Patent Publication Number: US-2007098002-A1

Title: Media center operating mode selection control method and system

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      1. Field of the Invention  
      This invention relates to multimedia technology, and more particularly, to a media center operating mode selection control method and system which is designed for use in conjunction with a media center system that is connected to a number of media source devices (MSD) and a number of media display devices (MDD) for providing the user of the media center with an easy-to-use operating mode selection control function that allows the user to easily and quickly select a desired operating mode and activate the media center system to perform the user-selected operating mode.  
      2. Description of Related Art  
      A media center system is a multi-functional multimedia platform that utilizes a PC (personal computer) or a dedicated electronic device as a central control unit which is connected concurrently to a number of media source devices (MSD) and a number of media display devices (MDD), where the MSDs can be selected from the group including Internet linking device, CD/DVD player, cable TV receiver, wireless TV receiver, video recorder, video game machine, multimedia player, MP3 player, to name just a few; while the MDDs can be selected from the group including HDTV (High Definition TV), LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), plasma display, stereo loudspeaker, to name just a few. The user can utilize the media center system to produce TV programs, video games, music, etc., all at the same time so as to enjoy these media programs simultaneously.  
      For instance, the user can choose to activate the media center system to interlink the Internet linking device with the LCD, the cable TV receiver with the HDTV, and the MP3 player with the stereo loudspeaker, so that the user can simultaneously watch a TV program (such as a major league baseball game) through the HDTV, chat with online friends (who are also major league baseball fans, for example) through the LCD which displays the graphic user interface of a Web-based chat room, and listen to music through the stereo loudspeaker. Furthermore, the user can also additionally choose to activate the media center system to interlink the HDTV with the CD/DVD recorder/player, so as to record the TV program onto a CD or DVD.  
      As described above, since the user can arbitrarily choose to activate to interlink any of the MSDs with any of MDDs in a many-to-many correspondence, one apparent problem in the use of the media center system is that the user operation procedure would be very complicated. For example, in the case that the user wants to activate the media center system to interlink the Internet linking device with the LCD, the cable TV receiver with the HDTV, and the MP3 player with the stereo loudspeaker, the user needs to utilize an OSD (On-Screen Display) based control panel that is displayed on a screen to select the desired MSDs (in this case, the Internet linking device, the cable TV receiver, and the MP3 player) from a menu, and then choose to link the selected MSDs respectively to the intended MDDs (in this case, the LCD, the HDTV, and the stereo loudspeaker). Undoubtedly, this user operation procedure is very complicated and requires the user to be familiar with technical jargons displayed on the screen, and is therefore a highly user-unfriendly way of operation.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      It is therefore an objective of this invention to provide a media center operating mode selection control method and system which is capable of providing a more user-friendly interface for easy and quick user operation of a media center system.  
      The media center operating mode selection control method and system according to the invention is designed for use in conjunction with a media center system that is connected to a number of media source devices (MSD) and a number of media display devices (MDD) for providing the user of the media center with an easy-to-use operating mode selection control function that allows the user to easily and quickly select a desired operating mode and activate the media center system to perform the user-selected operating mode.  
      The media center operating mode selection control method according to the invention comprises: (1) predefining an operating mode mapping table that predefines a number of operating modes each of which represents a predefined manner of interlinking between a selected group of the media source devices and a selected group of the media display devices; (2) in actual operation, responding cyclically to a user-initiated operating mode selecting event by issuing a corresponding operating mode selection message; (3) responding to the operating mode selection message by selecting a corresponding operating mode from the operating mode mapping table and retrieving a set of linking parameters associated with the selected operating mode; and (4) switching the media center system to the user-selected operating mode based on the retrieved linking parameters from the operating mode mapping table for interlinking nominated media source devices to corresponding media display devices associated with the selected operating mode to thereby activate the media center system to operate in the user-selected operating mode.  
      In terms of architecture, the media center operating mode selection control system according to the invention comprises: (a) a user interface module, which is capable of providing a user interface for responding cyclically to a user-initiated operating mode selecting event by issuing a corresponding operating mode selection message; (b) an operating mode configuration setting module, which is used to store a predefined operating mode mapping table that predefines a number of operating modes each of which represents a predefined manner of interlinking between a selected group of the media source devices and a selected group of the media display devices, and which is capable of responding to the operating mode selection message from the user interface module by selecting a corresponding operating mode from the operating mode mapping table and retrieving a set of linking parameters associated with the selected operating mode; and (c) an operating mode switching module, which is capable of switching the media center system to the user-selected operating mode based on the linking parameters retrieved by the operating mode configuration setting module for interlinking nominated media source devices to corresponding media display devices associated with the selected operating mode and activating the media center system to operate in the user-selected operating mode.  
      The media center operating mode selection control method and system according to the invention is characterized by the provision of all possible operating modes (i.e., various manners of interlinking between the MSDs and MDDs) in a table, and the provision of a press button that can be repeatedly pressed by the user to cyclically switch through all the available operating modes. Compared to the prior art, this method of user operation is significantly easier to implement without requiring the user to be familiar with technical jargons and involve in complicated user operation procedures, and is therefore more user-friendly and advantageous to use than prior art. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS  
      The invention can be more fully understood by reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments, with reference made to the accompanying drawings, wherein:  
       FIG. 1  is a schematic diagram showing the application and modularized architecture of the media center operating mode selection control system according to the invention; and  
       FIG. 2  is a schematic diagram showing the data structure of an example of a operating mode mapping table utilized by the media center operating mode selection control system of the invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
      The media center operating mode selection control method and system according to the invention is disclosed in full details by way of preferred embodiments in the following with reference to the accompanying drawings.  
      FIG. I is a schematic diagram showing the application architecture and modularized object-oriented component model of the media center operating mode selection control system according to the invention (as the part enclosed in the dotted box indicated by the reference numeral  100 ). As shown, the media center operating mode selection control system of the invention  100  is designed for use in conjunction with a media center system  10  that is connected to a number of media source devices (MSD)  21 ,  22 ,  23 ,  24  and a number of media display devices (MDD)  31 ,  32 ,  33 ,  34 , where MSDs  21 ,  22 ,  23 ,  24  are selected from the group including, but not limited to, Internet linking device, CD/DVD player, cable TV receiver, wireless TV receiver, video recorder, and video game machine, multimedia player, MP3 player; while the MDDs  31 ,  32 ,  33 ,  34 , are selected from the group including, but not limited to, HDTV (High Definition TV), LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), plasma display, and stereo loudspeaker (note that the example of  FIG. 1  shows only 4 MSDs and 4 MDDs for demonstrative purpose only; in practice, the number of MSDs and MDDs that can be connected to the media center system  10  is unrestricted and depends on the capacity of the media center system  10 ).  
      In actual application, the media center operating mode selection control system of the invention  100  is capable of for providing the user of the media center system with an easy-to-use operating mode selection control function that allows the user to select a desired operating mode and promptly activate the media center system  10  to perform the user-selected operating mode.  
      As shown in  FIG. 1 , the modularized architecture of the media center operating mode selection control system of the invention  100  comprises: (a) a user interface module  110 ; (b) an operating mode configuration setting module  120 ; and (c) an operating mode switching module  130 ; and can further optionally comprise an operating mode message display module  140 .  
      The user interface module  110  is designed to provide a user interface for responding in a cyclical manner to each user-initiated operating mode selecting event  201  by issuing a corresponding operating mode selection message to the operating mode configuration setting module  120 . In practical implementation, for example, the user interface module  110  includes a press button  111 , which can be either a tangible physical button or an on-screen graphic button, and which can be either arranged on the control panel (not shown) of the media center system  10  or on a remote control unit (not shown). In operation, the user can repeatedly press this press button  111  to cyclically initiate a user-initiated operating mode selecting event  201  that causes the selection of a particular operating mode. For example, in the case that a total of 4 operating modes are predefined for the media center system  10 , respectively designed by MODE( 1 ), MODE( 2 ), MODE( 3 ), and MODE( 4 ), then the user needs just to press the press button  111  once to select MODE( 1 ), twice to select MODE( 2 ), three times to select MODE( 3 ), four times to select MODE( 4 ). If the user press the press button  111  five times, the mode selection will cyclically return to MODE( 1 ), and so forth.  
      The operating mode configuration setting module  120  is used to prestore a predefined operating mode mapping table  121 , as for example the one shown in  FIG. 2 , that stores a number of predefined operating modes each of which represents a predefined manner of linking between a selected group of the MSDs  21 ,  22 ,  23 ,  24  to a selected group of the MDDs  31 ,  32 ,  33 ,  34 . In actual operation, the operating mode configuration setting module  120  is capable of responding to the operating mode selection message from the user interface module  110  by selecting a corresponding operating mode from the operating mode mapping table  121  and retrieving a set of linking parameters associated with the selected operating mode. In the operating mode mapping table  121  shown in  FIG. 2 , for example, the MSDs  21 ,  22 ,  23 ,  24  are respectively designated by MSD 1 , MSD 2 , MSD 3 , and MSD 4 , and the MDDs  31 ,  32 ,  33 ,  34  are respectively designated by MDD 1 , MDD 2 , MDD 3 , and MDD 4 ; and the content of the operating mode mapping table  121  shows that MODE( 1 ) represents the interlinking of MDDI with MDS 1 , MDD 2  with MDS 3 , MDD 3  with MSD 2 , and MDD 4  with MSD 4 ; and MODE( 2 ) represents the interlinking of MDD 1  with MDS 2 , MDD 2  with MDS  1 , MDD 3  with MSD 2 , and MDD 4  with MSD 2 ; and so forth (note that the operating modes shown in  FIG. 2  are only intended for demonstrative purpose; and in practice; these operating modes can be an arbitrary design choice that can be arbitrarily predefined by the user or the manufacturer).  
      The operating mode switching module  130  is capable of switching the media center system  10  to the user-selected operating mode based on the linking parameters retrieved by the operating mode configuration setting module  120  for interlinking specified MSDs with their corresponding MDDs and activating the media center system  10  to operate in the user-selected operating mode.  
      The operating mode message display module  140  is a display device that can be selected from the group including, but not limited to, LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), digital tube, and VFD (Vacuum Fluorescent Display), and which is capable of displaying a set of user-perceivable messages about the currently-selected operating mode. For example, if the user presses the press button  111  for three times to select MODE( 3 ), then the operating mode message display module  140  will display a set of related messages about this operating mode MODE( 3 ), such as the index number of the operating mode and the associated MSDs and MDDs that are interlinked under this operating mode. This feature allows the user to quickly switch to this operating mode afterwards in the next time when the user wants to use the same operating mode again.  
      In the following description of an example of a practical application of the invention, it is assumed that the media center system  10  is predefined with  4  operating modes: MODE( 1 ), MODE( 2 ), MODE( 3 ), and MODE( 4 ) as shown in  FIG. 2 , and the user wants to select the third operating mode MODE( 3 ).  
      Referring to  FIG. 1  together with  FIG. 2 , in actual operation, since the user wants to select the third operating mode MODE( 3 ), the user needs just to press the press button  111  for three times. This action will cause the user interface module  110  to respond by issuing a corresponding operating mode selection message indicative of the selection of MODE( 3 ). In response, the operating mode configuration setting module  120  is activated to retrieve a set of MODE( 3 )-related linking parameters from the operating. mode mapping table  121 , where the linking parameters as shown in  FIG. 2  are [MDD 1 -MSD 2 , MDD 2 -MSD 4 , MDD 3 -MSD 1 , MDD 4 -MSD 3 ] (which indicates that MDD 1  is to be interlinked with MSD 2 , MDD 2  is to be interlinked with MSD 4 , MDD 3  is to be interlinked with MSD  1 , and MDD 4  is to be interlinked with MSD 3 ). These linking parameters are then transferred to the operating mode switching module  130 , causing the operating mode switching module  130  to interlink the nominated MDDs with the nominated MSDs that are predefined to MODE( 3 ). At this time, the operating mode message display module  140  is also activated to display a set of user-perceivable messages about the currently-selected operating mode MODE( 3 ), including, for example, the index number of MODE( 3 ) and the names of the interlinked MDDs and MSDs.  
      In conclusion, the invention provides a media center operating mode selection control method and system for use with a media center system to provide the user of the media center with an easy-to-use operating mode selection control procedure, which is characterized by the provision of all possible operating modes (i.e., various manners of interlinking between the MSDs and MDDs) in a table, and the provision of a press button that can be repeatedly pressed by the user to cyclically switch through all the available operating modes. Compared to the prior art, this method of user operation is significantly easier to implement without requiring the user to be familiar with technical jargons and involve in complicated user operation procedures, and is therefore more user-friendly and advantageous to use than prior art.  
      The invention has been described using exemplary preferred embodiments. However, it is to be understood that the scope of the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments. On the contrary, it is intended to cover various modifications and similar arrangements. The scope of the claims, therefore, should be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and similar arrangements.