Electricity: battery or capacitor charging or discharging – Cell or battery charger structure – For handheld device
Reexamination Certificate
2000-01-03
2001-07-03
Wong, Peter S. (Department: 2838)
Electricity: battery or capacitor charging or discharging
Cell or battery charger structure
For handheld device
C455S463000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06255800
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to the field of short distance wireless communications. More specifically, He present invention relates to a method of using a charging cradle to enable short distance wireless communication between a personal computing apparatus and at least one other short distance wireless communication enabled electronic device.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Currently, the most common form of short distance wireless communication between a personal computer (“PC”) and a wireless communication enabled electronic device is infrared (“IR) communication. IR communication, however, has shortcomings in being a very short distance communication technique (typically a few meters at best) and requires an uninterrupted line of sight between RF ports on both devices. Both of the limitations associated with IR communication are problematic in the modern world of portable electronic devices.
Another form of wireless communication is radio frequency (“RF”) communication. Some legacy type architecture computers incorporate an IR port and circuitry to support IR communication. For short distance wireless applications, a legacy type computer can be combined with a portable phone (of the type used for short distance communication around the home or office—a traditional cellular phone is not acceptable for this purpose due to power, frequency and operational expense requirements) via a cable or direct connection to give the computer the ability to communicate with another electronic device (typically another computer) via RF communication from the portable phone to a receiver spaced a short distance away.
FIG. 1
illustrates a prior art embodiment of a legacy architecture portable computer
10
that is coupled via a cable
12
to a portable telephone
14
, as required by such a system. Portable telephone
14
provides RF transceiver functionality for portable computer
10
.
FIG. 2
illustrates another prior art embodiment of a short distance RF communication system in which a legacy architecture portable computer
10
is coupled via a data cable
12
to a dedicated short distance RF communication module or device
16
(i.e., which is able to transmit and receive RF signals over a short distance—e.g., up to 10 meters). RF module or device
16
has an antenna
18
and RF circuitry
20
(typically transceiver functionality) coupled to antenna
18
. In both of the systems disclosed in
FIGS. 1 and 2
, there are two electronic apparatus and a coupling cable that a user must keep together.
In addition to the above, portable computer
10
, portable phone
14
and RF module or device
16
(as well as all electronic devices) each require a power source for proper operation. While one or more of these devices may derive its power solely from batteries, the more common and practical practice is to have each device derive its power from batteries while the device is in a portable mode and from a power cord coupled to a conventional power supply when the device is near a permanent power supply.
FIGS. 3 and 4
illustrate the systems of
FIGS. 1 and 2
, respectively, in which portable computer
10
, portable phone
14
and RF device
16
obtain their power from a power cord
22
coupled to a conventional power supply
24
(such as a power receptacle—for example, 110 VAC). Devices having an input voltage requirement less than the supply voltage may also have a step down transformer or voltage reducing circuit
26
. For example, a transformer or other voltage conversion or regulator circuitry may be used to reduce a supply voltage of 110 VAC, supplied by a power receptacle on a wall, to the required input voltage of the device. For devices requiring DC voltage, an AC/DC converter may also coupled between the step down transformer and the device.
Whether obtaining power solely from batteries, or from batteries only when no conventional power supply is available, the batteries will eventually run down and require replacement unless the batteries are of the rechargeable type and are recharged separately or while the device of which the batteries are a part is coupled to a conventional power supply. Rechargeable batteries may be recharged in one of three methods. First, batteries
28
within a portable electronic device may be physically removed from the device and placed in a battery recharge mechanism
30
until recharged, as illustrated in FIG.
5
. The batteries are replaced in the electronic device after being recharged. Second, batteries
28
may be recharged within the electronic device it powers (in this case portable computer
10
, portable telephone
14
or RF device
16
) via a power cord
22
(typically having a transformer
26
at one end of the power cord—typically the portion that plugs into the power source) coupling the portable electronic device to a conventional power supply
24
, as discussed above and illustrated in
FIGS. 3 and 4
. Third, batteries within small portable electronic devices, such as portable phone
14
may also be recharged within the device while the device is placed within a cradle or receptacle
32
that is coupled, via a power cord
22
, to a conventional power supply
24
, as illustrated in FIG.
6
.
Removing a device's batteries for recharging (as shown in
FIG. 5
) is awkward and burdensome. The electronic device using the batteries is typically unusable—if of the battery only type—while its batteries are removed. There is also the potential problem of losing or damaging the batteries and/or the device itself through mishandling of the device or batteries and wear resulting from the continual process of removing and replacing batteries. If the device is of the type allowing operation from a power cord only, the mobility of the device is limited to the length of the power cord. The method of recharging batteries shown in
FIGS. 3 and 4
is more convenient than the method of
FIG. 5
in that the batteries are not removed from the device while recharging, which facilitates immediate operation of the device, even if the batteries are not fully charged. For devices small enough, the recharging cradle is the most convenient method of recharging. One disadvantage of the charging cradles of the prior art is that they require a power cable coupling the charging cradle to a dedicated power source, such as a 110 VAC wall outlet or 12 VDC outlet (such as an automotive cirgarette lighter power supply). Such recharging techniques are useless in situations where there are no, or insufficient, discrete power sources available to plug in the power cord of the charging cable.
FIG. 7
illustrates a cradle
34
adapted to supply both power and data to an electronic device
14
. In one embodiment, shown in
FIG. 8
, cradle
34
has both a connector for power
36
and a data connector
38
. In another embodiment, shown in
FIG. 9
, cradle
34
has a single power and data connector
40
for coupling power (via cable
22
) and data (via cable
12
) to the portable phone
14
.
Combining the RF communication and power requirements, it soon becomes apparent that a user of any one of the previously described communication systems will need a portable computer
10
, a power cord
22
for supplying external power to computer
10
, a portable phone
14
or RF module
16
, a power cable
22
for supplying external power to portable phone
14
or RF module
16
, and a data cable
14
for coupling portable computer
10
to portable telephone
14
or RF module
16
—for a total of two electronic devices, two power cords and a data cable. For the recharging cradle embodiments—a total of three electronic devices, two power cords and a data cable are required.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention disclosed herein comprises a method of using a mobile device-charging cradle to enable short distance wireless RF communication between a personal computer and at least one other short distance wireless RF communication enabled electronic device. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, a short distance wireless radio (transceiver—Bluetooth in this example) and antenn
Brady III Wade James
Neerings Ronald O.
Telecky , Jr. Frederick J.
Texas Instruments Incorporated
Tibbits Pia
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