Granted Patent B2

US 12,498,899 · App. 18/623,602 · Granted Dec 16, 2025

Inventors: Jonathan P. Lang (Santa Barbara, CA); Mark Plagge (Santa Barbara, CA)

Assignee: Sonos, Inc.

G06F3/165G06F3/167G10L15/1822H04R27/00H04R29/007G10L2015/223H04R3/12H04R2227/003H04R2227/005H04R2420/01H04R2420/07H04R2430/01H04S7/301H04S7/303

Abstract

Claims (44)

1 . A system comprising:

at least one network microphone device;

at least one processor;

at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium; and

program instructions stored on the at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium that are executable by the at least one processor such that the system is configured to:

receive, via the at least one network microphone device, a voice command for a given playback device and one or more other playback devices to be grouped for synchronous playback of audio content;

based on state information for one or more devices of the system:

identify a first playback device of the one or more other playback devices that is to be grouped with the given playback device for synchronous playback of audio content by detecting, via the at least one network microphone device, an audio tone emitted by the first playback device; and

select the identified first playback device to be grouped with the given playback device for synchronous playback of audio content; and

based on the voice command, cause the identified first playback device and the given playback device to form a synchrony group such that the identified first playback device and the given playback device are configured to coordinate for synchronous playback of audio content.

2 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the voice command identifies the given playback device and does not identify the one or more other playback devices.

3 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the voice command comprises a command to play back audio content, the system further comprising program instructions stored on the at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium that are executable by the at least one processor such that the system is configured to:

based on the command, cause the identified first playback device and the given playback device to play back the audio content in synchrony.

4 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one network microphone device comprises one of (i) a controller device, (ii) the given playback device, (iii) the identified first playback device, or (iv) another playback device.

5 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the state information for one or more devices of the system includes information regarding at least one of a user location or a user orientation relative to the first playback device.

6 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the state information for one or more devices of the system includes information regarding a proximity of the at least one network microphone device to the first playback device.

7 . The system of claim 1 , further comprising program instructions stored on the at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium that are executable by the at least one processor such that the system is configured to:

cause the one or more other playback devices to emit respective audio tones.

8 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one network microphone device is a portable device.

9 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the state information for one or more devices of the system includes information identifying the first playback device as a default device.

10 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the state information for one or more devices of the system comprises an indication that the first playback device is currently playing back audio content.

11 . The system of claim 10 , wherein the program instructions that are executable by the at least one processor such that the system is configured to cause the identified first playback device and the given playback device to form the synchrony group comprise program instructions that are executable by the at least one processor such that the system is configured to:

cause the identified first playback device and the given playback device to play back the audio content in synchrony.

12 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the state information for one or more devices of the system comprises an indication that the first playback device most recently played back audio content.

13 . A non-transitory computer-readable medium, wherein the non-transitory computer-readable medium is provisioned with program instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, cause a system to:

receive, via at least one network microphone device, a voice command for a given playback device and one or more other playback devices to be grouped for synchronous playback of audio content;

based on state information for one or more devices of the system:

identify a first playback device of the one or more other playback devices that is to be grouped with the given playback device for synchronous playback of audio content by detecting, via the at least one network microphone device, an audio tone emitted by the first playback device; and

select the identified first playback device to be grouped with the given playback device for synchronous playback of audio content; and

based on the voice command, cause the identified first playback device and the given playback device to form a synchrony group such that the identified first playback device and the given playback device are configured to coordinate for synchronous playback of audio content.

14 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 13 , wherein the voice command identifies the given playback device and does not identify the one or more other playback devices.

15 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 13 , wherein the voice command comprises a command to play back audio content, and wherein the non-transitory computer-readable medium is also provisioned with program instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, cause the system to:

based on the command, cause the identified first playback device and the given playback device to play back the audio content in synchrony.

16 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 13 , wherein the at least one network microphone device comprises one of (i) a controller device, (ii) the given playback device, (iii) the identified first playback device, or (iv) another playback device.

17 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 13 , wherein the state information for one or more devices of the system includes information regarding at least one of a user location or a user orientation relative to the first playback device.

18 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 13 , wherein the state information for one or more devices of the system includes information regarding a proximity of the at least one network microphone device to the first playback device.

19 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 13 , wherein the non-transitory computer-readable medium is also provisioned with program instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, cause the system to:

cause the one or more other playback devices to emit respective audio tones.

20 . A method implemented by a system, the method comprising:

receiving, via at least one network microphone device, a voice command for a given playback device and one or more other playback devices to be grouped for synchronous playback of audio content;

based on state information for one or more devices of the system:

identifying a first playback device of the one or more other playback devices that is to be grouped with the given playback device for synchronous playback of audio content by detecting, via the at least one network microphone device, an audio tone emitted by the first playback device; and

selecting the identified first playback device to be grouped with the given playback device for synchronous playback of audio content; and

based on the voice command, causing the identified first playback device and the given playback device to form a synchrony group such that the identified first playback device and the given playback device are configured to coordinate for synchronous playback of audio content.

Assignments (2)

Continuity (12)

References Cited (400)