Systems for enabling modular mobile electronic devices

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9867125-B2
Application number	US-201414462878-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 19, 2014
Priority date	Apr 7, 2014
Publication date	Jan 9, 2018
Grant date	Jan 9, 2018

Abstract

A system for enabling a modular mobile electronic device including a module communication network enabling data transfer between modules of the modular mobile electronic device, a module power network enabling power transfer between modules of the modular mobile electronic device, a set of module interfaces removably and mechanically coupling modules of the modular mobile electronic device to the modular mobile electronic device, and a supervisory controller communicatively coupled to the module communication network and electrically coupled to the module power network.

First claim

We claim:

1. A system for enabling a modular mobile electronic device comprising:
a module communication network enabling data transfer between modules of the modular mobile electronic device;
a module power network enabling power transfer between modules of the modular mobile electronic device, wherein the module power network comprises a power bus;
a set of module interfaces removably coupling modules of the modular mobile electronic device to the modular mobile electronic device; and
a supervisory controller communicatively coupled to the module communication network and electrically coupled to the module power network;
wherein the set of module interfaces electrically connects modules in parallel to the power bus, the set of module interfaces is connected to the power bus by a set of power management units, and power transfer through the set of module interfaces is controlled by the set of power management units;
wherein the set of power management units are controlled by the supervisory controller;
wherein the set of power management units control power transfer on the power bus according power states set by the supervisory controller;
wherein a first power state for a first module connected to the modular mobile electronic device includes a maximum power transfer level; and
wherein a first power management unit connected to the first module electrically isolates the first module from the module power bus upon detecting a power transfer level greater than the maximum power transfer level.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein data transfer between a first module and a second module on the module communication network is initiated by the first module and completed without using a host or an intermediate module.

Assignees

• Google Inc
• Google Llc

Inventors

• Eremenko Paul
• Fishman David
• Newburg Seth
• Knaian Ara
• Bober Marisa

Classifications

• H04W52/0274

  by switching on or off the equipment or parts thereof · CPC title

• H04L49/15

  Interconnection of switching modules · CPC title

• H04L12/40039 Primary

  Details regarding the setting of the power status of a node according to activity on the bus · CPC title

• H04L12/40032

  Details regarding a bus interface enhancer · CPC title

• H02J1/06

  Two-wire DC power distribution systems · CPC title