Micro personal digital assistant with a compressed BIOS system

Inactive Publication Date: 2005-02-24
INPRO II LICENSING
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  • Summary
  • Abstract
  • Description
  • Claims
  • Application Information

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0024] The personal digital assistant provided according to embodiments of the present invention is a unit more compact than conventional PDAs. It represents a new dimension in computer application and applicability, in a form promising to be eminently usable by a

Problems solved by technology

Given the new systems now introduced, and those coming, for what is now known about them, there are still a number of drawbacks and problems.
The PDA systems introduced are relatively costly, with starting prices ranging from several hundred dollars to two thousand dollars and more.
At such prices, rivaling current pricing for desktop systems, the buying public may react negatively.
It is true that prices will fall with increased manufacturing volume and competition, but the high end start may well be rejected by potential users.
The systems being offered are still relatively bulky, considering the limited range of tasks that may be accomplished.
Most are certainly too big to be conveniently carried in a breast pocket.
A big drawback of the PDA systems being offered is the way they transfer data between a user's desktop unit, or other host, and the PDA.
These all require manipulation by a user, modulation on one or both ends of the communication path, and the like, which can be time-consuming, error-prone, and hardware extensive (ex

Method used

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  • Micro personal digital assistant with a compressed BIOS system
  • Micro personal digital assistant with a compressed BIOS system
  • Micro personal digital assistant with a compressed BIOS system

Examples

Experimental program
Comparison scheme
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Embodiment Construction

[0049]FIG. 1A is an isometric view of a μPDA 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment the unit is modeled on the PCMCIA standard Type II form factor, having a height D1 of about 5 mm. Body 12 is described in further detail below, and has a female portion 14 of a connector recessed at one end for engaging a mating male portion of the connector in a host computer, connecting the μPDA internal circuitry directly with a host internal bus. The host unit may be a notebook computer having a docking bay for the μPDA. Docking bays may be provided in desktop and other types of computers, and even in other kinds of digital equipment, several examples of which are described below.

[0050] Still referring to FIG. 1A, in this embodiment there is a combination I / O interface 16 implemented on one side of the μPDA, comprising a display overlaid with a touch-sensitive planar structure providing softkey operation in conjunction with interactive control routines operabl...

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PUM

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Abstract

A personal digital assistant module with a local CPU, memory, and I/O interface has a host interface comprising a bus connected to the local CPU and a connector at a surface of the personal digital assistant for interfacing to a bus connector of a host general-purpose computer, providing direct bus communication between the personal digital assistant and the host general-purpose computer. In an embodiment, the personal digital assistant also has a means for storing a security code. The personal digital assistant according to the invention forms a host/satellite combination with a host computer having a docking bay, wherein upon docking a docking protocol controls access by the host to memory of the personal digital assistant based on one or more passwords provided by a user to the host. In another embodiment the personal digital assistant has a compressed BIOS chip, and in yet another embodiment also has an expansion port connected to the local CPU, and expansion peripheral devices may be connected and operated through the expansion port.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED DOCUMENTS [0001] The present application is a divisional of application Ser. No. 09 / 785,574 which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 08 / 683,567 which is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. Nos. 08 / 144,231 and 08 / 019,592.FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0002] This invention is in the area of portable computers and pertains more specifically to small portable computing devices known in the art as personal digital assistants, and to Basic Input / Output Systems (BIOS) for such devices. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0003] Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) units, as of the date of this disclosure, enjoy a position of hope in the computer marketplace. Some believe this approach, a small, relatively inexpensive, and eminently portable computer unit, having software specifically written for tasks a user might expect to perform while traveling, will provide eminently useful and therefore salable computer products. Apple Computer, Hewlett Packard, and several other...

Claims

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Application Information

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IPC IPC(8): G06F1/00G06F1/16G06F1/20G06F3/033G06F3/048G06F9/445G06F13/40G06F15/02G06F21/00G06Q30/06H04M1/275H04M1/72415H04M1/725H04M3/42H04M11/06H04N1/00H04N1/107H04N1/195H04W84/06H04W88/02H05K5/02
CPCG06F1/1632G06F1/1626G06F1/169G06F1/203G06F1/206G06F3/0362G06F3/0482G06F9/445G06F13/409G06F15/0225G06F21/62G06F21/73G06F2221/2129G06Q30/0601H04M1/275H04M1/725H04M1/72533H04M3/42314H04M3/42323H04M11/06H04N1/00127H04N1/00236H04N1/00241H04N1/00326H04N1/00339H04N1/00411H04N1/107H04N1/195H04N2201/0049H04N2201/0051H04N2201/0053H04N2201/0063H04N2201/0081H04N2201/0082H04W84/06H04W88/02H05K5/0273G06F1/1616G06F1/1635H04M1/72415
Inventor KIKINIS, DANDORNIER, PASCALSEILLER, WILLIAM J.
Owner INPRO II LICENSING
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