Wireless adaptor for content transfer

• US 20060181963A1
• Filed: 12/08/2005
• Published: 08/17/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 02/11/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: General Instrument Corporation (CommScope Holding Company, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: General Instrument Corporation (CommScope Holding Company, Inc.)
• Inventors: Clayton, Richard M., Ulmer, David E., Gaumond, Michael T., Villevieille, Jean-Marc A.
• Application Number:
  US11/296,975
• Publication Number:
  US 20060181963A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 369/24.10
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/08 among terminal devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/61 for local area broadcast, e.g. instore broadcast
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/76 Arrangements characterised by transmission systems other than for broadcast, e.g. the Internet for broadcast H04H20/65
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/80 characterised by transmission among terminal devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/91 Mobile communication networks for accessing the Internet H04H60/85
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/92 for local area
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/612 for unicast
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/04 specially adapted for terminals or networks with limited capabilities; specially adapted for terminal portability
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal

Abstract

Described herein are embodiments that wirelessly provide content from a content source to a content player. In one embodiment, there is provided a wireless adaptor that includes a wireless interface operable to receive the content from the content source and a wired interface for a wired connection with the content player to route the content, as received by the wireless interface, for playback by the content player.

Claims

1. A method for wirelessly providing content comprising the steps of:

wirelessly receiving content from a content source through a wireless proximity network;

routing, through a wired connection, the content as wirelessly received to a content player for playback of the received content;

receiving a request from the content player for access to at least one functional control of the content source to command playback of the received content; and

responsive to the request, providing the content player with the access to the at least one functional control of the content source via at least one functional control of the content player.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the wireless proximity network is one of a Bluetooth network and a Wi-Fi network, and the content includes audio content.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the content source is a portable device that stores the content and is enabled to wirelessly transmit the content through the wireless proximity network.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the portable device is one of a cellular telephone, a personal digital assistant, and a digital music player.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the content player is a car audio system.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

wirelessly receiving metadata for the content from the content source through the wireless proximity network; and

routing, through the wired connection, the metadata as wirelessly received to the content player for display on the content player.

7. The method of claim 3, further comprising the steps of:

establishing the wireless proximity network with the portable device prior to wirelessly receiving the content; and

providing a user of either the portable device or the content player with an option for one of maintaining a user interface on the portable device for access by the user and disabling the user interface on the portable device to prevent access by the user.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the step of establishing the wireless proximity network comprises the steps of:

automatically detecting a presence of the portable device in proximity to the content player; and

automatically establishing the wireless proximity network based on the automatic detecting the presence of the portable device.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

receiving a voice command for a functional control of one of the content source and the content player; and

automatically operating one of the content source and the content player in accordance with the functional control from the voice command.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

receiving a remote command, from a remote source different from the content source, for a functional control of one of the content source and the content player; and

automatically operating one of the content source and the content player in accordance with the functional control from the remote command.

11. A computer readable medium on which is encoded program code, the program code comprising:

program code for establishing a wireless proximity network with a content source;

program code for receiving content from the content source through the wireless proximity network, wherein the content includes audio content;

program code for playback of the content as received at a content player through a wired connection;

program code for receiving metadata for the content from the content source through the wireless proximity network; and

program code for displaying the metadata as received at the content player through the wired connection.

12. The computer readable medium of claim 11, further comprising:

program code for receiving a command from the content source for a functional control of one of the playback of the content and the displaying of the metadata at the content player; and

program code for translating the command from a content source to a command for content player to execute the functional control.

13. The computer readable medium of claim 12, further comprising:

program code for receiving a voice command from a source different from the content source for the functional control; and

program code for translating the voice command to the command for the content player to execute the functional control.

14. The computer readable medium of claim 13, further comprising:

program code for receiving a wireless remote command from a source different from the content source for the functional control; and

program code for translating the wireless remote command to the command for the content player to execute the functional control.

15. A wireless adaptor for wirelessly providing content to a content player comprising:

a wireless interface operable to form a wireless proximity network with a content source to wirelessly receive the content from the content source; and

a wired interface that provides a wired connection with the content player to route the content, as received by the wireless interface, for playback by the content player.

16. The wireless adaptor of claim 15, wherein the wireless interface is further operable to receive metadata of the content, and the wired interface further provides a routing of the metadata through the wired connection to the content player for displaying of the metadata at the content player.

17. The wireless adaptor of claim 15, wherein the wireless interface is separate from the wireless adaptor and operable to be wire-connected to the wireless adaptor.

18. The wireless adaptor of claim 15, further comprising:

a commands translation module operable to receive a command for a functional control of the playback of the content from the content source via the wireless interface and translate the command for execution by the content player.

19. The wireless adaptor of claim 16, further comprising:

a content decoder module that decodes the content and the metadata, as received at the wireless interface, for transmission to the content player through the wired interface.

20. The wireless adaptor of claim 18, further comprising:

a remote command module operable to receive a wireless command from a remote source different from the content source and to convert the wireless command into the command for the functional control received by the commands translation module.

21. The wireless adaptor of claim 18, further comprising:

a voice command module operable to receive a voice command from a source different from the content source and to convert the voice command to the command for the functional control received by the commands translation module.

22. The wireless adaptor of claim 15, wherein the wireless interface comprises:

an applications stack module operable to automatically detect a presence of the content source in proximity to the wireless adaptor, route the content from the content source to wired interface, and enable a control at the content player of at least one function of the content source that is otherwise controlled at the content source.

23. The wireless adaptor of claim 15, wherein the content includes multimedia content.

24. The wireless adaptor of claim 15, further comprising:

a content interface operable to provide a connection of another content source to the wireless adaptor to receive content stored in another content source for playback by the content player.

25. The wireless adaptor of claim 17, further comprising:

a content interface operable to provide a connection of another content source to the wireless adaptor to receive content stored in another content source for playback by the content player, wherein the separate wireless interface is wire-connected to the wireless adaptor at the content interface.