Dynamic information storage or retrieval – Information location or remote operator actuated control – Selective addressing of storage medium
Reexamination Certificate
1998-04-03
2001-06-05
Neyzari, Ali (Department: 2651)
Dynamic information storage or retrieval
Information location or remote operator actuated control
Selective addressing of storage medium
C369S034010
Reexamination Certificate
active
06243328
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Music recording and reproduction of music has taken many forms, including vinyl recordings, cassette tapes, and now CD-ROM discs, among others. However, while it is possible to read the label from a vinyl record or a cassette tape while music is being reproduced therefrom, typically, when music is being reproduced from a CD-ROM disc, the disc is spinning at a high rate. Additionally, the disc is typically retained within a player, thus either not allowing a view of the disc, or only allowing a partial view of the disc.
Multi-disc CD players pose an additional problem in identifying a disc which is being played or in identifying any of the other discs which are stored within the player and not being played. Multi-disc players include types in which discs are loaded one at a time, or types in which discs are first placed in a multi-disc cartridge, and then the cartridge is loaded into the multi-disc player. In either case, a plurality of discs are retained within the player and are hidden from view. The number of discs can be any number up to 200 discs or more. However, since a user cannot view the discs, the user cannot be sure which discs are within the player unless the user retains a separate list of the identity of each of the discs and the disc's position within the multi-disc player. If the user wishes to play a song from a particular disc, it may not be easy for a user to select that disc out of the plurality of discs from the player, perhaps requiring the user to listen to a beginning portion of each of the discs to determine its identity, which is a very time consuming process.
In order to remedy this problem, some multi-disc players have allowed a user to enter a small number of characters to be associated with a particular disc. The user inserts the disc into the player and then selects a sequence of characters, perhaps the title, to be associated with the disc. These characters are retained in memory in the player with the code of the disc. Anytime the disc is selected to be played, the associated characters are displayed. While this is an improvement, the user is required to enter the information, and the information displayed is very minimal. Also, the user can only view the information when a disc is selected, and thus this process is very slow. In order to find a particular desired disc, a user must still allow the player to read at least the lead code on the disc, search the player memory, and display the associated characters, also a somewhat time consuming process.
Recently, new discs include additional text information regarding the contents of the disc which can be read and displayed by the CD player. Thus, a limited amount of information can be displayed. However, most CD-ROM discs do not have this information included on them.
Additionally, even the discs that do include this information contain only a most limited amount, due to memory constraints, as well as display constraints. Since a typical CD player is likely to have only a small LCD display, only a small amount of information can be displayed at a time. Furthermore, any information contained on the CD must be fixed at the time the CD is produced. Thus, no updated information can be provided.
Therefore, it would be beneficial to provide an apparatus and method for displaying updated information about a particular disc on a CD player, even if the information is not included on the disc.
It would also be beneficial to provide an expanded interface to allow for viewing of extended, updated information, and for aiding in manipulation of disc information.
Audio and video systems typically have many components, including tuners, CD players, video disc players, video tape players, audio tape players, amplifiers and the like. While many systems are partially integrated, it would be beneficial to provide a complete system which is also able to display updated disc information, and which is coupleable to an expanded interface.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide an improved CD player which can acquire and display updated disc information.
Another object of the invention is to provide an improved CD-ROM disc player which can store a plurality of discs and display expanded, updated information about each disc.
A further object of the invention is to provide an improved disc player which is adaptable to utilize an enhanced interface to allow for programming control and expanded display.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide an improved, self-contained stereo and multi-disc player which integrates expanded programming features and display.
Still other objects and advantages of the invention will in part be obvious and will in part be apparent from the specification and the drawings.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Generally speaking, in accordance with the invention, a modular, multi-disc media storage system and multi-disc media integrated player is provided for allowing a plurality of recording media, such as a plurality of CD-ROM discs, to be stored and played back in an efficient manner. The multi-disc storage and integrated player includes a storage area for storing a plurality of recording media, for example CDs, CD-ROM discs, DVD or DVD-R, etc., a playing mechanism for playing one of the stored discs, an interface for allowing a user to play and select a particular disc stored within the apparatus, an expanded user interface allowing a user to perform additional programming features, and a communication link for allowing the multi-disc storage and integrated player unit to download updated information, including text and other visual or audio information, about each of the discs currently retained within the apparatus. The communication link allows the multi-disc storage and integrated player to download updated information regarding each of the discs currently held within the player, to store and collate this information, and to display this information to a user. The user can view a small amount of textual information using a limited integrated interface, or can view extensive textual information, as well as graphic and audio information via an expanded external user interface. The expanded external user interface allows a user to generate a play list by selecting songs from discs by using textual or graphic information, which may include a picture of the front cover art of the disc. In order to obtain the expanded, updated information, the multi-disc storage and integrated player dials into a database, preferably maintained on a web site specifically designed to download the updated CD-ROM information. The more specific features of this expanded external user interface are described in copending application Ser. No. 09/054997, the full contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
The multi-disc storage and integrated player is designed to be contained within a single, self-contained integrated unit, including AM/FM tuner, DVD player, CD-ROM player, CD-ROM store and other components. Speakers could be included as part of the integrated player. In order to best utilize the multi-disc storage and integrated player, a user plugs in speakers and a telephone line, cable television line, optical fiber, or any other means of data communication in order to download various disc information, including but not limited to title information, and to provide access to the music and web site database for the additional, extended and contextual information.
If the expanded external user interface is to be used, this interface is coupled with the multi-disc storage and integrated player of the invention, and expanded updated textual, graphical and audio information downloaded from the database may be displayed.
Additionally, this expanded interface is adapted to accumulate information regarding the discs contained in the user's system, and the frequency of use of a particular disc. Based upon this information, the downloaded information can include updated news information about an artist which is frequently played, or t
Fenner Knut Thomas
Gioscia Rich
Zoels Jan-Christoph
Frommer William S.
Frommer & Lawrence & Haug LLP
Kessler Gordon
Neyzari Ali
Sony Corporation
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