Method for providing file information in portable device

• US 20060277204A1
• Filed: 05/18/2006
• Published: 12/07/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 05/19/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Original Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Inventors: Kim, Hong Kyo
• Granted Patent: US 8,001,164 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0485 Scrolling or panning
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2020/10546 specifically adapted for audio data
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/60 Solid state media details of solid state memory devices G11C
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/105 of operating discs
• 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

The methods and apparatuses of the present invention for efficiently providing file information in a portable device with limited screen size. When a plurality of files contain substantially identical file information, the present invention utilizes the file information that is different to distinguish from other files.

Claims

1. A method for providing file information in a portable player, comprising:

comparing a selected one of N files with at least one of a file preceding the selected one file or a file following the selected one file, with respect to predetermined elements of a file information, wherein file information of the N files is provided through a screen of the portable player, respectively; and

providing a non-identical file information of the selected one file on the screen based on the comparison that the one selected file is identical to the at least one of the preceding file or the following file, with respect to the predetermined elements of the file information.

2. The method as set forth in claim 1, wherein the files include at least one of an MP3 audio file, a WMA audio file, an Ogg audio file, or an MPC audio file.

3. The method as set forth in claim 2, wherein if the files are an MP3 audio file, the file information is read from an ID3 tag of the files to be compared therewith.

4. The method as set forth in claim 1, wherein the predetermined elements of the file information include an artist name and an album name.

5. The method as set forth in claim 4, wherein the non-identical file information of the selected one file, which is provided on the screen, includes a song name.

6. The method as set forth in claim 1, wherein the non-identical file information of the selected one file is displayed in a highlighted or shaded fashion.

7. The method as set forth in claim 1, further comprising:

providing a symbol with the selected one file, wherein the symbol indicates that to which of the preceding file or the following file the selected one file is identical with respect to the predetermined elements of the file information.

8. The method as set forth in claim 7, further comprising:

displaying the identical elements of the preceding file or the following file information in a scroll fashion.

9. The method as set forth in claim 1, wherein the non-identical file information is displayed in a scroll fashion, if the non-identical file information is larger than the size of the screen.

10. The method as set forth in claim 7, wherein the symbol does not scroll.

11. The method as set forth in claim 1, further comprising:

providing all elements of the file information of the selected file in a scroll fashion, if the selected file is played.

12. The method as set forth in claim 7, where a screen displays N files, and a first file is an (N−

1)th file which is displayed on the screen and is highlighted, a second file is an Nth file which is displayed on the screen, and a third file is an N+1)th file which is not displayed on the screen but is stored in the portable player, and the first and second files are not identical to each other with respect to the predetermined elements of the file information while the second and third files are identical to each other with respect to the predetermined elements of the file information, further comprising;

upon selection of the second file, displaying the first, second, and third files on the screen;

highlighting the second file to indicate selection;

providing to the screen, at least one element of the second file which is not identical to the file elements of the third file; and

providing to the screen, at least one element of the third file which is identical to the file elements of the third file.

13. The method as set forth in claim 1, wherein the preceding or following files immediately precede or follow the selected one file.

14. A method of displaying a plurality of files on a display in a prescribed format:

determining whether any two files to be provided on the display in the prescribed format contain file information which are identical; and

displaying at least one of the two files with at least one file information which is different.

15. A device comprising:

a memory for storing a plurality of files, each file having file information of a prescribed size, wherein the file information comprises a plurality fields, wherein each field comprises a prescribed number of bits, and each of the field of the file information for a corresponding file provides different information about the corresponding file from one another;

a controller that controls operations of the device, the controller having a microcomputer, a decoder and an audio processor; and

an input device for providing input information and/or controlling the operation of the device using the controller; and

a display screen that displays information provided from the controller, wherein the display screen displays a prescribed number of file information of a prescribed number of files from the plurality of files, wherein if at least two files for display on the display screen have at least one file information which is identical to each other, at least one of the two files is displayed on the display screen with file information which is only different.

16. A method of displaying file information of at least two files on a display, comprising:

determining whether some file information of a first file of the at least two files are identical to some file information of a second file of the at least two files; and

displaying on the display only the mutually non-identical file information of the first file and only the mutually identical file information of the second file.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

displaying a list of files that includes at least the first and the second files.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the display of the list of files occurs upon selection of the first file.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the second file is included in the list of files upon selection of the first file.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein the second file is included in the list before selection of the first file.

21. The method of claim 17, wherein the second file follows the first file on the list of files.

22. The method of claim 17, wherein the second file precedes the second file on the list of files.