Personalization of mobile electronic devices using smart accessory covers

• US 20040018863A1
• Filed: 05/02/2003
• Published: 01/29/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 05/17/2001
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Wildseed Ltd. (Apollo Global Management, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Wildseed Ltd. (Apollo Global Management, Inc.)
• Inventors: Zatloukal, Peter, Graham, Tyrol R., Engstrom, G. Eric, Ford, William K., Buesseler, Joshua R.
• Application Number:
  US10/428,815
• Publication Number:
  US 20040018863A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/575.8
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1632 External expansion units, e.g. docking stations
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/31 User authentication
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2103 Challenge-response
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2129 Authenticate client device independently of the user
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/3833 Hand-held transceivers
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/3888 Arrangements for carrying or protecting transceivers
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/0283 for providing a decorative aspect, e.g. customization of casings, exchangeable faceplate
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/23 Construction or mounting of dials or of equivalent devices; Means for facilitating the use thereof by improving visibility H04M1/22
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72427 for supporting games or graphical animations
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/7246 by connection of exchangeable housing parts

Abstract

A smart accessory cover adapted for adornment by a mobile electronic device such as a mobile phone, a personal digital assistant, a palm sized personal computer, a media player or a game console is provided. The accessory cover includes physical design to convey a theme, and an embedded electronic component having data and/or programming instructions to personalize the functionalities of the mobile electronic device in accordance with the theme. In various embodiments, the theme may be a celebrity singer theme, a celebrity sport figure theme, or other themes.

Claims

1. An smart accessory cover for personalizing a mobile electronic apparatus comprising:

a cover body, not an element required to complete the mobile electronic apparatus, to be adorned by the mobile electronic apparatus, covering at least partially a plurality of exterior surfaces of a body of the apparatus, with the exterior surfaces being disposed on different geometric planes;

graphic design disposed on one or more exterior surfaces of the cover body to convey a theme; and

an electronic component disposed in an inside surface of the cover body, and having at least a selected one of data and location to retrieve said data, said data personalizing a functionality of the mobile electronic apparatus in support of the theme.

2. The accessory cover of claim 1, wherein the cover body is substantially U-shaped, designed to snap onto said body of the mobile electronic apparatus from a sideway direction.

3. The accessory cover of claim 1, wherein the theme is a celebrity singer theme.

4. The accessory cover of claim 3, wherein the celebrity singer theme comprise a singer of a music family selected from a music family group comprising rock n roll, country, pop, jazz, rap and classical.

5. The accessory cover of claim 3, wherein the data provide a ring tone comprising audio segments extracted from songs of the celebrity singer theme.

6. The accessory cover of claim 3, wherein the data provide at least a selected one of video/picture and audio materials in support of the celebrity singer theme.

7. The accessory cover of claim 3, wherein the data provide lyrics of songs in support of the celebrity singer theme.

8. The accessory cover of claim 1, wherein the theme is a celebrity sport figure theme.

9. The cover of claim 8, wherein the celebrity sport figure theme comprise a sport figure of a sport selected from a sport group comprising baseball, basketball, football, soccer, ice hockey, tennis, and figure skating.

10. The accessory cover of claim 8, wherein the data provide a ring tone comprising audio segments extracted from songs consistent with the celebrity sport figure theme.

11. The accessory cover of claim 8, wherein the data provide at least a selected one of video/picture in support of the celebrity sport figure theme.

12. The accessory cover of claim 8, wherein the data provide a game schedule in support of the celebrity sport figure theme.

13. The accessory cover of claim 8, wherein the data provide logic to access a game log in support of the celebrity sport figure theme.

14. The accessory cover of claim 1, wherein the cover body comprises a resilient semi-rigid shell including a front face and back face commonly connected to a side portion to wrap around a portion of a front, back and side of the mobile electronic apparatus upon adornment by the mobile electronic apparatus.

15. The accessory cover of claim 1, wherein the cover body is designed to be adorned by the mobile electronic apparatus without the employment of fasteners.

16. The accessory cover of claim 1, wherein the accessory cover further comprise a membrane including a plurality of dumb buttons to facilitate a user to activate corresponding keys of a keypad of the mobile electronic device.

17. The accessory cover of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of notches defined in at least one of a front face and a back face of the accessory cover, to assist in securing the accessory cover to the adorning mobile electronic apparatus.

18. The accessory cover of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of latches defined in at least one of a front face and a back face of the accessory cover, to assist in securing the accessory cover to the adorning mobile electronic apparatus.

19. The accessory cover of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of inwardly extending protrusions defined in at least one of a front face and a back face of the accessory cover, to assist in securing the accessory cover to the adorning mobile electronic apparatus.

20. The accessory cover of claim 1, wherein the electronic component comprises a selected of a EEPROM and compact flash.

21. The accessory cover of claim 1, wherein the electronic component comprises a processor.

22. The accessory cover of claim 1, wherein the apparatus comprises a selected one of a wireless mobile phone, a personal digital assistant and a wireless text messaging apparatus.