SLIDE AND CLICK COMBINATION SWITCH FOR A PERSONAL MEDIA PLAYER
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A personal media player, comprising:
- a body arranged for housing a digital media processing system and a display screen, the digital media processing system interfacing with the display screen to render digital media content in a form of images or video and interfacing with an audio interface to render digital media content in a form of audio;
one or more user controls operatively coupled to the digital media processor and located on the body for manipulation by a user; and
an electromechanical switch disposed on a surface of the body, the switch including a button that is arranged for i) axial actuation by the user between two axially located switch positions and ii) lateral slideable motion between two laterally located switch positions, the axially located switch positions and laterally located switch positions being usable to switch the personal media player between power states.
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Accused Products
Abstract
In a personal media player, a slide and click combination switch enables several operational functions to be integrated into a single interface. The operational functions include user control lock and power state management. The combination switch includes a button that is arranged to laterally slide between two discrete switch positions (locked and unlocked) as well as move axially between unactuated and actuated positions against a spring force that is normally biased towards the unactuated position. When the button in the combination switch is slid to the locked position, the button cannot be actuated, the user controls on the player are disabled, and the power status of the player (i.e., either on or off) is maintained in its current state. When the button is slid to the unlocked position, the user controls on the player are enabled, and the button may be actuated to implement different device power management scenarios.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A personal media player, comprising:
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a body arranged for housing a digital media processing system and a display screen, the digital media processing system interfacing with the display screen to render digital media content in a form of images or video and interfacing with an audio interface to render digital media content in a form of audio; one or more user controls operatively coupled to the digital media processor and located on the body for manipulation by a user; and an electromechanical switch disposed on a surface of the body, the switch including a button that is arranged for i) axial actuation by the user between two axially located switch positions and ii) lateral slideable motion between two laterally located switch positions, the axially located switch positions and laterally located switch positions being usable to switch the personal media player between power states. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. An electromechanical switch arranged for switching an electronic device between power states, comprising:
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a switch carrier for constraining lateral motion of switching elements between two laterally located switch positions; and a button functioning as a switching element that interoperates with the switch carrier, the button being arranged for slideable movement, responsively to actuation by a user, between the two laterally located switch positions, the button being further arranged for actuation between two axially located switch positions when the button is in one of the two laterally located switch positions, the button being normally biased against a spring force in an unactuated axial position to support a ‘
Click’
mode of operation, in which the button is actuated with a momentary contact, and a ‘
Click and Hold’
mode of operation, in which the button is actuated with a non-momentary contact, the ‘
Click’ and
‘
Click and Hold’
modes of operation being usable to implement the power state switching for the electronic device. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A method for enabling user control over operation of a personal media player, the method comprising the steps of:
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providing a personal media player to the user, the personal media player being configured to render digital media content including audio and video responsively to user manipulation of user controls that are disposed on the personal media player; enabling selectable disablement of the user controls through manipulation of a slideable and clickable button in a switch that is exposed on the personal media player to the user, the slideable and clickable button being laterally moveable between a locked switching position and an unlocked switching position, the user controls being disabled when the button is in the locked switching position; and enabling selectable switching between three power states, the power states including ‘
On’
, ‘
Off’ and
‘
Standby’
through user manipulation of the button in an axial motion from an unactuated position to an actuated position when the button is in the unlocked switching position. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20)
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Specification
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Current AssigneeMicrosoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
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Original AssigneeMicrosoft Corporation
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InventorsTowers, Chris Robert, Son, Sung Ho, Ledbetter, Carl Joseph
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Application NumberUS12/146,005Publication NumberTime in Patent OfficeDaysField of SearchUS Class Current361/679.01CPC Class CodesG11B 31/02 with automatic musical inst...G11B 33/025 Portable casesG11B 33/12 Disposition of construction...H01H 2025/004 the operating member being ...
