PORTABLE MEDIA PLAYBACK DEVICE INCLUDING USER INTERFACE EVENT PASSTHROUGH TO NON-MEDIA-PLAYBACK PROCESSING

• US 20080125890A1
• Filed: 09/11/2006
• Published: 05/29/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 09/11/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Boettcher, Jesse
• Granted Patent: US 7,729,791 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 700/94
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2209/545 Gui
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/542 Event management; Broadcasting; Multicasting; Notifications

Abstract

A method of operating a portable electronics device can include integrated operation of media playback processing and non-media-playback processing (such as, for example, a game). The method can include receiving an event corresponding to operation of a user interface item by a user of the portable electronics device. The received event can be provided to the non-media-playback processing. The non-media-playback processing can determine whether to cause an action corresponding to the provided received event with respect to the non-media-playback processing. For an event determined by the non-media-playback processing to not cause an action corresponding to the provided received event with respect to the non-media-playback processing, the provided received event can be provided to the media playback processing. Typically, the operating performed by the media playback processing based on the event can be the processing that would otherwise be performed by the media playback processing if the non-media-playback processing was not even occurring.

Claims

1. A method of operating a portable electronic device including integrated operation of media playback processing and non-media-playback processing, the method comprising:

receiving an event corresponding to operation of a user interface item by a user of the portable electronic device;

providing the received event to the non-media-playback processing;

by the non-media-playback processing, determining whether to cause an action corresponding to the provided received event with respect to the non-media-playback processing; and

for an event determined by the non-media-playback processing to not cause an action corresponding to the provided received event with respect to the non-media-playback processing, providing the provided received event to the media playback processing.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein:

providing the received event to the non-media-playback processing includes providing an indication of the event to a data structure associated with the non-media-playback processing.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein:

providing the received event to the media playback processing includes removing the indication of the event from the data structure associated with the non-media-playback processing and providing the indication of the event to a data structure associated with the media playback processing.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the non-media-playback processing includes processing for a game.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the non-media-playback processing determines to not cause an action corresponding to the provided received event with respect to the non-media-playback processing; and

the method further comprises the media playback processing causing an operation to be performed on the provided received event.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein:

the operation caused to be performed on the provided received event, by the media playback processing, is the operation that would otherwise be cause to be performed on the provided received event in the absence of the non-media-playback processing.

7. A computer program product to operate a portable electronic device to operate a portable electronics device including integrated operation of media playback processing and non-media-playback processing, the computer program product comprising at least one computer-readable medium having computer program instructions stored therein which are operable to cause at least one computing device of the electronic device to:

receive an event corresponding to operation of a user interface item by a user of the portable electronic device;

provide the received event to the non-media-playback processing;

by the non-media-playback processing, determine whether to cause an action corresponding to the provided received event with respect to the non-media-playback processing; and

for an event determined by the non-media-playback processing to not cause an action corresponding to the provided received event with respect to the non-media-playback processing, provide the provided received event to the media playback processing

8. The computer program product of claim 7, wherein:

the computer program instructions which are operable to cause the at least one computing device to provide the received event to the non-media-playback processing includes computer program instructions which are operable to cause the at least one computing device to provide an indication of the event to a data structure associated with the non-media-playback processing.

9. The computer program product of claim 8, wherein:

the computer program instructions which are operable to cause the at least one computing device to provide the received event to the media playback processing includes computer program instructions which are operable to cause the at least one computing device to remove the indication of the event from the data structure associated with the non-media-playback processing and providing the indication of the event to a data structure associated with the media playback processing.

10. The computer program product of claim 7, wherein:

the non-media-playback processing includes processing for a game.

11. The computer program product of claim 7, wherein:

the non-media-playback processing determines to not cause an action corresponding to the provided received event with respect to the non-media-playback processing; and

the computer program product further computer program instructions which are operable to cause the media playback processing to perform an operation on the provided received event.

12. The computer program product of claim 11, wherein:

the operation caused to be performed on the provided received event, by the media playback processing, is the operation that would otherwise be cause to be performed on the provided received event in the absence of the non-media-playback processing.

13. A portable electronic device configured to operate media playback processing and non-media-playback processing in an integrated manner, the portable electronic device comprising:

a user interface; and

processing circuitry, the processing circuitry configured to

receive an event corresponding to operation of the user interface by a user of the portable electronic device;

provide the received event to the non-media-playback processing;

by the non-media-playback processing, determine whether to cause an action corresponding to the provided received event with respect to the non-media-playback processing; and

for an event determined by the non-media-playback processing to not cause an action corresponding to the provided received event with respect to the non-media-playback processing, provide the provided received event to the media playback processing.

14. The portable electronic device of claim 13, wherein:

the processing circuitry being configured to cause the at least one computing device to provide the received event to the non-media-playback processing includes the processing circuitry being configured to cause the at least one computing device to provide an indication of the event to a data structure associated with the non-media-playback processing.

15. The portable electronic device of claim 14, wherein:

the processing circuitry being configured to cause the at least one computing device to provide the received event to the media playback processing includes the processing circuitry being configured to cause the at least one computing device to remove the indication of the event from the data structure associated with the non-media-playback processing and providing the indication of the event to a data structure associated with the media playback processing.

16. The portable electronic device of claim 13, wherein:

the non-media-playback processing includes processing for a game.

17. The portable electronic device of claim 13, wherein:

the non-media-playback processing determines to not cause an action corresponding to the provided received event with respect to the non-media-playback processing; and

the processing circuitry is further configured to cause the media playback processing to perform an operation on the provided received event.

18. The portable electronic device of claim 17, wherein:

the operation caused to be performed on the provided received event, by the media playback processing, is the operation that would otherwise be cause to be performed on the provided received event in the absence of the non-media-playback processing.