Audio user interface for computing devices

• US 20060095848A1
• Filed: 11/04/2004
• Published: 05/04/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 11/04/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Computer Incorporated (Apple Inc.)
• Inventors: Naik, Devang K.
• Granted Patent: US 7,735,012 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/716
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/167 Audio in a user interface, e.g. using voice commands for navigating, audio feedback
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/451 Execution arrangements for user interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/10 Indexing; Addressing; Timing or synchronising; Measuring tape travel
• 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

Abstract

An audio user interface that generates audio prompts that help a user interact with a user interface of a device is disclosed. One aspect of the present invention pertains to techniques for providing the audio user interface by efficiently leveraging the computing resources of a host computer system. The relatively powerful computing resources of the host computer can convert text strings into audio files that are then transferred to the computing device. The host system performs the process intensive text-to-speech conversion so that a computing device, such as a hand-held device, only needs to perform the less intensive task of playing the audio file. The computing device can be, for example, a media player such as an MP3 player, a mobile phone, or a personal digital assistant.

Claims

1. A method for providing an audible user interface for a user of a computing device, the method comprising:

receiving a selection of a user interface control on the computing device;

selecting an audio file associated with the selected user interface control; and

playing the selected audio file at the computing device such that an audio prompt is audiblized for the user, the audio prompt describing the selected user interface control or a displayed user interface item corresponding to the selected user interface control.

2. A method as recited in claim 1 wherein the selected user interface control is a play selection, next selection, previous selection, or a stop selection.

3. A method as recited in claim 1 wherein the displayed user interface item is a user customized text string.

4. A method as recited in claim 1 wherein the displayed user interface item is a menu item from a menu displayed on the computing device and wherein the audio prompt describes the menu item.

5. A method as recited in claim 4 wherein the menu item is a song title, album name, or an artist name.

6. A method as recited in claim 1 wherein the selected audio file is associated with an associated media file, and wherein the method further comprises:

retrieving the selected audio file from the associated media file.

7. A method as recited in claim 5 wherein the selected audio file is associated with an associated media file, and wherein the method further comprises:

selecting a pointer to the selected audio file, the pointer being provided with the associated media file.

8. A method as recited in claim 1 wherein the computing device is a media player, the method further comprises:

playing a media file by the media player.

9. A method as recited in claim 8, wherein the method further comprises:

pausing the playing of the media file during the playing of the selected audio file.

10. A method as recited in claim 8, wherein the method further comprises:

reducing a playback volume of the media file during the playing of the selected audio file.

11. A method as recited in claim 8, wherein the method further comprises:

selecting multiple user interface controls within a first time period; and

then, pausing the playing of the media file for a second time period.

12. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the method further comprises:

receiving the audio file from a host computer system.

13. A method as recited in claim 12, wherein the method further comprises:

creating the audio file at the host computer system.

14. A method as recited in claim 13 wherein the creating of the audio file further comprises:

receiving a text string; and

generating the audio file from the text string.

25. A method as recited in claim 1 wherein the computing device is a hand-held device.

15. A method for creating an audio file at a host computer system, the method comprising:

receiving a text string at a text to speech conversion engine;

creating an audio file based upon the text string; and

associating the audio file to a media file.

16. A method as recited in claim 15, wherein the method further comprises:

inserting the audio file into the media file.

17. A method as recited in claim 15, wherein the method further comprises:

inserting a pointer into the media file, wherein the pointer points to the audio file.

18. A method as recited in claim 15 wherein the text string is user customized.

19. A method as recited in claim 15 wherein the text string is a song title, album name, or an artist name.

20. A method as recited in claim 15, wherein the method further comprises:

connecting a computing device to the host computer system;

identifying a new text string on the computing device;

transmitting the new next string to the text to speech conversion engine;

creating a new audio file based upon the new text string.

21. A method as recited in claim 20, wherein the method further comprises:

transferring the new audio file to the computing device.

22. A method as recited in claim 15, wherein the method further comprises:

connecting a computing device to the host computer system;

identifying a media file on the computing device;

identifying a new text string associated to the media file;

transmitting the new next string to the text to speech conversion engine of the host computer system; and

creating a new audio file based upon the new text string.

23. A method as recited in claim 15, wherein the method further comprises:

transferring the audio file and the associated media file to a computing device.

24. A method as recited in claim 23, wherein the method further comprises:

selecting a user interface control on the computing device; and

playing the audio file in response to the selected user interface control.

26. A method for providing an audio user interface, the method comprising:

creating, at a host computer system, an audio file based upon a text string;

downloading the audio file from the host system to a computing device;

selecting a user interface element on the computing device pertaining to the text string; and

playing the audio file such that an audio prompt is made audible to a user proximate in time to the selecting of the user interface element, the audio prompt describing the selected user interface element.

27. A method as recited in claim 26 wherein the text string describes an attribute of a media file.

28. A method as recited in claim 27 wherein the text string describes a song title, an album name, or an artist name.

29. A method as recited in claim 28 wherein the method further comprises:

attaching the audio file to the media file.

30. A method as recited in claim 27 wherein the text string is also one of a plurality of menu items in a menu presented by the computing device.

31. A method as recited in claim 26 wherein the text string describes a user customized word or phrase.

32. A method as recited in claim 26 wherein the text string corresponds to a playlist name or contact information.

33. A method as recited in claim 26 wherein the method further comprises:

identifying a new text string on the computing device;

transmitting the new next string to the host computer system;

creating a new audio file based upon the new text string; and

loading the new audio file into the computing device from the host computer system.

34. A method as recited in claim 26 wherein the method further comprises:

identifying a media file on the computing device;

identifying a new text string associated to the media file;

transmitting the new next string to the host computer system; and

creating a new audio file based upon the new text string; and

loading the new audio file into the computing device from the host computer system.

35. A method as recited in claim 26 wherein the computing device is a hand-held device.

36. A computing device comprising:

a user interface having a plurality of user interface controls and at least one menu that contains one or more menu items;

a communications port for receiving audio files created by a host computer system, the audio files describing at least one of the user interface controls or one of the menu items;

a memory that stores the audio files; and

a user interface control module that plays one of the audio files in response to a user selection of one of the user interface controls.

37. A computing device as recited in claim 36 wherein the computing device is a hand-held device.

38. A computing device as recited in claim 36 wherein the memory also stores media files.

39. A computing device as recited in claim 38 wherein an audio tag is provided with at least one of the media files.

40. A computing device as recited in claim 38 wherein the device further comprises:

an audio tag that is provided within one of the media files; and

a pointer that is contained within the audio tag, the pointer pointing to an associated audio file.

41. A computing device as recited in claim 36 wherein the host computer system includes a text-to-speech conversion engine that creates a respective audio file based upon a text string.

42. A computing device as recited in claim 41 wherein the text string describes an attribute of a media file.

43. A computing device as recited in claim 42 wherein the text string is song title, an album name, or an artist name.