Displaying recognition sound-segments to find and act-upon a composition

• US 10,275,415 B1
• Filed: 07/07/2016
• Issued: 04/30/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 11/01/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Synergy Technologies LLC
• Original Assignee: Synergy Technologies LLC
• Inventors: Wieder, James W.
• Primary Examiner(s): Fletcher, Marlon T
• Application Number:
  US15/204,297
• Time in Patent Office: 1,027 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/245 Query processing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/639 using playlists
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04847 Interaction techniques to control parameter settings, e.g. interaction with sliders or dials
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/165 Management of the audio stream, e.g. setting of volume, audio stream path
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/167 Audio in a user interface, e.g. using voice commands for navigating, audio feedback
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/0008 Associated control or indicating means
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/0033 Recording/reproducing or transmission of music for electrophonic musical instruments
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/46 Volume control
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2210/061 for extraction of musical phrases, isolation of musically relevant segments, e.g. musical thumbnail generation, or for temporal structure analysis of a musical piece, e.g. determination of the movement sequence of a musical work
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2240/151 Thumbnail, i.e. retrieving, playing or managing a short and musically relevant song preview from a library, e.g. the chorus

Abstract

A method, apparatus and system that enables a user to find and act-upon a sound-containing composition, in a group of compositions. One or more sound-segments, which are intended to prompt a user'"'"'s memory, may be associated with each composition in a group of compositions. A recognition sound-segment may include a portion of its associated composition, which is more recognizable to users than the beginning part of its associated composition. A recognition-segment may contain one or more highly recognizable portion(s) of a composition. When the user is trying to locate or select a particular composition, the recognition-segments are navigated and played-back to the user, based upon a user-device context/mode. When a user recognizes the desired composition from its recognition-segment, the user may initiate a control action to playback; arrange; and/or act-upon, the composition that is associated with the currently playing recognition-segment.

Claims

1. Apparatus to help user(s) to configure a playlist and/or a sequence of compositions and/or a stream of compositions, comprising:

electronic-display(s) that;

display an ordering of compositions that contain sound component(s);

wherein a length of one dimension of each composition represents a time duration for each composition;

display one or more sound-segments along said length of each said composition;

wherein each sound-segment is associated with one of said compositions;

wherein for each composition at least one sound-segment is a recognition sound-segment;

wherein each said recognition sound-segment is more recognizable to said user(s) than a beginning part of its associated composition;

display an indicator of a current-location in said ordering that refers to one of said sound-segments;

electronic-circuitry and/or processor(s) that;

when navigation action(s) by said user(s) is detected;

move said indicator of the current-location on said display(s), and play the sound-segment that is associated with the current-location in said ordering; and

when command-action(s) by said user(s) is detected;

add, move, remove, cut, copy, paste, drag, arrange, organize, order and/or re-order, the composition that is associated with the sound-segment at the current-location.

2. An apparatus-implemented method to help user(s) to configure a playlist and/or a sequence of compositions and/or a stream of compositions, comprising:

displaying on an electronic-display(s);

an ordering of compositions that contain sound component(s);

wherein a length of one dimension of each composition represents a time duration for each composition;

displaying on said electronic-display(s);

one or more sound-segments along said length of each said composition;

wherein each sound-segment is associated with one of said compositions;

wherein for each composition at least one sound-segment is a recognition sound-segment;

wherein each said recognition sound-segment is more recognizable to said user(s) than a beginning part of its associated composition;

displaying on said electronic-display(s);

an indicator of a current-location in said ordering that refers to one of said sound-segments;

when navigation action(s) by said user(s) is detected, moving said indicator of the current-location on said display(s) and playing the sound-segment that is associated with the current-location in said ordering; and

when command-action(s) by said user(s) is detected;

adding, moving, removing, cutting, coping, pasting, dragging, arranging, organizing, ordering and/or re-ordering, the composition that is associated with the sound-segment at the current-location.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein a composition from a library of compositions and its associated sound-segment(s) is:

added, dragged, moved, copied, or pasted into a user desired location in said ordering, in response to user command-action(s).

4. The method of claim 2 wherein for a plurality of compositions in said ordering, a beginning sound-segment is also associated with each composition;

and wherein said beginning sound-segments are also displayed on said electronic-display(s).

5. The method of claim 2 wherein for a plurality of compositions in said ordering, an ending sound-segment is also associated with each composition;

and wherein said ending sound-segments are also displayed on said electronic-display(s).

6. The method of claim 2 wherein for a plurality of compositions in said ordering, a beginning sound-segment and an ending sound-segment are also associated with each composition;

and wherein said beginning sound-segments and said ending sound-segments are also displayed on said electronic-display(s).

7. The method of claim 2 wherein for a plurality of compositions in said ordering, an ending sound-segment is also associated with each composition;

and wherein each said ending sound-segments is also displayed, on said electronic-display(s), relative to an indicator of composition-length of its associated composition.

8. The method of claim 2 wherein for a plurality of compositions in said ordering, a beginning sound-segment and an ending sound-segment are also associated with each composition;

and wherein each said beginning sound-segment and each said ending sound-segment is also displayed on said electronic-display(s), relative to an indicator of composition-length of its associated composition.

9. The method of claim 2 wherein said sound-segments are related to their associated compositions by pointers, links, hyperlinks, universal resource locators and/or universal object identifiers.

10. The method of claim 2 wherein said sound-segments are related to their associated compositions by a standardized file-naming convention, tables, databases and/or linked-lists.

11. The method of claim 2 wherein at least one of said recognition sound-segments is configured at least partially based upon a test of a recognition time of people who have previously experienced its associated composition.

12. The method of claim 2 wherein at least one of said recognition sound-segments is chosen from a plurality of alternative sound-segments that were created for a given composition, based on how quickly a group of users were able to recognize each one of the alternative sound-segments for the given composition.

13. The method of claim 2 wherein at least one of said recognition sound-segments was previously determined to be recognized sooner than one or more alternative sound-segments, that had been created for its associated composition and tested for recognition times of people who have previously experienced its associated composition.

14. The method of claim 2 wherein at least one of said sound-segments includes a mix or addition of a plurality of different sound-segments;

and wherein at least one of the mixed or added segments, includes a portion of its associated composition, which is more recognizable to a group of users than a beginning part of its associated composition.

15. The method of claim 2 wherein at least one of said sound-segments includes an audio description of characteristics of its associated composition;

and wherein said characteristics include an artist name or composition title.

16. The method of claim 2 wherein said ordering is navigated in one or more of:

an up-down direction and in a left-right direction.

17. The method of claim 2 wherein for a plurality of compositions in said ordering, a beginning sound-segment and an ending sound-segment are also associated with each composition;

wherein said beginning sound-segments and said ending sound-segments are also displayed on said electronic-display(s); and

wherein a location of one or more of said beginning sound-segment or said ending sound-segment is adjustable by said user.

18. The method of claim 2 wherein a length of one or more of said sound-segment(s) is adjustable by said user.

19. The method of claim 2 wherein an overlapping playback of an ending portion of one composition and a starting portion of a following composition in said ordering is adjustable by said user.

20. The method of claim 2 wherein initially said ordering is automatically generated, for said user based on a user-request.

21. The method of claim 2 wherein initially said ordering is automatically generated for said user based on a user-request, and said compositions are ordered by their probability of satisfying said user-request.

22. One or more computer-readable memories or storage media, not including carrier-waves, having computer-readable instructions thereon which, when executed by electronic-circuitry and/or processor(s), implement a method to help user(s) to configure a playlist and/or a sequence of compositions and/or a stream of compositions, said method comprising:

displaying on an electronic-display(s);

an ordering of compositions that contain sound component(s);

wherein a length of one dimension of each composition represents a time duration for each composition;

displaying on said electronic-display(s);

one or more sound-segments along said length of each said composition;

wherein each sound-segment is associated with one of said compositions;

wherein for each composition at least one sound-segment is a recognition sound-segment;

wherein each said recognition sound-segment is more recognizable to said user(s) than a beginning part of its associated composition;

displaying on said electronic-display(s);

an indicator of a current-location in said ordering that refers to one of said sound-segments;

when navigation action(s) by said user(s) is detected, moving said indicator of the current-location on said display(s) and playing the sound-segment that is associated with the current-location in said ordering; and

when command-action(s) by said user(s) is detected;

adding, moving, removing, cutting, coping, pasting, dragging, arranging, organizing, ordering and/or re-ordering, the composition that is associated with the sound-segment at the current-location.