Shake responsive portable media player
First Claim
1. A shake responsive portable media player comprising:
- a processor;
a memory functionally coupled to the processor;
a motion sensor functionally coupled to the processor and configured to detect shaking motions imparted on the portable media player by a user; and
a control program operatively loaded into the memory including instructions executable by the processor to identify deliberately imparted characteristic shaking motions from the detected shaking motions and to change a play arrangement in dependence on the identified characteristic shaking motions,wherein the play arrangement comprises an element selected from a group consisting essentially of a predefined playlist of media items, a randomly generated playlist of media items, and at least one randomly selected media item, andwherein the change in the play arrangement comprises at least one action selected from a group consisting essentially of shuffling an order of media items in the predefined playlist, generating another randomized playlist of media items, and randomly selecting another media item for play.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An apparatus, method and computer program product are provided which establishes a user interface for portable media players in which a user can mix, shuffle, randomize, or otherwise alter the selection and/or ordering of media items stored within and/or played by the portable media player by simply shaking the portable media player in a characteristic manner. It is a common human metaphor to mix the contents of a physical object, like a bottle of salad dressing or a carton of orange juice, by physically shaking the object. The various embodiments leverage this common and well known human activity by enabling a user to “mix” media items through a characteristic shaking motion as a type of user interface. This capability enables a user to have a portable media player automatically shuffle the order of songs stored within a play arrangement by shaking the portable media player using a characteristic shaking motion. The portable media player includes a motion sensor coupled to a processor, a control program to monitor signals output from the motion sensor and to interpret characteristic shaking motions for causing one or more changes to be made to a current play arrangement.
460 Citations
25 Claims
-
1. A shake responsive portable media player comprising:
-
a processor; a memory functionally coupled to the processor; a motion sensor functionally coupled to the processor and configured to detect shaking motions imparted on the portable media player by a user; and a control program operatively loaded into the memory including instructions executable by the processor to identify deliberately imparted characteristic shaking motions from the detected shaking motions and to change a play arrangement in dependence on the identified characteristic shaking motions, wherein the play arrangement comprises an element selected from a group consisting essentially of a predefined playlist of media items, a randomly generated playlist of media items, and at least one randomly selected media item, and wherein the change in the play arrangement comprises at least one action selected from a group consisting essentially of shuffling an order of media items in the predefined playlist, generating another randomized playlist of media items, and randomly selecting another media item for play. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
-
-
8. The shake responsive portable media player according to claim l, wherein the characteristic shaking motions are identified based at least in part upon an amplitude of the detected shaking motions that falls within a predefined bounds for more than a minimum time duration.
-
14. A method for providing a shake responsive portable media player comprising:
-
functionally coupling a motion sensor to a processor associated with the portable media player;
configuring the motion sensor to detect shaking motions imparted on the portable media player by a user; andoperatively loading into a memory coupled to the processor a control program including instructions executable by the processor for identifying deliberately imparted characteristic shaking motions from the detected shaking motions and for changing a play arrangement in dependence on the identified characteristic shaking motions, wherein changing a play arrangement comprises at least one step selected from a group consisting essentially of shuffling an order of media items in a predefined playlist, generating a new randomized playlist of media items, and randomly selecting a new media item for play, and wherein the control program further includes instructions executable by the processor for playing the randomly selected media item after cessation of identified characteristic shaking motions. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
-
-
21. A computer program product embodied in a tangible form comprising instructions executable by a processor associated with the portable media player to change a play arrangement of media items in dependence on identified characteristic shaking motions determined from shaking motions detected by a motion sensor coupled to the processor,
wherein the play arrangement comprises an element selected from a group consisting essentially of a predefined playlist of media items, a randomly generated playlist of media items, and at least one randomly selected media item, and wherein the change in the play arrangement comprises at least one action selected from a group consisting essentially of shuffling an order of media items in a predefined playlist, generating a new randomized playlist of media items, and randomly selecting a new media item for play.
Specification