User guide
US
8,271,713
B2
1
INTERFACE
SYSTEMS
FOR
PORTABLE
DIGITAL
MEDIA
STORAGE
AND
PLAYBACK
DEVICES
BACKGROUND
OF
THE
INVENTION
1.
Field
of
the
Invention
This
invention
relates
to
accessories
for
portable
digital
media
storage
and
playback
devices
used
for
on-line
doWn
loading,
storing
and
playing
digital
media
?les
such
as,
for
example,
MP3
(i.e.,
MPEG-l
audio
layer
3)
audio,
WMA
(Windows
Media
Audio)
audio,
MPEG-4
multimedia,
and
QuickTime
multimedia
?les.
More
speci?cally,
the
invention
relates
in
various
aspects
to
a
multi-function
docking
assem
bly,
preferably
remotely
controllable,
providing
any
of
the
folloWing
functions:
signal
transmission,
signal
relaying,
remote
control,
remote
video
interface,
poWer
supply
and/or
charging,
and
authentication
for
portable
digital
media
stor
age
and
playback
devices,
and methods
pertaining
to
the
same.
2.
Description
of
the
Related
Art
Media
players
of
various
types
are
ubiquitous
throughout
the
World,
and
have
evolved
through
various
forms
over
the
years,
from
portable
single
transistor
radios
in
the
1950’s
to
tape
cassette
players,
to
compact
disc
players,
and
more
recently
to
portable
digital
media
storage
and
playback
devices
that
enable
a
user
to
obtain
digital
media
?les
(e.g.,
by
doWnload
from
an
Internet
site)
and
store
same
in
storage
medium
of
a
player
in
any
of
various
preferably
compressed
formats
for
subsequent
selective
playback.
Preferred
digital
media
storage
and
playback
devices
uti
liZe
hard
drives
and/or
?ash
memory
to store
digital
media
?les.
A
number
of
digital
media
storage
and
playback
devices
have
been
developed
and
are
commercially
available,
includ
ing:
the
iPod®
family
of
products
manufactured
by
Apple
Computer,
Inc.;
the
iRiver®
family
of
products
manufactured
by
iRiver
Inc.;
the
NomadTM,
ZenTM
and
MuVo®
families
of
products
manufactured
by
Creative
Technology,
Ltd.;
the
Rio®
family
of
products
manufactured
by
Digital
NetWorks
North
America,
Inc.;
the
DJTM
family
of
products
manufac
tured
by
Dell
Computer,
Inc.;
the
Lyra®
family
of
products
manufactured
by
RCA/Thomson
Multimedia,
Inc.;
and
the
Yepp’®
and
neXusTM
families
of
products
manufactured
by
Samsung
Electronics
Co.,
Ltd.
Such
devices
having
varying
capacities
but
models
permitting
the storage
of
approxi
mately
1000
or
more
commercial
play
length
audio
?les
are
commonplace.
Substantial
memory
capacity
may
be
pro
vided
by
the
presence
of
a
hard
disk
and/or
?ash
memory,
With
certain
models
enabling
the
removal
of
?ash
memory
cards
in
formats
such
as
Secure
Digital
or
Compact
Flash.
Digital
media
storage
and
playback
device
models
having
sophisticated
displays
are
further
able
to
store
and
playback
image
and/or
video
?les.
Media
storage
and
playback
devices
of
the
aforementioned
type
rely
on
batteries
for
their
portability,
and
are
typically
provided
With
a
headphones
jack
to
Which
headphones
may
be
connected
to
provide
personal
entertainment.
One
problem
associated
With
the
small
siZe
and
light
Weight
characteristics
of
portable
digital
media
storage
and
playback
(“PDMSP”)
devices,
as
requisite
to
their
portability
and
ease
of
use,
is
battery
life.
Another
problem
is
the
per
sonal
character
of
the
headphone-equipped
PDMSP
devices.
A
PDMSP
device
may
be
equipped
With
a
video
display
and
a
speaker,
but
its
small
siZe
and
light-Weight
characteristics
limit
the
siZe
of
the
display
and
speaker,
making
it
less
than
desirable
When
a
user
seeks
to
transmit
audio
or
video
from
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
55
60
65
2
the
PDMSP
device
to
a
group of
persons,
such
as
in
a
room
or
in
the
passenger
compartment
of
a
passenger
vehicle.
Another
limitation
associated
With
conventional
PDMSP
devices
is
their
reliance
on
personal
computers
as
a
primary
interface for
loading,
purchasing,
and
organiZing
media
?les.
Aside
from
the
expense
attendant
to
personal
computers,
such
devices
are
often
tailored
for
and
stationed
in
rooms
desig
nated
for
Workisuch
as
o?icesiand
may
be
dif?cult
to
integrate
With
multimedia
(e.g.,
television,
audio,
and
com
munication)
entertainment
devices
tailored
for
and
stationed
in
rooms
designated
for
recreationisuch
as
living
rooms
or
home
theaters.
An
oWner
of
a
personal
computer
may
desire
to
unWind
by
purchasing
or
organiZing
multimedia
?les
for
storage
and
vieWing
on
a
PDMSP
device,
yet
avoid
the
pro
cess
altogether
so
as
to
avoid
the
temptation
to
check
email
messages
as
they
arrive
to
the
computer.
Additionally,
fur
nishings
in
entertainment
rooms
such
as
living
rooms
and
home
theaters
usually
are
substantially
more
inviting
and
comfortable
than
o?ice
chairs.
Thus,
a
highly
functional
accessory
device
for
interfacing
With
PDMSP
devices,
With
such
accessory
being
suitable
for
use
in
entertainment
rooms
and
not
requiring
use
of
a
personal
computer,
Would
be
desir
able.
Yet
another
limitation
associated
With
conventional
PDMSP
devices
is
their
absorptive
entertainment
quality,
leading
to
the
occasional
di?iculty
of
alerting
the
user
to
potentially
important
interruptions
such
as
telephone
calls.
It
Would
be
desirable
to
provide
an
accessory
device
capable
of
alerting
a
PDMSP
user
to
the
existence
of
a
potential
inter
ruption
such
as
an
incoming
telephone
call,
of
permitting
the
user
to
rapidly
determine
Whether
to
receive
the
incoming
call,
and
to
conveniently
initiate
acceptance
of
the
call
While
pausing
or
muting
media
playback
to
minimiZe
conversa
tional
distraction.
Various
accessories
have
been
developed
for
use
With
PDMSP
devices.
For
manufacturers
and
purchasers
of
PDMSP
devices,
it
Would
be
desirable
to
ensure
and/
or
regu
late
interoperability
betWeen
such
devices
and
accessories
intended
to
connect
thereWith.
For
example,
the
original
equipment
manufacturer
(OEM)
of
a
PDMSP
device
may
Wish
to
avoid
Warranty
claims and/or
reputational
damage
that
might
result
due
to
operating
problems
or
hardWare
fail
ures
(e.g.,
inferior
sound
quality,
battery
overcharging,
etc.)
When
the
PDMSP
device
is
connected
With
an
accessory
device
of
questionable
quality
sourced
by
a
supplier
of
unknoWn
repute.
It
may
be
di?icult
for
an
end
user
to
deter
mine
the
quality
of
an
accessory
device
Without
purchasing
the
accessory
and
possibly
learning
“the
hard
Way,”
i.e.,
through
failure
of
the
accessory
or
damage
to
the
PDMSP
device.
Additionally,
or
alternatively,
the
PDMSP
device
OEM
may
Wish
to
regulate
the
interoperability
of
accessories
With
the
PDMSP
device
to
derive
additional
revenue
by
pro
ducing
accessories
itself
or
by
licensing
to
third
parties
the
right
to
produce
such
accessories.
Restricting
by
license
the
availability
to
preferred
third
party
accessory
manufacturers
of
proprietary
interface
components
such
as
connectors
can
provide
some
degree
of
control
to
PDMSP
device
OEMs
in
this
regard;
hoWever,
such
tactics
may
be
circumvented
by
unlicensed
parties
With
relative
ease
by
copying
such
inter
face
connectors.
Accordingly,
there
exists
a
need
for
improved
accessories
for
use
With
portable
digital
media
storage
and
playback
devices.
SUMMARY
OF
THE
INVENTION
In
a
?rst
aspect
of
the
invention,
a
docking
assembly
adapted
for
use
in
interfacing
(l)
a
portable
digital
media