PATENT DOCUMENT

Publication Number: US-8913771-B2
Application Number: US-39816009-A
Country: US
Kind Code: B2

Title: Portable electronic device having a water exposure indicator label

Abstract:
Electronic devices such as compact portable media players are provided. A housing for an electronic device may be relatively compact. The housing may include a door assembly with an attached spring-loaded clip. The electronic device may include a hold switch. Depending on the state of the hold switch, the electronic device may be in an off mode, a continuous playback mode, or a shuffle playback mode. The electronic device may not have integrated media playback controls such as play, pause, rewind, fast forward, etc. As one example, the electronic device may connect to an accessory that has media playback controls. Buttons and other user interfaces may be included in the accessory and user input information may be conveyed between the accessory and the electronic device using a wired path including audio connectors. The electronic device may include a printed circuit board assembly that is nested together with a battery assembly.

Claims:
What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A media player, comprising:
 audio playback circuitry; 
 a housing in which the audio playback circuitry is enclosed; 
 a female audio connector exposed through an opening in the housing; and 
 a water exposure indicator label that changes color when exposed to water positioned at an end of the female audio connector. 
 
     
     
       2. The media player defined in  claim 1  wherein the media player communicates with an accessory over a wired communications path, the media player further comprising:
 receiver circuitry that is coupled to the female audio connector and that detects incoming media playback control signals from the accessory. 
 
     
     
       3. The media player defined in  claim 1  wherein the media player communicates with an accessory over a wired communications path, the media player further comprising:
 receiver circuitry that is coupled to the female audio connector and that detects incoming user-generated volume control signals from the accessory in the form of ultrasonic tones that serve as the exclusive volume control signals for the electronic device. 
 
     
     
       4. The media player defined in  claim 1  further comprising:
 a clip pivotably mounted to the housing; and 
 a spring that biases the clip against the housing. 
 
     
     
       5. The media player defined in  claim 1 , wherein the water exposure indicator label is visible to a user of the media player through the female audio connector enabling a determination that water has infiltrated the interior of the device through inspection of the water exposure indictor label. 
     
     
       6. The media player defined in  claim 1 , wherein the water exposure indicator label is configured to indicate if water has infiltrated the media player. 
     
     
       7. The media player defined in  claim 1 , wherein the patch water exposure indicator label is a water dot. 
     
     
       8. A media player, comprising:
 a housing having at least one end face; 
 a female audio connector having an opening on the end face; 
 a printed circuit board; 
 a screw that holds the printed circuit board and the female audio connector to the housing; 
 a status light on the end face, wherein the opening of the female audio connector and the status light are on the same end face of the housing; 
 a light source offset from the status light and in communication with the status light via a light pipe that redirects light from the light source to the status light; and 
 a water exposure indicator label that changes color when exposed to water positioned at an end of the female audio connector. 
 
     
     
       9. The media player defined in  claim 8  further comprising:
 a multi-position sliding switch having a button member that extends outwardly from the end face for actuation by a user. 
 
     
     
       10. The media player defined in  claim 9  wherein the multi-position sliding switch further comprises:
 a switch mechanism within the housing; 
 a bracket mounted between the switch mechanism and the button member, wherein the button member has a protruding arm that extends past the bracket into the switch mechanism. 
 
     
     
       11. The media player defined in  claim 8  further comprising:
 the printed circuit board having a first side and a second side; 
 processing circuitry mounted on the first side of the printed circuit board; and 
 storage circuitry mounted on the second side of the printed circuit board. 
 
     
     
       12. The media player defined in  claim 8  further comprising:
 a battery including multiple battery cells; an 
 a flex circuit soldered to the battery cells. 
 
     
     
       13. The media player defined in  claim 8  further comprising:
 processing circuitry mounted on a first side of the printed circuit board; 
 storage circuitry mounted on a second side of the printed circuit board; 
 a battery including multiple battery cells, wherein the battery includes an enclosure that is wrapped around the cells and wherein the enclosure extends from the battery cells on one side of the battery to form a ledge; and 
 a flex circuit soldered to the battery cells, wherein the printed circuit board is mounted in the housing at least partially extending over the ledge and wherein the flex circuit is coupled to the processing circuitry. 
 
     
     
       14. The media player defined in  claim 8 , wherein the screw passes through the printed circuit board and an audio connector assembly that includes the female audio connector, and wherein the screw is mounted to the housing. 
     
     
       15. A media player comprising:
 a printed circuit board assembly; 
 a battery assembly comprising: 
 battery cells; and 
 an enclosure that is wrapped around the battery cells that shields the battery cells from nearby conductive material of the media player, wherein: 
 the enclosure extends from the battery cells on one side of the battery cells to form a ledge; 
 the printed circuit board assembly is nested within the ledge; and 
 a female audio connector and a water exposure indicator label that changes color when exposed to water positioned at an end of the female audio connector. 
 
     
     
       16. The media player of  claim 15 , wherein the enclosure comprises a film. 
     
     
       17. The media player of  claim 16 , wherein the ledge comprises a folded portion of the film. 
     
     
       18. The media player of  claim 16 , wherein the film comprises at least one of polyimide film and tape. 
     
     
       19. The media player of  claim 15 , wherein the enclosure provides structural integrity to the battery assembly. 
     
     
       20. The media player of  claim 15 , wherein the enclosure insulates at least one battery cell of the battery cells. 
     
     
       21. The media player of  claim 15 , wherein the printed circuit board assembly comprises safety circuitry for the battery assembly. 
     
     
       22. The media player of  claim 21 , wherein the battery assembly does not comprise any safety circuitry. 
     
     
       23. The media player of  claim 21 , wherein the safety circuitry is electrically coupled to the battery assembly. 
     
     
       24. The media player of  claim 15 , further comprising a flex circuit soldered to the battery cells, wherein the flex circuit is electrically coupled to the printed circuit board assembly.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     This invention relates generally to electronic devices, and more particularly, to portable electronic devices such as compact portable electronic devices that use space efficiently. 
     Handheld electronic devices and other portable electronic devices are becoming increasingly popular. Examples of handheld devices include media players, handheld computers, cellular telephones, and hybrid devices that include the functionality of multiple devices of this type. Popular portable electronic devices include laptop computers and tablet computers. Portable electronic devices may also be somewhat smaller devices. Examples of smaller portable electronic devices include compact media players, wrist-watch devices, pendant devices, headphone and earpiece devices, and other wearable and miniature devices. Devices such as these are often small enough to be held in the hand and may sometimes be referred to as handheld electronic devices. 
     It is generally desirable to reduce the size of compact portable electronic devices such as handheld or wearable media players. At the same time, compact portable electronic devices such as media players typically require a minimum amount of hardware to be functional. In addition, if the size of certain hardware components such as batteries is reduced by too much, the functionality of the compact portable electronic devices may be compromised (e.g., the devices may have unsatisfactory battery lives). It is therefore often difficult to construct compact electronic devices that occupy a minimal amount of volume while maintaining a desired level of functionality. 
     It would therefore be desirable to be able to provide improved portable electronic devices. 
     SUMMARY 
     Portable electronic devices and accessories for electronic devices are provided. The electronic devices may be handheld electronic devices such as media players or any other suitable computing equipment. These devices typically generate audio signals. The audio signals may be used to drive speakers in accessories such as headsets and other equipment capable of presenting sound to a user. 
     A housing for an electronic device such as a compact portable media player may be relatively compact. For example, the housing may have approximate dimensions of several centimeters or less. A battery assembly and a printed circuit board assembly may be nested together in the housing to reduce the space occupied by these assemblies. The housing may include a door assembly with an attached clip. The clip may be spring-loaded and may be used to secure the media player. For example, the clip may be used to secure the media player to a user&#39;s clothing. 
     The electronic device may include a status indicator. With one suitable arrangement, the status indicator may be formed from multiple LEDs each of which displays a different color or from a multicolor LED. As one example, the status indicator may display a green light when a battery level is above a first threshold, a yellow light when the battery level is below the first threshold and above a second threshold, a red light when the battery level is below the second threshold, and may not display a light whenever the device is off. The status indicator may display a light when the status of the device changes, at regular intervals, continuously, or at combinations of these and other times, if desired. The status indicator may be provided on an end face of the device housing with other components such as an audio jack and a user-controllable switch. 
     The electronic device may include a hold switch. The hold switch may have three states, as an example. The hold switch may configure the state of the electronic device. As one example, the device may be turned off when the switch is in the first state, may be in a continuous playback mode when the switch is in the second state, and may be in a random playback mode when the switch is in the third state. In the random playback mode, the device may play back media files in a random order and, in the continuous playback mode, the device may play back media files in a pre-determined order. If desired, the electronic device may override the hold switch and turn itself off if no user input is received for a given period of time (e.g., the electronic device may incorporate an auto-off feature). 
     The electronic device may include a connector through which an accessory can be coupled to the device. For example, the electronic device may include an audio jack (e.g., a three contact female audio connector) configured to receive a connector sometimes referred to as a tip-ring-sleeve (TRS) plug. If desired, the electronic device may include a four-connector audio jack sometimes referred to as a tip-ring-ring-sleeve (TRRS) jack. The connector may include a recessed insulator. The recessed insulator may be below the surface of the surrounding housing structure of the electronic device. This type of arrangement may help to prevent an audio plug from rubbing against the housing of the electronic device that surrounds the audio jack. 
     If desired, the electronic device may not include physical controls for media playback operations. For example, the electronic device may not have buttons to receive media playback commands from a user such as play, pause, fast forward, rewind, skip track (e.g., change tracks), volume up, volume down, mute, etc. With one suitable arrangement, the electronic device may receive media playback commands and other commands from an accessory connected to the electronic device through an audio connector such as a TRS jack and a TRS plug. 
     Further features of the invention, its nature and various advantages will be more apparent from the accompanying drawings and the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an illustrative portable electronic device in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a schematic diagram of an illustrative portable electronic device in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 3  is an exploded perspective view of an illustrative portable electronic device in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective view of the illustrative portable electronic device of  FIG. 1  in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 5  is a top view of the illustrative portable electronic device of  FIG. 1  in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 6  is a side view of the illustrative portable electronic device of  FIG. 1  in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 7  is a front view of the illustrative portable electronic device of  FIG. 1  in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 8  is a front view of the illustrative portable electronic device of  FIG. 1  that shows the positions of two cross-sections of the portable electronic device in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 9  is a cross-sectional view of the illustrative portable electronic device of  FIG. 1  through a first line illustrated in  FIG. 8  in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 10  is a cross-sectional view of the illustrative portable electronic device of  FIG. 1  through a second line illustrated in  FIG. 8  and a partly schematic view of an illustrative accessory such as a headset that may be provided with a user input interface such as input-output circuitry containing multiple user-selectable buttons in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 11  is an exploded perspective view of an illustrative door and clip assembly that may be part of a portable electronic device in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 12  is a side view of an illustrative door and clip assembly that may be a part of a portable electronic device in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 13  is a side view of an illustrative door and clip assembly in which the door may include retaining clips that run along a majority of the length of the door in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 14  is a perspective view of an illustrative clip assembly in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 15  is a perspective view of an illustrative printed circuit board and battery that may be nested together in a portable electronic device in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 16  is a side view of the illustrative printed circuit board and battery assembly of  FIG. 15  in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 17  is a schematic diagram showing illustrative circuitry that may be used in an electronic device and an associated accessory in accordance with embodiments of the present invention. 
         FIG. 18  is a cross-sectional side view of an illustrative portable electronic device with a female audio connector and an illustrative male audio connector in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 19  is a cross-sectional side view of an illustrative portable electronic device with a female audio connector that includes a recessed insulator ring and an illustrative male audio connector in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The present invention relates generally to electronic devices, and more particularly, to portable electronic devices. 
     The portable electronic devices may be handheld electronic devices such as media players, handheld computers, cellular telephone, and hybrid devices that include the functionality of multiple devices of this type. Portable electronic devices may also be somewhat smaller devices. Examples of smaller portable electronic devices include compact media players, wrist-watch devices, pendant devices, headphone and earpiece devices, and other wearable and miniature devices. Devices such as these are often small enough to be held in the hand and may sometimes be referred to as handheld electronic devices. If desired, the portable electronic devices may be somewhat larger devices such as laptop computers and tablet computers. 
     With one suitable arrangement the portable electronic devices may be compact media players. If desired, compact media players may be optimized to occupy a relatively small volume while maintaining desired functionality. For example, a compact media player may be designed to occupy a relatively small volume while maintaining a desired battery life, desired media playback qualities (e.g., sufficient volume and clarity of media playback operations), amount of media storage, as well as other desired user interface functions and functionality. 
     If desired, some or all of the control functions of the compact media player may be performed using accessories. This type of arrangement may help to reduce the size of the compact media player by reducing or even eliminating the number of control interfaces (e.g., buttons, sliders, etc.) located on the compact media player. With one suitable arrangement, the compact media player may connect with a headset through a connector and may receive control commands such as play, pause, stop, fast forward, skip forward, rewind, skip back, volume up, volume down, mute, and other control commands from the headset. In this arrangement, a headset may include speakers and a control unit that generates command signals that can be interpreted by the compact media player. 
     An illustrative portable electronic device in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention is shown in  FIG. 1 . Device  10  of  FIG. 1  may be, for example, a compact handheld electronic device that supports media file playback functions. With one suitable arrangement, device  10  may be designed to be relatively compact. In this type of arrangement, the size of device  10  may be reduced by eliminating components such as a display or a transceiver and antenna combination. In general, however, device  10  may include wireless capabilities such as 2G and/or 3G cellular telephone and data functions, global positioning system capabilities, and local wireless communications functions (e.g., IEEE 802.11 and Bluetooth®). Device  10  may also include a display screen, if desired. 
     Device  10  may have a housing. Housing  12 , which is sometimes referred to as a case, may be formed of any suitable materials including, plastic, glass, ceramics, metal, other suitable materials, or a combination of these materials. With one suitable arrangement, housing  12  (e.g., an elongated housing) may be formed from a combination of anodized aluminum and stainless steel. By forming housing  12  from a combination of anodized aluminum and stainless steel, the aesthetic appearance and the structural integrity of housing  12  may be improved. In addition, by forming housing  12  from a conductive material the housing may be used as a ground plane for grounding electrical components of device  10 . If desired, portions of the anodized aluminum, which may be non-conductive, may be worn down to bare aluminum, which is typically conductive, to increase the electrical coupling of components to housing  12 . 
     The material selected to form housing  12  generally depends on many factors including but not limited to strength (tensile), density (lightweight), strength to weight ratio, Young&#39;s modulus, corrosion resistance, formability, finishing, recyclability, tooling costs, design flexibility, manufacturing costs, manufacturing throughput, reproducibility, and/or the like. The material selected may also depend on electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, combustibility, toxicity, and/or the like. The material selected may also depend on aesthetics including color, surface finish, weight, etc. 
     With one suitable arrangement, housing  12  may be formed from a metal material and, if desired, a machinable and recyclable metal material. For example, housing  12  may be formed from aluminum and stainless steel. Some of the reasons for using aluminum and stainless steel over other materials is that the combination of aluminum and stainless steel is light weight and structurally strong (e.g., it has very good mechanical properties and strength to weight ratio). This is especially important for compact portable devices. Other reasons for using aluminum and stainless steel may include: reduced tooling costs, its easily formable and extruded in a wide variety of shapes including hollow parts, easily machinable thus making it easy to alter the part and produce tight tolerances, provides a near net shape, offers superior corrosion resistance, it has high scrap value and is routinely reprocessed to generate new products, it can be finished using a variety of methods including mechanical and chemical prefinishes, anodic coatings, paints and electroplated finishes. 
     In one particular embodiment, housing  20  may be formed from a solid block or core of machined aluminum and stainless steel or other suitable metal. An advantage of forming housing  12  at least partly from aluminum is that aluminum is lightweight, machinable, durable and attractive in appearance. Aluminum may be anodized to form an insulating oxide coating. 
     Machining may be performed to achieve various effects in housing  12  such as a particular shape, a high degree of dimensional accuracy and surface finish in the shape of housing  12 , openings in housing  12 , structural features in housing  12  such as attachment features and internal areas, etc. The machining process may include one or more rough machining steps that remove a majority of material and then one or more a fine machining steps to create the final shape. One or more computer numerical control (CNC) machine tools may be used to perform some or all of the machining operations. 
     Device  10  may have a housing structure  14  (e.g., a door  14 ). As shown in  FIG. 1 , structure  14  may fit into housing  12  and help to enclose the interior of housing  12 . With one suitable arrangement, housing structure  14  may be formed from materials similar to housing  12 . If desired, housing structure  14  may be formed using other suitable materials such as plastic, glass, ceramics, metal, or a combination of these and other materials. Housing  12  may be referred to as a front housing portion and housing structure  14  may be referred to as a rear housing portion. 
     Clip  36  may be pivotably coupled to structure  14 . If desired, clip  36  may be used as a mounting clip. For example, a user of device  10  may slide clip  36  over a lapel, over the edge of a pocket, over a belt loop, or over any other suitable structure. Clip  36  may therefore hold device  10  to the structure. Clip  36  may also be referred to as a belt clip. 
     Device  10  may include an input-output device such as switch  18 . Switch  18  may be, for example, a hold switch (button) that can be manipulated to place device  10  in a certain operating state. For example, switch  18  may have three positions illustrated by arrows  15 ,  16 , and  17 , respectively. When switch  18  is in the leftmost position (e.g., the position illustrated by arrow  15 ), device  10  may be turned off or may be in another low-power state such as a standby state to conserve power. When switch  18  is in the middle position (e.g., the position illustrated by arrow  16 ), device  10  may be operating in a continuous playback mode. When switch  18  is in the rightmost position (e.g., the position illustrated by arrow  17 ), device  10  may be operating in a shuffle playback mode. In the shuffle playback mode, device  10  may play back media files stored in internal storage in a random order. In the continuous playback mode, device  10  may play back media files in a pre-determined order. Switch  18  may be a multi-position sliding switch that extends outwardly from the end face of housing  12  for actuation by a user. 
     Device  10  may include one or more indicator lights such as indicator light  34 . Indicator light  34  may be used to display information about the status of device  10 . For example, indicator light  34  may display a solid or flashing green light when device  10  is turned on (e.g., when switch  18  is moved from position  15  to position  16  or position  17 ). If desired, light  34  may display or flash a yellow light when battery levels in device  10  drop below a given threshold (e.g., when there is 10% battery charge remaining, when there are 30 minutes of battery life remaining, when the battery voltages drops below a certain threshold, etc.). With one suitable arrangement, light  34  may display or flash a red light when battery levels in device  10  drop below a second given threshold (e.g., a more critical threshold indicative of an almost fully discharged battery such as 2% of battery charge or 5 minutes of battery life remaining). 
     If desired, indicator light  34  may continuously flash at given intervals or continuously display an appropriately colored light during normal operations (e.g., during media playback operations). With another suitable arrangement, light  34  may blink when device  10  is turned on, when the battery life of device  10  drops below one or more threshold levels, when device  10  changes media files as part of a media playback operation, at regular intervals, and at any combination of these and other times. 
     In general, indicator light  34  may also be used to display error messages and other messages. For example, a flashing red light  34  even when the battery of device  10  is fully charged may indicate that device  10  needs servicing. These examples are merely illustrative and, in general, indicator light  34  may display any suitable colors or patterns of colors to display desired information. 
     Device  10  may have connectors such as audio jacks and other connectors that can be used to convey signals into and out of device  10 . As an example, device  10  may have a connector such as audio jack  30  (e.g., a female audio connector  30 ). Connector  30  may be used to convey audio signals from device  10  to an external headset accessory. For example, connector  30  may be used to convey left and right audio signals from device  10  to an external headset accessory with left and right speakers. Audio jack  30  may also be used to receive control signals. The control signals may include signals indicative of a user&#39;s desire to control a media playback operation. For example, the control signals may include media commands such as play, pause, fast forward, rewind, skip ahead and skip back (e.g., change tracks or media files), increase or decrease playback volume, mute, and other suitable commands. With one suitable arrangement, each of the control signals received by connector  30  may serve as the exclusive control signal for device  10 . For example, a volume control, a mute control, a pause control, a play control, a fast forward and rewind control, and a skip track control received by connector  30  may each serve as the exclusive volume control, mute control, pause control, play control, fast forward and rewind control, and skip track control, respectively, for device  10  (e.g., device  10  may not have buttons for controlling volume, mute, pause, play, fast forward and rewind, and skip track operations). 
     Jack  30  may be used to convey data and power signals to device  10  (e.g., when device  10  is mounted in a dock, connected to a power supply, or connected to a computer). Jack  30  may also be used to convey data signals out of device  10 . Jack  30  (e.g., connector  30 ) may be located within the housing  12  of device  10  and can be accessed through a hole  31  in the end face of the housing  12 . For example, a male audio plug from an accessory may couple with connector  30  by passing through hole  31  of housing  12 . 
     Audio jack  30  may include an insulator ring such as ring  32 . Insulator ring  32  may extend into hole  31  of housing  12 . Ring  32  may help to prevent a male connector from contacting housing  12  when the male connector is inserted into hole  31  of housing  12  (e.g., when the male connector is being coupled to or decoupled from connector  30 ). For example, the ring  32  may insulate the male connector form housing  12  when the male connector is being inserted into or removed from audio jack  30 . The insulator ring  32  may be sub-flush from the outer surface of the housing  12 . By mounting the insulator ring  32  sub-flush (e.g., below the outer surface of housing  12 ), the aesthetic appearance of device  10  may be improved. With one suitable arrangement, ring  32  may extend partway into the cavity of jack  30  (e.g., the interior diameter of ring  32  may be slightly less than the interior diameter of jack  30 ). With this type of arrangement, ring  32  may help to prevent audio plugs from bearing against the surface of housing  12  adjacent to jack  30 . As one example, insulator ring  32  may be between an outermost contact of connector  30  and the exterior surface of housing  12 . 
     Indicator light  34  and jack  30  are merely examples of input-out devices that may be used with electronic device  10 . If desired, electronic device  10  may have other input-output devices. For example, device  10  may have a display screen, a touch screen, a click wheel button, a dock connector, on-off buttons or other buttons, additional input-output jacks, speakers, microphones, etc. The input-output arrangement of  FIG. 1  is shown as an example. 
     A schematic diagram of a portable electronic device such as handheld electronic device  10  of  FIG. 1  is shown in  FIG. 2 . As shown in  FIG. 2 , device  10  may include storage  26 . Storage  26  may include one or more different types of storage such as a solid state drive or other storage device that includes nonvolatile memory (e.g., flash memory or other electrically-programmable-read-only memory) or volatile memory (e.g., static or dynamic random-access-memory), hard disk drive storage, combinations of these and other types of storage, etc. 
     Processing circuitry  22  may be used to control the operation of device  10 . Processing circuitry  22  may be based on a processor such as a microprocessor and other suitable integrated circuits. With one suitable arrangement, processing circuitry  22  and storage  26  may be used to run software on device  10 , such as media playback applications. If desired, processing circuitry  22  and storage  26  may be used to run software on device  10  such internet browsing applications, voice-over-internet-protocol (VOIP) telephone call applications, email applications, operating system functions, etc. 
     Processing circuitry  22  and storage  26  may be used in implementing communications protocols such as serial and parallel bus communications protocols, universal serial bus (USB®) protocols, internet protocols, wireless local area network protocols, protocols for other short-range wireless communications links such as the Bluetooth® protocol, protocols for cellular telephone communications protocols, etc. 
     Input-output circuitry  24  may be used to allow data to be supplied to device  10  and to allow data to be provided from device  10  to external equipment  20 . Indicator light  34  and jack  30  of  FIG. 1  are example of input-output circuitry  24 . 
     In general, input-output circuitry  24  can include user input-output devices such as buttons, touch screens, joysticks, click wheels, scrolling wheels, touch pads, key pads, keyboards, speakers, microphones, cameras, etc. A user can control the operation of device  10  by supplying commands through such user input devices. Display and audio devices within circuitry  24  may include liquid-crystal display (LCD) screens or other screens, light-emitting diodes (LEDs) such as LED  34  of  FIG. 1 , and other components that present visual information and status data. Audio-video interface equipment in circuitry  24  such as jacks (i.e., jack  30  of  FIG. 1 ) and other connectors may be used to form connections with external headphones and monitors. 
     Input-output circuitry  24  may, if desired, include wireless communications circuitry such as radio-frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry formed from one or more integrated circuits, power amplifier circuitry, passive RF components, antennas, and other circuitry for handling RF wireless signals. Wireless signals can also be sent using light (e.g., using infrared communications). 
     Device  10  can communicate with external equipment  20  over paths such as path  28 . Path  28  may include wired and wireless paths. External equipment  20  may include accessories such as headphones (e.g., a wired headset or audio headphones) and audio-video equipment (e.g., speakers, a game controller, or other equipment that receives and plays audio and video content), a peripheral such as a printer or camera, etc. External equipment  20  may also include equipment such as associated computing equipment that establishes a wired connection with device  10 . A computer such as a personal computer may be included in external equipment  20  and may form a connection with device  10  using a connector such as connector  30  of  FIG. 1 , using a wireless link, or using any other suitable communications path. 
     An exploded perspective view of portable electronic device  10  is shown in  FIG. 3 . As shown in  FIG. 3 , device  10  may include a battery assembly  38 , a circuit board assembly such as printed circuit board assembly  72 , an audio jack assembly  62 , and other components. Device  10  may have a housing formed from housing  12  and housing structure  14 . 
     Battery assembly  38  may include any suitable type of battery. For example, battery assembly  38  may include a battery such as a carbon-zinc battery, an alkaline battery, a rechargeable alkaline battery, a lead-acid battery, a lithium-ion battery, a lithium-ion polymer battery, a nickel-cadmium battery, a nickel-iron battery, a nickel metal hydride battery, a nickel-zinc battery, a super charge ion battery, any other suitable type of battery, or a combination of these and other batteries. Battery assembly  38  may include one or more capacitors as power storage devices. If desired, battery assembly  38  may also include associated battery control circuitry sometimes referred to as battery protection circuits. Battery protections circuits can be used to ensure that the charge of a battery in battery assembly  38  remains within certain operating parameters (e.g., that the battery is not discharged below a certain level, charged above a certain level, or discharged or charged too quickly). With certain battery chemistries (e.g., lithium-ion batteries) battery protection circuits may be required to ensure safe operation of a battery. 
     Circuit board assembly  72  may include one or more printed circuit boards. As one example, circuit board assembly  72  may include storage and processing circuits such as storage  26  and processing circuitry  22  of  FIG. 2 . Circuit board assembly  72  may also include battery control circuitry such as a battery protection circuit. With this type of arrangement, the battery protection circuit may be incorporated into circuit board assembly  72  which may allow circuit board assembly  72  and battery assembly  38  to fit together in a more compact space. 
     Circuit board support  52  may help to hold assembly  72  in a desired location. For example, support  52  may hold printed circuit board assembly  72  above audio jack assembly  62 . With one suitable arrangement, support  52  may help to protect assembly  72  from excessive vibrations and, in particular, may help to protect the finger-like extension  48  of assembly  72 . If desired, support  52  may also be used to bias against audio jack assembly  62 . This type of arrangement may be used to apply pressure onto a grounding pin of the audio jack assembly  62  onto housing  12 . 
     With one suitable arrangement, battery assembly  38  (e.g., battery  38 ) may include a ledge. As shown in  FIG. 3 , the ledge of assembly  38  is shown by arrow  39 . With one suitable arrangement, the ledge of battery assembly  38  may be formed from a folded portion of a battery cell enclosure that is wrapped around battery cells in the assembly. The folded portion of the battery cell enclosure may include glue to seal the enclosure around the battery cells. Printed circuit board assembly  72  may nest within the ledge  39  of battery assembly  38 . Foam piece  66  may rest between the assembly  72  and ledge  39  of battery assembly  38 . 
     Battery assembly  38  may also include power leads  37  that extend from the battery assembly  38 . If desired, the power leads  37  may be formed from flexible circuits sometimes referred to as flex circuits. Power leads  37  may convey power signals and other signals between battery  38  and circuit boards  72 . Leads  37  may be soldered to battery cells in battery assembly  38 . 
     Housing  12  may include an opening  11  for receiving housing structure  14 . When housing structure  14  is inserted into the opening  11  of housing  12 , the top surface of housing structure  14  may be substantially flush with the top surface of housing  12  (e.g., the surface of housing  12  adjacent to the top surface of housing structure  14 ). The opening  11  in housing  12  may correspond to an internal void in housing  12  (e.g., a void between the interior surfaces of housing  12  and housing  14 ). The internal void  11  in housing  12  may be sized and proportioned receive components mounted in housing  12  such as battery assembly  38 , printed circuit board assembly  72 , and audio connector assembly  62 . In general, the internal space  11  in housing  12  may be formed in any suitable size and shape. 
     With one suitable arrangement, housing  12  may have a substantially continuous surface having no openings (breaks or cracks) on a bottom surface  300  and a rear end  302  of the housing  12 . For example, surface  300  and end  302  of housing  12  may each include a single surface devoid of openings for input-output devices such as playback controls and display screens. The top surface  306  of housing  12  may include an opening to which housing structure  14  can be mounted. Components mounted in the void  11  of housing  12  may pass through the opening in the top surface  306  of housing  12 . Front end  304  may include openings for connector  30 , switch  18 , and indicator light  34 , as examples. Sides  305  of housing  12  may be a continuous curved surface that are devoid of breaks and input-output components. 
     As shown in  FIG. 3 , housing structure  14  may include retaining clips  74 . With one arrangement, structure  14  may include two clips  74  disposed on opposing sides of the structure  14 . Each clip  74  may be nearly the full length of the structure  14 . When the structure  14  is secured to housing  12 , each clip  74  may mate with a corresponding ridge or mating structure  75  in housing  12 . With one suitable arrangement, the clips  74  may bias structure  14  to a sub-flush position relative to housing  12  while pieces  64  and  56  (e.g., foam or sponge pieces in device  10 ) bear against internal components such as battery assembly  38  and printed circuit board assembly  72  to bias structure  14  into a flush position relative to housing  12  (e.g., so that the edges of structure  14  are flush with the edges of housing  12  and create a smooth appearance and feel around the external interface between structure  14  and housing  12 ). Clips  74  may be used to attach housing structure  14  to housing  12 . 
     Audio jack assembly  62  may include audio jack  30 . In particular, audio jack assembly  62  may include audio jack  30 , a flex circuit  63  that couples audio jack  30  to a printed circuit board in assembly  72 , and a switch receptor  49  corresponding to switch  18  of  FIG. 1 . If desired, the flex circuit  63  in assembly  62  may be folded to fit within the confines of housing  12 . Insulator  58  may be placed between audio jack assembly  62  and printed circuit board assembly  72 . Insulator  68  may cover flex circuit  63 . Insulators  58  and  68  may help to protect assembly  72 , audio jack assembly  62 , and the flex circuit  63  from shorting to housing  12 . If desired, insulators  58  and  68  may be formed from a polyimide film such as a Kapton® tape. 
     Bracket  40 , label  54 , hold switch  46  (e.g., button member  46 ), and the switch receptor  49  may form an electromechanical switch such as hold switch  18 . With one suitable arrangement, bracket  40 , label  54 , hold switch  46 , and switch  49  may be glued together and/or may mechanically snap together when assembled into housing  12  to form hold switch  18 . When assembled, tab  47  of switch  46  may complete an electrical connection to a portion of switch  49 . As one example, tab  47  (e.g., protruding arm  47 ) may extend past bracket  40  into switch mechanism  49 . If desired, hold switch  18  may be formed using another suitable arrangement. Tape  70  may be used to cover portions of hold switch  18  (e.g., bracket  40 , label  54 , receptor  49 , and switch  46 ) and protect those portions from dust. 
     Audio jack assembly  62  may include light pipe  42  and light shield  60 . Light pipe  42  may redirect light from an LED or other light source in audio jack assembly  62  (or may itself include a suitable light source) to the exterior of housing  12 . With this type of arrangement, the light source for indicator light  34  does not have to be directly behind the location of indicator light  34  on housing  12 . Light shield  60  may help to prevent light from the light source for indicator  34  from escaping into the interior of device  10  and then out through audio jack  30 , hold switching  17 , or the interface between housing  12  and structure  14 , as examples. 
     A water sensitive material may also be included in device  10  to indicate to a user if water has entered device  10 . For example, a patch of water sensitive material such as water dot  50  may be placed at the end of audio jack  30 . With this type of arrangement, a user may look down the barrel of audio jack  30  to see the water dot  50  and determine if water has infiltrated the interior of device  10 . If desired, water dot  50  may be located in another location and, if desired, additional water dot indicators may be included in device  10 . 
     With one suitable arrangement, printed circuit board assembly  72  and audio jack assembly  62  may be held to housing  12  by screw  44 . With this type of arrangement, screw  44  may pass through assemblies  72  and  62  and may be screwed into a mounting structure  45  in housing  12 . Battery assembly  38  may be held to housing  12  by one or more screws, by an adhesive, and/or by pressure between housing  12  and housing structure  14 , as examples. 
     Another view of device  10  is shown in  FIG. 4 . Specifically,  FIG. 4  shows a view of device  10  which details one potential way in which housing structure  14  and housing  12  may be formed. 
       FIGS. 5 ,  6 , and  7  show device  10  of  FIG. 1  as a top view, a side view, and a front view, respectively. As shown in  FIG. 5 , device  10  may have a width of approximately 17.5 mm as illustrated by arrows  80 . As shown in  FIG. 6 , device  10  may have a length of approximately 45.4 mm (including the hold switch  18  of  FIG. 1 ) as illustrated by arrows  82 . As shown in  FIG. 7 , device  10  may have a height of approximately 7.8 mm as illustrated by arrows  84 . If desired, device  10  may have a length of 46.0 mm or more, 46.0 mm or less, 45.4 mm, 45.4 mm or less, 40 mm or less, etc. Device  10  may have a width of 18.0 mm or more, 18.0 mm or less, 17.5 mm, 17.5 mm or less, 16 mm or less, etc. Device  10  may have a height of 8.0 mm or more, 8.0 mm or less, 7.8 mm, 7.8 mm or less, 7.0 mm or less, etc. These dimensions of device  10  are merely illustrative and, if desired, device  10  may be formed to have other suitable dimensions.  FIG. 7  also shows how a user could see water dot  50  through the barrel of audio jack  30  as described in connection with  FIG. 3 . 
       FIG. 8  is a front view of portable device  10  that shows the location of various cross-sections of device  10 . In particular,  FIG. 8  illustrates the locations of cross-section  86  which is shown in  FIG. 9  and cross-section  88  which is shown in  FIG. 10 . 
     In the cross-sectional view of  FIG. 9 , the position of light pipe  42  relative to housing  12  is shown. In particular,  FIG. 9  illustrates that light pipe  42  may be substantially flush with the surrounding surface of housing  12  (e.g., to form status indicator  34 ). 
     In the cross-section view of  FIG. 10 , the positions of audio jack  30  and insulator ring  32  relative to housing  12  are shown. With one suitable arrangement which is illustrated in  FIG. 10 , audio jack  30  may be mounted approximately 0.2 mm sub-flush relative to housing  12 . For example, the audio jack  30  may extend from within device  10  to 0.2 mm below the surface of housing  12 . With one suitable arrangement, insulator ring  32  may also be mounted 0.2 mm sub-flush relative to housing  12 . 
     An illustrative accessory is also shown in  FIG. 10 . Accessory  214  of  FIG. 10  may be a headset with two speakers. Speakers  292  may be provided in the form of over-the-ear speakers, ear plugs, or ear buds (as examples). Dual-conductor wires such as wires  294  may be used to connect speakers  292  to user interface main unit  296 . Optionally, unit  296  may include a microphone  298 . In some applications, microphone  298  may not be needed and may therefore be omitted from accessory  214  to lower cost. In other applications, such as cellular telephone applications, voice recording applications, etc., microphone  298  may be used to gather audio signals (e.g., from the sound of a user&#39;s voice). 
     Unit  296  may include user input devices such as user input interface  200 . In the  FIG. 10  example, unit  296  includes three buttons. If desired, more buttons, fewer buttons, or non-button user input devices may be included in accessory  214 . Moreover, it is not necessary for these devices to be mounted to the same unit as optional microphone  298 . The  FIG. 10  arrangement is merely illustrative. If desired, unit  296  may be connected within one of the branch paths  294 , rather than at the junction between path  208  and paths  294 . This may help position a microphone within unit  296  closer to the mouth of a user, so that voice signals can be captured accurately. 
     In an illustrative three-button arrangement, a first of the three buttons such as button  202  may be pressed by a user when it is desired to advance among tracks being played back by a music application or may be used to increase a volume setting. A second of the three buttons, such as button  204  may be pressed when it is desired to stop music playback, resume music playback, or perform another function such as make a menu selection. A third of the three buttons such as button  206  may be selected when it is desired to move to an earlier track or when it is desired to lower a volume setting. Multiple clicks, click and hold operations, and other user input patterns may also be used. The up/down volume, forward/reverse track, and play/pause examples described in connection with  FIG. 10  are merely illustrative. In general, the action that is taken in response to a given command may be adjusted by a system designer through modification of the software in device  10 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 10 , a cable such as cable  208  may be integrated into accessory  214 . At its far end, cable  208  may be provided with a connector such as audio connector  210 . In the  FIG. 10  example, accessory  214  has two speakers  292 . Connector  210  may therefore be of the three-contact variety (e.g., connector  210  may have tip contact  253 , ring contact  252 , and sleeve contact  254 ). In embodiments in which accessory  214  also includes optional microphone  298 , connector  210  may be of the four-contact variety. If desired, connectors with additional contacts may be used (e.g., to carry auxiliary power, to carry control signals, etc.). Audio connectors with optical cores can be used to carry optical signals in addition to analog electrical signals. 
     Accessory  214  may be provided with circuitry that helps convey signals from user input interface  200  to device  10  over path  208  (e.g., path  28  of  FIG. 2 ). In general, any suitable communications format may be used to convey signals (e.g., analog, digital, mixed arrangements based on both analog and digital formats, optical, electrical, etc.). These signals may be conveyed on any suitable lines in path  208 . To avoid the need to provide extra conductive lines in path  208  and to ensure that accessory  214  is as compatible as possible with standard audio jacks, it may be advantageous to convey signals over existing lines and associated audio connector terminals (e.g., speaker lines and ground). In particular, it may be advantageous to use one of the speaker lines and a ground line (e.g., the lines connected to contacts such as sleeve contact  254 , ring contact  252 , and tip contact  253  in audio plug  210  of  FIG. 10 ) to convey signals such as user input signals and control signals between accessory  214  and electronic device  10 . 
     With one suitable communications arrangement, buttons such as buttons  202 ,  204 , and  206  may be encoded using different resistances. When a user presses a given button, device  10  can measure the resistance of user input interface  200  over the speaker and ground lines and can thereby determine which button was pressed. With another suitable arrangement, a button may be provided that temporarily shorts one of the speaker lines to the ground wire in cable  208  together when pressed. Electronic device  10  can detect this type of momentary short. Button presses within interface  200  may be converted to ultrasonic tones or other control signals that are conveyed over the speaker and ground lines. Electronic device  10  can detect and process the ultrasonic tones or other control signals without interrupting audio playback operations. 
     If desired, electronic device  10  can support communications using two or more of these approaches. Different approaches may be used, for example, to support both legacy hardware and new hardware, to support different types of software applications, to support reduced power operation in certain device operating modes, etc. 
     Ultrasonic tones lie above hearing range for human hearing (generally considered to be about 20,000 Hz). In a typical arrangement, the ultrasonic tones might fall within the range of 75 kHz to 300 kHz (as an example). Ultrasonic tones at frequencies of less than 75 kHz may be used, but may require more accurate circuitry to filter from normal microphone audio signals. Ultrasonic tones above 300 kHz may become susceptible to noise, because the conductors in many headset cables are not design to handle high-frequency signals. The cables can be provided with shielding and other structures that allow high speed signaling to be supported, or, more typically, lower tone frequencies may be used. 
     Ultrasonic tones lie above hearing range for human hearing (generally considered to be about 20,000 Hz). In a typical arrangement, the ultrasonic tones might fall within the range of 75 kHz to 300 kHz (as an example). Ultrasonic tones at frequencies of less than 75 kHz may be used, but may require more accurate circuitry to filter from normal microphone audio signals. Ultrasonic tones above 300 kHz may become susceptible to noise, because the conductors in many headset cables are not designed to handle high-frequency signals. The cables can be provided with shielding and other structures that allow high speed signaling to be supported, or, more typically, lower tone frequencies may be used. 
     Ultrasonic tones will not be audible to human hearing and therefore represent a form of out-of-band transmission. Arrangements that rely on ultrasonic tones in this way can avoid undesirable audible pops and clicks that might otherwise be associated with a button arrangement that momentarily shorts a speaker line and a ground line together upon depression of a button and thereby momentarily disrupts normal operation of the speaker signal path. 
     In configurations in which a speaker line and a ground are shorted together upon button actuation events, it will generally not be possible to transmit audio information such as audio signals while the speaker and ground line are shorted. An advantage of using devices that do not short the speaker and ground lines together such as devices that use ultrasonic tones to convey button actuation information (and that may therefore omit shorting switches between the speaker and ground lines) is that this allows audio information such as audio signals to be transmitted to accessory  214  in a continuous uninterrupted fashion. Even if a user is currently listening to a media playback operation, the user may press buttons that are ultrasonically encoded without interrupting the media playback operation. Each time a button is pressed, the button press event results in the transmission of a corresponding ultrasonic tone, but does not short the speaker and ground lines. 
     Circuitry  297  may be provided within accessory  214  (e.g., within main unit  296 ) to handle operations associated with communicating between accessory  214  and device  10 . For example, circuitry  297  may transmit ultrasonic tones to device  10  and may receive signals from device  10 . If desired, circuitry  297  may take the form of an adapter (e.g., main unit  296  and circuitry  297  may be an adapter through which a headphone accessory can connect to device  10 ). Device  10  may also include circuitry (shown as circuitry  297  in  FIG. 10 ) to receive and decode ultrasonic tones from accessory  214  and to send signals to accessory  214 . 
       FIG. 11  illustrates an exploded perspective view of housing structure  14  and clip  36 . As shown in  FIG. 11 , clip  36  may include a post  94  and mounting holes  92 . Clip  36  may also include a hole  91  through which accessories such as a leash can be attached to device  10 . Clip  36  may pivot around structure  98  (e.g., pivot structure  98 ) of housing structure  14 . Clip  36  may be pivotably mounted to the housing structure  14 . 
     Clip  36  may be coupled to housing structure  14  by pins  90 . Each pin  90  may fit through a respective hole  100  in structure  98  and into a respective hole  92  in housing structure  14 . With one suitable arrangement, the pins  90  may be press fit into the holes  92 . With this type of arrangement, the pins  90  may be slightly larger than the holes  92  such that when the pins  90  are pressed into the holes  92  the pins  90  remain firmly wedged in the holes  92 . 
     When clip  32  is attached to housing structure  14 , spring  96  may be attached to post  94  of clip  32  and a respective post on housing structure  14  (not shown in  FIG. 11 ). With one suitable arrangement, spring  96  may bias clip  36  against bar  102  during normal operations (e.g., spring  96  may hold clip  36  closed when a user is not pressing on clip  36 ). A user may open clip  36  by pressing against clip  36  in the region of hole  91  or by lifting the end of the clip above bar  102 . 
     If desired, the outside face of clip  36  may include a label  108 . Label  108  may be a logo or other suitable label. Label  108  may be formed on clip  36  using any suitable technique such as laser etching, a sticker, screen printing, paint, mechanical etching, etc. With one suitable arrangement, label  108  may be a laser etched rendering of a brand icon. 
     A side view of clip  36  and housing structure  14  assembled together is shown in  FIG. 12 . As shown in  FIG. 12 , spring  96  may be coupled to post  94  of clip  36  and post  108  of housing structure  14 . Also, clip  36  may include a bar  104  that rests against bar  102  of housing structure  14  when the clip is closed, which is the position shown in  FIG. 13 . As illustrated in  FIG. 12 , clip  36  may have a length from the pivot point around pins  90  to bar  104  of approximately 30.9 mm as illustrated by arrows  106 . The portion of clip  74  shown in  FIG. 12  is cutaway around spring  96  to show spring  96  and the posts to which the spring is attached. 
     As shown in  FIG. 13 , spring  96  may bias bar  104  against bar  102  during normal operation.  FIG. 13  also illustrates that each clip  74  may extend along most of the length of housing structure  14 . 
       FIG. 14  illustrates the underside of clip  36 . As shown in  FIG. 14 , clip  36  may include a bar  106  on which post  94  may be mounted. Holes  92  may be formed in the sides of post  94 . This is merely one suitable arrangement for clip  36  and, in general, clip  36  may be formed using any suitable arrangement and shape. 
     A perspective view of printed circuit board assembly  72  and battery assembly  38  nested together is shown in  FIG. 15 .  FIG. 15  illustrates one potential way in which assemblies  38  and  72  may be nested together when assembled in device  10 . As shown in  FIG. 15 , printed circuit board assembly  72  may be nested within ledge  39  of battery assembly  38 . Assemblies  38  and  72  may be mounted to housing  12  by screw  44  of  FIG. 3  which may pass through hole  166  in assembly  72 . Typically, safety circuitry for a battery assembly is contained within the battery assembly. If desired, safety circuitry for battery assembly  38  may be located in circuit board assembly  72 . With this type of arrangement, space in battery assembly  38  that would otherwise be devoted to the safety circuitry can be utilized in nesting assemblies  38  and  72  together (e.g., by placing safety circuitry in assembly  72 , assemblies  38  and  72  may occupy a smaller volume than if the safety circuitry were located in assembly  38 ). 
     Battery assembly  38  may include one or more battery cells  156  and structure  158 . Battery cells  156  may be based on any suitable battery technology such as a rechargeable alkaline battery, a lithium-ion battery, a lithium-polymer battery, etc. Structure  158  may provide assembly  38  with structural integrity and/or may serve to insulate battery cells  156  (e.g., to protect cells  156  from electrically grounding to housing  12 ). With one suitable arrangement, structure  158  may be formed from a polyimide film such as a Kapton® tape that is wrapped partially or wholly around cells  156 . Tape  158  may electrically shield cells  156  from nearby conductive material such as housing  12 , connector assembly  62 , and assembly  72 . 
     Printed circuit board assembly  72  may include circuitry  162 , circuitry  170 , and connector  160  mounted on a substrate  164 . With one suitable arrangement, circuitry  162  may include storage such as storage  26  of  FIG. 2  and/or storage  126  of  FIG. 17 , circuitry  170  may include processing circuitry  22  and input-output circuitry  24  of  FIG. 2  and/or transceiver circuitry  120  and processing circuitry  128  of  FIG. 17 . As an example, circuitry  162  may include non-volatile memory and circuitry  170  may include a processor and other circuit components in device  10 . 
     Connector  160  may be any suitable type of connector. With one suitable arrangement, connector  160  may couple to connector assembly  62  (e.g., audio jack assembly  62 ) through a flexible circuit. Connector  160  may convey audio and data signals between assemblies  72  and  62 , if desired. 
     Substrate  164  may be a printed circuit board substrate. If desired, circuit interconnects may be routed through substrate  164  (e.g., through vias and other interconnection structures). Substrate  164  may be formed from a flexible material such that assembly  72  may be a flexible circuit assembly. 
     A side view of assemblies  38  and  72  is shown in  FIG. 16 . As shown in  FIG. 16 , printed circuit board assembly  72  may be electrically coupled to battery assembly  38  through circuit  37  (e.g., power leads  37 ). As one example, circuit  37  may convey positive and negative power signals between battery cells  156  of assembly  38  and circuitry  170  of assembly  72 . If desired, circuit  37  may convey positive and negative power signals for each of the battery cells  156 . This type of arrangement may be particularly useful when safety circuitry for cells  156  is incorporated into circuitry  170  so that circuitry  170  can monitor the voltages across each of the cells  156 . If desired, circuit  37  may be a flex circuit. 
     With one suitable arrangement, an adhesive material may be used in mounting assemblies  38  and  72  to housing  12 . For example, a relatively thin film of adhesive material  168  may be used to secure assemblies  38  and  72  to housing  12 . If desired, adhesive material  168  may be formed from a double-sided tape or from another type of adhesive. As shown in  FIG. 16 , material  168  may be located underneath battery assembly  38 , circuit  37 , and circuitry  170 . This is merely an example and, in general, adhesive  168  may be located wherever desired. 
     A generalized diagram of an illustrative electronic device  210  and accessory  214  is shown in  FIG. 17 . In the  FIG. 17  example, device  210  and accessory  214  are shown as possibly including numerous components for supporting communications and processing functions. If desired, some of these components may be omitted, thereby reducing device cost and complexity. The inclusion of these components in the schematic diagram of  FIG. 17  is merely illustrative. 
     Device  210  may be, for example, computing equipment such as a compact media player. Device  210  may optionally support cellular telephone and data functions, global positioning system capabilities, and local wireless communications capabilities (e.g., IEEE 802.11 and Bluetooth®), handheld computing device functions such as internet browsing, email and calendar functions, games, music player functionality, etc. With one suitable arrangement, electronic device  10  of  FIG. 1  may be implemented using the arrangement of  FIG. 17  (e.g., electronic device  210  may serve as device  10 ). 
     Accessory  214  may be, for example, a headset with or without a microphone, a set of stand-alone speakers, audio-visual equipment, an adapter, an external controller (e.g., a keypad), or any other suitable device that may be connected to device  210 . Path  216  may include paths such as path  28  of  FIG. 2  and audio connectors such as connector  30  of  FIG. 1  or other suitable connectors. 
     As shown in  FIG. 17 , device  210  and accessory  214  may include storage  126  and  144 . Storage  126  and  144  may include one or more different types of storage such as hard disk drive storage, nonvolatile memory (e.g., flash memory or other electrically-programmable-read-only memory), volatile memory (e.g., static or dynamic random-access-memory), etc. 
     Processing circuitry  128  and  146  may be used to control the operation of device  210  and accessory  214 . Processing circuitry  128  and  146  may be based on processors such as microprocessors and other suitable integrated circuits. These circuits may include application-specific integrated circuits, audio codecs, video codecs, amplifiers, communications interfaces, power management units, power supply circuits, circuits that control the operation of wireless circuitry, radio-frequency amplifiers, digital signal processors, analog-to-digital converters, digital-to-analog converters, or any other suitable circuitry. 
     With one suitable arrangement, processing circuitry  128  and  146  and storage  126  and  144  are used to run software on device  210  and accessory  214 . The complexity of the applications that are implemented depends on the needs of a system designer. For example, the software may support complex functionality such as internet browsing applications, voice-over-internet-protocol (VOIP) telephone call applications, email applications, media playback applications, operating system functions, and less complex functionality such as the functionality involved in encoding button presses as ultrasonic tones. To support communications over path  216  and to support communications with external equipment such as equipment  20  of  FIG. 2 , processing circuitry  128  and  146  and storage  126  and  144  may be used in implementing suitable communications protocols. Communications protocols that may be implemented using processing circuitry  128  and  146  and storage  126  and  144  include internet protocols, wireless local area network protocols (e.g., IEEE 802.11 protocols—sometimes referred to as Wi-Fi®), protocols for other short-range wireless communications links such as the Bluetooth® protocol, protocols for handling 3G communications services (e.g., using wide band code division multiple access techniques), 2G cellular telephone communications protocols, serial and parallel bus protocols, etc. In a typical arrangement, more complex functions such as wireless functions and media playback operations are implemented exclusively or primarily on device  210  rather than accessory  214 , but accessory  214  may also be provided with some or all of these capabilities, if desired. 
     Input-output devices  130  and  148  may be used to allow data to be supplied to device  210  and accessory  214  and may be used to allow data to be provided from device  210  and accessory  214  to external destinations. Input-output devices  130  and  148  can include devices such as buttons, non-touch displays, and touch displays (e.g., based on capacitive touch or resistive touch technologies as examples). Visual information may also be displayed using light-emitting diodes and other lights. Input-output devices  130  and  148  may include one or more buttons. Buttons and button-like devices may include hold switches, keys, keypads, momentary switches, sliding actuators, rocker switches, click wheels, scrolling controllers, knobs, joysticks, D-pads (direction pads), touch pads, touch sliders, touch buttons, and other suitable user-actuated control interfaces. Input-output devices  130  and  148  may also include microphones, speakers, digital and analog input-output port connectors and associated circuits, cameras, etc. Wireless circuitry in input-output devices  130  and  148  may be used to receive and/or transmit wireless signals. 
     As shown schematically in  FIG. 17 , input-output devices  130  may sometimes be categorized as including user input-output devices  132  and  150 , display and audio devices  134  and  152 , and wireless communications circuitry  136  and  154 . A user may, for example, enter user input by supplying commands through user input devices  132  and  150 . Display and audio devices  134  and  152  may be used to present visual and sound output to the user. These categories need not be mutually exclusive. For example, a user may supply input using a touch screen that is being used to supply visual output data. 
     As indicated in  FIG. 17 , wireless communications circuitry  136  and  154  may include antennas and associated radio-frequency transceiver circuitry. For example, wireless communications circuitry  136  and  154  may include communications circuitry such as radio-frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry formed from one or more integrated circuits, power amplifier circuitry, passive RF components, antennas, and other circuitry for handling RF wireless signals. Wireless signals can also be sent using light (e.g., using infrared communications). 
     The antenna structures and wireless communications devices of devices  210  and accessory  214  may support communications over any suitable wireless communications bands. For example, wireless communications circuitry  136  and  154  may be used to cover communications frequency bands such as cellular telephone voice and data bands at 850 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 1900 MHz, and 2100 MHz (as examples). Wireless communications circuitry  136  and  154  may also be used to handle the Wi-Fi® (IEEE 802.11) bands at 2.4 GHz and 5.0 GHz (also sometimes referred to as wireless local area network or WLAN bands), the Bluetooth® band at 2.4 GHz, and the global positioning system (GPS) band at 1575 MHz. 
     Although both device  210  and accessory  214  are depicted as containing wireless communications circuitry in the  FIG. 17  example, there are situations in which it may be desirable to omit such capabilities from device  210  and/or accessory  214 . For example, it may be desired to power accessory  214  solely with a low-capacity battery or solely with power received through path  216  from device  210 . In situations such as these, the use of extensive wireless communications circuitry may result in undesirably large amounts of power consumption. For low-power applications and situations in which low cost and weight are of primary concern, it may therefore be desirable to limit accessory  214  to low-power consumption wireless circuitry (e.g., infrared communications) or to omit wireless circuitry from accessory  214 . Moreover, not all devices  210  may require the use of extensive wireless communications capabilities. A hybrid cellular telephone and media player device may benefit from wireless capabilities, but a highly portable media player such as device  10  of  FIG. 1  may not require wireless capabilities and such capabilities may be omitted to conserve cost and weight if desired. Size and complexity can be minimized further by eliminating more of all media playback control buttons (e.g., play, pause, volume control, track skip, etc.) from the housing of device  210 . 
     Transceiver circuitry  120  and  138  may be used to support communications between electronic device  210  and accessory  214  over path  216 . In general, both device  210  and accessory  214  may include transmitters and receivers. For example, device  210  may include a transmitter that produces signal information that is received by receiver  142  in accessory  214 . Similarly, accessory  214  may have a transmitter  140  that produces data that is received by receiver  124  in device  210 . If desired, transmitters  122  and  140  may include similar circuitry. For example, both transmitter  122  and transmitter  140  may include ultrasonic tone generation circuitry (as an example). Receivers  124  and  142  may each have corresponding tone detection circuitry. Transmitters  122  and  140  may also each have DC power supply circuitry for creating various bias voltages, digital communications circuitry for transmitting digital data, or other suitable transmitter circuitry, whereas receivers  124  and  142  may have corresponding receiver circuitry such as voltage detector circuitry, digital receivers, etc. Symmetric configurations such as these may allow comparable amounts of information to be passed in both directions over link  216 , which may be useful when accessory  214  needs to present extensive information to the user through input-output devices  148  or when extensive handshaking operations are desired (e.g., to support advanced security functionality). 
     It is not, however, generally necessary for both device  210  and accessory  214  to have identical transmitter and receiver circuitry. Device  210  may, for example, have available on-board power in the form of a rechargeable battery, whereas accessory  214  may be unpowered (and receiving power only from device  210 ) or may have only a small battery (for use alone or in combination with power received from device  210 ). In situations such as these, it may be desirable to provide device  210  and accessory  214  with different communications circuitry. 
     As an example, transmitter  122  in device  210  may include adjustable DC power supply circuitry. By placing different DC voltages on the lines of path  216  at different times, device  210  can communicate relatively modest amounts of data to accessory  214 . This data may include, for example, data that instructs accessory  214  to power its microphone (if available) or to respond with an acknowledgement signal. A voltage detector and associated circuitry in receiver  138  of accessory  214  may process the DC bias voltages that are received from device  210 . In this type of scenario, transmitter  140  in accessory  214  may include an ultrasonic tone generator that supplies acknowledgement signals and user input data (e.g., button press data) to device  210 . A tone detector (e.g., an ultrasonic tone detector) in receiver  124  may decode the tone signals for device  210 . 
     Applications running on the processing circuitry of device  210  may use the decoded user input data as control signals. As an example, a media playback application may interpret the user input as commands to skip a track, to pause, play, fast-forward, or rewind a media file, a cellular telephone application may interpret the user input as commands to answer or hang up a cellular telephone call, etc. Still other applications may interpret user button-press data or other user input as commands for making menu selection, etc. 
       FIG. 18  illustrates one potential problem that may occur in portable electronic devices with a female audio connector and a conductive housing. As shown in  FIG. 18 , when a male audio connector  210  is inserted into or removed from a female audio connector  30  in device  10 , a portion of the male audio connector  210  may rub against housing  12 . Because housing  12  may be formed from a conductive material, contact between connector  210  and housing  12  can create undesirable electrical shorts. In the example of  FIG. 18 , tip contact  253  of connector  210  has shorted together housing  12  and contact  256  (e.g., sleeve contact  256 ) of connector  30 . As shown in  FIG. 18 , connector  30  may include tip contacts  260 , ring contacts  258 , and sleeve contacts  256 . In general, connectors  30  and  210  may include any suitable number of contacts (e.g., electrical paths). 
     With one suitable arrangement, housing  12  may be formed from a conductive material that has a nonconductive exterior surface. As one example, housing  12  may be formed from conductive aluminum with an anodized exterior surface that acts as an insulator. With this type of arrangement, while the surface of housing  12  is nonconductive, the surface of housing  12  can become conductive if the surface is sufficiently worn off (e.g., if the anodized portions are worn off). 
     Insulator ring  32  may help to reduce the risk of the male audio connector  210  from rubbing against housing  12  when the connector  210  is being inserted into or removed from female audio connector  30 . Insulator ring  32  may therefore help to prevent excessive wear on the anodized surface of housing  12  adjacent to connector  30 . As shown in the cross-sectional view of  FIG. 19 , ring  32  may help to prevent portions of the connector  210  from directly contacting and rubbing against housing  12  when the connector  210  is being inserted into or removed from connector  30 . With this type of arrangement, ring  32  may help to protect an anodized exterior surface of housing  12  adjacent to connector  30  from being inadvertently worn off when inserting and removing an audio plug (e.g., connector  210 ) from the audio jack (e.g., connector  30 ) in device  10 . 
     The foregoing is merely illustrative of the principles of this invention and various modifications can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention.

Metadata:
Filing Date: 20090304
Publication Date: 20141216
Grant Date: 20141216
Priority Date: 20090304
Inventors: FILSON JOHN BENJAMIN
MOOLSINTONG PINIDA JAN
SANFORD EMERY
Assignee: APPLE INC
CPC Classifications: [{"code": "A45F5/1516", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "A45C11/002", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "A45C11/002", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "A45F5/1516", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04R2460/03", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G04B37/02", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "A45F2200/0516", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F1/1626", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04M1/05", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "A45C2011/002", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04R2420/09", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "A45F5/021", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04R1/1041", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04R2201/103", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04R5/033", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04M1/6058", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04R2499/11", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F1/1656", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04R1/02", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04R2420/09", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04M1/05", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F1/1626", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04M1/6058", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04R2460/03", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04M1/05", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04R1/02", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04R2499/11", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04R1/1041", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04R1/1041", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F1/1626", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04R5/033", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04M1/6058", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04R1/02", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04R3/00", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G04B37/02", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04R2460/03", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04R2499/11", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04R2420/09", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "A45F5/021", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04R2201/103", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F1/1656", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04R5/033", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04R2201/103", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "A45F5/021", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F1/1656", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}]
Family ID: 42235894