U.S. patent application number 09/934881 was filed with the patent office on 2003-02-27 for modular data device.
Invention is credited to Miller, Bruce Michael.
Application Number | 20030039305 09/934881 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 25466223 |
Filed Date | 2003-02-27 |
United States Patent
Application |
20030039305 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Miller, Bruce Michael |
February 27, 2003 |
Modular data device
Abstract
The system includes a modem unit with a standardized form factor
and standardized connector. The modem unit can be connected to a
phone shell personal digital assistant and for other data units.
Connected to the phone shell, the modem unit transmits voice data.
Connected to the personal digital assistant or other data device,
the modem unit transfers data. By having a modem unit that can
usable both for voice and data, a single cellular transceiver can
be used for both voice and data without requiring a wired
connector. Additionally the standardized form factor and connector
allows a second modem unit, having a second type of cellular
connection, to be used in place of the first modem unit. The other
type of cellular connection can be a different communication
standard.
Inventors: |
Miller, Bruce Michael;
(Coquitlam, CA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Robert E. Krebs, Esq.
BURNS, DOANE, SWECKER & MATHIS, L.L.P.
P.O. Box 1404
Alexandria
VA
22313-1404
US
|
Family ID: |
25466223 |
Appl. No.: |
09/934881 |
Filed: |
August 22, 2001 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
375/222 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04M 1/0256 20130101;
H04M 1/724 20210101 |
Class at
Publication: |
375/222 |
International
Class: |
H04L 005/16; H04B
001/38 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A system comprising: modem unit having a predetermined form
factor, the modem unit having a standardized connector and adapted
to provide a connection to a cellular network; and a phone shell
unit connectable to the modem unit including a speaker and a
microphone, the phone shell unit connectable to phone shell using a
standardized connector, the phone shell unit not having a cellular
transceiver but adapted to use a cellular transceiver in the modem
unit; wherein the modem unit is removable from the phone shell and
adapted to be connected to another unit for data transfer.
2. The system of claim 1 wherein the another unit is a personal
digital assistant.
3. The system of claim 1 wherein the another unit is a personal
computer.
4. The system of claim 1 wherein the phone shell unit is
connectable to a modem unit of a second type to provide a second
type of cellular connection.
5. The system of claim 1 wherein the modem unit includes a data
control status line.
6. The modem of claim 1 wherein the modem unit includes a
microphone port and a speaker port.
7. The system of claim 1 wherein the phone shell includes a keypad
and display.
8. The system of claim 1 wherein the modem unit has standardized
data and voice connections in the connector.
9. A system comprising: a modem unit of a first type having a
predetermined form factor, the modem unit having a standardized
connector and adapted to provide a first type of connection to a
cellular network; and a phone shell unit connectable to the modem
unit including a speaker and a microphone, the phone shell unit
connectable to phone shell using a standardized connector, the
phone shell unit not having a cellular transceiver but adapted to
use a cellular transceiver in the modem unit; wherein the modem
unit is removable from the phone shell and phone shell unit is
connectable to a modem unit of a second type to provide a second
type of cellular connection.
10. The system of claim 9 wherein the modem unit is adapted to be
connected to another unit for data transfer.
11. The system of claim 10 wherein the another unit is a personal
digital assistant.
12. The system of claim 10 wherein the another unit is a personal
computer.
13. The system of claim 9 wherein the first type of cellular
connection is a U.S. standard cellular connection and the second
type of cellular connection is a European standard cellular
connection.
14. The system of claim 9 wherein the first type of cellular
connection is a CDMA cellular connection.
15. The system of claim 9 wherein the phone shell includes a keypad
and display.
16. The system of claim 9 wherein the connectors have standardized
connectors for voice and data.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] Many systems use cellular networks to communicate. These
include cellular phones, personal digital assistants (PDA's) and
portable computers using cellular modems. Currently, cellular
transceivers tend to be relatively expensive. A person who has a
PDA unit for data transmission with a cellular transceiver can also
have a cell phone with its own cellular transceiver for voice
transmissions. This can be unnecessarily expensive because the user
is required to buy two transceiver units.
[0002] One way to try to avoid this is to use cables to
interconnect a cell phone to a PDA or personal computer to transmit
data. Although such systems are operative, they tend to be very
bulky and unwieldy because of the wire adapter between the cell
phone and the data device.
[0003] It is desired to have a new way of sharing a cellular
transceiver between voice and data units.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0004] The present invention uses a modem type of a consistent form
factor having a standardized connector for use with both voice and
data units. The modem unit is connectable to a phone shell unit.
The phone shell unit includes a speaker and microphone and a
standardized connector. The phone shell unit does not have a
cellular transceiver but is adapted to be connected to a modem unit
with a cellular transceiver. The modem unit is removable from the
phone shell and adapted to be connected to another unit for data
transfer. This other unit can be a personal digital assistant
(PDA), a personal computer, or any other data transmitter unit.
[0005] In another embodiment of the present invention, the phone
shell unit and other units are connectable to a modem units of
multiple types able to produce different types of connections to
cellular networks. Thus, in one embodiment, a first type of modem
unit is used for U.S. standard Cable Division Multiple Access
(CDMA) transmissions, and another type of modem unit is used for a
European standard or for Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA)
transmissions. The modem units have a predetermined and
standardized form factor and have standardized connectors to allow
them to be connected to the phone shell and other units in a
standardized fashion.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES
[0006] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a modem unit which is
connectable to a number of different other elements.
[0007] FIG. 2A illustrates a phone shell connected to a modem
unit.
[0008] FIG. 2B illustrates a personal digital assistant connected
to the modem unit.
[0009] FIG. 2C illustrates a phone shell unit connected to another
version of the modem unit.
[0010] FIG. 3 illustrates one example of a modem unit for use with
the system of the present invention.
[0011] FIGS. 4A and 4B are block diagrams that illustrate examples
of interfaces for one embodiment of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0012] FIG. 1 illustrates a modem unit 20 which is produced having
a standardized form factor and a standardized connector. The modem
unit 20 is connectable to a number of different devices, including
voice devices, such as the phone shell 22, and data devices, such
as the PDA 24 and the laptop 26. The modem unit 20 can potentially
also be connected to another unspecified electronic device 28.
[0013] The modem unit 20 can thus be connected to a phone shell
when the user wants to make telephone connections across a cellular
network. When the user wants, instead, to transmit data from a PDA
or from a laptop, the modem unit 20 can be removed from the phone
shell 22 and inserted into the PDA 24 or laptop 26 as required.
Thus, only one modem unit 20 with a cellular transceiver need be
used. By having a standardized form factor and standardized
connector for the modem unit 20, a wire adapter is not needed to
transmit data. The network credentials (phone number, billing
information, etc.) follow the modem module. Therefore, one account
can be used for multiple applications.
[0014] FIGS. 2A-2C illustrate examples of the system of the present
invention. FIG. 2A illustrates a modem unit 30 connected to a phone
shell 32. The modem unit has a connector 30a, which connects to a
matching connector 32a at the phone shell 32. The standardized
connectors 30a and 32a include connections for data control status,
a microphone port and a speaker port that allows for both data and
voice type communications. Phone shell 32 preferably includes an
interface 34, which allows a keypad 36 and display 38. The
microphone unit 40 and speaker unit 42 are connected to this
microphone port and speaker port, respectively, of the modem unit.
Thus, the phone shell 32 can be constructed quite cheaply with
inexpensive parts. The modem unit 30 contains the expensive
cellular transceiver elements.
[0015] FIG. 2B illustrates the modem unit 30 removed from the phone
shell 32 and placed within a personal digital assistant 44. The
personal digital assistant 44 includes a processor 46, interface
48, keypad 50, memory 52 and display 54. Data is transmitted on the
data control status line to the modem unit which allows for the
transmission of data by the modem unit. The connector 30a of the
modem unit 30 connects to the matching connector 44a of the
personal digital system. By having a standardized connector for
both the phone shell and for the data unit, such as the personal
digital system, the system of the present invention gains much
flexibility.
[0016] FIG. 2C illustrates the case in which the phone shell 32 is
connected to another modem unit 50. This modem unit 50 uses a
different communication standard from the modem unit 30. Note that
the connector 50a at modem unit 50 connects to the matching
connector 32a on the phone shell 32. Thus, since standardized form
factor and connector are used for the modem units and the data and
voice units, a different modem unit can be used for the phone
shell. Thus, the phone shell 32 can be quickly switched for
different communication standards, such as the switch between
communication standards used in the U.S. and the communication
standard used in Europe. Examples of different communication
standards include the cellular code division multiple access
(CDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA) and the like.
[0017] FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a modem unit 60 in one
embodiment of the present invention. The modem unit 60 includes the
cellular radio transceiver 62. The modem unit 60 also includes an
antenna 64, a Digital Signal Processor (DSP) 66, an A/D convertor
68 and a D/A convertor 70. The modem unit 60 also can include a
memory 72. Also shown is a controller 74 for the control data
status line.
[0018] FIG. 4A is a block diagram that illustrates an example of a
cell phone interface. FIG. 4B is a block diagram of a laptop
interface. These block diagrams are intended to be illustrative and
not exhaustive. In a preferred embodiment, the connections to the
left are application specific, and the connections to the right are
internal to the modem and are consistent from application to
application and from network to network.
[0019] In a preferred embodiment, a number of inputs to the modem
are intended to be pulled to logic high or low to identify the
application for the modem. When the modem powers on, it polls those
bits to find out if it is plugged into a cell phone, a PDA, a
laptop, a mobile device or something else. For example, in a cell
phone application, the modem is the master controller and must
control all the peripherals. In contrast, in a laptop application,
the modem is a slave to the laptop's processor (host) and simply
responds to the host's commands.
[0020] It will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art
that the invention can be implemented in other specific forms
without departing from the spirit or character thereof. For
example, in addition to freestanding cell phones, mobile phone
applications with automobile mounts can also be used. The presently
disclosed embodiments are therefore considered in all respects to
be illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the invention is
illustrated by the appended claims rather than the foregoing
description, and all changes that come within the meaning and range
of equivalents thereof are intended to be embraced herein.
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