Sharing hardware resources between electronic devices upon mutual magnetic attachment of the electronic devices

• US 9,948,719 B2
• Filed: 11/20/2016
• Issued: 04/17/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 11/21/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nanoport Technology Inc. (Nano Magnetics Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Nanoport Technology Inc. (Nano Magnetics Ltd.)
• Inventors: Szeto, Timothy Jing Yin
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Tu X
• Application Number:
  US15/356,645
• Publication Number:
  US 20170150539A1
• Time in Patent Office: 513 Days
• Field of Search: 455 411, 455 412, 455557, 4555561, 455100
• CPC Class Codes: H01F 7/0242 Magnetic drives, magnetic coupling devices
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 13/6205 Two-part coupling devices held in engagement by a magnet
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1097 for distributed storage of data in networks, e.g. transport arrangements for network file system [NFS], storage area networks [SAN] or network attached storage [NAS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/125 involving control of end-device applications over a network
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/026 Details of the structure or mounting of specific components
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72412 using two-way short-range wireless interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/12 Messaging; Mailboxes; Announcements
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/14 Direct-mode setup
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 40/18 Network protocols supporting networked applications, e.g. including control of end-device applications over a network

Abstract

A mobile electronic device may comprise a wireless transceiver and at least one magnetic connector. The mobile electronic device may further comprise connectedness detection circuitry operable to dynamically detect a connection event at each of the at least one magnetic connector. A processor, coupled to the connectedness detection circuitry, may be operable to: automatically establish a wireless communications link, via the wireless transceiver, with another electronic device upon detection, by the connectedness detection circuitry, of the connection event at a predetermined set of the at least one magnetic connector evidencing a magnetic attachment of the mobile electronic device to the other electronic device; and access, via the wireless communications link, a hardware resource of the other electronic device. The at least one magnetic connector may be a plurality of magnetic connectors. The predetermined set of magnetic connectors may be all of the magnetic connectors or a subset thereof.

Claims

1. A method at a mobile electronic device having a plurality of magnetic connectors, a plurality of connectedness sensors associated with respective ones of the magnetic connectors, and circuitry embodying Boolean logic for generating a device connectedness state based on connectedness states of the plurality of magnetic connectors as sensed by the plurality of connectedness sensors, the method comprising:

upon magnetic attachment of the mobile electronic device to an other electronic device using the plurality of magnetic connectors, detecting a connection event, using one of the connectedness sensors, at any of the magnetic connectors used for the magnetic attachment;

in response to the detecting, generating a signal indicative of a device connected state at the circuitry embodying the Boolean logic and automatically establishing a wireless communications link between the mobile electronic device and the other electronic device; and

accessing, from the magnetically attached mobile electronic device, via the wireless communications link, a hardware resource of the other electronic device.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the accessing comprises controlling the hardware resource of the other electronic device from the magnetically attached mobile electronic device via the wireless communications link.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the hardware resource of the other electronic device comprises an actuator or a controller therefor.

4. The method of claim 2 wherein the hardware resource of the other electronic device comprises an output resource for providing visual, auditory or tactile output.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the accessing comprises receiving data, from the hardware resource of the other electronic device, at the magnetically attached mobile electronic device via the wireless communications link.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the hardware resource of the other electronic device comprises a sensor.

7. The method of claim 5 wherein the hardware resource of the other electronic device comprises a user input resource.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the hardware resource of the other electronic device has no counterpart at the magnetically attached mobile electronic device.

9. The method of claim 1 further comprising, from other electronic device, accessing a hardware resource of the magnetically attached mobile electronic device via the wireless communications link.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein the other electronic device, to which the mobile electronic device has been magnetically attached, comprises a vehicle.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein the other electronic device, to which the mobile electronic device has been magnetically attached, comprises, or is embedded within, a piece of sporting equipment.

12. The method of claim 1 wherein the other electronic device, to which the mobile electronic device has been magnetically attached, comprises an appliance.

13. A mobile electronic device comprising:

a wireless transceiver;

a plurality of magnetic connectors;

connectedness detection circuitry operable to dynamically detect a connection event at each of the plurality of magnetic connectors;

a processor, coupled to the connectedness detection circuitry, operable to;

automatically establish a wireless communications link, via the wireless transceiver, with an other electronic device upon detection, by the connectedness detection circuitry, of the connection event at each magnetic connector of a predetermined set of the plurality of magnetic connectors; and

access, via the wireless communications link, a hardware resource of the other electronic device,

wherein the connectedness detection circuitry comprises;

a plurality of connectedness sensors, each of the connectedness sensors associated with a respective one the plurality of magnetic connectors of the mobile electronic device, each of the connectedness sensors for sensing the connectedness state of the associated magnetic connector; and

circuitry embodying Boolean logic for generating a device connectedness state based on the connectedness states of the plurality of magnetic connectors as sensed by the plurality of connectedness sensors.

14. The mobile electronic device of claim 13 wherein the predetermined set of the magnetic connectors comprises a subset of the plurality of magnetic connectors.

15. The mobile electronic device of claim 14 wherein the predetermined set of the magnetic connectors comprises a single one of the plurality of magnetic connectors of the mobile electronic device.

16. The mobile electronic device of claim 14 wherein the plurality of magnetic connectors comprises four magnetic connectors and wherein the predetermined set of the magnetic connectors comprises two of the four magnetic connectors.

17. The mobile electronic device of claim 16 further comprising a housing and wherein the two magnetic connectors of the predetermined set are disposed along the same edge of the housing.

18. The mobile electronic device of claim 13 wherein the plurality of magnetic connectors comprises four magnetic connectors and wherein the predetermined set of magnetic connectors comprises all four of the magnetic connectors.

19. A hybrid electronic device comprising:

an electronic device comprising;

a plurality of magnetic connectors;

a wireless transceiver; and

a hardware resource; and

a mobile electronic device comprising;

a plurality of magnetic connectors configured for selective magnetic connection to the plurality of magnetic connectors of the electronic device for mutual magnetic attachment of the devices;

connectedness detection circuitry operable to dynamically detect a connection event at each of the plurality of magnetic connectors of the mobile electronic device;

a wireless transceiver operable to establish a wireless communications link with the wireless transceiver of the electronic device upon detection, by the connectedness detection circuitry, of the connection event at at least one of the magnetic connectors of the mobile electronic device; and

a processor, coupled to the connectedness detection circuitry, operable to access, via the wireless communications link, the hardware resource of the other electronic device,

wherein the connectedness detection circuitry comprises;

a plurality of connectedness sensors, each of the connectedness sensors associated with a respective one the plurality of magnetic connectors of the mobile electronic device, each of the connectedness sensors for sensing the connectedness state of the associated magnetic connector; and

circuitry embodying Boolean logic for generating a device connectedness state based on the connectedness states of the plurality of magnetic connectors as sensed by the plurality of connectedness sensors.