This invention relates generally to portable battery power devices for mobile devices, and more particularly to a portable multi-functional device for back-up power and recharging the internal battery of a mobile phone or other similar electronic device, for remotely controlling the mobile phone, and for communicating with the mobile phone for locator, data synchronization and other operations.
Today, most people carry and rely upon mobile telephones or other similar electronic devices for communications and information while they are on the go, and to many mobile phones have become as essential as their keys. While mobile phones are convenient and for many are a necessity, they operate on an internal battery that must be recharged frequently. This is particularly true of the so-called “mobile phones” which are essentially small portable computers that drain their internal battery quickly. When the battery runs out, the phone cannot be used until the battery is recharged. Phone chargers and spare batteries are bulky and inconvenient to carry, and many people either forget them or simply do not carry them. When the battery is drained, which typically occurs when the phone is most needed, finding some place to recharge it is often a problem.
Another problem with mobile phones is that they are often misplaced. While one may dial the telephone number of the phone to ring the phone to locate it, this requires access to another telephone in the vicinity of where the phone was misplaced in order to hear the phone ring. Sometimes, there is not another available telephone in the vicinity. There is a related problem with respect to keys which also are frequently misplaced. Keys, however, do not have ringers, and are therefore more difficult to locate.
It is desirable to provide devices and methods to address the foregoing and other problems and inconveniences associated with mobile phones, and it is to these ends that the present invention is directed.
The invention addresses the foregoing and other problems by providing, in one aspect, a portable power and control device containing a rechargeable battery that can be conveniently carried and connected to a mobile phone when the internal phone battery runs out to recharge the phone battery and provide an emergency supply of power to keep the phone operating for a period of time until its internal battery can be fully recharged. In a preferred form, the portable device is attachable to a key ring or keychain so it may be carried with the keys of the phone user, and it may include a USB or other connector that enables the device to be connected to a computer or USB power source to recharge its internal battery. The device may also have a user activated indicator that shows the level of charge of its rechargeable battery to inform the user when the device battery requires recharging. In another aspect, the power and control device is preferably provided with an internal microcontroller and other circuitry so that it may interface either wirelessly via Bluetooth® or directly via a cable with a cooperating mobile phone application (“app”) to perform a number of different functions. These functions may include a locator function that permits the device to activate the phone ringer or other audible emitter on the phone so that a misplaced phone may be located. The phone app may likewise include a locator function that identifies the previous location of the keys, as by using GPS, so that misplaced keys may be located.
Preferably, the Bluetooth® module is useable to receive a transmission from a mobile phone commanding the device to switch ON or OFF a Wi-Fi module in the device. Furthermore, the Bluetooth® module is useable to command the portable mobile phone power and control device to communicate with a Cloud system.
In this case, it is preferable that the Bluetooth® module is useable to transmit to the device a user identity and password to for establishing communication between the portable mobile phone power and control device with a Cloud system.
In further aspects, the power and control device may cooperate with the phone app to remotely control phone functions, such as the phone ringer or its camera, or to remotely control external devices such as music players and the like via the phone app. The device may additionally contain flash memory for data storage, transfer and synchronization with the phone or a computer, and may enable encrypting the data in the flash memory so that the data is secure.
In further aspects, the device contains at least one suitable antenna for wireless communication with a computer, or any similar computing device including cloud systems, mobile phones or tablets. This provides the possibility that the device does not require physical connectors for communicating with the computer.
In yet further aspects, the device contains a battery which may be recharged by induction. This provides the possibility that certain embodiments of the device may be relieved of physical connectors for re-charging the battery in the device. Preferably, the induction method used is resonant induction. Resonant induction allows the device to be recharged at a short distance from the charging station, which relieves the burden of orienting the device to the charging station in a specific way in order to allow induction coupling between a coil in the device and a coil in the charging station.
In yet further aspects, the device is able to recharge a mobile phone by induction. An inductive coil is provided in the device for coupling with an inductive coil connected to a mobile phone. A current flowing in the device can be picked up by the coil in the mobile phone for power transfer from the device to the mobile phone.
Accordingly, the invention proposes a portable mobile phone power device comprising: a housing having a rechargeable battery therein, the housing comprising a first wire coil for receiving power by induction for recharging the rechargeable battery; the housing comprising a second wire coil for transmitting power by induction for recharging a mobile phone.
Accordingly, the device may be relieved of having physical connectors for both charging itself up or for charging up a mobile phone, thereby reducing wear and tear and prolonging the lifespan of the device.
Although it is mentioned that a mobile phone may be charged up using the portable mobile phone power device, it is envisaged that other devices can be charged up wirelessly using the portable mobile phone power device, for example water heating mugs, PDAs, and so on.
Preferably, the device further comprises a memory for data storage; and a Wi-Fi transceiver for transmitting to and receiving data from a host device wirelessly. This allows the device to provide extra or external memory for a computer or computing device. Therefore, the device is also a portable memory. As the data transfer can be done by Wi-Fi, there is no need for a wire connector to connect to the host. Preferably, the device is also configured as a key ring, and a suitable inductive charging station is provided for charging up the device as well as provided as a key holder. The user can simply dump his keys attached to the device as a key ring into the key holder, and the device will be charged up by induction. The user does not need to actively remember to charge up the portable mobile phone power device.
Preferably, the Wi-Fi transceiver in the device is useable to receive data from a computer, and to re-transmit the data to a pre-determined cloud system for storage. The cloud system is automatically in connection whenever the device is within the vicinity of a Wi-Fi access point. This provides a portable portal for cloud connection for any computer in communication with the device. An advantage of this is that the user is protected from data loss in the event he lost the device, as all data is automatically forwarded from the computer to the cloud system. Conversely, the device is able to retrieve data from the cloud system and re-transmit the data to the computer.
Preferably, the device further comprises a Bluetooth® module; wherein the Bluetooth® module is configured to receive a transmission from a mobile phone commanding the device to switch ON or wake up its Wi-Fi transceiver. This allows energy savings to let the WiFi module within the device to be asleep or be switched OFF until activated or switched ON. More preferably, the Bluetooth® module is useable to receive from a computer a username and password for establishing communication between the portable mobile phone power and control device and the host device. This relieves the need for human-intervention to establish the WiFi connection, such as removing the need for entering the username and password into the host for establishing communication with the portable mobile phone power device.
The power and control device of the invention is particularly well adapted for use with mobile electronic devices such as smart mobile phones, tablets and the like, and will be described in that context. It will be appreciated, however, that this is illustrative of only one utility of the invention, and that a power and control device in accordance with the invention has other applicability more generally in connection with other types of portable electronic devices. As used herein, the term “mobile phone” will be used to refer not only to mobile telephones, but also to other portable electronic and computing devices such as tablets.
As further illustrated in
The power and control device 100 may have any convenient size, shape and dimensions. Preferably, it is small enough to conveniently and comfortably fit within a user's pocket or purse attached to the user's key ring. Aesthetically, in a preferred embodiment the device has certain proportions. The ratio of the diameter of the ring 144 in the top surface to the diameter of the cavity 130 is preferably of the order of 11:3. The cavity 130 is preferably semi-spherically shaped. If the sides of the triangularly shaped LED 142 were extended, they would preferably meet the diameter of the ring 144. The distance between the center of the latch member 132 and the top of the triangular LED 142 is preferably equal to the sum of the diameters of the cavity 130 and the ring 144, and the overall length of the device from the latch to the USB connector is preferably 1.414 times the diameter of ring 144. Other proportions as well as other configurations may, of course, be used.
In order to serve as an emergency source of power for a mobile phone, a power and control device in accordance with the embodiment has an internal rechargeable battery that may be recharged by connecting the device to the USB port of a computer or to a USB power adapter. As will be described, the device may also have internal electronic circuitry to control the recharging of the internal battery (as well as for performing other operations, which will also be described), and enable the state of the internal battery charge to be determined and indicated to a user by multicolor LEDs 142 so that the user may recharge the battery as needed. When emergency backup power is required to power a mobile phone whose battery that has been drained, the phone can be connected to the device using cable 104 and connector 106 to power the phone and recharge the battery from the internal battery of the device. For use with Android and Windows phones and tablets, connector 106 may be a mini USB connector. For use with Apple phones and tablets, connector 106 may be a Lightning connector. Because the device is formed to be releasably attached to the user's key ring and carried with the user's keys, the user will always have backup phone power available when it is needed.
In addition to providing backup power, the device may also cooperate with the mobile phone to perform other functions and operations. One of these functions is a locator function. Since it is very common to misplace one's mobile phone, the power and control device may be used to actuate wirelessly an audible sound of the mobile phone, such as its ringer, to enable the phone to be located. It is similarly common for one to misplace one's keys. Thus, the device may also include an audible device, such as a speaker, that can be wirelessly actuated using an app on the phone to emit an audible sound to enable the keys to be located. Wireless communications between the device and the phone may be via Bluetooth®, which allows the phone and device to communicate at a distance of the order of a hundred feet. Preferred implementations of the locator and other functions that may be performed by the device will be described more below.
The device electronics may also include an LED controller 340 for controlling the RGB multicolor LED 142 on the top of the device to indicate a charging operation and the charge level of the internal battery 314, and control discrete LEDs 342 located, e.g., in or below ring 144 on the top surface of the device so as to be visible when illuminated. The discrete LEDs may be used, for instance, to indicate power flow into the device from USB port 310 for recharging the internal backup battery 314 and/or for powering the phone via the USB phone port 328. The power and control device 100 may receive external power via USB port 310 for simultaneously recharging the device internal battery 314 and for supplying power to the phone via the USB phone port 328. The device may additionally include an accelerometer 344 which detects and characterizes forces exerted on the device. The accelerometer may detect a user shaking the device to initiate a process performed by the microcontroller 302 for determining the backup battery 314 charge level (as will be described) and for activating the RGB LED 142 to indicate the charge level to the user. The accelerometer may also be used to detect other user gestures as commands for other purposes, as will be described.
The microcontroller 302 may also receive an input command from, for example, pushbutton 140 on the top of the device to perform an operation, such as the previously described phone locator operation. In response to input commands, the microcontroller 302 may activate its embedded Bluetooth® Low Energy (BLE) circuit to transmit wirelessly certain codes as predetermined combinations or sequences of tones to the phone. These tones may be received by a Bluetooth® receiver in the phone, decoded, and used to initiate prescribed actions. Different input commands to the microcontroller may comprise, for example, different numbers of actuations of the pushbutton 140 within a particular time period. The device may additionally include a speaker 346 controlled by the microcontroller to provide an audible indication to a user.
Other functions that the device 100 may perform relate to data storage, data synchronization and data communications. Accordingly, the device electronics may include non-volatile memory 350, such as NAND flash memory, and a flash memory controller 352 that are under the control of the microprocessor 302. Data may be communicated between the device memory 350 and an external computer via the USB port 310, and between the memory and the phone via the USB phone port 328. Conveniently, the flash memory may also be used to transfer data between the user's mobile phone and the user's tablet or another data source. The USB port 310 may be connected to a USB hub 360 by a bidirectional bus 358. The USB hub 360 may be connected by a bidirectional bus 362 to a first USB multiplexer (Mux) 364 which in turn is connected to the flash controller 352 and to memory 350. A second USB Mux 368 may have a bidirectional bus 370 connected to the phone USB phone port 328, and may also connected to memory 350 via the flash controller 352. USB multiplexers 364 and 368 may be likewise connected together via a bidirectional bus 372. This arrangement enables data to be communicated bidirectionally between the USB port 310 and the memory 350, and between the memory and the USB phone port 328. The two USB multiplexers 364 and 368 allow data communications to be switched between the memory and the two USB ports. The memory 350 enables the device 100 to store and transfer data between devices connected to the USB ports, and the microcontroller allows the device 100 to perform operations on the data, as for encryption and data synchronization.
Another user interface on the device is pushbutton 140. The pushbutton may be activated at 410 to send commands to the mobile phone app 412 via the Bluetooth® low energy wireless link 414. The commands may cause the phone app to activate an audible alert on the phone, as shown at 424, for the previously described phone locator function. The pushbutton may also send commands to the phone app at 422 to remotely control the phone to perform various operations such as, for example, controlling the phone camera. Additionally, the commands 410 received by the phone app may also cause the phone to remotely control external devices, such as a music player. Similarly, the phone app 412 may include a pushbutton operation 424 that sends a command to the device via the Bluetooth® wireless link to activate the device speaker 346 remotely to perform the previously described keys locator function. As may be appreciated, the controllable functions that may be performed on the device and on the phone will be determined by the design of the phone app and the firmware within the device.
The accelerometer 344 may be a conventional integrated device that measures the vector magnitude of the three-dimensional G forces exerted on the device by it being moved, shaken for instance. To determine and indicate the battery charge level, the user may shake the device, for example. If at 702, the G force on any axis exceeds a predetermined threshold, such as 2 G's, an interrupt (IRQ) will be sent at 704 to the microcontroller to cause it to enter an active state. At 706 the microcontroller receives the G force vector data from the accelerometer, and at 708 loads the magnitudes of the data into a buffer. At 710, the microcontroller may calculate the magnitudes of the vector data stored in the buffer, may determine the corresponding directions (e.g., up, down, right, left), and calculate the accumulated magnitudes as a function of time or duration or both. If the cumulative magnitudes surpass a predetermined threshold at 712, the microcontroller acts at 714 to determine the battery charge level using the current and voltage data provided by the battery charger. It may determine charge level using voltage and current accumulated over a predetermined period of time, and indicate the charge level using the RGB LEDs as described above. The process may then return to the initial condition at 702. The cumulative threshold at 712 may be used as a necessary pre-condition for initiating the process of determining battery charge level to conserve internal battery power. The initial and cumulative threshold conditions discriminate between an actual shaking motion by the user and a momentary G force caused, for example, by dropping the device, and the three-dimensional directional data from the accelerometer may be used to discriminate between a shaking for checking battery charge and some other gesture for initiating another operation.
The embodiment affords another type of device locator function other than actuating an audible device alarm. Using the phone built-in GPS function, the phone app may remember the last GPS location of the device, which is useful if the device is out of range of the BLE wireless link at the time the locator operation is initiated. This may be accomplished by instructions in the firmware in the device microcontroller causing the device to transmit a periodic “heartbeat” signal (code) via the Bluetooth® wireless link to the phone app. The heartbeat signal may be sent every sent minute or two, for example. Upon receiving the signal, the phone app may determine its current GPS location using its GPS function, and store the current location in phone memory. Each new heartbeat signal may update the GPS location stored in the phone memory. If a user misplaces his or her keys with the device attached, the phone app may read the last GPS location stored in the memory and show that location on a map on the phone display. Thus, the user may return to that location and retrieve the device and keys.
In another embodiment, the internal rechargeable battery is rechargeable by induction. Inductive charging is also known as “wireless charging”, and employs an electromagnetic field to transfer energy between two objects. Typically, induction charging is done with a charging station. Energy is sent through an inductive coupling between the charging station and the electrical device, which can then use that energy to charge batteries. An induction charger typically uses an induction coil (not illustrated) to create an alternating electromagnetic field from within a charging station. A second induction coil (not illustrated) within the device 100 takes power from the electromagnetic field and converts it back into electric current to charge the battery in the device 100. Theoretically, two induction coils in proximity combine to form an electrical transformer and allow energy transfer. The underlying science of this is known to the skilled man and does not need explanation here in detail. In this embodiment, therefore, the USB connector 122 on the device 100 for recharging the battery may be omitted, providing a rounded disc-shaped device. To charge the battery inside the device 100, the device 100 may simply be placed on an inductive charging station. Preferably, the inductive charging station is shaped as a container or bowl 1001 for holding key chains, as shown in
Various advantages are made possible by using inductive charging. For example, there is no wire required for charging up the device 100. Furthermore, as there is no need for any wire connectors for charging up the device 100, there are no or less exposed conductive parts such as a plug for plugging into a socket. It follows that there is reduced possibility of corrosion of the now enclosed inductive and battery electronics, away from water or oxygen in the atmosphere. Furthermore, without the need to constantly plug and unplug the device 100, there is significantly less physical wear and tear of the device compared to the case where a connector is required for charging the device 100.
In a variation of this particular embodiment, resonance charging or resonant inductive charging, also known as electrodynamic induction is used instead of simple inductive charging. Resonant inductive charging uses near field wireless transmission of electrical energy between two magnetically coupled coils that are part of resonant circuits tuned to resonate at the same frequency, and allows charging of the device 100 at a distance. Resonant inductive transfer works by making a coil ring with an oscillating current, which generates an oscillating magnetic field. A second coil brought near the first coil will be able to pick up most of the energy, even if the second coil is some distance away. Therefore, another advantage is that the device 100 does not need to be positioned in a specific way to the charging station in order to create an inductive coupling. Further details about resonant charging are known to the skilled man and do not need greater elaboration here.
In another embodiment, the device 100 is able to communicate wirelessly with a data storage host such as a cloud system, a computer, a mobile phone or another other suitable host. The memory inside the device 100 can be used to store data, including digital documents, files or software, by downloading the data wirelessly from the host. When needed, data can be uploaded to the same host. This also removed the need for any connector for data transfer. In a variation of the embodiment, if the device 100 is not required to function as a power charging device for a mobile phone, even the mobile phone cable 104 can be omitted.
Preferably, the wireless communication protocol for data transfer between the memory inside the device and an external host may be, for example, WiFi. The wireless data transfer allows the USB connector 122 described in the afore embodiments to be omitted. This also allows the device to be shaped into a round disc-like object without the extending projection 120, as shown in
In a variation of the embodiment, the device 100 itself can also be provided with two induction coils (not illustrated). One coil is configured for coupling with another coil in the charging station for charging up the rechargeable battery in the device 100 by induction, and another coil for coupling with another coil in a mobile phone for charging up the mobile phone by induction. Optionally, as shown in
The user then presses on the device 100 again for two seconds, at step 1703, to switch on the WiFi module inside the device 100.
The user then connects his smart phone or computer to the device 100 by WiFi, at step 1705.
Subsequently, a message window pops up in the computer (or smart phone, depending on which is used) which prompts the user to download an application from the device 100 into the computer and to install the application. The user presses on a “yes” button in the pop up window, and the device transmits the application's installation file into the computer and installs the application into the computer. The user is then able to open the application for the first time by clicking on an icon on the desktop, which pops up a window prompting the user to create a user account and enter a unique 4 digit personal identity number (PIN) which will be used from then on to allow the device 100 to identify the user and to permit the computer to communicate with the device 100. All these are represented as step 1707 in
Preferably, there is a further step, step 1709, of the app in the computer checking if there is a pin code stored in the device 100. The aforementioned username and password are used for WiFi communication between the device 100 and the computer (or smart phone), or between the device 100 and a cloud system. However, a pin code is used for allowing the computer to access the memory in the device 100. If the app is able to detect a recognized pin code in the device 100, the app will allow access to the memory of the device 100 by the computer. If the app cannot find a pin code in the device 100, then the app will consider that it is the first time the user is using the device 100, and the app will write a pin code into the device 100, at step 1713. Henceforth, the app will be able to access the memory in the device using the pin code for identifying the device 10.
According to
When the app is launched, at step 1805, the app communicates with a server in the cloud system as an http client, registering the user's username and password to login to the cloud system, and to set up a Pin Code. Subsequently, the app will communicate with the Gokey 100 by Bluetooth, at 1803. The app sends the SSID and WiFi password of a WLAN to the GoKey 100 by Bluetooth, at step 1807.
At this point, the identity of the GoKey known as UDID is retrieved by the app, at step 1807. The Gokey 100 will also automatically check if a WLAN is available, at step 1809. If a WLAN is available, the Gokey 100 connects with the WLAN, after which the GoKey will connect with a cloud system through the WLAN. The UDID is sent to the cloud system to identify the GoKey.
At the same time, the app will also send the UDID retrieved from the GoKey, as well as the user account, to the cloud system.
On the side of the cloud system, which is basically a remote server system 1811, the cloud system receives the UDID and the username and adds them to the database in the server in the cloud system, at step 1813.
The cloud system first checks if there is a record of the UDID in the server, at step 1815, and if so, which account is it tied to. If the UDID is tied to an account, the cloud system starts to synchronise data in the Gokey 100 with the data in the cloud system. There is no synchronization if the UDID has no record in the server in the cloud system or if the UDID is not tied to any specific account.
Typically, after establishing WiFi communication between a computer and the device 100 for the first time, the user can access the memory in the device 100 by pressing on the button on the device for 2 seconds to switch on the WiFi module in the device 100, and the computer will be able to detect that the WiFi module in the device 100 has been switched ON. When the WiFi module in the device 100 is switched ON, the application will automatically cause a window to pop up and the user can enter the username and password in response to a prompt in the window to access the device 100.
Preferably, the device 100 has both Bluetooth® and Wi-Fi capabilities. The WiFi module (not illustrated) within the device 100 is typically kept in a sleep mode or OFF mode to conserve energy and may be awaken or switched ON only by a command from the mobile phone app received by Bluetooth. When the user requests the app to access files in the device, the computer sends a Bluetooth signal to the device and tells the device to switch on its WIFI module or WIFI function in order to communicate its data. Bluetooth® may be used by the mobile phone or a computer to send a Wi-Fi username and password to the device 100 for establishing the Wi-Fi connection. Using Bluetooth® in a computer to request Wi-Fi connection with the device allows the connection to be set up completely free from user interaction to enter Wi-Fi password and username.
Preferably, whenever the user sends data into the device 100 for storage, the application is able to automatically organize all the data which the user copies into the device into four discreet data memory pools in the device, namely, Music, Pictures, Videos and Files.
In a further variation of the embodiment, the device 100 has a biometric identification module. Preferably, the biometric identification module is a fingerprint identifier provided on the pushbutton 140. In this case, only a person registered as the owner is able to activate the device 100 to communicate with the computer by Bluetooth® and then link up with the computer by Wi-Fi. The functions of detecting fingerprint, authenticating it and permitting operations are known in the art and do not need elaboration here.
In combination of the various different embodiments, a biometric authentication device 100 has been disclosed which does not need to have a physical connector to a host for both transmission and power charging. The data transmission to and from a host can be done wirelessly. Power can be recharged into the battery wirelessly by induction, also relieving the need of a USB connector 122 for recharging the battery. In some configurations, if the device is required to provide power to charge up a mobile phone, for example, only the connector to charge up the mobile phone is required, such as a mini USB wire connector or a Lightning connector. In alternative configurations, where the device 100 is able to charge up a mobile phone also by induction or any other wireless methods, the mini USB wire connector or the Lightning connector may also be omitted. This allows the device to be fabricated with a closed casing, and without any connector or aperture which may be damaged. This prevents infusion of water, moisture, dust and particles into the device 100.
While the foregoing has been with reference to particular embodiments of the invention, it will be appreciated that changes to these embodiments may be made without departing from the invention, the scope of which is determined by the appended claims.
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/CN2015/089388 | 9/10/2015 | WO | 00 |
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 14484040 | Sep 2014 | US |
Child | 15311915 | US |