Patents by Inventor Ted Lin

Ted Lin has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Publication number: 20260129381
    Abstract: A system comprises a plurality of playback devices. Each playback device comprises one or more processors; and one or more storage devices that comprise instruction code that is executable by at least one of the one or more processors. Instruction code executed by one or more processors of a particular primary playback device (PPD) causes the particular PPD to: receive state information from a particular secondary playback device (SPD). The state information specifies a state associated with at least one aspect of the particular SPD. After receiving a subscription from one or more other PPDs for the state of the particular aspect of the particular SPD, the particular PPD communicates the state information that specifies the state of the particular aspect of the particular SPD to the one or more other PPDs.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 29, 2023
    Publication date: May 7, 2026
    Inventors: Steven Beckhardt, Luis Vega-Zayas, Ted Lin, Jonathan Herbst
  • Patent number: 12602196
    Abstract: A first playback device is configured to (i) place audio frames representative of audio content in a buffer, each frame including respective playback timing information identifying a time to play back the audio frame, (ii) transmit the audio frames in the buffer to a second playback device, (iii) receive a command to adjust playback of the audio content, (iv) based on the command, identify a range of audio frames previously transmitted, (v) select a new start time for the range of audio frames, (vi) cause the second playback device to update the playback timing information for each audio frame in the range based on the new start time, (vii) update, in the buffer, the playback timing information for each audio frame in the range based on the new start time, and (viii) play back the audio content in synchrony with the second playback device based on the updated playback timing information.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 1, 2022
    Date of Patent: April 14, 2026
    Assignee: Sonos, Inc.
    Inventors: Luis Vega-Zayas, Ted Lin, Jim Dolan
  • Publication number: 20260075282
    Abstract: A first playback device is configured to obtain audio content from a cloud-based media service, the audio content encrypted according to a first encryption scheme. The first playback device is configured to communicate with a cloud-based license service to obtain information for decrypting the audio content and use the obtained information to decrypt the audio content. The first playback device is also configured to re-encrypt the decrypted audio content in accordance with a second encryption scheme and transmit the re-encrypted audio content to at least a second playback device that is grouped with the first playback device for synchronous audio playback. The first playback device is also configured to play back the audio content in synchrony with playback of the audio content by the second playback device.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 14, 2025
    Publication date: March 12, 2026
    Inventors: Won So, Ted Lin, Derek W. Erdmann
  • Publication number: 20260067535
    Abstract: An example first playback device is configured to: while the first playback device is in a synchrony group with a second playback device, play back a first version of audio content in synchrony with the second playback device; in response to identifying that a quality of a connection between the second playback device and a network device is below a threshold criterion, cause the second playback device to play back a second version of the audio content in synchrony with the first version of the audio content playing back by the first playback device; and in response to detecting a change in the quality of the connection between the second playback device and the network device such that the quality of the connection meets the threshold criterion, cause the second playback device to play back the first version of the audio content in synchrony with the first playback device.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 14, 2025
    Publication date: March 5, 2026
    Inventors: Brandon Wright, Ryan Edward Kitson, Won So, Ted Lin, Jeffrey M. Peters, Michael Sheldon
  • Publication number: 20260023523
    Abstract: Disclosed herein are playback devices, groups of playback devices, and methods of operating playback devices and groupings thereof to cause the playback devices in a group of playback devices communicating over a first network to play audio content received via second network.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 2, 2025
    Publication date: January 22, 2026
    Inventors: Cameron Ellison Korb, Nicholas Maniskas, Ted Lin, Meng Wang, Richard John Bannon
  • Patent number: 12506656
    Abstract: An example first playback device is configured to (i) determine that the first playback device has lost a connection to a first secure wireless network; (ii) transmit at least one message that indicates that the first playback device is available for setup; (iii) establish a first direct communication path with a computing device configured to operate on a second secure wireless network; (iv) receive, over the first direct communication path, network configuration parameters for connecting to the second secure wireless network; (v) establish a connection to the second secure wireless network; (vi) receive, from a second playback device, a message indicating that the second playback device has lost a second connection to the first secure wireless network; (vii) establish a second direct communication path with the second playback device; and (viii) transmit the network configuration parameters for connecting to the second secure wireless network to the second playback device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 26, 2024
    Date of Patent: December 23, 2025
    Assignee: Sonos, Inc.
    Inventors: William Shoesmith, Ted Lin, Jeffrey M. Peters, Cameron Scott, James Babu, Andi Rusu, Bryan Cox
  • Publication number: 20250265031
    Abstract: An example method includes receiving data indicating a configuration of one or more playback devices. The one or more playback devices may include one or more transducers. The method further includes, based on the received data, associating each of one or more audio streams respectively with at least one transducer of the one or more transducers. The method further includes generating the one or more audio streams and sending at least one of the generated one or more audio streams to each of the one or more playback devices. An example non-transitory computer readable medium and an example computing device related to the example method are also disclosed herein.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 17, 2025
    Publication date: August 21, 2025
    Inventors: Ted Lin, Romi Kadri
  • Patent number: 12395952
    Abstract: A control device of media playback system receives a user command to initiate playback of video content and associated audio content and transmits a BLUETOOTH message based on the command to a video playback device. The video playback device receives the BLUETOOTH message, obtains the media content via a local area network (LAN), and determines an indication of when to begin playback of the media content. The video playback device transmits the indication to an audio playback device via the LAN and outputs the video content in lip-synchrony with playback of the corresponding audio content by the audio playback device. While outputting the video content in lip-synchrony with playback of the corresponding audio content by the audio playback device, the video playback device transmits timing information via the LAN to the audio playback device to maintain lip-synchrony with playback of the corresponding audio content by the audio playback device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 2, 2022
    Date of Patent: August 19, 2025
    Assignee: Sonos, Inc.
    Inventors: Lee Keyser-Allen, Thomas Higdon, Luis Vega-Zayas, Ted Lin, Andrej Sarkic
  • Publication number: 20250251904
    Abstract: Examples described herein relate to transitioning a playback session between portable playback devices such as “smart” headphones, earbuds, and handheld speakers with playback devices of a zone-based media playback system. Exemplary techniques facilitate continuity of playback when transitioning between locations (e.g., from at home to on-the-go or vice versa) or between listening paradigms (e.g., personal or out-loud playback of audio content). An example implementation includes detecting a swap trigger, determining the source playback device(s) and target playback device(s), and performing a playback session swap between the source playback device(s) and target playback device(s).
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 16, 2025
    Publication date: August 7, 2025
    Inventors: Dayn Wilberding, Youjin Nam, Tadeo T. Toulis, Jonathan Cole Harris, Patrick Devine, Nicholas A.J. Millington, Jodi Vautrin, Maria-Jose Ramos, Richard Bannon, Michael Sheldon, Ted Lin, Ron Kuper, Kirsten Lewis, Jake Harwood, Jonathan Herbst, Daniel Jones, Henry Sia
  • Publication number: 20250240745
    Abstract: A control device of media playback system receives a user command to initiate playback of video content and associated audio content and transmits a BLUETOOTH message based on the command to a video playback device. The video playback device receives the BLUETOOTH message, obtains the media content via a local area network (LAN), and determines an indication of when to begin playback of the media content. The video playback device transmits the indication to an audio playback device via the LAN and outputs the video content in lip-synchrony with playback of the corresponding audio content by the audio playback device. While outputting the video content in lip-synchrony with playback of the corresponding audio content by the audio playback device, the video playback device transmits timing information via the LAN to the audio playback device to maintain lip-synchrony with playback of the corresponding audio content by the audio playback device.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 17, 2025
    Publication date: July 24, 2025
    Inventors: Lee Keyser-Allen, Thomas Higdon, Luis Vega-Zayas, Ted Lin, Andrej Sarkic
  • Publication number: 20250234144
    Abstract: Examples described herein relate to transitioning a playback session between portable playback devices such as “smart” headphones, earbuds, and handheld speakers with playback devices of a zone-based media playback system. Exemplary techniques facilitate continuity of playback when transitioning between locations (e.g., from at home to on-the-go or vice versa) or between listening paradigms (e.g., personal or out-loud playback of audio content). An example implementation includes detecting a swap trigger, determining the source playback device(s) and target playback device(s), and performing a playback session swap between the source playback device(s) and target playback device(s).
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 7, 2024
    Publication date: July 17, 2025
    Inventors: Dayn Wilberding, Youjin Nam, Tadeo T. Toulis, Jonathan Cole Harris, Patrick Devine, Nicholas A.J. Millington, Jodi Vautrin, Maria-Jose Ramos, Richard Bannon, Michael Sheldon, Ted Lin, Ron Kuper, Kirsten Lewis, Jake Harwood, Jonathan Herbst
  • Publication number: 20250211274
    Abstract: Examples described herein relate to management of concurrent audio streams from different sources. Portable playback devices, such as wearable wireless headphones and earbuds, as well as portable battery-powered speakers, may include multiple network interfaces for connection to different types of networks, such as an 802.11-compatible network interface for connection to wireless local area networks (e.g., Wi-Fi® networks) and an 802.15-compatible network interface for connection to a mobile device via a personal area network (Bluetooth®). Via such connections, the playback devices may receive two or more concurrent streams. By managing these streams according to playback policies, the portable playback devices may play the user's intended audio without necessarily requiring user input to explicitly select among the concurrent streams.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 4, 2024
    Publication date: June 26, 2025
    Inventors: Matt Pandina, Matthew Moore, Ted Lin, Chris Babroski, Robert Bermani
  • Patent number: 12321662
    Abstract: Disclosed herein are playback devices, groups of playback devices, and methods of operating playback devices and groupings thereof to cause the playback devices in a group of playback devices communicating over a first network to play audio content received via second network.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 9, 2020
    Date of Patent: June 3, 2025
    Assignee: Sonos, Inc.
    Inventors: Cameron Ellison Korb, Nicholas Maniskas, Ted Lin, Meng Wang, Richard John Bannon
  • Patent number: 12279013
    Abstract: An example first playback device is configured to: while the first playback device is in a synchrony group with a second playback device, play back a first version of audio content in synchrony with the second playback device; in response to identifying that a quality of a connection between the second playback device and a network device is below a threshold criterion, cause the second playback device to play back a second version of the audio content in synchrony with the first version of the audio content playing back by the first playback device; and in response to detecting a change in the quality of the connection between the second playback device and the network device such that the quality of the connection meets the threshold criterion, cause the second playback device to play back the first version of the audio content in synchrony with the first playback device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 10, 2022
    Date of Patent: April 15, 2025
    Assignee: Sonos, Inc.
    Inventors: Brandon Wright, Ryan Edward Kitson, Won So, Ted Lin, Jeffrey M. Peters, Michael Sheldon
  • Patent number: 12279008
    Abstract: A first playback device is configured to obtain audio content from a cloud-based media service, the audio content encrypted according to a first encryption scheme. The first playback device is configured to communicate with a cloud-based license service to obtain information for decrypting the audio content and use the obtained information to decrypt the audio content. The first playback device is also configured to re-encrypt the decrypted audio content in accordance with a second encryption scheme and transmit the re-encrypted audio content to at least a second playback device that is grouped with the first playback device for synchronous audio playback. The first playback device is also configured to play back the audio content in synchrony with playback of the audio content by the second playback device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 10, 2022
    Date of Patent: April 15, 2025
    Assignee: Sonos, Inc.
    Inventors: Won So, Ted Lin, Derek W. Erdmann
  • Patent number: 12271656
    Abstract: An example method includes receiving data indicating a configuration of one or more playback devices. The one or more playback devices may include one or more transducers. The method further includes, based on the received data, associating each of one or more audio streams respectively with at least one transducer of the one or more transducers. The method further includes generating the one or more audio streams and sending at least one of the generated one or more audio streams to each of the one or more playback devices. An example non-transitory computer readable medium and an example computing device related to the example method are also disclosed herein.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 2, 2023
    Date of Patent: April 8, 2025
    Assignee: Sonos, Inc.
    Inventors: Ted Lin, Romi Kadri
  • Publication number: 20250037714
    Abstract: A first network microphone device (NMD) is configured to receive, from a second NMD, a first arbitration message including (i) a first measure of confidence associated with a voice input detected by the second NMD and (ii) the voice input detected by the second NMD, and receive, from a third NMD, a second arbitration message including (i) a second measure of confidence associated with the voice input as detected by the third NMD and (ii) the voice input as detected by the third NMD. The first NMD is configured to determine that the second measure of confidence is greater than the first measure of confidence and based on the determination, perform voice recognition based on the voice input as detected by the third NMD, where the voice input includes a command to control audio playback by the first, second, and/or third NMD, and after performing voice recognition, executing the command.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 29, 2024
    Publication date: January 30, 2025
    Inventors: Steven Beckhardt, Ted Lin
  • Patent number: 12210797
    Abstract: Examples described herein relate to transitioning a playback session between portable playback devices such as “smart” headphones, earbuds, and handheld speakers with playback devices of a zone-based media playback system. Exemplary techniques facilitate continuity of playback when transitioning between locations (e.g., from at home to on-the-go or vice versa) or between listening paradigms (e.g., personal or out-loud playback of audio content). An example implementation includes detecting a swap trigger, determining the source playback device(s) and target playback device(s), and performing a playback session swap between the source playback device(s) and target playback device(s).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 23, 2021
    Date of Patent: January 28, 2025
    Assignee: Sonos, Inc.
    Inventors: Dayn Wilberding, Youjin Nam, Tadeo T. Toulis, Jonathan Cole Harris, Patrick Devine, Nicholas A. J. Millington, Jodi Vautrin, Maria-Jose Ramos, Richard Bannon, Michael Sheldon, Ted Lin, Ron Kuper, Kirsten Lewis, Jake Harwood, Jonathan Herbst, Daniel Jones, Henry Sia
  • Patent number: 12166518
    Abstract: Examples described herein relate to management of concurrent audio streams from different sources. Portable playback devices, such as wearable wireless headphones and earbuds, as well as portable battery-powered speakers, may include multiple network interfaces for connection to different types of networks, such as an 802.11-compatible network interface for connection to wireless local area networks (e.g., Wi-Fi® networks) and an 802.15-compatible network interface for connection to a mobile device via a personal area network (Bluetooth®). Via such connections, the playback devices may receive two or more concurrent streams. By managing these streams according to playback policies, the portable playback devices may play the user's intended audio without necessarily requiring user input to explicitly select among the concurrent streams.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 27, 2021
    Date of Patent: December 10, 2024
    Assignee: Sonos, Inc.
    Inventors: Matt Pandina, Matthew Moore, Ted Lin, Chris Babroski, Robert Bermani
  • Patent number: 12143788
    Abstract: Examples described herein relate to transitioning a playback session between portable playback devices such as “smart” headphones, earbuds, and handheld speakers with playback devices of a zone-based media playback system. Exemplary techniques facilitate continuity of playback when transitioning between locations (e.g., from at home to on-the-go or vice versa) or between listening paradigms (e.g., personal or out-loud playback of audio content). An example implementation includes detecting a swap trigger, determining the source playback device(s) and target playback device(s), and performing a playback session swap between the source playback device(s) and target playback device(s).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 12, 2023
    Date of Patent: November 12, 2024
    Assignee: Sonos, Inc.
    Inventors: Dayn Wilberding, Youjin Nam, Tadeo T. Toulis, Jonathan Cole Harris, Patrick Devine, Nicholas A. J. Millington, Jodi Vautrin, Maria-Jose Ramos, Richard Bannon, Michael Sheldon, Ted Lin, Ron Kuper, Kirsten Lewis, Jake Harwood, Jonathan Herbst