Portable media player

• US 20070137467A1
• Filed: 12/19/2005
• Published: 06/21/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 12/19/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Creative Technology Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Creative Technology Ltd.
• Inventors: Sim, Wong, Koh, Zi, Koh, Pei
• Application Number:
  US11/313,119
• Publication Number:
  US 20070137467A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 84/645
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/0066 using a MIDI interface
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/20 for transposition
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/368 displaying animated or moving pictures synchronized with the music or audio part
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2210/066 for pitch analysis as part of wider processing for musical purposes, e.g. transcription, musical performance evaluation; Pitch recognition, e.g. in polyphonic sounds; Estimation or use of missing fundamental
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2210/105 Composing aid, e.g. for supporting creation, edition or modification of a piece of music
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2220/361 Mouth control in general, i.e. breath, mouth, teeth, tongue or lip-controlled input devices or sensors detecting, e.g. lip position, lip vibration, air pressure, air velocity, air flow or air jet angle
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2220/415 Infrared beams
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2240/131 Library retrieval, i.e. searching a database or selecting a specific musical piece, segment, pattern, rule or parameter set
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2240/211 Wireless transmission, e.g. of music parameters or control data by radio, infrared or ultrasound beam G10H2220/405
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2240/285 USB, i.e. either using a USB plug as power supply or using the USB protocol to exchange data
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2240/321 Bluetooth
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2250/461 Gensound wind instruments, i.e. generating or synthesising the sound of a wind instrument, controlling specific features of said sound spint wind instruments G10H2230/155; mouth or breath sensors G10H2220/361; natural aerodynamic noise synthesis, e.g. wind G10H2250/431

Abstract

There is provided a portable media player including: a non-volatile memory; a decoder for playing back media files stored in the memory; a display unit for displaying information from the media files stored in the memory; a MIDI synthesizer coupled to the processor; a sound input for passing sound signals through an analog-digital converter and subsequently, the synthesizer. There is also a sound output for transmitting sound signals from the synthesizer; and a port for the coupling of a sound composition apparatus to the media player. A method for composing music using the portable media player is also disclosed.

Claims

1. A portable media player including:

a non-volatile memory;

a processor for playing back media files stored in the memory;

a display unit for displaying information from the media files stored in the memory;

a MIDI synthesizer coupled to the processor;

a sound input for passing sound signals through an analog-digital converter and, subsequently the synthesizer;

a sound output for transmitting sound signals from the synthesizer; and

a port for the coupling of a sound composition apparatus to the media player, wherein the sound composition apparatus also passes signals through the synthesizer.

2. The portable media player as claimed in claim 1, wherein the non-volatile memory is selected from the group consisting of:

solid state memory and a hard disk drive.

3. The portable media player as claimed in claim 1, wherein the display unit is a screen selected from the group consisting of:

TFT, LCD and OLED.

4. The portable media player as claimed in claim 1, wherein the information for display is selected from the group consisting of:

duration of file playback, file metadata, still images, moving images, lyrics of a song, and a combination of them.

5. The portable media player as claimed in claim 1, wherein the sound input has attached thereto a microphone.

6. The portable media player as claimed in claim 1, wherein the sound output device is selected from the group consisting of:

at least one earphone, at least one earpiece of a headphone and at least one speaker.

7. The portable media player as claimed in claim 1, wherein the port for coupling a sound composition device is selected from the group consisting of:

P/S 2, USB, IEEE 1394 Firewire and a customised connector.

8. The portable media player as claimed in claim 1, wherein the port is a transceiver for wireless protocols selected from the group consisting of:

UWB USB wireless, Bluetooth, infrared and radio frequency.

9. The portable media player as claimed in claim 1, wherein the sound composition apparatus is selected from the group consisting of:

a MIDI keyboard, an alphanumeric keyboard, a breath rate detection module, a string module, and a combination of them.

10. The portable media player as claimed in claim 1, wherein the MIDI synthesizer provides automatic accompaniment for all sound inputs.

11. The portable media player as claimed in claim 1, wherein the sound output includes an amplifier.

12. The portable media player as claimed in claim 1, wherein the processor includes a decoder.

13. The portable media player as claimed in claim 1, wherein the sound composition apparatus outputs digital signals.

14. The portable media player as claimed in claim 9, wherein the breath rate detection module comprises:

a hollow tube for the channeling of air into the module;

a processor to determine the speed, path and volume of air passing through the hollow tube into the module; and

a connector coupled to the processor for a functional connection to the portable media player.

15. The portable media player as claimed in claim 14, wherein the processor of the breath rate detection module is able to send signals to the portable media player to play back sounds of wind instruments.

16. The portable media player as claimed in claim 15, wherein the wind instruments are selected from the group comprising:

trumpet, trombone, horn, tuba, saxaphone, flute, clarinet, oboe, bassoem and recorder.

17. The portable media player as claimed in claim 1, wherein the MIDI synthesizer includes controls to alter the pitch and tone of the played back media files stored in the memory.

18. The portable media player as claimed in claim 1, wherein the memory stores signals that have been input into the media player subsequent to passing through the processor.

19. The portable media player as claimed in claim 10, wherein the accompaniment is dependent on parameters of input signals selected from the group consisting of:

note and pitch.

20. A method of composing and storing music using the portable media player as claimed in claim 1, including:

entering signals into the media player via the port and/or the sound input;

passing the signals through the synthesizer prior to the processor; and

storing the processed signals in the memory.

21. A breath rate detection module used with the portable media player as claimed in claim 1, wherein the breath rate detection module comprises:

a hollow tube for the channeling of air into the module;

a processor to determine the speed, path and volume of air passing through the hollow tube into the module; and

a connector coupled to the processor for a functional connection to the portable media player.

22. The breath rate detection module as claimed in claim 21, wherein the processor of the breath rate detection module is able to send signals to the portable media player to play back sounds of wind instruments.

23. The breath rate detection module as claimed in claim 22, wherein selected from the group comprising:

trumpet, trombone, horn, tuba, saxaphone, flute, clarinet, oboe, bassoon and recorder.

24. The breath rate detection module as claimed in claim 21, wherein a signal from a MIDI synthesizer of the portable media player is fed back to the processor to adjust the output from the breath rate detection module.