WO2007079484A2

WO2007079484A2 - Super-slim top loading dvd player

Info

Publication number: WO2007079484A2
Application number: PCT/US2007/060063
Authority: WO
Inventors: Yongde Zhang
Original assignee: Coby Electronics Corporation
Priority date: 2006-01-04
Filing date: 2007-01-03
Publication date: 2007-07-12
Also published as: WO2007079484A3

Abstract

A super-slim DVD player may include a top loading surface and a mechanical load mechanism having control interfaces located on the top surface. The load mechanism may function in the absence of electricity and may be free of electric components.

Description

SUPER-SLIM TOP LOADING DVD PLAYER

PRIORITY INFORMATION

This application claims priority of Provisional Application Serial No. 60/755767 filed on January 4, 2006

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to portable combination audio and video playback devices, and more particularly to portable digital video disc (DVD) playback devices. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Digital video discs, sometimes called "digital versatile discs" or simply "DVDs," are the size of an audio CD, are the same size as CDs at 120 mm in diameter (60 mm in radius) yet hold up to 26 times the data.

DVD players include a motor that spins the disc, and a laser that reads information from the disc. The laser uses visible red light (as opposed to an audio CD player's infrared laser) to "read" the pits etched in the disc. These laser signals are translated into electrical form by a digital signal processor (DSP), which is one type of integrated circuit. DVD players also include a digital decoder and a microcontroller. DVD players also include a complex electro-mechanical loading system consisting of an electronically actuated sliding tray or a motorized retraction and ejection system. These loading systems are prone to malfunction resulting in costly repairs or replacement. In addition, DVD players tend to have a large three dimensional profile.

In view of the forgoing, it is desirable to have a DVD player with a simplified loading mechanism and a relatively small profile. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide a relatively small, compact, super-slim mechanically loadable DVD player capable of reading data recorded on an optical disk and transmitting the data to a video display and/or audio playback device. In one embodiment the DVD player may be a super-slim top loading DVD player having control interfaces along a top surface of the DVD player. The DVD Player may include a simplified mechanical only top loader/top loading surface. In other words, in some embodiments, the loading mechanism may not be electronic or include electronic components, i.e. be free of electrical components. According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a DVD player which comprises in a single housing a disk drive having a top surface DVD loading chamber and reading and output units for outputting video and audio data.

In one embodiment, a DVD player having a single housing provided with a DVD load mechanism according to the present invention, comprises in the housing a DVD reader for reading data recorded on the DVD by rotating the DVD loaded on the DVD load mechanism; an MPEG decoder reproducing video data (when present) from DVD data read by the reader; a sub-picture decoder reproducing sub pictures (when present) from the DVD data read by the reader; an audio decoder reproducing audio data (when present) from the DVD data read by the reader; and a system controller controlling system components each in the housing. The DVD player can include operator interfaces for initiating control of various functions of the DVD player as known to those of skill in the art. In one embodiment, the DVD player includes an output terminal mixing the reproduced video data and the sub-picture data, and outputting the mixed data to an external monitor and/or a communication port selectively outputting at least some of the DVD data and the mixed data to external devices The DVD player can include connections for outputting audio and video to external devices including external display and audio reproduction devices. In one embodiment, the DVD player can include connections for optical digital audio output such as a fiber optic digital audio connection used to connect a digital source component (e.g., DVD player, CD player, etc.) to a receiver or pre-amplifier. The data passed through such a connection can be the "raw" digital audio signal using laser (light) pulses. This means of interconnect can minimize interference and degradation of the data. The DVD player can include connections for external AC power supplies.

In an exemplary embodiment, a DVD player includes a small generally thin housing having a top surface, a bottom surface and side surfaces connecting the top surface and the bottom surface. At least a portion of the top surface includes a top loading surface and can include operator interfaces. The top loading surface can include a mechanical DVD entry port (exclusive of electrical or electro-mechanical components) such that a DVD can be inserted into the housing. The portable DVD player may be both mechanically and electronically isolated for physical shocks and jolts to the player.

An advantage of the present invention is that it includes a simple top loading DVD entry port that is not electronic or electronically actuated in a relatively compact, super- slim housing. This type of load mechanism allows for a slimmer, simplified and compact design that includes a mechanical load mechanism. In addition, to reduced production costs and simplified manufacturing, this simplified load mechanism reduces malfunction and/or failure, provides for ease of use and repair and removal of DVD's in a powered or un-powered mode and allows the removal even in the absence of or without using electricity. This loading system may also help provide a minimally complex design. In addition, the top loading system allows the DVD to be housed in a smaller, more compact, super-slim housing. Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description in conjunction with the drawings, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of an embodiment of a super-slim DVD player.

FIG. 2 illustrates a top view of an embodiment of a super-slim DVD player. FIG. 3 illustrates a side view of an embodiment of a super-slim DVD player.

FIG. 4 illustrates a side view of an embodiment of a super-slim DVD player.

FIG. 5 illustrates a side view of an embodiment of a super-slim DVD player.

FIG. 6 illustrates a side view of an embodiment of a super-slim DVD player.

FIG. 7 illustrates a bottom view of an embodiment of a super-slim DVD player. FIG. S shows a perspective view of an embodiment of a super-slim DVD player.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A method and apparatus for a DVD player is disclosed. In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. It will be understood, however, to one skilled in the art, that the present invention may be practiced without some or all of these specific details. In other instances, well known process operations have not been described in detail in order not to unnecessarily obscure the present invention. As used herein "DVD" means digital video (or versatile) disk, CD₅ CDR, and CDRW disks. The DVD player may read and play DVD, CD, CDR, CDRW, and MP3 formats, and may include an optical audio output connection.

FIG. 1 illustrates a top surface 16 of a DVD player 10 in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. The DVD player 10 includes a housing 12 having top surface 16, a bottom surface 22, and side surfaces 30, 40, 50 and 60 that serves as a housing for the components of the DVD player 10. A top loading surface 14 on a portion of the top surface 16 defines a DVD entry port for inserting a DVD into the player 10. Controls 18 to control many of the standard features (power on/off, play, stop, fast- forward, rewind, pause, skip ahead, skip back, menu/setup, slow motion etc.) of the DVD player 10 may be located on the top surface 16 of the housing 12.

The housing 12 maybe a super-slim durable enclosure that maybe constructed of any appropriate materials known to those of skill in the art including various plastics, polymers and metals. The housing is super-slim in that the distance or height or thickness of the DVD Player as measured from top surface 16 to bottom surface 22 is less than about 1.5 inches for example about 1.5 inches, about 1.4 inches, or about 1.3 inches in height.

The top loading surface 14 is generally round in shape and may have a radius no greater than 20% larger than the radius of a standard full sized DVD or CD. For example, it is preferably that the radius may be no more than about 20%, 17%, 15%, 10% or even 5% larger than the radius of a standard sized DVD. Standard size DVD's are 120 mm in diameter of 60 mm in radius. Accordingly, the radius of the top loading surface maybe, for example no greater than about 72 mm, for example, about 70 mm, about 69 mm, about 66 mm, or about 63 mm in radius. In addition, the housing may be ultra compact in that it is no larger than 7.5 inches wide, for example, no larger than 7.45 inches, 7.4 inches, 7.35 inches, 7.3 inches, 7.25 inches, or 7.2 inches wide by no larger than 7.0 inches deep, for example, no larger than 6.9 inches, 6.75 inches, 6.6 inches, 6.5 inches, 6.45 inches or 6.4 inches deep. The housing may include a variety of colors, designs, textures, handles, grips and the like on its various surfaces. While the housing 12 is illustrated to be generally rectangular in shape, it should be noted that the surfaces can be other than parallel and flat, the side surfaces can be curved or rounded, textured etc. Preferably the housing is as depicted in the Figures. Furthermore, other embodiments of the present invention have housing shapes other than generally rectangular, such as round, oval, octagonal, hexagonal or any other shape. Accordingly, the housing may have any number of side surfaces with any configuration of connections and controls among the various side surfaces.

The DVD reader maybe an off-the-shelf module with standard decoding, software, processing and control interfaces and hardware known to those of skill in the art. Further, the reader may be physically and electronically isolated from mechanical shocks and impacts such as by using mechanical shock mounts in the housing 12 (such mechanical shock mounts not being shown but being known to those skilled in the art), by buffering the data in memory for a period of time before decoding to allow sectors to be reread in the event of a shock-induced data stream discontinuity.

Top surface 14 may be sized such that it is, for example, less than 50 in² in surface area, while including sufficient room for control interfaces 18, and top loading surface 14. Infrared sensor 20 is provided for use with an infrared remote control and receives commands from the control to provide comprehensive control features optimized to access all of the features available with the DVD format. The top surface 14 may be less than 2.5 times the surface area of a standard full size DVD, for example less than 2.45 times, less than 2.4 times, less than 2.35 times, or less than 2.3 times the surface are of a standard full size DVD.

The housing 12 is preferably made with a top loading and control form factor, which is easy to use. The single piece, slim design of the housing 12 provides simplicity, ease of manufacture, ruggedness, reduced weight, and serviceability.

FIG. 2 illustrates a top surface 16 of DVD player 10 in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. Top surface 16 includes top loading surface 14, control interfaces 18 and opening groove 24. In this perspective, audio/video jacks 62, 64, 66, and 68 may be seen. Control interfaces 18 may be of any shape or size that are in keeping with the generally small nature of the DVD player 10. The control interfaces 18 may be configured for any control functions common to DVD players as known to those of skill in the art.

FIGS. 3-5 show examples of side surfaces 30, 40, and 50 of housing 12 of DVD player 10. Side surface 30 includes infrared interface 20. Side surfaces may include any known additional interfaces as known to those of skill in the art, including headphone jacks such as standard 3.5 mm stereo mini jack and may have surround sound capability, etc.

FIG. 6 shows an example of side surface 60 which may include audio/video jacks 62, 64, 66 and 68 and power supply interface 70. Audio/video jacks 62, 64, 66 and 68 maybe configured to provide any type of audio/video output to any type of display device. For example, the audio/video jacks may provide for Dolby digital audio, coaxial digital out, analog audio out, optical audio out, component video out including progressive scan, RCA video out, and S-video out. Power supply interface 70 may provide for a standard power cord or other power supply. Jacks 62, 64, 66, 68 may independently be audio only, video only or audio/video. It should be understood that although four audio/video jacks are shown, any suitable number of jacks may be provided depending on the desired use. For example, there may be 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 or more audio/video jacks. FIG. 7 illustrates an embodiment of bottom surface 22 of DVD player 10. Bottom surface 22 may include feet 72 for supporting and cushioning DVD player 10. FIG. 8 illustrates an embodiment of DVD player 10 having top loading surface 14 opened. By applying upwards pressure along the edge of the top loading surface 14 at, for example groove 24, or by mechanically actuating an access latch (not shown), internal hinges (not shown) adjacent to edge 82 pivot top loading surface 14 to provide access to DVD load chamber 84, and DVD holder 86. The DVD Player may be held closed by the hinges. DVD reader 92 is shown adjacent to DVD holder 86. DVD load mechanism 80 receives the DVD on holder 86. A DVD 80 is shown inserted into the DVD player.

In operation, power supply may be connected to the DVD player. The DVD player 10 may have the power turned on or off. As discussed above, internal hinges may be caused to pivot at least a portion of top loading surface 14 to provide access to load chamber 84 and DVD holder 86. A DVD may be inserted into load chamber 84 onto DVD holder 86. Top loading surface 14 may be pivoted counter to the opening force of the hinges forcing the DVD player 10 closed or to cause the hinges to hold the DVD Player closed. The hinges may be one or more hinges, may be spring-loaded, and may tend to hold the DVD player open after pivoting through a certain number of degrees and may tend to hold the DVD player closed when the number of degrees of pivot (either in opening or in closing is less than a threshold number of degrees. Such mechanisms are known to those of skill in the art. Power may be turned on (if not already on) and controls 18 may be manipulated to control the playback of the data on the DVD. The data may be audio only or audio/video, in which case the video may be output to an external display device using audio/video out jacks 62, 64, 66, and/or 68. Audio output may be to an external audio system via audio/video out 62, 64, 66, and/or 68.

Alternate product configurations are easily accommodated by substitution of key system components. Since standard components are used in many areas of the system, similar components can be substituted. For instance, a more compact unit can be built by utilizing a smaller housing and form factor. More fully functioned base configurations may be possible by simply including additional (optional) components for added functionality. The system software of an embodiment of the DVD player may be structured into two main levels: the high-level user interface software and the low-level device control software. The software may run on the system microcontroller, and may be stored on a read only memory ("ROM"). The low-level section may interface directly with the various hardware components of the system, interacting directly with them at a register level. It may provide for power-on and initialization, configuration of the hardware components, basic device control and synchronization, and interface to the user interface software. hi one embodiment, the DVD player may provide either or both of two layers of isolation for physical shocks and impacts: mechanical and electronic. Physical shock isolation may be accomplished via mechanical shock mounting within the housing. This isolation may be integral to the housing itself and may employ a mechanical damping mechanism. The second level of shock isolation may be electronic and may be performed using a video data buffer. Data from the drive may be buffered in memory for a brief period before decryption and decoding to allow disc tracks to be reread in the event of a shock-induced data stream discontinuity. The DVD player plays DVDs and provides foil screen, full frame-rate, full motion video playback. Simplified user controls may be provided for standard basic functions and an onboard infrared receiver may be included to receive signals from a wireless remote control. The DVD player may possess audio processing for full surround sound with standard stereo headphones.

The DVD player may be powered using an AC wall adapter or a battery pack or any other power source.

Anywhere sound and/or DVD playback is desired, the DVD player will be a simple, super-slim solution. The DVD player may be part of kit that includes any or all of: a AC power cord adapter, headphones, carrying case, wireless full function remote control, AV cables and/or RCA cables.

The DVD player may include any features known to those of skill in the art for providing audio and/or video playback from DVD's, CD's, CDr's, CDRWs or other similar digital media. Examples of these features may be: over 500 horizontal lines of crystal clear picture, compatibility with NTSC/PAL system, multiple subtitles/viewing angles, slow/fast motion play, zoom operation, parental lock control, and 100-240 V automatic power adjustable input.

The DVD player may be made by inserting off-the-shelf-components including DVD readers and various related processors and controllers in a suitable housing that may include a top loading surface having a load mechanism that is mechanical and not electric. Alternatively, the load mechanism may be a simplified electric load mechanism that is suitable for use with the super-slim housing and design as discussed herein.

While this invention has been described in terms of several preferred embodiments, there are alterations, permutations, and equivalents that fall within the scope of this invention. It should also be noted that there are alternative ways of implementing both the process and apparatus of the present invention. It is therefore intended that the appended claim includes all such alterations, permutations, and equivalents as fall within the true spirit and scope of the present invention

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A DVD player comprising : a top surface comprising: a top loading surface; and control interfaces.

2. An apparatus comprising: a super-slim DVD player having a top surface comprising: a top loading surface.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the top surface includes control interfaces disposed thereon.

4. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the DVD player is less than about 1.5 inches in height.

5. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the DVD is about 1.3 inches in height.

6. A method of making a DVD player comprising: inserting a DVD reader into a super-slim housing with a top loading surface and a load mechanism, wherein the load mechanism is not electronic.

7. A DVD player comprising: a top surface comprising: a top loading surface having a radius no more than 20% greater than a radius of a standard full size DVD.

8. The DVD player of claim 7, wherein the top loading surface has a radius no more than 17% greater than a radius of a standard full size DVD.

9. The DVD player of claim 7, wherein the top surface includes control interfaces.

10. A DVD player comprising : a load mechanism that includes no electronic components.

11. The DVD player of claim 9, further comprising a top loading surface that includes the load mechanism.

12. The DVD player of claim 10, wherein the top loading surface has a radius no more than 20% greater than a radius of a standard full size DVD.

13. The DVD player of claim 9, wherein the load mechanism includes at least one spring-loaded hinge.

14. The DVD player of claim 9, wherein the top loading surface comprises a potion of a top surface that includes control interfaces.

15. A DVD player comprising: a top surface comprising: a top loading surface comprising a simplified mechanical loading mechanism, wherein the loading mechanism includes no electronic components.

16. The DVD player of claim 15 , wherein the load mechanism comprises at least one spring-loaded hinge.

17. A DVD player comprising a super-slim, top loading DVD player having a non- electrical loading mechanism.

18. The DVD player of claim 17, wherein the DVD player is less than about 1.5 inches in height.

19. A DVD player comprising: a top surface comprising: a top loading surface, wherein the top surface has a surface area no larger than 50 in² and the top loading surface has a radius no more than 20% greater than a radius of a standard full size DVD.

20. The DVD player of claim 19, wherein the DVD player is less than about 1.5 inches in height.