WIRELESS EARBUDS WITH RECIPROCATING LEADER AND FOLLOWER CONFIGURATION

摘要

Two wireless earbuds include controllers, receivers, transmitters and firmware. One earbud establishes a primary wireless communication connection to an electronic device such as a smart phone, and a secondary wireless communication connection to a second earbud. Power monitors, signal strength monitors, synchronized clocks, and power management hardware and/or software may trigger a switching condition to occur. Each switching condition causes the reversal of the roles of the first and second earbuds so as to increase the operating life of the paired earbuds before they need to be recharged by balancing their respective power consumption when in use. Each switching condition may also cause the reversal of the roles of the first and second earbuds so as to avoid the disconnection of communication with the electronic device and/or evenly distribute battery usage.

主权项

1. A method of operating a set of wireless earbuds, comprising:
operating a first earbud and a second earbud, in which each of the earbuds comprises a transmitter, a receiver, and a controller; by the controller of the first earbud, establishing a primary communication connection between the first earbud and a remote electronic device and a secondary communication connection between the first earbud and the second earbud; and by the controller of the first earbud, detecting that a switching condition has occurred, and in response:
sending a signal to the controller of the second earbud to establish a primary communication connection between the second earbud and the remote electronic device, andterminating the primary communication connection between the first earbud and the remote electronic device.