Highly portable media devices

• US 8,090,130 B2
• Filed: 04/24/2007
• Issued: 01/03/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 09/11/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Zorkendorfer, Rico, Lynch, Stephen Brian, Mathew, Dinesh, Ive, Jonathan P., Zadesky, Stephen Paul, Hankey, Evans, Prest, Christopher David
• Primary Examiner(s): Mei, Xu
• Application Number:
  US11/739,489
• Publication Number:
  US 20080065246A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,715 Days
• Field of Search: 381/333, 381/334, 715/830, 24/31, 24/31.1, 24/31.2, 710/303, 700/94, 704/272, 704/278
• US Class Current: 381/334
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/163 Wearable computers, e.g. on a belt
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1632 External expansion units, e.g. docking stations
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1643 the display being associated to a digitizer, e.g. laptops that can be used as penpads details related to the relative motion of the display enclosure with respect to the body enclosure, e.g. to move between laptop and tablet PC configuration G06F1/1615
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1698 the I/O peripheral being a sending/receiving arrangement to establish a cordless communication link, e.g. radio or infrared link, integrated cellular phone details of antennas disposed inside a computer H01Q1/2266
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 24/58 Contacts spaced along longitudinal axis of engagement
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2420/09 Applications of special connectors, e.g. USB, XLR, in loudspeakers, microphones or headphones
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 24/1391 Article held by clip with spring [e.g., leaf, coil] member

Abstract

An improved portable media device and methods for operating a media device are disclosed.

Claims

1. A portable media player, comprising:

a housing with a front surface and a back surface;

a memory disposed within the housing, the memory being configured to store a plurality of digital media assets and data files;

a media control input arrangement located at the front surface of the housing, the media control input arrangement enabling a user of the portable media player to select at least one of the digital media assets to be presented;

an integrated attachment mechanism located at the back surface of the housing, the portable media player being wearable through the use of the attachment mechanism, wherein the attachment mechanism is a clip, the clip including a platform that moves between a closed position where an article is trapped between the platform and the housing thus securing the media player to the article, and an open position where the article is released from engagement between the platform and the housing thus freeing the media player from the article, wherein the platform is coupled to the housing via a hinge mechanism that is internal to the housing.

2. The portable media player as recited in claim 1 wherein the platform pivots relative to the back surface of the housing.

3. The portable media player as recited in claim 2 wherein the platform is spring biased in the closed position.

4. The portable media player as recited in claim 2 wherein the platform is spaced away from the back surface of the housing via a raised section of the housing, and wherein the hinge mechanism is disposed within the raised section.

5. The portable media player as recited in claim 4 wherein the raised section extends edge to edge of the housing.

6. The portable media player as recited in claim 4 wherein the raised section is rounded.

7. The portable media player as recited in claim 4 wherein the platform includes a shoulder that protrudes from the bottom of the platform, the raised section includes an opening for receiving a shoulder of the platform internally within the housing, and the walls of the opening and the shoulder include through holes for receiving a pivot pin, thereby allowing the platform to rotate about the pivot pin.

8. The portable media player as recited in claim 2 wherein the platform and back surface of the housing each include teeth that engage one another in the closed position, the teeth being disposed at the opposite end of the hinge mechanism.

9. The portable media player as recited in claim 1 wherein the portable media player has no display.

10. The portable media player as recited in claim 1 wherein the portable media player is palm sized or smaller.

11. The portable media player as recited in claim 1 wherein a plurality of digital media assets are associated with a media list and wherein the at least one media asset selected for presentation is chosen from the media asset list.

12. The portable media player as recited in claim 1 wherein the memory is non volatile memory.

13. The portable media player as recited in claim 12 wherein the memory is FLASH memory.

14. The portable media player as recited in claim 1 further comprising a controller operatively coupled to the memory and the media player input arrangement, the controller operating to play the selected at least one media asset.

15. A portable media player that does not have a display, comprising:

a housing with a front surface and a back surface, the back surface including no I/O components;

a non volatile memory disposed within the housing, the non volatile memory being configured to store a plurality of digital media assets and data files;

a single media control input arrangement located at the front surface of the housing, the media control input arrangement enabling a user of the portable media player to control various aspects of the portable media player;

an integrated clip, the clip including a platform that is pivotally coupled to a rounded raised section of the housing via an internal hinge mechanism, the platform rotating between a closed position where an article is trapped between the platform and the housing thus securing the media player to the article, and an open position where the article is released from engagement between the platform and the housing thus freeing the media player from the article, wherein the platform is coupled to the housing via a hinge mechanism that is internal to the housing; and

a controller operatively coupled to the memory and the media player input arrangement, the controller operating to play the selected at least one media asset.

16. The portable media player as recited in claim 15 wherein the media player has a base volume of less than 15,000 mm3, base dimensions less than 50 mm×

30 mm×

10 mm, and a weight less than 20 grams.

17. The portable media player as recited in claim 15 wherein the media player has a base volume of less than 8,230 mm3, base dimensions less than 41.2 mm×

27.3 mm×

6 mm, and a weight less than 16 grams.

18. The portable media player as recited in claim 15 wherein the media player has a base volume of less than 7735 mm3, base dimensions less than 41.2 mm×

27.3 mm×

6 mm, and a weight less than 16 grams.

19. The portable media player as recited in claim 15 wherein the media player has a base volume of less than 4,500 mm3, base dimensions less than 27.3 mm×

27.3 mm×

6 mm, and a weight less than 16 grams.

20. The portable media player as recited in claim 15 wherein the media control input arrangement substantially fills the entire planar front surface of the media player.

21. The portable media player as recited in claim 15 wherein the ratio of front surface area to area of the media control input arrangement is less than 3:

1.

22. The portable media player as recited in claim 15 wherein the ratio of front surface area to area of the media control input arrangement is less than 2:

1.

23. The portable media player as recited in claim 15 wherein the ratio of front surface area to area of the media control input arrangement is about 1:

1.

24. The portable media player as recited in claim 15 wherein the ratio of front surface area to area of the media control input arrangement is between about 2.85:

1 to about 2.3;

1.

25. The portable media player as recited in claim 15 wherein the media control input arrangement is integrated into a single device.

26. The portable media player as recited in claim 15 wherein the media control input arrangement is a circular input arrangement.

27. The portable media player as recited in claim 26 wherein the circular input arrangement has a diameter less than 30 mm.

28. The portable media player as recited in claim 26 wherein the circular input arrangement has a diameter between about 20 and 27.3 mm.

29. The portable media player as recited in claim 26 wherein the circular input arrangement is about 23 mm.

30. The portable media player as recited in claim 15 wherein the media control arrangement is embodied as a clickable button actuator including a plurality of buttons provided in a circular arrangement around a center button.

31. The portable media player as recited in claim 15 wherein the media control input arrangement includes controls selected from play, pause, rewind, fast forward, skip to previous media asset, skip to next media asset, volume up, and volume down.

32. The portable media player as recited in claim 15 wherein the shape of the housing matches the shape of the media control input arrangement.

33. The portable media player as recited in claim 32 wherein the housing is cylindrical and the front and back surfaces are circular, and wherein the media control input arrangement is a circular input arrangement.

34. The portable media player as recited in claim 15 wherein the media control input arrangement extends substantially edge to edge of the housing.

35. The portable media player as recited in claim 15 further comprising a switch arrangement configured to select a media play mode, the switch arrangement being located on a side surface of the housing.

36. The portable media player as recited in claim 35 wherein the play mode is one of a continuous play mode and a shuffle play mode.

37. The portable media player as recited in claim 15 further comprising one or more indicators that provide user feedback or status information for the portable media player, the indicators being located on a side surface of the housing.

38. The portable media player as recited in claim 15 wherein the volume of the housing is less than or equal to 8230 mm3, the base dimensions of the housing are less than or equal to 41.2 mm×

27.3 mm×

6 mm, the diameter of the rounded raised section of the housing is about 3 mm, the surface area of the platform is similar to the surface area of the back surface of the housing and the platform has a thickness of about 1 mm, the media player having an overall size of about 41.2 mm×

27.3 mm×

10 mm.

39. A portable media player, comprising:

a housing;

a single integrated connector port extending into the housing, the single integrated connector port being the only portal for distributing data, power and media to and from the portable media player, wherein the single integrated connector is a female jack that receives a male plug along a connection axis, and wherein the female jack includes an axial opening and axially spaced terminals disposed within the axial opening for enabling its multiple functions, wherein the female jack is configured for receiving an integrated plug that includes multiple functionality;

a memory module disposed within the housing and configured to store data files and a plurality of digital media assets, the data files and a plurality of digital media assets being transferred through the single integrated connector port;

a media module disposed within the housing and configured to provide media operations on the portable media player, the media module cooperating with the non volatile electronic memory device to retrieve media assets therefrom, the media module presenting the media assets to a user of the portable electronic device through the single integrated connector port;

a power module disposed within the housing and configured to control power operations of the portable media player for the purpose of powering or charging the portable media player, the power module receiving power through the single integrated connector port.

40. The portable media player as recited in claim 39 wherein the single integrated connector port is not an elongated connector port including laterally spaced side by side contacts.

41. The portable media player as recited in claim 39 wherein the single integrated connector port is not a USB or Firewire port.

42. The portable media player as recited in claim 39 wherein the female jack is configured to receive a male audio plug, a male data plug, or a male power plug.

43. The portable media player as recited in claim 39 wherein the female jack includes a connector body in which the axial opening is formed, and where the various terminals are mounted.

44. The portable media player as recited in claim 43 wherein the female jack further comprises contact pins that pass through the connector body from the axial opening to the edge of the connector body, the internal circuitry of the media player connecting to the female jack at the contact pins.

45. The portable media player as recited in claim 39 wherein the female jack includes two data terminals (+, −

), a ground, a voltage (+5 v) and a plug detect terminal.

46. The portable media player as recited in claim 45 wherein the two data terminals are shared for different modes of operation, the two data terminals helping transfer data when the portable media player is in a data transfer mode, the two data terminals helping output audio when the portable media player is in an audio output mode.

47. The portable media player as recited in claim 39 further comprising a rechargeable battery disposed within the housing and configured to provide power to the portable media player as necessary at least when disconnected from a power source, wherein the rechargeable battery is configured to be charged through the power transmitted through the single integrated connector port.

48. A docking system, comprising:

a portable media player, the portable media player including a housing having a front surface, side surfaces, and a back surface, a single media control input arrangement located at the front surface of the housing, a single integrated connector port located at a side surface of the housing and an integrated clip mounted at the back surface of the housing, the clip including a platform that is spaced apart from the back surface thereby creating a void there between, wherein the platform is coupled to the housing via a hinge mechanism that is internal to the housing; and

a docking station, the docking station including a base with a slot partially recessed within the top surface of the base, the recess being configured to receive an end of the portable media player that includes the single integrated connector port, the inner peripheral surface of the recess being sized and dimensioned to receive the outer peripheral surface of the portable media player including the front surface of the housing and the outer surface of the platform, the docking station also including a single integrated connector plug that engages the single integrated connector port when the portable media player is placed in the recess of the docking station, the interface between the connector port and the connector plug being configured for distributing data, power and media.

49. The docking system as recited in claim 48 wherein the docking station further includes a guide post disposed inside the recess, the guide post extending into the void disposed between the back surface of the housing and the inside surface of the platform when the portable media player is inserted into the recess.

50. The docking system as recited in claim 48 wherein the docking station is a stand alone unit.

51. The docking system as recited in claim 48 wherein the docking station is integrated within an electronic device.

52. A portable electronic device capable of operating as a removable storage medium when connected to a host computing device, and configured to operate as a media player when disconnected from the host computing device, comprising:

a housing with a front surface, first side surface, second side surface and a back surface;

a non volatile memory disposed within the housing, the memory being configured to store a plurality of digital audio assets and data files;

a rechargeable battery disposed within the housing and configured to provide power to the portable media player as necessary at least when disconnected from a power source;

a single integrated media control input arrangement located at the front surface of the housing, the media control arrangement being embodied as a clickable button actuator including a plurality of integrated outer buttons provided in a circular arrangement around a center button, the center button initiating play/pause, the outer buttons including buttons for initiating skip to previous media asset, skip to next media asset, volume up and volume down;

a switch arrangement located at the first side surface, the switch arrangement being configured to at least select a media play mode, the play mode being one of a continuous play mode and a shuffle play mode;

a single integrated connector located at the second side surface, the single integrated connector including capabilities for transferring digital media assets and data files between the portable media player and a host, transmitting power to the portable media player from a power source, and outputting digital audio assets for listening enjoyment, wherein the single integrated connector is a female jack that receives a male plug along a connection axis, and wherein the female jack includes an axial opening and axially spaced terminals disposed within the axial opening for enabling its multiple functions, wherein the female jack is configured for receiving an integrated plug that includes multiple functionality;

one or more indicators located on the side surfaces of the housing, the indicators providing user feedback or status information for the portable media player, the portable media player not including a display;

a controller operatively coupled to the memory, media player input arrangement, switch arrangement, connector and indicators, the controller operating to play the selected at least one media asset; and

a clip integrated with the housing and located at the back surface of the housing, the portable media player being wearable through the use of the clip, the clip including a platform having substantially the same profile as the back surface of the housing, the clip including a platform attached to the back surface and moving between an open position where an article of clothing can be positioned for entrapment, and closed position where the article of clothing is trapped between the platform and the back surface of the housing thereby securing the portable media player to the article of clothing.