U.S. patent application number 12/054878 was filed with the patent office on 2008-10-09 for componentization of mobile devices.
This patent application is currently assigned to THE HONG KONG UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY. Invention is credited to Roger Shu Kwan Cheng, Vincent Kin Nang Lau, Wai Ho Mow, Ross David Murch, Chi Ying Tsui.
Application Number | 20080248750 12/054878 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 39826375 |
Filed Date | 2008-10-09 |
United States Patent
Application |
20080248750 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Tsui; Chi Ying ; et
al. |
October 9, 2008 |
COMPONENTIZATION OF MOBILE DEVICES
Abstract
A mobile device with full functionality is comprised of two or
more hardware components. Each hardware component provides a subset
of mobile device functionality. Full functionality includes
transceiver communications, processing, non-volatile memory, power,
input and output. A communications interface, whether wired or
wireless means, is used to link the two or more components together
to produce a fully functionally mobile device. One or more of the
hardware components can be advantageously embedded in or proximate
to a piece of jewelry, a garment, or a fashion accessory. Other
non-portable hardware components, when available, can also be
linked to two or more components of the mobile device to provide
additional functionality.
Inventors: |
Tsui; Chi Ying; (Hong Kong,
CN) ; Murch; Ross David; (Hong Kong, CN) ;
Cheng; Roger Shu Kwan; (Hong Kong, CN) ; Mow; Wai
Ho; (Hong Kong, CN) ; Lau; Vincent Kin Nang;
(Hong Kong, CN) |
Correspondence
Address: |
AMIN, TUROCY & CALVIN, LLP
1900 EAST 9TH STREET, NATIONAL CITY CENTER, 24TH FLOOR,
CLEVELAND
OH
44114
US
|
Assignee: |
THE HONG KONG UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE
AND TECHNOLOGY
Hong Kong
CN
|
Family ID: |
39826375 |
Appl. No.: |
12/054878 |
Filed: |
March 25, 2008 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
|
|
|
|
|
|
Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
60910109 |
Apr 4, 2007 |
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
455/41.2 ;
455/41.3 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H02N 2/18 20130101; H02J
7/00302 20200101; H02J 50/001 20200101; H02J 2207/40 20200101; H04L
67/16 20130101; Y02B 40/00 20130101; H02J 7/32 20130101; Y02A 90/10
20180101 |
Class at
Publication: |
455/41.2 ;
455/41.3 |
International
Class: |
H04B 7/00 20060101
H04B007/00 |
Claims
1. A componentized mobile device, comprising: at least two
components that perform at least a first and second proper subset
of full functionality for the mobile device, respectively, the full
functionality including transceiver communications, power,
processing, memory, input and output; and a communications
interface for communicating between the at least two components for
providing the full functionality of the mobile device.
2. The mobile device of claim 1, wherein the communication
interface is by wireless means.
3. The mobile device of claim 1, wherein at least one of the
components is embedded in or proximate to a piece of jewelry.
4. The mobile device of claim 1, wherein at least one of the
components is embedded in or proximate to at least one of a garment
or fashion accessory.
5. The mobile device of claim 4, wherein at least one of the
components is embedded in footwear and the functionality of the
component embedded in the footwear includes at least power,
processing, and non-volatile memory.
6. The mobile device of claim 1, wherein at least one of the
components is embedded in a protected article of clothing.
7. The mobile device of claim 1, wherein the at least two
components are manufactured by at least two disparate hardware
manufacturers.
8. The mobile device of claim 1, wherein the at least two
components comprise at least three components, and the
communication interface comprises at least two disparate
communication interfaces such that a first communication interface
is used to communicate among a first set of components and at least
a second communication interface is used to communicate among
another set of components.
9. The mobile device of claim 1, further comprising a non-portable
component that performs supplemental functionality for the mobile
device and a communications interface for communicating between at
least one component of the mobile device and the non-portable
component to facilitate utilization of the supplemental
functionality.
10. A method for use in connection with a mobile device,
comprising: performing at least a first and second proper subset of
functionality for the mobile device by at least two separate
components, respectively, the first and second subset of
functionality including any one or more of functionality of a
transceiver communications, power, processing, non-volatile memory,
input or output; and communicating between the at least two
components enabling an integrated superset of the first and second
subset of functionality for the mobile device.
11. The method of claim 10, wherein the communicating between the
at least two components comprises communicating wirelessly.
12. The method of claim 10, wherein the performing of the at least
a first and second proper subset of functionality for the mobile
device by at least two separate components comprises performing at
least a first and second proper subset of functionality for the
mobile device by at least two separate components located proximate
to a body of a user.
13. The method of claim 10, wherein the communicating between the
at least two components comprises communicating via wired means,
the wired means is at least one of Ethernet, Universal System Bus
connections, or Firewire.
14. The method of claim 10, wherein the performing of at least a
first and second proper subset of functionality for the mobile
device comprises performing the functionality of non-volatile
memory in one component of the at least two components.
15. The method of claim 10, wherein the performing of at least a
first and second proper subset of functionality for the mobile
device comprises performing the functionality of substantially all
of the processing in one component of the at least two
components.
16. The method of claim 10, further comprising: detecting if a
non-portable component is available to supplement functionality of
the mobile device; and when the non-portable component is
available, communicating with the non-portable component to
supplement the functionality of the mobile device.
17. The method of claim 10, further comprising adding an additional
component to the mobile device to supplement the functionality of
the mobile device without restarting one or more components of the
mobile device.
18. A computing device system comprising: at least two means
proximate to a body of a user that each perform a subset of
functionality for a mobile device, the functionality including
transceiver communications, power, processing, non-volatile memory,
input and output; a communications means for communicating between
the at least two means proximate to a body of a user such that full
functionality of the mobile device is provided; at least one
non-portable means for providing supplemental functionality to the
mobile device; and a communication means for communicating between
the non-portable means and at least one of the at least two means
proximate to the body of the user.
19. The computing system of claim 18, wherein the non-portable
means is at least one of a television, computer monitor, telephone
or printer.
20. The computing system of claim 18, wherein the communications
means for communicating between the non-portable means uses a
different type of communication than the communications means for
communicating between the at least two means proximate to the body
of the user.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This non-provisional application claims benefit under 35
U.S.C. .sctn.119(e) of U.S. provisional Application No. 60/910,109,
filed Apr. 4, 2007.
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0002] The subject disclosure relates to componentization of
computing devices, and more particularly to the componentization of
mobile devices.
BACKGROUND
[0003] Conventional mobile devices, such as cell phones, PDAs,
portable media players (e.g., MP3, video players), messaging
devices, portable game players, and the like have generally been
provided as integrated electronics and circuits as standalone
devices. Thus, these devices have included power, processing,
storage, display, input capabilities (e.g., keypad, touchpad,
buttons, etc.), and output capabilities (sound, display, etc.) all
in the same handheld device. These devices are also usually
designed for a specific-purpose and thus many users carry multiple
integrated devices with them.
[0004] However, these devices are inefficient. For example, since
many users carry multiple mobile devices with them, users carry
multiple hardware components that perform essentially the same
function. Thus, a user may carry multiple keypads even though they
often can only effectively use one keypad at the same time. In
addition, since each mobile device has fully functionality, the
failure of one piece of functionality can cause the entire device
to become unusable and expensive to repair. For example, if one key
on a keypad fails, the entire mobile device may be unusable to
perform its purpose.
[0005] Each integrated mobile device also imposes administrative
overhead. For example, users often need to backup data on each of
the mobile devices separately to prevent data loss. As a second
example, users often need to keep track of and carry the integrated
device around. Thus, integrated mobile devices can be lost or
stolen if a user is not careful.
[0006] In addition, since the functionality is integrated into the
devices, the mobile device often cannot be personalized for a
particular user of the device. Therefore, people with limited
eyesight (or other disability), for instance, often have problems
finding mobile devices with input and output capabilities to meet
their needs.
[0007] The above-described deficiencies of integrated mobile
devices are merely intended to provide an overview of some of the
problems of today's mobile devices, and are not intended to be
exhaustive. Other problems with the state of the art may become
further apparent upon review of the description of various
non-limiting embodiments that follows.
SUMMARY
[0008] The following presents a simplified summary in order to
provide a basic understanding of some aspects of the invention.
This summary is not an extensive overview of the invention. It is
intended to neither identify key or critical elements of the
invention nor delineate the scope of the invention. Its sole
purpose is to present some concepts of the invention in a
simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that
is presented later.
[0009] As mentioned, conventional mobile devices, such as cell
phones, PDAs, portable media players and the like have generally
been provided as integrated electronics and circuits as standalone
devices. Thus, these devices have included power, processing,
storage, display, input capabilities (e.g., keypad, touchpad,
buttons, etc.), and output capabilities (e.g., sound, display,
etc.) all in the same handheld device. These devices are than
carried by the user, such as in pockets or purses. Moreover,
hardware that performs the foregoing functionalities is becoming
smaller with increasing performance, and wireless capabilities
(e.g., Bluetooth, WiMax) are becoming more powerful as well.
[0010] Accordingly, these disparate functions are separated into
multiple components that are communicatively coupled by wired or
wireless means. For example, according to one aspect, a mobile
device is provided as a set of separate distributed components,
each tailored for a particularly subset of functionalities, and
together covering a desired superset of functionality traditionally
offered by a mobile device. The components can be positioned on the
body, in clothing, jewelry, etc. to make carrying the components
seamless to the user and tailored to the functionality offered.
Specifically, since the components can be positioned in clothing,
jewelry, or fashion accessories that a user normally wears
everyday, the mobile device does not need to be separately carried
by the user. For example, a display may be incorporated into
glasses, visor or headset. A local processing unit and memory can
be provided as another component embedded in a necklace, for
instance. A third component could be placed on the tips of fingers,
on a ring, etc., and can be well suited for input characteristics.
Yet another component can be included in a shoe, and may include
power, additional processing and memory, transmitters, receivers,
etc. The various components are connected via wired or wireless
means to function as a single device. For example, with the onset
of high speed wireless communications especially for short range
wireless applications, componentizing different parts of a mobile
device can be made seamless to the user experience.
[0011] Additional components can be added to add additional
functionality, such as upgrading the system with additional memory.
In at least one embodiment, these components can be hot-plugged and
added to the mobile device without restarting one or more
components. For example, a user can add additional memory to the
mobile device by wearing an additional component in a ring that has
additional memory. Similarly, in at least some embodiments, one or
more components can be disconnected without restarting the mobile
device or one or more components. According to one aspect, the
various hardware components can be produced and/or marketed by
disparate manufacturers and communicate via a known standard
interface.
[0012] According to one aspect, by tailoring functional
requirements to different positions relative to a user's body and
usage of those components, the capabilities of the mobile device
becomes unconstrained in contrast to forcing all of the
functionality in a single device. For instance, processing and
power for a mobile device are well suited to integrating into a
component in a user's shoe soles or other protected article of
clothing insulated from the body, whereas a display is desirably
positioned near the eyes for ease of view.
[0013] In at least some embodiments, the mobile device can connect
to one or more non-portable components to add additional
functionality when available. For example, the mobile device may
connect via a communication interface to a proximate television and
use that that television as a large display instead of a
head-amounted display. The communication interface used can be the
same communication interface used to communicate between the
components of the mobile device or another communication interface
can be used instead.
[0014] To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends,
certain illustrative aspects of the invention are described herein
in connection with the following description and the annexed
drawings. These aspects are indicative, however, of but a few of
the various ways in which the principles of the invention may be
employed and the present invention is intended to include all such
aspects and their equivalents. Other advantages and novel features
of the invention may become apparent from the following detailed
description of the invention when considered in conjunction with
the drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0015] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary non-limiting block diagram
showing one embodiment.
[0016] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of one component comprising a
mobile device according to one embodiment.
[0017] FIG. 3 is a block diagram of another component comprising
the mobile device according to one embodiment.
[0018] FIGS. 4A-4D are block diagrams of a component embedded in or
proximate to various articles of clothing, fashion accessories, or
jewelry according to one embodiment.
[0019] FIG. 5 is a block diagram of the mobile device connecting to
one or more non-portable hardware components according to one
embodiment.
[0020] FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a mobile device system
according to one embodiment.
[0021] FIG. 7 is a flow diagram of forming a fully-functionally
mobile device according to one embodiment.
[0022] FIG. 8 is a flow diagram of hot-plugging additional
components according to one embodiment.
[0023] FIG. 9 is a flow diagram of communicating with a
non-portable component according to one aspect.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0024] Conventional mobile devices, such as cell phones, PDAs,
portable media players and the like have generally been provided as
integrated electronics and circuits as standalone devices. Thus,
these devices have included power, processing, storage, display,
input capabilities (e.g., keypad, touchpad, buttons, etc.), and
output capabilities (sound, display, etc.) all in the same handheld
device. However, hardware that performs the foregoing
functionalities is becoming smaller with increasing performance,
and wireless capabilities (e.g., Bluetooth, WiMax, wireless
Universal serial bus, wireless Ethernet) are becoming more powerful
as well. Accordingly, with the invention, these disparate functions
are separated into multiple components that are communicatively
coupled by wired or wireless means.
[0025] Since the mobile device has different components, each
component can have different functional requirements. By tailoring
the functional requirements to different positions relative to the
user's body and usage of those components, the capabilities of the
mobile device becomes unconstrained in contrast to forcing all of
the functionality in a single device. For instance, processing and
power for a mobile device are well suited to integrating into a
component in a user's shoe soles or other protected article of
clothing insulated from the body, whereas a display is desirably
positioned near the eyes for ease of view. A protected article of
clothing is defined as an article of clothing that includes a
shell, encasement, body, housing, etc. that surrounds or otherwise
shields one or more potentially damageable components of the mobile
device.
[0026] Turning to FIG. 1, mobile device 110 is provided as a set of
separate components (C1-C4), each tailored for a particular proper
subset of functionalities, and together covering a desired superset
of functionality traditionally offered by mobile device 110. By way
of definition, if A is a subset of B, but A is not equal to B (i.e.
there exists at least one element of B not contained in A), then A
is also a proper (or strict) subset of B. One can appreciate that
more or less components can be used in alternative embodiments and
that different locations of the components are possible.
[0027] The illustrated components C1, C2, C3 and C4 can be
positioned on the body, in clothing, jewelry, etc. to make carrying
the components C1 to C4 seamless to the user and tailored to the
functionality offered. For instance, a display component C4 may be
incorporated into glasses, visor or headset. A local processing
unit and memory can be provided as component C2 embedded in a
necklace, for instance. A third component C3 could be placed on the
tips of fingers, on a ring, etc., and may be well suited for input
characteristics. The fourth component C1 can be included in the
shoe, and can include power, additional processing and memory,
transmitters, receivers, etc.
[0028] Unlike peripherals to some of today's integrated devices,
each component substantially lacks one or more functionalities to
operate as an autonomous mobile device. For example, the display
component C4 may lack processing power or non-volatile memory while
component C1 in the shoe lacks substantial input and output
capabilities--except for the functionality needed to communicate
via the communication interface used to communicatively couple the
components together.
[0029] Advantageously, by distributing the functionality of a
mobile device over multiple components, a non-functioning component
(e.g., a component is out of battery or out of order) can be
replaced with another functioning component and the mobile device
system can continue to operate. For example, the user can replace a
non-functioning necklace component with another necklace component
that provides similar functionality.
[0030] One can appreciate that, in some embodiments, substantially
all of a particular functionality can be centralized in one
component. Advantageously, this reduces or eliminates
administrative overhead. For example, non-volatile memory can be
centralized in a component in the user's shoe. As a result,
encryption of data or backups of substantially all of the data from
the mobile device, for example, are easier to perform.
[0031] Two components that gain an advantage from componentization
are the limited keyboard or keypad and the limited display for
today's mobile devices. In particular, the keypad can be customized
for the user. Thus, seniors or people with limited eyesight can
have keypads with large keys. As mentioned, a display can be
integrated into a set of glasses or as a clip on to the brim of a
hat. The display is thus more efficient in supplying a display to
user's eyes and can be more private than the integrated display of
a current mobile phone.
[0032] Turning to FIGS. 2 and 3, a block diagram showing the
functionality of exemplary components in greater detail is
illustrated. Specifically, FIGS. 2 and 3 are block diagrams of
exemplary distributed components that together comprise the
functionality of a mobile device according to one embodiment. FIG.
2 thus illustrates an example of one distributed component of a
mobile computing device. Those skilled in the art will appreciate
that the invention may be practiced with any of combination of
functionality in which the full functionality of a mobile device be
implemented and the mobile computing system environment 200 is only
one example of a suitable computing environment.
[0033] With reference to FIG. 2, an example of a distributed
component for implementing the full functionality of a mobile
device is illustrated. Sub-components of component 210 may include,
but are not limited to, a processing unit 220, a system memory 230,
and a system bus 225 that couples various system components
including the system memory 230 to the processing unit 220. The
system bus 225 may be any of several types of bus structures
including a memory bus or memory controller, a peripheral bus, and
a local bus using any of a variety of bus architectures.
[0034] Component 210 can includes a variety of non-volatile,
computer storage media 235. Computer storage media can be any
available media that can be accessed by component 210. Computer
storage media includes removable and non-removable media. Computer
storage media includes, but is not limited to, ROM, EEPROM, flash
memory or other memory technology, CDROM, digital versatile disks
(DVD) or other optical disk storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic
tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or
any other medium which can be used to store the desired information
and which can be accessed by component 210.
[0035] The component 210 may also include other
removable/non-removable, volatile/nonvolatile computer storage
media. For example, component 210 could include a flash memory that
reads from or writes to non-removable, nonvolatile media, and/or a
magnetic disk drive that reads from or writes to a removable,
nonvolatile magnetic disk. Other removable/non-removable,
volatile/nonvolatile computer storage media that can be used
include, but are not limited to, magnetic tape cassettes, CD-ROMs,
digital versatile disks, digital video tape, solid state RAM, solid
state ROM and the like.
[0036] Power 215 can be used to supply to power for the component
as well as other components via a wired-based communication
interface. The component 210 communicates with one or more other
remote components, such as remote component 1 250 and remote
component 2 260, via communication interface 240. These components
in turn have different functionality from component 210. The
logical connections depicted in FIG. 2 include a network. The
network 171 can include a wired or wireless network, such a
personal area network (PAN), a local area network (LAN) or wide
area network (WAN). Other non-network type interfaces can be used,
such as a Universal Serial Bus or Firewire.
[0037] When used in a PAN networking environment, the component 210
is connected to other components via the PAN through communication
interface 240, such as a Bluetooth or Wireless USB adapter. When
used in a LAN networking environment, the component 210 is
connected to the LAN through a network interface or adapter. When
used in a WAN networking environment, the component 210 typically
includes a communications subcomponent.
[0038] One can appreciate that although the communication interface
is shown as a single box connecting to each of the remote
components, in other embodiments, different communication
interfaces can be used to communicate between different sets of
components. For example, a wired-based communication interface can
be used when a component needs a steady supply of power (e.g., a
head-mounted display) and a wireless interface can be used to
communicate with another component. In some embodiments, the
interface to use can also be selected based on the security of the
information to be transmitted, such as using wires for
highly-sensitive data.
[0039] FIG. 3 illustrates a block diagram of a complementary
distributed component 250, such as a head-mounted display. The
component 330 includes a communication interface 360 to communicate
with other remote components, such as remote component 210.
[0040] The limited system memory 330 may include computer storage
media in the form of volatile and/or nonvolatile memory such as
read only memory (ROM) and/or random access memory (RAM). A basic
input/output system (BIOS), containing the basic routines that help
facilitate communications between the components, may be stored in
limited system memory 330. Memory 330 typically also contains
temporary data that to be sent or just received from the
communication interface 360 used to communicatively couple the two
components together.
[0041] A display may connected to the system bus 325 via output
functionality 350, which may in turn communicate with the limited
system memory to receive the video data to display. The video data
can be processed by the limited processing unit 320, which provides
minimal processing to properly display the video data and process
information sent or received via the communication interface 360.
Other processing can be performed by the other components of the
mobile device, such as component 210.
[0042] The component can optionally have input functionality 340 or
power functionality 345. However, this functionality can instead be
provided by other distributed components (not shown). For example,
a user may enter commands and information into a component through
one or more input devices. These input devices are often connected
to the component through input functionality 240 and associated
interface(s) that are coupled to the system bus 325, but may be
connected by other interface and bus structures, in a wired or
wireless manner, such as a parallel port, game port, a universal
serial bus (USB), wireless USB, or Bluetooth.
[0043] Various components can be advantageously placed in or
attached to jewelry, such as a rings, watches or necklaces,
garments (e.g., shoes, pants), or fashion accessories, such as
belts, headbands, or hats. FIGS. 4A-4D illustrate block diagrams of
various components embedded in various jewelry and fashion
accessories. In particular, FIG. 4A illustrates a component C3
placed into a ring 400, such as to provide input functionality.
FIG. 4B illustrates a component C6 embedded in a watch, such as to
receive health information (e.g., pulse) about the user. FIG. 4C
illustrates a component C7 embedded in a belt buckle of a belt 440,
which can provide for example processing power. FIG. 4D illustrates
a component C4 placed proximate a pair of glasses. The component C4
can include a display that is advantageously placed near the eye.
These components can be embedded upon manufacture of the jewelry,
garment or fashion accessories or can be attached subsequently,
such as by the user or a retailer (e.g., jewelry retailer, clothing
retailer, or mobile device retailer).
[0044] In one embodiment, one component of the mobile device
dynamically discovers alternative, non-portable I/O devices. For
example, the mobile device can discover a television. The TV can
provide a richer rendering experience for videos and photos than
the mobile device, but is not portable and thus not always
available. A user can then advantageously switch from a glasses
display to the television to display the photos and videos.
[0045] This aspect is illustrated in FIG. 5. FIG. 5 illustrates
components C1-C4 on or proximate to user 500. These components
comprise mobile device 510. Mobile device 510 is then
communicatively coupled to at least one non-portable I/O device
520, 525, such as a television, computer monitor, printer or
telephone, via a communication framework 515. Upon detecting the
availability of the non-portable component, a component of the
mobile device 510 can initiate communication with and control the
non-portable I/O device 520. In at least some embodiments, the user
can be altered about the availability and decide whether to receive
the supplemental functionality the non-portable device can provide.
The communication from the can include commands to perform on the
non-portable device 520 and may also include identifying
information for one or more components of the mobile device
510.
[0046] The communicative coupling of the components of the mobile
device can be different from the communicative coupling of the
mobile device 510 to the non-portable component. For example, the
components of the mobile device can be connected together via
Bluetooth or wireless Universal Serial Bus (USB) and the
non-portable component connected to the mobile device via wireless
Ethernet (IEEE 802.11x, such as 802.11n, 802.11b, 802.11g,
etc.).
[0047] FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a mobile device according to
one embodiment. In this illustrated system, the mobile device is
comprised of two hardware components (602, 604) that provide the
functionality of the mobile device 510. The mobile device also
includes a new component detection subcomponent 606 that detects
and connects additional components to add supplemental
functionality to the mobile device. The unavailability component
detection subcomponent 608 detects whether one or more components
of the mobile device are no longer available and, if so, disables
the functionality associated with those components. The
non-portable component detection subcomponent 610 detects the
availability or non-availability of non-portable components and
connects/disconnects the mobile device from the non-portable
component. Each of the subcomponents can be implemented in a single
component of a mobile device, such as the component with
substantially all of the processing power.
[0048] Turning briefly to FIGS. 7-9, methodologies that may be
implemented in accordance with the present invention are
illustrated. While, for purposes of simplicity of explanation, the
methodologies are shown and described as a series of blocks, it is
to be understood and appreciated that the present invention is not
limited by the order of the blocks, as some blocks may, in
accordance with the present invention, occur in different orders
and/or concurrently with other blocks from that shown and described
herein. Moreover, not all illustrated blocks may be required to
implement the methodologies in accordance with the present
invention.
[0049] FIG. 7 is an exemplary non-limiting flow diagram showing a
method for use in connection with a mobile device in accordance
with the invention. At 710, at least a first and second subset of
functionality for the mobile device are performed by at least two
separate components, respectively. The first and second subset of
functionality include any one or more of functionality of a
transceiver communications, power, processing, memory, input or
output. At 720, the at least two components communicate with each
other enabling an integrated superset of the first and second
subset of functionality for the mobile device.
[0050] FIG. 8 is an exemplary non-limiting flow diagram showing
hot-plugging of additional components to provide supplemental
functionality and hot-unplugging of the component later on. For
example, the new component detection subcomponent 606 and the
unavailable component detection subcomponent 608 of FIG. 6 can
implement the illustrated method.
[0051] At 810, the availability of a new component is detected. The
new component can be detected based on the component being
auto-discovered, such as when the user puts on a piece of jewelry
or a fashion accessory having a component embedded in or proximate
to the jewelry or fashion accessory. At 820, the mobile device
communicates with the new component enabling additional
functionality on the mobile device without requiring a reboot.
[0052] Eventually, the non-availability of the new component is
detected at 820. For example, this can correspond with the user
removing a piece of jewelry or a garment containing the new
component. At 840, the device stops communicating with the new
component, if necessary, and disable the supplemental functionality
associated with that component.
[0053] FIG. 9 is an exemplary flow diagram of communicating with a
non-portable component, such as a non-portable input or output
device. The method can be implemented as part of the non-portable
detection subcomponent 610 of FIG. 6. The non-portable component
can be, but is not limited to, a printer, a television, a computer
monitor, or a telephone. At 910, the availability of a non-portable
component is detected. For example, this could be detected by
receiving a pair request via Bluetooth or detecting a new wireless
Ethernet device within range. Additional communication can occur to
determine if the device is currently being used and if not whether
permission is granted to use the non-portable component. At 920, at
least one of the distributed components of the mobile device
communicates with the non-portable component. In at least some
embodiments, this occurs after a user has indicated he wants to
connect to the non-portable component.
[0054] After using the non-portable component, eventually, the
unavailability of that component is detected at 930. For example,
the user may have moved away from the non-portable component and
thus communication via the communication interface is no longer
possible. As a second example, the non-portable component could be
used by another user and hence no longer available to the mobile
device. As a result, at 940, the component of the mobile device
disconnects from the non-portable component, if necessary, and the
functionality of the non-portable component is lost.
[0055] As mentioned, in one embodiment, the full functionality of a
device includes transceiver communications, power, processing,
memory, input and output. Any permutation or combination of the
items in the foregoing list are contemplated for the various
subsets of the full functionality that may be performed by one or
more components of the invention. For instance, one component may
include power and transceiver communications, while another
component can include memory, while yet another might include
processing, power, input and/or output; however, for the avoidance
of doubt, such embodiment should be considered a non-limiting
example.
[0056] The word "exemplary" is used herein to mean serving as an
example, instance, or illustration. For the avoidance of doubt, the
subject matter disclosed herein is not limited by such examples. In
addition, any aspect or design described herein as "exemplary" is
not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over
other aspects or designs, nor is it meant to preclude equivalent
exemplary structures and techniques known to those of ordinary
skill in the art. Furthermore, to the extent that the terms
"includes," "has," "contains," and other similar words are used in
either the detailed description or the claims, for the avoidance of
doubt, such terms are intended to be inclusive in a manner similar
to the term "comprising" as an open transition word without
precluding any additional or other elements.
[0057] Various implementations of the invention described herein
may have aspects that are wholly in hardware, partly in hardware
and partly in software, as well as in software. As used herein, the
terms "component," "system" and the like are likewise intended to
refer to a computer-related entity, either hardware, a combination
of hardware and software, software, or software in execution. For
example, a component may be, but is not limited to being, a process
running on a processor, a processor, an object, an executable, a
thread of execution, a program, and/or a computer. By way of
illustration, both an application running on computer and the
computer can be a component. One or more components may reside
within a process and/or thread of execution and a component may be
localized on one computer and/or distributed between two or more
computers.
[0058] Thus, the methods and apparatus of the present invention, or
certain aspects or portions thereof, may take the form of program
code (i.e., instructions) embodied in tangible media, such as
floppy diskettes, CD-ROMs, hard drives, or any other
machine-readable storage medium, wherein, when the program code is
loaded into and executed by a machine, such as a computer, the
machine becomes an apparatus for practicing the invention. In the
case of program code execution on programmable computers, the
computing device generally includes a processor, a storage medium
readable by the processor (including volatile and non-volatile
memory and/or storage elements), at least one input device, and at
least one output device.
[0059] Furthermore, the disclosed subject matter may be implemented
as a system, method, apparatus, or article of manufacture using
standard programming and/or engineering techniques to produce
software, firmware, hardware, or any combination thereof to control
a computer or processor based device to implement aspects detailed
herein. The terms "article of manufacture", "computer program
product" or similar terms, where used herein, are intended to
encompass a computer program accessible from any computer-readable
device, carrier, or media. For example, computer readable media can
include but are not limited to magnetic storage devices (e.g., hard
disk, floppy disk, magnetic strips . . . ), optical disks (e.g.,
compact disk (CD), digital versatile disk (DVD) . . . ), smart
cards, and flash memory devices (e.g., card, stick). Additionally,
it is known that a carrier wave can be employed to carry
computer-readable electronic data such as those used in
transmitting and receiving electronic mail or in accessing a
network such as the Internet or a local area network (LAN).
[0060] The aforementioned systems have been described with respect
to interaction between several components. It can be appreciated
that such systems and components can include those components or
specified sub-components, some of the specified components or
sub-components, and/or additional components, and according to
various permutations and combinations of the foregoing.
Sub-components can also be implemented as components
communicatively coupled to other components rather than included
within parent components, e.g., according to a hierarchical
arrangement. Additionally, it should be noted that one or more
components may be combined into a single component providing
aggregate functionality or divided into several separate
sub-components, and any one or more middle layers, such as a
management layer, may be provided to communicatively couple to such
sub-components in order to provide integrated functionality. Any
components described herein may also interact with one or more
other components not specifically described herein but generally
known by those of skill in the art.
[0061] In view of the exemplary systems described sura,
methodologies that may be implemented in accordance with the
disclosed subject matter will be better appreciated with reference
to the various flowcharts represented by the Figures. While for
purposes of simplicity of explanation, the methodologies are shown
and described as a series of blocks, it is to be understood and
appreciated that the claimed subject matter is not limited by the
order of the blocks, as some blocks may occur in different orders
and/or concurrently with other blocks from what is depicted and
described herein. Where non-sequential, or branched, flow is
illustrated via flowchart, it can be appreciated that various other
branches, flow paths, and orders of the blocks, may be implemented
which achieve the same or a similar result. Moreover, not all
illustrated blocks may be required to implement the methodologies
described hereinafter.
[0062] Furthermore, as will be appreciated various portions of the
disclosed systems above and methods below may include or consist of
artificial intelligence or knowledge or rule based components,
sub-components, processes, means, methodologies, or mechanisms
(e.g., support vector machines, neural networks, expert systems,
Bayesian belief networks, fuzzy logic, data fusion engines,
classifiers . . . ). Such components, inter alia, can automate
certain mechanisms or processes performed thereby to make portions
of the systems and methods more adaptive as well as efficient and
intelligent.
[0063] While the present invention has been described in connection
with the preferred embodiments of the various figures, it is to be
understood that other similar embodiments may be used or
modifications and additions may be made to the described embodiment
for performing the same function of the present invention without
deviating therefrom.
* * * * *