ZA200805633B - A digital media player - Google Patents

Description

J

A DIGITAL MEDIA PLAYER

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a digital media player, and more particularly, to a portable media player of the general type having suitable memory and processing ability and typically being aimed at least primarily at playing musical or audiovisual tracks in various different sequences and arrangements whilst also, in many instances, providing for individual selection and compilation of medleys and the like. Such digital media players are of the general nature, and have the same or similar aims and objectives, as media players sold under the trade name “I-POD™” by or on behalf of

Apple Computers.

The media player may be capable of operating outside of, or within, a DRM (Digital rights management) environment.

BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION

Numerous different digital media players, especially audio digital media players, are available on the market with many different facilities and abilities and with various disadvantages and advantages.

Many available media players rely on communication with a computer, typically via a USB port, either directly in the instance that the media player has a hardware jack or plug formed thereon for direct introduction into a cooperant port on a computer or alternatively by way of a communications cable, in order to transfer the relevant data, herein termed content, to the media player. In order to transfer content from one media player to another it

P1863ZA00exP1659ZA00 2008/06/25 is therefore necessary to transfer it from one media player to a computer and then transfer it to the other media player.

Media players of the general nature under consideration, by their very nature, need to be associated with one, or more commonly a pair, of earphones that are connected to the media player during use by way of a suitable cable.

Such cables are accompanied by the typical characteristic that they tend to become knotted or entwined with other items when they are not in use.

At least for the most part, if not invariably, existing media players have five control buttons (which term is intended to include any form of manually operable circuit activating means including those commonly referred to as touch screen interfaces). One of these is typically used as an "enter" control button whilst the other four are used, inter alia, for increasing and decreasing volume and for browsing through programmes and menus. The "enter" control button is often located in the centre of an array of buttons.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of this invention to provide a media player that overcomes, at least to some extent, disadvantages that applicant perceives are associated with existing media players.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with this invention there is provided a portable media player comprising a housing in which media player electronic circuitry is located, the housing having a front face and a rear face and a surrounding periphery, the media player having either a permanent cable and earphone assembly or a communications port for association with a jack of a cable and earphone assembly, the media player being characterized in that the periphery of the housing is provided with an endless cable storage facility extending around

P1863ZA00exP1659ZA00 2008/06/25 the periphery and into association with which a cable may be wound as and when required.

Further features of the invention provide for the cable storage facility to be an endless channel shaped unit preferably having inwardly directed lips defining an entrance slot between the two free edges thereof; for the channel shaped unit to be made of resiliently deformable, preferably somewhat elastomeric, material; for the housing to be circular in which case the channel shaped unit : is of annular shape; for the inner surface of the channel shaped unit to be shaped, in cross-section, for cooperation with the external sectional shape of the periphery of the housing to satisfactorily locate the channel shaped unit relative to the housing for normal use; for the web of the channel shaped unit to have an aperture for registration with a communications port of the housing; and for the endless channel shaped unit, in the event that it is circular, to have an indexing formation at one or more circumferential positions thereof.

The invention also provides an endless channel shaped unit adapted to form the cable storage facility of a portable media player as defined above.

In order that the above and other features of the invention may be more fully understood one embodiment thereof will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the drawings:-

Figure 1 is an enlarged elevation of the front face of one embodiment of media player according to the invention without the endless cable storage unit;

P1863ZA00exP1659ZA00 2008/06/25

S

Figure 2 is a similar elevation of the front face with a cable storage unit fitted;

Figure 3 is a rear elevation of the media player illustrated in Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a front isometric view thereof;

Figure 5 is a sectional side elevation thereof;

Figure 6 is a side elevation illustrating the communications port in the periphery thereof;

Figure 7 is a rear view of the media player and cable storage unit illustrated in Figure 2;

Figure 8 is a side elevation thereof;

Figure 9 is a sectional side elevation thereof;

Figure 10 is a front isometric view thereof; and,

Figure 11 is a sectional side elevation of the cable storage unit alone.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION WITH REFERENCE TO THE DRAWINGS

In the embodiment of the various aspects of the invention that is illustrated in the drawings, a portable media player (1) comprises a housing (2) in which media player electronic circuitry is located, as is indicated generally by numeral (3) (see Figure 5). The housing is of circular shape and has a front face (4), a rear face (5) and a surrounding periphery (6).

P1863ZA00exP1659ZA00 2008/06/25

The media player has three contacts exposed at, and standing proud of, the rear surface of the housing, namely, an input contact (7a), an output contact (7b), and a ground contact (7c) arranged at equally angularly spaced positions about the centre of the circular housing.

With this arrangement, it will be understood that when the media player is brought into back-to-back contact with a like media player and with the two ground contacts engaging each other, the input contact of a first media player will be in contact with the output contact of the second media player and the output contact of first media player will be in contact with the input contact of the second media player. A transfer of content can thus take place from one i media player to the other.

In order to ensure that proper registration of the contacts takes place, locating means are provided on the housing for positioning the one media player relative to the other. In this embodiment of the invention the locating means is a series of angularly spaced recesses and protrusions collectively indicated by numeral (8) that accurately align the one media player relative to the other.

A diametrically offset magnet (9), preferably a rare earth type of magnet, and diametrically opposite metal disc (10) are provided in the rear of the housing so that with two media players held in back-to-back relationship as indicated above, the magnet of the one will attract the metal disc of the other, in each case, and thereby hold them in association with each other with said contacts in registration.

A fourth, but recessed, contact (11) is accessible in the rear surface so as to provide access to a battery charging circuit for charging an internal battery by way of a docking station or other battery charger, as may be required.

P1863ZA00exP1659ZA00 2008/06/25

The periphery of the housing is provided with a communications port (12) for receiving the plug (13) of a cable (14) of an earphone set (see Figure 10).

Of course, the contacts are not only intended for use in transferring content from one media player to another but also for loading content from a dispensing station or docking station, as the case may be. It is also within the scope of this invention that a removable communications cable (not shown) may be used to connect to a socket (not shown) provided on the media player.

As provided by this invention, the portable media player is provided with a removable annular cable storage unit (15) of inwardly lipped channel shape in cross-section whereof the inwardly directed lips terminate short of each other to provide an endless entrance slot (16) to the channel (shown particularly in Figure 11).

The cable storage unit is, in this instance, made of resiliently deformable, somewhat elastomeric material so that it can be releasably engaged with the periphery of the housing. In order to ensure proper retention of the storage unit on the periphery, the cross-section of the periphery of the housing is somewhat arcuately troughed and the inner surface (17) of the storage unit is complementarily shaped so that the storage unit becomes effectively seated on, and locked to, the periphery of the housing unless forcibly removed.

The web of the channel shaped unit has an aperture (18) for registration with the communications port of the housing as well as an indexing formation (19) at one circumferential position thereof for cooperation with a recess (20) in the rear of the housing.

It will be understood that the cable can be very neatly and conveniently wound into the channel of the cable storage unit, when the earphones are not

P1863ZA00exP1659ZA00 2008/06/25 in use, thereby avoiding difficulties that storage of the cable has presented in the past.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the front face has four equally angularly spaced operating buttons (21) (as herein defined) positioned in an annular surface surrounding the central area towards the periphery of the front face. A display screen (22) is provided in the centre of the front face that, for the major part of its area, is a simple flat surface.

It will be understood that the four operating buttons can be effectively used for operating the media player by providing basic functions such as a menu function that may be activated by one of the operating buttons (21a); forward i and backward buttons (21b) that also function for scrolling purposes according to the menu function and also control softer and louder volume in the normal mode; and a play/pause button (21c). Various combinations of the buttons can also be used for forming specific functions and an “enter” function can be replaced by a simple time delay.

It will thus be appreciated that the invention provides an extremely simple and highly useful media player that overcomes a number of disadvantages that applicant perceives as being associated with prior art media players.

Also, numerous variations may be made to each of the various aspects of the embodiment of the invention described above without departing from the scope hereof.

P1863ZA00exP1659ZA00 2008/06/25

Claims (11)

cL ? CLAIMS:

1. A portable media player comprising a housing in which media player electronic circuitry is located, the housing having a front face and a rear face and a surrounding periphery, the media player having either a permanent cable and earphone assembly or a communications port for association with a jack of a cable and earphone assembly, the media player being characterized in that the periphery of the housing is provided with an endless cable storage facility extending around its periphery into association with which a cable may be wound as and when required.

2. A portable media player as claimed in claim 1 in which the cable storage facility is an endless channel shaped unit.

3. A portable media player as claimed in claim 2 in which the cable storage facility is an endless channel shaped unit having inwardly directed lips defining an entrance slot between the two free edges thereof.

4. A portable media player as claimed in either one of claims 2 or 3 in which the channel shaped unit is made of resiliently deformable, somewhat elastomeric, material.

5. A portable media player as claimed in any one of claims 2 to 4 in which the housing is circular.

6. A portable media player as claimed in claim 2 in which the channel shaped unit is of annular shape.

7. A portable media player as claimed in any one of claims 2 to 6 in which the inner surface of the channel shaped unit is shaped, in cross-section, for cooperation with the external sectional shape of the periphery of the P1863ZA00exP1659ZA00 2008/06/25

05633 10 mk 2008 / housing to satisfactorily locate the channel shaped unit relative to the housing for normal use.

8. A portable media player as claimed in any one of claims 2 to 7 in which a web of the channel shaped unit has an aperture for registration with a communications port of the housing.

9. A portable media player as claimed in claims 6 and 8 in which the endless channel shaped unit has an indexing formation at one or more circumferential positions thereof.

10. A portable media player substantially as herein described and exemplified with reference to Figures 2 and 7 to 11 of the accompanying drawings.

11. An endless channel shaped unit adapted to form the cable storage facility of a portable media player as claimed in any one of the preceding claims. ; Dated this SA 2008 47 = VON SEIDELS Intellectual Property Attorneys for the applicant P1863ZA00exP1659ZA00 2008/06/25