these inputs using processor  655 . 
     It can be appreciated that exemplary systems  600  and  650  can have more than one processor or be part of a group or cluster of computing devices networked together to provide greater processing capability. 
     For clarity of explanation, in some instances the present technology may be presented as including individual functional blocks including functional blocks comprising devices, device components, steps or routines in a method embodied in software, or combinations of hardware and software. 
     In some embodiments the computer-readable storage devices, mediums, and memories can include a cable or wireless signal containing a bit stream and the like. However, when mentioned, non-transitory computer-readable storage media expressly exclude media such as energy, carrier signals, electromagnetic waves, and signals per se. 
     Methods according to the above-described examples can be implemented using computer-executable (processor-executable) instructions that are stored or otherwise available from computer-readable media. Such instructions can comprise, for example, instructions and data which cause or otherwise configure a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or special purpose processing device to perform a certain function or group of functions. Portions of computer resources used can be accessible over a network. The computer executable instructions may be, for example, binaries, intermediate format instructions such as assembly language, firmware, or source code. Examples of computer-readable media that may be used to store instructions, information used, and/or information created during methods according to described examples include magnetic or optical disks, flash memory, Universal Serial Bus (USB) devices provided with non-volatile memory, networked storage devices, and so on. 
     Devices implementing methods according to these disclosures can comprise hardware, firmware and/or software, and can take any of a variety of form factors. Typical examples of such form factors include laptops, smart phones, small form factor personal computers, personal digital assistants, and so on. Functionality described herein also can be embodied in peripherals or add-in cards. Such functionality can also be implemented on a circuit board among different chips or different processes executing in a single device, by way of further example. 
     The instructions, media for conveying such instructions, computing resources for executing them, and other structures for supporting such computing resources are means for providing the functions described in these disclosures. 
     Although a variety of examples and other information was used to explain aspects within the scope of the appended claims, no limitation of the claims should be implied based on particular features or arrangements in such examples, as one of ordinary skill would be able to use these examples to derive a wide variety of implementations. Further and although some subject matter may have been described in language specific to examples of structural features and/or method steps, it is to be understood that the subject matter defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to these described features or acts. For example, such functionality can be distributed differently or performed in components other than those identified herein. Rather, the described features and steps are disclosed as examples of components of systems and methods within the scope of the appended claims.

Metadata:
Filing Date: 20200131
Publication Date: 20231024
Grant Date: 20231024
Priority Date: 20150605
Inventors: WATSON, ROBERT D.
GANAPATHI BATTA, Ganesha Adkasthala
GUETTA, ANTHONY
SHAW, David John
DOOLEY, Craig
SAARI, Chris
NOVICK, GREGORY
DE VRIES, Nathan
Hariharan, Sriram
BERNHARD, Patrick Ian
MCLAUGHLIN, Dana
MOORE, JEFFREY CHANDLER
COFFMAN, PATRICK LEE
BENNETT, JONATHAN ANDERSON
IYER, DEEPAK
HOWARD, JR., ALBERT RILEY
CONN, JASON
Assignee: APPLE INC
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Family ID: 56507383