Personal function pad

• US 8,422,944 B2
• Filed: 08/12/2008
• Issued: 04/16/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 08/12/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.), Sony Mobile Communications AB (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Flygh, Anders, Magnusson, Stefan
• Primary Examiner(s): GONZALES, APRIL GUZMAN
• Application Number:
  US12/190,084
• Publication Number:
  US 20100041332A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,708 Days
• Field of Search: 455/41.2, 455/41.3, 455/456.1, 455/517, 455/418, 455/425, 455/69, 320/106, 320/108, 320/115, 340/10.1, 340/10.52, 340/10.6, 345/169, 345/2.1, 705/35, 705/1.1
• US Class Current: 455/41.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1632 External expansion units, e.g. docking stations
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/04 specially adapted for terminals or networks with limited capabilities; specially adapted for terminal portability
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72412 using two-way short-range wireless interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72454 according to context-related or environment-related conditions

Abstract

A personal function pad includes a surface that receives and supports a wireless terminal without making a direct electrical contact with the wireless terminal, and a near field communications (NFC) module that receives a first NFC signal from the wireless terminal and responsively transmits a second NFC signal to the wireless terminal. The second NFC signal modifies a setting and/or initiates a function of the wireless terminal. A wireless terminal according to some embodiments includes a controller and an NFC communications module. The NFC module transmits a first NFC signal and receives a second NFC signal in response to the first NFC signal. The controller modifies a device setting and/or to initiates a device function of the wireless terminal in response to the second NFC signal.

Claims

1. An electronic device, comprising:

a surface configured to receive and support a wireless terminal without making a direct electrical contact with the wireless terminal;

a near field communications (NFC) module configured to receive a first NFC signal from the wireless terminal and to responsively transmit a second NFC signal to the wireless terminal in response to the first NFC signal, wherein the second NFC signal modifies a setting and/or initiates a function of the wireless terminal;

a processor coupled to the NFC module and configured to control operations of the NFC module;

a power supply; and

a switch configured to couple the power supply to the processor in response to detecting that an object has been placed on the surface, the switch further configured to disconnect power from the processor if no NFC signal is received by the NFC module within a predetermined period of time.

2. The electronic device of claim 1, further comprising a pad sized to receive a plurality of handheld wireless devices, wherein the surface is on the pad.

3. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the second NFC signal instructs the wireless terminal to enter a silent mode in which a ringer of the wireless terminal is disabled.

4. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the NFC module comprises an RFID tag that is configured to transpond the second NFC signal in response to the first NFC signal.

5. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the NFC module is configured to draw operating power from the first NFC signal.

6. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the wireless terminal comprises a first wireless terminal, and wherein the NFC module is configured to receive the first NFC signal from the first wireless terminal and a third NFC signal from a second wireless terminal, and to transmit the second NFC signal to the first wireless terminal in response to the first NFC signal, and to transmit a fourth NFC signal to the second wireless terminal in response to the third NFC signal, wherein the fourth NFC signal modifies a setting and/or initiates a function of the second wireless terminal.

7. A wireless terminal, comprising:

a controller; and

a near field communications (NFC) communications module coupled to the controller and operatively controlled by the controller;

wherein the NFC module is configured to transmit a first NFC signal and to receive a second NFC signal in response to the first NFC signal;

wherein the controller is configured to modify a device setting and/or to initiate a device function of the wireless terminal in response to the second NFC signal, and

wherein the controller is configured to cause the NFC module to establish a peer-to-peer NFC communication path with a further wireless terminal in response to receiving the second NFC signal.

8. The wireless terminal of claim 7, wherein the controller is configured to place the wireless terminal in a silent mode in which a ringer of the wireless terminal is silenced in response to the second NFC signal.

9. The wireless terminal of claim 8, wherein the controller is configured to place the wireless terminal in the silent mode with respect to a first group of callers in response to the second NFC signal without placing the wireless terminal in the silent mode with respect to a second group of callers.

10. The wireless terminal of claim 8, wherein the controller is configured to maintain an alarm function in the silent mode.

11. The wireless terminal of claim 7, wherein the controller is configured to automatically synchronize a file with the further wireless terminal over the NFC communication path in response to establishing the NFC communication path.

12. The wireless terminal of claim 11, wherein the controller is configured to establish respective peer-to-peer NFC communication paths with a plurality of other wireless terminals in response to receiving the second NFC signal, and wherein the controller is configured to receive a user input selecting one of the plurality of other wireless terminals and to automatically synchronize a file with the selected wireless terminal over the respective peer-to-peer NFC communication path with the selected wireless terminal.

13. The wireless terminal of claim 7, further comprising a Bluetooth communications module, wherein the controller is configured to disable the Bluetooth communications module in response to the second NFC signal.

14. The wireless terminal of claim 7, further comprising a cellular communications module, wherein the controller is configured to disable the cellular communications module in response to the second NFC signal.

15. The wireless terminal of claim 7, wherein the wireless terminal is configured to continually transmit the first NFC signal after modifying the device setting and/or initiating the device function, and wherein the controller is configured to return the device setting to a previous setting and/or to terminate the device function in response to not receiving the second NFC signal in response to the first NFC signal.

16. The wireless terminal of claim 7, further comprising a global positioning system (GPS) module, wherein the controller is configured to determine a GPS position of the wireless terminal and to transmit the GPS position of the wireless terminal to a remote device over a data communications network in response to receiving the second NFC signal.

17. The wireless terminal of claim 7, wherein the controller is configured to initiate playback of an audio and/or video file in response to receiving the second NFC signal.

18. The wireless terminal of claim 7, wherein the controller is configured to transmit a presence status to a remote server over a data communication network in response to receiving the second NFC signal.