Abstract:
A mobile telephone, including:
       selector ( 36 ) for selecting sound track content and at least one attribute specific to the sound track from a file,   a sound playback device ( 35, 22 ) for the sound track contained in the selected file,   a man/machine interface ( 40, 42 ) making it possible to implement a question/answer game application ( 37 ) on the telephone.       
 
     The game application ( 37 ) includes a parameter whereof the value defines the subject-matter of the questions; and
       it includes an implementor for implementing the game application ( 37 ) during the playback of each sound track with, for value of the parameter, an attribute of the sound track being played back.

Description:
[0001]    This claims the benefit of French Patent Application FR 10 56258, filed Jul. 29, 2010 and hereby incorporated by reference herein. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    The present invention relates to a mobile telephone of the type including: 
         [0003]    a means for selecting sound track content and at least one attribute specific to the sound track from a file, 
         [0004]    a sound playback means for the sound track contained in the selected file, 
         [0005]    a man/machine interface making it possible to implement a question/answer game application on said telephone. 
         [0006]    Mobile telephones commonly include a removable memory or medium in which sound files and a means for sound playback of said files are stored, thereby making it possible to use the telephone as a personal stereo to listen to musical content selected by the user. 
         [0007]    These sound files contain certain attributes such as the artist&#39;s name, the author&#39;s name, the title of the segment, etc., and the telephone is able to display one or more of these attributes on a screen during playback of the considered file. 
         [0008]    The information appearing on the screen is then informative for the user, but it is static and limited. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0009]    It is an object of the present invention to provide a telephone making it possible to increase the user&#39;s interest during the playback of a musical track. 
         [0010]    The present invention provides a mobile telephone characterized in that 
         [0011]    the game application includes a parameter whereof the value defines the subject-matter of the questions; and 
         [0012]    it includes a means for implementing the game application during the playback of each sound track with, for value of the parameter, an attribute of the sound track being restored. 
         [0013]    In one particular embodiment, the telephone includes one or more of the following features: 
         [0014]    the mobile telephone includes: 
         [0015]    a means for querying a remote server associated with a question database, by sending the attribute of the file being broadcast, and 
         [0016]    a means for receiving at least one question corresponding to the value of the attribute sent; 
         [0017]    the game application comprises a means for providing the user with a question related to the attribute of the sound track, during the playback of the sound track, a means for collecting a response to said question by the user and a means for assessing the relevance of the response provided by the user; 
         [0018]    the game application is able, during playback of the sound track, to collect from the user at least one question and at least one related answer and to store the question and related answer in connection with the attribute of the sound track, for later use in the game during the playback of a sound track associated with said attribute; 
         [0019]    the attribute is a value comprised in the group consisting of the name of the author of the sound track, the name of the artist of the sound track, the title of the sound track and the type of the sound track; and 
         [0020]    the telephone includes a means for permanently saving sound files in the telephone and the sound playback means of the sound track is able to ensure the playback of the selected sound files contained in the telephone. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0021]    The invention also relates to an installation including: 
           [0022]    a telephone as described above, and 
           [0023]    a remote server able to communicate with the mobile telephone and including a database associating sound file attributes with questions/answers. 
           [0024]    The invention will be better understood upon reading the following description, provided solely as an example and done in reference to the appended drawings, in which: 
           [0025]      FIG. 1  is a diagrammatic view of a network implementing a telephone according to the invention; 
           [0026]      FIG. 2  is a diagrammatic view of the telephone; 
           [0027]      FIG. 3  is a flowchart illustrating the method implemented by the telephone according to the invention during a game phase; and 
           [0028]      FIG. 4  is a flowchart illustrating the method implemented by the telephone according to the invention during a game creation phase. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0029]      FIG. 1  illustrates a mobile telephone  10  connected to a server  12  of a wireless network  14 , e.g. the 3G network. 
         [0030]    As is known in itself, the telephone includes a means  16 , such as a transmitter/receiver, for transmitting and receiving data through the network, a display screen  18  for displaying information and a keypad  20 , which can be incorporated into a touchscreen. It also includes earphones connected to an amplifier  22  or any other equipment able to produce sounds. 
         [0031]    As detailed in  FIG. 2 , the telephone, includes a processor  30 , ensuring the management of the telephone and the different functional modules described above. This processor is associated with different data stores, a first of which denoted  32  contains sound files locally present in the telephone. 
         [0032]    Each sound file includes, aside from a part specific to the sound itself, attributes specific to the file and in particular the name of the author of the sound track, the name of the artist of the sound track, the title of the sound track and the type of sound track. 
         [0033]    A second store  34  contains the telephone&#39;s applications, i.e. programs that allow the telephone to operate. These include an application  35  for reading sound files enabling a sound restriction of the files from the earphones  22 . This application in particular includes a means  36 , such as a selector, for selecting a file whereof playback is desired. 
         [0034]    This store also contains a game application  37  making it possible, upon reproduction of a sound file, in an “answer questions” mode, to provide questions related to at least one attribute of the sound file or in the “create a question” mode, to input the questions and answers proposed by the user related to at least one attribute of the sound file. 
         [0035]    To that end, the application includes a parameter corresponding to the subject-matter of the questions. When the application is launched, this parameter is filled in with an attribute of the file being read. 
         [0036]    The application includes a means  40 , such as a display, for displaying a question on the screen, a means  42 , such as an input, for inputting an answer to the question from the keypad  20  and in particular a means, such as a selector, making it possible to select one answer from among several different proposed answers, as well as a means  44 , such as a querier and exchanger, for querying and exchanging information with the server  12  through a transmitting and receiving means  16 . 
         [0037]    The remote server  12  is connected to a database  50  including a connection between stored attributes and questions, which in turn are connected with at least one correct answer and possibly with one or more incorrect answers. 
         [0038]    Thus for example, for artist name X as attribute, it contains a question “At what age did X get married?”, a correct answer “26 years” and 3 incorrect answers, for example “24 years,” “28 years” and “30 years.” 
         [0039]    The server  12  includes a means, such as a communications device, for communicating with the game application operating on the telephone and able to provide results to the application  37  or to receive questions/answers from the application  37 . 
         [0040]    The flow chart of  FIG. 3  illustrates the method implemented according to the invention by the computer  30  under the program&#39;s command. 
         [0041]    When the game application is launched in “answer questions” mode, in step  98 , one or more sound files whereof reading is desired are selected from the selection means  36 . The playback of the sound files is initiated in step  100  by the reading application  35 . 
         [0042]    In step  102 , one attribute of each sound file, for example the artists&#39; names, is read. 
         [0043]    These attributes are communicated to the server  12  through the network, in step  104 , after which the server defines, from the data contained in the database  50 , and for each attribute, a questions file containing several questions, for example 4, each associated with the attribute, and for each question a correct answer and 3 incorrect answers in step  106 . These files are sent to the telephone in step  108  through the network and are temporarily stored in the telephone. 
         [0044]    A test is performed to determine the file being read in step  122  and a first question appearing in the received file associated with the attribute of the file being read is displayed on the screen as well as the three incorrect answers and the associated correct answer, in step  124 . 
         [0045]    The user is invited to choose one of the answers in step  126 . His response is assessed in step  128  and if the answer is correct, a points counter J is incremented in step  130 . The values of the counter J are stored, according to a first embodiment, in the telephone. According to one alternative, these values are sent to the remote server  12  and stored for each participant in the game. The server includes a means for ranking the participants based on their respective counters. 
         [0046]    Steps  112  and following are then carried out again, and the user is asked new questions associated with the attribute of the file being read, as long as the playback of the sound file continues and the number of questions contained in the question file is not reached. 
         [0047]    During selection of a new sound file, the same steps are carried out. 
         [0048]    It can be seen that such an arrangement makes it possible to animate the telephone during the broadcast of a sound file by proposing questions related to an attribute of the sound file. 
         [0049]    According to another embodiment, illustrated in  FIG. 4 , the user is invited not to answer questions, but to propose questions and answers related to one of the attributes of the sound file being read to enrich the database  50 . 
         [0050]    To that end, the game application can carry out the flow chart of  FIG. 4  after selecting the “create a question” mode. 
         [0051]    The files whereof reading is desired are first selected in step  198  and the reading of the sound files is initiated in step  200 . 
         [0052]    The game application  37  first detects the file being read in step  201 , then in step  202  detects the attributes of the file being read. It then displays them on the screen in step  204 . 
         [0053]    The user is invited, through an adapted graphic interface, to select one of these attributes in step  206 , then to write a question related to said attribute in step  208 . The application then invites the user, in step  210 , to enter 4 answers, only one of which is correct, for the question previously entered and to identify the correct answer. 
         [0054]    The attribute, question and correct answer and the three incorrect answers are incorporated into a question file in step  211  and that file is sent, in step  212 , by the telephone  10  to the server  12 , which stores the received data in the database  50  in step  214 . 
         [0055]    The latter data is then available to be sent to another telephone using the game application upon detection of the considered attribute in a read sound file. 
         [0056]    Alternatively, the stored data is validated by a moderator from the server  12  before being made available in the database  50 .