Telecommunications – Transmitter and receiver at same station – Radiotelephone equipment detail
Reexamination Certificate
1999-01-26
2001-09-04
Trost, William (Department: 2683)
Telecommunications
Transmitter and receiver at same station
Radiotelephone equipment detail
C455S550100, C455S575100
Reexamination Certificate
active
06285890
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to improvements in mobile phones which have system connectors to permit auxiliary components to be connected to them.
Mobile phones have become popular in recent years because they free the user from fixed communications networks. The user is not required to wait at the home or office for an anticipated call. Instead, the call can be forwarded to the user at whatever location the user happens to be.
A wide variety of phone accessories are available to enhance the usefulness of mobile phone. Common accessories for mobile phones include hand sets, vibrators, speech recognition units, hands-free kits for vehicles, and battery chargers. Typically, the phone accessories plug into a system connector on the body of the telephone to connect the electrical circuit within the accessory to the circuit inside the telephone. Telephones manufactured by Ericsson, Inc., for example, have a class of such accessories known generally as “Ericsson Accessories” which can be connected using the phone's existing system connector.
It is also known to use the telephone as a transmission medium for a connected computer to enable the user to send and receive data and fax communications. One approach used in the past is to connect the phone to an external modem or modem equipped computer. This approach uses the mobile phone merely for transmission of signals that are modulated by the modem in the computer. For example, some phones implement a PC card form factor to provide data/fax functionality for a mobile computer equipped with a PC card slot. However, the PC card adds an additional expense for users that want data/fax functionality.
Another approach is to incorporate an internal modem into the mobile phone and provide an interface for accessing the phone's internal modem using a computer or other external device. This approach can be implemented using a dedicated port on the phone or the phone's built-in system connector for communications with the external device. For example, some phones use an infrared data port for communications with the external device. In the past, phones adopting this approach have required that special protocol drivers be installed in the external device in order to operate properly. Thus, the manufacturer was required to write and distribute drivers for many different operating systems such as Windows
3
.
1
, Windows
95
, Windows
98
, Palm Pilot, Windows CE, etc. Moreover, if the user installs a new operating system, there is no guarantee that the driver will operate. Thus, the user may be required to obtain and install a new infrared driver when a new operating system is installed.
Another drawback to using a dedicated port for communications with an external device, is that the dedicated port requires additional space and adds to the cost of the phone. In particular, the use of a separate infrared data port requires a separate transmitter in the phone and significantly increases its cost and weight.
Accordingly, it would be preferable to have a telephone design in which a single system connector could be used to connect accessories as well as computing devices, without the need to provide additional drivers for the mobile computer to properly operate with the telephone.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is a mobile communication device, such as a cellular telephone, equipped to handle data/fax communications. The phone includes a transceiver, a modem, and a system connector for connecting the mobile communication device to external devices. The system connector serves a dual function. In a default mode of operation, the system connector may be used to connect the phone to a phone accessory, such as hands-free kit, charger, etc. In a communications mode, the system connector is used to connect the phone to an external communication terminal that uses the phone's internal modem for data/fax communications.
The phone initially operates in a default mode to enable use of the phone with a phone accessory in a conventional manner. The phone automatically switches to a communications mode when a connected communication terminal is detected by the phone. The presence of an external communication terminal is detected, for example, by looking at the input signals on the system connector. The connected communication terminal will generate certain known signals when it initiates a communication session. For example, a communication terminal implementing the IS-135 protocol will send AT commands to the phone's internal modem over the system connector. When the input signal (AT command) is received on the system connector the phone automatically switches to the communication mode to enable communications by said external communications terminal via said modem. When the communication session is terminated, the phone automatically switches back to the default mode of operation.
The present invention is convenient for users since the user does not need to manually configure the phone for data/fax communications. It is also advantageous from a manufacturer's viewpoint since no drivers are needed to facilitate communications with the connected device.
These and other aspects of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art after reading the following description of the preferred embodiments when considered with the drawings.
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patent: 5864763 (1999-01-01), Leung et al.
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Coats & Bennett
Ericsson Inc.
Perez-Gutierrez Rafael
Trost William
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