Various embodiments relate to charging systems having a battery for use with luggage and bags, and the bags and luggage pieces containing the systems.
Electronic devices have become smaller and more mobile, and the number of electronic devices that a person carries with them has greatly increased in the last few years. Electronic devices include mobile telephones, personal digital assistants, tablets, e-readers, laptops, cameras, portable navigation systems, personal digital music players, handheld game consoles, and the like. Some of the mobile devices have removable rechargeable batteries where the battery is placed into a docking station to be recharged, or alternatively is recharged while located within the device. Others have internal rechargeable batteries which are recharged while located within the device.
In an embodiment, a portable charging system is provided with a bag having a charging port and configured to receive an electronic device. The portable charging system has a battery with a contoured surface including a protrusion, a recess, and a first electrical contact. The battery has an angled surface having a second electrical contact. A docking station is provided in electrical communication with the charging port. The docking station has a recessed area for receiving the battery, and the recessed area has a bottom surface contoured to receive the contoured surface and angled surface of the battery. The bottom surface has a third electrical contact configured to mate with the second electrical contact of the battery and a fourth electrical contact configured to mate with the first electrical contact of the battery. The bottom surface also has a locator pin to mate with the recess of the battery. A charging apparatus is also provided and has a connector on a distal end configured to plug into an external power supply. The charging apparatus has a second connector on a proximal end configured to connect to one of the charging port of the docking station and the first electrical contact of the battery. A cord is provided in electrical communication with the docking station and located within the bag, and has a connector for charging the electronic device.
In another embodiment, a portable system for charging an electronic device includes a bag, and a charging system located within the bag, where the charging system has a docking station for releasably docking a battery. A cord has a connector in electrical communication with the charging system, and is used for charging an electronic device.
In yet another embodiment, a battery includes a battery cell for storing energy, an external case surrounding the battery cell, and an electrical contact located on the angled surface and in electrical communication with the battery cell, where the contact is for transmitting electricity therethrough. The case has a generally planar surface and a contoured surface which defines a protrusion, with an angled surface extending between the contoured surface and the generally planar surface.
As required, detailed embodiments of the present invention are disclosed herein; however, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the invention that may be embodied in various and alternative forms. The figures are not necessarily to scale; some features may be exaggerated or minimized to show details of particular components. Therefore, specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to variously employ the present invention.
A bag 20 for use with a portable charging system 22 is illustrated in
With reference to
The pocket 30 has an interior space which may be closed and opened using a fastener 32 such as a zipper, snap, hook and loop, or other fastener. The pocket 30 also may include one or more apertures 34 which allow a cord to pass through. The aperture 34 may be provided at the bottom or rear of the pocket 30, for example, and may be defined by stitching, a grommet, or the like.
With reference to
As shown in
One or more devices may be charged at a given time within the bag 20 using power from the charging system 22. For example, multiple devices may be placed in compartments in various pockets 26, 28 and connected to the charging system 22 to charge simultaneously. Alternatively, a single device may be charged within the bag 20 by the charging system 22.
The charging system 22, as shown in
With reference to
The apparatus 56 is shown in a wrapped storage configuration in
In other embodiments, the apparatus 56 has a direct current (DC) connector in place of the metal prongs 68, such that the apparatus 56 may be plugged into a car or other source of DC power for charging the battery 52 in the charging system 22, or for charging of the devices. In some embodiments, the bag 20 is supplied with both styles of apparatuses 56.
The apparatus 56 may be used to charge the battery 52 when the battery 52 is sitting by itself on a counter, table, or the like, by directly plugging the connector 58 into the female connector 62 on the battery 52 (see
The charging apparatus 56 may be used to charge the battery 52 when the battery 52 is located in the docking station 54 in the bag 20 by plugging the connector 58 into the connector 64 on the bag 20. An internal cord runs from the connector 64 through the interior of the bag 20 and is connected to the docking station 54. Therefore, the charging apparatus 56 can transfer electricity from a wall outlet through the apparatus 56, through the connector 64, through an internal cord in the bag 20, to the docking station 54, and to the battery 52 in the station 54. This allows the battery 52 to be recharged without removing it from the bag 20 and without having to open a bag containing the charging system 22. The user opens the pocket 76 containing the charging apparatus 56, and plugs the plug 60 into a wall outlet, and inserts the connector 58 into the connector 64 on the bag 20. This configuration may also be used to directly charge mobile devices when the mobile devices are being stored within the bag 20 and are connected to the charging system 22 using the respective cords 38, without having to remove devices or open the main pockets and compartments of the bag 20 and permit charging of multiple devices using only one apparatus 56 and one wall outlet.
When the battery 52 has a partial or full charge and is located within the charging system 22, any mobile devices in the bag 20 and connected to the charging system 22 are being charged.
An additional docking station 54 may be available for charging the battery 52 externally to the bag 20, or to charge a spare battery 52 for use with the charging system 22. An additional docking station 54 may be kept at an office or at home, and sit on a desk or a countertop, for example. The use of multiple batteries 52 allows for greater charging of the mobile devices within the bag 20 without access to a wall outlet.
One non-limiting embodiment of the battery 52 is shown in FIGS. 5 and 8-15. The battery 52 may have a body portion 78 with a pair of non-parallel sides 80, which cause the battery 52 to have a tapering or generally trapezoidal appearance. A groove 82 may be located along each side 80. A tab 84 may be connected to the body portion 78 to provide a grasping place for a user when sliding the battery 52 into and out of the docking station 54. The bottom side 86 of the battery 52 may have a contoured surface. A central protrusion 88 may be provided on the battery 52 which mimics or generally corresponds with the shape of a logo.
As shown in
Batteries with different storage capacities (e.g. amp hours) may be available for use with the charging system 22. As the capacity of the battery increases, the thickness or length of the battery may increase. For example, either the length or width dimension of the sides 80 of the battery 52 may increase.
As shown in
One non-limiting embodiment of the docking station 54 is shown in
With reference to
In other embodiments, a magnet may be built into the battery 52 with a magnetic switch built into the docking station 54, or vice versa. The magnet activates the switch within the docking station 54 when the battery 52 is slid into the station 54, and only permits charging of the battery 52 and charging of any devices attached to the charging system 22 if the magnetic switch is activated. In other embodiments, an integrated circuit may be placed inside the battery 52 such that the docking station 54 recognizes and only operates with a battery 52 containing the circuit.
A light module 120, shown in
When a user activates the button 122, the light module 120 checks the amount of the battery charge of a battery 52 in the charging system 22, and various light configurations occur to notify the user of the state of the charging system 22. If there is no battery 52 located within the charging system 22, the lights do not turn on. If there is no charge in the battery 52, the light module 120 may be configured such that the lights 124 do not turn on, or flash a predetermined number of times, or appear as a certain color, such as amber, for a predetermined amount of time, e.g. ten seconds. If there is a partial charge in the battery 52, some of the lights 124 are illuminated to indicate the amount of charge (i.e. one light illuminates out of the three to indicate approximately a one third charge level), and the lights 124 may illuminate as a different color, such as blue. If there is a full charge in the battery 52, all of the lights 124 are illuminated for a predetermined time to indicate a full charge, e.g. three lights illuminate, and the lights 124 may illuminate as a specified color, such as blue. If the button 122 is activated while the charging system 22 is connected to a wall outlet or other external power source, all of the lights 124 may illuminate and flash a number of times, or a scrolling, sequential illumination of the lights 124 may occur.
In other embodiments, a laptop or other device may be placed in another pocket 52, or alternatively into one of the pockets 26, 28, which has been configured to receive one. The laptop may be connected to the charging system 22 using a cord with the appropriate connector, and be charged using pass through charging when the cord is plugged into an external power source.
Alternatively, the bag 20 may contain an alternating current (AC) female plug receptacle 130 within one of the pockets 26, 28, 52, or anywhere else on the bag 20, such that an electronic device power cord, such as a laptop AC power cord, may be plugged into the AC receptacle 130 within the bag 20 and connected to the electronic device, such as the laptop. Alternatively, a camera bag, or AC charger for a camera or camera battery, may be used with the AC receptacle 130. Of course, any AC charger for a device is contemplated for use with the AC receptacle 130. The charging apparatus 56 may connect to the connector 64 when it is plugged into an external power source, such as a AC power outlet, and an internal cord splitter 132 may be provided to route power to the AC receptacle 130 and/or to the charging system 22, such that the laptop or a camera, the battery 52, and/or the other devices may be charged.
The ability to have connectors directly connected to the charging system 22, as well as a AC cord for a device plugged into the AC receptacle 130 provides ease of use for a user. The user can charge multiple devices using the charging system 22 and the AC receptacle 130 without managing cords for multiple devices and without the need for multiple AC wall outlets. The user can charge multiple devices using power in the battery 52 of the charging system 22, or by plugging the bag 20 into a wall outlet using the charging apparatus 56.
While exemplary embodiments are described above, it is not intended that these embodiments describe all possible forms of the invention. Rather, the words used in the specification are words of description rather than limitation, and it is understood that various changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Additionally, the features of various implementing embodiments may be combined to form further embodiments of the invention.