[0001] The present application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/813,322, filed April 18, 2013, which application is incorporated herein by reference.

Technical Field

[0002] The present invention relates to electronic accessories, and more particularly to wearable electronics accessories for mobile devices.

Background of the Invention

[0003] It is generally known that mobiles devices, such as cell-phones, tablets, electronic books, and mobile computers have energy storage devices (i.e., batteries) to afford them such mobility. Despite advancements to extend the battery life of such devices (e.g., improvements in power management, component power-efficiency, and battery capacity), the energy stored within the device is finite, and eventually the device has to be recharged.

[0004] A mobile device is generally recharged with an electronic accessory, such as a power cable or a data cable that allows a device to be recharge from another device (i.e., a laptop). Also, rather than connecting to another device, electronic accessories may be a power adapter that allows charging directly from a wall socket. Various other options for electronic accessories exist to allow vehicle-charging and adapters for different electrical standards. Though mobile devices may be ubiquitously associated with a person throughout his or her daily life, carrying electronic accessories and various options thereof may often pose as an inconvenience. During personal or business travel in particular, electronic accessories may pose as an additional payload to be remembered to be brought along, while adding to the weight of the items being carried and taking up space.

[0005] There is generally a need and a benefit to make electronic accessories as ubiquitous as the mobile devices for which they serve. Brief Description of the Drawings

[0006] The foregoing features of embodiments will be more readily understood by reference to the following detailed description, taken with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0007] Figures 1 A and IB schematically show a wrist-worn electronic accessory according to an embodiment.

[0008] Figure 2A is a diagram illustrating the wrist-worn electronic accessory to charge a mobile device from another device or to connect two devices for data transfer according to an illustrative embodiment.

[0009] Figure 2B is a diagram illustrating the wrist-worn electronic accessory to charge a mobile device via an electric wall socket according to another illustrative embodiment.

[0010] Figures 3A-3D illustrate the wrist-worn electronic accessory of Figures 1 A and IB adapted to have various appearances of an ornate cable according to an embodiment.

[0011] Figures 4A-4B illustrate the wrist-worn electronic accessory of Figures 1 A and IB adapted to have the appearance of an ornate cable according to an embodiment.

[0012] Figures 5A-5C illustrate a fastening assembly adapted to slidably couple the connectors of the wrist-worn electronic accessory according to an embodiment.

[0013] Figures 6A-6D illustrate a fastening assembly adapted to slidably couple the connectors of the wrist-worn electronic accessory according to another embodiment.

[0014] Figures 7A-7E illustrate several embodiments of a fastening assembly adapted to flex-ably or hinge-ably rotate to couple the connectors of a wrist-worn electronic accessory according to another embodiment.

[0015] Figures 8A-8B illustrate different views of a fastening assembly adapted to hinge-ably rotate to couple the connectors of a wrist-worn electronic accessory according to another embodiment.

[0016] Figures 9A-9J are diagrams of a wrist-worn electronic accessory camouflaged as jewelry according to the various embodiments.

[0017] Figure 10A-10B are diagrams of an adapter adapted to couple to a standard data cable to transform the data cable to a wrist-worn electronic accessory according to an embodiment. [0018] Figure 11 is a diagram illustrating a method of charging a mobile device according to an embodiment.

[0019] Figures 12A-12C are diagrams of a wrist-worn electronic accessory configured as a charger according to an embodiment.

[0020] Figure 13A is a diagram of a wrist-worn electronic accessory configured as a rechargeable charger according to an embodiment.

[0021] Figure 13B is an electrical diagram of the wrist-worn electronic accessory of Figure 13 A.

[0022] Figure 14 is a diagram of a rechargeable and memory circuit of a wrist-worn electronic accessory according to an embodiment.

Detailed Description of Specific Embodiments

[0023] As used herein, the term "wrist-worn" refers to being carried on a person between the person's hand and arm.

[0024] As used herein, the term "camouflage" refers to a manner of hiding a function of an article by making the function of the article appears inconspicuous on a person, such as by adorning to look like jewelry or a fashion accessory.

[0025] In exemplary embodiments, a wrist-worn electronic accessory is configured to be wearable, thereby being ubiquitous as a device for its tangible functions. According to another aspect of the embodiments, the wrist-worn electronic accessory is configured to camouflage itself to have the appearance of not being an electronic accessory.

[0026] Generally speaking, an article of clothing or apparel, when worn by a person, serves a tangible function of protecting the person from the physical environment. However, the article may serve non-tangible functions such to convey ideas, symbolic meanings, nostalgic sentiments, non-verbal communication and cues, feelings, and various expressions wished to be associated with or by the bearer of the article. Although electronic accessories are carried around by a person, they are generally kept out of sight (e.g., in a pocket or in a bag) because they typically provide no other function than the tangible function for which they are designed (e.g., for transferring power or data).

[0027] The inventor has realized that in merely valuing an electronic accessory for its tangible function, the accessory becomes merely a payload to be used for that function. By incorporating other value sets, such as those prescribed to fashion and clothing apparel, the electronic accessory may be made ubiquitous to a person's lifestyle. As such, rather than a person having to, for example, remember that his or her mobile device may need to be recharged later in the day, or that the mobile device may need to be connected to another device to transfer data therebetween, the electronic accessory may be made to naturally associate to a person lifestyle, habits, and rituals by being wore by the person. As such, the electronic accessory may be made available at all times to the person needing to use the tangible function of the electronic accessory while providing other non-tangible functions at other times.

[0028] Figures 1 A and IB schematically show a wrist-worn electronic accessory according to an embodiment. The wrist-worn electronic accessory 100 includes an elongated cable member 102 having a first connector 104 at a first end 106 and a second connector 108 at a second end 110. The first connector 104 may be adapted to operative ly couple with a data connector at a first device (not shown - see Figure 2A). The second connector 108 may be adapted to operatively couple with a data connector at a second device (not shown - see Figure 2A). The cable member 102 may include a power line 116 and a ground line 118.

[0029] The wrist-worn electronic accessory 100 may include a fastening assembly 120 at one of the ends (referred to as a "located-end", which may be at the first end 106 or the second end 110). The fastening assembly 120 may be adapted to have a fastened mode (see Figure IB) and an unfastened mode (see Figure 1 A). In the fastened mode, the fastening assembly 120 is adapted to engage to the other end of the cable member oppositely located at the located-end. For example, in an embodiment, the fastening assembly 120 may be located at the first end 106. As such, in the fastened mode, the fastening assembly 120 may couple to connector 108 at the second end 110. Alternatively, the fastening assembly 120 may be located at the second end 110 and couples to the connector 104 at the first end 106.

[0030] The fastening assembly 120 may be adapted to engage the first end 106 or the second end 110 in the fastened mode in such a manner that the first connector 104 and the second connector 108 substantially align along a longitudinal axis of the connectors 104, 108 and the cable member 102. The alignment may provide a minimal footprint for the first connector 104 and the second connector 108 thereby making it smaller and possibly easier to camouflage. The first connector 104 and the second connector 108 may substantially align in such a manner to form a pre-determined gap 126 (see Figure IB) between the first and second connectors 104, 108. The dimension of the first connector 104 and the second connector 108 and the cowl of the connectors 104, 108 (of lack thereof) may allow the gap 126 to be zero, positive, as well as negative. For example, in an embodiment, the wrist-worn electronic accessory 100 may include a lightning connector (by Apple™) as the first connector 104 and a micro-USB connector as a second connector 108. A portion of the micro-USB connector may fit within the profile of the lightning connector thus having a negative value for the gap 126. In another embodiment, the fastener assembly 120 may maintain the first connector 104 and the second connector 108 in contact to one another in the fastened mode, thus having a zero value for the gap 126.

[0031] Figure 2 A is a diagram illustrating the wrist-worn electronic accessory 100 adapted to charge a mobile device 202 from another device 204 or to connect the two devices 202, 204 for data transfer according to an illustrative embodiment. The fastening assembly 120 may be located at either data connections 206 of the two devices 202, 204. The device 204 may include any device with energy storage, including another mobile device, such as a tablet, mobile computer, or a cellphone, as well an external back-up battery pack. Figure 2B is a diagram illustrating the wrist-worn electronic accessory 100 adapted to charge a mobile device via an electric wall socket according to another illustrative embodiment. The wrist- worn electronic accessory 100 may include an AC-to-DC converter (not shown - see Figure 12C) and an AC-plug 208 to connect with an electric wall outlet 210. The AC-plug 208 may be adapted with retractable pins, which may fold or slide between a retracted position and a deployed position.

[0032] Referring back to Figures 1 A and IB, the cable member 102 may include a sheath 122 that envelopes the power line 116 and the ground line 118. The cable member 102 may also include at least one data line 124 or at least one differential pair thereof. Each of the power line 116, ground line 118, and data line 124 generally refers to a power, data, or ground wire associated with a given cable standard. The lines 116, 118, 124 may refer to multiple wires associated with power, ground, and data respectively. For example, for a universal serial bus (USB) 1.0 or 2.0 connector, the power line 116 may refer to a wire that terminates at the VCC pin (typically pin 1) that carries +5VDC, the ground line 118 may refer to a wire that terminates at the GND pin (typically pin 4), and the data line 124 may refer to a pair of differential wires that terminate at the Data+ pin and Data- pin (typically pins 2 and 3). For a USB 3.0 connector, the power line 116 may refer to a wire that terminates at the VBUS pin (typically pin 1), and the ground line 118 may refer to a wire that terminates at the GND pin (typically pin 4). The data line 124 may refer to set of differential wires for data, including the pair of wires that terminates at the Data+ and Data- pins (typically pins 2 and 3), as well as the two pair of differential wires that terminate at the SedA_SSTX+ and SedA_SSTX- (typically pins 5 and 6) and the SedA_SSRX+ and the SedA SSRX- (typically pins 8 and 9).

[0033] The cable member 102 may include other types of wires and layers, such as a layer for shielding, which may envelope at least a portion of the power line 116, the ground line 118, and the data line 124. The cable member 102 may also include an identification or control lines as used in some propriety connector. For example, to terminate at an Apple™ connector, cable member 102 may include differential-paired wires that terminate at the identification and control pins ID0 and ID1 (typically pin 4 and 8). As such, the power line 116 may refer to a wire that terminates at the PWR pin (typically pin 5), the ground line 118 may refer to a wire that terminates at the GND pin (typically pin 1), and the data line 124 may refer to two pairs of differential wires that terminate at the LOp and LOn pins and Lip and the Lin pins (typically pins 2, 3, 6, and 7). Preferably, the wire sizes, insulation, and material characteristics of the insulation and conductors are selected, as is generally known in the art, to be compliant with requirements for UL, CSA, ETL, and/or CE certifications (UL refers to the Underwriters Laboratories Inc.; CSA refers to the Canadian Standards Association; ETL refers to the ETL Testing Laboratories, and CE refers to the European Commission). The cable member 102 may have a length corresponding to different wrist sizes, which may vary between 3.5 inch and over 8.5 inch. A length for a small-size wrist- worn electronic accessory may be approximately 6.5 inch, for a medium-size accessory may be approximately 7 inch, for large-size accessory may be between 7.5 and 8 inch, and for an extra- large accessory may be greater than 8.5 inch.

[0034] The sheath 122 is generally an external insulating layer for which adornment and decoration may be applied to the wrist-worn electronic accessory 100 that is additional to the insulation used to encapsulate the power and signal wires. The sheath 122 may be formed of an isolative material including at least one of leather, fabric, nylon, and silicone. Alternatively, the sheath 122 may be formed of a metal or a plastic to form a jewelry.

[0035] In an embodiment, the sheath 122 may be adapted to have the appearance of a simple band. Figures 3A-3D and 4A-4B illustrate a wrist-worn electronic accessory of Figures 1 A and IB adapted to have various appearances of an ornate cable. An ornate cable retains the appearance of being an electronic cable whereas a camouflage cable would not. In Figure 3A, the sheath 122 is illustrated as a single solid layer of material made of, for example, leather, fabric, nylon, and silicone. In one embodiment, the power line 116, ground line 118, and data line 124 may be individually insulated within the sheath 122. In another embodiment, particularly for silicone and other various types of plastics that may be molded, the sheath 122 may encapsulate and be employed as the insulation among the connectors of the power line 116, ground line 118, and data line 124. In Figure 4 A, the sheath 122 is illustrated as a single solid layer of a leather, fabric, or nylon material. A traditional electronic cable 402 having the power line 116, ground line 118, and data line 124

encapsulated with an insulation layer (e.g., silicone) may be embedded in the sheath 122. In Figure 4B, the sheath 122 is a knot that is formed around a traditional electronic cable 402. The knot may be made of leather, fabric, nylon, and silicone. Here, the sheath 122 is showing being formed from four-solid strands of material, each having a uniform cross- sectional area. Alternatively, the sheath 122 may include a plurality of beads or chain-links that is set around a traditional electronic cable 402.

[0036] In Figures 3B and 3C, the sheath 122 may include a plurality of sub-sheaths 302 (e.g., two or more) that is intertwined to form a braid. As shown, three strand of sub- sheaths 302a, 302b, and 302c are employed to form the sheath 122. Figure 3B illustrates the sheath 122 and sub-sheath being formed from a leather material. Figure 3C illustrates the sheath 122 and sub-sheaths being formed of silicone or other thermo-plastic materials.

[0037] In an embodiment, the power line 116, ground line 118, and data line 124 may be bundled as a single cable assembly, which is embedded within a single sub-sheath 302a. As such, the remaining sub-sheath 302b, 302c may be filled with a dummy cable formed of similar material as the cable assembly to provide similarly uniform elastic bending and characteristics. The dummy cable may include similar conductors and insulation

arrangements as the single cable assembly. However, rather than terminating at active pins in the connectors 104, 108, the conductors of the dummy cable may merely inactively terminate in the connector 104, 108. In another embodiment, the power line 116, ground line 118, and data line 124 may embedded in separate sub-sheaths 302a, 302b, and 302c. Each sub-sheath 302a, 302b, 302c may individually include a ground line 118 to pair with a corresponding power line or data line to minimize electromagnetic interference (EMI). The sub-sheaths 302a, 302b, and 302c may have a cross-sectional thickness of any dimension, though preferably around 1 mm to 20 mm.

[0038] In Figure 3D, the sheath 122 may include an external clear layer and an inner braided, textured, or solid layer. The external clear layer may be a smoothed or textured layer.

[0039] The connectors 104,108 may be any standard or proprietary connectors for data connectivity, including universal serial bus (USB), such as USB 1.0, USB 2.0, and USB 3.0; IEEE 1394 interface (generally referred to as "Firewire"); and proprietary connectors such as the Lightning™ connector by Apple, Inc. and the Apple™ 30-pin dock connector. The physical form of the connectors may take the appearance of any commercially available plugs or receptacles. For example, for USB connectors, the connectors 104 and/or 108 may be a type A USB, a type B USB, a mini-A USB, a mini-B USB, a micro-A USB, a micro-B USB, standard A USB 3.0, standard B USB 3.0, among others, or any other proprietary plug, such as the HTC ExtMicro USB connector. Various standards and versions may be employed. For example, for the IEEE 1394 interface connectors, the connectors 104 and/or 108 may be compliant with IEEE 1394-1995 (Fire Wire 400), IEEE1394a-2000 , IEEE 1394b-2002 (Fire Wire 800), IEEE 1394c-2006, IEEE 1394d, Fire Wire SI 600, S3200, and S800T, and similar subsequent or preceding standards.

[0040] It should be appreciated that the power line 116, ground line 118, and data line 124 are configured to interface to the connectors 104, 108 as prescribed within the guidelines established by a standard body or company associated with a connector. The power line 116, for example, may include a plurality of conductors to carry different voltages as specified by a connector standard, including 3.3VDC, 5.0VDC, and 12VDC, etc. The ground line 118 may include a plurality of conductors, which may be common to each other, to provide a return for the power line 116 and the data line 124. The data line 124 may include a pair, or a plurality of pairs, of twisted conductors to provide differential-pair signals to minimize (EMI). The power line 116 and ground line 118 may be similarly twisted among each other.

[0041] Fastening Assembly Types

[0042] According to the various embodiments, the fastening assembly 120 may be adapted to slide, hinge-ably rotate, flex-ably rotate, or provide a pressed- fit to operatively couple the first and second connectors 104, 108.

[0043] Figures 5A-5C illustrate a fastening assembly 120 adapted to slidably couple the first and second connectors 104, 108 according to an embodiment. Figure 5A shows a perspective view of a wrist-worn electronic accessory 100 according to an embodiment. The fastening assembly 120 includes a first cover portion 502 and second cover portion 504 configured to slidably couple between a fastened mode and unfastened mode. Figure 5B shows a sequence of the fastening assembly 120 transitioning between the fastened mode (see the top figure of Figure 5B) and the unfastened mode (see the bottom figure of Figure 5B). The first cover portion 502 and the second cover portion 504 may be configured to slide to connect to one another by pressure-fit. The first cover portion 502 may slide between a first position 506 and a second position 508 to provide access to the first connector 104. The second cover portion 504 may slide between a first position 510 and a second position 512 to provide access to the second connector 108. One of the cover portions may include a male receptacle 514 and the other cover portion may include a corresponding female receptacle 516. The cover portions 502, 504 may be made of, for example, silicone, thermo-plastic, aluminum, brass, and stainless steel. The cover portions 502, 504 may form a housing around all the sides of the connectors 104, 108 when coupled to one another.

[0044] Alternatively, rather than mere pressure-fit, the male receptacle 514, female receptacle 516, or both may include a key or guide to form a snap-fit when coupled together.

[0045] The cover portions 502, 504 may be adapted to be maintained on the wrist- worn electronic accessory when in the unfastened mode. For example, the cover portion 504 may form a retaining member at an end 518 most distal from the connector 108. The retaining member may form from the cover portion 504 being bended inwardly to form an area with a reduced cross-section section. The connector 108 may form a single unitary structure with a connector body 520 that provides an interface to the cable member 102. A connector generally refers the pins and structural member that is adapted to mate with a corresponding connector of an electronic device or an electric wall socket. A connector body generally refers to a structure fixably coupled or extending from the connector that mates with the cable member 102. Here, the connector body 520 may be adapted with a cross- sectional area that is slightly larger than the retaining member to maintain the cover portion 504 on the wrist-worn electronic accessory. Though not shown, it should be appreciated that a similar retaining assembly described above may be formed at the first connector 104 and the first cover portion 502.

[0046] Alternatively, one of the cover portions 502, 504 may be configured to be static and the other is configured to slide. Figures 6A-6D illustrate a fastening assembly 120 adapted to slidably couple the first and second connectors 104, 108 according to another embodiment. Specifically, Figure 6A illustrates a top perspective view of the fastening assembly 120 in a fastened mode, while Figure 6B illustrates the fastening assembly 120 in an unfastened mode. Figure 6C illustrates a bottom view of the fastening assembly 120 in the unfastened mode. Referring to Figure 6A, the fastening assembly 120 may include a cover 602 coupled to the first end 106 of the wrist-worn electronic accessory having the first connector 104 (see Figures 6B and 6C). The first connector 104 may form a single unitary structure with a connector body 604 (see Figure 6C). It should be appreciated by one skilled in the art that the cover 602 may similarly be coupled at the second end 110 having the second connector 108.

[0047] The connector body 604 may provide an interface between the cable member 102 and the first connector 104. The connector body 604 may further provide a coupling to the cover 602. The cover 602 may slide along the connector body 604. For example, the cover 602 may be formed of a plate bended to form a "C" shaped structure (see, for example, Figure 6D), and the connector body 604 may include a sufficiently wide cross-sectional area to retain the cover 602.

[0048] The cover 602 may further include guiding and locking pins 606 to couple with corresponding locking groves 608a, 608b at the second connector 108 and a second connector body 610. The second connector 108 may form a single unitary structure with the second connector body 610. The locking grooves 608a may be located on the connector 108, and the locking grooves 608b may be located on the second connector body 610. [0049] Figures 7A-7E illustrate several embodiments of a fastening assembly 120 adapted to flex-ably or hinge-ably rotate to couple a first and second connectors 104, 108 of a wrist-worn electronic accessory. Figure 7A shows a perspective view of a wrist-worn electronic accessory 100 according to an embodiment. The fastening assembly 120 includes a cover portion 702 configured to rotate between a fastened mode and unfastened mode. In Figure 7A, the fastening assembly 120 is shown in an unfastened mode. In Figure 7B, the fastening assembly 120 is shown in a fastened mode.

[0050] The cover 702 may include a retaining member 704 adapted to couple to a neck 706 on, or formed by, the connector body 708 of the first connector 104 to form a pressure fit. Figure 7B shows the bottom view and top view of the fastening assembly 120 in the fastened mode. The cover 702 couples to the neck 706 to define a gap 710 between the first connector 104 and the second connector 108. As shown from the top view of Figure 7B (left figure), when fastened, the wrist-worn electronic assembly 100 may have the appearance of an ornate bracelet.

[0051] The cover 702 may hinge-ably rotate via a hinge 712. In Figure 7C, the hinge 712 is located on a second connector body 714. The cover 702 couples to the hinge 712 at the second connector body 714. In Figure 7D, the hinge 712 is located at the top of the second connector body 714 proximal to the interface with the cable member 102.

[0052] Alternatively, the fastening assembly 120 may be adapted to flex-ably rotate to couple the first and second connectors 104, 108. In Figure 7E, the cover 712 is illustrated to elastically bend between the fastened position and the unfastened position. To elastically bend, the cover 712 may be made, for example, of silicone, polyurethane, among others. The cover 712 may form a unitary structure with the second connector body 714 or the cable member 102.

[0053] Figures 8A-8B illustrate different views of a fastening assembly 120 adapted to hinge-ably rotate to couple a first and second connectors 104, 108 of a wrist-worn electronic accessory according to another embodiment. Specifically, Figure 8A illustrates a top perspective view of the fastening assembly 120 in a fastened mode, while Figure 6B illustrates the fastening assembly 120 in an unfastened mode. The fastening assembly 120 may include a cover 802 coupled to the first end 106 of the wrist-worn electronic accessory 100 having the first connector 104. The first connector 104 may form a single unitary structure with a connector body 804. The connector body 804 may provide an interface between the cable member 102 and the first connector 104. The cover 802 and connector body 804 may form a hinge 806 to allow for the cover to hinge-ably rotate. The cover may have a length between 20 mm and 50mm and a width of 14mm to 20 mm. It should be appreciated that the length and width of the cover 802 may vary based on the length and width of the connectors 104, 108. Various guiding and locking pins described above may be employed.

[0054] In another embodiment, the wrist-worn electronic accessory may be camouflaged as jewelry. For example, it may have the appearance of a bracelet, a wrist-band, a watch, or any wrist-worn article. Figures 9A-9J are diagrams of wrist-worn electronic accessories camouflaged as jewelry according to the various embodiments.

[0055] Figure 11 is a diagram illustrating a method of charging a mobile device according to an embodiment. The method 1100 includes providing a wrist-worn electronic accessory adapted with the various embodiments described herein (step 1102). The method 1100 further includes wrapping the wrist-worn electronic accessory around a wrist of a person and engaging the fastening assembly to the fastened mode (step 1104). In the fastened mode, the person may carry the wrist-worn electronic accessory around as a wristband, jewelry, or timepiece. To charge a mobile device, the person may disengage or unfastened the fastening assembly to the unfastened mode (step 1106). The person may attach the first and second connectors of the wrist-worn electronic accessory to a first and second data connector of a first and second device.

[0056] Adapter

[0057] In another embodiment, the wrist-worn electronic accessary may include an adapter and a standard data cable. Figure 10A is a diagram of an adapter 1002 configured to couple to a data cable 1004. Figure 10B is a detailed diagram of the adapter 1002 of Figure 10A. The adapter 1002 may include a first port 1006 adapted to couple to the first connector 1008 of the data cable 1004. The adapter 1002 may further include a second port 1010 adapted to couple to the second connector 1012 of the data cable 1004. In an embodiment, the ports 1006, 1010 may be adapted as coupling points with the connectors 1008, 1012 by pressure fit. Various guiding and locking pins described above may be employed. Alternatively, a clasp may be employed to lock the connectors 1008, 1002 to the adapter 1002.

[0058] In another embodiment, the ports 1006, 1010 may include data, power, and ground lines to connect to the pins of the connectors 1008, 1012. The adapter may include a flash memory and may be configured to act as a flash drive when coupled to one of the connectors 1008, 1012 when connected to a mobile device.

Charger and Flash Drive

[0059] According to another aspect of the embodiment, the electronic accessory may include a wall plug receptacle in the fastening assembly. Figures 12A-12C are diagrams of a wrist-worn electronic accessory configured as a charger according to an embodiment. The wrist-worn electronic accessory 1200 may include the cable member 102, the first connector 104, and a charging connector 1202. The charging connector 1202 may include retractable pins 1204 adapted to couple to an electric wall socket. The retractable pins 1204 may be adapted to slide or rotate between a retracted position (see Figure 12B) and a non-retracted position (see Figure 12A).

[0060] The fastening assembly maybe fixably coupled to the connectors at either the first connector 104 or the charging connector 1202. The coupling may be using any of the various embodiments described above, such as by slide-ably, hinge-ably, or flex-ably coupling mechanisms.

[0061] Figure 12C is a diagram illustrating charging components of the wrist-worn electronic accessory of Figures 12A and 12B according to an embodiment. The wrist-worn electronic accessory includes an AC-to-DC power converter 1206 (referred herein as "AC- DC converter") within the charging connector 1202. The AC-DC converter may connect with the retractable pins 1204 and the power and ground pins 1208, 1210 in the first connector 104 via the power and ground line 116, 118.

[0062] In addition to, or in lieu of, the wrist-worn electronic accessory may include a memory controller and flash memory circuit 1212 embedded within the cable member 102. The memory controller may connect with the data and power pins in the first connector 104 to conform to the standard of that connector.

[0063] In an alternate embodiment, the charging connector 1202 may include the second connector 108. As such, the wrist-worn electronic accessory 1200 may be employed to charge from an electric wall socket or from another device.

Rechargeable Charger

[0064] The wrist-worn electronic accessory may be configured as a recharge-able charger according to another embodiment. Figure 13A is a diagram of a wrist-worn electronic accessory configured as a rechargeable charger according to an embodiment. The wrist-worn electronic accessory 1302 may include the first connector 104, the charging connector 1202, and a cable member 102. The charging connector 1202 may include the retractable pins 1204 to couple with an electric wall socket. The cable member 102 may include a plurality of rechargeable energy storage devices 1304. The energy storage devices 1304 may include, for example, lithium and nickel-cadmium batteries. The energy storage devices 1304 may be connected in parallel. In an embodiment, the cable member 102 may include a plurality of sub-housing adapted to hold one or two rechargeable energy storage devices 1304. The terminals of the energy storage devices 1304 may terminate at the power and ground pins 1208, 1210 of the first connector 104 via the power and ground lines 116, 118. The wrist-worn electronic accessory 1302 may include other electronic components, such as controller, to interface to the mobile device being charged through the wrist- worn electronic accessory 1302. The wrist-worn electronic accessory 1302 may include a fastening assembly 120, such as described in any one of the above described embodiments. For example, the fastening assembly 120 may include a cover 702 with a retaining member 704 adapted to couple to a neck 706 of a connector body 708 that forms a single unitary structure with the connector 104. Figure 13B is an electrical diagram of the wrist-worn electronic accessory 1302 of Figure 13 A.

[0065] The energy storage devices 1304 may be configured to provide an emergency source of power and allows the wrist-worn electronic accessory 1302 to function as an external back-up battery pack.

[0066] Figure 14 is a diagram of a rechargeable and memory circuit of a wrist-worn electronic accessory according to an embodiment. The AC-DC converter 1206 is electrically coupled to the AC plug 1204 adapted to electrically couple to an electric wall socket. The AC-DC converter 1206 may be coupled to the energy storage devices 1304 (shown as "rechargeable battery 1304") and the connector 104 via the power and ground lines 116, 118 (shown as a single wire for simplicity). Protection circuits maybe employed according to known methods to limit the current, prevent overcurrent, and filtering. For example, a zener diode may be employed. A mass storage controller 1402 may be connected to the power and ground lines 116, 118 and the data lines 124. The mass controller 1402 may interface with an oscillator 1404 and a flash memory 1406. The power lines 124, power line 116, and ground line 118 may terminate at a second connector 108 (not shown) to allow the wrist- worn electronic accessory to also act as a data cable.

[0067] The embodiments of the invention described above are intended to be merely exemplary; numerous variations and modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art. All such variations and modifications are intended to be within the scope of the present invention as defined in any appended claims.