Playback Device Control

• US 20160011590A1
• Filed: 09/29/2014
• Published: 01/14/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 09/29/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sonos, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Sonos, Inc.
• Inventors: Griffiths, Neil, Bierbower, Chris, Nelson, Matt, Kafadar, Paul
• Granted Patent: US 9,671,780 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/42 Recording and playback systems, i.e. in which the programme is recorded from a cycle of operations, e.g. the cycle of operations being manually controlled, after which this record is played back on the same machine
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/23249 Using audio and or video playback
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/165 Management of the audio stream, e.g. setting of volume, audio stream path

Abstract

Examples described herein involve a playback device performing one or more playback device actions based on locations of one or more physical contacts on an external surface of the playback device. A processor of the playback device may receive from an array of proximity sensors underlying an external surface of the playback device, location data indicating a physical contact at a location on the external surface. Based on at least the location, the processor may identify a playback device action from a plurality of playback device actions, and cause at least the playback device to perform the identified playback device action. The playback device may further include at least one orientation sensor from which the processor may also receive orientation data indicating an orientation of the playback device. The processor may identify identify the playback device action also based on the orientation of the playback device.

Claims

1. A playback device comprising:

an array of proximity sensors underlying an external surface of the playback device, wherein the external surface is substantially perpendicular to a speaker grill of the playback device;

a processor; and

memory having stored thereon instructions executable by the processor to cause the processor to perform functions comprising;

receiving from the array of proximity sensors, location data indicating a physical contact at a location on the external surface;

based on at least the location, identifying a playback device action from a plurality of playback device actions; and

causing at least the playback device to perform the identified playback device action.

2. The playback device of claim 1, wherein the functions further comprise:

receiving from the array of proximity sensors, touch data that indicates an initiation of the physical contact; and

receiving from the array of proximity sensors, release data that indicates a termination of the physical contact.

3. The playback device of claim 2, wherein identifying the playback device action from the plurality of playback device actions comprises:

based on the touch data and the release data, determining a time duration of the physical contact; and

identifying the playback device action from the plurality of playback device actions based on at least the determined time duration of the physical contact.

4. The playback device of claim 2, wherein the touch data is a first touch data, wherein the release data is a first release data, wherein the physical contact is a first physical contact, and wherein the functions further comprise:

receiving from the array of proximity sensors, second touch data indicating an initiation of a second physical contact subsequent to the termination of the first physical contact; and

wherein identifying the playback device action from the plurality of playback device comprises;

based on the first release data and the second touch data, determining a time duration between the first physical contact and the second physical contact; and

identifying the playback device action from the plurality of playback actions based on at least the determined time duration between the first physical contact and the second physical contact.

5. The playback device of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving from the array of proximity sensors, touch data indicating two or more initiations of concurrent physical contacts with the external surface;

receiving from the array of proximity sensors, release data indicating two or more terminations of the concurrent physical contacts with the external surface; and

wherein identifying a playback device action from a plurality of playback device actions comprises;

identifying the playback device action from the plurality of the playback device actions based on at least the two or more initiations of concurrent physical contacts with the external surface, and the two or more terminations of the concurrent physical contacts with the external surface.

6. The playback device of claim 1, wherein the functions further comprise one or more of (a) causing at least the playback device to play an audio signal corresponding to the determined playback device action and (b) causing at least the playback device to provide a visual indicator corresponding to the determined playback device action.

7. The playback device of claim 1, wherein the plurality of playback device actions comprise one or more of (a) beginning playback of media content, (b) pausing playback of media content, (c) beginning playback of a next media content in a playback queue of the playback device, (d) beginning playback of a previous media content in the playback queue of the playback device, (e) restarting playback of media content being played by the playback device, (f) increasing a playback volume, (g) decreasing a playback volume, (h) replacing media content in the playback queue of the playback device with a predetermined one or more media content, (i) disabling one or more playback device actions, and (j) enabling one or more playback device actions.

8. The playback device of claim 1, wherein the plurality of playback device actions comprise one or more of (a) grouping the playback device with one or more other playback devices in a media playback system, and (b) ungrouping the playback device from one or more other playback devices in the media playback system

9. The playback device of claim 1, wherein the playback device is in a group of playback devices configured to playback media content in synchrony, and wherein causing at least the playback device to perform the identified playback device action comprises:

causing each playback device in the group of playback devices to perform the identified playback device action.

10. The playback device of claim 1, wherein the playback device is one of a plurality of playback devices in a media playback system, and wherein the plurality of playback device actions comprise one or more of (a) beginning playback of media content by the plurality of playback devices, (b) pausing playback of media content by the plurality of playback devices, (c) beginning playback of a next media content in a playback queue associated with the plurality of playback devices, (d) beginning playback of a previous media content in the playback queue associated with the plurality of playback devices, (e) restarting playback of media content being played by the plurality of playback devices, (f) increasing a playback volume of the plurality of playback devices, (g) decreasing a playback volume of the plurality of playback devices, (h) replacing media content in the playback queue associated with the plurality of playback devices with a predetermined one or more media content, (i) disabling one or more playback device actions by the plurality of playback devices, and (j) enabling one or more playback device actions by the plurality of playback devices.

11. The playback device of claim 1, wherein the array of proximity sensors comprises one or more of (a) one or more capacitive sensors, (b) one or more resistance sensors, (c) one or more Piezo sensors, (d) one or more infrared sensors, (e) one or more inductive sensors, (f) one or more magnetic sensors, and (g) one or more optical sensors.

12. A playback device comprising:

an array of proximity sensors underlying an external surface of the playback device, wherein the external surface is substantially perpendicular to a speaker grill of the playback device;

at least one orientation sensor;

a processor; and

memory having stored thereon instructions executable by the processor to cause the processor to perform functions comprising;

receiving from the at least one orientation sensor, orientation data indicating an orientation of the playback device;

receiving from the array of proximity sensors, location data indicating a physical contact at a location on the external surface;

based on at least (i) the orientation of the playback device and (ii) the location on the external surface, identifying a playback device action from a plurality of playback device actions; and

causing at least the playback device to perform the identified playback device action.

13. The playback device of claim 12, wherein the orientation data is a first orientation data, wherein the orientation of the playback device is a first orientation of the playback device, wherein the location data is first location data, wherein the location on the external surface is a first location, wherein the physical contact is a first physical contact, and wherein the functions further comprise:

receiving from the at least one orientation sensor, second orientation data indicating a second orientation of the playback device;

receiving from the array of proximity sensors, second location data indicating a physical contact at a second location on the external surface of the playback device;

based on at least the second orientation of the playback device and the second location on the external surface, identifying the playback action from the plurality of playback device actions; and

causing at least the playback device to perform the identified playback device action.

14. The playback device of claim 13, wherein the second location on the external surface of the playback device is on an opposite side of a central region on the external surface of the playback device from the first location on the external surface of the playback device.

15. The playback device of claim 12, wherein the orientation data is a first orientation data, wherein the orientation of the playback device is a first orientation of the playback device, wherein the location data is a first location data, wherein the physical contact is a first physical contact, wherein the identified playback device action is a first playback device action, and wherein the functions further comprise:

receiving from the at least one orientation sensor, second orientation data indicating a second orientation of the playback device;

receiving from the array of proximity sensors, second location data indicating a second physical contact at the location on the external surface of the playback device;

based on the second orientation of the playback device and the location on the external surface of the playback device, identifying a second playback action from the plurality of playback device actions; and

causing at least the playback device to perform the second playback device action.

16. The playback device of claim 12, wherein the functions further comprise:

prior to receiving from the location data, deactivating at least a subset of the proximity sensors in the array of proximity sensors based on orientation of the playback device.

17. The playback device of claim 12, wherein the orientation data further indicates that the playback device is in motion, and wherein the functions further comprise:

determining that no playback device action from the plurality of playback deice actions is to be identified while the playback device is in motion.

18. A non-transitory computer readable medium having stored thereon instructions executable by a computing device to cause the computing device to perform functions comprising:

receiving from an array of proximity sensors underlying an external surface of a playback device, location data indicating a physical contact at a location on the external surface;

based on at least the location, identifying a playback device action from a plurality of playback device actions; and

causing at least the playback device to perform the identified playback device action.

19. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 18, wherein the functions further comprise:

prior to identifying the playback device action from the plurality of playback device actions, receiving from at least one orientation sensor, orientation data indicating an orientation of the playback device; and

wherein identifying the playback device action from the plurality of playback device actions comprises;

based on at least the orientation of the playback device and the location on the external surface, identifying a playback device action from a plurality of playback device actions.

20. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 18, wherein the playback device is one of a plurality of playback devices in a media playback system, and wherein the playback device action comprises one or more of (a) begin playback of media content by the plurality of playback devices, (d) pause playback of media content by the plurality of playback devices, (e) begin playback of a next media content in a playback queue associated with the plurality of playback devices, (f) begin playback of a previous media content in the playback queue associated with the plurality of playback devices, (g) restarting playback of media content being played by the plurality of playback devices, (f) increasing a playback volume of the plurality of playback devices, (g) decreasing a playback volume of the plurality of playback devices, (h) replacing media content in the playback queue associated with the plurality of playback devices with a predetermined one or more media content, (i) disabling one or more playback device actions by the plurality of playback devices, and (j) enabling one or more playback device actions by the plurality of playback devices.