Patents Portfolio
U.S. Patent: 10,489,096
Patent Title
Information apparatus and application for receiving digital content from a digital content service over the internet and for playing at least part of the received digital content at an output device
Meta Information
Issued Date: Nov. 26, 2019
Inventor: William Ho Chang et al
External Links: UPSTO, Google Patents
Technical Fields
Smart Phone / Tablet, Smart Speaker / Earbuds / Headphones, Smart Watch, Streaming Device, Laptop
Abstract
Information apparatus (e.g., smart phone, Internet appliances, information pad, display devices) with software applications for receiving digital content from a service provided over a network (e.g., Internet) and for wirelessly playing at least part of the received digital content at a wireless output device (e.g., a Bluetooth enabled device) are herein disclosed and enabled. To receive and play the digital content, the software applications may obtain authentication information for accessing the service, receive a list of one or more digital content that is available from the service for selection on a touch sensitive screen, receive selected digital content from the list displayed on the touch sensitive screen, receive output data from the service related to the selected digital content, and then either play audio data related to the received output data at a speaker of the information apparatus or wirelessly play the audio data at the wireless output device.
Sample Claim
1. An information apparatus for receiving output data, related to digital content, from one or more servers over a network and for wirelessly playing at least part of the digital content at a wireless output device, the wireless output device being a distinct and separate device from the information apparatus and from the one or more servers, and the one or more servers providing, at least in part, a service over the network, the information apparatus comprising:
one or more processors;
operating system software;
memory or storage;
a touch sensitive screen interface for interacting with a user;
one or more software applications stored, at least partly, in the memory or the storage, and the one or more software applications are executable by the one or more processors and facilitated, at least in part, by the operating system software for accessing the service over the network;
wireless communication circuitry, which includes one or more wireless communication units, for establishing a wireless communication link with the wireless output device, the wireless communication link being a short range wireless communication link or a wireless local area network communication link; and
one or more wireless communication chips or chipsets for wirelessly accessing the network that includes the Internet;
wherein the information apparatus:
(1) wirelessly couples, using the one or more wireless communication chips or chipsets, to the network that includes the Internet;
(2) wirelessly provides, via the one or more wireless communication chips or chipsets and to the one or more servers, authentication information for accessing the service provided, at least in part, by the one or more servers over the network coupled in (1);
(3) wirelessly connects, using the one or more wireless communication chips or chipsets, to the one or more servers, over the network, for wirelessly accessing the service provided by the one or more servers, the wireless access of the service is based, at least in part, on the information apparatus having wirelessly provided the authentication information in (2) for wirelessly accessing the service;
(4) displays, via the touch sensitive screen interface and using the one or more software applications, a list of one or more digital content, that is available from the service wirelessly accessed in (3), for user selection on the touch sensitive screen interface;
(5) receives, via the touch sensitive screen interface and using the one or more software applications, as indication of a selected digital content from among the list of one or more digital content displayed on the touch sensitive screen interface for the user selection in (4);
(6) wirelessly receives, using the one or more wireless communication chips or chipsets and using the one or more software applications, output data related to the digital content selected in (5) from the one or more servers over the network, at least part of the output data includes audio digital content or video digital content, individually or in any combination;
(7) wirelessly discovers, via the wireless communication circuitry, the wireless output device that is available for service over the wireless communication link; and
(8) wirelessly transmits, via the wireless communication circuitry and over the wireless communication link, from the information apparatus to the wireless output device that is wirelessly discovered in (7), audio data or video data related to the output data wirelessly received in (6), the audio data or the video data is for playing, at the wireless output device, at least part of the digital content selected in (5).