Telecommunications – Transmitter and receiver at separate stations – Short range rf communication
Reexamination Certificate
1999-11-10
2003-02-11
Trost, William (Department: 2685)
Telecommunications
Transmitter and receiver at separate stations
Short range rf communication
C455S066100, C455S566000, C455S569200, C455S090300, C455S351000, C381S311000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06519448
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
The technical field of the invention is that of a consumer electronics device based on wireless transmission of information. The range of transmissions is purely local (i.e., short distances up to thirty meters, more or less) and designed to provide a personal transmission channel from a nearby audio source such as a tape recorder, record player, compact-disk player, radio set, and so forth. The transmitter and receiver technology operate in the standard radio-frequency bands such as the US 88 Megahertz (MHz) to 108 MHz FM band or in the unregulated low-power bands where standard frequency- and phase-modulation techniques are employed or in the very-low frequency band where pulse-modulation techniques are common.
BACKGROUND ART
The field of consumer audio electronics comprises a wide variety of personal listening devices—from hand-held and wearable radios and communicators to portable devices for retrieving audio information stored in many forms such as cassette-tape media and compact-disk media of various types. There also exist various earphone devices auxiliary to or integral with many of these personal entertainment devices. The vast majority of these personal listening or entertainment devices require that the sound storage and playback unit, i.e., the sound source that produces an electrical signal in the audio range, be carried along with the user. A majority of these later devices that are equipped with personal earphone units send an electrical signal from the playback device to the earphone device via a cable or wire, potentially encumbering the user or providing an easily noticed indicator that the user is engaged in some sort of entertainment activity via an audio source. Of course, there are a large number of such commercial devices, ranging from those trade-marked to those fully patent-protected, that are easily recognizable in the marketplace. It is to be noted that the field of such devices, comprising the bulk of the prior art, is too large to enumerate in this document. The following discussion will be restricted to devices that are more clearly and particularly focused in the field of the present invention.
A commonly encountered device is a fully functional FM or AM radio built into a set of wearable headphones. The advantages are complete portability, wearability, and tuneability over the full broadcast bands, including stereo reception for the FM band. For example U.S. Pat. No. 4,930,148 describes a headband radiophone containing a receiver-transmitter to reciprocally transmit or receive signals. Another example is furnished by U.S. Pat. No. 5,095,382 which describes a wireless headphone designed to reciprocally transmit and receive signals by means of an infrared beam of light.
There are also several types of wireless headphones on the market primarily designed to allow the user to listen to audio sources such as television or a home-music or entertainment center without disturbing others. The wireless nature of said devices allows the user freedom to move about within the restricted range of the transmissions without being encumbered by wires or cables precisely as in the present invention. These wireless headsets are meant for use in restricted areas usually confined to a few rooms in or near a dwelling and do not provide capacity for a plurality of channels for multiple users. The latter capability is achieved by purchasing multiple units. As each device comes with its own pre-assigned channel, these devices are not suitable for group activities. The present invention would fulfill the stated purposes of these existing devices yet not be burdened with the aforementioned restrictions and limitations. In particular, the present invention allows multiple independent users in the same proximity by means of its self-programming function, and it allows multiple users to share in the same locally broadcast material without requiring multiple base units or transmitters.
Closer to the present invention is U.S. Pat. No. 5,677,964, which describes a transmitter-receiver system wherein the transmitter unit is installed in an audio equipment and the receiver unit is installed in an earphone. A goal here is to allow the user to listen to information transmitted from the audio equipment without interfering with others in the vicinity or having exposed wires or cables between the audio equipment and the listener.
An invention likewise close to the present invention in the area of miniaturization by describing a device fitting within the outer canal of the ear, is U.S. Pat. No. 5,734,976 which describes a micro-receiver for receiving a high-frequency frequency- or phase-modulated signal and is based on single integrated circuits in BiCMOS technology integrating the necessary amplifiers, oscillators, modulators, demodulators, filters and audio amplifier.
The description of U.S. Pat. No. 5,677,964 includes a transmitter partially fulfilling the role of the “base unit” described in the present invention. That of U.S. Pat. No. 5,734,976 is primarily concerned with a prosthetic hearing-aid device, yet certainly meets one of the desired goals of the present invention in being small, lightweight, unobtrusive, and capable of being worn in the outer canal of the ear and containing the required receiver circuitry and power supply. Neither of these descriptions considers a base unit that automatically selects the first available frequency band for transmissions, or a base unit that automatically programs the receiver unit to receive transmissions on said frequency band, or a base unit that is functionally as portable as the receiver unit. The second description also implies that the associated transmitter unit is to be worn by the user as necessitated by utility of prosthetic hearing-aid devices. Combining the essential ideas present in these two existing inventions approaches, but does not reach, the functionality and convenience of the proposed invention.
DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION
The idea of the invention is to provide a private and unobtrusive means for a user to listen to a local (nearby) source of music or other audio entertainment or information on a dynamically selected channel that is simple to establish and does not interfere with possibly many other users at the same location. Logically and physically, the invention comprises two distinct modules: (1) a receiver or earphone and (2) a transmitter or base unit. It is thus the intention of the invention to provide a wireless connection between the earphones and base unit, allowing the user to move freely about, unencumbered by cables or wires, within the limited range of the base unit's transmissions. It is a primary intention of this invention to allow multiple users in the same location either to listen to independent sources of entertainment or information or, if desired, to share such sources with others possessing similar receiver units (earphones). Further, it is the intention of the invention that the receiver unit be small, compact, lightweight, and unobtrusive both visually and kinesthetically.
The first module consists of a lightweight, wireless, radio-frequency receiver or receiver pair (for stereo sources) mounted in lightweight headphone or head set or earphones. “Earphones” in the following description is understood to refer to any convenient ear-external or internal device consistent with the contained receiver units. The earphones may be either externally worn or internally fitted to be placed in the outer canal of the ear, as the user desires. Furthermore, the earphone receiver units are “self-programed” as described below. This latter feature ensures simplicity of operation and ease of use while maintaining flexibility of multiple devices operating in the same local area while minimizing inter-unit interference.
The second module, the transmitter or base unit, has four functions: (1) to select automatically a clear transmission channel for said transmission, (2) to program or lock the earphones to receive exclusively on said automatically preselected channel, (3) to modulate an appro
Collins John Austin
Dress William Alexander
Dress William Benjamin
Dress William A.
Gray Cary Ware & Freidenrich LLP
Torres Marcos
Trost William
LandOfFree
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