Abstract:
A personal portable content player with an aroma function and a content reproducing method thereof are provided. The personal portable content player includes a storage unit storing content, an aroma chip, which is inserted into a predetermined position of the personal portable content player and diffuses an aromatic material when the content is reproduced, an aromatic material number detector detecting the number of the aromatic material included in the content, and a control unit controlling the aroma chip to diffuse the aromatic material corresponding to the aromatic material number detected by the aromatic material number detector. Accordingly, it is possible to provide a personal portable content player with an aroma function and a content reproducing method thereof capable of providing an aroma function in addition to video and audio functions.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATION  
       [0001]     This application claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application Nos. 10-2005-0120099, filed on Dec. 8, 2005 and 10-2006-0024270, filed on Mar. 16, 2006 in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein in their entirety by reference.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0003]     The present invention relates to a personal portable content player and a method thereof, and more particularly, to a personal portable content player having an aroma function in addition to conventional audio and video functions and a method thereof.  
         [0004]     2. Description of the Related Art  
         [0005]     At present, examples of personal portable content player being produced and sold are laptop computers, palmtop computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), portable media players (PMPs), MP3 players, and portable media recorders (PMCs). The various personal portable content players occupy a large portion of the IT industry market.  
         [0006]     In general, conventional personal portable content players provide audio and video functions for pictures, motion pictures, and sound sources (music). However, they cannot provide an aroma function.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0007]     The present invention provides a personal portable content player which includes an aroma chip at a predetermined position and provides an aroma function in addition to conventional audio and video functions and a method thereof.  
         [0008]     According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a personal portable content player with an aroma function including: a storage unit storing contents; and an aroma chip which is inserted in a predetermined position in the personal portable content player and diffuses an aromatic material when a content in the storage unit is reproduced.  
         [0009]     In the above aspect of the present invention, the personal portable content player may further include: an aromatic material number detector detecting the number of the aromatic material included in the content; and a control unit controlling the aroma chip to diffuse the aromatic material corresponding to the aromatic material number detected by the aroma material number detector.  
         [0010]     According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a content reproducing method using a personal portable content player with an aroma function, the method including: (a) detecting an aromatic material number included in a content to be reproduced among the contents stored in the personal portable content player; (b) detecting a chamber in an aroma chip, which contains an aromatic material corresponding to the detected aromatic material number; and (c) controlling the aroma chip to diffuse the aromatic material contained in the chamber by heating the chamber detected in (b). 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0011]     The above and other features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent by describing in detail exemplary embodiments thereof with reference to the attached drawings in which:  
         [0012]      FIG. 1  is a block diagram of a personal portable content player with an aroma function according to an embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0013]      FIGS. 2A  to  2 C show detailed examples of an aroma chip of  FIG. 1 ; and  
         [0014]      FIG. 3  is a flowchart of a content reproducing method using a personal portable content player with an aroma function according to another embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0015]     A personal portable content player having an aroma function and method thereof according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which exemplary embodiments of the invention are shown.  
         [0016]      FIG. 1  is a block diagram of a personal portable content player with an aroma function according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to  FIG. 1 , the personal portable content player  100  includes a storage unit  110 , a user interface unit  120 , an aroma chip  130 , an aromatic material number detector  140 , a display unit  150 , and a control unit  160 .  
         [0017]     Various contents to be reproduced are stored in the storage unit  110 . In addition, the storage unit  110  includes an Electrically-Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM) for storing programs and initial service data for operating the personal portable content player  100  and a Random-Access Memory (RAM) for temporarily storing data generated during an operation of the personal portable content player  100 .  
         [0018]     Here, each content item stored in the storage unit  110  includes an aromatic material number. Specifically, when the aroma chip  130  in the personal portable content player  100  is standardized, users sharing the same contents can smell the same aroma using the same aromatic material by assigning the aromatic material number to the aromatic material in the aroma chip  130  according to contents.  
         [0019]     The user interface unit  120  performs an input/output interface for receiving information from a user, about the content to be reproduced from among contents stored in the storage unit  110 .  
         [0020]     Furthermore, according to another embodiment of the present invention, the aromatic material number to be used together with the content information, in addition to the information about the content to be reproduced, can be input through the user interface unit  120 . The user interface unit  120  transmits the aromatic material number together with the content information to the control unit  160 .  
         [0021]     More specifically, the user interface unit  120  includes an infrared (IR) receiver receiving a command input from a keypad or IR remote. The IR remote may be a remote controller (REMOCN) or a wireless mouse such as an air mouse.  
         [0022]     The aroma chip  130  that is inserted in a predetermined position in the personal portable content player provides the aroma function by using the aromatic material in the aroma chip  130  when the content is reproduced.  
         [0023]     A chamber in the aroma chip  130  contains the aromatic material. The aroma chip  130  is constructed so that a resistor heater for heating and diffusing the aromatic material is adhered to the chamber in the aroma chip  130 .  
         [0024]     In addition, there are a plurality of chambers included inside the aroma chip  130 . Each chamber includes a different aromatic material. The aroma chip  130  is constructed so that each resistor heater for heating and diffusing the aroma material is adhered to each chamber.  
         [0025]     The resistor heater adhered to the chamber in the aroma chip  130  is heated using its own battery or a battery of the personal portable content player  100 .  
         [0026]     The aromatic material number detector  140  detects the aromatic material number included in the content to be reproduced using the user interface unit  120 .  
         [0027]     Furthermore, when the aromatic material number, in addition to the content information, is directly input by the user through the user interface unit  120 , the aromatic material number detector  140  is not used.  
         [0028]     The control unit  160  controls the aroma chip  130  to diffuse the aromatic material corresponding to the aromatic material number detected by the aromatic material number detector  140 . More specifically, when the aroma chip  130  includes a plurality of chambers, the control unit  160  controls the aroma chip  130  to diffuse the corresponding aromatic material by detecting the chamber corresponding to the aromatic material number and heating the resistor heater of the detected chamber.  
         [0029]     Furthermore, when the aromatic material number, in addition to the content information, is directly input by the user through the user interface unit  120 , the control unit  160  controls the aroma chip  130  to diffuse the aromatic material corresponding to the aromatic material number received from the user interface unit  120 .  
         [0030]     The display unit  150  displays the title of the content that is reproduced by the personal portable content player  100  under the control of the control unit  160  so as to be recognizable to the user.  
         [0031]     Examples of the personal portable content player of  FIG. 1  are a laptop computer, a palmtop computer, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a portable media player (PMP), an MP3 player, and a portable media recorder (PMC).  
         [0032]      FIGS. 2A  to  2 C show detailed examples of an aroma chip of  FIG. 1 .  
         [0033]     Referring to  FIG. 2A , the aroma chip  130  includes first and second chambers  210  and  220 . First and second resistor heaters  211  and  212  are adhered to the first and second chambers  210  and  220 , respectively.  
         [0034]     Referring to  FIG. 2B , the aroma chip  130  includes first to fourth chambers  310  to  340 . First to fourth resistor heaters  311  to  341  are adhered to the first to fourth chambers  310  to  340 , respectively.  
         [0035]     Referring to  FIG. 2C , the aroma chip  130  includes first to eighth chambers  410  to  480 . First to eighth resistor heaters  411  to  481  are adhered to the first to eighth chambers  410  to  480 , respectively.  
         [0036]      FIG. 3  is a flowchart of a content reproducing method using a personal portable content player with an aroma function according to another embodiment of the present invention. Referring to  FIG. 3 , first, the aromatic material number included in the content to be reproduced among the contents stored in the personal portable content player is detected (operation S 300 ).  
         [0037]     Next, the chamber in the aroma chip which contains the aromatic material corresponding to the aromatic material number detected in operation S 300  is detected (S 320 ).  
         [0038]     This chamber in the aroma chip contains the aromatic material, and the resistor heater for heating and diffusing the aromatic material is adhered to the chamber.  
         [0039]     In addition, the aroma chip  130  includes a plurality of chambers inside. The plurality of chambers contain different aromatic materials, respectively. The aroma chip  130  is constructed so that each resistor heater for heating and diffusing the aromatic material is adhered to each chamber.  
         [0040]     Next, the aroma chip is controlled to diffuse the aromatic material contained in the chamber by heating the chamber detected in operation S 320  (operation S 340 ).  
         [0041]     In detail, in operation S 340 , the corresponding resistor heater among the resistor heaters which are adhered to the chamber in the aroma chip and are used for heating and diffusing the aromatic materials in the chambers is controlled to be heated.  
         [0042]     Examples of the personal portable content player of  FIG. 3  are a laptop computer, a palmtop computer, a PDA, a PMP, an MP3 player, and a PMC.  
         [0043]     A part which is not described in  FIG. 3  may be referred to in the descriptions of  FIGS. 1 and 2 .  
         [0044]     The invention can also be embodied as computer readable codes on a computer readable recording medium. The computer readable recording medium is any data storage device that can store data which can be thereafter read by a computer system. Examples of the computer readable recording medium include read-only memory (ROM), random-access memory (RAM), CD-ROMs, magnetic tapes, floppy disks, optical data storage devices, and carrier waves (such as data transmission through the Internet). The computer readable recording medium can also be distributed over network coupled computer systems so that the computer readable code is stored and executed in a distributed fashion.  
         [0045]     The personal portable content player and the method thereof according to the present invention have the following advantages.  
         [0046]     The personal portable content player basically provides pictures, motion pictures, and sound sources (music), and is also used for learning languages. The personal portable content player can help to improve recognition, memorization, and learning by additionally providing an aroma function.  
         [0047]     When a user watches, or listens to, the content reproduced by the personal portable content player, the user may become tired. The personal portable content player can help the user to overcome fatigue and to ease body and mind by providing the aroma function.  
         [0048]     In addition, when the aroma chip in the personal portable content player is standardized, users sharing the same contents can smell the same aroma using the same aromatic material by assigning the aromatic material number to the aroma material in the aroma chip according to contents.  
         [0049]     While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the following claims.