Personal Audio Player with Wireless File Sharing and Radio Recording and Timeshifting

• US 20110046760A1
• Filed: 07/23/2010
• Published: 02/24/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 04/26/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Harris Technology LLC
• Original Assignee: Harris Technology LLC
• Inventors: Harris, Scott C.
• Granted Patent: US 8,099,040 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 700/94
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/00007 Time or data compression or expansion audio compression based on psychoacoustics G10L19/00; data processing for reproducing audio data at different playback speeds G10L21/04; video compression H04N19/00; data compression per se H03M7/30
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/10527 Audio or video recording; Data buffering arrangements G11B20/12 - G11B20/18 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2020/00014 the compressed signal being an audio signal
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2020/00043 Adaptive transform acoustic coding [ATRAC]
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2020/00057 MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 audio layer III [MP3]
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2020/10546 specifically adapted for audio data
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/005 Reproducing at a different information rate from the information rate of recording for television signals H04N5/783
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/105 of operating discs
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/27 Arrangements for recording or accumulating broadcast information or broadcast-related information
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/72 using electronic programme guides [EPG] focusing on identifying broadcast space time H04H60/39 ; menu type display of EPG in television receivers H04N21/47

Abstract

A portable MP3 player, which includes radio capability therein. The device includes a radio part which enables receiving radio, either over the airwaves, or via a network. The radio information can be time shared for later use, and sequences within the radio information can be identified for storage within the memory. The memory can store compressed information, such as MP3 information, indicative of songs which are stored. The memory can also store information that is received over the radio.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

obtaining information indicative of streamed information that includes content that can be played as it is streamed;

playing said information;

during playing of a portion of said information representing a song within said information, enabling selecting said song;

responsive to said selecting said song at a first time, using a computing part for automatically identifying a beginning and an end of said song, where said beginning is prior to said first time at which said song is selected; and

compressing said song as identified between said beginning and end, and storing said song as defined between said beginning and said end as compressed audio information, said song stored as information indicative of the audio between said beginning and said end as a stored compressed clip of information which can be played back; and

at a time after said storing, enabling selection of said song to play back only a portion of said streamed information as defined between said beginning and said end, corresponding to said song.

2. A method as in claim 1, further comprising storing an identifier that is associated with song, and playing said song without playing back a remainder of said streamed information responsive to selecting said identifier.

3. A method as in claim 1, wherein said automatically identifying uses a frequency analysis to automatically identifying a beginning of said song based on changed content within said song.

4. A method as in claim 3, wherein said streamed information is a radio broadcast, and further comprising storing information indicative of a radio broadcast as received, and playing back said information as time shifted information, wherein said beginning is at a previous time point within the time shifted information, and wherein said end is at a later time point in the time shifted information.

5. A method as in claim 1, wherein said streamed information is radio information received over a network connection.

6. A method as in claim 1, further comprising also receiving and storing discrete files, which are not streamed, and storing said files and enabling playing said files.

7. A method as in claim 1, wherein said obtaining information uses a mesh network in which the streamed information is received and also transmitted to other nodes.

8. A method as in claim 6, further comprising automatically deleting some of said discrete files and information after a specified time, and not automatically deleting others of said discrete files and information after said specified time.

9. A method comprising:

using a memory to store timeshifted information indicative of previously streamed information in a compressed form, wherein said timeshifted information includes discrete songs;

playing back said timeshifted information;

while playing back said timeshifted information, selecting a song within said timeshifted information to be stored separately from said timeshifted information; and

using a controller for automatically identifying a beginning and an end of said song, said automatically identifying being responsive to said selecting that occurs during playing of said song, wherein said beginning is at a previous time point within the time shifted information, and wherein said end is at a later time point in the time shifted information, and storing said song in said memory, associated with a designation for said song.

10. A method as in claim 9, wherein said automatically identifying uses a frequency analysis to automatically identifying a beginning of said song based on changed content within said timeshifted information.

11. A method as in claim 9, wherein said streamed information is a radio broadcast, and further comprising storing information indicative of a radio broadcast as received, and playing back said information as time shifted information, wherein said beginning is at a previous time point within the time shifted information, and wherein said end is at a later time point in the time shifted information.

12. A method as in claim 9, further comprising also receiving and storing discrete files in said memory, which are not streamed, and storing said files and enabling playing said files.

13. A method as in claim 12, further comprising automatically deleting some of said discrete files and information in said memory after a specified time, and not automatically deleting others of said discrete files and information in said memory after said specified time.

14. A method as in claim 9, further comprising receiving information from a mesh network in which the streamed information is received and also transmitted to other nodes.

15. A device, comprising:

a first wireless network part, which receives a wireless network information;

a memory, which stores information;

a controller, operating for detecting whether first wireless network part is within range of streamed information, and automatically recording said streamed information in said memory when said first wireless network part is within range of said streamed information and providing controls that enable selecting and playing back parts of said streamed information as recorded.

16. A device as in claim 15, wherein said controller automatically controls deleting said streamed information at a specified time after receiving.

17. A device as in claim 15, further comprising a second connection, receiving file information that is not streamed,

said controller storing said file information in said memory;

wherein said controller provides controls that enable selecting and playing either of said streamed information as recorded, or said file information.

18. A device as in claim 17, wherein said controller automatically automatically allows deleting said streamed information at a specified time after receiving, but does not automatically allow deleting said file information at said specified time after receiving.

19. A device as in claim 15, wherein said controller provides controls which enable selecting a song within said streamed information, and wherein said controller automatically identifies a beginning and an end of said song and stores said song in said memory, associated with a designation for said song.

20. A device as in claim 15, wherein said streamed information is arranged by numbers representing items in an area, and wherein said numbers are selectable to play back said streamed information.