Electricity: conductors and insulators – Conduits – cables or conductors – Plural duct
Reexamination Certificate
1999-06-17
2001-09-04
Riley, Shawn (Department: 2838)
Electricity: conductors and insulators
Conduits, cables or conductors
Plural duct
C361S689000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06284978
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates generally to system peripherals and, more particularly, to managing cables for system peripherals to prevent entanglement and to conveniently adjust the slack of the cables.
A variety of system peripherals are widely used to provide interface with a system host such as a personal computer. Among the most common input peripherals include computer mouse devices, keyboards, and joysticks, while printers, monitors, and speakers are examples of output peripherals. Conventional interfaces between the system host and system peripherals such as PS/2 interface and parallel ports can be cumbersome and difficult to use. Conventional interfaces also place severe restrictions on the number of peripherals that can be connected to the system host.
A more robust interface standard known as the Universal Serial Bus (USB) has been developed for providing interface among devices such as the integration of many peripherals to a system host. For example, the USB in a personal computer system connects computer peripherals to a personal computer through a single connector type using a tiered-star topology. A host controller of the USB interfaces with the host processor inside the personal computer. The host controller controls all accesses to USB resources and monitors the bus's topology. The USB has a “hot-swapping” feature that allows the user to attach or remove a peripheral without the need to shut down and restart the system host.
A USB hub provides USB attachment points for USB devices, as shown in FIG.
1
. The USB hub includes a hub controller coupled to a hub repeater which is coupled to an upstream port or root port (port
0
) for connection to a system host. The hub repeater is coupled to N number of downstream ports providing connection for N number of downstream USB-compatible devices. The USB hub is responsible for transferring data both upstream and downstream. All data transfers occur between the host computer and the peripheral devices.
The host controller includes a root hub, but a USB system may include other hubs that provide easy plug-in points for peripheral devices. This permits the user to “daisychain” multiple devices together to form a system interface tree, as illustrated in FIG.
2
. The host is at the root of the system interface tree, while the peripheral devices are located on branches of the tree. A system interface such as a USB hub resides at each intersection. In the embodiment shown, the hubs are conveniently built into the peripheral devices. Each system interface hub has one or more downstream ports providing connection for one or more downstream peripherals. When the host transfers data to a device, data is transferred downstream through all hubs, from an upstream port to all non-disabled downstream ports to all other hubs and devices. On the other hand, when data is transferred from a device to the host, the transfer occurs upstream only on the direct path to the host. The USB also distributes electrical power to the peripherals by letting the system host sense automatically the power that is required and deliver it to low-power peripheral devices. External power supplies are needed only for high power peripheral devices.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
With the proliferation of branches in the system interface tree for interfacing more and more peripherals and devices together, there is an increasing need to manage the cables that connect the devices to prevent entanglement and to allow adjustment of the slack of the cables. For instance, excess cable can be unsightly and a nuisance when exposed, particularly on desk tops. Excess cable slack can even pose a hazard.
The present invention provides a cable management scheme for managing excess cables between the devices by providing cable receiving channels, cable holders or other cable management members for accommodating the excess cables. Specific embodiments of the invention arrange a cable receiving member near the system interface in a device to accommodate cables for connecting other devices to the system interface of the subject device. The system interface is desirably a built-in interface such as a USB hub. The amount of excess cable taken by the cable receiving member is adjustable so that the amount of cable slack can be conveniently and easily changed by the user. The cable receiving member is desirably disposed in an area that is normally out of sight for aesthetic purposes.
In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, a system peripheral device comprises a system interface including at least one downstream port each for connecting with a connector coupled to a cable of a downstream system peripheral device. The system peripheral device has a cable holder for holding at least a portion of the cable of the downstream system peripheral device. The cable holder is capable of holding a substantial portion of the cable of the downstream system peripheral device. In one embodiment, the cable holder comprises at least one open channel having a serpentine arrangement. The channel has a plurality of paths of different lengths. The length of the cable received by the channel is determined by the length of the path of the channel selected to receive the cable. The length of the cable received by the channel can also be varied by adjusting the stacking of multiple portions of the cable to overlap in at least part of the channel. The system interface in a specific embodiment is a Universal Serial Bus hub.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, a system peripheral device comprises system interface means for interfacing with at least one downstream system peripheral device. At least one port is provided for connecting with a cable of each of at least one downstream system peripheral device. The system peripheral device further comprises cable management means for receiving at least a portion of the cable of at least one downstream system peripheral device up to a substantial portion of the cable of the downstream system peripheral device.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a keyboard comprises a system interface including at least one downstream port each for connecting with a connector coupled to a cable of a downstream system peripheral device. A cable receiving channel is provided for receiving at least a portion of the cable of the downstream system peripheral device. The cable receiving channel has sufficient length and depth for receiving a substantial portion of the cable of the downstream system peripheral device. In one embodiment, the cable receiving channel is furcated into multiple branches including at least one branch terminating at a channel exit on generally the left side of the keyboard and at least one branch terminating at a channel exit on generally the right side of the keyboard. In a specific embodiment, the system interface includes a downstream port recessed from the side edges of the keyboard so that the connector of the downstream system peripheral device connected with the downstream port does not protrude substantially beyond the side edges of the keyboard. The cable receiving channel includes a turn changing direction of the cable receiving channel in a generally opposite manner.
In accordance with yet another embodiment of this invention, a combination of system devices comprises a first system device including a system interface hub and a second system device. A cable connects the second system device to the system interface hub of the first system device. At least one of the first system device and the second system device includes a cable receiving member for receiving at least a portion of the cable. The cable receiving member is capable of receiving a substantial portion of the cable.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4684185 (1987-08-01), Arney et al.
patent: 5844775 (1998-12-01), Lundberg
patent: 4-54513 (1987-12-01), None
patent: 2582333 (1994-06-01), None
Lazzarotto Sergio
Pavillard Denis
Tritschler Keith
Logitech Inc.
Riley Shawn
Townsend and Townsend / and Crew LLP
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