Handset Connectivity Systems:
Enabling full-featured, universal connectivity between wireless devices and hands-free communications resources in a vehicle 

Cellport’s portfolio of Handset Connectivity Systems patents granted from 1992 to 2002 provides the core capabilities needed to produce a universal interface between in-car technologies and mobile phones for hands-free and other telematics applications. The HCS patents allow any type of mobile phone, from 3G phones to PDAs and other products, to conveniently connect to and interoperate with any hands-free docking station built into a car; use the vehicle’s antenna, microphone, and audio/video connections; and provide a power source for battery charging functions.

The specific patents included in the HCS portfolio include the Universal Port that can connect any mobile phone with any hands-free wireless kit installed in an automobile; the Phone Adaptor Holder, Phone Adaptor With Charging, and Adaptor Latching System patents for storing, charging and securing mobile phones in a car; and a software and middleware technology, called the Dual-Processor Multi-Bus, which bridges the data communications differences between mobile handsets and vehicle systems to facilitate, for example, the voice-recognition and caller ID features needed for enhanced hands-free mobile phone use.

The social and market benefits that can be directly attributed to Cellport’s HCS portfolio include substantially reduced consumer costs for hands-free car kits and telematics systems and conveniences that encourage the increased use of hands-free products for improved road safety. The HCS portfolio has also yielded capital and operating cost-efficiencies for fleet owners by allowing multiple drivers with different phone models to use a single hands-free solution in fleet vehicles.

Cellport’s HCS portfolio has created a US$1.5 billion market that reaches across Europe, the Americas and Asia. Licensees including Motorola, Continental, Harman Becker, Funkwerk Dabendorf, Paragon, Peiker, and Point to Point have used HCS intellectual property in automobiles manufactured by Audi, Mercedes, BMW, Volkswagen, Opel and Porsche.