End-user platform having an integral basin to operationally and physically receive a portable cellular-telephony transceiver

• US 9,342,114 B2
• Filed: 11/12/2010
• Issued: 05/17/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 11/12/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: S-Square Systems, LLC
• Original Assignee: Arun Sobti & Associates, LLC
• Inventors: Sobti, Arun, Panchal, Darshana R., Panchal, Rejendra A.
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, DINH
• Application Number:
  US12/945,406
• Publication Number:
  US 20110111796A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,013 Days
• Field of Search: 455/556.1, 455/556.2, 455/557
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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: 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: H04M 1/04 Supports for telephone transmitters or receivers

Abstract

An apparatus comprises at least a first display, an end-user input interface, and a control circuit that operably couples to both this first display and this end-user input interface. The apparatus can further comprise a housing that houses these components. By one approach this housing also has a basin formed therein. This basin is of sufficient size to at least substantially fully receive a portable cellular-telephony transceiver (where, for example, this portable cellular-telephony transceiver has its own display and its own end-user input interface).

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising:

at least a first display;

an end-user input interface;

a control circuit operably coupled to both the first display and the end-user input interface;

a housing that houses the first display, the end-user input interface, and the control circuit, wherein the housing has a basin formed therein of sufficient size to at least substantially fully receive a portable cellular-telephony transceiver having its own display and its own end-user input interface;

a non-wireless data interface operably coupled to the control circuit and configured to also operably couple to the portable cellular-telephony transceiver to thereby carry data between the control circuit and the portable cellular-telephony transceiver wherein the non-wireless data interface comprises a physically adjustable non-wireless data interface to thereby facilitate being operably coupled to any of a variety of different portable cellular-telephony transceivers; and

wherein the basin is configured to automatically adjust to snuggly retain the portable cellular-telephony transceiver.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the housing comprises a housing having a laptop computer form factor.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the end-user input interface for the apparatus comprises a keyboard.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein the keyboard comprises a virtual keyboard.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the basin is configured to snuggly receive and retain the portable cellular-telephony.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the housing comprises a housing having a pad-styled computer form factor.

7. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising:

a

renewable-energy source physically supported by the housing and configured to provide operating power to the portable cellular-telephony transceiver when the portable cellular-telephony transceiver is disposed within the basin.

8. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the basin is formed on a same side of the housing as the first display.

9. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the basin is formed on an exterior side of the housing that is opposite the first display.

10. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the first display comprises a touch-screen display.

11. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein the display of the portable cellular-telephony transceiver serves as a cursor-control end-user interface for a cursor displayed on the first display.

12. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising:

at least one audio transducer physically supported by the housing.

13. The apparatus of claim 12 wherein the audio transducer is configured to render audio content sourced by the portable cellular-telephony transceiver.

14. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising:

at least one cellular-telephony antenna disposed within the housing and configured to support cellular telephony carried out by the portable cellular-telephony transceiver.

15. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising:

at least one camera disposed within the housing and configured to provide captured-image content to the portable cellular-telephony transceiver.

16. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising:

at least one microphone disposed within the housing and configured to provide audio content to the portable cellular-telephony transceiver.