Method and Apparatus for Securing Portable Electronic Device to Accessory Device

• US 20120170204A1
• Filed: 01/04/2012
• Published: 07/05/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 01/04/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google Technology Holdings LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Motorola Mobility, Inc. (Lenovo Group Ltd.)
• Inventors: Ahn, Yoo Jung, Janninck, Mark D.
• Granted Patent: US 8,842,429 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 361/679.41
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1616 with folding flat displays, e.g. laptop computers or notebooks having a clamshell configuration, with body parts pivoting to an open position around an axis parallel to the plane they define in closed position
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1632 External expansion units, e.g. docking stations
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1656 Details related to functional adaptations of the enclosure, e.g. to provide protection against EMI, shock, water, or to host detachable peripherals like a mouse or removable expansions units like PCMCIA cards, or to provide access to internal components for maintenance or to removable storage supports like CDs or DVDs, or to mechanically mount accessories mounting of accessories to a computer display G06F1/1607; display hoods G06F1/1603; cooling arrangements for portable computers G06F1/203
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/04 Supports for telephone transmitters or receivers
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72409 by interfacing with external accessories hands-free H04M1/60

Abstract

A system and method is described that includes a laptop style portable dock design referred to as the terminal system. The terminal system includes a user interface and provides a flip type dock located behind the terminal system display, and more particularly, but not exclusively, provides a flip type dock that when a mobile device is docked in the flip type dock. The terminal system provides power to the smart device, displays the smart device user interface on the terminal system display, and enables the user to use peripherals connected to the terminal system and interact with the smart device through the user interface of the terminal system. The terminal system provides a way to detachably mate a plurality of portable processor based devices to provide the combined functionality of the terminal system and smart device in an integrated structure.

Claims

1. Mobile computing terminal including electrical circuitry, the terminal including:

a body;

a display module, said display module including a display screen, said display module movingly carried on said body to move between at least open and closed positions; and

a dock comprising;

a cradle configured to receive a smart device, said dock associated with a quick-disconnect connector oriented to electrically connect to the smart device when received in said dock, said dock configured to hold the smart device in a predetermined orientation relative to said display module in said open position, and said quick-disconnect connector to releaseably electrically connect the smart device received in the dock to said electrical circuitry.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the terminal is adapted to deliver electrical energy from an electrical energy source to the smart device via said electrical circuitry and said quick-disconnect connector.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said display module is connected to said base by a hinged connection to permit adjusting of the viewing angle of the display screen.

4. The apparatus according to claim 3, wherein one of the display and body includes a stop, the stop limiting the relative motion of the display module to a limit with the display having a predetermined orientation relative to the orientation of a smart device lodged in said dock.

5. The apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said dock and said display are each rotateably carried on said body.

6. The apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said dock and said display each rotate about a respective pivot axis, said pivot axis being substantially parallel, and said display in the open stop position oriented substantially in parallel with the smart device lodged in said dock in an open position.

7. The apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said dock and said display are oriented such that the smart device lodged in said dock in an open position has near field free space around the antenna to enhance performance of a wireless communication link of the smart device.

8. The apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said dock and said display are oriented such that the smart device lodged in said dock in an open position with the display module closed oriented for viewing by the user, and is blocked by the display module in the open position.

9. The apparatus according to claim 4 wherein said dock is located behind the display screen, and connected to the terminal by the hinged connections configured to rotate said dock about the hinged connections to a predetermined orientation relative to the position of the fully open stopped display module.

10. The apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the body of the terminal comprises a keyboard, and wherein the display screen and the keyboard face one another when the terminal is in the closed position.

11. The apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the display module includes a recessed portion in which said dock is located, wherein the smart device when docked, is positioned on the back of one of the portions of the display module.

12. A method for securing a portable electronic device to a smart device, the method comprising:

receiving a smart device into a dock of the portable electronic device;

providing electrical energy to the smart device through a quick-disconnect connector configured to connect the smart device to said dock;

interacting with the smart device by using a user interface of the portable electronic device; and

displaying content of the smart device display interface on the display screen of the portable electronic device.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the portable electronic device user interface comprises:

a keyboard;

a pointing device;

a display screen with touch detection.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein the portable electronic device comprises:

a body, a display module, and hinged connections, wherein the display module includes the display screen, and wherein the hinged connections connect the display module to the body.

15. The method of claim 12, the method further comprising:

communicating with peripherals connected to the terminal, using a communications interface configured to provide communications to the smart device.

16. The method of claim 12, wherein the smart device dock comprises smart device docking guides, and wherein receiving the smart device into the dock comprises using the smart device docking guides to guide the smart device into the dock.

17. The method of claim 12, wherein said dock comprises a smart device dock base, and wherein receiving the smart device into said dock comprises resting an edge of the smart device on said dock base in order to receive the smart device 110 into the dock.