HK1064203B - A method of operating a database and an apparatus thereof - Google Patents

Description

Method and device for operating database

This application is a divisional application of parent application No. 96195867.7, earlier application No. 507544 in the united states, with priority date of 26/7 in 1995.

Technical Field

The invention relates to a method and a device for operating a database.

Background

Many large-capacity recording medium players are currently put into commercial use. For example, CDP-CX100 and CDP-CX153 models manufactured by SONY corporation of Tokyo, Japan, and are commercially available through SONY ELECTRONICS INC, 1 SONY DRIVE, PARKRIDGE, NJ 07656. Each such player has an inner wheel carousel with 100 slots for storing up to 100 CD discs. There is no doubt that players with higher storage will appear in the future. A player of this nature can be used not only to play CD discs but also to provide a convenient way of storing CD discs in compact devices.

Early CD players only stored one or a few discs, and therefore most of the CD discs were stored in their protective jewel cases. Such jewel cases have an insert providing a written list for each disc and listing the contents available on the disc in order, including the playing time and other information (e.g., artist, title, author, etc.) associated with each selection. Such information aids the listener in selecting the desired disc or track.

Unfortunately, this information cannot be conveniently provided to the user of a CD player used as a storage device, as with the high-capacity CD player described above. Users often use such players to store CD discs while also placing the jewel holders and associated information inserts in less convenient locations. Worse still, in order to get the selected content conveniently, the user needs to know not only the disc he wants to play, but also the position of the disc in the turntable or even the track number. In addition, it is difficult for the user to have a conscious overall awareness of the selectable music content and to control the playback of the selectable content.

Such a problem is partially solved in the above-mentioned SONY player, in which the user can program the player, store the identification information of each disc in the memory of the player, and classify all discs into several categories according to the user's choice (e.g., jazz, classical, rock, etc.). These multi-CD players use portions of the data in the table of contents (TOC) to uniquely identify each disc stored therein. More specifically, the total music playing time and number of songs shown in the TOC are used by some of the transducers to uniquely identify the disc. The CD changer also has a feature called "custom file", which is described in japanese patent application publication No. 03-76082, incorporated herein by reference. This technique helps to locate a selection made, but the user still has limited disc information available. For example, information on a particular track, artist, etc. on the disc cannot be known unless this information is used to determine the entire disc. Also, all such information must be entered at the current time by the user dialing the provided characters with the remote control dial. The process of entering such data is inconvenient, especially for large numbers of discs, and so users often ignore this step. Also, users of such players currently have limited control over the disc with parameters stored on the disc (e.g., level and range selection), and cannot refer to the content of each track on the disc.

Disclosure of Invention

It is an object of the present invention to provide a recording medium player accessible to an external database to solve the above-mentioned problems in the prior art.

Although changes to the CD disc format may allow the disc to include its own various information in machine-readable form, there is still a great deal of work without such identifying information. Therefore, there is a need to provide the same amount of usage information for the user, especially information related to high capacity multi-disc players.

EP- ｃA-O580361 discloses ｃA CD changer, ｃA memory for storing information about ｃA medium, ｃA device for identifying the medium selected by the changer, and ｃA means for retrieving information about the medium from the memory.

The invention discloses a method for operating a database, which comprises the following steps: receiving identification information from a recording medium player remote from the database over the network connection, the identification information identifying the recording medium; the recording medium lacks certain data associated with the identification information; searching the database for the identification information; retrieving said certain data associated with said identifying information from said database; and transmitting the data to the recording medium player via a network connection.

An apparatus of the present invention comprises: communication means for receiving identification information transmitted from a recording medium player remote from a database through a network connection, the identification information identifying a recording medium; the recording medium lacks certain data associated with the identification information; a search engine for searching a database for the identification information and retrieving the certain data related to the identification information from the database; and the communication means sends the certain data back to the recording medium player.

The invention discloses a method for operating a remote database, which comprises the following steps: receiving identification information in the form of a TOC from a CD player through a modem, the identification information identifying a recording medium; searching the database for the identification information; retrieving data associated with the identification information from the database; the data includes the CD name, a track name on the CD, and artist information associated with the CD; and send the data to the CD player via a modem.

An apparatus of the present invention comprises: a modem for receiving identification information in the form of TOC information transmitted from a CD player, said identification information identifying said CD; a search engine for searching a database for the identification information and retrieving data related to the identification information from the database; the data includes the CD name, a track name of the CD, and an artist name associated with the CD; and the modem sends the data back to the recording medium player.

The present invention provides a recording medium player, comprising:

a media changer for reading data from a currently recorded medium;

means for reading an identification portion of a current recording medium to provide an identifier usable to uniquely identify the medium;

a memory for storing information on a plurality of recording media; and

means for comparing the identification data with data of the memory to determine whether or not the current recording medium is stored in the memory;

the method is characterized in that:

means for accessing the database when the comparing means does not detect the identification data in the memory, in order to detect whether the database contains information about the current recording medium.

The present invention also provides a method for operating a recording medium having a medium changer to read data from a current recording medium, the method comprising the steps of:

storing information on a plurality of recording media in a memory; reading an identification portion of the current recording medium to provide identification data that uniquely identifies the medium; and

comparing the identification data with data in the memory to determine whether data about the current recording medium has been stored in the memory;

means for accessing a database when the comparing means does not detect the identification data in the memory, in order to detect whether the database contains information about the current recording medium.

Various aspects and features of the present invention are defined in the appended claims.

Embodiments of the present invention provide a database of information that a user may search to access and download to address these problems. This minimizes the information that needs to be entered, and in most cases may not require entry of such information.

Embodiments of the present invention provide a CD player that has access to an external database so that CD discs stored in a multi-disc player can be conveniently selected.

One of the features of embodiments of the present invention is to provide the ability to query a database for a desired music selection with minimal or no user input of database data.

A further feature of an embodiment of the present invention is to identify a CD by a table (or other unique identifying information) in the area of the disc content that serves as a "fingerprint" for the disc.

A further feature is that certain embodiments of the present invention may simplify control of CD playback parameters on a track-by-track basis.

One of the advantages of embodiments of the present invention is that a large amount of queryable information can be provided for user access without data entry.

One of the further advantages of embodiments of the present invention is that CD discs or other storage media can be conveniently stored in a multi-disc player while enhancing the ability to locate a music selection.

It is a further advantage of embodiments of the present invention to provide user control of CD player playback selections through a computer user interface.

In general, embodiments of the present invention provide a MODEM connection to a remote database that a user can use to update information on the memory that forms part of the CD player. The system uses a CD's "fingerprint" to query remote databases for information such as title, track name, artist, etc. Once the CD is identified, information relating to the CD is downloaded to a local database and the user can find the desired music, artist, etc. In addition, information is loaded into the memory of a CD player so that discs stored in the CD player can be easily identified. This is particularly useful for high capacity multi-CD players used to store CDs. The user may further utilize the computer as a simplified control interface to search for selections, construct playlists, and enhance control over playback operations.

The novel features believed characteristic of the invention are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to organization and method of operation, together with further objects and advantages thereof, may best be understood by reference to the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings.

Drawings

Fig. 1 depicts the TOC data format of a conventional CD disc.

Fig. 2 is a block diagram of a first embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 3 is a block diagram of the CD changer 20 of fig. 2.

Fig. 4A and 4B are a workflow diagram of one embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 5 shows the use of a computer 32 to control the CD changer 20.

FIG. 6 depicts a simplified flow diagram of one embodiment of a process of sending instructions to a CD changer.

Fig. 7 is a block diagram of a second embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 8 depicts a flow diagram of the operation of the second embodiment of fig. 7.

Detailed Description

While this invention is susceptible of embodiment in many different forms, there is shown in the drawings and will herein be described in detail a specific embodiment, with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered as an exemplification of the principles of the invention and is not intended to limit the invention to the specific embodiment illustrated and described. In the description below, reference numerals are used to describe the same, similar, or related parts from multiple perspectives in the figures.

Before discussing in detail the actual method and apparatus of the present invention, some basic concepts regarding the standard format of CD discs should be understood in order to understand the way each disc can be uniquely identified. Conventional CD discs are formatted according to the industry "red book" specification. This formatting is also described, for example, in chapter 5 of the CD technology, authors Heitaro Nakajima and HiroshiOgawa, 1992, Ohmsha, Ltd., 3-1Kanda Nishiki-cho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 101, Japan, which is incorporated herein by reference. In the red book specification, one identification code is used for each CD disc, but this method is rarely used by the industry. Thus, each disc does not now have a uniquely determined identification. However, the Redbook specification defines an introductory region that includes a subcoding region with data called the P-channel and Q-channel. The data includes table of contents (TOC) information similar to a table of contents of a book. Since each CD is unique in content, it is possible to use the TOC information to uniquely identify each CD as a fingerprint.

Fig. 1 shows the TOC entry format for a typical music CD. It is emphasized that a set of TOC data is provided for each track of a music CD disc. Each TOC entry includes the time each action takes and the time of day of the content point. These times are described in minutes, seconds, frames and are therefore very accurate. Each disc comprises 99 tracks and each TOC entry occupies 72 bits. The TOC entry will repeatedly fill the entire introduction area. As mentioned above, a small part of the TOC information is used to uniquely identify the CD disc, and this method is used in SONY CD players to implement the features of the customized file. In the present invention, the unique identification of all disks must be present in a very large database, requiring large data samples to uniquely identify or "fingerprint" each data disk, and the solution to this problem is simply to select a sample size large enough to uniquely identify each disk.

There is a large amount of information available on each disc to uniquely identify the disc itself. The TOC entries of the first activity can theoretically count up to 2⁷²(approximately 4.7E21) disks. In practice, the actual number of unique values that may occur in such an entry is well below theoretical because a typical activity is about 3 minutes in duration, the first activity is always 1 in number, the POINT value is always the same, and so on. Even so, it is clear that each disc has enough individual information to be easily understood, eachA disc has its own unique fingerprint that can be used to uniquely identify itself among all other discs. For example, without limitation, a very large number of discs may be played by detecting the number of activities, the playing time per activity, (or the playing time of, for example, the first 5 activities), and the total playing time of the CD. Such a mechanism may provide reasonably long data to uniquely identify a large number of discs. Due to the variations mentioned previously, the exact number of discs that such a mechanism can recognize in practice is difficult to determine accurately, but the number is really large. Other combinations will be used by the practitioner. The mechanism chosen should be based on analysis of a large number of CD disc samples to ensure that sufficient TOC data is used, avoiding excessive amounts of data.

In addition to the above example using TOC data as identification information, a sample of the actual disc data representing a music selection or activity may be used to uniquely identify each disc. Because of the large dynamic range of music on each disc, a few data samples at successive locations on a disc can also statistically uniquely identify the disc, either alone or in combination with a portion of the TOC data. Thus, by selecting enough sample data to describe each disc, it is possible to uniquely identify discs that have been produced and will be produced in the future. The precise definition of "fingerprint" data thus depends on a detailed analysis of a large number of discs, rather than an understanding of the overall concept and operation of the present invention. After selecting such sample data for use as CD "fingerprints", it may also happen that two or more disc identification "fingerprints" are identical, the invention contemplates a remedy for letting the user select the correct disc.

Referring now to fig. 2, a first embodiment in accordance with the present invention is depicted in block diagram form. In this embodiment, a CD changer 20 is connected in a conventional manner to a stereo amplifier which drives a pair (or more) of stereo speakers 26 and 28 or headphones (not shown) with appropriate power amplification. According to this embodiment, the CD changer 20 is connected to an external computer 32, such as a personal computer or a special purpose computer designed to perform the functions of the present invention. The computer 32 includes an input device such as a keyboard, mouse, other input devices, and a display. The computer 32 may be connected to the CD changer 20 via any suitable industry standard or interface, including SCSI or RS-232, or via a local area network connection. The computer 32 also includes a disk drive 36 for mounting any suitable database management software (e.g., commercially available SQL-compliant databases from various manufacturers).

The computer 32 also includes a modem 40 (internal or external) connected to the telephone network 44. Although the present invention contemplates conventional data modem connections using conventional telephone services, other practitioners may alternatively use alternative solutions, such as ISDN networks and accessory terminal adapters.

The present invention operates using a modem dial-up connection to a database 50, which may be maintained by an online service provider or provided over the internet, the database 50 is preferably maintained by the manufacturer, ensuring optimal integrity, but may also be maintained by the user community, the CD changer manufacturer, a commercial organization, or another entity. The database 50 includes the above-mentioned identification information of a large number of CD discs in association with each disc table data. The following table 1 describes the types of data in such a database. The optimization method of obtaining and using information will be described later.

...	99# track name	99# track time minute, second, frame	Total playing time (minutes, seconds, frame)	General track number
					...	...	...	...	...
...	null	00:00:00	78:04:22	8
					...	...	...	...	...

Finger print	CD name	Artist (R & D)	Track number 1	Disk time No. 1 (minutes, seconds, frame)	...
						...	...	...	...	...	...
...	The NewYorkAlbum	Yo-Yo Ma	Concerto for Celloand Orchestra：I.Audacementema sostenuto	06:38:42	...
						...	...	...	...	...	...

TABLE 1

As shown in table 1, the name of each event, CD name, artist, etc. information may be supplemented with machine readable data on the actual CD. Other practitioners will appreciate that the database may include more detailed information such as composers, manufacturers, record identifiers, and any other information useful to the user. Although Table 1 describes the data in a form that can be viewed as a flat-domain database, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the data is more easily stored in a relational database form. Table 1 is merely an example of a database and should not be construed as limiting the invention, and those skilled in the art will appreciate that the database may be designed in various forms and may store any relevant data at the discretion of the designer.

Referring now to fig. 3, the CD changer 20 of fig. 2 is depicted in detail herein. Through an interconnection with the computer 32 via a conventional computer interface 64. The interface 64 is connected to a microprocessor-based controller 68, and communicates with the controller 68 via the computer 32. The controller 68 is connected to a memory 72, which is preferably a non-volatile read-write memory, such as an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM) or a battery backed-up Random Access Memory (RAM). The memory 72 is used to store an internal database of information relating to a large number of CDSs. Specifically, the memory 72 stores at least all of the relevant information currently stored in the CDS of the multi-disk changer device, or more. The controller 68 is connected to a commercially available SONY CDP-CX153 multi-disc CD converter device 74 and associated signal processing circuitry 78 for effecting control in a conventional manner. The controller 68 is also connected to a display control panel that directly receives user commands and displays them via video in a substantially conventional manner. In addition, the controller 68 may be connected to an infrared (or radio frequency) receiver 84 to receive control signals from the remote control.

The controller 68 is used to control the general functions of the CD changer 20 in a conventional manner. The following functions are additionally provided: 1, receiving memory updates from the computer interface 64; 2, updating the memory 72; 3, send a request for information update of the memory 72 through the interface 64.

One method of operation according to the present invention is shown in the flowchart of fig. 4 (divided into 4A and 4B), and the process begins at step 100, when a user selects or loads a disc at step 104, the controller 68 operates the transducer means 74 to read the portion of the selected disc that includes the identification information or "fingerprint" at step 106. At step 110, the controller compares the information to the "fingerprint" stored in memory 72. If a "fingerprint" is found at step 114, the CD changer 20 operates in a conventional manner at step 116 and returns to waiting for the next disc selection.

If no fingerprint is found at step 114, the user may be presented with data on a display (or other messaging system) telling that the disc was not found in the CD changer database. If the user wishes to attempt to obtain data from a database, or if the user needs to manually enter data at step 120, the user is then asked whether the disc is to be played. The user may respond via a remote control or display control panel. If the user decides to simply play the disc (e.g., the disc is borrowed or played infrequently), control returns to step 116 and conventional operations continue. If the user decides to enter data manually, a manual entry routine is initiated at step 122. Such manual entry may be accomplished in a manner similar to the entry of information called "custom files" in commercial CD changers. After step 122, control returns to step 116. If the user decides to attempt to acquire the data, the "fingerprint" of the disc is passed to the computer 32 by way of the computer interface 64 at step 124. Under software control, the computer 32 initiates a database query stored in the disk drive 36 to match the "fingerprint" in the question at step 128. If found in step 132, the appropriate portion of the database is downloaded to the memory of the CD changer in step 138 and control returns to step 116. In this way, the burden of manual input by the user is eliminated.

In the event that no "fingerprint" is found at step 132, the user is notified at step 138. At this point, the user may again decide whether to play the disc directly, further download information from the database at this point, or manually enter data. If the user decides to play the disc, control returns to step 116. If the user decides to enter data manually, control returns to step 122. The manual input routine 122 should preferably use a connection to the computer 32 to obtain a reduced manual input through the keyboard of the computer 32. If the user chooses to further attempt to download the data, computer 32 initiates an attempt to retrieve the data by calling to remote database 50 via modem 40 and telephone line 44. Upon successful connection to the database, the computer 32 initiates a remote database query to find the "fingerprint" of the disk at step 150.

If the "fingerprint" of the disc is not found, this information is informed in step 162 and the user is given the choice whether to enter the data or to play the CD directly without data entry. If the user selects play, control again returns to step 116. If the user chooses to manually enter data, this may be done at step 122 via a computer keyboard. If a "fingerprint" is found in the database at step 158, the computer 32 downloads the data to the local database stored at 36 at step 166. The computer 32 then proceeds to download the appropriate data to the memory 72 of the transformer at step 170. Once the data is stored in the database at 36, the user may utilize the search capabilities of the database management software to find the selection; sorting the discs by music type, artist, etc.; and perform other database management work.

Once the above-mentioned interconnection between the CD changer 20 and the computer 32 is established, and once the local database is created, such an arrangement is preferably used to control the operation of the CD changer by using the computer keyboard. The computer can be used to give the user a more friendly interface than a conventional CD changer, which only allows the user to start and stop the playing of a CD. Select a playlist, specify the disc or track to play, search for content in the CD, and generally control various aspects of the CD player. To illustrate this, referring to FIG. 5, it first shows a local database (shown at 174) arranged in a series of cells. The control may be accomplished by selecting any desired CD changer function from a menu of functions, or by entering commands directly from a computer keyboard. The skilled person is aware of many ways to represent these control functions in the user interface, e.g. a menu box may be implemented by a pull-down menu or special control buttons. Such an interface would occupy the computer's display together with the tables of the database containing the CD data.

In an enhanced control embodiment of the present invention, the user may generate a playlist by first having the computer 32 query the CD changer 20 to determine which CDs is contained in the changer, as identified in the memory 72. Since the local database 174 can store as much CDS information as the user desires regardless of the contents of the CD changer 20. The user may reduce the display of the local database 174 to indicate only those discs that are actually loaded into the CD changer 20. This simplified representation 176 shows only 5 entries associated with 5 CD discs. In other embodiments, the loaded disc may be indicated in another color or otherwise emphasized. Once the user has obtained a display of the disc including all track names on the disc, the user can simply browse the tracks and then make a selection, for example by pressing a mouse button and confirming that this is added to the playlist when the display cursor points to a desired selection, in such a way that the user can create a playlist. In database 176 of fig. 5, the shaded boxes represent such a selection. Once the user selects an item as a playlist, the playlist may be viewed in a playlist window or screen 178. In this way, the user can make as many play selections as desired in a particular order. The selection is based on a comprehensive understanding of the selection and or the discs, rather than a simple number of discs and tracks. In addition, the capabilities of database management software may be utilized to search for particular selections to add to the playlist. For example, a user may generate a query by entering keywords. The query result may be represented as a list of possible discs or tracks containing keywords, and the user may select the desired match to add the disc or track to the playlist.

Once a playlist is generated in this manner, the user may initiate the playing of the list at 188. The control interface may be implemented by a desired character or graphical user interface. In one embodiment, the interface may be designed similar to the music box window in the Microsoft WINDOWS operating system, and may include all conventional instructions that may be issued via a remote control (including stop, play, pause, rewind, play modes such as shuttle and playback, volume, range, etc.). In addition, the interface may include a character and graphic display of attributes such as CD and track play time, CD and track time hold, track number, track name, CD name, artist, and any desired information obtained from the database. Of course, in the music box interface, all the required database information must be entered by the user, and the interface does not have a communication mechanism to let the computer know the contents of the discs in a multi-disc player. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that many variations of this process may be implemented within the scope of the present invention.

Referring to fig. 6, a simple process for implementing the control of the CD changer 20 is shown. Those skilled in the art will recognize that many variations of this process are possible, and a similar implementation may be constructed in accordance with the microsoft music box program described above. At step 180, the CD changer 20 receives the computer 32 query and a list of all CD "fingerprints" of CDS currently installed in the CD changer. This step may be performed upon request by a user or upon detection of a disc load or download by a CD changer. These "fingerprints" are checked for presence in the local database 174 and the local database is restricted to those CDS currently installed in the database 182 at step 182. This process generates an image of the CDS installed at step 186. At this point, the user may browse 176 the displayed matrix and select CDS or track to join in the playlist using mouse or keyboard commands. Alternatively, the user may perform the query by selecting "SEARCH" from a menu (e.g., menu bar, menu button or icon) at step 184. In this case, the database is searched in step 186 using conventional query methods. When the query is complete, the matching selection selected by the user is presented to the user and control returns to step 184.

Once one or more selections are made, the user may select the "PLAY LIST" command from the menu. At this point, the user may select any of the playlist-related commands at step 190. Step 190 shows 3 such commands, but the skilled person will appreciate that such command implementations may be programmed as desired. If the user selects "ADD" at 190, control passes to routine 192 to ADD the selected track or CDS to the current playlist. If "DELETE" is selected at step 190, control flows to the routine 196 to DELETE the selected track or CDS from the current playlist. If "DISPLAY" is selected, a list is opened in window 178 to DISPLAY the playlist. Of course, once the playlist is represented by the list in window 178, the user may more easily see the list of songs or CDS selected in their order of play, and may directly manipulate the list to delete items, rearrange items, and the like.

Those skilled in the art will recognize that the process of fig. 6 is only a partial display of a command structure that may be used to control the CD changer 20. It will be apparent that many other useful commands (as described above) may be implemented by this process. Thus, the present process is not limiting, but rather depicts the type of control that can be achieved once the computer 32 is connected to the CD changer 20 and once the CD changer 20 is controlled with the database in full.

Further control is possible once the user has access to the contents of the entire CD via the database 174. For example, SONY CDP-CX100 has a "custom file" feature, e.g., playback volume can be stored with each disc (a so-called "volume file"). Once the user has obtained the contents of database 174, including information for each track in each disc, he will readily recognize that the individual attributes of each track can be individually controlled by computer 36. For example, in the "custom file" function of CDP-CX100, computer 36 may issue commands to CD changer 20 to change the track-based volume in the playback list. Also, other attributes such as register may also operate on a track basis. Thus, the playlist and or local database may also include entries for attributes associated with each track, as shown in Table 2 below. Such entries may be expanded in a separate window, displaying attribute selections for each database entry (track).

TABLE 2

Track Title：Come Down EasyTrack：1Disc：3Disc：Title：Rhymes&ReasonsArtist：Carole KingPlay Time：03:06Play Attributes：Level：65％Sound Field：Live Room

Thus, for example, in table 2, at play time, the track will be played at 65% volume, accompanied by a signal processing register "living room". Of course, other user-controllable attributes may also be stored and arranged in a lane-based manner.

Referring now to fig. 7, a second embodiment of the present invention is shown. In this embodiment, CD changer 220 includes an internal modem 240, which operates under the control of controller 268 to access database 50 over telephone line 44. In this embodiment, part of the functionality of computer 32 is incorporated into CD changer 220. Controller 268 is similar in function and operation to controller 68 except for the inclusion of additional functions for controlling modem 240 and additional search and communication functions. Infrared receiver 284 is similar in function to infrared receiver 84 except that it requires a broader command set in the absence of computer 32. Similarly, display control panel 282 is similar to display control panel 82 except that in the absence of a computer display and keyboard, a more powerful display and keyboard function is required.

In operation, CD changer 220 of fig. 7 performs functions similar to CD changer 20 of fig. 2 and 3, except that the local database search function is eliminated. Of course, those skilled in the art will recognize that by incorporating a large amount of memory into CD changer 220, the functionality of computer 32 may be almost completely integrated into a single package.

Fig. 8 shows a method of operating the CD changer 220, which method starts at step 300. When the user selects or loads a disc at step 304, the controller 268 directs the transducer arrangement 74 to read the portion of the disc containing the identification message or "fingerprint" in the selected disc at step 306. The controller then compares the read information with the "fingerprint" stored in memory 72 at step 310. If a "fingerprint" is found at step 314, the CD changer 220 operates in a conventional manner at step 316 and then returns to step 304 to await the next disk selection.

If no "fingerprint" is found at step 314, the user is informed via a display (or other messaging system) that no disc data is found in the internal memory 72 of the CD changer. The user is then asked whether to play the disc or wish to attempt to retrieve data from the database, or to manually enter data at step 320. The user may respond via a remote control or display control panel 282. If the user decides to simply play the CD, control returns to step 316 to continue the original operation. If the user decides to enter data manually, a manual entry routine is initiated at step 322, and control returns to step 316.

If the "fingerprint" of the disc is not found, this information is informed in step 362 and the user is given the choice whether to enter the data or to play the CD directly without data entry. If the user selects play, control again returns to step 316. If the user chooses to manually enter data, this may be done at step 122 via a remote control or display control panel. If a "fingerprint" is found in the remote database at step 358, the controller 268 downloads the data to the memory 72 of the transducer at step 370.

Thus, through the above process, the memory of the CD changer can be updated without complicated manual input, whether the disk in question is found in the local database of the computer or when information is downloaded from a remote database. The foregoing description of the process omits error trapping, database formats, communication protocols to interface with remote databases, overall messaging and other details not necessary to understand the present invention in order not to obscure the present invention with unnecessary detail. In addition, in the above process, it is of course assumed that the computer is active when it needs to be connected to the CD changer. The skilled person will be familiar with these details and will not need much explanation here. In addition, since the CD format involves arranging specific identification information (or contains actual database information) to be stored on the disc, the present invention contemplates using this information to the extent it is available.

Many other embodiments of the above-described process will occur to those of skill in the art. For example, the described process may be implemented when the mentioned CD plays and when the database update process is in progress. In another specific variation, the user may make a default answer to the download inquiry step 120, 138, 162, 320 or 362. In addition, while there is little likelihood that both discs will possess the same "fingerprint", the process can provide the user the ability to make a selection among them when this occurs.

Although the present invention describes the term CD as the medium containing the program material, the present invention contemplates equally other music, video, or other equivalent embodiments of the recording medium that may not include machine-readable information useful to the user. For example, an equivalent embodiment may be referred to for media such as MINIDISC, digital video disc, multimedia CD disc, and presently immature media. Thus, the present invention should not be limited to only the described format.

It is apparent that there has been achieved in accordance with the present invention an apparatus that fully satisfies the objects and advantages set forth above. While the present invention has been described in conjunction with specific embodiments, it is evident that many alternatives, modifications, permutations and variations will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art in light of the foregoing description. It is therefore intended to embrace all such alternatives, modifications and variances which fall within the scope of the appended claims.

Claims (36)

1. A method of operating a database of data relating to audio content stored on a storage medium, comprising the steps of:

receiving identification information from a recording medium player located at a location remote from a database through a network connection connecting the recording medium player and the database, the identification information identifying a recording medium storing audio content identified with the identification information;

the recording medium lacks at least one data element associated with the identification information;

searching the database for the identification information;

retrieving the at least one data element associated with the identifying information from the database; and

transmitting the at least one data element to the recording medium player over a network connection.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the recording medium player comprises a computer.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the database resides in a computer.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the database is located at a remote location relative to the recording medium player.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the receiving and transmitting are both via a modem link.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein the receiving and sending are both via an internet connection.

7. The method of claim 4, wherein said receiving and transmitting are via an ISDN connection.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the recording medium comprises an optical disc.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the identification information includes TOC information.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the at least one data element comprises a name of the optical disc.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the at least one data element comprises a name of a track occurring on the optical disc.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein the at least one data element comprises artist information associated with the optical disc.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the recording medium comprises MiniDisc^TM。

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the recording medium comprises a digital video disc.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one data element comprises a name of the recording medium.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one data element comprises a name of a song recorded on the recording medium.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one data element includes artist information associated with the recording medium.

18. An apparatus, comprising:

communication means for receiving identification information transmitted from a recording medium player located at a position remote from the database through a network connection connecting the recording medium player and the database, the identification information identifying a recording medium containing audio content;

the recording medium lacks at least one data element associated with the identification information;

a search engine for searching a database for the identification information and retrieving the at least one data element associated with the identification information from the database; and

the communication device sends the at least one data element back to the recording medium player over a network connection.

19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the recording medium player comprises a computer.

20. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the database resides in a computer.

21. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the database is located at a remote location relative to the recording medium player.

22. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the communication device is coupled to a telephone line and communicates via a modem link.

23. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the communication device communicates via an internet connection.

24. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the communication device communicates via an ISDN connection.

25. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the recording medium comprises an optical disc.

26. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein the at least one data element comprises a name of the optical disc.

27. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein the at least one data element comprises a name of a track occurring on the optical disc.

28. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein the at least one data element comprises artist information associated with the optical disc.

29. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the recording medium comprises MiniDisc^TM。

30. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the recording medium comprises a digital video disc.

31. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the identification information includes TOC information.

32. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the at least one data element comprises a name of the recording medium.

33. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the at least one data element comprises a name of a song recorded on the recording medium.

34. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the at least one data element comprises artist information associated with the recording medium.

35. A method of operating a remote database of data relating to audio content stored on an audio compact disc, comprising the steps of:

receiving identification information from an audio compact disc player in the form of a TOC through a modem, the identification information identifying a compact disc containing audio content;

searching the database for the identification information;

retrieving data associated with the identification information from the database;

the data includes a name of the audio compact disc, a name of a track on the audio compact disc, and artist information associated with the audio compact disc; and

and sending the data to the audio compact disc player through a modem.

36. An apparatus, comprising:

a modem for receiving identification information in the form of TOC information transmitted from an audio compact disc player, the identification information identifying the audio compact disc;

a search engine for searching a database for the identification information and retrieving data related to the identification information from the database;

the data includes a name of the audio compact disc, a name of a track of the audio compact disc, and a name of an artist associated with the audio compact disc; and

the modem sends the data back to the audio compact disc player.