Patent Publication Number: US-2006005143-A1

Title: Method for managing media files, an electronic device utilizing the method and a computer program implementing the method

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
      The invention relates to a method for classifying files to be saved in a mobile terminal device, in which classification method a visible visual identifier (tag) is added to the file information. The invention also relates to a terminal device utilizing the method and a computer program that can be saved in the terminal device.  
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      To an increasing extent, data processing performed by people is taking place in electronic devices carried along by the user. Examples of such devices are terminal devices operating in some cellular network and PDAs (Personal Digital Assistant). Their physical size has been made as small as possible in order to make them easy to carry along. However, the small size entails problems that make it more difficult to use these devices.  
      Along with the development of the memory technology, the size of semiconductor memories has grown rapidly. No restrictions to the growth of the memory size are expected in the near future. Due to the grown memory capacity, it has been possible to utilize applications with increasing memory capacity requirements in mobile data processing devices. For example, it is already possible to save files of several megabytes in a terminal device of a cellular network. Memories like this can thus be used for saving high resolution images or video clips, media files, the contents of which can be briefly described by text-form qualifiers, file information. These qualifiers describing the saved file are generally called metadata.  
      However, the display of the devices and the interface in them become relatively small because of the physical size of the devices. Thus it is possible to process only a limited amount of information at a time in the display of the terminal devices of the cellular network. If there is a large number of files and their text qualifiers, the file qualifiers to be managed must be brought to the display of the terminal device in small parts. However, this impairs the overall manageability of the information. In the prior art devices, it is difficult to work out which other file saved in the same device earlier or which context the record being dealt with relates to.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      It is an objective of the invention to present a method and a device arrangement, by the utilization of which the user of a mobile terminal device can attach visual identifiers to various records, such as media records, to facilitate the classification of the files and the perception of the unity formed by the files. The visual identifiers according to the invention describe a larger group of records or some context to which the user considers the record being processed to belong.  
      The objectives of the invention are achieved by a procedure in which a visual identifier is attached to the file information of a record on the display of the terminal device. For each visual identifier according to the invention, the user can define what he wants to describe by it. The visual identifier can be attached by a function according to the invention, added to the menus of the terminal device, which the user can select in the ordinary manner from a menu used in the terminal device. When the visual identifier has been added, it remains in the record for a length of time defined by the user.  
      The invention has the advantage that a visual identifier can be attached to a file to be saved in an electronic device, specifying to which factual context the file being dealt with belongs or what other files it is connected with. Especially in devices in which the size of the display is limited, the classification and managing of saved files can be made considerably easier by means of a visual identifier.  
      Furthermore, the invention has the advantage that the shape, colour, patterning or size of the visual identifier can be utilized as a distinctive feature of the identifier.  
      In addition, the invention has the advantage that the user can modify the identifiers to be attached according to need.  
      The method according to the invention is characterized in that in the gallery view on the display of the terminal device: 
          a tag menu is selected from the Options submenu by tapping a tag menu icon on the touch screen     a classification criterion is selected from the opened tag menu, and along with it a visual identifier describing it, and     the selected visual identifier is attached to the file information of the file being dealt with, and the visual identifier is always visible in connection with the file information.        

      The terminal device according to the invention is characterized in that a menu of the gallery view on the display of the terminal device comprises means for attaching a visual identifier describing a classification criterion of the file to the file identifier, as a result of which the visual identifier is in sight when the file identifier is on the display of the terminal device.  
      A computer program product according to the invention for classifying files by utilizing a visual identifier in a terminal device of the cellular network is characterized in that it comprises 
          computer program means for adding the tag menu as a part of the Options sub-menu in the gallery view menu of the terminal device, or adding a tag menu icon on the touch screen     computer program means for creating and maintaining classification criteria in the tag menu     computer program means for associating a visual identifier with each classification criterion, and     computer program means for adding a visual identifier to a file selected in the gallery view menu.        

      Some preferred embodiments of the invention are presented in the dependent claims.  
      The basic idea of the invention is the following. A software application according to the invention has been saved in the mobile terminal device, and its functions are added as part of the menus belonging to the terminal device. By means of the software application, selection options can be added to the menus of the terminal device, by which selection options a visual identifier can be added to the file information of the files of the terminal device to facilitate the identification or classification of the file on the basis of the metadata describing the file, for example. The shape, colour, place or size of the identifier can be defined by the user. Similarly, the user can define what a certain visual identifier represents or to which group or context the files marked by a certain identifier belong. The user can utilize the identifiers according to the invention especially in the classification and sorting of media files in a terminal device. In sorting, media files having a certain identifier are grouped into one file group, and they can also be brought to the display of the device by groups. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
      In the following, the invention will be described in more detail. Reference will be made to the accompanying figures, in which  
       FIGS. 1   a - 1   d  show by way of example how the method according to the invention can be utilized in connection with an existing video record  
       FIGS. 2   a - 2   d  show by way of example how the method according to the invention can be utilized before making a video record  
       FIG. 3  is an exemplary flow chart showing how the method according to the invention is utilized in a terminal device of a cellular network, and  
       FIG. 4  shows the main parts of the terminal device according to the invention by way of example. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
      In the following, the invention will be described in the light of examples, which relate to managing various media records in a terminal device of a cellular network, for example.  
       FIGS. 1   a - 1   d  show an example of how the method according to the invention can be utilized in connection with an existing media record. In the example of  FIGS. 1   a - 1   d,  a visual identifier according to the invention is attached to an existing video clip.  
      In  FIG. 1   a,  reference  100  denotes a prior art display of a terminal device of a cellular network. It can be a mere display or a touch-screen display, in which case it can also be used in the control commands of the terminal device. In the example of  FIG. 1   a,  the application  101  used in the editing of videos is in the display  100 . There is a plurality of icons on the display, which are related to the media files saved in the terminal device. The media record being processed is  111 , which is also enlarged as compared to the other icons. There are also two menu keys at the lower edge of the display  100 . By selecting “Options”  121 , a menu saved in the terminal device is opened; this menu can be the so-called gallery view menu. By selecting “Exit”, the user can quit the video editing application.  
      If the user selects the alternative “Options”  121 , a menu  140  of alternative measures according to  FIG. 1   b  is opened on the display of the terminal device. In the example of  FIG. 1   b,  the options of the prior art are found in the menu  140 : Play, Edit, Send, Delete and Move to folder. It is obvious to a person skilled in the art that other alternative functions not presented in  FIG. 1   b  can also be included in the list.  
      In addition to the prior art options, according to the invention the menu  140  also includes the option “Tag”  141 , which is advantageously used for classifying the media file and for adding a visual identifier to the media file being processed. The user can move the cursor of the terminal device onto the desired option and make the selection by the selection key of the terminal device, which in the example of the figure is “Select”  122 . When the “Select” button  122  is pressed, this selection option opens a tag menu  150  according to the invention, from which a suitable classification criterion and a related visual identifier can be selected for the media file being processed. If the user wants to exit the menu according to the invention, he/she can do it by using the Cancel key.  
       FIG. 1   c  shows a possible tag menu  150  by way of example. The tag menu  150  can naturally also comprise other alternatives than those shown in  FIG. 1   c.  The user can thus add or remove selection options belonging to the tag menu  150 . In the case of  FIG. 1   c,  the user can select from the following options: Share, Edit, Peer-to-Peer Network (P2P) or Delete. According to the invention, each selection option available is also associated with a visual identifier  152 . The visual identifier  152  can describe a media file e.g. by means of colour, shape, place, size or a combination thereof. In the example of  FIG. 1   c,  colours are used for distinguishing between the identifiers (not visible in  FIG. 1   c ). In the example of  FIG. 1   c,  the user is about to select the option “Peer-to-Peer Network”, reference  151 , because the cursor of the terminal device has been moved onto it. If the user presses the “OK” button  123 , the visual identifier  152  of the peer-to-peer network is added to the media record  111  shown in  FIG. 1   a.  The user can also exit this tag menu  150  by using the Cancel key.  
       FIG. 1   d  shows the situation when the OK button  123  has been pressed in the situation of  FIG. 1   c.  The tag menu  150  is closed, and the icons shown in  FIG. 1   a  are opened on the display  100  of the terminal device. However, the selected visual identifier  152  according to the invention has now also been attached to the icon  112  that was being processed, and this identifier is visible when the file identifier of the media record  112  is on the display of the terminal device. The media file classified by the method and marked by the identifier has preferably been joined as part of a file group in the terminal device. The classification options found in the tag menu  150  according to the invention have been used as the classification criterion.  
       FIGS. 2   a - 2   d  show an example of how the method according to the invention can be utilized before making a media record. In the example of  FIGS. 2   a - 2   d,  a visual identifier according to the invention is attached to a video clip being taken.  
      In  FIG. 2   a,  reference  100  denotes a prior art display of a terminal device of a cellular network. In the example of  FIG. 2   a,  the application  201  used in the recording of videos is in the display  100 . There is a plurality of icons on the display, which are related to the media files saved in the terminal device. The video record icon  211  that is in focus is enlarged as compared to the other icons. There are also two menu keys at the lower edge of the display  100 . The selection “Options”  121  opens a menu saved in the terminal device. By selecting “Exit”, the user can exit the video editing application.  
      If the user selects the alternative “Options”  121 , a menu  240  of alternative measures according to  FIG. 2   b  is opened on the display of the terminal device. In the example of  FIG. 2   b,  the options of the prior art are found in the menu: Play, Edit, Send, Delete and Move to folder. It is obvious to a person skilled in the art that other alternative functions not presented in  FIG. 2   b  can also be included in the menu. In addition to the prior art options, the menu  240  also includes the option “Default Tag”  241  according to the invention, which is used for adding a visual identifier to the video clip being taken.  
      When the button “Select”  122  is pressed, this selection option according to the invention opens a tag menu  150  according to the invention, from which a suitable classification criterion and a related visual identifier can be selected for the video clip being taken. If the user wants to exit the menu according to the invention, they can do it by using the Cancel key.  
       FIG. 2   c  shows a possible tag menu  150  as an example. The tag menu  150  can naturally also comprise other alternatives than those shown in  FIG. 2   c.  The user can thus add or remove selection options belonging to the tag menu  150 . In the example of  FIG. 2   c,  the user can select from the following options: Share, Edit, Peer-to-Peer Network (P2P) or Delete. According to the invention, a visual identifier  152  described earlier is also associated with each selection option available.  
      In the example of  FIG. 2   c,  the user is about to select the option “Peer-to-Peer Network”  151 , because the cursor of the terminal device has been moved onto it. If the user presses the “OK” button  123 , the visual identifier  152  of the peer-to-peer network is added to the video record  211  being made. The user can also exit this tag menu  150  by using the Cancel key.  
       FIG. 2   d  shows the situation when the OK button  123  has been pressed in the situation of  FIG. 2   c.  The tag menu  150  is closed, and the file information shown in  FIG. 2   a  is opened on the display  100  of the terminal device; in this case the icons are visible. However, the selected visual identifier  152  has now also been added to the icon  212  of the video clip being taken, the identifier of which is visible when the icon of the record is on the display  100  of the terminal device.  
      The main steps of the method according to the invention in connection with the processing of a media record are presented as an exemplary flow chart in  FIG. 3 . A prior art gallery view menu, to which the additional menus needed in the method according to the invention have been added, is available in a terminal device of the cellular network. The gallery view menu is opened in step  31 . When the menu has been opened, it is used to select a media file to which the visual identifier according to the invention is to be added.  
      After this, in step  32 , the Options submenu is selected from the gallery view menu. An option, reference  141  or  241 , that enables selecting the tag menu  150  according to the invention, has been added to this Options submenu, references  140  or  240 , in the terminal device. The option according to the invention is selected in step  33 . In step  34 , the selection made opens a tag menu  150  according to the invention, which preferably comprises selection options/classification criteria and visual identifiers presented in connection with  FIGS. 1   a - 2   d.    
      A suitable classification criterion and along with it a certain visual identifier are selected in step  35 . The selected visual identifier is added to the media file being processed, and the terminal device returns to the gallery view menu, step  36  (starting step  31 ).  
      The user has been given the possibility to leave the process of adding a visual identifier during any of the steps  32  to  35  described above. Leaving is possible by means of the option “Cancel”.  
       FIG. 4  shows, by way of example, the functional main parts of a terminal device  40  of a cellular network capable of utilizing the method according to the invention. The terminal device can be, for example, a prior art GSM, GPRS or UMTS terminal device.  
      The terminal device  40  uses an antenna  41  in the transmission and reception of signals with the serving cellular network. The receiver means RX of the terminal device  40  are shown by reference  42 . The receiver RX comprises prior art means for all messages or signals to be received.  
      Reference  43  denotes the means of which the transmitter TX of the terminal device  40  is composed. All the signal processing measures required when operating with a cellular network are performed on the signal to be transmitted by the transmitter means  43 .  
      In the terminal device  40 , the essential parts with regard to the utilization of the invention are the central processing unit  44  that controls its operation and the memory  45 , in which the software application required in the implementation of the method for attaching a visual identifier according to the invention has advantageously been saved. The identifier options possible for the user with their visual differences can also be saved in the memory  45 . When required, the user can also add or change the selectable identifiers by the program.  
      When operating in a prior art cellular network, such as the GSM network, the terminal device  40  also requires a SIM card (not shown in  FIG. 4 ) in order to function. Each terminal device  40  can be uniquely identified by means of the information of the SIM card. Naturally, the program application according to the invention can also be saved on the SIM card instead of the memory  45  of the actual terminal device.  
      The central processing unit  44  controls the procedure of sorting the media files and attaching tags to them according to the invention. In this work it utilizes, for example, a program application according to the invention in the memory  45  and the tags saved in it.  
      The terminal device  40  also comprises a user interface  46 . It comprises at least a display  100  and keyboard functions (not shown in  FIG. 4 ). In the method according to the invention, different menus, media records to be processed or their file information are shown on the display  100 . The visual identifiers according to the invention can be attached to the media records by means of functions added to the tag menu.  
      Some advantageous embodiments of the method and the terminal device according to the invention have been described above. The invention is not limited to the solutions described above, but the inventive idea can be applied in numerous ways within the limits set by the claims.