US 8,045,952 · Granted 2011-10-25

The 2006 Patent That Turned Your Home Stereo Into a Digital Jukebox

Imagine having a speaker system that lets you grab music from your CDs, internet radio stations, and online music sites, then mix them all into one playlist you control from a simple display screen. This patent describes exactly that: a networked audio device that feels like a jukebox but pulls from everywhere, letting you organize and play whatever you want without needing to be a computer expert.

Curated and verified by the IsItPatented Editorial team

The plain-English version

What it protects

The patent covers a networked audio device with a display screen that lets users create and manage playlists from multiple audio sources—CDs, internet broadcasts, MP3 files, AM/FM radio, and streaming services. What's protected here is the combination of hardware and software that connects these different sources through a home network, displaying available songs and broadcasts so users can compose playlists and play them back through the device, all without requiring a computer to be running.

Why it matters

This patent captures an important moment in audio history: the bridge between physical media (CDs) and the digital, networked world. By 2006, when this was filed, people owned music scattered across different formats and locations. The patent's core value lies in solving a real problem—centralizing access to all those sources through one user-friendly interface. It represents the conceptual shift toward home audio networks before streaming services like Spotify dominated the landscape.

Real-world use

When you press play on a networked speaker system and see a list of all available songs from your home network and streaming sources on a single screen, you're encountering the core idea behind this patent.

Original USPTO abstract

A network-enabled audio device that provides a display device that allows the user to select playlists of music much like a jukebox is disclosed. The user can compose playlists from disk files, CD's, Internet streaming audio broadcasts, online music sites, and other audio sources. The user can also select a desired Web broadcast from a list of available Web broadcasts. In addition, the user can play standard audio CD's and MP3 encoded CD's and have access to local AM/FM stations. Further, the software, the user controls, and the display in the network-enabled audio device are operably configured and connected such that the user can listen to playlists that include CD's and other audio sources just as the user would choose a playlist in a jukebox. The user accesses a server site via a PC and the Internet. From the server site, the user obtains a list of the devices in his or her Internet Personal Audio Network (IPAN) and what songs are on those devices. The IPAN includes an IPAN server, an IPAN client, and IPAN software stored on the network-enabled audio device. Thus, the network-enabled audio device provides people who are or are not comfortable with computers a way of taking music from various sources and putting it into one place for listening pleasure. In one embodiment, the Personal Computer (PC) is used to compose the playlists, but the user is able to listen to playlists and other audio sources without using the PC.

Patent details

Publication number: US 8,045,952
Filing date: 2006-11-27
Grant date: 2011-10-25
Assignee: Horsham Enterprises, Llc
Inventor(s): QURESHEY SAFI, SHEPPARD DANIEL D.
CPC class: G06Q30/0641

View original record on Google Patents →

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