Wireless visual notification car charger for mobile device

Abstract

Disclosed herein is a car charger comprising a visual notification device capable of wirelessly connecting to a mobile device to provide visual and/or audible notification to users of status changes on their mobile device, such as receipt of SMS, MMS, phone calls, voice mails, calendar appointments, and battery status in a location different from that of the mobile device. In operation a user can plug the device into an automobile charging port so that the device is in a location different than the user's mobile device The user can visually and/or audibly notified of status changes by simply glancing at the device. The notifications can be user customizable through a user application on the mobile device. Additional user interfaces can be incorporated into the device to provide a set of remote controls for various operation of the mobile device. The user therefore need not repeatedly and continuously open and close the mobile device to determine whether there has been a status change, which is not only time consuming, an unnecessary consumption of battery life, but can also be burdensome and a hazardous distraction.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A car charger for drawing power from a vehicle battery or electrical system including a wireless visual notification for receiving notifications from a mobile device, the car charger comprising:
 a housing including a semi-transparent upper portion;   an external Universal Serial Bus (USB) connection housed in the semi-transparent upper portion and configured to supply power to external devices;   an assembled printed circuit board (PCBA) housed within said car charger that includes at least one notification ring LED positioned beneath the semi-transparent upper portion and encircling the USB connection and configured to direct light through the semi-transparent portion, a Bluetooth interface module capable of being wirelessly paired with the mobile device, and a microcontroller that controls the duration, intensity, and color of light that is emitted by the at least one LED;   one or more electrical connectors housed within said housing configured to draw power from the car battery or electrical system to provide power to the at least one notification LED, the Bluetooth module, the microcontroller, and the USB connection;   a depressible button connected to the PCBA that, when depressed, triggers various operations selected from a group consisting of: (a) activating the car charger to allow pairing with the mobile device, (b) cancel a visual or audible notification, (c) triggering a demo mode operation of the car charger to present a pre-set display of light colors at specified durations or patterns, and (d) turning on and off the power to the device; and   wherein said microcontroller is configured to control the at least one notification LED based on notification signals wirelessly sent from the mobile device and received by the Bluetooth module.   
     
     
         2 . The car charger of  claim 1 , further comprising an ambient light sensor that is configured to sense the intensity of light external to the car charger and provide the sensed input to the microcontroller, whereby the microcontroller in response thereto adjusts the intensity of the light being emitted by the notification LED. 
     
     
         3 . The car charger of  claim 1 , further comprising a speaker contained within the housing and wherein said speaker is controlled by said microcontroller in response to the received notification signals. 
     
     
         4 . The car charger of  claim 4  further comprising a sound sensor that is connected to the microcontroller and that in response to sensing specific sounds sends a signal to the microcontroller to cancel the response of the microcontroller to prior notification data received by the microcontroller from the Bluetooth module. 
     
     
         5 . The car charger of  claim 1  wherein the microcontroller controls the notification LED so that the notification LED blinks and fades in and out in a fixed duration and timing pattern. 
     
     
         6 . The car charger of  claim 1  wherein the microcontroller controls the notification LED so that the light emitted from the shell of the housing includes one or more colors in the spectrum of colors of a group consisting of white, teal, cyan, blue, pink, purple, green, yellow, orange, and red light. 
     
     
         7 . A car charger for drawing power from a vehicle battery or electrical system including a wireless visual notification for receiving notifications from a mobile device, the car charger comprising:
 a housing including a semi-transparent portion;   an external Universal Serial Bus (USB) connection and configured to supply power to external devices;   an assembled printed circuit board (PCBA) housed within said car charger that includes at least one notification LED positioned beneath the semi-transparent upper portion and configured to direct light through the semi-transparent portion, a Bluetooth interface module capable of being wirelessly paired with the mobile device, and a microcontroller that controls the duration, intensity, and color of light that is emitted by the at least one LED;   one or more electrical connectors housed within said housing configured to draw power from the vehicle battery or electrical system to provide power to the at least one notification LED, the Bluetooth module, the microcontroller, and the USB connection; and   wherein said microcontroller is configured to control the at least one notification LED based on notification signals wirelessly sent from the mobile device and received by the Bluetooth module.   
     
     
         8 . The car charger of  claim 7  wherein the electrical connectors are configured to draw power through the vehicle's cigarette lighter socket. 
     
     
         9 . The car charger of  claim 7  wherein the Universal Serial Bus (USB) connection is housed in the semi-transparent portion. 
     
     
         10 . The car charger of  claim 7  wherein the at least one notification LED is a ring LED that encircles the USB connection. 
     
     
         11 . The car charger of  claim 10  wherein the semi-transparent upper portion encircles the USB connection. 
     
     
         12 . The car charger of  claim 7  further comprising a motion sensor that is connected to the microcontroller and that in response to motion by the user sends a signal to the microcontroller to cancel the response of the microcontroller to prior notification data received by the microcontroller from the Bluetooth module. 
     
     
         13 . The car charger of  claim 7  further comprising a sound sensor that is connected to the microcontroller and that in response to sensing specific sounds sends a signal to the microcontroller to cancel the response of the microcontroller to prior notification data received by the microcontroller from the Bluetooth module. 
     
     
         14 . The car charger of  claim 7 , further comprising a speaker contained within the housing and wherein said speaker is controlled by said microcontroller in response to the received notification signals. 
     
     
         15 . The car charger of  claim 7  wherein the microcontroller controls the notification LED so that the notification LED blinks and fades in and out in a fixed duration and timing pattern. 
     
     
         16 . The car charger of  claim 7 , wherein the microcontroller controls the notification LED so that the light emitted from the shell of the housing includes one or more colors in the spectrum of colors of a group consisting of white, teal, cyan, blue, pink, purple, green, yellow, orange, and red light. 
     
     
         17 . The car charger of  claim 7  further including an ambient light sensor that is configured to sense the intensity of light external to the housing and provide the sensed input to the microcontroller, whereby the microcontroller in response thereto adjusts the intensity of the light being emitted by the notification LED. 
     
     
         18 . The car charger of  claim 7  further comprising a depressible button connected to the PCBA that, when depressed, triggers various operations selected from a group consisting of: (a) activating the car charger to allow pairing with the mobile device, (b) cancel a visual or audible notification, (c) triggering a demo mode operation of the car charger to present a pre-set display of light colors at specified durations or patterns, and (d) turning on and off the power to the device. 
     
     
         19 . A car charger for drawing power from a vehicle battery or electrical system including a wireless visual notification for receiving notifications from a mobile device, the car charger comprising:
 a housing including a semi-transparent upper portion;   an Universal Serial Bus (USB) connection and configured to supply power to external devices;   an assembled printed circuit board (PCBA) housed within said housing that includes at least one notification LED and configured to direct light through the semi-transparent portion, a Bluetooth interface module capable of being wirelessly paired with the mobile device, and a microcontroller that controls the duration, intensity, and color of light that is emitted by the LEDs;   one or more electrical connectors housed within said housing and configured to draw power through a vehicle's cigarette lighter socket from the vehicle battery or electrical system to provide power to the at least one notification LED, the Bluetooth module, the microcontroller, and the USB connection; and   wherein said microcontroller is configured to control the LEDs based on notification signals wirelessly sent from the mobile device and received by the Bluetooth module.   
     
     
         20 . The car charger of  claim 19  further comprising a sound sensor that is connected to the microcontroller and that in response to sensing specific sounds sends a signal to the microcontroller to cancel the response of the microcontroller to prior notification data received by the microcontroller from the Bluetooth module.