[001] The present subject matter described herein, relates to the technical field of wireless mobile charger. The present subject matter, in particularly, relates to an in-vehicle wireless charger with ball and socket mechanism. The wireless charger, according to the present subject matter, can be adjusted by rotational or transverse motion.
BACKGROUND AND PRIOR ART AND PROBLEM IN PRIOR ART:
[002] Background description includes information that may be useful in understanding the present invention. It is not an admission that any of the information provided herein is prior art or relevant to the presently claimed invention, or that any publication specifically or implicitly referenced is prior art.
[003] As the utility of mobile phones are increasing day by day, the power consumption of mobile phones has become extremely large. For this reason, some users have to charge their mobile phones even while driving. Automotive vehicles often include electrically powered systems that connect electronics devices, such as mobiles, via wired connections. However, charging of the mobile devices through cable creates problems we all experience regularly. For different types of charging ports, different kinds of charging cables are required.
[004] To overcome the problems, wireless chargers are introduced in the vehicles for charging mobile phones. Generally, wireless chargers are provided on the cup holder, provided adjacent to driver’s seat. The wireless chargers provided in vehicles are designed to hold a specific size of phones due to space constraints. Any mobile phone having a bigger size creates a lot of problem while charging, as the space to effectively hold the phone is less. Further, for phones having a smaller size creates a lot of problem while charging as maintaining the orientation of phone in obedience with the coil of the wireless charger is a challenging task.
[005] Further, while driving the driver has to change the gears quite often. During charging, due to space constraints, the driver often encounters hindrance while changing the gears. The hindrance results in discomfort and non-engaging on gears which increases the risk of accidents, as the user has to look down towards the gear shift lever while changing the gears.
[006] Furthermore, in the existing in-vehicle wireless chargers, no provision to adjust the position of wireless charger is provided. Typically, while charging the mobile phone using existing wireless chargers, the mobile screen is usually not in the point of view (POV) of the user.
[007] There is a need for a wireless charger, which can be adjusted as per user need and POV.
[008] The information disclosed in this background of the disclosure section is only for enhancement of understanding of the general background of the invention and should not be taken as an acknowledgement or any form of suggestion that this information forms the prior art already known to a person skilled in the art.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION:
[009] It is therefore the object of the present subject matter to overcome the aforementioned and other drawbacks in prior method/product/apparatus.
[0010] The principal objective of the present subject matter is to develop an in-vehicle wireless charger with ball and socket mechanism.
[0011] Another object of the present subject matter is to develop an in-vehicle wireless charger having transverse movement.
[0012] Another object of the present subject matter is to develop an in-vehicle wireless charger having rotary movement.
[0013] Another object of the present subject matter is to develop an in-vehicle wireless charger which can charge all wireless charging enabled mobile phones, irrespective of their size.
[0014] Yet another object of the present subject matter is to develop an in-vehicle wireless charger having higher output charging efficiency.
[0015] Yet another object of the present subject matter is to develop an in-vehicle wireless charger which can avoid fouling with the surrounding parts in the vehicle.
[0016] These and other objects and advantages of the present subject matter will be apparent to a person skilled in the art after consideration of the following description taken into consideration with accompanying drawings in which preferred embodiments of the present subject matter are illustrated.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0017] One or more drawbacks of existing chargers, and additional advantages are provided through the in-vehicle wireless charger as claimed in the present disclosure. Additional features and advantages are realized through the technicalities of the present disclosure. Other embodiments and aspects of the disclosure are described in detail herein and are considered to be a part of the claimed disclosure.
[0018] The present in-vehicle wireless charger with ball and socket mechanism comprises an upper housing, a lower housing, a rotating mechanism and a transverse mechanism. The upper housing is provided to accommodate mobile phone while charging. The lower housing works as a stand for the wireless charger. The rotating mechanism has a ball and socket arrangement rotatably attached to the lower housing. The rotating mechanism provides rotating motion to the upper housing of the wireless charger. The transverse mechanism is movably attached to the rotating mechanism to provide transversal movement to the upper housing of the wireless charger.
[0019] In an aspect, lower housing is hollow and has a first terminal provided on the lower surface acting as an entrance point for wiring and a second terminal provided on the top surface acting as an exit for wiring.
[0020] In an aspect, the second terminal has a protrusion with a hollow cylindrical contour, provided around the periphery to pivotally hold the rotation mechanism.
[0021] In an aspect, the rotating mechanism comprises a ball and a socket. The ball has slots provided on its upper and lower portion for entry and exit of the electrical wires. The socket has a plate comprising a ball accommodating means. The ball accommodation means is provided with grooves and cuts, at equal distance, around its periphery which aid in accommodating the ball and facilitates the rotary movement of the entire rotary mechanism. A slot is provided on the plate, precisely above the ball accommodation means, to clamp the electric wires coming from the slot provided on the upper surface of the ball. A plurality of notches is provided on either side of the plate to engage with the transverse mechanism.
[0022] In an aspect, the ball is a hollow bearing
[0023] In an aspect, the transverse mechanism comprises a pair of guiding components with serrated edges machined on the top surface of the front edge.
[0024] In an aspect, the guiding components are provided adjacent to the plurality of notches of the socket, the serrated edges of the guiding components movably engage with the plurality of notches provided on the socket and provide restricted transverse motion to the upper housing.
[0025] In an aspect, the size of the plurality of notches are in conformity with serrated edges of the pair of guiding components for complete engagement.
[0026] In an aspect, a pair of slots are provided on the guiding components, respectively to fasten the guiding components to the bottom part of the upper housing.
[0027] In an aspect, the upper housing comprises a base and a phone holding tray. The base has a hollow rectangular box shaped contour to accommodate charging circuitry. A slot is provided in lower surface to guide electric wires to facilitate connection of wires with charging circuitry. The phone holding tray is provided to accommodate phone while charging.
[0028] In an aspect, the charging circuitry includes a printed circuit board, a plurality of magnetic coils, a plurality of resistors, a plurality of LED indicator lights and a foreign object detection unit.
[0029] In an aspect, a clamping mechanism is provided to clamp the phone, in desired position, on the phone holding tray.
[0030] In an aspect, peripheral walls are provided around the phone holding tray (402) to hold the phone, in the desired position while charging.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0031] It is to be noted, however, that the appended drawings illustrate only typical embodiments of the present subject matter and are therefore not to be considered for limiting of its scope, for the invention may admit to other equally effective embodiments. The description is described with reference to the accompanying figures. In the figures, a reference number identifies the figure in which the reference number first appears. The same numbers are used throughout the figures to reference like features and components. Some embodiments of system or methods or structure in accordance with embodiments of the present subject matter are now described, by way of example, and with reference to the accompanying figures, in which:
[0032] Fig. 1a illustrating side view of an in-vehicle wireless charger with ball and socket mechanism according to one of the embodiments of the present subject matter;
[0033] Fig. 1b illustrates exploded view of an in-vehicle wireless charger with ball and socket mechanism according to one of the embodiments of the present subject matter;
[0034] Fig. 2 illustrates lower housing of an in-vehicle wireless charger with ball and socket mechanism, according to one of the embodiment of present subject matter;
[0035] Fig. 3a illustrates illustrating isometric view of rotating mechanism and transverse mechanism of an in-vehicle wireless charger, according to one of the embodiment of present subject matter;
[0036] Fig. 3b illustrates top view of rotating mechanism and transverse mechanism of an in-vehicle wireless charger, according to one of the embodiment of present subject matter; and
[0037] Fig. 4 illustrates sectional view of an in-vehicle wireless charger with ball and socket mechanism, according to one of the embodiment of present subject matter.
[0038] The figures depict embodiments of the present subject matter for the purposes of illustration only. A person skilled in the art will easily recognize from the following description that alternative embodiments of the structures and methods illustrated herein may be employed without departing from the principles of the disclosure described herein.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS:
[0039] While the embodiments of the disclosure are subject to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiment thereof have been shown by way of example in the figures and will be described below. It should be understood, however, that it is not intended to limit the disclosure to the particular forms disclosed, but on the contrary, the disclosure is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternative falling within the scope of the disclosure.
[0040] The terms “comprises”, “comprising”, or any other variations thereof used in the disclosure, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a device, system, assembly that comprises a list of components does not include only those components but may include other components not expressly listed or inherent to such system, or assembly, or device. In other words, one or more elements in a system or device proceeded by “comprises… a” does not, without more constraints, preclude the existence of other elements or additional elements in the system or device.
[0041] Referring to figure 1a and 1b, illustrating isometric and exploded view of an in-vehicle wireless charger 100 with ball and socket mechanism according to one of the embodiments of the present subject matter. The in-vehicle wireless charger 100 comprises a lower housing 101, a rotating mechanism 102, a transverse mechanism 103 and an upper housing 104.
[0042] Referring to figure 2, illustrating lower housing 101 of an in-vehicle wireless charger 100 with ball and socket mechanism, according to one of the embodiment of present subject matter. The lower housing 101 works as a stand for the wireless charger 100. The lower housing 101 is hollow from inside to accommodate wires 105. The lower housing 101 has a first terminal for entrance of electric wires 105 and a second terminal 201 for exit of the electric wires 105. According to the preferable embodiment, the first terminal is located on the lower surface of the lower housing 101 and the second terminal 201 is provided in the form of a protrusion, preferably with hollow cylindrical contour, on the top surface of the lower housing 101.
[0043] Referring to Figure 3a and 3b, illustrating side view and top view of rotating mechanism 102 and transverse mechanism 103 of an in-vehicle wireless charger 100, according to one of the embodiment of present subject matter. The rotating mechanism 102 is mounted on the second terminal 201 of the lower housing 101. The rotating mechanism 102 comprises a ball 102a and a socket 102b. The ball 102a is a hollow bearing having slots on its lower and upper portion. The slots on the lower and upper portion acts as entry terminal and exit terminal of electric wires 105. The socket 102b comprises a plate 304 having a ball accommodation means 301 extended downwards from the plate 304. The ball accommodation means 301 is provided with grooves 302 and cuts 309, at equal distance, around its periphery which aid in stiffly gripping the ball 102a and facilitates the rotary movement of the entire rotary mechanism 102. The grooves 302 are provided circumferentially and the cuts 309 are provided vertically. A slot 303 is provided on the plate 304, precisely above the ball accommodation means 301, to clamp the electric wires 105 coming from the slot provided on the upper surface of the ball 102a. The socket 102b has a notch 305a, 305b provided, on a pair of opposite sides, to get engaged with the transverse mechanism 103. A clearance is provided besides each notch 305a, 305b, so that, the rotating or transverse movement of the wireless charger 100 does not get effected when extra force is applied during initiation of rotating mechanism 102 and transverse mechanism 103. The ball 102a of the rotating mechanism 102 is mounted on the second terminal 201 of the lower housing 101, in a way, that electric wires 105 from the second terminal 201 get secured in the ball 102a and exit from the slot on the upper portion. The socket 102b of the rotating mechanism 102 is mounted on the ball 102a, via, ball accommodation means 301 provided below the plate 304. The mounting of socket 102b on the ball 102a is done in a way that grooves 302 and the cuts 309 provided on the ball accommodation means 301 facilitate mounting of the socket 102b as well as rotation of the socket 102b along with the ball 102a.
[0044] The transverse mechanism 103 comprises two guiding components 103a, 103b, having serrated edges 306a, 306b machined on the top surface of the front edge, to facilitate the transverse motion of the upper housing 104. The guiding components 103a, 103b are provided adjacent to a plurality of notches 305a, 305b of the socket 102b. The serrated edges 306a, 306b of the guiding components 103a, 103b movably engage with the plurality of notches 305a, 305b provided on the socket 102b and provide restricted transverse motion to the upper housing 104. In a preferred embodiment, there is one notch provided on either side of the socket 102b. The notch engages with the corresponding serrated edges 306a, 306b of the guiding components 103a, 103b.
[0045] The size of the plurality of notches (305a, 305b) are in conformity with serrated edges (306a, 306b) of the pair of guiding components (103a, 103b) for complete engagement. A pair of slots 307, 308 are provided on the guiding components 103a, 103b, respectively to fasten the guiding components 103a, 103b to the bottom part of the upper housing 104.
[0046] Referring to figure 4, illustrating sectional view of an in-vehicle wireless charger 100 with ball and socket mechanism, according to one of the embodiment of present subject matter. The upper housing comprises a base 401 having a hollow rectangular box shaped contour and a phone holding tray 402. The base 401 accommodates charging circuitry which includes a printed circuit board (PCB), a plurality of magnetic coils, a plurality of resistors, a plurality of LED indicator lights and a foreign object detection circuit. The base 401 has a slot provided on its lower surface to guide electric wires 105 which act as a power source for the charging circuitry. The phone holding tray 402 is provided to accommodate phone while charging. The phone holding tray 402 holds the phone by either clamping mechanism, or by providing peripheral walls or by using anti-slip material as the face material of the phone holding tray 402. The upper housing 104 is fastened on the transverse mechanism 103 through slots 307, 308 provided on the guiding components 103a, 103b.
[0047] The wireless charger 100 can be mounted on the cup holder via double sided tape or can be fastened on the cup holder through fastening means. Phone is placed on the phone holding tray 402 for charging. While driving, the driver can adjust the orientation of phone through rotation mechanism 102 and transverse mechanism 103 as per his/her own ease. The ball 102a and socket 102b mechanism provided in the wireless charger 100 facilitates the rotation of the upper housing 104. The guiding component 103a, 103b of the transverse mechanism 103 facilitate the restricted forward and backward movement of the upper housing 104 of the wireless charger 100. Both the rotation mechanism 102 and the transverse mechanism 103 helps in adjusting the orientation of wireless charger 100, so that, the gears can be changed without any hindrance from the wireless charger 100. Further, the driver can adjust the phone according to his/her point of view (POV).
[0048] Provision of an indication light showing status of charging and not charging is provided on the phone holding tray 402 to indicate the instant status. Also, a mobile displacement indication light is provided to alert the driver, when the phone is not effectively in contact with the phone holding tray 402. Further, a foreign object detection light is provided which is connected with the foreign object detection circuit to alert the driver that a foreign object, other than the mobile, is placed on the phone holding tray. The foreign object detection circuit also prevent conductive materials from receiving power from the charger.
[0049] It will be understood by those within the art that, in general, terms used herein, and especially in the appended claims (e.g., bodies of the appended claims) are generally intended as “open” terms (e.g., the term “including” should be interpreted as “including but not limited to,” the term “having” should be interpreted as “having at least,” the term “includes” should be interpreted as “includes but is not limited to,” etc.). It will be further understood by those within the art that if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is intended, such an intent will be explicitly recited in the claim, and in the absence of such recitation no such intent is present. For example, as an aid to understanding, the following appended claims may contain usage of the introductory phrases “at least one” and “one or more” to introduce claim recitations. However, the use of such phrases should not be construed to imply that the introduction of a claim recitation by the indefinite articles “a” or “an” limits any particular claim containing such introduced claim recitation to inventions containing only one such recitation, even when the same claim includes the introductory phrases “one or more” or “at least one” and indefinite articles such as “a” or “an” (e.g., “a” and/or “an” should typically be interpreted to mean “at least one” or “one or more”); the same holds true for the use of definite articles used to introduce claim recitations. In addition, even if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is explicitly recited, those skilled in the art will recognize that such recitation should typically be interpreted to mean at least the recited number (e.g., the bare recitation of “two recitations,” without other modifiers, typically means at least two recitations, or two or more recitations). Furthermore, in those instances where a convention analogous to “at least one of A, B, and C, etc.” is used, in general such a construction is intended in the sense one having skill in the art would understand the convention (e.g., “a system having at least one of A, B, and C” would include but not be limited to systems that have A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, and/or A, B, and C together, etc.). In those instances where a convention analogous to “at least one of A, B, or C, etc.” is used, in general such a construction is intended in the sense one having skill in the art would understand the convention (e.g., “a system having at least one of A, B, or C” would include but not be limited to systems that have A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, and/or A, B, and C together, etc.). It will be further understood by those within the art that virtually any disjunctive word and/or phrase presenting two or more alternative terms, whether in the description, claims, or drawings, should be understood to contemplate the possibilities of including one of the terms, either of the terms, or both terms. For example, the phrase “A or B” will be understood to include the possibilities of “A” or “B” or “A and B.”
[0050] It will be further appreciated that functions or structures of a plurality of components or steps may be combined into a single component or step, or the functions or structures of one-step or component may be split among plural steps or components. The present invention contemplates all of these combinations. Unless stated otherwise, dimensions and geometries of the various structures depicted herein are not intended to be restrictive of the invention, and other dimensions or geometries are possible. In addition, while a feature of the present invention may have been described in the context of only one of the illustrated embodiments, such feature may be combined with one or more other features of other embodiments, for any given application. It will also be appreciated from the above that the fabrication of the unique structures herein and the operation thereof also constitute methods in accordance with the present invention. The present invention also encompasses intermediate and end products resulting from the practice of the methods herein. The use of “comprising” or “including” also contemplates embodiments that “consist essentially of” or “consist of” the recited feature.

CLAIMS:We claim:
1. An in-vehicle wireless charger (100) with ball and socket mechanism, the wireless charger comprises:
an upper housing (104) provided to accommodate mobile phone while charging;
a lower housing (101) working as a stand for the wireless charger (100);
a rotating mechanism (102), having a ball and socket arrangements, rotatably attached to the lower housing (101), wherein the rotating mechanism (102) provide rotating motion to the upper housing (104) of the wireless charger (100); and
a transverse mechanism (103) movably attached to the rotating mechanism (102) to provide transversal movement to the upper housing (104) of the wireless charger (100).
2. The in-vehicle wireless charger (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein lower housing (101) is hollow and has a first terminal provided on the lower surface acting as an entrance point for wiring (105) and a second terminal (201) provided on the top surface acting as an exit for wiring.
3. The in-vehicle wireless charger (100) as claimed in claim 2, wherein the second terminal (201) is a protrusion with a hollow cylindrical contour, provided around the periphery to pivotally hold the rotation mechanism (102).
4. The in-vehicle wireless charger (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the rotating mechanism (102) comprises:
a ball (102a) having slots on its upper and lower portion for entry and exit of the electrical wires (105);
a socket (102b) having a plate (304) comprising a ball accommodation means (301) wherein the ball accommodation means (301) provided with grooves (302) and cuts (309), at equal distance, around its periphery which aid in accommodating the ball (102a) and facilitates the rotary movement of the entire rotary mechanism (102);
a slot (303) on the plate (304), precisely above the ball accommodation means (301), to clamp the electric wires (105) coming from the slot provided on the upper surface of the ball (102a); and
a plurality of notches (305a, 305b), provided on either sides of the plate (304) to engage with the traverse mechanism (103).
5. The in-vehicle wireless charger (100) as claimed in claim 4, wherein the ball (102a) is a hollow bearing.
6. The in-vehicle wireless charger (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the transverse mechanism (103) comprises a pair of guiding components (103a, 103b) with serrated edges (306a, 306b) machined on the top surface of the front edge.
7. The in-vehicle wireless charger (100) as claimed in claim 6, wherein the guiding components (103a, 103b) are provided adjacent to the plurality of notches (305a, 305b) of the socket (102b), the serrated edges (306a, 306b) of the guiding components (103a, 103b) movably engage with the plurality of notches (305a, 305b) provided on the socket (102b) and provide restricted transverse motion to the upper housing (104).
8. The in-vehicle wireless charger (100) as claimed in claims 4 and 6, wherein the size of the plurality of notches (305a, 305b) are in conformity with serrated edges (306a, 306b) of the pair of guiding components (103a, 103b) for complete engagement.
9. The in-vehicle wireless charger (100) as claimed in claim 7, wherein a pair of slots (307, 308) are provided on the guiding components (103a, 103b), respectively to fasten the guiding components (103a, 103b) to the bottom part of the upper housing (104).
10. The in-vehicle wireless charger (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the upper housing (104) comprises:
a base (401) having a hollow rectangular box shaped contour to accommodate charging circuitry, wherein a slot is provided in lower surface to guide electric wires to facilitate connection of wires with charging circuitry; and
a phone holding tray (402) to accommodate phone while charging.