Systems, devices and methods involving device identification

• US 9,569,957 B2
• Filed: 03/08/2012
• Issued: 02/14/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 03/08/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: HTC Corporation
• Original Assignee: HTC Corporation
• Inventors: Williams, Rodney Owen
• Primary Examiner(s): Lim, Steven
• Assistant Examiner(s): Adnan, Muhammad
• Application Number:
  US13/414,777
• Publication Number:
  US 20130234839A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,804 Days
• Field of Search: 340 121- 1255
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 19/04 using variable resistance
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/04 Supports for telephone transmitters or receivers

Abstract

Systems, devices and methods involving device identification are provided. In this regard, a representative system includes: a first device having a first power line and a first connector, the first connector being coupled to the first power line; and a second device having a second power line and a second connector, the second connector being coupled to the second power line and sized and shaped to mate with the first connector such that the first device electrically communicates with the second device; the first device being operative to modulate impedance exhibited at the first power line; the second device being operative to detect the modulated impedance and correlate the modulated impedance with an identification of the first device.

Claims

1. A system for device identification comprising:

an accessory having a first power line and a first connector, the first connector being coupled to the first power line; and

a mobile device having a second power line and a second connector, the second connector being coupled to the second power line and sized and shaped to mate with the first connector such that the accessory electrically communicates with the mobile device;

wherein the accessory is operative to modulate impedance exhibited at the first power line in response to communication initiated by the mobile device, the mobile device being operative to initiate the communication with the accessory by providing oscillations to the accessory via a signal path established by coupling of the first connector and the second connector, the oscillations from the mobile device providing power to the accessory to modulate the impedance exhibited at the first power line;

the mobile device having a signal conditioner electrically communicating with the second power line and being operative to isolate the modulated impedance from the oscillations such that the mobile device is operative to detect the modulated impedance and correlate the modulated impedance with an identification of the accessory;

the mobile device being operative to selectively alter a mode of operation of the mobile device based, at least in part, on the identification of the accessory correlated from the detected modulated impedance;

the accessory having a temperature sensor and being operative to alter the modulated impedance to encode information corresponding to a sensed temperature onto the modulated impedance and communicate the information to the mobile device; and

the mobile device being operative to selectively alter the mode of operation of the mobile device based, at least in part, on the information encoded onto the altered modulated impedance.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein:

the first device has a first oscillator and the second device has a second oscillator;

the second oscillator is electrically coupled to the second power line and operative to impose the oscillations on the second power line;

the first device is operative to respond to oscillations on the first power line corresponding to the oscillations imposed on the second power line.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the first device further comprises an impedance modulator capacitively coupled to the first power line, the impedance modulator being powered, at least in part, by electrical charge attributable to the oscillations imposed on the second power line and propagated to the first device.

4. The system of claim 2, wherein:

the first oscillator is capacitively coupled to the first power line; and

the second oscillator is capacitively coupled to the second power line.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the mobile device is a mobile phone.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein:

the second device further comprises a battery charging circuit electrically coupled to the second power line; and

the first device is operative to charge the second device by providing power to the battery charging circuit.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the first connector is a USB connector and the second connector is a USB connector.

8. A method for device identification comprising:

coupling a first connector of a first device with a second connector of a second device to form a signal path therebetween;

initiating communication between the first device and the second device by propagating oscillations along the signal path from the first device to the second device, wherein the second device applies an impedance modulation to the signal path in response to the oscillations;

detecting, with the first device, the impedance modulation attributable to the second device by isolating the impedance modulations from the oscillations;

correlating, by the first device, the impedance modulation with predefined impedance modulations such that an identification of the second device is determined;

selectively altering a mode of operation of the first device based, at least in part, on the identification of the second device;

altering, by the second device, the modulated impedance to communicate a sensed temperature condition of the second device to the first device such that the sensed temperature condition is encoded into the modulated impedance altered by the second device; and

selectively altering the mode of operation of the first device based, at least in part, on the modulated impedance altered by the second device.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the impedance modulation is imposed on a power signal.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising using the power signal to charge the first device.

11. The system of claim 8, wherein:

the accessory is operative to charge the mobile device; and

the mobile device is configured to discontinue charging by the accessory based, at least in part, on the altered modulated impedance.