Electricity: electrical systems and devices – Housing or mounting assemblies with diverse electrical... – For electronic systems and devices
Reexamination Certificate
2001-10-16
2004-10-19
Lea-Edmonds, Lisa (Department: 2835)
Electricity: electrical systems and devices
Housing or mounting assemblies with diverse electrical...
For electronic systems and devices
CD14S434000, C710S303000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06807055
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present information relates to an connection enhancement apparatus employed effectively for extending the function of such a portable information processing apparatus as a lap-top personal computer (hereinafter, to be referred as the lap-top PC), etc.
The progress of personal computers in recent years has been remarkable and are now indispensable in office work. Personal computers are roughly classified into two types; desk-tops installed in offices and lap-tops excellent their portability. Both types are often used in office work environments. In the case where both types of personal computers are used, however, handling their data often becomes a complicated task.
For desk-top personal computers, there is no need to take portability into consideration. Concretely, because there is no need to reduce size, the PC is often provided with such devices as a floppy disk drive, a CD-ROM drive, an extension terminal, etc. as required to expand the function of the PC. On the contrary, a lap-top PC must often make sacrifices for functional expandability so as to satisfy portability. For example, many lap-top personal computers are not provided with any external storage units, such as a floppy disk drive, a CD-ROM drive, etc. Where a lap-top PC whose functions are limited is used in an office, therefore, an connection enhancement apparatus referred to as a docking station is used so as to extend function. The docking station has an enhancement connector that supports connections of a plurality of I/O ports of the subject lap-top PC. The docking station can thus be taken as an connection enhancement apparatus. As such, the docking station has various functions that are not provided for lap-top PCs, a lap-top PC, when it is connected to such a docking station, can function just like a desk-top PC. Consequently, the use of such a docking station will solve the troublesome data handling which arises when two types of PCs (lap-top PCs and desk-top PCs) are used together.
Japanese Published Unexamined Patent Application No. 8-22342 discloses a docking station to which a lap-top PC is connected and disconnected automatically. This docking station includes a housing provided with connector means to be connected to a full-size monitor and a keyboard. A tray, for fit to a lap-top PC, is slidably attached to this housing. Driving means disposed between the housing and the tray drives both of the lap-top PC and the tray, so that the connection means of the docking station is fit in the connection means of the lap-top PC automatically. The docking station disclosed in Japanese Published Unexamined Patent Application No. 8-22342 employs a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) as a monitor, so it requires a due installation space.
Another docking station is disclosed in Japanese Published Unexamined Patent Application No. 11-305870. The docking station, which is a space-saving one, uses a thin display, for example, a liquid crystal display. According to Japanese Published Unexamined Patent Application No. 11-305870, the docking station disclosed employs such a thin display and enables a lap-top PC to be connected thereto behind this display so as to be disposed vertically, thereby space-savings can be achieved.
The docking station disclosed in Japanese Published Unexamined Patent Application No. 11-305870 can have functions equivalent to those of a desk-top PC so that the space-saving does not degrade the controllability. In spite of this, the docking station disclosed in Japanese Published Unexamined Patent Application No. 11-305870 exemplifies the problem of workability when a lap-top PC is docked to the docking station behind the display. Concretely, when the lap-top PC is docked to the docking station, the lap-top PC must be docked over the display while the PC is held vertically in the installation direction. And, it is difficult to dock the PC in such a way even when the PC is light in weight. The PC can be moved around to the rear of the display without moving the PC over the top of the display so as to dock the PC to the docking station. In some installations of the docking station, however, the PC cannot be moved around to the rear of the display. Any way, the user might be forced to take up an unstable posture so as to dock the lap-top PC to this docking station. In the worst case, the user might drop the lap-top PC while he/she is docking it to the docking station.
Under such circumstances, one purpose is to provide an connection enhancement apparatus that makes it easier to connect the subject PC thereto. It is another purpose of the present invention to provide a space-saving connection enhancement apparatus.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Docking of a lap-top PC to the docking station would become easier in the case where it is done from a surface in front of the user. In addition, space-saving can be achieved in the case where both of the docking station and the lap-top PC are disposed vertically. In order to achieve the above, therefore, the present invention provides a docking station and enhancement connection including: an enhancement connector for supporting connections of a plurality of I/O ports of a portable information processing apparatus; a vertical type housing having a front surface on which the enhancement connector is installed, the front surface facing the user; and a holding member holds the portable information processing apparatus substantially parallel to the front surface.
Because the connection enhancement apparatus or docking station of the present invention is vertical, the installation space is reduced so as to achieve space-saving. And, the connection enhancement apparatus of the present invention has a holding member to hold a portable information processing apparatus substantially in parallel to the front surface. Consequently, because the portable information processing apparatus held by the holding member is disposed almost in parallel to the front surface, the space-saving is achieved with no difficulty. In addition, because this holding member holds the portable information processing apparatus within the plane of the projected front surface, the portable information processing apparatus and the connection enhancement apparatus, upon connection by a user to each other, visually reveals and readily invites proper connection, orientation, and unification.
A lap-top PC is a typical example of the portable information processing apparatus employed for the connection enhancement apparatus of the present invention. The portable information processing apparatus of the present invention, however, is not limited only to such a lap-top PC; it includes a wide variety of information processing apparatuses with portability, such as a compact lap-top PC, a PDA (Personal Digital Assistants), or the like.
And, the connection enhancement apparatus of the present invention is not limited only to a docking station; its concept also includes a port replicator. The port replicator can eliminate a troublesome work for connecting a plurality of connectors to a plurality of I/O ports of the subject lap-top PC. Concretely, the port replicator is connected to a plurality of connectors in advance, thereby it can be connected to a lap-top PC via minimum connectors, for example, only one connector. The connector of the port replicator to be connected to the lap-top PC functions as an enhancement connector.
The connection enhancement apparatus of the present invention can have a device for extending the function of the portable information processing apparatus. This device is not limited only to a specific one. In the case of a thin type lap-top PC, it is often provided with none of a floppy disk drive and a CD-ROM drive. In such a case, the connection enhancement apparatus comes to have a floppy disk drive and a CD-ROM drive. The type of the device is not limited at all; any device can be used where functions are not provided for in the subject portable information processing apparatus.
Furthermore, such I/O ports as line-in, line-out, IEEE 1394, modem, Ethernet, CRT, USB
Agata Hiroaki
Usui Hideyuki
Yamazaki Kazuhiko
Lea-Edmonds Lisa
Munoz-Bustamante Carlos
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