Docking system and method using near field communication

• US 9,510,140 B2
• Filed: 02/05/2016
• Issued: 11/29/2016
• 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:
  US15/016,404
• Publication Number:
  US 20160157051A1
• Time in Patent Office: 298 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, comprising:

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

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.

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, comprising connecting an interface connector on the NFC-enabled mobile computing device with a docking connector on 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 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 a host computer connected to the NFC-enabled docking station.

6. 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.

7. 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.

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

9. The method according to claim 8, 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.

10. A 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 system uses the docking-station information to configure the NFC-enabled mobile computing device;

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.

11. The system according to claim 10, 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.

12. The system according to claim 10, wherein the NFC-enabled docking station charges a power source in the NFC-enabled mobile computing device.

13. The system according to claim 10, 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.

14. The system according to claim 10, 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.

15. The system according to claim 10, 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.

16. The system according to claim 10, 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.

17. The system according to claim 10, wherein the docking-station information includes docking station authentication credentials.

18. The system according to claim 17, 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.

19. The system according to claim 10, 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.

20. The system according to claim 10, wherein the near field communication docking system uses encrypted docking-station information to configure the NFC-enabled mobile computing device.