Playback zone representations

• US 9,408,008 B2
• Filed: 02/28/2014
• Issued: 08/02/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 02/28/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sonos, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Sonos, Inc.
• Inventors: Kumar, Abhishek, Lambourne, Robert Andrew
• Primary Examiner(s): Saunders, Jr., Joseph
• Application Number:
  US14/194,257
• Publication Number:
  US 20150248268A1
• Time in Patent Office: 886 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0481 based on specific properties of the displayed interaction object or a metaphor-based environment, e.g. interaction with desktop elements like windows or icons, or assisted by a cursor's changing behaviour or appearance
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/165 Management of the audio stream, e.g. setting of volume, audio stream path
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/10 Indexing; Addressing; Timing or synchronising; Measuring tape travel
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/34 Indicating arrangements indicating means incorporated in magazine or cassette G11B23/046 and G11B23/0875; indicating measured values in general G01D
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2227/005 Audio distribution systems for home, i.e. multi-room use
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 27/00 Public address systems circuits for preventing acoustic reaction H04R3/02; circuits for distributing signals to loudspeakers H04R3/12; monitoring or testing arrangements for public address systems H04R29/007; amplifiers H03F

Abstract

Method and systems are provided for displaying playback zone representations in a controller interface for a media playback system. A representation of a first playback zone in the media playback system may be displayed according to a collapsed format, and a representation of a second playback zone in the media playback system may be displayed in a position directly below the representation of the first playback zone. Upon determining that the first playback zone is associated with media content, an updated representation of the first playback zone may be displayed according to an expanded format that is larger than the collapsed format. The representation of the second playback zone may then be displayed in a position directly below the updated representation of the first playback zone.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

causing a device to display a collapsed format representation of a playback zone in a media playback system;

while the device is displaying the collapsed format representation, receiving, via a network interface of the device from a playback device of the media playback system, status information representing a current status of the playback zone;

determining, based on the received status information, that the playback zone is associated with media content; and

in response to determining that the playback zone is associated with media content, causing the device to switch between the collapsed format representation and an expanded format representation of the playback zone, wherein the expanded format representation of the playback zone is larger than the collapsed format representation of the playback zone.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein determining that the playback zone is associated with media content comprises determining that a playback device in the playback zone is playing media content.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

causing the device to display in the expanded format representation of the playback zone, a graphical indication that the playback device in the playback zone is playing media content.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein determining that the playback zone is associated with media content comprises determining that a playback queue associated with the playback zone is populated with media content.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

causing the device to display in the expanded format representation of the playback zone, information associated with the media content associated with the playback zone.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the media information associated with the media content comprises one or more of the following (a) album art, (b) track name, (c) track artist, and (d) album name.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the collapsed format representation of the playback zone and the expanded format representation of the playback zone both comprise a name of the playback zone, and an icon selectable to modify playback zone configurations of the media playback system.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the playback zone comprises the playback device.

9. A device comprising:

a processor; and

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

causing the device to display an expanded format representation of a playback zone in a media playback system;

while the device is displaying the expanded format representation, receiving, via a network interface of the device from a playback device of the media playback system, status information representing a current status of the playback zone;

determining, based on the received status information, that the playback zone is not associated with media content; and

in response to determining that the playback zone is not associated with media content, causing the device to switch between the expanded format representation and a collapsed format representation of the playback zone, wherein the collapsed format representation of the playback zone is smaller than the expanded format representation of the playback zone.

10. The device of claim 9, wherein determining that the playback zone is not associated with media content comprises determining that no playback device in the playback zone is playing media content.

11. The device of claim 9, wherein determining that the playback zone is not associated with media content comprises determining that a playback queue associated with the playback zone is not populated with media content.

12. The device of claim 9, wherein the collapsed format representation of the playback zone and the expanded format representation of the playback zone both comprise a name of the playback zone, and an icon selectable to modify playback zone configurations of the media playback system.

13. The device of claim 9, wherein the collapsed format representation of the playback zone and the expanded format representation of the playback zone are both selectable to modify media content and playback configurations associated with the playback zone.

14. A tangible, non-transitory computer readable medium having stored thereon instructions executable by one or more processors of a computing device, wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the computing device to perform functions comprising:

causing the computing device to display a representation of a first playback zone in a media playback system according to a collapsed format;

causing the computing device to display a representation of a second playback zone in the media playback system, wherein the representation of the second playback zone is in a position directly below the representation of the first playback zone;

while the computing device is displaying the representation of the first playback zone in the media playback system according to the collapsed format, receiving, via a network interface of the computing device from a playback device of the media playback system, status information representing a current status of the first playback zone;

determining, based on the received status information, that the first playback zone is associated with media content; and

in response to determining that the first playback zone is associated with media content, causing the computing device to (i) switch between the representation of the first playback zone according to the collapsed format and an updated representation of the first playback zone according to an expanded format, wherein the expanded format is larger than the collapsed format, and (ii) move the representation of the second playback zone to be displayed in a position directly below the updated representation of the first playback zone.

15. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 14, wherein determining that the first playback zone is associated with media content comprises determining that a playback device in the first playback zone is playing media content.

16. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 15, further comprising:

causing the computing device to display in the updated representation of the playback zone, a graphical indication that the playback device in the playback zone is playing media content.

17. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 14, wherein determining that the first playback zone is associated with media content comprises determining that a playback queue associated with the first playback zone is populated with media content.

18. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 14, wherein the functions further comprise:

causing the computing device to display in the updated representation of the first playback zone, information associated with the media content associated with the first playback zone.

19. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 14, wherein the representation of the first playback zone and updated representation of the first playback zone are both selectable to modify media content and playback configurations associated with the first playback zone.

20. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 14, wherein the representation of the first playback zone and updated representation of the first playback zone both comprise a name of the first playback zone, and an icon selectable to modify playback zone configurations of the media playback system.

21. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 14, wherein the functions further comprise:

receiving an input indicating that the first playback zone is no longer associated with media content; and

responsively, causing the computing device to (i) display the representation of the first playback zone according to the collapsed format, and (ii) move the representation of the second playback zone to be displayed in a position below the representation of the first playback zone.