IP Library › Granted Patent US 12710869

Granted Patent B2

US 12710869 · App. 18/662,632 · Granted Aug 18, 2026

Dual-port USB flash drive for on-the-go (OTG) supported devices

Inventors: Sankalp Dubey (Bangalore, IN); Narendhiran Chinnaanangur Ravimohan (Bangalore, IN); Ramanathan Muthiah (Bangalore, IN)

Assignee: SANDISK TECHNOLOGIES LLC

G06F3/061 G06F3/0655 G06F3/0679

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Quick Facts

Patent No.: US 12710869
App. No.: 18/662,632
Granted: Aug 18, 2026
Kind: B2

External Links

USPTO Patent Center↗ Full Patent PDF↗

Abstract

An on-the-go (OTG) drive is configured to mount to a mobile phone. The OTG drive has a J-shaped configuration with a form factor sized so that a main body of the OTG drive can be positioned along the back side of the mobile device with a universal serial bus (USB) plug connector of the OTG drive connected into a socket port at the bottom end of the mobile device. The OTG drive also has a USB socket port facing away from the mobile device to enable connection of a secondary device, such as a laptop, via a USB connection cable. Among other features, the OTG drive enables access by a laptop and a mobile phone to the memory of the OTG drive while also permitting data transfer between the laptop and the mobile device. The OTG drive also enables charging of the mobile phone from a charger or laptop.

Claims (52)

1 . A portable data storage device, comprising:

a body containing a data storage controller and a memory;

a first connector coupled to the data storage controller and configured to connect into a mobile device; and

a second connector coupled to the data storage controller and configured to connect to a secondary device;

wherein the portable data storage device is configured to couple with a bottom end of the mobile device such that: the body of the portable data storage device is positioned along a back side of the mobile device, the first connector is connected into a first connection socket port of the mobile device that is on the bottom end of the mobile device, and the second connector is oriented away from the mobile device to connect to the secondary device;

wherein the second connector of the portable storage device comprises a second connection socket port that is oriented in the same direction as the first connection socket port of the mobile device while the portable data storage device is coupled to the mobile device; and

wherein a height and a width of the body are less than a height and a width of the mobile device, respectively.

2 . The portable data storage device of claim 1 , wherein the data storage controller comprises one or more processors configured, individually or in combination, to control access by the mobile device to the memory of the portable data storage device via the first connector and to control access by the secondary device to the memory of the portable data storage device via the second connector.

3 . The portable data storage device of claim 1 , wherein the first and second connectors are universal serial bus (USB) connectors, and wherein the data storage controller is further configured to control the portable data storage device to function as a USB on-the-go (OTG) device.

4 . The portable data storage device of claim 1 , wherein the data storage controller is further configured to control power charging and power charging negotiation functions.

5 . The portable data storage device of claim 1 , wherein the secondary device is a laptop computer connectable to the second connector using a connection cable.

6 . The portable data storage device of claim 5 , wherein the data storage controller is further configured to enable access by the laptop computer to a memory of the mobile device.

7 . The portable data storage device of claim 5 , wherein the data storage controller is further configured to control charging of the mobile device using power from the laptop computer.

8 . The portable data storage device of claim 5 , wherein the data storage controller is further configured to control data transfer between the mobile device and the laptop computer.

9 . The portable data storage device of claim 1 , wherein the secondary device is a second portable data storage device, and wherein the data storage controller is further configured to control transference of data between the second portable data storage device and the memory.

10 . The portable data storage device of claim 1 , wherein the mobile device is a mobile phone.

11 . The portable data storage device of claim 1 , wherein the data storage controller is further configured to:

detect whether the secondary device is a host or a charger;

control the access by the secondary device to the memory of the mobile device, in response to detecting that the secondary device is a host; and

charge the mobile device using the secondary device, in response to detecting that the secondary device is a charger.

12 . The portable data storage device of claim 11 ,

wherein the data storage controller is further configured, in response to detecting that the secondary device is a charger, to control charging of the mobile device in accordance with universal serial bus (USB) VBUS charging; and

wherein the data storage controller is further configured, in response to detecting that the secondary device is a host, to charge the mobile device in accordance with USB Power Delivery (PD) charging.

13 . A portable data storage device, comprising:

a data storage controller;

a memory;

a first connector coupled to the data storage controller and configured to connect into a mobile device;

a second connector coupled to the data storage controller and configured to connect to a secondary device; and

a body containing the data storage controller and the memory, wherein a height and a width of the body are less than a height and a width of the mobile device, respectively;

wherein the data storage controller comprises one or more processors configured, individually or in combination, to control access by the mobile device to the memory of the portable data storage device via the first connector and further configured to:

detect whether the secondary device is a host or a charger;

control access by the secondary device to a memory of the mobile device via the first connector and the second connector, in response to detecting that the secondary device is a host; and

charge the mobile device using the secondary device, in response to detecting that the secondary device is a charger.

14 . The portable data storage device of claim 13 , wherein the mobile device is a mobile phone and the secondary device is a host that is a laptop computer.

15 . The portable data storage device of claim 13 , wherein the data storage controller is further configured to control access by the mobile device to the memory of the portable data storage device via the first connector and to control access by the secondary device to the memory of the portable data storage via the second connector, in response to detecting that the secondary device is a host.

16 . The portable data storage device of claim 13 , wherein the first and second connectors are universal serial bus (USB) connectors and wherein the data storage controller is further configured to control the portable storage device to function as a USB on-the-go (OTG) device.

17 . The portable data storage device of claim 13 ,

18 . The portable data storage device of claim 13 , wherein the secondary device is a host that is a laptop computer, and wherein the data storage controller is further configured to control transference of data between the mobile device and the laptop computer.

19 . The portable data storage device of claim 13 ,

20 . An apparatus, comprising:

means for controlling the storage of data in a memory of the apparatus;

a first connector coupled to the means for controlling the storage of data and configured to connect into a mobile device;

a second connector coupled to the means for controlling the storage of data and configured to connect to a secondary device;

a body containing the means for controlling the storage of data and the memory, wherein a height and a width of the body are less than a height and a width of the mobile device, respectively;

means for detecting whether the secondary device is a host or a charger;

means, operative in response to detecting that the secondary device is a host, for controlling access by the secondary device to a memory of the mobile device via the first connector and the second connector;

means, operative in response to detecting that the secondary device is a charger, for charging the mobile device using the secondary device; and

wherein the means for controlling the storage of data further comprises means for controlling access by the mobile device to the memory of the apparatus via the first connector.