Universal dock and cable

• US 9,167,064 B2
• Filed: 02/28/2012
• Issued: 10/20/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 02/28/2012
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Cellco Partnership, Inc. (Verizon Communications Inc.), Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Cellco Partnership, Inc. (Verizon Communications Inc.), Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Inventors: Elter, James, Andrada, Mauricio, Hwang, Yeharn
• Primary Examiner(s): Milord, Marceau
• Application Number:
  US13/407,599
• Publication Number:
  US 20130225096A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,330 Days
• Field of Search: 455/552.1, 455/74.1, 455/575.1, 455/557, 455/445, 455/41.2, 455/556.2, 455/90.3, 455/555, 455/432.1, 370/352, 369/679.55
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/04 Supports for telephone transmitters or receivers
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72 Mobile telephones; Cordless telephones, i.e. devices for establishing wireless links to base stations without route selection

Abstract

A docking station, method, and system are disclosed including a universal dock and connection cable to establish a network connection between a mobile device and a local data network such as an enterprise Private Branch Exchange (PBX). The cable connection is reconfigurable within so that the docking station can receive a mobile communications device in different orientations. Sliding tiles within the universal dock may be repositioned for different locations of the connection cable. USB and micro-USB cable connections are described.

Claims

1. A docking station configured to establish a physical connection interface between a mobile communications device and a network, the docking station comprising:

a housing with a universal dock formed as a recess in the surface of the housing, the recess having side walls and a support surface, wherein the recess includes a plurality of movable tiles on a track on the support surface and on at least one of the side walls, each movable tile defining a respectively different location within the recess for a cable connection to be positioned to connect to a receiving port of the mobile communications device to form a network connection for the mobile communication device;

wherein at least one tile of the movable tiles is configured to move within the track to form an opening in the recess at which the cable connection is configured to connect to the receiving port of the mobile communications device, the at least one tile moving in a direction parallel to the at least one side wall and then in a direction parallel to the support surface to a position in the track where the one tile is aligned with another tile within the track.

2. The docking station of claim 1, wherein the cable connection comprises a USB connection.

3. The docking station of claim 1, wherein the plurality of tiles are slideably disposed in the track within the recess of the universal dock.

4. The docking station of claim 1, further comprising a cradle disposed adjacent the universal dock and configured to support a mobile communications device positioned within the recess of the universal dock.

5. The docking station of claim 1, further comprising a second cable connection moveably disposed within the recess of the universal dock.

6. The docking station of claim 1, wherein the plurality of tiles are removably disposed within the universal dock.

7. The docking station of claim 1, wherein:

at least one of the side walls includes a plurality of tracks at different levels and ones of the tiles being disposed in respective ones of the plurality of tracks and being configured to slide within the respective tracks.

8. A method comprising:

selecting a location for a cable connection within a docking station, the selected location corresponding to one of a plurality of movable tiles within the docking station, each movable tile defining a respectively different location in the docking station for the cable connection to connect to a receiving port of the mobile communication device;

positioning the cable connection at the selected location defined by one of the plurality of movable tiles within the docking station;

configuring the receiving port of the mobile communications device at the selected location defined by the one of the plurality of movable tiles, at a desired orientation; and

physically connecting the receiving port of the mobile communications device to the cable connection of the docking station;

disconnecting the receiving port of mobile communications device from the cable connection of docking station;

selecting a different location for the cable connection within the docking station, the selected different location corresponding to a different one of the plurality of movable tiles within the docking station;

repositioning the cable connection at the selected different location within the docking station;

reconfiguring the mobile communications device in a different orientation, corresponding to the selected different location in the docking station; and

reconnecting the receiving port of the mobile communications device in the different orientation to the cable connection at the selected different location in the docking station.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising establishing a network connection between the mobile communications device and a local network via the cable connection and the receiving port.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the cable connection comprises a USB connection.

11. The method of claim 8, further comprising establishing a network connection between the mobile communications device and a local network via the cable connection and the receiving port.

12. A system comprising:

a docking station housing with a universal dock formed as a recess in a surface of the docking station, the universal dock having side walls and a support surface, the sidewalls extending into the housing between the surface of the docking station and the support surface, the recess of the universal dock being configured to receive a mobile communications device in a plurality of orientations, wherein the universal dock includes a plurality of movable tiles configured in the recess parallel to the support surface and a plurality of tiles configured in a track on the support surface and on at least one of the sidewalls, each movable tile defining a respectively different location within the dock for a cable connection to connect to a receiving port of the mobile communications device;

a cable connection movably disposed within the universal dock and configured to provide a physical cable connection interface with the receiving port of the mobile communications device, wherein the physical cable connection interface is configured to form a network connection for the mobile communication device and wherein the physical cable connection is configured to be moved among the locations in the dock corresponding to the movable tiles to a selected location corresponding to one of the movable tiles; and

a mobile communications device having the receiving port configured to establish the network connection through the cable connection in the docking station when the mobile communications device is docked to the docking station at the selected location, wherein at least one tile of the movable tiles is configured to move within the track to form an opening in the recess at which the cable connection is configured to connect to the receiving port of the mobile communications device, the at least one tile moving in the track in a direction parallel to the at least one side wall and then in a direction parallel to the port surface to a position in the track where the one tile is aligned with another tile within the track.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the cable connection comprises a USB connection.

14. The system of claim 12, wherein the plurality of tiles are removably disposed in the universal dock.

15. The system of claim 12, wherein the plurality of tiles are slideably disposed in the universal dock.

16. The system station of claim 12, wherein:

at least one of the side walls includes a plurality of tracks at different levels and ones of the tiles being disposed in respective ones of the plurality of tracks and being configured to slide within the respective tracks.