Electrical connectors – With flaccid conductor and with additional connector spaced...
Reexamination Certificate
2000-03-16
2001-09-04
Sircus, Brian (Department: 2839)
Electrical connectors
With flaccid conductor and with additional connector spaced...
C439S623000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06283789
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a data and power transmitting cable system, particularly to a data and power transmitting cable system which improves on standard Universal Serial Bus and IEEE1394 cables by allowing for additional transmitted power.
2. Description of Related Art
Cables for connecting a computer with peripheral devices, like a keyboard, a mouse, a scanner or an external data storage device, have been increasingly standardized. For transmission speeds or data rates below 12 Mbits per second, Universal Serial Bus (USB) cables have increasingly been used. For higher data rates, of 100 Mbits per second and above, IEEE1394 cables have more and more come into use.
As shown in
FIG. 22-24
, a USB cable has an A connector
10
, a first cable
15
and a B connector
20
. The A connector has four metal pins, designated
1
,
2
,
3
and
4
, used as Vbus, −Data, +Data and Ground pins, respectively. Accordingly, the B connector has four metal pins, designated
1
a
,
2
a
,
3
a
and
4
a
, used as Vbus, −Data, +Data and Ground pins, respectively. The first cable
15
has four metal wires, a first, a second, a third and a fourth wire. The first wire connects pins
1
and
1
a
, the second wire connects pins
2
and
2
a
, the third wire connects pins
3
and
3
a
, and the fourth wire connects pins
4
and
4
a
. The first and fourth wires form a power supply line, and the second and third wires are used for data transmission.
IEEE1394 cables (not shown) look different from USB cables. IEEE1394 cables have another two wires for data and thus have a total of six wires, two wires forming a power circuit and four wires being used for data transmission.
Electric voltages and currents in both USB cables and IEEE1394 cables are clearly defined. USB cables carry a voltage of +5V and a maximum current of 0.5 A. IEEE1394 cables carry a voltage of +8V to +40V and a maximum current of 1.5 A.
Devices connecting via a cable either have an extra power supply of their own or are supplied with power by the cable. Extra power supplies are mainly used for devices with relatively high power consumption, like scanners or storage devices. Devices with low power consumption, like keyboards or mouses, rely on power supplied by the cable.
Devices consuming more power than is admitted through the cable need installation of an extra power supply. As shown in
FIGS. 25-27
, a device
25
has a USB interface port
23
with four pins
1
b
,
2
b
,
3
b
,
4
b
which are respectively connected to the pins
1
a
,
2
a
,
3
a
,
4
a
of the B connector
20
of the USB cable. Furthermore, the device
25
has a power input jack
24
with two pins
5
,
6
. A power adapter
17
is plugged into the power input jack
24
, connecting to the pins
5
,
6
and supplying the device
25
with power. The power adapter
17
in turn is connected with a wall outlet, receiving power therefrom. If the device
25
needs just a little more power than is admitted through the USB cable, it is desirable to have another way to supply the device
25
than the extra power supply shown in
FIGS. 25-27
.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides power for a device connected via a USB or IEEE1394 cable that consumes a little more power than is admitted through the USB or IEEE1394 cable.
An object of the present invention is to provide a data and power transmitting cable system which connects a main device and a peripheral device, adding a cable to be used only for power transmission for supplying the peripheral device with additional power while observing the USB and IEEE1394 standards.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a data and power transmitting cable system which saves costs and space for an extra power supply and which is easily mounted.
The main device used in conjunction with the present invention has a USB or IEEE1394 port or is a USB hub. The peripheral device used in conjunction with the present invention has a USB or IEEE1394 port for data and power connections to the main device.
The present invention connects the main device and the peripheral device according to the USB or IEEE1394 standards, adding a cable for additional power, so that, while observing the USB or IEEE1394 standards, the peripheral device is supplied with additional power. This is suitable if the peripheral device consumes a little more power than is admitted through the USB or IEEE1394 cable. This avoids the costs of an extra power supply for the peripheral device, and no extra space is needed, resulting in a simpler arrangement.
Since modern computers are provided with at least two USB ports, installing the present invention poses no problem. If there are not enough USB ports provided, a USB hub or a monitor with USB hub are preferably acquired and used.
The present invention can be more fully understood by reference to the following description and accompanying drawings.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4981438 (1991-01-01), Bekheit
patent: 5855064 (1999-01-01), Chang
patent: 5971800 (1999-10-01), Azuma et al.
patent: 6007372 (1999-12-01), Wood
patent: 6152778 (2000-11-01), Dalton
Pro-Techtor Inter-national Services
Sircus Brian
Zarroli Michael C.
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