Electronic device, media management system and method thereof

• US 8,289,139 B2
• Filed: 06/12/2009
• Issued: 10/16/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 07/03/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Socle Technology Corp. (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: Wang, Chuan-Hong, Yeh, Hong-Yang, Chou, Hsiao-Chung, Huang, Li-Zhang
• Primary Examiner(s): Lieu, Julie
• Application Number:
  US12/483,258
• Publication Number:
  US 20100001875A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,222 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 340/309.16
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/109 Time management, e.g. calendars, reminders, meetings or time accounting

Abstract

A method of managing medias, including steps of: receiving medias; detecting whether the media includes a time information including a start time, a finish time, and a display time interval; comparing the current date and time with the start time if the media includes the time information; displaying the media every the display time interval if the current date and time reaches or goes beyond the start time but does not reach the finish time. The time information can be added to the metadata of the media by a user before the media is sent to a receiver. The present invention further provides an electronic device capable of executing the above steps.

Claims

1. An electronic device, comprising:

a storage unit;

a communication module configured for connecting the electronic device to other electronic devices via a communication network;

a receiving module configured for receiving medias via the communication module;

a time comparison module configured for detecting whether a newly received media includes time information comprising a start time, a finish time, and a time interval, and comparing the current date and time with the start time and the finish time of the time information if the media includes the time information;

a display control module configured for controlling a display unit to display the media repeatedly every time interval till the finish time if the time comparison module determines the current date and time reaches or goes beyond the start time but does not reach the finish time, and further configured for displaying a prompt signal on the display unit just once if the current date and time goes beyond the finish time of the media; and

a storing control module configured for storing the received media into the storage unit, and set the display attribute of the media as hidden if the time comparison module determines the current date and time falls before the start time of the time information.

2. The electronic device of claim 1, further comprising a user input unit, wherein the electronic device further comprises a dialoging module configured for determining whether a user responds to the display media via the user input unit and providing a dialog box to ask the user whether to display the media, and the display control module is further configured for controlling the display unit to display the media again if another display is required by the user.

3. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein, the storing control module is further configured for creating a display control table in the storage unit, and adding a control information to the display control table according to the time information of a newly received media, and the time comparison module is further configured for reading the control information from the display control table and informing the display control module to control the display of the newly received media in accordance with control information.

4. The electronic device of claim 3, wherein the control information comprises a file name, a start time, a finish time, a time interval, a next display time of the newly received media and a display duration.

5. The electronic device of claim 4, wherein the next display time is calculated according to the previous display time and the time interval of the media, if a media including the time information has never been displayed, the start time of the media is considered as the next display time.

6. The electronic device of claim 5, wherein, the time comparison module is further configured for comparing the current date and time with a next display time of control information of the display control table, if the current date and time reaches to a next display time of a control information, the display control module controls the display unit to display a media corresponding to a file name of the control information for the display duration.

7. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the time information further comprises a time information header for identifying the time information for the time comparison module.

8. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the storing control module is further configured for storing newly received medias including time information in a folder in the storage unit and moving medias whose next display time reach or come beyond their finish time or medias which users choose not to display again from the folder, and the time comparison module is configured for searching in the folder to determine medias which are about to display and signaling the display control module to control the display of those medias according to their time information.

9. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the time information is added in the metadata of a media.

10. A method for managing medias applied in an electronic device, the method comprising:

receiving a media;

determining whether the media includes a time information, wherein the time information includes a start time, a finish time, and a time interval;

comparing the current date and time with the start time and the finish time of the media if the media includes the time information;

displaying the media on a display unit repeatedly every time interval if the current date and time reaches or goes beyond the start time but does not reaches the finish time;

setting the display attribute of the media as hidden if the current date and time falls before the start time of the time information; and

displaying a prompt signal immediately if the media including no time information or the current date and time falls behind the finish time.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the time information further comprises a time interval, and the method further comprises:

prompting a user whether to display the media again if the user responds to the displayed media;

displaying the media again after the time interval if the user choose to display the media again;

terminating the display of the media if the user choose not to display the media again.

12. A system for managing medias, the system comprising:

a first electronic device configured for adding time information to a media and sending the media to a second electronic device, wherein the time information comprises a start time, a finish time and a time interval;

the second electronic device comprising;

a receiving module configured for receiving the media;

a storage unit configured for storing the media;

a display unit configured for displaying the media;

a time comparison module configured for comparing the current date and time with the start time and the finish time of the time information;

a display control module configured for controlling a display unit to display the media repeatedly every time interval till the finish time if the time comparison module determines the current date and time reaches or goes beyond the start time, and further configured for displaying a prompt signal on the display unit if the current date and time goes beyond the finish time of the media; and

a storing control module configured for storing the received media into the storage unit, and set the display attribute of the media as hidden if the time comparison module determines the current date and time falls before the start time of the time information.

13. The electronic device of claim 12, further comprising a user input unit, wherein the electronic device further comprises a dialoging module configured for determining whether a user responds to the display media via the user input unit and providing a dialog box to ask the user whether to display the media, and the display control module is further configured for controlling the display unit to display the media again if another display is required by the user.