WO2011051736A1

WO2011051736A1 - System for requesting and distributing digital content and for playing back audio content

Info

Publication number: WO2011051736A1
Application number: PCT/GT2009/000002
Authority: WO
Inventors: Rubén Antonio LÓPEZ
Original assignee: Lopez Ruben Antonio
Priority date: 2009-10-26
Filing date: 2009-10-26
Publication date: 2011-05-05

Abstract

The system comprises: an electronic audio playback device, a request collection service, a content acquisition service, a format conversion service, and a search service, all of which are interconnected via the Internet. The user searches for and selects digital content published on the Internet and the system automatically sends said content wirelessly to an audio playback device housed in a vehicle. The content is stored and the user can play back said content by means of selection. The content can be in different formats and, where necessary, conversion from text format to audio format can be performed.

Description

SYSTEM FOR REQUEST AND DISTRIBUTION OF DIGITAL CONTENT AND REPRODUCTION OF

AUDIO

Field of Invention (or Technical Sector):

The present invention consists of an Integral System formed by different hardware and software components that facilitate the transfer of digital content from the internet to an electronic device with audio reproduction capability located in a means of transport such as a vehicle, train, Metro or other. The content can be found in various sites on the internet since the system promotes that the publication of content on the internet can be made from any site and by any user. The content can also be held by the user, who can upload it to a website, from which the electronic audio player can download it.

Likewise, the content can be searched and selected online through voice commands from the electronic equipment located in the means of transport, or the content can be searched and selected in advance from a computer with internet access that is in a house, office or other independent place to the means of transport.

In both cases the content is automatically downloaded by the electronic audio player.

The content to be selected may be audio, video (in which case only the audio will be played) or even information in reading format (Text Formats) that will be transferred to audio by a converter system.

Background of the invention:

Currently, when the driver of a vehicle wishes to listen to something specific on the sound equipment of his vehicle, he must agree to listen to the prerecorded content he has or tune in to the radio programming that best suits his specific need at that time. If you have a video playback device with a browser and internet access, you will not be able to devote all your visual attention to the search and download of the content, unless a companion assists you. If you do not have a computer with an internet connection, most likely what the person would do would be to subsequently search the desired content from a computer with internet access, download it, transfer it to a portable storage medium and copy or connect the device that has the content to your audio equipment to finally play the content on it. However, the current ways of moving digital audio content located on the internet to a sound player are slow and in some cases, it is not possible to do it (for example, if the content is in Real Media format).

There are also products on the market that allow you to transfer digital content wirelessly and automatically to a music playback device or reading, among them you can mention Sansa ™ (From Sandisk ™) or Kindle ™ (From Amazon ™), however, such products, as well as other digital content reproduction on the market:

to. They do not allow selecting content from any website using a conventional computer and that the content is automatically downloaded from that site by the playback team.

b. They do not allow the user to select the content search and format conversion service provider that will use the electronic audio reproduction equipment since only the marketer of the electronic equipment can provide such services.

C. They do not allow the user to interact with the portable computer, without the complete visual attention of the latter on the command screen.

d. They are not designed so that the user of the service is a vehicle driver. Description of the invention:

The concept presented here is aimed at eliminating the problems presented through a system that takes into account three premises:

Premise 1: The human being wishes to use his time in the most productive way possible. The human being wants to use his time in ways that allow him to take advantage of it in the best way, doing more activities in less time. Something that helps to achieve this is the simultaneous use of the multiple senses, for example, a person can be in the cinema watching a movie and enjoying his favorite sandwich at the same time, while another speaks on the phone and drives his vehicle. Due to the above, one way to increase the efficiency or productivity of the time invested in certain tasks, is to perform them in parallel or simultaneously.

Premise 2: The human being wishes to feed his senses of his specific desires.

The human being wishes to choose as accurately as possible, with which to feed his senses for any purpose. For example, we have seen how television that provides programs for the majority (according to the publisher) has been transformed into a system for requesting content on demand, where the user can decide that they want to see a list of available programs or more yet, through the internet the user searches for digital video content according to his preference and reproduces it exclusively for use.

Premise 3: The human being wishes to make the least possible effort.

The human being always wishes to make the minimum effort in any activity. One way to do it is through the facilitation and simplification of processes, procedures and tasks.

Based on the previous premises, the system specified in this patent facilitates the search and selection of digital content for users who wish to audibly reproduce information that corresponds to their specific tastes or needs while maintaining their visual attention in some other task such as driving, thus making efficient the time used in carrying out activities.

The integral system allows the publication, search, selection, format conversion, distribution and reproduction of digital content. The reproduction is done through a specific electronic device located in the vehicle or means of transport of the user. The content to reproduce can have two types of origin:

to. Content that the user has:

The content must be in a standard digital format, so that it can be uploaded to a website on the Internet from a conventional computer.

b. Content located on the internet:

The content located on the internet can be searched and selected in two ways: i. Advance Selection:

It is done through a browser from a computer with internet access and can be done automatically or manually, depending on the functionality of the site you publish. This type of selection is given the name in advance because it is understood that the user will reproduce the content not at the time he selects the content but later, when he is in his vehicle where the electronic audio reproduction equipment is located.

ii. Online selection:

It is done through voice commands from the electronic audio playback equipment that the user has in his vehicle.

The content can be audio information in commonly used formats such as mp3, wma, wav, ogg or real media (rm). Video information in commonly used formats such as mpeg, mp4, avi, mov or real media (rm). Or read information in commonly used formats such as htlm, doc, pdf or simple text. Audio or video information is referred to in this document as audible information or content. For information that is in video format, only the sound of the video will be played and not the video.

It should be taken into account that from now on only the term "Content" is used to refer to audible or reading information that you wish to reproduce on the sound system.

Also, because it is proposed that the publication of information can be done from any site under a specific protocol, the development and distribution of audio content for many purposes such as educational, learning, entertainment, among others, is encouraged.

Below are some examples of the usefulness of this invention, assuming that users have electronic audio reproduction equipment and that the different collection, conversion, acquisition and search services are available on the internet:

Example 1: A certain person wishes to be able to listen to a book while driving to his parents' house on the weekend, so one night before he searches for the book from his computer on a shopping website. When you find it, enter certain identification credentials that will allow the electronic equipment located in your vehicle to connect to the site that has the content and automatically download the information. The day after the user approaches his vehicle or means of transport, he may reproduce the content he acquired in advance and reproduce it during the trip to his parents' house.

Example 2: A user who is driving in his vehicle wants to listen to a specific song or documentary at the same time, so through voice commands and search preferences entered in the electronic equipment located in his vehicle, he can locate the material, download and reproduce it.

Example 3: A student made a summary in an electronic document about a certain reading prior to an academic exam, and wishes to review it in the times in which he drives, so that summary can be uploaded to a specific website from which the converting said document to audio and downloading the content to the electronic audio reproduction equipment so that when the student approaches his vehicle, he can review the summary as many times as he wishes.

Brief description of the Figures:

A series of drawings that help to better understand the invention and that expressly relate to an embodiment of said invention which is presented as a non-limiting example thereof is described very briefly below. Figure 1 is a diagram of the macro components involved in the embodiment of the invention.

Figure 2 represents a flowchart of how the process of sending content with the user to the electronic audio reproduction equipment could be.

Figures 3, 4 and 5 represent a flowchart of how the process of early selection of content by the service user could be, from a computer with internet access.

Figure 6 represents a flowchart of how the process of downloading the content obtained in the form of early selection and synchronization of configuration by the electronic audio reproduction equipment could be.

Figure 7, 8 and 9 represents a flowchart of how the online content selection process could be from the electronic audio reproduction equipment through voice commands by the user. Preferred embodiment of the invention:

The preferred embodiment of the invention is for pilots of means of transport who must maintain their visual attention to the road or the road but who wish to hear on the transport path something specific that they selected in advance from a conventional computer, or something they are looking for and select at the moment through voice commands captured by the electronic audio reproduction equipment. Although the application will be described for such use, it should be understood that the concepts described herein can also be applied to other types of information distribution system in general.

A further application of the invention set forth herein would be the use of the service for blind users, who could access a large amount of content on the Web through voice commands or with searches from the keyboard, such that Results are delivered in audio format.

The invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiments. Obviously, when reading and understanding the detailed description above, modifications and alterations will occur for other inventions. It is intended that the invention be constructed including such modifications and alterations to the extent that they come within the scope of the appended claims or the equivalents thereof.

System Components:

It will begin by describing the invention based on the components involved in the integral system. Many of these components are named as services but it should be understood that they are provided through physical servers. As can be seen in Figure 1, the system has the following:

to. The electronic audio playback equipment 1.

b. The collection service 2.

C. The acquisition service 3.

d. The conversion service 4.

and. The search service 5.

F. The computer with internet access 6.

g. The communication service 7.

The components indicated in points d, e and f are optional, depending on the way the user gives the system, however they decided to be included in this embodiment to show the different components that may be involved.

The components on which it is desired to obtain protection through this patent are those whose use is specific for the realization of this invention. Obviously it is not intended to present as innovative the computer with internet access, nor the communication service. These are mentioned only as components necessary for the use of the system. A concept that is common to several components is that of "Content Identifier" which consists of a list of parameters that are exchanged between the different components that interact in the system. Within these parameters you can find:

to. Name or title of the content.

b. Description of the content.

C. Download address (Must be an address with access from the internet).

d. Type of content (Text, html, mp3, wma, video).

and. Content size

Likewise, a content identifier may contain several occurrences of the parameters indicated above by referencing each occurrence to a unique document or file, so that related information can be grouped. The following briefly describes the objective of each component that interacts in the system, which will be useful for the explanation of processes, later. It should be noted that the full list of characterizations is included in the list of claims.

1. Electronic audio playback equipment:

The electronic audio reproduction equipment 1 will be responsible for downloading, storing and reproducing the content selected by the user in advance or online. For online search and selection, it will provide the user with an input interface through voice and a physical interface (buttons) for the definition of the phrase and search preferences and for the selection of the findings resulting from the search. To download the selected content in advance or that the user has uploaded to the collection site, the electronic audio reproduction equipment periodically connects to the content database pending downloading (related to its user) of the collection service to obtain the content identifiers and download the information to be reproduced. To download, it is not necessary that the electronic equipment be turned on from the user's point of view since the equipment permanently maintains an active state that is not visible to the user. To perform each download, the electronic audio playback equipment has a download manager that allows you to resume an interrupted download without having to restart it completely.

The electronic audio reproduction equipment will have a wireless connection to the internet that will allow you to interact with the collection service and to download content from acquisition sites.

Also, within the configuration of the electronic audio reproduction equipment, several editable values can be found from the collection service or from the same electronic audio reproduction equipment, among which could be:

to. The collector service to be used and the network information to access it (IP, port, protocol).

b. The credentials to access the collection service (Username and password)

C. The search service to use and the network information to access it (IP, port, protocol).

d. The conversion service to be used for text-audio conversion and network information to access it (IP, port, protocol).

and. The conversion service to be used for audio-text conversion and network information to access it (IP, port, protocol). It should be taken into account that this service may be provided by the same electronic audio reproduction equipment or the conversion service indicated in d.

F. The default language to perform searches and format conversions.

g. Number and name of lists or folders of content (To be used to group content by author, genre, or others).

h. For content already downloaded:

i. Assigning content to a list or folder of content.

ii. The order of reproduction of the content.

iii. Delete, move or rename content.

i. For content selected in advance but not yet downloaded: i. The way to notify about the newly downloaded content or if it will be played automatically.

ii. Assigning content to a list or folder of content.

iii. The priority of content download.

iv. Delete, move or rename content or content folders. v. If the content will be stored permanently,

j. For online searches:

i. If the list of findings returned by the search service will be reproduced or the findings will be reproduced sequentially completely or in the form of samples (for example, for 15-second time intervals until the user decides to leave a running reproduction).

ii. The default category for search (The categories could be: Music, Wikipedia ™, book, documentary or other).

iii. The default type of content to search (Audio, text or both).

Also because the electronic audio reproduction equipment has an internet connection, the use of different services such as: Internet radios, updates of a messaging service such as twitter ™ may be added through the configuration. (With the help of the conversion service), weather information or others. 2. The collection service:

The server service) Collector 2 will act as a request collector by doing the following:

to. You will receive search requirements through online commands sent by the electronic audio player, manage the request and return the required information.

b. You will receive format conversion requirements sent by the electronic audio reproduction equipment or by the user from a website, will manage the conversion and return the converted content or the content identifiers to download to the requestor.

C. It will have the content database pending download, in which it will associate the registered credentials of the electronic audio reproduction equipment with the identifiers of the content selected for said equipment. It will also allow each electronic audio reproduction equipment to have access to their information in said database.

d. It will provide the user of a website so that it can load content from a computer so that the content is downloaded by the electronic audio reproduction equipment.

and. It will provide the user with a website so that he can edit the configuration of the electronic audio reproduction equipment.

F. It will provide the user of a website so that he can manually add the content identifiers to be downloaded by the electronic audio reproduction equipment (for manual selection).

3. The acquisition service:

The acquisition service (or server) 3 will store audible or reading content, which will be published on sites accessible from the internet (called acquisition sites) so that the users of the service can select it, the search engines can locate it and so that the Electronic audio playback equipment can download (purchase) and play it. When the collection service or the conversion service is the one who has the information that the electronic audio reproduction equipment will download, they also function as acquisition sites. It is expected that an electronic audio playback team can download content from various acquisition sites on the internet.

The content published on the acquisition sites may be audible or read information. The information can be grouped and presented to the user as a structured list with the content identifiers that it includes. The information that is in reading format will be presented to the user in audio form through an audio converter, which is detailed in point five of this sequence. Acquisition sites can provide users who access it with content lists organized by category, author, titles, etc. Also, for certain content can provide the user with a description or a preliminary of it, as well as comments from users who have downloaded such information. Distributed content can be free or sold in the usual electronic way of sale. The acquisition service can allow the user to select content in three ways: a. Automatic advance selection from a computer with internet access, in which case the acquisition service will exchange through the network and under a specific protocol, the content identifiers with the collection service that the user defines.

b. Manual advance selection from a computer with internet access, in which case the acquisition service, will publish the content identifiers so that the user can manually copy these to a website of the collection service or copy the Web address where they are published. content identifiers to a website of the collection service.

C. Online selection from the electronic audio reproduction equipment, in which case the acquisition service, as in the previous point, will publish the content identifiers so that the search engines can locate the information and make it available to the user. In this case you can only access free content.

It should be taken into account that users of the service in the form of early selection may also take advantage of the fact that the acquisition service makes content identifiers available to search engines since such users may also use a Web search engine to facilitate Content placement

4. The conversion service:

The conversion service (or server) 4 will basically allow the following:

to. Conversion of reading information to audio, upon request of the collection service. Within the information to be converted you can find:

i. Search results.

ii. Content on the internet.

b. Conversion of reading information to audio, at the request of a user who accesses a website of the conversion service. Within the information to be converted you can find:

i. Content on the internet.

ii. Content that the user has.

C. Conversion of audio information to text, upon request of the collection service (With initial request of the electronic audio reproduction equipment). Within the information to be converted, voice commands can be found.

The information already converted can be returned directly to the applicant or placed in an accessible internet site so that the electronic audio reproduction equipment can connect, download the content and reproduce it. For the Conversion will use "speech to text" and "text to speech" technology.

5. The content search service:

The content search service (or server) 5 will place content on the internet in audible or reading format, according to the phrase and search preferences it receives, for which it must constantly index information related to the content published on different sites on the internet . Content search can be done in two ways:

to. Through a website accessed by a user from a computer with internet access 6, from which content available on various acquisition sites will be searched.

b. Through requests forwarded by the collection service, which were made online from the electronic audio reproduction equipment. In this case, the information that the search service returns must have a specific format, which allows the collection service to obtain the content identifiers that will then be used by the electronic audio reproduction equipment to perform the download.

In both forms of access, the content search service may perform searches taking into account the search phrase and preferences that the user has indicated, among which could be the type of content to be searched (Audible, reading or both); or the category of content to search (music, wikipedia ™, book, documentary, a combination of these or others).

6. Computer with internet access:

The computer with internet access 6 will be used by the user of the service when he wishes to search for content and select it in advance or when the user wishes to upload content that He has. The anticipated selection is expected to be the most used by the users of the service, since it will be much easier to perform searches from a conventional computer, than through voice commands or a physical interface in the electronic audio reproduction equipment. Also, through this computer the user can access the following services through the Web:

to. Configuration of the electronic audio reproduction equipment 1 located in the collection service 2.

b. Content acquisition service 3.

C. Content conversion service 4.

d. Content search service 5.

It should be understood that instead of a conventional computer, other types of devices can also be used to navigate the web such as laptops, pocket computers, electronic agendas or even telephones. 7. The communication service:

The communication service 7 will be used for the interaction between the different components set forth above. For communication, mainly the internet and its routing, addressing and interaction mechanisms (Web Sites, web services, socket applications, etc.) are used.

The means of communication that each component will use to interconnect to the internet is not relevant, except for the medium that will use the electronic audio reproduction equipment, since it must use a wireless medium such as the 3G network or a satellite service.

Although it is not explicitly mentioned, for the communication between each component (the electronic audio reproduction equipment, the collection service, the conversion service and the search service) the use of sessions and identifiers of requirement or request is required, which will allow both requests and responses to flow in the right direction.

It is important to note that when it is mentioned that a user connects to a certain service, it should be understood that the service provides a website for the user to connect to it. If this service is the collection service, the user must identify himself through access credentials. When it is mentioned that a component exchanges information with another component, it should be understood that the component that receives information has a client application in the form of a web-service or socket application that is waiting to receive commands (For example when the electronic equipment of Audio playback is connected to the collector service). Likewise, both the component that sends information and the one that receives know the communication protocol for exchanging information. When it is mentioned that the user interacts with the electronic audio reproduction equipment, it should be understood that this user is operating said equipment in the vehicle or means of transport where it is located, through voice commands or a physical interface (buttons).

Finally, when it is mentioned that the electronic audio reproduction equipment is connected to the collection service, it is implied that before exchanging any information, the electronic audio reproduction equipment must be identified before the collection service through access credentials (user and key) which were stored in advance in the electronic audio reproduction equipment.

Service Integration:

It should be understood that although in the description of the preferred embodiment it is mentioned that each service is provided by a different and independent component, integration of services in the same component can also be carried out which would reduce the response times to the equipment Electronic audio playback. For example, if the collector service and the converter were united in a single component called "collector-converter" would reduce the interaction time between these services.

On the other hand, the fact that each component is independent would allow companies specialized in the service provided by that component to offer tailored solutions.

To facilitate the reader's understanding, the different services (or servers) have been shown as provided from independent components, leaving the consolidation of services (or servers) at the discretion of the manufacturer.

Use of the exposed system in the form of processes:

Next, the use of the integral system exposed in the form of processes which were segmented by the type of origin of the content and by the form of selection of it is detailed. Likewise, within each subprocess a separation was made between the publication process and the search, selection, format conversion, distribution and reproduction processes since the publication process will be carried out by a user other than the one who tries to reproduce content on the electronic equipment Audio playback It should also be taken into account that depending on the context of the word "user", reference may be made to the user who uses a computer with internet access to access websites of the different services or to the user who operates the electronic reproduction equipment of Audio. Obviously both users can refer to the same person who interacts with the different components.

Use of the system when the user has the content:

The components involved in this process are: The electronic audio reproduction equipment 1, The collection service 2, The conversion service 4, the computer with internet access 6 and the communication service 7.

In this case there is no publication of information, search or selection. There is only format conversion, distribution and reproduction.

The content must be in a digital format, standard, so that it can be uploaded as a file to a website on the internet from a conventional computer.

The process begins when the user connects to a website of the collection service, registers through credentials and uploads the information that he wishes to reproduce later on the electronic audio reproduction equipment 500. The identification must be done with the same credentials registered in Electronic audio playback equipment. If the uploaded information is in 502 reading format, the collection service should alert the user that they should share the information with the 508 conversion service. If the user accepts 510, the collection service will send a request to the conversion service that includes the type of request, the priority of the request and the content or, the identifiers of content (If they were the content identifiers, the collection service had to anticipate placing the information in a private site accessible from the internet). In the type of request it will indicate that it is a text to audio conversion and in priority it will indicate that it is a non-online conversion 512. The conversion service will return a request identifier to the collector service, to subsequently perform the conversion, while The collection service can return the address to the acquisition service to receive the conversion notification completed (Since the session may not remain active) 514. Having the content already in audio format, the conversion service will transfer the identifier to the collection service application and content identifiers 516, which will update the content database pending downloading that consults the electronic audio reproduction equipment. To ensure that the document is only accessible to the user that requires it, both the request identifier and the content identifiers will function as credentials 506. If the content was found in audio, the collection service should only store the information on one site. Accessible from the Internet 504 and update the database of content pending download for the user requires, with the content identifiers (which also that in the previous case will serve as credentials) 506.

Meanwhile, the electronic audio reproduction equipment that is in the vehicle or means of transport is constantly connected to the collection service (previously identified through access credentials) 400, consulting the content database pending download to determine if there is any update and if so, it obtains from said database the content identifiers to download 406. With this information, it is connected to the acquisition site to download through a download manager which allows a failure of communication resume a download without losing the information already downloaded 408. Finally update the download status as completed 410. Upon completion of the download of the content, the electronic audio playback equipment will notify through a visual or audible alert (depending on of the configuration in the equipment) to the user who operates it that exists Do selected in advance ready to play. If the electronic audio reproduction equipment is not turned on at the time of downloading, the notification will be made as soon as the user turns on the equipment. Remember that in order to download the content, it is not necessary that the equipment is turned on by the user, since it will maintain a permanently active state 412. At the request of the user or depending on the configuration the electronic audio reproduction equipment can reproduce the title of the content and allow the user who operates it to decide whether to reproduce the content at that time 414. Also the downloaded content is stored in a default playlist or in the list that the user has indicated in the configuration of the electronic reproduction equipment of Audio.

Use of the system when the content is on the internet and is acquired in advance:

The components involved in this process are: The electronic audio reproduction equipment 1, the collection service 2, the acquisition service 3, the conversion service 4, the content search service 5, The computer with internet access 6 and the communication service 7.

Publication:

It is done by uploading the information to be published to a site on the internet, which will act as an acquisition site. If you want to provide content selection automatically, you must provide a website to the user who will try to download the content to select the desired content and indicate the collection service that provides the service. With this information, the acquisition site must open a session with the collection service indicated by the user (through sockets, web services or other Web service), in which it will send the content identifiers which the collection service will use to open a window (independent or incorporated into the current window) where you will request the credentials of the ordering user and show the user the list or titles of the requested content.

If you only want to provide manual selection, only the user who will try to download the information from the content identifiers should be put in view so that he or she manually copies that information to a Web site of the collection service where the early selection is registered manually.

It should be taken into account that the content to be published may not be free, in which case the user will be required to try to download the information that complies with the procedure usually used on the internet to purchase content. In that case, the information contained within the content identifiers must be taken as confidential as it will act as the access code for the download.

Search, selection, format conversion, distribution and reproduction

This modality allows the user to use a conventional computer with internet access 6 that is located in his home, office or any other place, from which he enters websites to search or acquire content that he later wishes to reproduce on the electronic playback equipment. Audio 1. The following details how the search, selection, format conversion, distribution and reproduction process is carried out.

The process begins when the user enters a conventional Web search site through a computer with internet access 104, from which he searches for the desired content and can indicate through parameters his preferences of search (As type or category of content) or that only those sites that support automatic advance selection 106 are filtered. Likewise, the search can be performed through a specific search site that indexes only the information of those sites that allow early selection or either from the same acquisition site, which would perform an internal search. When obtaining the search engine results, the user can access the acquisition site that he decides 108.

The selection is made by entering acquisition sites located on the Internet 102 from which the content of interest to the user 110-120 is selected. To facilitate the selection, the acquisition sites may allow you to preview the content or read comments from other users 112. When the user already has the selected and paid content (in the case it is not free content), check out 122 and if the acquisition site allows automatic selection, it must provide the user with a list of collection services for him to choose the one that provides the service or the acquisition site must provide a field for the user to enter the address of his service collector 124. With this information the acquisition site must initiate a session with the collection service indicated by the user, in which it will initially send the content identifiers ordered by the user 126. Subsequent, in order to avoid sending unwanted content (spam) starts a secure web session of the collection service where the user's credentials will be requested to validate that it really is a valid order and the list of content to be acquired will be displayed 128. If it is a valid order, the collection service will store the content identifiers and the user who acquires 130. It will also store in the content database pending download that the electronic audio reproduction equipment consults the content identifiers that are in audible format 134.

If there is content that requires format conversion 136, the collection service will send to the conversion service a request that includes the type of request, the priority of the request and the content identifiers. In the type of request, it will indicate that it is a text-to-audio conversion and in priority it will indicate that it is a non-online conversion 138. The conversion service will return a request identifier to the collection service, to subsequently carry out the conversion, while The collection service may return the address to the acquisition service to receive the conversion notification completed 140. Once the content is already in audio format, it will be published on a website and will send the request identifier to the collection service, accompanied by the new content identifier To ensure that the document is only accessible to the user that requires it, both the request identifier and the content identifiers will function as credentials 142. Finally, the collection service will store in the database of content pending downloading that the electronic equipment will consult Audio playback content identifiers already converted to audio 144.

However, if the site from which the content is to be acquired does not allow automatic selection but only manual selection, the site must provide the user from its website with the content identifiers or the web address where the content identifiers are located 146 , so that it copies said information to the website of the collection service 148. Already with said information the collection service proceeds in the same way as in the previous case from step No. 130.

Meanwhile, the electronic audio reproduction equipment is constantly connected to the collection service (previously identified through access credentials) 400, to determine if there is content pending downloading and if so, it obtains from the same collection service the content identifiers to download 406. With this information, you connect to the acquisition site to download through a download manager which allows a communication failure to resume a download without losing the information already downloaded 408. Finally, update the status of download as completed 410.

Upon completion of the download of the content, the electronic audio reproduction equipment will notify the user who operates it by means of a visual or audible alert (depending on the configuration on the equipment) that there is selected content in advance ready to play. If the electronic audio reproduction equipment is not turned on at the time of downloading, the notification will be made as soon as the user turns on the equipment. Remember that in order to download the content, it is not necessary that the equipment is turned on by the user, since it will maintain a permanently active state 412. At the request of the user or depending on the configuration the electronic audio reproduction equipment can reproduce the title of the content and allow the user who operates it to decide whether to reproduce the content at that time 414. The content selected in advance is stored in a default playlist or in the list that the user has indicated in the configuration of the team.

Use of the system when the content is on the internet and is acquired online:

The components involved in this process are: The electronic audio reproduction equipment 1, the collection service 2, the acquisition service 3, the conversion service 4, the content search service 5 and the communication service 7.

Publication:

It is done by uploading to a website (which will act as the acquisition service), the information you want to publish. To publish this type should only be placed at the access of the search engines content identifiers, which could be done through the html content tags or through a website, as in the case of selecting content in advance. With this information, search engines can index the content identifiers to offer them to users who make online requests from the electronic audio reproduction equipment. It should be taken into account that for the online selection of content only free content can be accessed.

Search, selection, format conversion, distribution and reproduction

This mode allows the user to use the electronic audio reproduction equipment that is located in their vehicle or means of transport, to search, select and play via voice commands and physical interface (buttons) digital content of their choice. It should be taken into account that in this process the computer with internet access is not used, so all references made to the "user" refer to the one that operates or interacts with the electronic audio reproduction equipment located in a vehicle or means of transport.

Below is detailed how the search, selection, format conversion, distribution and reproduction process is carried out.

The user starts by indicating via a physical interface (buttons) on the electronic audio reproduction equipment that he wishes to perform a search via voice commands 200. He then indicates through a physical interface (buttons), his search preferences among which he can be the category of content to search (Music, Wikipedia ™, book, documentary or others) and the type of content (Audible, reading or both) 200-202. Finally, it indicates via voice command the search phrase that will be the value to be searched for 204. The search phrase can be transferred to text by the electronic audio reproduction equipment or by the conversion service, depending on the value found in configuration 206. If the conversion is performed by the conversion service, the electronic audio reproduction equipment is identified (sends the registered credentials) to the collection service and sends the search phrase in audio format and the search preferences as parameters in data format 210. The collection service will then send a conversion request to the conversion service including the type of request, the priority of the request and the audio file (or streaming) corresponding to the search phrase. In request type, it will indicate that it is an audio to text conversion and in priority it will indicate that it is an online conversion 212. With this information the conversion service will transform the information received and return the respective text file to the collection service 214. In this case it is not necessary to use a request identifier since the conversion is expected to take a short time and the response is returned through the open session that will keep the collection service with the conversion service. Yes the conversion will be done by the electronic reproduction equipment ae adtlio, it will send the search phrase in text format together with the search preferences to the collection service, after identification through access credentials so steps No. 210-214.

Then, when the collection service already has the search phrase in text format, it sends you to the search service specified in configuration, the search phrase and the preference values 216 and you will obtain from it a list of findings with the duly segmented information . Within the information returned by the search service are each numbered finding and the content identifiers for each finding 218-220. If the default value in configuration is to reproduce the list of findings 222, the collection service will send to the conversion service a request for conversion of text to audio and with online conversion priority, which will include the list of findings received by the search service organized in a segmented file according to customer preferences, to obtain from the conversion service one or more audio files that will be used for audible presentation to the user of options, titles and descriptions of the content, corresponding to the list of findings 224-228. Said audio information accompanied by the content identifiers (in data format), is sent to the electronic audio reproduction team who reproduces it and allows the user to choose the option of their choice through the entry of options via a physical interface or voice 230-232. If the option entered by user 234 refers to a document in reading format 236, the electronic audio reproduction equipment will send the content identifiers to be converted to the collection service 238 and the collection service will send the conversion service, the type of request, request priority and content identifiers. In type of request, it will indicate that it is a text to audio conversion and, in priority, it will indicate that it is an online conversion 240. With this information, the conversion service will initiate the conversion and will deliver the audio information directly to the 242 collection service who in turn will transfer it to the electronic audio reproduction equipment so that it stores and reproduces it 244-246, or the conversion service will provide the collection service of the content identifiers that are already in audio so that are transferred to the electronic audio reproduction equipment and it can be connected to the acquisition site to download 244-248. It is at the discretion of the conversion service to store or not the document that has been converted. One way to decide whether the content is stored or not, could be the number of times the conversion of said content has been requested. If the option entered by user 234 refers to an document in audible format, the electronic audio reproduction equipment is connected directly to the acquisition site to download (steps 238-246 must be omitted). The acquisition site address is obtained by the electronic audio reproduction equipment as part of the content identifiers that the collection service sent to you as a result of each finding reported by the search service 254. When the download is complete or takes an advance that allows reproduction without interruption, playback 256 begins.

However, if the default value in configuration is not to reproduce the list of findings 222 but to reproduce the findings properly, the collection service sends the electronic audio reproduction equipment (Through the same session with which it requested the information) the content identifiers that are in audio 250. With this information the electronic audio reproduction equipment starts downloading the content referenced by the first first finding and upon completion of the download starts playback in conjunction with the download of the referenced content by the following finding, or you can reproduce the findings sequentially partially, until the user decides to leave an ongoing reproduction 252.

Configuration synchronization between the electronic audio reproduction equipment and the collection service:

In this case, the electronic audio reproduction equipment is constantly connected to the collection service (previously identified through access credentials) 400, to determine if there is configuration pending synchronization and if so 400-406, it obtains from the same collection service the configuration parameters that have been modified to update its internal configuration 418. Details of the configuration parameters can be found in the description of the electronic audio reproduction equipment component.

Claims

Claims:

1. Integral system that facilitates the transfer of digital content to an electronic audio reproduction equipment located in a vehicle or means of transport, characterized in that the integral system has a service (or server) that collects customer requests, one or more Content acquisition services (or servers), an electronic audio reproduction device. You can also count on: A content search service (or server) and a format conversion service (or server).

2. The integral system according to claim 1, characterized in that the collection service has an internet connection that allows it to exchange information with the other system components.

3. The collection service according to claim 2, characterized in that it stores the configuration of the electronic audio reproduction equipment allowing:

to. That the electronic audio reproduction equipment can periodically connect to said configuration to synchronize its locally stored configuration.

b. Access through validation of credentials to a website to allow the editing of said configuration by the user who accesses through a computer with internet access.

4. The collection service according to claim 2, characterized in that it has the content database pending downloading which uses the electronic reproduction equipment to obtain the content identifiers for downloading. To provide access to the database, the collection service validates the credentials of the electronic audio reproduction equipment in order to provide only the information related to such credentials.

5. The collection service according to claim 2, characterized in that it receives from the electronic audio reproduction equipment search requirements with certain preferences with which it manages with the search service specified in configuration to obtain findings related to the requested search.

6. The collection service according to claim 2, characterized in that it provides the user with a website from which it allows audible or reading information to be loaded, so that it can later be downloaded in audio format by the electronic audio reproduction equipment.

7. The collection service according to claim 2, characterized in that it provides the user with a website so that he can manually add the content identifiers or the web address where the content identifiers that he wishes to reproduce on the electronic equipment of audio playback With these identifiers, the collection service will update the content database pending download for the registered user.

8. The collection service according to claim 2, characterized in that it forwards to the conversion service the requirements received from format conversion by the electronic audio reproduction equipment or by the user, indicating: a. The type of request.

b. The priority of the request.

C. The content identifiers or the content itself.

9. The collection service according to claim 2, characterized in that it may receive the following requests and manage them:

For electronic audio playback equipment:

to. Configuration Synchronization

b. Query of content pending download.

C. Information search requirement with certain preferences.

d. Audio to text conversion requirement (For voice commands).

and. Text to audio conversion requirement.

By the user from a website:

to. Editing configuration of the electronic audio reproduction equipment.

b. Content upload

C. Manual advance selection (By indicating a link).

By acquisition sites:

to. Automatic advance selection.

10. The collection service according to claim 2, characterized in that it will centralize in a database the identifiers of content acquired in advance selection or online.

11. The collection service according to claim 2, characterized in that it allows the electronic audio reproduction equipment to communicate to it through web services, socket application or other type and authenticate it based on the user and password registered in the electronic equipment Audio playback

12. The collection service according to claim 2, characterized in that it manages the content conversion with the conversion service specified in configuration, when the ordered content identifiers refer to content in read format.

13. The collection service according to claim 2, characterized in that it allows two forms of access:

to. Through a website for the user who wishes to upload content that he owns, select content in advance on the internet or edit the configuration of the electronic audio playback equipment, from a computer with internet access.

b. Through web services, socket application or other network communication for interaction with electronic audio reproduction equipment.

14. The collection service according to claim 2, characterized in that it allows the acquisition sites that provide automatic advance selection to reference it at the time content is acquired, allowing that:

to. The acquisition service can transfer the list of content that the user has selected.

b. At the request of the acquisition site, a window of the collection service emerges where the credentials of the requesting user can be validated.

15. The collection service according to claim 2, characterized in that it can directly send the audio received from the conversion service to the electronic audio reproduction equipment, under the same content request session that the electronic audio reproduction equipment performs.

16. The collection service according to claim 2, characterized in that it allows through a website the affiliation of users to the service, granting them user credentials, as well as the address and access port that must be configured in the electronic reproduction equipment of Audio.

17. The collection service according to claim 2, characterized in that it may make requirements to the conversion service, who may assign and send a request identifier and the collection service may return the address for receiving responses, through which the service of Conversion will notify you when the requirement under a certain identifier has been solved. The collection service must store and associate the request identifier with the requesting user.

18. The collection service according to claim 2, characterized in that it provides the user with a website where the status of the downloads is indicated.

19. The collection service according to claim 2, characterized in that it has the ability to maintain an open session with the different components with which it interacts, such as the electronic audio reproduction equipment, the search service, the conversion service , the acquisition service and the browser (browser) used by the user to access the collection service websites from a computer with internet access.

20. The collection service according to claim 2, characterized in that it provides the protocol and mechanisms with which the acquisition, search and conversion services will receive requirements from you, as well as the way in which the results should be delivered.

21. The collection service according to claim 2, characterized in that it provides the protocol and mechanisms with which it will receive requirements of the electronic audio reproduction equipment, as well as the way in which it will deliver the results.

22. The integral system according to claim 1, characterized in that the electronic audio reproduction equipment has a wireless internet connection that allows it to exchange information with the other components of the system.

23. The electronic audio reproduction equipment according to claim 22, characterized in that it has the ability to download audio or video content, store it and reproduce it soundly. Within the content to be reproduced, audio information can be found in commonly used formats such as mp3, wma, wav, ogg or real media (rm), video information in commonly used formats used as mpeg, mp4, avi, mov or real media (rm) or other types of audio or video information. In the case of video information, only the sound will be played and not the video.

24. The electronic audio reproduction equipment according to claim 22, characterized in that within its configuration several values can be found which can be editable from the collection service or from the same electronic audio reproduction equipment, among which could be:

b. The credentials to access the collection service (Username and password)

C. The search service to be used and the network information to access it (Ip, port, protocol).

and. The conversion service to be used for audio-text conversion and network information to access it (IP, port, protocol). It should be taken into account that this service may be provided by the same electronic audio reproduction equipment or the conversion service indicated in subsection (d) of this sequence.

F. The default language to perform searches and format conversions.

h. For content already downloaded:

i. Assigning content to a list or folder of content.

ii. The order of reproduction of the content.

iii. Delete, move or rename content or content folders. i. For content selected in advance but not yet downloaded: i. The way to notify about the newly downloaded content or if it will be played automatically.

I. Assigning content to a list or folder of content.

iii. The priority of content download.

j. For online searches:

iii. The default type of content to search (Audio, text or both).

25. The electronic audio reproduction equipment according to claim 22, characterized in that it is periodically connected under credential validation to the content database pending downloading (for the registered user) of the collection service to obtain the content identifiers with the which connects to the address on the internet from where you download the content. The content can be downloaded from acquisition sites provided by the acquisition service, by the conversion service (for information converted to audio) or by the collection service (information uploaded by the user).

26. The electronic audio reproduction equipment according to claim 22, characterized in that it has audio to text conversion functionality through "speech to text" technology. This functionality allows the electronic audio reproduction equipment to be able to convert the voice commands received from the user and transfer the information already in data format to the collection service.

27. The electronic audio reproduction equipment according to claim 22, characterized in that it provides the user with a voice input interface for the content search phrase. This search phrase can be sent to the collection service in audio format (as received) or it can be transferred in text format by the electronic audio reproduction equipment.

28. The electronic audio reproduction equipment according to claim 22, characterized in that it can provide the user with a physical input interface (buttons) to indicate search preferences such as the online content search category. Within the search categories you can find: Music, Wikipedia ™, book, documentary, a combination of these or others.

29. The electronic audio reproduction equipment according to claim 22, characterized in that it can provide the user with a physical input interface (buttons) to indicate search preferences such as the type of content to be searched. Among the types of content can be found: audible, reading, a combination of these or others.

30. The electronic audio reproduction equipment according to claim 22, characterized in that it transfers the search phrase and preferences to the collection service, so that it manages the search and conversion with the respective services.

31. The electronic audio reproduction equipment according to claim 22, characterized in that it receives two types of information as a result of a search requirement:

b. The list of findings, with the content identifier for each finding and its option number that corresponds to the audio information.

to. Audio information with the list of numbered findings (Only in the case that in configuration it is indicated that you want to reproduce the list of findings)

32. The electronic audio reproduction equipment according to claim 22, characterized in that it can soundly reproduce the audio with the results obtained from the search service and which was obtained through the collection and provides the user with a physical input interface (buttons) or through voice for the selection of options.

33. The electronic audio reproduction equipment according to claim 22, characterized in that it can send a format conversion requirement to the collector service, in the case the user of the electronic audio reproduction equipment chooses an option (as a result of the findings of search) that is not in audible format.

34. The electronic audio reproduction equipment according to claim 22, characterized in that it can download the content directly from the acquisition site corresponding to the option entered by the user after the presentation of the search results, or, if the content is If it is in reading format, the electronic audio reproduction team can send the content identifiers to the collection service to manage an online format conversion.

35. The electronic audio reproduction equipment according to claim 22, characterized in that it is periodically connected under credential validation to the collection service to validate if there are configuration updates to synchronize and if it is updated its configuration with that indicated in the collection service.

36. The electronic audio reproduction equipment according to claim 22, characterized in that it allows the user to create or modify content folders through configuration editing.

37. The electronic audio reproduction equipment according to claim 22, characterized in that it provides the user with the commonly used reproduction options, such as, play, pause, stop, forward, return, advance chapters, switch to the next document or content, reproduction sequential sample ("seek" function on most radios or sound equipment).

38. The electronic audio reproduction equipment according to claim 22, characterized in that it can provide the user with a graphic display indicating the status of downloads, the name and progress of the current reproduction, and the selected configuration.

39. The electronic audio reproduction equipment according to claim 22, characterized in that it can notify the user in a sound or visual way of the content that has been downloaded and is ready to be played. It can also provide the user with a physical input interface (buttons) or voice to play the newly downloaded content.

40. The electronic audio reproduction equipment according to claim 22, characterized in that it has a download handler that allows it to, at the time of loss of communication, resume a download using the information already downloaded.

41. The electronic audio reproduction equipment according to claim 22, characterized in that through its internet connection it will be able to make use of different services that have been added to its configuration such as: Internet radios, updates of a messaging service such as twitter ™, weather information or others.

42. The electronic audio reproduction equipment according to claim 22, characterized in that it can maintain an open session with the different components with which it interacts, such as the collection service, the search service, the conversion service and the communication service. acquisition.

43. The integral system according to claim 1, characterized in that the conversion service has an internet connection that allows it to exchange information with the other system components.

44. The conversion service according to claim 43, characterized in that it allows the conversion to audio of the content that is in reading format (Documents in htlml format, doc, pdf, simple text, or others), through "text" technologies to speech. " The conversion request can be received from the collection service or from a user from a computer with internet access.

45. The conversion service according to claim 43, characterized in that it can publish on a website the information that it has converted to be accessible to the electronic audio reproduction equipment. Access to such content can make it public; exclusive to the user who acquires, or send it directly to the applicant under the application session.

46. The conversion service according to claim 43, characterized in that it can use the request identifier and / or the content identifiers as a credential whereby it can maintain the confidentiality of the information it has converted.

47. The conversion service according to claim 43, characterized in that it allows the conversion of audio to text of the voice commands that can be transferred from the electronic audio reproduction equipment through the collection service.

48. The conversion service according to claim 43, characterized in that it allows the conversion of text to audio of the results of searches conducted online through "text to speech" technologies. The conversion request is received through the collection service.

49. The conversion service according to claim 43, characterized in that it can provide the user with a website, which he will use to manually enter the content identifiers or to load content with which he has it and which he wishes to convert. After the conversion, the acquisition service will provide the user with the content identifiers of the information already converted to audio.

50. The conversion service according to claim 43, characterized in that it can provide the collecting service with a request identifier in the event that an active session between the two is not maintained. Likewise, the collection service must provide the conversion service with your address for receiving responses at the time Receive a request identifier, through which you will be notified when the requirement has been met. The acquisition service must store and associate the request identifier with the response receiving address.

51. The conversion service according to claim 43, characterized in that it notifies the collection service at the address of reception of received responses if the content requested under a certain request identifier has been successfully converted and if so, also transfers the content identifier or the content itself, already in audio format.

52. The conversion service according to claim 43, characterized in that it can receive from the collection service the requirements that it has in turn received from the electronic audio reproduction equipment or the user, indicating:

to. The type of request.

b. The priority of the request.

C. The content identifiers or the content itself.

53. The conversion service according to claim 43, characterized in that it receives three types of request, which are:

to. Conversion of reading information to audio, upon request of the collection service with initial request of the electronic audio reproduction equipment or of the user accessing the website of the collection service. Within the information to be converted you can find:

i. Search results.

ii. Content on the internet.

i. Content on the internet.

ii. Content that the user has.

54. The conversion service according to claim 43, characterized in that it returns to the applicant of the conversion, the information already converted to audio or the identifiers of the content already converted to audio.

55. The conversion service according to claim 43, characterized in that it can handle requests by handling two types of priority. High priority for those requests made online and medium priority for those not online. The priority will be used by the conversion service to determine which requirement is first met by receiving two requirements simultaneously or, the amount of resources that will be allocated to each requirement.

56. The conversion service according to claim 43, characterized in that it allows two forms of access: to. Through a website accessed by a user from a computer with internet access that you want to upload or reference content to convert.

b. Through a specific web service or port for requests sent from the collection site upon initial online request of the electronic audio reproduction equipment.

57. The conversion service according to claim 43, characterized in that it can determine the storage of the content it has converted depending on the conversion demand it has had on said content.

58. The conversion service according to claim 43, characterized in that it can maintain an open session with the different components with which it interacts, such as the electronic audio reproduction equipment, the acquisition service, the collection service and the browser ( browser) used by the user to access the website of the conversion service from a computer with internet access.

59. The integral system according to claim 1, characterized in that the search service has an internet connection that allows it to exchange information with the other system components.

60. The search service according to claim 59, characterized in that it allows two forms of access:

to. Through a website accessed by a user from a computer with internet access you want to make early selection.

61. The search service according to claim 59, characterized in that it locates content on the internet that complies with the phrase and search preferences received.

62. The search service according to claim 59, characterized in that within the search preferences it receives can indicate the type of content to be searched (audible, read, a combination of these or others) and the type of category to be searched ( Music, Wikipedia ™, Book, documentary, a combination of these or others).

63. The search service according to claim 59, characterized in that it has search engines, which periodically index information located on the internet.

64. The search service according to claim 59, characterized in that it returns to the applicant a list of findings with their respective content identifiers, based on the search phrase and preferences.

65. The search service according to claim 59, characterized in that it can maintain an open session with the different components with which it interacts, such as the electronic audio reproduction equipment, the acquisition service, the collection service and the browser ( browser) used by the user to access the website of the search service from a computer with internet access.

66. The integral system according to claim 1, characterized in that the service of Acquisition has an internet connection that allows you to exchange information with the other system components.

67. The acquisition service according to claim 66, characterized in that it publishes audible or reading content or groups thereof on the web.

68. The acquisition service according to claim 66, characterized in that it can allow the user accessing the service from a computer with internet access to make advance selection of content automatically from a website, for which the acquisition service performs the next:

to. It provides the user with a list of collection services for him to indicate the one that provides the service, or allows the user to enter the address of the collection service if it is not in the previous list.

b. Send the content identifiers to the collection service.

C. It allows the execution of an additional window or immersed in the current sale for the validation of user credentials.

69. The acquisition service according to claim 66, characterized in that it can allow the user who accesses its website from a computer with internet access to make advance selection of content manually, for which the acquisition service provides from its site web content identifiers or the web address where the content identifiers are located so that the user can copy this information manually to the collection service.

70. The acquisition service according to claim 66, characterized in that it can provide free or cost-effective content through internet sites (acquisition sites), in which case it will incorporate the procedures for payment of content commonly used on the web.

71. The acquisition service according to claim 66, characterized in that it can use the request identifier and / or the content identifiers as a credential whereby it can maintain the confidentiality of the information it publishes privately.

72. The acquisition service according to claim 66, characterized in that it can provide the user who accesses the service from a computer with internet access to make early selection of a shopping cart, in which he may add the content he wishes .

73. The acquisition service according to claim 66, characterized in that it can provide the user through a website, lists or groups of content organized by category, author, titles, type among others. You can also provide an internal content search mechanism.

74. The acquisition service according to claim 66, characterized in that it can provide the user through a website with the following content information: title or name, description, a preliminary reproduction and comments from users who have downloaded said content in advance .

75. The acquisition service according to claim 66, characterized in that it can make content identifiers available to search engines, so that information can be easily located by users who use the search service.

76. The acquisition service according to claim 66, characterized in that it allows the content to be accessible by the search service, by the conversion service, by the electronic audio reproduction equipment and by the user accessing its website through of a computer with internet access.

77. The acquisition service according to claim 66, characterized in that it can maintain an open session with the different components with which it interacts, such as the electronic audio reproduction equipment, the conversion service, the search service, the service Collector and browser (browser) used by the user to access the website of the acquisition service from a computer with internet access.

78. The integral system according to claim 1, characterized in that the "Content Identifier" consists of a list of parameters that are exchanged between the different components that interact in the system. Within these parameters you can find:

to. Name or title of the content.

b. Description of the content.

C. Download address (Must be an address with access from the internet).

d. Type of content (Text, html, mp3, wma, etc).

and. Content size

79. The integral system according to claim 78, characterized in that the Content Identifier may contain several occurrences of the parameters that identify it, referencing each occurrence to a single document or file, so that related information can be grouped.

80. The Integral System according to claim 1, characterized in that the electronic audio reproduction equipment can be manufactured in different presentations such that in addition to being used mainly for use in vehicles or means of transport, a presentation can also be manufactured for use as a device portable or home use.