US-12621520-B2 - Systems and methods for routing content to an associated output device

Abstract

Devices and methods for routing content are provided herein. In some embodiments, a method for routing content include receiving audio data representing a command from a first electronic device, determining content that is associated with the command, sending responsive audio data to the first electronic device, and sending instructions to the second electronic device to output the content associated with the command. In some embodiments, a method for routing contents includes determining a state of the second electronic device and sending instructions to output the content to a selected one of the first and second electronic devices based on the state of the second electronic device.

Inventors

• Soniya Jobanputra
• Marcello Typrin
• Mallory Trudell

Assignees

• AMAZON TECHNOLOGIES, INC.

Dates

Publication Date

20260505

Application Date

20241112

Claims (20)

1. 1 . A method performed by a computing system connected to a network, the method comprising: receiving, from a first electronic device and via the network, first data representing a natural language input; determining, based at least in part on the first data, a request corresponding to the natural language input; determining that a second electronic device associated with the first electronic device is capable of processing second data corresponding to the request; determining third data representing a response to the natural language input; sending, to the first electronic device via the network, the third data, such that the response is output by the first electronic device; and sending, to the second electronic device and via the network, the second data.
2. 2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein: the first data comprises first audio data; the method further comprises performing speech processing using the first audio data.
3. 3 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising: determining a user account associated with the first electronic device; and determining that the second electronic device is associated with the user account.
4. 4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein: determining that the second electronic device is capable of processing the second data comprises determining that the second electronic device is capable of processing video data.
5. 5 . The method of claim 4 , wherein sending the second data to the second electronic device comprises sending a uniform resource locator (URL) to the second electronic device that allows the second electronic device to obtain the video data.
6. 6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the response comprises a message indicating that video corresponding to the second data will be displayed by a screen associated with the second electronic device.
7. 7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the response comprises a message indicating that audio corresponding to the second data will be output by a speaker associated with the second electronic device.
8. 8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the response comprises an indication that an action corresponding to the request has been performed.
9. 9 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising: determining that the second electronic device is in a state in which the second electronic device is ready to process the second data; and sending the second data to the second electronic device based at least in part on the second electronic device being in the state.
10. 10 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising: determining that the second electronic device is not ready to process the second data; and sending, to the second electronic device via the network, a command that causes the second electronic device to change to a state in which the second electronic device is ready to process the second data.
11. 11 . A computing system, comprising: at least one processor; and at least one computer-readable medium encoded with instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the computing system to: receive, from a first electronic device and via a network, first data representing a natural language input; determine, based at least in part on the first data, a request corresponding to the natural language input; determine that a second electronic device associated with the first electronic device is capable of processing second data corresponding to the request; determine third data representing a response to the natural language input; send, to the first electronic device via the network, the third data, such that the response is output by the first electronic device; and send, to the second electronic device and via the network, the second data.
12. 12 . The computing system of claim 11 , wherein the first data comprises first audio data, and the at least one computer-readable medium is encoded with additional instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the computing system to: perform speech processing using the first audio data.
13. 13 . The computing system of claim 11 , wherein the at least one computer-readable medium is encoded with additional instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the computing system to: determine a user account associated with the first electronic device; and determine that the second electronic device is associated with the user account.
14. 14 . The computing system of claim 11 , wherein the at least one computer-readable medium is encoded with additional instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the computing system to: determine that the second electronic device is capable of processing the second data at least by determining that the second electronic device is capable of processing video data.
15. 15 . The computing system of claim 14 , wherein the at least one computer-readable medium is encoded with additional instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the computing system to: send the second data to the second electronic device at least by sending a uniform resource locator (URL) to the second electronic device that allows the second electronic device to obtain the video data.
16. 16 . The computing system of claim 11 , wherein the response comprises a message indicating that video corresponding to the second data will be displayed by a screen associated with the second electronic device.
17. 17 . The computing system of claim 11 , wherein the response comprises a message indicating that audio corresponding to the second data will be output by a speaker associated with the second electronic device.
18. 18 . The computing system of claim 11 , wherein the response comprises an indication that an action corresponding to the request has been performed.
19. 19 . The computing system of claim 11 , wherein the at least one computer-readable medium is encoded with additional instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the computing system to: determine that the second electronic device is in a state in which the second electronic device is ready to process the second data; and send the second data to the second electronic device based at least in part on the second electronic device being in the state.
20. 20 . The computing system of claim 11 , wherein the at least one computer-readable medium is encoded with additional instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the computing system to: determine that the second electronic device is not ready to process the second data; and send, to the second electronic device via the network, a command that causes the second electronic device to change to a state in which the second electronic device is ready to process the second data.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION DATA This application is a continuation of, and claims the benefit of priority of, U.S. Non-Provisional patent application Ser. No. 17/828,406, filed May 31, 2022, entitled “Systems and Methods for Routing Content To An Associated Output Device,” which is a continuation of, and claims the benefit of priority of, U.S. Non-Provisional patent application Ser. No. 17/358,515, filed Jun. 25, 2021, entitled “Systems and Methods for Routing Content To An Associated Output Device,” issued as U.S. Pat. No. 11,356,730, which is a continuation of, and claims the benefit of priority of, U.S. Non-Provisional patent application Ser. No. 16/389,471, filed Apr. 19, 2019, entitled “Systems and Methods for Routing Content To An Associated Output Device,” issued as U.S. Pat. No. 11,064,248, which is a continuation of, and claims the benefit of priority of, U.S. Non-Provisional patent application Ser. No. 15/194,064, filed Jun. 27, 2016, entitled “Systems and Methods for Routing Content To An Associated Output Device,” issued as U.S. Pat. No. 10,271,093, the contents of each of which are expressly incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. BACKGROUND Electronic devices, such as voice activated electronic devices are relatively new, but becoming more common. Individuals can interact with their electronic devices to perform a variety of basic functions, such as making phone calls to streaming content. Discussed herein are improvements to electronic devices and to backend machines that work with these electronic devices. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is an illustrative diagram of a system for routing content to an associated output electronic device in accordance with various embodiments; FIG. 2 is an illustrative diagram of a system for routing content based on a state of an associated output electronic device in accordance with various embodiments; FIG. 3 is an illustrative diagram of the architecture of the system of FIG. 1 in accordance with various embodiments; FIG. 4 is another illustrative diagram of table including categories of types of content in accordance with various embodiments; FIG. 5 is an illustrative diagram of an example of resolving an ambiguous request for content in accordance with various embodiments; FIG. 6 is an illustrative diagram of a system for associating an output electronic device with a voice activated electronic device in accordance with various embodiments; FIG. 7 is an illustrative diagram showing linking of two exemplary devices in accordance with various embodiments; FIG. 8 is an illustrative flowchart of a process sending content to an associated device in accordance with various embodiments; FIG. 9A is an illustrative flowchart of a process for routing content based on the type of content in accordance with various embodiments; FIG. 9B is an illustrative flowchart continuing the process in FIG. 9A where the content is routed to an associated device based on the content in accordance with various embodiments; FIG. 9C is an illustrative flowchart continuing the process in FIG. 9A where the content is routed to an electronic device based on the content in accordance with various embodiments; FIG. 10 is an illustrative flowchart of a process for receiving a request to change the output device in accordance with various embodiments; FIG. 11A is an illustrative flowchart of a process for routing content based on a state of an associated device in accordance with various embodiments; FIG. 11B is an illustrative flowchart continuing the process in FIG. 11A where the state of an associated device is ready in accordance with various embodiments; FIG. 11C is an illustrative flowchart continuing the process in FIG. 11A where the state of an associated device is available in accordance with various embodiments; and FIG. 11D is an illustrative flowchart continuing the process in FIG. 11A where the state of an associated device is unavailable in accordance with various embodiments. DETAILED DESCRIPTION The present disclosure, as set forth below, is generally directed to various embodiments of methods and devices related to receiving a command, such as a request for content, at one device and outputting the requested content through another device. In some embodiments, an individual may say an utterance, such as a request to hear a weather forecast, to the voice activated electronic device. The voice activated electronic device may use one or more microphones or transducers to capture the audio signal of the spoken command which can be converted into audio data that represents the spoken utterance. The voice activated electronic device may send the audio data to the backend system. The voice activated electronic device, in some embodiments, may be associated with a user account that is also associated with an output electronic device such as, for example, a television and/or a media streaming device connected to a television. The association betwee