Patent number 7633076 involves an automated response to and sensing of user activity in a portable device. The invention involves various methods and devices that relate to devices which, in at least certain embodiments, may include one or more sensors for providing data relating to user activity and at least one processor for causing the device to respond based on the user activity which was determined, at least in part, through the sensors. The response by the device may include a change of state of the device, and the response may be automatically performed after the user activity is determined. The inventors are Brian Huppi, Anthony M. Fadell, Derek Barrentine and Daniel Freeman.

Patent number 7632146 is for a backward compatible connector system. According to the patent various embodiments of connectors and connector assemblies provide modified structural features to meet evolving industrial design requirements while maintaining backward compatibility. In one embodiment, alignment posts on the two sides of a plug connector are substantially removed and the remaining connector shell reshaped so as to preserve alignment capability. Other pre-existing features such as alignment grooves and some or all springy raised tabs can be eliminated resulting in a more compact and monolithic structure for the connector without impacting functionality or backward compatibility. In another embodiment, a trim ring is molded to the base of the connector to form an integrated unit. The integrated unit results in a reduced size of the connector when it is incorporated into other devices such as a docking station. In yet another embodiment, a printed circuit board is integrated into the boot of a connector assembly to act as an intermediate connection mechanism between the cable wires and the connector pins. Other functionality such as identification circuitry or electrostatic discharge protection circuitry can be incorporated on to the integrated printed circuit board. The inventors are Sean R. Murphy, Wim Croojimans, Richard Howarth and Christopher Stringer.

Patent number 7632114 is for an interface connector between a media player and other electronic devices. An interface connector is disclosed. The connector enables a compact communication link between a media player and a CPU configured so that the interface enables the media player to operate as a USB memory drive for the CPU. In one embodiment, the invention comprises an interface that is removably engagable from a media player and another electronic device. The interface includes a rigid housing with a first and second end connectors that are configured to facilitate data and power transmission between a media player and an electronic device when connected to the interface. The interface connector can be configured to be very compact and easily transportable. The inventor is Eliot P. Danner.

Patent number 7634605 involves a method and system for transferring stored data between a media player and an accessory. The method and system comprises obtaining by one of the media player and the accessory a unique identifier for a particular file stored in the other of the media player and the accessory; and returning the unique identifier with the stored file data to the one of the media player and the accessory. The system and method includes utilizing the stored file by the one of the media player or the accessory. In the method, system and connector interface in accordance with the present invention, accessories and media players are able to retrieve and store data utilizing an arbitrary format. This data is opaque to any protocol used by the media player and requires no parsing or interpretation. To provide this facility, a plurality of commands allows both media players and accessories to present a simple file system. The plurality of commands could be utilized in a variety of environments. The inventors are Jay S. Laefer, Scott Krueger and Gregory T. Lydon.

Patent number 7633015 is for a conforming, electro-magnetic interference reducing cover for circuit components. An electronic circuit component is provided with shielding for electro-magnetic interference ("EMI") by covering at least part of the component with a layer of electrical insulation that conforms to the shape of the surface to which the insulation is applied. At least part of the surface of the insulation is then covered by a layer of EMI shielding that conforms to the shape of the surface of the insulation to which the shielding is applied. The inventors are Josh Wurzel, Shawn Robert Gettemy, Ahmad Al-Dahle, Carlin James Vieri and Wei Yao.

Patent number 7634587 is for an I/O descriptor cache for bus mastering I/O controllers. One embodiment of the present invention provides a system that includes an I/O descriptor cache that is accessed by a bus mastering I/O controller. The I/O descriptor cache stores descriptors that describe data to be transferred during corresponding I/O operations. The system also includes an I/O controller configured to control one or more I/O devices. This I/O controller is configured to access I/O descriptors stored in the I/O descriptor cache without having to access the main memory, thereby conserving I/O bandwidth and power. The inventors are David K. Ferguson, Robert L. Bailey, Brian D. Howard and Lesley B. Wynne.

Patent number 7634413 involves bitrate constrained variable audio encoding. A hybrid audio encoding technique incorporates both ABR, or CBR, and VBR encoding modes. For each audio coding block, after a VBR quantization loop meets the NMR target, a second quantization loop might be called to adaptively control the final bitrate. That is, if the NMR-based quantization loop results in a bitrate that is not within a specified range, then a bitrate-based CBR or ABR quantization loop determines a final bitrate that is within the range and is adaptively determined based on the encoding difficulty of the audio data. Excessive bitrates from use of conventional VBR mode are eliminated, while still providing much more constant perceptual sound quality than use of conventional CBR mode can achieve. The inventors are Shyh-shiaw Kuo and Hong Kaura.

Patent number D606040 is for the design of a media player (the iPod nano). The inventors are Bartley K. Andre, Daniel J. Coster, Daniele De Iuliis, Richard P. Howarth, Jonathan P. Ive, Steve Jobs, Duncan Robert Kerr, Shin Nishibori, Matthew Dean Rohrbach, Peter Russell-Clarke, Douglas B. Satzger, Calvin Q. Seid, Christopher J. Stringer, Eugene Antony Whang and Rico Zorkendorfer.

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