CHARGING BEACON AND SYSTEM
A charging beacon and system is disclosed. The system comprises one or more charging beacons comprised of one or more interactive charging devices that wirelessly broadcast signals, repeatedly at regular time intervals. Upon receipt of the signal, a user's electronic device process the signal via an application residing on the device and provides various information including notice of the battery charge condition in the electronic device and the proximity of the charging device. The broadcast signal may include a unique identifier that allows the electronic device to process the signal and determine the identity of the charging device emitting the broadcast signal. A plurality of charging devices may be positioned in various locations in the home, at work, in the car, and/or in public places to create a mesh network of charging beacons. The wireless broadcast cast signal may be emitted via a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) radio and received by a BLE module in the electronic device.
1 . A charging beacon system comprising:
a plurality of BLE enabled power charger devices, each having a power input connection and a power output port and being configured to broadcast a digital electronic signal when the power input is connected to a power source;
a battery powered BLE enabled mobile electronic device configured to receive the broadcasted digital electronic signal; and
a software application installed on the mobile electronic device, wherein the software application is configured to process said digital electronic signal prompt notification of the power level in the battery and determine the identity of the device broadcasting the signal and its proximity relative to the electronic device.
2 . The charging beacon system of claim 1 , wherein the digital electronic system is broadcast repeatedly at regular time intervals.
3 . The charging beacon system of claim 1 , wherein the determination of the proximity is based on the received signal strength of the digital electronic signal.
4 . The charging beacon system of claim 1 , wherein the determination of the identity of the device broadcasting the signal is derived at least in part from a unique identifier data transmitted in the broadcasted signal.