Cellular telephone and multimedia accessory audio system adaptor and methods therefor

• US 8,032,076 B2
• Filed: 08/20/2001
• Issued: 10/04/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 08/20/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Google Technology Holdings LLC (Alphabet Inc.), Optical Products Development Corporation
• Original Assignee: Motorola Mobility, Inc. (Lenovo Group Ltd.)
• Inventors: Aulert, Mike, Nicketta, Chuck, Kapoor, Vikram, Hess, Dave
• Primary Examiner(s): Aminzay; Shaima Q
• Application Number:
  US09/933,321
• Publication Number:
  US 20030036407A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,697 Days
• Field of Search: 455/557, 455/569.1, 455/569.2, 455/570, 455/414.1, 455/556.1, 455/344, 455/345, 455/41.1, 455/149, 455/68, 455/3.06, 455/66.1, 455/347, 455/550.1, 455/575.1, 455/575.9, 455/899, 360/55, 360/62, 369/1, 369/2, 369/4, 369/6, 369/47.26, 379/68, 379/69, 379/70
• US Class Current: 455/3.06
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/6083 by interfacing with the vehicle audio system
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72442 for playing music files

Abstract

An audiocassette adapter (10) for coupling a mobile wireless communication station (20) to an audiocassette player, including a cassette head coupling device (12), a cassette adapter insertion detect switch (14), a mobile wireless communication station coupling device (50) having a mobile wireless communication station audio input coupled to the cassette head coupling device, the mobile wireless communication station coupling device having an insertion detect signal output (54) coupled to the cassette adapter insertion detect switch.

Claims

1. An audiocassette adapter for coupling a mobile wireless communication station to an audiocassette player, comprising:

a cassette head coupling device;

a cassette adapter insertion detect switch;

a mobile wireless communication station coupling device having a mobile wireless communication station audio input coupled to the cassette head coupling device,

the mobile wireless communication station coupling device having an insertion detect signal output coupled to the cassette adapter insertion detect switch.

2. The audiocassette adapter of claim 1, the audiocassette adapter having a multimedia accessory coupling device having a multimedia input coupled to the cassette head coupling device.

3. The audiocassette adapter of claim 2, the multimedia accessory coupling device having a multimedia mute output coupled to a multimedia mute input on the mobile wireless communication station coupling device.

4. The audiocassette adapter of claim 1, the cassette adapter insertion detect switch having a state for indicating that the cassette head coupling device is operably coupled to a head of the audiocassette player.

5. The audiocassette adapter of claim 1, an audiocassette player command control signal output on the cassette adapter.

6. The audiocassette adapter of claim 1, a control signal output on the cassette adapter coupled to an audiocassette player command signal generator for outputting control signals in response to audiocassette player commands.

7. The audiocassette adapter of claim 6, the audiocassette player commands include play, forward, rewind, stop and pause.

8. An audiocassette adapter for coupling a mobile electronic device to an audiocassette player, comprising:

a cassette head coupling device;

a mobile electronic device input coupled to the cassette head coupling device;

an audiocassette player command signal generator;

a control signal output coupled to the audiocassette player command signal generator.

9. The audiocassette adapter of claim 8, the audiocassette player command signal generator for outputting unique control signals in response to corresponding audiocassette player commands.

10. The audiocassette adapter of claim 8, the audiocassette player command signal generator comprising a rotational transducer with a transducer output coupled to the control signal output of the audiocassette adapter.

11. The audiocassette adapter of claim 10, the audiocassette player command signal generator comprising a rotatable spur gear having a conductive portions separated by nonconductive portions, first and second slide contacts contacting the rotatable spur gear.

12. The audiocassette adapter of claim 8, the audiocassette player command signal generator comprising a cassette head actuatable switch with a switch output coupled to the control signal output of the audiocassette adapter.

13. The audiocassette adapter of claim 8, the audiocassette player command signal generator comprising a momentary switch including first and second contacts, one of the first and second contacts disposed on a spring biased cassette head actuatable member.

14. The audiocassette adapter of claim 8,

the audiocassette player command signal generator comprising a cassette head actuatable switch, the audiocassette player command signal generator comprising a rotational transducer;

a logic device having an output coupled to the control signal output;

a switch output of the cassette head actuatable switch coupled to an input of the logic device, a transducer output of the rotational transducer coupled to another input of the logic device.

15. The audiocassette adapter of claim 14, the audiocassette player command signal generator for outputting unique control signals in response to corresponding audiocassette player commands.

16. A method for coupling a mobile wireless communications station to an audio system with a cassette adapter disposable in a cassette player, comprising:

detecting when the cassette adapter is disposed operably in the cassette player;

providing a cassette adapter insertion detect signal to a mobile wireless communication station coupling device output on the cassette adapter when the cassette adapter is disposed operably in the cassette player.

17. The method of claim 16, providing a multimedia device mute signal to a multimedia output of the cassette adapter.

18. The method of claim 16, providing the multimedia device mute signal to a multimedia output of the cassette adapter when receiving an audio signal at an audio at a mobile wireless communication station audio input of the cassette adapter.

19. The method of claim 16, providing a control signal at a control signal output of the cassette adapter in response to an audiocassette player command.

20. The method of claim 16, providing control signals at a control signal output of the cassette adapter by generating unique control signals with one of a rotational transducer of the cassette adapter and a momentary switch of the cassette adapter in response to audiocassette player play, forward, rewind, stop and pause commands.