US6084582A
Expired / Lapsed
US
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Method and apparatus for recording a voice narration to accompany a slide show
Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC
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Filing: 1997-07-02
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Granted: 2000-07-04
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Expires: 2017-07-02
Abstract
Abstract A computer-based system and method of recording and playing back audio narration to accompany an electronic slide show presentation is disclosed. The method includes a slide show recording session, during which a series of slides are sequentially displayed. During the recording session, a segment of audio input corresponding to the display of each slide within a slide presentation is recorded and digitized. Each digitized audio segment is stored and associated with its corresponding slide. Audio data may be embedded within a slide, or alternatively stored in a file and linked to a slide. During a subsequent performance of the slide show, when each slide is displayed, its corresponding audio segment is retrieved and played back. The method also stores timings corresponding to each slide during the slide show recording session, and optionally uses these timings to advance slides during the subsequent slide show presentation.
Inventors
- 👤 Imran Iqbal Qureshi
- 👤 Bakul Vinodchandra Patel
- 👤 Paul O. Warrin
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-30 10:58
CPC Classifications
H; H04; H04N; H04N1/00; H04N1/32; H04N1/32101; H04N1/32106; H04N1/32112; H04N1/32144; H04N2201/00; H04N2201/32; H04N2201/3201; H04N2201/3261; H04N2201/3264; H04N2201/3274; H04N2201/3277
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 33
Claim 1
Independent Claim
197 words
A system for recording an audio signal to accompany a slide show, comprising: (a) a computer including a computer memory and an operating system; (b) a display device coupled to the computer for providing a display; (c) an audio input device coupled to the computer for receiving the audio signal; (d) a slide presentation program for displaying a set of at least one slide on the display device; (e) a mechanism for enabling automatic recording of an audio segment in response to receiving a command to advance the display of the set of slides, each audio segment corresponding to a duration of the audio signal corresponding to a slide from the set of slides, wherein at least a portion of the audio segment corresponding to each slide is recorded during a time when at least a portion of the corresponding slide is displayed; (f) a mechanism for associating each audio segment with its corresponding slide; and (g) a mechanism for selectively enabling the playback of each audio segment, when its corresponding slide is displayed and enabling the automatic advancement of the slide for a slide show to be determined by a length of each corresponding audio segment.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
197 words
A system for recording an audio signal to accompany a slide show, comprising: (a) a computer including a computer memory and an operating system; (b) a display device coupled to the computer for providing a display; (c) an audio input device coupled to the computer for receiving the audio signal; (d) a slide presentation program for displaying a set of at least one slide on the display device; (e) a mechanism for enabling automatic recording of an audio segment in response to receiving a command to advance the display of the set of slides, each audio segment corresponding to a duration of the audio signal corresponding to a slide from the set of slides, wherein at least a portion of the audio segment corresponding to each slide is recorded during a time when at least a portion of the corresponding slide is displayed; (f) a mechanism for associating each audio segment with its corresponding slide; and (g) a mechanism for selectively enabling the playback of each audio segment, when its corresponding slide is displayed and enabling the automatic advancement of the slide for a slide show to be determined by a length of each corresponding audio segment.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
37 words
The system of claim 1, wherein the recording mechanism converts each duration of the audio signal to a corresponding audio segment, and each audio segment is a digital representation of its corresponding duration of the audio signal.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
41 words
The system of claim 2, wherein the recording mechanism stores the audio segments in at least one computer file, and wherein the associating mechanism stores with each slide a reference for locating its corresponding audio segment in a corresponding computer file.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
14 words
The system of claim 3, wherein each computer file contains exactly one audio segment.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
29 words
The system of claim 2, wherein the recording mechanism stores the audio segments in the computer memory and the associating mechanism associates each audio segment with its corresponding slide.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
15 words
The system of claim 2, wherein each audio segment is embedded in its corresponding slide.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
21 words
The system of claim 2, wherein the associating mechanism stores with each slide a reference for locating its corresponding audio segment.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
27 words
The system of claim 1, wherein the associating mechanism automatically stores with each slide a value representative of a duration of time for its corresponding audio segment.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
86 words
The system of claim 1 further comprising: (a) an audio playback device coupled to the computer for playing the audio segments; (b) wherein the slide presentation program performs a slide show recording session, the recording mechanism recording a plurality of audio segments concurrently with the slide show; and (c) wherein the slide presentation program performs the presentation of the slide show by displaying each slide, the audio playback device playing each audio segment that is selected to play concurrently with the display of its corresponding slide.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
52 words
The system of claim 9, wherein the associating mechanism automatically stores with each slide a duration value representative of the duration of time for its corresponding audio segment, and wherein during the playback slide show, the slide presentation program automatically advances the slides based on the duration value corresponding to each slide.
Claim 12
Independent Claim
150 words
A method in a computer system for recording audio data corresponding to at least one slide in a slide show, comprising: (a) displaying at least one of the plurality of slides; (b) in response to receiving a command to advance the display of the plurality of slides, enabling automatic recording of the audio data in a plurality of audio segments, each audio segment corresponding to a slide that is displayed during the recording of the audio data corresponding to the displayed slide and; (c) storing the recorded plurality of audio segments; (d) associating each audio segment with its corresponding slide, wherein each audio segment is determinable from its corresponding slide; (e) enabling the selective playing of each audio segment when its corresponding slide is displayed; and (f) enabling a length for each audio segment to determine the automatic advancement of its corresponding slide during the presentation of a slide show.
Claim 13
Independent Claim
150 words
A method in a computer system for recording audio data corresponding to at least one slide in a slide show, comprising: (a) displaying at least one of the plurality of slides; (b) in response to receiving a command to advance the display of the plurality of slides, enabling automatic recording of the audio data in a plurality of audio segments, each audio segment corresponding to a slide that is displayed during the recording of the audio data corresponding to the displayed slide and; (c) storing the recorded plurality of audio segments; (d) associating each audio segment with its corresponding slide, wherein each audio segment is determinable from its corresponding slide; (e) enabling the selective playing of each audio segment when its corresponding slide is displayed; and (f) enabling a length for each audio segment to determine the automatic advancement of its corresponding slide during the presentation of a slide show.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
41 words
The method of claim 11, wherein the recording step further comprises: (a) receiving an analog audio signal; (b) converting the analog input signal to a digital audio signal; and (c) wherein each audio segment comprises a duration of the digital signal.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
44 words
The method of claim 12, wherein the storing step further comprises storing each recorded audio segment in a computer file, and wherein the associating step further comprises storing with each slide a reference for locating its corresponding audio segment in a corresponding computer file.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
27 words
The method of claim 12, wherein the storing step further comprises storing each recorded audio segment in a corresponding computer sound file containing exactly one audio segment.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
87 words
A program storage device readable by a machine, tangibly embodying at least two computer files comprising: (a) at least one computer sound file containing all audio segment, the computer sound file produced according to the method of claim 14; and (b) a presentation computer file containing a plurality of slides, each slide including at least one object that is capable of being displayed by a computer, each slide having a reference to a corresponding computer sound file, the reference produced according to the method of claim 14.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
24 words
The method of claim 12, wherein the storing step further comprises storing the audio segment as a block of data in the computer memory.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
23 words
The method of claim 12, wherein the storing step further comprises storing the audio segments and the slides together in one computer file.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
82 words
A program storage device readable by a machine, tangibly embodying at least one computer file comprising: (a) at least one computer sound file containing audio data representing a voice audio signal, the computer sound file produced according to the method of claim 17; and (b) a plurality of slides, each slide including at least one object that is capable of being displayed by a computer, each slide having a correspondence to the audio segment produced according to the method of claim 17.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
68 words
The method of claim 12, further comprising: (a) displaying a first slide, (b) receiving a command to advance to a second slide, the second slide immediately following the first slide in a predetermined ordering of the plurality of slides; (c) in response to the command, displaying the second slide; and (d) in response to the command, automatically beginning recording of the audio segment corresponding to the second slide.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
74 words
The method of claim 19, further comprising: (a) receiving a second command to advance to a third slide, the third slide immediately following the second slide in the predetermined ordering of the plurality of slides; (b) in response to the second command, terminating the recording of the audio segment corresponding to the second slide; and (c) in response to the second command, automatically beginning recording of the audio segment corresponding to the third slide.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
30 words
The method of claim 11, further comprising: automatically storing a time value with each slide, the time value representative of the length of an audio segment corresponding to the slide.
Claim 24
Independent Claim
206 words
A method in a computer system for recording and playing back an audio signal for a voice narration that corresponds to a plurality of slides in a slide show, comprising: (a) performing a slide show recording session by displaying at least one of the plurality of slides; (b) in response to receiving a command to advance the display of the plurality of slides, enabling automatic recording of the audio signal in a plurality of audio segments, each audio segment corresponding to a duration of the audio signal with a display of a corresponding slide during the performance of the slide show recording session and; (c) storing the recorded audio segments; (d) associating each audio segment with its corresponding slide, wherein each audio segment is determinable from its associated slide; (e) selectively enabling the playing of each audio segment when its corresponding slide is displayed; (f) presenting the slide show by displaying at least a portion of the plurality of slides; (g) playing each enabled audio segment concurrently with the display of its corresponding slide during the presentation of the slide show; and (h) enabling a length of each audio segment to determine the automatic advancement of its corresponding slide during the presentation of the slide show.
Claim 25
Independent Claim
206 words
A method in a computer system for recording and playing back an audio signal for a voice narration that corresponds to a plurality of slides in a slide show, comprising: (a) performing a slide show recording session by displaying at least one of the plurality of slides; (b) in response to receiving a command to advance the display of the plurality of slides, enabling automatic recording of the audio signal in a plurality of audio segments, each audio segment corresponding to a duration of the audio signal with a display of a corresponding slide during the performance of the slide show recording session and; (c) storing the recorded audio segments; (d) associating each audio segment with its corresponding slide, wherein each audio segment is determinable from its associated slide; (e) selectively enabling the playing of each audio segment when its corresponding slide is displayed; (f) presenting the slide show by displaying at least a portion of the plurality of slides; (g) playing each enabled audio segment concurrently with the display of its corresponding slide during the presentation of the slide show; and (h) enabling a length of each audio segment to determine the automatic advancement of its corresponding slide during the presentation of the slide show.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
59 words
The method of claim 22, wherein the storing step further comprises storing each recorded audio segment in a computer file, the associating step further comprises storing with each slide a reference for locating its corresponding audio segment in a corresponding computer file, and the playback slide show performance step further comprises retrieving the computer file corresponding to each slide.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
54 words
The method of claim 22, further comprising: (a) automatically storing a time value with each slide, the time value being representative of a length of the audio segment corresponding to the slide; and (b) wherein presenting the slide show further comprises automatically terminating the display of each slide based on its associated time value.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
151 words
A program storage device readable by a machine, tangibly embodying instructions that are executable by the machine to perform a method for recording audio data corresponding to a plurality of slides, comprising: (a) sequentially displaying the plurality of slides; (b) in response to receiving a command to advance the display of the plurality of slides, enabling automatic recording of the audio data as a plurality of audio segments, each audio segment corresponding to a slide that is displayed concurrently with its corresponding audio segment; (c) storing the recorded plurality of audio segments; (d) associating each audio segment with its corresponding slide, wherein each audio segment is determinable from its associated slide; (e) selectively enabling the playing of each audio segment when its corresponding slide is displayed; and (f) enabling a length for each audio segment to determine the automatic advancement of its corresponding slide during the presentation of a slide show.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
151 words
A program storage device readable by a machine, tangibly embodying instructions that are executable by the machine to perform a method for recording audio data corresponding to a plurality of slides, comprising: (a) sequentially displaying the plurality of slides; (b) in response to receiving a command to advance the display of the plurality of slides, enabling automatic recording of the audio data as a plurality of audio segments, each audio segment corresponding to a slide that is displayed concurrently with its corresponding audio segment; (c) storing the recorded plurality of audio segments; (d) associating each audio segment with its corresponding slide, wherein each audio segment is determinable from its associated slide; (e) selectively enabling the playing of each audio segment when its corresponding slide is displayed; and (f) enabling a length for each audio segment to determine the automatic advancement of its corresponding slide during the presentation of a slide show.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
51 words
The program storage device of claim 25, wherein recording the voice narration further comprises: (a) receiving an analog voice audio input signal; (b) converting the analog voice audio input signal to a digital voice audio signal; and (c) wherein each audio segment comprises a duration of the digital voice audio signal.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim
46 words
The program storage device of claim 26, wherein the storing step further comprises storing each recorded audio segment in a computer file, and wherein the associating step further comprises storing with each slide a reference for locating its corresponding audio segment in a corresponding computer file.
Claim 32
Dependent Claim
29 words
The program storage device of claim 26, wherein the storing step further comprises storing each recorded audio segment in a corresponding computer sound file containing exactly one audio segment.
Claim 33
Dependent Claim
25 words
The program storage device of claim 26, wherein the storing step further comprises storing the audio segments and the slides together in one computer file.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2003-07-04 | 2004-01-03 | 2004-07-04 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2007-07-04 | 2008-01-03 | 2008-07-04 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2011-07-04 | 2012-01-03 | 2012-07-04 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |