Track access management for large playlists in a vehicular multimedia player

• US 7,062,338 B1
• Filed: 02/14/2002
• Issued: 06/13/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 02/14/2002
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Visteon Global Technologies Incorporated (Visteon Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Visteon Global Technologies Incorporated (Visteon Corporation)
• Inventors: Cheney, David S., Remenak, Michael R., Auflick, Jack L., Hamel, Gregory R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Tran, Sinh
• Assistant Examiner(s): FLANDERS, ANDREW C
• Application Number:
  US10/076,230
• Time in Patent Office: 1,580 Days
• Field of Search: 369/30.01, 369/30.06, 369/30.08, 369/30.09, 700/94, 381/89, 345/645
• US Class Current: 700/94
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 19/022 Control panels
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/2545 CDs
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/105 of operating discs
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/329 on a disc [VTOC]
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/34 Indicating arrangements indicating means incorporated in magazine or cassette G11B23/046 and G11B23/0875; indicating measured values in general G01D
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/36 Monitoring, i.e. supervising the progress of recording or reproducing for digital recording G11B20/00 and s.gr.; for monitoring, testing or measuring of TV recorders of the type covered by H04N5/76 and subgroups, see H04N17/06

Abstract

An audio multimedia player has dual access modes for navigating between track selections contained in a large storage media, such as a compact disc CD-ROM having compressed audio files. The disc may includes numerous directories for organizing the audio files, but the player has insufficient display resources to show the directories themselves. In a flat file mode, all target audio file on the disc are included in a sequential numbering scheme which ignores any directory structure. In a directory mode, all directories are collapsed onto a single directory level in which subdirectories are moved up to the same top level as all other directories. The directories are sequentially numbered and then the target audio files within each directory are sequentially numbered.

Claims

1. A method of organizing digital audio tracks on a predetermined media for navigation and selection by a user of an audio player having a display, said predetermined media storing said digital audio tracks in a directory based file system, said method comprising the steps of:

scanning said predetermined media to locate each of said digital audio tracks and to determine a total number of tracks;

numbering said digital audio tracks with a flat-file selection number from a first flat-file selection number to a last flat-file selection number in a flat tile mode;

numbering each directory within said file system containing at least one of said digital audio tracks from a first directory number to a last directory number in a single-level directory mode;

numbering digital audio tracks within each numbered directory with an in-directory selection number from a respective first in-directory selection number to a respective last in-directory selection number;

said user selecting either said flat file mode or said directory mode;

when in said flat file mode, said audio player displaying said flat-file selection numbers and said user searching for a desired digital audio track by sequentially navigating through said flat-file selection numbers; and

when in said directory mode, said audio player displaying said directory numbers and said in-directory selection numbers and said user selecting a desired directory and then searching for a desired digital audio track by sequentially navigating through said in-directory selection numbers; and

wherein said display has the ability to display a maximum of one selection number at a time.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein said first flat-file selection number equals 1 and said last flat-file selection number equals said total number of tracks.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein said first in-directory selection number in each respective numbered directory is equal to 1.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein each respective last in-directory selection number is equal to a total number of said digital audio tracks contained within its respective directory.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein said scanning step is comprised of compiling and storing in an index table a respective flat-file selection number, a directory number, and an in-directory selection number assigned to each digital audio track found during said scanning.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein said digital audio tracks are identified by a respective file extension in their respective file names of said file system.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein said digital audio tracks are encoded as MP3 files.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein said predetermined media is comprised of a CD-ROM disc.

9. An audio player for reproducing selections from a predetermined media containing digital audio tracks stored in a directory based file system, said audio player comprising:

an alphanumeric display showing selection number identifying data;

a user control interface for selecting either a flat-file mode or a directory mode and for navigating sequentially through said selection number identifying data in each of said modes; and

a controller for scanning said predetermined media to locate each of said digital audio tracks and to determine a total number of tracks, for numbering said digital audio tracks with a flat-file selection number from a first flat-file selection number to a last flat-file selection number in said flat file mode, for numbering each directory within said file system containing at least one of said digital audio tracks from a first directory number to a last directory number in said directory mode, for numbering digital audio tracks within each numbered directory with an in-directory selection number from a respective first in-directory selection number to a respective last in-directory selection number, for causing said display to show said flat-file selection number when in said flat file mode, and for causing said display to show said directory number and said in-directory selection number when in said directory mode;

wherein, when in said flat file mode, said controller is responsive to said user control interface for searching for a desired digital audio track by sequentially navigating through said flat-file selection numbers; and

wherein, when in said directory mode, said controller is responsive to said user control interface for selecting a desired directory and then for searching for a desired digital audio track by sequentially navigating through said in-directory selection numbers; and

wherein said display has the ability to display a maximum of one selection number at a time.

10. The audio player of claim 9 wherein said display further shows an indicator according to a one of said flat file mode or said directory mode that is selected at a particular time.

11. The audio player of claim 9 wherein said selection number identifying data for said directory mode is comprised of a directory number followed by an in-directory selection number.

12. The audio player of claim 9 wherein said display further shows a wait message during said scanning of said predetermined media.

13. The audio player of claim 9 further comprising:

an index table compiled during said scanning of said predetermined media for storing a respective flat-file selection number, a directory number, and an in-directory selection number assigned to each digital audio track found during said scanning.