Adding I/O ports to mobile device via smart interchangeable cover

• US 20030064689A1
• Filed: 11/20/2002
• Published: 04/03/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 05/17/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Smart Skins LLC
• Original Assignee: Wildseed LLC
• Inventors: Zatloukal, Peter, Engstrom, G. Eric
• Granted Patent: US 6,920,338 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/90.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/3888 Arrangements for carrying or protecting transceivers
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/0202 Portable telephone sets, e.g. cordless phones, mobile phones or bar type handsets constructional features of telephone transmitters or receivers, e.g. of speakers or microphones H04M1/03
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/021 using combined folding and rotation motions combined with translation movement H04M1/0235
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/0283 for providing a decorative aspect, e.g. customization of casings, exchangeable faceplate
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/23 Construction or mounting of dials or of equivalent devices; Means for facilitating the use thereof by improving visibility H04M1/22
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72427 for supporting games or graphical animations
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/7246 by connection of exchangeable housing parts

Abstract

An interchangeable cover is endowed with one or more I/O ports and complementary electronics to add the one or more I/O ports to a mobile device, to which the interchangeable cover is attached. In various embodiments, the I/O ports may comprise a PS/2 mouse port, a serial port, a parallel port, a serial bus port, and so forth. In various embodiments, the complementary electronics are packaged in an ASIC with output pins similar to that of a smart card, which may include a properly equipped protocol processor for de-packaging and packaging data being inputted/outputted in accordance with selected I/O protocols. In one embodiment, the cover is U-shaped. In a wireless mobile phone embodiment, the cover is attached to a rotabable sub-section of a pivotable section.

Claims

1. An interchangeable cover comprising:

a cover body;

at least one input/output (I/O) port disposed on the cover body;

traces coupled to the at least one I/O port; and

an electronic component coupled to the traces, and equipped to add the at least one I/O port as I/O port(s) of a mobile device to which the interchangeable cover is attached.

2. The cover of claim 1, wherein the cover body is U-shaped and designed to be attached to the mobile device from a side of the mobile device.

3. The cover of claim 1, wherein the cover is a face plate, with the cover body designed to be attached to the mobile device from a front of the mobile device.

4. The cover of claim 1, wherein the at least one I/O port comprises a serial port.

5. The cover of claim 1, wherein the at least one I/O port comprises a parallel port.

6. The cover of claim 1, wherein the at least one I/O port comprises a serial bus port.

7. The cover of claim 6, wherein the serial bus port is a universal serial bus (USB) port.

8. The cover of claim 6, wherein the serial bus port is an IEEE 1394 serial bus port.

9. The cover of claim 1, wherein the mobile device comprises a base set of at least one I/O port disposed at a first surface of the mobile device, and the at least one I/O port being added is disposed at a second surface of the cover body, where the first and second surfaces are substantially orthogonal to each other.

10. The cover of claim 1, wherein the electronic component comprises an analog-to-digital (A/D) converter and a digital-to-analog (D/A) converter coupled to the traces, a protocol processor coupled to the A/D and D/A converters, a storage unit coupled to the protocol processor and the converters, and an input/output (I/O) interface coupled to the storage unit.

11. The cover of claim 10, wherein the storage unit comprises EEPROM.

12. The cover of claims 1, wherein the mobile device comprises functionalities of at least a selected one of a wireless mobile phone and a personal digital assistant.

13. A mobile device comprising

a core unit including at least one extension interface;

and

an interchangeable cover removably attached to the core unit, the interchangeable cover having at least one I/O port and electronics, coupled to each other, with at least one aspect of the electronics designed to mate with the at least one extension interface of the core unit to add the at least one I/O port to the core unit.

14. The mobile device of claim 13, wherein the interchangeable cover comprises a cover body that is U-shaped and designed to be attached to the mobile device from a side of the mobile device.

15. The mobile device of claim 13, wherein the interchangeable cover is a face plate designed to be attached to the mobile device from a front of the mobile device.

16. The mobile device of claim 13, wherein the at least one I/O port of the interchangeable cover comprises a serial port.

17. The mobile device of claim 13, wherein the at least one I/O port of the interchangeable cover comprises a parallel port.

18. The mobile device of claim 13, wherein the at least one I/O port of the interchangeable cover comprises a serial bus port.

19. The mobile device of claim 17, wherein the serial bus port is a universal serial bus (USB) port.

20. The mobile device of claim 17, wherein the serial bus port is an IEEE 1394 serial bus port.

21. The mobile device of claim 13, wherein the mobile device further comprises a base set of at least one I/O port disposed at a first surface of the core unit, and the at least one I/O port being added is disposed at a second surface of the interchangeable, where the first and second surfaces are substantially orthogonal to each other.

22. The mobile device of claim 13, wherein the electronic components of the interchangeable cover comprise an analog-to-digital (A/D) converter and a digital-to-analog (D/A) converter, a protocol processor coupled to the A/D and D/A converters, a storage unit coupled to the protocol processor and the converters, and an input/output (I/O) interface coupled to the storage unit.

23. The mobile device of claim 21, wherein the storage unit comprises EEPROM.

24. The mobile device of claims 13, wherein the mobile device comprises functionalities of at least a selected one of a wireless mobile phone and a personal digital assistant.

25. The mobile device of claim 13, wherein the core unit comprises a first and a second section with the second section having a first and a second sub-section where the second-sub-section is rotatable relative to the first sub-section, and the cover removably attaches to the second sub-section of the second section.

26. A wireless mobile phone comprising:

a core wireless telephony unit including a first and a second section with the second section having a first and a second sub-section where the second-sub-section is rotatable relative to the first sub-section; and

a cover including at least one I/O port, removably mated with the second sub-section of the second section of the core wireless telephony unit.

27. The wireless mobile phone of claim 26, wherein the first and second sections are pivotally coupled together.

28. The wireless mobile phone of claim 26 wherein said at least one I/O port comprises a selected one of a serial and a parallel port.

29. The wireless mobile phone of claim 26 wherein said at least one I/O port comprises a serial bus port.