Docking system and method using near field communication

• US 9,258,033 B2
• Filed: 04/21/2014
• Issued: 02/09/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 04/21/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hand Held Products Incorporated (Honeywell International Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Hand Held Products Incorporated (Honeywell International Inc.)
• Inventors: Showering, Paul Edward
• Primary Examiner(s): Bilodeau, David
• Application Number:
  US14/257,364
• Publication Number:
  US 20150303993A1
• Time in Patent Office: 659 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1632 External expansion units, e.g. docking stations
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1698 the I/O peripheral being a sending/receiving arrangement to establish a cordless communication link, e.g. radio or infrared link, integrated cellular phone details of antennas disposed inside a computer H01Q1/2266
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/72 for local intradevice communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/04 Supports for telephone transmitters or receivers
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72406 by software upgrading or downloading
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72412 using two-way short-range wireless interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/06 Authentication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/50 Secure pairing of devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/80 Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication

Abstract

A method and system for configuring a mobile computing device to a docking station using near field communication is disclosed. A mobile computing device may scan an NFC tag integrated with the docking station to gather docking-station information. This docking-station information may be used by the mobile computing device to (i) configure its interface connector to match the docking connector, (ii) establish a communication link with the docking station and/or a host computer connected to the docking station, or (iii) authenticate the docking station to the mobile computing device or vice versa.

Claims

1. A method for docking an NFC-enabled mobile computing device with an NFC-enabled docking station, the method comprising:

placing an NFC-enabled mobile computing device in proximity to an NFC-enabled docking station;

transferring docking-station information from the NFC-enabled docking station to the NFC-enabled mobile computing device using NFC communication, wherein the docking station information comprises the docking station'"'"'s connector configuration and the signals to expect on each pin;

reconfiguring the NFC-enabled mobile computing device'"'"'s interface connector pins to electrically match the NFC-enabled docking station connector'"'"'s configuration based on the received docking-station information; and

connecting an interface connector on the NFC-enabled mobile computing device with a docking connector on the NFC-enabled docking station.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the NFC-enabled docking station comprises an NFC tag that is scanned by the NFC-enabled mobile computing device to transfer the docking-station information.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the docking-station information configures the NFC-enabled mobile computing device to establish a communication link with the NFC-enabled docking station.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the docking-station information configures the NFC-enabled mobile computing device to establish a communication link with a host computer connected to the NFC-enabled docking station.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the docking-station information configures the NFC-enabled mobile computing device to establish a communication link with the NFC-enabled docking station and a host computer connected to the NFC-enabled docking station.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of transferring docking-station information is initiated when the NFC-enabled mobile computing device detects a docking condition.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the docking-station information includes docking-station authentication credentials.

8. The method according to claim 7, comprising the step of using the docking-station authentication credentials to establish a communication link between the NFC-enabled mobile computing device and the NFC-enabled docking station and/or a host computer connected to the NFC-enabled docking station.

9. A near field communication docking system, comprising:

an NFC-enabled mobile computing device;

an NFC-enabled docking station having docking-station information and configured to transfer the docking-station information to the NFC-enabled mobile computing device using NFC communication;

wherein the NFC-enabled docking system uses the docking-station information to configure the NFC-enabled mobile computing device when the NFC-enabled mobile computing device is positioned in proximity to the NFC-enabled docking station;

wherein the docking station information comprises the docking station'"'"'s connector configuration and the signals to expect on each pin; and

wherein the NFC-enabled mobile computing device reconfigures its interface connector pins to electrically match the NFC-enabled docking station connector'"'"'s configuration.

10. The near field communication docking system according to claim 9, wherein the NFC-enabled docking station includes an NFC tag that facilitates the transfer of the docking-station information from the NFC-enabled docking station to the NFC-enabled mobile computing device.

11. The near field communication docking system according to claim 9, wherein the near field communication docking system uses the docking-station information to configure the NFC-enabled mobile computing device to establish a communication link with the NFC-enabled docking station.

12. The near field communication docking system according to claim 9, wherein the near field communication docking system uses the docking-station information to configure the NFC-enabled mobile computing device to establish a communication link with a host computer connected to the NFC-enabled docking station.

13. The near field communication docking system according to claim 9, wherein the near field communication docking system uses the docking-station information to configure the NFC-enabled mobile computing device to establish a communication link with the NFC-enabled docking station and a host computer connected to the NFC-enabled docking station.

14. The near field communication docking system according to claim 9, wherein the NFC-enabled mobile computing device is configured to acquire information from the NFC-enabled docking station when the NFC-enabled mobile computing device detects a docking condition.

15. The near field communication docking system according to claim 9, wherein the docking-station information includes docking station authentication credentials.

16. The near field communication docking system according to claim 15, wherein the near field communication docking system uses the docking station authentication credentials to establish a communication link between the NFC-enabled mobile computing device and the NFC-enabled docking station and/or a host computer connected to the NFC-enabled docking station.

17. The near field communication docking system according to claim 9, wherein the NFC-enabled mobile computing device is configured to provide a key code to the NFC-enabled docking station in order to initiate transfer of the docking-station information from the NFC-enabled docking station to the NFC-enabled mobile computing device.

18. The near field communication docking system according to claim 9, wherein the near field communication docking system uses encrypted docking-station information to configure the NFC-enabled mobile computing device.