Automatic digital music library builder

• US 7,756,915 B2
• Filed: 02/20/2007
• Issued: 07/13/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 01/02/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Catch Media, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Catch Media, Inc.
• Inventors: Ben-Yaacov, Yaacov, Ben-Yaacov, Boaz
• Primary Examiner(s): Mofiz, Apu M
• Assistant Examiner(s): CHEN, TE Y
• Application Number:
  US11/708,997
• Publication Number:
  US 20070156762A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,239 Days
• Field of Search: 707/104.1, 725/34, 700/94
• US Class Current: 707/899
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/433 using audio data
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/634 Query by example, e.g. query by humming
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/68 Retrieval characterised by using metadata, e.g. metadata not derived from the content or metadata generated manually
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/034 on discs G11B27/036, G11B27/038 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/28 by using information signals recorded by the same method as the main recording G11B27/22 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 31/006 with video camera or receiver
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 31/02 with automatic musical instruments
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 33/025 Portable cases
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/914 Video
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/915 Image
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/916 Audio
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99945 Object-oriented database structure processing

Abstract

A digital music library builder including an analog-to-digital converter for converting analog audio into digital audio, an optical character processor for recognizing characters within an image, a meta-data extractor for identifying meta-data for a song within the recognized characters, an audio parser for marking the start and end of a song within the digital audio, and a database manager for associating the identified meta-data with the marked song, within a digital music library. A method is also described and claimed.

Claims

1. A digital music library builder comprising:

a receiver to receive broadcast audio from a first broadcast station, and to receive a broadcast image from a second broadcast station;

a song extractor, coupled to the receiver, to extract a song from the received broadcast audio, comprising an audio parser to mark the start and end of a song within the received broadcast audio;

a meta-data generator, coupled to the receiver, to identify meta-data for the extracted song from the received broadcast image, comprising a luminance extractor to remove color burst noise from the received broadcast image; and

a memory, coupled to the song extractor and the meta-data generator, wherein a memory manager automatically stores the extracted song in a digital music library in the memory and automatically associates the identified meta-data with the stored song, within the digital music library.

2. The digital music library builder of claim 1 wherein the meta-data extractor comprises an optical character recognizer to recognize text characters within the received broadcast image with the aid of a template describing the general layout of the image.

3. The digital music library builder of claim 1 wherein the digital music library is structured as a file system.

4. The digital music library builder of claim 1 wherein the digital music library is structured as a database.

5. The digital music library builder of claim 4 wherein the digital music library is an MP3 database.

6. The digital music library builder of claim 4 wherein the digital music library comprises WMA files.

7. The digital music library builder of claim 1 wherein the memory is a removable memory unit.

8. The digital music library builder of claim 1 wherein the memory is a hard disk drive.

9. The digital music library builder of claim 1 wherein the meta-data includes a song title.

10. The digital music library builder of claim 1 wherein the meta-data includes an artist.

11. The digital music library builder of claim 1 wherein the meta-data includes a genre.

12. The digital music library builder of claim 1 wherein the meta-data includes an album.

13. The digital music library builder of claim 1 wherein the meta-data includes a song length.

14. The digital music library builder of claim 1 wherein the meta-data includes a date.

15. The digital music library builder of claim 1 wherein the meta-data generator tracks a number of repetitions of a song that is received repeatedly by the receiver.

16. The digital music library builder of claim 15 further comprising a digital rights manager for restricting access to the song, based on the tracked number of repetitions of the song.

17. The digital music library builder of claim 1 wherein the extracted song is selectively stored based upon pre-defined characteristics.

18. The digital music library builder of claim 17 wherein the pre-defined characteristics relate to the identified meta-data.

19. The digital music library builder of claim 1 wherein the first and second broadcast stations are the same broadcast station.

20. The digital music library builder of claim 1 wherein the first and second broadcast stations are different broadcast stations.

21. The digital music library builder of claim 1 wherein the first broadcast station is a cable or a satellite broadcast station.

22. The digital music library builder of claim 1 wherein the second broadcast station is a television broadcast station.

23. The digital music library builder of claim 1 wherein the second broadcast station is an Internet website.