Abstract:
A water proof and shock resistant music player is provided which permits a user to listen to his/her favorite music while engaged in his/her favorite sport. For example, the user may listen to music while surfing or boogie boarding. The music player comprises an upper housing and a lower housing. The housings have button apertures with rim grooves formed about an inner periphery of the button apertures. Buttons are sized and configured to fit within the button apertures, and rim portions of the buttons are sized and configured to have a snug fit with the rim grooves such that there is a water tight seal therebetween and the user of the music player may engage in water related activities. The buttons are traverseable between a depressed position which activates switches to control the music player and a retracted position to deactivate the switches. In particular, the buttons may have a flexible member and a rigid member inserted inside of the flexible member. The flexible member provides the water tight seal with the housings and the rigid member activates the switches.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]     This application claims benefits of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/608,856, filed Sep. 10, 2004, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     STATEMENT RE: FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH/DEVELOPMENT  
       [0002]     Not Applicable  
       BACKGROUND  
       [0003]     The present invention relates generally to a music player, and more particularly to a water proof and shock resistant MP3 player wherein a user may listen to music while the user is engaged in a water related sport and/or vigorous activity.  
         [0004]     Active people, hikers, surfers, snowboarders and the like, enjoy listening to music while engaging in vigorous physical activities which may include the risk or inevitability of getting wet. One method for the participant to listen to his/her favorite music while engaged in the vigorous physical activity is to listen to a compact disc. However, a CD player has many inherent problems such as weight, track skipping, and size. Additionally, for snowboarding and swimming, participants cannot listen to music with CD players because CD players are not water resistant. Moreover, CD players are typically too large and too heavy for the active person to carry the CD player while engaging in the vigorous physical activity.  
         [0005]     Accordingly, there is a need in the art for an improved music playing device wherein a user may listen to music while participating in vigorous physical activity including water related sports.  
       BRIEF SUMMARY  
       [0006]     The various aspects of a music player described herein addresses the needs discussed in the summary and those needs identified herein as well as those that are known in the art. In particular, the music player is a shock resistant music player such that a user may wear the music player via an arm band while the user is participating in vigorous physical activity such as surfing. Even though the waves may tumble the participant, the music player continuously plays music for the user&#39;s listening enjoyment. The music player is also water resistant such that electronic components (e.g., IC chip, battery, and the like) contained within a housing of the music player does not get wet thereby damaging the electronic components.  
         [0007]     The music player is water resistant due to a combination of grooves formed in the upper and lower housings which are sized and configured to receive a rim portion of a button and a ring disposed about a plug. The buttons control the operation of the music player such as fast forward, on/off, etc. The plug is an input/output device such that a jack of a waterproof earphone may be inserted into the plug such that the user may listen to the music being played on the music player. The plug is also communicable with a USB cable such that a user may connect the music player to a computer for downloading and uploading music onto the music player.  
         [0008]     The grooves/rim portion/ring combination may have the following structure. The upper and lower housings may be formed to collectively define button apertures and a plug aperture. The upper housing may have a plurality of semi circularly shaped depressions which mate to semi circularly shaped depressions of the lower housing to collectively define the button apertures and the plug apertures. The button apertures and the plug apertures may respectively have rim grooves and a ring groove for receiving the rim portion of the button and the ring disposed about the plug. The rim portions and ring may be received into the rim grooves and the ring groove, respectively. When the upper and lower housings are engaged to each other, the rim grooves compress onto the rim portion to form a water tight seal therebetween. Also, the ring grooves compress onto the ring disposed around the plug to form a water tight seal therebetween. Moreover, the interface surfaces of the upper and lower housings may be engaged (e.g., sonically welded, etc.) to each other to form a water tight seal at the interface surfaces. Hence, by the above construction, electronic components disposed within a cavity formed by the upper and lower housings is protected from water when the music player is submersed under water.  
         [0009]     The buttons are traversable through the button apertures between a depressed position and a normal position. When the buttons are depressed, switches connected to the PCB board are activated thereby controlling the operations of the music player. The buttons are traversable through the button apertures and a water tight seal is maintained due to a flexible member/rigid member combination. In particular, the rigid member depresses the switch and the rim portion of the flexible member remains snugly fitted into the rim grooves for a water tight seal. More particularly, the rigid member may be inserted into a hole formed in the flexible member and extend out of the rim portion of the flexible member. The portion of the rigid member extending out of the rim portion referred to as a second distal end of the rigid member may be aligned to switches which operate the function of the music player. The hole formed in the flexible member is not formed all the way through the flexible member such that water does not enter the housing through such hole. The buttons are received into button apertures collectively formed by the upper and lower housings. The flexible member permits the rigid member to sufficiently slide within the flexible member such that the second distal end of the rigid member may contact and depress the switch to control the music player&#39;s operation when the button is traversed to the depressed position. Also, rim portions of the buttons remain snugly fitted into rim grooves of the upper and lower housings to provide a water tight seal while the rigid member slides within the flexible member. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0010]     These and other features and advantages of the various embodiments disclosed herein will be better understood with respect to the following description and drawings, in which like numbers refer to like parts throughout, and in which:  
         [0011]      FIG. 1  is an illustration of a swimmer listening to music with a water resistant and shock resistant music player wherein the music player is engaged to the participant&#39;s arm via an arm band;  
         [0012]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the music player removed from the arm band and an earphone removed from an earphone plug of the music player;  
         [0013]      FIG. 3  is an exploded perspective view of the music player illustrating four buttons and the earphone plug wherein rim portions of buttons and a ring disposable about the plug are respectively received into rim grooves and a ring groove to make the music player water resistant;  
         [0014]      FIG. 4  is a top view of the upper housing with alignment pins of the upper housing engaged to alignment holes of the PCB board and the ring disposed about the plug received into the ring groove of the upper housing;  
         [0015]      FIG. 5  is a cross sectional top view of the button in the button aperture illustrating a rim portion of a flexible member disposed within the rim groove for forming a water tight seal therebetween; and  
         [0016]      FIG. 6  is a cross sectional front elevational view of the button in the button aperture illustrating a band disposed in recesses of the upper and lower housing periphery. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0017]     Referring now to the drawings which are for the purposes of illustrating the preferred embodiments of the present invention and not for the purposes of limiting the same,  FIG. 1  illustrates a user  10  listening to a music player  12  while swimming. The music player  12  is inserted into an armband  14  wrapped and secured to a left arm  16  of the person  10 . An ear phone  18  is also shown having an ear bud  20  and a jack  22 . The jack  22  is connected to the music player  12  and the ear bud  20  is inserted into an ear  24  of the user  10 . The music player  12  permits the user  10  to simultaneously swim and listen to music.  
         [0018]      FIG. 2  illustrates the armband  14 , the music player  12  and the earphone  18 . The armband  14  may comprise a strap  26 , pouch  28  and a closing flap  30 . The strap  26  may be fabricated from a neoprene material and sized and configured to fit around the user&#39;s arm  16 . The distal ends  32   a, b  of the strap  26  may have hooks  34  and loops  36  respectively attached to ends  32   a, b . The strap  26  may be wrapped around the user&#39;s arm  16 , and the hooks  34  and loops  36  may engage each other to attach the armband  14  to the user&#39;s arm  16 .  
         [0019]     The pouch  28  may be attached to a central portion  38  of the strap  26  on its outside surface. The pouch  28  may also be fabricated from a neoprene material sized and configured to the general shape of a casing  40  of the music player  12 . In particular, the pouch  28  may be fabricated to have a rounded top portion  42  and tapered bottom portion  44 . The pouch  28  may further define an entrance/exit or opening  46  through which the music player  12  may be inserted into or removed from the pouch  28 . The opening  46  may be smaller than the music player  12  such that the opening  46  must be stretched open to insert the music player  12  into the pouch  28  or to remove the music player  12  from the pouch  28 . This provides additional capture of the music player  12  inside the pouch  28  in addition to the closing flap  30 . The pouch  28  may further have button openings  48  on the left and right hand sides of the pouch  28  sized, configured and positioned to allow the user  10  to feel and depress buttons  50   a - d  of the music player  12 . The closing flap  30  may be attached to an outside surface of the pouch  28  and removably attachable to an inside surface of the strap  26 . The closing flap may a jack aperture  52  sized and configured to receive the jack  22  of the earphone  18 , as shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 . The inside surface of the strap  26  and the inside surface of the closing flap  30  may be respectively lined with hooks  54  and loops  56  such that the closing flap  30  may cover the opening  46  when the closing flap  30  is in a closed position (see  FIG. 1 ) and the hooks  54  and loops  56  lined on the inside surfaces of the strap  26  and closing flap  30  may be engaged to each other. In the closed position, the jack aperture  52  may be aligned to a plug  58  of the music player  12  such that the jack  22  of the earphone  18  may be plugged into the plug  58  when the flap  30  is in the closed position. To remove the music player  12  from the pouch  28 , the user  10  may remove the jack  22  from the plug  58 . The loops  56  may be disengaged from the hooks  54 , and the music player  12  may be slipped out of the pouch  28  through opening  46 .  
         [0020]     The discussion of the operation of the music player  12  itself is exemplary and not meant to limit the present invention. It is also contemplated that other operation schemes may be employed in conjunction with the various aspects of the music player  12  discussed herein. The music player  12  may be turned on by pressing the on/off button  50   c  for three seconds while the jack  22  of the earphone  18  (i.e., output devices) is attached to the plug  58 . The music player  12  may be turned off by disengaging the jack  22  from the plug  58 . Alternatively, and more preferably, the music player  12  may be turned off by depressing the on/off button  50   c  for three seconds. While the music player  12  is on, a subsequent song or previous song may be played by depressing either the next track button  50   c  or the previous track button  50   d , respectively. To replay the current song, the previous track button  50   d  may be depressed. To adjust the volume, the increase or decrease volume buttons  50   a, b  may be depressed. These buttons  50   a - d  activate the switches  60   a - d  (see  FIG. 3 ) formed on a PCB  62  to control the music player  12 .  
         [0021]     The music player  12  may be manufactured to be water resistant such that the user  10  may engage in water sports while listening to his or her favorite music. Additionally, the music player  12  may be shock resistant such that the user  10  may engage in vigorous physical activity without interruption of the music being played. To this end, as shown in  FIG. 3 , the music player  12  may have a plurality of electronic components  64  formed on the printed circuit board (PCB)  62 . The PCB  62  and the electronic components  64  may cooperate with each other to play music. The electronic components  64  may include a battery which may be rechargeable and a flash memory (by way of example and not limitation, 128 megabyte, 256 megabyte and 1 gigabyte). The electronic components  64  may include software embedded on an IC chip to play music downloaded onto the flash memory. The software may play MP3 formatted music as well as all common music formats.  
         [0022]     The plug  58  may also be attached to the PCB  62  at a distal end thereof. The plug  58  may be a 3.5 mm plug and may also be waterproof. The plug  58  may be connected to output devices such as amplified speakers, headphones, earphones  18 , and the like. The plug  58  may also be connected to a USB cable adaptor. The USB cable adaptor may have a cable jack and USB connector with a cable connecting the cable jack and the USB connector. The cable jack may be inserted into the plug  58  and the USB connector may be connected to a USB port of a computer to permit downloading of music files from the computer to the music player  12 , and more particularly, to the flash memory of the music player  12 . Additionally, the USB cable adaptor may provide power to the music player  12  for recharging the battery of the music player  12 .  
         [0023]     The music player  12  may have an upper housing  66 , a lower housing  68  and a band  70  disposed therebetween which when assembled together forms a cavity to contain the electronic components  64  and resists water from entering into the cavity. The lower housing  68  may have a transparent window  72  such that a light emitting diode (LED) may emit light through the transparent window  72 . The LED may be one of the electronic components  64  attached to the PCB  62 . The LED functions to indicate a status of the MP3 player  12  such as whether a song is being played or whether the battery of the music player  12  is being charged. The band  70 , upper housing  66  and lower housing  68  may contact each other to form a water tight seal therebetween. For example, the upper housing  66 , lower housing  68  and the band  70  disposed therebetween may be sonically welded to each other. The band  70  may have a plurality of apertures  74   a - d  for receiving the buttons  50   a - d  (see  FIG. 4 ) and the plug  58 . In particular, an upper portion of the band  70  may have a plug aperture  74   e  sized and configured to receive the plug  58  therethrough. Left and right portions of the band  70  may have two button apertures  74   a, b  and  74   c, d  on each portion. The button apertures  74   a - d  may be sized and configured to receive buttons  50   a - d , respectively. The buttons  50   a - d  may be operative to control switches  60   a - d , respectively, attached to the PCB board  62 . A center line  76   a - d  of the button apertures  74   a - d , respectively, may be aligned to the switches  60   a - d  attached to the PCB board  62  when the MP3 player  12  is assembled. The buttons  50   a - d  may have flexible members  78  which permit minute movements of rigid members  80  through the apertures  74   a - d . The rigid member  80  may be disposed through a core of the button  50   a - d . As shown in  FIG. 5 , the rigid member  80  may be aligned to the switch  60  and in contact therewith and extend into the distal tip of the button  50 . Depressing the flexible member  78  in the direction of arrow  82  by the user&#39;s fingers is operative to traverse the rigid member  80  against the switch  60  and depress the switch  60  to control the operation of the music player  12 , as shown in  FIG. 6 .  
         [0024]     The upper and lower housings  66 ,  68  may have a cup-shaped configuration. A periphery of each of the upper and lower housings  66 ,  68  may define an interface surface  84   a, b  (see  FIGS. 3 and 4 ). The upper housing  66  may be disposed above the lower housing  68  with the interface surface  84   a  of the upper housing  66  in alignment with the interface surface  84   b  of the lower housing  68 . When the interface surfaces  84   a, b  of the upper housing  66  and the lower housing  68  are in contact with each other, a cavity is formed therebetween which houses the electronic components  64 . When the interface surfaces  84   a, b  of the upper and lower housings  66 ,  68  are sonically welded, a watertight seal is formed therebetween. However, the upper and lower housings  66 ,  68  form button apertures  86   a - e  for the buttons  50   a - d  and the plug  58 . As such, water may still enter the cavity through button and plug apertures  86   a - e  but is prevented as discussed below.  
         [0025]     The button and plug apertures  86   a - e  permit the user  10  of the music player  12  to insert a jack  22  of an earphone  18  into a plug  58  attached to the PCB board  62  and to depress buttons  50   a - d  to control the switches  60   a - d . More particularly, the plug  58  may be attached to the PCB board  62  and extend through sidewall portions  88   a, b  (see  FIG. 3 ) of the upper and lower housings  66 ,  68 . The plug  58  may have a generally circular configuration. The plug aperture  86   e  may be sized to be slightly larger than a diameter of the plug  58  such that the plug  58  may be inserted therethrough. The plug aperture  86   e  may be defined by a semi-circularly shaped depression formed in the lower housing  68  which mates with a corresponding semi-circularly shaped depression in the upper housing  66 . When the interface surface  84   a  of the upper housing  66  mates with the interface surface  84   b  of the lower housing, then plug aperture  68   e  is formed.  
         [0026]     The semi-circularly shaped depressions may have donut shaped grooves  90   a, b  (see  FIG. 3 ) sized and configured to receive a ring  92  disposable about the plug  58 . During assembly, the PCB board  62  with the plug  58  attached thereto may have the ring  92  disposed about the plug  58 . The PCB board  62  may be disposed within the upper housing  66  with the plug  58  disposed in the semi-circularly shaped depression of the upper housing  66 . Moreover, the ring  92  disposed around the plug  58  may be disposed in groove  90   a  of the upper housing  66 . The interface surface  84   a  of the upper housing  66  may be aligned and placed in contact with the interface surface  84   b  of the lower housing  68 . Moreover, in this position, the depression formed in the sidewall portion of the lower housing  68  also receives the plug  58 , and the groove  90   b  receives the ring  92  disposed around the plug  58 . The interface surfaces  84   a, b  of the upper and lower housings  66 ,  68  may be sonically welded to each other to assemble the music player  12 . When assembled, the ring  92  being slightly larger than the grooves  90   a, b  is snugly fitted within the grooves  90   a, b  of the lower and upper housings  66 ,  68 . The snug fit between the ring  92  and the grooves  90   a,b  of the housings  66 ,  68  forms a watertight seal therebetween. In this manner, a jack  22  of the earphone  18  may be plugged into the plug  58  for receiving electronic signals from the music player  12  and delivering such signals to the ear bud  20  of the earphone  18  such that the user  10  may enjoy listening to the music being played while in wet conditions.  
         [0027]     The buttons  50   a - d  which control the operations of the music player  12  may be inserted into button apertures  86   a - d  so as to form a water tight seal therewith. In particular, the buttons  50   a - d  may have the flexible member  78  and the rigid member  80 , as shown in  FIG. 3 . The flexible member  78  may have a hat-shaped configuration defined by a nub portion  94  and a rim portion  96 . The nub and rim portions  94 ,  96  may have cylindrical configurations (see  FIG. 3 ) wherein a central axis of the nub portion  94  and a central axis  96  of the rim portion  96  are aligned with each other. The nub portion  94  and the rim portion  96  may be fabricated from a unitary material such as rubber or other elastomeric material. The button apertures  86   a - d  for receiving the buttons  50   a - d  may be defined by semi-circularly shaped depressions formed in the upper and lower housings  66 ,  68 . The button apertures  86   a - d  may be sized and configured to receive the nub and rim portions  94 ,  96  of the flexible member  78  and the rigid member  80 , as shown in  FIG. 5 . The semi-circularly shaped depressions formed in the upper and lower housings  66 ,  68  may also have donut shaped grooves  98   a, b  (see  FIGS. 3 and 4 ). Groove  98   a  of the upper housing  66  is best shown in  FIG. 4 , and groove  98   b  of the lower housing  68  is best shown in  FIG. 3 . The donut shaped grooves  98   a, b  of the upper and lower housings  66 ,  68  may collectively receive the rim portion  96  of the flexible member  78 . When the rim portion  96  is received in the grooves  98   a, b  of the upper and lower housings  66 ,  68  and the interface surfaces  84   a, b  of the upper and lower housings  66 ,  68  are assembled (e.g., sonic welding, etc.), a watertight seal is formed between the interface surfaces  84   a, b  of the upper and lower housings  66 ,  68  as well as between the button  50  and the button aperture  86 .  
         [0028]     The button apertures  86   a - d  (see  FIG. 3 ) may also define a central axis which is in alignment with the switches  60   a - d  attached to the PCB board  62 , as shown in  FIG. 5 . Additionally, a hole may be formed through the rim portion  96  and the nub portion  94  of the flexible member  78 . The hole may extend through the rim portion  96  and extend to the nub portion  94 . However, the hole should not extend through the entire nub portion  94  so as to make a hole through the button  50  such that water does not enter the housing through such hole.  
         [0029]     The hole and rigid member  80  may be sized and configured such that the rigid member  80  may snuggly fit within the hole but may also be slidable therethrough. A first distal end  100  of the rigid member  80  may have a bulbous configuration with an edge  102  (see  FIG. 5 ) to prevent the rigid member  80  from being pulled out of the hole. The first distal end  100  of the rigid member  80  may be inserted into the hole until the first distal end  100  contacts a bottom  104  of the hole. The rigid member  80  may be longer than a depth  106  of the hole and a second distal end  108  of the rigid member  80  may be disposed adjacent to a switch  60 . When the upper and lower housings  66 ,  68  are assembled with the buttons  50   a - d  and PCB board  62 , the user  10  may press the button  50  in direction  82  to slide the rigid member  80  through the hole such that the second distal end  108  of the rigid member  80  depresses the switch  60  (see  FIG. 6 ). This controls the operation of the music player  12 . When the user&#39;s finger releases the button  50 , the switch  60  springs outwardly and traverses the rigid member  80  back to its normal position (see  FIG. 5 ).  
         [0030]     As shown in  FIG. 6 , the band  70  may be interposed between the upper and lower housings  66 ,  68 . In particular, the upper and lower housings  66 ,  68  may be formed with a recess  110   a, b  about peripheries of the upper and lower housings  66 ,  68 , as shown in  FIGS. 3 and 4 . More particularly, as shown in  FIGS. 4 and 6 , the upper housing  66  may be formed with a recess  110   a  about the periphery thereof. Also, as shown in  FIGS. 3 and 6 , the lower housing  68  may be formed with a recess  110   b  about the periphery thereof. The recesses  110   a, b  may be sized and configured to receive the band  70  therein such that the band  70  is substantially flush with an exterior of the upper and lower housings  66 ,  68 , as shown in  FIGS. 2 and 6 . The band  70  may also have four button apertures  74   a - d  (see  FIG. 3 ) which may be sized and configured to receive the nub portion  94  of the buttons  50   a - d , as shown in  FIG. 4 . The band  70  with the buttons  50   a - d  inserted into the button apertures  74   a - d  may be placed into the recess  110   a  of the upper housing periphery with the rim portions  96  of the buttons  50   a - d  received into the grooves  98   a . Additionally, the plug  58  with the ring  92  disposed thereabout may be inserted into aperture  74   e . The interface surfaces  84   a, b  of the upper and lower housings  66 ,  68  may be aligned and sonically welded to each other, as shown in  FIG. 6 .  
         [0031]     To assemble the music player  12 , the ring  92  may be disposed about the plug  58 . Alignment pins  112  (see  FIG. 3 ) formed in the upper housing  66  may then be inserted into alignment holes  114  (see  FIG. 3 ) formed in the PCB board  62 , as shown in  FIG. 4 . At this time, the ring  92  is disposed in groove  90   a  of the upper housing  66 . The rigid member  80  may be inserted into the holes of the flexible member  78  to assemble the button  50 . The buttons  50   a - d  may be inserted into the button apertures  74   a - d  of the band  70 , as shown in  FIG. 4 . Thereafter, the band  70  may be placed on the recess  110   a  of the upper housing periphery with the nub portions  94  of the buttons  50   a - d  placed into the semi-circularly shaped depressions of the upper housing  66  and the rim portions  96  placed into the grooves  98   a . The interface surface  84   b  of the lower housing  68  may be aligned and engaged (e.g., sonically welded, etc.) to the interface surface  84   a  of the upper housing  66 . The engagement of the interface surfaces  84   a, b  of the upper and lower housings  66 ,  68  creates a water tight seal therebetween. The ring  92  and the rim portions  96  of the buttons  50   a - d  create a water tight seal with the grooves  90   a, b  and  98   a, b  of the upper and lower housings  66 ,  68 . Hence, water does not enter the cavity formed by the upper and lower housings  66 ,  68  thereby protecting the PCB board  62  from water damage.  
         [0032]     Another advantage of the music player  12  is that the music player  12  is resistant to shocks. The user  10  may be engaged in vigorous physical activity such as surfing or cycling. The user  10  may be violently tumbled by the waves or may ride over bumps in the road. Nonetheless, the music player  12  continuously plays music without skipping. Moreover, the solid construction of the music player  12  prevents the shocks from destroying the music player  12 .  
         [0033]     The above description is given by way of example, and not limitation. Given the above disclosure, one skilled in the art could devise variations that are within the scope and spirit of the invention disclosed herein, including various ways of engaging the interface surfaces  84   a, b  of the upper and lower housings  66 ,  68 . Further, the various features of the embodiments disclosed herein can be used alone, or in varying combinations with each other and are not intended to be limited to the specific combination described herein. Thus, the scope of the claims is not to be limited by the illustrated embodiments.