Detecting orientation of a device docked to a docking station

• US 10,346,341 B2
• Filed: 01/23/2015
• Issued: 07/09/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 01/23/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Castell, Robin T, Hodges, Richard E, Saunders, Scott P
• Primary Examiner(s): Alrobaye, Idriss N
• Assistant Examiner(s): Franklin, Richard B
• Application Number:
  US15/519,739
• Publication Number:
  US 20180300274A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,628 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1632 External expansion units, e.g. docking stations
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 13/409 Mechanical coupling back panels H05K7/1438

Abstract

Examples disclosed herein provide for the detection of an orientation of a device docked to a docking station for the device. Based on the orientation, the device may route logic on the device so that connection points on the device to make contact with connection points on the docking station are properly mapped to input/output ports on the docking station.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

detecting an orientation of a device with respect to a docking station when the device is docked with the docking station, wherein when the device is to be docked with the docking station according to a first orientation, a first set of connection points on the device is to make contact with a second set of connection points on the docking station, the docking station comprising a plurality of input/output (I/O) ports into which respective peripheral devices are pluggable, wherein respective connection points of the second set of connection points correspond to respective different I/O ports of the plurality of I/O ports; and

based on the detected orientation, routing, by a switch, logic functions on the device so that connection points on the device making contact with the second set of connection points on the docking station are properly mapped to the I/O ports on the docking station.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein when the device is to be docked with the docking station according to a second orientation, a third set of connection points on the device is to make contact with the second set of connection points on the docking station.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein detecting the orientation comprises determining whether the device is in a forward facing position or a reverse facing position with respect to the docking station.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein detecting the orientation comprises determining whether the device is in a portrait position or a landscape position with respect to the docking station.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the connection points on the device and the second set of connection points on the docking station each comprise magnetic members, and wherein when the device is docked with the docking station, the magnetic members of the connection points on the device are to magnetically couple with the magnetic members of the second set of connection points on the docking station.

6. The method of claim 5, comprising:

exchanging, by the device, signals with the docking station over wireless communication links formed by the magnetically coupled magnetic members.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein responsive to the device being docked to the docking station in the first orientation, the switch maps a first connection point on the device to a first I/O port of the plurality of I/O ports, and wherein responsive to the device being docked to the docking station in a different second orientation, the switch maps a different second connection point on the device to the first I/O port.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the plurality of I/O ports on the docking station corresponding to respective different logic functions of the logic functions of the device.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the plurality of I/O ports on the docking station support respective different communication protocols.

10. The method of claim 7, wherein the plurality of I/O ports on the docking station comprise a video port and a Universal Serial Bus (USB) port.

11. A device comprising:

a first set of connection points disposed along a first side of the device;

a second set of connection points disposed along a second side of the device that is perpendicular to the first side of the device;

a sensor to detect an orientation of the device with respect to a docking station when the device is docked with the docking station; and

a switch to route logic functions on the device so that connection points on the device to make contact with a third set of connection points on the docking station are properly mapped to a plurality of input/output (I/O) ports on the docking station, wherein respective connection points of the third set of connection points correspond to respective different I/O ports of the plurality of I/O ports into which respective peripheral devices are pluggable.

12. The device of claim 11, wherein when the device is docked with the docking station according to a first orientation, the first set of connection points on the device is to make contact with the third set of connection points on the docking station.

13. The device of claim 12, wherein when the first set of connection points on the device is to make contact with the third set of connection points on the docking station, the switch is to route the logic functions on the device to the first set of connection points to enable the I/O ports on the docking station.

14. The device of claim 12, wherein when the device is docked with the docking station according to a second orientation, the second set of connection points on the device is to make contact with the third set of connection points on the docking station.

15. The device of claim 11, wherein when a cable with a connection point is to make contact with a connection point from the first or second set of connection points on the device, the switch is to:

discover a protocol associated with the cable; and

route the logic functions on the device so that the connection point on the device to make contact with the connection point of the cable is to support I/O functions of the cable.

16. The device of claim 11, wherein responsive to the sensor detecting the device being docked to the docking station in a first orientation, the switch is to map a first connection point on the device to a first I/O port of the plurality of I/O ports, and wherein responsive to the sensor detecting the device being docked to the docking station in a different second orientation, the switch is to map a different second connection point on the device to the first I/O port.

17. The device of claim 11, wherein the plurality of I/O ports on the docking station support respective different communication protocols.

18. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising programming instructions which, when executed by a processing resource, cause a device to:

detect an orientation of the device with respect to a docking station for the device when the device is docked with the docking station, the docking station comprising a plurality of input/output (I/O) ports into which respective peripheral devices are pluggable, wherein respective connection points on the docking station correspond to respective different I/O ports of the plurality of I/O ports; and

based on the detected orientation, cause a switch to route logic functions on the device so that connection points on the device to make contact with the connection points on the docking station are properly mapped to the I/O ports on the docking station.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 18, wherein responsive to the device being docked to the docking station in a first orientation, the program instructions are to cause the switch to map a first connection point on the device to a first I/O port of the plurality of I/O ports, and wherein responsive to the device being docked to the docking station in a different second orientation, the program instructions are to cause the switch to map a different second connection point on the device to the first I/O port.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 18, wherein the plurality of I/O ports on the docking station support respective different communication protocols.