WO2006052076A1

WO2006052076A1 - Method and apparatus for playing multimedia content

Info

Publication number: WO2006052076A1
Application number: PCT/KR2005/003775
Authority: WO
Inventors: Sung-Kyoon Yun
Original assignee: Neomtel Co., Ltd.
Priority date: 2004-11-10
Filing date: 2005-11-08
Publication date: 2006-05-18
Also published as: KR100574045B1

Abstract

Disclosed is a technology of playing multimedia content, in which a cursor can be con veniently moved by a user and an object pointed by the cursor is activated and displayed in the multimedia content that provides an image for standby screen of a mobile communication terminal. The apparatus for playing multimedia content can move the cursor in order of objects in the content stored in a list structure in which the objects are linked in order of layers in each frame. In addition, the apparatus can select an object related to object area information including co ordinates of the cursor while moving the cursor in grid units regardless of the order of layers in the content including coordinate information concerning areas in which each object is arranged on a screen that is set in a coordinate system.

Description

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PLAYING MULTIMEDIA

CONTENT

Technical Field

[1] The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for playing multimedia content and, more particularly, to a technology of playing multimedia content, in which a cursor can be conveniently moved by a user and an object pointed by the cursor is activated and displayed in the multimedia content that provides an image for standby screen of a mobile communication terminal. Background Art

[2] The present applicant has provided standardized contents for standby screen of a mobile communication terminal and has filed a plurality of patent applications, i.e., Korean Patent Application Nos. 2000-42840 and 2000-79982. Recently, the present applicant has also filed Korean Patent Application No. 2003-14687 on March 10, 2003 (Korean Patent Publication No. 2003-87525, disclosed on November 14, 2003), which relates to a technology for providing interactive multimedia content on a standby screen.

[3] The above-mentioned publication discloses a technology for providing interactive content by checking and performing commands issued by a user whenever each frame of the content for standby mode is played back. In order to respond to the user's commands, keys are first acquired from a key input queue. Next, it is determined whether or not there is an action, which corresponds to the acquired key and is previously defined as part of the content. If the action exists, the action is carried out. Examples of the action include control commands related to playing the content, such as jump, repetitive play, fast play or rewind, a vibration command, a sound output command, and the like.

[4] Further, the present applicant has proposed an improved technology of playing multimedia content, in which when a user manipulates keys to select an image of content that is played, a screen in which the selected image is activated is displayed.

Disclosure of Invention

Technical Solution

[5] It is an object of the present invention to provide a technology of playing multimedia content, in which a cursor can be conveniently moved by a user and an object pointed by the cursor is activated and displayed.

[6] It is another object of the present invention to diversify functions of content played in an apparatus for playing multimedia so that the content can have a variety of ap- plications

Advantageous Effects

[7] The apparatus for playing multimedia content according to the present invention allows a user to move a cursor conveniently, and can activate and display an object pointed by the cursor. Brief Description of the Drawings

[8] The above and other features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent by describing in detail exemplary embodiments thereof with reference to the attached drawings in which:

[9] Fig. 1 is a block diagram of a mobile communication terminal equipped with an apparatus for playing multimedia content according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[10] Fig. 2 is a block diagram of an apparatus for playing multimedia content according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[11] Figs. 3 and 4 are screens for playing content according to an embodiment of the present invention; and

[12] Fig. 5 is a flow chart of a method of playing multimedia content according to an embodiment of the present invention. Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[13] According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for playing multimedia content, including: a playback unit that reads from a permanent storage area a content file that includes a header, which has summary information concerning the content, object files, which are elements of the content to be played, object instruction information, which includes a pair of an object and object area in¬ formation, the object being pointed and selected in order of layers in each frame and the object area information being information concerning an area of the object, and playback control commands, loads the object files from information included in the header into a resource area, reads the playback control commands into an action area, and sequentially reads and plays the object files loaded into the resource area according to the playback control commands stored in the action area; and a ma¬ nipulation processing unit that receives the object instruction information from the playback unit, checks a key input queue for storing key input information, calculates a current position of a cursor from the key input information on the basis of the object instruction information, and outputs to the playback unit a control command to change an object related to area information corresponding to the position of the cursor to an active object, change a previous active object to an inactive object, and play a cor¬ responding frame. [14] In this aspect, the content stores the objects in a list structure such that the objects are linked in order of layers in each frame. Accordingly, the apparatus for playing multimedia content can be configured such that the cursor is moved by a user in order of objects. At this time, an object that is activated on each layer is displayed on a screen as the cursor moves.

[15] The apparatus for playing multimedia content may be configured such that the object instruction information further includes coordinate-based area information concerning each object, and the manipulation processing unit checks a key input queue, which stores key input information, to calculate a current position of a cursor from the key input information on the basis of the object instruction information, and outputs to the playback unit a control command to retrieve object area information cor¬ responding to the calculated position of the cursor and to activate an object related to the object area information.

[16] In this aspect, the content includes coordinate information concerning areas in which each object is arranged on a screen that is set in a coordinate system. Ac¬ cordingly, the apparatus for playing multimedia content can select objects related to the object area information including the coordinates of the cursor regardless of the order of layers while the cursor is moved by a user in grid units.

[17] The apparatus for playing multimedia content may be configured such that the object instruction information further includes object area information concerning other objects corresponding to at least one of cursor directions of up, down, left, and right sides of each object on the basis of object area information of the each object, and the manipulation processing unit checks a key input queue, which stores key input in¬ formation, to calculate a moving direction of a cursor from the key input information on the basis of the object instruction information, retrieves whether or not the object area information corresponding to the current position of the cursor includes other object area information corresponding to the calculated moving direction of the cursor, and outputs to the playback unit a control command to activate an object related to the other object area information corresponding to the moving direction of the cursor.

[18] Accordingly, the apparatus for playing multimedia content can be configured such that the cursor is moved by a user to a neighboring object that is located in a direction the cursor moves regardless of the layer order. Mode for the Invention

[19] Exemplary embodiments in accordance with the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[20] Fig. 1 is a block diagram of a mobile communication terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention. The mobile communication terminal includes a wireless communication unit 210, a voice input/output unit 230, a keypad 250, a display unit 270, an audio output unit 290, a memory unit 500 for storing the content, and a controller 100.

[21] The wireless communication unit 210 includes an antenna and a radio frequency

(RF) circuit to communicate with base stations. The voice input/output unit 230 transmits received voice to a user and converts the user's voice received through a microphone. The voice input/output unit 230 converts digital voice data into an analog voice signal, or vice versa. The voice input/output unit 230 includes an audio amplifier, a filter, and the like.

[22] The keypad 250 allows a user to enter data. Examples of the keypad 250 include a key button of a mobile communication terminal and a touch panel of a personal digital assistant (PDA). The display unit 270 may be a liquid crystal display (LCD) device. Image data outputted from the playback unit 120 is typically processed in a display driving unit and converted into an analog signal for driving the display unit 270. The term "display unit" may refer to a device including the display driving unit or the like.

[23] The audio output unit 290 converts the audio signal played by and outputted from the playback unit 120 into an audio signal and outputs the audio signal through a speaker. The audio output unit 290 includes a digital/analog converter, an amplifier, or the like. The audio output unit 290 and the speaker may output signals in mono, stereo, or more channels.

[24] In one embodiment, the content stored in the permanent storage area 420 a header, which includes summary information concerning the content, object files, which are elements of the content to be played, object instruction information, and playback control commands. The object files may be image files, sound files, or moving image files. The content files may be recorded on a storage medium such as a CDROM or a hard disk of a host computer, or be transferred through a network. The content files may be compressed into a single file to reduce the file size. The present invention is construed to include a recording medium that stores the content thus configured.

[25] The object instruction information is data included in the content to notify the playback unit 120 of an element selected by a user among the elements of the content to be played in a display device. In one embodiment, the object instruction information includes a pair of an object, which can be pointed and selected in order of layers in each frame, and area information of the object. The term "object which can be pointed and selected" implies an object having an image that is activated when the cursor points to the object, and that is not activated when the cursor does not point to the object.

[26] In another embodiment, the object instruction information may further include coordinate-based area information concerning an area of each object. The object in- struction information may further include object area information concerning areas of other objects that correspond to at least one of cursor directions of up, down, left, and right sides of each object on the basis of the object area information concerning the area of the each object.

[27] The communication processing unit 110 demodulates and decodes a signal received by the wireless communication unit 210 into digital voice/non- voice data, or vice versa. A baseband circuit of the wireless communication unit 210 and most circuits of the controller 100 are integrated into a commercially available IC chip. The IC chip includes hardware for communication processing, a digital signal processor, and a general-purpose microprocessor.

[28] The playback unit 120 includes a playback engine for playing content, and a content file which is executed by the playback engine. The playback engine is incorporated in the mobile communication terminal, and reads the content stored in the permanent storage area 420 of the memory unit 400 into the temporary storage area 430 and plays the content.

[29] The manipulation processing unit 130 checks a key input queue, which stores key input information inputted by a user, to calculate the position of a cursor corresponding to the key input information, and outputs to the playback unit 120 a control command to activate an object of a layer corresponding to the calculated position of the cursor.

[30] Fig. 2 is a block diagram of an apparatus for playing multimedia content according to an embodiment of the present invention. The apparatus for playing multimedia content may be adapted to a mobile communication terminal, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a video phone, or a communication terminal with a display device.

[31] In one embodiment, the content includes a header, which includes summary in¬ formation concerning the content, object files, which are elements of the content to be played, object instruction information, which includes a pair of an object pointed and selected in order of layers in each frame and object area information concerning an area of the object, and playback control commands. The object files may be image files, sound files, or moving image files.

[32] The playback unit 120 reads from the permanent storage area a content file that includes a header, which includes summary information concerning the content, object files, which are elements of the content to be played, object instruction information, which includes a pair of an object pointed and selected in order of layers in each frame and object area information concerning an area of the object, and playback control commands, loads the object files from the information included in the header into a resource area 510, reads the playback control commands into an action area 530, se¬ quentially reads and plays the object files loaded in the resource area 510 according to the playback control commands stored in the action area 530. [33] The term "action" in the present invention implies a series of playback control commands which constitute a single operation. The playback control commands, for example, control the display order or delay time of a series of frames, and define data to be displayed on each frame. In one embodiment, the respective frames may be displayed by overlapping a plurality of layers of images with transparent margins on a background image. In addition to the images, sounds can be also controlled in syn¬ chronization with the playback of each frame. Accordingly, it is possible to produce various multimedia contents by combining the playback control commands and the object files.

[34] The manipulation processing unit 130 receives the object instruction information from the playback unit 120, checks a key input queue, which stores key input in¬ formation, to calculate the current position of a cursor according to the object in¬ struction information, and outputs to the playback unit 120 a control command to change an object related to area information corresponding to the position of the cursor to an active object, change a previous active object to an inactive object, and play a corresponding frame.

[35] In one embodiment, the playback unit 120 can move the cursor in order of objects as a user inputs keys. The object activated in each layer is displayed on a display unit as the cursor moves.

[36] The content may include coordinate information concerning areas of objects arranged on a screen when the screen is represented in a coordinate system. Thus, the object instruction information included in the content may further include coordinate- based area information concerning each object.

[37] In this case, the manipulation processing unit 130 checks a key input queue for storing key input information, calculates the current position of a cursor according to the object instruction information, and outputs to the playback unit 120 a control command to retrieve the object area information corresponding to the calculated position of the cursor and to activate an object related to the object area information.

[38] The playback unit 120 can move the cursor in grid units and select an object related to the object area information including coordinates of the cursor regardless of the layer order. At this time, an activated object of each layer is displayed on the screen as the cursor moves.

[39] The object instruction information included in the content may further include object area information concerning other objects corresponding to at least one of cursor directions of up, down, left, and right sides of each object on the basis of object area information of the each object.

[40] The manipulation processing unit 130 checks a key input queue, which stores key input information, to calculate the moving direction of the cursor according to the object instruction information, retrieves whether or not there is object area information of another object corresponding to the calculated moving direction of the cursor in the object area information of the current cursor, and outputs to the playback unit 120 a control command to activate the other object related to the object area information cor¬ responding to the moving direction of the cursor.

[41] In one embodiment, the playback unit 120 can be configured such that a cursor moves to an adjacent object corresponding to a moving direction of the cursor regardless of the order of layers. At this time, an activated object of each layer is displayed on the screen as the cursor moves.

[42] In one embodiment, the playback unit 120 can be controlled such that an active image of an object pointed by the cursor is displayed on an uppermost layer.

[43] An input driver 240 is a logical or physical configuration for receiving signals from a user. The input driver 240 can be configured to be connected to a user interface, such as a keypad, a keyboard, a touch pen, or a mouse.

[44] Figs. 3 and 4 show screens for playing content according to an embodiment of the present invention. The content is displayed in frame units on a screen. The respective frames are displayed by overlapping a plurality of layers of images with transparent margins on a background image.

[45] Fig. 3 shows a frame that is displayed on a screen. The frame includes a background layer, a first layer of a house image (A), a second layer of a tree image (B), a third layer of a mountain image (C), and a fourth layer of a sun image (D). In the present embodiment, the images on the respective layers are displayed to be in an inactive state. The object is activated when it is pointed by a cursor from a user.

[46] Fig. 4 shows a frame in which an activated sun image is displayed on the screen according to the object instruction information included in the content when the cursor points to the sun image (D).

[47] In one embodiment, the object instruction information includes a pair of an object and object area information, in which the object is pointed and selected in order of layers in each frame, and the object area information is information concerning an area of the object. Accordingly, the apparatus for playing multimedia content can be configured such that the cursor points to objects while moving in order of objects.

[48] In another embodiment, the object instruction information may further include coordinate-based area information concerning each object. Reference numerals 1, 2, 3 and 4 denoted in Fig. 4 indicate coordinate-based area information concerning images on each layer. Thus, the apparatus for playing multimedia content can move the cursor in grid units as a user inputs keys, and select an object related to the object area in¬ formation including the coordinates of the cursor regardless of the order of layers.

[49] In another embodiment, the object instruction information may further include object area information concerning other objects corresponding to at least one of cursor directions of up, down, left and right sides of each object on the basis of the object area information concerning the each object. Thus, the apparatus for playing multimedia content can be configured such that the cursor moves to an adjacent object area cor¬ responding to a moving direction of the cursor regardless of the order of layers and points to the adjacent object. For example, when the cursor is currently located at the house image (A) and the user enters a key (<— ) that corresponds to the left side of the user, the cursor moves to the tree image (B), which is located at the left side of the screen.

[50] As shown in Fig. 4, the apparatus for playing multimedia content can be configured such that an activated sun image is displayed on the uppermost layer when the cursor points to the sun image on the fourth layer.

[51] A method of playing multimedia content in a mobile communication terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to Fig. 5. Fig. 5 is a flow chart of a method of playing multimedia content according to an embodiment of the present invention. The method includes the operations of sequentially reading object files included in a content file according to playback control commands included in the content file (SlOl), generating frame data to be played (S 102), checking a key input queue, which stores key input information, to determine whether or not there are keys entered in relation to the movement of a cursor (S 103, S 104), when the key is entered, calculating the current position of the cursor according to the object instruction information included in the content file (S 105), outputting a control command to select an object related to area information corresponding to the calculated position of the cursor, changing the selected object to an active object, and changing a previous active object to an inactive object (S 106), re¬ configuring the frame data according to the control commands (S 107), and outputting the generated frame data (S 108). Subsequently, the method of playing multimedia content includes determining whether or not a user plays a next frame (S 109).

[52] In one embodiment, the content file includes a header, which includes summary in¬ formation concerning the content, object files, which are elements of the content to be played, object instruction information, and playback control commands. The object files may be image files, sound files, or moving image files. The content file may be recorded on a recording medium, such as a CDROM, a hard disk of a host computer, or be transferred through a network. The content file may be compressed and stored to reduce the file size. The present invention is construed to include a recording medium for storing the content according to the present invention.

[53] The playback unit 120 reads the content file stored in the permanent storage area

420 of the memory unit into the temporary storage area. When the file is already compressed, the operation of decompressing the file may be included prior to reading the file. The playback unit 120 loads the object files from information included in the header into the resource area, and reads the playback control commands into the action area (SlOl).

[54] Next, the playback unit 120 sequentially reads the object files loaded into the resource area according to the playback control commands stored in the action area and generates frame data to be played (S 102). When the frame is played, several object files may be involved, such as a plurality of image files, and sound files to be played in synchronization with the frame. Next, the manipulation processing unit 130 checks the key input queue, which stores key input information, to determine whether or not there is a key entered in relation to the movement of the current cursor (operations S 103 and S 104). When a key is determined to be entered, the manipulation processing unit 130 calculates the position of the current cursor according to the object instruction in¬ formation included in the content file (operation S 105). The manipulation processing unit 130 outputs to the playback unit 120 a control command to select an object related to area information corresponding to the calculated position of the cursor, change the selected object to an active object, and change a previous active object to an inactive object (operation S 106). The operation of selecting the object, which is performed by the manipulation processing unit 130, is preferably performed before and/or after generating each frame, since the frame is frequently output at regular intervals.

[55] Next, the playback unit 120 reconfigures the frame data according to the control command, and outputs the reconfigured frame data (operations S 107 and S 108).

[56] In one embodiment, the object instruction information included in the content may further include coordinate-based area information concerning each object. In this case, the operation S 105 may further include calculating the current position of the cursor on the basis of the object instruction information and retrieving whether or not there is object area information corresponding to the calculated position of the cursor, and, when there exists the object area information corresponding to the calculated position of the cursor, outputting to the playback unit 120 a control command to activate an object related to the object area information.

[57] In one embodiment, the object instruction information included in the content may further include object area information concerning other objects corresponding to at least one of cursor directions of up, down, left, and right sides of each object on the basis of the object area information concerning the area of the each object. In this case, the operation S 105 may further include checking a key input queue, which stores key input information, to calculate the moving direction of the cursor according to the key input information and retrieving whether or not there is object area information concerning other objects corresponding to the calculated moving direction of the cursor in the object area information concerning the object area in which the cursor is currently located, and, when there exists the object area information concerning another object corresponding to the calculated moving direction of the cursor, outputting to the playback unit 120 a control command to activate the other object cor¬ responding to the moving direction of the cursor.

[58] The operation S 105 may reconfigure the frame data such that the active object is displayed on the uppermost layer.

[59] While the present invention has been described with reference to exemplary em¬ bodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the scope of the present invention as defined by the following claims. Industrial Applicability

[60] The present invention can be applied to the field of technology of playing multimedia content, in which a cursor can be conveniently moved by a user and an object pointed by the cursor is activated and displayed in the multimedia content that provides an image for standby screen of a mobile communication terminal.

Claims

[1] An apparatus for playing multimedia content, comprising: a playback unit that reads from a permanent storage area a content file that includes a header, which has summary information concerning the content, object files, which are elements of the content to be played, object instruction in¬ formation, which includes a pair of an object and object area information, the object being selected in order of layers in each frame and the object area in¬ formation being information concerning an area of the object, and playback control commands, loads the object files from information included in the header into a resource area, reads the playback control commands into an action area, and sequentially reads and plays the object files loaded into the resource area according to the playback control commands stored in the action area; and a manipulation processing unit that receives the object instruction information from the playback unit, checks a key input queue for storing key input in¬ formation, calculates a current position of a cursor from the key input in¬ formation on the basis of the object instruction information, and outputs to the playback unit a control command to change an object related to area information corresponding to the position of the cursor to an active object, change a previous active object to an inactive object, and play a corresponding frame.

[2] The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the object instruction information further includes coordinate-based area information with respect to each object, and wherein the manipulation processing unit checks a key input queue, which stores key input information, to calculate a current position of a cursor from the key input information on the basis of the object instruction information, and outputs to the playback unit a control command to retrieve object area information cor¬ responding to the calculated position of the cursor and to activate an object related to the object area information.

[3] The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the object instruction information further includes object area in¬ formation concerning other objects corresponding to at least one of cursor directions of up, down, left, and right sides of each object on the basis of object area information of the each object, and wherein the manipulation processing unit checks a key input queue, which stores key input information, to calculate a moving direction of a cursor from the key input information on the basis of the object instruction information, retrieves whether or not the object area information corresponding to the current position of the cursor includes other object area information corresponding to the calculated moving direction of the cursor, and outputs to the playback unit a control command to activate an object related to the other object area in¬ formation corresponding to the moving direction of the cursor.

[4] The apparatus of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the playback unit controls such that the active object is displayed on a top layer.

[5] A method of playing multimedia content, comprising the operations of: a) reading from a permanent storage area a content file that includes a header, which has summary information concerning the content, object files, which are elements of the content to be played, object instruction information, which includes a pair of object and object area information, the object being selected in order of layers in each frame and the object area information being information concerning an area of the object, and playback control commands, loading the object files from information included in the header into a resource area, and reading the playback control commands into an action area; b) sequentially reading the object files loaded into the resource area according to the playback control commands stored in the action area and generating frame data; c) checking a key input queue for storing key input information; d) calculating a current position of a cursor from the key input information on the basis of the object instruction information; e) outputting to the playback unit a control command to change an object related to area information corresponding to the position of the cursor to an active object, and to change a previous active object to an inactive object; f) reconfiguring frame data according to the control commands; and g) playing the generated frame.

[6] The method of claim 5, wherein the object instruction information further includes coordinate-based area information with respect to each object, and wherein the operation d) further includes: checking a key input queue for storing key input information, calculating a current position of a cursor from the key input information on the basis of the object instruction information, and retrieving object area information cor¬ responding to the calculated position of the cursor; and when there exists the object area information corresponding to the calculated position of the cursor, outputting to the playback unit a control command to activate an object related to the object area information.

[7] The method of claim 5, wherein the object instruction information further includes object area in¬ formation concerning other objects corresponding to at least one of cursor directions of up, down, left, and right sides of each object on the basis of object area information of the each object, and wherein the operation d) further includes: checking a key input queue, which stores key input information, to calculate a moving direction of a cursor from the key input information, and retrieving whether or not the object area information corresponding to the current position of the cursor includes other object area information corresponding to the calculated moving direction of the cursor; and when there exists the object area information corresponding to the calculated moving direction of the cursor, outputting to the playback unit a control command to activate an object related to the other object area information cor¬ responding to the moving direction of the cursor.

[8] The method of any one of claims 5 to 7, wherein in the operation f), the frame data is reconfigured such that the active object is displayed on a top layer.

[9] A recording medium for storing multimedia content that includes a header, which has summary information concerning the content, object files, which are elements of the content to be played, object instruction information, which includes a pair of object and object area information, the object being selected in order of layers in each frame and the object area information being information concerning an area of the object, and playback control commands, wherein the playback control commands includes: means for sequentially reading the object files related to the content to be played and generating frame data to be played; means for checking a key input queue to calculate a current position of a cursor on the basis of the object instruction information, changing an object related to area information corresponding to the position of the cursor to an active object, changing a previous active object to an inactive object, and playing a cor¬ responding frame; and means for playing the generated frame data.

[10] The recording medium of claim 9, wherein the object instruction information further includes coordinate-based area information with respect to each object, and wherein the means for checking checks a key input queue, which stores key input information, to calculate a current position of a cursor from the key input in¬ formation on the basis of the object instruction information, and outputs to the playback unit a control command to retrieve object area information cor- responding to the calculated position of the cursor and to activate an object related to the object area information. [11] The recording medium of claim 9, wherein the object instruction information further includes object area in¬ formation concerning other objects corresponding to at least one of cursor directions of up, down, left, and right sides of each object on the basis of object area information of the each object, and wherein the means for checking checks a key input queue, which stores key input information, to calculate a moving direction of a cursor from the key input in¬ formation on the basis of the object instruction information, retrieves whether or not the object area information corresponding to the current position of the cursor includes other object area information corresponding to the calculated moving direction of the cursor, and outputs to the playback unit a control command to activate an object related to the other object area information cor¬ responding to the moving direction of the cursor.