Playback device with capacitive sensors

• US 10,386,830 B2
• Filed: 06/02/2017
• Issued: 08/20/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 09/29/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sonos, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Sonos, Inc.
• Inventors: Griffiths, Neil, Bierbower, Chris, Nelson, Matt, Kafadar, Paul
• Primary Examiner(s): McCord, Paul C
• Application Number:
  US15/612,023
• Publication Number:
  US 20170269579A1
• Time in Patent Office: 809 Days
• Field of Search: 700 94
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/42 Recording and playback systems, i.e. in which the programme is recorded from a cycle of operations, e.g. the cycle of operations being manually controlled, after which this record is played back on the same machine
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/23249 Using audio and or video playback
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/165 Management of the audio stream, e.g. setting of volume, audio stream path

Abstract

Examples described herein involve a playback device having capacitive sensors. In an example implementation, an enclosure of a playback device includes: a first external surface comprising a speaker grille; a second external surface substantially orthogonal to the first external surface; and an array of capacitive sensors underlying the second external surface of the playback device. The array of capacitive sensors includes a first subset of capacitive sensors underlying a first region of the second external surface, a second subset of capacitive sensors underlying a second region of the second external surface, and a third subset of capacitive sensors underlying a third region of the second external surface. The enclosure and sensors may be arranged such that a particular side of the first region is adjacent to a first side of the second region, a particular side of the third region is adjacent to a second side of the second region.

Claims

1. A playback device comprising:

an enclosure comprising;

a first external surface comprising a speaker grille;

a second external surface, a third external surface, and a fourth external surface, where;

the second, third, and fourth external surfaces intersect the first external surface;

the third external surface intersects the second and fourth external surfaces; and

the enclosure is configured to be placed in at least two orientations, where;

in a first orientation the enclosure rests on the fourth external surface and the second external surface forms a top surface of the playback device; and

in a second orientation the enclosure rests on the third external surface and the second external surface forms a lateral surface of the playback device;

an array of capacitive sensors underlying the second external surface of the playback device,

wherein the array of capacitive sensors comprises subsets of capacitive sensors including a first subset of capacitive sensors underlying a first region of the second external surface, a second subset of capacitive sensors underlying a second region of the second external surface, and a third subset of capacitive sensors underlying a third region of the second external surface,

wherein a particular side of the first region is adjacent to a first side of the second region,

wherein a particular side of the third region is adjacent to a second side of the second region,

wherein a respective length and height of each of first region and the third region are the same;

an orientation sensor;

a processor; and

memory having stored thereon instructions executable by the processor for causing the processor to perform functions comprising;

receiving orientation data from the orientation sensor indicating an orientation of the playback device;

receiving data indicating detection of a user input, where the detected user input comprises a swipe from one of the subsets of capacitive sensors to at least another of the subsets of capacitive sensors;

in response to receiving the data indicating detection of a user input comprising a swipe from one of the subsets of capacitive sensors to at least another of the subsets of capacitive sensors, causing the playback device to perform a playback device action, wherein;

the playback device action performed when the orientation data indicates that the enclosure is in the first orientation is different from the playback device action performed when the orientation data indicates that the enclosure is in the second orientation.

2. The playback device of claim 1, wherein the respective length of the second region is shorter than the respective length of the first region and the third region.

3. The playback device of claim 1, wherein the respective height of the second region is longer than the respective height of the first region and the third region.

4. The playback device of claim 1, further comprising:

one or more outward-facing speakers each facing the speaker grille.

5. The playback device of claim 1, wherein each capacitive sensor in the array of capacitive sensors is configured to detect physical contact with the playback device.

6. The playback device of claim 1, further comprising a visual indicator.

7. The playback device of claim 1, wherein the second external surface further comprises a visual indicator.

8. The playback device of claim 7, wherein the visual indicator comprises one or more light emitting diodes (LEDs).

9. The playback device of claim 1, wherein the orientation sensor comprises an accelerometer.

10. The playback device of claim 1, further comprising a processor and memory having stored thereon instructions executable by the processor to cause the processor to perform functions comprising:

receiving, from the array of capacitive sensors, data indicating a physical contact at a location on the second external surface;

based on at least the location, identifying a second playback device action; and

causing the playback device to perform the identified second playback device action.

11. The playback device of claim 10, wherein the identified second playback device action comprises begin playback.

12. The playback device of claim 10, wherein the identified second playback device action comprises pause playback.

13. The playback device of claim 10, wherein the identified second playback device action comprises decrease playback volume.

14. The playback device of claim 10, wherein the identified second playback device action comprises skip to next track.

15. The playback device of claim 10, wherein the identified second playback device action comprises skip to previous track.

16. The playback device of claim 10, wherein the identified second playback device action comprises increase playback volume.

17. The playback device of claim 10, wherein the identified second playback device action comprises separate playback device from a zone group of playback devices.

18. The playback device of claim 10, wherein the identified second playback device action comprises group playback device with other playback device.

19. The playback device of claim 1, wherein the playback device action performed when the orientation data indicates that the enclosure is in the first orientation comprises increase playback volume and the playback device action performed when the orientation data indicates that the enclosure is in the second orientation comprises decrease playback volume.

20. The playback device of claim 1, wherein the playback device action performed when the orientation data indicates that the enclosure is in the first orientation comprises skip to next track and the playback device action performed when the orientation data indicates that the enclosure is in the second orientation comprises skip to previous track.