Apparatus and method for determining co-location of services using a device that generates an audio signal
First Claim
1. An apparatus for generating an audio signature comprising:
- a probe including a microphone;
an audio signal generator configured to generate an audio signal indicative of said apparatus;
a speaker responsive to said audio signal generator that outputs the generated audio signal;
an audio signature generator connected to said microphone configured to generate an audio signature from a sampled audio signal detected by the microphone, wherein the audio signature generator generates the audio signature without requiring detection of any additional audio signal; and
a transmitter connected to said audio signature generator configured to transmit the audio signature to a communications channel.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An audio signature is generated by a user device by generating an audio signal indicative of the user device, outputting the audio signal indicative of the user device through a speaker of the user device, using a microphone of the user device to sense audio, generating an audio signature of the audio sensed by the microphone in the user device, and transmitting the audio signature from the user device to a communication channel. The audio signal may be used by another user device which generates its own audio signature, and which can be compared to the audio signature of the user device that originally generated the audio signal to determine if the user devices are co-located.
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Citations
22 Claims
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1. An apparatus for generating an audio signature comprising:
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a probe including a microphone; an audio signal generator configured to generate an audio signal indicative of said apparatus; a speaker responsive to said audio signal generator that outputs the generated audio signal; an audio signature generator connected to said microphone configured to generate an audio signature from a sampled audio signal detected by the microphone, wherein the audio signature generator generates the audio signature without requiring detection of any additional audio signal; and a transmitter connected to said audio signature generator configured to transmit the audio signature to a communications channel. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A method for generating an audio signature by a user device comprising the steps of:
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generating an audio signal indicative of the user device; outputting said audio signal indicative of the user device through a speaker of the user device; using a microphone of the user device to sense audio; generating an audio signature of the audio sensed by the microphone in the user device, wherein the audio signature is generated without requiring detection of any additional audio signal; and transmitting said audio signature from the user device to a communication channel. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A method for determining co-location of multiple devices, a first device including an audio signal generator and a speaker responsive to the audio signal generator that outputs the generated audio signal, the first device and a second device each including a probe having a microphone that receives the audio signal, an audio signature generator responsive to the microphone, and a transmitter connected to the audio signature generator, the method comprising:
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(a) the first device outputting the generated audio signal; (b) the first and second device performing the steps of; (i) generating by the audio signature generator of the respective device an audio signature from the audio signal received by the microphone of the respective device, wherein the audio signature generator of the respective devices generates the audio signature without requiring detection of any additional audio signal, and (ii) transmitting by the transmitter of the respective device the generated audio signature and device identification of the respective device to a communication channel; (c) receiving at a remote server connected to the communication channel the audio signatures of the respective devices and the device identification of the respective devices; (d) comparing the audio signatures of the respective devices and determining whether the audio signatures match one another within a threshold level of confidence; and (e) reporting the device identification of devices having matching audio signatures, wherein the matching audio signatures identify likely co-located devices. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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Specification