Communications: electrical – Continuously variable indicating – With meter reading
Reexamination Certificate
2002-07-15
2004-02-24
Tong, Nina (Department: 2632)
Communications: electrical
Continuously variable indicating
With meter reading
C340S010100, C340S539100, C709S250000, C455S403000, C455S041200, C455S088000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06696973
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a communication system and a control unit suitable therefor. In particular the present invention relates to a communication system and a control unit suitable therefor which are able to be carried by the user without using his hands, the communication system comprising one or more signal receiving modules, which each receive signals from the vicinity of the communication system and convert them into electrical, or respectively optical signals and/or digital data, and the communication system comprising one or more signal emitting modules which are each able to convert electrical, or respectively optical signals and/or digital data into signals which are perceived by the user through his sense organs or are emitted into the surroundings of the communication system.
Communication systems which are able to be carried by a user, without using his hands, are already available. There are, for example, hand-free portable communication systems comprising a mobile radio telephone removably attached to a carrying belt and connectible via a cable interface to a combined headphone/microphone set. In this example of an available communication system, the microphone and the radio receiver of the mobile radio telephone represent signal receiving modules that receive acoustical signals, or respectively radio signals, from the surroundings of the communication system, while the headphones and the radio transmitter of the mobile radio telephone represent signal emitting modules which emit acoustical signals to the sense organs of the user, or respectively radio signals to the surroundings of the communication system.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Described in the patent application DE 197 55 264 A1 is a portable computer system able to be controlled by the user through spoken language and/or body movements. The computer system according to DE 197 55 264 A1 comprises a helmet-mounted display device which is connected via a fiber optics cable to a processing computer and/or to other actuation and signal emitting components. According to the teaching disclosed in DE 197 55 264 A1, a remotely located computer with helmet-oriented components can be connected via a radio link. The linking described in DE 197 55 264 A1 of components of the computer system by means of fiber optics cable(s) has the advantage that it is particularly secure with respect to magnetic and electrostatic interference. Furthermore cable connections for the linking of the system components carried by the user is often perceived by users as uncomfortable or even annoying, for example because cables can get tangled up in clothing or other objects. Several cables are needed for connection of a plurality of components, which further increases the cited drawback.
Described in the patent application EP 767 417 A1 is a hands-free portable and hands-free operable computer system, which can be controlled by the user through spoken language, brain waves, eye and/or body movements. The computer system according to EP 767 417 A1 consists essentially of a headset and a local computer attached to a carrying belt, which computer is connected, without cables, to the headset via a wireless interface, in particular an infrared interface. Described in the patent application EP 767 417 A1is that, for communication with a remotely located computer, connections between the local computer and the remote computer can be achieved by means of radio transceiver or cellular mobile radio telephone. The connection described in EP 767 417 A1between the headset and the local computer using scattered infrared light has the advantage of not having the drawbacks of cable-oriented connections and of being rather secure with respect to unauthorized attempts to listen in remotely. On the other hand, infrared interfaces have the disadvantage that they require an unobstructed transmission field between the communication partners, so that the local computer cannot be worn under clothing impermeable to light, for instance, which is once again perceived by users as a restrictive drawback.
In the documents XP-000784002, Haartsen J. et al.: “Bluetooth: Vision, Goals and Architecture,” Mobile Computing and Communications Review, US, ACM, New York, volume 2, number 4, 1998, pages 38 to 45, and XP-000783249, Haartsen J.: “Bluetooth—The universal radio interface for ad hoc, wireless connectivity”, Ericsson Review, SE, Ericsson, Stockholm, number 3, 1998, pages 110 to 117, the so-called Bluetooth radio interface is described. The Bluetooth radio interface makes it possible to interconnect portable electronic devices such as laptop computers, mobile radio telephones, headphones/speech accessories or computer mouses over short distances for wireless data communication. By means of the Bluetooth technology, the devices are automatically and dynamically interconnected when they are located within their mutual range. By means of Bluetooth technology, up to maximally eight devices, a master and seven slaves can be interconnected in a so-called Piconet. In Bluetooth a device can belong to a plurality of Piconets at the same time in the role of a slave, but be active in only one Piconet at a particular point in time.
In the document XP-002141075, “Jini Technology and Emerging Network Technologies,” Sun Microsystems, online (http://www.sun.com.jini/whitepapers/technologies.pdf) 1999, pages 1 to 3, the Jini technology based on Java is described, which makes possible the development of service applications between two electronic devices such as Personal Data Assistants (PDA), television devices, digital cameras, fax machines or mobile radio telephones via network protocols such as Bluetooth (Java and Jini are registered trademarks of the company Sun Microsystems).
It is an object of this invention to propose a new and better portable, hands-free communication system and a portable, hands-free control unit suitable therefor, which make possible in particular a flexible configuration of signal receiving modules and signal emitting modules as components of the communication system as well as a cable-free connection of these components.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
This object is achieved according to the invention through the elements of the independent claims. Further advantageous embodiments follow moreover from the dependent claims and from the description.
These goals are achieved through the present invention in that signal receiving modules of the hands-free portable communication system which each receive signals from the surroundings of the communication system and convert them into electrical and/or optical signals and/or into digital data, and signal emitting modules of the communication system which each convert electrical and/or optical signals and/or digital data into signals, able to be perceived by the user via his sense organs or emitted into the surroundings of the communication system, each have a radio device interface, and the communication system comprises at least one control unit with at least one radio device interface, which control unit is set up such that data from the said modules, i.e. from the signal receiving modules and the signal emitting modules, is able to be received in the control unit via the radio device interface, data from the control unit is able to be transmitted to the said modules via the radio device interface in a selective way, and said modules are able to be added to the communication system and removed from the communication system in a dynamic way. To achieve the aforementioned feature, the control unit comprises register means to register, or respectively unregister, automatically said modules which are added to, or respectively removed from, the communication system dynamically by the user. The advantage of the connection of signal receiving modules and signal emitting modules via a radio device interface with a control unit comprising automatic registration means for dynamic registration of said modules is that these components (modules and control unit) are able to be combined
Lauper Eric
Ritter Rudolf
Swisscom Mobile AG
Tong Nina
LandOfFree
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