Media playback system with maximum volume setting

• US 10,461,710 B1
• Filed: 09/06/2018
• Issued: 10/29/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 08/28/2018
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sonos, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Sonos, Inc.
• Inventors: Charlton, Frank, Vautrin, Jodi, Lambourne, Robert, Fish, Nathan, Casimiro, Daniel, So, Won
• Primary Examiner(s): Paul, Disler
• Application Number:
  US16/123,928
• Time in Patent Office: 418 Days
• Field of Search: 381104-109
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2209/548 Queue
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/165 Management of the audio stream, e.g. setting of volume, audio stream path
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/167 Audio in a user interface, e.g. using voice commands for navigating, audio feedback
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/542 Event management; Broadcasting; Multicasting; Notifications
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/546 Message passing systems or structures, e.g. queues
• CPC Class Codes: H03G 3/02 Manually-operated control H03G3/001 and H03G3/002 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H03G 3/3026 the gain being discontinuously variable, e.g. controlled by switching
• CPC Class Codes: H03G 7/002 in untuned or low-frequency amplifiers, e.g. audio amplifiers H03G7/007, H03G7/001, H03G7/008, H03G7/02, H03G7/06 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/224 providing notification on incoming messages, e.g. pushed notifications of received messages
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4131 home appliance, e.g. lighting, air conditioning system, metering devices home automation data switching networks exchanging configuration information on appliance services H04L12/2807
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/43615 Interfacing a Home Network, e.g. for connecting the client to a plurality of peripherals home Audio Video Interoperability [HAVI] data switching networks H04L12/2805
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4825 using a list of items to be played back in a given order, e.g. playlists
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/814 comprising emergency warnings arrangements specially adapted for emergency or urgency in broadcast systems H04H20/59; arrangements for providing alarms, notifications, alerts to substation in data switching networks H04L12/1895
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2430/01 Aspects of volume control, not necessarily automatic, in sound systems

Abstract

Disclosed herein are embodiments for adjusting playback volume in a media playback system that utilizes a maximum volume feature. In one embodiment, when a playback device receives an instruction to change its playback volume to a requested volume level, the playback device will not necessarily set its playback volume state variable to the requested volume level, but rather will calculate a new (typically lower) alternate volume level based on the maximum volume state variable and instead set its playback volume state variable to that alternate volume level. Moreover, when a playback device shares certain of its state variables among the other devices of the media playback system, the playback device will not necessarily share its actual playback volume state variable, but rather will calculate a new (typically higher) representative volume level and instead share that representative volume level.

Claims

1. A controller device of a media playback system, the controller device comprising:

a network interface configured to communicatively couple the controller device to at least one playback device of the media playback system;

an input interface;

at least one processor;

a non-transitory computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon, wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the controller device to;

receive, via the input interface, a request to change a volume level of the at least one playback device to a requested volume level;

send, via the network interface to the at least one playback device, an instruction indicative of the requested change to the volume level, wherein sending the instruction causes the at least one playback device to adjust a volume level of the at least one playback device to a first adapted volume level that is lower than the requested volume level; and

after the volume level of the at least one playback device has been adjusted to the first adapted volume level, output an indication of an adjustment to the volume level of the at least one playback device, wherein the indication of the adjustment is representative of the requested volume level.

2. The controller device of claim 1, wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the playback device to:

receive, via the input interface, a request to set a desired maximum volume level for the at least one playback device; and

in response to receiving the request to set the desired maximum volume level, sending via the network interface to the at least one playback device, an instruction to set the desired maximum volume level as a stored volume variable for the at least one playback device, wherein the first adapted volume level is defined using the stored volume variable.

3. The controller device of claim 1, wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the playback device to:

receive, via the input interface, a request to set a desired source-specific maximum volume level for the at least one playback device to use when the at least one playback device is playing back media from a specific source; and

in response to receiving the request to set the desired source-specific maximum volume level, sending via the network interface to the at least one playback device, an instruction to set the desired source-specific maximum volume level as a stored volume variable for the at least one playback device to use when the at least one playback device is playing back media from the specific source, wherein the first adapted volume level is defined using the stored volume variable.

4. The controller device of claim 1, wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the playback device to:

query the at least one playback device, via the network interface, for the volume level of the at least one playback device;

in response to the querying, receive from the at least one playback device, via the network interface, a reported volume level than is different from the volume level of the at least one playback device; and

representing, via an output, that the volume level of the at least one playback device is the reported volume level.

5. The controller device of claim 1,

wherein the at least one playback device includes at least a first playback device and a second playback device, the first playback device and the second playback device being configured to play back media in synchrony,

wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the playback device to:

receive, via the input interface, a request to change a volume level for the first playback device and the second playback device to a second requested volume level;

send, via the network interface to at least one of the first playback device and the second playback device, an instruction indicative of the requested change to the volume level for the first playback device and the second playback device, wherein sending the instruction causes (i) the first playback device to adjust a volume level of the first playback device to a second adapted volume level, and (ii) the second playback device to adjust a volume level of the second playback device to the second adapted volume level, the second adapted volume level being lower than the second requested volume level;

after the respective volume levels of the first playback device and the second playback device have been adjusted to the second adapted volume level, output an indication of an adjustment to the volume level for the first playback device and the second playback device, wherein the indication of the adjustment is representative of the second requested volume level.

6. The controller device of claim 1,

wherein the at least one playback device includes at least a first playback device and a second playback device, the first playback device and the second playback device being configured to play back media in synchrony,

wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the playback device to:

receive, via the input interface, a request to change a volume level for the first playback device and the second playback device to a second requested volume level;

send, via the network interface to at least one of the first playback device and the second playback device, an instruction indicative of the requested change to the volume level for the first playback device and the second playback device, wherein sending the instruction causes (i) the first playback device to adjust a volume level of the first playback device to a second adapted volume level, and (ii) the second playback device to adjust a volume level of the second playback device to a third adapted volume level, the second adapted volume level, third adapted volume level, and the second requested volume level being different from one another;

after the respective volume levels of the first playback device and the second playback device have been adjusted, output an indication of an adjustment to the volume level for the first playback device and the second playback device, wherein the indication of the adjustment is representative of the second requested volume level.

7. A playback device of a media playback system, the playback device comprising:

a network interface configured to communicatively couple the playback device to, via a local communication network, (i) at least one additional playback device of the media playback system and (ii) a controller device;

at least one processor; and

a tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon, wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the playback device to;

receive, from the controller device via the network interface, an instruction to change a volume level of the playback device to a requested volume level;

based on a stored volume variable, adjust a volume level of the playback device to an adapted volume level that is lower than the requested volume level; and

after adjusting the volume level of the playback device to the adapted volume level, cause, via the network interface, the controller device to output an indication of an adjustment to the volume level of the playback device, wherein the indication of the adjustment is representative of the requested volume level.

8. The playback device of claim 7, wherein adjusting the volume level of the playback device to the adapted volume level that is lower than the requested volume level comprises:

adjusting, using the stored volume variable as a percentage from 0%-100%, the volume level of the playback device to be a product of the requested volume level and the stored volume variable.

9. The playback device of claim 7, wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the playback device to:

receiving, from the controller device via the network interface, an instruction to set the stored volume variable, the instruction being indicative of a desired maximum volume level for the playback device.

10. The playback device of claim 7, wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the playback device to:

prior to adjusting the volume level of the playback device, retrieve from a remote computing system the stored volume variable.

11. The playback device of claim 7, wherein causing, via the network interface, the controller device to output an indication of an adjustment to the volume level of the playback device comprises:

determining, using the stored volume variable as a percentage from 0%-100%, a representative volume level to be the volume level of the playback device divided by the stored volume variable; and

sending, to the controller device via the network interface, an indication of the representative volume level.

12. The playback device of claim 7, wherein the stored volume variable is a source-specific maximum volume level, and wherein adjusting the volume level of the playback device to the adapted volume level that is lower than the requested volume level comprises:

determining that the playback device is currently configured to play back media from a specific media source; and

in response to the determining, adjusting the volume level of the playback device to the adapted volume level, based on the source-specific maximum volume level, that is lower than the requested volume level.

13. A non-transitory computer-readable medium (CRM) having instructions stored thereon, wherein the instructions, when executed by one or more processors, cause a playback device of a media playback system to:

receive an instruction to change a volume level of the playback device to a requested volume level;

based on a stored volume variable, adjust a volume level of the playback device to an adapted volume level that is lower than the requested volume level; and

after adjusting the volume level of the playback device to the adapted volume level, cause a controller device to output an indication of an adjustment to the volume level of the playback device, wherein the indication of the adjustment is representative of the requested volume level.

14. The CRM of claim 13, wherein adjusting the volume level of the playback device to the adapted volume level that is lower than the requested volume level comprises:

adjusting, using the stored volume variable as a percentage from 0%-100%, the volume level of the playback device to be a product of the requested volume level and the stored volume variable.

15. The CRM of claim 13, wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the playback device to:

receiving an instruction to set the stored volume variable, the instruction being indicative of a desired maximum volume level for the playback device.

16. The CRM of claim 13, wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the playback device to:

prior to adjusting the volume level of the playback device, retrieve from a remote computing system the stored volume variable.

17. The CRM of claim 13, wherein causing the controller device to output the indication of the adjustment to the volume level of the playback device comprises:

determining, using the stored volume variable as a percentage from 0%-100%, a representative volume level to be the volume level of the playback device divided by the stored volume variable; and

sending, to the controller device an indication of the representative volume level.

18. The CRM of claim 13, wherein the stored volume variable is a source-specific maximum volume level, wherein the adapted volume level is defined using the source-specific maximum volume level, and wherein adjusting the volume level of the playback device to the adapted volume level that is lower than the requested volume level comprises:

determining that the playback device is currently configured to play back media from a specific media source; and

in response to the determining, adjusting the volume level of the playback device to the adapted volume level, based on the source-specific maximum volume level, that is lower than the requested volume level.