Electronic device having a band and control method therefor

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10284763-B2
Application number	US-201515545230-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 30, 2015
Priority date	Jan 20, 2015
Publication date	May 7, 2019
Grant date	May 7, 2019

Abstract

Provided is an electronic device. The electronic device includes: a main body mounted with an electronic unit including a controller, including a bezel disposed at the outer side thereof, and having a locking groove formed in the bezel; and a band part mounted with an additional device for exchanging an electric signal with the electronic unit and an electronic part providing information related to the additional device for the electronic unit, and including a coupling part detachably coupled to the locking groove. Here, the controller switches an operation mode of the main body according to the information related to the additional device provided by the electronic part when the main body and the band part are coupled to each other. Thus, when the band part mounted with the additional device is connected to the main body, the operation mode of the main body is automatically switched to a mode corresponding to the additional device, thereby providing convenience of use.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An electronic device comprising:
a main body having a device with a controller mounted therein, the main body including a bezel disposed at an outer surface thereof, and a locking groove formed in the bezel; and
a band including:
an additional device that exchanges an electric signal with the device mounted in the main body;
an electronic circuitry to provide information related to the additional device to the device mounted in the main body
a coupling extension detachably coupled to the locking groove,

wherein the coupling extension is formed to cover at least a portion of side surface regions of the bezel, and
wherein the controller switches an operation mode of the device mounted in main body according to the information related to the additional device provided by the electronic circuitry when the main body and the band are coupled to each other.

2. The electronic device of claim 1 , further comprising a display provided in the main body,
wherein the controller further changes information provided on the display in accordance with the switched operation mode.

3. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the additional device includes at least one of a camera, a sound output speaker, a microphone, a light output source, an antenna, a near-field communication (NFC) device, a battery, or a biosensor.

4. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the information related to the additional device includes at least one of identification information related to the additional device, control information, or an application using the additional device.

5. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the controller switches the operation mode of the device to a camera photographing mode according to camera-related information provided by the electronic circuitry to the controller when the additional device in the band includes a camera.

6. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the controller switches the operation mode of the device to a sports mode according to biosensor-related information provided by the electronic circuitry to the controller when the additional device in the band includes a biosensor.

7. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the coupling extension includes a pair of coupling extensions that are outwardly moved by an external force and engage the locking groove when the external force is removed, and the pair of coupling extensions include ends that are inwardly bent to engage the locking groove.

8. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the coupling extension includes a locking protrusion protruding from at least one of an upper side surface or a lower side surface in contact with the bezel, the locking protrusion being moved toward an inside region of the coupling extension by an external force and then protruding at the locking groove to fix the band to the bezel.

9. The electronic device of claim 8 , further comprising:
a main body magnet provided in a side surface region of the bezel; and
a band magnet provided on the coupling extension and magnetically coupled to the main body magnet.

10. The electronic device of claim 8 , wherein the coupling extension includes a button that transfers the external force to the locking protrusion to move the locking protrusion to an inside surface of the coupling extension.

11. The electronic device of claim 8 , wherein the coupling extension includes an elastic member that delivers an elastic force such that the locking protrusion outwardly moved by the external force moves to an original position when the external force ceases to be applied.

12. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the bezel has a circular shape, and the main body further includes:
lugs extending from sides of the circular bezel in opposite directions, and
an insertion groove formed along a side surface of one or more of the lugs to receive the coupling extension, the locking groove being formed in at least one of an upper side or a lower side of the insertion groove.

13. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the bezel has a rectangular shape and includes an insertion groove formed along a side surface of the bezel to receive the coupling extension, and the locking groove is formed in at least one of an upper side or a lower side of the insertion groove.

14. The electronic device of claim 1 , further comprising a port formed in a coupling region of the bezel and the band, the port exchanging the electric signal between the device and the additional device.

15. The electronic device of claim 14 , wherein the port includes a Universal Serial Bus (USB) port.

16. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the additional device is a first additional device, a second additional device is mounted on the band, and the band includes a first band section equipped with the first additional device and a second band section equipped with the second additional device.

17. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the electric signal is exchanged between the device and the additional device via a path that includes the coupling extension.

18. A method of controlling an electronic device comprising a main body having a device with a controller mounted therein, and a band having an additional device exchanging an electric signal with the device mounted in the main body and an electronic circuitry providing information related to the additional device to the controller, the method comprising:
receiving the information related to the additional device mounted on the band from the electronic circuitry when the main body and the band are coupled to each other;
switching an operation mode of device mounted in the main body to a predetermined operation mode based on the information related to the additional device mounted on the band, and
displaying information related to the switched operation mode on the main body,
wherein switching the operation mode of the device mounted on the main body to the predetermined operation includes:
switching the operation mode of the device mounted on the main body to a camera photographing mode according to camera-related information provided by the electronic circuitry to the controller when the additional device includes a camera; and
switching the operation mode of the device mounted on the main body to a sports mode according to biosensor-related information provided by the electronic circuitry to the controller when the additional device includes a biosensor.

Assignees

• Lg Electronics Inc

Inventors

• Kim Sungmin

Classifications

• H02J50/12

  of the resonant type · CPC title

• G06F13/14

  Handling requests for interconnection or transfer · CPC title

• G06F1/1681

  Details related solely to hinges (hinge details related to the transmission of signals or power are classified in G06F1/1683) · CPC title

• G06F1/1679

  for locking or maintaining the movable parts of the enclosure in a fixed position, e.g. latching mechanism at the edge of the display in a laptop or for the screen protective cover of a PDA (G06F1/1681 takes precedence) · CPC title

• G06F1/1656 Primary

  Details related to functional adaptations of the enclosure, e.g. to provide protection against EMI, shock, water, or to host detachable peripherals like a mouse or removable expansions units like PCMCIA cards, or to provide access to internal components for maintenance or to removable storage supports like CDs or DVDs, or to mechanically mount accessories (mounting of accessories to a computer display G06F1/1607; display hoods G06F1/1603; cooling arrangements for portable computers G06F1/203) · CPC title