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GooglePatent applicationAudio & voiceInterest 6/10

Google patents earbuds that share unused Bluetooth space for audio

This filing describes a method for wireless earbuds to manage Bluetooth bandwidth more efficiently. It allows the earbuds to use leftover space from audio streams to send data between the left and right buds, rather than keeping that space empty.

Why it mattersThis could help improve the stability of audio in wireless earbuds by making better use of the available connection capacity.

In the filing’s own words

Various arrangements for managing a relay link bandwidth over Bluetooth Classic and Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) are described herein. According to techniques described herein, the Bluetooth bandwidth used by the earbuds for relay Determine Bandwidth Used For Audio Transmissions within traffic between the earbuds is directed at being optimized for the audio use cases by using a dynamic placement scheme and configuring a secondary earbud (e.g., an earbud that does not include an established connection with the AH) to be in the central role on the relay link between the earbuds. In the dynamic placement scheme, instead of reserving a predetermined number of slots for the voice traffic before a predetermined number of slots for the relay traffic, the relay traffic can be dynamically placed/moved after the voice traffic ends if voice traffic doesn't use all the reserved bandwidth and hence, some of the voice traffic's reserved bandwidth could be used for the relay traffic.

What exactly they claim (claim 1)

1. A method for managing Bluetooth bandwidth, the method comprising: establishing a Bluetooth audio connection between a first earbud and a computing device, wherein the Bluetooth audio connection is used by the first earbud to receive audio data for the first earbud and a second earbud; establishing a relay link to transmit relay traffic between the first earbud and a second earbud, wherein the relay traffic includes at least a portion of the audio data received by the first earbud; determining that reserved bandwidth associated with the Bluetooth audio connection remains available within an interval after a transmission of the audio data for the interval; and using at least a portion of the reserved bandwidth to transmit, using the relay link, the at least the portion of the audio data received by the first earbud to the second earbud.

Facts

Company
Google (Google LLC)
Official title
Managing Relay Link Bandwidth
Publication number
US20260282135A1
Application number
19473458
Filed
Apr 5, 2024
Published
Sep 17, 2026
Inventors
1
Claims
20

Classified under

H04W 76/15 Electricity & electronicsH04W 4/80 Electricity & electronicsH04W 88/04 Electricity & electronics
Read the full filing (official PDF) ↗ Open in the Patent Tracker

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Summaries are simplified from the filing’s own abstract and first claim. A patent filing is not a product announcement.
Patent data and drawings: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Nebula is not affiliated with or endorsed by the USPTO.