Abstract:
A computing system includes a plurality of mobile modules, each having a multitude of possible computing states, and a plurality of docking modules, each docking module having an interface by means of which said docking module is capable of being removably connected to at least one of the powerless mobile modules. Each powerless mobile module has a central processing unit, a memory, a disk, and a docking interface, each powerless mobile module also having therein at least software for recording in that mobile module the state of that mobile module prior to that module being removed from connection to a docking module. The mobile module automatically reconfigures when connected to a docking module. It is preferred that the connection between the docking modules and the mobile modules be wireless. It is also preferred that the mobile module have no display permanently connected thereto.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     None. 
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
     Not applicable. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to computing systems, and more particularly to mobile computing systems with improved functionality. 
     Various types of computers are known which allow an individual user to perform various computing functions. Typically these computers are known as personal computers. There are at least three different types: palmtop, laptop, and desktop. All three could be improved. For example, palmtop computers usually lack computational power and are often unable to execute many standard personal computer programs, laptop computers are fairly expensive and many are heavier than could be desired, and desktop computers are not portable. Furthermore, many components are not interchangeable among palmtop, laptop and desktop computers. Moreover, upgrading existing personal computers and configuring those computers is not always an easy or inexpensive task. 
     Many personal computers are used in networks, often local area networks (LANs). However, the variety of personal computer types available make interfacing the networks difficult or time consuming in many instances. Moreover, when portable personal computers are moved from one location to another on a network, it is typically necessary to close down all programs, remove the computer from a first location on the network, move the computer to a second location on the network, connect the computer at the second location, and restart all the desired programs. In addition, when a computer is moved to a new location on a network, it does not always have all the requisite drivers associated with the peripherals accessible from the new location. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Among the various objects and features of the present invention may be noted the provision of an improved personal computer system which is inexpensive. 
     A second object is the provision of an improved personal computer system which is light in weight. 
     A third object is the provision of an improved personal computer system which is reliable. 
     A fourth object is the provision of an improved personal computer system which has a relatively high degree of computational power. 
     A fifth object is the provision of an improved personal computer system which may be easily upgraded. 
     A sixth object is the provision of an improved personal computer system which provides a persistent user interface. 
     A seventh object is the provision of an improved personal computer system which uses standard, interchangeable components. 
     An eighth object is the provision of an improved personal computer system which provides a large number of configuration choices. 
     A ninth object is the provision of an improved personal computer system which is capable of running full versions of standard personal computer programs. 
     A tenth object is the provision of an improved personal computer system which preferably has only wireless connections. 
     An eleventh object is the provision of an improved personal computer system which facilitates the usability of portable computers at any location on a network. 
     A twelfth object is the provision of an improved personal computer system which includes a mobile module having no power supply. 
     Another object is the provision of an improved personal computer system which allows a user to have his or her own programs, data, configurations, preferences and the like available for use no matter where he or she connects to the system. 
    
    
     Other objects and features will be in part apparent and in part pointed out hereinafter. 
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a possible configuration of the system of the present invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a block schematic illustrating basic parts of the present system; 
     FIG. 2A is a block diagrammatic view of a hard-wired system of the present invention which is convertible to a wireless connection. 
     FIGS. 3 to  5  are block diagrams illustrating possible variations of docking modules used with a mobile module of the present invention; 
     FIGS. 6 and 6A are schematic diagrams of the electrical and physical implementations of one possible form of wireless data connection between the docking modules and mobile modules of the present invention; 
     FIGS. 7 and 7A are schematic diagrams similar to FIGS. 6 and 6A showing an alternative implementation; 
     FIGS. 8 and 8A are schematic diagrams of the electrical and physical implementations of a wireless power transmission connection between the docking modules and mobile modules of the present invention; and 
     FIGS. 9 and 9A are flow charts illustrating the dynamic reconfiguration feature of the present invention. 
    
    
     Similar reference characters indicate similar parts throughout the several views of the drawings. 
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     A computing system of the present invention includes a plurality of mobile modules  11  and a plurality of docking modules  13  (FIG.  1 ). The docking modules may or may not be connected to each other, as indicated by the dashed lines in FIG.  1 . It is preferred that the various docking modules be disposed at widely diverse locations, such as in a library, in private homes, in classrooms, in research facilities, in airports, in hotel rooms, in airplanes, in buses, and the like. Note that there is no requirement that the number of docking modules equal the number of mobile modules. In fact, it is anticipated that in many applications the number of docking modules will exceed the number of mobile modules in use at any one time. 
     Each mobile module  11  (see FIG. 2) includes a central processing unit (CPU)  15  labeled “Processor” in FIG. 2, memory  17  (including enough random access memory to run full versions of standard PC application software), a disk  19 , and a portion of an interface  21  for transmitting power from a docking module  13  and for transmitting data between the mobile module and the docking module. All these components except the interface are standard components, and it is preferred that such standard components be used as much as possible to promote component competition and to improve upgradability and reusability of the modules. It is preferred that the mobile modules not have displays connected thereto, since these add undesired weight and expense. The display function, as indicated below, is provided by the various docking modules. Thus, the mobile modules themselves are preferably “displayless.” 
     Although the interface is shown as a single line in FIG. 2, the interface actually includes components located both on the mobile module and on the docking module, all as described below. As will become apparent, each mobile module  11  records its computing state as it is removed from a docking module. This state is recorded on the disk  19  to expedite use of the mobile module when it is reconnected to a docking module. 
     The mobile modules do not have power supplies of their own. This reduces both the size and the weight of the mobile modules. Power is transferred, as described below, from the docking modules to the mobile modules. Thus, the mobile module may be thought of, in the preferred embodiment, as being “powerless”, in the sense that it obtains operational power from the docking station. This should not preclude the addition of a small battery in a mobile module for powering a clock or providing temporary power during shut-down. What is not meant by the use of the word “powerless” is a mobile module which has sufficient internal power to sustain full-power operation of the module for a commercial significant period of time, i.e., for more than a few minutes. 
     It is preferred that the removable connection between the mobile module  11  and the docking module  13  be wireless, as described below. Nevertheless, it is contemplated that a wired connection could also be used. In that event, it is preferred that the “wired” system be upgradable if desired to a wireless system by means of adapters  23 A and  23 B (FIG. 2A) which convert the wired connections “WC” of a wired system to the wireless connections as described below. With the preferred wireless connection, the mobile module  11  is preferably physically packaged with no electronic connector and is completely enclosed. 
     Each docking module  13  may contain or have connections for various peripheral devices and interface units, examples of which are shown in FIG. 2 as a display  31 , a keyboard and/or a point device  33 , and PCI slots  35 , connected in a conventional manner through a bus. Each docking module  13  may have a power supply  37  of its own, or may receive power through an interface unit. It is preferred that each docking module  13  have a docking module descriptor which is transmitted to the mobile module  11  upon docking for dynamic reconfiguration as described below. It is also preferred that more than one docking module  13  can be cascaded into a single docking module. 
     Examples of mobile modules and docking modules are as follows: 
     1. A mobile module may have 
     
       
         
               
               
               
             
           
               
                   
                   
               
             
             
               
                   
                 CPU 
                 Pentium 166 MHz with MMX 
               
               
                   
                 RAM 
                 32 MB 
               
               
                   
                 Hard Drive 
                 2 GB (2.5″) 
               
               
                   
                 OS 
                 Windows 95 
               
               
                   
                 Interface 
                 RF bridge 
               
               
                   
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
     This mobile module is easily packaged into an enclosure of 6″×4″×1″, weighing ½ pound. 
     2. A second mobile module may have 
     
       
         
               
               
               
             
           
               
                   
                   
               
             
             
               
                   
                 CPU 
                 Pentium 266 MHz with MMX 
               
               
                   
                 RAM 
                 64 MB 
               
               
                   
                 Hard Drive 
                 5 GB (2.5″) 
               
               
                   
                 OS 
                 Windows NT 
               
               
                   
                 Interface 
                 Optical bridge 
               
               
                   
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
     3. A first docking module  41 , labeled “Palmdock,” is shown in FIG. 3 connected to mobile module  11 . Such a docking module could include, by way of example, an LCD display (6″ color) with digitizer, a stylus pen, sound/voice capability, a battery, and two RF bridge interfaces  42  (represented by the dark blocks in FIG.  3 ). This docking module could optionally include a cellular module  43  having a cellular wireless modem. 
     4. A second docking module  45 , labeled “Lapdock,” is shown in FIG. 4 connected to a mobile module  11 . Docking module  45  could include, for example, a 12″ TFT color LCD display, a portable keyboard and pointing device, sound and voice capability, a PCMCIA port, a battery, and the three interfaces  42  shown. Docking module  45  is shown connected to an optional cellular module  43  and an optional CDROM module  47 . The CDROM module, for example, has a CDROM drive and a battery. 
     5. A third docking module  51 , labeled “Deskdock” in FIG. 5, is connected by an interface  42  to a mobile module  11 . Docking module  51  could include a video monitor port for a video monitor  53 , a network adapter for a network such as the LAN indicated in FIG. 5, a parallel port, serial ports, a keyboard port for a keyboard  55 , sound and voice capability, and an AC power adapter  57 . 
     It should be understood that all the modules described above are illustrative only. 
     As described above, it is preferred that the connection between each mobile module  11  and each docking module  13  be wireless. For example, in FIGS. 6 and 6A there is shown an electrical schematic and a simplified physical representation of one channel of an optical wireless data connection. It should be understood that these figures show data flow in one direction only (e.g., mobile module to docking module). Similar circuitry is provided for data flow in the opposite direction. The number of channels provided is a matter of designer choice. 
     In the circuitry of FIGS. 6 and 6A, a digital signal is supplied through a driver  61  to a laser diode or light-emitting diode (LED)  63 . The corresponding optical output of the diode  63  is supplied either directly to a collimating lense  65  (FIG. 6A) or optionally through an optical fiber  67  to lense  65 . Lense  65  is on one side of an gap  69  between the mobile module and the docking module. On the other side of the gap is a second lense  71  which supplies the optical output either directly to a photodiode  73  or indirectly to the photodiode through an optical fiber  75 . As shown in FIG. 6, the output of photodiode  73  is provided to the input of a transimpedance amplifier  77 , whose output is the corresponding digital signal. 
     Alternatively, in the circuitry of FIGS. 7 and 7A, the digital signal is capacitatively coupled between the mobile module and the docking module. More specifically, in those figures the digital signal is supplied via a buffer  81  through a capacitor  83  to a buffer  85  in the docking module. As shown more clearly in FIG. 7A, capacitor  83  consists of a first plate  83 A in the mobile module and a second plate  83 B in the docking module, which plates are separated by an gap  87 . Buffer  85  also has a conventional bias circuit  89  connected to its input. The output of buffer  85  is the corresponding digital signal. 
     In both the embodiments of FIGS. 6 and 7, it is important to maintain the proper spatial relationship between the mobile module and the docking module. That relationship can be maintained, for example, by corresponding mating structures on the various modules so that the interfaces line up properly and have the proper spacing. 
     Turning to FIGS. 8 and 8A, the preferred embodiment of wireless power transmission from the docking module to the mobile module is shown. A pair of drive transistors Q 1  and Q 3  are connected to opposite sides of a center-tapped transformer primary winding  91  wound around a core  93 . The secondary winding  95  of the transformer is wound about a core  97  disposed in mobile module  11 . When the mobile module is docked in the docking module, the pole faces of the cores associated with the primary and secondary windings are disposed as shown in FIG. 7A across a gap  99 , created by the cases of the mobile module and the docking module and any space associated therewith. The output of secondary winding  95  is supplied via a diode bridge  101  and a filter capacitor  103  to provide the output voltage VOUT to power the mobile module. 
     As mentioned above, when a mobile module is removed from a docking module  13 , the computational state of the mobile module is recorded on the hard disk of the mobile module. Although it is contemplated that this may be done automatically, it is also within the scope of the present invention that such recording be done manually (i.e., in response to a manual signal from the user that the mobile module is about to be disconnected). When that mobile module is reconnected to the same or another docking module, the mobile module on power-up reads the stored computational state and resumes computation at that point without the necessity of user intervention. 
     The mobile module also performs another operation upon removal and connection to a docking module, which is illustrated in FIGS. 9 and 9A. Specifically, each mobile module  11  is programmed to configure itself to work with the devices associated with the particular docking module  13  to which it is connected. Upon detecting the fact that the mobile module is to be shut down (see FIG.  9 ), the CPU of the mobile module gathers a list of all current devices associated with that docking module. It saves the device configuration for each device found until there are no more device configurations to save. At that point it exits the configuration routine illustrated in FIG.  9 . 
     Upon reconnection to a docking module  13  (FIG.  9 A), the mobile module CPU retrieves the list of previous devices and compares them to the list of devices associated with the present docking module. (The present docking module communicates the list of present devices to the mobile module either by means of a docking module descriptor, or by identifying each device specifically to the mobile module.) The CPU removes devices from the pre-existing list if they are not associated with the present docking module and continues this process until all missing devices are removed. It then retrieves the list of devices associated with the current docking module and organizes configuration information for those devices. Specifically, for each device to configure, the mobile module CPU first determines if this is a new device. If so, it checks to see if the device driver for that device is already installed in the mobile module. If it is not, the mobile module CPU fetches the device driver from the docking module (also called the base module). 
     If the device is not a new device, or if the device driver is already installed in the mobile module, the CPU then checks to see if the device has been previously configured. If it has, then the device is reconfigured according to the previous settings. If it has not, the device is initialized for its first use by this mobile module. 
     This process of dynamic configuration is repeated until all devices have been configured, at which point the CPU exits the dynamic reconfiguration routine of FIG.  9 A. Each mobile module  11 , once reconfiguration is complete, treats the docking module devices as native devices. No adapters or other interfaces are required for each mobile module  11  to use all the devices connected to any particular docking module  13 . 
     It is preferred that upon dynamic configuration of the mobile module, the interface displayed to the user be “persistent.” That is, using a graphical user interface example, no matter what docking module a user connects his or her mobile module to, the graphical user interface (the icons and their arrangement, for example) and the previously set user preferences, will remain unchanged. This provides a level of comfort to the user and permits the user to immediately start computing without having to navigate a new interface. 
     In view of the above, it will be seen that the several objects of the invention are achieved and other advantageous results are obtained. As various changes could be made in the above constructions without departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.