# US 10,311,100 B2 · Generating and distributing a replacement playlist > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 10,311,100 B2 - Document ID: US10311100B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 15/936,104 - Filed: 2018-03-26 - Published: 2018-08-02 - Granted: 2019-06-04 - Earliest claimed: 2016-01-04 - Assignees: Gracenote, Inc. - Applicants: Gracenote, Inc. - Inventors: Rishabh Sharma; Markus Cremer - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10311100B2 ## CPC - H04L 67/60: Scheduling or organising the servicing of application requests, e.g. requests for application data transmissions using the analysis and optimisation of the required network resources (admission control or resource allocation H04L47/70) - G06F 3/165: {Management of the audio stream, e.g. setting of volume, audio stream path} - G06F 16/635: Filtering based on additional data, e.g. user or group profiles - G06F 16/639: {using playlists} - G06F 16/951: Indexing; Web crawling techniques - G06F 16/9535: Search customisation based on user profiles and personalisation - G06F 16/9538: Presentation of query results - G10L 13/00: Speech synthesis; Text to speech systems - H04L 67/06: specially adapted for file transfer, e.g. file transfer protocol [FTP] - H04L 67/10: in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network (software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46) - H04N 21/44224: {Monitoring of user activity on external systems, e.g. Internet browsing} - H04N 21/44213: {Monitoring of end-user related data (arrangements for monitoring the users' behaviour or opinions in broadcast systems H04H60/33)} - H04N 21/44222: {Analytics of user selections, e.g. selection of programmes or purchase activity (monitoring of user selections in data processing systems G06F11/34; arrangements for monitoring the user's behaviour or opinions in broadcast systems H04H60/33)} - H04N 21/4532: {involving end-user characteristics, e.g. viewer profile, preferences (monitoring of user activities for profile generation for accessing a video database G06F16/739; user profiles in network data switching protocols H04L67/306; processing of user preferences or user profiles in wireless networks H04W8/18)} - H04L: TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION (arrangements common to telegraphic and telephonic communication H04M) - G06F: ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING (computer systems based on specific computational models G06N) - G10L: SPEECH ANALYSIS TECHNIQUES OR SPEECH SYNTHESIS; SPEECH RECOGNITION; SPEECH OR VOICE PROCESSING TECHNIQUES; SPEECH OR AUDIO CODING OR DECODING - H04N: PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION ## Abstract An embodiment may involve a server device transmitting, over a wide area network, a first playlist with a first duration to a client device. Possibly while the client device is playing out a current audio file of a first plurality of audio files in the playlist, the server device may receive an instruction from the client device and generate a second playlist. The second playlist may include references to a second plurality of audio files, where playout of the second plurality of audio files may have a duration that is less than the duration of the playout of the first plurality of audio files. The server device may transmit, over the wide area network, the second playlist to the client device. Reception of the second playlist at the client device may cause the audio player application to retrieve and play out the second plurality of audio files. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A method comprising: receiving, by a client device, a first playlist, wherein the first playlist was sent by a server device over a wide area network, wherein the first playlist includes references to a first plurality of audio files in a first specified order, wherein playout of the first plurality of audio files has a first duration; in response to receiving the first playlist, causing, by the client device, an audio player application executing on the client device to retrieve and play out at least some of the first plurality of audio files in the first specified order; while the client device is playing out a current audio file of the first plurality of audio files, receiving, by the client device, an instruction specifying that a sleep timer has been activated with a target duration; in response to receiving the instruction, transmitting, by the client device to the server device, an indication that the sleep timer has been activated with the target duration; receiving, by the client device, a second playlist from the server device, wherein the second playlist includes references to a second plurality of audio files in a second specified order, wherein playout of the second plurality of audio files has a second duration that is: less than the first duration and within a threshold duration of the target duration; and in response to receiving the second playlist, causing, by the client device, the audio player application to, after playout of the current audio file completes, stop playing out audio files from the first plurality of audio files and retrieve and play out the second plurality of audio files in the second specified order. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the second plurality of audio files does not include any audio files of the first plurality of audio files that are before the current audio file in the first specified order. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the second plurality of audio files includes at least some audio files of the first plurality of audio files that are after the current audio file in the first specified order. ### Claim 4 (depends on 3) The method of claim 3, wherein the audio files in the first plurality of audio files are each associated with a higher priority or a lower priority, and wherein the second plurality of audio files includes audio files from the first plurality of audio files associated with the higher priority. ### Claim 5 (depends on 4) The method of claim 4, wherein audio files containing advertisements are associated with the higher priority and audio files containing music are associated with the lower priority. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the threshold duration is three minutes or less. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the second duration is based on the target duration minus any time remaining for playout of the current audio file. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the second plurality of audio files includes audio files with (i) slower tempos, (ii) narrower dynamic ranges, or (iii) lower volumes than the first plurality of audio files. ### Claim 9 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the second plurality of audio files, when played in order, gradually decrease in volume. ### Claim 10 An article of manufacture including a non-transitory computer-readable medium, having stored thereon program instructions that, upon execution by a client device, cause the client device to perform operations comprising: receiving a first playlist, wherein the first playlist was sent by a server device over a wide area network, wherein the first playlist includes references to a first plurality of audio files in a first specified order, wherein playout of the first plurality of audio files has a first duration; in response to receiving the first playlist, causing an audio player application executing on the client device to retrieve and play out at least some of the first plurality of audio files in the first specified order; while the client device is playing out a current audio file of the first plurality of audio files, receiving an instruction specifying that a sleep timer has been activated with a target duration; in response to receiving the instruction, transmitting, to the server device, an indication that the sleep timer has been activated with the target duration; receiving a second playlist from the server device, wherein the second playlist includes references to a second plurality of audio files in a second specified order, wherein playout of the second plurality of audio files has a second duration that is: less than the first duration and within a threshold duration of the target duration; and in response to receiving the second playlist, causing the audio player application to, after playout of the current audio file completes, stop playing out audio files from the first plurality of audio files and retrieve and play out the second plurality of audio files in the second specified order. ### Claim 11 (depends on 10) The article of manufacture of claim 10, wherein the second plurality of audio files does not include any audio files of the first plurality of audio files that are before the current audio file in the first specified order. ### Claim 12 (depends on 10) The article of manufacture of claim 10, wherein the second plurality of audio files includes at least some audio files of the first plurality of audio files that are after the current audio file in the first specified order. ### Claim 13 (depends on 12) The article of manufacture of claim 12, wherein the audio files in the first plurality of audio files are each associated with a higher priority or a lower priority, and wherein the second plurality of audio files includes audio files from the first plurality of audio files associated with the higher priority. ### Claim 14 (depends on 13) The article of manufacture of claim 13, wherein audio files containing advertisements are associated with the higher priority and audio files containing music are associated with the lower priority. ### Claim 15 (depends on 10) The article of manufacture of claim 10, wherein the threshold duration is three minutes or less. ### Claim 16 (depends on 10) The article of manufacture of claim 10, wherein the second duration is based on the target duration minus any time remaining for playout of the current audio file. ### Claim 17 (depends on 10) The article of manufacture of claim 10, wherein the second plurality of audio files includes audio files with (i) slower tempos, (ii) narrower dynamic ranges, or (iii) lower volumes than the first plurality of audio files. ### Claim 18 (depends on 10) The article of manufacture of claim 10, wherein the second plurality of audio files, when played in order, gradually decrease in volume. ### Claim 19 A method comprising: generating, by a server device, a first playlist for a client device, wherein the first playlist includes references to a first plurality of audio files in a first specified order, wherein playout of the first plurality of audio files has a first duration; transmitting, by the server device over a wide area network, the first playlist to the client device; receiving, by the server device, an instruction from the client device, wherein the instruction specifies that the client device has activated a sleep timer with a target duration; generating, by the server device, a second playlist, wherein the second playlist includes references to a second plurality of audio files in a second specified order, wherein playout of the second plurality of audio files has a second duration that is: less than the first duration and within a threshold duration of the target duration; and transmitting, by the server device over the wide area network, the second playlist to the client device. ### Claim 20 (depends on 19) The method of claim 19, wherein the second plurality of audio files includes at least some audio files of the first plurality of audio files that are after a current audio file in the first specified order.