WO2011032621A1

WO2011032621A1 - Method for automatically changing a program followed by a user

Info

Publication number: WO2011032621A1
Application number: PCT/EP2010/004873
Authority: WO
Inventors: Vincent Delahaye
Original assignee: Continental Automotive France; Continental Automotive Gmbh
Priority date: 2009-09-21
Filing date: 2010-08-10
Publication date: 2011-03-24
Also published as: FR2950447B1; FR2950447A1

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for automatically changing a program followed by a user, intended for an audio/video apparatus onboard a motor vehicle, including in particular the following steps: upon receiving a random change order (10'), the random selection (20') of a program from among all of the possible programs; and reading the randomly selected program (30'). Said method is characterized in that it further comprises the following steps: automatically stopping (60) the random selection when starting the reading of the randomly selected program; at the end of the reading of the randomly selected program, continuing with the reading of the program following the randomly selected program in accordance with a stored reading list (70).

Description

Automatic program change method followed by a user

The present invention relates to a method of automatic program change followed by a user on audio / video equipment.

More specifically, it relates to multimedia car radios embedded in a motor vehicle and will be detailed in this embodiment. Nevertheless, it can not be limited to this field of application and can quite apply to audio / video devices portable or not, domestic or industrial.

Modern motor vehicles carry almost all audio / video equipment. The simplest device is the car radio, reading music from a storage medium (CD, DVD, USB key ...).

The current evolution of storage media is that the number of music tracks or embedded videos is very high. Users are no longer limited by the size of the media and tend to store a lot of songs, and no longer to make a selection as it could be the case at the time of audio tapes or first rewritable CDs. The habit is to store on the support an entire album of an interpreter rather than the songs that really please. The user, thanks to the storage power offered by modern means, is thus trapped by this facility offered and many pieces or videos stored are often not appreciated. Then settled the effect "zapping" currently known where the user is often changing songs, looking for a better offer.

This habit is not too troublesome in a domestic use in front of a television set, but in a motor vehicle where the attention must remain focused primarily on the driving, this quickly becomes a very big problem, even a source of decline of the attention that inevitably leads to an increased risk of occurrence of an accident.

Known from the prior art solutions to move from one piece to another (advance or retreat of a piece in the entire list of songs, or in the pieces constituting an album ...) but still once, the abundance of stored data does not relieve the user of the attention needed to select a satisfactory piece.

A first, more satisfactory solution proposed was random reading, as illustrated in Figure 1.

The random read process can be broken down into the following main steps:

1. user choice of random play mode (step 10). To do this, he must press a specific button (or a specific combination of buttons). This step can possibly be simplified by setting up a device for detecting voice commands. 2. random selection by the playback device (step 20) within all the pieces available on the read medium.

3. play the randomly selected song (step 30).

4. when the randomly selected song is played back completely, checking the persistence of the random play mode user request (step 40). If the shuffle mode is always on (case 1), then the process loops to step 20. If shuffle mode is no longer enabled (case 0), then the unit continues playing where it was it.

Of course, this procedure can be interrupted at any time by the user, but this requires his attention and a series of actions.

Even in a simple case, the user therefore needs to engage random play and then monitor the device to trigger said random play mode if necessary. This still requires some attention from the user and the present invention proposes to unload a large part of this source of deconcentration of the first objective which must remain that of the serene driving of the motor vehicle .

The present invention therefore aims to simplify the manipulations requested from the user of an audio / video equipment embedded in a motor vehicle. According to an important feature of the present invention, the automatic program change method followed by a user comprises in particular the following steps:

upon receipt of a random change order, random selection in all possible programs,

reading the randomly selected program.

This process is remarkable in that it also comprises the following steps:

automatic stop of the random selection from the beginning of reading of the randomly selected program,

at the end of the reading of the randomly selected program, continuing to play the program according to the randomly selected program according to a playlist in memory.

Thus, the random read mode is no longer activated as soon as the reading is engaged, which makes the monitoring of the car stereo less because the user knows that this random read command will be operational only once. In addition, playback of the following programs will be in a memory playlist and no longer random backup orders on the media. Once the theme is pleasant to the known user, audio / video equipment adapts to reduce the risk of "rejection" or weariness of future programs. In one embodiment, the possible programs are music tracks or videos.

Advantageously, the playlist in memory is a list of music tracks of an album.

Alternatively, the in-memory playlist is a list of music pieces grouped by genre of music or performer.

In one embodiment, the reading list in memory can be parameterized by the user.

In a subsidiary manner, the audio / video equipment enters a learning mode able to memorize the favorite tastes of the user and to automatically modify the playlist in memory.

We thus see the quality of the random reading offer which will not only relieve the user of any constraint once the given random order is given and which, moreover, will identify the membership of the piece read (and therefore having the favors of the user) to a list in memory in order to then propose to him other pieces of this list and not more random pieces.

The invention also covers an audio / video equipment implementing the method.

Other objects, advantages and features of the present invention will emerge more clearly from the following detailed description given by way of non-limiting example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 represents a logic diagram of a media random read method according to the prior art and detailed previously,

FIG. 2 represents a logic diagram of a method for random reading of media according to the invention.

At present, mass storage devices offer very important capabilities and even not considered commercially a few years ago. A USB key of several hundred gigabytes is thus of common use. This has the consequence that the number of stored data now becomes uncommon with the known means. Where a CD-ROM contains about ten songs from an interpreter, modern media can handle hundreds of albums, including videos.

The present invention proposes to the user of such media to have quick access to a change of theme and then to remain on the same theme, all without any other intervention on his part than the initial request of this function.

Figure 2 highlights the progress of the process according to the invention. The steps similar to those of the prior art (see FIG. 1) have been reproduced, contiguous to a "prime" sign (10 ', 20', 30 '). The case proposed for illustration is that of a motor vehicle driver listening to music tracks of different performers and different albums, all these musical tracks being stored on a USB key for example.

It is recalled that the current encoding (either by downloading on the Internet or by copying musical CD-ROMs) makes it possible to resume, in the very vast majority of cases, detailed information about the work (interpreter, title of the track, title of the album, style of music ...). This information is directly accessible to any audio / video equipment embedded in a modern motor vehicle.

The user therefore wishes to change the piece of music. It will then trigger the random play mode (step 10 '). This can be achieved by means of a key (on the car radio, remote driving ...) or any known equivalent means, such as a voice command recognized by the audio / video equipment of the vehicle.

It should be noted that this is the only necessary intervention of the user, unlike the methods of the prior art.

The audio / video equipment will then, upon receiving this order of random change, select a piece of music from the entirety of the pieces stored (step 20 '), without any distinction of theme or any relationship with the previous piece read. In this, the process according to the invention is not different from the prior art.

Once the song has been randomly chosen and read (step 30 '), the random selection function is automatically canceled (step 60) without requiring any user intervention. This avoids the key combinations or tedious interventions that consume the driver's attention.

During playback of the randomly selected song, the audio / video equipment reads the characteristics of that song and preselects the next song according to a playlist kept in memory (step 70). This playlist may be optionally set by the user, so as to allow him to customize these tastes, in the form of selection criteria. The possible variations in the choices offered are multiple and can range from the choice of the same album (the car radio will then select in the album of the same performer the next song, either randomly or consecutively), a author / performer (choice among several albums of the same performer), the same kind of music (choice among all albums "rock" or "pop" or "classics" ...) etc.

This personalization of tastes is absolutely not necessarily achieved at the time of reading, the car radio may have default selection criteria and the user can set them outside of his driving time. The car radio can also offer several types of personalization choices to allow multiple and varied users to use this feature. Finally, the car radio can enter a learning mode in which he memorizes the tastes of each user and automatically adjust accordingly the playlist associated with this user.

Of course, the user can at any time leave this random and thematic selection mode by means of the usual commands at his disposal. For example, it may return to playing a single album of a given artist while the audio / video equipment was in a wider perspective of choice. It can also restart as many times as desired the automatic change method described above.

The above description deals with music, but the skilled person is able to implement it effortlessly for any other media such as video for example.

The invention also covers audio / video equipment for implementing the previously described method, as well as any computer support (diskette, CD, DVD, memories, etc.) incorporating software implementing said method according to the invention. invention.

Of course, the invention is not limited to the embodiment described and shown which has been given by way of example. Thus, it may well be envisaged to apply the method detailed above to the reception of television programs. For a random read request (here a choice of random transmission), the process will take a program on a random channel and remain on this channel when the show is over or will look for another show on another channel responding to the same theme ("sport", "culture", "information" ...).

Claims

1. For audio / video equipment embedded in a motor vehicle, automatic program change method followed by a user, including the following steps:

upon receipt of a random change order (10 '), random selection (20') in all possible programs,

reading the randomly selected program (30 '),

Said method being characterized in that it further comprises the following steps:

automatic stop (60) of the random selection from the beginning of reading of the randomly selected program,

at the end of the reading of the randomly selected program, continuing the reading of the program according to the randomly selected program according to a playlist in memory (70).

2. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that the possible programs are pieces of music or videos.

3. Method according to claim 2, characterized in that the playlist in memory (70) is a list of music tracks of an album.

4. Method according to claim 2, characterized in that the playlist in memory (70) is a list of music pieces grouped by genre of music.

5. Method according to claim 2, characterized in that the playlist in memory (70) is a list of music pieces grouped by interpreter.

6. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that the reading list in memory (70) is parameterizable by the user.

7. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that the audio / video equipment is designed to enter a learning mode able to memorize the favorite tastes of the user and to automatically modify the playlist in memory (70). ) during a process step.

8. audio / video equipment embedded in a motor vehicle to implement the method according to any one of the preceding claims.

A computer-readable recording medium on which a computer program is recorded including program code instructions for executing the method steps according to claims 1 to 7.