Abstract:
A computer system has a memory area, a processor, and at least one music-related file. The computer system is powered on long enough to load music-playing software into memory. Then, all devices not needed to play the music-related file are either shut off, or powered down to a lower power-consumption level. A CPU throttle may also be employed to further reduce power consumption. The computer system then processes and plays the music-related files.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    [0001] 1 . Field of the Invention  
           [0002]    The present invention relates to digital file access. More specifically, the present invention discloses a method and system for playing music-related files on a computer system.  
           [0003]    2. Description of the Prior Art  
           [0004]    Digital audio is now a music industry standard. With many channels for converting any form of audio to a digital file, an ability to encode and compress digital audio files, and many hardware options for storing large numbers of compressed digital audio files, users now face very few limitations in accessing their favorite music.  
           [0005]    One limitation to the access of digital audio files lies in an ability to access digital audio files from a portable device. A suitable solution should be inexpensive, and power saving.  
           [0006]    Please refer to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2. FIG. 1 is a perspective diagram of a notebook computer  10  according to the prior art. FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the notebook computer  10 . The notebook computer  10  has an MP3 chip  11 , a plurality of buttons  12  for sending signals to the MP3 chip  11 , a battery  14 , a CD-ROM  16 , and a plurality of speakers  18 . The notebook computer  10  also has an audio output jack  19  for headphones, external speakers, etc. The battery  14  powers the MP3 chip  11  and the CD-ROM  16 . The MP3 chip  11  is connected by internal bus circuitry  11   a  to the CD-ROM  16 , and is also connected to the plurality of speakers  18  and the audio jack  19 . The MP3 chip  11  is capable of controlling the CD-ROM  16  via the bus circuitry  11   a , and decoding MP3 files  16   a  on the CD-ROM  16  to send an analog audio signal to the plurality of speakers  18 , or to the audio jack  19 .  
           [0007]    Because the MP3 chip  11  does not require an operating system to play the MP3 audio files  16   a , the chip  11  saves a considerable amount of power, as devices normally needed for the full operation of the notebook computer  10  are not used. The MP3 chip  11  effectively converts the notebook computer  10  into a standalone MP3-enabled device. However, while using the MP3 chip  11  allows users to listen to music files  16   a  from a portable device, and even saves a lot of battery power by not booting an operating system, the chip  11  is still rather expensive.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0008]    It is therefore a primary objective of the present invention to provide a method of playing music-related files that saves power and reduces costs.  
           [0009]    Briefly summarized, the preferred embodiment of the present invention discloses a method of playing music-related files on a computer system. Having received a signal to play music from a plurality of buttons on the computer system, the computer system is booted up from a special partition. Upon loading appropriate music-playing software from the special partition, all hardware that is no longer needed to play music is brought to a lower power consumption state, or even shut off completely. Music is then played from a memory system in the computer.  
           [0010]    It is an advantage of the present invention that a software implementation is used, which makes the present invention implementation less expensive to manufacture. Cost-savings are thus passed on to the user, while battery power consumption is kept to a bare minimum.  
           [0011]    These and other objectives of the present invention will no doubt become obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art after reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment, which is illustrated in the various figures and drawings. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0012]    [0012]FIG. 1 is a perspective diagram of a notebook computer according to the prior art.  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the prior art method as implemented for the notebook computer of FIG. 1.  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 3 is a perspective diagram of a computer system according to the present invention.  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the computer system of FIG. 3.  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 5 is a flow chart of the present invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0017]    Please refer to FIG. 3 and FIG. 4. FIG. 3 is a perspective diagram of a computer system  20  that utilizes the present invention method. FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the computer system  20 . The computer system  20  comprises a plurality of MP3 control buttons  21 , a normal power button  22 , a processor (CPU)  30  for executing programs, a hard disk drive (HDD)  40  as a first memory system, a CD-ROM  50  as a second memory system, and operational memory  60 . The operational memory  60  includes ROM  64  and RAM  68 . The RAM  68  is volatile working memory for the CPU  30 . The ROM  60  is non-volatile memory for the CPU  30 , and includes Basic Input/Output System (BIOS) program code  62 . The BIOS code  62  is used by other programs executed by the CPU  30  from the RAM  68  for low-level functions. A Power On Self Test (POST) program  63  resides in the BIOS  62 , and is executed by the CPU  30  when the notebook computer  20  is turned on. A bus  25  electrically connects the CPU  30  to the HDD  40 , CD-ROM  50 , operational memory  60 , power button  22  and MP3 control buttons  21 . The HDD  40  comprises a special partition  42  for booting DOS, and a normal partition  46  for booting Microsoft® Windows®. The special partition  42  comprises a DOS operating system  43 , a CD-ROM device driver  44 , an MP3 program  45  for playing MP3 music files, a pre-configured autoexec.bat file  49 , and a pre-configured config.sys file  48 . The autoexec.bat file  49  and config.sys file  48  may be configured by the manufacturer of the notebook computer  20 , or by a user. The normal partition  46  comprises a Windows® operating system  47 . Please note that although the present invention is described here for a rather complex computer system, such as a notebook computer, in general, any computer system having a first permanent memory system, such as the HDD  40 , and a processor  30 , can employ the present invention. Also, it should be clear to one skilled in the art that other combinations of operating systems are possible for the present invention method. Those noted above are simply the most commonly used for conventional personal computer (PC) systems. Additionally, the DOS operating system  43  has the advantage of being a relatively small operating system, and thus requires little space in the special partition  42 . The notebook computer  20  also includes speakers  23  and an audio output jack  24 .  
         [0018]    Please refer to FIG. 5, with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. FIG. 5 is a flow chart outlining the method of the present invention. The method is introduced for the notebook computer system described above. Steps for the present invention method include:  
         [0019]    Step  100 : The notebook computer  20  is powered on. This may be due to either a user pressing the normal power button  22 , or one of the MP3 control buttons  21 . Proceed to step  110 .  
         [0020]    Step  110 : The POST program  63  within the BIOS  62  is executed and self-checks the notebook computer  20 . Upon a successful completion of the self-test procedure, the BIOS  62  determines if the power-on status of the notebook computer  20  was due to the normal power button  22 , or one of the MP3 control buttons  21 . If one of the MP3 control buttons  21  was pressed, then proceed to step  140 . Otherwise, proceed to step  120 .  
         [0021]    Step  120 : The normal power-on button  22  was pressed. Set the boot partition to the normal partition  46  and hide the special partition  42 . Proceed to step  130 .  
         [0022]    Step  130 : Perform an operating system boot from the boot partition, which is the normal partition  46 . A normal Windows® operating system  47  boot procedure is thus performed.  
         [0023]    Step  140 : An MP3 control button  21  was pressed. Set the boot partition to the special partition  42  and hide the normal partition  47 . Proceed to step  150 .  
         [0024]    Step  150 : Boot from the boot partition. This results in the DOS operating system  43  being booted on the special partition  42 . Proceed to step  160 .  
         [0025]    Step  160 : The DOS operating system  43  parses the config.sys file  48  and then the autoexec.bat file  49 . The config.sys file  48  is pre-configured to cause the DOS operating system  43  to create a RAM drive  69  from available RAM  68 , and to load the CD-ROM device driver  44  so that the DOS operating system  43  may access the CD-ROM drive  50 . The autoexec.bat file is pre-configured to cause the DOS operating system  43  to load the MP3 program  45  into the RAM drive  69 . Proceed to step  170 .  
         [0026]    Step  170 : The pre-configured autoexec.bat file  49  further causes the HDD  40  to power down. Additionally, any other devices or equipment not required by the MP3 program  45  to play MP3 files  52  on the CD-ROM drive  50  are also powered down or placed into a low-power idle state. For example, video circuitry (VGA) and PCMCIA circuitry may all be powered down or idled. If possible, the CPU  30  is also throttled so that the CPU  30  executes at a slower processing speed to conserve power. Proceed to step  180 .  
         [0027]    Step  180 : The pre-configured autoexec.bat file  49  causes the MP3 program  45  resident in the RAM drive  69  to be executed. The MP3 program  45  begins playing the MP3 files  52  on the CD-ROM  50 . The speakers  23  or the jack  24  may be used to listen to the MP3 files  52 . Power should not be delivered to the speakers  23  if the speakers  23  are not being used to listen to the MP3 files  52 .  
         [0028]    As shown, the method begins when a user sends a signal by way of either the MP3 control buttons  21  or the normal power button  22 . The BIOS  62  checks an embedded controller to determine the nature of the button press, then sets the boot partition depending on whether the signal came from the MP3 control buttons  21  or the normal power button  22 . Thus, the BIOS  62  has a built-in boot determination program functionality. If the signal came from the normal power button  22 , then the BIOS performs a normal boot to Windows®. Otherwise, the boot partition is set to the special partition  42 , and the normal partition  46  is hidden. Note that the special partition  42  can be much smaller than the normal partition  46 , because the special partition  42  only needs space to hold DOS  43 , the CD-ROM device driver  44 , and the MP3 program  45 . During the Power On Self Test  63 , the CPU  24 , cache, operational memory  60 , northBridge, southBridge, CD-ROM  26 , HDD  40 , and audio hardware are all powered on. When booting DOS  43 , the start-up file config.sys file  48  will load the CD-ROM driver  44 . The other DOS-based start-up file autoexec.bat file  49  will then call the MP3 program  45 , which will reside in a RAM drive. During execution, the MP3 program  45  powers down, or shuts off, all hardware not necessary for playing MP3 music files, then plays the MP3 files  52  on the CD-ROM  50 . The hardware shut down by the MP3 program  45  includes the HDD  40 , and may also include such devices as the VGA, PCMCIA circuitry, etc. At this time, the CPU  30  may also be throttled, meaning the CPU  30  is run at a lower clock speed, thereby saving power. CPU throttling is a very common feature in notebook computers.  
         [0029]    Though not a main feature of the present invention, if the computer is already booted to the normal partition operating system  47 , such as Windows®, a press of the MP3 buttons will bring up a normal MP3 file playing application to play MP3 music files. This would be analogous to the user starting an MP3 program from the operating system  47  of the normal partition  46 . Supporting such functionality requires an appropriate device driver for the normal partition operating system  47 , and is well known in the art.  
         [0030]    In contrast to the prior art, the present invention does not require an expensive, dedicated MP3 chip. The present invention, by using a software implementation, accomplishes the same functionality of the prior art, while ensuring that a minimum of power is consumed. Additionally, as a software implementation is used, greater flexibility is made possible by the present invention, as software is inherently easier to upgrade than hardware.  
         [0031]    Those skilled in the art will readily observe that numerous modifications and alterations of the device may be made while retaining the teachings of the invention. Accordingly, the above disclosure should be construed as limited only by the metes and bounds of the appended claims.