Abstract: A self configuring multiple element portable electronic device (100) and method is provided. The device comprises at least a first electronic element (104) and a second electronic element (106) and a joint (112) connecting the first electronic element and the second electronic element, with the joint allowing movement in more than one plane of the first electronic element in relation to the second electronic element, wherein the self configuring multiple element portable electronic device is capable of self configuring an operational mode based on a relative position of the first electronic element with respect to the second electronic element. The method comprises the steps of detecting a relative position of the first electronic element relative to the second electronic element, and selecting an operational mode of the device based on the relative position.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for controlling incoming power to a receiver in a dual mode communication device. According to the method and apparatus, the received signal is simultaneously processed by two separate filters, one filter to process the incoming desired communication signal and the other filter to process the noise for power estimation. With the communication device operating in a first mode initial filtering is attuned to the corresponding bandwidth. When the noise level reaches a predetermined level, the first bandwidth is adjusted to get a better estimate of the noise present. In Response to high noise levels, the incoming gain to the receiver is adjusted accordingly.

Abstract: A portable radio telephone (1) with improved antenna radiation efficiency. The radio telephone (1) has an antenna (5) asymmetrical about a feedpoint (9). A two part housing (3, 4) partially encloses the antenna (5) and an electrically conductive surface provides a reflector (10) for antenna (5), the reflector (10) having a length that is at least half a wavelength of an intended lowest operating frequency of the radio telephone (1).

Abstract: The present invention provides a power adapter (10) adapted to couple an external antenna (17) to a communication device (30) by way of a cable (12) which is typically plugged into a cigarette lighter of a vehicle or some other power source at one end, and an input connector of the communication device (30) at the other. In particular, the present invention provides a simple one-piece vehicle power adapter which also provides RF input/output capability for connection to an external vehicle antenna. According to certain aspects of the invention, the adapter can be configured to have a variety of selection mechanisms. For example, the communication device could include an RF switch (34) and control circuitry for selecting either the internal or external antenna for optimum reception. Alternatively, the power adapter could include an external switch (70) for allowing the user to select the desired antenna.

Abstract: A method eliminates the discharge of the backup battery (42) prior to the primary source of power initially being applied to the device. The method comprises detecting the application of a source of primary power (12) and providing a path by way of a switch (46) in response to receiving the power (14), wherein the path allows the backup battery to power the device. Also, a circuit for maintaining the charge in a backup battery (42) of a device before primary power is applied comprises a sensing circuit (60) for generating an activation signal after initially sensing the application of the primary power to the device, and a switch element (61) coupled the sensing circuit (60) to receive the activation signal. The switch element (61) provides a path for the backup battery (42) to power the device.

Abstract: A unique apparatus for coupling radio frequency (RF) signals from a wireless communication device (200) to an external device by way of an I/O port (116). In particular, a connector having three adjacent contact elements (238) couples signals to an external device wherein the first and third contact elements (239, 241) are electrically coupled to a ground plane (302) and wherein the second or middle contact element (240) is electrically coupled to a conductive RF signal path (344). The ground plane and the conductive path (334) are preferably on a printed circuit (pc) board which is preferably a three layer board with the conductive path (334) located between two ground planes (302, 352). The connector is substantially covered with a shield (230) coupled by legs (248) to the ground plane (302) at apertures (332). A mating connector (400) also includes a shield (430) which is commonly grounded.

Abstract: A method of testing a new vocabulary word is performed using any set of enrollment utterances provided by the user or from an available database. The present method preferably does not use separate training and similarity test utterances. This allows any or all available repetitions of a vocabulary word being enrolled to be used for training (204), therefore improving the robustness of the trained models. Likewise, any or all training repetitions can also be utilized for similarity analysis (212), providing additional test samples which should further improve the detection of acoustically similar words. Additionally, the similarity analysis progresses incrementally and does not need to continue if a confusable word is found. Finally, first and second thresholds could be employed (212, 302) to provide greater flexibility for a user training a speech recognition system.

Abstract: The present disclosure is related to an antenna (129) adapted to receive signals in multiple frequency bands, and comprises a fixed whip antenna (406) and a helical coil antenna (408) coupled to a single feedpoint. The antenna may also include a monopole common to the fixed whip antenna and the helical coil antenna. A single matching circuit (130) is adapted to provide matching for both the whip antenna and the helical coil antenna. According to one embodiment, the antenna can also be reduced in size by attaching a disc (704) to the end of the whip portion of the antenna, while decreasing the pitch of the helical coil. Finally, a clip (210) can be used below a threaded nut of a housing to provide a feed point for the antenna to further reduce the electrical lengths of the fixed whip antenna and a helical coil antenna.

Abstract: A method improves the decoding rate and reliability of adjacent cell base stations by expediting the decode process if the signal quality of a traffic channel is within a predetermined range. In particular, adjacent control channels are monitored and decoded at a rapid rate by ignoring the speech traffic channel information. The speech is interrupted (526) and the channel information is decoded (526) when, for example, the bit error rate or frame error rate of the traffic channel (TCH) is deteriorating while another channel has a better signal. The scheduling of speech channel interruptions (522) may also occur when insufficient neighbor cell information is available at the beginning of a call or immediately after handover. The lost speech signal could be recovered (536) using conventional speech extrapolation techniques.