Interleaving of information into compressed digital audio streams

• US 7,146,322 B2
• Filed: 04/16/2002
• Issued: 12/05/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 04/16/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: North Star Innovations Inc. (Wi-LAN Inc.)
• Original Assignee: SigmaTel Incorporated (NXP Semiconductors NV)
• Inventors: Cowgill, Clayton Neil
• Primary Examiner(s): Chawan, Vijay B.
• Application Number:
  US10/123,977
• Publication Number:
  US 20030195752A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,694 Days
• Field of Search: 704/500, 704/223, 704/501, 704/233, 704/270.1, 704/270, 704/275, 704/273, 704/201, 707/102, 707/205, 707/104.1, 707/3, 709/231, 709/233, 713/176, 455/45, 455/102, 379/88.17, 379/91.01, 386/46, 386/125, 375/240.11, 714/4, 714/43, 714/48, 715/716, 715/719
• US Class Current: 704/270.1
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 19/167 Audio streaming, i.e. formatting and decoding of an encoded audio signal representation into a data stream for transmission or storage purposes
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99933 Query processing, i.e. searching

Abstract

A digital audio device including a communications port to connect the device to a server and a controller to allow transfer of digital audio files from the server. The digital audio files may include non-audio data interleaved with the digital audio files and the device will include a decoder to decode the non-audio data.

Claims

1. A digital audio device, comprising:

a communications port to communicatively connect the device to a server;

a unique identifier to identify the device when the device is communicatively connected with the server;

a controller to allow transfer of digital audio files from the server, wherein the digital audio files contain interleaved data selected by the server based on the unique identifier; and

a decoder to decode the interleaved data.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein the device further comprises a filter to filter the interleaved data.

3. The device of claim 2, wherein the filter is controllable by the user.

4. The device of claim 1, wherein the device comprises one of the group comprised of:

personal computer, console digital audio player, and a portable digital audio player.

5. The device of claim 1, wherein interleaved data further comprises one of the group comprised of:

a uniform resource locator, graphics, text, and display data.

6. A method of providing information associated with digital audio files, the method comprising:

receiving a file identifier to identify a digital audio file to be downloaded to a client;

receiving a unique identifier associated with the client;

interleaving non-audio information with the digital audio file to create a digital data stream, wherein the non-audio information includes device-specific information selected based on the unique identifier; and

transmitting the digital data steam to the client.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the client is one of the group comprised of:

a personal computer, a console digital audio player and a portable digital audio file.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the method further comprises identifying the non-audio information upon receipt of the file identifier.

9. The method of claim 6, wherein the non-audio information further comprises display data.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the display data is one of the group comprised of:

spectrum analyzer data, VU meter data, and fast Fourier transform data.

11. The method of claim 6, wherein the method further comprises:

analyzing the audio data file to create post-processed data; and

storing post-processed data as non-audio information to be interleaved with the audio data file.

12. A method of accessing information associated with digital audio files, the method comprising:

transmitting a file identifier to a server to identify a digital audio file to be downloaded;

transmitting a device identifier to the server;

receiving the digital audio file, wherein non-audio information data interleaved with the digital audio file is also received, the non-audio information including device-specific information selected based on the device identifier; and

decoding the non-audio information data to provide non-audio information associated with the digital audio file to a user.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein decoding the non-audio information data further comprises extracting display data.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the display data is one of the group comprised of:

spectrum analyzer data, VU meter data and fast Fourier transform data.

15. A digital audio device, comprising:

means for connecting the device to a server;

means for receiving digital audio files from the server, wherein the digital audio files contain interleaved data selected based on an identifier of the device; and

means for decoding the interleaved data.

16. The device of claim 15, wherein the means for connecting the device to a server further comprises a communications port.

17. The device of claim 15, wherein the means for transferring digital audio files from the server further comprises a controller.

18. The device of claim 15, wherein the means for decoding the interleaved data further comprises a decoder.

19. The device of claim 15, wherein the device further comprises a means for filtering the interleaved data.

20. An article containing machine-readable code that, when executed, causes a machine to:

transmit a file identifier to a server to identify a digital audio file to be downloaded;

transmit a device identifier to the server;

receive the digital audio file, wherein non-audio information data interleaved with the digital audio file is also received, the non-audio information data including device-specific information selected based on the device identifier; and

decode the non-audio information data to provide non-audio information associated with the digital audio file to a user.

21. The article of claim 20, wherein the code that, when executed, causes the machine to decode the non-audio information further comprises code that, when executed, causes the machine to extract display data.