System for allowing selective listening on multiple televisions

1. A system for transmitting audio from a plurality of televisions to a plurality of viewers, comprising:

A plurality of audio transmitters each configured to couple to an associated one of the televisions, each audio transmitter having:

an input audio port configured to receive an audio signal only from an output audio port of the associated television;

a transmission channel switch having a plurality of transmission settings selectable in a setup operation, wherein each of the plurality of transmission settings corresponds to a different predefined frequency, and wherein the transmission channel switch is set to one of the different predefined frequencies to define the associated television;

transmission circuitry coupled to the transmission channel switch and input audio port, the transmission circuitry being configured to generate a frequency modulated signal representing the audio signal, wherein a frequency used to modulate the frequency modulated signal corresponds to the selected transmission setting of the transmission channel switch selected; and

an optical transmitter coupled to the transmission circuitry and positioned to transmit the generated frequency modulated signal as light out of the optical transmitter; and

an audio receiver controlled by one of the viewers for interfacing with an audio transmitter associated with a viewed one of the televisions and having:

a plurality of optical receivers configured to receive the generated frequency modulated signal transmitted as light by the audio transmitter associated with the viewed one of the televisions and to convert the received signal into an electrical current;

a reception channel switch having a plurality of reception settings selectable by the viewer, wherein each of the plurality of reception settings corresponds to one of the transmission settings, and wherein the reception settings are each associated with the frequency of the corresponding transmission setting such that the viewer can select the one of the reception settings associated with the viewed television;

reception circuitry coupled to the optical receivers and the reception channel switch, wherein the reception circuitry is configured to recover the audio signal from the electrical current based on a reception setting selected by the viewer; and

an output port configured to provide the recovered audio to the viewer.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the optical transmitters are infrared light emitting diodes (LEDs).

3. The system of claim 2 wherein the infrared LEDs are spaced along a curved line at a front portion of the audio transmitter and oriented to face away from the interior of the audio transmitter.

4. The system of claim 3 wherein the infrared LEDs are further oriented at different angles relative to a horizontal plane formed by a surface of the audio transmitter.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein the transmission channel switch includes sixteen transmission settings corresponding to a frequency range of approximately 469 KHz to 683 KHz with each frequency associated with a transmission channel separated from the adjacent frequencies by approximately 14.2 KHz.

6. The system of claim 1 wherein the reception channel switch is formed by first and second capacitive touch pads and detection circuitry associated with the first and second capacitive touch pads, wherein the detection circuitry is configured to detect activation of the reception channel switch when the first and second touch pads are bridged together, and wherein the detection circuitry is configured to select one of the plurality of reception settings based on the detected activation.

7. The system of claim 6 wherein the audio receiver further comprises a volume control formed by third and fourth capacitive touch pads and detection circuitry associated with the third and fourth capacitive touch pads, wherein the detection circuitry is configured to detect activation of the volume control when the third and fourth touch pads are bridged together, and wherein the detection circuitry is configured to increase or decrease a volume of the recovered audio provided to the output port based on the detected activation.

8. The system of claim 1 wherein the audio receiver further comprises a plurality of LEDs and corresponding LED control circuitry configured to illuminate the LEDs upon detecting input from the reception channel switch.

9. The system of claim 1 wherein the audio receiver further includes power management circuitry configured to shut off substantially all functions of the audio receiver after a predefined time period has passed without receiving input from the viewer and to continue scanning the reception channel switch for input, wherein the power management circuitry is configured to turn on the audio receiver upon activation of the reception channel switch.

10. The system of claim 1 further comprising a charging station having:

a power jack configured to receive power from a power source external to the charging station;

a sending coil positioned proximate to a charging area configured to receive the audio receiver; and

power control circuitry coupled to the sending coil and the power jack.

11. The system of claim 10 wherein the audio receiver further comprises:

a receiving coil positioned within the audio receiver so as to be proximate to the sending coil for inductive coupling when the audio receiver is in the charging area;

a rechargeable battery electrically coupled to the receiving coil; and

a battery management circuit coupled to the receiving coil and the rechargeable battery, wherein the battery management circuit is configured to monitor a temperature differential between two thermistors and to deactivate a charging procedure if the temperature differential is above a predefined threshold and the audio receiver is in the charging area.

12. The system of claim 11 wherein the battery management circuit is configured to pull the sending coil and the receiving coil into resonance at the beginning of the charging procedures.

13. The system of claim 1 further comprising a charging station having:

a first charging tier having:

a first charging area for a first audio receiver and a second charging area for a second audio receiver, wherein the first and second charging areas are associated with first and second sending coils, respectively; and

first and second sides, wherein the first side includes a first electrical connection accessible from an upper surface of the first side and a first electrical conduit coupled to the first electrical connection and configured to transfer an electrical current through the first tier to the first electrical connection; and

a second charging tier removably positioned on an upper surface of the first and second sides and having:

a third charging area for a third audio receiver and a fourth charging area for a fourth audio receiver, wherein the third and fourth charging areas are associated with third and fourth sending coils, respectively; and

third and fourth sides, wherein the third side includes a second electrical connection configured to couple to the first electrical connection, a third electrical connection accessible from an upper surface of the third side, and a second electrical conduit coupled to the second and third electrical connections and configured to transfer an electrical current through the second tier from the second electrical connection to the third electrical connection.

14. The system of claim 13 wherein the first and second charging tiers are associated with first and second circuit boards, respectively, and wherein only the first circuit board includes circuitry needed to drive first, second, third, and fourth sending coils corresponding to the first, second, third, and fourth charging areas, respectively.

15. The system of claim 13 wherein the charging station includes an infrared emitter and an infrared detector positioned to detect an infrared beam emitted by the infrared emitter, and wherein the first tier includes circuitry for resetting the charging station if the infrared beam is broken.

16. An audio transmission system for interfacing between at least two televisions and two viewers, comprising:

a first audio transmitter having:

a first audio input jack coupled to a first audio output jack of a first television for receiving a first audio signal from the first television;

a first transmission circuit configured to transmit the first audio signal as a first frequency modulated signal that is modulated with the first audio signal at a first frequency; and

a plurality of first infrared emitters configured to broadcast the first frequency modulated signal by amplitude modulating the first infrared emitters;

a second audio transmitter having:

a second audio input jack coupled to a second audio output jack of a second television for receiving a second audio signal from the second television;

a second transmission circuit configured to transmit the second audio signal as a second frequency modulated signal that is modulated with the second audio signal at a second frequency that is different than the first frequency; and

a plurality of second infrared emitters configured to broadcast the second frequency modulated signal amplitude modulating the second infrared emitters;

a first receiver operated by a first viewer viewing the first television having:

a plurality of first infrared detectors configured to receive and amplitude demodulate the first frequency modulated signal and to convert the first frequency modulated signal to an electrical current;

a first reception circuit that is viewer configured to retrieve the first audio signal from the electrical current representing the first frequency modulated signal based on a setting selected by the first viewer; and

a first audio output port configured to provide the first audio signal to the first viewer; and

a second receiver operated by a second viewer viewing the second television having:

a plurality of second infrared detectors configured to receive the second frequency modulated signal and to convert the second frequency modulated signal to the electrical current;

a second reception circuit viewer configured to retrieve the second audio signal from the electrical current representing the second frequency modulated signal based on a setting selected by the second viewer; and

a second audio output port configured to provide the second audio signal to the second viewer.

17. The audio transmission system of claim 16 wherein the first and second audio transmitters are configured to use the first and second frequencies, respectively, from a plurality of possible frequencies based on a user configurable setting provided by each of the first and second audio transmitters.

18. The audio transmission system of claim 17 wherein the viewer configured first or second reception circuit user configurable setting is configured using a pair of capacitively coupled touch pads.

19. The audio transmission system of claim 16 further comprising a charging station having a first charging area for the first audio transmitter and a second charging area for the second audio receiver, wherein the first charging area includes a first sending coil that is positioned within range of a first receiving coil of the first audio receiver when the first audio receiver is positioned in the first charging area, and wherein the second charging area includes a second sending coil that is positioned within range of a second receiving coil of the second audio receiver when the second audio receiver is positioned in the second charging area.

20. The audio transmission system of claim 19 wherein the charging station includes an infrared beam, and wherein the charging station is configured to reset when the infrared beam is broken.

21. An audio transmission system for interfacing between at least two televisions and two viewers, comprising:

a first audio transmitter having:

a first audio input jack coupled to a first audio output jack of a first television having a first display for receiving a first audio signal from the first television;

a first transmission circuit configured to transmit the first audio signal as a first frequency modulated signal that is frequency modulated with the first audio signal at a first frequency; and

a plurality of first emitters configured to be amplitude modulated with the first frequency modulated signal and broadcast directionally outward from the first display directed towards a viewer of the first display;

a second audio transmitter having:

a second audio input jack coupled to a second audio output jack of a second television having a second display for receiving a second audio signal from the second television;

a second transmission circuit configured to transmit the second audio signal as a second frequency modulated signal that is frequency modulated with the second audio signal at a second frequency that is different than the first frequency; and

a plurality of second emitters configured to be amplitude modulated with the second frequency modulated signal and broadcast directionally outward from the second display directed towards a viewer of the second display; and

a receiver having:

a plurality of directionally oriented detectors configured to receive the broadcast from either of the plurality of first or second emitters from the associated respective first or second audio transmitters associated with the first or second display to which the detectors are directionally oriented;

an amplitude demodulator for extracting the one of the first and second frequency modulated signals associated with the received broadcast;

a frequency demodulator to frequency demodulate the extracted one of the first or second frequency modulated signals to provide the respective first or second audio signal;

and

an audio output port configured to provide the demodulated first or second audio signal to an external audio device.