as) United States
`a2) Patent Application Publication (0) Pub. No.: US 2006/0217827 Al
`(43) Pub. Date: Sep. 28, 2006
`
`Hsuet al.
`
`US 20060217827A1
`
`(54)
`
`SOUND PLAYER WITH A SEPARABLE
`MEMORY
`
`Publication Classification
`
`(76)
`
`Inventors: Chin-Sung Hsu, Taipei City (TW);
`Ming-Shiang Chen, Taipei City (TW);
`Yu-Wen Huang, Taipei City (TW)
`
`Correspondence Address:
`NORTH AMERICA INTELLECTUAL
`PROPERTY CORPORATION
`P.O. BOX 506
`
`MERRIFIELD, VA 22116 (US)
`
`(21)
`
`Appl. No.:
`
`11/307,218
`
`(22)
`
`Filed:
`
`Jan. 27, 2006
`
`(30)
`
`Foreign Application Priority Data
`
`(51)
`
`Int. Cl.
`(2006.01)
`GO6F 17/00
`(52) US. Cd. casccscssstussssssetustutnsieee 700/94; 369/69
`
`(57)
`
`ABSTRACT
`
`A sound player includes a first module including a first
`connector and a memory electrically connected to the first
`connector for storing digital audio data. The sound player
`further includes a second module including a controller for
`controlling the operation of the soundplayer,a flash memory
`electrically connected to the controller for storing digital
`audio data, a second connectorelectrically connected to the
`controller for connecting to the first connector in a detach-
`able manner, a user interface operable to allowa user to
`input a signal to the controllerfor selecting digital audio data
`stored in the flash memory of the second module or for
`selecting digital audio data stored in the memoryofthefirst
`module through thefirst connector and the second connec-
`tor, a decoder for converting selected digital audio data into
`audio signals, and an audio output port for outputting the
`
`Feb. 4, 2005
`
`16
`
`(TW)... eceeecsessneeeseees 094103649
`
`audio signals.
`
`APPLE 1109
`
`APPLE 1109
`
`1
`
`

`

`Patent Application Publication Sep. 28,2006 Sheet 1 of 2
`
`US 2006/0217827 Al
`
`10
`
`12
`
`Fig.|
`
`
`
`
`oF
`
`o E
`
`B
`oS
`G
`xv
`Lo”
`
`2
`
`

`

`Patent Application Publication Sep. 28,2006 Sheet 2 of 2
`
`US 2006/0217827 Al
`
`
`
`Jas)F190)puosas
`
`
`
`YSe],]OTPeY
`
`
`
`AJOUJOULJOAII001
`
`AJOUWUBIAYFIPOIoIpny
`
`cSl
`
`JO]Spaseo.yodyndjno
`
`
`
`1S]
`
`
`
`
`
`308J.19]UTJO.OIUUOD
`
`JOJO3IUU0S
`
`3
`
`

`

`US 2006/0217827 Al
`
`Sep. 28, 2006
`
`SOUND PLAYER WITH A SEPARABLE MEMORY
`
`BACKGROUNDOF THE INVENTION
`
`1. Field of the Invention
`
`[0001]
`
`[0002] The present invention relates to a soundplayer, and
`nore particularly,
`to a sound player with a separable
`nemory.
`
`[0003]
`
`2. Description of the Prior Art
`
`[0004] With the advent of digital music being readily
`available, users have a new source of musical content.
`Digital music content resides in relatively small digital files
`hat can bestored on portable non-volatile memory devices.
`Due to the popularity of digital music, portable music
`players such as Moving Pictures Expert Group, Layer 3
`MP3)players, as well as other types of music players can
`be found everywhere.
`
`[0005] Generally there are two kinds of MP3 players,
`classified according to the format of the memory used for
`storing music data. Oneutilizes flash memory, and the other
`tilizes hard disks. The MP3 player with the flash memory
`is popular for its small size and its light weight. However,
`he MP3player with the flash memoryhas a fixed amount of
`nemory available for storing digital music. As an example,
`suppose that the flash memory has a capacity of 64 MB,
`which can store about one hourofdigital music in the MP3
`format. If the user wishes to go on an extended trip, he will
`quickly run out of new songsto listen to on the MP3 player
`due to the small capacity of the flash memory.In order to
`overcome these problems, the user must buy multiple MP3
`players. Unfortunately, having more than one MP3 player
`greatly increases the cost associated with enjoying digital
`nusic. To overcome the drawback of memory capacity of
`he MP3player withthe flash memory, the MP3 player with
`he hard disk is designed for enlarging the amount of
`nemory for storing digital music data. However, an MP3
`player with a hard disk has the disadvantages of having a
`eavyweight, consuming moreelectricity, and beingfragile.
`Hencethere is a need to combine the advantages of the two
`MP3playersfor providing users with a better portable music
`player.
`
`SUMMARYOF THE INVENTION
`
`
`
`
`
`
`It is therefore a primary objective of the claimed
`[0006]
`invention to provide a sound player with a separable
`nemory.
`
`[0007] Accordingto the claimed invention, a sound player
`includes a first module, a first connector, and a memory
`electrically connected to the first connector for storing
`digital audio data. The sound player further includes a
`second module, a controller for controlling the operation of
`the sound player, a flash memory electrically connected to
`the controller for storing digital audio data, a second con-
`ector electrically connected to the controller for connecting
`to the first connector in a detachable manner, a userinterface
`to input a signal to the controller for selecting digital audio
`data stored in the flash memory of the second module or for
`selecting digital audio data stored in the memory ofthefirst
`module through thefirst connector and the second connec-
`tor, a decoder for converting selected digital audio data into
`audio signals, and an audio output port for outputting the
`audio signals.
`
`[0008] These and otherobjectives of the present invention
`will no doubt become obvious to those of ordinary skill in
`the art after reading the followingdetailed description of the
`preferred embodiment that is illustrated in the various fig-
`ures and drawings.
`
`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
`
`FIG.1 is a drawing ofa soundplayer according to
`[0009]
`the present invention.
`
`[0010] FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of the sound
`player in FIG. 1 according to the present invention.
`
`
`
`DETAILED DESCRIPTION
`
`
`[0011] Please refer to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2FIG. 1 is a
`drawing of a sound player 10 according to the embodiment
`of the present invention, and FIG.2 is a functional block
`diagram ofthe sound player 10 according to the embodiment
`of the present invention. The sound player 10 can be an MP3
`player. The sound player 10 includes a first module 12 and
`a second module 20. The first module 12 includesa first
`
`housing 14, a first connector 16, a memory 18, and a power
`supply 19. The second module 20 includesa second housing
`22, a controller 24, a flash memory 26, a second connector
`28, a user interface 30, a decoder 32, an audio output port 34,
`a display 36, a memory cardslot 38, a radio receiver 40, and
`a power supply 42.
`
`[0012] The first connector 16 of the first module 12 is
`installed on thefirst housing 14. The memory 18 isinstalled
`inside the first housing 14 andelectrically connected to the
`first connector 16 for storing digital audio data. The memory
`can be a hard disk having an IDE interface or a USB
`interface. The power supply 19 supplies powerto thefirst
`module 12 and can be a battery.
`
`
`
`[0013] The controller 24 is installed inside the second
`housing 22 for controlling the operation of the sound player
`10. The flash memory26 can be a NANDflash memoryand
`is installed inside the second housing 22 andelectrically
`connected to the controller 24 for storing digital audio data.
`The second connector28is installed on the second housing
`22 and electrically connected to the controller 24 for con-
`necting to the first connector 16 in a detachable manner. The
`user interface 30 is electrically connected to the controller
`24 and operable to allow a user to input a signal to the
`controller 24 for selecting digital audio data stored in the
`flash memory 26 of the second module 20 or for selecting
`digital audio data stored in the memory 18 ofthe first
`module 12 through the first connector 16 and the second
`connector 28. The decoder 32is installed inside the second
`housing 22 and capable of converting the digital audio data
`selected by the user interface 30 into audio signals. For
`example, the decoder 32 can be an MP3 decoder for con-
`verting the digital audio data of MP3 format into audio
`signals or can convert the digital audio data of WMAformat
`into audio signals. The audio output port 34 is capable of
`outputting the audio signals converted by the decoder 32.
`The audio output port 34 can be an earphoneor a speaker
`operable to allowa userto listen to the sound played by the
`sound player 10. The display 36 is capable of displaying an
`operation status of the sound player 10, suchas the selected
`music files, the selected broadcaster, or the capacity of the
`battery. The display 36 can be a liquid crystal display (LCD).
`The memory card slot 38 is capable of reading data of a
`
`4
`
`

`

`US 2006/0217827 Al
`
`Sep. 28, 2006
`
`nemory card. Theradio receiver 40 is capable of receiving
`radio signals, such as FM or AM radio signals, and is
`capable of outputting audio signals corresponding to the
`radio signals to the audio output port 34. The power supply
`42 is capable of providing the electricity to the second
`nodule 20. The power supply 42 can be a battery or can
`receive the electricity from an external power supply. In
`addition, the power supply 19 of the first module 12 can
`receive the electricity from the power supply 42 of the
`second module 20 for providing the electricity to the first
`nodule 12.
`
`[0014] The characteristic of the present invention is that
`he sound player 10 includes the twoparts, the first module
`12 and the second module 20. The data transmission
`between the first module 12 and the second module 20 is
`
`hrough the connection of the first connector 16 and the
`second connector 28. The first connector 16 andthe second
`connector 28 can use the USB interface, such as USB 1.0
`USB2.0, or USB OTG,the IEEE 1394interface, or the ID]
`interface. Ifthe first connector 16 is a USB connectorandth
`
`
`
`
`
`WW OWwWit
`
`memory 18 ofthe first module 12 1s a hard disk of the ID]
`interface, the first module 12 can further include a USB/ID]
`interface converter for converting data between the US
`interface and the IDE interface. As shown in FIG.1, thefirst
`connector 16 is a male connector and the second connector
`28 is a female connector. The connection betweenthe first
`connector 16 and the second connector28 can also use other
`
`types and standards besides the ones mentioned above.
`When the first module 12 and the second module 20 are
`
`connected through the connection ofthe first connector 16
`and the second connector 28, the user can select the digital
`audio data stored in the flash memory 26 of the second
`module 20 or the digital audio data stored in the memory18
`of the first module 12 through the connection of the first
`connector 16 and the second connector 28 by the user
`interface 30. Therefore, the total capacity for storing digital
`audio data in the sound player 10 is the sum ofthe capacity
`of the flash memory 26 and the capacity of the memory18.
`The combination of the first module 12 and the second
`module 20 is similar to an MP3 player with a hard disk in
`the prior art. The first module 12 is similar to an external
`hard disk for connecting to a computer to downloaddigital
`audio data to the memory 18 of the first module 12. After
`downloading digital audio data from the computer and
`storing digital audio data to the memory 18 ofthe first
`module 12, the first module 12 can be disconnected from the
`computer and be connected to the second module 20. After
`the controller 24 of the second module 20 detects the
`connection ofthe first connector 16 and the second connec-
`tor 28, the first module 12 can be regardedas a slave device.
`Andthen the user interface 30 is operable to allow the user
`to select the digital audio data stored in the flash memory26
`of the second module 20 or the digital audio data stored in
`the memory18ofthefirst module 12 through the connection
`of the first connector 16 and the second connector 28. The
`
`user also can backup the digital audio data stored in the
`memory 18 of the first module 12 to the flash memory26.
`If the user wants to take the sound player 10 outside for a
`long time, like going on a trip, the first module 12 can be
`connected to the second module 20 for storing more digital
`audio data.
`
`[0015] When thefirst module 12 is disconnected from the
`second module 20 of the sound player 10, the controller 24
`will detect the disconnectionofthefirst connector 16 and the
`
`second connector 28. And then the user interface 30 is
`operable to allowthe user to select the digital audio data
`stored in the flash memory 26 of the second module 20. The
`second module 20 which is stand-alone is similar to an MP3
`
`player with a flash memoryin the prior art and is light,
`portable, and electricity-saving. The second module 20 is
`capable of reading data stored in an external memorycard
`through the memory card slot 38 so as to be a card reader.
`The source of the digital audio data stored in the flash
`memory 26 of the second module 20 can be from the
`memory18 ofthe first module 12 through the connection of
`the first connector 16 and the second connector 28, or from
`the external memory card through the memory cardslot 38.
`If the user has no need to listen a large numberofdigital
`audio data ordinarily, the second module 20 can function as
`a stand-alone MP3 player and have the advantages of being
`light, portable, and electricity-saving.
`
`In contrast to the conventional MP3 player, the
`[0016]
`sound player according to the present invention combines
`the advantages of the MP3 players with a flash memoryand
`those with a hard disk. If the user wants to take the sound
`player 10 outside for a long time, such as when going on a
`trip, the first module can be connected to the second module
`for storing a large numberofdigital audio data. If the user
`has no need to listen a large numberofdigital audio data
`ordinarily, the second module can be a stand-alone MP3
`player for being light, portable, and electricity-saving.
`
`[0017] Those skilled in the art will readily observe that
`numerous modifications and alterations of the device and
`
`method may be made while retaining the teachings of the
`invention. Accordingly,
`the above disclosure should be
`construed as limited only by the metes and bounds ofthe
`appended claims.
`
`Whatis claimed is:
`
`1. A sound player comprising:
`
`a first module comprising:
`
`a first connector; and
`
`a memory installed electrically connected to the first
`connector for storing digital audio data; and
`
`a second module comprising:
`
`a controller for controlling the operation of the sound
`player;
`
`a flash memoryelectrically connected to the controller
`for storing digital audio data;
`
`a second connector electrically connected to the con-
`troller for connecting to the first connector in a
`detachable manner;
`
`a userinterface electrically connected to the controller
`to input a signalto the controller for selecting digital
`audio data stored in the flash memory of the second
`module or for selecting digital audio data stored in
`the memory of the first module through the first
`connector and the second connector;
`
`a decoder for converting the digital audio data selected
`bythe user interface into audio signals; and
`
`an audio output port for outputting the audio signals
`converted by the decoder.
`
`5
`
`

`

`US 2006/0217827 Al
`
`Sep. 28, 2006
`
`2. The sound player of claim 1 whereinthe first connector
`and the second connectorutilize a USB interface, IEEE 1394
`interface, or IDE interface.
`3. The sound playerof claim 1 wherein the memory of the
`first module is a hard disk.
`
`4. The sound player of claim 3 wherein the memory of the
`first module is a hard disk having a USBinterface.
`5. The sound player of claim | wherein the flash memory
`of the second module is a NAND flash memory.
`6. The sound player of claim 1 whereinthe decoderof the
`second module is an MP3 decoder.
`
`7. The sound player of claim 1 wherein the audio output
`port of the second module is an earphone jack.
`8. The soundplayer of claim 1 wherein the second module
`further comprises a display for displaying an operation
`status of the sound player.
`
`9. The sound player of claim 1 wherein the second module
`further comprises a memorycard slot for reading data of a
`memorycard.
`10. The sound player of claim 1 wherein the second
`module further comprises a radio receiver for receiving
`radio signals and outputting audio signals corresponding to
`the radio signals to the audio outputport.
`11. The sound player of claim 1 wherein the first module
`further comprises a first housing,
`the first connector is
`installed on the first housing, and the memory is installed
`inside the first housing.
`12. The sound player of claim 1 wherein the second
`module further comprises a second housing,
`the second
`connector is installed on the second housing, and the con-
`troller, the flash memory, the decoderare installed inside the
`second housing.
`
`6
`
`