Yesterday Patently Apple posted a report titled "Apple Invents Wireless Charging iPhone Case Accessory using Millimeter Wave Technology." Evidently this is going to be a trend as it was also revealed yesterday by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office that Samsung likewise filed a patent revealing similar types of wireless charging smartphone cases. Samsung's invention goes one step further than Apple's by being able to charge a Gear smartwatch on the open side of the smartphone case as noted in the patent figures below. Samsung's patent filing notes that "According to the Wireless Power Consortium (WPC) standard for wireless charging, a frequency range between 110 kHz and 205 kHz may be used for power transmission." Both Apple and Samsung are members of the Wireless Power Consortium. Could this be the year that these cases come to market? Only time will tell.
Samsung's patent filing further specifically notes that their invention covers "an accessory apparatus for wirelessly charging an external device. The accessory apparatus includes a front cover, a rear cover to accommodate a mobile device, and a coupling member to link the front cover and the rear cover.
The accessory apparatus further includes a wireless power control processor, a connector to electrically connect the accessory apparatus to the mobile device, a direct current-alternating current (DC-AC) converter to convert DC power from the connector into AC power, and a transmission coil to wirelessly transmit power through magnetic fields generated by the AC power.
The wireless power control processor, the DC-AC converter, and the transmission coil may be arranged in the front cover.
In accordance with another aspect of the present disclosure, an accessory apparatus is provided. The accessory apparatus includes a first cover to cover or expose a front face of a mobile device, a second cover having a space to accommodate the mobile device, a coupling member to link the first cover and the second cover, and a wireless power transmitter circuit placed in the first cover and configured to wirelessly transmit power through magnetic fields generated by AC power that is obtained via DC-AC conversion from DC power of a battery of the mobile device accommodated in the second cover.
In accordance with another aspect of the present disclosure, an accessory apparatus is provided. The accessory apparatus includes a first cover to cover or expose a front face of a mobile device, a second cover having a space to accommodate the mobile device, a coupling member to link the first cover and the second cover, a wireless power receiver circuit placed in the second cover and configured to wirelessly receive power from the mobile device accommodated in the second cover, and a wireless power transmitter circuit placed in the first cover and configured to wirelessly transmit power through magnetic fields generated by AC power that is obtained via DC-AC conversion from DC power of the wireless power receiver circuit placed in the second cover.
In accordance with another aspect of the present disclosure, an accessory apparatus is provided. The accessory apparatus includes a housing configured to at least partially cover one face of a mobile device and having a substantially flat region, a mounting structure placed at one face of the housing and configured to be removably mounted on the mobile device, a connector placed on the one face of the housing and configured to draw power from the mobile device, a wireless charging transmitter circuit electrically connected with the connector and placed in the housing, and a conductive pattern at least partially included in the substantially flat region and electrically connected with the wireless charging transmitter circuit.
Samsung filed their U.S. patent application back in December 2016. Considering that this is a patent application, the timing of such a product to market is unknown at this time.
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