WO2006002645A1

WO2006002645A1 - A method and a system for generating and distributing ring tone data to mobile communication units

Info

Publication number: WO2006002645A1
Application number: PCT/DK2005/000473
Authority: WO
Inventors: Henrik Sten Petersen; Thomas Flindt Jeppesen
Original assignee: Copenhagen Indoor Golf Center A/S
Priority date: 2004-07-07
Filing date: 2005-07-06
Publication date: 2006-01-12

Abstract

A method of generating and distributing ring tone data for mobile communication units (10), such as mobile phones, portable digital assistants and the like, is provided. The method includes the steps of recording sound using sound recording equipment (11, 12), sending said recorded sound to a server (14), extracting a sound clip from the recorded sound, converting the sound clip to ring tone data, and making the ring tone data available for download to a mobile communication unit (10). Furthermore, a system for generating and distributing ring tone data to mobile communication units (10), such as mobile phones, portable digital assistants and the like, is provided. The system includes recording equipment (11, 12) for recording sound from an event, such as a sports match, a concert, etc., a server (14) for storing the recorded sound, a network (13) for sending the recorded sound to the server (14), means for extracting a sound clip from the recorded sound, means for converting the sound clip to ring tone data, and means for announcing (16, 18) or displaying (18) that ring tone data is ready for download.

Description

A method and a system for generating and distributing ring tone data to mobile communication units

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a method of generating and distributing ring tone data for mobile communication units, such as mobile phones, portable digital assis¬ tants (PDAs) and the like. Furthermore, the invention relates to a system for generat¬ ing and distributing ring tone data to mobile communication units, such as mobile phones, portable digital assistants and the like. More specifically the invention re¬ lates to a method and a system that makes it possible for a user of a mobile commu¬ nication unit to obtain a high degree of customisation for the ring tone of the unit.

Background Art

Mobile phones are often programmed with a number of ring tones, which a user of the mobile phone can choose in a menu on the mobile phone. These ring tones are often simple polyphonic melodies. These polyphonic melodies only provide a lim¬ ited possibility for the user of a mobile phone to customise the ring tone with his or her favourite sound, which for instance could be the sound of a Fl Ferrari, the sound of a tennis serve, or the sound from a recent concert.

Furthermore, a user of a mobile phone will often want to have sound clips from a re¬ cent sport event and the like and use these as ring tone. For example, many users would probably have used the sound of Phil Michelson holing the winning putt of the Masters 2004 in the days after the event, had they had the possibility to do so.

US patent application 2003/0109251 discloses a method that allows users to use their favourite ring tones for their mobile phone. The method comprises receiving a sound from a first mobile phone, generating ring tone data from the sound, storing the ring tone data in a server, receiving a download request from a second mobile phone, and sending the ring tone data from the server to the second mobile phone in response to the download request. The ring tone data is subsequently used for gener¬ ating a ring tone of the second mobile phone.

The method described above has the disadvantage that only sound recorded by a first user of mobile phone can be used by a second user of a mobile phone. Further¬ more, it is practically impossible to place the mobile phone so that it can record the sound of the event of interest, e.g. the sound of goal scored in soccer. Additionally, the quality of a recorded sound clip from a mobile phone is often of a poor quality, thereby making it uninteresting to use the recorded sound as a ring tone.

Disclosure of Invention

It is the objective of the invention to provide a method for generating and distribut- ing ring tone data for mobile communication units, such as mobile phones, portable digital assistants and the like, where the ring tone data can be sound clips from an event, such as a sports event, a concert, and the like.

The above objectives are obtained by a method of generating and distributing ring tone data for mobile communication units, such as mobile phones, portable digital assistants and the like, including the steps of:

- recording sound using sound recording equipment,

- sending said recorded sound to a server,

- extracting a sound clip from the recorded sound,

- converting the sound clip to ring tone data, and

- making the ring tone data available for download to a mobile communica- tion unit.

Thereby it is made possible to generate highly customable ring tone data from sound clips, which subsequently are made available to a user of a mobile communication unit. For instance, it is possible to record the sound from a sporting event, such as the sound of a goal scored in soccer, and make this sound clip available on a server and ready for download.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the method further includes the step of announcing that the ring tone data is available for download.

Preferably the above steps occur approximately in real-time. Thereby it is possible, for instance, making the sound clip of the goal scored available immediately after it has occurred and announcing that the sound clip is available as ring tone data for download right away. The user of a mobile communication unit can subsequently download the ring tone data.

In another preferred embodiment of the invention, the method further includes the step of sending the ring tone data to the mobile communication unit upon receipt of a download request from the mobile communication unit. Preferably the ring tone data is stored on the mobile communication unit upon receiving the ring tone data.

Thereby the user of a mobile communication unit can download a sound clip as a ring tone from the server. The user can thereafter use the sound clip as a ring tone for the unit. The ring tone can be the sound clip of an event, which has occurred just prior to the downloading of the ring tone.

The objectives of the invention are also obtained by a system for generating and dis¬ tributing ring tone data to mobile communication units, such as mobile phones, port- able digital assistants and the like, including recording equipment for recording sound from an event, such as a sports match, a concert, and the like, a server for storing the recorded sound, a network for sending the recorded sound to the server, means for extracting a sound clip from the recorded sound, means for converting the sound clip to ring tone data, and means for announcing or displaying that ring tone data is ready for download.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the system further includes a venue, such as a sports stadium, a concert hall, etc., capable of receiving an audi¬ ence, and where the means for announcing or displaying that the ring tone data is ready for download are displays and/or loudspeakers, which are adapted to be viewed or heard by the members of the audience. Alternatively, the announcement can be made via an SMS or similar sent to the mobile communication unit.

Thereby it is made possible to for instance the spectators at a soccer game to download a sound clip of a goal scored in the game after that it has been announced on the stadium screen that the sound clip can be downloaded. Hereby, the spectators can download the sound clip before leaving the stadium.

Preferably the recording of the sound with use of the recording equipment, the con¬ version of the sound to ring tone data, and making the ring tone data available for download occurs approximately in real-time.

Thereby it is possible for the user of a mobile communication unit to download the sound clip of an occurrence or event, for instance of the goal scored at a soccer game, immediately after the occurrence has happened.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the system further includes a mobile communication unit, which can download the sound clips available on the server, and a second network for sending the sound clips from the server to the mo¬ bile communication unit.

According to another preferred embodiment of the invention, the second network is the same as the network for sending the recorded sound.

Brief Description of the Drawing

The invention is explained in detail below with reference to the drawing, in which

Fig. 1 is a system according to the invention for generating and distributing ring tone data.

Best Mode(s) for Carrying out the Invention

Fig. 1 shows a system for recording sound clips, converting these sound clips to ring tone data, and distributing the ring tone data to a mobile communication unit. The communication unit can be a mobile phone, a portable digital assistant (PDA) or the like, but a mobile phone is used in the following example. The system comprises sound recording equipment, which includes a microphone 11 to record the sound and a computer 12 for storing the recorded sound. It is of course possible to store the recorded sound with use of other storing means such as a tape recorder, a mini disc, etc. The recorded sound can be stored in any sound format, such as wav files, mp3 files, midi files, MLD files, and the like. The recorded sound is sent via a network 13 to a server 14 on which different sound clips are stored. Optionally, the sound clips are sent to a computer 15, which converts the sound clip to a ring tone data format. The file conversion can also be carried out electronically without the use of a computer.

Once the ring tone data is available on the server 14, it is announced 16 that the ring tone data can be downloaded. If the user of the mobile phone 10 is following a live event on the television 17 or the radio 18, the announcement can be made in these media, for instance by displaying a text message on the television 18 or the radio commentator announces it verbally. The user of the mobile phone 10 sends a request to download a given sound clip from the server 14. The server subsequently sends the sound clip as ring tone data via a network 19 to a wireless base station 20, which transmits the ring tone data to the mobile phone 10. The ring tone data is stored on the mobile phone 10, and the user can subsequently use the downloaded ring tone data (or sound clip) as a ring tone of the mobile phone 10.

The recorded sound can be streamed continuously in real-time to the server 14. Once an occurrence of particular interest during the event has happened, an operator of the ring tone data generating and distributing system can sample the time period of in¬ terest (e.g. the last five seconds of the streaming) from the recorded sound and con- vert this into a sound clip, which subsequently can be converted to a ring tone data format. Thereby the sound from an event of interest is made available as a ring tone of mobile phones immediately after the event has occurred. This is then announced to the user of a mobile phone via a text message on the television, an announcement on the radio, a screen on the stadium, an SMS sent to the mobile phone, an e-mail to a user subscribing to the ring tone service, or the like.

The sound can be recorded directly by the sound equipment used at the particular TV or radio event or streamed from the TV or radio transmission. The recorded sound can thereby include the commentator voice. However, under certain circum- stances, the use of special recording equipment can be necessary in order to obtain sound clips of a desired quality. This is also necessary at venues such as a sporting event and concerts, where the user do not follow the event on the television or radio.

The recording equipment 10, 11, the network for sending the recorded sound, the server 14 for storing the recorded sound, the network 13 for sending the recorded sound to the server 14, and the computer 15 for converting a sound clip to ring tone data can be included in one unit 21 or several units. The one unit system 21 is par¬ ticular interesting at venues held at for instance a sport stadium, a concert hall and the like. At this venue, the organisers of the venue can place sound recording equipment at different locations at the premises. At a soccer game, for instance, a microphone can be positioned at both goals or direction sensitive microphones can be directed at the goals and on the spectators. The sound picked up by the micro¬ phones is continuously recorded and once a special occurrence has happened at the venue or event, the organisers can convert the sound from this occurrence to a sound clip or a sample and subsequently convert the sound to ring tone data. Immediately after the occurrence, e.g. a goal scored, it is announced on the stadium screen or in the loudspeakers that the sound of the goal or the sound of the spectators shouting or singing with joy (or a mixture thereof) can be downloaded as a ring tone for a mo¬ bile phone, for instance by sending an SMS to a particular phone number.

The ring tone data can also be made available for download via the internet so that the user can download the sound clip at a later time.

The sound clip is thereby made available immediately after the occurrence, where the memory of the event is still fresh in the mind of the user.

The network 14 for transmitting the recorded sound can be the same as the network 19 for sending the ring tone data.

The above system makes it possible for a user of a mobile phone to obtain a high degree of customisation for the ring tone of the mobile phone. This is particular relevant for sports sounds, since many people are enthusiastic about sports. The sys¬ tem makes it possible to download a sound from their favourite sport, for instance the sound of a Formula 1 car speeding out of the pit stop, the sound of goal scored at a soccer game, the sound of a tennis serve, the sound of a golf swing or a putt, etc. These sounds, however, are characterised by not just being any sound from sport; the sound from the Formula 1 car is the sound of Michael Schumacher speeding out of the pit at the Monaco Grand Prix; the sound of the goal scored in a soccer match, is the sound of Zinedine Zidane scoring the winning goal during the dying minutes of the match between France and England during the Euro 2004; the sound of the tennis serve, is the sound of Serena Williams breaking the record for fastest serve during Wimbledon 2004; and the sound of the golf swing is the sound of Phil Michelson holing the winning putt during Masters 2004. The possibilities for cus¬ tomisation of the ring tones are endless and moreover the sound clips are made available as ring tone data immediately after the event has occurred.

The system is of course not restricted to sports sounds. For instance, the sound of Bruce Springsteen shouting: 'Hello New Jersey' at a concert could be converted to ring tone data. Similarly, the system could be used at other concert or music events such as the European Song Contest.

The server 15 can of course be used to store old sound clips as well so that the user of a mobile phone both can choose from sound clips of recent events and old events. For instance, the commentator sound and the sounds from the football stadium dur¬ ing the Euro 1992 soccer championship are still very vivid in the mind of people in Denmark. These sound clips can be stored on the server as well, making a more varying choice available to the user. These sound clips can also be used for pre- customising mobile phones, PDA's and the like. The mobile phone can be sold with pre-installed sound clips, thereby making it possible to sell mobile phones with a theme, for example a Tiger Woods phone with sound clips of Tiger Woods at vari¬ ous events, a Ferrari phone with the sound clips of a Formula 1 Ferrari at various races, etc.

The above description of the invention reveals that it is obvious that it can be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be considered a deviation from the scope of the invention, and all such modifications which are obvious to persons skilled in the art are also to be considered comprised by the scope of the succeeding claims.

Claims

1. A method of generating and distributing ring tone data for mobile communica¬ tion units (10), such as mobile phones, portable digital assistants and the like, in- eluding the steps of:

- recording sound using sound recording equipment (11, 12),

- sending said recorded sound to a server (14),

- extracting a sound clip from the recorded sound,

- converting the sound clip to ring tone data, and

- making the ring tone data available for download to a mobile communica¬ tion unit (10).

2. A method according to claim 1 further including the step of:

- announcing (16, 17, 18) that the ring tone data is available for download¬ ing.

3. A method according to claim 1 or 2 characterised in that said steps occur ap¬ proximately in real-time.

4. A method according to any of the preceding claims further including the step of:

- sending the ring tone data to the mobile communication unit (10) upon re¬ ceipt of a download request from the mobile communication unit (10).

5. A method according to claim 4 further including the step of: - storing the ring tone data on the mobile communication unit (10) upon receiving said ring tone data.

6. A system for generating and distributing ring tone data to mobile communica¬ tion units (10), such as mobile phones, portable digital assistants and the like, in¬ cluding recording equipment (11, 12) for recording sound from an event, such as a sports match, a concert, etc., a server (14) for storing the recorded sound, a network (13) for sending the recorded sound to the server (14), means for extracting a sound clip from the recorded sound, means for converting the sound clip to ring tone data, and means for announcing (16, 18) or displaying (18) that ring tone data is ready for download.

7. A system according to claim 6 further including a venue, such as a sports sta- dium, a concert hall, etc., capable of receiving an audience, and where the means for announcing or displaying that the ring tone data is ready for download are displays and/or loudspeakers, which are adapted to be viewed or heard by the members of the audience.

8. A system according to claim 6 or 7 characterised in that the recording of the sound with use of the recording equipment (11, 12), the conversion of the sound to ring tone data, and making the ring tone data available for download occurs ap¬ proximately in real-time.

9. A system according to any of the claims 6 to 8 further including a mobile com¬ munication unit (10), which can download the sound clips available on the server (14) , and a second network (19) for sending the sound clips from the server (14) to the mobile communication unit (10).

10. A system according to claim 9 characterised in that said second network (19) is the same as the network (13) for sending the recorded sound.