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`Please type a plus sign(+) inside'lhis box -+ r::jJ
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`L.:!J
`Approved for use through 1/31/98. OMS 0651-003'7
`Patent and Trademark Office; U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
`Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a
`valid OMS control number.
`PROVISIONAL APPLICATION FOR PATENT COVER SHEET
`This is a request for filing a PROVISIONAL APPLICATION FOR PATENT under 37 CFR 1.53 (c).
`
`Given Name (first and middle [if anyD
`Michael E.
`
`Family Name or Surname
`Shanahan
`
`Residence
`(Citv and either State or Foreign Country)
`Nyack, New York
`
`INVENTOR(S)
`
`0 Additional inventors are being named on the __ separately numbered sheets attached hereto
`
`TITLE OF THE INVENTION (280 characters max)
`Methods And Apparatus For Programming User~Defined Information Into Electronic
`Devices
`
`Direct all correspondence to:
`
`D Customer Number I
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`CORRESPONDENCE ADDRESS
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`..
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`I
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`Type Customer Number here
`
`OR
`~Firm or
`Individual Name Michael E. Shanahan
`Address
`
`Place Customer Number
`Bar Code Label here
`
`State N.Y.
`1 914-365-2321
`Telephone
`ENCLOSED APPLICATION PARTS (check all that apply)
`
`ZIP 10960
`Fax
`
`Address
`
`City
`
`Country
`
`P.O. Box 381
`Nyack
`USA
`@ Specification Number of Pages Is
`~Drawing(s) Number of Sheets 1
`4
`
`I [.3" Small Entity Statement
`I D Other (specify) I
`[X] A check or money order is enclosed to cover the filing fees
`D The Commissioner is hereby authorized to charge filing
`
`METHOD OF PAYMENT OF FILING FEES FOR THIS PROVISIONAL APPLICATION FOR PATENT (check one)
`FILING FEE
`AMOUNT($)
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`fees or credit any overpayment to Deposit Account Number:
`
`$75.00
`
`The invention was made by an agency of the United States Government or under a contract with an agency of the
`United States Government.
`!XI No.
`0 Yes, the narne of the U.S. Government agency and the Government contract number are: This invention may have been
`;made under Govt. Contract No. F4164-94-D-l 0 18 although !! fmal detennination has not yet been made.
`
`Respectfully submitted,~ \J.
`
`'
`A .,r..
`.
`SIGNATURE
`TYPED or PRINTED NAME Michael E. Shanahan
`
`...
`
`TELEPHONE 914-365-2321
`
`I '1.l'J931
`IMES/00 I PROV. I
`USE ONLY FOR FILING A PROVISIONAL APPLICATION FOR PATENT
`Burden Hour Statement: This form is estimated to take 0.2 hours to complete. Tirne will vary depending upon the needs of the individual case.
`Any comments on the amount of time you are required to complete this form should be sent to the Chief Information Officer, Patent and
`Trademark Office, Washington, DC 20231. DO NOT SEND FEES OR COMPLETED FORMS TO THIS ADDRESS. SEND TO: Box Provisional
`+Application, Assistant Commissioner for Patents, Washington, DC 20231.
`
`Date
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`REGISTRATION NO.
`(if appropriate)
`Docket Number:
`
`1
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`AT&T - Exhibit 1016
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`r
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`r
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`Title
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`"Express Mail" mailing label number ;;-ffC« 3d G.'S' 5JiSV.J
`DateofDeposit }>~ (;, (/77
`
`(
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`I hereby certify that this paper/fee is being deposited with the
`United States Postal Service "EXPRESS MAIL POST OFFICE TO
`ADDRESSEE" service under 37 C.F.R. 1.10 on the date indicated above and
`is addressed to the Bon. Assistant Commissioner for Patents, Washington,
`D.C. 20231.
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`Encl:
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`Practitioner's Docket No. M£S t 00\ PfU)V'..
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`PATENT
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`IN THE UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
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`In re application of:
`
`Michael E. Shanahan
`
`Application No.:
`
`Not Yet Assigned
`
`Filed on:
`
`Title:
`
`December 6, 1999
`
`Methods And Apparatus For Programming User-Defmed Information Into Electronic
`Devices
`
`STATEMENT CLAIMING SMALL ENTITY STATUS
`(37 CFR 1.9(f) and 1.27(b)--INDEPENDENT INVENTOR
`
`As a below named inventor, I hereby state that I qualify as an independent inventor, as defined in
`37 CFR 1.9(c), for purposes of paying reduced fees to the United States Patent and Trademark Office under
`Sections 41(a) and (b) ofTitle 35, United States Code, to the Patent and Trademark Office, with regard to the
`invention described in the specification filed herewith, with title as listed above.
`
`I have not assigned, granted, conveyed or licensed, and am under no obligation under contract or
`law to assign, grant, convey or license, any rights in the invention to any person who would not qualify as an
`independent inventor under 37 CFR 1. 9( c), if that person had made the invention, or to any concern that would
`not qualify as a small business concern under 37 CFR 1.9(d), or a nonprofit organization under 37 CFR 1.9(e).
`
`No person, concern or organization exists to which I have assigned, granted, conveyed, or licensed
`or am under an obligation under contract or law to assign, grant, convey, or license any rights in the invention.
`
`I acknowledge the duty to file, in this application or patent, notification of any change in status
`resulting in loss of entitlement to small entity status prior to paying, or at the time of paying, the earliest of the
`issue fee or any maintenance fee due after the date on which status as a small entity is no longer appropriate.
`(37 CFR 1.28(b))
`
`Michael E. Shanahan
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`~J~ Al-
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`Signature of Inventor
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`3
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`:MES/001 Prov.
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`:METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR PROGRAMMING
`USER-DEFINED INFORMATION INTO ELECTRONIC DEVICES
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`The purpose of this invention is to provide a way for electronic device users to
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`program their own customized audio and video into their device. For the purposes of
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`this disclosure, audio may be any acoustic signal generated by an electronic device that
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`alerts a user to a certain event. Examples of audio may include the ringing of a
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`telephone, a pager beeping, a personal digital assistant (PDA) generating an acoustic
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`sound, etc. Examples of video may include video clips or digital pictures stored in a
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`wireless telephone or a PDA, etc.
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`Currently, users of electronic devices have to choose from among a
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`limited selection of pre-programmed audio or video available on their electronic
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`device (e.g., wireless telephone, regular telephone, pager, PDA, and he like) which are
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`placed there by the manufacturer. Such audio may include "ring sequences" which
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`tend to be rather clinical and can be confusing when a device of a nearby user
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`rings with the same or similar ring to that of another user. It would therefore be
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`desirable to provide a way to allow users to program their own customized audio or
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`video such as music samples, video clips (sample/clip) or other sound or video effects
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`into their device.
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`FIG. 1 shows a generalized block diagram of system 10 for programming
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`user-defined audio or video into an electronic device in accordance with the
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`principles ofthe present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, system 10 includes
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`programmable electronic device 20, device programmer 30, and source 50.
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`Programmer 30 is connected to source 50 via link 31, and to device 20 via link
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`32. Source 50 may be any device or devices suitable for providing a
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`desired audio or video sample to programmer 30 (e.g., CD or DVD player, cassette
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`player, programs or files from a personal computer, or any other suitable digital
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`or analog device or audio/video source). In operation, a desired video clip or audio
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`sample, such as a sample of a popular song and/or video clip, in a digital or analog
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`format is supplied to programmer 30 from source 50. Programmer 30 may process
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`(or simply route) the sample and/or clip, into a suitable format, and then program it
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`into a programmable memory within device 20. Device 20 may then retrieve and play
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`the audio or video when a certain event occurs (e.g., when receiving an incoming
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`telephone call).
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`Programmer 30 may also coordinate or perform certain functions related to
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`the routing and storing the sample/clip within device 20. For example,
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`programmer 30 may communicate with or simply search device 20 to find
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`available memory locations to store the sample/clip. Programmer 30 may also
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`communicate with device 20 to determine what format to covert the incoming
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`sample/clip to (e.g., from CD format to ::MP3 format, from analog to a simple
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`digital format, etc.) so that they are compatible with device 20. If multiple
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`sample/clips are being programmed into device 20, programmer 30 may "tag" the
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`different samples/clips so device 20 and/or a user may distinguish among the
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`different samples/clips stored therein. After the sample/clip has been provided,
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`programmer 30 may communicate with device 20 to confirm that device 20 has
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`correctly received the sample/clip.
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`It will be understood that the generalized system shown in FIG. 1 may be
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`implemented in many ways. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, system 100
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`may be implemented using a computer-based architecture. In this case,
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`programmer 30 may be installed in (or connected to) personal computer 60 and be
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`connected to device 20 through link 32. Computer 60 may be connected to
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`Internet 80 through interface 70. In this configuration, a user may download
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`samples/clips from Internet 80 and/or from a hard drive, disc drive, or other device(s)
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`connected to computer 60 (not shown) and program those samples/clips into device 20
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`via programmer 30 and link 32.
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`Another implementation of a system in accordance with this invention may use
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`architecture 200, which is shown in FIG. 4.
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`In this case, programmer 30 (or similar
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`circuitry) may be embedded within programmable device 20. Clips/samples may be
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`provided to device 20 from source 50 via link 32. The clips/samples are routed to
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`programmer 30, which may perform some or all of the above-mentioned functions.
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`If source 50 is an acoustic audio source, link 32 may not be needed. For example, if
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`it is desired to program an audio sample into a wireless telephone, a user
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`may place a transducer 25, (e.g., a speaker/microphone existing within or external to
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`device 20) near the acoustic audio signal source, place device 20 into an "acquisition
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`mode," and play the sample. In this case, the transducer coverts the acoustic audio
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`signal to an electrical signal, which is provided to programmer 30 for processing and
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`storage within device 20. A visual or audio output may be provided by device 20 to
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`indicate a sample has been successfully loaded.
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`A more detailed diagram of an illustrative embodiment of programmer 30 is
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`shown in FIG. 2. As shown in FIG. 2, programmer 30 may include a transducer 25,
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`processor 34, memory 36, analog-to-digital (AID) converter 38, signal processing
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`circuitry (SPC) 40, output buffer 42, and input buffer 44. Programmer 30 may be
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`configured to receive and process analog or digital signals. It may also acquire
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`acoustic signals via a transducer. In operation, a signal received from link 31 is
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`directed to input buffer 44. Generally, processor 40 controls the operation of
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`programmer 30. Analog input signals received at input buffer 44 may be routed to
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`AID converter 38 for conversion to the digital domain. Processor 40 may then route
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`the converted signals (which can be samples, clips or both) to memory 36, SPC 40, or
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`directly to output buffer 42 depending on the situation. For example, signals from AID
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`converter 3 8 may require additional processing to be converted to a specific format. In
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`this case, these signals are routed to SPC 40. After the additional processing is
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`complete, the signals may be stored in memory 36, or routed to output buffer 42 for
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`programming in device 20. Similarly, digital signals at input buffer 44 may be routed
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`to (SPC) 40 for additional processing, or to memory 36 for storage, or routed to
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`output buffer 42. In some embodiments, processor 40 may perform some or all the
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`functions of SPC 40. In this case, SPC 40 may be removed from programmer 30.
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`Audio signals may also be acquired and processed b~ programmer 30.
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`Transducer 25 may acquire an acoustic signal from a stereo or other source and
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`convert it to an electrical signal. This electrical signal may then be processed
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`similar to the way the above-described analog signal was processed. That is,
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`the electric signal is routed either to SPC 40 and/or to AID converter 38 and then
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`stored in memory 36 or output buffer 42, for example.
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`The Invention Claimed Is:
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`1. An apparatus for programming a user-defined audio sample in an
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`electronic device comprising:
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`a programmer circuit that routes said user-defined audio sample to
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`and programs said user-defined audio sample in a memory in said electronic device.
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`2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said programmer circuit is
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`connected to a computer.
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`3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said programmer circuit is
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`embedded in said electronic device.
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`4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said electronic device is a wireless
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`telephone.
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`5. An apparatus for programming a user-defined video clip in an
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`electronic device comprising:
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`a programmer circuit that routes said user-defined video clip to
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`and programs said user-defined video clip in a memory in said electronic device.
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`6. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said electronic device is a
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`wireless telephone.
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`7. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said electronic device is a
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`personal digital assistant.
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