Patent US6523046B2 successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
US6523046B2
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Infrastructure and method for supporting generic multimedia metadata
Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC
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Filing: 2000-12-07
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Granted: 2003-02-18
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Expires: 2020-12-07
Abstract
Abstract A method and apparatus are disclosed for providing access by applications/utilities/tools to multimedia file metadata originally provided in any of a set of supported formats. A metadata abstraction interface is interposed between multimedia files and applications that seek to read and/or modify metadata associated with the multimedia files. The metadata abstraction interface supports program access to multimedia file metadata provided in a variety of formats and comprises a multimedia application program interface corresponding to a set of core multimedia file metadata management functions accessible by multimedia applications. The metadata abstraction interface includes an extensible set of file type-specific metadata decoders. Each decoder includes a metadata converter for parsing a metadata portion of a multimedia file stored in a particular native format (e.g., .bmp). The decoders render metadata in a generic format from the parsed metadata.
Inventors
- 👤 Min Liu
- 👤 Michael D. Stokes
- 👤 Gilman K. Wong
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-28 22:07
CPC Classifications
G; G06; G06F; G06F16/00; G06F16/40; G06F16/48; Y; Y10; Y10S; Y10S707/00; Y10S707/99941; Y10S707/99944; Y10S707/99945; Y10S707/99948
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 27
Claim 1
Independent Claim
126 words
A multimedia metadata abstraction interface supporting program access to multimedia file metadata provided in a variety of formats, the abstraction interface comprising: a multimedia program interface corresponding to a set of multimedia file metadata management functions accessible by multimedia applications; and a set of metadata decoders comprising a set of functions invoked by the multimedia application program interface, each metadata decoder including a metadata converter for parsing a metadata portion of a multimedia file to render metadata in a generic format; wherein the multimedia program interface comprises a set of program instruction segments for invoking a specified one of the set of functions supported by the set of metadata decoders in response to receiving a program request to access metadata corresponding to a multimedia file instance.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
126 words
A multimedia metadata abstraction interface supporting program access to multimedia file metadata provided in a variety of formats, the abstraction interface comprising: a multimedia program interface corresponding to a set of multimedia file metadata management functions accessible by multimedia applications; and a set of metadata decoders comprising a set of functions invoked by the multimedia application program interface, each metadata decoder including a metadata converter for parsing a metadata portion of a multimedia file to render metadata in a generic format; wherein the multimedia program interface comprises a set of program instruction segments for invoking a specified one of the set of functions supported by the set of metadata decoders in response to receiving a program request to access metadata corresponding to a multimedia file instance.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
40 words
The multimedia metadata abstraction interface of claim 1 further comprising a set of metadata encoders, each encoder including a metadata converter for extracting data stored in the generic form and rendering metadata for a multimedia file in a specified format.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
16 words
The multimedia metadata abstraction interface of claim 1 wherein the multimedia file is an image file.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
24 words
The multimedia metadata abstraction interface of claim 1 wherein the generic format supports an extensible superset of metadata types for supported multimedia file formats.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
42 words
The multimedia metadata abstraction interface of claim 1 wherein the set of program instruction segments comprises a set of application program interfaces enabling an application to invoke codec functions providing access to metadata within multimedia files rendered in the generic metadata format.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
37 words
The multimedia metadata abstraction interface of claim 1 wherein the set of set of metadata decoders is extensible thereby allowing adding new decoders to extend the range of multimedia file metadata formats supported by the abstraction interface.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
48 words
The multimedia metadata abstraction interface of claim 1 wherein the set of functions invoked by the multimedia program interface includes at least one function for rendering a metadata property item value from the metadata in a generic format in response to a request to the multimedia program interface.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
32 words
The multimedia metadata abstraction interface of claim 7 wherein the set of functions invoked by the multimedia program interface includes at least one function for changing a generic multimedia property item value.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
50 words
The multimedia metadata abstraction interface of claim 7 wherein the set of functions invoked by the multimedia program interface includes at least one function for facilitating passing a generic multimedia metadata property item value to an encoder for rendering the multimedia metadata property item value in a file type-specific format.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
29 words
The multimedia metadata abstraction interface of claim 1 wherein the set of metadata decoders comprise program instructions for storing rendered generic metadata property items in a generic metadata memory.
Claim 12
Independent Claim
115 words
A method for providing access by programs to multimedia metadata stored in a variety of formats through a metadata abstraction interface interposed between the programs and the multimedia metadata, the method comprising the steps of: determining a proper module comprising a set of functions for servicing requests by a program to access metadata within a particular multimedia file; first receiving, by the abstraction interface, a first request to access the metadata within the particular multimedia file; invoking, in response to the receiving step, a format-specific decoder function corresponding to the first request to access; and rendering, by the format-specific decoder function, generic multimedia metadata property items from format-specific metadata stored within the particular multimedia file.
Claim 13
Independent Claim
115 words
A method for providing access by programs to multimedia metadata stored in a variety of formats through a metadata abstraction interface interposed between the programs and the multimedia metadata, the method comprising the steps of: determining a proper module comprising a set of functions for servicing requests by a program to access metadata within a particular multimedia file; first receiving, by the abstraction interface, a first request to access the metadata within the particular multimedia file; invoking, in response to the receiving step, a format-specific decoder function corresponding to the first request to access; and rendering, by the format-specific decoder function, generic multimedia metadata property items from format-specific metadata stored within the particular multimedia file.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
20 words
The method of claim 11 wherein the receiving step is performed in the abstraction interface by an application program interface.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
35 words
The method of claim 11 further comprising invoking a format-specific encoder function within a specified encoder of a set of format-specific encoders to pass at least one generic metadata property item to the specified encoder.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
26 words
The method of claim 13 further comprising converting, by the specified encoder, the at least one generic metadata property item to a format-specific metadata property item.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
78 words
The method of claim 11 further comprising the steps of: second receiving, by the abstraction interface, a second request to access the metadata within the particular multimedia file; determining that at least one generic multimedia metadata property item, previously rendered for the metadata within the particular multimedia file, exists within a generic metadata memory associated with the abstraction interface, and in response accessing a generic metadata property value for the particular multimedia file from the generic metadata memory.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
34 words
The method of claim 11 further comprising the step of presenting, by the abstraction interface, at least one metadata property item value from the generic multimedia property items in response to the first request.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
28 words
The method of claim 11 further comprising the step of passing to a format-specific encoder at least one metadata property item value from the generic multimedia property items.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
114 words
A computer-readable medium having computer executable instructions for providing a metadata abstraction interface facilitating access by programs to multimedia file metadata stored in a variety of formats, the computer executable instructions performing steps including: determining a proper module comprising a set of functions for servicing requests by a program to access metadata within a particular multimedia file; first receiving, by the abstraction interface, a first request to access the metadata within the particular multimedia file; invoking, in response to the receiving step, a format-specific decoder function corresponding to the first request to access; and rendering, by the format-specific decoder function, generic multimedia metadata property items from format-specific metadata stored within the particular multimedia file.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
114 words
A computer-readable medium having computer executable instructions for providing a metadata abstraction interface facilitating access by programs to multimedia file metadata stored in a variety of formats, the computer executable instructions performing steps including: determining a proper module comprising a set of functions for servicing requests by a program to access metadata within a particular multimedia file; first receiving, by the abstraction interface, a first request to access the metadata within the particular multimedia file; invoking, in response to the receiving step, a format-specific decoder function corresponding to the first request to access; and rendering, by the format-specific decoder function, generic multimedia metadata property items from format-specific metadata stored within the particular multimedia file.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
22 words
The computer-readable medium of claim 18 wherein the receiving step is performed in the abstraction interface by application program interface computer instructions.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
44 words
The computer-readable medium of claim 18 further comprising computer executable instructions for performing the step of: invoking a format-specific encoder function within a specified encoder of a set of format-specific encoders to pass at least one generic metadata property item to the specified encoder.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
31 words
The computer-readable medium of claim 20 further comprising computer executable instructions for converting, by the specified encoder, the at least one generic metadata property item to a format-specific metadata property item.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
84 words
The computer-readable medium of claim 18 further comprising computer executable instructions for performing the steps of: second receiving, by the abstraction interface, a second request to access the metadata within the particular multimedia file; determining that at least one generic multimedia metadata property item, previously rendered for the metadata within the particular multimedia file, exists within a generic metadata memory associated with the abstraction interface, and in response accessing a generic metadata property value for the particular multimedia file from the generic metadata memory.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
40 words
The computer-readable medium of claim 18 further comprising computer executable instructions for performing the step of: presenting, by the abstraction interface, at least one metadata property item value from the generic multimedia property items in response to the first request.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
34 words
The computer-readable medium of claim 11 further comprising computer executable instructions for performing the step of: passing to a format-specific encoder at least one metadata property item value from the generic multimedia property items.
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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) | 2006-02-17 | 2006-08-19 | 2007-02-18 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2010-02-17 | 2010-08-19 | 2011-02-18 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2014-02-17 | 2014-08-19 | 2015-02-18 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |