Earbud charging case

• US 9,148,717 B2
• Filed: 01/23/2015
• Issued: 09/29/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 02/21/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Alpha Audiotronics, Inc. (Panacos Pharmaceuticals, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Alpha Audiotronics, Inc. (Panacos Pharmaceuticals, Inc.)
• Inventors: Shaffer, Jonathan Everett
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, TUAN DUC
• Application Number:
  US14/604,082
• Publication Number:
  US 20150245127A1
• Time in Patent Office: 249 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/1016 Earpieces of the intra-aural type
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/1025 Accumulators or arrangements for charging secondary cells per se H01M10/00; charging in general H02J7/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2420/07 Applications of wireless loudspeakers or wireless microphones
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2499/11 Transducers incorporated or for use in hand-held devices, e.g. mobile phones, PDA's, camera's

Abstract

A case for a mobile electronic device includes an aperture configured to receive one or more earbuds, a portion configured to receive power from a power source, and circuitry configured to simultaneously charge the one or more earbuds and the mobile electronic device.

Claims

1. A case for a mobile electronic device, the case comprising:

a housing;

one or more earbud receiving apertures, wherein each earbud receiving aperture is associated with one or more electrical components configured to transfer an electrical charge from a power source to an earbud when the earbud is positioned within the aperture;

one or more electrical components that provide a conductive connection from the power source to a power input port of a mobile electronic device that is in contact with the housing, to enable a simultaneous charge of the one or more earbuds when placed in the one or more apertures and of the mobile electronic device when placed in the housing;

one or more earbuds, each of which is positioned to fit within one of the earbud receiving apertures, and each of which further comprises;

one or more of the electrical contacts, one or more sensors configured to detect when the earbud is within or outside of an earbud receiving aperture, and programming that causes the earbud to receive the output of the one or more sensors and use the output to;

activate the earbud when the earbud is removed from an earbud receiving aperture, and power down the earbud by turning the earbud off or placing the earbud in an idle mode when the earbud is placed within an earbud receiving aperture.

2. The case of claim 1, wherein the conductive connection comprises a jack that is configured to receive a power input cable from the power source.

3. The case of claim 1, further comprising a charging device that comprises a cable that is configured to connect to the jack and to plug into a computing device and convey charge and data to the case from the computing device.

4. The case of claim 1, wherein:

the power source comprises an induction charging unit; and

each of the apertures is in conductive communication with an induction coil that, when placed within range of the induction charging unit, will transform an electromagnetic field received from the induction charging unit into electric current and transfer the current to the electrical contact of its associated aperture.

5. The case of claim 4, further comprising:

one or more earbuds, each of which is positioned to fit within one of the earbud receiving apertures; and

each of which further comprises one or more electrical components configured to receive a charge from the case;

wherein one or more electrical components within each earbud comprise an induction coil.

6. The case of claim 1, further comprising a battery that is electrically connected to the one or more electrical components that provide the conductive connection, each aperture, and the power input port of the mobile electronic device.

7. The case of claim 1, wherein the housing comprises a base portion that comprises:

a plurality of sidewalls;

one or more earbud retaining apertures positioned to be oriented perpendicular to a longest axis of the housing; and

a plug extending from one of the sidewalls in a direction that is perpendicular to the orientation of the earbud retaining apertures and parallel to the longest axis of the housing.

8. The case of claim 1, wherein the housing comprises a base portion that comprises:

a plurality of sidewalls;

one or more earbud retaining apertures positioned to be oriented parallel to a longest axis of the housing; and

a plug extending from one of the sidewalls in a direction that is parallel to the orientation of the earbud retaining apertures and parallel to the longest axis of the housing.

9. The case of claim 1, wherein the one or more sensors comprise one or more of the following:

a pressure sensor;

or

a magnetic sensor.

10. The case of claim 1, wherein each earbud receiving aperture comprises a magnet positioned to engage and secure the earbud when the earbud is positioned within the aperture.

11. The case of claim 1, wherein each earbud comprises a magnet that secures the earbud to the aperture when the earbud is positioned within the aperture.