# US 12,112,093 B2 · Entertainment server and associated social networking services > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 12,112,093 B2 - Document ID: US12112093B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 18/074,559 - Filed: 2022-12-05 - Published: 2023-04-06 - Granted: 2024-10-08 - Earliest claimed: 2009-03-18 - Assignees: TouchTunes Music Corporation - Applicants: TouchTunes Music Corporation - Inventors: Dominique Dion; Michael Tooker; Francois Guy; Francois Beaumier; Mounir Khenfir; Loic Gratton; Dominique Bureau; Harun Tunc Yayli - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12112093B2 ## CPC - G06Q 10/10: Office automation; Time management - G06F 3/165: {Management of the audio stream, e.g. setting of volume, audio stream path} - G06F 16/639: {using playlists} - G06Q 10/40: Business processes related to social networking or social networking services - G06Q 10/42: Determination of affinities or common interests between users - G06Q 10/44: Identification of trends within social networks, e.g. identification of trending topics - G06Q 20/08: Payment architectures - G06Q 20/123: {Shopping for digital content} - G06Q 20/145: {Payments according to the detected use or quantity} - G06Q 20/3265: {characterised by personalisation for use} - G06Q 30/02: Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising - G06Q 30/0601: Electronic shopping [e-shopping] - H04N 21/2143: {located in a single building, e.g. hotel, hospital or museum (arrangements specially adapted for plural spots in a confined site in broadcast systems H04H20/63; adaptations for transmission by electric cable for domestic distribution in television systems H04N7/106)} - H04N 21/26258: {for generating a list of items to be played back in a given order, e.g. playlist, or scheduling item distribution according to such list (retrieval of multimedia data based on playlists G06F16/40)} - H04N 21/4113: {PC} - H04N 21/41265: {having a remote control device for bidirectional communication between the remote control device and client device (unidirectional remote control device H04N21/42204)} - H04N 21/439: Processing of audio elementary streams - H04N 21/4755: {for defining user preferences, e.g. favourite actors or genre (retrieval personalisation and generation of user profiles for the retrieval of video data G06F16/739; user profiles in network data switching protocols H04L67/306)} - H04N 21/4758: {for providing answers, e.g. voting} - H04N 21/4788: communicating with other users, e.g. chatting {(arrangements for providing for computer conferences, e.g. chat rooms, to substation in data switching networks H04L12/1813; distributed application using peer-to-peer [P2P] networks H04L67/104)} - H04N 21/632: {using a connection between clients on a wide area network, e.g. setting up a peer-to-peer communication via Internet for retrieving video segments from the hard-disk of other client devices (broadcast-related systems characterised by transmission among terminal devices H04H60/80; distributed application using peer-to-peer [P2P] networks H04L67/104)} - H04N 21/4122: {additional display device, e.g. video projector (digital output for controlling a plurality of local displays G06F3/1423)} - G06Q: INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR - G06F: ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING (computer systems based on specific computational models G06N) - H04N: PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION ## Abstract Certain exemplary embodiments relate to entertainment systems that interact with users so as to provide for social networking and/or other services. In certain exemplary embodiments, an entertainment system is configured to provide jukebox-related and entertainment system mediated services that are accessible from within and from the outside of the location, coordinating social networking services among and between patrons within and outside of the location and also providing for advertisement opportunities. In certain exemplary embodiments, the entertainment system within a location may serve as and/or be connected to a jukebox. The entertainment system within the location may be connected to one or more client devices, one or more displays, one or more bar-top or hand-held gaming devices, etc., in certain exemplary embodiments. The jukebox-related and entertainment system mediated services may provide mechanisms for enhancing patrons' experiences, creating a sense of ownership and/or belongingness to a connected community of entertainment system users. ## Claims ### Claim 1 An entertainment system for playing music in one or more venues, comprising: a central server configured to store a catalog of songs, the central server being connected to a network; and at least one audio reproduction device provided in a venue and connected to the network, the at least one audio reproduction device comprising: a digital storage memory; at least one communication interface configured to communicate with a mobile device via a social networking site, the mobile device being located at or remotely to the venue; and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the digital storage memory and the communication interface, the at least one processor configured to perform operations comprising: playing songs from a queue of songs, songs in the queue being from a list of songs of a subset of the catalog of songs and being available to be played at the venue either by downloading to the audio reproduction device or by streaming; enabling a plurality of patrons to check in to the entertainment system via respective mobile devices each connecting to the entertainment system via the social networking site; transmitting information regarding one or more lists of songs or songs of from the one or more lists of songs via the social networking site to the mobile device from which a patron is checked in, to be communicated to the patron; receiving, from the mobile device and in response to the transmitting of the information, selections of respective songs or at least one list of songs; and in response to receiving the selections, adding at least some of the selected respective songs and/or songs from the selected at least one list of songs to the queue of songs. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The system of claim 1, wherein the list of songs is selected based on songs and/or types of music requested by patrons of the venue. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The system of claim 1, wherein the central server is further configured to distribute the list of songs to the audio reproduction device. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to enable the checked-in patron to search for a song based on its title, artist, and/or genre. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to control the system to adjust an order of the songs in the queue based on the received selections of songs. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is configured to distinguish between played songs that are played in a pay-per-play mode and played songs that are played in another mode. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to display the current status of the queue on the display of the mobile device. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to display detailed information about a song in the queue on the display of the mobile device. ### Claim 9 (depends on 1) The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to control the audio reproduction device to enable displaying credits associated with the checked-in patron on the at least one audio reproduction device and/or the mobile device. ### Claim 10 A method of playing music in a venue, the method comprising: playing songs from a queue of songs, songs in the queue being from a list of songs of a subset of the catalog of songs and being available to be played at the venue either by downloading to the audio reproduction device or by streaming; enabling a plurality of patrons to check in to the entertainment system via respective mobile devices connecting to the venue via the social networking site; transmitting information regarding one or more lists of songs or songs from the one or more lists of songs via the social networking site to the mobile device from which a patron is checked in, to be displayed on a display screen of the mobile device; receiving, from the mobile device and in response to the transmitting of the information, selections of respective songs or at least one list of songs; and in response to receiving the selections, adding the selected respective songs and/or songs from the selected at least one list of songs to the queue of songs. ### Claim 11 (depends on 10) The method of claim 10, wherein the list of songs for the venue is selected based on songs and/or types of music that patrons of the venue typically request. ### Claim 12 (depends on 10) The method of claim 10, wherein the list of songs selected for the venue is selectable by a proprietor of the venue. ### Claim 13 (depends on 10) The method of claim 10, further comprising enabling a checked-in patron to search for a song based on its title, artist, and/or genre. ### Claim 14 (depends on 10) The method of claim 10, further comprising adjusting an order of the songs in the queue based on the received selections of songs. ### Claim 15 (depends on 10) The method of claim 10, wherein the playing includes distinguishing between played songs that are played in a pay-per-play mode and played songs that are played in another mode. ### Claim 16 (depends on 10) The method of claim 10, further comprising displaying the current status of the queue on the first mobile device. ### Claim 17 (depends on 10) The method of claim 10, further comprising displaying detailed information about a song in the queue on the first mobile device. ### Claim 18 (depends on 10) The method of claim 10, further comprising displaying credits associated with the checked-in patron on the first mobile device. ### Claim 19 An audio reproduction device operable to play music in a venue, the audio reproduction device comprising: a digital storage memory; at least one communication interface configured to communicate with a plurality of mobile devices via a social networking site, the mobile devices being located at the venue or remotely from the venue; and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the digital storage memory and the communication interface, the at least one processor configured to perform operations comprising: playing songs from a queue of songs, songs in the queue being from a list of a subset of a catalog of songs available to be played either downloading to the audio reproduction device or by streaming; enabling a plurality of users to check in to the venue via respective mobile devices connecting to the venue via the social networking site; transmitting information regarding one or more lists of songs via the social networking site to a first one of the respective mobile devices from which a first user is checked in via the social networking site; receiving, from the mobile device and in response to the transmitting of the information, selections of respective songs or at least one list of songs; and in response to receiving the selections, adding the selected respective songs and/or songs from the selected at least one list of songs to the queue of songs to be played. ### Claim 20 (depends on 19) The audio reproduction device of claim 19, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to enable in the checked in first user to search for a song based on its title, artist, and/or genre.