Remote Viewing Apparatus for Smartphone via Wireless Link
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current e-book and document readers are costly and energy-intensive due to the need for physical keyboards, touch-sensitive screens, and bulky hardware for wireless Internet or telephony connections, which also limit battery life and complicate content transfer between different screen types, increasing manufacturing and consumer costs.
Innovation Solution
A remote viewing apparatus that connects to a Smartphone via wireless or wired links, utilizing the Smartphone's existing interfaces and capabilities to provide a lightweight, energy-efficient, and cost-effective display with a built-in electronic-ink screen, memory, and low-power processor, ensuring copyright protection by being subordinate to a single 'parent' device for content sourcing and storage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a standalone e-book reader includes physical keyboard and touch-sensitive screen, then device functionality is improved, but device cost and manufacturing complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the complex functionality (search, purchase, keyboard input, touch interface) from the e-book reader device and relocates it to the user's existing smartphone. The reader device retains only the essential function of displaying content, achieving simplicity while maintaining full functionality through wireless connection to the smartphone.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent makes the user's existing smartphone serve multiple functions: it acts as the input device (replacing keyboard), the display controller (replacing touch screen), and the content management system (replacing search and purchase functions). This universal approach eliminates the need for duplicate functionality in the reader device.
2Adaptability or versatility
If a standalone e-book reader includes wireless Internet and telephony hardware, then connectivity capability is improved, but energy consumption increases and battery life decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the energy-intensive wireless connectivity hardware (3G/4G modems, WiFi cards) from the reader device and relocates it to the smartphone, which already possesses these capabilities. The reader device maintains full connectivity functionality by leveraging the smartphone's existing hardware through wireless pairing.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent enables the reader device to utilize the smartphone's existing connectivity infrastructure without requiring duplicate hardware. The smartphone serves itself by providing its own wireless capabilities to the paired reader device, eliminating redundant energy consumption.
3Adaptability or versatility
If a remote viewing apparatus allows content transfer from multiple parent devices, then device versatility is improved, but copyright protection is compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the content transfer process by implementing a one-parent-device-at-a-time policy. The reader device maintains separate content libraries from different parent devices rather than allowing mixed accumulation, creating distinct content segments that prevent copyright violation while maintaining transfer flexibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements preliminary authentication and parent-device registration before content transfer. The reader device establishes a verified relationship with each parent device beforehand, ensuring that only authorized content transfers occur and preventing illegitimate accumulation of copyrighted material from multiple sources.
Data Source
AI summary
Enables a synergy between a consumer's Smartphone such as an IPHONE® and an inexpensive, energy-efficient electronic-reader type device, to provide the consumer the features of a more-expensive and higher-energy-use device by relegating capabilities requiring keyboard use e.g., physical or electronic, touch-screen, wireless-connection, telephony-connection e.g., 3G/4G, microphone, speaker, and more to the Smartphone while supporting where desired full-power standalone document-display features to the electronic reader. Apparatus includes an electronic-reader device with an electronic-ink screen and a small number of buttons to perform standalone features such as “display next page”; a low power transceiver, memory, processing hardware, and associated software and battery. The electronic-reader device is especially designed to prevent inappropriate distribution of copyright-protected material.