GB2399984A - An auxiliary charging device for mobile equipment comprising a piezo electric charge device within the hinge connecting the casing members of the mobile. - Google Patents

Abstract

A portable communications device provided with a rechargeable power supply and comprising at least two casing members connected by a hinge portion and arranged such that relative motion between the casing members causes a current to be generated by a charge device and supplied to the rechargeable power supply hence recharging the communications device. The charge device 15 positioned within the hinge and can be a generator or piezo electric device. A gearbox and spring loaded arrangement control the relative motor to open the device.

Description

AUGMENTING THE BATTERY LIFE OF A PORTABLE ELECTRONIC

DEVICE

The present invention relates to the battery life of portable electronics S devices. In particular, the present invention relates an apparatus to augment the battery life of a portable communications device using an auxiliary charging device.

Portable communications devices generally rely upon re-chargeable battery packs for their power. The batteries of portable communications devices such as mobile phones need to be re-charged frequently. Considerable efforts have been made by designers to reduce current consumption In portable communications devices.

Despite these efforts there is a continuing need to prolong the period between recharging events which are an inconvenience and distraction for the user.

Improvements in battery technology may be offset by limitations on the size and capacity of batteries of future products. Where additional features are included m a product and the overall size is limited then the size of a battery may be reduced to accommodate the additional features.

Folding phones and the like have been available for many years and an example of a folding mobile phone is described in US 2002/0006809 Al.

Various arrangements related to mobile phones or similar devices have been proposed for generating charge by mechanical means e.g. WO 98/42060, EP 409 819, GB 2 347 800,GB 2 285 542, US 5 363 445, WO 01/26204, DE 199 55 492.

These prior art arrangements make use of levers, flaps or handles projecting Tom the phone and are generally inconvenient for the user. In all cases, a deliberate action on the part of the user is required. The additional parts also detract from the phone's appearance.

US 6 242 827 describes a portable communication device with a electromechanical transducer which replaces the battery of the commumcations device and converts mechanical energy into electrical energy. A deliberate action from the user would not normally be necessary.

It is known In the prior art (US 6 374 089) to make use of a vibrator motor located in the hinge to dampen the opening and closing movement of the two housings.

The object of the present invention is to provide a portable communication device with an auxiliary charging means which charges a rechargeable power supply of the communications device so as to reduce the frequency of normal recharging intervals.

The above object is achieved by a portable communications device according to the present invention which is provided with a rechargeable power supply and comprises at least two casing members connected by a hinge portion and arranged such that relative motion between the casing members causes a current to be generated by a charge device and supplied to the rechargeable power supply hence recharging the portable communications device.

In a preferred embodiment, the relative motion between the two casing members is a folding motion comprising normal opening and closing actions by a user of the portable device. Also, the charge device is not visible to the user during normal usage of the portable device.

Preferably, the charge device is a generator arranged in contact with a gearbox arrangement such that respective movement of the gears causes the current to be generated by the charge device. The gearbox includes gears which may adopt any suitable configuration to facilitate the charging by the charge device and is preferably positioned along with the charge device within the hinge portion of the portable device which connects the two casing members.

The rechargeable power supply Is preferably a rechargeable battery.

However, it will be appreciated that the rechargeable power supply may be any rechargeable device capable of accumulating and storing charge.

It will be appreciated that the hinged portion may be rotated by the user of the portable device manually moving the lower and upper casing with respect to each other.

Alternatively, a spring loaded release mechanism may be incorporated into the portable device such that the user may press a button on the device to separate the two casing members. The spring mechanism desirably provides damping of the hinge movement allowing a smooth opening of the portable device.

In order that the present invention be more readily understood, embodiments thereof will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure I shows a diagrammatic view of a portable electronic device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 2 shows a detailed view of a hinge portion of the portable electronic device in Figure 1.

The preferred embodiment of the present invention provides a portable electronic device which is a preferably a mobile phone with a rechargeable power supply such as a rechargeable battery and two casing members which form the housing of the phone. The casing is arranged such that when the user opens or closes the phone, a charge means which is preferably a current generator produces a flow of current into the battery of the mobile phone, thus increasing the operational life of the battery.

The preferred embodiment will now be described with reference to Figure l and Figure 2. It will be appreciated that the following embodiment is for example purposes only and that the present invention is not limited to it.

The portable electronic device which is preferably a mobile phone comprises an upper housing 10 and lower housing 20 connected together by a hinge member 30 and movable about the hinge member 30 between open and closed positions. The hinge member 30 is provided with an auxiliary charge means which includes a charge device 31 such as a generator and a plurality of gears. The generator 31 and at least one first gear member 32 are fixed to one section 30a of the hinge portion 30 and at least one second gear member 33 is attached to the other section 30b of the hinge portion 30. A third gear member 34 is pivotally connected to a shaft of the generator 31. The gear members 32,33,34 are respectively arranged within the hinge portion 30 to form a gearbox so that rotation of the second gear member 33 causes rotation of the first gear members 32 which in turn causes rotation of the third gear member 34.

In use, when the hinge 30 is moved, the second gear member 33 moves with respect to the first gear members 32 causing them to spin. This motion is then transferred to the third gear member 34 which is mounted on the generator which Is In turn forced to spin. The gearbox ratio is preferably configured such that a small movement of the second gear member 33 causes a noticeable number of turns of the third gear number 34 and therefore the generator 31.

The spinning of the generator 31 causes a current to be produced which is sent to a rectifier block 35 which typically adopts a bridge rectifier arrangement as shown in Figure 2. This ensures that there is no limitation on the direction of generator spin, nor on the type of generator used so as to allow an alternator style generator or a DC type generator to be utilised in the present invention.

Furthermore, the DC current 36 output from the rectifier 35 flows Into the mobile phone's rechargeable power supply which is preferably in the form of a battery to provide a small amount of charge. The rechargeable power supply may alternatively be any rechargeable device which is capable of accumulating and storing charge such as a capacitor. Hence, the user may augment the operational life of the phone by its very use.

The location of the auxiliary charge means within the hinge portion signifies that it is not visible to the user of the phone and the user does not have to take any special actions such as connecting any external devices to operate the charge means.

It will be appreciated that any appropriate gear configuration may be utilised to generate current in the generator and the present invention is not limited to the aforementioned mechanism.

It will also be appreciated that the auxiliary charge means may be utilised as a damper for a spring loaded mobile communication device. The spring would be located such that when a user presses a release mechanism while the phone is in a closed position, the tensioned spring would cause the phone to adopt its open position. The movement of the hinge portion due to the spring would be converted into current by the generator and would also allow for a smooth damping effect on opening of the phone. The spring-loaded feature may also be desirable in increasing the amount of current, as one characteristic of the generator is that the faster the generator spins, the more current will flow.

Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to mobile phones and may be incorporated into other portable devices such as personal organisers and personal digital assistants.

Additionally, the generator may be used in reverse to act as a motor so as to provide power to open the mobile device.

The main embodiment of the invention has been described by referring to a generator as the charge means. However, any other suitable chargegenerating device such as a piezo electric material may replace the generator to achieve the same effect of producing charge on the opening and closing of the mobile device.

Furthermore, the main embodiment describes a gearbox incorporated into the hinge portion of the phone so that opening and closing of the phone causes rotation of the generator shaft. This does not limit the invention to foldable phones, as the gearbox may not be required in all types of portable devices. Hence, the invention may include devices with sliding covers such that the relative motion of opening and closing the device by sliding one cover member with respect to the other can be arranged to produce a current in the charge device. Thus, linear motion of the casing members may also produce the desired effect.

Claims (8)

1. A portable communications device which is provided with a rechargeable power supply and comprises at least two casing members connected by a hinge portion and arranged such that relative motion between the casing members causes a current to be generated by a charge device and supplied to the rechargeable power supply hence recharging the portable communications device.

2. The device according to claim I wherein the charge device is positioned within the hinge portion.

3. The device according to claim I or 2 wherein the charge device is a generator.

4. The device according to claim 1 or 2 wherein the charge device is a piezo electric device.

5. The device according to claim 1, 2, 3 or 4 further comprising a gearbox arrangement.

6. The device according to any of the preceding claims wherein the relative motion to open the device is controlled by a spring-loaded mechanism.

7. The device according to any of the preceding claims wherein the portable device is a mobile phone.

8. The device according to any of claims I to 6 wherein the portable device is personal digital assistant.