This is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 11,686,115 filed 14 Mar. 2007, incorporated herein by reference, which is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 11/053,780 filed 9 Feb. 2005, incorporated herein by reference, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Ser. No. 10/158,266 filed 30 May 2002 (now U.S. Pat. No. 6,976,180), which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Ser. No. 09/809,963 filed 16 Mar. 2001, which is incorporated herein by reference.
The invention pertains to personal electronic devices in the general category of smart handheld devices, personal computers, mobile telephones, and the like.
With electronics becoming increasingly more sophisticated, a wide variety of devices has become available to provide users with a tool to help them manage their affairs and improve their ability to communicate with others both at work and in their personal lives. Computers are well known and have taken on a variety of flavors, including portable computers, which can be carried from place to place with relative convenience. Mobile telephones have come into widespread use due to their small size and ease of use and the widespread availability of cellular services in a large portion of the industrialized world. More recently, small computer-like devices with limited computational capabilities have become popular and are often referred to as Smart Handheld Devices or Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs). Such PDAs are typically small hand held devices including a battery, a liquid or digital display (LCD) touchscreen, a small amount of memory (typically on the order of 8 to 16 megabytes of random access memory (RAM)) and a small amount of computer processing capability. Given the small battery size and the limited memory and computational power, such PDAs have typically been used for contact management, scheduling appointments, and email. The common practice of a PDA user is to routinely synchronize his/her PDA with his/her desktop PC computer. This synchronization requirement is awkward and time consuming to maintain.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram depicting a typical prior art cellular telephone, including a battery, a display, a man-machine interface (MMI) and a cellular telephone module that includes radio frequency (RF) circuitry, and a Digital Signal Processor (DSP).
A current trend is to include both PDA functions and cellular telephone functions in a single device. One such device is the HandSpring Visor phone system, which basically takes a HandSpring PDA device and a separate cellular telephone device mechanically attached to the PDA. This device is shown in a block diagram in FIG. 2A in which System 100 includes PDA 101 and an attached Cellular Telephone Module 102. Such a device is somewhat cumbersome and includes two separate batteries, a first for PDA 101 and a second for Cellular Telephone Module 102. Since PDA 101 and Cellular Telephone Module 102 are connected by one or more external interfaces, the communication speeds between PDA 101 and Cellular Telephone Module 102 are relatively limited. These devices are heavy, weighing approximately 10 ounces, and have a bulky form-factor, in that a user must talk into his/her PDA, while holding the PDA with the Cellular Telephone Module attached.
Another approach is to provide a device that serves as both a PDA and a cellular telephone. Such a device is shown by way of example in FIG. 2B and typically includes a Cellular Telephone Module 201 and an LCD Display 202, a Processor 204, and a Battery 203. This type of device constitutes basically an advance on cellular telephones, including additional features. Such devices may include the KYOCERA PDQ SMART PHONE device that combines CDMA digital wireless telephone technology with PALM® PDA capabilities. The PDQ SMART PHONE device is essentially a telephone that includes a pushbutton pad for making telephone calls. In this device, the pushbutton pad pivots out of the way to reveal a larger LCD screen for use with PDA functions. A similar device is available from Nokia Corporation under the tradename NOKIA 9110 COMMUNICATOR, which appears as a basic cellular telephone including pushbutton keys and which opens up to reveal a larger LCD screen and a mini-keypad with PDA functions.
There are significant problems with PDAs, Internet Appliances (IAs) and cellular telephones. The PDA, IA and cellular telephone metaphors are dramatically different than what users expect in the personal computer (PC) world. They have less powerful CPUs, less memory, restricted power consumption, smaller displays, and different and awkward input devices in comparison to what is available in a PC. Additionally, they have a limited screen size and the lack of a mouse or touch screen. This requires a different user interface (UI) metaphor, as compared with PCs. In some of these devices, there are touchscreens, but the small display sizes make the input and display of information difficult and cumbersome.
Two significant problems with PDAs and IAs are that they lack the full power of a PC and, from a price vs. performance perspective, the limited capabilities outweigh the benefits. Many PDAs are actually slave devices to PCs and the IAs lack the horsepower of a full-blown PC, such as a PC employing a PENTIUM® processor available from Intel Corporation. For this reason IAs are close enough in functionality to a PC that the price difference is not dramatic enough to warrant purchasing an IA. Similarly, PDAs are significantly less powerful than a PC such that, even with the relatively large price difference, in many cases purchase of a PDA is not justified.
A significant complaint about cellular telephones, PDAs and IAs is that they operate independently of one another. This has required the user to retain a plurality of devices if the user intends to provide the three functions, and obtain the advantages of the PDAs and the IAs. Some inventors have attempted to integrate the PDA and the cellular telephone, but these devices still lack the horsepower, display and input power of a PC. Some integration occurs between PDAs and PCs, because, as mentioned earlier, PDAs are inherently slave devices to a PC. However, such integration offers only limited advantages.
Because there will always be a performance gap between the very best desktop computers, PDAs, IAs and cellular telephones, a device is required that combines and consolidates these technologies in a meaningful device. This is the subject of the present invention.
Trademarks used herein belong to their respective owners and are used simply for exemplary purposes.
The invention overcomes the identified limitations and provides a novel personal electronic device that combines the functionality of a cellular telephone, PDA, PC and IA.
In an exemplary embodiment, a first (embedded) processor and a second (non-embedded) processor are combined in a handheld housing. The first processor performs a majority of the device's rudimentary functions and calls upon the second processor in order to perform more complex functions. The device is very power efficient since the first processor draws less power than the second processor. To further enhance power efficiency, the second processor is normally asleep and is selectively activated by the first processor to perform the complex functions to satisfy the user's operational demands. Programs and data for operating the second processor flow initially into the second processor. The second processor processes the programs and data and introduces the processed information to a read-only memory in the first processor. When the second processor is to perform such programs and utilize such data, the first processor introduces such program and data to the second processor for processing by the second processor.
The invention provides for one consummate handheld personal electronic device that performs a multiplicity of functions. Users will not need to learn a new operating system. There is no need for new, third party software development. All the applications that users are accustomed to running each day on their laptops or desktop computers can be utilized. The novel device is completely mobile, fitting into a shirt picket, a purse or the palm of one's hand. The device utilizes a single power source (e.g. one battery) for two processors, a first one an embedded processor that performs simple functions and a second one a non-embedded processor that performs relatively complicated functions and utilizes increased amounts of power. The second processor is normally inactivated and is activated when the first processor determines that the second processor should perform these functions.
In one embodiment, the embedded processor the embedded processor is configured to operate a keypad control program that includes a set of application protocols that enable the display using a keypad software application. In another embodiment, the invention includes a display switching circuit that enables the display to receive and accurately render information on the display from the respective processors. In another embodiment, the invention includes a display technology that is a novel size. In another embodiment, the invention includes a novel technique for controlling the temperature of the device and dissipating unwanted heat. In yet another embodiment, the invention includes a common application platform that establishes new protocols and interfaces between two operating systems. In various embodiments, the invention can also be configured as an appliance drive that communicates with another computer, for example, a standard type personal computer.
