Audio System

• US 20190384562A1
• Filed: 06/15/2018
• Published: 12/19/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 06/15/2018
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Bose Corporation
• Original Assignee: Bose Corporation
• Inventors: Jannace, Matthew, Bermann, Joseph, Ward, Kathryn, Reed, Graeme
• Granted Patent: US 11,016,720 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 15/02 electric
• 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 3/165 Management of the audio stream, e.g. setting of volume, audio stream path
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/167 Audio in a user interface, e.g. using voice commands for navigating, audio feedback
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/102 Entity profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46

Abstract

An audio system with an audio playback device that is configured to operatively connect to a digital audio source for playback of content from the digital audio source and a software program configured to run on a separate computer, wherein the software program provides a user interface configured to present to a first authorized user a selection of whether the audio playback device will be public and thus available to other authorized users or private and thus not available to other authorized users. In response to the first authorized user making a selection of whether the audio playback device will be public or private, an audio playback device access control is provided, wherein the access control is configured such that if the audio playback device is public, other authorized users are able to access and control the public audio playback device and if the audio playback device is private, other authorized users are not able to control the private audio playback device.

Claims

1. An audio system, comprising:

an audio playback device that is configured to operatively connect to a digital audio source for playback of content from the digital audio source; and

a software program configured to run on a separate computer, wherein the software program provides a user interface configured to present to a first authorized user a selection of whether the audio playback device will be public and thus available to other authorized users or private and thus not available to other authorized users;

wherein in response to the first authorized user making a selection of whether the audio playback device will be public or private, an audio playback device access control is provided, wherein the access control is configured such that;

if the audio playback device is public, other authorized users are able to access and control the public audio playback device; and

if the audio playback device is private, other authorized users are not able to control the private audio playback device.

2. The audio system of claim 1, wherein the access control is further configured such that any authorized user with access to an audio playback device is able to make a selection to change a public audio playback device to private or change a private audio playback device to public.

3. The audio system of claim 1, wherein an authorized user is the holder of an account that comprises an identification of any audio playback device that can be accessed by the authorized user.

4. The audio system of claim 3, wherein the access control is further configured such that an authorized user can add any public audio playback device to the authorized user'"'"'s account.

5. The audio system of claim 4, wherein the access control is further configured such that if a particular public audio playback device is made private, all authorized users who had added the particular audio playback device to the respective authorized user'"'"'s account while the audio playback device was public are still able to access the particular audio playback device after it has been made private.

6. The audio system of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of audio playback devices that are each either public or private, wherein the access control is further configured such that all other authorized users can access all public audio playback devices and no other authorized users can access any private audio playback device.

7. The audio system of claim 6, wherein multiple audio playback devices can be grouped to function together as a unit, and wherein the access control is further configured such that if a first authorized user does not have access to all of the audio playback devices in the unit, then the first authorized user is invited to add one or more of the audio playback devices of the unit to the first authorized user'"'"'s account if those one or more of audio playback devices of the unit are public.

8. The audio system of claim 7, wherein the access control is further configured such that if a first authorized user does not have access to all of the audio playback devices in the unit, then the first authorized user'"'"'s access to the unit is restricted if any audio playback devices in the unit are set to private and have not already been associated with the first authorized user'"'"'s account.

9. The audio system of claim 6, wherein multiple audio playback devices can be grouped to function together as a unit, and wherein the access control is further configured such that if the unit is public, other authorized users are able to access and control the unit and if the unit is private, other authorized users are not able to control the unit.

10. The audio system of claim 9, wherein the access control is further configured such that any authorized user with access to a unit can individually access and control all audio playback devices of the unit.

11. The audio system of claim 1, wherein an authorized user is the holder of an account that comprises an identification of any audio playback device that can be accessed by the user and an identification of account based digital audio services with which the authorized user has an account.

12. The audio system of claim 11, wherein the audio playback device is configured to store information that allows the audio playback device to access account based digital audio services with which the authorized user has an account.

13. The audio system of claim 12, wherein the access control is further configured such that when another particular authorized user gains access to an audio playback device, the information that allows the audio playback device to access account based digital audio services with which the particular authorized user has an account is stored in the audio playback device.

14. The audio system of claim 1, wherein the audio playback device is further configured to operatively connect to a virtual personal assistant that is configured to communicate with the audio playback device so as to control the audio playback device by voice commands.

15. The audio system of claim 1, wherein the audio playback device is further configured to store an assignment of an entity associated with a digital audio source to a preset indicator on the audio playback device, and wherein the preset is available to any authorized user with access to the audio playback device.

16. An audio system server, comprising:

a processor; and

instructions stored on computer-readable media that, when executed, cause the processor to;

receive from a first authorized user information regarding a selection of whether of an audio playback device that is configured to operatively connect to a digital audio source for playback of content from the digital audio source will be public and thus available to other authorized users or private and thus not available to other authorized users; and

in response, establish an audio playback device access control wherein;

if the audio playback device is public, other authorized users are able to access and control the public audio playback device; and

if the audio playback device is private, other authorized users are not able to control the private audio playback device.

17. The audio system server of claim 16, wherein the server receives unique identifying information from the audio playback device and authenticates the device before it associates the audio playback device to one of the authorized users'"'"' accounts.

18. A method for establishing an accessibility to authorized users of an audio playback device that is configured to operatively connect to a digital audio source for playback of content from the digital audio source, the method comprising:

presenting to a first authorized user a selection of whether the audio playback device will be public and thus available to other authorized users or private and thus not available to other authorized users;

in response to the first authorized user making a selection of whether the audio playback device will be public or private, establishing an audio playback device access control wherein;

if the audio playback device is public, other authorized users are able to access and control the public audio playback device; and

if the audio playback device is private, other authorized users are not able to control the private audio playback device.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein presenting to a first authorized user a selection of whether the audio playback device will be public and thus available to other authorized users or private and thus not available to other authorized users comprises presenting on a user interface of a computing device an interactive display that provides the selection.