Voice command integration for local network connected devices

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12489678-B2
Application number	US-202418601491-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 11, 2024
Priority date	Aug 12, 2021
Publication date	Dec 2, 2025
Grant date	Dec 2, 2025

Abstract

Various arrangements for facilitating smart television content receivers in a local network are provided. In an example, a secondary television receiver creates voice data based on a spoken voice command by a user and transmits the voice data to a primary television receiver. In response, the primary television receiver transmits data based on the voice data to a voice processing server via the Internet and receives a command from the voice processing server generated based on the voice data.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A method, comprising:
creating voice data at a secondary television receiver based on a spoken voice command by a user; transmitting the voice data from the secondary television receiver to a primary television receiver; transmitting data based on the voice data via the Internet from the primary television receiver to a voice processing server; and receiving a command at the primary television receiver from the voice processing server, wherein the command is generated based on the voice data.

2 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
receiving audio of the spoken voice command at the secondary television receiver from a voice enabled remote control.

3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the primary television receiver includes a television frequency tuner configured to tune to one of a plurality of frequencies corresponding to a plurality of television channels, and the method further comprises:
tuning the television frequency tuner to a frequency associated with a television channel based on the command.

4 . The method of claim 3 , further comprising:
transmitting the command from the primary television receiver to the secondary television receiver; generating a tuning request based on the command, the tuning request including a request for the television frequency tuner to tune to the television channel; and transmitting the tuning request from the secondary television receiver to the primary television receiver, wherein the television frequency tuner is tuned to the television channel in response to receiving the tuning request.

5 . The method of claim 3 , further comprising:
transmitting a video stream from the primary television receiver to the secondary television receiver, the video stream being received by the television frequency tuner at a frequency associated with the television channel.

6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein:
the primary television receiver is connected to the secondary television receiver within a local area network separate from the Internet; and the secondary television receiver is connected to the Internet via only the primary television receiver.

7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein:
the primary television receiver executes a first operating system; and the secondary television receiver executes a second operating system that is different from the first operating system and comprises a voice command component, wherein the voice data is created by the voice command component.

8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein creating the voice data comprises:
converting audio of the spoken voice command received in a first format into audio data in a second format; and transmitting the audio data in the second format to a voice command component executed locally on the secondary television receiver.

9 . A smart television system comprising:
a primary television receiver, wherein the primary television receiver is configured to:
receive voice data;
transmit data based on the voice data to a voice processing server over a wide area network connection; and
receive a command from the voice processing server, wherein the command is generated based on the voice data; and
a secondary television receiver, wherein the secondary television receiver is configured to:
create the voice data based on a spoken voice command by a user;
transmit the voice data to the primary television receiver over a local area network connection separate from the wide area network connection for transmission to the voice processing server.

10 . The smart television system of claim 9 , further comprising a voice enable remote control, wherein:
the voice enabled remote control is configured to:
capture audio of the spoken voice command in response to receiving a voice comman initiation request; and
transmit the audio to the primary television receiver; and
the primary television receiver is further configured to:
receive the audio from the voice enabled remote control; and
transmit the audio to the secondary television receiver for creation of the voice data.

11 . The smart television system of claim 9 , further comprising a satellite antenna communicatively coupled to the primary television receiver, wherein:
the satellite antenna is configured to provide a plurality of television channel frequencies to a television frequency tuner of the primary television receiver; and the primary television receiver is further configured to:
tune the television frequency tuner to a television channel frequency of the plurality of television channel frequencies associated with a television channel based on the command.

12 . The smart television system of claim 11 , wherein:
the primary television receiver is further configured to:
transmit the command to the secondary television receiver;
receive a tuning request from the secondary television receiver, wherein the television frequency tuner is tuned to the television channel frequency in response to receiving the tuning request; and
transmit a video stream to the secondary television receiver, the video stream being received by the television frequency tuner from the satellite antenna at the television channel frequency; and
the secondary television receiver is further configured to:
receive the command from the primary television receiver;
generate the tuning request based on the command, the tuning request including a request for the television frequency tuner to tune to the television channel; and
transmit the tuning request to the primary television receiver.

13 . The smart television system of claim 9 , further comprising a television communicatively coupled to the secondary television receiver, wherein the secondary television receiver is configured to transmit digital data for display by the television.

14 . A non-transitory processor-readable medium, comprising processor-readable instructions configured to cause one or more processors to perform operations comprising:
creating voice data at a secondary television receiver based on a spoken voice command by a user; transmitting the voice data from the secondary television receiver to a primary television receiver; transmitting data based on the voice data via the Internet from the primary television receiver to a voice processing server; and receiving a command at the primary television receiver from the voice processing server, wherein the command is generated based on the voice data.

15 . The non-transitory processor-readable medium of claim 14 , wherein the operations further comprise:
receiving, from a voice enabled remote control at the secondary television receiver, a voice command initiation request; and initiating, by a voice command component in response to receiving the voice command initiation request, an audio data listener to receive audio of the spoken voice command from the voice enabled remote control.

16 . The non-transitory processor-readable medium of claim 4 , wherein:
the primary television receiver includes a television frequency tuner configured to tune to one of a plurality of frequencies corresponding to a plurality of television channels; and the operations further comprise tuning the television frequency tuner to a frequency associated with a television channel based on the command.

17 . The non-transitory processor-readable medium of claim 14 , wherein:
the primary television receiver is connected to the secondary television receiver within a local area network separate from the Internet; and the secondary television receiver

Assignees

• Dish Network Llc

Inventors

• Tiwari Anand
• Innes David

Classifications

• H04N21/818

  OS software · CPC title

• H04N21/6143

  involving transmission via a satellite · CPC title

• H04N21/6125

  involving transmission via Internet (transmission by internet of broadcast information H04H60/82) · CPC title

• H04N21/6118

  involving cable transmission, e.g. using a cable modem · CPC title

• H04N21/6106

  specially adapted to the downstream path of the transmission network · CPC title