EP-4742532-A2 - MODIFICATION OF AUDIO RESPONSIVE TO PROXIMITY DETECTION

EP4742532A2EP 4742532 A2EP4742532 A2EP 4742532A2EP-4742532-A2

Abstract

Embodiments described herein provide for detecting movement in proximity to a playback device and responsively modifying the audio that is output from one or more playback devices. According to an embodiment, a user is able to wave his or her hand over a playback device to modify the audio that is output from the playback device, one or more different playback devices, or all of the playback devices. The embodiments are particularly useful as a snooze feature, in which an alarm from a playback device (or group of playback devices) is snoozed for a time when triggered by the user's movement.

Inventors

REILLY, Jonathon
GRIFFITHS, NEIL

Assignees

Sonos Inc.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260513
Application Date: 20130628

Claims (15)

A playback device (400, 700) comprising: a sensor (422, 702); a network interface (402); at least one audio transducer (418); at least one processor (408); a housing carrying the sensor, the network interface, the at least one audio transducer, and the at least one processor; and at least one computer-readable medium (410) including instructions that are executable by the at least one processor such that the playback device is configured to: emit, via the sensor, an electromagnetic beam; detect (602), via the sensor, at least one return signal of the emitted electromagnetic beam; determine that the at least one return signal includes first changes representing a first user hand movement (704); modify (604) audio output of the playback device based on the determination that the at least one return signal includes the first changes representing the first user hand movement when the device is in a first state; determine that the at least one return signal includes second changes representing a second user hand movement; and perform one or more functions based on the determination that the at least one return signal includes the second changes representing the second user hand movement when the device is in a second state.
The playback device of claim 1, wherein: the modification of the audio output comprises pausing, stopping or muting audio output from the playback device, and the one or more functions performed in the second state comprise activating or lighting up a user interface of the playback device.
The playback device of claim 2, wherein: the audio output comprises an alarm, the first state comprises the alarm playing via the at least one audio transducer, the modification of the audio output comprises snoozing the alarm for a pre-determined period of time, or stopping the alarm, the second state comprises a user interface of the playback device being deactivated.
The playback device of claim 3, wherein the instructions are further executable to cause the playback device to: deactivate at least one button on the housing of the playback device when the device is in the first state; and enable a user to snooze the alarm via the user hand movement while the at least one button is deactivated.
The playback device of claim 3 or claim 4, wherein the instructions are further executable to cause the playback device to disable the snoozing of the alarm if the alarm has been playing for a time that exceeds a timeout threshold.
The playback device of any of claims 3 to 5, wherein the snoozing of the alarm comprises: determining whether the audio is from a source that supports pausing or a source that does not support pausing; pausing the audio if the source supports pausing; and muting the audio if the source does not support pausing.
The playback device of claim 1, wherein: the first state comprises the playback device playing audio from a source that supports pausing, the modification of the audio output comprises pausing playback of the audio, the second state comprises the playback device playing audio from a source that does not support pausing, and the one or more functions performed in the second state comprise muting playback of the audio.
The playback device of any preceding claim, wherein the playback device is configured into a zone group with at least one additional playback device, and wherein the modification of the audio output comprises causing, via the network interface, modification of audio output of the at least one additional playback device.
The playback device of any of claims 1 to 7, wherein the first and/or second user hand movement comprises a hand wave.
The playback device of any preceding claim, wherein the modification of the audio output comprises modifying a volume setting of the playback device.
The playback device of any preceding claim, further comprising a button configured to detect touch inputs at a first range, and wherein the sensor is calibrated to detect noncontact user movements at a second range that is greater than the first range.
The playback device of claim 11, wherein the range of the sensor is between 4 and 6 inches from a surface of the housing.
The playback device of any preceding claim, wherein the instructions are further executable to cause the playback device to receive a configuration setting from a controller device, the configuration setting defining an action to be taken by the playback device in response to determining the first changes representing the first user hand movement.
A method performed by a playback device (400, 700) comprising a sensor (422, 702), the method comprising: emitting, via the sensor, an electromagnetic beam; detecting (602), via the sensor, at least one return signal of the emitted electromagnetic beam; determining that the at least one return signal includes first changes representing a first user hand movement (704); modifying (604) audio output of the playback device based on the determination that the at least one return signal includes the first changes representing the first user hand movement when the device is in a first state; determining that the at least one return signal includes second changes representing a second user hand movement; and performing one or more functions based on the determination that the at least one return signal includes the second changes representing the second user hand movement when the device is in a second state.
A computer-readable medium (410) including instructions that are executable by a processor (408) of a playback device (400, 700) such that the playback device is configured to perform the method of claim 14.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICAITON This application claims priority to U.S. Application No. 13/536,250, filed June 28, 2012, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE The disclosure is related to consumer goods and, more particularly, to systems, products, features, services, and other items directed to media playback or some aspect thereof. BACKGROUND Technological advancements have increased the accessibility of music content, as well as other types of media, such as television content, movies, and interactive content. For example, a user can access audio, video, or both audio and video content over the Internet through an online store, an Internet radio station, a music service, a movie service, and so on, in addition to the more traditional avenues of accessing audio and video content. Demand for audio, video, and both audio and video content inside and outside of the home continues to increase. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Features, aspects, and advantages of the presently disclosed technology are better understood with regard to the following description, appended claims, and accompanying drawings where: Figure 1 shows an illustration of an example system in which embodiments of the methods and apparatus disclosed herein can be implemented;Figure 2A shows an illustration of an example zone player having a built-in amplifier and speakers;Figure 2B shows an illustration of an example zone player having a built-in amplifier and connected to external speakers;Figure 2C shows an illustration of an example zone player connected to an A/V receiver and speakers;Figure 3 shows an illustration of an example controller;Figure 4 shows an internal functional block diagram of an example zone player;Figure 5 shows an internal functional block diagram of an example controller;Figure 6 shows a flow diagram according to an embodiment; andFigure 7 shows an example illustration according to an embodiment. In addition, the drawings are for the purpose of illustrating example embodiments, but it is understood that the present disclosure is not limited to the arrangements and instrumentality shown in the drawings. DETAILED DESCRIPTION I. Overview Embodiments described herein provide for detecting movement in proximity to a playback device and responsively modifying the audio that is output from one or more playback devices. According to an embodiment, a user is able to wave his or her hand over a playback device to modify the audio that is output from the playback device, one or more different playback devices, or all of the playback devices. The embodiments are particularly useful as a snooze feature, in which an alarm from a playback device (or group of playback devices) is snoozed for a time when triggered by the user's movement. Playback can resume after the time has elapsed and the alarm and/or audio has not been turned off. In an embodiment, modification of audio that is output from the playback device includes pausing playback of the audio. In another embodiment, modification of audio includes stopping playback of the audio. In yet another embodiment, modification of audio includes muting playback of the audio. In another embodiment, modification of audio includes reducing the volume level of the audio. In an embodiment, the system intelligently looks to the source of audio and automatically determines whether the audio is to be paused (e.g., "pause snooze") or muted (e.g., "mute snooze"), and in some instances may be programmed to determine yet another action to be taken. For instance, if it is determined that the audio is from an Internet radio service that does not support pausing, then the system can mute playback. If it is determined that the audio is from a playlist or an Internet service that supports pausing, then the system can pause playback. In an embodiment, the system lets the user to decide ahead of time what action is to be taken by the system (e.g., pause, stop, mute, and so on) depending on the source of audio. The user may be able to configure these options using a controller of the playback device (e.g., a Sonos controller, offered by SONOS, Inc. of Santa Barbara, California). For instance, an audio source like Pandora can be muted or paused with different outcomes when playback resumes. In an embodiment, a user can trigger the audio output modification by a movement of the hand or item over a sensor of a playback device. In an embodiment, the user may wave his or her hand over the playback device. For instance, the user can wave his or her hand (or some other item) within 6 inches of the surface of the playback device and without touching the playback device. In another embodiment, when an alarm is going off, the system automatically deactivates (or locks out) any relevant buttons and/or other functions so that the user may even hit the playback device without initiating another function. The embodiments may be useful in other situations where the