Media file management system and method for home media center

• US 7,991,810 B2
• Filed: 08/26/2003
• Issued: 08/02/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 02/18/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Lee, Junghyeob, Kim, Eunhyung
• Primary Examiner(s): Ly; Cheyne D
• Application Number:
  US10/647,300
• Publication Number:
  US 20040162845A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,898 Days
• Field of Search: 707/1, 707/3, 707/204, 707/913, 707/E17.016, 715/716, 715/810, 715/255, 345/902, 345/255
• US Class Current: N/A
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 15/5016 User-machine interface; Display panels; Control console
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/43 Querying
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/40 Combinations of multiple record carriers
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/002 Programmed access in sequence to a plurality of record carriers or indexed parts, e.g. tracks, thereof, e.g. for editing; transfer of record carriers from magazine G11B15/68, G11B17/10; G11B17/22
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/031 Electronic editing of digitised analogue information signals, e.g. audio or video signals
• 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: H04N 21/42204 User interfaces specially adapted for controlling a client device through a remote control device; Remote control devices therefor constructive details of casings for the remote control device H01H9/0235; user interfaces for controlling a tuning device of a television receiver through a remote control H03J9/00; remote control of peripheral devices connected to a television receiver through the remote control device of the television receiver H04B1/205
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4316 for displaying supplemental content in a region of the screen, e.g. an advertisement in a separate window
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/43615 Interfacing a Home Network, e.g. for connecting the client to a plurality of peripherals home Audio Video Interoperability [HAVI] data switching networks H04L12/2805
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47205 for manipulating displayed content, e.g. interacting with MPEG-4 objects, editing locally
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4828 for searching program descriptors retrieval of video data G06F16/739
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/854 Content authoring
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/163 by receiver means only
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 345/902 Menu display
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/913 Multimedia

Abstract

The present invention provides a media file management system and method for a home media center, which enable media files such as images or photos, music and movies included in a variety of information appliances to be conveniently edited on a screen of a display apparatus connected to a home media center. A search window in which media files to be searched are displayed or an edit window in which a media file to be edited is displayed are created. Then, if a user selects a file edit command for a media file displayed in the search window, the selected file edit command is executed and results of the execution of the file edit command are displayed in the edit window.

Claims

1. A media file management system, comprising:

a control signal input unit that receives at least one control signal transmitted from an input device to control operations of the media file management system;

an interface unit that accesses media files stored in another information appliance by the control signal, and receives the media files;

a media file management unit that creates a search window that displays image data of media files to be searched and an edit window that displays image data of a media content file to be edited, when the media file is required to be edited, and searching and managing the media files through the search window or the edit window in accordance with the at least one control signal; and

a display driving unit that displays the search window and the edit window together in a single display screen,

wherein the media file management unit is implemented in a single program application,

wherein the program application includes an external appliance select menu to display image data of media files stored in an information appliance selected by a user,

wherein the display screen is divided into the search window and the edit window when the user selects an edit menu in the program application,

wherein the search window and the edit window provide different menus when either the search window or the edit window is respectively selected by a user.

2. The system as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

a memory unit that stores the media file edited by the media file management unit; and

a display driving unit generates displayable results of the editing of the media file by the media file management unit.

3. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the at least one control signal received by the control signal input unit is output by an input device with a predetermined universal remote control function.

4. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the media files are album files containing at least one of image, music or movie files.

5. The system as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 2, wherein the media file management unit comprises:

an application driving unit that drives an application configured to manipulate a type of media file selected, and manages the media file through the application;

an edit window creation unit that creates the search window or the edit window; and

a media file search unit that searches for media files stored in at least one of the memory unit and another information appliance.

6. The system as claimed in claim 5, wherein the application driving unit causes paths of the media files searched by the media file search unit to be displayed in the edit window or the search window.

7. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the media file management unit causes results of the execution of a file edit command for a media file selected in the search window to be displayed in the edit window.

8. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the media file management unit causes results of the execution of a file edit command for a media file selected in the edit window to be displayed in the search window.

9. The system as claimed in claim 7 or 8, wherein the file edit command includes at least one of an Edit Album command, a New Album command, a Copy command, a Move command, a Rename command, a Sort command, a Delete command, and a Select All command.

10. The system as claimed in claim 9, wherein the media file management unit is configured to copy the media file selected in the search window into the edit window in response to the Copy command being selected, and is configured to move the media file selected in the search window into the edit window in response to the Move command being selected.

11. A media file management method, comprising:

receiving at least a control signal transmitted from an input device;

accessing media files stored in another information appliance by the control signal, and receiving the media files;

creating one of a search window that displays image data of the received media files to be searched, and an edit window that displays image data of a media file to be edited from the received media files;

displaying the search window and the edit window together in a single display screen;

selecting a file edit command for a selected one of the media files displayed in the search window; and

in the edit window, displaying results of the execution of the file edit command for the selected media file,

wherein the media file management method is implemented in a single program application,

wherein the program application includes an external appliance select menu to display image data of media files stored in an information appliance selected by a user,

wherein the display screen is divided into the search window and the edit window when the user selects an edit menu in the program application,

wherein the search window and the edit window provide different menus when either the search window or the edit window is respectively selected by a user.

12. The method as claimed in claim 11, further comprising the step of, when a user selects a file edit command for the media file displayed in the edit window, performing said displaying step.

13. The method as claimed in claim 11, further comprising the step of driving an application configured to manipulate a type of media file selected, and searching and managing the media files through the application.

14. The method as claimed in claim 11, wherein the media files are album files, each containing at least one of an image file, a music file or a movie file.

15. The method as claimed in claim 11, wherein paths of the media files are displayed in the edit window or the search window.

16. The method as claimed in claim 11 or 12, wherein the file edit command includes at least one of an Edit Album command, a New Album command, a Copy command, a Move command, a Rename command, a Sort command, a Delete command, and a Select All command.

17. The method as claimed in claim 11, wherein the displaying step further comprises the steps of:

copying the selected media file into the edit window in response to a user selecting a copy command; and

moving the selected media file into the edit window in response to the user selecting a move command.

19. The method as claimed in claim 11, wherein information on external appliances in which media files can be searches is displayed on the single display screen together with the search window and the edit window.

20. The method claimed in claim 11, further comprising dividing the single display screen into the search window and the edit window.

18. A computer readable medium configured to store a set of instructions for performing media file management, said instructions comprising:

receiving at a least control signal transmitted from an input device;

accessing media files stored in another information appliance by the control signal, and receiving the media files;

creating one of a search window that displays image data of the received media files to be searched, and an edit window that displays image data of a media file to be edited from the received media files;

displaying the search window and the edit window together in a single display screen;

selecting a file edit command for a selected one of the media files displayed in the search window; and

in the edit window, displaying results of the execution of the file edit command for the selected media file, said display instruction further comprising,

copying the selected media file into the edit window in response to a user selecting a copy command; and

moving the selected media file into the edit window in response to the user selecting a move command,

wherein the instructions are implemented in a single program application,

wherein the program application includes an external appliance select menu to display image data of media files stored in an information appliance selected by a user,

wherein the display screen is divided into the search window and the edit window when the user selects an edit menu in the program application,

wherein the search window and the edit window provide different menus when either the search window or the edit window is respectively selected by a user.