`Volkswagen Group of America, Inc., Petitioner
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`1
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`Patent Application Publication
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`Sep. 11, 2003 Sheet 1 of 8
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`US 2003/0171834 A1
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`100
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`126
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`110
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`CD Player
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`122
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`Controller
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`Prompt Generation and
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`Playback Unit
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`Microphone
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`120
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`Signal Convener
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`128
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`Loudspeakers
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` 116
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`118
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`Video display
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`1 12
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`14
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`30
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`Cassette
`Player
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`Wireless Coummunications
`Interface
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`132
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`Antennae complex
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`Figure 1
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`2
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`Patent Application Publication
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`Sep. 11, 2003 Sheet 2 of 8
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`US 2003/0171834 A1
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`/200
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`202
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`213
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`CD Player
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`Memory
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`Capability
`“St
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`device
`‘D
`command
`protocol
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`204
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`208
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`Loudspeakers
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`Encryption Unit
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`205
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`Controller
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`L
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`loudspeakers
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`212
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`Compression Unit
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`Wireless communications
`interface
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`Antennae Complex
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`Media Player
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`Figure 2
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`3
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`Patent Application Publication
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`Sep. 11, 2003 Sheet 3 of 8
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`US 2003/0171834 A1
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`detect presence of media players
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`iv
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`300
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`302
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`generate prompt for user to select media /
`player with which to communicate
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`———:L— 304
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`play prompt 2
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` 306
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`receive user's input J
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`establish connection with user selected
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`media player
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`receive information on the capabilty of the media
`piayer and its command set
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`308
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`310
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`312
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`314
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`316
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`
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`display command options for media
`player
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`receive user input command
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`.
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`transmit command to media player
`using media player protocol
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`
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`Figure 3
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`4
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`Patent Application Publication
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`Sep. 11, 2003 Sheet 4 of 8
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`US 2003/0171834 A1
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`Patent Application Publication
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`Sep. 11, 2003 Sheet 5 of 8
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`US 2003/0171834 A1
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`500
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`Figure 5
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`Patent Application Publication
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`Sep. 11, 2003 Sheet 6 of 8
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`US 2003/0171834 A1
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`disable audio playback through
`loudspeaker
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`600
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`establish wireless link with car
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`502
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`entertainment system
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`transmit command set to car
`entertainment system
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`transmit playback information to car
`entertainment system eg. album title amd
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`somg titles
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`receive control signal from car
`entertainment system
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`alter state based on control signal
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`end
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`604
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`606
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`608
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`610
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`Figure 6
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`Patent Application Publication
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`Sep. 11, 2003 Sheet 7 of 8
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`US 2003/0171834 A1
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`700
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`702
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`compress and
`encrypt playback
`signal
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`transmit playback
`signal
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`Figure 7
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`8
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`Patent Application Publication
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`Sep. 11, 2003 Sheet 8 of 8
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`US 2003/0171834 A1
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`receive playback signal
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`decompress and decode playback
`signal
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`display playback information eg.
`title and track iength
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`play playback signal through
`loudspeakers
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`800
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`804
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`810
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`Figure 8
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`alter state of car entertainment
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`US 2003/0171834 A1
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`Sep. 11, 2003
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`METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CONNECTING A
`PORTABLE MEDIA PLAYER WIRELESSLY TO AN
`AUTOMOBILE ENTERTAINMENT SYSTEM
`
`FIELD OF THE INVENTION
`
`[0001] This invention relates to entertainment. In particu-
`lar
`in relates to portable entertainment devices and to
`automobile entertainment systems.
`
`BACKGROUND
`
`[0002] There are many portable entertainment devices on
`the market
`today. These include MPEG (MP3) players,
`portable radios, cassette players, and compact disc (CD), and
`Digital Versatile Disc (DVD) players. Even notebook com-
`puters today can be regarded as portable entertainment
`devices in that many include CD and DVD players. These
`portable entertainment devices are often used in an automo-
`bile equipped with a high quality entertainment system
`capable of playing high quality audio in a variety of formats,
`such as Dolby Digital 5.1. However, there is no way to take
`advantage of the superior audio qualities of such an auto-
`mobile entertainment system while playing a medium on a
`portable entertainment device in the automobile.
`
`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
`
`[0003] FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of an automobile
`entertainment system in accordance with one embodiment of
`the invention;
`
`[0004] FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of a media player in
`accordance with one embodiment of the invention;
`
`[0005] FIG. 3 shows a flow chart of operations performed
`by the automobile entertainment system of FIG. 1;
`
`[0006] FIG. 4 shows a block diagram of a display unit of
`the automobile entertainment system of FIG. 1;
`
`[0007] FIG. 5 shows an example of the command set for
`the portable media player of FIG. 2;
`
`[0008] FIG. 6 shows a flow chart of operations performed
`by the media player of FIG. 2;
`
`[0009] FIG. 7 shows a flow chart of operations performed
`by the media player of FIG. 2 when in a playback state; and
`
`[0010] FIG. 8 shows a flow chart of operations performed
`by the automobile entertainment system of FIG. 1 when in
`a playback state.
`
`DETAILED DESCRIPTION
`
`[0011] A method and apparatus for connecting a portable
`media player wirelessly to an automobile entertainment
`system is described. In the following description, for pur-
`poses of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth
`in order to provide a thorough understanding of the inven-
`tion. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art
`that the invention can be practiced without these specific
`details. In other instances, structures and devices are shown
`in block diagram form in order to avoid obscuring the
`invention.
`
`[0012] Reference in this specification to “one embodi-
`ment” or “an embodiment” means that a particular feature,
`structure, or characteristic described in connection with the
`embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the
`
`invention. The appearances of the phrase “in one embodi-
`ment” in various places in the specification are not neces-
`sarily all referring to the same embodiment, nor are separate
`or alternative embodiments mutually exclusive of other
`embodiments. Moreover, various features are described
`which may be exhibited by some embodiments and not by
`others. Similarly, various requirements are described which
`may be requirements for some embodiments but not other
`embodiments.
`
`[0013] According to one embodiment, the invention pro-
`vides
`a method comprising disabling audio playback
`through a loudspeaker unit of a first media player; estab-
`lishing a wireless link with a second media player using said
`first media player; and transmitting a signal via said wireless
`link to said second media player, said signal including an
`audio signal associated with a medium currently being
`played in said first media player.
`
`[0014] According to another embodiment, the invention
`provides a method comprising establishing a wireless link
`with a second media player using a first media player;
`receiving a signal from said second media player; said signal
`including an audio signal associated with a medium cur-
`rently being played in said second media player; and con-
`verting said signal into sound which is played via a loud-
`speaker associated with said first media player.
`
`[0015] According to a further embodiment of the inven-
`tion, there is provided a portable media player comprising a
`disabling mechanism to disable audio playback through a
`loudspeaker unit of said portable media player; and a
`wireless communications interface to transmit a signal to a
`second media player, said signal including an audio signal
`associated with a medium in said portable media player.
`
`[0016] According to yet a further aspect of the invention,
`there is provided apparatus comprising a wireless commu-
`nications interface to establish a wireless communications
`
`link with a portable media player; a receiving mechanism to
`receive a signal from said media player, said signal including
`an audio signal associated with a medium currently being
`played in said media player; and a conversion mechanism
`for converting said signal into sound which is played via a
`loudspeaker associated with said apparatus.
`
`[0017] Referring to FIG. 1 of the drawings, a system
`according to one embodiment of the invention in the form of
`the automobile entertainment system is indicated generally
`by reference numeral 100. FIG. 1 is a block diagram and
`includes only those components necessary to describe the
`present invention. Components of system 100 not necessary
`for purposes of describing the present invention have been
`omitted so as to not
`to obscure the present
`invention.
`However, these components will necessarily be understood
`by a person of ordinary skill in the art to form part of system
`100.
`
`[0018] The components of system 100 shown in FIG. 1
`include a compact disc (CD) player 110, a tuner 112, a
`cassette player 114, a set of loudspeakers 116, a video
`display 118, and a microphone 120. Each of these compo-
`nents are connected to a controller 122 which controls
`
`operation of the various components. The system 100 further
`includes a prompt generation and playback unit 124, a
`decoder 126, a signal converter 128 and a wireless commu-
`nications interface 130, all of which are coupled to controller
`
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`122. Further, an antenna complex 132 is coupled to wireless
`communications interface 130. Wireless communications
`
`interface 130 may support wireless standards known as
`BluetoothTM and IEEE 802.11. The operation of system 100
`will be described in greater detail below.
`
`[0019] Referring to FIG. 2 of the drawings, a portable
`media player in accordance with one embodiment of the
`invention is indicated generally by reference numeral 200.
`As with FIG. 1, FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing only
`those components necessary to describe the media player
`200. Thus, components necessarily forming part of media
`player 200 but not necessary to describe the inventive
`aspects of media player 200 have not been shown so as to
`avoid obscuring the inventive aspects of media player 200.
`However, one skilled in the art will necessarily understand
`that these components form part of media player 200. As
`shown, media player 200 includes a CD player 202 and
`loudspeakers 204 each of which are connected to a control-
`ler 206. Other components of media player 200 include an
`encryption unit 208, logic 210 to disable loudspeakers 204,
`a compression unit 212, a wireless communications inter-
`face 214 connected to an antenna complex 216, and a
`memory 218. The operation of media 200 will be described
`in greater detail below.
`
`[0020] Referring now to FIG. 3 of the drawings, a flow
`chart of operations performed by system 100 in accordance
`with one embodiment of the invention is shown. Starting at
`block 300, system 100 detects the presence of media players
`within its immediate vicinity. This is achieved by continu-
`ously polling for a wireless communications signal in the
`form of an IEEE 802.11 signal or a BluetoothTM signal from
`a media player within the immediate vicinity of system 100.
`If a media player has been detected, at 302 system 100
`generates a prompt to prompt a user to select the media
`player with which to communicate. In some embodiments
`the prompt may be a visual prompt. In other embodiments
`the prompt may be an audio prompt. At block 304 the
`prompt is played. FIG. 4 of the drawings shows an example
`of a visual prompt which is displayed on an LCD screen 400
`associated with system 100. The visual prompt shown in
`FIG. 4 offers a user choices between devices including a
`DVD system, a notebook computer and a cellular telephone
`with which system 100 can communicate. At block 306,
`system 100 receives the user’s input regarding with which
`portable media player or device communications is to be
`established. Typically, a user will make the selection via
`buttons on a faceplate associated with entertainment system
`100. However, in the case of the prompt being an audio
`prompt then a user’s selection will be in the form of a voice
`command which will be deciphered by system 100 using
`standard voice recognition algorithms. To facilitate discus-
`sion, it is assumed that media player 200 has been selected.
`At block 306, system 100 establishes a communications link
`with media player 200. At block 310, system 100 receives
`information on the functionality or capabilities of the media
`player 200 and a command set of media player 200. The
`command set includes simple protocol standards for device
`control defined so as to allow system 100 to control playback
`of media player 200. FIG. 5 of the drawings shows an
`example of a simple protocol 500 which can be used by
`system 100 to control playback media player 200.
`
`[0021] Referring to FIG. 5 it will be seen that commands
`such as play, stop, rewind, etc. have been assigned a hexa-
`
`decimal value. Thus, transmission of the hexadecimal value
`for a particular command from system 100 to portable media
`player 200 will cause the portable media player to perform
`the command associated with the hexadecimal value. Thus,
`essentially block 310 involves communicating the command
`set and its associated hexadecimal values for portable media
`player 200 to system 100. In response system 100, at block
`312, displays the command options available for media
`player 200. For example, these commands will include play,
`stop, rewind, pause, fast-forward, etc. At block 314 system
`100 receives a user-input command which may, for example,
`be a “play” command. In response, at block 316, system 100
`transmits the value associated with the user-input command,
`for example the “01h” which corresponds to the “play”
`command to media player 200,
`thus causing the media
`player 200 to change its state to a playback state.
`
`[0022] Referring to FIG. 6 of the drawings, a flow chart of
`the operations performed by media player 200 in accordance
`with one embodiment of the present invention is shown.
`Starting at block 600, media player 200 disables audio
`playback through loudspeakers 204. At block 602, media
`player 200 establishes a wireless link with system 100. At
`block 604 media player 200 transmits its command set to
`system 100. An example of command set is shown in FIG.
`5 of the drawings. At block 606, media player 200 transmits
`playback information to system 100. For example,
`this
`information could include an album title and song titles
`associated with a CD currently in media player 200. At block
`606 media player 200 receives a control signal from system
`100. The control signal may be a command to cause media
`player 200 to alter its state at block 610 based on the control
`signal. For example, media player 200 could have been in a
`stop state and in response to receiving the value “01h” from
`system 100, media player 200 will alter its state to move to
`a playback state.
`
`[0023] FIG. 7 of the drawings shows a flowchart of
`operations performed by media player 200 when in a play-
`back state. Starting at block 700, media player 200 com-
`presses and encrypts a playback signal and transmits this
`playback signal at block 702 to system 100. Compression of
`the playback signal allows more information to be transmit-
`ted from media player 200 to system 100 for a given
`bandwidth. This is advantageous when transmitting a sig-
`nificant amount of information. For example, in the case of
`a video signal being transmitted from a portable DVD
`player. Encrypting the playback signal enhances privacy in
`that
`the signal cannot be picked up and played by an
`extraneous system which could be for example,
`in an
`adjacent automobile.
`
`[0024] FIG. 8 of the drawings shows a sequence of
`operations performed by system 100 in accordance with
`another embodiment of the invention. Starting at block 800,
`system 100 receives the encrypted and compressed playback
`signal from media player 200. At block 802, system 100
`decompresses and decodes the playback signal. This is done
`by decoder 126 of system 100. At block 804 system, 100
`displays the playback information associated with the media
`currently in media player 200. For example, in the case of a
`compact disc, this information would include the title and
`track length of each track in the compact disc. At block 806,
`system 100 plays back the playback signal through loud-
`speakers 116. This is achieved by converting the signal in
`signal converter 128 into an audio signal. At 808, system 100
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`detects if a user has entered an input. If no user input is
`detected, system 100 repeats block 800. If user input has
`been detected then at block 810 system 100 alters its state or
`the state of media player 200 in response. For example, if the
`input is to pause playback, then system 100 will transmit the
`value “04h” to media player 200 to cause media player 200
`to move to a pause state. Alternatively, system 100 may shut
`down if the input is to turn off system 100.
`
`[0025] One advantage of the present invention is that it
`allows a user to operate a portable media player such as a
`compact disc player, a notebook computer, a MP3 player, a
`portable radio, a cassette player, etc. within an automobile to
`take advantage of the superior quality audio of an entertain-
`ment system in the automobile.
`
`It will be apparent from this description the aspects
`[0026]
`of the present invention may be embodied, at least partly, in
`software. In other embodiments, hardware circuitry may be
`used in combination with software instructions to implement
`the present invention. Thus, the techniques are not limited to
`any specific combination of hardware circuitry and software.
`
`[0027] Although the present invention has been described
`with reference to specific exemplary embodiments, it will be
`evident that the various modification and changes can be
`made to these embodiments without departing from the
`broader spirit of the invention as set forth in the claims.
`Accordingly,
`the specification and drawings are to be
`regarded in an illustrative sense rather than in a restrictive
`sense.
`
`What is claimed is:
`
`1. A method comprising:
`
`disabling audio playback through a loudspeaker unit of a
`first media player;
`
`establishing a wireless link with a second media player
`using said first media player; and
`
`transmitting a signal via said wireless link to said second
`media player, said signal
`including an audio signal
`associated with a medium currently being played in
`said first media player.
`2. The method of claim 1, wherein said wireless link
`complies with a communication standard selected from the
`group comprising a standard known as BluetoothTM, and a
`standard known as IEEE 802.11.
`
`3. The method of claim 1, wherein said signal comprises
`a video signal.
`4. The method of claim 3, further comprising compressing
`said signal before transmission.
`5. The method of claim 4, further comprising encrypting
`said signal before transmission.
`6. The method of claim 1, wherein said signal comprises
`information identifying components of said signal.
`7. The method of claim 1, wherein said second media
`player is an entertainment system of an automobile.
`8. A method comprising:
`
`establishing a wireless link with a second media player
`using a first media player;
`
`receiving a signal from said second media player, said
`signal
`including an audio signal associated with a
`medium currently being played in said second media
`player; and
`
`converting said signal into sound which is played via a
`loudspeaker associated with said first media player.
`9. The method of claim 8, wherein establishing a wireless
`link comprises detecting a presence of one or more second
`media players and prompting a user to select said or one of
`said second media players with which to establish said
`wireless link.
`
`10. The method of claim 9, wherein prompting a user
`comprises playing a prompt message and receiving said
`user’s input in response.
`11. The method of claim 9, wherein said prompt message
`is an audio prompt message played through said loud-
`speaker.
`12. The method of claim 9, wherein said prompt message
`is a visual prompt message played through a visual display
`associated with said first media player.
`13. A portable media player comprising:
`
`a disabling mechanism to disable audio playback through
`a loudspeaker unit of said portable media player; and
`
`a wireless communications interface to transmit a signal
`to a second media player, said signal including an audio
`signal associated with a medium in said portable media
`player.
`14. The portable media player of claim 13, wherein said
`wireless communications interface supports a standard
`selected from the group comprising a standard known as
`BluetoothTM; and a standard known as IEEE 802.11.
`15. The portable media player of claim 13, further com-
`prising a compression mechanism to compress said signal
`before transmission.
`
`16. The portable media player of claim 12, further com-
`prising an encryption mechanism to encrypt said signal
`before transmission.
`
`17. Apparatus comprising:
`a wireless communications interface to establish a wire-
`
`less communications link with a portable media player;
`
`a receiving mechanism to receive a signal from said
`media player, said signal including an audio signal
`associated with a medium currently being played in
`said media player; and
`
`a conversion mechanism for converting said signal into
`sound which is played via a loudspeaker associated
`with said apparatus.
`18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein said wireless
`communications interface comprises a detection mechanism
`to detect a presence of one or more portable media players.
`19. The apparatus of claim 18, further comprising a
`prompting mechanism to generate a prompt to prompt a user
`to select said or one of said portable media players with
`which to establish said wireless communications link.
`
`20. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein said prompting
`mechanism generates an audio prompt message which is
`played to said loudspeaker.
`21. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein said prompting
`mechanism generates a visual prompt which is displayed
`through a visual display associated with said apparatus.
`22. The apparatus of claim 18, further comprising an input
`mechanism to enable a user to input a response to said
`prompt.
`
`12
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`12