Wireless earphone for use in Bluetooth piconets
View Patent ↗An audio device includes a Bluetooth receiver, a Bluetooth transmitter, a speaker and a housing. The Bluetooth receiver is capable of wirelessly receiving signals in at least two audio channels. The Bluetooth transmitter is capable of wirelessly retransmitting at least a first one of the two audio channels. The speaker plays the second one of the two audio channels. The housing contains the Bluetooth receiver, the Bluetooth transmitter, and the ear phone. The housing is shaped to fit in or on an ear of a user.
1. An audio device, comprising:
a first ear phone comprising;
a Bluetooth Advanced Audio Distribution Profile receiver configured to wirelessly receive signals in at least two high-fidelity audio channels in a first Bluetooth piconet:
a speaker that plays at least a first one of the at least two high-fidelity audio channels;
a Bluetooth Advanced Audio Distribution Profile transmitter configured to wirelessly retransmit at least a second one of the at least two high-fidelity audio channels in a second Bluetooth piconet: and
a housing that contains the Bluetooth Advanced Audio Distribution Profile receiver and the speaker, the housing shaped to fit in or on an ear of a user,
wherein the first ear phone is configured to operate with two separate Bluetooth addresses simultaneously, a first Bluetooth address for the first Bluetooth piconet and a second Bluetooth address for the second Bluetooth piconet. the first car phone configured to communicate the at least two high-fidelity audio channels in the two separate Bluetooth piconets simultaneously employing the two separate Bluetooth addresses, the first ear phone further configured to operate as a slave device in the first Bluetooth piconet while simultaneously operating as a master in the second Bluetooth piconet.
2. The audio device of claim 1 , wherein the Bluetooth Advanced Audio Distribution Profile transmitter is configured to retransmit at least one of the at least two high-fidelity audio channels to a recipient device.
3. The audio device of claim 2 , wherein the recipient: device is a second ear phone comprising:
a Bluetooth Advanced Audio Distribution Profile receiver configured to wirelessly receive signals in the at least one high-fidelity audio channel retransmitted from the first ear phone in the second Bluetooth piconet;
a speaker that plays the at least one high-fidelity audio channel; and
a housing that contains the Bluetooth Advanced Audio Distribution Profile receiver and the speaker, the housing shaped to fit in or on an ear of a user.
4. The audio device of claim 3 , wherein the second ear phone is configured to operate as a slave device in the second Bluetooth piconet.
5. The audio device of claim 3 , wherein the second ear phone further comprises a Bluetooth Advanced Audio Distribution Profile transmitter configured to wirelessly retransmit at least a second one of the at least two high-fidelity audio channels to a third Bluetooth device in a third Bluetooth piconet.
6. The audio device of claim 2 , wherein the first ear phone comprises:
a delay mechanism configured to delay playing of at least one of the at least two audio channels by a delay period.
7. The audio device of claim 6 , wherein the delay period is a propagation time for the retransmitted signals from the first ear phone to propagate to the recipient device.
8. The audio device of claim 1 , wherein the first car phone is configured to operate as a master device in the first Bluetooth piconet and operate simultaneously as a master device in the second Bluetooth picoilet.
9. The audio device of claim 1 , wherein the first ear phone is configured to operate as a slave device in the first Bluetooth piconet and operate simultaneously as a slave device in the second Bluetooth piconet.
10. The audio device of claim 1 , wherein the first ear phone comprises at least two Bluetooth physical interfaces, the first Bluetooth physical interface associated with the first Bluetooth address for the first Bluetooth piconet and the second Bluetooth physical interface associated with the second Bluetooth address for the second Bluetooth piconet.
11. A method of operating an audio device, comprising:
wirelessly receiving, by a Bluetooth Advanced Audio Distribution Profile receiver of a first ear phone, signals in at least two high-fidelity audio channels in a first Bluetooth piconet;
playing, by a speaker of the first car phone, at least a first one of the at least two high-fidelity audio channels;
wirelessly retransmitting, by a Bluetooth Advanced Audio Distribution Profile transmitter of the first ear phone, at least a second one of the at least two high-fidelity audio channels in a second Bluetooth piconet; and
simultaneously operating the first ear phone with two separate Bluetooth addresses, a first Bluetooth address for the first Bluetooth piconet and a second Bluetooth address for the second Bluetooth piconet, the first ear phone communicating the at least two high-fidelity audio channels in the two separate Bluetooth piconets simultaneously employing the two separate Bluetooth addresses, the first ear phone operating as a slave device in the first Bluetooth piconet while simultaneously operating as a master in the second Bluetooth piconet.
12. The method of claim 11 , further comprising:
retransmitting, by the Bluetooth Advanced Audio Distribution Profile transmitter, at least one of the at least two high-fidelity audio channels to a recipient device.
13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the recipient device is a second ear phone, the method further comprising:
wirelessly receiving, by a Bluetooth Advanced Audio Distribution Profile receiver of the second ear phone, signals in the at least one high-fidelity audio channel retransmitted from the first car phone in the second Bluetooth piconet;
playing, by a speaker of the second ear phone, the at least one high-fidelity audio channel.
14. The method of claim 13 , further comprising:
operating the second ear phone as a slave device in the second Bluetooth piconet.
15. The method of claim 12 , further comprising delaying, by as delay mechanism of the first ear phone, playing of at least one of the at least two audio channels by a delay period, wherein the delay period is a propagation time, for the retransmitted signals from the first ear phone to propagate to the recipient device.
16. The method of claim 13 , further comprising:
wirelessly retransmitting, by a Bluetooth Advanced Audio Distribution Profile transmitter of the second ear phone, at least a second one of the at least two high-fidelity audio channels to a third Bluetooth device in a third Bluetooth piconet.
17. The method of claim 12 , wherein, for the method, each of the first ear phone and the recipient device comprise a housing shaped to fit in or on an ear of a user.
18. The method of claim 11 , further comprising:
operating the first ear phone as a roaster device in the first Bluetooth piconet and simultaneously operating the first ear phone as a master device in the second Bluetooth piconet.
19. The method of claim 11 , further comprising:
operating the first ear phone as a slave device in the first Bluetooth piconet and simultaneously operating the first ear phone as a slave device in the second Bluetooth piconet.
20. The method of claim 11 , wherein, for the method, the first ear phone comprises at least two Bluetooth physical interfaces, the first Bluetooth physical interface associated with the first Bluetooth address for the first Bluetooth piconet and the second Bluetooth physical interface associated with the second Bluetooth address for the second Bluetooth piconet.