DE102022118141A1 - Mobile device and a method for graphically and acoustically reproducing a sound track - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a mobile device and method in which a soundtrack of an acoustic signal, which is represented by a file stored in the memory of the mobile device, is graphically reproduced in such a way that the soundtrack is displayed over several lines, provided that the soundtrack represented acoustic signal exceeds a minimum duration. To play back the soundtrack over several lines, the soundtrack breaks at the end of a line and the graphic display of the soundtrack is continued at the beginning of the next line on the graphic display.

Description

The invention relates to a mobile device and a method for graphically and acoustically reproducing an audio track of an acoustic signal represented by a file in a memory. The invention also relates to a computer program product.

Acoustic signals such as music, noises, spoken text etc. can be recorded as a soundtrack and represented by digital data in the form or as part of a file in a data memory (in short: memory). Devices and methods that are used to reproduce one or more audio tracks graphically and acoustically are known in principle. The graphic display typically takes place on a graphic display on which the amplitude curve of the soundtrack is shown in one line. Together with the graphic reproduction of the soundtrack, the soundtrack can also be briefly reproduced, for example by outputting a corresponding acoustic signal via loudspeakers or by generating an electrical signal that can be reproduced acoustically via a device suitable for acoustic reproduction or a loudspeaker. With a corresponding application (app) to be installed on a mobile device such as a smartphone, a mobile device with a graphic display and a loudspeaker or a headphone output can be enabled to play a sound track that is played by a file stored in the memory of the mobile device is represented, to be reproduced graphically and acoustically. However, the small area of a graphic display of a mobile device limits the application, particularly in the case of longer audio tracks.

The invention is based on the object of creating an improved mobile device and/or an improved method for graphically or acoustically reproducing a sound track represented by a stored file.

According to the invention, a mobile device is proposed for this purpose which has a processor unit, a graphic display and a memory, the graphic display and the memory being connected to the processor unit. The mobile device is configured to display a graphical representation of the time course of an acoustic signal, which is represented by a file stored in the memory of the mobile device, in such a way that the graphical representation is displayed over several lines, provided that the acoustic signal represented by the sound track signal exceeds a minimum duration. To play the audio track across multiple lines, the mobile device is configured to wrap the audio track at the end of a line and continue the graphical representation of the audio track at the beginning of a next line on the graphical display. An acoustic signal is understood here to mean any acoustic signal, for example in the form of music, spoken text or noise. The mobile device is configured such that a duration of the audible signal epoch represented by each of the lines is adjustable by a zoom gesture on the touch-sensitive graphical display.

In an advantageous variant of the mobile device, it is configured in such a way that when a zoom gesture is performed on the touch-sensitive graphic display, a center of the zoom gesture remains at least approximately stationary as the focus on the graphic display.

The graphical representation of the acoustic signal (i.e. the soundtrack) can be a graphical representation of the amplitude curve (curve of amplitude over time) of the acoustic signal. However, other or expanded graphical representations of the acoustic signal are also possible. For example, different instruments can be artistically emphasized, or pure and distorted sounds can be visually represented differently.

The mobile device is preferably configured to reproduce the audio track represented by the stored file not only graphically but also acoustically. For this purpose, the mobile device is configured to generate an acoustic signal directly, for example via a built-in or connected loudspeaker, or to emit an electrical signal that can be converted into an acoustic device by a device connected to the mobile device. The connected device can be connected to the mobile device, for example, by cable or by Bluetooth or by means of another wireless protocol. The electrical signal representing the acoustic signal can thus be an analog electrical signal or else a digital signal.

The mobile device is preferably configured to display a cursor associated with the graphic display of the sound track in terms of time on the graphical display during the acoustic playback of the sound track, so that the cursor marks the time location of the sound track that is currently being played back acoustically. Time location is understood here to be a position in the graphic reproduction of the soundtrack that corresponds to a specific point in time within the soundtrack. So if a sound track is played back acoustically from beginning to end - or an output signal for the acoustic playback of the sound track is generated - the cursor moves synchronously to the acoustic playback continuously over the graphic representation of the sound track on the graphic display of the mobile device and is always at the time location that is currently being played back acoustically.

The graphical display of the mobile device is preferably touch-sensitive (ie a touch screen) and the mobile device is preferably configured such that the cursor can be positioned and/or moved along the graphical representation of the audio track by touching the graphical display. In this case, the mobile device is preferably configured such that an acoustic playback is synchronized with the position of the cursor on the graphical playback of the sound track (ie with the time location). A mobile device configured in this way makes it possible to determine the start of an acoustic playback of the soundtrack by correspondingly shifting or positioning the cursor on the graphic playback of the soundtrack.

The graphical display of the mobile device preferably has a rectangular format and accordingly has two short and two long edges. The mobile device is preferably configured to display the lines representing the amplitude curve of the soundtrack parallel to the short edges of the graphic display - the graphic display of the soundtrack (or more precisely: the amplitude curve of the soundtrack is therefore preferably in portrait format. This allows conventional mobile devices, holding the mobile device with one hand and using the thumb of the hand holding the mobile device to position the cursor on the graphical display at the desired position of the tonsure.

The break in the soundtrack—more precisely, the break in the graphic display of the amplitude profile of the soundtrack—is preferably always performed after a fixed, predetermined time period, so that the line of the graphic display of the soundtrack represents a fixed, predetermined time period. The permanently predetermined time period is preferably between 20 seconds and 5 minutes, for example 2 minutes or 3 minutes. In the example last mentioned, each line of the graphic display of the amplitude profile of the sound track on the graphic display of the mobile device thus represents a period of 3 minutes. The breaks in the graphic reproduction of the soundtrack therefore occur after 3 minutes, 6 minutes, 9 minutes, etc. In this case, an acoustic signal lasting 11 minutes is presented in four lines, of which the last, fourth line, does not cover the entire width of the graphic display extends, but only has a length that corresponds to about two thirds of the length of the first to third lines of the graphic display of the amplitude curve of the soundtrack.

The graphic reproduction of the soundtrack is thus in several lines arranged one below the other and begins with each new line at the left edge of the line if the playback is continued to the right - or at the right edge if the line is written in Arabic or Hebrew, for example is continued on the left.

The mobile device is preferably configured to display a limited number of lines, for example a maximum of five lines, on the graphic display. In the above example, the amplitude profile of an acoustic signal with a duration of 15 minutes can then be displayed in full. Accordingly, longer-lasting acoustic signals - for example audio books or podcasts - require a larger number of lines to reproduce the amplitude curve. In this case, the mobile device is preferably configured to allow vertical scrolling of the graphical representation of the amplitude profile of the sound track. The vertical scrolling can either take place automatically during the acoustic playback of the sound track or the scrolling can be effected by touching the graphical display of the mobile device and performing a sliding gesture. The mobile device is preferably configured to implement one of the two variants of scrolling or both variants.

The graphical display of the mobile device is preferably between 3 and 8 cm wide. This means that the short edges of the mobile device graphic display are between 3 and 8 cm long, while the long edges of the graphic display are each longer than the short edges.

According to the invention, a method is also proposed for solving the aforementioned problem, which is used for the graphic and acoustic reproduction of a sound track represented by a stored file. According to the method according to the invention, the amplitude profile of the soundtrack is reproduced on a graphic display in such a way that the soundtrack is displayed over several lines arranged precisely one below the other as soon as the corresponding acoustic signal lasts longer than a predetermined period of time. In this case, the audio track breaks after the specified time period and the playback of the audio track is continued in a next line on the graphic display, starting at the beginning of the next line. Here, a duration of the period of the acoustic signal reproduced by each of the lines is adjustable by a zoom gesture on the touch-sensitive graphical display.

In an advantageous variant of the method, this is designed in such a way that when a zoom gesture is performed on the touch-sensitive graphic display, a center of the zoom gesture remains at least approximately stationary as the focus on the graphic display.

The graphic display of a cursor is preferably also displayed in association with the graphic display of the amplitude profile of the sound track in such a way that it marks a time location on the sound track. The method is preferably designed in such a way that an acoustic signal represented by a file stored in a memory is not only reproduced in the form of a graphical representation of the amplitude curve of the sound track representing the acoustic signal, but that at the same time an acoustic reproduction of the Memory saved file represented signal takes place. The acoustic playback can take place in the form of an acoustic signal or by outputting an electrical signal that can be converted into an acoustic signal by a suitable device—for example Bluetooth headphones. The acoustic reproduction of the audio signal is preferably carried out synchronously with the position of the cursor relative to the graphic reproduction of the amplitude profile of the soundtrack. So while the acoustic signal - or a section of it - is reproduced acoustically, the cursor moves along the graphic representation of the amplitude curve of the associated sound track.

The method is preferably also designed to record touches on the graphic display and the location of the touch on the graphic display and to assign the playback of the cursor in order in this way to enable the cursor to be moved along the graphic display of the amplitude curve of the soundtrack by a user . The method is preferably designed to control the acoustic playback of the sound track (more precisely: the acoustic signal represented by the sound track) according to the position (the time location) of the cursor on the graphic display of the amplitude curve of the sound track.

According to a further advantageous variant of the method, an at least approximately vertical displacement gesture on the graphic display causes the graphic display of the acoustic signal to scroll vertically if the graphic representation of the acoustic signal requires more than the limited number of lines.

Both the mobile device and the method are preferably configured to display at least one button for starting and/or stopping the acoustic playback of the sound track in addition to the graphical display of the amplitude curve of the sound track and to regularly prompt for touching the button so that a user can hear the acoustic Start and/or stop playback of the audio track by touching the button accordingly. The corresponding button is preferably displayed permanently and is stationary in relation to the graphical display of the mobile device.

A further aspect of the invention relates to a computer program product that contains program code that is configured to effect a configuration of a mobile device of the type presented here and/or the execution of a method of the type described here when the program code is executed on a mobile device .

• 1a: eine beispielhafte, schematische, perspektivische Darstellung eines mobilen Geräts;
• 1b: ein vereinfachtes Blockschaltbild eines mobilen Geräts;
• 2: die graphische Anzeige des Geräts aus 1a und b einschließlich graphischer Wiedergaben des Amplitudenverlaufs einer Tonspur sowie von Schaltflächen zum Steuern der Wiedergabe eines akustischen Signals;
• 3: eine Wiedergabe auf der graphischen Anzeige ähnlich gemäß 2 die auch einen anderen Zeitpunkt der Wiedergabe eines akustischen Signals widerspiegelnd;
• 4: eine Wiedergabe des Amplitudenverlaufs einer Tonspur auf der graphischen Anzeige des mobilen Geräts aus 1a und 1b im Falle eines längerdauernden Tonsignals
• 5: eine Illustration einer Zoom-Geste zum Einstellen einer Zeitdauer des Zeitabschnitts des akustischen Signals, die durch eine Zeile 30 wiedergegeben ist; und
• 6: wie der Fokus beim Ausführen der Zoom-Geste erhalten bleibt.

The invention will now be explained in more detail using an exemplary embodiment with reference to the figures. The figures show graphical representations on a touch-sensitive graphical display of a mobile device. In particular shows:

• 1a 1: an exemplary, schematic, perspective illustration of a mobile device;
• 1b : a simplified block diagram of a mobile device;
• 2 : the graphical display of the device off 1a and b including graphical representations of the amplitude profile of a sound track and buttons for controlling the reproduction of an acoustic signal;
• 3 : a rendering on the graphic display similarly provided 2 also reflecting a different time of playback of an acoustic signal;
• 4 : display the amplitude curve of a sound track on the mobile device's graphical display 1a and 1b in the case of a prolonged sound signal
• 5 Figure 3: an illustration of a zoom gesture for adjusting a duration of the epoch of the acoustic signal, represented by a line 30; and
• 6 : how to keep focus when performing the zoom gesture.

1 shows a typical mobile device 10 with a housing 12 in which a graphic display 14 is integrated. The graphic display is preferably touch-sensitive, ie a touchscreen. In addition, the mobile device 10 has two sound converters 16, which can be used to output an acoustic signal and can typically also be used as a microphone.

A processor unit 20 and a data memory 22 are arranged inside the housing 12 of the mobile device 10 . The processor unit 20 is at least indirectly connected to the data memory 22 and to the graphic display 14 and the sound transducers.

For example, files that represent an acoustic signal in the form of a sound track can be stored in memory 22 . The soundtrack can be reproduced both acoustically and graphically as the amplitude profile of the acoustic signal. The latter can be done by the processor unit 20, which is controlled by corresponding program code, which is also stored in the memory 22. In this case, the program code stored in memory 22 defines an application (app) for graphically and acoustically reproducing a signal stored in a file in memory 22 .

The mobile device is configured by the program code in such a way that the amplitude curve of the acoustic signal represented by the file can be graphically reproduced in several lines, namely when the acoustic signal lasts longer than the time period defined by line 30 on the graphic Display 12 is represented. Each line 30 on the graphic display 12 represents a time section of the amplitude profile of the sound track of an acoustic signal, which is represented by a file in the memory 22 of the mobile device 10. The duration of the time segment of the acoustic signal represented by a line 30 is identical for all lines, for example 3 minutes. The amplitude curve of the sound track of an acoustic signal of a little more than 7 minutes duration is therefore in the example shown in the 2 and 3 shown in three lines 30.

A break in the graphic display of the amplitude curve thus occurs after 3, 6, 9...etc. minutes.

The duration of the time segment of the acoustic signal, which is identical for all lines 30 and is represented by a line 30, is adjustable, preferably by a zoom gesture (spreading the fingers), which a user can perform on the touch-sensitive graphic display 14.

A cursor 32 is shown associated with the amplitude curve of the acoustic signal shown in the form of lines 30, the position of which relative to the lines 30 representing the amplitude curve of the acoustic signal corresponds to a temporal playback position (a time location) during the acoustic playback of the acoustic signal.

If the acoustic signal stored by a file in the memory 22 is played back from the beginning, the cursor 32 is initially at the beginning of the first line 30, as shown in 2 and then moves along the lines 30 during the course of the playback of the acoustic signal. Thus, during the playback of the acoustic signal, the cursor jumps from the end of the first line 30 back to the beginning of the next line 30 and moves along the next line 30 to its end to jump from there to the beginning of the following line. The beginnings of the lines are all arranged one below the other, so that during the playback of an acoustic signal the cursor not only jumps from top to bottom between two lines, but also from right to left (backwards).

3 shows the cursor 32 at a later playback time.

The mobile device 10 is configured by the program code stored in the memory 22 in such a way that the position of the cursor 32 can be shifted by hand along the lines 30 by touching the graphical surface 12 in order in this way to also change the temporal playback position of the audio signal .

4 illustrates that the mobile device 10 is configured to display a limited number of lines, for example a maximum of five lines, on the graphic display 14, each representing a time segment of 3 minutes in duration. This allows the amplitude curve of an acoustic signal with a duration of up to 15 minutes to be displayed in full. Longer lasting acoustic signals - for example audio books or podcasts - require a larger number of lines 30 to reproduce the amplitude profile. In this case, the mobile device 10 is configured to allow vertical scrolling of the graphical representation of the amplitude curve of the soundtrack. The vertical scrolling can either be done automatically during the acoustic playback of the audio track or scrolling can be done by touching the graphical display of the mobile device and Off lead a move gesture. The mobile device is preferably configured to implement one of the two variants of scrolling or both variants.

As already mentioned, the duration of the time segment of the acoustic signal represented by a line 30 can be adjusted by a zoom gesture. this is in 5 illustrated. So that in the case of an acoustic signal, the reproduction of which in the form of an amplitude curve already takes up more lines than are shown on the graphic display, the focus 40 on the section of interest of the graphic reproduction of the amplitude curve of the acoustic signal is not lost, the mobile device 10 designed in such a way that a center of the zoom gesture remains at least approximately stationary as the focus 40 on the graphic display 14 . This means that when a zoom gesture is performed, part of the graphic display of the amplitude curve is pushed out of the graphic display beyond the beginning of the first line and is no longer displayed, as indicated by the arrow 38.1. Likewise, part of the graphic display of the amplitude profile is pushed out of the graphic display beyond the end of the last line and is no longer displayed, as is indicated by the arrow 38.2.

In 5 illustrates a zoom gesture centered approximately in the middle of the middle row (the third of five rows). However, zoom gestures can be performed with respect to each row, and the center (and thus the focus) of the respective zoom gesture does not have to be in the middle of the respective row.

6 illustrates the effect of a zoom gesture like the one shown in 5 is illustrated. how 6 As can be seen, that point of the graphical representation of the amplitude profile of the acoustic signal which is in the center of the zoom gesture remains at least approximately stationary on the graphical display 14 . As a result of the zoom gesture, the length of time shown per line is reduced and more lines are required to display the graphical representation of the amplitude curve of the acoustic signal.

During 5 and 6 a zoom gesture that increases the graphical representation of the amplitude curve of the acoustic signal and thus shortens the time displayed per line, a zoom gesture, in which two points of contact on the graphic display approach each other, can also be used to reduce the representation of the amplitude curve of the acoustic signal Signal and an extension of the time period shown per line can be effected. The mobile device 10 and the method executed by it during operation are thus configured to detect both zoom-in and zoom-out gestures and to process them accordingly.

Reference List

10

mobile device

12

Housing

14

graphical display

16

sound transducer

20

processor unit

22

data storage

30

Line with graphical representation of the amplitude curve

32

cursor

34

Start/Stop button

36

Touch points on the touch-sensitive graphical display

38

Arrows that illustrate the shift in the graphical representation of the amplitude curve when performing a zoom gesture

40

Focus (center of zoom gesture)

Claims (18)

Mobile device (10) with a processor unit (20), a graphic display (14) and a memory (22), wherein the graphic display (14) and the memory (22) are connected to the processor unit (20). and the mobile device (10) is configured to graphically render on the display a graphical representation of the history of an acoustic signal represented by a file stored in the memory (22) such that the graphical representation of the acoustic signal spans multiple lines (30) is displayed in that the graphic representation of the acoustic signal is broken at the end of a line (30) and the graphic representation of the acoustic signal is continued at the beginning of a next line (30) on the display (14), the mobile device ( 10) is configured such that a duration of the period of the acoustic signal represented by each of the lines (30) is indicated by a zoom gesture on the touch sensitive graphic display (14) is adjustable. Mobile device (10) according to claim 1 , in which the graphical representation of the acoustic signal is a graphical representation of the amplitude curve of the acoustic signal. Mobile device (10) according to claim 1 or 2 , in which the display has a rectangular format with two short and two long edges, the mobile device (10) being configured to display the lines (30) representing the graphical representation of the acoustic signal parallel to the short edges (portrait format). Mobile device (10) according to at least one of Claims 1 until 3 , which is configured to acoustically reproduce the acoustic signal represented by the file or to generate an electrical output signal for the acoustic reproduction of the acoustic signal, while at the same time a cursor (32) of the graphical representation of the graphical representation of the acoustic signal is displayed in such a time-correct manner that the cursor (32) marks the currently acoustically reproduced time location on the graphic representation of the acoustic signal. Mobile device (10) after claim 4 , in which the graphic display (14) is touch-sensitive and which is configured such that the cursor (32) can be positioned and/or moved on the graphic representation of the acoustic signal by touching the graphic display (14), the mobile device (10) configured to synchronize the acoustic display of the acoustic signal with the position of the cursor (32) on the graphical representation of the acoustic signal. Mobile device (10) according to at least one of Claims 1 until 5 , which is configured to reproduce a time segment of the graphic representation of the acoustic signal in each line (30), which corresponds to a predetermined period of time, in that a line break always takes place exactly at the end or beginning of a respective time segment. Mobile device (10) after claim 6 , where the predetermined length of time is a length of time between 1 and 5 minutes and is identical for all rows (30). Mobile device (10) after claim 6 or 7 , in which the predetermined period of time can be set by a user using a zoom gesture, the mobile device (10) being configured in such a way that a center of the zoom gesture remains at least approximately stationary as the focus (40) on the graphic display (14). Mobile device (10) according to at least one of Claims 1 until 8th In which during the graphic display of the amplitude profile of an acoustic signal, permanently touch-sensitive buttons (34) for starting and/or stopping an acoustic display of the acoustic signal are displayed on the graphic display (14) in a stationary manner and can be actuated by a user by touching them. Mobile device (10) according to at least one of Claims 1 until 9 , in which the length of the short edge of the graphic display (14) is between 3 cm and 9 cm. Mobile device (10) according to at least one of Claims 1 until 10 configured to display a limited number of lines (30), for example a maximum of five lines (30), on the graphic display (14) and to allow vertical scrolling of the graphic representation of the amplitude curve of the acoustic signal. Method for graphically and acoustically reproducing an acoustic signal represented by a stored file, in which a graphic representation - preferably the amplitude curve - of the acoustic signal is graphically reproduced on the display in such a way that the graphic representation of the acoustic signal extends over several lines (30) extended by wrapping the graphical representation of the acoustic signal at the end of a line and continuing the graphical representation of the acoustic signal at the beginning of a next line (30) on the graphical display (14), with a zoom gesture on the touch-sensitive graphical Display (14) causes adjustment of a duration of the period of the acoustic signal represented by each of the lines (30). procedure according to claim 12 , in which the acoustic signal represented by the file is reproduced acoustically or an electrical output signal is generated for the acoustic reproduction of the acoustic signal, while at the same time a cursor (32) is displayed with the graphical representation of the acoustic signal in such a time-correct manner that the cursor (32 ) marks the currently acoustically reproduced time location of the graphic representation of the acoustic signal. procedure according to claim 12 or 13 , in which a movement of the cursor (32) is detected by a touch gesture on the graphic display (14) and the acoustic playback of the acoustic signal is started at a playback position corresponding to the time location to which the cursor (32) is moved. Method according to at least one of Claims 12 until 14 , at which on the graphic Display a limited number of lines, for example, a maximum of five lines are shown. procedure according to claim 15 wherein a sliding gesture on the graphical display (14) causes the graphical representation of the acoustic signal to scroll vertically if the graphical representation of the acoustic signal requires more than the limited number of lines. Method according to claim at least one of Claims 12 until 16 , in which a duration of the time section of the acoustic signal, which is reproduced by each of the lines (30), can be adjusted by a zoom gesture on the touch-sensitive graphic display (14) and a center of the zoom gesture is used as the focus (40) remains at least approximately stationary on the graphic display (14). Computer program product containing a program code that is configured to a configuration of a mobile device (10) according to one of Claims 1 until 11 and/or performing a method according to any one of Claims 12 until 16 effect when the program code is executed.

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