cell phone light?

[**DONOTDELETE**]

Hi guys,
Been lurking around since last year the posts here are really great learnt alot.
Well thing is my mobile is always on my body and got to thinking perhaps I could stick in an LED someplace.I have a Sony which has an antenna that screws right of - the inside of this antenna is hollow and you can see right into the innards.Wouldnt it be cool when you're on the phone and you need to scribble down something somewhere dark and you turn on you cellphone deathbeam!

 

[Brock]

Actually I have seen replacement attenas that have LED's in them, but they only light up when you have a call. I would be neat if you could just turn them on and off somehow. Look on ebay, maybe they have them now, I can't remember the company that was selling them, they had all kinds of odd stuff for cel phones.

 

[Gransee]

The patent for putting a flashlight on a cell phone is owned by another guy. There is a company that sells them (don't have the web address handy). The light is a regular incandescent and it part of the battery pack. The patent applied to any type of flashlight light source built into a cell phone battery pack, otherwise it would be a Arc product already.

I also sent an email to Nokia awhile back casting my vote for a future phone model with a built in white LED.

Peter

 

[PeLu]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Gransee:

I also sent an email to Nokia awhile back casting my vote for a future phone model with a built in white LED.

Peter<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Actually I told this idea to a person who is developing engineer at Nokia, Oulo, Finland (she is a friend's wife). Usual answer: Nokia is working on many interesting things they must not talk about...

 

[Silviron]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Gransee:
The patent for putting a flashlight on a cell phone is owned by another guy...The patent applied to any type of flashlight light source built into a cell phone battery pack, otherwise it would be a Arc product already.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I didn't think that the general concept of combining two existing technologies would create a defensible patent..

The specific technology and design to do specific devices is defensible, but I don't believe that a general idea like running a light off a cell phone battery could be successfully defended.....

All you would have to do is change the "artistic" design "significantly" from that which the patent holder has filed, and if they developed a new IC or a completely new circuit that no one ever thought of before, THAT would be defensible. But the general idea is not defensible.

You can pretty much patent anything if you want to waste the money.. The US Patent Office will be glad to accept your donation, as will your attorney, but unless you have spent millions on R & D and have millions to spend defending your patent if someone does infringe upon it, the only reason (in my opinion) is to have it look good on resume'.

(Unless patent law has REALLY changed since I studied it 15 years ago.)

 

[Gransee]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Ted the Led:
Peter, is the Arc your first product ?
What other things have you conceived of and/or produced? (smiley question face)<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

The Arc line is really my first product that can be held in the hand and can pay it's own bills. Other than that, lots of talk, little product.

I started 3 computer/internet type businesses, 2 flopped, 1 worked and was sold.

Silviron, yes there may be a way to get around the patent. I would have to have our patent attorney take a look at it. Not in a hurry to try to get so close to someone else's idea though. If I where to work on making it an Arc product, I would rather talk to the holder and ask them why they haven't come out with an LED version yet and see if they where interested in a joint project.

But, I really would like a cell phone LED light at least for my own use. I am all for less clutter/cost through force multipliers. I bought a solar recharged cell phone battery awhile back for a later conversion for my own use (use 3-4 Nichia SMDs with small switch). Haven't done anything with it yet because I have been actually busy.

Peter

 

[**DONOTDELETE**]

I was thinking of drilling thru the tip of the antenna epoxy an LED bulb on it and run the wires inside and tapping the power off the cell phone batteries which are lithium polymers rated at 4V.Getting it to switch on/off would require some ingenuity.
In all likelihood 1-2 years you'd have a button labelled L on your phone which turns on an LED light.5 years you'd probably wear a fabric phone on your shirt which shoots out a display right in front of your face like an HUD.Right now I want to be the first kid on the block with a cell phone LS(with the HA option

)

 

[**DONOTDELETE**]

Peter, is the Arc your first product ?
What other things have you conceived of and/or produced? (smiley question face)

 

[Brock]

Hey ya, Peter what other cool things could we be missing, I never thought of it before, but I bet you have had a bunch of other cool ideas.

 

[yclo]

About this idea, does anyone know any sites that provide details on how a cell phone battery works?
My one is rated at 3.7v and 900 mAh. There are four seperate metal contacts on the back but I can't seem to get a reading on any pair

Ying Chee

 

[PeLu]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by yclo:
About this idea, does anyone know any sites that provide details on how a cell phone battery works?
My one is rated at 3.7v and 900 mAh. There are four seperate metal contacts on the back but I can't seem to get a reading on any pair
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I'm one of the very last Austrians without a cell phone but:
several new devices use a so called 'smart battery'. There is a chip inside the battery to prevent overcharging and overdischarge. This chip also monitors battery state all the time and calculates remaining capacity (adjusted to the battery's history and temperature and so on). It communicates with the device via a one wire serial link.
There was a standard made some time ago with all important companies, including computer hardware(Intel), software, and so on.
Ittells the device remaining capacity (or charging state), actual max load, history, manufacturer and other parameters. The idea was that you may change the battery chemistry and still use the same device and charger.
I did not do any work with the smart battery standard for a while, so I do not know if actually all manufacturers use it.

 

[yclo]

Thank you very much for that, I was also reading something about that chip.

But still haven't figured out how to get the rechargable li-ion to light up a led... Maybe I have to take it apart

But it costs quite a bit, so I'm still deciding.

Ying Chee

 

[Footlight]

The battery (NiMH)on my Nokia has the outer pair of the four terminals marked + and -, and I managed to light up a cheap white LED of the battery