User guide

US 8,271,713 B2
device (not shown) disposed in a second room of the facility,
outside the facility, or even in a remote facility, for reproduc
tion via a second audio and video reproduction system (not
shoWn). The docking assembly 10 may include an internal or
external antenna (not shoWn) adapted for use With the Wire
less netWork transceiver 19. As an alternative to including an
integral Wireless transceiver 19, the Wired netWork port 25
may be adapted to connect With a separate Wireless trans
ceiver (not shoWn) providing the same or equivalent Wireless
communication capability.
The docking assembly 10 may further include a Universal
Serial Bus (USB) port 25 to enable connection With other
USB-enabled netWorks (e.g., netWork 40) or USB-enabled
devices including personal computers or other netWork appli
ances (not shoWn). The USB port may be con?gured to dis
play the docking assembly and/or any PDMSP device 80
docked thereto as a netWork drive, and enable transfer of
media ?les, data, and operable programs or applications
betWeen the PDMSP device 80 and an interconnected per
sonal computer or netWork appliance (not shoWn). The USB
port 25 may further be used, for example, to enable con?gu
ration, updating, or troubleshooting of the docking assembly
10 With a peripheral device such as personal computer, PDA,
or dedicated diagnostic device (not shoWn).
In one embodiment, the docking assembly 10 includes a
Wireless telephone transceiver 18 adapted to rebroadcast tele
phonic signals betWeen a telephone-enabled remote device
(e. g., the telephonic remote controller 150 illustrated in FIG.
3 and FIGS. 4A-4B) and a telephonic PDMSP device (such as
the telephonic PDMSP device 180 illustrated in FIGS.
2A-2B.) Such a telephonic PDMSP device preferably
includes Wireless (e.g., cellular) telephone capability and is
adapted to execute any of various conventional portable tele
phone functions such as sending or receiving telephone calls,
sending or receiving data such as email or text messages,
connecting to Wireless data netWorks, and the like. The term
“rebroadcast” in the context of the Wireless telephone trans
ceiver 18 refers to the capability to retransmit or otherWise
relay incoming telephonic signals from a telephonic PDMSP
device to a Wireless telephonic device (e.g., the telephonic
remote controller 150) and to similarly receive incoming
signals from the Wireless telephonic device for forWarding to
a transmitter portion of the telephonic PDMSP device. The
Wireless telephone (rebroadcast) transceiver 18 associated
With the docking assembly 10 preferably operates at the same
frequency or frequencies as the telephone transceiver 158
associated With a telephonic remote controller device (e.g.,
the device 150). Any suitable frequency range may be used,
Whether analog or digital, and Whether ?xed frequency or
spread spectrum. Preferably, such transceivers 18, 158 oper
ate at a frequency range of from about 800 MHZ to about 10
GHZ, speci?cally including the frequencies of any of 900
MHZ, 1.9 GHZ, 2.4 GHZ, and 5.8 GHZ. The term “trans
ceiver” in this context refers to any combination of transmitter
and receiver present in the same device (e.g., PDMSP device
or remote controller device), Whether or not such components
are integrated at the microchip level. The Wireless telephone
transceiver 18 associated With the docking assembly 10 thus
transfers user input and output telephonic functions in a
seamless fashion from the telephonic PDMSP device (e.g.,
PDMSP device 180) to a telephone-enabled remote device
(e. g., the telephonic remote controller 150) While the PDMSP
device is docked With the docking assembly 10, With signals
betWeen the PDMSP device and docking assembly 10 pref
erably being routed through the at least one electrical cou
pling 12 and mated connector 180. Such telephonic function
transfer provides substantial convenience to the user, since
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the PDMSP device need not be retrieved and undocked from
the docking assembly 10 to screen, send, and/or receive audio
or data communications.
Preferably, telephonic signals communicated by the tele
phone rebroadcast transceiver 18 to the telephonic remote
device (e.g., the device 150) include noti?cation signals and
caller identi?cation information suf?cient to notify the user of
the existence of an incoming call and to provide some iden
ti?cation of the caller, so as to enable the user to assess
Whether to accept the incoming call. The telephonic remote
device, Which preferably includes a display (e.g., the display
152 illustrated in FIG. 3), preferably includes at least one
communication (e.g., call) noti?cation elements. A commu
nication noti?cation element may provide any user-percep
tible noti?cation signal, and may provide visible noti?cation,
audible noti?cation, and/ or vibratory or other tactile noti?ca
tion of an incoming or received (and stored) communication
such as a telephone call, text message, email message, video
message, video conference invitation, digital media ?le, or
the like. Visible noti?cation may be provided via any of the
display 152 (or a portion thereof) and a dedicated LED 156
(as illustrated in FIG. 3) or any other appropriate visible
noti?cation element. Audible noti?cation may be provided by
the speaker 166 (as illustrated in FIG. 3) or a dedicated
audible noti?cation element such as a ringer. Upon noti?ca
tion of an incoming call, the user may elect to receive the call
by activating a user input element 157. The user may further
utiliZe a user input 157 to optionally pause or mute playback
of any digital media stored in the PDMSP device at the time
a call is placed or received.
Preferably, digital media ?les may be played by, or stored
to, a telephonic PDMSP device While the telephonic PDMSP
device (e.g., device 180) is sending or receiving telephonic
signals (i.e., enabling the user to engage in a telephone call)
and the docking assembly 10 is simultaneously engaged in
rebroadcast communication of telephonic signals betWeen
PDMSP and a remote telephonic device (e. g., remote control
ler device 150).
In a preferred embodiment, the Wireless telephone trans
ceiver 18 is distinct from the Wireless remote receiver 14, With
such elements operating at different frequencies, to permit
telephonic and remote control functions to be performed
independently from one another. In another embodiment, the
Wireless remote receiver 14 may be integrated With the Wire
less telephone transceiver 18 (or at least a receiver portion
thereof), With the telephonic and remote control functions
utiliZing a common frequency range. Such embodiment may
promote economies of cost and siZe in the docking assembly
10 and the telephonic remote controller 150 (as illustrated in
FIG. 3 and FIGS. 4A-4B).
A camera port 26 may be provided in the docking assembly
10 to permit interconnection of a camera device 42, such as
may be useful for video telephony and/or to capture video
footage of an event for recordation in the PDMSP device 80
and/or a memory device 44 (e.g., a hard drive, ?ash memory,
or other suitable memory format) associated With the docking
assembly 10. The camera device 42 may be integrated into a
the docking assembly 10, but more preferably the camera
device 42 is separate from the docking assembly 10 to permit
the camera device 42 to be placed in any appropriate position
for the desired end use. In one embodiment, the camera
device 42 comprises a Wireless receiver for use With a Wire
less camera device (not shoWn), thus providing enhanced
freedom in camera placement for the desired end use. The
camera device 42 is preferably adapted to output a com
pressed data format suitable for transmission over a netWork,
such as a conventional telephonic or cellular netWork, to