Mobile Phone Charging Stand Incorporating Ink Refill Unit
A charging stand for charging a mobile phone, includes a base defining a receptacle for receiving the mobile phone; a battery charging circuit for supplying a charging voltage to the mobile phone; a removable ink cartridge received in the receptacle, the removable ink cartridge for supplying ink to a printer of the mobile phone; a hollow cartridge connection pin protruding from the base for effecting fluid communication with the removable ink cartridge; a hollow device connection pin protruding from the base for effecting fluid communication with the mobile phone; an ink connection provided in the base molding, the ink connection connecting the cartridge connection pin and the device connection pin; and an elastomeric molding formed around the cartridge connection pin and device connection pin, the elastomeric molding covering respective outlets of the cartridge connection pin and device connection pin. The elastomeric molding is adapted to compress upon receipt of the mobile phone in the receptacle to expose the respective outlets.
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The present application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 12/194,532 filed Aug. 19, 2008, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 11/474,280 filed Jun. 26, 2006, now issued U.S. Pat. No. 7,431,519, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 10/503,901 filed Aug. 9, 2004, now issued U.S. Pat. No. 7,108,437, which is a 371 of PCT/AU03/00170 filed Feb. 12, 2003, all of which is herein incorporated by reference.
FIELD OF THE INVENTIONThis invention relates to electronic devices having an internal printer and to a charging assembly for replenishing the internal ink reservoir of the printer.
This application refers to the following co-pending applications of the present applicant, the entire contents of which are duly incorporated herein:—
CO-PENDING APPLICATIONSVarious methods, systems and apparatus relating to the present invention are disclosed in the following co-pending applications filed by the applicant or assignee of the present invention simultaneously with the present application:
The disclosures of these co-pending applications are incorporated herein by cross-reference. Each application is temporarily identified by its file reference. This will be replaced by the corresponding PCT Application Number when available.
RELATED PATENT APPLICATIONS AND PATENTS
Historically, printers have been desktop devices and have thus been large and immobile. Printers have had large capacity ink cartridges requiring seldom replacement. Replacement ink cartridges are typically kept on hand so that when the current ink cartridge is exhausted it can be replaced with little interruption to the printer operation.
Recent developments have seen printers being incorporated into portable telecommunications devices such as mobile telephones. Examples of such applications can be found in the present applicant's co-pending applications listed above. However, with a portable printer, there is a problem that a replacement ink cartridge will not always be at hand if the ink supply is exhausted. To overcome this problem the ink cartridge will be replaced before it is absolutely necessary resulting in a wastage of ink otherwise there will be a risk that the ink supply will run out, rendering the printer useless until a replacement ink cartridge is found.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONAccording to an aspect of the present disclosure, a charging stand for charging a mobile phone, includes a base defining a receptacle for receiving the mobile phone; a battery charging circuit for supplying a charging voltage to the mobile phone; a removable ink cartridge received in the receptacle, the removable ink cartridge for supplying ink to a printer of the mobile phone; a hollow cartridge connection pin protruding from the base for effecting fluid communication with the removable ink cartridge; a hollow device connection pin protruding from the base for effecting fluid communication with the mobile phone; an ink connection provided in the base molding, the ink connection connecting the cartridge connection pin and the device connection pin; and an elastomeric molding formed around the cartridge connection pin and device connection pin, the elastomeric molding covering respective outlets of the cartridge connection pin and device connection pin. The elastomeric molding is adapted to compress upon receipt of the mobile phone in the receptacle to expose the respective outlets.
A preferred embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
A charging stand according to the invention is shown generally at 10 in
Reference is now made to
The PCB 34 supports components including a power-in plug 35, a speaker plug 36 connected to a speaker 37 and charging contacts 38. The power-in plug 35, speaker plug 36 and charging contacts 38 protrude through the base moulding 31 into the receptacle 12.
The base moulding 31 also houses ink connections 39 that include hollow cartridge connection pins 40 and device connection pins 41 connected through a conduit in an ink connection base 42. Four pins are shown in
The charging stand receives a removable ink cartridge 50 of the type illustrated in
The cartridge 50 may be provided with a QA chip and contacts 52 that communicate with similar contacts 45 (
The charging stand 10 receives a mobile telephone 20 or like device equipped with an internal printer and battery. As shown in
While the embodiments of the invention have been described with particular reference to mobile telephones, it will be apparent to the skilled addressee that the invention is equally suitable to other types of mobile telecommunications devices such as Wireless Internet Access Devices (WIADs), in particular Wireless Applications Protocol (WAP) terminals, pagers etc.
The charging stand of the present invention allows the battery and ink supplies of a mobile telephone with printer to be re-charged simultaneously. Furthermore, using a charging stand as herein described, it is unlikely that ink supplies of the printer would ever be exhausted as by the time this event occurred, there would be insufficient power in the battery to operate the printer.
The invention has also been described with reference to a four colour printer where the ink cartridge of the charging stand has four chambers for three colour inks and black ink. The configuration of the ink cartridge and the number of pins of the ink connector will depend on the type of printer employed in the mobile telecommunications device. For example the cartridge may store only black ink. Alternatively or in addition, the ink cartridge may include a chamber and ink connection for supplying infra-red ink or some other ink type to a printer.
It will be appreciated that although the preferred embodiment of the invention takes the form of a stand, an alternative embodiment (not shown) is a plug that interfaces with corresponding ink and power sockets in a phone or communications device. An ink reservoir and power supply are still provided, but there is no stand or cradle for the phone to sit in. Rather, once the plug is plugged into the corresponding socket, the phone is simply laid in a suitable place such as a benchtop or desk. A potential advantage of this embodiment is that the ink reservoir (which might be relatively bulky if of high capacity) can be located remotely from the mobile phone charging point, such as on the floor or on a shelf out of the way. In some cases, this can avoid the reservoir being bumped, or at least diminishes the amount of clutter in a work area. The reservoir in this case can also be mounted in the same housing as, or adjacent to, a transformer for rectifying AC mains power for supply to the mobile phone.
While particular embodiments of this invention have been described, it will be evident to those skilled in the art that the present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the essential characteristics thereof. The present embodiments and examples are therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims rather than the foregoing description, and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein. It will further be understood that any reference herein to known prior art does not, unless the contrary indication appears, constitute an admission that such prior art is commonly known by those skilled in the art to which the invention relates.
Claims
1. A charging stand for charging a mobile phone, the stand comprising:
- a base defining a receptacle for receiving the mobile phone;
- a battery charging circuit for supplying a charging voltage to the mobile phone;
- a removable ink cartridge received in the receptacle, the removable ink cartridge for supplying ink to a printer of the mobile phone;
- a hollow cartridge connection pin protruding from the base for effecting fluid communication with the removable ink cartridge;
- a hollow device connection pin protruding from the base for effecting fluid communication with the mobile phone;
- an ink connection provided in the base molding, the ink connection connecting the cartridge connection pin and the device connection pin; and
- an elastomeric molding formed around the cartridge connection pin and device connection pin, the elastomeric molding covering respective outlets of the cartridge connection pin and device connection pin, wherein
- the elastomeric molding is adapted to compress upon receipt of the mobile phone in the receptacle to expose the respective outlets.
2. A charging stand as claimed in claim 1, wherein the base includes a backrest and a pair of spaced lateral walls extending from the backrest which together define the receptacle, and the ink cartridge is received between the mobile phone and the backrest.
3. A charging stand as claimed in claim 1, wherein the battery charging circuit includes a power cord extending into the base, step-down circuitry for reducing a supplied voltage from the cord, and exposed contacts configured to supply the reduced voltage as the charging voltage to a battery of the mobile phone.
4. A charging stand as claimed in claim 3, wherein the step-down circuitry includes a Printed Circuit Board located within the base and a rectifier mounted to the PCB for rectifying an AC supply voltage to a DC output voltage.
5. A charging stand as claimed in claim 13, wherein the step-down circuitry includes a Printed Circuit Board located within the base and a voltage regulator means mounted to the PCB for regulating an automotive DC supply voltage to a mobile phone DC supply voltage.
6. A charging stand as claimed in claim 1, wherein the base includes a speaker connected to a protruding speaker plug in the receptacle.
7. A charging stand as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a quality assurance integrated circuit arrangement provided in the base to validate authentic ink cartridges.
Type: Application
Filed: Dec 3, 2009
Publication Date: Apr 1, 2010
Applicant:
Inventor: Kia Silverbrook (Balmain)
Application Number: 12/630,648
International Classification: H02J 7/00 (20060101);