Granted Patent B1

US 11,069,358 · App. 15/994,859 · Granted Jul 20, 2021

Inventor: David Thomas Harper (Santa Cruz, CA)

Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.

G10L15/26G10L15/22G10L2015/223G10L2015/228

Abstract

Claims (74)

1. A method comprising:

identifying an event that occurred at one or more network-based devices, wherein the event is associated with causing a first device to perform an action;

based at least in part on identifying the event, sending, from the one or more network-based devices, first data that causes the first device to open a network connection with the one or more network-based devices;

determining that the first device does not include a speaker;

determining, at the one or more network-based devices, that the first device is communicatively coupled to a second device that performs a role for the first device;

receiving, from the first device, an indication that the second device is to act as an audio output component for the first device;

generating, at the one or more network-based devices and based at least in part on the second device acting as the audio output component for the first device, second data representing the action, wherein the second data representing the action causes the first device to cause the second device to output audio via the audio output component of the second device; and

sending, from the one or more network-based devices and to the first device, the second data representing the action.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

receiving, from the first device, third data indicating that the second device is communicatively coupled to the first device; and

storing context data indicating that the second device is communicatively coupled to the first device,

wherein determining that the first device is communicatively coupled to the second device is based at least in part on the context data.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first data further includes a request that the first device provide an indication that the first device is communicatively coupled to the second device, and the method further comprising, subsequent to sending the first data:

receiving, from the first device, third data indicating that the first device is communicatively connected to the second device; and

storing context data indicating that the first device is communicatively coupled to the second device.

4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

generating a speech-recognizer request that corresponds to the event that occurred at the one or more network-based devices, wherein the speech-recognizer request is in a same format as requests that are generated responsive to voice commands of a user received from the first device,

wherein generating the second data representing the action is performed based at least in part on the speech-recognizer request.

5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

identifying a second event that occurred at the one or more network-based devices, the second event being associated with causing the first device to perform a second action;

determining that the first device is not communicatively coupled to the second device or a third device; and

refraining from sending third data representing the second action to the first device.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein identifying the event comprises at least one of:

detecting a scheduled appointment for the first device at which the first device is to perform the action;

detecting an end of a timer that was previously set by the first device; or

determining that the first device had previously been streaming audio data prior to losing network connectivity.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first data further includes:

an indication of a software component installed on the first device that is configured to open the network connection with the one or more network-based devices; and

third data that causes the software component to open the network connection.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein:

the second device is configured to output images; and

the second data representing the action causes the first device to cause the second device to output the images.

9. A system comprising:

one or more processors;

a network interface; and

computer-readable media storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations comprising:

identifying an event that occurred at the system, wherein the event indicates a first device is to perform an action that includes causing audio to be output;

sending, using the network interface and to the first device, first data that causes the first device to open a network connection with the network interface;

identifying context data indicating that the first device is communicatively coupled to a second device that performs a role for the first device;

determining that the first device does not include a speaker;

receiving, from the first device, an indication that the second device is to act as an audio output component for the first device;

generating, based at least in part on the second device acting as the audio output component for the first device, second data representing the action, wherein the second data causes the first device to cause the second device to output audio via the audio output component of the second device; and

sending the second data to the first device using the network connection.

10. The system of claim 9 , wherein the context data comprises first context data, the operations further comprising, subsequent to sending the second data to the first device:

receiving, from the first device, third data indicating that the first device is not communicatively connected to the second device; and

storing second context data indicating that the first device is not communicatively coupled to the second device.

11. The system of claim 9 , the operations further comprising:

generating a speech-recognizer request that corresponds to the event that occurred at the system, wherein the speech-recognizer request is in a same format as requests that are generated responsive to processing audio data representing voice commands of a user received from the first device,

wherein generating the second data representing the action is based at least in part on the speech-recognizer request.

12. The system of claim 9 , wherein:

the second device is configured to output images for the first device; and

the second data representing the action causes the first device to cause the second device to output the images.

13. The system of claim 9 , wherein:

the first data further includes a request that the first device provide an indication that the second device is communicatively coupled to the first device; and

the operations further comprising receiving, from the first device, third data indicating that the second device is communicatively coupled to the first device.

14. A system comprising:

one or more processors;

a network interface; and

computer-readable media storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations comprising:

identifying an event that occurred at the system, wherein the event is associated with causing a first device to perform an action;

sending first data that causes the first device to open a network connection with the network interface;

determining that the first device is communicatively coupled to a second device that performs a role for the first device;

determining that the first device does not include a speaker;

receiving, from the first device, an indication that the second device is to act as an audio output component for the first device;

generating, based at least in part on receiving the indication, second data representing the action, wherein the second data representing the action causes the first device to cause the second device to output audio by the audio output component of the second device; and

sending, to the first device, the second data representing the action.

15. The system of claim 14 , the operations further comprising:

receiving, from the first device, third data indicating that the second device is communicatively coupled to the first device; and

storing context data indicating that the second device is communicatively coupled to the first device,

wherein determining that the first device is communicatively coupled to the second device is based at least in part on the context data.

16. The system of claim 14 , the operations further comprising:

identifying a second event that occurred at the system, the second event being associated with causing the first device to perform a second action;

determining that the first device is not communicatively coupled to the second device or a third device; and

refraining from sending third data representing the second action to the first device.

Assignments (1)

Cited By (8)

US 12,238,494 US 12,242,138 US 12,248,198 US 12,313,913 US 12,345,955 US 12,526,567 US 12,535,698 US 12,572,927