This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. ยง 119(a) of a Korean patent application filed in the Korean Intellectual Property Office on Feb. 5, 2007 and assigned Serial No. 2007-0011722, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a multimedia playing device. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method of controlling and displaying an attribute of a multimedia file playing in a multimedia playing device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Nowadays, the number of multimedia playing devices having a touch screen for user convenience in data input is increasing. With such a device, a user may play a multimedia file with a simple touch operation. As an example, a multimedia playing device may display a title of a currently playing multimedia file in the touch screen, and thereby the user may identify the title of the multimedia file without inputting operation data. However, when further information about an attribute of the multimedia file (for example, tempo and tone of music) is desired, the user must input the operation data by selecting a menu item to identify the attribute of the multimedia file. While identifying an attribute of a playing multimedia file by selecting a menu item, the user cannot concentrate on the multimedia file is being played.
Additionally, the multimedia file is played according to an attribute (for example, tone, tempo and volume) preset by the user. In the case that the user wants to change the attribute of the multimedia file that is playing, the user must stop playing the multimedia file and enter a setting menu. Therefore, there are difficulties in changing an attribute of a playing multimedia file in the conventional multimedia playing device.
An aspect of the present invention is to address at least the above mentioned problems and/or disadvantages and to provide at least the advantages described below. Accordingly, an aspect of the present invention is to provide a method of displaying a status of a playing multimedia file in a multimedia playing device.
Another aspect of the present invention is to provide a method of controlling a status of a playing multimedia file by using a touch screen.
In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, a user interface method in a multimedia playing device having a touch screen is provided. The user interface method includes displaying, while playing a multimedia file, at least one sound source object in a first area of the touch screen, identifying, if an input event is generated for the sound source object, a type of the input event, changing a form of the displayed sound source object according to the type of the input event, and controlling the play of the multimedia file.
The above and other aspects, features and advantages of certain exemplary embodiments of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
Throughout the drawings, like reference numerals will be understood to refer to like parts, components and structures.
The following description with reference to the accompanying drawings is provided to assist in a comprehensive understanding of exemplary embodiments of the present invention as defined by the claims and their equivalents. It includes various specific details to assist in that understanding but these are to be regarded as merely exemplary. Accordingly, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that various changes and modifications of the embodiments described herein can be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. Also, descriptions of well-known functions and constructions will be omitted for clarity and conciseness.
Several terms used in this specification are defined as follows.
A sound source object is a displayed animation which illustrates a characteristic of a playing sound source such as a media file. A sound source object may comprise information of tone, frequency band output, volume and play speed of a sound source.
An input event is a signal input in a touch screen by a user and may comprise a touch event and/or a drag event.
A multimedia playing device has a module for playing a multimedia file, such as an audio file and a video file. Examples of a multimedia playing device include a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), hand-held Personal Computer (PC), notebook computer, MP3 player a Portable Multimedia Player (PMP) and the like. The multimedia playing device may also be a mobile communication terminal having a module for playing a multimedia file.
A storage unit 110 is configured with a program memory and a data memory. The program memory stores operating programs for the multimedia playing device 100 and programs for providing a user interface by using a touch screen 120 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. The data memory stores data generated during execution of the programs, and includes a multimedia storage area 111 for storing at least one multimedia file (audio and video files), and a play control information storage area 113 for storing play control information of a multimedia file, such as volume, tone, tempo and the like. The multimedia storage area 111 may also store a multimedia file downloaded from an external source.
The touch screen 120 includes a display unit 121 and a touch sensor 125. The display unit 121 may be configured with a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) device, LCD controller, and memory device for storing display data. The display unit 121 displays an operation status of the multimedia playing device 100 and information of a text, image, animation and icon. While playing a multimedia file, the display unit 121 displays a sound source object in the touch screen 120 according to the control of a control unit 130.
The touch sensor 125 installed in the display unit 121 includes a touch detection module 127 and a signal conversion module 129. If an input event is generated, the touch detection module 127 identifies generation of an input event by detecting changes of a corresponding physical property (for example, resistance, capacitance and the like), and outputs the detected physical property to a signal conversion module 129. The input event is a signal input to the touch screen 120 by a user. The signal conversion module 129 converts the changes of the physical property to a digital signal and determines whether the input event is a touch event or a drag event. Additionally, the signal conversion module 129 detects the coordinates at which the input event is generated.
The control unit 130 controls the general operation of the multimedia playing device 100. In particular, the control unit 130 controls the display unit 121 to display at least one sound source object while playing a multimedia file. For example, the control unit 130 controls the display unit 121 to display a sound source object in a wave form. The displayed wave of the sound source object may represent frequency band output, volume, play speed information and the like. For example, the height of a specific point of the wave may represent the frequency band output. That is, if the maximum height of the wave is great, the corresponding frequency band output has a high value, and if the maximum height of the wave is small, the corresponding frequency band output has a low value. Similarly, amplitude of the wave may represent the sound volume. If the difference between the amplitude of the highest point of the wave and the amplitude of the lowest point of the wave is large, the sound volume has a high value, and if the difference between the amplitude of the highest point of the wave and the amplitude of the lowest point of the wave is small, the sound volume has a low value. Also, the frequency of the wave may represent the play speed. If the frequency of the wave is high, the play speed is high, and if the frequency of the wave is low, the play speed is low.
Additionally, the control unit 130 controls the display unit 121 to display each sound source object including first tone or genre information such as classic, rock and dance tones. The control unit 130 may further control the display unit 121 to display each sound source object including second tone information such as vocal and melody tones. The control unit 130 controls the display unit 121 to display each sound source object in an animated wave form, such that individual sound source objects are displayed close to each other but not overlapping each other. The waves indicating the sound source objects are distinguished by at least one of the thickness, color, transparency and the like of a wave line.
If an input event for a sound source object is generated while playing a multimedia file, the control unit 130 controls the touch sensor 125 to identify the type of the generated input event, for example, a touch event and/or a drag event. Subsequently, the control unit 130 changes a form of the displayed sound source object according to the identified input event and controls an operation of the playing multimedia file.
If the generated input event is a touch event, the control unit 130 identifies whether a sound source object is selected. If a sound source object is selected, the control unit 130 changes a characteristic of the playing multimedia file corresponding to the selected sound source object. For this, the control unit 130 may change a frequency band output value of the corresponding sound source object. For example, if the selected sound source object is a sound source object of a classic tone, the control unit 130 may play the corresponding multimedia file in a classic tone by increasing an output of a low frequency (for example, 125 Hz). If the selected sound source object is a sound source object of a vocal tone, the control unit 130 may play a multimedia file by decreasing an output of a frequency band covering a human voice. Therefore, the user may hear only the melody portion of the multimedia file by eliminating the human voice.
In another exemplary implementation, if the generated input event is a drag event, the control unit 130 identifies the movement direction of the drag event by detecting starting and ending coordinates of the drag event. If the identified movement direction of the drag event is a vertical direction, the control unit 130 controls the touch sensor 125 to calculate a displacement value in the vertical direction between the starting and ending coordinates and controls a sound volume according to the calculated displacement value. As an example, if the movement direction of the drag event is a downward direction, the control unit 130 may reduce the sound volume, and if the movement direction of the drag event is an upward direction, the control unit 130 may increase the sound volume.
In yet another exemplary implementation, if the identified movement direction of the drag event is a horizontal direction, the control unit 130 controls the touch sensor 125 to calculate a displacement value in the horizontal direction between the starting and ending coordinates. Based on the calculated displacement value, the control unit 130 controls a play speed of the multimedia file. For example, if the movement direction of the drag event is a rightward direction, the control unit 130 reduces the play speed corresponding to the calculated displacement value. If the movement direction of the drag event is a leftward direction, the control unit 130 increases the play speed corresponding to the calculated displacement value.
Further, if the identified movement direction of the drag event is a diagonal direction, the control unit 130 controls the touch sensor 125 to calculate displacement values in the vertical direction and in the horizontal direction, and determines a coordinate having a greater displacement value as the movement direction of the drag event. The control unit 120 then controls the sound volume and play speed of the multimedia file according to the movement direction of the drag event.
Still further, the control unit 130 stores play control information in the storage unit 110 corresponding to the changed form of the sound source object. The control unit 130 controls an audio processing unit 140 to play a multimedia file corresponding to the changed form of the sound source object.
The audio processing unit 140 converts various audio signals generated by the control unit 130 to signals to be output to a speaker SPK. More particularly, the audio processing unit 140 plays a multimedia file according to the form of the sound source object changed by the control unit 130.
Referring to
Referring again to
Referring to
In another example, the control unit 130 controls the display unit 121 to display a sound source object including second tone information (for example, vocal and melody tones) in a wave form, as shown in
If a specific sound source object is selected, the control unit 130 controls the display unit 121 to display the selected sound source object differently from other sound source objects in step S243. For example, the selected sound source object and unselected sound source objects may be displayed in different colors, or different line thickness as shown in
Referring to
In contrast, if the movement direction of the drag event is a horizontal direction, the control unit 130 calculates a displacement value in the horizontal direction between the starting and ending coordinates in step S355. Subsequently, the control unit 130 changes the form of a sound source object according to the calculated displacement value and the movement direction of the drag event in step S356. For example, if the movement direction of the drag event is a rightward direction as shown in
Returning to
In an exemplary implementation, if a sound source object is selected, the control unit 130 identifies the selected sound source object, and changes a frequency band output value of the corresponding multimedia file. If the selected sound source object is a sound source object of a classic tone, the control unit 130 changes the tone of the multimedia file to a classic tone and plays the multimedia by increasing an output of a low frequency (for example, 125 Hz). If the selected sound source object is a sound source object of a vocal tone, the control unit 130 plays the multimedia file by decreasing an output of a frequency band covering a human voice. Therefore, the user may hear only the melody portion of the multimedia file by eliminating the human voice.
In another exemplary implementation, if the form of sound source object is changed, the control unit 130 plays a multimedia file corresponding to the changed form of the sound source object. For example, if the form of the sound source object shown in
In yet another example, if the form of the sound source object shown in
Returning to
In this exemplary embodiment, a method of displaying a sound source object in a wave form has been described. However, the sound source object may be displayed in various forms of lines and figures.
According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a status of a playing multimedia file may easily be identified by displaying a sound source object in a wave form in a multimedia playing device, and a play operation of a multimedia file may easily be controlled according to touch and drag event input in a touch screen.
Although the present invention has been described with reference to certain exemplary embodiments in detail hereinabove, it should be understood by those skilled in the art that many variations in form and modifications of the basic inventive concept may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined in the appended claims and their equivalents.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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10-2007-0011722 | Feb 2007 | KR | national |