Using device content information to influence operation of another device

• US 7,805,129 B1
• Filed: 12/27/2005
• Issued: 09/28/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 12/27/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Qurio Holdings Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Qurio Holdings Incorporated
• Inventors: Issa, Alfredo C., Walsh, Richard J., Amidon, Christopher M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Phan, Huy
• Assistant Examiner(s): Huynh, Chuck
• Application Number:
  US11/318,704
• Time in Patent Office: 1,736 Days
• Field of Search: 455/412.1, 370/338, 705/10
• US Class Current: 455/412.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/303 Terminal profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/41407 embedded in a portable device, e.g. video client on a mobile phone, PDA, laptop constructional details of equipment or arrangements specially adapted for portable computer application G06F1/1626; arrangements specially adapted for mobile receivers in broadcast systems H04H20/57
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4668 for recommending content, e.g. movies
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4788 communicating with other users, e.g. chatting arrangements for providing for computer conferences, e.g. chat rooms, to substation in data switching networks H04L12/1813; distributed application using peer-to-peer [P2P] networks H04L67/104
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4825 using a list of items to be played back in a given order, e.g. playlists
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4826 using recommendation lists, e.g. of programs or channels sorted out according to their score
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/10 Small scale networks; Flat hierarchical networks

Abstract

The present invention provides a system and method for recommending operational information, such as play lists or settings, for one or more devices associated with a local wireless network based on content information describing content stored on a number of user devices within the local wireless network. More specifically, a recommendation engine obtains the content information for a number of user devices within the local wireless network from either a central node or the user devices and analyzes the content information to recommend operational information for one or more devices associated with the local wireless network.

Claims

1. A method of influencing operation of devices associated with a local network comprising:

identifying a plurality of user devices on the local network at a recommendation engine, each of the plurality of user devices storing media items and content information describing the media items;

obtaining the content information at the recommendation engine, the content information describing the media items for the plurality of user devices;

recommending a play list at the recommendation engine, the play list including the media items from more than one of the plurality of user devices for at least one of the plurality of user devices associated with the local network based on the content information obtained for the plurality of user devices;

comparing content information describing media items accessible to a media player with the media items on the play list;

selecting actual media items to play based on the comparison, wherein the media items accessible to the media player that match the media items on the play list are selected as the actual media items; and

applying weights to the content information for the plurality of user devices based on an amount of time each of the plurality of user devices has been in the local network, wherein recommending the play list from the more than one of the plurality of user devices is further based on the weights applied to the plurality of user devices.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein obtaining the content information for each of the plurality of user devices comprises:

obtaining information identifying the plurality of user devices from the plurality of user devices; and

obtaining the content information for the plurality of user devices from a central node based on the information identifying the plurality of user devices, wherein the central node operates to obtain and store the content information for the plurality of user devices.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein obtaining the content information for the plurality of user devices comprises obtaining the content information for the plurality of user devices from the plurality of user devices.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the at least one of the plurality of user devices comprises a media player.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein recommending the play list comprises generating the play list based on the content information for the plurality of user devices wherein the play list comprises criteria enabling the media player to select actual content to play.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the media player is enabled to play audio content and generating the play list comprises generating the play list such that the criteria enable the media player to select actual audio content to play.

7. The method of claim 5 wherein the media player is enabled to play a radio station and generating the play list comprises generating the play list such that the criteria enable the media player to select the radio station from a plurality of radio stations.

8. The method of claim 5 wherein the media player is enabled to play television content and generating the play list comprises generating the play list such that the criteria enable the media player to select the television content from content played on a plurality of television stations.

9. The method of claim 5 wherein the media player is enabled to display a digital image and generating the play list comprises generating the play list such that the criteria enable the media player to select the digital image from a plurality of digital images.

10. The method of claim 5 wherein the media player is enabled to display a slideshow comprising a plurality of digital images and generating the play list comprises generating the play list such that the criteria enable the media player to select the slideshow from a plurality of slideshows.

11. The method of claim 4 wherein the media items stored by the plurality of user devices comprises a plurality of songs, the content information comprises at least one of a genre, artist name, album name, and title for each of the plurality of songs, and recommending the play list comprises providing at least one of a group consisting of:

at least one genre from the content information for the plurality of user devices, at least one artist from the content information for the plurality of user devices, at least one album for the plurality of user devices from the content information for the plurality of user devices, and at least one song from the content information for the plurality of user devices as the play list.

12. The method of claim 4 further comprising obtaining the actual media items matching the play list from a remote source.

13. The method of claim 4 further comprising obtaining information identifying actual media items played or actual media items that would be played by another user device in response to at least one criterion from the play list.

14. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

applying weights to the content information for the plurality of user devices based on a received signal strength associated with each of the plurality of user devices in the local network;

wherein recommending the play list from the more than one of the plurality of user devices is further based on the weights applied to the plurality of user devices.

15. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

applying weights to the content information for the plurality of user devices based on a distance of each of the plurality of user devices from the at least one of the plurality of user devices;

wherein recommending the play list for the at least one of the plurality of user devices is further based on the weights applied to the plurality of user devices.

16. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

applying weights to the content information for the plurality of user devices based on a pre-arranged relationship between a user of the at least one of the plurality of user devices and an operator associated with the at least one of the plurality of user devices;

wherein recommending the play list for the at least one of the plurality of user devices is further based on the weights applied to the plurality of user devices.

17. The method of claim 1 wherein the at least one of the plurality of user devices comprises a lighting control system and recommending the play list for the at least one of the plurality of user devices comprises recommending at least one setting for the lighting control system based on the content information for the plurality of user devices.

18. The method of claim 1 wherein the content information further comprises the content information describing the media items stored by at least one additional user device not within the local network that is associated with another of the plurality of user devices.

19. A media player comprising:

a) a first communication interface for communicating with a plurality of user devices within a local network; and

b) a control system associated with the first communication interface and adapted to;

i) identify the plurality of user devices on the local network, each of the plurality of user devices storing media items and content information describing the media items;

ii) obtain the content information describing the media items for the plurality of user devices;

iii) recommend a play list for the media player including the media items from more than one of the plurality of user devices based on the content information obtained for the plurality of user devices;

iv) compare content information describing media items accessible to the media player with the media items on the play list;

v) selecting actual media items to play based on the comparison, wherein the media items accessible to the media player that match the media items on the play list are selected as the actual media items; and

vi) apply weights to the content information for the plurality of user devices based on an amount of time each of the plurality of user devices has been in the local network, wherein recommending the play list from the more than one of the plurality of user devices is further based on the weights applied to the plurality of user devices.

20. The media player of claim 19 further comprising a second communication interface for communicating with a network, wherein the control system is further adapted to obtain the actual media items matching the play list from a remote source via either the first communication interface or the second communication interface.

21. The media player of claim 20 wherein the remote source is selected from a group consisting on one of the plurality of user devices within the local network, a user device not within the local network via the network, another media player via the network, and a network node coupled to the network.