WO2016023168A1

WO2016023168A1 - Methods and apparatus for using audio to configure wireless network settings of a networked media player

Info

Publication number: WO2016023168A1
Application number: PCT/CN2014/084201
Authority: WO
Inventors: Shaopeng SONG; Shengbo HUANG; Jingtian YANG; Lijie HAN
Original assignee: Shenzhen Sugr Technology Limited Company
Priority date: 2014-08-12
Filing date: 2014-08-12
Publication date: 2016-02-18

Abstract

A Wi-Fi audio player apparatus including a processor and a sound sensor operatively coupled to the processor. The sound sensor is configured to receive a sound signal including Wi-Fi SSID and Wi-Fi password information. A sound decoder is operatively coupled to the processor and configured to receive the sound signal from the sound sensor, determine sound transitions in the sound signal, and decode the sound signal based upon the sound transitions to obtain the Wi-Fi SSID and the Wi-Fi password information. A Wi-Fi module operatively coupled to the processor is configured to download or transfer audio data to or from an external network server or a smart device (for example smart phone, tablets, and/or the like).

Description

METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR USING AUDIO TO CONFIGURE WIRELESS NETWORK SETTINGS OF A NETWORKED MEDIA PLAYER

Field

The present disclosure is directed to audio/video playback, and, more particularly, to methods and apparatus for configuring wireless network settings of, and otherwise controlling, a networked audio player.

Background Conventional audio players often play offline audio files, and require manual downloading of audio files to the player's storage devices. Some conventional audio players can connect to network and send audio content from mobile devices (like iPhone or Android phones) to the player, but the setup steps for entering in a Wi-Fi SSID and/or password can be complex, thereby causing inconvenience to the user. Some Wi-Fi audio players can work as smart phone remote speakers, but when the smart phone turns off, goes to sleep, and/or the like, the Wi-Fi audio player loses access to the audio it is playing.

Summary Described herein is a Wi-Fi audio player which can automatically receive Wi-Fi SSID

(e.g., wireless network identifier and/or name) and password sent from an application on a mobile device (e.g., an intelligent terminal and/or smart device such as such as a smartphone, tablet, and/or the like) via a sound clip received through a microphone or other sensors on the Wi-Fi audio player. After automatically configuring Wi-Fi settings based on the received sound clip, the Wi-Fi audio player may automatically play music on the Internet, allowing for flexibility to meet the different needs of users.

In some implementations, a Wi-Fi audio player apparatus may include a processor, a sound sensor operatively coupled to the processor and configured to receive a sound signal including Wi-Fi SSID and Wi-Fi password information, and a sound decoder operatively coupled to the processor and configured to receive the sound signal from the sound sensor, determine sound transitions in the sound signal, and decode the sound signal based upon the sound transitions to obtain the Wi-Fi SSID and the Wi-Fi password information. The Wi-Fi audio player apparatus may further include a Wi-Fi module operatively coupled to the processor, the Wi-Fi module being configured to transmit the Wi-Fi SSID and the Wi-Fi password information.

The Wi-Fi audio player may include a processor, a Wi-Fi module that is utilized by the processor to download the audio data or files from an indicated address at an external network or server, a storage module (such as memory and/or disk storage, and/or the like) that can store the audio data or files downloaded by Wi-Fi module, and a sound sensor that can receive Wi-Fi SSID and password information from an application which is installed on a user's mobile device and configured to send a sound containing information encoding the Wi-Fi SSID and password.

In some implementations, the sound sensor is microphone, and the processor is operatively coupled to the microphone through an ADC interface or built-in ADC, and via a digital interface. In some implementations, the processor and the Wi-Fi module may be integrated on the same master chip.

The Wi-Fi audio player may further comprise a speaker used for playing sound, wherein the speaker and the processor may be electrically connected by DAC. The Wi-Fi audio player may also include a 3.5mm audio port used to output sound signal, or an S/PDIF optical output port. The Wi-Fi module may be operatively coupled to the processor and storage module via a serial, USB, and/or SDIO interface. The Wi-Fi audio player may further comprise an audio codec which may be used to translate received audio data from analog to digital or from digital to analog formats. The audio codec may be operatively coupled to the processor or may be built into the processor; in some implementations the audio codec is operatively coupled to the microphone through an ADC interface. The Wi-Fi audio player may include housing, and the processor, speaker, microphone, storage module and Wi-Fi modules may be disposed within the housing. The housing may include sound holes for receiving sound, e.g., at the side of the microphone. The Wi-Fi audio player may also comprise a power supply circuit configured to provide power for the elements inside the Wi-Fi audio player. In some implementations, the processor stores the Wi-Fi SSID and password to the storage module and/or to a memory module such that the Wi-Fi audio player can automatically reestablish wireless connections without repeated user Wi-Fi SSID and password input. The audio player may also comprise a battery as power source, or may be powered by external DC power source.

In another aspect, disclosed herein is a networked audio player apparatus which includes a processor arrangement and a sound sensor operatively coupled to the processor arrangement. The sound sensor is configured to receive an acoustic signal encoded with network access information. The processor arrangement is configured to decode the acoustic signal in order to recover the network access information. A communications module of the networked audio player apparatus is operative to transmit the network access information and to receive player control messages and media information retrieved in response to the player control messages. The networked audio player apparatus further includes a memory, coupled to the processor arrangement, in which is stored the media information. An audio speaker is operative to render audio signals corresponding to the media information.

The communications module of the networked audio player apparatus transmits the network access information as part of a process of accessing a wireless network wherein the communications module is further configured to download an audio data file from an external source via the wireless network. The processor arrangement is configured to store the audio data file within the memory.

In another aspect disclosed herein is a method which includes receiving, from a mobile device, an acoustic signal encoded with network access information. The method further includes decoding the acoustic signal in order to recover the network access information and transmitting the network access information over a network. The method also includes receiving, from over the network, a media selection signal generated by the mobile device wherein the media selection signal includes information identifying one or media items. A request message including the information identifying the one or more media items may be transmitted over the network and the one or more media items may then be received over the network.

The present disclosure describes a Wi-Fi audio player, wherein the audio player includes a microphone configured to receive Wi-Fi SSID and password information from a mobile device application configured to transmit sound signals to the Wi-Fi audio player. Using a mobile device, the Wi-Fi audio player may be configured to automatically synchronize audio files specified by users from a network server (such as saved songs in Spotify) and/or a local device connected to the Wi-Fi audio player via a Wi-Fi and/or Bluetooth connection, allowing the audio files to be playable offline by storing them locally on the Wi-Fi audio device. In some implementations, the user may not be able to remove the memory in order to copy the locally-stored audio files, and/or may not be able to access the internal memory of the Wi-Fi audio player in order to access and/or copy the locally-stored audio files. Using the Wi-Fi audio player, a user may therefore not have to manually copy the audio files to the Wi-Fi audio player or to worry about losing a connection to a music stream, and may be able to avoid the complex Wi-Fi SSID and password configuration process. Brief Description of the Drawings

Figure 1 is a logic flow diagram representative of an exemplary process for obtaining audio data for a Wi-Fi audio player.

Figure 2 is a block diagram describing components of an exemplary Wi-Fi audio player present.

Figure 3 is a logic flow diagram representative of an exemplary process for playing audio data for the Wi-Fi audio player.

Figure 4 is a schematic diagram describing a process for encoding and decoding Wi-Fi SSID and password data in some embodiments. Figure 5 is a logic flow diagram describing a process for encoding and decoding Wi-Fi SSID and password data in some embodiments.

Detailed Description of the Drawings

Attention is directed to Figure 2„ which is a block diagram describing components of a

Wi-Fi audio player present in some embodiments. As illustrated in Figure 2, a Wi-Fi audio player includes a Wi-Fi module 204 configured to communicate with a network access point, gateway or router via Wi-Fi or other wireless communication protocol.

The Wi-Fi audio player may include a processor module 201 operatively coupled to the Wi-Fi module 204, storage module 210, microphone 206 and the audio codec 208. In some implementations, processor 202 may be a high-performance ARM or MIPS processor, and/or may be microcontroller and/or a like processing device. The storage module 210 may comprise a memory module, which may be Flash memory configured on a memory card or memory chips, and/or other forms of memory (e.g., RAM memory and/or the like).

In some implementations the processor 202 is operatively coupled to the Wi-Fi module

204 and storage module 210 through the serial port, SDIO, USB interface and/or a like interface. Sound encoding and decoding software may run in processor 202 to communicate with and process sound data received from the mobile device.

In some implementations Wi-Fi module 204 may comprise Microchip's low-power Wi-Fi modules RN171 series, which may include an antenna, and/or may comprise Realtech's 81xx series Wi-Fi chips. The processor 202 may use Wi-Fi module 204 to access Internet resources, download audio data or files, and store the downloaded audio data and/or files in the storage module 210. In some implementations, the processor 202 and the Wi-Fi module 204 may be integrated into the same master chip.

The audio codec 208 may be operatively coupled to the processor 202, and the audio codec 208 may receive audio data via a connection to the microphone 206. The audio codec may be a separate chip, and may also be integrated in the processor 202. In some implementations processor 202 may be electrically connected to the microphone 206 by ADC via an ADC interface or a built-in ADC.

During operation, the Wi-Fi audio player may be configured and controlled by a mobile device such as a smart phone, tablet or other intelligent terminal or smart device in the manner described hereinafter. Users may be able to operate the mobile device application in order to perform a variety of actions such as, for example, the control operation described below with reference to Figure 1. The mobile device may run an application installed on the mobile device, wherein the application is configured to play sound signals through the speakers of the mobile device. In some implementations the sound includes Wi-Fi SSID and/or password information that the Wi-Fi audio player can receive through its sound sensor (e.g., a microphone and/or like sound sensor). With the Wi-Fi SSID and password information provided, the Wi-Fi audio player can establish a connection to an external server via an access point, router or gateway in communication with the Wi-Fi module 204. In some implementations, a connection may be established via, e.g., an HTTP(s) POST message and/or a set of HTTP(s) POST messages. After initializing the application on the mobile device, the user can utilize the application to perform tasks with the Wi-Fi audio player, e.g., to request the Wi-Fi audio player to download audio data or files from the external network server, to request the Wi-Fi audio player to play, pause, skip, and/or raise and lower the volume of the audio data retrieved from the external network server, to change settings on the Wi-Fi audio player (e.g., to set the internal clock of the Wi-Fi audio player, and/or the like) and/or to determine the status of the Wi-Fi audio player (e.g., to determine the Wi-Fi audio player's Wi-Fi signal strength, to determine what action the Wi-Fi audio player is currently performing, to determine which audio file the Wi-Fi audio player is playing, and/or the like). In some implementations the application on the mobile device may communicate with the Wi-Fi audio player via UPnP protocol, and/or any like protocol.

In some implementations, the Wi-Fi audio player may use a coding mechanism (e.g., Manchester coding, and/or the like) to determine the SSID and/or password information encoded in the sound signals. For example, the Wi-Fi SSID and/or password, before being transmitted to the Wi-Fi audio device, may be converted into binary codes, e.g., using ASCII coding and/or the like. A sound may be generated via using the binary codes to generate a tone with a pre-determined sample rate (e.g., 8 kHz, 10 kHz, 16 kHz, and/or a like sample rate), such that transitions in the sound correspond to the binary codes of the Wi-Fi SSID and/or password. For example, using Manchester coding mechanism, a 0-1 transition in a sound may correspond to a digital 0 and a 1-0 transition may correspond to a digital 1 ; thus, a binary code of 01110 may generate a sound with a transition sequence similar to the following: 0-1, 1-0, 1- 0, 1-0, 0-1. In some implementations, a continuous stream of '0' values (e.g., at least 10 '0' vales, and/or a like amount) may indicate an IDLE status (e.g., that there is no communication currently taking place), and an initial 0-1 transition may indicate the start of communication. In some implementations, an exemplary binary value within an SSID and/or password value may be transmitted via a sequence similar to the following: 0000000000 ,0-1, 0-1, 0-1, 0-1, 0-1, 1-0, 1-0, 1-0, 0-1 (wherein the exemplary encoded binary value is 00001110). In some implementations, each binary value may comprise 8 bits, and may each be transmitted via separate communications.

In some implementations, the Wi-Fi audio device may use a packet start code (e.g., OxAAAA) to denote the start of a packet of data corresponding to an SSID and/or password value, and/or to determine when an SSID value begins and when a password value begins. In some implementations each data packet and/or value may be tailed by a packet and/or data size, the packet and/or data size also being available, in some implementations, in a header for the data packet and/or value. In some implementations, an exemplary audio communication packet format may take a form similar to the following:

PrefixO-3 BYTE0 BYTE1 BYTE2 BYTEx BYTEn (n=Size+4, Size = 0-255) OxAAAAAAAA CMD Token Size Payload CRC (max Payload 255byte, TBD)

And an example packet may take a form similar to the following:

broadcast CMD: 01 Token 0 CRC : TBD Size:0 Payloadrnull The Wi-Fi audio player may receive a sound signal with the above transition sequence, and/or may receive the sound through its microphone, and may translate each transition into a binary value which may then be utilized as the Wi-Fi SSID and/or password.

In some implementations, the mobile device application may play sound comporting to a specific frequency or a group of specific frequencies that contain Wi-Fi SSID and password information. The microphone 206 in the Wi-Fi audio player may receive the sound played back by the mobile device application, and the processor 202 may decode the Wi-Fi SSID and password information encoded in the sound generated by the application (e.g., see FIGURES 4 and 5). The processor 202 may then utilize the Wi-Fi module 204 to communicate, via an access point, gateway, router or the like, with an external network server in order to access and store data or audio files in the storage module 210.

Referring now to Figure 1, there is provided a logic flow diagram describing an exemplary process for obtaining audio data for a Wi-Fi audio player under the control of a mobile device. For example, user interaction may prompt the application executing on the mobile device to send download commands containing URL(s) 100 for the audio data or file(s) selected by the user for downloading to the Wi-Fi audio player through a Wi-Fi and/or Bluetooth connection enabled by the Wi-Fi module 204. The processor 202 may receive the URL(s) 102 and may then utilize Wi-Fi module 204 to download the audio data or file from the indicated URL and store it in the storage module 210. In some implementations, when the Wi- Fi module 204 sends the URL(s) to the external network server, referring back to FIGURE 1, the external network server may use the URL(s) to process the Wi-Fi audio player request 104, and may send the audio data 106 back to the Wi-Fi audio player after processing the URL(s.) The Wi-Fi audio player may store the audio data 108 in the storage module 210, and may allow the user to play the audio data offline 110.

In some implementations, the user also may send music service account information from the mobile device application to the Wi-Fi audio player (for example, an account name and password for an online streaming service such as Spotify), and the Wi-Fi audio player may automatically play a user playlist or collection of favorite songs obtained from the music service server.

For example, in some implementations, the Wi-Fi audio player may send an HTTP(s) POST message to an external network server at the indicated URL; in some implementations, the POST message may contain the user's account information. The external network server may send a response message which may indicate that the Wi-Fi audio player has successfully connected to the user's account. The Wi-Fi audio player may also send HTTP(s) POST messages to the external network server indicating channels, playlists, and/or audio files to retrieve from the user's account on the external network server. In some implementations the messages may include the names of the channel file, playlist file, and/or audio file, may include an identification number for the file being retrieved, and/or the like. In some implementations the external network server may return the file, as well as links to album covers, direct links to the audio file and/or to the audio files in the playlist file and/or the channel file, and/or the like. In some implementations, the mobile device application may use an API to interact with external network servers on the Wi-Fi audio player's behalf.

The Wi-Fi audio player may synchronize all the audio files from the address indicated by user to storage module 210, e.g., when the Wi-Fi network and/or Bluetooth signal is available, such that when the Wi-Fi audio player loses its wireless connection, all of the music may still be played in an offline mode, without any manual transfer of data and/or any such operations.

The audio decoder 208 may be used for decoding the audio data output from the microphone 206, and/or to decode the audio downloaded to the Wi-Fi audio player, received from the mobile device application, and/or the like. In one exemplary implementation, the Wi- Fi audio player may use a speaker to play sound, the speaker being operatively connected to the processor through DAC. In another exemplary implementation, the Wi-Fi audio player may utilize a 3.5mm audio port, S/PDIF optical or coaxial output port, and/or a like port, to output audio signals to external devices, e.g., speakers, headphones, and/or the like.

The Wi-Fi audio player may include a housing 200 which encases the processor 202, microphone 206, memory 210, and Wi-Fi module 204. Further, the Wi-Fi audio player may also include a power circuit for providing power to every component in the Wi-Fi audio player. In some implementations, in lieu of a battery, an audio player may obtain power externally, e.g., via an AC adapter and/or like power adapter. The housing may also include sound holes 212 for receiving sound, e.g., at the side of the microphone.

In some implementations, the Wi-Fi SSID and password information contained in the sound provided to the Wi-Fi audio player may be sent to the Wi-Fi audio player during the initialization of the mobile device with the Wi-Fi audio player; the Wi-Fi audio player may receive the Wi-Fi SSID and password during this process, and may then store the information in the storage module 210. After initialization by the mobile device, the Wi-Fi audio player may automatically connect to the Internet and access music services to play music without the need to re-enter the wireless settings.

Attention is now directed to FIGURE 4, which illustrates an exemplary process for encoding and decoding Wi-Fi SSID and password information. For example, in some implementations the user may utilize a mobile device 410 running application software which can transmit information to the Wi-Fi audio player 412 via an encoded sound signal. In some implementations the user may provide a Wi-Fi SSID (e.g., 400) and a Wi-Fi password to the mobile device via such encoded sound signals. The mobile device may translate the SSID and password into a series of ASCII values 402, which may further be translated into binary values 404 corresponding to the ASCII value of each character in the SSID and/or password. The mobile device may encode the SSID and/or password by using the binary value for each character to generate an encoded sound signal with particular transitions 406 and 408 describing the binary value of the character. For example, 0-1 transitions 406 may correspond to a value of '0' 414, 1-0 transitions 408 may correspond to a value of T 416, and/or the like. In some implementations, the Wi-Fi audio player may receive the sound signal from the mobile device 410, decode the sound signal to obtain a series of binary values, and may translate each back into its corresponding ASCII value and corresponding character 418, such that the Wi-Fi audio player can determine the SSID and password values to use to connect to the wireless network. FIGURE 5 is a flowchart depicting an exemplary process for encoding and decoding Wi- Fi SSID and password information. For example, in some implementations the user may utilize a mobile device running application software which can communicate with the Wi-Fi audio player. The mobile device may receive SSID and password settings from the user 500, e.g., via user input to a graphical user interface provided by the application software on the mobile device. The mobile device may take the SSID and password and translate each into a set of ASCII values, which may then be translated into a set of binary values 502. Using the binary values, the mobile device may generate a sound with transitions which correlate to the binary values for the SSID and password characters (e.g., using a Manchester coding mechanism, and/or the like) 504. The mobile device may then provide the sound to the Wi-Fi audio player (e.g., via sending a signal containing the sound data to the Wi-Fi audio player, and/or playing the sound via the mobile device's speakers, and/or the like) 506.

The Wi-Fi audio player may receive the sound via receiving the sound signal, picking up the sound via a microphone on the Wi-Fi audio player, and/or the like 508. For each transition representing a portion of the Wi-Fi SSID within the sound 510, the Wi-Fi audio player may determine what kind of transition it is 512, determine how to interpret it based on the type of transition encountered, and add the interpreted symbol to a sequence of decoded symbols in order to obtain a complete decoded binary message. For example, the Wi-Fi audio player may translate a 0-1 transition into Ό', and may add a '0' to the Wi-Fi binary sequence 518; similarly, the Wi-Fi audio player may translate a 1 -0 transition into T, and may add a T to the Wi-Fi binary sequence 514. The Wi-Fi audio player may then check to determine whether it has decoded all of the binary values for the Wi-Fi SSID 516; if not, the Wi-Fi audio player may continue to analyze the transitions in the sound in order to further decode the SSID.

If the Wi-Fi audio player has decoded all of the SSID binary values, the Wi-Fi audio player may translate the binary values into ASCII values, which may further be translated into characters corresponding to the ASCII values 520. The process may repeat for the Wi-Fi password; for example, for each transition encoding the password characters 522, the Wi-Fi audio player may determine what kind of transition is being conveyed 524 (and, in some implementations, translate a 1 -0 transition as a Ί ' and add it to a password binary sequence 526 and a 0-1 transition as a 'Ο', adding a '0' to the password binary sequence instead 528), and continue through the sound to check if there are more transitions to process 530. Once the transitions encoding the password have all been processed, the Wi-Fi audio player may translate the password binary sequence into ASCII values which may then be further translated into characters which correspond to the ASCII values 532. Once both the SSID and password have been decoded back into characters, the Wi-Fi audio player may provide the SSID and password to its Wi-Fi module, in order to connect to the wireless network associated with the Wi-Fi SSID and password 534. The Wi-Fi audio player may then perform a variety of tasks, including establishing a connection with an external network server and/or like audio source in order to obtain audio files and/or audio data, and/or the like 536.

The application may also return account name and password information (for example, Spotify user account information) to the Wi-Fi audio player in addition to the SSID and password provided by the application to access the network. If no account name and/or password information is provided, the player may obtain default and/or sample music from the network source. The application may also be configured to control the audio player to play, pause, sync and delete audio files stored on the Wi-Fi audio player, e.g., via sending instructions to the Wi-Fi audio player over a Wi-Fi and/or Bluetooth connection.

Turning now to Figure 3, there is illustrated a logic flow diagram representative of a process for playing audio data for the Wi-Fi audio player in response to play instructions received from a user application executing on a mobile device. Specifically, the application on the mobile device may use user input and data received from the Wi-Fi audio player to formulate instructions for the Wi-Fi audio player relating to which audio files and/or the like to play. For example, the application may send a message to the Wi-Fi audio player indicating that it will be instructed to play a file, and asking for a list of files currently cached (e.g., stored) on the Wi-Fi audio player 300. The Wi-Fi audio player may generate a cache file list 302 indicating which files have been stored on the Wi-Fi audio player, and may send the file list to the application 304. The application may then proceed to display the file list to the user 306 such that the user may view the list of available songs to play and select 308 a file for playing on the Wi-Fi audio player. The application may then send a message to the Wi-Fi audio player, instructing it to play the file selected by the user. The Wi-Fi audio player may then play the file 310. In some implementations, the application may control the playback on the Wi-Fi audio player if the Wi-Fi audio player is an audio speaker, and/or for other such purposes.

In some configurations, the systems and apparatus described herein include means for performing various functions as described herein. In one aspect, the aforementioned means may be a processor or processors and associated memory in which embodiments reside, and which are configured to perform the functions recited by the aforementioned means. The aforementioned means may be, for example, processor and/or memory modules or apparatus residing in modems to perform the functions described herein. In another aspect, the aforementioned means may be a module or apparatus configured to perform the functions recited by the aforementioned means, such as an application program and/or plug-in to an application program.

In one or more exemplary embodiments, the functions, methods and processes described may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software, the functions may be stored on or encoded as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. The software may include an application program and/or a plug-in for use with an application program. The application program may be, for example, a spreadsheet such as Microsoft Excel.

Computer-readable media includes computer storage media. Storage media may be any available media that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example, and not limitation, such computer-readable media can include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer. Disk and disc, as used herein, includes compact disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk and Blu- ray disc where disks usually reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproduce data optically with lasers. Combinations of the above can also be included within the scope of computer- readable media.

It is understood that the specific order or hierarchy of steps or stages in the processes and methods disclosed are examples of exemplary approaches. Based upon design preferences, it is understood that the specific order or hierarchy of steps in the processes may be rearranged while remaining within the scope of the present disclosure. The illustrated processes present elements of the various steps in a sample order, and are not meant to be limited to the specific order or hierarchy presented.

Those of skill in the art would understand that information and signals may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referenced throughout the above description may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof.

Those of skill would further appreciate that the various illustrative logical blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithm steps described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or combinations of both. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware and software, various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps have been described above generally in terms of their functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the disclosure.

The various illustrative logical blocks, modules, and circuits described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented or performed with a general purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration.

The steps or stages of a method, process or algorithm described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be embodied directly in hardware, in a software module executed by a processor, or in a combination of the two. A software module may reside in RAM memory, flash memory, ROM memory, EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, registers, hard disk, a removable disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor such that the processor can read information from, and write information to, the storage medium. In the alternative, the storage medium may be integral to the processor. The processor and the storage medium may reside in an ASIC. The ASIC may reside in a user terminal. In the alternative, the processor and the storage medium may reside as discrete components in a user terminal.

The scope of the invention is not intended to be limited to the aspects shown herein, but is to be accorded the full scope consistent with the description herein, wherein reference to an element in the singular is not intended to mean "one and only one" unless specifically so stated, but rather "one or more." Unless specifically stated otherwise, the term "some" refers to one or more. A phrase referring to "at least one of a list of items refers to any combination of those items, including single members. As an example, "at least one of: a, b, or c" is intended to cover: a; b; c; a and b; a and c; b and c; and a, b and c.

The previous description of the disclosed aspects is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use the present disclosure. Various modifications to these aspects will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other aspects without departing from the spirit or scope of the disclosure. Thus, the disclosure is not intended to be limited to the aspects shown herein but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

Claims

CLAIMS What is claimed is:

1. A Wi-Fi audio player apparatus, comprising:

a processor;

a sound sensor operatively coupled to the processor and configured to receive a sound signal including Wi-Fi SSID and Wi-Fi password information; and

a sound decoder operatively coupled to the processor and configured to:

receive the sound signal from the sound sensor;

determine sound transitions in the sound signal;

decode the sound signal based upon the sound transitions to obtain the Wi-Fi SSID and the Wi-Fi password information; and

a Wi-Fi module operatively coupled to the processor, the Wi-Fi module being configured to download or transfer audio data to or from at least one of an external network server or a smart device.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the sound sensor is a microphone.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the processor is connected to the microphone electrically via an Analog-to-Digital Converter (ADC).

4. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the microphone is a digital microphone, and

wherein the processor is connected to the microphone via a digital electrical interface.

5. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the processor is connected to the microphone through one of an ADC interface or an internal ADC module.

6. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the processor and the Wi-Fi module are integrated on the same main chip.

7. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the processor and the sound sensor are connected by a Digital-to- Analog converter (DAC) electrically.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the Wi-Fi module is further configured to receive at least one audio data file from an external source and wherein the apparatus further comprises a memory operatively coupled to the processor and the Wi-Fi module, the memory being configured to store the audio data file.

9. The apparatus of claim 9, further comprising: a 3.5mm audio output port configured to output an audio signal; and

an S/PDIF optical output port.

10. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the processor can be connected to the Wi-Fi module and the memory via at least one of a serial port, USB and SDIO interface.

11. The apparatus of claim 2, further comprising:

an audio codec configured to convert at least one of analog audio data to digital audio data and digital audio data to analog audio data.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the audio codec is operatively coupled to the processor.

13. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the audio codec resides in the processor.

14. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the audio codec is connected with the microphone through an Analog-to-Digital Converter (ADC) interface.

15. The apparatus of claim 8, further comprising:

a Wi-Fi audio player housing, wherein the processor, sound sensor, memory and Wi-Fi module are disposed within the housing.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the housing includes sound holes configured to receive sound at a side of the housing near the sound sensor.

17. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

a power supply circuit configured to provide power to the Wi-Fi audio player.

18. A method, comprising:

receiving a Wi-Fi SSID and password information sound signal via a sound sensor at a Wi-Fi audio player device;

for each transition in the Wi-Fi SSID and password information sound signal:

determine the type of transition in the Wi-Fi SSID and password information sound signal;

translate the transition into a binary bit;

add the binary bit to a binary value sequence containing a plurality of binary values;

translate each binary value in the binary value sequence into an ASCII value;

translate each ASCII value into a character; and

send the translated characters to a Wi-Fi module.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein a 1 -0 transition is translated into a binary bit Ί ' .

20. The method of claim 18, wherein a 0-1 transition is translated into a binary bit 'Ο'.

21. A networked audio player apparatus, comprising:

a processor arrangement;

a sound sensor operatively coupled to the processor arrangement and configured to receive an acoustic signal encoded with network access information, the processor arrangement being configured to decode the acoustic signal in order to recover the network access information; a communications module operative to transmit the network access information and to receive player control messages and media information retrieved in response to the player control messages; and

a memory, coupled to the processor arrangement, in which is stored the media information.

22. The networked audio player apparatus of claim 21 wherein the media information comprises one or more audio files.

23. The method of claim 21 wherein the media information comprises at least one of channels and playlists.

24. The networked audio player apparatus of claim 21 wherein the network access information comprises a Wi-Fi SSID and password information.

25. The networked audio player apparatus of claim 21 wherein the sound sensor is a microphone, the networked audio player apparatus further including an audio speaker operative to render audio signals corresponding to the media information.

26. The networked audio player apparatus of claim 21, wherein the communications module transmits the network access information as part of a process of accessing a wireless network wherein the communications module is further configured to download at least one audio data file from an external source via the wireless network wherein the processor arrangement is configured to store the audio data file within the memory.

27. A method, comprising:

receiving, from a mobile device, an acoustic signal encoded with network access information;

decoding the acoustic signal in order to recover the network access information;

transmitting the network access information over a network; receiving, from over the network, a media selection signal generated by the mobile device wherein the media selection signal includes information identifying one or media items; transmitting, over the network, a request message includes the information identifying the one or more media items; and

receiving, from over the network, the one or more media items.

28. The method of claim 27 further including storing the one or more media items.

29. The method of claim 27 further including:

receiving, from over the network, a player control message generated by the mobile device; and

rendering, through an audio speaker and in response to the player control message, an audio signal corresponding to at least one of the one or more media items.