User-programmable, head-supportable listening device with WiFi media player

Abstract

A user-programmable, head-supportable listening device with built-in WiFi media player is configured to provide user custom application programmability with higher fidelity sound provided by resident audio electronics and conduction speakers, in stereo and HD audio surround sound, the listening device having a user programmable electronics system assembly providing the ability to scan, detect, select and play audio and video from wired and wireless sources of audio and video signals, and from both residential media sources and online streaming music services, an audio media storage device to provide storage of user-selected media for accessing from the listening device or by an external wired and wireless device, which provides the user with control of speakers, wireless interfaces, automatic scanning capability and playing of audio-video media.

Claims

1. A head-supportable audio player and listening device comprising: two housings structured to be supportable on or about a portion of a user's head, each housing being structured for positioning relative to the user's ears to transmit audio to the auditory canals of the user; a linking device attached to each of said two housings structured to link one housing to the other housing; at least one speaker positioned within each of said two housings, said at least one speaker being configured to provide one of or both stereo sound or high definition surround sound audio; and a user-programmable electronics system assembly positioned on one or both of said housings or on said linking device, further comprising: one or more wireless interfaces configured to provide wireless connectivity of the listening device to wireless-emitting sources; and a voice recognition and synthesis system which provides the ability to vocally search, select for audio files from wired and wireless sources and to control the playback of media, and to program the listening device as an autonomous function of the resident user-programmable electronics system.

2. The head-supportable audio player of claim 1, wherein said at least one speaker further comprises a plurality of speakers located in each of said two housings.

3. The head-supportable audio player of claim 1, further comprising a media storage device.

4. The head-supportable audio player of claim 3, wherein the media storage device further comprises a media buffering device.

5. The head-supportable audio player of claim 1, further comprising a media buffering device.

6. The head-supportable audio player of claim 1, wherein said user-programmable electronics system further comprises voice control of the at least one speaker.

7. The head-supportable audio player of claim 1, further comprising a display apparatus and having one or the other of a keypad or touch screen in communication with the display apparatus.

8. A head-supportable audio player and listening device comprising: two housings structured to be supportable on or about a portion of a user's head, each housing being structured for positioning relative to the user's ears to transmit audio to the auditory canals of the user; a linking device attached to each of said two housings structured to link one housing to the other housing; at least one speaker positioned within each of said two housings, said at least one speaker being configured to provide one of or both stereo sound or high definition surround sound audio; and a user-programmable electronics system assembly positioned on one or both of said housings or on said linking device, further comprising: automatic scanning capability for selective accessing of audio signals or files from multiple wired and wireless audio sources, including analog and digital devices, via high definition multimedia interfaces, digital media interfaces and pre-amp analog sources; one or more wireless interfaces configured to provide wireless connectivity of the listening device to wireless-emitting sources; a media storage device configured to provide in-residence acquisition and storage of user-selected digital files for accessing by and from said listening device; and having programmable functions providing the user with control of said speakers, wireless interfaces and said in-residence audio media storage device.

9. The head-supportable audio player of claim 8, wherein said at least one speaker further comprises a plurality of speakers located in each of said two housings.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) In the drawings, which depict what is currently considered to be the best mode of the invention:

(2) FIG. 1 illustrates schematically a first aspect of the disclosure where a headphone device is shown in partial exploded view;

(3) FIG. 2 illustrates schematically a further aspect of the disclosure;

(4) FIG. 3 depicts various operative modes of the disclosure;

(5) FIG. 4 is a flow diagram depicting the software components and applications that form a part of the disclosure;

(6) FIG. 5 is a flow diagram depicting the logic flow of the automatic communication and audio source scanning software aspects of the disclosure; and

(7) FIG. 6 is a flow diagram depicting automatic online streaming music recording and Digital Rights Management (DRM) software application utility.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DISCLOSURE

(8) FIG. 1 illustrates schematically the general structural elements of the head-supportable listening device 10 of the disclosure. As used herein, “head-supportable listening device” is meant to include any device of any configuration that can be supported on or by the head, or supported on or by any portion of the head, including the ears, and which is configured to provide an element or elements that direct an audible signal, sound or stream into or toward the user's auditory canal or auditory canals. Thus, while the listening device is illustrated herein as a headphone or headset device for ease of illustration, it is to be understood that the listening device can be configured in other forms, such as ear buds or equivalent devices.

(9) In FIG. 1, the listening device 10 generally comprises two housings 12 structured to be supportable on or about a portion of a user's head. Each housing 12 is structured for positioning relative to the user's ears to transmit audio to the auditory canals of the user. The listening device 10 further comprises a linking device 14 attached to each of the two housings 12. The linking device 14 is structured to link one housing 12 to the other housing 12.

(10) As shown in FIG. 1, each housing 12 may be connected to the linking device 14 in a manner that allows the housing 12 to be selectively separated from the linking device 14. The primary advantage of this construction is to allow the listening device to be configured in a manner that allows the housings to act as open air speakers when a high wattage vibration speaker 28 is used in the housing. The user can listen to the music without placing the listening device on the user's ears. This arrangement accommodates applications where, for example, the user would like to listen to music when the listening device is placed off the ears, such as being placed on the user's shoulders or placed on a table.

(11) FIG. 1 illustrates with respect to one of the housings 12 a number of the operational elements that are included in the housing 12. It will be understood that the elements described and illustrated as being in one of the housings are generally found in both housings 12, although only one housing is shown in an exploded view. Generally, the housing 12 is sized and structured to retain therein a plurality of speakers 18 that provide sound to the user. The individual speakers 20 of the plurality of speakers 18 may take the form of transducers or other equivalent devices.

(12) Transducers that may be used in the listening device 10 may include traditional dynamic speakers that employ a diaphragm and a coil to convert electrical signals and energy into kinetic, acoustical energy by moving air at the frequency and amplitude defined by the analog electrical signal. The speakers 20 may include a surround speaker 22, a center speaker 24, a rear speaker 26 and a front speaker 34. In most multi-channel embodiments that support greater than two speakers, dynamic speakers are used for the lower powered channels including the front speaker 34, rear speaker 26 and the surround speaker 22 channels, while vibration speakers are used for the sub-woofer, and in both multi-channel and two-speaker stereo applications, the front speakers.

(13) Another transducer that may be employed in the device 10 is a surface conductive or vibration speaker 28 which converts an analog signal and energy into kinetic, acoustical energy by directing the mechanical force of an electromagnetic solenoid into the surface of the housing. The housing 12 then acts as an acoustical radiator which transfers the surface-radiating sound wave throughout the entire surface of the housing 12 and exits out of the housing through a dampening acoustical filter 30 composed, for example, of a fabric that reduces extraneous high frequencies, into the listener's ear. The wattage and resulting sound pressure level delivers a more energy efficient sound wave that dramatically reduces the need to directly couple the transducer to the listener's ear cavity, and results in superior sound and comfort.

(14) The plurality of speakers 18 are positioned to surround a baffle member 27 that directs the sound waves in the most acoustical, energy efficient manner, and reduces the creation of interfering sound waves that can result in cancellation of sound energy. While one baffle 27 is shown, more than one baffle may be used. This arrangement and use of strategically positioned baffles results in the highest quality, clearest and greatest dynamic range of sound. The baffles 27 may also function as a resonator plate which most effectively recreates the full dynamic range and spatial sound of floor-based speakers.

(15) The number of speakers 20 that are employed in the listening device 10 may be greater than two, which is the typical number of speakers used in traditional headphones to produce audio from a two-channel system. The number of speakers 20 employed in the present device may be from two to ten, or greater. In a preferred embodiment, the number of speakers per housing may be from two to five in number.

(16) FIG. 2 illustrates in further detail the various components that may be associated with the listening device 10. In this embodiment, the number of speakers 20 employed is five, including a front speaker 40, a center speaker 42, a subwoofer speaker 44, a rear speaker 46 and a surround speaker 48. The speakers 20 are positioned within the housing in a spaced arrangement and are positioned in proximity to a baffle 27. The opening of 32 of the housing is covered by an acoustical filter 30.

(17) The listening device 10 further includes a user-programmable electronics system assembly, generally represented by reference numeral 50, which comprises the electronic hardware and software elements which provide the multiple functions and user programmability of the listening device, as described more fully below. The user-programmable electronics system assembly may be positioned on one or both of the housings 12 and/or on the linking device 14.

(18) The user-programmable electronics system assembly 50 comprises multiple wireless interfaces configured to provide wireless connectivity of the listening device to wireless-emitting sources. In one particularly suitable embodiment, the user-programmable electronics system assembly 50 may comprise at least two wireless interfaces, schematically depicted as 51. The wireless interfaces 51 enable wireless connectivity of the listening device to wireless-emitting sources, including Bluetooth and WiFi. Such connectivity allows the listening device to access any number of audio media, such as music files, from a wireless mobile device, from a computer, from a television, and from any number of various sources.

(19) The wireless interfaces 51 are comprised of device drivers and application software to which other applications and the operating system software interface with the associated hardware devices. Respective antennae are included to transmit the digital signal wirelessly to and from a compatible wireless device such as a WiFi network router or WiFi- or Bluetooth-enabled smartphone.

(20) The user-programmable electronics system assembly 50 further includes a media storage device 52 configured to provide storage of user-selected digital files for accessing from the listening device 10. The media storage device 52 is configured to store audio files, and may also be configured to store video media files. The media storage device 52 provides non-volatile memory storage for audio and video files. The media storage device 52 typically includes at least 4 GB of internal storage with a provision to add additional external removable storage via a micro SD memory card slot that is accessible by the user. The micro SD memory card slot may accept a minimum of 32 GBs of additional media storage.

(21) The media storage device 52 enables the user to selectively store, in residence on the listening device 10, and to access, user-selected data files such as music, videos such as a movie, and audiobooks or audio podcasts. The media storage device 52 in configured with software for accessing upon command from the listening device 10 those data files that the user wishes to listen to. Media files may be stored, removed or accessed via both wireless communication interfaces such as WiFi and hardwired connections such as USB.

(22) The user-programmable electronics system assembly 50 is also configured to provide programmable functions providing the user with control of the speakers 20, wireless interfaces 51 and the media storage device 52. The programmable functions include the capability of the user-programmable electronics system assembly 50 to automatically scan, using auto scanning software that is configured for automatically scanning, detecting and selecting wired and wireless audio sources by reading the prioritized user defined list of WiFi hotspots or routers, Bluetooth communication devices and wired audio devices. The auto scanning software circumvents the operating system and takes direct control of the associated wireless communication and wired audio interfaces to provide the listener the simplest, automated method of locating, selecting, connecting and playing from either the highest priority source, as defined by the user's predefined list of communication and audio devices, or a manually user-toggled and selected communication and audio device.

(23) The user-programmable electronics system assembly 50 includes Near Field Communication (NFC) electronics and software that allows the user to wirelessly acquire the data files or information necessary to immediately connect to a smart NFC enabled media device such as a smartphone.

(24) The listening device 10, through the use of a custom application software routine as part of the user-programmable electronics system assembly 50, provides the user the ability to schedule the recording of subscribed music on an online music service for later “time shifted” listening when the user is out of WIFI or cellular Internet-accessible range. The “stream shifting” software utility is designed to meet the copyright requirements of sponsored online streaming music services by incorporating digital rights management software which only allows paid subscribers of the music service to listen to the recorded music one time, and prevents permanent storage of the recorded music. The software may be adapted to meet the specific online music service's digital rights management needs.

(25) The user-programmable electronics system assembly 50 includes multiple processors, namely the application processor that runs on an operating system such as Android or iOS, and one or more embedded dedicated processors that perform functions such as USB data stream conversion, keypad interfacing, touch display panel interfacing, battery charging and status management. A Digital Signal Processing or DSP processor may be included where additional DSP may be performed. The DSP processing may include equalization and audio format conversion which is performed, for example, where a stereo two-channel audio file can be converted in real time to virtualized, 7.1 channels of streaming surround sound audio, the Digital to Analog Converter or DAC where the digital stream is converted into an analog signal with audio bit rate and depth resolutions, such as 44 kHz/16 bits or 96 kHz/24 bits which exceed commercial music players and smartphones plus and an audio pre-amp and high powered audio output stage amplifier. The processors may also include ADC devices.

(26) Another unique application of the listening device's DSP section is to perform three dimensional (3D) spatialization of the audio based on the position of the listener's head in relation to the room or to the display on which the user is watching a movie. By using the system electronics assembly-based motion detector, the movement of the listener's head can be tracked and the DSP can convert, in real time, the virtualized direction and location of the sound being heard by the listener, which results in producing the perception that the source of the sounds are emanating not from the listening device itself but from a source located outside and away from the listening device. Because this set of digital and analog audio electronics is programmatically controlled by the user-programmable electronics system assembly 50 application software and processor, the use of the listening device is fully adaptable and dynamically reconfigurable to any given application and audio source, whether the source is an online streaming music service, a Bluetooth transmitted movie from a home audio video receiver or from multi-channel HD audio music stored in the listening devices onboard memory storage.

(27) The user-programmable electronics system assembly 50 may also include external interfaces 54 that enable an external device to be directly connected or hardwired to the listening device 10. Hardwired connections can include analog audio outputs to connect to external speakers, analog audio inputs for devices such as an external microphone, a digital audio input, including an SPDIF connector for connecting to a game console, and HDMI audio/video input and output connectors that can accept either 7.1 multi-channel HD audio in or send 7.1 HD audio and video out to an external display respectfully. A USB connector additionally provides a method to transfer media files, including music and videos, onto and off the listening device from an externally connected USB compatible computer. For example, the user-programmable electronics system assembly 50 may be configured with an external interface 54 that enables a wired cable 56 to extend from a media player 58, such as a home audio-video receiver, computer and/or Blue-ray movie player device 60 that is connected via the media player device 60 and directly hardwired connected to the listening device 10. Notably, the enhanced sound, in both two-channel and 7.1 channel HD audio surround sound, that is provided by the speaker array 18 of the present device provides more high definition sound from such external media players and devices than is available in conventional arrangements.

(28) The user-programmable electronics system assembly 50 further includes means provided on or within the listening device 10 by which the user is provided with selective control and manipulation of the various functions of the device 10. For example, the user-programmable electronics system assembly 50 may include control apparatus 72 for controlling volume. The user-programmable electronics system assembly 50 may also include resident software and hardware for selectively controlling and programming the wireless interfaces, automatic scanning system and media storage device.

(29) The user-programmable electronics system assembly 50 also comprises a control system, generally at 70, that further comprises a touch sensitive display 74 to provide a method for the user to search for a specific media file by the genre, artist or title and for advising the user of, for example, the source of the media, the audio or video file currently being played, the status of battery life, among other functions. The control system 70 may also include a keypad 76, a touch screen, touch display or other system display indicators and volume control device, such as control knob 72.

(30) A microphone 78 may be included in the listening device 10 which the user may use, through the various interfaces, to conduct telephonic communications or provide voice commands to the user-programmable electronics system assembly 50. Since the user-programmable electronics system assembly 50 includes both analog to digital converters (ADC) for digitizing analog microphone voice recognition and digital to analog converters for generating voice synthesis, DSP electronics and firmware for processing the vocal data plus a programmable applications processor based on a well-established operating system such as Android, iOS or Linux and open application software standards, voice recognition and synthesized control of system and user applications are fully implementable utilizing existing resident hardware. The user-programmable electronics system assembly 50 may be programmed in a way that allows the user to mute the audio being played through the speakers and turn up the microphone 78 so as to allow the user to hear external sounds, such as someone speaking, without having to remove the listening device.

(31) An external remote control device 80 such, as a smartphone or custom home control system, may also be used to control and stream audio over WiFi to the listening device 10. The external remote control device 80, in conjunction with a custom software application, for example, may provide remote searching, browsing, playback and playback control of music and other media, both stored locally on the listening device or being streamed from the control device 80 or other media storage location, including from an online media storage service. One example is using the external remote control device to allow the user to search, browse and stream to the listening device 44 kHz/16 bit CD quality music that is stored on a server that is located on the Internet, such as Google Drive. The external remote control device 80 also provides many other functions, including transport control of media being played, such as stop, skip and fast forward, adjusting the volume and EQ, virtual sound and other DSP audio mode selection, system status including available media storage memory and battery status, plus utilities that allow the user to easily transfer files to and from the listening devices resident memory storage. Other remote functions are within the scope of the disclosure.

(32) The listening device of the disclosure may further be configured with biological sensors that, when combined with a custom software application running on the listening device 10, and optionally on a smartphone, allow the real-time monitoring of the user's heart rate, body temperature, calories being burned and other health-related information for the purpose of tracking the user's health condition, especially when the user is exercising while using the listening device 10. As shown in FIG. 2, a pressure sensor 90 and temperature sensor 92 may be located on the listening device 10, for example, on the housing 12 such that when placed on the user's head, the housing 12 positions the sensors directly in contact with the user's ear, especially at the periphery of the user's ear, where the sensors can acquire the heart beat and body temperature data.

(33) An accelerometer sensor 94 that is located inside one or more of the housings 12 or the linking device 14, illustrated in FIG. 2 as being connected to the linking device 14, acquires movement data of the user so as to calculate the estimated calories being expended. The user may either review both real time and stored health data via both the resident touch display 74 or from a smart controller device that is running custom application software to communicate with the listening device 10 over WIFI or Bluetooth communication interfaces. Because the listening device includes full duplex, two-way WIFI communications, the user is able to both monitor and transfer to the smartphone, in real time, all health data being collected while at the same time controlling the media player 52 of the listening device, as well as controlling other functions. Additionally because the listening device 10 is configured as an Internet-connected device, the listening device 10 can also store the health data onto a web-based storage server that can be accessed and analyzed at any time by the user's Internet-connected personal computer.

(34) FIG. 3 diagrammatically illustrates certain functionalities of the listening device 10. As illustrated, the listening device may have multiple media interfaces, including Bluetooth 100, WIFI 102, USB connectivity 103, HDMI 104, SP/DIF 105 and Pre-Amp 106, and may include an additional HDMI interface 117. These interfaces provide both wired and wireless communication and media interfaces to the listening device. The DSP, DAC, volume control, mixing control, EQ control and other audio-video electronic functions are depicted at 107. The audio-video electronics 107 interface with embedded and application processors to give application software applications the ability to control and customize the functions of the audio-video electronics.

(35) The programmable volume control 108 and the manual volume control 109 interface to the audio-video electronic functions 107. The SD memory card assembly 110 provides user-accessible and upgradeable media memory. The multiple channel audio mixer 111 mixes analog audio signals and drives the pre-amplifier 112 which in turn drives the output stage amplifier 113 that sources the output speakers 114. The speakers 114 may vary in quantity from two to ten including two or four surface conduction speakers. The touch display panel 115 allows the user to browse and control the playback of media plus many other system functions.

(36) The application processor 116 runs the user-programmable electronics system assembly, in general, including device drivers and associated applications, while the embedded dedicated function processors 116 interface the touch display panel, keypads, charging control, LEDs and other system functions. The HDMI HD audio-video output 117 is driven by the application processor 116 and can drive an external display including head-supportable displays to render videos, movies and other audio-video media that is being played by the media play of the listening device. In addition, the HDMI output provides an optional way to access, customize and configure the systems settings and applications. The microphone 118 may consist of one or more microphones to support voice recognition, external audio mixing and noise cancellation.

(37) Additionally, the accelerometer 116, the pressure sensor 120 and the temperature sensor 121 are in communication with the application processor 116, which provides software applications and operative functionality to the sensors.

(38) FIG. 4 illustrates in further detail the software components that are configured to provide functionality to the listening device. There are three main sections namely the Application Layer, the Libraries and Drivers, plus the Operating System. The Application Layer is comprised of both standard applications or “apps” that are included with the listening device and user installed apps that are obtained from an online app store, such as those found on a Google™, Android™, or Apple™ iOS app store.

(39) Standard apps include a DLNA media player and renderer 201 that plays media, including music and videos, from various sources, including locally stored media, media stored on a DLNA-compatible network-attached storage device or on an online storage server such as Google Drive. The player 201 may also act as a renderer which allows the user to install a DLNA player app onto a remote networked computer or smartphone, then browse, select and stream media store, for example, on the smartphone, to the renderer 201, which then plays the media. The remote player app can also select media stored on the listening device by browsing the media that is made available by the DLNA Media Server 202.

(40) One or more online media apps 203, such as Pandora™ and Spotify™ online music service apps, are examples of the many apps that may be included with the listening device for implementation of the varying functions described herein. A voice recognition and synthesis application 204 is included which provides the ability to vocally search, select and control the playback of media.

(41) A health monitor application 206 may be included which, in conjunction with the listening devices user-programmable electronics system assembly and associated sensors, allows the user to monitor his or her heart rate, body temperature and estimated expended calories.

(42) The Auto Comm and Source Scanning application 207 automatically attempts to connect the user to the selected communication and media source. The Voice IP and Phone Manager 208 allows the user to take and initiate phone calls via either a voice IP service or via a smartphone Bluetooth connection. The Sys Manager and Remote Desktop application 209 allows the user to setup the listening device from a computer or smartphone that is running the master version of the Sys Manager and Remote Desktop application. All system settings may be configured using this software application including the network IP addresses of the listening device, hotspots, the auto scanning priority list, system security settings, online music service login credentials, plus configuring the other applications' settings including the media playback modes of the DSP, EQ and surround sound virtualization app 210.

(43) The Libraries and Drivers section includes the system Settings 211, the WIFI, Bluetooth, NFC and Ethernet drivers, the HDMI, USB and SD memory drivers 213 plus the driver that controls the keypad and touch display panel 214. In addition, this section has drivers that manages the system security and media digital rights management, or DRM 215, that may be used to play copyright-protected media, as well as the associated CODECS 216 that are used to play encoded media and the DLNA and UPNP 217 drivers. The System API 218 or Application Programming Interface is a set of commands and drivers that allows developers a method to develop custom listening device apps. The Operating System section includes the operating system kernel 219, the system BIOS 220 or Basic IO System, plus any custom firmware 221 or custom drivers 222.

(44) FIG. 5 illustrates in further detail the logical flow of the automatic communication and audio source scanning software utility that automatically attempts to connect the listening device to the selected audio source and the associated communication interface. Upon startup 301, the utility waits for the user to request 3022 to play some media. The media can be a number of different forms of media including locally stored music, an online music streaming music service, an audio source from a home entertainment player such as a game console or TV receiver. The user can request to play a media source using several methods including manually pressing the keypad of the listening device or touch display panel, vocally requesting a source or requesting the source using a remote control application running on a smartphone or other control system. When the user requests to play a media source, the utility reads the source list 303. The source list is predefined by the user when the listening device is setup and configured by selecting what sources of media are available to play and the preferred priority of communication methods that should be used. The communication methods include one or more WIFI access points or “hotspots” and Bluetooth devices.

(45) The utility displays and vocalizes the next available source 304. If the user selects 305 this source, then the utility will try to connect to the source using the default communication source 306. If the utility is able to connect to the communication and media source, then the utility launches the associated application or media player to play the requested media 313. If the utility is unable to connect to the communication and media source, then the utility will read the communication list 308 and attempt to connect to the next communication source listed. If the utility is unable to connect 309, then it will repeat reading 308 and connecting to the next communication source 312 in the list until it tries all of the communication sources. If it is unable to connect, the utility will display and vocalize the error connection status. If the utility connects to a communication source 311, then the utility launches the associated media application or player and plays the selected media 313. The utility returns to the start of the routine once the media is stopped 314.

(46) FIG. 6 illustrates in further detail the logical flow of the automatic online streaming music recording and Digital Rights Management (DRM) software application utility. The purpose of the online streaming music recording utility is to provide a means for automatically recording music from an online music service which allows subscribers to shift ahead the time when the user may listen to the purchased music. This utility is especially useful for mobile users of the listening device since they may want to listen to their subscribed online streaming music when they are no longer in WIFI or cellular range and are unable to access the online music streaming service. The online streaming music recording utility includes a DRM facility that can be setup to meet the requirements of online music services that require deletion of recorded music after the music has been played.

(47) Upon startup 401, the utility waits for the user to begin to record from an online music service 402. The utility reads the user settings 403 to determine which online music service to record from and the amount of file storage allocated by the user to record 404. The utility determines if there is storage available to begin or continue recording 405. If there is no storage available, the utility does not begin recording 405. If there is storage available, the utility begins to record or continues to record from the online music service 406.

(48) The software continuously monitors the available storage 407 and if there is storage available, it continues to record. If there is no longer available storage, the recording stops 408 and returns to the start 401 of the routine. After starting up the play and DRM routine of the utility 409, and when the user selects to play the recorded music 410, the system begins to play the recorded music 411. The system checks the DRM settings 412 for the specific online music service requirements and if the service requires file deletion, then after each file is played the utility deletes the file 413. If the service does not require file deletion, the music is not deleted and the next music file is played 414. The system checks to see if the user stops the playback 415, and if the user has not stopped playback, the player continues to play the recorded music until the user elects to stops playback 416.

(49) In the foregoing description of certain embodiments, specific terminology has been resorted to for the sake of clarity. However, the disclosure is not intended to be limited to the specific terms so selected, and it is to be understood that each specific term includes other technical equivalents which operate in a similar manner to accomplish a similar technical purpose. Terms such as “left” and right”, “front” and “rear”, “above” and “below” and the like are used as words of convenience to provide reference points and are not to be construed as limiting terms.

(50) In addition, the foregoing describes only some embodiments of the inventions, and alterations, modifications, additions and/or changes can be made thereto without departing from the scope and spirit of the disclosed embodiments, the embodiments being illustrative and not restrictive.

(51) Furthermore, inventions have described in connection with what are presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the disclosed embodiments, but on the contrary, is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the inventions. Also, the various embodiments described above may be implemented in conjunction with other embodiments, e.g., aspects of one embodiment may be combined with aspects of another embodiment to realize yet other embodiments. Further, each independent feature or component of any given assembly may constitute an additional embodiment.