Granted Patent B2

US 12,262,079 · App. 18/502,294 · Granted Mar 25, 2025

Inventors: Keith Thoresz (Belmont, MA); Nathan Fish (Santa Barbara, CA)

Assignee: Sonos, Inc.

H04N21/43615G06F3/167G06F21/10H04N21/4415H04N21/4825H04N21/8113

Abstract

Claims (82)

1. At least one non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising program instructions that are executable by at least one processor such that a computing device is configured to:

receive a first request to control a media playback system comprising a playback device, wherein the playback device is connected to a wireless local area network;

determine that the first request is for a first type of access to the media playback system;

obtain the first type of access to the media playback system according to a first access technique, wherein the program instructions that are executable by the at least one processor such that the computing device is configured to obtain the first type of access to the media playback system according to the first access technique comprise program instructions that are executable by the at least one processor such that the computing device is configured to:

(i) obtain a first identifier from the playback device over the wireless local area network;

(ii) obtain a second identifier using the first identifier from a computing system comprising at least one server over a wide area network, and

(iii) obtain a first token using the second identifier;

transmit, via a network interface, (i) first instructions to control the media playback system and (ii) the first token, wherein the media playback system grants the computing device the first type of access according to the first token;

receive a second request to control the media playback system;

determine that the second request is for a second type of access;

obtain the second type of access to the media playback system according to a second access technique, wherein the program instructions that are executable by the at least one processor such that the computing device is configured to obtain the second type of access to the media playback system according to the second access technique comprise program instructions that are executable by the at least one processor such that the computing device is configured to:

(i) obtain at least one identifier over the wireless local area network from the playback device; and

(ii) obtain a second token using the at least one identifier, wherein the second access technique excludes obtaining the second identifier using the first identifier from the computing system over the wide area network; and

transmit, via the network interface, (i) second instructions to control the media playback system and (ii) the second token, wherein the media playback system grants the computing device the second type of access according to the second token.

2. The at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1 , wherein the program instructions that are executable by the at least one processor such that the computing device is configured to obtain the at least one identifier over the wireless local area network comprise program instructions that are executable by the at least one processor such that the computing device is configured to:

obtain the first identifier from the playback device over the wireless local area network.

3. The at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 2 , wherein the program instructions that are executable by the at least one processor such that the computing device is configured to obtain the at least one identifier over the wireless local area network comprise program instructions that are executable by the at least one processor such that the computing device is configured to:

obtain the second identifier from the playback device over the wireless local area network.

4. The at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1 , wherein the program instructions that are executable by the at least one processor such that the computing device is configured to obtain the second identifier using the first identifier from the computing system comprise program instructions that are executable by the at least one processor such that the computing device is configured to:

transmit, via the network interface over the wide area network, the first identifier to the computing system; and

receive, via the network interface over the wide area network, the second identifier.

5. The at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 4 , wherein the program instructions that are executable by the at least one processor such that the computing device is configured to obtain the first token using the second identifier comprise program instructions that are executable by the at least one processor such that the computing device is configured to:

transmit, via the network interface over the wide area network, the second identifier to the computing system; and

receive, via the network interface over the wide area network, the first token.

6. The at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1 , wherein the first type of access permits performance of a first set of operations on the media playback system, wherein the second type of access permits performance of a second set of operations on the media playback system, and wherein the at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium further comprises program instructions that are executable by the at least one processor such that the computing device is configured to:

receive a request for the media playback system to perform a particular operation from the second set of operations; and

cause the media playback system to perform the particular operation using the second token.

7. The at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 6 , wherein the second set of operations is a subset of the first set of operations.

8. The at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1 , wherein the program instructions that are executable by the at least one processor such that the computing device is configured to receive the first request to control the media playback system comprise program instructions that are executable by the at least one processor such that the computing device is configured to:

receive, via a graphical user interface, input data representing user credentials of a user account.

9. The at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 8 , wherein the program instructions that are executable by the at least one processor such that the computing device is configured to receive the second request to control the media playback system comprise program instructions that are executable by the at least one processor such that the computing device is configured to:

receive, via the graphical user interface, input data representing a request for access to the media playback system without user credentials.

10. The at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1 , wherein the first token expires after a first time period elapses, wherein the second token expires after a second time period elapses, and wherein the second time period is shorter than the first time period.

11. A method comprising:

receiving a first request to control a media playback system comprising a playback device, wherein the playback device is connected to a wireless local area network;

determining that the first request is for a first type of access to the media playback system;

obtaining the first type of access to the media playback system according to a first access technique, wherein obtaining the first type of access to the media playback system according to the first access technique comprises:

(i) obtaining a first identifier from the playback device over the wireless local area network;

(ii) obtaining a second identifier using the first identifier from a computing system comprising at least one server over a wide area network, and

(iii) obtaining a first token using the second identifier;

transmitting, via a network interface, (i) first instructions to control the media playback system and (ii) the first token, wherein the media playback system grants a computing device the first type of access according to the first token;

receiving a second request to control the media playback system;

determining that the second request is for a second type of access;

obtaining the second type of access to the media playback system according to a second access technique, wherein obtaining the second type of access to the media playback system according to the second access technique comprise:

(i) obtaining at least one identifier over the wireless local area network from the playback device; and

(ii) obtaining a second token using the at least one identifier, wherein the second access technique excludes obtaining the second identifier using the first identifier from the computing system over the wide area network; and

transmitting, via the network interface, (i) second instructions to control the media playback system and (ii) the second token, wherein the media playback system grants the computing device the second type of access according to the second token.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein obtaining the at least one identifier over the wireless local area network comprises:

obtaining the first identifier from the playback device over the wireless local area network.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein obtaining the at least one identifier over the wireless local area network comprises:

obtaining the second identifier from the playback device over the wireless local area network.

14. The method of claim 11 , wherein obtaining the second identifier using the first identifier from the computing system comprises:

transmitting, via the network interface over the wide area network, the first identifier to the computing system; and

receiving, via the network interface over the wide area network, the second identifier.

15. The method of claim 14 , wherein obtaining the first token using the second identifier comprises:

transmitting, via the network interface over the wide area network, the second identifier to the computing system; and

receiving, via the network interface over the wide area network, the first token.

16. The method of claim 11 , wherein the first type of access permits performance of a first set of operations on the media playback system, wherein the second type of access permits performance of a second set of operations on the media playback system, wherein the second set of operations is a subset of the first set of operations, and wherein the method further comprises:

receiving a request for the media playback system to perform a particular operation from the second set of operations; and

causing the media playback system to perform the operation using the second token.

17. The method of claim 11 , wherein receiving the first request to control the media playback system comprises:

receiving, via a graphical user interface, input data representing user credentials of a user account.

18. The method of claim 17 , wherein receiving the second request to control the media playback system comprises:

receiving, via the graphical user interface, input data representing a request for access to the media playback system without user credentials.

19. The method of claim 11 , wherein the first token expires after a first time period elapses, wherein the second token expires after a second time period elapses, and wherein the second time period is shorter than the first time period.

20. A computing device comprising:

a network interface;

at least one processor; and

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

receive a first request to control a media playback system comprising a playback device, wherein the playback device is connected to a wireless local area network;

determine that the first request is for a first type of access to the media playback system;

obtain the first type of access to the media playback system according to a first access technique, wherein the program instructions that are executable by the at least one processor such that the computing device is configured to obtain the first type of access to the media playback system according to the first access technique comprise program instructions that are executable by the at least one processor such that the computing device is configured to:

(i) obtain a first identifier from the playback device over the wireless local area network;

(ii) obtain a second identifier using the first identifier from a computing system comprising at least one server over a wide area network, and

(iii) obtain a first token using the second identifier;

transmit, via the network interface, (i) first instructions to control the media playback system and (ii) the first token, wherein the media playback system grants the computing device the first type of access according to the first token;

receive a second request to control the media playback system;

determine that the second request is for a second type of access;

obtain the second type of access to the media playback system according to a second access technique, wherein the program instructions that are executable by the at least one processor such that the computing device is configured to obtain the second type of access to the media playback system according to the second access technique comprise program instructions that are executable by the at least one processor such that the computing device is configured to:

(i) obtain at least one identifier over the wireless local area network from the playback device; and

(ii) obtain a second token using the at least one identifier, wherein the second access technique excludes obtaining the second identifier using the first identifier from the computing system over the wide area network; and

transmit, via the network interface, (i) second instructions to control the media playback system and (ii) the second token, wherein the media playback system grants the computing device the second type of access according to the second token.

Assignments (2)

Continuity (4)

References Cited (271)