Music composition instruction system

• US 7,547,841 B2
• Filed: 04/07/2005
• Issued: 06/16/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 04/08/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Original Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Inventors: Furuta, Seiichi
• Primary Examiner(s): Donels; Jeffrey
• Application Number:
  US11/100,383
• Publication Number:
  US 20050223878A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,531 Days
• Field of Search: 846/09, 717/174, 455/435.1, 455/451
• US Class Current: 84/609
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/00 Details of electrophonic musical instruments
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2240/105 User profile, i.e. data about the user, e.g. for user settings or user preferences
• 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

Abstract

A music composition introduction system consists of a user'"'"'s audio system and a center for managing music composition information, both of which communicate with each other. The audio system has a preference database storing user'"'"'s preference data. The center receives this preference data, and retrieves music composition information meeting the preference data from a music composition information database. The center then sends music composition information data corresponding to the retrieved music composition information to the audio system. This structure of this system can effectively introduce to each user a music composition meeting the user'"'"'s preference.

Claims

1. A music composition introduction system that extracts and introduces music composition information meeting a musical preference of each user of a plurality of users, the system comprising:

a plurality of terminals for the users; and

a center that manages music composition information,

wherein each of the terminals includes;

a storing unit that stores preference data relating to the musical preference of the user;

an obtaining unit that obtains, from the center, music composition information data relating to a music composition that meets the preference data;

a music reproducing unit that reproduces the music composition based on the obtained music composition information data; and

a user-end communicating unit that sends the preference data to the center and receives the music composition information data from the center,

wherein the center includes;

a music composition information database that stores music composition information;

a preference database that stores individual preference data for the users collected from the terminals; and

a retrieving unit that

(i) obtains the preference data that is stored in the storing unit of the terminal,

(ii) performs, by referring to the preference database, a commonality determination as to whether there is a commonality between the obtained preference data and another preference data, and

(iii) retrieves, from the music composition information database, music composition information based on the preference data and the another preference data when the commonality determination is affirmed; and

a center-end communicating unit that sends the music composition information data corresponding to the retrieved music composition information to the terminal and receives the preference data from the terminals,

wherein each of the terminals are provided in vehicles, and each of the vehicles comprises a navigation device for detecting a position of the each vehicle,

wherein the user-end communicating unit transmits information on the detected position of the vehicle as well as the preference data to the center; and

wherein the retrieving unit of the center;

(i) obtains the preference data along with the information on the position,

(ii) performs, by referring to the preference database, a commonality determination as to whether there is a commonality between the obtained preference data and another preference data while considering the information on the position of the vehicle, and

(iii) retrieves, from the music composition information database, music composition information based on the preference data and the another preference data when the commonality determination is affirmed.

2. The music composition introduction system of claim 1,

wherein, when the music reproducing unit reproduces a music composition that is selected by the user, the storing unit stores, as the preference data, reproduced music composition related data relating to the reproduced music composition.

3. The music composition introduction system of claim 2,

wherein the reproduced music composition related data includes at least one of a name of the reproduced music composition, an artist of the reproduced music composition, a music genre of the reproduced music composition, a label name of the reproduced music composition, a date and hour when the music composition is reproduced, a season when the music composition is reproduced, a weather condition when the music composition is reproduced, and a place where the music composition is reproduced.

4. The music composition introduction system of claim 1,

wherein the terminal further includes a music composition storing unit that groups preferred music compositions and stores the grouped music compositions,

wherein the retrieving unit extracts music composition information designated from a list of the stored grouped music compositions as music composition information that should be provided to another user.

5. The music composition introduction system of claim 1,

wherein the storing unit stores registration information that includes at least one of an artist the user prefers, a music genre the user prefers, and user information.

6. The music composition introduction system of claim 1,

wherein, when there are a plurality of users, the storing unit classifies and stores preference data of the plurality of users with respect to each of the users.

7. The music composition introduction system of claim 6,

wherein, with respect to each of the users, the storing unit classifies and stores audio setting information in a case where the music reproducing unit reproduces a music composition.

8. The music composition introduction system of claim 1,

wherein the music reproducing unit includes a storage medium storing a plurality of music composition information items that are able to be read by using a release key, and

wherein the obtaining unit obtains the release key as the music composition information data.

9. The music composition introduction system of claim 1,

wherein the center sends music composition information data that is able to be reproduced by the music reproducing unit and corresponds to a portion of a music composition meeting the obtained preference data,

wherein, when the user who previews the portion of the music composition wants to buy the music composition, the center sends music composition information data corresponding to all of the music composition.

10. The music composition introduction system of claim 1,

wherein the retrieving unit performs the commonality determination as to whether there is the commonality between the obtained preference data and the another preference data while further considering a date and hour when the user is present,

wherein the retrieving unit retrieves the music composition information further based on the preference data and the another preference data when the commonality determination is confirmed, of having a same date and hour when the user is present and a same place where the user is present based on the position of the vehicle.