US 12,014,115 B2
Dynamic bonding of playback devices
Mark Triplett, St. Charles, IL (US); and Steven Beckhardt, Boston, MA (US)
Assigned to Sonos, Inc., Santa Barbara, CA (US)
Filed by Sonos, Inc., Santa Barbara, CA (US)
Filed on Sep. 12, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/942,818.
Application 17/942,818 is a continuation of application No. 16/827,362, filed on Mar. 23, 2020, granted, now 11,442,689.
Application 16/827,362 is a continuation of application No. 15/865,046, filed on Jan. 8, 2018, granted, now 10,599,385, issued on Mar. 24, 2020.
Application 15/865,046 is a continuation of application No. 14/731,119, filed on Jun. 4, 2015, granted, now 9,864,571, issued on Jan. 9, 2018.
Prior Publication US 2023/0071208 A1, Mar. 9, 2023
This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.
Int. Cl. G06F 3/16 (2006.01); G11B 3/04 (2006.01); H04R 3/12 (2006.01); H04R 27/00 (2006.01); G11B 27/34 (2006.01); H04R 3/04 (2006.01)
CPC G06F 3/165 (2013.01) [H04R 3/12 (2013.01); H04R 27/00 (2013.01); G11B 27/34 (2013.01); H04R 3/04 (2013.01); H04R 2227/005 (2013.01); H04R 2420/01 (2013.01); H04R 2430/01 (2013.01)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A first playback device comprising:
at least one processor;
at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium; and
program instructions stored on the at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium that are executable by the at least one processor such that the first playback device is configured to:
receive an indication that the first playback device is to be shared between (i) a first group of playback devices that includes at least a second playback device and (ii) a second group of playback devices that includes at least a third playback device;
determine that the first playback device is currently configured for synchronous playback of first media content in the first group of playback devices;
receive an indication of a command to join the second group of playback devices such that the first playback device is configured for synchronous playback of second media content with the second group of playback devices;
based on the indication of the command to join the second group of playback devices, determine whether the first playback device is available to join the second group of playback devices;
if the first playback device is available, join the second group of playback devices such that the first playback device is configured for synchronous playback of the second media content with the second group of playback devices; and
if the first playback device is unavailable, remain configured for synchronous playback of the first media content in the first group of playback devices.