PROXIMITY SYNCHRONIZING AUDIO GATEWAY DEVICE

• US 20120030361A1
• Filed: 02/02/2011
• Published: 02/02/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 05/16/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Meta Platforms, Inc. (f/k/a Facebook, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Meta Platforms, Inc. (f/k/a Facebook, Inc.)
• Inventors: SPURGAT, Jeffrey Jonathan, Gladwin, Stephen Christopher, Andrews, Hoyet Harrison III
• Granted Patent: US 10,122,569 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/227
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/88 which are wireless networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1026 at the edge
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1036 at the edge
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1101 Session protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/04 specially adapted for terminals or networks with limited capabilities; specially adapted for terminal portability
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/289 Intermediate processing functionally located close to the data consumer application, e.g. in same machine, in same home or in same sub-network
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/41265 having a remote control device for bidirectional communication between the remote control device and client device unidirectional remote control device H04N21/42204

Abstract

A digital audio gateway device for use in a wireless network of digital audio playback devices. The gateway device is wirelessly linked to one or more digital audio playback devices to provide a gateway to the Internet for the digital audio playback devices. In addition to functioning as a gateway, the device provides additional functionality and may act as a cache of digital audio data for the various digital audio players connected in the wireless network and may also act to automatically update digital audio content on the audio players, synchronize digital audio content and playlists between the digital audio players and continue automatically or upon user request a particular playlist as the user moves from one digital audio player to another.

Claims

2. A method for automatically synchronizing playback among players comprising:

detecting when a mobile player moves to a first location sufficiently proximate to a computer system to establish a wireless communications link to the mobile player;

identifying playlist information on the mobile player; and

transmitting the playlist information to at least one other player that is at a second location sufficiently proximate to the computer system to establish a wireless communication link between the computer system and the other player.

1. (canceled)

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the playlist information includes an identification of a multimedia content sequence on the mobile player and a position in the multimedia content sequence that is currently playing on the mobile player.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the other player plays multimedia content associated with the position in the multimedia content sequence upon receipt of the playlist information.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the other player seamlessly continues playback of the multimedia content associated with the position in the multimedia content sequence and playing on the mobile player, when the mobile player moves to the first location.

5-1. The method of claim 2, wherein the other player comprises at least one of a fixed player or a mobile player.

6. A method for providing playlist information from a gateway, comprising:

detecting when a first mobile device moves to a location sufficiently proximate to the gateway to create a wireless communications link with the gateway; and

sending, by the gateway, playlist information stored on the first mobile device to at least a second mobile device or a fixed device that is sufficiently proximate to the gateway.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the playlist information comprises a playlist and a position in the playlist currently playing on the first mobile device, and wherein the second mobile device or fixed device plays audio content associated with the position in the playlist upon receipt of the playlist information, and further wherein the second mobile device or fixed device seamlessly continues playback of the audio content associated with the position in the playlist and currently playing on the first mobile device, when the first mobile device moves to the location sufficiently proximate to the gateway.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the playlist information is received as part of a broadcast message by the second mobile device or the fixed device.

9. The method of claim 6, wherein the first mobile device or the second mobile device is at least one of a PDA, MP3 player, mobile phone, and a handheld computer.

10. The method of claim 6, wherein the playlist information indicates a playback sequence of audio content.

11. A method for synchronizing information about an ordered content collection, the method comprising:

detecting, at a first device, a second device that is sufficiently proximate to the first device;

establishing a wireless communication link with the second device;

receiving the information about the ordered content collection from the second device via the wireless communication link; and

transmitting the received information about the ordered content collection to a third device.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the ordered content collection is a playlist.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the ordered content collection comprises audio content.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein when the wireless communication link is being established, the second device is reproducing content from the ordered content collection.

15. The method of claim 11, wherein the third device reproduces content from the ordered content collection in accordance with the transmitted information about the ordered content collection.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the transmitted information about the ordered content collection includes a position in the ordered content collection played by the second device.

17. The method of claim 11, wherein the first device comprises a gateway computer.

18. The method of claim 11, wherein the second device or third device comprise at least one of a mobile player or a fixed player.

19. The method of claim 11, wherein the information about the ordered content collection comprises at least one of:

an identification of the ordered content collection; and

an identification of a previously-reproduced position in the ordered content collection.