Method and apparatus of synchronizing complementary multi-media effects in a wireless communication device

• US 7,966,034 B2
• Filed: 09/30/2003
• Issued: 06/21/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications USA Incorporated (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications USA Incorporated (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Zak, Robert A., Northcutt, John W., Yates, Charles Randall
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen; Duc M
• Assistant Examiner(s): CHOW, CHARLES CHIANG
• Application Number:
  US10/674,780
• Publication Number:
  US 20050070241A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,821 Days
• Field of Search: 455/265, 455/567, 455/566, 455/414.1, 455/415, 455/412.2, 455/550.1, 455/563, 455/3.06, 455/424, 455/425, 455/456.5, 455/456.6, 455/575.1, 455/67.7, 455/561, 455/569.1, 455/157.2, 455/159.1, 455/159.2, 455/156.1, 455/76, 455/405, 455/414.4, 455/556.1, 455/556.2, 455/557, 379/373.04, 379/373.03, 379/374.03, 379/375.01, 379/376.01, 379/68, 379/72, 379/179, 379/207.16, 379/211.03, 379/252, 379/418, 379/374.1, 379/347.03, 379/88.13, 846/03, 846/45, 846/16, 846/40, 846/36, 700/90, 715/716, 715/500.1
• US Class Current: 455/550.1
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/0008 Associated control or indicating means
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2230/021 Mobile ringtone, i.e. generation, transmission, conversion or downloading of ringing tones or other sounds for mobile telephony; Special musical data formats or protocols herefor mobile telephone transmission specifically adapted for electrophonic musical tools or instruments G10H2240/251
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2240/056 MIDI or other note-oriented file format
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2240/325 Synchronizing two or more audio tracks or files according to musical features or musical timings synchronised lyrics, e.g. for karaoke G10H2220/011
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72409 by interfacing with external accessories hands-free H04M1/60
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72442 for playing music files
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 19/041 Encoding the ringing signal, i.e. providing distinctive or selective ringing capability
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/52 including functional features of a camera constructional features concerning the integration of cameras in portable phones H04M1/0264

Abstract

A mobile communications device has a wireless transceiver to facilitate communications, memory, and a processor. The processor may be configured to analyze an audio file stored in the memory, and extract or generate synchronizing information from the audio file. The processor synchronizes one or more complementary multi-media effects, such as lights, a camera, or a tactile feedback generator, with the audio file based on the synchronizing information. Alternatively, a user may input synchronizing information about the audio file via an interface on the communications device. The processor may then control the complementary multi-media effects in synchronization with the input synchronizing information.

Claims

1. A method of synchronizing one or more complementary multi-media effects with an audio file in a mobile communications device, the method comprising:

selecting a sample from an audio file stored in memory in a mobile communications device;

analyzing said sample to calculate synchronizing information by;

sectioning said sample into a plurality of measures, each said measure comprising an equivalent number of notes;

determining the notes that occur within a desired beat in each said measure; and

calculating a weight value by summing a velocity parameter of a corresponding note-on event for each said note that occurs within said desired beat in each said measure; and

generating a pattern in which to render one or more complementary multi-media effects in the mobile communications device synchronously with the playback of the audio file based on the calculated synchronizing information.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein analyzing said sample to calculate synchronizing information further comprises sampling the output of a MIDI synthesizer in the mobile communications device.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein analyzing said sample to calculate synchronizing information further comprises detecting a peak amplitude within said sample.

4. The method of claim 3 further comprising comparing said detected peak amplitude to a threshold value.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein synchronizing the one or more complementary multi-media effects with the audio file comprises generating a control signal based on the comparison of said detected peak amplitude and said threshold value.

6. The method of claim 4 wherein synchronizing the one or more multi-media effects with the audio file varying the intensity of the one or more complementary multi-media effects based on the comparison of said detected peak amplitude and said threshold value.

7. The method of claim 4 wherein synchronizing the one or more complementary multi-media effects comprises varying the duration of activation of the one or more complementary multi-media effects based on the comparison of said detected peak amplitude and said threshold value.

8. The method of claim 1 further comprising overwriting selected information in the audio file with the synchronizing information.

9. The method of claim 1 further comprising storing the synchronizing information in memory of the mobile communications device.

10. A method of synchronizing one or more complementary multi-media effects with an audio file in a mobile communications device, the method comprising:

selecting a sample from an audio file stored in memory in a mobile communications device;

analyzing said sample to calculate synchronizing information by calculating a first value and a second value based on a first candidate time signature and a second candidate time signature, respectively; and

generating a pattern in which to render one or more complementary multi-media effects in the mobile communications device synchronously with the playback of the audio file based on the calculated synchronizing information.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein analyzing said sample to calculate synchronizing information further comprises selecting the highest value from said first and second values to select a time signature.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein synchronizing the one or more complementary multi-media effects with the audio file comprises associating said selected time signature with the audio file.