Patent Publication Number: US-2019173818-A1

Title: Systems and methods for sending content

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
     Embodiments described herein generally relate to systems and methods for sending content and, more specifically, to sending content in a format as desired by a recipient. 
     BACKGROUND 
     The integration of vehicle operation with various infotainment systems has caused vehicle users to desire greater functionality from their vehicles. As such, many current vehicles include internet capabilities, as well as content library playback options for content such as music, videos, etc. Additionally, while the vehicle users may receive content from the infotainment system, currently there is no mechanism for sharing content with others. 
     SUMMARY 
     Systems and methods for sending content are provided. One embodiment of a method includes identifying content provided to a user, receiving an indication that the user desires to share the content to a recipient, and determining a content provider that provided the content to the user and a preferred content provider of the recipient. Some embodiments are configured for determining an address associated with the recipient and providing instructions for the preferred content provider to provide the content to the recipient. 
     In another embodiment, a vehicle for sending content includes a receiver for receiving content, a transmitter for communicating data related to the content, and a vehicle computing device that is communicatively coupled to the receiver and the transmitter and includes a processor and a memory component. The memory component stores logic that, when executed by the processor, causes the vehicle computing device to receive the content from a first content provider, identify content that was received from the first content provider, provide an option to a user to share the content with a recipient. In some embodiments the logic causes the vehicle computing device to receive a user selection of the option to share the content to the recipient, determine a preferred content provider for sharing the content with the recipient, and determine an address associated with the recipient. In some embodiments, the logic causes the vehicle computing device to generate a message to a user device of the recipient that includes instructions for the user device to access the content via a platform of the preferred content provider and send the message to the user device of the recipient via a desired message format. 
     In yet another embodiment, a system includes a computing device that includes a processor and a memory component. The memory component stores logic that, when executed by the processor, causes the system to receive the content from a first content provider, provide the content to a user, and identify content that was received from the first content provider. The logic further causes the system to determine a preferred content provider for sharing the content with a recipient, determine an address associated with the recipient, and generate a message to a user device of the recipient that includes instructions for the user device to access the content via a platform of the preferred content provider. In some embodiments, the logic causes the system to send the message to the user device of the recipient via a desired message format that was determined by the user. 
     These and additional features provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure will be more fully understood in view of the following detailed description, in conjunction with the drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The embodiments set forth in the drawings are illustrative and exemplary in nature and not intended to limit the disclosure. The following detailed description of the illustrative embodiments can be understood when read in conjunction with the following drawings, where like structure is indicated with like reference numerals and in which: 
         FIG. 1  depicts a computing environment for sharing content, according to embodiments described herein; 
         FIG. 2  depicts a vehicle interior for sharing content, according to embodiments described herein; 
         FIG. 3  depicts a user interface for sharing content, according to embodiments described herein; 
         FIG. 4  depicts a user interface that provides a plurality of options related to sharing content, according to embodiments described herein; 
         FIG. 5  depicts a user interface that provides a plurality of formatting options for sending content, according to embodiments described herein; 
         FIG. 6  depicts a user interface for receiving content, according to embodiments described herein; 
         FIG. 7  depicts a user interface for determining a format to receive content, according to embodiments described herein; 
         FIG. 8  depicts a flowchart for sharing content, according to embodiments described herein; and 
         FIG. 9  depicts a remote computing device for sharing content, according to embodiments described herein. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Embodiments disclosed herein include systems and methods for sharing content. Some embodiments allow a user to send a song or other content to another person via voice command to a vehicle computing device. Specifically, a vehicle can include a voice receiver system (e.g., microphones) and any suitable voice recognition technology that can analyze received voice inputs. The system can be configured to analyze user voice inputs to determine whether such voice inputs include a request to send content to a third party. The vehicle can have access to the personal contacts of the user, which can be stored onboard the vehicle, on a portable communication device of the user, or in some other location. 
     If a user is listening to a song while driving, the user may wish to share the song with his or her friend. The song may be playing on the radio, satellite radio, Spotify, iPod, music application, CD, or other source. The user can provide a voice command to the vehicle by speaking aloud (e.g., “Send Bob the song that is playing right now.”). The voice input can be received by the vehicle and analyzed to understand the request. The vehicle can search the user&#39;s contacts to identify “Bob.” Embodiments may be configured to identify the song and determine the other aspects of the communication, such as the source of the song, how the recipient can play the song, etc. 
     Some embodiments may be configured to collect data about the song and send that data to the designated recipient. These embodiments do not necessarily share the music as a file, but may send the pertinent information/metadata to the identified contact(s). The song information can be sent in any suitable manner, such as via a text message (e.g., SMS or other textual based messaging protocol), an electronic mail message, etc. or in a manner specified by the contact(s). Any comments provided by the user can also be sent to the recipient(s). 
     Some embodiments may be configured to determine a source of the song being played by the user. When the user sends the song to the recipient, the user&#39;s system communicates with a central server (and/or the recipient device) to determine the desired format and/or music provider. As an example, if the user is listening to a song using Spotify™, when the user sends the song, embodiments may determine that the recipient prefers to use Pandora™. As such, these embodiments may format the request for providing to the user via Pandora™. In some embodiments, further user preferences of the recipient may also be provided. Accordingly, the systems and methods for sharing content incorporating the same will be described in more detail, below. 
     Referring now to the drawings,  FIG. 1  depicts a computing environment for sharing content, according to embodiments described herein. As illustrated, the computing environment includes a network  100  that couples a vehicle  102 , a remote computing device  104 , a content computing device  106 , and a user device  108 . 
     Specifically, the network  100  may include any wide area network (such as the internet, a mobile cellular network, a wireless data network, a public switch telephone network, and/or the like) or local network (such as a local area network, a wireless fidelity network, a Bluetooth network, and/or the like). Additionally, the network  100  may represent any infrastructure or protocol to facilitate device-to-device communications, with or without an intermediary. 
     The vehicle  102  may include any land-based, air-based, or water based vehicle and may be coupled to the network  100  (such as via a vehicle computing device  230  depicted in  FIG. 2 ) for communicating data with one or more of the other devices depicted in  FIG. 1 . The vehicle  102  may include a receiver  110   a  for receiving content via the network  100  (which may be configured as an antenna, a radio receiver, and/or other hardware for receiving content) and a transmitter  110   b  for transmitting data via the network  100  (which may be part of the same hardware as the receiver  110   a  and/or may be separate, depending on the embodiment). As such, some embodiments described herein may utilize the vehicle  102  and vehicle computing device  230  ( FIG. 2 ) for sending data related to the content to a second user (recipient). It will be understood that the vehicle  102  and vehicle computing device  230  could receive content as well. 
     Similarly, the remote computing device  104  may be configured as a personal computer, laptop, tablet, mobile device, server, and/or other computing device for performing the functionality described herein. As such, the remote computing device  104  may include a memory component  140  that stores request receiving logic  144   a  and content directing logic  144   b . The request receiving logic  144   a  may be configured to cause the remote computing device  104  to receive a request from a first user to share content with a second user. Similarly, the content directing logic  144   b  may be configured for determining a desired format for delivering the content to the second user as well as facilitating the sending in the determined format. 
     The content computing device  106  may be configured as a personal computer, laptop, tablet, mobile device, server, and/or the like and may be configured for providing content to a user. As an example, the content computing device  106  may provide the Spotify™ content library, the Pandora™ content library, the iTunes™ library, the Netflix™ content library, the Hulu™ content library, the YouTube™ content library, and/or the like. As will be understood, each of these services may provide content in a different format and/or protocol (and some may provide options for providing content in different formats). As such, embodiments described herein may utilize content received from the content computing device  106  (which may represent any content providing service) to provide content in a desired format. 
     Additionally included in  FIG. 1  is the user device  108 . The user device  108  may be configured as a personal computer, laptop, mobile device, server, or other computing device with which a user may interact. As discussed above, the user device  108  may be operated by a second user who will receive content from the first user. As such, the user device  108  may have the capability to determine a preferred content format for the second user. 
     Specifically, embodiments may be configured such that the vehicle  102  provides content to a user, such as audio, video, imagery, etc. in a first format. The first format may be over-the-air television, over-the-air radio (e.g., FM, AM), satellite television (e.g., via DirecTV™, Dish™, etc.), satellite radio (e.g., via Sirius™, XM™, etc.), cable television (e.g., via Time Warner™, Comcast™, etc.), internet video (e.g., via Netflix™, Amazon™, YouTube™, etc.), internet audio (e.g., via Pandora™, Spotify™, etc.), and/or other format. In some embodiments, the user specifically selects the format of content, while some embodiments may be configured for the vehicle computing device  230  ( FIG. 2 ) to select the format. 
       FIG. 2  depicts a vehicle interior  202  for sharing content, according to embodiments described herein. As illustrated, the vehicle interior  202  may include a head unit  204 , which may include an input device (which may include a touchscreen, buttons, a microphone, etc.), an output device (such as a display, a speaker, a tactile output device, etc.), as well as any antennas, transmitters, receivers, amplifiers, etc. for receiving content. In some embodiments, this hardware is not necessarily part of the head unit  204 , but communicates with the head unit  204  to provide the content. The head unit  204  may include the vehicle computing device  230 , which includes a memory component  240  that stores content providing logic  244   a  and requesting logic  244   b.    
     The content providing logic  244   a  may include applications, software, etc. that facilitate providing of the content to the user. As an example, the content providing logic  244   a  may include a Pandora™ application, a Spotify™ application, and/or other application for providing the content. For the content sources that do not utilize an application (e.g., FM radio), the content providing logic  244   a  may include logic that identifies the content that is being provided. As an example, the Pandora™ application may be configured to communicate the provided content, but an FM radio may (or may not) have this capability. As such, the content providing logic  244   a  may be configured to recognize the content and/or communicate with another device to identify the content being provided. 
     The requesting logic  244   b  may be configured to provide one or more user interfaces for sending content to a second user. Accordingly, the requesting logic  244   b  may be configured to communicate with the remote computing device  104  ( FIG. 1 ) and/or other devices for facilitating sending of the content as described herein. 
       FIG. 3  depicts a user interface  330  for sharing content, according to embodiments described herein. As illustrated, the user interface  330  may provide the content that the user is currently viewing. As discussed above, the content may be provided via terrestrial radio (AM, FM), satellite radio, internet radio, and/or other radio or video content. Accordingly, the user interface  330  also provides a share option  332  for the user to share the content with a recipient. 
     It should be understood that while the user interface  330  may provide the option  332 , some embodiments may include a voice recognition system (local and/or cloud-based) and/or virtual assistant that is configured to receive and process a voice command. The voice command interface may work in conjunction with the user interface  330  (and other user interfaces provided herein) and/or may be provided instead of touch screen interfaces, in some embodiments. 
       FIG. 4  depicts a user interface  430  that provides a plurality of options related to sharing content, according to embodiments described herein. In response to a user selection of the share option  332  from  FIG. 3 , the user interface  430  may be provided. As illustrated, the user interface  430  includes a contacts option  432 , a dial option  434 , a lookup option  436 , a message option  438 , and an options option  440 . In response to a user selection of the contacts option  432 , the user may search and/or browse his/her personal contacts to locate a recipient for the content. The contacts may be located on the head unit  204 , on a mobile device that is in communication with the head unit  204 , and/or elsewhere, such as on the cloud. In response to a user selection of the dial option  434 , the user may dial the telephone number, email address, and/or other recipient address for sending the content. In response to a user selection of the look up option  436 , the user may perform a search, such as via a search engine, for the person to whom the user wishes to send the content. 
     Also provided is the message option  438 . In response to a user selection of the message option  438 , the user may create a message to send to the recipient that accompanies the content. Specifically, the user may determine the format of the message that is sent with the content, as well as a custom message to send with the content. As an example, the user may indicate that the message format will be a text message, email, voice message (such as a telephone call, a text to voice messaging protocol, etc.), social media message, etc. Additionally, the user may indicate that the custom message “check this out!” will be provided with the content. In response, the head unit  204  may send the content and custom message in the desired message format (either itself or via use of a connected mobile device, cloud-based device, etc.). In response to a user selection of the options option  440 , the user may be provided with additional options regarding default messaging formats, preconfigured custom messages, etc., as discussed with regard to  FIG. 5 . 
       FIG. 5  depicts a user interface  530  that provides a plurality of formatting options for sending content, according to embodiments described herein. In response to a user selection of the options option  440  from  FIG. 4 , the user interface  530  may be provided. As illustrated, the user interface  530  may include receive option  532 , a recipient option  534 , and a prompt option  536 . In response to a user selection of the receive option  532 , the user may set a default setting that the content is always communicated to be played in the format that the first user received the content. As an example, if the first user was listening to Pandora™, then the content would be sent to play via Pandora™ on the user device  108 . 
     In response to a user selection of the recipient option  534 , the content would always be sent in a recipient identified format. Specifically, if the content is being sent to John, the head unit  204  may first communicate the user device  108  that is controlled by John. The user device  108  may respond with a desired format, which may be stored by the head unit  204  (or other device) for future reference. This format would be used as a default. In response to a user selection of the prompt option  536 , the head unit  204  may always prompt the recipient device for the desired format of the content. 
     It should be understood that while the options  532 - 536  relate to format of the content, other options may also be provided. As an example, options related to default message format, preconfigured custom messages, and/or other options may also be provided. 
       FIG. 6  depicts a user interface  640  for receiving content, according to embodiments described herein. As illustrated, the user interface  640  may be provided by the user device  108  ( FIG. 1 ) of a recipient of the content. The user interface  640  provides an indication that content has been sent to the recipient. Additionally, the custom message is also provided, along with one or more options. 
     Specifically, a play option  642  may be provided for playing the content. Depending on the embodiment, the content may be sent as a file with the message and selection of the play option  642  merely launches a media player on the user device  108  to play the attached content. In some embodiments, the play option  642  may operate as a hyperlink, address, or other link to launch a content providing service to provide the content. As an example, some embodiments may provide the content in the same format that the first user viewed the content. Thus, if the first user was listening to the content via Pandora™, in response to a user selection of the play option  642 , the user device  108  will launch a Pandora™ application or website to play the content. Similarly, some embodiments may be configured such that, despite the format that the first user viewed the content (or any other settings provided by the first user), the second user desires that all audio content be provided by Spotify™ (to the extent possible). As such, the user device  108  may receive the message from the first user and identify the content. Once the content is identified, the user device  108  may launch the desired service provider to playing the content. 
     Also provided in the user interface  640  is an options option  644 . In response to a user selection of the options option  644 , the recipient may determine content playback options and/or other options. In response to a user selection of a message option  646 , the recipient may respond to the first user with a custom message. 
       FIG. 7  depicts a user interface  740  for determining a format to receive content, according to embodiments described herein. In response to a user selection of the options option  644  from  FIG. 6 , the user interface  740  may be provided. As illustrated, the user interface  740  may provide a currently desired content service for playing received content (identified as “Play Now” in  FIG. 7 ). The user interface  740  also provides a change preferred option  742 , an always option  744 , a prompt option  746 , and a sender preference option  748 . In response to a user selection of the change preferred option  742 , the preferred content provider may be altered. It will be understood that while a single content provider listed in the user interface  740 , this is just an example. Some embodiments may provide different preferred content providers, based on the content format, the sender, and/or other criteria. As an example, video may be provided via a first content provider, while audio may be provided via a second content provider. 
     In response to a user selection of the change preferred option  744 , the user device  108  will always use the preferred content provider. In response to a user selection of the prompt option  746 , the user device  108  will prompt the user upon receiving the content. In response to a user selection of the sender preference, the user device  108  will defer to the format selected by the first user (the sender) of the content. 
     As a working example, the first user may listen to a piece of audio content via FM radio. The vehicle computing device  230  may identify the audio content as “Thriller.” The vehicle computing device  230  may then receive user input to send the audio content to a recipient with the message “check this out!” The vehicle computing device  230  may determine a message format for sending the message. Additionally, the vehicle computing device  230  may determine a format for providing the content. In some embodiments, the content format is determined based on a selection of the sender. However, in some embodiment, the vehicle computing device  230  communicates with the user device  108  (the recipient&#39;s device) to determine the preferred format for the content. 
     If the preferred content format is Spotify™, the vehicle computing device  230  may communicate with the remote computing device  104  to locate the content in the Spotify™ library and may create a link to that content. As some content platforms may require a user account to access content, some embodiments may utilize the sender&#39;s account to provide the content and/or the content platform may require the recipient to have an account as well. If the sender does not have an account with this platform, the vehicle computing device  230  may retrieve a user identifier for the recipient&#39;s account and communicate with remote computing device  104  to indicate that the recipient will be viewing the content. Thus, when the recipient selects the play option  642  ( FIG. 6 ), that user identifier is authenticated by the user device  108 . 
     While some embodiments are configured for the sender to format the content, some embodiments may be configured such that the user device  108  (the recipient&#39;s device) receives identifying data of the sent content and access the desired format for providing that content. As will be understood, such an embodiment may utilize specific logic for understanding the request from the vehicle computing device  230  (sender&#39;s device) to properly format the content. 
       FIG. 8  depicts a flowchart for sharing content, according to embodiments described herein. As illustrated in block  850 , an identity of content provided to a user may be determined. In block  852 , an indication that the first user desires to share the content with a recipient may be received. In block  854 , a content provider that provided the content to the user and a preferred content provider of the recipient may be determined. In block  856 , an address associated with the recipient may be determined. In block  858 , instructions for providing the content to the recipient via the preferred content provider may be provided. As described above, the recipient may then retrieve the content via the preferred content provider. 
       FIG. 9  depicts a remote computing device  104  for sharing content, according to embodiments described herein. The vehicle computing device  230  includes a processor  930 , input/output hardware  932 , the network interface hardware  934 , a data storage component  936  (which stores provider data  938   a , content data  938   b , and/or other data), and the memory component  240 . The memory component  240  may be configured as volatile and/or nonvolatile memory and as such, may include random access memory (including SRAM, DRAM, and/or other types of RAM), flash memory, secure digital (SD) memory, registers, compact discs (CD), digital versatile discs (DVD), and/or other types of non-transitory computer-readable mediums. Depending on the particular embodiment, these non-transitory computer-readable mediums may reside within the vehicle computing device  230  and/or external to the vehicle computing device  230 . 
     The memory component  240  may store operating logic  942 , the content providing logic  244   a  and the requesting logic  244   b . The content providing logic  244   a  and the requesting logic  244   b  may each include a plurality of different pieces of logic, each of which may be embodied as a computer program, firmware, and/or hardware, as an example. A local communications interface  946  is also included in  FIG. 9  and may be implemented as a bus or other communication interface to facilitate communication among the components of the vehicle computing device  230 . 
     The processor  930  may include any processing component operable to receive and execute instructions (such as from a data storage component  936  and/or the memory component  240 ). As described above, the input/output hardware  932  may include and/or be configured to interface with the components of the vehicle  102 , such as the head unit  204 , the sensors, the motors, etc. 
     The network interface hardware  934  may include and/or be configured for communicating with any wired or wireless networking hardware, including an antenna, a modem, LAN port, wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) card, WiMax card, Bluetooth chip, USB card, mobile communications hardware, and/or other hardware for communicating with other networks and/or devices. From this connection, communication may be facilitated between the vehicle computing device  230  and other computing devices, such as via the internet, to provide the functionality described herein. 
     The operating logic  942  may include an operating system and/or other software for managing components of the vehicle computing device  230 . As also discussed above, the content providing logic  244   a  may reside in the memory component  240  and may be configured to cause the processor  930  provide content and/or identify the content being provided. Similarly, the requesting logic  244   b  may be utilized to provide user interfaces, as well as send content to a recipient and request a preferred content provider for the recipient device. 
     It should be understood that while the components in  FIG. 9  are illustrated as residing within the vehicle computing device  230 , this is merely an example. In some embodiments, one or more of the components may reside external to the vehicle computing device  230 . It should also be understood that, while the vehicle computing device  230  is illustrated as a single device, this is also merely an example. In some embodiments, the routing logic  244   a  and the requesting logic  244   b  may reside on different computing devices. As an example, one or more of the functionality and/or components described herein may be provided by another computing device, such as the user device  108 , the remote computing device  104 , etc. 
     Additionally, while the vehicle computing device  230  is illustrated with the routing logic  244   a  and the requesting logic  244   b  as separate logical components, this is also an example. In some embodiments, a single piece of logic may cause the vehicle computing device  230  to provide the described functionality. 
     As illustrated above, various embodiments for sharing content are disclosed. These embodiments may reduce bandwidth consumption by communicating content without actually sending the content. Additionally, these embodiments may provide that a recipient of content view the content in the desired format, regardless of the format viewed by the sender. 
     While particular embodiments and aspects of the present disclosure have been illustrated and described herein, various other changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure. Moreover, although various aspects have been described herein, such aspects need not be utilized in combination. Accordingly, it is therefore intended that the appended claims cover all such changes and modifications that are within the scope of the embodiments shown and described herein. 
     It should now be understood that embodiments disclosed herein include systems, methods, and non-transitory computer-readable mediums for sending content. It should also be understood that these embodiments are merely exemplary and are not intended to limit the scope of this disclosure.