Search

US-12621593-B2 - Wooden or other dielectric capacitive touch interface and loudspeaker having same

US12621593B2US 12621593 B2US12621593 B2US 12621593B2US-12621593-B2

Abstract

Wireless-enabled loudspeaker includes a capacitive touch user interface. The loudspeaker may comprise at least one electroacoustic transducer, a processor in communication with the at least one electroacoustic transducer, and an exterior surface comprising a capacitive touch user interface that allows a user to control operation of the loudspeaker. The exterior surface acts a dielectric for the capacitive touch user interface. The loudspeaker may comprise a wireless transceiver circuit for receiving and transmitting wireless communication signals via a wireless network. The wireless transceiver circuit may receive wirelessly audio content from streaming audio content servers that are connected to the Internet. The capacitive touch user interface comprises a plurality of capacitive sense electrodes.

Inventors

  • Michael J. Koss
  • Michael J. Pelland
  • Nicholas Blair

Assignees

  • KOSS CORPORATION

Dates

Publication Date
20260505
Application Date
20250513

Claims (20)

  1. 1 . A system comprising: a remote server; and a loudspeaker configured to sense commands of a user, wherein the loudspeaker comprises: an enclosure comprising a smooth topmost surface, wherein the smooth topmost surface comprises a dielectric material; a wireless communication circuit inside the enclosure, wherein the wireless communication circuit is communicatively couplable to the remote server; one or more speakers inside the enclosure, wherein the one or more speakers are for playing an audio stream; and a capacitive touch user interface comprising at least one capacitive sense electrode, wherein the dielectric material of the smooth topmost surface serves as a dielectric layer by which the user can interact with the at least one capacitive sense electrode, wherein interacting with the at least one capacitive sense electrode controls an operation of the loudspeaker.
  2. 2 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the remote server hosts an Internet service configured to manage a plurality of wireless devices.
  3. 3 . The system of claim 2 , wherein the plurality of wireless devices comprises a video device.
  4. 4 . The system of claim 2 , wherein the plurality of wireless devices comprises an audio device.
  5. 5 . The system of claim 2 , wherein the remote server hosts an application associated with the loudspeaker, wherein the application is accessible by a computing device of the user.
  6. 6 . The system of claim 5 , wherein the application is configured to receive user inputs, and wherein the remote server is configured to set up an account for the user based on the user inputs.
  7. 7 . The system of claim 6 , wherein the plurality of wireless devices can be added to the account via the application.
  8. 8 . The system of claim 6 , wherein a plurality of Wi-Fi hotspots can be added to the account via the application.
  9. 9 . The system of claim 8 , wherein a password for each of the plurality of Wi-Fi hotspots can be added to the account via the application.
  10. 10 . The system of claim 6 , wherein a plurality of servers configured to serve content to the loudspeaker can be added to the account via the application.
  11. 11 . The system of claim 5 , wherein the application comprises a website.
  12. 12 . The system of claim 5 , wherein the application comprises an applet.
  13. 13 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the wireless communication circuit is for wirelessly receiving an audio stream.
  14. 14 . A system comprising: a remote server that hosts an Internet service configured to manage a plurality of wireless devices; a loudspeaker, wherein the loudspeaker comprises: an enclosure comprising a smooth topmost surface, wherein the smooth topmost surface comprises a dielectric material; a wireless communication circuit inside the enclosure, wherein the wireless communication circuit is communicatively couplable to the remote server; one or more speakers inside the enclosure, wherein the one or more speakers are for playing an audio stream; and a capacitive touch user interface comprising at least one capacitive sense electrode, wherein the dielectric material of the smooth topmost surface serves as a dielectric layer by which a user of the loudspeaker can interact with the at least one capacitive sense electrode, wherein interacting with the at least one capacitive sense electrode controls an operation of the loudspeaker.
  15. 15 . The system of claim 14 , wherein the loudspeaker is configured to sense the commands of the user.
  16. 16 . The system of claim 14 , wherein the Internet service is configured to manage a plurality of wireless devices.
  17. 17 . The system of claim 16 , wherein the plurality of wireless devices comprises a video device.
  18. 18 . The system of claim 16 , wherein the plurality of wireless devices comprises an audio device.
  19. 19 . The system of claim 16 , wherein the remote server hosts an application associated with the loudspeaker, wherein the application is accessible by a computing device of the user, wherein the application is configured to receive user inputs, and wherein the remote server is configured to set up an account for the user based on the user inputs.
  20. 20 . The system of claim 19 , wherein the plurality of wireless devices can be added to the account via the application.

Description

PRIORITY CLAIM The present application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 18/946,214, filed Nov. 13, 2024, now U.S. Pat. No. 12,302,048, issued May 13, 2025, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 18/639,427, filed Apr. 18, 2024, now U.S. Pat. No. 12,170,864, issued Dec. 17, 2024, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 17/712,278, filed Apr. 4, 2022, now U.S. Pat. No. 12,010,471, issued Jun. 11, 2024, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 17/066,047, filed Oct. 8, 2020, now U.S. Pat. No. 11,950,033, issued Apr. 2, 2024, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 16/997,004, filed Aug. 19, 2020, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,856,059, issued Dec. 1, 2020, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 16/152,014, filed Oct. 4, 2018, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,785,550, issued Sep. 22, 2020, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 15/468,590, filed Mar. 24, 2017, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,291,972, issued May 14, 2019, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 14/094,277, filed Dec. 2, 2013, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,628,880, issued Apr. 18, 2017, the entire disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein. CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS The present application is related to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/194,883, filed Mar. 9, 2021, which issued as U.S. Pat. No. 11,310,574 on Apr. 19, 2022. The present application also is related to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/832,719, filed Mar. 15, 2013, entitled “Configuring Wireless Devices for a Wireless Infrastructure Network,” now U.S. Pat. No. 9,060,288, issued on Jun. 16, 2015, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. The following patents and applications claims priority to U.S. Pat. No. 9,060,288: Ser. No. 14/702,316, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,185,168; Ser. No. 14/850,508, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,326,304; Ser. No. 15/080,940, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,629,190; Ser. No. 15/463,559, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,992,061; Ser. No. 15/927,262, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,079,717; Ser. No. 16/057,360, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,298,451; Ser. No. 16/375,428, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,601,652; Ser. No. 16/528,173, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,680,884; Ser. No. 16/528,186, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,560,323; and Ser. No. 16/875,351. The present application is also related to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/031,938, filed Sep. 19, 2013, entitled “Wireless Earphone Set,” which application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/609,409 filed Sep. 11, 2012, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/459,291 filed Apr. 30, 2012, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,571,544, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/936,488, filed Dec. 20, 2010, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,190,203, which is a national stage entry of PCT/US09/39754, filed Apr. 7, 2009, which claims priority to U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 61/123,265, filed Apr. 7, 2008, all of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. The following patents and applications also claim priority to PCT Application No. PCT/US09/39754 and U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 61/123,265: Ser. No. 14/695,696, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,438,987; Ser. No. 15/082,040, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,497,535; Ser. No. 15/293,785, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,729,959; Ser. No. 15/650,362, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,986,325; Ser. No. 15/962,305, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,206,025; Ser. No. 16/182,927, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,368,155; Ser. No. 16/375,879, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,469,934; Ser. No. 16/528,701, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,491,982; Ser. No. 16/528,703, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,506,325; Ser. No. 16/528,705; Ser. No. 16/528,706, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,757,498; Ser. No. 16/881,488; Ser. No. 16/884,691, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,848,851; Ser. No. 16/900,035, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,848,852; Ser. No. 17/070,295, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,959,011; Ser. No. 17/070,363, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,959,012; Ser. No. 17/178,946; and Ser. No. 17/649,928. BACKGROUND A typical capacitive touchscreen panel consists of an insulator such as glass, coated with a transparent conductor such as indium tin oxide (ITO). When a human finger touches the surface of the screen, a distortion of the screen's electrostatic field results, measurable as a change in capacitance, because the human body is also an electrical conductor. Different technologies may be used to determine the location of the touch. The location is then sent to a controller for processing. Capacitive touchscreens are often used for user interfaces, such as in smartphones, tablet computers, etc. SUMMARY In one general aspect, the present invention is directed to wireless-enabled loudspeaker with a wooden or other dielectric capacitive touch user interface. The loudspeaker may comprise at least one electroacoustic transducer for producing audible sound, a processor in communication with the at least one electroacoustic transducer, and a wooden (or other dielectric) exterior surface comprising a capacitive touch user interfa