Wireless Charger Assembly for Mobile Phones

Abstract

A wireless charger assembly for wirelessly charging a mobile phone having a receive coil. The assembly includes a mobile phone case securable to the mobile phone having a bottom defining a bore. The bottom has a thickness surrounding the bore. The assembly also includes a wireless charger mount securable to the mobile phone case including a base, a protrusion, and a transmit coil housed within the protrusion. The protrusion and the transmit coil are receivable within the bore for charging the mobile phone when the mobile phone case is secured to the mobile phone and the wireless charger mount.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates generally to a wireless charger assembly for charging a mobile phone.

[0002] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation of U.S. Patent Application No. 17 / 859,528, filed July 7, 2022, which claims the benefit of priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 290,799, filed December 17, 2021. The disclosures set forth in the referenced applications are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties. [Background technology]

[0003] The use of wireless charging to charge smartphones and other mobile phones is commonly known. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, when the mobile phone is placed within a protective mobile phone case, wireless charging becomes slower and less efficient because the thickness of the mobile phone case increases the separation between the transmitting coil of the wireless charger mount and the receiving coil of the mobile phone. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] The present disclosure relates to a wireless charger assembly for wirelessly charging a mobile phone having a receiving coil. The wireless charger assembly includes a mobile phone case securable to a mobile phone. A bottom of the mobile phone case defines a bore. The bottom has a thickness surrounding the bore. The wireless charger assembly also includes a wireless charger mount securable to the mobile phone case. The wireless charger mount includes a base, a protrusion, and a transmitting coil housed within the protrusion. The protrusion and the transmitting coil are receivable within the bore for charging the mobile phone when the mobile phone case is secured to the mobile phone and wireless charger mount. The thickness of the bottom surrounding the bore is greater than a distance between the transmitting coil and the receiving coil when the mobile phone case is secured to the mobile phone and wireless charger mount.

[0006] The wireless charger assembly may include a plurality of metal plates for magnetically securing the wireless charger mount to the cell phone case. The cell phone case may include one of the metal plates and the protrusion of the wireless charger mount may include another of the metal plates. One of the metal plates may be a magnet and the other metal plate may be a magnet or may be a metal plate including a metal that is magnetically attracted to a magnet. Instead of or in addition to the metal plates, the wireless charger mount may include at least one tab and the bottom of the cell phone case may define at least one slot in continuity with the bore for receiving the tab. The wireless charger mount may be rotatable relative to the cell phone case to engage the tab and the cell phone case when the tab is received by the slot. In one embodiment, there are four slots spaced 90 degrees apart and four tabs spaced 90 degrees apart.

[0007] These and other features of the present invention will be best understood from the following drawings and detailed description.

[0008] The various features and advantages of this invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of the illustrated embodiments. The drawings that accompany the detailed description can be briefly described as follows: [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is an exploded view of a mobile phone and a wireless charger assembly for charging the mobile phone according to one embodiment of the present disclosure, showing in dashed lines one of the metal plates for magnetically fastening the assembly and the transmit coil together. [Diagram 2] 2 is a cross-sectional view along line XX in FIG. 1 when the mobile phone and wireless charger mount are fastened together according to an embodiment that does not include a metal plate. [Diagram 3] 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line XX in FIG. 1 when the mobile phone is attached to the mobile phone case of the wireless charger mount, prior to fastening the wireless charger mount of the wireless charger assembly to the mobile phone case, in an embodiment that does not include a metal plate. [Figure 4] 2 is a cross-sectional view of the embodiment of FIG. 1 taken along line XX, showing a metal plate within the mobile phone case and a wireless charger mount for securing the wireless charger mount to the mobile phone case. [Diagram 5] FIG. 13 is an exploded view of a wireless charger mount according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 6] FIG. 13 is an exploded view of a wireless charger mount according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 7] 1 is a cutaway view of a cell phone case and a perspective view of a wireless charger mount of a wireless charger assembly according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 8] 1 illustrates a cutaway view of a cell phone case and a perspective view of a wireless charger mount of a wireless charger assembly according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] Other aspects and advantages of the present disclosure will become apparent from consideration of the following detailed description.

[0011] 1-4 illustrate an embodiment of a mobile phone 10 and a wireless charger assembly 12 for charging the mobile phone, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The mobile phone 10 may be an iPhone or any other type of handheld phone. The mobile phone 10 has a receiving coil 14. The illustrated wireless charger assembly 12 includes a protective mobile phone case 16 and a wireless charger mount 18 having a transmitting coil 20 for charging the mobile phone 10 when the wireless charger assembly 12 and the mobile phone 10 are secured to the mobile phone case 16.

[0012] The illustrated cell phone case 16 has a bottom 24 and a number of side rails 32 for engaging the cell phone 10 and securing the cell phone case to the cell phone. The bottom 24 has a bottom surface 26 and a top surface 28. The bottom surface 26 defines a bore 30. The bottom 24 has a thickness T1 surrounding the bore 30 that is greater than a thickness T2 of the portion at the bore. The bore 30 may be circular or have any other configuration.

[0013] The illustrated wireless charger mount 18 includes a base 42 and a protrusion 44 extending from the base. The base 42 and protrusion 44 are disk-shaped with the diameter of the protrusion being smaller than the diameter of the base. The wireless charger mount 18 can have any other shape and configuration according to other embodiments of the present disclosure. The transmit coil 20 is disposed or otherwise housed within the protrusion 44. The protrusion 44 is receivable within the bore 30 defined by the bottom 24. The wireless charger mount 18 includes any suitable power source (not shown), including any suitable cable connected to the wireless charger mount 18 in any suitable manner for providing power to the transmit coil 20. The casing of the mobile phone case 16 and the wireless charger mount 18 may be constructed of any suitable plastic or any other suitable material and may have any other suitable configuration according to other embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0014] The cell phone case 16 and the wireless charger mount 18 may be engaged or otherwise secured together. In FIG. 1 and FIG. 4, for example, the cell phone case 16 includes a metal plate 50 and the base 42 of the wireless charger mount 18 includes a metal plate 52. These two metal plates 50 and 52 are positioned to magnetically couple when the base 42 is received by the bore 30. The metal plates 50 and 52 may be in the form of a pair of magnets. Alternatively, one of the two metal plates 50 and 52 may be in the form of a magnet and the other of the two metal plates may be in the form of another metal plate that is attracted to the magnet. The metal plates 50 and 52 may be in the form of a circular magnetic array that is compatible with Apple's MAGSAFE technology, for example, a magnetic technology developed by Apple Computer, Inc. ("Apple") for magnetically securing or otherwise attaching iPhone products to accessory products. The metal plates 50 and 52 may have any suitable configuration according to other embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0015] The cell phone case 16 and the wireless charger 18 may be secured together in any other suitable manner. For example, instead of or in addition to the metal plates 50 and 52, the cell phone case 16 may define one or more slots in continuity with the bore 30, and the protrusion 44 of the wireless charger mount 18 may include one or more tabs receivable by the one or more slots. When the one or more tabs are received and pass through the one or more slots, the cell phone case 16 may be secured to the wireless charger mount 18 by rotating the wireless charger mount relative to the cell phone case.

[0016] In the embodiment of FIG. 5, for example, the cell phone case 116 has one lateral slot 150 extending from the bore 130, and the protrusion 144 of the wireless charger mount 118 has one lateral tab 152 extending from a base parallel to the axis of the wireless charger mount. The wireless charger mount 118 is secured to the cell phone case by receiving the lateral tab 152 within the lateral slot 150. In this embodiment, the wireless charger mount 118 does not rotate relative to the cell phone case 116 when the lateral tab 152 is received by the lateral slot 150. In the embodiment of FIG. 6, the cell phone case 216 includes four slots 250 extending laterally from the bore 230 spaced 90 degrees apart, and the protrusion 244 of the wireless charger mount 218 has four lateral tabs 252 spaced 90 degrees apart. The wireless charger mount 218 is secured to the cell phone case 216 by receiving the lateral tab 152 within the lateral slot 250 and rotating the wireless charger mount 118 45 degrees relative to the cell phone case 116 so that the lateral tab engages the opposite side of the cell phone case. The embodiment of FIG. 6 may also be characterized as having two slots 250 spaced 180 degrees apart extending laterally from the bore 230 and a protrusion 244 of the wireless charger mount 218 having two lateral tabs 252 spaced 180 degrees apart. The bore, protrusion, and slots, if included, may have any suitable size or configuration according to other embodiments of the present disclosure. The metal plate may be included or omitted in the embodiments of FIGS. 5 and 6. In the embodiment of FIG. 7, the bore 330 of the cell phone case 316 is square and the protrusion 344 of the wireless charger mount 318 is square. The square configuration of the bore 330 of the cell phone case 316 and the protrusion 344 of the wireless charger mount 318 prevents rotation of the respective wireless charger 318 relative to the cell phone case 316. In each of the embodiments of Figures 5-7, the transmit coil is housed within the respective protrusion 144, 244 and 344 which is received within the respective bore 130, 230 and 330, and is therefore positioned closer to the receive coil of the cell phone secured to the cell phone case.

[0017] In the embodiment of FIG. 8, four lateral tabs 452 extend from a base parallel to the axis of the wireless charger mount 418 and are received by four lateral slots in the cell phone case 416. In this embodiment, the wireless charger mount 418 cannot rotate relative to the cell phone case 416. The transmit coil is housed in a protrusion 444 housed in the bore 416 and is therefore positioned closer to the receive coil of the cell phone fixed to the cell phone case. According to other embodiments of the present disclosure, the cell phone case can have more or less than four slots and the protrusion of the cell phone case can have more or less than four lateral tabs.

[0018] The present disclosure provides more efficient wireless charging for protective cell phone cases. Due to their thickness, cell phone cases generally interfere with or limit wireless charging through the cell phone case. However, in the present disclosure, the distance between the receiving coil 14 and the transmitting coil 20 is smaller than the thickness T1 of the bottom 24 surrounding the bore 30 of the cell phone case 16 because the protrusion 44 and the transmitting coil are received by the bore, and because the thickness T2 of the bottom at the location of the bore is thinner than the thickness T1 of the bottom surrounding the bore. As a result of this structure, the receiving coil 14 and the transmitting coil 20 are closer to each other, improving the wireless charging speed and efficiency, as well as the cell phone case 16. At the same time, the disclosed embodiment of the present disclosure allows the transmitting and receiving coils to be aligned in the other two directions. In addition, the cell phone case 16 protects the cell phone 10 due to the thickness of the portion of the cell phone case surrounding the bore 30.

[0019] The foregoing is merely illustrative of the principles of the present invention. Many modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings. However, having disclosed preferred embodiments of the present invention, those skilled in the art will recognize that certain modifications would fall within the scope of the present invention. It is therefore to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described. For that reason, the following claims should be studied to determine the true scope and content of the present invention.

Claims

1. 1. A wireless charger assembly for wirelessly charging a mobile phone having a receiving coil, comprising: a mobile phone case securable to the mobile phone having a bottom defining a bore, the bottom having a thickness surrounding the bore; a wireless charger mount securable to the mobile phone case, the wireless charger mount including a base, a protrusion, and a transmitting coil housed within the protrusion, the protrusion and the transmitting coil being receivable within the bore for charging the mobile phone when the mobile phone case is secured to the mobile phone and the wireless charger mount; a thickness of the bottom portion surrounding the bore that is greater than a distance between the transmitting coil and the receiving coil when the mobile phone case is secured to the mobile phone and the wireless charger mount; Wireless charger assembly.

2. 10. The wireless charger assembly of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of metal plates for magnetically securing the wireless charger mount to the mobile phone case.

3. 3. The wireless charger assembly of claim 1, wherein the mobile phone case includes a first metal plate, the base includes a second metal plate, at least one of the first and second metal plates is a magnet, and the first and second metal plates are for magnetically securing the wireless charger mount to the mobile phone case.

4. 2. The wireless charger assembly of claim 1, wherein the wireless charger mount includes at least one tab, the bottom defines at least one slot contiguous with the bore for receiving the tab, and the wireless charger mount is rotatable relative to the mobile phone case to engage the tab and the mobile phone case when the tab is received by the slot.

5. 5. The wireless charger assembly of claim 4, further comprising a plurality of metal plates for magnetically securing the wireless charger mount to the mobile phone case.

6. 6. The wireless charger assembly of claim 4 or 5, wherein the mobile phone case includes a first metal plate, the base includes a second metal plate, at least one of the first metal plate and the second metal plate is a magnet, and the first and second metal plates are for magnetically securing the wireless charger mount to the mobile phone case.

7. 2. The wireless charger assembly of claim 1, wherein the wireless charger mount includes a plurality of tabs, the bottom defines a plurality of slots in communication with the bore for receiving the tabs, and the wireless charger mount is rotatable relative to the mobile phone case to engage the tabs and the mobile phone case when the tabs are received by the slots.

8. 8. The wireless charger assembly of claim 7, further comprising a plurality of metal plates for magnetically securing the wireless charger mount to the mobile phone case.

9. 9. The wireless charger assembly of claim 7 or 8, wherein the mobile phone case includes a first metal plate mobile phone case, the base includes a second metal plate, at least one of the first and second metal plates is a magnet, and the first and second metal plates are for magnetically securing the wireless charger mount to the mobile phone case.

10. 2. The wireless charger assembly of claim 1, wherein the wireless charger mount includes four lateral tabs spaced 90 degrees apart, the bottom defines four lateral slots contiguous with the bore spaced 90 degrees apart for receiving the tabs, and the wireless charger mount is rotatable relative to the mobile phone case to engage the tabs and the mobile phone case when the tabs are received by the slots.

11. 11. The wireless charger assembly of claim 10, wherein the mobile phone case includes a first metal plate, the base includes a second metal plate, at least one of the first and second metal plates is a magnet, and the first and second metal plates are for magnetically securing the wireless charger mount to the mobile phone case.

12. 2. The wireless charger assembly of claim 1, wherein the wireless charger mount includes two lateral tabs spaced 180 degrees apart, the bottom defines two lateral slots contiguous with the bore spaced 180 degrees apart for receiving the tabs, and the wireless charger mount is rotatable relative to the mobile phone case to engage the tabs and the mobile phone case when the tabs are received by the slots.

13. 2. The wireless charger assembly of claim 1, wherein the base is circular, the protrusion is disc-shaped and has a diameter, the base is disc-shaped and has a diameter, and the diameter of the base is larger than the diameter of the protrusion.

14. 1. A wireless charger assembly for wirelessly charging a mobile phone having a receiving coil, comprising: a mobile phone case securable to said mobile phone having a bottom defining a bore, said bottom having a thickness surrounding said bore, said bore including at least one transverse slot; a wireless charger mount securable to the mobile phone case, the wireless charger mount including a base, a protrusion, and a transmitting coil housed within the protrusion, the protrusion including at least one lateral tab, the protrusion and the transmitting coil being receivable within the bore when the mobile phone case is secured to the mobile phone and the wireless charger mount; a wireless charger mount securable to the mobile phone case by rotating the wireless charger mount relative to the mobile phone case when the lateral tabs of the protrusions are received by the lateral slots of the mobile phone case; and Equipped with a thickness of the bottom portion surrounding the bore is greater than a distance between the transmitting coil and the receiving coil when the mobile phone case is secured to the mobile phone and the wireless charging mount; Wireless charger assembly.

15. 15. The wireless charger assembly of claim 14, wherein the base is the protrusion, is disc-shaped, and has a diameter, the base is disc-shaped, and has a diameter, the diameter of the base being larger than the diameter of the protrusion.

16. 1. A wireless charger assembly for wirelessly charging a mobile phone having a receiving coil, comprising: a mobile phone case securable to the mobile phone having a bottom defining a bore, the bottom having a thickness surrounding the bore, the bore including four lateral slots spaced 90 degrees apart; a wireless charger mount securable to the mobile phone case, the wireless charger mount including a base, a protrusion, and a transmitting coil housed within the protrusion, the protrusion including four lateral tabs spaced 90 degrees apart when the mobile phone case is secured to the mobile phone, the protrusion and the transmitting coil being receivable within the bore for charging the mobile phone; a wireless charger mount securable to the mobile phone case by rotating the wireless charger mount relative to the mobile phone case when the lateral tabs of the protrusions are received by the lateral slots of the mobile phone case; and Equipped with a thickness of the bottom portion surrounding the bore being greater than a distance between the transmitting coil and the receiving coil when the mobile phone case is fixed to the mobile phone; Wireless charger assembly.

17. 17. The wireless charger assembly of claim 16, wherein the base is circular, the protrusion is disc-shaped and has a diameter, the base is disc-shaped and has a diameter, and the diameter of the base is larger than the diameter of the protrusion.

18. A wireless charger assembly for wirelessly charging a mobile phone having a receiving coil, comprising: a mobile phone case securable to the mobile phone having a bottom defining a bore; a wireless charger mount securable to the mobile phone case, the wireless charger mount including a base, a protrusion, and a transmitting coil housed within the protrusion, the protrusion and the transmitting coil being receivable within the bore. Wireless charger assembly.

19. The wireless charger assembly of claim 18, wherein the mobile phone case includes a first metal plate, the base includes a second metal plate, at least one of the first and second metal plates is a magnet, and the first and second metal plates are for magnetically securing the wireless charger mount to the mobile phone case.

20. A wireless charger mount for wirelessly charging a mobile phone having a receiving coil, comprising: A base and a protrusion configured to be received within a bore of a mobile phone case housing the mobile phone; a transmitting coil housed within the protruding portion, the protrusion and the transmit coil are receivable within the bore; Wireless charger mount.

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