Remote viewing apparatus for smartphone

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.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

One or more embodiments of the invention are related to the field of personal consumer electronics. More particularly, but not by way of limitation, one or more embodiments of the invention enable a device that is external to a Smartphone which provides a simplified, extended-battery-life, and expanded-screen display of Smartphone-accessible e-books, documents, and other text attached to the Smartphone via a wireless, such as BLUETOOTH®, or optional wired, such as micro-USB, connection.

2. Description of the Related Art

Current electronic book and other-document readers are designed primarily as standalone devices. Such devices necessarily include hardware and software that enables functions such as searching, purchasing, document selection, etc.

In most if not all cases, these features require either a physical keyboard increasing cost while decreasing available screen space proportionate to total device size or a partially or fully touch-sensitive screen materially increasing device cost. Either of these approaches increases manufacturing and consequent consumer cost.

Further, these devices typically search for and receive readable content via either wireless-Internet or wireless telephony e.g., 3G/4G connections, which require both costly and potentially physically bulky hardware and corresponding high-energy use which lowers battery life.

Further, these devices typically require that the user choose whether to buy readable content for use on devices supporting an illuminated-type or on devices supporting an electronic-ink-type screen, where each screen type has it advantages and disadvantages. Purchased readable content is generally difficult to transfer between such device types without repurchase.

For at least the limitations described above there is a need for a remote viewing apparatus for Smartphone.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

One or more embodiments described in the specification are related to a remote viewing apparatus for Smartphone that enable a device that is external to a Smartphone which provides a simplified, extended-battery-life, and expanded-screen display of Smartphone-accessible e-books, documents, and other text attached to a Smartphone via a wireless, such as BLUETOOTH®, or optional wired, such as micro-USB, connection. Most of the material to be displayed on the remote viewing device will be copyright-protected and the new device must and will provide protection of copyrights comparable to the protection already provided for the same copyrighted material already stored on the Smartphone.

Specifically, embodiments of the invention enable an electronic display unit that utilizes and takes advantage of wireless or wired links of a Smartphone. Such a link offers the linked Smartphone to use its pre-existing BLUETOOTH® or other wireless interface, physical or electronic keyboard, etc., to link to the apparatus. The Smartphone may also provide a Smartphone application, aka., “app”, that provides all capabilities requiring more-expensive and energy-hungry capabilities such as search, purchase, microphone, speaker, and wireless-Internet or telephony e.g., 3G/4G/WiFi external access for the apparatus. Because of the synergy between the consumer's existing Smartphone and the apparatus, the apparatus itself can be lighter, thinner, less expensive to manufacture, more energy-efficient, and offering a greater display-to-total-footprint ratio. Furthermore, the apparatus is very simple to load with reading material already purchased for use on illuminated-display reading devices, for readers who sometimes prefer one device type and sometimes prefer another, yet this simplicity of transfer creates relatively little risk of copyright violation for reading-material providers because the new device will be configured to be strictly subordinate to a single “parent” copyright-material-owning device at a time, unable to retain at any time copyrighted material received from more than one parent device. (If the new apparatus was permitted to accept copyright-protected material from a provider device while retaining material earlier-downloaded from another provider device, then the apparatus owner could illegitimately accumulate a library of such material from devices owned by friends and illegitimate resellers of the material. Users could download a set of material that they do not own strictly from a single source, but they already have that ability on standard book-reader devices, which are normally permitted to “sync” to any one owned library or account while discarding anything previously downloaded from another library or account.) For further protection of the copyrighted material, the device can securely identify itself as a safe, subordinate device to receive copyright-protected material, certified not to accumulate material from multiple sources and certified as unable to send copyright-protected material onwards to other devices. Secure identification could use any well-known standard communication protocol designed for that purpose, such as challenge-response authentication.

Embodiments of the invention solve the problems outlined in the description of the related art by a system and method that includes:A rigid, protective case with a built-in low-energy-use, electronic-ink-type screen, for example optionally a screen which uses no energy while displaying a given page.A wireless, for example BLUETOOTH® or low power BLUETOOTH® transceiver to link to the consumer's Smartphone. The transceiver may optionally connect and use energy only when actually performing data exchange with the consumer's Smartphone in order to conserve energy, and may completely shut down when physically connected, e.g., via a hardwired micro-USB connection to the Smartphone both in order to conserve energy and to be airline-compliant.A memory chip with enough memory, e.g., 1 GB, to hold many documents on the apparatus as well as all necessary apparatus software.apparatus software/firmware to support all apparatus features.A processor to run apparatus software/firmware, for example a low power microcontroller. In one or more embodiments of the invention, the processor may ensure that a copyright controlled set obtained from a first external Internet enabled device is erased from the memory if the memory is not regularly synchronized with the first external Internet enabled device, after which only action from a second external Internet enabled device is considered as the action from the single parent copyright-material-owning device. Furthermore, in at least one embodiment of the invention, the processor may eliminate copyright controlled data associated with the first external Internet enabled device, after which only action from the second external Internet enabled device is considered the action form the single parent copyright-material-owning device.A rechargeable battery.A wired, such as micro-USB female connector, or any other desired connector type to use both in recharging the apparatus battery and to connect to the consumer's Smartphone.An on-off switch.A small number of buttons or switches for simple intra-apparatus actions, which would include at least the following:

Request on-demand activation of the wireless connection to the consumer's Smartphone.

Next and previous page display for the current document, display, e-book, etc.

Next and previous section or chapter display for the current document, display, e-book, etc.

Display of and selection from the apparatus's “bookshelf” of available, already downloaded documents, e-books, etc.In tandem with the above embodiment of this invention, but external to the invention, there would also be:

A Smartphone “app” with at least these features:

Ability to use the Smartphone's wireless or wired connection to communicate with the apparatus.

Ability to look at and pick from the list of documents, e-books, etc. on the apparatus.

Ability to search external libraries and e-book “stores” to find, locate, purchase, and download documents, e-books, etc.

Ability to recognize a connection to the apparatus that can safely receive copyright-protected material and to upload documents, such as but not limited to PDF files, e-books, etc., to the apparatus.

Ability to share expanded-display Smartphone-screen content with the apparatus i.e., to use the apparatus as an expanded screen display to supplement the Smartphone's smaller display size.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1illustrates a wireless architecture diagram wherein an embodiment of the apparatus communicates with a Smartphone via a wireless connection.

The apparatus100can be connected via a wireless, such as BLUETOOTH®, connection110to a Smartphone120.

FIG. 2illustrates a wireless architecture diagram wherein an embodiment of the apparatus communicates with a Smartphone via a hardwired connection.

Apparatus100can be connected via hardwired connection200to Smartphone120. On the apparatus side, hardwired connector210such as a micro-USB connector may be used for power and battery recharging as well as for Smartphone130or server not shown information exchange. The connection on the Smartphone side uses the Smartphone's standard data-exchange port220; to a server, not shown for brevity, the connection uses a standard connector, for example such as USB or micro-USB; in addition to or in the alternative the connection may be a wireless connection. To save energy and to prevent aircraft-transmission problems, plugging in the wired connector may automatically turn off the apparatus's wireless connection if that connection is active.

FIG. 3illustrates a front view of an embodiment of the invention.

Apparatus100may include a rigid plastic or metal case300. One or more embodiments of the invention may utilize a display that includes an electronic-ink, non-touch-sensitive screen that uses no power except when changing display contents i.e., uses power to change display contents but uses no power to continue to display the same contents. The display may be embedded in the front of the device. One or more embodiments of the invention may be implemented with a minimal list of buttons or switches320on the lower front of the device that allow the apparatus user to interact with the apparatus to move between pages of content within a document or other displayed content, change between documents on the apparatus's “bookshelf”, and to initiate wireless connectivity, which is normally “off” to save energy.

FIG. 4illustrates a top view of an embodiment of the invention.

In one or more embodiments, at the top right of the case is button400set within shallow well410to prevent accidental button pushes. If the apparatus is off, pressing button400will turn on apparatus100. If the apparatus is on, pressing button400for more than three seconds may optionally turn off apparatus100. If the apparatus is on and no button is pushed for a predetermined time, for example at least 10 minutes, apparatus100automatically turns itself off but may store a reference to the currently viewed document and location within the document that was being viewed. Subsequently turning apparatus100on may automatically restore the display of the previously shown document at the same location that it was being viewed when apparatus100was turned off or turned itself off

FIG. 5illustrates a bottom view of an embodiment of the invention.

At the bottom center of the case is standard female port500such as a micro-USB port, that may be slightly recessed into the case to prevent accidental damage to that port. This port may be used both to exchange data with other devices such as a Smartphone or a server, and to power apparatus100and/or charge its battery.

FIG. 6illustrates an embodiment of the internal configuration of the apparatus.

The electrical and electronic components of the apparatus may be located within rigid case110and may include the following components, 12-volt rechargeable battery600, processor610that is configured to execute program instructions to particularly implement the methods of the apparatus, wireless transceiver620, memory unit630which may optionally not require power to retain information, display310, for example an electronic-ink-type display, wiring640between hardwired port500and processor610, wiring650between battery600and processor610, wiring660between on/off switch400and processor610, wiring670between wireless transceiver620and processor610, wiring680between hardwired port500and battery600, wiring690between processor610and memory unit630, wiring695between lower-front buttons320and processor610, wiring697between display635and processor610.