WO2010020746A2

WO2010020746A2 - Data storage and connection device

Info

Publication number: WO2010020746A2
Application number: PCT/GB2009/001892
Authority: WO
Inventors: Matthew Phillips
Original assignee: Sunkrest Overseas Limited
Priority date: 2008-08-22
Filing date: 2009-07-31
Publication date: 2010-02-25
Also published as: WO2010020746A3; WO2010020738A1

Abstract

There is described a portable data storage device wherein said data storage device is provided with connection means suitable for connecting the device to an MPEG player. The data storage device may also be provided with a USB connection means.

Description

Data Storage and Connection Device

Field of the invention

The present invention relates to pre-recorded data storage devices for use with portable media players, for example MPEG players, such as an MP3 player, e.g. an iPOD ^®.

Background to the invention

Portable media players, often referred to as MPEG players can play audio and video files having a range of different formats such as MP3, Windows Media Audio (WMA), Advanced Audio Coding (AAC), Waveform (WAV) and MP4. Such devices are an increasingly popular device for replaying various media, such as music and video clips. One example of a a portable media player the iPOD^® made by Apple Inc.. The portability of the iPOD ^® and other portable media players is a significant feature that has contributed to their success. However, despite the commercial success and the undoubted popularity of the iPOD ^® and other MP3 players, they suffer from the disadvantage that they require docking either by a cable or a fixed docking station to enable the iPOD ^® to be connected to a computer to enable the data, e.g. music or video data, to be uploaded onto the memory of the iPOD ^®.

This creates a number of disadvantages. If an individual wishes to purchase some new music or film, they must first purchase the data on conventional disc, e.g. CD or DVD or download it from a website. Data purchased on CD or DVD must then be ripped from the disc and uploaded to the computer and then downloaded onto the portable device, e.g. iPOD ^®. Furthermore, the portability of devices such as the iPOD ® is considerably hindered, since a user without access to a personal computer is unable to upload new data to the iPOD ^®. Thus, for example, if an individual is away from home or their office, they cannot purchase data, e.g. music or film for immediate upload to their iPOD ^®.

Portable media players including a Wi-Fi connector are also known. These can download media content without wired connection to a personal computer. Downloading by Wi-Fi can be expensive. Also one must be in a Wi-Fi hotspot for it to be possible.

We have now developed a method which overcomes or mitigates the aforementioned disadvantages.

Summary of the Invention

Therefore, according to a first aspect of the invention we provide a portable data storage device wherein said data storage device is provided with connection means suitable for connecting the device to an MPEG player.

We particularly provide such a device as hereinbefore described wherein the MPEG player is an MP3 player, such as an iPOD ^® or an MP4 player.

Advantageously the portable data storage device comprises a flash memory drive or the like. It is a particular aspect of the present invention that the portable data storage device i.e. pre-recorded with data, such as music or movie data. Thus, the purchaser of the pre-recorded portable data storage device may transfer the data to an MPEG player, such as an MP3 player, e.g. an iPOD ^® or an MP4 player, regardless of whether the purchaser has access to a personal computer.

It is preferred that the data file(s) stored on the pre-recorded data storage device is in an MPEG readable format or a video format, such as MP4 and M4V or a JPEG picture file. If the data is not in an MPEG readable format as hereinbefore described, the device may include or be programmed such that it can decode the data to enable it to be uploaded to an MPEG player.

As hereinbefore described, preferably the portable data storage device comprises a flash memory drive, however, it will be understood that the data storage device can, in the alternative comprises other data storage device means, such as a flash card, pen drive, CD, magnetic disk, mini-disk, magneto-optical disk, multimedia memory card, secure digital card, memory stick, etc.

The portable data storage device may include a power source, such as a battery, although preferably, the portable data storage device will be powered from the MPEG player once it is connected thereto. Other options are possible. The portable data storage device may be powered by an external power supply, for example may be connected to the mains power supply.

The means for connecting the portable data storage device to an MPEG player may be integral to the portable data storage device. Alternatively, the connection means may comprise a separate connector adapted to engage at one end with an MPEG player and at the other end with a portable data storage device.

In an especially preferred aspect of the present invention the portable data storage device is also provided with a Universal Serial Bus (USB) connection means.

According to a further aspect of the invention we provide a method of transferring data to an MPEG player which comprises connecting a pre-recorded data storage device to the MPEG player, such as an MP3 player or an MP4 player.

According to a yet further aspect of the invention we provide the use of a portable data storage device for providing pre-recorded data to an MPEG player.

We also provide a pre-recorded data storage device adapted to be connected to an MPEG player. In this aspect of the invention we especially provide a pre-recorded flash memory drive. More particularly we provide a pre-recorded flash memory drive which is also provided with a USB connection means.

In this aspect of the invention, preferably the pre-recorded data is music or alternatively wherein the pre-recorded data is movie data.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of transferring pre-recorded data from a portable data storage device to a portable media player comprising the steps of: (a) connecting the portable data storage device to the portable media player; (b) transferring a database file from the portable media player to the portable data storage device, the database file comprising data objects corresponding to files of prerecorded data on the portable media player;

(c) copying at least one file of pre-recorded data from the portable data storage device to the portable media player;

(d) the portable data storage device updating the database file to include at least one data object corresponding to the at least one file of pre-recorded data transferred to the portable media player; and,

(e) transferring the updated database file from the portable data storage device to the portable media player.

Preferably, the database file comprises at least one table, the table comprising the data objects.

Preferably, the step of updating the database file comprises the step of inserting the data object corresponding to the at least one file transferred to the Portable media player into the at least one table.

Preferably, the database file comprises a plurality of tables and the step of updating the database file comprises inserting data objects into a plurality of tables.

Preferably, the portable data storage device calculates at least one of the offset and length of the at least one table before transferring the database file to the Portable media player. Preferably, the portable data storage device stores at least one data object in a temporary folder before adding the data object to a database file.

Preferably, the at least one file of pre-recorded data transferred to the Portable media player is a music file.

Preferably, the data object corresponding to the music file comprises at least one of song title, album title, artist name, year of publication and genre.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention there is provided a device comprising computing means with program instructions for carrying out the steps of the method of transferring pre-recorded data from a portable data storage device to a portable media player described herein.

The invention will now be described by way of example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective representation of a flash memory card;

Figure 2 is a block diagram which shows an example of a device in accordance with the present invention;

Figure 3 is a block diagram 20 which shows the detailed features of the device of figure 2; and Figure 4 is a flow diagram which shows the steps in an example of the method of the present invention.

Referring to figure 1, a flash memory drive 1 comprises a body 2, provided at one end 3 with an MPEG connector 4 and at the other end 5 an integral USB connector 6.

In embodiments described herein, the present invention comprises a media transfer device that is preloaded with media, either audio or video and with software that allows the transfer of data to a portable media player. Upon connection of the device to any portable media player, media will automatically transfer, updating the associated database on the portable media player in the process. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the device is configured to automatically transfer music and video files (media) to an iPod®, updating the iTunes® database on the iPod® in the process.

In one example, the device has the following technical features.

It will be appreciated that the above technical specifications are illustrative of the type of technical features and outcomes that are possible using the present invention. Data transfer rates may be modified by using other components. For example, one embodiment of the invention used a Cypress USB host controller and supervisory microcontroller which held the software application. The architecture was low power and low cost but had a slower data transfer rate. In another example, a Texas OMAP processor was used which showed an improved data transfer rate with higher power consumption.

Figure 2 is a block diagram 8 which shows an example of a device in accordance with the present invention 10, a portable media player 15 and a personal computer (PC) 20. As shown in figure 2, the device 10 has a USB connection which is connectable to a PC 20 or other suitable device from which data can be downloaded to the media player. In this example, the USB On the Go (OTG) standard is used which allows the device of the present invention to be either the host (master) device 12 when downloading data 14 to the media player or the peripheral (slave) 16 when receiving data 18 from the PC.

Figure 3 is a block diagram 21 which shows the detailed features of the device of figure 2. The device comprises an OMAP 3503 application processor 22 utilising an ARM Cortex A8 CPU in order to facilitate the speedy transfer of music files from its 2GB micro SD card to the data storage of the portable media player . The device further comprises a power management module TI TPS65950 24 which is connectable 23 to the portable media player or PC in order to receive power. The memory comprises flash memory 26, double data rate RAM 28 and flash memory card 30. The USB OTG device 32 is also shown.

Embedded software is stored on the MicroSD card 30. The software allows the device of the present invention to perform file transfers between its storage devices and connected devices such as the portable media player or PC in order to update the portable media player with the new files. The SD card can be replaced by other memory devices such as a IS[AND Flash device.

In addition to the above example, the following devices and technical considerations were considered and are suitable for creating other embodiments of the device of the present invention. The main processor could be an ARM7 such as the LPC2468 or equivalent with onboard USB OTG. As mentioned above, OTG allows the device to swap between HOST (when connected to iPod®.) and CLIENT (when connected to PC) modes of operation. If the client mode is no longer required the requirements on the processor could be reduced with the USB operating in HOST mode only. For high volume production of the device a custom SoC (system on chip) design could be implemented.

Memory storage

The flash SD card could be replaced with an onboard flash chip. Optional fits would allow for different memory sizes, for example a cheaper audio only device could be made with lower memory capacity. Power

The device in accordance with the present invention should sit within the peak and idle currents specified by the type of PMP with which it is used. In the case of the iPod®, a range from 4OmA to 30OmA is required depending on model.

Figure 4 is a flow diagram which shows the steps in an example of a software algorithm for transferring data in accordance with the present invention which is implemented for the iPod^®.

Step 1 (30) Wait for iPod® device

At start-up, the device, also referred to herein as a dockstick reads the connected devices and looks for a device that contains the iTunes database file "/iPod_Control/iTunes®/iTunesDB". If a device containing that file is found, that means it is an iPod®. and the dockstick starts the process.

Step 2 (32) Parse mp3 / mρ4 files from SD card 32 The dockstick looks for mp3 and mρ4 files on the SD memory card.

Step 3 (34) If files are found, it parses these files and gets the following information from the tags:

- song title

- album title - artist name - year

- genre (Rock, Pop, etc)

It also parses the whole file to calculate the song duration.

Step 4 (36) Generate information table

The information found from the song tags is stored in a temporary file that will be read later when the dockstick generates the new iTunes database file.

Step 5 (38) Copy mp3 /mp4 file to iPod® .

The mp3 / mρ4 files are copied to the iPod®. "/iPod_Control/Music/F01" directory.

The dockstick parses the files in this directory and generates a unique name for every new song.

Step 6 (40) Parse iTunesDB file

The iTunesDB file consists of a sort of tree structure arranged into a flat file. Each

"object" contains a header followed by some other objects. The header contains a couple of size fields that are used to define where the header ends and other objects begin. The dockstick parses this file to get all the information it needs to be able to insert new data. The interesting objects are:

- mhbd: It is the main table that contains all the other tables.

- mhla: This table contains the album list. - mhlt: This table contains the list of all the songs of the iPod®. - mhyp: This table is a playlist. The iTunes® database file can have several playlists so the dockstick has to look for the main playlist.

The dockstick creates a data structure that contains the offset and the length of these tables. This structure will be used when the dockstick generate the new iTunes database file.

Step 7 (42) Generate new iTunesDB file

The dockstick first makes a copy of the iTunes database file. If something goes wrong during the generation of the new file, the old file is puted back.

The dockstick will generate a file according to the information it got from the tags and the iTunes® parsing. It inserts those objects into the new iTunes®: - mhia: An album descriptor in the mhla table.

- mhit: A song descriptor in the mhlt table.

- mhip: A reference to the song in the mhyp table.

The dockstick calculates the new offsets and lengths of all the tables and write the new iTunes® database file.

Step 8 (44) Eject the iPod® device

After all the files have been written, the dockstick "ejects" the iPod®. It notifies the user that the songs have been copied to the iPod®. and the dockstick can be disconnected. The portable data storage device may be used in a number of ways. For example the media may be preloaded onto the device. The devices are sold in retail outlets in packaging advertising their content. After purchasing the portable data storage device the user connects it to their media player and the content is downloaded automatically for use. Such data storage devices are suitable for purchase as gifts. In an alternative embodiment the user purchases a blank portable data storage device in a retail outlet. The retail outlet contains a media distribution point. The user connects the media storage device to the media distribution outlet which downloads content to the portable data storage device. Typically the media distribution outlet contains an interface which allows the user to select and download media. The media distribution outlet may accept payment, typically by cash, credit or debit card, by store card or by other prepayment tokens such as gift vouchers. In one embodiment one can write to the portable data storage device only once such that a new data storage device must be purchased for each download. In an alternative embodiment one can write to the same device many times. Similarly, in an alternative embodiment the number of downloads from one device may be limited. In an alternative embodiment the number of downloads from a device is not limited.

The portable data storage device is not limited to the types of media player mentioned above. Any suitable media player may be used. As a further example the media player could be a phone.

The device according to the invention could use non-volatile memory. In an alternative embodiment the device could use volatile memory. Improvements and modifications may be incorporated herein without deviating from the scope of the invention.

Claims

1. A portable data storage device wherein said data storage device is provided with connection means suitable for connecting the device to an MPEG player.

2. A portable data storage device according to claim 1 wherein the MPEG player is an MP3 player.

3. A portable data storage device according to claim 1 wherein the MPEG player is an MP4 player.

4. A portable data storage device according to claim 2 wherein the MP3 player is an iPOD ^®.

5. A portable data storage device according to claim 1 wherein the portable data storage device comprises a flash memory drive.

6. A portable data storage device according to claim 1 wherein the portable data storage device is pre-recorded with data.

7. A portable data storage device according to claim 2 wherein the pre-recorded data is music.

8. A portable data storage device according to claim 3 wherein the pre-recorded data is movie data.

9. A portable data storage device according to claim 1 wherein the MPEG player connection means is integral to the portable data storage device.

10. A portable data storage device according to claim 1 wherein the MPEG player connection means comprises a separate connector adapted to engage at one end with an MP3 player and at the other end with a portable data storage device.

11. A portable data storage device according to claim 1 wherein the data capacity is from 1MB to ITB.

12. A portable data storage device according to claim 1 wherein the data storage device is also provided with a USB connection means.

13. A method of transferring data to an MPEG player which comprises connecting a pre-recorded data storage device to the MPEG player.

14. A method according to claim 13 wherein the MPEG player is an MP3 player.

15. A method according to claim 13 wherein the MPEG player is an MP4 player.

16. A method according to claim 13 wherein the data storage device is programmed to upload the data to the MPEG player automatically upon connection with the MPEG player.

17. A method according to claim 13 wherein the MPEG player connection means is integral to the portable data storage device.

18. A method according to claim 13 wherein the data storage device is also provided with a USB connection means.

19. A method according to claim 14 wherein the pre-recorded data is music.

20. A method according to claim 15 wherein the pre-recorded data is movie data.

21. The use of a portable data storage device for providing pre-recorded data to an MPEG player.

22. A pre-recorded data storage device adapted to be connected to an MPEG player.

23. A pre-recorded data storage device according to claim 22 wherein the MPEG player is an MP3 player.

24. A pre-recorded data storage device according to claim 23 wherein the prerecorded data is music.

25. A pre-recorded data storage device according to claim 22 wherein the MPEG player is an MP4 player.

26. A pre-recorded data storage device according to claim 25 wherein the prerecorded data is movie data.

27. A portable data storage device, a method or the use as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

28. A method of transferring pre-recorded data from a portable data storage device to a portable media player comprising the steps of

(a) connecting the portable data storage device to the portable media player;

(b) transferring a database file from the portable media player to the portable data storage device, the database file comprising data objects corresponding to files of prerecorded data on the portable media player;

29. A method as claimed in claim 28, wherein the database file comprises at least one table, the table comprising the data objects.

30. A method as claimed in claim 29, wherein the step of updating the database file comprises the step of inserting the data object corresponding to the at least one file transferred to the Portable media player into the at least one table.

31. A method as claimed in claim 30, wherein the database file comprises a plurality of tables and the step of updating the database file comprises inserting data objects into a plurality of tables.

32. A method as claimed in any one of claims 29 to 31, wherein the portable data storage device calculates at least one of the offset and length of the at least one table before transferring the database file to the Portable media player.

33. A method as claimed in any one of claims 29 to 32, wherein the portable data storage device stores at least one data object in a temporary folder before adding the data object to a database file.

34. A method as claimed in any one of claims 28 to 33, wherein the at least one file of pre-recorded data transferred to the Portable media player is a music file.

35. A method as claimed in claim 34, wherein the data object corresponding to the music file comprises at least one of song title, album title, artist name, year of publication and genre.

36. A device comprising computing means with program instructions for carrying out the steps of claims 28 to 35.