Patent Publication Number: US-2006010167-A1

Title: Apparatus for navigation of multimedia content in a vehicle multimedia system

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION  
      This application is a continuation-in-part of US Ser. No. 11/036,213 filed Jan. 14, 2005, which claims the priority of U.S. Provisional Ser. No. 60/538,043 filed Jan. 21, 2004. 
    
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD  
      The present invention generally relates to multimedia systems for a motor vehicle, and more particularly relates to apparatus for navigating the multimedia systems.  
     BACKGROUND  
      Vehicle operators tend to spend a significant amount of time in their vehicles particularly when commuting from a home to a workplace, running errands, conducting business, vacationing, or for many other reasons. This time is significant enough that some vehicles come equipped with a variety of consumer electronics such as compact disc (CD) players, cassette tape players, radios, satellite radios, electronic gaming, and digital video disc (DVD) players. Some owners may also choose to equip their vehicle with aftermarket consumer electronics in the event their vehicles lack such consumer electronics or for purposes of customization. These and other entertainment or infotainment electronic devices provide a passenger in the vehicle with time-occupying options and may improve the passenger&#39;s quality of time.  
      Consumer electronics such as CD players, cassette tape players, DVD players, and electronic gaming generally have related media content for playback residing on a localized storage medium. For example, many on-board navigation systems utilize geographic information stored on CDs. This information may be downloaded to a memory specifically associated with the navigation system, located in the vehicle, or directly accessed from the CD by the navigation system. In another example, CD players commonly play media that is stored on CD. Most of these playback devices can accept a limited number of storage media during operation and thereby generally have a relatively limited capacity of media selection. For example, a CD player with a six-disc CD changer has a selection of music tracks that are limited to any six CDs contained in the CD changer.  
      With multimedia that is stored on various mediums, such as CD or DVD, digital rights management (DRM) has become prominent. For example, many performances that are recorded onto CDs are copyright protected. Additionally, access to such recordings may be limited to certain types of playback devices in an attempt to prevent unauthorized duplication of the recordings. For example, some CDs may be limited to playback on a conventional stand-alone CD player having a read-only operation but not on a CD drive found to accompany personal computers where unauthorized duplication may occur.  
      Accordingly, it is desirable to provide an infotainment system for a vehicle that stores a variety of multimedia files on an embedded storage device while preserving DRM. It is further desirable to provide a vehicle multimedia data storage and transfer system having a navigation interface that is simple to use and that may be content oriented. Finally, other desirable features and characteristics of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the foregoing technical field and background.  
     BRIEF SUMMARY  
      Apparatus are provided for navigation of multimedia content in a vehicle multimedia system having an embedded database of multimedia files. In one exemplary embodiment, a navigation interface is provided for controlling playback of the multimedia files and includes, but is not limited to, a processing unit, an input unit coupled to the processing unit, and a display coupled to the processing unit. The processing unit is configured to couple with the embedded database, determine a playback frequency for each of the multimedia files, and generate a playlist of multimedia files based on the playback frequency. The input unit is configured to initiate playback of the playlist. The display is configured to display the playlist.  
      In another exemplary embodiment, a navigation interface is provided for controlling playback of the multimedia files and includes, but is not limited to, an input unit configured to select a category of multimedia content, a processing unit coupled to the input unit, and a display coupled to the processing unit. The input unit is configured to couple with the embedded database, detect a selected category of multimedia content, and generate a playlist of multimedia files from the embedded database based on the selected category of multimedia content. The display is configured to display the playlist and the category of multimedia content.  
      In yet another exemplary embodiment, a vehicle multimedia system is provided including, but not limited to, a database of multimedia files, an input unit configured to select a category of multimedia content, a processing unit coupled to the input unit and the database, and a display coupled to the processing unit. The processing unit configured to generate at least one category of multimedia content, detect a selected category of multimedia content, and select a group of multimedia files for playback from the database of multimedia files based on the selected category of multimedia content. The display is configured to display the category of multimedia content and the selected category of multimedia content. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
      The present invention will hereinafter be described in conjunction with the following drawing figures, wherein like numerals denote like elements, and  
       FIG. 1  is a schematic diagram of an exemplary embodiment of a multimedia storage and transfer system in a vehicle;  
       FIG. 2  is a block diagram illustrating communication between components of an electronic vehicle storage system; and  
       FIG. 3  is a block diagram of an exemplary embodiment of a navigation interface;  
       FIG. 4  is a front view of a first embodiment of the navigation interface; and  
       FIG. 5  is a front view of a second embodiment of the navigation interface. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
      The following detailed description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the invention or the application and uses of the invention. Furthermore, there is no intention to be bound by any expressed or implied theory presented in the preceding technical field, background, brief summary or the following detailed description.  
      Referring to the drawings,  FIG. 1  is a schematic diagram illustrating a first exemplary embodiment of a multimedia storage and transfer system  10  in a vehicle  12 . In a more basic exemplary embodiment, the electronic vehicle storage system  10  includes a vehicle electrical infrastructure  14 , a vehicle communications network  16  coupled to the vehicle electrical infrastructure  14 , a controller  18  coupled to the vehicle electrical infrastructure  14 , such as via the vehicle communications network  16 , a navigation interface coupled to the controller  18 , and a data storage device  20  coupled to the controller  18  and configured to store multimedia files. A wireless transceiver  22  and a multimedia playback device  24 , described in greater detail hereinafter, may optionally be coupled to the controller  18 .  
      The data storage device  20  and controller  18  are integrated with the vehicle  12 . The controller  18  communicates with the vehicle electrical infrastructure  14 , for example to receive current status information regarding various vehicle electrical systems/subsystems, as described in greater detail hereinafter. The data storage device  20  includes an embedded database containing a list of content that may be accessed by the controller  18  to associate a recognized multimedia file with a corresponding content from the list of content. Although one multimedia playback device  24  is shown in  FIG. 1 , a variety of multimedia storage/playback devices may be directly coupled to the electronic vehicle storage system  10 , such as an in-dash radio receiver, a CD player, or a portable storage/playback device (e.g., MP3 player), via a universal serial bus (USB) connection, firewire, or other conventional one-way or two-way communication line. Additionally, a remote storage/playback device  26  may be wirelessly coupled with the electronic vehicle storage system  10  via the wireless transceiver  22 , as described in greater detail hereinafter. The electronic vehicle storage system  10  provides a user with access to generally more audio or other multimedia content than found in conventional CD players.  
      As used herein, the term “file” refers to any data that is stored at one or more sources and is to be delivered as a unit to one or more destinations. For example, a document, an image, and a file from a file server or computer storage device, are all examples of “files” that may be delivered. Files can be of known size (such as a one megabyte image stored on a hard disk) or can be of unknown size (such as a file taken from the output of a streaming source).  
      The vehicle electrical infrastructure  14  may include various systems and/or subsystems on the vehicle  12 , including by way of example and not of limitation a human vehicle interface, a battery power management system, an engine management system, a transmission management system, a body control module, and vehicle subsystems such as an antilock brake system (ABS). The data storage device  20  and controller  18  communicate over the vehicle communications network, such as controller area network (CAN) and J1850 type communication protocols, to transfer information to and from the vehicle systems and subsystems.  
      In one exemplary embodiment, the data storage device  20  is a hard disk drive, or hard drive, that has at least one platter/disk (not shown) accessed by a read/write head(s) (not shown) to transfer data from/to the platter/disk. The hard drive  20  stores a variety of data including, but not limited to, multimedia files, such as audio files, and a variety of status and diagnostic information from the various systems and subsystems of the vehicle  12 , such as antilock brake system (ABS) status information. The hard drive  20  is located in the vehicle  12  and is wired to the vehicle electrical infrastructure  14 , such as via the controller  18 . Although the data storage device  20  is described herein in the context of a hard drive, a variety of other types of mass storage devices may also be used that have read/write capability.  
      As previously mentioned, the controller  18 , such as a microprocessor or other conventional processing device, is coupled to the hard drive  20  to access information on the hard drive  20 , direct transfer of information to/from the hard drive  20 , and optionally communicate with various systems and/or subsystems on the vehicle  12 . Although the controller  18  is shown as a separate device from the hard drive  20 , the combined configuration of the controller  18  and hard drive  20  is not critical to the electronic vehicle storage system  10 . For example, in another exemplary embodiment, the hard drive  20  incorporates the controller  18  such that the hard drive  20  and controller  18  is a single module.  
      The hard drive  20  may optionally communicate over a wireless network including, but not limited to, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, a cellular network, or the like, to transfer information to and from remote systems, such as a key fob and a personal computer. One or more of a variety of networking or communication devices may be coupled with the controller  18 . In one embodiment, the wireless transceiver  22  is coupled to the controller  18 . A satellite receiver or telematics transceiver may also be coupled to the vehicle electrical infrastructure  14  and communicate with the controller  18 .  
      For example, the hard drive  20  may communicate with a telematics provider, such as OnStar, to transfer information from a remote system using a cellular/satellite network and the Internet or other similar computer network. The particular wireless network or transceiver is not critical to the operation of the electronic vehicle storage system  10  provided each is compatible with the other. Those of skill in the art will appreciate that the wireless transceiver  22  may be embodied by one or more of a variety of different conventional wireless receivers, transmitters, and transceivers to transfer information between the hard drive  20  and a remotely located (i.e., external to the vehicle) multimedia storage system/device.  
      Each multimedia file has a corresponding multimedia file content. More than one multimedia file may be stored in a portable storage medium, stored in the hard drive  20 , transferred to/from the wireless transceiver  22 , or otherwise processed by the various components of the electronic vehicle storage system  10 . Examples of conventional portable storage medium include, by way of example and not limitation, CD, digital video disc (DVD), read-only memory (ROM), programmable ROM types, random access memory (RAM), floppy disk, magnetic tape, flash memory, hard disk, and the like.  
      Content from a CD, such as an in-dash CD player coupled to the data storage device  20  or a CD drive integrated with the data storage device, may be transferred to the data storage device  20 . For example, the user may insert a normal audio CD and copy content from the CD on to the data storage device  20 . The controller  18  recognizes the content of the CD using the embedded database to associate the CD with a list of the content on the CD. If a CD is inserted into the system  10  that is not recognized by the controller  18 , a telematics connection is established by the controller  18  via the wireless transceiver  22  to the remote storage/playback device ( 26 ), such as a remote server. Information regarding the inserted CD, such as genre, artist, album, are retrieved from a database on the server by the controller  18 , downloaded to the hard drive  20 , and stored with the embedded database. The embedded database may also be updated by receiving broadcast updates through the wireless transceiver  22  and downloading the updates to the hard drive  20 . Content from a variety of other storage mediums may also be transferred to the hard drive  20 , such as from a DVD player or an MP3 player.  
      In one exemplary embodiment, the multimedia content in the vehicle  12  is transferable to the remote data storage/playback device  26 . The controller  18  selects a portion of the multimedia files stored in the hard drive  20  or all of the multimedia files stored therein for transfer via the wireless transceiver  22 . The multimedia files are compressed and modulated into communication signals for transmission by the wireless transceiver  22  using conventional signal processing techniques, and the remote data storage device  26  receives such communication signals via a receiver (not shown), such as the wireless transceiver  22  of the multimedia storage and transfer system  10  associated with the originating vehicle  12 .  
       FIG. 2  is a block diagram illustrating communication between components of an electronic vehicle storage system  30 . In this embodiment, the electronic vehicle storage system  30  includes, but is not limited to, a hard drive  32 , such as the hard drive  20  shown in  FIG. 1 , a controller  34 , such as the controller  18  shown in  FIG. 1 , coupled to the hard drive  32  and collectively referred to as a data storage device  36 , a navigation interface  28  coupled to the data storage device  36 , and the vehicle electrical infrastructure  14 . Routing of communication from various components of the electronic vehicle storage system  30  to the data storage device  36  may vary between the hard drive  32  and the microprocessor  34 .  
      For simplicity of explanation in this exemplary embodiment, communication from various components of the electronic vehicle storage system  30  to either the hard drive  32  and the controller  34  are described with respect to communication with the data storage device  36 . For example, control signals may be communicated between the controller  34  and the wireless transceiver  22  shown in  FIG. 1 , and multimedia files may be wirelessly transferred from a personal computer  44  (PC) to the hard drive  32 . In this example, such control signal communication and multimedia file transfer together establish communication between the data storage device  36  and the personal computer  44 . The particular routing of communication among the hard drive  32 , the controller  34 , and other components of the electronic vehicle storage system  30  is not critical to the operation of the same.  
      The hard drive  32  has an embedded database containing a list of multimedia file content and stores multimedia files such as found on conventional CDs, DVDs, and other storage mediums. Multimedia files may be downloaded to the data storage device  36  from any number of devices. As best shown in  FIG. 2 , multimedia files may be downloaded to the data storage device  36  from a conventional CD  40 , a compressed audio CD  38  that may be used to store compressed digital audio files such as MP3 files or the like, a portable storage/player device  42  such as a DVD player, a video content storage/player device  46  such as a digital video recorder (DVR), and a personal computer  44 . In one exemplary embodiment, the multimedia files are stored as compressed files on the hard drive  32 .  
      To preserve DRM protected multimedia files, a public key encoding system may be used to encrypt such multimedia files. For example, a vehicle identification number (VIN) may be used as the public key. In a wireless transfer configuration, the vehicle&#39;s public key may be transmitted over the wireless network to the remotely connected personal computer  44 , portable storage/player device  42 , video content storage/player device  46 , or remote data storage device  26  ( FIG. 1 ) to be used for encrypting content. For an end-to-end DRM scheme, the originating vehicle, such as the vehicle  12  shown in  FIG. 1 , may authenticate using the VIN as the public key before transfer of content thereto while also preserving DRM protected content from subsequent transfer out of the vehicle  12 .  
      Wireless transfer of multimedia files is accomplished using a wireless transceiver such as the wireless transceiver  22  shown in  FIG. 1 . In one exemplary embodiment, content may be synchronized by the controller or microprocessor  34  between the electronic vehicle storage system  30  in the vehicle  12  ( FIG. 1 ) and a remote storage/playback device  26  ( FIG. 1 ) such as the home PC  44 . For example, a music collection of audio files stored on the data storage device  36  may be synchronized with a music collection of audio files stored on the home PC  44 . In this example, the microprocessor  34  may compare the content on the hard drive  32  with the content on the home PC  44  and transfer content acquired on the PC  44  to the vehicle  12  ( FIG. 1 ). In this exemplary embodiment, content that may have been “ripped” from purchased CDs onto the hard drive  32  may be transferred from the PC  44  to the hard drive  32 .  
      In one exemplary embodiment, the data storage device  36  has a port  41  for coupling the portable data storage device  42  to the data storage device  36 . The port may be a universal serial bus (USB) port, firewire connection, or the like. In this embodiment, the microprocessor  34  is configured to transfer public key encoded multimedia files from the hard drive  32  to the portable data storage device  42  via said USB connection  41 . Retrieval of the multimedia files on the portable data storage device  42  is restricted to access using the public key by the originating vehicle of the public key encoded multimedia files, such as the originating vehicle  12  shown in  FIG. 1 .  
      Being coupled with other vehicle systems  14 , the data storage device  36  may record diagnostic and status information to the hard drive  32  to record vehicle operation states as time passes. This embodiment is particularly useful as an automotive “black box” where the data storage device  36  may be recovered in the event of a crash of the vehicle  12  ( FIG. 1 ). The status information of various vehicle systems  54  stored in the data storage device  36  may be used to determine information about the crash. Additionally, the data storage device  36  may record diagnostic information relevant to the vehicle history and service to the hard drive  32 . This information may be used by service professionals when repairing or performing maintenance on the vehicle  12  ( FIG. 1 ).  
      The user interface  28 , or navigation interface, displays the contents of the multimedia files stored on the hard drive  32 , such as a music library, in the vehicle  12  ( FIG. 1 ) and provides navigation (e.g., using a rotating knob, a push button, or touch-sensitive screen) among the multimedia files. In one exemplary embodiment, the user interface  28  has controls to rip/copy an entire CD (compressed or normal), DVD, or other portable storage medium to the hard drive  34 . In another exemplary embodiment, the user interface  28  has controls to rip/copy specific tracks or files contained on the CD, DVD, or other portable storage medium. For example, during playback of the portable storage medium, the user may select a currently played track or file for ripping/copying to the hard drive  34 . Additionally, the user interface  28  may provide a control to delete the currently played track or file from the hard drive  34 . The user interface  28  displays the specific tracks or files that have been ripped/copied to the hard drive  34  from the portable storage medium. In this embodiment, the user has flexibility to selectively store and prune content recorded to the hard drive  34 .  
      Rip or copy speed of multimedia files to the hard drive  34  may be limited due to shock and vibration while the vehicle  12  ( FIG. 1 ) is in motion. In one exemplary embodiment, the hard drive  34  has a variable rip speed that dynamically adjusts based on vehicle movement. By coupling the microprocessor  36  to the various vehicle systems/subsystems, such as a body control module or throttle control module, the microprocessor  36  may increase or decrease rip speed based on status information communicated from such vehicle systems/subsystems. For example, the rip speed of the hard drive may be increase while the vehicle is not moving to maximize transfer time.  
       FIG. 3  is a block diagram of an exemplary embodiment of the navigation interface  28 . The navigation interface  28  includes an input device  53 , a processing unit  55  coupled to the input device  53 , and a display coupled to the processing unit  55 . In this exemplary embodiment, the processing unit  55  couples with the controller  18  ( FIG. 1 ) to access multimedia files stored in the hard drive  20 . Although the processing unit  55  is described in relation to a device separate from the controller  18  ( FIG. 1 ), the processing unit  55  may be incorporated within the controller  18  as a single device in an alternative embodiment.  
      In one exemplary embodiment, the data storage device  36  monitors and determines listening habits of the user, such as by associating a multimedia file with a corresponding content or by monitoring and storing the playback frequency for the multimedia files stored in the embedded database. Based on the determined listening habits, the processing unit  55  generates a playlist so that browsing by the user to a particular content is not necessary. For example, the processing unit  55  retrieves the playback frequency for each of the multimedia files stored in the hard drive  20  and automatically generates a playlist of multimedia files based on the playback frequencies such that the multimedia files are sorted in the playlist from higher playback frequency to lower playback frequency.  
      The input unit  53  is configured to initiate playback of the playlist, such as by depressing a switch on the face of the navigation interface  28 . During playback, the processing unit  55  communicates with the controller  18  to retrieve a currently selected multimedia file for playback via, for example, the multimedia playback device  24  ( FIG. 1 ). For example, the processing unit  55  determines which multimedia file in the order of the playlist is to be retrieved from the hard drive  20  for playback. In this exemplary embodiment, a “one-touch” scheme is used to automatically generate the playlist and initiate playback of the multimedia files in the playlist, and the processing unit  55  automatically selects multimedia files from the playlist for playback based on the order of the playlist. The display  56  displays all of the multimedia files of the playlist and includes a symbol that indicates a multimedia file currently selected for playback. The entire contents of a music library corresponding to the playlist may be displayed such as on a display bar.  
       FIG. 4  is a front view of a first exemplary embodiment of the navigation interface  60 . The navigation interface  60  includes, but is not limited to, a display bar  62 , a pointer  64 , playback content selection buttons  68 ,  69 ,  70 ,  71 , a track selection controller  66  (e.g., a rotatable knob), playback mode buttons  72  (e.g., play, pause, stop, rewind, forward, and stop) for manipulating the playback of a currently selected multimedia file, and a on-off button  74  to activate/deactivate the navigation interface  60 . In this exemplary embodiment, the processing unit  55  ( FIG. 3 ) generates playlists (e.g., music libraries) for different playback contents such as a genre, an artist, and an album, as selected by activation of a genre mode button  58 , an artist mode button  69 , and an album mode button  70 , respectively. A standard mode button  71  may be activated, such as by depressing the button  72 , to instruct the processing unit  55  ( FIG. 3 ) to generate the music library based on playback frequencies, as previously described herein. Other multimedia content categories may also be used, and the processing unit  55  may select multimedia files from the hard drive  20  ( FIG. 3 ) to generate playlists that meet such multimedia content categories.  
      The display bar  62  shows the audio files of the music library corresponding to the selected playback content, or category of content, and the pointer  64  indicates a current position of playback within the music library (e.g., audio file currently selected for playback) along the display bar  62 . The user can scroll through the audio files of the music library by rotating the track selection knob  66  counter-clockwise/clockwise and selecting an audio file for playback by depressing the track selection knob  66 . A variety of other devices may be used to scroll through the music library and select an audio file for playback such as scroll-up/scroll-down buttons.  
      In addition to listing the audio files of the music library for the selected playback content, the audio files of the music library may be indicated along the display bar  62  by genres, artists, albums, etc. A softkey may also be used to “jump” to a specific place along the display bar  62 . Although the user interface  28  is described herein with regard to the music library, a general multimedia library may also be displayed for navigation. For example, a video system  48  ( FIG. 2 ) may be coupled to the data storage device  36  ( FIG. 2 ) and include a monitor and related electronics to display video images such as from content associated with a DVD.  
       FIG. 5  is a front view of a second exemplary embodiment of the navigation interface  80 . The navigation interface  80  includes, but is not limited to, a display bar  82 , a pointer  88 , a content display  92 , playback content selection buttons  94 ,  96 , a track selection controller  90  (e.g., a rotatable knob), a mood selection controller  91 , playback mode buttons  98  (e.g., play, pause, stop, rewind, forward, and stop) for manipulating the playback of a currently selected multimedia file (e.g., audio file), and an on-off button  100  to activate/deactivate the navigation interface  80 . In this exemplary embodiment, the content display  92  displays a variety of categories (e.g., genre, artist, album, mood, etc.) of content for playback selection. The content is browsed by scrolling up using the scroll-up button  94  and by scrolling down using the scroll-down button  96 , and selection of the content for playback may is initiated such as by pressing the play button.  
      In this exemplary embodiment, the processing unit  55  ( FIG. 3 ) generates a music library on the display bar  86  based on a selected mood via the mood selection controller  91 . The processing unit  55  may generate a variety of mood continuums, each spanning from a first descriptive emotion  84  to a second descriptive emotion  86 , for selection by the mood selection controller  91 . The selected mood continuum is displayed on the display bar  82  with the first descriptive emotion  84  displayed at one end of the display bar  82  and the second descriptive emotion  86  displayed at the other end of the display bar  82 . Examples of the mood continuums include, but are not limited to, “happy” to “sad” and “relaxing” to “exciting”. In one exemplary embodiment, the audio files may have pre-assigned moods such as may be based on the artist or genre associated with a particular multimedia file. In another exemplary embodiment, the user may assign a mood to the audio file, such as via the mood selection controller  91 .  
      For each of the mood continuums, the processing unit  55  selects audio files from the hard drive  20  ( FIG. 3 ) that fall within the mood continuum to generate a music library. For example, a “happy” emotion may have an assigned mood weight of 1, and a “sad” emotion may have an assigned mood weight of 10. Each of the audio files stored on the hard drive  20  ( FIG. 3 ) may have an assigned mood weight, and the processing unit  55  selects audio files from the hard drive  20  ( FIG. 3 ) having mood weights within the range of 1 to 10 and disregards audio files having mood weights outside of this range. The selected audio files are ordered by the processing unit  55  based on the mood weights from mood weight 1 to mood weight 10 to correspond with the displayed mood continuum.  
      The pointer  88  is moved along the mood continuum using the track selection controller  90  to select an audio file for playback having a mood corresponding to the position of the pointer  88  on the mood continuum. Playback of the generated music library for the selected mood continuum may proceed automatically from one of the descriptive emotions of the selected mood continuum to the other descriptive emotion of the selected mood continuum.  
      While at least one exemplary embodiment has been presented in the foregoing detailed description, it should be appreciated that a vast number of variations exist. It should also be appreciated that the exemplary embodiment or exemplary embodiments are only examples, and are not intended to limit the scope, applicability, or configuration of the invention in any way. Rather, the foregoing detailed description will provide those skilled in the art with a convenient road map for implementing the exemplary embodiment or exemplary embodiments. It should be understood that various changes can be made in the function and arrangement of elements without departing from the scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims and the legal equivalents thereof.