STEREO HEADPHONE AND METHODS FOR CONTENT SHARING AND FOR AUTHENTICATION

Abstract

Stereo headphone and methods for content sharing and for authentication. The stereo headphone includes two earpieces each having a housing, at least one electronic circuit housed in the housing of at least one of the earpieces, configured to allow the headphone to be paired with a remote terminal such as a cellular telephone and to establish a wireless link therewith. The electronic circuit includes an internal memory with more than 32 GB of capacity, an audio player making it possible to play audio files, in particular those saved in this internal memory, and an interface making it possible to select, as the source to be broadcast in the earpieces, the audio player of the headphone or the paired terminal.

Claims

1. A stereo headphone comprising at least: two earpieces each having a housing, a headband connecting the housings of the earpieces, at least one electronic circuit housed at least partially in the housing of at least one of the earpieces, configured to make it possible to pair the headphone with a remote terminal such as a cellular telephone and to establish a wireless link therewith, this electronic circuit comprising: an internal memory with more than 32 GB of capacity, an audio player making it possible to play audio files, in particular those saved in this internal memory, and an interface making it possible to select, as the source to be broadcast in the earpieces, the audio player of the headphone or the paired terminal.

2. The headphone as claimed in claim 1, the internal memory being non-removable for the user.

3. The headphone as claimed in claim 1, each earpiece comprising a cushion of annular shape, with shape memory, designed to rest against the user's ear, mounted removably on the housing of the earpiece.

4. The headphone as claimed in claim 3, the earpiece housing having a peripheral groove, this groove preferably being delimited on the cushion side by the edge of a support cup of a speaker and on the other side by an inner cover of the housing of the earpiece, the support cup having a notch open on its periphery, facilitating the insertion of the cushion into the groove with a view to its mounting on and/or its separation from the housing.

5. The headphone as claimed in claim 1, the housing comprising a body having a lateral wall and an upper extension, for connection to the headband, molded as one piece with the lateral wall, this extension having an arcuate shape, and at least partially housing a telescopic slide mechanism making it possible to adjust the height of the headband with respect to the housings of the earpieces.

6. The headphone as claimed in claim 1, the headband comprising a shape memory foam arranged between an outer support, of arcuate shape, and an inner bearing part, produced in an elastomeric material.

7. The headphone as claimed in claim 1, at least one of the earpiece housings having, on its outer face, a central part movable relative to the body of the housing, and which the user can press, this part making it possible to actuate a switch of the electronic circuit of the headphone, the electronic circuit being produced in such a way that the switch controls the on/off of the headphone in the case of long press, play/pause or answer/end call in the case of a short press.

8. The headphone as claimed in claim 7, the housing which at least partially houses the electronic circuit comprising a wall for closing the accommodation accommodating the electronic circuit, provided with a chamber which accommodates a board bearing said switch, this chamber being at least partially closed by the central part.

9. The headphone as claimed in claim 1, one of the housings of the earpieces comprising a removable cap defining the outer face, this removable cap allowing access, when removed, to a compartment housing a battery.

10. The headphone as claimed in claim 1, one of the housings bearing a jack socket for outputting an analog audio signal and/or one of the housings bearing a jack socket for inputting an analog audio signal, and one of the housings bearing one of the sockets and the other housing the other socket.

11. The headphone as claimed in claim 1, comprising at least two buttons arranged on the housing of an earpiece, the electronic circuit of the headphone being configured such that continuous pressure on one of the buttons corresponds to an increase or decrease in volume depending on the button used, and a close double-press corresponds to moving to the next or preceding list, depending on the button used.

12. The headphone as claimed in claim 1, the electronic circuit comprising an identifier which is specific to the headphone, the electronic circuit being configured to communicate this identifier to the terminal with which it is paired, this identifier being stored in an encrypted manner in the memory of the headphone.

13. The headphone as claimed in claim 1, the electronic circuit comprising an NFC communication module.

14. The headphone as claimed in claim 1, the headband having a curvature about a first geometric axis contained in a median plane on either side of which the two earpieces are arranged, and a curvature about a second geometric axis contained in the same median plane but substantially perpendicular to the first axis.

15. A method for near-instantaneously sharing an item of content between at least two users each equipped with a headphone as defined in claim 1 and with a terminal running a content-sharing application with which the headphone is paired, these users having previously registered their headphone on a server, this method comprising the steps of: allowing a user to select at least one item of content to listen to and at least one other user with whom they wish to share the listening to this item of content, uploading the item of content to a streaming server, relaying this item of content thus uploaded to the one or more selected users.

16. The method as claimed in claim 15, comprising sending, to the one or more users selected for sharing the item of content, the URL of the shared stream, an identifier of the user wishing to share an item of content and an identifier of the shared item of content, and also at least one out of the name of the shared track, the author of the track, its duration, the number of people with whom the track is shared, the duration of the stream, the audio resolution, the name of the album, an image of the track's sleeve, the name of the publisher and/or of the record company.

17. The method as claimed in claim 15, wherein: A. assuming that a user selected for sharing the item of content has their application already open on their terminal, the application generates a visual, touch and/or sound notification inviting the user to listen to the shared item of content, and if the user accepts to start streaming the shared item of content, the application interrupts current listening in order to transmit the stream of the shared item of content to the headphone for them to listen to in near-real time, B. assuming that the application is not open on the user's terminal, the terminal displays a notification linked to the application which invites the user to open the application in order to listen to the shared item of content by streaming.

18. A method for authenticating a headphone as defined in claim 1, the headphone comprising an identifier stored in an encrypted manner in its memory, the method comprising the steps of: pairing the headphone with a terminal running an application, transmitting the encrypted identifier to the application, entering, in the application, a code provided with the headphone when it is acquired, comparing the code with the identifier, this comparison being carried out automatically within the application, and in the case of a match between the two, making it possible to register the headphone on a remote server.

19. The method as claimed in claim 18, the server storing the serial number of the headphone, an email address of the user associated with the headphone and their telephone number.

20. The method as claimed in claim 18, wherein, in the case of the headphone being connected to an application which does not recognize it, for example following transfer of ownership of the headphone or theft thereof, the application asks the user for the serial number of the headphone to allow the user to access the functionalities of the application.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0072] The invention may be better understood from reading the following detailed description of a non-limiting exemplary implementation thereof, and from examining the appended drawing, in which:

[0073] FIG. 1 is a rear view of an exemplary headphone according to the invention,

[0074] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the headphone from another viewing angle, with one of the earpiece cushions removed,

[0075] FIG. 3 illustrates the removal of the cap giving access to the battery accommodation,

[0076] FIG. 4 is a schematic and partial cross section of an earpiece,

[0077] FIG. 5 shows, in isolation, the cap closing the battery accommodation,

[0078] FIG. 6 shows, in isolation, the central part for controlling the switch,

[0079] FIG. 7 shows the headphone after removal of the outer cap and of the central part for controlling the switch,

[0080] FIG. 8 shows, in isolation, the part forming the body of the earpiece housing,

[0081] FIG. 9 shows, in isolation, the cover for closing the earpiece housing,

[0082] FIG. 10 shows the part of FIG. 9 from another viewing angle,

[0083] FIG. 11 shows the headphone after removal of the housing body,

[0084] FIG. 12 shows the headband without the bearing part,

[0085] FIG. 13 is a view similar to FIG. 12 with the shape memory foam removed,

[0086] FIG. 14 illustrates the construction of the hinge,

[0087] FIG. 15 shows the headphone after removal of some of the components of an earpiece, and

[0088] FIG. 16 is a schematic and partial cross section of the headband,

[0089] FIG. 17 is a block diagram of the electronic circuit of the headphone,

[0090] FIG. 18 illustrates the broadcasting of an item of content to other users,

[0091] FIG. 19 shows steps of the content broadcasting method, and

[0092] FIG. 20 shows steps of the method for authenticating the headphone.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0093] The headphone 1 according to the invention, shown in the figures, comprises two earpieces 2, left and right, connected by a band 3.

[0094] Each earpiece 2 comprises a housing 4 containing at least one speaker 5, visible in FIG. 1, covered by a grille 6. Each housing 4 bears an annular cushion 7, made of a flexible material.

[0095] Each housing 4 comprises a body 10 having a lateral wall, for example of the general shape of a cylinder of revolution, extended upward by an extension 11 molded as one piece of plastic material with the rest of the body 10.

[0096] The extension 11 is slightly curved upward and inward when the headphone is viewed from the rear as in FIG. 1, and the band 3 comprises a central portion 13 having an upwardly concave arcuate shape, which gives the complete band an undulating shape, thereby improving the comfort of wearing the headphone when it is around the neck, the upper edge 12 of the central portion 13 of the band being designed to follow the shape of the back of the neck.

[0097] One of the housings 4, in this case that of the right earpiece in FIG. 3, houses a battery 15, accessible after removal of a removable cap 16, shown in isolation in FIG. 5. This cap 16 may be fixed in place by way of a rotational movement on the housing 4, by virtue of locking teeth 17, inserted into corresponding notches 18 made in the housing 4.

[0098] The other housing 4, namely the left one in FIG. 3, houses a main electronic circuit 20, visible in FIG. 11.

[0099] This circuit 20 comprises a printed circuit board 21, which bears control buttons 22, 23, 24 and 25 accessible through openings made in the periphery of the body 10 of the housing. The board 21 also bears a jack socket 26 and a connector 27, for example of USB type, for supplying power to the headphones. Optical guides 28 opening onto the outside of the housing are illuminated by various LEDs mounted on the board 21.

[0100] The electronic circuit 20 is configured, for example, such that a continuous pressure on one of the buttons 22 and 23 corresponds, depending on the button, to an increase or to a decrease in volume, and that a close double-press corresponds, depending on the button used, to moving to the next or preceding list.

[0101] The button 24 may serve to have the battery level displayed and the button 25, with a short press, to select the source, for example either an external source communicating by Bluetooth such as a smartphone, or the internal memory, and with a long press, to cause wireless pairing, for example by Bluetooth in a conventional manner, or pairing with a dedicated application run by the device with which the headphone has been paired beforehand. The electronic circuit may be designed so that a predefined pressing of the control buttons, for example simultaneously pressing all of the buttons, causes the headphone to be reset.

[0102] Each earpiece may comprise a microphone 29, that of the earpiece comprising the main electronic circuit 20 being borne by the board 21.

[0103] The jack socket 26 may serve as an audio input and/or as a link to a remote control device mounted on the cable connected to this jack socket.

[0104] The jack socket 58 on the other earpiece may serve as an analog audio output.

[0105] The electronic circuit 20 may also comprise an NFC module 209 allowing fast pairing of the headphone with a smartphone having this functionality.

[0106] The body 10 of the housing 4 has a closing wall 30, visible in FIG. 4, which has a chamber 31 for housing a printed circuit board 32, bearing a switch 33.

[0107] The board 32 bears a connector 34 which is plugged into the board 21 through an opening 35 in the wall 30 opening into the bottom of the chamber 31.

[0108] The switch 33 is controlled by a central part 40, shown in isolation in FIG. 11, mounted on the wall 30 with the possibility to move relative thereto. The central part 40 may have, as illustrated, a central pin 37 which presses the switch 33.

[0109] The central part 40 comprises, as illustrated in FIG. 6 in particular, a disk 41, which may bear a logo on its outer face, and elastic lugs 42 which ensure that the disk 41 is held in place while allowing it to be depressed in order to actuate the switch 33. The lugs 42 have, for example, at the end, a hole 44 for fitting onto a corresponding pin 45 on the body 10. Clearances 46 are made in the body 10 in order to accommodate the lugs 42 and allow them to deform by bending when the user presses the central portion 40.

[0110] The central part 40 is held on the body 10 by a cap 48, similar to the cap 16 of the other earpiece, except for the presence of the opening accommodating the central part 40.

[0111] The electronic circuit of the headphone is preferably produced in such a way that the switch 33 controls the on/off of the headphone in the case of a long press, play/pause or answer/end call in the case of a short press. The central part 40 serves as a sort of large control button, which saves the user having to fumble around in order to find the button to press for a function as important as pausing listening or answering/ending a call.

[0112] The band 3 comprises, on the inner face of its central portion, a bearing part 50, made of elastomeric material, visible in particular in FIG. 12, the elastomeric material being for example a silicone treated with oil in order to be softer to the touch.

[0113] The outer face of the central portion of the band 3 is defined by a rigid part 52, visible in FIG. 13, which bears a foam 53 made of a shape memory material. FIG. 13 shows a cable 55 connecting the left and right earpieces, extending under the foam 53, between pairs of guide pins 56.

[0114] The headphone 1 comprises articulations 60 making it possible to rotate the earpieces 2 toward the inside of the band 3 in order to decrease its bulk when not in use.

[0115] These articulations 60 are present at the upper end of slide mechanisms 70, serving to adjust the height of the band 3.

[0116] Each articulation 60 comprises a shaft 62, preferably made of metal, visible in FIG. 14, which serves as a pivot.

[0117] Each housing 4 body 10 is closed, on the cushion 7 side, by a cover 80, visible in FIG. 9. This cover 80 comprises an extension 81, molded as one piece of plastic material with the rest of the part, which bears, on its inner face, a toothing 82 defining notches for adjusting the height of the band 3.

[0118] FIG. 16 shows that the slide mechanism 70 comprises two metal elements 74 and 75 that can slide one inside the other, the innermost element 74 bearing a slider formed by an elastic strip 73, which rubs on the toothing 82, each notch thereof defining one possible adjustment position.

[0119] The presence of the articulations 60 above the slide mechanisms 70 makes it possible to bring the earpieces closer to the top of the band 3 when they are folded inward, which makes it possible to gain in compactness.

[0120] Elastic lugs 100, present at the articulations 60, visible in FIG. 14, ensure that the earpieces are held in the listening position when the headphone is in use.

[0121] A cup 110 for supporting the speaker 5 is attached externally to the cover 80 and forms, with the latter, an annular groove 112 serving for the installation of the cushion 7, as can be seen in FIG. 4 in particular.

[0122] The cushion 7 comprises a fabric intended to cover the grille 6 and an edge intended to be inserted into the groove 112 in order to hold the cushion in place on the housing 4.

[0123] To facilitate mounting of the cushion 7 on the housing, the cup 110 has a notch 115, as illustrated in FIG. 2, opening onto its periphery, into which the edge of the cushion 7 can be inserted in order to be introduced into the groove 112. In order to mount the cushion, all that has to be done is then to rotate the latter relative to the housing over one complete turn, in order to gradually insert the entire edge into the groove 112.

[0124] The notch 115 is delimited on one side by an inclined edge 130 and on the opposite side by a tongue 131, the tip of which defines a narrowing of the opening of the notch 115.

[0125] The tongue 131 defines, with the bottom of the notch, a slot 133.

[0126] The edge 130 is inclined toward the bottom of the notch 115 and toward the tongue 131.

[0127] The tongue 131 has a certain degree of flexibility, which facilitates the introduction of the cushion into the groove 112.

[0128] The headphone 1 comprises, as illustrated in FIG. 17, a central unit 200 which manages its operation. It is for example a central unit with a microcontroller, forming part of the electronic circuit 20 and programmed to provide the various functions of the headphone. This central unit 200 may in particular comprise an audio player, making it possible to play audio files stored in the internal memory 202 of the headphone, for example files with the format extensions .mp3, .wav, .aif, .caf, .cda, .raw .fla, .m4a, .wma, .vqf, .aac, .mpx4, among others, the invention not being limited to a particular format.

[0129] FIG. 17 schematically shows the speakers 5 and the user interface 201, which comprises all means allowing the user to enter instructions, and in particular the various control buttons described above, and preferably a voice interface, the central unit 200 advantageously being configured to allow voice control of certain functions of the headphone, preferably via the one or more microphones integrated into the earpieces.

[0130] The internal memory 202 is for example a memory card, in particular in the form of an SD card, accommodated in a corresponding internal connector 204 of the main electronic circuit. The term “SD card” should be understood to mean any memory card format, in particular Micro SD or the like.

[0131] The capacity of the internal memory 202 is preferably higher than or equal to 128 GB.

[0132] The headphone 1 comprises a circuit that allows it to communicate via a wireless link, for example Bluetooth, with a terminal connected to the Internet, for example a cellular telephone M, as illustrated in FIG. 18.

[0133] An item of content stored on this terminal M may be saved to the internal memory of the headphone.

[0134] The terminal M may download, from a server, an application offering numerous functionalities, as described below.

[0135] The application may in particular allow the user of the headphone to share an item of content near-instantaneously with at least one other user equipped with a similar headphone, also paired with a similar terminal connected to the Internet.

[0136] Headphones 1 that can share an item of content are registered on a server S.

[0137] The application allows the user who wishes to share an item of content to select, in step 300, at least one item of content to listen to and at least one other user with whom they wish to share the listening to this item of content. The application is programmed to upload the item of content thus selected to a streaming server, which, in the example illustrated, is assumed to be the same server S, but which could be different.

[0138] The streaming server can relay the item of content thus uploaded to the one or more selected users and thus send, to the one or more users selected for sharing the item of content, the URL of the shared stream, the identifier of the user wishing to share an item of content, in particular the user's name, and an identifier of the shared item of content, in particular the name of the shared track. Where applicable, the server also transmits the author of the track, its duration, the number of people with whom the track is shared, the duration of the stream, the audio resolution, the name of the album, an image of the tracks sleeve, the name of the publisher and/or of the record company.

[0139] If the user selected for sharing the item of content has their application already open on their terminal, which corresponds to step 302 in FIG. 19, the application generates a visual, touch and/or sound notification inviting the user to listen to the shared item of content, and if the user accepts to start streaming the shared item of content, the application interrupts, in step 303, current listening in order to transmit the stream of the shared item of content to the headphone for them to listen to in near-real time.

[0140] If the application is not open on the users terminal, which corresponds to step 304 in FIG. 19, the terminal displays, in step 306, a notification linked to the application which invites the user to open the application in order to listen to the shared item of content by streaming. The person who receives the shared track may only listen to it, the title remaining the property of the sender. The application may be produced in such a way that a shared track, once expired, may be purchased later from the application via a music service.

[0141] Where applicable, the application also allows the users thus sharing an item of content to chat via written, audio or video messages, via their applications or dedicated messaging applications. Thus, the application may provide a “chatroom” allowing them to instantly discuss the shared track.

[0142] The headphone 1 preferably comprises an identifier stored in its memory 202 in an encrypted manner.

[0143] In this case, the electronic circuit of the headphone, the application and the server are advantageously designed so as to allow the implementation of the following authentication method.

[0144] First of all, the method comprises the step of pairing the headphone 1 with a terminal M running the application, which corresponds to step 400 in FIG. 20.

[0145] Next, which corresponds to step 401, the headphone transmits the encrypted identifier contained in its memory to the application.

[0146] The application then invites, in step 402, the user to enter, on the terminal, a code provided with the headphone when it is acquired, this code being, for example, a serial number written on an authentication card. The product may also be authenticated by scanning a QR code present on the authentication card using a scanner function allowed by the application.

[0147] The application compares, in step 403, the code with the decrypted identifier, and in the case of a match between the two, makes it possible, in step 404, to register the headphone on the remote server.

[0148] This comparison step should be understood in the broad sense, and relates to a direct comparison of the code with the decrypted identifier, or an indirect comparison, for example of a hash of the code with a hash of the identifier.

[0149] Once this comparison has been carried out, if it is positive, the server may store, if it does not already know them, the serial number of the headphone, an email address of the user associated with the headphone and their telephone number.

[0150] In the case of the headphone being connected to an application which does not recognize it, for example following transfer of ownership of the headphone or theft thereof, for the application to ask the user for the serial number of the headphone to allow the user to access the functionalities of the application.

[0151] The headphone 1 is preferably configured to make it possible to view, with the application running on the paired terminal, the list of files saved in the internal memory of the headphone 1, and to perform deletions or additions.

[0152] The application may be designed to display a page allowing the user to select, from the paired terminal, the source they wish to listen to.

[0153] The invention is not limited to the example that has just been described.

[0154] For example, numerous modifications may be made to the headphone, depending on the functionalities sought. In particular, the way in which the earpieces are connected to the headband may be modified, as may the way in which the speakers are mounted inside the earpieces.

[0155] An ambient noise reduction feature may be added to the headphone, if desired.