PERSONAL AREA NETWORK HAVING MEDIA PLAYER AND MOBILE DEVICE CONTROLLING THE SAME

• US 20120178434A1
• Filed: 03/23/2012
• Published: 07/12/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 11/09/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: IP3 2017, Series 200 of Allied Security Trust I (Allied Security Trust)
• Original Assignee: Qurio Holdings Incorporated
• Inventors: Issa, Alfredo C.
• Application Number:
  US13/428,049
• Publication Number:
  US 20120178434A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/420
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72442 for playing music files
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/021 Services related to particular areas, e.g. point of interest [POI] services, venue services or geofences
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/20 Services signaling; Auxiliary data signalling, i.e. transmitting data via a non-traffic channel
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/203 for converged personal network application service interworking, e.g. OMA converged personal network services [CPNS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/12 WLAN [Wireless Local Area Networks]

Abstract

A system and method are provided for controlling content played by a number of media devices. In general, the system includes a mobile device and the number of media devices. The mobile device includes a wireless communication interface for communicating with the media devices, a media database, and a control system including a media client. When the mobile device enters a Wireless Personal Area Network (WPAN) associated with a media device, the media client obtains information describing the content residing at the media device and stores the information in the media database at the mobile device. Thereafter, when the mobile device is within the WPAN associated with the media device, the media database is used to select content to be played at the media device.

Claims

1. A method of operation of a mobile device via a wireless communication interface comprising:

sending a passkey via the wireless communication interface to a media device to complete a validation process;

sending a request via the wireless communication interface to the media device to obtain metadata that describes content on the media devices; and

receiving the metadata via the communication interface from the media device, wherein the metadata contains last played time-stamps for the content.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the media device sends a request via the wireless communication interface to the media device to play content.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the content was selected by a user of the mobile device.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the wireless communication interface is connected to a wireless local area network (WLAN).

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the media device is a digital video recorder (DVR).

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the media client is implemented in software.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the media device consists of one or more of a media server, a media player, a media database, and a content database.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the mobile device receives a server name associated with the media server.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the wireless communication interface is connected to a wireless personal area network (WPAN).