Contextual indexing of media items

• US 10,552,112 B2
• Filed: 10/08/2018
• Issued: 02/04/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 07/30/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sonos, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Sonos, Inc.
• Inventors: Brown, Amber, Roberts, Diane
• Primary Examiner(s): Tsang, Fan S
• Assistant Examiner(s): Siegel, David
• Application Number:
  US16/154,163
• Publication Number:
  US 20190050192A1
• Time in Patent Office: 484 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/41 Indexing; Data structures therefor; Storage structures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/61 Indexing; Data structures therefor; Storage structures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/634 Query by example, e.g. query by humming
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/635 Filtering based on additional data, e.g. user or group profiles
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/639 using playlists
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/16 Sound input; Sound output speech processing G10L

Abstract

Embodiments described herein involve generating and modifying a sub-index of a media index. An example method may involve receiving requests to play back media items in a media index, tracking the requests to play back the media items in the media index, determining a set of media items from among the media items in the media index based on the tracked requests to play back media items in the media index, and indexing the determined set of media items into a sub-index. The set of media items have been played at least a pre-determined threshold number of times within a pre-determined threshold period of time. The media items in the sub-index are a subset of the media items in the main index.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

maintaining, in a data storage of a mobile device, a first index of audio tracks, the audio tracks indexed in the first index consisting of a particular subset of audio tracks that are indexed in a second index, wherein each audio track of the particular subset of audio tracks meets one or more criteria indicating that the respective audio track is more likely to be played back by a given user account of a streaming audio service relative to other audio tracks indexed in the second index;

displaying, via a controller interface on a graphical display of the mobile device, a search control;

receiving, via the search control of the controller interface, input data indicating a search query;

based on the receiving the input data indicating the search query, searching, within the first index, for audio tracks corresponding to the search query;

if the audio tracks corresponding to the search query are found in the first index, displaying, via the graphical display of the mobile device, respective first metadata associated with each audio track corresponding to the search query, wherein the first metadata is stored in the first index; and

if the audio tracks corresponding to the search query are not found in the first index;

(i) sending, via a network interface of the mobile device to one or more servers of the streaming audio service, a request to search the second index for audio tracks corresponding to the search query;

(ii) receiving, via the network interface in response to the request to search the second index, data representing second metadata associated with each audio track corresponding to the search query, wherein the second metadata is stored in the second index; and

(iii) displaying, via the graphical display of the mobile device, respective second metadata associated with each audio track corresponding to the search query.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first index comprises first resource identifiers indicating respective network locations of the particular subset of audio tracks, and wherein the method further comprises:

streaming, via the network interface, at least one audio track corresponding to the search query from the respective network locations using the first resource identifiers of the first index; and

playing back the streamed at least one audio track via one or more speakers.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein a playback device comprises the one or more speakers, and wherein playing back the streamed at least one audio track via one or more speakers comprises sending, via the network interface of the mobile device to the playback device, one or more instructions to stream the at least one audio track corresponding to the search query from the respective network locations using the first resource identifiers of the first index and play back the streamed at least one audio track via the one or more speakers.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the second index comprises second resource identifiers indicating respective network locations of the audio tracks that are indexed in the second index, and wherein the method further comprises:

receiving, via the network interface, data representing second resource identifiers indicating respective network locations of the audio tracks corresponding to the search query;

streaming, via the network interface, at least one audio track corresponding to the search query from the respective network locations using the second resource identifiers of the second index; and

playing back the streamed at least one audio track via one or more speakers.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein a playback device comprises the one or more speakers, and wherein playing back the streamed at least one audio track via one or more speakers comprises sending, via the network interface of the mobile device to the playback device, one or more instructions to stream the at least one audio track corresponding to the search query from the respective network locations using the second resource identifiers of the first index and play back the streamed at least one audio track via the one or more speakers.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

if the audio tracks corresponding to the search query are not found in the first index, determining whether the audio tracks corresponding to the search query meet the one or more criteria indicating that the audio tracks corresponding to the search query are more likely to be played back by a given user account of a streaming audio service relative to other audio tracks indexed in the second index; and

if the audio tracks corresponding to the search query meet the one or more criteria, updating the first index to include the audio tracks corresponding to the search query.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more criteria comprises one or more of:

(a) a total number of times each audio track has been played back, (b) a number of times each audio track has been played back to completion, (c) a number of times each audio track has been skipped, (d) an indication that each audio track is designated as a favorite media item, (e) a number of times each audio track was manually selected for playback, and (f) a pre-determined threshold number of times each audio track has been played back within a pre-determined threshold period of time.

8. A tangible non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon instructions executable by a mobile device to cause the mobile device to perform a method comprising:

maintaining, in a data storage of the mobile device, a first index of audio tracks, the audio tracks indexed in the first index consisting of a particular subset of audio tracks that are indexed in a second index, wherein each audio track of the particular subset of audio tracks meets one or more criteria indicating that the respective audio track is more likely to be played back by a given user account of a streaming audio service relative to other audio tracks indexed in the second index;

displaying, via a controller interface on a graphical display of the mobile device, a search control;

receiving, via the search control of the controller interface, input data indicating a search query;

based on the receiving the input data indicating the search query, searching, within the first index, for audio tracks corresponding to the search query;

if the audio tracks corresponding to the search query are found in the first index, displaying, via the graphical display of the mobile device, respective first metadata associated with each audio track corresponding to the search query, wherein the first metadata is stored in the first index; and

if the audio tracks corresponding to the search query are not found in the first index;

(i) sending, via a network interface of the mobile device to one or more servers of the streaming audio service, a request to search the second index for audio tracks corresponding to the search query;

(ii) receiving, via the network interface in response to the request to search the second index, data representing second metadata associated with each audio track corresponding to the search query, wherein the second metadata is stored in the second index; and

(iii) displaying, via the graphical display of the mobile device, respective second metadata associated with each audio track corresponding to the search query.

9. The tangible non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 8, wherein the first index comprises first resource identifiers indicating respective network locations of the particular subset of audio tracks, and wherein the method further comprises:

streaming, via the network interface, at least one audio track corresponding to the search query from the respective network locations using the first resource identifiers of the first index; and

playing back the streamed at least one audio track via one or more speakers.

10. The tangible non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 9, wherein a playback device comprises the one or more speakers, and wherein playing back the streamed at least one audio track via one or more speakers comprises sending, via the network interface of the mobile device to the playback device, one or more instructions to stream the at least one audio track corresponding to the search query from the respective network locations using the first resource identifiers of the first index and play back the streamed at least one audio track via the one or more speakers.

11. The tangible non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 8, wherein the second index comprises second resource identifiers indicating respective network locations of the audio tracks that are indexed in the second index, and wherein the method further comprises:

receiving, via the network interface, data representing second resource identifiers indicating respective network locations of the audio tracks corresponding to the search query;

streaming, via the network interface, at least one audio track corresponding to the search query from the respective network locations using the second resource identifiers of the second index; and

playing back the streamed at least one audio track via one or more speakers.

12. The tangible non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 11, wherein a playback device comprises the one or more speakers, and wherein playing back the streamed at least one audio track via one or more speakers comprises sending, via the network interface of the mobile device to the playback device, one or more instructions to stream the at least one audio track corresponding to the search query from the respective network locations using the second resource identifiers of the first index and play back the streamed at least one audio track via the one or more speakers.

13. The tangible non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 8, wherein the method further comprises:

if the audio tracks corresponding to the search query are not found in the first index, determining whether the audio tracks corresponding to the search query meet the one or more criteria indicating that the audio tracks corresponding to the search query are more likely to be played back by a given user account of a streaming audio service relative to other audio tracks indexed in the second index; and

if the audio tracks corresponding to the search query meet the one or more criteria, updating the first index to include the audio tracks corresponding to the search query.

14. The tangible non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 8, wherein the one or more criteria comprises one or more of:

(a) a total number of times each audio track has been played back, (b) a number of times each audio track has been played back to completion, (c) a number of times each audio track has been skipped, (d) an indication that each audio track is designated as a favorite media item, (e) a number of times each audio track was manually selected for playback, and (f) a pre-determined threshold number of times each audio track has been played back within a pre-determined threshold period of time.

15. A mobile device comprising:

a graphical display;

a network interface;

one or more processors; and

data storage storing instructions that when executed by the one or more processors cause the mobile device to perform functions comprising;

maintaining, in the data storage, a first index of audio tracks, the audio tracks indexed in the first index consisting of a particular subset of audio tracks that are indexed in a second index, wherein each audio track of the particular subset of audio tracks meets one or more criteria indicating that the respective audio track is more likely to be played back by a given user account of a streaming audio service relative to other audio tracks indexed in the second index;

displaying, via a controller interface on the graphical display, a search control;

receiving, via the search control of the controller interface, input data indicating a search query;

based on the receiving the input data indicating the search query, searching, within the first index, for audio tracks corresponding to the search query;

if the audio tracks corresponding to the search query are found in the first index, displaying, via the graphical display, respective first metadata associated with each audio track corresponding to the search query, wherein the first metadata is stored in the first index; and

if the audio tracks corresponding to the search query are not found in the first index;

(i) sending, via the network interface to one or more servers of the streaming audio service, a request to search the second index for audio tracks corresponding to the search query;

(ii) receiving, via the network interface in response to the request to search the second index, data representing second metadata associated with each audio track corresponding to the search query, wherein the second metadata is stored in the second index; and

(iii) displaying, via the graphical display, respective second metadata associated with each audio track corresponding to the search query.

16. The mobile device of claim 15, wherein the first index comprises first resource identifiers indicating respective network locations of the particular subset of audio tracks, and wherein the functions further comprise:

streaming, via the network interface, at least one audio track corresponding to the search query from the respective network locations using the first resource identifiers of the first index; and

playing back the streamed at least one audio track via one or more speakers.

17. The mobile device of claim 16, wherein a playback device comprises the one or more speakers, and wherein playing back the streamed at least one audio track via one or more speakers comprises sending, via the network interface of the mobile device to the playback device, one or more instructions to stream the at least one audio track corresponding to the search query from the respective network locations using the first resource identifiers of the first index and play back the streamed at least one audio track via the one or more speakers.

18. The mobile device of claim 15, wherein the second index comprises second resource identifiers indicating respective network locations of the audio tracks that are indexed in the second index, and wherein the functions further comprise:

receiving, via the network interface, data representing second resource identifiers indicating respective network locations of the audio tracks corresponding to the search query;

streaming, via the network interface, at least one audio track corresponding to the search query from the respective network locations using the second resource identifiers of the second index; and

playing back the streamed at least one audio track via one or more speakers.

19. The mobile device of claim 15, wherein the functions further comprise:

if the audio tracks corresponding to the search query are not found in the first index, determining whether the audio tracks corresponding to the search query meet the one or more criteria indicating that the audio tracks corresponding to the search query are more likely to be played back by a given user account of a streaming audio service relative to other audio tracks indexed in the second index; and

if the audio tracks corresponding to the search query meet the one or more criteria, updating the first index to include the audio tracks corresponding to the search query.

20. The mobile device of claim 15, wherein the one or more criteria comprises one or more of:

(a) a total number of times each audio track has been played back, (b) a number of times each audio track has been played back to completion, (c) a number of times each audio track has been skipped, (d) an indication that each audio track is designated as a favorite media item, (e) a number of times each audio track was manually selected for playback, and (f) a pre-determined threshold number of times each audio track has been played back within a pre-determined threshold period of time.