IP Library › Granted Patent US 11,659,916
Granted Patent B2
US 11,659,916 · App. 17/478,680 · Granted May 30, 2023

Mounting base for a wirelessly locatable tag

Inventors: Ryan C. Perkins (San Francisco, CA); Paul J. Thompson (San Francisco, CA)
Assignee: APPLE INC.
A45F5/00A61B5/1116E05B73/0005G01S5/0036G01S5/0226G04G21/04G04G21/08G06F3/017G06F3/02G06F3/044G06F3/0485G06F3/04883G06K7/0008G06K7/10396G06K19/0701G06K19/0702G06K19/0708G06K19/0723G06K19/07711G06K19/07758G06K19/07766G06K19/07773G06K19/07779G06T13/40H01M50/109H01M50/184H01Q1/2208H01Q1/2225H01Q1/2291H01Q1/273H01Q5/25H01Q5/378H01Q7/00H01Q9/42H04B1/3888H04B5/0037H04L9/0825H04L9/30H04M1/21H04R1/028H04R3/00H04R7/02H04W4/029H04W12/02H04W12/03A45F2005/006A45F2200/0508A63B24/0062G01S5/0231G06F3/016H01Q21/06H04B1/717H04R2400/03H04R2420/07H04W88/06
View Patent ↗
Loading inventors, assignments & file history…
Monitor This Case
Get email alerts when status or documents change.
Order Certified Copies
Most orders are placed with the USPTO same day — all within 24 business hours.
Order via The Patent Place →
Pre-filled with this patent's details
Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 11,659,916
App. No.
17/478,680
Granted
May 30, 2023
Kind
B2
Abstract

A mounting base for use with a wirelessly locatable tag may include a base portion defining a latching member configured to engage a wirelessly locatable tag to releasably retain the wirelessly locatable tag to the mounting base, a contact block attached to the base portion and configured to be positioned at least partially within a battery cavity of the wirelessly locatable tag, the contact block defining a top side and a peripheral side. The mounting base may further include a first conductive member positioned along the peripheral side of the contact block and configured to contact a first battery contact in the battery cavity of the wirelessly locatable tag, a second conductive member outwardly biased from the top side of the contact block, the second conductive member configured to contact a second battery contact in the battery cavity of the tag, and a power cable coupled to the base portion.

Claims (55)

1. A mounting base for a wirelessly locatable tag, the wirelessly locatable tag defining a battery cavity configured to receive a button cell battery, the mounting base comprising:

a base portion defining a latching member configured to engage a wirelessly locatable tag to releasably retain the wirelessly locatable tag to the mounting base;

a contact block attached to the base portion and configured to be positioned at least partially within a battery cavity of the wirelessly locatable tag, the contact block defining a top side and a peripheral side;

a first conductive member positioned along the peripheral side of the contact block and configured to contact a first battery contact in the battery cavity of the wirelessly locatable tag;

a second conductive member outwardly biased from the top side of the contact block, the second conductive member configured to contact a second battery contact in the battery cavity of the wirelessly locatable tag; and

a power cable coupled to the base portion and configured to supply electrical power to the wirelessly locatable tag via the first and second conductive members.

2. The mounting base of claim 1 , wherein the second conductive member is configured to be deflected by a surface defining the battery cavity when the wirelessly locatable tag is coupled to the mounting base.

3. The mounting base of claim 1 , wherein the second conductive member is configured to impart a biasing force on a surface of the battery cavity when the wirelessly locatable tag is coupled to the mounting base.

4. The mounting base of claim 1 , wherein the second conductive member is configured to deflect the first battery contact when the wirelessly locatable tag is coupled to the mounting base.

5. The mounting base of claim 1 , further comprising power conversion circuitry positioned within a cavity defined in the base portion and configured to change a characteristic of an input current provided by the power cable.

6. The mounting base of claim 1 , wherein the base portion defines a passage configured to fluidly couple an internal volume of the wirelessly locatable tag with an exterior environment when the wirelessly locatable tag is coupled to the mounting base.

7. The mounting base of claim 1 , wherein:

the mounting base further comprises a circuit board;

the power cable is conductively coupled to the circuit board; and

the first conductive member and the second conductive member are conductively coupled to the circuit board.

8. A mounting base for a device, the mounting base comprising:

a latching member configured to engage a retention feature of the device to retain the device to the mounting base;

a contact block configured to be positioned at least partially within a battery cavity of the device, the contact block defining a top side and a peripheral side; and

a deflectable conductive member extending above the top side of the contact block, the deflectable conductive member configured to:

contact a battery contact that extends into the battery cavity of the device, thereby conductively coupling the deflectable conductive member and the battery contact; and

impart a biasing force on the wirelessly locatable tag when the device is coupled to the mounting base, the biasing force configured to bias the latching member against the retention feature of the wirelessly locatable tag.

9. The mounting base of claim 8 , wherein:

the deflectable conductive member is a first deflectable conductive member;

the biasing force is a first biasing force;

the mounting base further comprises:

a second deflectable conductive member configured to impart a second biasing force on the device when the device is coupled to the mounting base; and

a third deflectable conductive member configured to impart a third biasing force on the device when the device is coupled to the mounting base; and

the second and third biasing forces are configured to bias the latching member against the retention feature of the device.

10. The mounting base of claim 9 , wherein the mounting base further comprises a fourth conductive member coupled to the peripheral side.

11. The mounting base of claim 10 , wherein:

the fourth conductive member is conductively coupled to a positive terminal of a DC power supply; and

the first, second, and third deflectable conductive members are conductively coupled to a negative terminal of the DC power supply.

12. The mounting base of claim 10 , further comprising a power cable configured to supply electrical power to the device via the first, second, and third deflectable conductive members and the fourth conductive member.

13. The mounting base of claim 12 , wherein the power cable is configured to couple to a DC power supply.

14. The mounting base of claim 12 , wherein:

the power cable is configured to couple to an AC power supply; and

the mounting base further comprises an AC-to-DC converter configured to convert AC power to DC power.

15. The mounting base of claim 8 , wherein the deflectable conductive member is at least partially embedded in the contact block.

16. A wirelessly locatable system comprising:

a wirelessly locatable tag configured to transmit a wireless signal to an electronic device to facilitate localization of the wirelessly locatable tag by the electronic device, the wirelessly locatable tag defining:

a battery cavity configured to receive a button cell battery;

a positive battery contact extending into the battery cavity;

a negative battery contact extending into the battery cavity; and

a retention feature configured to engage a first latching member of a battery door; and

a mounting base comprising:

a base portion defining a second latching member configured to engage the retention feature to retain the wirelessly locatable tag to the mounting base; and

a contact block attached to the base portion and configured to be positioned at least partially within the battery cavity of the wirelessly locatable tag, the contact block defining:

a circular top wall; and

a peripheral side wall extending from a periphery of the circular top wall;

a first conductive member configured to contact the positive battery contact; and

a second conductive member configured to contact the negative battery contact.

17. The wirelessly locatable system of claim 16 , wherein the peripheral side wall defines a curved outer surface having a diameter equal to a curved outer surface of the button cell battery.

18. The wirelessly locatable system of claim 16 , wherein the second conductive member is flexible and is configured to be deflected by a surface of the battery cavity when the wirelessly locatable tag is coupled to the mounting base.

19. The wirelessly locatable system of claim 18 , wherein the second conductive member is configured to impart a biasing force on the surface of the battery cavity when the wirelessly locatable tag is coupled to the mounting base, thereby biasing the second latching member against the retention feature.

20. The wirelessly locatable system of claim 16 , wherein the mounting base further comprises a biasing member configured to bias the second latching member against the retention feature.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Sep 20, 2021
From: PERKINS, RYAN C.; THOMPSON, PAUL J.
To: APPLE INC.
Reel/Frame 057528/0716 →
Continuity (14)
Continuation PCTUS2020028424 · Apr 16, 2020
Provisional Application 62835469 · Apr 17, 2019
Provisional Application 62855768 · May 31, 2019
Provisional Application 62894640 · Aug 30, 2019
Provisional Application 63101179 · Sep 26, 2019
Provisional Application 62922248 · Sep 26, 2019
Provisional Application 63101180 · Sep 26, 2019
Provisional Application 63101212 · Sep 26, 2019
Provisional Application 62922250 · Sep 26, 2019
Provisional Application 63101182 · Sep 26, 2019
Provisional Application 62922249 · Sep 26, 2019
Provisional Application 63101242 · Sep 26, 2019
Provisional Application 63101229 · Sep 26, 2019
Related Publication 20220004836A1 · Jan 6, 2022
Cited By (3)
US 12,315,942 US 12,537,587 US 12,747,826