Portable digital player compatible with a cassette player

• US 6,061,306 A
• Filed: 07/20/1999
• Issued: 05/09/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 07/20/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Dean Chang
• Original Assignee: Dean Chang, James Buchheim
• Inventors: Buchheim, James
• Primary Examiner(s): Neyzari, Ali
• Application Number:
  US09/357,800
• Time in Patent Office: 294 Days
• Field of Search: 369/2, 369/1, 369/6, 369/9-10, 369/7-8, 369/11-12, 369/289, 369/292, 369/4, 360/104, 360/109, 360/137
• US Class Current: 369/2
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 23/049 Cassettes for special applications not otherwise provided for
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/086 Portable receivers
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/20 for coupling gramophone pick-up, recorder output, or microphone to receiver

Abstract

A portable audio device is provided and includes (a) a housing shaped as a cassette and insertable into a cassette deck of a cassette player; (b) a digital audio player in the housing, the digital audio player including a memory and an audio chip for storing and subsequently playing digital audio information through at least one speaker; and (c) an emulator in the housing, the emulator operatively communicating with the digital audio player for emulating the digital audio information as analog audio information readable by a magnetic playing head of the cassette player for playing the digital audio information through the cassette player.

Claims

1. A portable audio device comprising:

(a) a housing shaped as a cassette and insertable into a cassette deck of a cassette player;

(b) a digital audio player in said housing, said digital audio player including a memory and an audio chip for storing and subsequently playing digital audio information through at least one speaker; and

(c) an emulator in said housing, said emulator operatively communicating with said digital audio player for emulating said digital audio information as analog audio information readable by a magnetic playing head of said cassette player for playing said digital audio information through said cassette player.

2. The portable audio device of claim 1, wherein said at least one speaker is integrally built in said housing.

3. The portable audio device of claim 1, wherein said at least one speaker is externally connectable to the portable audio device through a speaker connector formed in said housing and which is operatively communicating with said digital audio player.

4. The portable audio device of claim 1, wherein said at least one speaker is formed and operated as at least one earset.

5. The portable audio device of claim 1, wherein said at least one speaker includes two speakers.

6. The portable audio device of claim 5, wherein said two speakers are externally connectable to the portable audio device through a speaker connector formed in said housing and which is operatively communicating with said digital audio player.

7. The portable audio device of claim 5, wherein said two speakers are formed and operated as earsets.

8. The portable audio device of claim 1, further comprising external operation buttons engaged by said housing for executing operator commands.

9. The portable audio device of claim 8, wherein said operator commands are selected from the group consisting of play, stop, pause, backward, forward, repeat, repeat a sequence, volume control, bass control, treble control, speakers balance and fade effects control.

10. The portable audio device of claim 1, further comprising a recording chip in said housing, said recording chip being for recording in a digital form sound into said memory.

11. The portable audio device of claim 10, wherein said audio chip and said recording chip are integrated into a single audio-recording chip.

12. The portable audio device of claim 10, further comprising a microphone in said housing, said microphone operatively communicating with said recording chip.

13. The portable audio device of claim 10, further comprising an external microphone connector formed in said housing so as to enable an external microphone to operatively communicate with said recording chip.

14. The portable audio device of claim 10, further comprising external operation buttons engaged by said housing for executing operator commands.

15. The portable audio device of claim 8, wherein said operator commands are selected from the group consisting of play, stop, pause, backward, forward, repeat, repeat a sequence, record, volume control, bass control, treble control, speakers balance and fade effects control.

16. The portable audio device of claim 1, further comprising a communicator for communicating with a computer, said communicator being for downloading digital audio information from said computer for storing in said memory.

17. The portable audio device of claim 16, wherein said communicator is selected from the group consisting of cord communicator and cordless communicator.

18. The portable audio device of claim 17, wherein said cordless communicator is selected from the group consisting of infrared communicator, radio communicator and microwave communicator.

19. The portable audio device of claim 1, further comprising:

(d) at least one sensor for sensing at least some operational commands of said cassette player when the portable audio device engages said cassette deck of said cassette player; and

(e) at least one mechanism for translating said operational commands of said cassette player into respective executed operations of the portable audio device.

20. The portable audio device of claim 19, wherein said at least one sensor includes at least one reel for sensing an operational command selected from the group consisting of play, pause, backward and forward.

21. The portable audio device of claim 19, wherein said at least one sensor includes a sensing mechanism for sensing an operation of a magnetic recording head of said cassette player.

22. The portable audio device of claim 1, further comprising a power source engageable in said housing.

23. The portable audio device of claim 1, wherein said power source is a battery.

24. The portable audio device of claim 1, wherein said power source is a rechargeable battery, said housing is formed with a charging connector for recharging said rechargeable battery.

25. The portable audio device of claim 1, further comprising a visual display for displaying visual information.

26. The portable audio device of claim 25, wherein said visual information is selected from the group consisting of information pertaining to a played audio information, power availability and memory availability.

27. The portable audio device of claim 25, wherein said visual display is selected from the group consisting of a light emitting diode display and a liquid crystal display.

28. The portable audio device of claim 1, further comprising a slot for operatively accepting a memory expansion device.

29. The portable audio device of claim 1, wherein said emulator operatively communicating with a magnetic recording head of said cassette player for recording in a digital form audio information through said magnetic recording head.

30. The portable audio device of claim 1, further comprising a radiotransistor for receiving and playing radio broadcast.