Wearable device zone group control

• US 10,705,792 B2
• Filed: 05/23/2019
• Issued: 07/07/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 04/09/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sonos, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Sonos, Inc.
• Inventors: Bates, Paul Andrew, Storlie, Danielle
• Primary Examiner(s): Flanders, Andrew C
• Application Number:
  US16/420,913
• Publication Number:
  US 20190278559A1
• Time in Patent Office: 411 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/163 Wearable computers, e.g. on a belt
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04847 Interaction techniques to control parameter settings, e.g. interaction with sliders or dials
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/14 Digital output to display device ; Cooperation and interconnection of the display device with other functional units
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/162 Interface to dedicated audio devices, e.g. audio drivers, interface to CODECs
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/165 Management of the audio stream, e.g. setting of volume, audio stream path
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2227/003 Digital PA systems using, e.g. LAN or internet
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 29/007 for public address systems public address systems per se H04R27/00

Abstract

Configuration information and selectable grouping options associated with the plurality of zones is displayed, for example, on a wearable device. Selection of a first selectable grouping option is received and in response a configuration change is transmitted. The configuration change may comprise information indicating a first zone is to join a zone group with a second zone of the plurality of zones. Updated configuration information is received indicating that a media playback system includes the zone group comprising the first zone and the second zone. The updated configuration information is displayed on the wearable device.

Claims

1. A wearable device, comprising:

a user interface;

a communication interface;

a processor;

a non-transitory computer-readable medium; and

program instructions stored on the non-transitory computer-readable medium that, when executed by the processor, cause the wearable device to perform functions comprising;

receiving, from a computing device, respective configuration information corresponding to each of a plurality of network devices in a household that have been grouped together, wherein the computing device is configured to facilitate control of each of the plurality of network devices in the household via a data network, and wherein the plurality of network devices includes a first network device;

displaying, via the user interface, an indication of the first network device;

receiving, via the user interface, a first user input indicating a selection of the first network device;

in response to receiving the first user input, displaying, via the user interface, a representation of configuration information corresponding to the first network device that is indicative of a configuration of the first network device;

receiving, via the user interface, a second user input indicating a requested change to the configuration of the first network device;

in response to receiving the second user input, causing the computing device to transmit, to the first network device via the data network, a command indicating the requested change to the configuration of the first network device;

as a result of causing the computing device to transmit the command, receiving, via the communication interface from the computing device, updated configuration information corresponding to the first network device reflecting that the first network device has applied the requested change to the configuration of the first network device; and

in response to receiving the updated configuration information corresponding to the first network device, displaying, via the user interface, the updated configuration information corresponding to the first network device.

2. The wearable device of claim 1, wherein the first network device is a playback device configured to play back media content, and the configuration information comprises configuration information related to playing back the media content by the playback device.

3. The wearable device of claim 2, wherein the requested change to the configuration of the first network device comprises at least one of (i) a request to change a volume level of the playback device, (ii) a request to pause play back of the media content by the playback device, (iii) a request to skip a portion of the play back of the media content by the playback device, or (iv) a request for the first playback device to enter into a group with a second playback device in which the first and second playback devices are configured for synchronous playback of the media content.

4. The wearable device of claim 1, wherein the second user input indicates that a given configuration parameter of the first network device is to be changed from a first value to a second value.

5. The wearable device of claim 1, wherein the plurality of network devices includes a second network device and wherein the command is a first command, and further comprising program instructions stored on the non-transitory computer-readable medium that are executable by the processor to cause the wearable device to perform functions comprising:

displaying, via the user interface, an indication of the second network device;

receiving, via the user interface, a third user input indicating a selection of the second network device;

in response to receiving the third user input, displaying, via the user interface, a representation of configuration information corresponding to the second network device that is indicative of a configuration of the second network device;

receiving, via the user interface, a fourth user input indicating a requested change to the configuration of the second network device;

in response to receiving the fourth user input, causing the computing device to transmit, to the second network device via the data network, a second command indicating the requested change to the configuration of the second network device;

as a result of causing the computing device to transmit the second command, receiving, via the communication interface from the computing device, updated configuration information corresponding to the second network device reflecting that the second network device has implemented the requested change to the configuration of the second network device; and

in response to receiving the updated configuration information corresponding to the second network device, displaying, via the user interface, the updated configuration information corresponding to the second network device.

6. The wearable device of claim 1, wherein the computing device comprises a mobile device.

7. The wearable device of claim 1, further comprising program instructions stored on the non-transitory computer-readable medium that are executable by the processor to cause the wearable device to perform functions comprising:

displaying, via the user interface, a selectable grouping option associated with a given group of network devices that includes the first network device and at least one other network device of the plurality of network devices in the household;

receiving, via the user interface, a third user input indicating a selection of the selectable grouping option;

in response to receiving the third user input, causing the computing device to transmit, to at least the first network device via the data network, a command to form the given group of network devices; and

as a result of transmitting the command to form the given group of network devices, receiving, via the communication interface from the computing device, an indication that the given group of network devices has been formed.

8. The wearable device of claim 1, wherein the first user input is at least one of (i) a tap on the user interface, (ii) a swipe across a portion of the user interface, or (iii) a shaking of the wearable device, and wherein the second user input is at least one of (i) a tap on the user interface, (ii) a swipe across a portion of the user interface, or (iii) a shaking of the wearable device.

9. A method comprising:

receiving, by a wearable device from a computing device, respective configuration information corresponding to each of a plurality of network devices in a household that have been grouped together, wherein the computing device is configured to facilitate control of each of the plurality of network devices in the household via a data network, and wherein the plurality of network devices includes a first network device;

displaying, via a user interface of the wearable device, an indication of the first network device;

receiving, via the user interface of the wearable device, a first user input indicating a selection of the first network device;

in response to receiving the first user input, displaying, via the user interface of the wearable device, a representation of configuration information corresponding to the first network device that is indicative of a configuration of the first network device;

receiving, via the user interface of the wearable device, a second user input indicating a requested change to the configuration of the first network device;

in response to receiving the second user input, causing the computing device to transmit, to the first network device via the data network, a command indicating the requested change to the configuration of the first network device;

as a result of causing the computing device to transmit the command, receiving, via the communication interface of the wearable device from the computing device, updated configuration information corresponding to the first network device reflecting that the first network device has applied the requested change to the configuration of the first network device; and

in response to receiving the updated configuration information corresponding to the first network device, displaying, via the user interface of the wearable device, the updated configuration information corresponding to the first network device.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the first network device is a playback device configured to play back media content, and the configuration information comprises configuration information related to playing back the media content by the playback device.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the requested change to the configuration of the first network device comprises at least one of (i) a request to change a volume level of the playback device, (ii) a request to pause play back of the media content by the playback device, (iii) a request to skip a portion of the play back of the media content by the playback device, or (iv) a request for the first playback device to enter into a group with a second playback device in which the first and second playback devices are configured for synchronous playback of the media content.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein the plurality of network devices includes a second network device and wherein the command is a first command, the method further comprising:

displaying, via the user interface of the wearable device, an indication of the second network device;

receiving, via the user interface of the wearable device, a third user input indicating a selection of the second network device;

in response to receiving the third user input, displaying, via the user interface of the wearable device, a representation of configuration information corresponding to the second network device that is indicative of a configuration of the second network device;

receiving, via the user interface of the wearable device, a fourth user input indicating a requested change to the configuration of the second network device;

in response to receiving the fourth user input, causing the computing device to transmit, to the second network device via the data network, a second command indicating the requested change to the configuration of the second network device;

as a result of causing the computing device to transmit the second command, receiving, via the communication interface of the wearable device from the computing device, updated configuration information corresponding to the second network device reflecting that the second network device has implemented the requested change to the configuration of the second network device; and

in response to receiving the updated configuration information corresponding to the second network device, displaying, via the user interface of the wearable device, the updated configuration information corresponding to the second network device.

13. The method of claim 9, wherein the computing device comprises a mobile device.

14. The method of claim 9, wherein the first user input is at least one of (i) a tap on the user interface, (ii) a swipe across a portion of the user interface, or (iii) a shaking of the wearable device, and wherein the second user input is at least one of (i) a tap on the user interface, (ii) a swipe across a portion of the user interface, or (iii) a shaking of the wearable device.

15. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having program instructions stored on the non-transitory computer-readable medium that, when executed by a processor of a wearable device, cause the wearable device to perform functions comprising:

receiving, from a computing device, respective configuration information corresponding to each of a plurality of network devices in a household that have been grouped together, wherein the computing device is configured to facilitate control of each of the plurality of network devices in the household via a data network, and wherein the plurality of network devices includes a first network device;

displaying, via a user interface of the wearable device, an indication of the first network device;

receiving, via the user interface of the wearable device, a first user input indicating a selection of the first network device;

in response to receiving the first user input, displaying, via the user interface of the wearable device, a representation of configuration information corresponding to the first network device that is indicative of a configuration of the first network device;

receiving, via the user interface of the wearable device, a second user input indicating a requested change to the configuration of the first network device;

in response to receiving the second user input, causing the computing device to transmit, to the first network device via the data network, a command indicating the requested change to the configuration of the first network device;

as a result of causing the computing device to transmit the command, receiving, via the communication interface of the wearable device from the computing device, updated configuration information corresponding to the first network device reflecting that the first network device has applied the requested change to the configuration of the first network device; and

in response to receiving the updated configuration information corresponding to the first network device, displaying, via the user interface of the wearable device, the updated configuration information corresponding to the first network device.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the first network device is a playback device configured to play back media content, and the configuration information comprises configuration information related to playing back the media content by the playback device.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16, wherein the requested change to the configuration of the first network device comprises at least one of (i) a request to change a volume level of the playback device, (ii) a request to pause play back of the media content by the playback device, (iii) a request to skip a portion of the play back of the media content by the playback device, or (iv) a request for the first playback device to enter into a group with a second playback device in which the first and second playback devices are configured for synchronous playback of the media content.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the plurality of network devices includes a second network device and wherein the command is a first command, and further comprising program instructions stored on the non-transitory computer-readable medium that, when executed by the processor of the wearable device, cause the wearable device to perform functions comprising:

displaying, via the user interface of the wearable device, an indication of the second network device;

receiving, via the user interface of the wearable device, a third user input indicating a selection of the second network device;

in response to receiving the third user input, displaying, via the user interface of the wearable device, a representation of configuration information corresponding to the second network device that is indicative of a configuration of the second network device;

receiving, via the user interface of the wearable device, a fourth user input indicating a requested change to the configuration of the second network device;

in response to receiving the fourth user input, causing the computing device to transmit, to the second network device via the data network, a second command indicating the requested change to the configuration of the second network device;

as a result of causing the computing device to transmit the second command, receiving, via the communication interface of the wearable device from the computing device, updated configuration information corresponding to the second network device reflecting that the second network device has applied the requested change to the configuration of the second network device; and

in response to receiving the updated configuration information corresponding to the second network device, displaying, via the user interface of the wearable device, the updated configuration information corresponding to the second network device.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the computing device comprises a mobile device.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the first user input is at least one of (i) a tap on the user interface, (ii) a swipe across a portion of the user interface, or (iii) a shaking of the wearable device, and wherein the second user input is at least one of (i) a tap on the user interface, (ii) a swipe across a portion of the user interface, or (iii) a shaking of the wearable device.