Portable charger for mobile phones

• US 20050116684A1
• Filed: 04/14/2004
• Published: 06/02/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 11/27/2003
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Korea Rifcom Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Korea Rifcom Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: Kim, Ju-young
• Application Number:
  US10/824,334
• Publication Number:
  US 20050116684A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 320/114
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 11/0241 for telephones
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 11/0247 for microphones or earphones
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0044 specially adapted for holding portable devices containing batteries H02J7/0045 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/342 The other DC source being a battery actively interacting with the first one, i.e. battery to battery charging with circuits for polarity protection H02J7/0034
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/3883 Arrangements for mounting batteries or battery chargers
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/05 specially adapted for use on head, throat or breast
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/15 Protecting or guiding telephone cords
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/6058 involving the use of a headset accessory device connected to the portable telephone
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/6075 adapted for handsfree use in a vehicle H04M1/6058 takes precedence; arrangements for holding telephones in a vehicle B60R11/0241

Abstract

An object of this invention is to provide a portable charger for a mobile phone. The portable charger includes a main body, a rechargeable battery, an accessory unit, and an earphone unit. The main body has a cradle on a predetermined portion thereof so that the mobile phone is seated in the cradle. The rechargeable battery is provided in the main body to be charged by electric power supplied to the portable charger. The accessory unit supports the main body in such a way that a user carries the portable charger. The earphone unit is provided to be drawn out from the main body. The portable charger is constructed to allow a user to carry, thus being available regardless of time and place. Further, the portable charger has a rechargeable battery therein, thus allowing a mobile phone to be charged without the supply of electric power, and allowing a user to make a call and listen to music using the audio function of the mobile phone even when the mobile phone is being charged.

Claims

1. A portable charger for a mobile phone, comprising:

a main body having a cradle on a predetermined portion thereof so that the mobile phone is seated in the cradle;

a rechargeable battery provided in the main body to be charged by electric power supplied to the portable charger;

an accessory unit to support the main body in such a way that a user carries the portable charger; and

an earphone unit provided to be drawn out from the main body.

2. The portable charger according to claim 1, wherein the accessory unit comprises at least one of a clamp provided at a predetermined portion of the main body to clamp the main body on a user'"'"'s belt, a neck-strap coupled to the main body to allow the main body to be worn around a user'"'"'s neck, and a mount unit detachably mounted to a predetermined position of a vehicle.

3. The portable charger according to claim 1, wherein the earphone unit comprises:

a rotating shaft provided in the main body;

an earphone wire wound around the rotating shaft, the earphone wire being drawn out through a first hole formed on a sidewall of the main body so as to be extended to a desired length; and

an elastic member to restore the extended earphone wire to an original state thereof by an elastic force of the elastic member.

4. The portable charger according to claim 3, wherein the earphone unit further comprises:

a stopper unit operated to stop the earphone wire when the earphone wire is drawn out from the main body to the desired length and then is released, the stopper unit being operated to make the earphone wire be wound around the rotating shaft by the elastic member.

5. The portable charger according to claim 4, wherein the stopper unit comprises:

a plate spring cap to house and support the elastic member therein and rotate along with the rotating shaft of the earphone unit, with a plurality of notches being formed around an outer circumferential surface of the plate spring cap to be spaced apart from each other;

a rotary pin; and

a stop lever rotating about the rotary pin in a see-saw manner, with a first end of the stop lever engaging with one of the notches of the plate spring cap to prevent the plate spring cap from being undesirably rotated, and a second end of the stop lever being exposed to an outside of the main body through a second hole formed on the sidewall of the main body.

6. The portable charger according to claim 5, wherein the second end of the stop lever is exposed to the outside of the main body through the second hole of the main body, thus forming a button which is operated to disengage the first end of the stop lever from the associated notch.

7. The portable charger according to claim 5 or 6, further comprising:

a support pin to elastically bias a side of the stop lever, thus preventing the first end of the stop lever from being undesirably removed from the associated notch.

8. The portable charger according to claim 1, wherein the earphone unit comprises:

an earphone wire drawn out from the main body to a predetermined length; and

a wire winding unit to temporarily stop the earphone wire when the earphone wire is drawn out from the main body to a desired length, the wire winding unit allowing the earphone wire to be retracted into the main body when the earphone wire is further drawn in a same direction and then is released.

9. The portable charger according to claim 8, wherein the wire winding unit comprises:

a shaft provided in the main body;

a bobbin around which the earphone wire is wound, the bobbin rotating about the shaft and being stopped by a predetermined frictional resistance;

a guide disc moving along with the bobbin and selectively compressing the bobbin so that the predetermined frictional resistance occurs between the bobbin and the guide disc;

a return spring to return the bobbin to an original position thereof;

a ball to move along a guide path formed on the guide disc; and

a ball moving disc part provided to face the guide disc so that the ball is placed between the guide disc and the ball moving disc part, the ball moving disc part supporting the ball and forming a path of a movement of the ball based on a position of the earphone wire extended from the main body.

10. The portable charger according to claim 9, wherein the ball moving disc part is integrally provided on an inner surface of the front cover to be depressed.

11. The portable charger according to claim 10, wherein the ball moving disc part comprises a plurality of ball seats in which the ball is seated according to the position of the earphone wire extended from the main body, at least one of the ball seats being provided to have a depth which is different from remaining ball seats.

12. The portable charger according to claim 9, wherein the guide path of the guide disc comprises:

a reciprocating section where the ball reciprocates; and

an arc-shaped moving section extending from a first side to a second side of the reciprocating section, so that the ball moves along the arc-shaped moving section, with an inclined step being formed at each of both ends of the arc-shaped moving section adjacent to the reciprocating section to guide the ball from the reciprocating section to the arc-shaped moving section according to the position of the earphone wire extended from the main body.

13. The portable charger according to claim 9, further comprising:

upper and lower caps mounted to the front and rear covers, respectively, thus preventing the rotation of the shaft of the wire winding unit, each of the upper and lower caps comprising;

a fitting projection fitted into a slit which is cut on each of upper and lower ends of the shaft of the wire winding unit to have a desired length; and

a locking projection to lock each of the upper and lower caps to the corresponding front and rear covers.

14. The portable charger according to claim 13, wherein

the return spring comprises a spiral spring seated in a spring seat which is provided in the bobbin, with a first end of the return spring being supported by the slit which is provided on the upper end of the shaft of the wire winding unit, and a second end of the return spring being supported by the bobbin.

15. The portable charger according to claim 1, wherein the cradle supports upper and lower ends of the mobile phone or both side surfaces of the mobile phone.

16. The portable charger according to claim 15, wherein the cradle supports both side surfaces of the mobile phone, and the mobile phone is magnetically attached to and removed from a phone seating surface of the cradle.

17. The portable charger according to claim 16, further comprising:

a metal pad attached to a surface of the mobile phone; and

at least one magnet provided on the phone seating surface so that the metal pad of the mobile phone is magnetically attached to the magnet.

18. The portable charger according to claim 17, wherein the phone seating surface further comprises:

a magnet support member to support the magnet;

a magnet cover placed on the magnet support member, and having at least one magnet seating holes to seat the magnet therein; and

a fastening member to fasten the magnet cover and the magnet support member to the phone seating surface.

19. The portable charger according to claim 18, further comprising:

an ornament pad made of a material to pass a magnetic force therethrough, and attached to the magnet cover.

20. The portable charger according to claim 1, further comprising:

a circuit board having a power terminal, the circuit board being connected to the rechargeable battery to supply the electric power to the rechargeable battery; and

a radio local transceiver mounted to a predetermined portion of the circuit board.