Charging station for mobile devices that allows access to device
Contents
1. if pairing information is confirmed by a user at a block 485 the pairing information is stored in the data storage area 365 for future reference Processing then continues at block 495 If at decision block 470 it is deter mined that the mobile device has been previously paired with the charging station processing continues to block 490 where the charging station retrieves stored information from the data storage area 365 that allows the charging station to pair with the mobile device At block 495 the charging station estab lishes a trusted relationship with the mobile device The trusted relationship may or may not involve the encryption of data that is exchanged between the charging station and the mobile device At a block 498 the charging station is allowed to access communication and other services offered by the mobile device The number and type of services that the charging station is allowed to access will depend on the type of mobile device and the specific user or manufacturer settings of the mobile device Services that may be accessed include com munication services e g voice text calendars address books notes reminders media e g pictures music video or any other services that may be implemented on a mobile device or that are accessible through a mobile device At a block 498 the charging station is allowed to access communication and other services offered by the mobile device The number and type of servic2. bluetooth watch Internet accessed Jul 22 2009 Quilty Harper Conrad Sony Ericsson s MBW 100 Bluetooth watch reviewed Engadget Oct 28 2006 pp 1 10 Weblogs Inc http www engadget com 2006 10 28 sony ericssons mbw 100 bluetooth watch reviewed Internet accessed Jul 20 2009 Bluetooth Headset User Manual Jabra BT800 2004 pp 1 41 Jabra Corporation United States of America International Search Report and Written Opinion for PCT US2009 045531 Applicant T Mobile USA Inc Date of Mailing Jul 14 2009 12 pages cited by examiner Primary Examiner Temica M Beamer Assistant Examiner Joel Ajayi 57 ABSTRACT A charging station for mobile devices that allows a user to access mobile device services while a mobile device is con tacting a charging pad or is otherwise being charged at the charging station The charging station includes a charging pad where a mobile device is placed to initiate automatic charging without having to connect the mobile device to a charging cable The charging station also includes a display and com munication components for wirelessly linking the charging station with the mobile device When the mobile device is within proximity ofthe charging station the charging station establishes a connection with the mobile device to allow the services offered by the mobile device to be accessed via the charging station The display on the charging station may be larger tha
3. device For example the power outlet may be located in a high traffic area like a kitchen where a user may not feel comfortable holding a conversation for a long period oftime or where the general noise level may make it difficult to use the device And in some situations a mobile device may be charged in a location where there are more convenient options for communication or other services offered by the mobile device For example rather than use a mobile telecommunications device e g a mobile phone a user may be more inclined to use a landline phone at his her residence because of the convenience of the landline phone As another example rather than use a PDA to access a weather service and obtain a weather forecast a user may be more inclined to use a home computer or turn on a television to obtain a weather forecast By limiting the use of a mobile device during charging periods users cannot fully take advantage of the services that are provided by the mobile device As a result it would be advantageous to improve on the manner and circumstances in which mobile devices can be utilized BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG 1 is a perspective diagram of a charging station with a mobile device positioned on the charging station for charging FIG 2 is a perspective diagram of a charging station for mobile devices used in a consumer setting FIG 3 is a block diagram of components in a charging station and in a mobile device to en
4. of claim 10 wherein the charging pad creates a varying magnetic field to induce a charging current in the mobile device 12 The charging station of claim 11 wherein the charging pad provides a charging current to the mobile device when conductive contact is made between the mobile device and the charging pad 13 The charging station of claim 9 wherein the commu 25 30 35 40 45 50 12 17 The charging station of claim 16 wherein the controller receives a selection of a second service from the user and accesses the selected second service on the mobile device via the wireless communication link and wherein the display is configured to simultaneously display the selected first and second services 18 The charging station of claim 9 wherein the selected service is accessed after the mobile device has been charged 19 The charging station of claim 9 wherein the mobile device is a mobile telecommunications device 20 The charging station of claim 9 wherein a portion of the selected service is implemented by the mobile device and a portion of the selected service is implemented by the charging station 21 An apparatus for the remote access of a service offered by a mobile device while the mobile device is being charged the apparatus comprising a charging component configured to charge a mobile device via a cordless connection a communication component for establishing a wireless communication link with the
5. some embodiments the display may be parti tioned into a number of regions that each has a different purpose For example the display 130 shown in FIG 1 has been partitioned into a first region 140 that is devoted to displaying the time and date and a second region 150 that is currently being used to depict the status of a phone call being made by a user through the mobile device As another example the first region may be devoted to one mobile device service e g an address book while the second region may be devoted to another service e g a chat application It will be appreciated that a greater or lesser number of regions may be displayed to a user and the purpose of each region may be fixed or may be dynamically changed over time While the charging pad 120 is depicted as extending in front of the display 130 in FIG 1 it will be appreciated that the charging pad may instead extend to the side of behind above e g on a top surface or beneath e g in a shelf or opening the display Since it is not necessary for a user to be able to see or manipulate the mobile device 110 while the device is on the charging pad the charging pad may be placed in any location that minimizes any interference with the operation of the display 130 or any associated controls on the charging station The charging pad may also be placed in a location that maximizes the aesthetic aspects of the charging station FIG 3 is a block diagram of various c
6. the phone memory and that allows a user to play a game on the mobile phone even if the mobile phone is not connected to a telecommunication network The mobile phone may also contain an operating system or appli cations that allow a user to access various services that are not located on the phone For example the mobile phone may allow a user to access an address book or pictures that are stored on a remote server that is accessed through a telecom munication network Further the mobile phone may contain data files consisting of images or video that may be displayed on the mobile phone s display While the mobile phone 300 depicted in FIG 3 contains components that enable both short and long range communi cations it will be appreciated that other mobile devices 110 may incorporate components that implement only short range communications For example a mobile media player device may only offer short range communication capability via protocols such as Bluetooth WiFi Ultra wideband ZigBee infrared etc Turning to the charging station 100 the charging station includes a data storage medium component 365 e g hard drive flash memory memory card etc that stores content and other data e g processing instructions configuration settings etc and a processor 370 for executing processing instructions To allow a user to interact with the charging station and gain access to the communication and other ser vices of the mobile
7. US008447366B2 a2 United States Patent 10 Patent No US 8 447 366 B2 Ungari et al 45 Date of Patent May 21 2013 54 CHARGING STATION FOR MOBILE OTHER PUBLICATIONS DEVICES THAT ALLOWS ACCESS TO DEVICE SERVICES 75 Inventors Joseph Ungari Seattle WA US Winston Wang Bellevue WA US Robert Buck Bellevue WA US 73 Assignee T Mobile USA Inc Bellevue WA US Notice Subject to any disclaimer the term of this patent is extended or adjusted under 35 U S C 154 b by 880 days 21 Appl No 12 130 627 22 Filed May 30 2008 65 Prior Publication Data US 2009 0298553 Al Dec 3 2009 51 Int CI H04B 1 38 2006 01 52 U S Cl USPG deett etel ttes 455 573 58 Field of Classification Search USPC unana 455 74 1 552 1 554 2 556 1 556 2 455 557 566 573 158 4 See application file for complete search history 56 References Cited U S PATENT DOCUMENTS 6 201 957 B1 3 2001 Son etal veces 455 406 6 825 660 B2 11 2004 Raichle et al 2002 0119800 Al 8 2002 Jaggers etal 455 550 2004 0210933 A1 10 2004 Dresti etal oo 725 40 2006 0052141 Al 2007 0036154 Al 2007 0114967 A1 2007 0279002 Al 3 2006 Suzuki 2 2007 Lipman 5 2007 Peng us ya y a 320 101 12 2007 Partovi Miller Paul Sony Ericsson and Fossil team up for Bluetooth watch Engadget Sep 28 2006 pp 1 16 Weblogs Inc http www engadget com 2006 09 28 sony ericsson and fossil team up for
8. able charging of the mobile device and the use of services offered by the mobile device FIG 4 is a flow chart of a process for detecting a mobile device and services offered by the mobile device FIG 5 is a representative user interface on the charging station to allow a userto access services offered by the mobile device FIGS 6A 6D are representative screenshots of a user inter 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 2 includes a display and communication components for wire lessly linking the charging station with the mobile device When the mobile device is within proximity of the charging station the charging station establishes a connection with the mobile device to allow the services offered by the mobile device to be accessed via the charging station For example if the mobile device is a mobile phone a user may make calls from the charging station by accessing the address book ofthe mobile phone selecting a number to call and placing the call from the charging station The charging station thereby greatly extends the usability of a mobile device in a home business or other setting In some embodiments the display on the charging station may be larger than the display ofthe mobile device or may be configured with different dimensions than the display on the mobile device As a result the charging station display may portray multiple services may portray a greater amount of information for a single service or may fo
9. any disclaimer the term of this patent is extended or adjusted under 35 U S C 154 b by 1003 days Signed and Sealed this Thirtieth Day of December 2014 VOGAL FO Z Michelle K Lee Deputy Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office
10. apparatus of claim 21 wherein the selected service is accessed after the mobile device has been charged 27 The apparatus of claim 21 wherein the mobile device is nication component communicates via a protocol selected from a set comprising Bluetooth WiFi Zigbee ultra wide band and infrared 14 The charging station of claim 9 wherein the service is implemented on the mobile device 15 The charging station of claim 9 wherein the service is implemented remote from the mobile device and accessed via the mobile device 16 The charging station of claim 9 wherein the display is configured to display the selected service 55 60 28 The apparatus of claim 21 wherein the interface com ponent further receives from the user one or more commands for controlling the service and transmits the commands to the mobile device via the wireless communication link 29 The apparatus of claim 21 wherein a portion of the selected service is implemented by the mobile device and a portion ofthe selected service is implemented by the appara tus UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION PATENT NO 8 447 366 B2 Page of 1 APPLICATION NO 12 130627 DATED May 21 2013 INVENTOR S Ungari et al It is certified that error appears in the above identified patent and that said Letters Patent is hereby corrected as shown below On the Title Page The first or sole Notice should read Subject to
11. cation component and to the input component wherein the controller receives a selection ofa service by the user and allows the user to access the selected service offered by the mobile tele communications device via the wireless communication link 2 The charging station of claim 1 wherein the charging pad creates a varying magnetic field to induce a charging current in the mobile telecommunications device 3 The charging station of claim 1 wherein the charging pad provides a charging current to the mobile telecommuni cations device when conductive contact is made between the mobile telecommunications device and the charging pad US 8 447 366 B2 11 4 The charging station of claim 1 wherein the communi cation component communicates via a protocol selected from a set comprising Bluetooth WiFi Zigbee ultra wideband and infrared 5 The charging station of claim 1 wherein the selected service is implemented on the mobile telecommunications device 6 The charging station of claim 1 wherein the selected service is implemented remote from the mobile telecommu nications device and accessed via the mobile telecommuni cations device 7 The charging station of claim 1 wherein the selected service is accessed after the mobile telecommunications device has been charged 8 The charging station of claim 1 wherein a portion of the selected service is implemented by the mobile telecommuni cations device and a portion of the sel
12. ced in a receiver that is built into the mobile device and used to charge the batteries of the mobile device Such magnetic field based charging pad technology is offered by Splashpower Ltd of Cambridge UK and sold under the Splashpower brand It will be appreciated that other cordless charging technologies may be used to construct the charging pad 120 While only a single mobile device 110 is depicted in FIG 1 as being charged on the charging pad 120 two or more mobile devices may be charged at the same time The number of mobile devices that may be simultaneously charged depends on the size of the charging pad the size of each mobile device and the cordless charging method used by the charging pad Moreover although the charging station 100 depicted in FIG 1 has only a single charging pad based on a single charging pad technology it will be appreciated that the charging station may have two or more charging pads based onthe same or different charging pad technologies The use of multiple technologies to implement the charging pad allows the charging station to accommodate a greater range of mobile devices In addition to a charging pad 120 the charging station 100 includes a display 130 which in some embodiments is a touchscreen display The touchscreen display may be a Liq uid Crystal Display LCD an Organic Light Emitting Diode OLED display a Liquid Crystal on Silicon LCOS display etc As will be described in additional
13. detail herein the charg ing station includes communication components that enable services of the mobile device or of other proximate devices to be accessed via the display For example ifthe mobile device being charged is a mobile phone a user may use the charging pad 120 to make a telephone call by accessing the address book of the mobile phone via the charging pad s display 130 selecting a number to call and placing the call As another example a user may use the display 130 to look up an address contained in an address book of the mobile device As another example a user may use the display 130 to select and play music that is stored in a media player mobile device When a 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 4 interface on the display In embodiments where the display is not a touchscreen a keypad buttons knobs or other controls may be used on the charging station to allow a user to select functions or enter text For example one or more keys may be deployed around the periphery of the display 150 and the user may select a key that corresponds to text that is displayed adjacent to that key on the display The display 130 on the charging station is typically larger than the display that is contained on the mobile device 110 As a result the display 130 may be used to display a greater amount of information than would normally be viewable on a single screen of the mobile device To take advantage of this capability in
14. device the charging station includes the display 130 a microphone 380 and one or more speakers 385 The charging station may include various user interface controls 390 e g keypad buttons to allow a user to select functions and enter data If the display 130 is a touchscreen display however the interface controls 390 may be omitted or limited and the display used as the primary mechanism to 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 6 allow a user to select functions and enter data The charging station 100 also includes a power supply 395 that is coupled to the charging pad 120 The charging station is typically plugged into an electrical outlet and the power supply regu lates the power and converts the power into a form that is required by the charging pad As discussed above the charg ing pad 120 may utilize one of a variety of cordless charging technologies such as contact point or magnetic field charg ing The charging station 1000 includes at least one communi cations component For instance the charging station 100 may include a Bluetooth component 405 to allow the charg ing station to communicate with a mobile device In lieu of or in addition to the Bluetooth component the charging station may include any other communication components that oper ate using a short range communication protocols e g Wi Fi Ultra wideband ZigBee infrared etc that are necessary to communicate with a mobile device
15. ected service is imple mented by the charging station 9 A charging station for charging a mobile device and displaying a list of services available on the mobile device that a user may access through the charging station the charg ing station comprising a power supply a charging component coupled to the power supply the charging component configured to charge a mobile device in proximity to the charging station via a cordless connection a communication component for establishing a wireless communication link with the mobile device while the mobile device is being charged by the charging compo nent the wireless communication link enabling access to at least one service offered by the mobile device the at least one service selected from a voice service a text message service a calendar service an address book service or a multimedia service a touchscreen display for displaying an icon that depicts at least one service offered by the mobile device and for receiving the selection by a user of one of the displayed services by detecting a touch of the user on the icon and a controller coupled to the communication component and to the input component wherein the controller receives a selection of a service from a user and accesses the selected service offered by the mobile device via the wireless communication link 10 The charging station of claim 9 wherein the charging component is a charging pad 11 The charging station
16. erstand however that the invention may be practiced without many of these details Additionally some well known structures or functions may not be shown or described in detail so as to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the relevant description ofthe various embodiments The terminology used in the descrip tion presented below is intended to be interpreted in its broad est reasonable manner even though it is being used in con junction with a detailed description of certain specific embodiments of the invention face which depict a user accessing an address book and com munication service through the mobile device FIG 7 is a representative user interface which depicts a user accessing a calendar service through the mobile device DETAILED DESCRIPTION A charging station for mobile devices that allows a user to access mobile device services while a mobile device is being charged at the charging station or is located adjacent the charging station is disclosed The charging station includes a charging pad where a mobile device is placed to initiate automatic charging without having to connect the mobile device to a charging cord or cable The charging station also 55 60 65 FIG ti that allows a mobile device 110 to be charged while at the same time allowing a user to access communication or other services that are offered by the mobile device or by another device The mobile device 110 may be a mobile telecommu nications dev
17. ery of power via the charging pad e g when charging is detected it is presumed that a mobile device is present At a block 460 the charging station transmits an inquiry to the mobile device in which it requests the device name device class list of ser vices and other technical information about the device At a decision block 465 the charging station waits to receive a response from the mobile device If a response is not received within a certain time period the charging pad will transmit another inquiry to the mobile device at block 460 If a response is received from the mobile device within a certain time period processing continues to decision block 470 At decision block 470 the charging station determines whether it has previously paired with the mobile device The determination may be made by comparing the identification information received in the response from the mobile device with a table of previously paired devices that is stored in the data storage area 365 If the mobile device has not been previously paired with the charging station processing con tinues to block 475 where the charging station requests pair ing information from the user The pairing information enables the charging station and the mobile device to estab lish a trusted relationship At a decision block 480 the charg ing station waits to receive pairing information from the mobile device If pairing information is received from the mobile device i e
18. es that the charging station is allowed to access will depend on the type of mobile device and the specific user or manufacturer settings of the mobile device Services that may be accessed include com munication services e g voice text calendars address books notes reminders media e g pictures music video or any other services that may be implemented on a mobile device or that are accessible through a mobile device FIG 5 is a representative user interface 500 that may be presented on the charging station display 130 to allow a user to access services offered by the mobile device The user interface may be a duplicate of the user interface that is presented on the mobile device although scaled or truncated to fit the display of the mobile device Alternatively the user interface may be a reformatted or enhanced user interface that is mapped to the user interface of the mobile device The interface depicts a number of icons 510 each icon being 0 an 5 40 45 50 8 associated with a service available on the mobile device A user may select a service by pressing the appropriate icon on the touchscreen of the charging station For example the user may access the voicemail of the mobile device by selecting the voicemail icon As another example the user may access pictures and videos stored on the mobile device by selecting the media icon While nine icons are displayed in the representative inte
19. eu of the charg ing pad For example a dock a cable or other coupling component may be used to provide power from the charging station 100 to the mobile device 110 for purposes of recharg ing the batteries of the mobile device Accordingly the inven tion is not limited except as by the appended claims We claim 1 A charging station for charging a mobile telecommuni cations device while enabling access to services through the mobile telecommunications device the charging station com prising a power supply a charging pad coupled to the power supply the charging pad configured to charge a mobile telecommunications device in proximity to the charging station via a cordless connection a communication component for establishing a wireless communication link with the mobile telecommunica tions device while the mobile telecommunications device is being charged by the charging pad the wireless communication link enabling access to at least one ser vice offered by the mobile telecommunications device the at least one service selected from a voice service a text message service a calendar service an address book service or a multimedia service a touchscreen display for displaying an icon that depicts at least one service offered by the mobile telecommunica tions device and for receiving the selection by a user of one ofthe displayed services by detecting a touch ofthe user on the icon and acontroller coupled to the communi
20. ging station 100 and other proximate devices not shown such as a computer or Internet appliance A communications interface may be established between the charging station and one or more proximate devices via Wi Fi or other short range communi cation protocols The communications interface allows the charging station to wirelessly exchange data and commands with the proximate device The communications interface thereby allows a user of the charging station to access com munications and other services that are offered by the proxi mate device s FIG 4 is a flow chart of a process 450 implemented by the charging station 100 to detect a mobile device 110 such as a mobile phone 300 to ascertain services offered by the mobile device and to pair with the mobile device in order to utilize the services offered by the mobile device At a decision block 455 the charging station 100 waits to detect that a mobile device has been placed on i e has been engaged with the charging pad 120 for charging In some embodi ments the charging station is able to detect such engagement asaresult of periodic beacon signals transmitted by the charg ing station and or mobile device In some embodiments the charging station is able to detect such engagement as a result of detection of additional weight placed on the charging pad 120 In some embodiments the charging station is able to US 8 447 366 B2 7 detect such engagement by monitoring the deliv
21. ice e g a mobile phone a personal digital assistant PDA a portable email device a Blackberry etc a personal media player such as an iPod or Zune or any other mobile device having batteries and offering services via a wireless connection The charging station 100 includes a charging pad 120 upon which a mobile device is placed to engage the charging station s charging features Various tech nologies may be used to automatically implement cordless charging In some embodiments the charging pad 120 is US 8 447 366 B2 3 comprised of a plurality of conductive strips through which current may flow A mobile device is configured with a plu rality of contact points that protrude from the case of the mobile device and which come into contact with two or more of the plurality of conductive strips when the mobile device is placed on the conductive pad The connection formed between the contact points and the conductive strips allow current to flow from the charging pad to the mobile device which may be used to charge the batteries of the mobile device Such contact point based charging pad technology is offered by WildCharge Inc of Scottsdale Ariz and sold under the WildCharge brand In some embodiments the charging pad 120 operates using magnetic induction A vary ing magnetic field is generated by the charging pad A mobile device placed on the charging pad is brought within the mag netic field and current is inductively indu
22. mobile device commences charging via the charge pad In some embodiments a mobile device user is allowed to limit the services that may be accessed from a charging sta tion For example the mobile device user may desire to limit the ability to make long distance telephone calls using a charging station The mobile device may therefore provide a settings management menu to allow a user to enable or dis able services that are to be offered through the charging station US 8 447 366 B2 9 FIGS 6A 6D are screenshots of a representative interface that is presented on the charging station display 130 The screenshots depict a series of screens that a user might use to access a communication service through a mobile device FIG 6A depicts a first screen 600 that allows a user to select a device If more than one mobile device has engaged the charging system of the charging station a user may initially need to select which device the user would like access In the depicted example two mobile devices are identified in a message 605 that is displayed to a user The devices may be identified by device type e g Samsung Beat Nokia 6103 Motorola RAZR by nickname e g Rick s phone by user name associated with the phone e g John Smith by photo by icon or by any other identifier The user may select which device to access by selecting a radio button 610 asso ciated with the device In some embodiments the user may be re
23. mobile device while the mobile device is being charged by the charging compo nent the wireless communication link enabling access to at least one service offered by the mobile device the at least one service selected from a voice service a text message service a calendar service an address book service or a multimedia service and an interface component for receiving from a user a selec tion ofan icon that depicts at least one service offered by the mobile device the interface component including a touchscreen display that is utilized by the user to select the icon that depicts the service offered by the mobile device the interface component accessing the selected service on the mobile device via the wireless communi cation link and providing the service to the user wherein the service is accessed from the apparatus using the mobile device 22 The apparatus of claim 21 wherein the charging com ponent is a charging pad 23 The apparatus of claim 22 wherein the charging pad creates a varying magnetic field to induce a charging current in the mobile device 24 The apparatus of claim 23 wherein the charging pad provides a charging current to the mobile device when con ductive contact is made between the mobile device and the charging pad 25 The apparatus of claim 21 wherein the communication component communicates via a protocol selected from a set comprising Bluetooth WiFi Zigbee ultra wideband and infrared 26 The
24. n the user may select options by touching icons or operating controls that are present on the display To allow a user to enter text the charging station may present a keyboard or other text entry 55 60 65 based on cordless charging technologies such as contact point or magnetic field charging The mobile phone 300 includes two communications com ponents The mobile phone includes a Bluetooth component 360 or other communication component that implements a short range communication protocol e g WiFi Ultra wide band ZigBee infrared etc The mobile phone 300 also includes a network communication component 350 that enables the mobile phone to communicate by transmitting and receiving wireless signals using licensed semi licensed or unlicensed spectrum over a telecommunications network 355 Telecommunications networks include third party tele communications networks such as a Global System for Mobile GSM mobile telecommunications network a code US 8 447 366 B2 5 time division multiple access CDMA TDMA mobile tele communications network a 3rd Generation 3G mobile tele communications network e g General Packet Radio Service GPRS EGPRS Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution EDGE or Universal Mobile Telecommunications System UMTS or other telecommunications network Those skilled in the art will appreciate that various other compo nents not shown may be included in the mobile phone to enable net
25. n the art will appreciate that software functionality may be advantageously divided between the station and the device to improve perfor mance In some embodiments the majority of the services that a user accesses at a charging station are services that are offered via a mobile device In some embodiments the charg ing station may offer a significant number of local services to a user and a limited number of services may be accessed via a mobile device Insome embodiments the software on the charging station may allow a user to access a number of services offered by the mobile device and integrate the data received from the accessed services for simultaneous display on the charging station display 130 For example the charging station may display a menu to allow a userto make a phone call at the same time as a calendar is being displayed On the mobile device the phone call and the calendar are normally accessed via different menu screens but because of the larger display size onthe charging station the menu and calendar may be brought together and displayed on the same screen In some embodiments the software on the charging station acts as an intermediary between a mobile device and a proxi mate device such as a computer or an Internet appliance For instance the charging station may be configured to signal a proximate device whenever a mobile device is within range of and establishes communications with the charging station or when a
26. n the display of the mobile device or may be con figured with different dimensions than the display on the mobile device 29 Claims 8 Drawing Sheets U S Patent May 21 2013 Sheet 1 of 8 US 8 447 366 B2 U S Patent May 21 2013 Sheet 2 of 8 US 8 447 366 B2 US 8 447 366 B2 Sheet 3 of 8 May 21 2013 U S Patent DIA eoejeju Bui amp ieuo Or ejnpojN JeMog GEE i ebeiois eyeq peg Buifjeu Aiddng 19 od oee SOE 00r S6 sew ee SZE OLE G8e 08 S9 OLE 06 ejdsiq GLE uoneoiunululo XJOMjON ujoojenig 09 eoteg liqolW 00 YIOMJON uoneoiunuliuuo59 uonejs Buifueu 00 U S Patent May 21 2013 Sheet 4 of 8 US 8 447 366 B2 Detect mobile device a Yes 460 Transmit inquiry to mobile device Response to inquiry received Has 475 detected m mobile device been PO paning previously paired airing information received Yes 490 Yes 485 Retrieve stored pairing Store pairing information information 495 Establish trusted relationship with mobile device 498 Access mobile device services FIG 4 U S Patent May 21 2013 Sheet 5 of 8 US 8 447 366 B2 E o gt FIG 5 US 8 447 366 B2 Sheet 6 of 8 May 21 2013 U S Patent 89 DIA yeyo Jepulw s6um s Sojou eiiqoui pt J UU UO yooq I I BWISOI0A S SII SSS Jep
27. omponents in the charging station 100 and a mobile device in the depicted example a mobile phone 310 that enable charging of the mobile device and the use of services offered by the mobile device through the charging station The mobile phone 300 includes a data storage medium component 305 e g hard drive flash memory memory card etc that stores content and other data e g processing instructions configuration settings etc and a processor 310 for executing processing instructions and implementing phone services To allow a user to interact with and use the communication and other services of the mobile phone the mobile phone may include a display 315 a keypad or touchpad 320 a microphone 325 and a speaker 330 A power module 335 having a charging interface 340 and a battery 345 provide power to the mobile phone As discussed above the charging interface 340 may be gt the display allows a user to access functionality that is resident in the charging station For example the charging station may include a clock component and a radio tuner When a mobile device is absent the user may view the time or listen to a radio station using the charging station FIG 2 depicts for example a bedroom environment 200 in which the charging station is used as a clock radio The charging station 100 allows a user to select options or enter text by various interfaces that are presented on the display 150 If the display is a touchscree
28. or with other proximate devices In some embodiments the charging station may include multiple short range communication components in order to enable the charging station to communication with a broad range of mobile devices and other proximate devices The components depicted in FIG 3 create two interfaces between the charging station 100 and the mobile phone 300 The first interface is a charging interface 375 that is estab lished between the charging pad 120 of the charging station and the charging interface 340 of the mobile phone The charging interface 375 allows the mobile phone to engage the charging station 100 charging features permitting the battery 345 of the mobile phone to be charged from power provided by charging station The charging is performed cordlessly and automatically when the mobile phone is brought into close proximity or into contact with the charging pad The second interface is a communications interface 399 that is estab lished between for instance the Bluetooth module 405 ofthe charging station and the Bluetooth module 360 of the mobile phone The communications interface allows the charging station to wirelessly exchange data and commands with the mobile phone The communications interface thereby allows a user of the charging station to access communications and other services that are offered by the mobile phone In some embodiments the components depicted in FIG 3 also create an interface between the char
29. quired to enter a password or otherwise verify that they are authorized to use the device before proceeding Once a device is selected the user is presented with a menu of services that may be accessed through the selected device FIG 6B depicts a second screen 615 that allows the user to select a service The second screen identifies which device is being utilized in a banner 620 that appears at the top of the screen The second screen also depicts a number of icons 625 each icon being associated with a service available on the mobile device A user may select a service by pressing the appropriate icon on the touchscreen of the charging station It will be appreciated that the number of services that are dis played will depend on the particular device that is being accessed by the user and other factors Ifthe user selects one of the services accessible though the mobile device the user may be presented with a menu asso ciated with the selected service or with data associated with selected service FIG 6C depicts a third screen 630 that presents additional details of the selected service To arrive at the third screen depicted in FIG 6C the user selected the address book icon from the set of displayed icons 625 in the second screen 615 The user s address book 635 is therefore displayed to the user sorted alphabetically by last name The user may scroll within the address book using a scroll bar 640 When a user finds the name of a par
30. rface 500 it will be appreciated that a greater or lesser number of icons may be displayed by the charging station When the charging station detects that an icon has been selected the charging station issues an appro priate command to the mobile device via the communications interface 399 The mobile device transmits responsive service data to the charging station if the data is stored locally on the mobile device or accesses a remote service via the telecom munications network 355 if the service involves remote data or communication with another party By exchanging data with the charging station over the communications interface 399 the mobile device enables the user to remotely access services that are typically accessed using the mobile device In some embodiments the software necessary to offer a service to a user may entirely reside on the mobile device 110 and only user interface data is transmitted to the charging station In some embodiments the charging station may include software that executes on the charging station and that aids in offering a service to the user For example the charg ing station may execute a user interface application that refor mats enhances or supplements data received from the mobile device for display on the charging station display As another example the charging station may execute a data compression algorithm to speed the transmission of data over the wireless communications link Those skilled i
31. rmat information in a different fashion for presentation to a user The display of the charging station thereby enhances the amount and type of data that may be accessed by the user using the services ofthe mobile device In some embodiments the charging pad of the charging station may be replaced with a dock or traditional cable that allows the mobile device to be connected to a power supply for recharging While less convenient than the charging pad a dock or traditional cable require no modifications to mobile devices in order to allow device charging Insome embodiments the charging station offers access to services offered by other nearby devices For example the charging station may include communication components for wirelessly linking the charging station with a computer or other Internet appliance that is located in close proximity to the charging station A user may use the charging station to establish a connection with the proximate device and access the services offered by the device via the charging station Although the charging station may offer minimal functional ity on its own the charging station therefore provides an interface to other proximate devices that are able to offer useful services to a user Various embodiments of the invention will now be described The following description provides specific details for a thorough understanding and an enabling description of these embodiments One skilled in the art will und
32. selected the icon corresponding to the calendar in the set of icons a 5 20 30 40 45 50 55 10 510 the user would be taken to a calendar that is maintained on the mobile device or in a service utilized by the mobile device FIG 7 is a screenshot of an interface 700 to a calendar service A first region 705 in the interface depicts the month at a glance so that a user can see and easily select a particular day of the month A second region 710 of the interface depicts a detailed schedule for three days of the month with the various activities associated with each day displayed on the schedule It will be appreciated that the display 120 of the charging station may be significantly larger than the display of the mobile device As a result a greater amount of infor mation may be contained in charging station user interfaces when compared to mobile device user interfaces For example a mobile device may not be able to depict the first and second regions shown in FIG 7 in the side by side man ner that is shown From the foregoing it will be appreciated that specific embodiments of the invention have been described herein for purposes of illustration but that various modifications may be made without deviating from the spirit and scope of the inven tion Although wireless technologies were discussed for use in implementing the charging pad 120 it will be appreciated that various wired solutions may be used in li
33. ty that he she would like to call the user may select that name by tapping or otherwise selecting the name In FIG 6C the name James Andrew has been selected by the user as indicated by the highlighting 645 that is applied to the name after selection Once the user has selected a name from the third screen 630 the mobile device may be configured to automatically dial the user FIG 6D depicts a fourth screen 650 that indi cates that a call is being made to James Andrew Progress of the call may be displayed to the user in a message 655 Although the selection of the party to call is made on the charging station the connection to a wireless telecommuni cations network to complete the call is made by the wireless device When the call has been initiated the user may com municate with the other party by speaking into the micro phone 380 of the charging station 100 and listening to the other party via the speaker 385 of the charging station AII voice signals are transmitted from the charging station to the mobile device via the Bluetooth connection before being communicated from the mobile device to the other party via the telecommunication network 355 The charging station thereby increases the opportunity to use mobile device ser vices at times when services would typically go unused such as during charging periods Other mobile device services may of course be accessed through the charging station If for example the user
34. u eo J U U0 0 ozo Auaqyoesg s yory Buisn eje no A V9 DIA LJ ieo euoudeje LJ euoud llqoN s uuof o Auleqyoe g S94 o SN 0 eol ep e j29Jos US 8 447 366 B2 Sheet 7 of 8 May 21 2013 U S Patent Q9 OIA SLEL GGSG 902 A 1puv sewer fules Aueqxoe g sor Buisn eje noA 29 DIA l l SSS 09 uuor oelg CLCL GSS 90 sewer m ipuy CLCL GGS SCP ueqyxoe g s yory Buisn eje noA US 8 447 366 B2 Sheet 8 of 8 May 21 2013 U S Patent 4 Aepinyes N IA eBueuo 002 ju eGp 8e0 0L ep y 1euuip d epsinul gt 0 62 8Z 42 9c GZ vc EZ cc Vc OC BL 8L ZL 9L SL VL EL CL o6 829 G JOQWSAON US 8 447 366 B2 1 CHARGING STATION FOR MOBILE DEVICES THAT ALLOWS ACCESS TO DEVICE SERVICES BACKGROUND When mobile devices such as mobile telecommunications devices e g mobile phones personal digital assistants PDAs portable email devices Blackberrys etc personal media players or like devices are being charged they are typically not used by a user A user s hesitancy to use a mobile device during charging periods may arise for different rea sons In some situations the power cord used to connect a mobile device to a power outlet may be too short to allow a user to comfortably use the device In some situations the power outlet used to charge the device may be in a location that isn t conducive to use of the
35. work communication For example if the mobile phone is configured to communicate over a GSM mobile telecommunications network the mobile phone may include a Subscriber Identity Module SIM card that stores an Inter national Mobile Subscriber Identity IMSI number that is used to identify the mobile phone on the GSM mobile tele communications network If the mobile phone is configured to communicate over another telecommunications network the mobile phone may include other components that enable it to be identified on the other telecommunications network In some embodiments the mobile phone 300 includes com ponents that enable it to connect to a telecommunications network using Generic Access Network GAN or Unli censed Mobile Access UMA standards and protocols For example the mobile phone may include components that support Internet Protocol IP based communication over a Wireless Local Area Network WLAN and components that enable communication with the telecommunications network over the IP based WLAN With the exception of the charging interface 340 that is unique to the type of cordless charging technology that is being used the components in the mobile phone 300 are therefore those that are typically found in most mobile phones The mobile phone may contain application programs that allow a user to access various services that are local to the phone For example the mobile phone may contain an appli cation that is stored in
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