Media management and routing within an electronic device

• US 8,140,714 B2
• Filed: 12/28/2010
• Issued: 03/20/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 06/28/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Batson, James D., Borogove, Meriko L., Chapman, Gregory R., Coffman, Patrick L., Guetta, Anthony J., Lindahl, Aram, Rostaing, Andrew
• Primary Examiner(s): Shin, Christopher B
• Application Number:
  US12/980,277
• Publication Number:
  US 20110093620A1
• Time in Patent Office: 448 Days
• Field of Search: 710 5- 7, 710 36- 45, 719/322, 719/328, 719/329, 700/94
• US Class Current: 710/5
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/165 Management of the audio stream, e.g. setting of volume, audio stream path
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72403 with means for local support of applications that increase the functionality
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72442 for playing music files

Abstract

A method and apparatus for intelligently routing and managing audio signals within an electronic device is disclosed. The routing is responsive to a set of logical and physical policies which are stored in data tables which can be updated as needed.

Claims

1. A method implemented in a computing device having a processor and memory, the method comprising:

receiving, from a software application executing on the computing device, one or more requests to output particular audio information from the software application, the one or more requests including data that specifies a particular category of a plurality of categories for the particular audio information;

based at least in part upon the particular category specified in the one or more requests, determining a particular manner for outputting audio information that belongs to the particular category;

wherein the one or more requests do not specify the particular manner for outputting audio information that belongs to the particular category; and

causing the particular audio information to be outputted in the particular manner for outputting audio information that belongs to the particular category.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the computing device comprises a plurality of output ports for outputting audio information.

3. The method of claim 2,

wherein the particular manner for outputting audio information that belongs to the particular category includes outputting audio information from a particular port of the plurality of output ports;

and

wherein causing the particular audio information to be outputted in the particular manner for outputting audio information that belongs to the particular category includes routing the particular audio information to the particular port.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the one or more requests from the software application do not specify any output port for outputting the particular audio information.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein at least one of the plurality of output ports is a line out port, a headphone port, a docking port, or a speaker.

6. The method of claim 2,

wherein the particular manner for outputting audio information that belongs to the particular category includes attempting to output audio information from a first output port of the plurality of output ports, and if that attempt fails, attempting to output audio information from a second output port of the plurality of output ports that is different from the first output port;

wherein causing the particular audio information to be outputted in the particular manner for outputting audio information that belongs to the particular category includes;

attempting to cause the particular audio information to be outputted from the first output port,

detecting that the attempt failed, and

causing the particular audio information to be outputted from the second output port.

7. The method of claim 1,

wherein the particular manner for outputting audio information that belongs to the particular category includes outputting audio information at a particular volume level;

and

wherein causing the particular audio information to be outputted in the particular manner for outputting audio information that belongs to the particular category includes causing the particular audio information to be outputted at the particular volume level.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising in response to detecting that a headphone port of the computing device has been enabled, changing metadata for the particular category to specify that the particular manner for outputting audio information that belongs to the particular category includes outputting audio information from the headphone port.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising in response to detecting that a mute function of the computing device has been enabled, changing metadata for the particular category to specify that the particular manner for outputting audio information that belongs to the particular category includes not outputting audio information from any output port.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising changing metadata for the particular category to specify that the particular manner for outputting audio information that belongs to the particular category includes outputting audio information from an output port that is different from a current output port for the particular category.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the plurality of categories is music, video soundtrack, voice telephone call, telephone voice mail, e-mail notification, short message service (SMS) notification, user interface sound, ring tone, or alert.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the software application executing on the computing device is either an e-mail application, a web browser application, a short messaging service (SMS) application, a media player application, a camera application, or a slideshow application.

13. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions which, when executed by a computing device, cause the computing device to perform:

receiving, from a software application executing on the computing device, one or more requests to output particular audio information from the software application, the one or more requests including data that specifies a particular category of a plurality of categories for the particular audio information;

wherein the one or more requests do not specify the particular manner for outputting audio information that belongs to the particular category;

based at least in part upon the particular category specified in the one or more requests, determining the particular manner for outputting audio information that belongs to the particular category; and

causing the particular audio information to be outputted in the particular manner for outputting audio information that belongs to the particular category.

14. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 13, wherein the computing device comprises a plurality of output ports for outputting audio information.

15. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 14,

wherein the particular manner for outputting audio information that belongs to the particular category includes outputting audio information from a particular port of the plurality of output ports;

and

wherein causing the particular audio information to be outputted in the particular manner for outputting audio information that belongs to the particular category includes routing the particular audio information to the particular port.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 14, wherein the one or more requests from the software application do not specify any output port for outputting the particular audio information.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 14, wherein at least one of the plurality of output ports is a line out port, a headphone port, a docking port, or a speaker.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 14,

wherein the particular manner for outputting audio information that belongs to the particular category includes attempting to output audio information from a first output port of the plurality of output ports, and if that attempt fails, attempting to output audio information from a second output port of the plurality of output ports that is different from the first output port;

wherein causing the particular audio information to be outputted in the particular manner for outputting audio information that belongs to the particular category includes;

attempting to cause the particular audio information to be outputted from the first output port,

detecting that the attempt failed, and

causing the particular audio information to be outputted from the second output port.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 13,

wherein the particular manner for outputting audio information that belongs to the particular category includes outputting audio information at a particular volume level;

and

wherein causing the particular audio information to be outputted in the particular manner for outputting audio information that belongs to the particular category includes causing the particular audio information to be outputted at the particular volume level.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 13, further storing computer-executable instructions which, when executed by the computing device, cause the computing device to perform in response to detecting that a headphone port of the computing device has been enabled, changing metadata for the particular category to specify that the particular manner for outputting audio information that belongs to the particular category includes outputting audio information from the headphone port.

21. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 13, further storing computer-executable instructions which, when executed by the computing device, cause the computing device to perform in response to detecting that a mute function of the computing device has been enabled, changing metadata for the particular category to specify that the particular manner for outputting audio information that belongs to the particular category includes not outputting audio information from any output port.

22. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 13, further storing computer-executable instructions which, when executed by the computing device, cause the computing device to perform changing metadata for the particular category to specify that the particular manner for outputting audio information that belongs to the particular category includes outputting audio information from an output port that is different from a current output port for the particular category.

23. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 13, wherein at least one of the plurality of categories is music, video soundtrack, voice telephone call, telephone voice mail, e-mail notification, short message service (SMS) notification, user interface sound, ring tone, or alert.

24. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 13, wherein the software application executing on the computing device is either an e-mail application, a web browser application, a short messaging service (SMS) application, a media player application, a camera application, or a slideshow application.

25. A computing device comprising:

a plurality of output ports for outputting audio information; and

a media management module that supports;

receiving, from a software application executing on the computing device, one or more requests to output particular audio information from the software application, the one or more requests including data that specifies a particular category of a plurality of categories for the particular audio information;

wherein the one or more requests do not specify any output port of the plurality of output ports for outputting the particular audio information;

based at least in part upon the particular category specified in the one or more requests, determining a particular output port of the plurality of output ports for outputting audio information that belongs to the particular category; and

causing the particular audio information to be outputted from the particular output port for outputting audio information that belongs to the particular category.

26. The computing device of claim 25, wherein at least one of the plurality of output ports is a line out port, a headphone port, a docking port, or a speaker.

27. The computing device of claim 25, wherein the media management module further supports in response to detecting that a headphone port of the computing device has been enabled, changing metadata for the particular category to specify that the headphone port is to be used for outputting audio information that belongs to the particular category.

28. The computing device of claim 25, wherein the media management module further supports in response to detecting that a mute function of the computing device has been enabled, changing metadata for the particular category to specify that no output port of the plurality of output ports is to be used for outputting audio information that belongs to the particular category.

29. The computing device of claim 25, wherein the media management module further supports changing metadata for the particular category to specify that an output port of the plurality of output ports that is different from the particular output port is to be used for outputting audio information that belongs to the particular category.

30. The computing device of claim 25, wherein at least one of the plurality of categories is music, video soundtrack, voice telephone call, telephone voice mail, e-mail notification, short message service (SMS) notification, user interface sound, ring tone, or alert.

31. The computing device of claim 25, wherein the software application executing on the computing device is either an e-mail application, a web browser application, a short messaging service (SMS) application, a media player application, a camera application, or a slideshow application.