Samsung and Apple have filed a patent for wireless charging smartphone and iPhone case accessories as revealed by the U.S Patent & Trademark Office. It was Apple that first filed this patent and the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office now also revealed that the same concept may also be getting planned by the South Korean tech giant. According to the Samsung’s patent, this concept will help the Gear smartwatch to get charged via the open side of the smartphone case.
Samsung’s patent filing notes that “According to the Wireless Power Consortium (WPC) standard for wireless charging, a frequency range between 110 kHz and 205 kHz may be used for power transmission.” Samsung has filed a patent for wireless charging cases that would be able to charge a separate device wirelessly just by setting that device down onto the case and letting it rest there, just as you would if you were placing down on an actual wireless charging pad. The new cases look like they would be designed for the Galaxy S and Galaxy Note series devices, or perhaps the Galaxy S and Galaxy Tab series, as the diagram seem to show devices that look both like a smartphone and either a phablet or tablet-sized device.
About the new patent
The new wireless charging cases are said to be based on the standards that were put forth by the Wireless Power Consortium, and it looks like Samsung may have plans to integrate a wireless charging pad into the front flap of its S View Covers. It should be noted that as per the patent, the removable case may include a circuitry that would receive wireless power from external equipment at microwave frequencies. The received power may be supplied to the electronic device through wired and wireless paths. So, in millimeter wave communications bands, an array of antennas will be responsible to wirelessly communicate and charges the case at microwave frequencies.
Catchy Thing
The interesting bit about this is that while the Gear S2 and Gear S3 both feature wireless charging, the contact points are on the underside of the watch case, so it’s not likely that they would be able to charge in the same fashion as they’re depicted in the diagrams and would probably have to be laid flat underside down. That said, in the first image in the gallery below, you can also see the watch resting on the inside of the S View Cover flap as an additional means of charging, should you have your device laying flat on a table or desk with the flap open because you need to use it. There’s no actual guarantee that Samsung will actually produce any of these cases or something similar and send them out to market for consumers to pick up, but for Galaxy device owners it just might be a godsend as it would allow them to easily give a little battery boost to something like a Gear S series smartwatch while away from home.
