HAND-HELD ELECTRONIC DEVICE ACCESSORY THAT FACILITATES RAPID BATTERY REPLACEMENT

1 . An accessory for a hand-held electronic device, comprising:

a protective case, wherein the electronic device is insertable into the protective case; and

a battery that provides auxiliary power to the electronic device;

wherein the battery is replaceable without having to remove the electronic device from the protective case.

2 . The accessory of claim 1 , wherein:

an exterior surface of a back side of the protective case comprises a battery cover; and

replacing the battery comprises opening the battery cover, removing the battery from the accessory, inserting a new battery into the accessory, and closing the battery cover.

3 . The accessory of claim 1 , wherein:

the battery is rechargeable; and

the accessory comprises a power interface that enables the accessory to be connected to a power source in order to charge the battery.

4 . The accessory of claim 1 , further comprising a barcode scan engine.

5 . The accessory of claim 1 , further comprising a magnetic stripe reader.

6 . The accessory of claim 1 , wherein:

the accessory comprises a barcode scan engine, a magnetic stripe reader, and a communication interface; and

data that is generated by the barcode scan engine and data that is generated by the magnetic stripe reader are provided to the electronic device via the communication interface.

7 . The accessory of claim 1 , wherein:

the protective case comprises a first part and a second part;

the electronic device is insertable into the first part of the electronic device;

the first part and the second part of the protective case are detachable from one another; and

the first part and the second part of the protective case are attachable to one another.

8 . The accessory of claim 7 , wherein:

attaching the first part and the second part of the protective case comprises sliding the second part into the first part such that connectors in the second part engage receptacles in the first part; and

friction between the connectors and the receptacles keep the first part and the second part of the protective case attached to one another.

9 . The accessory of claim 7 , wherein when the first part and the second part of the protective case are attached to one another, there is an electrical connection between the battery and the electronic device.

10 . The accessory of claim 7 , wherein:

the first part of the protective case comprises a barcode scan engine and a magnetic stripe reader; and

the second part of the protective case comprises the battery and a power interface.

11 . The accessory of claim 7 , wherein:

the first part of the protective case comprises a barcode scan engine, a magnetic stripe reader, and a power interface; and

the second part of the protective case comprises the battery.

12 . The accessory of claim 7 , wherein replacing the battery comprises:

detaching the second part of the protective case from the first part of the protective case; and

attaching a replacement second part of the protective case to the first part of the protective case, wherein the replacement second part comprises a new battery.

13 . The accessory of claim 1 , wherein:

the protective case comprises a first part and a second part; and

inserting the electronic device into the protective case comprises pushing a top part of the electronic device into the first part of the protective case, and sliding the second part of the protective case onto a bottom part of the electronic device.

14 . The accessory of claim 13 , wherein:

dimensions of the first part and the second part of the protective case are such that the electronic device fits tightly within them; and

interior portions of the first part and the second part of the protective case comprise felt pads.

15 . The accessory of claim 13 , wherein replacing the battery comprises:

removing the second part of the protective case from the bottom part of the electronic device; and

sliding a replacement second part onto the bottom part of the electronic device, wherein the replacement second part comprises a new battery.

16 . An accessory for a hand-held electronic device, comprising:

a battery that provides auxiliary power to the electronic device; and

a charging optimization component that is configured to charge an internal battery of the electronic device from the accessory's battery based on the remaining capacity of the electronic device's internal battery and the remaining capacity of the accessory's battery.

17 . The accessory of claim 16 , wherein the charging optimization component is configured to charge the internal battery of the electronic device from the accessory's battery only if the remaining capacity of the electronic device's internal battery is below a first threshold and the remaining capacity of the accessory's battery is above a second threshold.

18 . The accessory of claim 17 , wherein:

the charging of the internal battery of the electronic device from the accessory's battery continues until the remaining capacity of the electronic device's internal battery is above a third threshold; and

the third threshold is higher than the first threshold.

19 . The accessory of claim 18 , wherein the third threshold is also higher than the second threshold.

20 . The accessory of claim 16 , wherein the charging optimization component comprises:

battery charging circuitry that charges the electronic device's internal battery from the accessory's battery;

battery capacity monitoring circuitry that monitors the remaining capacity of the electronic device's internal battery and that also monitors the remaining capacity of the accessory's battery; and

a battery charging control module that controls the operation of the battery charging circuitry based on input from the battery capacity monitoring circuitry.