Patent Application
20080258642
Portable electronic devices have become more and more popular in recent years. For example, portable radios, portable music recording a music playing devices, portable cellular telephones, portable hand held personal data assistants (PDAs) and portable handheld and laptop computers are very popular. Portable electronic devices are typically powered with batteries when used in a portable mode or a plug-in power supply when used in a stationary mode. Many such devices are provided with optional rechargeable batteries or with permanently installed rechargeable batteries. In such cases a plug-in power supply device may either provide operating electrical power or electrical power for recharging the rechargeable batteries or both. The voltage used by any particular portable electronic device (sometimes referred to herein as a PED) is not always the same for different PEDs. Traditionally, many PEDs are made to operate on voltages selected in increments of 1.5 volts (such as 1.5, 3, 4.5, 6, 7.5, and 9 volts for example) chosen by a manufacturer for their particular PED. This allows the use of alkaline replacement batteries that may be inserted into the PED in a series arrangement of multiple alkaline batteries of 1.5 volts. Rechargeable batteries, as for example NiCad batteries that also have a nominal full charge voltage of about 1.5 volts may also be provided in increments of to match the number of replaceable alkaline batteries that might be required. Rechargeable NiCad batteries could often be used in place of the standard alkaline replacement batteries to provide convenient rechargeable capabilities in place of the replaceable batteries.
In many instances a manufacture of a PED would also provide a separate power supply or recharging devices together with the PED. After market power supply/recharging devices have also been available in the market place. Such recharging devices were used to convert standard electrical power (current at a given voltage) into a required charging current and voltage for the particular PED to operate or for the appropriate battery or batteries to be charged. For example, a PED may operate on 7.5 volts DC and the expected available source power or a standard input power to the recharging device might be a standard US household voltage of 110-120 volts AC. For example, 110VAC to 120vAC is usually available in most US homes, hotels, and buildings at wall sockets to provide at least about 10 amps of current and up to about 60 amps of current, depending upon the building wiring and fuses or circuit breakers. Another example of a standard available power is a standard automotive voltage of 12 volts DC, usually provided by a large capacity lead acid battery that is carried onboard most automobiles, trucks and other vehicles and that is kept charged during running of the vehicle or recharged by an alternator. Usually automobiles have wires and circuits carrying at least about 5 amps and up to about 50 amps depending upon the automobile wiring and fuses. The type of charging device circuitry is different for the household Alternating Current (AC) and for the automotive Direct Current (DC). The operating power supply or the re-charging devices convert the input electrical voltage and current into an appropriate operating or charging voltage and current. The voltage and current that is appropriate depends upon the requirements of the PED and the design and number of rechargeable batteries for which the recharging device is designed. Such recharging devices are typically provided with either a household plug for receiving household AC electrical power or an automotive electrical receptacle generally known as a cigarette lighter plug. For many years almost all automobiles have been provided with a dashboard mounted plug-in cigarette lighter that conveniently provides access to an automotive electrical circuit connected to the 12 volt battery and/or the alternator of the automobile. The user typically has an option of purchasing one type of re-charger for use with household electrical power in a building or another type for use with automotive electrical power in a vehicle. A traveler may have one charger for use while driving and another for use when in a home, hotel, or building at a destination. It will be noted that different voltage and current conversion circuitry is required, even for the same PED, depending upon whether the power source will be household AC or automotive DC. Thus, two recharging devices were often carried by travelers to accommodate both or either in-building operation/recharging and car operation/recharging as might be available at a time that the charge of the batteries of the PED became insufficient for proper operation.
In more recent years, many different types and voltages of batteries have been developed and adopted by manufactures. For example, nickel metal hydride (NiMetal Hydride) cells have a nominal voltage of 1.2 volts, although at full high charge they may be as high as 1.5 volts. NiMetal Hydride cells can generally provide a direct replacement for alkaline batteries in many applications. Other examples include lithium ion (Li+) batteries that typically are chargeable to about 4.1 to 4.2 volts for single cells and lithium polymer (Li-Poly) batteries typically are chargeable to about the 4.3 to 4.4 volts range. In many modern portable electronic devices these types of rechargeable batteries are often built right into the portable electronic devices or attached as a specially shaped cell to be part of the PED. Such PEDs are typically provide with a separate recharging unit having appropriate recharging circuitry and connectable to the portable electronic device with a special plug and cord adapter. The type of circuitry and plug for a particular recharging unit will differ depending upon the intended source of power, 115 v AC, 12 v DC or another voltage and current that may be “standard” in other countries outside of the US. In many instance a recharging circuit may be built into the PED and only an adapter cord with the required plug connections might be separately provided to connect the PED to a standard power source. The adapter cord still needs to match the intended power source and often travelers purchase both types (AC plug and DC car charger plug) so that charging is available with either a household current outlet or an automobile cigarette lighter receptacle. Such adapter cords or plug-in charging units typically connect to the PED with a plug and receptacle that is unique or proprietary to the particular PED or the particular manufacturer. As used here the term “unique” as applied to the connector may mean that the manufacturer has selected one of many available plug and receptacle configurations selected or produced by the manufacturer. It is unique because there is no true adopted standard for all PEDs. Thus, one end of the connector or cord plus into the PED and the other end of the connector or cord is be adapted to one or the other of a household plug or a cigarette lighter plug. It continues to be appropriate for a traveler to carry two recharging units or two cords to be able to accommodate either automobile operation/recharging or in-building operation/recharging.
Certain advances in computer technology have led to the development of a connector known as a universal serial bus (USB). A USB connector is often called a USB port and it includes a generally rectangular shaped male and female plug-in connection with a number of slide together contact electrical connection terminals. The terminals are arranged in a standardized pattern and when connected provide for rapid data transfer and information communication between computers, PEDs, and data storage devices, such as for example between two computers, between a computer and a PED, or between a computer and a data storage device. To facilitate the use of inexpensive data storage devices and other peripheral devices, the USB ports also include electrical power terminals in addition to the data connection terminals. Currently, most USB ports provide electrical power from an electrical device such as a computer in which the USB port is mounted. The electrical power available for transmission with a USB port is currently standardized at 5 volts DC for available USB protocol devices whether USB 1.1 or USB 2.0. The electrical power is provided at 5 volts DC and 100 μamps, for a low power USB port, and up to 500 μamps for a high power USB port. Some USB operating circuitry allows for a peripheral device to specify (with an appropriate data signal) the amount of current required in increments of 100 Lamps, up to a total of 500 ramps.
Some portable electrical devices and some operating/recharging units, such as those with recharging circuits for NiCad batteries, circuits for nickel metal hydride batteries, circuits for lithium ion batteries, or circuits for lithium polymer batteries, have now been adapted to connect to USB ports. Such operating power/battery recharging units convert the available 5 v DC into an appropriate recharging voltage and current for the particular PED. A wide variety of recharging devices and cords are available from various portable electronic device manufactures and also from after market providers of recharging units. In the case of PEDs that are designed with onboard charging circuitry and that use USB voltage and current, a USB cable may be required to make a connection to a powered USB port that can typically be found on most modern personal computers.
Travelers with any of a variety of available portable electronic devices often no longer have the option to carry spare replacement alkaline batteries, but instead travel with the recharging cords or recharging devices specially adapted for each of the portable electrical devices being carried by the traveler. This can often lead to the carrying of two times as many cords/recharging devices as the traveler has portable electronic devices.
In general, in one or more aspects, the invention relates to a lamp base having an electrical device recharging receptacle configured as a standard automobile cigarette lighter receptacle to receive a plug from a recharging unit for a rechargeable portable electronic device (PED). The lamp base includes a voltage and current conversion circuit for receiving a standard household voltage and converting the standard household voltage and current into a standard automotive voltage and current.
In one or more embodiments, the receptacle includes electrical contacts for removable engagement with a plug of a recharging device designed for insertion into a standard cigarette lighter receptacle, wherein the contacts are removably connected to the standard automotive voltage and current form the voltage and current conversion circuit.
In one or more embodiments a lamp base is provided with a receptacle for an upgradeable USB power port adapter.
Other aspects and alternative useful embodiments of the invention will be apparent from the following description and the appended claims.
One or more embodiments of the invention will be described with reference to the accompanying figures. Like items in the figures are shown with the same reference numbers.
In embodiments of the invention, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a more thorough understanding of the invention. However, it will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that the invention may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known features have not been described in detail to avoid obscuring the invention.
Another internal connection 70 connects the power cord 54 to another circuit 80 by which the voltage and current is converted to a different voltage and current that may be conveyed to one or more outlet receptacles. An activation switch 82 may be provided by which the conversion circuit 80 is activated to convert the input electrical voltage and current from connector 70 into one or more the different output voltages and currents. According to one embodiment of the invention the household voltage and current are converted to and output voltage and current that corresponds to a standard automotive voltage and current that is connected at 84 to an automobile cigarette lighter receptacle 90. In this example US standard household voltage is nominally 115 VAC and the available current to the lamp is 10-20 amps (depending upon the wiring to the receptacle (not shown) into which plug 56 might be inserted. In automobiles manufactured in the US, and in most vehicles manufactured throughout the world, the standard automotive voltage is nominally 12 volts DC. Thus, it is useful for the conversion circuit to convert 115 VAC into 12 volts DC. It is also useful that the receptacle 90 is formed as a standard cigarette lighter receptacle so that all operating and/or recharging devices made for use in an automobile can be used in the receptacle 90 in the lamp base.
An indicator light 72 may also be connected to the conversion circuit 80, as for example by a connector 74. For convenience, a household receptacle 86 may also be held by the lamp base 42 and may be provided with standard household voltage and current by connector 88. In one or more embodiments a closure panel 48, such as a hinged door 48 may be connected to overlay a face 92 of the lamp base 42 at which the receptacle 90 is held, so that the receptacle 90 may be hidden from view and so that inadvertent collection of dust or insertion of objects and the like is avoided when the receptacle 90 is not in use.
The inventor has found that it is useful to provide such a lamp base for use with lamps placed in hotel or motel rooms for the convenience of travelers. In this way only one operating/recharging unit needs to be carried by the traveler and the same operating/recharging unit is usable both in car or other vehicle and also in a hotel room. In the case where the lamp is placed on a table top, on a counter top, on a dresser, on a night stand, or another elevated surface, a plugged in operating/recharging unit is easily and conveniently plugged in and also it is in plain view so that the opportunity to forget a unit plugged into a wall receptacle is reduced. It has been found by the inventor that operating/recharging units of the household plug type are left plugged in hotel rooms on a frequent and regular basis by travelers. Because the traveler is often traveling in a vehicle, the missing recharging unit for the household receptacle is not missed for some time as the automobile unit is next to be used. Later, often at the next destination when trying to plug into a house receptacle, the user discovers the missing charging unit and must go to the effort of retrieving the unit from the previous hotel or to the expense and effort of obtaining a replacement.
Referring to
While the invention has been described with respect to a limited number of embodiments, those skilled in the art, having benefit of this disclosure, will appreciate that other embodiments can be devised which do not depart from the scope of the invention as disclosed herein. Accordingly, the scope of the invention should be limited only by the attached claims.
