Patents Portfolio

U.S. Patent: 11,029,903

Patent Title

Output systems, such as television controllers, televisions, display devices, or audio output devices, operable for playing digital content wirelessly received either from a digital content service over the internet or wirelessly received from a client device that is in the same network as the output system

Meta Information

Issued Date: June 08, 2021
Inventor: William Ho Chang et al
External Links: UPSTO, Google Patents

Technical Fields

Smart TV, Streaming Device, Projector

Abstract

Output systems (e.g., television controllers, audio output devices, display devices) for accessing digital content from a service provided by one or more servers over the Internet are herein disclosed and enabled. To receive and play the digital content, the output system may obtain authentication information for accessing the service, receive a list of digital content that are available from the service for selection at the output system, receive output data from the service related to the selected digital content, and then play either audio data or video data, which is related to the received output data, at an output device coupled to the output system. The output system may further implement a discovery operation for a client device (e.g., smart phone or information pad), which is in the same network as the output system, to wirelessly discover the output system for providing output service to the client device.

Sample Claim

1. A method for outputting, at an output system, digital data content received from one or more servers over the Internet, the digital data content includes audio content or video content, the one or more servers operating, at least partly, over the Internet, the output system includes one or more devices or one or more computing devices that communicate, at least in part, with the one or more servers, by transmitting one or more objects from the output system to the one or more servers, the one or more objects being data or software entities containing information, the one or more objects being further configured to be suitable for transmitting the information from the output system to the one or more servers, the output system including:

one or more processors;

one or more wireless communication units that include one or more chips or chipsets;

an interface for interacting with a user of the output system; and
a wired connection to at least an output device for outputting data content; and

wherein the method comprises:

(1) obtaining, by the output system, authentication information for accessing a service provided by the one or more servers, the service includes providing, by the one or more servers and to the output system, one or more digital content that is available at the one or more servers, for outputting at the output system, the authentication information being related to the output system or the user of the output system;

(2) wirelessly coupling, by the output system and using at least one chip or chipset of the one or more chips or chipsets of the output system, the output system to a wireless local area network, wherein the at least one chip or chipset of the output system is compatible, at least in part, with at least part of a protocol within IEEE 802.11 wireless standards for coupling the output system to the wireless local area network;

(3) wirelessly connecting the output system, by the output system, using the at least one chip or chipset of the output system, and over the wireless local area network wirelessly coupled in (2), to the one or more servers over the Internet;
(4) wirelessly sending, by the output system, using the at least one chip or chipset of the output system, and over the wireless local area network wirelessly coupled in (2), a job object, which includes the authentication information obtained by the output system in (1), from the output system to at least one server of the one or more servers over the Internet for accessing, by the output system, the service provided by the one or more servers, the job object being an object from among the one or more objects, and the job object being an object that is related to an output job;

(5) wirelessly accessing, by the output system, using the at least one chip or chipset of the output system, and over the wireless local area network wirelessly coupled in (2), the service provided by the one or more servers over the Internet, the wirelessly accessing of the service being based, at least in part, on the output system having wirelessly sent the job object to the at least one server of the one or more servers in (4);

(6) receiving, by the output system and via the interface of the output system, an indication of selected digital content from among the one or more digital content that are available at the one or more servers;

(7) wirelessly sending, by the output system and using the at least one chip or chipset of the output system, from the output system, over the wireless local area network wirelessly coupled in (2), a digital document object to at least one server of the one or more servers over the Internet, the digital document object includes at least a pointer or a reference to the digital content selected in (6), the digital document object being an object from among the one or more objects, and the document object being an object that is related to the digital content selected in (6);

(8) wirelessly receiving, by the output system, using the at least one chip or chipset of the output system and over the wireless local area network wirelessly coupled in (2), output data from at least one server of the one or more servers over the Internet, the wireless receiving of the output data being subsequent to the output system having wirelessly sent the digital document object in (7) to the at least one server of the one or more servers over the Internet, and at least part of the output data includes audio digital content or video digital content, individually or in any combination, which is related to the digital content selected in (6), and the receiving of the output data being subsequent to the output system having wirelessly sent the job object in (4) to the at least one server of the one or more servers over the Internet;

(9) processing, at the output system and using the one or more processors of the output system, at least part of the output data wirelessly received in (8) into audio output data or video output data for outputting or playing at least part of the digital content selected in (6) at the output system or at the at least an output device, the processing of the at least part of the output data includes one or more operations related to a decoding operation, an encoding operation, an encryption operation, a decryption operation, a compression operation, a decompression operation, a conversion operation, an image enhancement operation, an image processing operation, a color correction operation, a color management operation, an interpolation operation, a scaling operation, a smoothing operation, a segmentation operation, or a de-segmentation operation, individually or in any combination; and

(10) delivering, by the output system, via the wired connection, from the output system, and to the at least an output device wire connected to the output system, the audio output data or the video output data, the audio output data or the video output data is related to the output data wirelessly received from the one or more servers in (8) and that is processed from at least part of the output data in (9), and the audio output data or the video output data is for playing, at the output or at the at least an output device, at least part of the digital content selected in (6); and

wherein the method further comprises:

executing a wireless discovery operation, by the output system using the at least one chip or chipset of the output system, the execution of the wireless discovery operation is for a client device, which is in the same wireless local area network as the output system, to wirelessly discover, over the wireless local area network wirelessly coupled by the output system in (2), the output system for output service, the client device being a separate device from the output system and from the one or more servers; and

wirelessly receiving, by the output system, using the at least one chip or chipset of the output system that is compatible, at least in part, with at least part of a protocol within IEEE 802.11 wireless standards, from the client device that has wirelessly discovered the output system, and over the wireless local area network wirelessly coupled by the output system in (2), audio or video digital content that includes audio data or video data for playing at the output system or at the at least an output device.