Patents Assigned to BlackBerry Limited
  • Patent number: 8746944
    Abstract: A light guide apparatus for an electronic device is described. The light guide apparatus includes a light guide having a first surface and an second surface; a light source, the light guide and the light source being arranged to couple light from the source into the light guide through the second surface of the light guide, the second surface and the light source defining a gap therebetween; and a reflector positioned above the light source and the light guide, and extending over at least a portion of the gap and at least a portion of the front surface of the light guide.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 28, 2011
    Date of Patent: June 10, 2014
    Assignee: BlackBerry Limited
    Inventors: Hsin Chin Lee, Bergen Albert Fletcher, Antanas Matthew Broga
  • Patent number: 8750551
    Abstract: A shielded microphone, and method for shielding a microphone, are provided for use in a communications device having a circuit board and a microphone. The microphone is provided in an electromagnetic shield and a resilient separator is provided over the shield. The device housing is stacked over the separator and shield, while the latter are stacked over the circuit board so that the separator and shield, with microphone there under, are sandwiched between the housing and the circuit board. By this sandwiching the separator is loaded onto the shield to drive the shield directly against the circuit board to make an electrical ground connection therewith, the microphone also being electrically connected to the printed circuit board. The resilience of the separator accommodates the variation in the stacking of the components.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 24, 2012
    Date of Patent: June 10, 2014
    Assignee: BlackBerry Limited
    Inventor: Robert W. Phillips
  • Patent number: 8751591
    Abstract: A list of contacts is stored in at least one contact repository such as an address book of an electronic device. Contacts can be assigned an importance value. An importance value is determined for contacts based on criteria such as the recentness that a contact's information was updated or revised, how recently the contact was added to an electronic device's address book, whether a contact's website was recently accessed by an electronic device, the identity of a contact or the nature of the relationship between a contact and an electronic device. Contact importance criteria can be set in response to selections and inputs, for example via the use of slider bar on a display. Contacts can be dynamically ranked according to their importance and a ranked list of contacts can be displayed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 2011
    Date of Patent: June 10, 2014
    Assignee: BlackBerry Limited
    Inventors: Stephen Becker, IV, Benjamin John Turner
  • Patent number: 8749531
    Abstract: A method and electronic device for receiving input and outputting characters based on sound stroke patterns are described. In accordance with one embodiment, there is provided a method for receiving input on an electronic device, comprising: detecting sounds generated by characters written on a writing surface; identifying strokes defining the characters from the detected sounds in accordance with a number of predefined sound signatures, wherein each character written on the writing surface is defined by a stroke sequence comprising at least one stroke; determining at least one character which matches the at least one stroke in each stroke sequence; and outputting a string comprising the at least one character which matches the at least one stroke in each stroke sequence.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 31, 2010
    Date of Patent: June 10, 2014
    Assignee: BlackBerry Limited
    Inventors: Jerome Pasquero, Jason Tyler Griffin
  • Patent number: 8751279
    Abstract: A system and method for preventing the lapse of a recurring event includes an electronic calendar program having the capability of establishing a recurring event with a predetermined end date. A processor is operative for notifying an organizer of the event at a predetermined time of the end date for the recurring event and permitting the organizer to modify the end date of the recurring event if the event is to continue. The electronic calendar program and processor is operative in a mobile wireless communications device that includes a housing and radio frequency (RF) transceiver contained within the housing such that notifications of the new end date can be transmitted to and received by attendees of the event, including any changed meeting information.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 23, 2005
    Date of Patent: June 10, 2014
    Assignee: BlackBerry Limited
    Inventor: Anthony G. Burns
  • Patent number: 8750798
    Abstract: A multiple input multiple output (MIMO) antenna module, comprising a first signal feed port coupled to a first antenna element disposed along a first edge of an antenna array board, a second signal feed port coupled to a second antenna element disposed on the antenna array board and a transceiver operable to be selectively coupled to either or both of the first and second signal feed ports.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 12, 2010
    Date of Patent: June 10, 2014
    Assignee: BlackBerry Limited
    Inventors: Qinjiang Rao, James Paul Warden, Mina Ayatollahi
  • Patent number: 8750180
    Abstract: Network information may be discoverable without requiring a connection to that network. For example, Access Network Query Protocol (“ANQP”) may allow a device to discover information about a network prior to the device associating with that network. In other words, ANQP allows a network terminal to request additional network information prior to establishing network capability. The additional network information that may be discoverable includes network latency, cellular capabilities, hotspot capabilities, mobility capabilities, neighbor reports, station identification, and multiple hotspot session identification.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 16, 2011
    Date of Patent: June 10, 2014
    Assignee: BlackBerry Limited
    Inventors: Stephen McCann, Michael Peter Montemurro
  • Patent number: 8749406
    Abstract: A handheld electronic device includes a reduced QWERTY keyboard and is enabled with disambiguation software that is operable to disambiguate compound text input. The device is able to assemble language objects in the memory to generate compound language solutions. The device is able to generate compound language solutions by employing different groupings of data sources to generate different portions of the compound language solutions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 14, 2012
    Date of Patent: June 10, 2014
    Assignee: BlackBerry Limited
    Inventors: Vadim Fux, Michael Elizarov
  • Patent number: 8750417
    Abstract: A communications device, in one aspect as a portable wireless communications device, includes an in-phase modulator and power amplifier that receives a baseband I signal and modulates and amplifies the I signal. A quadrature modulator and power amplifier receives a baseband Q signal and modulates and amplifies the Q signal. A power combiner sums and outputs the I and Q signals. An I demodulator circuit receives a signal fed back from the I power amplifier and demodulates the fed back signal to produce demodulated I signals. A Q demodulator circuit receives a signal fed back from the Q power amplifier and demodulates the fed back signal to produce demodulated Q signals. A processor compares the digital, baseband I and Q signals with a demodulated I and Q signals to compensate for amplitude, frequency and phase modulation errors.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 1, 2013
    Date of Patent: June 10, 2014
    Assignee: BlackBerry Limited
    Inventors: Lizhong Zhu, George Soliman Mankaruse, Michael Stephen Corrigan, Perry Jarmuszewski, Oleksiy Kravets, Kent Arnold Nickerson, Nagula Tharma Sangary
  • Patent number: 8749700
    Abstract: Disclosed is an electronic device, comprising an image sensor; a flash; a lens having a flash portion for covering the flash, an image sensor portion for covering the image sensor and an etching for reducing optical interference at the image sensor from the flash; and, a housing for housing the image sensor and the flash.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 23, 2012
    Date of Patent: June 10, 2014
    Assignee: Blackberry Limited
    Inventor: Paul Masser
  • Patent number: 8750930
    Abstract: A method and system for the configuration of a mobile station baseband circuit for an acoustic accessory having an identifier, the method comprising the steps of: determining whether the mobile device recognizes the identifier of the acoustic device; and configuring the baseband circuit with a DSP filter response and CODEC acoustic gain parameters for the acoustic device if the mobile device recognizes the identifier of the acoustic device. The system comprising: an identifier for each of the plurality of acoustic devices; a local memory in the mobile station storing a frequency (filter) response and gain parameters for at least one of the plurality of acoustic devices and for mapping them to the identifier; and a digital signal processor to re-shape an acoustic frequency response and adjust an audio gain of a baseband circuit for the mobile station based on the stored frequency response and gain parameters.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 26, 2012
    Date of Patent: June 10, 2014
    Assignee: BlackBerry Limited
    Inventors: Barry Steven Hazell, Kevin John Rush
  • Patent number: 8751584
    Abstract: A method for providing presence-related information is provided. The method includes creating a template of presence parameters for an application, storing the template, a presence access layer retrieving the template, the presence access layer using the template to create a profile of at least one presence parameter for the application, and the presence access layer using the profile to specify a presence-related action for the application.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 16, 2008
    Date of Patent: June 10, 2014
    Assignee: BlackBerry Limited
    Inventors: Randy Michael Rossi, Jeff Rogers, Suresh Chitturi, Brian McColgan
  • Patent number: 8749290
    Abstract: A mobile communication device includes an analog clock and a digital clock circuit. The analog clock circuit is configured to generate an oscillating output. The digital clock circuit is configured to generate a digital clock output having a frequency that is substantially equal to the frequency of the oscillating output.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 12, 2012
    Date of Patent: June 10, 2014
    Assignee: BlackBerry Limited
    Inventors: Mark A. J. Carragher, John William Wynen
  • Patent number: 8750923
    Abstract: Availability of a call for a mobile device can be signaled over a data channel; to avoid unnecessary airtime charges, an audio channel for the voice call is setup only if a user of the mobile device accepting the call. Responsive to the user accepting the call, the mobile device can signal to a network to establish the audio channel. Establishing the audio channel takes some time. The time in which the audio channel is established is used to output, at the mobile device, supplemental information received over the data channel, such as information about a calling party, such as directory information, organization information, and call history. The outputting of such information during this time period makes a user experience better, because the user is less likely to think that a call has failed by observing an unfilled delay between when the call was accepted through the user interface and when the audio channel is actually available to service the call.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 29, 2010
    Date of Patent: June 10, 2014
    Assignee: BlackBerry Limited
    Inventors: Salvatore Ierullo, Bradford Lawrence Spencer, Richard John George
  • Patent number: 8750924
    Abstract: A switchable configuration system and method for switchably configuring a handset between private wireless network and cellular modes is provided. The switchable configuration system comprises a cellular module adapted to operate the handset in a cellular mode, a private wireless network module adapted to operate the handset in a private wireless network mode, and a configuration module adapted to determine which mode to configuring the handset. The method comprises the steps of determining if private wireless network coverage is available, in response to determining that private wireless network coverage is available selecting the private wireless network mode, and in response to determining that private wireless network coverage is not available selecting the cellular mode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 23, 2012
    Date of Patent: June 10, 2014
    Assignee: BlackBerry Limited
    Inventors: George Baldwin Bumiller, Adrian Buckley
  • Patent number: 8750218
    Abstract: A method and apparatus for use in a communication system, the method comprising the steps of, at a user agent receiving a configuration message from an access device, where uplink time synchronization at the user agent has been lost when the configuration message is received, using at least a portion of the configuration message information to configure the user agent and after time synchronization has been restored, communicating with the access device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 18, 2010
    Date of Patent: June 10, 2014
    Assignee: BlackBerry Limited
    Inventors: Sean McBeath, Mo-Han Fong, Richard Charles Burbidge
  • Patent number: 8750914
    Abstract: An improved handheld electronic device and an associated method are provided in which enhanced information regarding an “availability” of a user of a handheld electronic device is provided to another electronic device in a messaging environment. Such availability data provides step-wise indications of the relative availabilities of one or more users of electronic devices in a messaging environment. The step-wise indications can, for instance, range from an availability level of “currently active” to several levels of nonavailability. The device and method can be incorporated into an existing messaging environment.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 16, 2004
    Date of Patent: June 10, 2014
    Assignee: BlackBerry Limited
    Inventors: Gerhard D. Klassen, Christopher R. Wormald, Darcy R. Phipps, Craig A. Dunk
  • Patent number: 8750263
    Abstract: Intra-enterprise wireless handset (WH) calls between WHs operating in a wireless local area network (WLAN) are established directly between the WHs via a call connection that is maintained within the LAN without being routed through the cellular network (CN). This eliminates the cost of placing and maintaining calls through the CN for intra-enterprise calls, and also enables use of capabilities that are available in the enterprise telecomm equipment. Upon detection of a trigger condition, if and when it is more likely that a complete vertical handover (VHO) may be needed, the call connection between the WHs in the LAN is replaced by one that is routed through the CN. Thereafter, a VHO may occur (if at all) upon detection of a radio handover condition.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 27, 2007
    Date of Patent: June 10, 2014
    Assignees: BlackBerry Limited, McMaster University
    Inventors: Vytautas Robertas Kezys, Terence D. Todd
  • Patent number: 8751784
    Abstract: Enhanced reset logic is included in a user's computerized device so that the device owner (e.g., the user's employer) can assure prompt reset (e.g., to insure device use of newly downloaded software versions or other control or security data) while still allowing user convenience (e.g., some limited continued normal use of the device before reset is forced upon the user thus permitting the user to avoid possibly aggravating losses of data and/or ongoing usage).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 7, 2012
    Date of Patent: June 10, 2014
    Assignee: BlackBerry Limited
    Inventors: Neil Patrick Adams, Herbert A. Little, Russell N. Owen
  • Patent number: D706795
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 24, 2012
    Date of Patent: June 10, 2014
    Assignee: BlackBerry Limited
    Inventors: Nils Roger Andersson Reimer, Simon Martin Thorsander, Per Ake Daniel Johansson, Robert Simon Lessing, Jonas Ove Arbsjö, Charles Anton Nilsson Boman