Patents Portfolio

U.S. Patent: 9,836,259

Patent Title

Televisions, output controllers, or speakers that are setup to wirelessly connect to a network and to receive digital content from a digital content service over the network

Meta Information

Issued Date: December 5, 2017
Inventor: William Ho Chang et al
External Links: UPSTO, Google Patents

Technical Fields

Smart TV, Smart Speaker / Earbuds / Headphones, Smart Watch, Streaming Device, Projector

Abstract

Output devices or systems, such as televisions, speakers, projectors, or output controllers, are herein disclosed and enabled for receiving digital content from a digital content service operated, at least partly, over the Internet. The disclosed output device includes wireless communication circuitry and an interface. To set up the output device for receiving and playing digital content, the output device first receives, via the interface, security information, then establishes a wireless local area network connection employing the received security information. Subsequent to having established the wireless local area network connection and using the wireless communication circuitry, the output device connects to a server over a network for downloading and installing software applications or software components for upgrading or modifying the capabilities of the output device. Thereafter, the output device is setup for receiving the digital content from the digital content service using the downloaded and installed software components.

Sample Claim

1. A wireless output device for connecting to a wireless local area network and for receiving digital content from a digital content service operated, at least partly, over the Internet, the wireless output device for outputting video digital content or audio digital content, and the wireless output device is at least one of a television, a wireless output controller wire connectable to a television, a projector, or a speaker, individually or in any combination, the wireless output device includes:

an interface for interacting with a user;

operating system software to facilitate download and installation of application software or software components at the wireless output device;
one or more processors for executing software that includes at least part of the operating system software; and

one or more wireless communication units for wireless communication, at least one wireless communication unit of the one or more wireless communication units is for establishing a wireless local area network connection, and the wireless output device is operable for:

(i) receiving, using the interface of the wireless output device, security information for the wireless output device to establish a wireless local area network connection, and the security information includes one or more of a name, a password, an ID number, a PIN, an IP address, or a security key, individually or in any combination;

(ii) establishing, using the at least one wireless communication unit, the wireless local area network connection employing, at least in part, the security information received using the interface in (i);

(iii) downloading, using the at least one wireless communication unit and subsequent to having established the wireless local area network connection in (ii), application software or software components from one or more servers or host computers over a network, the application software or software components for upgrading, updating, adding, or modifying features and capabilities of the wireless output device;

(iv) installing, at the wireless output device, the application software or software components downloaded in (iii), the installing of the application software or software components being facilitated, at least in part, by the operating system software included in the wireless output device;

(v) receiving, using the one or more wireless communication units and facilitated, at least in part, by the application software or software components installed in (iv), digital content from one or more application servers or content servers operated, at least partly, over the Internet by the digital content service, the received digital content includes audio digital content or video digital content, individually or in any combination; and

(vi) processing, at the wireless output device, at least part of the digital content received in (v) for outputting or playing at the wireless output device, the processing includes at least one of a color operation, an image processing operation, a scaling operation, a resolution operation, an interpolation operation, a decoding operation, or an encoding operation, individually or in any combination, on at least part of the digital content received in (v).