Reproduction apparatus

• US 10,331,397 B2
• Filed: 04/19/2018
• Issued: 06/25/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 10/28/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kyocera Corporation
• Original Assignee: Kyocera Corporation
• Inventors: Mizumoto, Akira
• Primary Examiner(s): Flanders, Andrew C
• Application Number:
  US15/957,767
• Publication Number:
  US 20180239579A1
• Time in Patent Office: 432 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/163 Wearable computers, e.g. on a belt
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/00 Information retrieval; Database structures therefor; File system structures therefor
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/015 Input arrangements based on nervous system activity detection, e.g. brain waves [EEG] detection, electromyograms [EMG] detection, electrodermal response detection
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/16 Sound input; Sound output speech processing G10L
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/167 Audio in a user interface, e.g. using voice commands for navigating, audio feedback
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42201 biosensors, e.g. heat sensor for presence detection, EEG sensors or any limb activity sensors worn by the user input arrangements for interaction with the human body based on nervous system activity detection G06F3/015
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2499/13 Acoustic transducers and sound field adaptation in vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 3/00 Circuits for transducers , loudspeakers or microphones

Abstract

A state memory can store states of a plurality of users who are sleeping or awake. At least one processor can set priorities among the plurality of users. The at least one processor can select one user as a target user from among the plurality of users based on the states of the plurality of users and the priorities among the plurality of users. The at least one processor can reproduce a content in accordance with the target user.

Claims

1. A reproduction apparatus comprising:

a state memory configured to store states of a plurality of users who are sleeping or awake; and

at least one processor,

the at least one processor being configured

to set priorities among the plurality of users and select one user as a target user from among the plurality of users based on the states of the plurality of users and the priorities among the plurality of users, and

to reproduce a content in accordance with the target user;

a communication instrument configured to communicate with a wearable terminal wearable on each of the plurality of users, the communication instrument being configured to receive biological information of each user who wears the wearable terminal, the biological information being transmitted from the wearable terminal, wherein the at least one processor is configured to determine whether the user is wearing the wearable terminal based on whether the biological information has been received; and

a display, coupled to the at least one processor, wherein the at least one processor is configured to cause the display to show information on whether at least one of the plurality of users is not wearing a respective wearable terminal associated with the at least one of the plurality of users or whether the communication instrument is unable to communicate with a wearable terminal associated with the at least one of the plurality of users.

2. The reproduction apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the at least one processor is configured to set the priorities among the plurality of users based on ages of the plurality of users.

3. The reproduction apparatus according to claim 2, wherein

the at least one processor is configured

to set a higher priority as a user is younger, and

to select a user who is awake and youngest as the target user.

4. The reproduction apparatus according to claim 3, wherein

the at least one processor is configured to select a user who is awake and second youngest as the target user when a state of the target user has changed to sleeping.

5. The reproduction apparatus according to claim 3, wherein

the at least one processor is configured to select a user who has changed from sleeping to awake as a new target user when the user who has changed to awake is younger than the target user.

6. The reproduction apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the at least one processor is configured

to suspend reproduction of the content and store a point of suspension when the user selected as the target user has changed from awake to sleeping, and

to reproduce the content from the stored point of suspension when the user returns from sleeping to awake and is again selected as the target user.

7. The reproduction apparatus according to claim 1, the reproduction apparatus comprising a communication instrument configured to communicate with a wearable terminal wearable on each of the plurality of users, wherein

the communication instrument is configured to receive state information transmitted from the wearable terminal, the state information indicating whether the user who wears the wearable terminal is sleeping or awake, and

the state memory is configured to store the states of the plurality of users based on the state information.

8. The reproduction apparatus according to claim 1, the reproduction apparatus comprising a communication instrument configured to communicate with a wearable terminal wearable on each of the plurality of users, wherein

the communication instrument is configured to receive biological information of the user who wears the wearable terminal, the biological information being transmitted from the wearable terminal, and

the at least one processor is configured to determine whether the plurality of users are sleeping or awake based on the biological information.

9. The reproduction apparatus according to claim 1, the reproduction apparatus comprising a display, wherein

the at least one processor is configured to have the display show information for identifying the target user.

10. The reproduction apparatus according to claim 1, the reproduction apparatus comprising a display, wherein

the at least one processor is configured to have the display show the states of all of the plurality of users.

11. The reproduction apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the content is provided in a real-time broadcast service, and

while a content corresponding to the target user is being broadcast, the at least one processor is configured to receive and reproduce the content.

12. The reproduction apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the at least one processor is configured to set genres corresponding to the plurality of users and to reproduce a content in a genre corresponding to the target user.

13. The reproduction apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the at least one processor is configured to set genres corresponding to the plurality of users,

the content is provided in a real-time broadcast service, and

while a content in a genre corresponding to the target user is being broadcast, the at least one processor is configured to receive and reproduce the content.

14. The reproduction apparatus according to claim 1 being included in a car navigation apparatus.

15. The reproduction apparatus according to claim 1 being included in a portable terminal.

16. The reproduction apparatus according to claim 1, the reproduction apparatus comprising a communication instrument configured to communicate with a plurality of portable terminals, wherein

the plurality of portable terminals are configured to communicate with wearable terminals wearable on the plurality of users, respectively,

the portable terminal is configured to receive state information indicating whether the user wearing the wearable terminal is sleeping or awake, the state information being transmitted from the wearable terminal, and to transmit the state information to the reproduction apparatus,

the communication instrument is configured to receive the state information transmitted from the portable terminal, and

the state memory is configured to store the states of the plurality of users based on the state information.