Patent Publication Number: US-2006004640-A1

Title: Music identification system

Description:
This application is a continuation of U.S. Non-Provisional patent application Ser. No. 09/680,172 filed Oct. 5, 2000, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/186,565 filed Mar. 2, 2000 and 60/158,087 filed Oct. 7, 1999, all of which are hereby incorporated by reference. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
      This invention relates to a music identification system, specifically to a method for marking the time and the name of the radio station in portable device such as a key holder, watch, cellular phone, beeper or the like which will allow the user to learn via internet or regular telephone the name of the song, artist and/or music company by matching the stored data with broadcast archive. The system will allow for purchase of identified segment.  
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      Often a person hears a song, or part of a song that they would like to buy but they are unfamiliar with the name of the song or the singer. The music could be on a car radio or any other places where you might hear music. Even if you had the means to copy a segment of the music, you would still need to find someone familiar with the song to enable you to find and purchase the recording. With the number of musical recordings available, this could be an impossible task unless the song is known or popular. More often than not, the song is forgotten and perhaps never heard again. This represents lost sales to the recording industry and lost entertainment to the potential customer. As such, there is a need for a system allowing a person to learn who and what was playing on a given radio station at a specific time.  
     SUMMARY OF INVENTION  
      An object of this invention is to provide the listener with convenient means to record the name of radio station and time when the wanted music was played. Another object of this invention is a system that receives the recorded data via phone or internet modem and searches the radio station archives to inform the listener regarding the name of the artist, album or producer.  
      Another object of the present invention is an apparatus or system that can provide purchasing information and allow the user to directly order the item.  
      Another object of this invention is to provide the listener with convenient means to record a segment of the music in which he/she is interested.  
      Another object of this invention is a system where the recorded music segment is played back into an apparatus which can identify the song based on the play back and provide the user with information on the identified song such as title, singer or artist, composer, producer, etc.  
      These along with other objects and advantages of the present invention will become more readily apparent from a reading of the detailed description taken in conjunction with the drawings and the claims. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       FIG. 1  shows a flow chart of one embodiment of the music identification method of the present invention;  
       FIG. 2  shows a top perspective view of a keychain recording device according to an embodiment of the present invention;  
       FIG. 3  shows a perspective view of a kiosk computer system according to an embodiment of the present invention;  
       FIG. 4  shows a flow chart of the computer identification process of an embodiment of the present invention;  
       FIG. 5  shows a flow chart of the music identification process of another embodiment of the present invention; and  
       FIG. 6  shows a top perspective view of a recording device according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
      Embodiments of the present invention are explained in detail hereunder referring to the drawings. In one embodiment, the recording device will be a key chain (similar to the one shown in  FIG. 1 ), a watch, a cellular telephone, a beeper or a like device allowing for verbal recording. Referring now to the flowchart depicted in  FIG. 5  and the recording device of  FIG. 6 , the recording device  70  is used by pressing a button  72  to record the name of the radio station in a simple word  62  and then pressing a button  74  that will record actual time of recording or optionally the time can be verbally recorded by the user  64  using microphone  76 , for example, “w w d k nine one point seven Cleveland” or “nine nine point four Pittsburgh”. Recording in simple words describing the numbers, letters, and city names will allow for standard computer recognition of transferred data into the system.  
      In another embodiment, the recording device  70  will have a telephone like key pad  78  (not required for the cellular telephone) allowing the user to enter in to the memory numbers identifying the radio station and the numeral city code  62 .  
      In both cases, the device would have a telephone beeper or speaker  80  allowing for simpler data transfer  66  into the processing system (no modem or access to the computer required). The user can lift a telephone receiver and press send or transmit button  82  to automatically dial the proper 800# (or 888#), user ID number, and recorded station information.  
      The feedback  68  allowing for purchase of wanted and unknown music would arrive to the user via e-mail or through regular mail via an automatically generated and printed post card.  
      In another embodiment, new digital radio manufacturers would provide for a “signal port”  84  on the face of the radio receiver (mechanical electronic connector or infrared port). This would allow for digital recording of the sample of played music by plugging the device into the port or by infrared data transfer holding the device near the port.  
      In this case, automatic matching with digital music files would allow for recognition of wanted music without access into the radio station archives. The drawback would be a requirement to transfer the samples digitally via modem.  
      Referring now to  FIG. 1 , a flow chart shows the method of the present invention comprising the steps of recording a music segment  50 , transmitting a playback of the recorded music segment into a microphone  52 , identifying the recorded music segment  54 , reporting information related to the identified music segment  56 , providing options  58  to obtain additional related information or to obtain an identification of another recorded music segment, and providing purchasing information  60  including the means to direct order the selected musical works. The steps are described in detail below.  
      Referring now to  FIG. 2 , a recording device  20  is shown attached to a keychain  15 . The recording device  20  can be either digital or analog. The recording device  20  can be of any known type or configuration, which is convenient to store on a person, in a pocket or purse such. With the continuing miniaturization of chips, the recording device  20  could easily be configured as a credit card or any other configuration, which is typically carried by a person on a continuous basis. When a song that the user wants identified is playing, the user need only press the record button  22  on device  20  and hold the microphone  24  of the device near the source of the music. When a sufficient segment is recorded  50 , the user presses the stop button  26  to end the recording. The song can be replayed by pressing the back (digital) or rewind (analog) button  28  and then pressing the play button  30  and listening to the speaker  32 . Any device capable of recording and playing back a music segment would be acceptable for use with the present invention.  
      Referring now to  FIG. 3 , once a segment of music has been recorded  50 , the listener can go to a computer or music identification kiosk  10  having a computer interface  12  and replay or transmit the music  52  into a microphone  14  of the interface. In one embodiment, the interface  12  is connected to an automated database  16  over the Internet. The automated database  16  uses a central processing unit and search stored information as known in the art to analyze the music segment and compare it to stored works until a match, matches or near matches are found and the music segment is identified  54 . One such system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,918,223 although other systems and searchable audio databases as are known in the art may be used. It is important to note that the identification step  54  performed by the automated database  16  could just as easily be one or more music “experts” or disc jockeys seated in a room that listen to the recorded music segment and identify the song based on their memory and knowledge of music. Once the music segment is identified  54 , the information related to the song, i.e. title, artist, etc., could be supplied to the customer  56  directly or entered into the automated database where the information, and any specified related information is supplied to the customer  56 .  
      It is also contemplated that the user can access the automated database  16  directly over the telephone. The user would call a specified number and follow instructions provided by the automated database  16 . When prompted, the user can playback the music segment  52  into the telephone microphone. The automated database  16  would then identify the music segment and report the results back over the telephone  56 . The telephone access to the automated database is configured to allow additional related information and options  58  to be accessed, including ordering information  60 , just as with the other embodiments.  
      Often, the quality of the recorded music segment may be poor as the recorder may also record background noise from other sources such as the car engine, noise from other cars, people talking, etc. The automated database system  16  includes noise reduction filters (not shown) as known in the art, to filter out any background noise in the recording which may inhibit the system from finding a match. In one embodiment, the automated database  16  will search and identify at least one characteristic of the song, such as the melody, and retrieve all songs which match the particular identified characteristic. The search would thus retrieve a song or melody produced by various artists or different recordings produced by the same artist at different times. However, it is contemplated that the database  16  is capable of recognizing specific artists. The database  16  can provide the user with information on the identified song such as title, singer or artist, composer, producer, etc. which can be browsed or selected from a video monitor screen  38  using either a touch-screen or control buttons  40 . It is contemplated that in addition to the song from the music segment, the user will have additional options  58  such as, but not limited to, the ability to search for other works by the same artist, or the same song by different artists and be able to play portions of these works on a selectable basis through a speaker  34  or attached headphones  36 . The user also has the option  58  of transmitting an additional music segment  52  to be identified  54 . In certain embodiments, the automated database  16  may also provide the cost and/or location of the identified or selected music for purchase  60 . If preferred, the user can order the selection through an ordering system  48  of the automated database  16  and pay by conventional means such as swiping a valid credit card through a scanner  18  attached to the computer interface  12 . The database  16  may also provide the user with an additional music segment to confirm the identity of the segment initially supplied by the user.  
      It is contemplated that the automated database  16  can exist as a stand-alone unit within the music identification kiosk  10  either such that the database would be located on site or at a centralized computer located off-site. The automated database  16  would be updated on a periodic basis to include newly released music  44  and the latest price and availability  46 . All new music would have a digital code in the background to allow for simple recognition software as is known in the art.  
      In a typical scenario, the kiosk  10  would be located in a retail store. Potential customers wanting to identify a music segment would be able to use the kiosk  10  to identify the music segment and locate the music within the store.  
      It will also be possible to directly access the automated database  16  directly from a personal home computer  42  over the Internet.