Portable Electronic Device with Magnetic Audio Interface and Audio Reproduction Accessory Therefor

摘要

A portable electronic device includes an audio coder-decoder 'CODEC' capable of generating analog audio signals from digital audio representations, and includes a transmit coil capable of producing an alternating magnetic field upon passage of the analog audio signals through the transmit coil. Automatically determining the presence of conditions for magnetic coupling between the portable electronic device and an audio reproduction accessory results in the portable electronic device causing the analog audio signals to be routed from the CODEC to the transmit coil. When an audio reproduction accessory for a portable electronic device is magnetically coupled to the portable electronic device, the sole source of energy for audible sound generated by the audio reproduction accessory may be energy contained in a magnetic field that acts on the audio reproduction accessory, the magnetic field produced by a transmit coil of the portable electronic device.