USOO813
`
`6030B2
`
`(12) United States Patent
`US 8,136,030 B2
`(10) Patent No.:
`Audet
`*Mar. 13, 2012
`(45) Date of Patent:
`
`(54) METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR MANAGING
`MUSIC FILES
`
`(75)
`
`Inventor: Mathieu Audet, Montreal (CA)
`
`(73) Assignee: Maya-Systems Inc., Montreal, Quebec
`(CA)
`
`( * ) Notice:
`
`Subject to any disclaimer, the term of this
`patent is extended or adjusted under 35
`U.S.C. 154(b) by 1058 days.
`
`This patent is subject to a terminal dis-
`claimer.
`
`(21) Appl.No.: 12/034,628
`
`(22)
`
`Filed:
`
`Feb. 20, 2008
`
`(65)
`
`Prior Publication Data
`
`US 2008/0141115 A1
`
`Jun. 12,2008
`
`Related US. Application Data
`
`(62) Division of application No. 10/265,443, filed on Oct.
`7, 2002, now Pat. No. 7,606,819.
`
`(60) Provisional application No. 60/957,444, filed on Aug.
`22, 2007, provisional application No. 60/971,214,
`filed on Sep. 10, 2007.
`
`(51)
`
`Int. Cl.
`(2006.01)
`G06F 17/27
`(52) US. Cl.
`....................................................... 715/227
`
`(58) Field of Classification Search
`715/277
`See application file for complete search history.
`
`(56)
`
`References Cited
`
`U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
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`OTHER PUBLICATIONS
`
`The lifestream approach to reorganizing the information world;
`Nicolas Carriero, Scott Fertig; Eric Freeman and David Gelernter;
`Apr. 1995; Yale University.
`
`Primary Examiner 7 Laurie Ries
`Assistant Examiner 7 Tionna Smith
`
`(74) Attorney, Agent, or Firm 7 Mathieu Audet
`
`(57)
`
`ABSTRACT
`
`A computer system, including a display and a user-interface,
`for manipulating a plurality of music albums and songs with
`a method for organizing a plurality of music albums and
`songs, the method comprising displaying on the display a
`music album axis illustrating a plurality of juxtaposed user-
`selectable music albums, selecting a music album from the
`displayed music album axis, retrieving songs associated with
`the selected music album and displaying the retrieved songs
`along a song axis, the song axis being adapted to intersect the
`music album axis. A user graphical interface providing same
`and a system thereof are also provided.
`
`20 Claims, 45 Drawing Sheets
`
`
`
`Apple Exhibit 4454
`
`Apple V. SightSound Technologies
`CBM2013-00023
`
`Page 00001
`
`Apple Exhibit 4454
`Apple v. SightSound Technologies
`CBM2013-00023
`Page 00001
`
`

`

`US 8,136,030 B2
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`................... 715/205
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`U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
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`’
`’
`$888 88835
`8888888 2
`2/2000 Birre11
`6,029,164 A
`”000 H0
`6’064’384 A
`88888 gfgffiee
`8888355”; 2
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`88888 81101111)
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`9/2000 £81:
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`,
`,
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`”001 Kg:
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`y
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`”583881 840V“
`88888;: E
`5/2001 D832;
`6’237’004 B1
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`”001 SW“.
`6’240’421 Bl
`88881 fiferCVleSkl
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`6’281’898 B1
`”001 van DerMeer
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`6’295’639 B1
`888888; E 18888: Eesltefgmo
`6’366’299 B1
`4/2002 Lgnyi’nr'
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`6’388’665 B1
`”002 Lumen
`6’392’651 Bl
`”002 Stradiey
`6’457’017 BZ
`”002 Watklm
`6’463’431 Bl
`””002 schm‘“
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`”/2002 MlyamOFO
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`”/2002 Macphall
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`.
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`.
`6’594’673 Bl
`7/2003 Smith
`888888? E
`38888 FaCI‘llWSk‘
`6’604’144 B1
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`’
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`2288841,; 3 818388; Er‘fiman
`6’662’357 B1
`”/2003 B13881”Amuah
`6’668’102 B2
`”/2003 Chb
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`..... 707/731
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`3/2004 Kravets
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`
`6,704,727 B1
`6,704,744 B1
`Bz
`”58888:: 218mm
`888288: E;
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`6,738,787 B2
`6/2004 MaoPhail
`6,754,660 B1
`_
`7/2004 Prager
`6,768,999 B2
`8/2004 Baclawskl
`6,772,148 B2
`”588882 8‘88;
`8888838 8%
`7/2005 Ggrgi
`6’915’489 B2
`9/2005 Combs
`6’948’124 B2
`1/2006 Holcombe
`6,987,220 B2
`”006 HMan, Jr.
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`38,5888; 3 128888 glimmer
`’
`’
`° emon
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`,
`,
`aV1dsson
`7,418,674 B2
`8/2008 Robbins
`7,606,819 B2
`10/2009 Audet
`38888:; 3%
`88818 kagdesmah
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`2006/0242178 A1
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`2006/0259511 A1
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`2007/0005576 A1
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`2007/0061855 A1
`3/2007 Serita
`2007/0067290 A1
`3/2007 Makela
`2007/0204218 A1
`8/2007 Weber
`2007/0214169 A1
`9/2007 Audet
`2007/0216694 A1
`9/2007 Audet
`2007/0271508 A1
`11/2007 Audet
`2008/0000126 A1
`1/2008 Teza
`2008/0022199 A1
`1/2008 Sako
`2008/0058106 A1
`3/2008 Audet
`2008/0071822 A1
`3/2008 Audet
`2008/0072169 A1
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`2008/0092038 A1
`4/2008 Audet
`2008/0133579 A1
`6/2008 Lim
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`
`............ 715/273
`
`Page 00002
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`Page 00002
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`

`

`US 8,136,030 B2
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`Page 3
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`2009/0055726
`2009/0055729
`2009/0055763
`2009/0055776
`2009/0070662
`2009/0083260
`2009/0228788
`2009/0287693
`2009/0288006
`2010/0082427
`2010/0082653
`2010/0094890
`2010/0145976
`2010/0169823
`2010/0185509
`
`A1
`A1
`A1
`A1
`A1
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`2/2009
`2/2009
`2/2009
`2/2009
`3/2009
`3/2009
`9/2009
`11/2009
`11/2009
`4/2010
`4/2010
`4/2010
`6/2010
`7/2010
`7/2010
`
`Audet
`Audet
`Audet
`Audet
`Audet
`Artom
`Audet
`Audet
`Audet
`Burgener
`Nair
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`Higgins
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`
`2010/0325132 A1
`2010/0325134 A1
`2010/0332512 A1
`2010/0333031 A1
`2011/0078166 A1
`
`12/2010
`12/2010
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`3/2011
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`Liu
`Galfond
`Shpits
`Castelli
`Oliver
`
`FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS
`W00122194
`4/2001
`W00163378
`8/2001
`W00198881
`12/2001
`WOO3032199
`4/2003
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`7/2004
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`
`WO
`WO
`WO
`WO
`WO
`WO
`
`* cited by examiner
`
`Page 00003
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`Page 00003
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`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Mar. 13, 2012
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`US. Patent
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`Mar. 13, 2012
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`US. Patent
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`Mar. 13, 2012
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`US. Patent
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`Mar. 13, 2012
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`US. Patent
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`Mar. 13, 2012
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`US. Patent
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`US. Patent
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`US. Patent
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`US. Patent
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`US 8,136,030 B2
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`US 8,136,030 B2
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`1
`METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR MANAGING
`MUSIC FILES
`
`CROSS-REFERENCE
`
`This application relates to, claims priority from and is a
`divisional application of US. patent application Ser. No.
`10/265,443, filed Oct. 7, 2002 entitled MULTI-DIMEN-
`SIONAL LOCATING SYSTEM AND METHOD, which
`claims priority on US. provisional patent application Ser. No.
`60/329,146,
`filed on Oct. 15, 2001, entitled SYSTEM,
`METHOD AND SOFTWARE FOR INSERTING (INTRO-
`DUCING), LOCATING, VIEWING, MANIPULATING
`AND EXTRACTING FILES FROMA COMPUTER DATA-
`BASE VIAA PENTA-DIMENSIONAL GRAPHIC INTER-
`
`FACE. This application relates also to and claims priority
`from US. provisional patent application Ser. No. 60/971,214,
`filed Sep. 10, 2008, entitled GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATING
`SYSTEM AND METHOD, and from US. provisional patent
`application Ser. No. 60/957,444, filedAug. 22, 2008, entitled
`INFORMATION ELEMENTS LOCATING SYSTEM AND
`
`METHOD. All the previous documents are incorporated
`herein by reference.
`
`BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
`
`1. Field of the Invention
`
`This invention relates generally to computer systems and
`more specifically to user interfaces for computer systems that
`facilitates information localization and organization.
`2. Description of the Related Art
`Computer systems are changing the way we live. They give
`access to a tremendous computing power. Now everybody
`can own and operate a computer system. The evolution of
`computer systems and software happens quite rapidly. Thirty
`years ago computers were huge mainframe units with less
`computer power than today’s small calculators; now we have
`small and powerful computer systems that are relatively inex-
`pensive.
`Because they have become sufficiently powerful, computer
`systems are now part of our everyday communication tools,
`allowing their users to store larger and larger quantities of
`data (i.e. information). Given the ever-increasing scale and
`diversity of information and applications on the Internet,
`improving the technology of information retrieval is impor-
`tant. Information on every form (i.e. data, audio, picture,
`video .
`.
`. ) is now easily accessible like never before with the
`Internet. Therefore, the data quantity the computer system
`user has to deal with is growing at an accelerated rate. The
`volume of information is already so high that the time neces-
`sary to deal properly with it is often unacceptable especially
`for professionals, scientists and business people. However, in
`order for that information to become actually usable knowl-
`edge, it needs to be easily accessible and understandable.
`Evolution of computer science over recent years has
`allowed nearly all types of information to be digitized and
`transformed into a computer file. The sources of information
`are numerous, therefore it is difficult for prior art computer
`systems to store information in a manner that: A) allows
`retrieval through a common process/presentation, B) allows
`the storage structure to be adjusted to his/her thinking pro-
`cess, C) allows the user to create links between the elements
`of information and D) provides visualization that clearly
`shows the continuity between different elements of informa-
`tion that are using a different time frame. In consequence, the
`task of efiiciently gathering and extracting information from
`documents may be both difficult and tedious.
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`The systems well known in the art, however, are designed
`so that the user has to adapt to the filing systems rather than
`the other way around. Furthermore, the filing process will
`generally lead to some extent, to the loss of the flow of
`information, as portions of information are separated during
`the filing process. Creating multiple links is usually tedious,
`complicated, requires self-discipline and is very costly in
`terms of memory space.
`Conventional computer systems for organizing informa-
`tion are often implemented as part of the operating system of
`the computer system and are therefore provided as a basic
`utility to the user of the system to allow the user to organize
`information in a manner embedded in the operating system.
`The main organizing system that is usually provided with
`existing operating systems is the hierarchical filing system.
`The hierarchical filing system is well known in the prior art
`and provides a hierarchy of folders (i.e. directories or subdi-
`rectories) into which the user may store information, such as
`text documents, data, pictures, videos, and music files.
`Classification and accessibility to the information usually
`require user knowledge of numerous applications, as well as,
`self-discipline in the mapping of the data storage system.
`Each type of file has a unique software that is suited to open
`it. Now, the Internet provides some kind of interchangeability
`between files of differing format although the interchange-
`ability is often limited to Internet related files (i.e. HTML,
`XML, JAVA .
`.
`. ).
`Even if the meaning of one information as part of a group
`of information is critical, generally it is not possible to have a
`global overview of all
`the various types of information
`recorded because ofthe number of different programs needed
`to visualize the different file types. The links between various
`files relate to a common topic and are not obvious to the user.
`The most popular hierarchical filing system in operating
`systems are WindowsTM ExplorerTM on WindowsTM operating
`system and the FinderTM on the MacintoshTM operating sys-
`tem. Despite popularity, the systems provide tools that man-
`age efiiciently only small quantities of information at a time.
`These systems both remain restrained to filing by file names
`using the “save as” function in most applications. With this
`kind of classification a user can only have a “local” view on
`what is stored in the computer system; a problem typically
`occurs when the information quantity is too large and diver-
`sified. The problem is exacerbated if links between the dif-
`ferent information are provided between the information
`locally stored in various folders.
`While the hierarchical filing system allows a user to specify
`a structure within which to file and store information in order
`
`to avoid the clutter of a single folder receptacle, the hierar-
`chical structure forces the computer user to be as organized as
`possible in filing information. If the user has difficulty in
`filing documents because of the difficulty in deciding the
`proper categories for the document (e.g. the document does
`not clearly apply to only one specific folder), the user can file
`the document in a folder where it will be difficult to retrieve
`
`considering it could have been placed logically in many dif-
`ferent folders. The usual manner prior art systems use would
`be to save a copy of a document in as many different direc-
`tories as there are links and save linked documents in the same
`
`directories. Such an approach is labor-intensive, requires con-
`siderable self-discipline, and is extremely costly in terms of
`memory space. Furthermore, the links between the docu-
`ments remain non-evident.
`
`As more and more documents are stored in the computer
`system memory, an increasing number ofdocuments are arbi-
`trarily stored in the hierarchical filing system. The user begins
`to have a bewildering clutter of documents in every folder.
`
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`US 8,136,030 B2
`
`3
`Some of the documents are misplaced or should have been
`located in many folders at the same time. With time, the user’ s
`needs change and the hierarchical filing system must be
`updated with newer considerations but most users are dis-
`suaded because of the known difficulty and time require-
`ments. Usually, users prefer to continue saving files to the
`same directories and folders and then wishing they could
`remember where the files were stored. In addition, the time
`needed to search in that kind of hierarchical filing system
`becomes more and more important as the number of files is
`growing.
`It should be noted that the difficulty in filing documents in
`a computer system also affects the way the user interacts with
`the computer in that the user attempts to avoid the difficult
`work involved in filing a document that is hard to categorize.
`This tends to result in the computer becoming cluttered with
`documents that are hard to categorize or otherwise filed or the
`user does not attempt to place the documents in the computer
`system memory at all because of the realization it will be
`difficult to organize. This effect tends to negate the advan-
`tages of a filing system that has a hierarchical filing system
`with a graphical user interface.
`Every user has a preferred manner to file information in a
`computer system. Some prefer a file name to distinguish each
`document while others will implement different hierarchical
`architecture. Other users will file information according to
`time. It is hard for someone else to understand what the
`
`computer system is keeping in its memory considering the
`different ways users can tailor the hierarchical filing system.
`It is hard to understand what is important, what is not, and
`what is related to what. Interchangeable knowledge is still
`difficult to attain. This is evident in that it is often difficult to
`
`understand the information on an unfamiliar computer and
`the time needed to familiarize oneself with an unfamiliar
`
`system is often time-prohibitive.
`Prior art information organizing systems usually do not
`provide a way to easily understand links between the infor-
`mation. Every information is usually considered as a unique
`piece of information and only the creator ofthe information is
`aware as to what it relates to. An E-mail, a web page, a
`spreadsheet, or a text document are certainly information but
`the value they have is limited as long as the links between
`them is not obvious to another user. Computer system do not
`have information organizing system that allow the user to
`perceive efficiently the links that connect information ele-
`ments in an “understandable story” to get the whole meaning
`of the information. That is, the user is still oblivious to the
`trends underneath the information.
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`When one is given a document to review, there is often a
`desire to annotate the electronic document similar to anno-
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`tating a paper copy. Doing so with an electronic document
`will, similar to the paper version, result in permanent alter-
`ation of the base document unless a second copy is made.
`Furthermore, if different notes and comments are aimed at
`different individuals, there needs to be as many different
`copies as there are targets or receivers. It then may be desir-
`able that such annotations be made on a layer that does not
`alter the original document to avoid creating new documents
`for each desired target.
`In addition, conventional information organizing systems
`suffer from at least another disadvantage: they do not provide
`a tool to easily search and visualize the search results starting
`with an arbitrary information element. Search results pro-
`vided by conventional information organizing system are
`given in order of relevancy using typed text as a searching
`interface. Results are not given using pictures or images
`although the information would be much more valuable since
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`it is not possible to explain in a short paragraph what a picture
`can show. When the user is doing a search within a conven-
`tional organizing system or even with Internet search engines,
`the user is usually beginning searching with specific words,
`topics, or file formats. This allows the user to isolate infor-
`mation elements that contain the searched words either in the
`
`title or in the file itself. It is similar with file format in that only
`file names of a specific format will be showed as a search
`result.
`
`Often, results will be presented by relevancy using a listing.
`Relevancy is based on arbitrary considerations depending on
`the search engine used. That kind of search fails to present
`search results where the related links with the information
`
`element are clearly shown.
`With a conventional information managing system, the
`user must often meticulously store documents in numerous
`directories. Easily displaying all the elements linked and their
`sequence ofentry is usually difficult. Furthermore, displaying
`all the elements of information linked by a combination of
`attributes to display all the linked elements in the order or
`sequence that they have been entered (it may, for instance, be
`useful to show a series of communications that have led to a
`
`final memo, or a series of reports that have led to a given
`professional decision) is also impossible.
`Conventional
`information managing systems are often
`time-consuming and include obstacles that prevent users
`from maintaining a structured manner, important quantities
`of information regularly.
`For example, if a user wants to keep a “life long” informa-
`tion journal or logbook, the user cannot use prior art infor-
`mation organizing systems to record the information from
`his/her life. It is not possible for an individual to record and to
`file various information elements from multiple sources over
`a long period of time and hope that someone else will be able
`to understand quickly and efficiently the meaning ofthe infor-
`mation, the relationship between the information elements as
`well as the order in which the events occurred.
`
`In corporate environments, it is important that the “knowl-
`edge” of the corporation remains usable, regardless of the
`employment status of the author. Additionally, it is also desir-
`able that the data management methods used by employees be
`unified, both for efficiency and ease-of-training reasons. That
`is, a unified system enables the decision-making process to be
`more coherent. An efficient and coherent information man-
`
`aging system should also be an intricate part of a company
`quality assurance program.
`Furthermore, companies that are engaged in extensive
`research and development generate substantial files and docu-
`ments from several sources. As a result, these document-
`driven firms need a tool to efficiently track these documents.
`It can be useful to keep track of project history and the
`objective behind each stage of the project. By maintaining a
`detailed history, additional projects may be fostered and
`repetitive projects avoided.
`Adding to the need for efficient and organized document
`management
`is professional
`employee turnover. One
`example of an incentive for a structured file management
`structure is tax incentive. In some countries, research and
`development can be tax deductible. In order to have access to
`the R&D tax credit a company must prove the work was done
`and with the current filing systems it represents an enormous
`task to find the information needed to make the proof.
`Knowledge tracking, recording, and interchangeability
`represent a constant challenge and a huge task that prior art
`systems cannot adequately accommodate.
`Maintaining an address book and a calendar or agenda are
`usually considered by conventional information managing
`
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`

`US 8,136,030 B2
`
`5
`systems as separate tasks using separate software. These two
`relations to information are fundamental and should be
`
`included in a complete designed information managing sys-
`tem.
`
`The prior art computer systems or computer interfaces
`have not provided solutions to deal with the aforementioned
`problems and each of these deficiencies in the prior art yield
`a demand for an improved information managing system and
`method using an intuitive and natural way to visually present
`information as well as the associations between the informa-
`tion.
`
`SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
`
`The following presents a simplified summary of the dis-
`closure in order to provide a basic understanding to the reader.
`This summary is not an exhaustive or limiting overview ofthe
`disclosure. The summary is not provided to identify key and,
`or critical elements ofthe invention, delineate the scope ofthe
`invention, or limit the scope of the invention in any way. Its
`sole purpose is to present some of the objects and aspects
`disclosed in a simplified form, as an introduction to the more
`detailed description that is presented later.
`It is, therefore, desirable to provide a method and a system
`that organize information that is an improvement over known
`information organizing methods and systems.
`The present invention provides a method ofmanipulating a
`plurality of music album elements and song elements, a
`method for organizing a plurality of music album elements
`and song elements, the method comprising displaying on the
`display a music album element axis adapted to illustrate a
`plurality of music album elements; selecting a music album
`element from the displayed music album element axis;
`retrieving song elements associated with the selected music
`album element; and displaying the retrieved song elements
`along a song element axis, the song element axis being
`adapted to be displayed in a direction adapted to intersect the
`music album element axis, in accordance with at least one
`embodiment.
`
`The present invention provides a device, comprising a pro-
`cessor configured to present a graphical user interface for
`organizing a plurality of music album elements and song
`elements, the graphical user interface being adapted to pro-
`vide a first display area adapted to display a music album
`element axis adapted to display a plurality of music album
`elements; display a plurality of music album elements on the
`music album element axis when the music album element
`
`axis is displayed; and provide a second display area adapted
`to display retrieved