Abstract:
A charger with a mechanical support is provided for supporting an electronic device having batteries with different form factors. The mechanical support can be rotated to further support larger form factor electronic devices. Additionally, a mechanical support for insertion into a charger is provided for supporting electronic devices with varying form factors.

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
     This invention relates generally to chargers for electronic devices, and more specifically to chargers with mechanical supports for cellular telephones. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Cellular phones are becoming more and more popular. Advances in technology have made phones smaller and more affordable. In fact, as of 1999, it is not uncommon to get 500 or more minutes of talk time per month for less than $25. Often, in order to sign customers to annual contracts, companies will actually give away cellular phones. As a result, while cellular telephones were once only used by the wealthy, they are becoming commonplace across all sectors of society. 
     Cellular telephones require batteries for portability. Rechargeable batteries are employed almost exclusively in cellular applications, as they can be recharged several hundred times, thereby saving battery replacement costs. The types of batteries in use differ quite considerably, however, due to the different demands of the users. For example, some people use phones only for emergencies. In this sense, they only talk on a phone for a few minutes per month. They are therefore able to get by with a small battery with limited energy storage capacity. A small, thin battery is preferred because it makes the phone smaller and lighter. Small phones are more easily carried in a pocket or purse. 
     Other users, like salesmen, may talk on cellular phones for many hours a day. Since they do not want to constantly recharge a battery, they might prefer a bigger, more bulky battery that has a higher energy storage capacity. Manufacturers like Motorola Inc. provide extended capacity batteries for their popular phones like the StarTac series. These larger, more bulky, yet higher energy batteries are often called “Auxiliary” or “Aux” batteries. They typically offer two to three times more capacity than do smaller, slimmer batteries. 
     In the end however, all batteries, no matter what size, must eventually be recharged. They can be charged in a number of ways. Some phone manufacturers, including Nokia and Motorola, sell power supplies that can be connected by a wire to the phone. People, however, often prefer to have a charger that can be placed on a table or desk. Companies therefore sell chargers that are designed to sit atop a desk and hold a phone while charging. The charger generally has a pocket into which the phone is inserted. Sometimes, the charger will have a second pocked for charging a spare battery. 
     The pocket must provide mechanical support for the phone. The phone typically sits in an easily viewable, upright position that allows it to receive incoming calls. A problem arises in that different batteries, slim and aux for example, cause the phone to take on different shapes, or form factors. For example, when a thin, low capacity battery is connected, the phone may only be 1 inch thick. However, when an aux battery is attached, the phone may now be 2 inches thick. 
     Chargers, in order to be versatile, must accommodate all the batteries that can be attached to the phone. One way to provide mechanical support is to provide a pocked large enough to accommodate a phone with the largest battery attached. Using this scheme, neither the phone nor the battery is supported by the plastic of the charger. Instead, the phone and charger have interlocking connectors. When the phone connector mates with the charger connector, the connector itself is responsible for providing the mechanical support. This scheme is illustrated in U.S. Des. Pat. No. 394,423. The problem with this scheme is that the connectors are generally not robust mechanical supports. They sometimes break, rendering the charger useless. 
     There is therefore a need for a charger with means for supporting a phone that accommodates a variety of battery sizes. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a slim battery, which is prior art, for reference purposes. 
     FIG. 2 is an aux battery, which is prior art, for reference puropses. 
     FIG. 3 is a portion of a cellular telephone, which is prior art, for reference purposes. 
     FIG. 4 is an embodiment of a battery charger with a mechanical support in closed position, in accordance with the invention. 
     FIG. 5 is an embodiment of a mechanical support in accordance with the invention. 
     FIG. 6 is an embodiment of a battery charger with a mechanical support in open position, in accordance with the invention. 
     FIG. 7 is a charger with a mechanical support in accordance with the invention, with a phone with slim battery inserted in the front pocket. 
     FIG. 8 is a charger with a mechanical support in accordance with the invention, with a phone with an alternate slim battery inserted in the front pocket. 
     FIG. 9 is a charger with a mechanical support in accordance with the invention, with a phone with slim battery and am aux battery inserted in the front pocket. 
    
    
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention is a charger with a phone pocket having a hinged mechanical support that provides support and mechanical stability to a phone. Several embodiments are herein described. The hinged mechanical support is constructed such that it accommodates the phone with a variety of different size batteries. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Often, phone manufacturers like Motorola, Inc. will offer different size batteries for the same phone. These different batteries offer different amounts of energy storage. The greater the energy storage, the greater the talk time. Talk time is the amount of time that a phone can be used without recharging the battery. Generally, the greater the capacity, the greater the talk time, and the greater the thickness of the battery. In other words, capacity is usually proportional to talk time which is proportional to size. 
     To better understand the present invention, a brief discussion about phones and various batteries is warranted. Referring now to FIG. 1, a standard battery  100  for a cellular phone is shown. This battery  100  has a front face  103  and a side face  104 . The battery  100  includes mechanical tabs  102  for interconnecting to a phone. The battery  100  also includes electrical contacts  101  which are used to both charge the battery  100  and power a phone. 
     This type of battery  100  is often referred to as either a “standard” or “slim” battery. The term slim is used because this battery offers the most compact volume shape, or form factor, of all the available batteries. An example of a slim battery is the LGQ6 battery manufactured by Motorola for the V-series phone. This battery is about 6 mm thick. It offers a 500 mAh capacity, which corresponds to about an hour and a half of talk time. An alternate slim battery, the LGQ8, is also available that is 8 mm thick. The 8 mm battery, while thicker, offers more talk time. 
     Referring now to FIG. 2, an auxiliary or “aux” battery  200  for a cellular phone is shown. The aux battery  200  has a back face  201  and a side face  203 . The aux battery has mechanical contacts  202  which are used to affix the battery to a phone. 
     As is indicated by comparing FIGS. 1 and 2, the aux battery  200  is considerably thicker than is the slim battery  100 . This is because the energy storage capacity of the aux battery  200  is greater than that of the slim battery  100 . An example of an aux battery in the market is the V-Series Aux battery manufactured by Motorola, Inc. for the V-Series series phone. This battery is about 16 mm thick. It offers a 900 mAh capacity, which corresponds to about 3 hours of talk time. 
     To complete the illustration, referring now to FIG. 3, a cellular telephone  300  is shown. The cellular telephone  300  shown is only the back portion, including a connector for an antenna  308  and a pocket for a battery  307 . Also shown are electric terminals for a slim battery  301 , electric terminals for an aux battery  306 , mechanical connections for a slim battery  302  and mechanical connections for an aux battery  304 ,  305 . 
     For the most compact, least talk time configuration, a slim battery  100  is inserted into the pocket  307  of the cellular phone  300 . Here, the electrical contacts of the slim battery  101  mate with the electric terminals of the phone  301 , thereby allowing power to be transferred to the phone. The mechanical contacts of the battery  102  mate with the mechanical contacts of the phone  302 . This configuration, a phone  300  with a slim battery  100 , provides a compact form factor. 
     When extra talk time is desired, one would attach the aux battery  200  atop the slim battery  100  which is seated in the battery pocket  307  of the phone  300 . The mechanical contacts of the aux battery mate with the mechanical connections on the phone  304 . Power is provided from the aux battery  200  to the phone  300  through the aux terminals  306 . This configuration, aux battery  200  on top of a slim battery  100  in a phone  300 , provides greater talk time. The trade off is that the phone is now bigger and bulkier. 
     In fact, in the case of the V-series phone, the form factor of the phone with an aux battery is fully 16 mm thicker than a phone with a slim battery alone. This change in form factor caused by the aux battery presents a design problem to engineers who try to develop chargers. How can one design a pocket in a charger out of rigid material that accommodates both form factors? 
     The present invention solves this problem. Referring now to FIG. 4, a charger  400  with a mechanical support  500  in accordance with the invention is shown. The charger has an outer surface  402  and a pocket  401 , into which a phone can be inserted. The charger also has mechanical connections  403  for a mechanical support  500  to be connected. The mechanical support  500  pivots about the mechanical contacts  403 . In so doing, the mechanical support  500  provides a means for supporting a phone with different size batteries attached. A finger grip  404  is also illustrated. This will be further explained in the following discussion. 
     Both the charger and the mechanical support can be constructed of plastic, using injection molding technology which is well known in the art. In addition, other materials may be equivalently substituted including metal, wood, epoxy resin, nylon, rubber and the like. Also, the charger can contain electronic circuitry, circuit board, power supply and connectors as is necessary to charge a battery or power a phone. 
     Referring now to FIG. 5, illustrated therein is a mechanical support  500  in accordance with the invention. The support includes several features, each with a specific function. Mechanical pins  501  are shown which provide both a means for interconnection to a charger and a means for pivoting the mechanical support  500 . A first inclined surface  502  is provided to mechanically support a phone to which a slim battery is connected. A second inclined surface  504  is provided to mechanically support a phone to which an alternate battery is connected. A first horizontal surface  503  is included to interconnect the first inclined surface  502  and the second inclined surface  504 , as is a second horizontal surface  506  for connecting the mechanical pins  501  to the second inclined surface  504 . A finger grip  507  allows for easy rotation of the support  500  when in a charger. A indentation  505  is provided to eliminate mechanical interference between the support  500  and the phone connector of the charger. 
     Referring now to FIG. 6, a charger  400  with a mechanical support  500  is shown therein in accordance with the invention. In this figure, the support  500  has been rotated about the mechanical pins  501  which are connected to the mechanical connection  403  of the charger  400 . This rotation yields more unoccupied volume in the charger pocket  401 . 
     To understand just how the device works, it is necessary to refer to FIGS. 7,  8  and  9 . As recited in the previous discussion, it is understood that a variety of batteries, including a slim, alternate slim, and aux, can be connected to a phone. It is further understood that each battery gives the phone a different form factor. 
     Referring to FIG. 7, a phone  300  is shown seated in the pocket  401  of a charger  400  with a mechanical support  500  in accordance with the present invention. The phone  300  is connected to a slim battery  100  in the normal fashion. The phone&#39;s charger receptacle  700  is interconnected with the charger&#39;s phone plug  701 . When the phone  300  has a slim battery  100  connected, it is in it&#39;s thinnest form factor. As can be seen, the phone  300  in this embodiment rests against the first inclined surface  502  of the mechanical support  500 . Thus, the mechanical support  500  is providing mechanical support to the phone  300 . 
     Now refer to FIG.  8 . Illustrated therein is a phone  300  connected to an alternate slim battery  800  in a pocket  401  of a charger  400  with a mechanical support  500  in accordance with the invention. As can be seen, the phone  300  battery  800  combination has take on a thicker form factor, due to the increased thickness of the alternate slime battery  800  over that of the slim battery  100 . The phone  300  still mates with the charger  400  through the charger receptacle  700  to phone plug  701  interconnect. Here, however, the phone rests on the second inclined surface  504 , as opposed to the first inclined surface  502  in FIG. 7, due to the increased form factor. In this manner, the mechanical support has so far provided a means of mechanically supporting two different batteries that can be connected to the same phone. 
     Refer now to FIG.  9 . Shown therein is a phone  300  connected to an aux battery  200  in a pocket  401  of a charger  400  with a mechanical support  500  in accordance with the invention. Note that a slim battery  100  is also connected to the phone  300 . The aux battery  200  is connected over the slim battery  100 . The phone again mates with the charger via the phone plug  701  to charger receptacle  700  connection. 
     Here, the mechanical support  500  has been rotated to its open position. Notice how the phone  300  rests against the charger pocket wall  900 . The ability to rotate the mechanical support  500  to the open position allows a third battery/phone combination to be supported in the charger, in addition to those shown in FIGS. 7 and 8. Thus the charger with mechanical support provides a means for mechanically supporting a phone with several different batteries connected. 
     While the preferred embodiments of the invention have been illustrated and described, it is clear that the invention is not so limited. Numerous modifications, changes, variations, substitutions, and equivalents will occur to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the following claims. For example, while a preferred embodiment of the present invention includes two inclined surfaces, it is clear that there could be more or less inclined surfaces on an equivalent device which still provides support for a phone with different batteries attached. Additionally, while a preferred embodiment shown is a charger for an cellular phone, the invention could be applied to any stand device that supports a portable electronic device that includes a battery. Also, while a preferred embodiment includes support for a battery, the support could be for any accessory that can be attached to an electronic device, including PDAs, holster supports, handles and the like.