Granted Patent B2

US 12,666,217 · App. 18/308,087 · Granted Jun 23, 2026

Inventors: Jonathon Reilly (Cambridge, MA); Niels Van Erven (Santa Barbara, CA)

Assignee: Sonos, Inc.

H04S7/303G01S3/023G01S3/80G06F3/165H04L41/22H04L67/1042H04R3/04H04R27/00H04R29/001H04R29/008H04S7/302H04R2227/005H04R2430/01H04S7/301

Abstract

Claims (57)

1 . A system comprising:

a first network device comprising a first network interface and a first audio transducer;

a second network device comprising a second network interface and a second audio transducer;

a third network device comprising a third network interface and at least one sensor, wherein the at least one sensor comprises one or both of (a) a radio frequency (RF) sensor configured to detect changes in a received signal strength indicative of movement and (b) an infrared sensor configured to detect movement;

at least one processor; and

at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium storing program instructions that are executable by the at least one processor such that the system is configured to perform functions comprising:

detecting, via the at least one sensor of the third network device, movement within a floor area indicating a human presence;

receiving, via the first network interface, a first signal corresponding to the detected movement;

playing back, based on the received first signal, a first audio output via the first audio transducer;

receiving, via the second network interface, a second signal corresponding to the detected movement; and

playing back, based on the received second signal, a second audio output via the second audio transducer.

2 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the functions further comprise:

sending, via the first network interface of the first network device to the second network device, the second signal corresponding to the detected movement.

3 . The system of claim 2 , wherein receiving the first signal comprises receiving the first signal from the third network device via a first data network that uses a first communication protocol, and wherein receiving the second signal comprises receiving the second signal from the first network device via a second data network that uses a second communication protocol that is different from the first communication protocol.

4 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the third network device comprises a third audio transducer, and wherein the functions further comprise playing back, a third audio output via the third audio transducer based on the detected movement.

5 . The system of claim 4 , wherein the functions further comprise:

based on the received first signal, send, via the first network interface, a third signal to the third network device; and

receiving, via the third network interface, the third signal, wherein the third network device plays back the third audio output based on receiving the third signal.

6 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the first audio output is different from the second audio output.

7 . The system of claim 1 , further comprising a fourth network device, the fourth network device comprising:

a fourth network interface; and

an input interface,

wherein the functions further comprise:

receiving, via the first network interface from the fourth network device, a third signal indicating user input received via the input interface; and

based on the received third signal:

ceasing playback of the first audio output; and

transmitting, via the first network interface to the second network device, a fourth signal corresponding to the received user input;

receiving, via the second network interface, the fourth signal; and

based on the received fourth signal, ceasing playback of the second audio output.

8 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the first audio output comprises audio stored in a sound file on a memory of the first network device.

9 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the first audio output comprises an alarm.

10 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the first audio output comprises a buzzer.

11 . A first network device comprising:

a first audio transducer;

a network interface;

at least one processor; and

at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium storing program instructions that are executable by the at least one processor such that the first network device is configured to perform functions comprising:

receiving, via the network interface, a first signal, the first signal corresponding to an acoustic signal detected by a second network device;

changing an operating state of the first network device based on receiving the first signal;

receiving, via the network interface, a second signal, the second signal corresponding to a movement within a floor area indicating a human presence detected by at least one sensor of a third network device, wherein the at least one sensor of the third network device comprises one or both of (a) a radio frequency (RF) sensor configured to detect changes in a received signal strength indicative of movement and (b) an infrared sensor configured to detect movement;

playing back, via the first audio transducer, a first audio output based on the received second signal; and

based on the received second signal, causing, the second network device to play back a second audio output via a second audio transducer, wherein causing the second network device to play back the second audio output comprises transmitting, via the network interface, a third signal to the second network device.

12 . The first network device of claim 11 , wherein receiving the first signal comprises receiving, via the network interface, the first signal from a fourth network device.

13 . The first network device of claim 11 , wherein receiving the second signal comprises receiving, via the network interface, the second signal from the third network device.

14 . The first network device of claim 12 , wherein receiving the second signal comprises receiving the second signal from the third network device via a first data network that uses a first communication protocol, and wherein transmitting the third signal to the second network device comprises transmitting the third signal to the second network device via a second data network that uses a second communication protocol that is different from the first communication protocol.

15 . The first network device of claim 11 , wherein the first audio output comprises audio stored in a sound file on a memory of the first network device.

16 . The first network device of claim 11 , wherein the first audio output comprises an alarm.

17 . The first network device of claim 11 , wherein the first audio output comprises a buzzer.

18 . The first network device of claim 11 , wherein the functions further comprise:

receiving, via the network interface, a fourth signal corresponding to an absence of movement indicating human presence; and

after receiving the fourth signal, ceasing playback of the first audio output via the first audio transducer.

19 . The first network device of claim 18 , wherein the functions further comprise: after receiving the fourth signal, causing, via the network interface, the second network device to cease playback of the second audio output.

20 . A tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising program instructions that are executable by at least one processor to configure a first network device to:

receive, via a network interface, a first signal, the first signal corresponding to an acoustic signal detected by a second network device;

change an operating state of the first network device based on receiving the first signal;

receive, via the network interface, a second signal, the second signal corresponding to a movement within a floor area indicating a human presence detected by at least one sensor of a third network device, wherein the at least one sensor of the third network device comprises one or both of (a) a radio frequency (RF) sensor configured to detect changes in a received signal strength indicative of movement and (b) an infrared sensor configured to detect movement;

play back, via an audio transducer, a first audio output based on the received second signal; and based on the received second signal, causing, the second network device to play back a second audio output via a second audio transducer, wherein causing the second network device to play back the second audio output comprises transmitting, via the network interface, a third signal to the second network device.

Assignments (2)

Continuity (10)

References Cited (400)