The present invention generally relates to cigarette lighter adapter devices (CLA devices) and more particularly to CLA devices that have input-output port interfaces, such as USB, etc.
CLA devices take advantage of power provided by the battery of a vehicle, e.g., car, boat etc, for providing various functionalities. In its simplest form, a CLA device is a cigarette lighter that is powered by the external battery via a CLA socket inside the vehicle.
CLA devices have also been used to power and charge external devices, such as mobile phones, audio players, etc. Also known are CLA inverters that convert the DC voltage supplied by the external battery to AC power. Typically, a CLA inverter includes power conversion circuitry that provides sufficient output power for operating portable computers, TVs, etc. Such CLA inverter supplies the AC power via an AC outlet disposed on the housing of the device. For example, a known CLA inverter device has both an AC outlet and a CLA socket, which provides a 12V DC output.
Another known CLA device integrates an FM transmitter to allow audio from an external audio source (e.g., MP3, CD player, etc.) to be heard via an external radio receiver in the vehicle. The CLA device has a housing with a CLA plug that is inserted into a corresponding CLA socket to power the transmitter circuitry. The housing includes an audio socket for receiving audio signals provided via an audio jack from the external audio source. The transmitter radiates an audio modulated FM signal that is received by the external radio receiver. The received signal is demodulated at the receiver, which is tuned to the FM frequency of the transmitter, to play the audio signal via vehicle speakers.
Still another known CLA device is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,591,085 B1 issued to Grady. This CLA device includes an FM transmitter and power supply/charging assembly that is electrically coupleable to an external MP3 player, such as an Apple iPOD. The assembly includes a modular docking unit having a main body portion with a docking cavity. As such, the external MP3 player in Grady patent is supported in a substantially vertical orientation by the back surface and the cavity of the main body, without any support being provided by the coupling means itself. The main body portion contains the FM transmitter and power/charging circuitry that is electrically coupled to a DC power source via a CLA plug. A coupling means in the docking cavity connects the MP3 player with the FM transmitter and power/charging circuitry. The assembly transmits electrical power through the modular docking unit and the power/charging circuitry to power/charge the MP3 player.
Yet another known CLA devices is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,612,875 as a multifunctional car adapter having a main body with chambers for a CLA plug and a CLA socket. A circuit board disposed in the main body is electrically coupled to the CLA plug for interfacing with a Universal Serial Bus (USB) port that is used for charging an external device connected to the USB port.
One more known CLA device has a USB port interface that is used for attaching an external USB storage device. The external USB storage device stores MP3 audio files that could be accessed by an MP3 audio player inside the CLA device, which applies its output to an integrated FM transmitter that transmits the audio signal to be played by an external receiver. The USB port interface of this CLA device comprises a USB socket connector that engages with a complementary USB plug connector of the external device.
A conventional port interface connector of the CLA device is arranged such that an attached external device, e.g., a USB memory stick, longitudinally extends outwardly from the CLA device in a cantilevered manner. In other words, the external device acts as a projecting member supported at only one end without any other supporting element. Under this arrangement, the external device is mechanically supported at the one end only by the engagement of the complementary connectors of the port interfaces (e.g., male plug on the external device and female socket on the CLA device). However, depending on the operating conditions, the conventional cantilevered support used for attaching the external device to the CLA device may not be strong enough to hold the external device securely in place, particularly inside a vehicle that is subject to various sources of vibration and/or sudden jolt.
With the ever increasing availability of functionalities, particularly, in computing and communications, there exists a continuing need to take advantage of CLA devices for providing improved functionalities and operation.
Briefly, according to one aspect of the present invention, a CLA device comprises a CLA plug that is insertable into an external CLA socket, for example, a DC CLA socket inside a vehicle. The CLA device has a housing coupled to the CLA plug, for example, by integration or via a tethered wire, with the housing having a support surface. A port interface connector in the CLA device engages with a complementary port interface connector of an external device at a cantilevered support point when the external device is attached to the CLA device. The cantilevered support point comprises a point where the external device is supported at one end by the complementary engagement of the port interface connectors of the CLA device and the external device. Examples of such port interfaces include USB, Firewire and Universal port interfaces. A protruding portion relative to the support surface positions the port interface connector relative to the support surface such that it supports the external device against movement when the complementary port interface connectors of the CLA and external devices are engaged. The CLA device could also include a resource device that exchanges data with the external device via the port interface.
According to another aspect of the present invention, the CLA device provides multiple functionalities, e.g., DC/DC or DC/AC power inverter, FM transmitter, various I/O port interfaces, and resources by enclosing the means that provide these functionalities in a single unit. As such, unlike the above-described prior art approaches that use separate functions, the CLA device of the present invention integrates multiple functionalities. More specifically, the CLA device of this aspect of the invention includes an inverter that converts an external DC voltage to an AC output voltage at an AC outlet. It further includes a radio frequency transmitter, such as an FM transmitter, that transmits an input audio signal to an external receiver, and at least one port interface that energizes and/or exchanges data with an attached external device.
According to some of the more detailed features of this aspect of the invention, the CLA device further comprises a resource device functioning as at least one of a port interface, an imaging device, a storage device, an audio device, and a video device. In addition, the CLA device could include a CLA socket for providing a DC output.
According to another aspect of the present invention, an accessory device comprises a housing that encloses an FM transmitter that is powered by one or more rechargeable batteries. The accessory device includes a port interface connector, such as a USB connector, a Firewire connector or a Pin Port connector, that is used for charging the one or more rechargeable batteries via a charger circuit. Additionally, the accessory device could include a satellite receiver that provides an audio signal used to modulate a carrier frequency for radiating modulated RF signals by the FM transmitter. The audio signal can be either an internal audio signal from an internal source or an external audio signal provided by an external source.
In this exemplary embodiment, the housing 102 encloses the circuitry that provide the integrated functionalities of the present invention. Among other things, the CLA device 100 integrates inverter circuitry (shown in
The CLA device 100 also includes a transmitter (shown in
The CLA devices shown in
According to one aspect of the present invention, a robust support system is provided for supporting external devices that attach to the CLA devices of the invention via one or more port interfaces. More specifically, the housing 102 includes a support surface 118 for supporting attached external devices (not shown) against any movement. Situated relative to the support surface 118 is a protruding portion 120, which in this exemplary embodiment, extends upwardly from at least at least a portion of the top side of the housing 102. As shown, the protruding portion 120 is positioned to enclose the connector of the USB, Firewire and Universal connectors 114, 116, and 117 such that external devices that attach to the CLA device could be supported by the support surface 118 of the housing 102. The point at which the port interface connector of the CLA device engages a complementary port interface connector of the external device comprises a cantilevered support point when the external device is attached to the CLA device. Therefore, the cantilevered support point according to this embodiment comprises a point where the external device is supported at one end by the complementary engagement of the port interface connectors of the CLA device and the external device. As can be seen, the system for supporting the external device according to the present invention provides two support points. A support point is provided at the cantilevered support point. The other support point comes into play when there is a movement by the external device, which is provided by the support surface 118 of the housing 102. Consequently, this arrangement provides a robust mechanical support mechanism for the external device, which in addition to being supported by the complementary engagement of the connectors of the port interfaces of the CLA device and the external device is also supported by the support surface of the housing against a movement. It should be noted that the support point provided by the support surface does not necessarily implies that the external device should always rest or otherwise touch the support surface. Rather such support surface provides support when there is a movement by the external device, for example because of vibration or jolt. Thus, if needed, the support provided by the support surface of the housing may be momentary in nature and not continuous.
The CLA device includes port interfaces 612 and 616 that allows for sharing internal resources with external devices. As stated above, in one embodiment, the charge circuitry provides the energy for charging the external devices via one or more port interfaces. Battery charging via USB or Firewire ports is known. Besides directly powering USB devices, Dallas Semiconductor discloses the use of MAXIM chips, e.g., MAX 1692 and MAX 1722, MAX 1874, MAX 1555, with USB power to perform battery charging. As such portable devices, like MP3 players, can be attached to the CLA device for battery charging and data exchange simultaneously and over one cable.
In one embodiment, the CLA device also includes one or more resource devices that interface with the external device via the port interface. Such resource devices Firewire and USB resources. The Firewire resources comprise Firewire charge and port interface circuit 621 that operate under the control of a Firewire resource controller 623. The USB resources comprise USB charge and port interface circuit 625 that operate under the control of a USB resource controller 627. The resource device circuit could be used to perform various functions, such as port interface, imaging, media storage, audio, video, etc., functions. In one embodiment, the one or more resource devices could comprise USB Host and USB device controllers, as is well known in the art. Other examples of the one or more resource devices include one or more storage devices, audio devices, multi-media devices, imaging devices, or video devices. Therefore, the port interface of the CLA device can be used to provide charge energy or power energy to the external device as well as exchanging data with such device.
The external device (not shown) may be a stand alone device, such as a battery powered device, or an external device that is AC or DC powered, for example via the AC and DC outlets 604 and 606 provided by the CLA device. The external device can comprise a wide variety of devices providing port interface capability with the CLA device of the present invention. For example, the external device can be a computing device, a media player device or any device that provides a suitable port interface with the portable accessory device for exchange of data.
It will be appreciated that enclosing multiple functions into the same housing facilitates interfacing external devices with the CLA device of the present invention. Thus, in the disclosed exemplary embodiment, the CLA device provides multiple functionalities, e.g., radio frequency transmitter, charging, AC/DC power supply function, port interface functions, etc., by enclosing the means that provide these functionalities along with the port interface in a single housing.
Referring to
The FM transmitter 702 powered by the rechargeable batteries 704 modulates an applied audio signal on a carrier frequency where the generated radio frequency signal is radiated via a transmit antenna 705. The applied audio signal can be an external audio signal provided to the accessory device via an external audio port 710 that could couple to a complementary port of an external audio device, such as an MP3 or CD player, etc. In addition, the external accessory device could include a satellite radio receiver 712 having a receive antenna 714 for receiving broadcast satellite audio signals. The satellite receiver 712 demodulates the broadcast audio signal and applies the demodulated audio as an input to the FM transmitter 702 for transmission on the selected carrier frequency. The accessory device of the present invention could include a frequency switch 715 for selecting a desired carrier frequency.
The invention has been described in detail with respect to referred embodiments, and it will now be apparent from the foregoing to those skilled in the art, that changes and modifications may be made without departing from the invention in its broader aspects, and the invention, therefore, as defined in the appended claims, is intended to cover all such changes and modifications that fall within the true spirit of the invention.
The present application is a divisional of U.S. application Ser. No. 11/395,325 filed Apr. 3, 2006, which claims benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/667,050. The disclosures of the above applications are incorporated herein by reference.
Number | Date | Country | |
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60667050 | Apr 2005 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 11395325 | Apr 2006 | US |
Child | 11970829 | US |