Linking devices

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10455277-B2
Application number	US-201615553856-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 26, 2016
Priority date	Feb 26, 2015
Publication date	Oct 22, 2019
Grant date	Oct 22, 2019

Abstract

There is disclosed a method of establishing a communication link between first and second devices, the method comprising: receiving a link request from a first device with a first unique identifier; allocating a media content from multiple media content to the first unique identifier; sending the media content to the first device; receiving a media identifier from a second device with a second unique identifier; comparing the media identifier and the media content, and in dependence on identifying a match, transmitting the first unique identifier to the second device and the second unique identifier to the first device, whereby the first and second device can establish a communication link based on the exchanged first and second unique identifiers.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method, implemented at a computer device, of establishing a communication link between a first device and a second device, the method comprising:
storing, at the computer device, a plurality of media segments;
marking, at the computer device, any of the plurality of media segments which have been allocated;
receiving from the first device, at the computer device, a message including a link request and a unique identifier of the first device;
selecting, at the computer device, an unallocated media segment;
allocating, at the computer device, the selected unallocated media segment to the unique identifier of the first device;
marking, at the computer device, the selected unallocated media segment as allocated to the unique identifier of the first device;
sending, from the computer device, the marked selected media segment to the first device;
receiving from the second device, at the computer device, a message including a media identifier and a unique identifier of the second device;
identifying, at the computer device, a media segment associated with the media identifier;
comparing, at the computer device, the media segment associated with the media identifier and the stored plurality of media segments;
identifying, at the computer device, a match between the media segment associated with the media identifier and the stored plurality of media segments;
retrieving the unique identifier of the first device, associated with the retrieved media segment;
transmitting, from the computer device, the unique identifier of the first device corresponding to that match to the second device; and
transmitting, from the computer device, the unique identifier of the second device to the first device, whereby a communication link is established between the first and second devices based on the exchanged unique identifiers.

2. A method according to claim 1 , wherein the step of allocating the selected unallocated media segment comprises selecting the selected unallocated media segment from multiple unallocated media content held in an electronic storage.

3. A method according to claim 1 , further comprising the step of returning the selected unallocated media segment to a store of unallocated media content after it has been used in identifying the match.

4. A method according to claim 1 , wherein the selected unallocated media segment is one of an audio content and a piece of video content.

5. A method according to claim 4 , wherein the audio content is an audio track associated with a video clip.

6. A method according to claim 1 , carried out at a server in communication with the first and the second devices via a communication system.

7. A method according to claim 1 , further comprising the step of establishing a persistent connection to the first device after receiving the link request, wherein the step of transmitting the unique identifier of the second device to the first device takes place over the persistent connection.

8. A method according to claim 1 , wherein one or both of the unique identifiers are device identifiers, and wherein one or both of the unique identifiers includes an authentication token issued by one of the first and the second devices.

9. A method according to claim 1 , wherein the selected unallocated media segment includes audio data which, when played out by the first device, generates an audible signal.

10. A method according to claim 1 , wherein the selected unallocated media segment includes one of an audio watermark and a video watermark which, when played out by the first device, is detectable by the second device.

11. A method according to claim 1 , wherein the selected unallocated media segment includes video data which, when played out by the first device, generates a visible signal.

12. A computer device for establishing a communication link between a first device and a second device, the computer device comprising:
electronic storage holding multiple media content; and
a processor arranged to execute a computer program which, when executed, carries out the steps of claim 1 .

13. A method, at a first device, of establishing a communication link with a second device, the method comprising:
issuing a link request from the first device to a computer device, the link request comprising a unique identifier of the first device;
receiving, at the first device from the computer device, information identifying a media segment, wherein the media segment is selected at the computer device as an unallocated media segment and then allocated and marked at the computer device to the unique identifier of the first device;
accessing and playing out, at the first device, the media segment in a vicinity of the second device, wherein the second device transmits to the computer device a message including the media segment and a unique identifier of the second device, wherein the computer device compares the media segment to a stored plurality of media segments, to retrieve the unique identifier of the first device which is allocated to the media segment;
receiving, at the first device from the computer device, a second unique identifier associated with the second device; and
enabling the communication link between the first device and the second device using the second unique identifier received at the first device.

14. A method according to claim 13 , wherein the information identifying the media segment is a uniform locator to identify and access the media content.

15. A computer device including a processor arranged to execute a computer program which, when executed, carries out the steps of claim 13 .

16. A method of establishing a communication link between a first device and a second device, the method carried out at the second device and comprising:
detecting, at the second device, a media segment played out by the first device when in a vicinity of the second device, wherein the media segment is selected at a computer device as an unallocated media segment, allocated and marked at the computer device to the unique identifier of the first device, and then transmitted from the computer device to the first device;
transmitting, from the second device to the computer device, a message including the detected media segment and a unique identifier of the second device, wherein the computer device compares the media segment to a stored plurality of media segments, to retrieve a unique identifier of the first device which is allocated to the media segment;
receiving, at the second device from the computer device, the unique identifier of the first device; and
enabling the communication link between the second device and the first device using the first unique identifier received at the second device.

17. A method according to claim 16 , wherein the step of detecting the media segment comprises detecting a watermark in a media clip.

18. A method according to claim 16 , wherein the media segment is one of an audio segment and a video segment.

19. A method according to claim 18 , wherein the step of detecting the audio segment includes detecting an audible signal using a microphone, and wherein the step of detecting the video segment includes detecting a visual signal using a camera.

20. A computer device including a processor arranged to execute a computer program which, when executed, carries out the steps of claim 16 .

Assignees

• Piksel Inc

Inventors

• Shaw Philip

Classifications

• H04N21/4394

  involving operations for analysing the audio stream, e.g. detecting features or characteristics in audio streams (arrangements characterised by components specially adapted for monitoring, identification or recognition of audio in broadcast systems H04H60/58) · CPC title

• G06F21/445

  by mutual authentication, e.g. between devices or programs · CPC title

• H04L12/2825 Primary

  Reporting to a device located outside the home and the home network (access arrangements H04L12/2856; for remote control or remote monitoring of applications H04L67/025; telephonic communication systems adapted for combination with telemetering systems H04M11/002) · CPC title

• H04N21/43615 Primary

  Interfacing a Home Network, e.g. for connecting the client to a plurality of peripherals (home Audio Video Interoperability [HAVI] data switching networks H04L12/2805) · CPC title

• G10L19/018

  Audio watermarking, i.e. embedding inaudible data in the audio signal · CPC title