KR100746042B1 - Method and device for browsing content files - Google Patents

Abstract

A method and apparatus for browsing a content file is provided. Content file browsing method according to an embodiment of the present invention Classifying the content file stored in the storage device according to the first attribute of the metadata, classifying each classified according to the second attribute of the metadata; Browsing the content file with the classification according to the first attribute as the first axis and the classification according to the second attribute as the second axis.

Description

Method and apparatus for browsing content files

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a conventional content file browsing in a directory structure according to attributes of metadata.

2 is a flowchart illustrating a content file browsing method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

3A and 3B illustrate a method of browsing a content file using a straight line connecting a circle and a center with one axis as another axis according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating browsing files classified according to not only the first attribute and the second attribute of the metadata but also the third attribute.

5 is a block diagram of a content file browsing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

<Explanation of symbols for main parts of the drawings>

110: first classification module

120: second classification module

130: browsing module

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for browsing a content file, and more particularly, a browsing method for browsing a large amount of content files using a visual method rather than a directory structure to facilitate searching and to simply execute a selected area. It is about providing.

Recently, as digital storage devices such as hard disk drives (HDDs) and flash memory (Flash memory) have become larger in capacity and compression technology for media contents has been developed, the amount of content stored and managed in digital devices has been increasing rapidly. . Because of the storage space, digital devices that have been able to store only tens or hundreds of contents on a single storage device have recently been able to store thousands or tens of thousands of contents. As the amount of contents increases, it becomes increasingly difficult to search for and utilize contents desired by a user.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a conventional content file browsing in a directory structure according to attributes of metadata.

The user browses as shown in FIG. 1 based on attributes of various metadata such as artist, album, genre, creation date, release year, etc. extracted from the MP3 music content file. Each attribute can be thought of as a directory structure, and music files can be searched according to the classification according to each attribute.

However, this method also has a problem that it becomes more difficult to search for the desired content file as the amount of content increases to thousands or tens of thousands.

Therefore, when the user browses the content, there is a need for a method for enabling the user to easily and quickly search for the desired content and execute the selected file even if the amount of content increases.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been devised to improve the above-mentioned problem, and the technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to search and execute a content file simply by visually browsing a very large amount of the content file according to the property of the metadata and To provide a device.

The objects of the present invention are not limited to the above-mentioned objects, and other objects that are not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the following description.

In order to achieve the above object, the content file browsing method according to an embodiment of the present invention (a) Classifying the content file stored in the storage device according to the first property of the metadata, (b) classifying each of the content classified in the step (a) according to the second property of the metadata; and (c) the first property. Browsing the content file using a classification based on a property as a first axis and a classification according to a second property as a second axis.

In order to achieve the above object, a content file browsing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a first classification module for classifying a content file stored in a storage device according to a first attribute of metadata, and classifying the classified file as metadata. And a browsing module configured to browse the content file using a classification according to the second property as a first axis and a classification according to the second property as a second axis.

Specific details of other embodiments are included in the detailed description and the drawings.

Advantages and features of the present invention and methods for achieving them will be apparent with reference to the embodiments described below in detail with the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed below, but can be implemented in various different forms, and only the embodiments make the disclosure of the present invention complete, and the general knowledge in the art to which the present invention belongs. It is provided to fully inform the person having the scope of the invention, which is defined only by the scope of the claims. Like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings for describing a method and an apparatus for browsing a content file according to embodiments of the present invention.

2 is a flowchart illustrating a content file browsing method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The content file browsing method according to an embodiment of the present invention includes the steps of classifying according to the first property of the content file (S110), and classifying the files classified according to the first property according to the second property of the content file (S120). And visually browsing the content file using the classification according to the first attribute as the first axis and the classification according to the second attribute as the second axis (S130).

When the browsed predetermined area is selected, the method may further include executing files included in the selected area through a separate playback device (S140).

Contents are provided through the Internet or computer communication, and are a concept that encompasses all kinds of information, information, or contents that are produced, processed, and distributed digitally, and may include music, animation, movies, news, and video lectures.

According to the present invention, a method of visually browsing various content files such as a music file, an animation file, and a movie file can be provided. Preferably, a method of visually browsing a music file is provided.

Attributes of a file can be retrieved from file metadata. Meta data is attribute information of a file, and data is given to content according to a predetermined rule in order to efficiently search and use information that is being searched for in a large amount of information. In the case of a music file, it may be a genre, an album, a singer, a production year, etc., as attributes of metadata.

Content files can be classified based on the properties of metadata of each file.

For example, the music files may be classified based on the music genre (rock music, ballad music, dance music, etc.) among the plurality of music files as the first attribute of the metadata. Then, each music file (files classified as rock music, files classified as ballad music, files classified as dance music, etc.) classified using the production year as the second attribute in the metadata may be classified. .

The attributes of metadata for classifying music files may be variously selected as well as those described above. For example, in the case of a music file, the music files can be variously classified by selecting a first attribute as a genre, a second attribute as a singer, or a first attribute as a singer, a second attribute as a production year, and the like.

Next, the classified files may be browsed using the first attribute as the first axis and the second attribute as the second axis.

In this case, the first and second axes may be represented by a Cartesian coordinate system, and each content file may be displayed in the corresponding coordinates for browsing. In other words, the x-axis is the axis related to the genre and the y-axis is the axis related to the year of manufacture. Preferably, the content file can be browsed by representing the first axis as a circle or an arc and the second axis as a straight line centered in the circle or the arc.

As the content file is visually browsed by the above method, even a large amount of the content file can be easily illustrated, and the user inputs an area corresponding to the first and second attributes of the file to be searched, such as a mouse. You can easily find them by selecting the device.

3A and 3B are diagrams illustrating a method of browsing a content file using a straight line connecting a circle and a center with one axis as another axis according to an embodiment of the present invention.

3A and 3B show music files being classified according to genres and production year attributes and browsing in a circle. As described in the example above, music files are categorized using the first attribute as the genre and the second attribute as the production year, and the classification according to the production year is centered on the circle along the line connecting the classification according to the genre. The connecting line can be browsed as shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B using a straight line as an axis. Music files such as rock, sound track, dance, and the like are browsed according to the genre, which is the first attribute of metadata, in the sectors of circular arcs classified in the figure. And the closer to the arc, the older songs are located, and the closer to the arc, the more recent songs are located.

When the user visually browses all the music files possessed by the two metadata attributes using circles as shown in the drawing, the user can easily grasp even if the music files he owns are over thousands of songs.

In addition, by selecting a predetermined region as shown in FIG. 3A through an input device such as a mouse, the music included in the region may be executed through another playback apparatus. In FIG. 3A, the selected area A represents dance music from the late 90s to the early 2000s, and can reproduce a music file included in the corresponding area. In addition, if you want to listen to music of various genres, it is possible to select each area little by little.

As shown in FIG. 3B, when a mouse is clicked on a predetermined portion, an area of a preset range may be selected around a position where the mouse is clicked to select a music file.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating browsing files classified according to not only the first attribute and the second attribute of the metadata but also the third attribute.

For example, in addition to classifying and browsing music files according to genres and production years, the music files may be further classified based on a singer, which is a third attribute of metadata. Each region classified by a predetermined genre may be further classified by the singer corresponding to the genre, and, for example, browsed in alphabetical order by the name of the singer. In the region A of FIG. 4, a music file called by singer Shin Seung-hoon in the early 90's of the ballad music may be searched for and played.

5 is a block diagram of a content file browsing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The apparatus for browsing content files according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a first classification module, a second classification module, and a browsing module.

The first classification module may read the metadata from the content file and classify the content file according to the first attribute.

 The second classification module may classify each group previously classified by the first classification module according to the second attribute of the metadata.

 The browsing module may visually browse the content file to an output device (not shown) such as a monitor using the classification based on the first attribute as the first axis and the classification based on the second attribute as the second axis.

When the content files are visually browsed to the output device, the user may further include a playback unit (not shown) to execute the files included in the selected area when the user selects a predetermined area with an input device such as a mouse.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the present invention can be embodied in other specific forms without changing the technical spirit or essential features of the present invention. Therefore, it should be understood that the embodiments described above are exemplary in all respects and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is indicated by the scope of the following claims rather than the detailed description, and all changes or modifications derived from the meaning and scope of the claims and the equivalent concept are included in the scope of the present invention. Should be interpreted.

According to the content file browsing method and apparatus of the present invention as described above has one or more of the following effects.

First, there is an advantage that even a large amount of content data can be easily searched by visually browsing.

Second, it is possible to select a visually browsed area and easily play a file of the corresponding area.

Claims (5)

(a) Classifying the content file stored in the storage device according to the first attribute of the metadata; (b) classifying the classified file according to a second attribute of metadata; And (c) browsing the content file with a classification according to the first attribute as a first axis and a classification according to the second attribute as a second axis. The method of claim 1, Wherein the first axis is a circumference of the circle and the second axis is a straight line connecting the center of the circle in the circle. The method of claim 2, Wherein the first attribute is a genre of a music file and the second attribute is a production year of a song contained in the music file. The method of claim 1, (d) causing the selected file to be executed when a predetermined area of the browsed files is selected. A first classification module that classifies the content file stored in the storage device according to the first attribute of the metadata; A second classification module for classifying the classified file according to a second attribute of metadata; And And a browsing module for browsing the content file with a classification according to the first attribute as a first axis and a classification according to the second attribute as a second axis.

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