Display Housing With Slot For Receiving Peripheral Devices

• US 20100309221A1
• Filed: 02/22/2008
• Published: 12/09/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 02/22/2008
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Myers, Robert L.
• Application Number:
  US12/867,486
• Publication Number:
  US 20100309221A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/619
• CPC Class Codes: A47B 2200/0094 Copyholder for VDU screen
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1607 Arrangements to support accessories mechanically attached to the display housing G06F1/1603, G06F1/1605 take precedence

Abstract

A system comprises a housing for a display. The housing defines a slot in an exposed surface of the housing. The slot is adapted to receive a peripheral device. The system also comprises a location sensing mechanism in the slot usable to determine a physical location of the peripheral device inserted into the slot.

Claims

1. A system, comprising:

a housing for a display, said housing defining a slot in an exposed surface of said housing, said slot adapted to receive a peripheral device;

a location sensing mechanism in said slot usable to determine a physical location of said peripheral device inserted into said slot.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein said location sensing mechanism comprises a resistive strip.

3. The system of claim 2 wherein said resistive strip is adapted to electrically couple to the peripheral device and said resistive strip receives a first voltage, and the system further comprises logic that receives a second voltage of the resistive strip at the location of the peripheral device, said logic using said second voltage to determine the location of the peripheral device relative to the housing.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein said location sensing mechanism comprises a plurality of conductive elements insulated from one another.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein said location sensing mechanism comprises an ultrasonic sound wave generator.

6. The system of claim 1 wherein said location sensing mechanism comprises a time-varying electrical signal generator.

7. The system of claim 1 wherein said slot extends along at least one-half of a side of said housing.

8. The system of claim 1 wherein said slot extends along at least sides of said housing.

9. The system of claim 1 further comprising a plurality of slots, each slot being adapted to receive a peripheral device.

10. The system of claim 1 wherein said slot comprises a data bus.

11. The system of claim 1 wherein said slot comprises a power bus.

12. The system of claim 1 further comprising a chassis, containing a processor, coupled to said display housing, said processor causing a graphical icon to be moved from the display in the housing to a display in a peripheral device.

13. A peripheral device, comprising:

a foot comprising a data connection; and

a biasing member that forces said foot outward

wherein said foot is adapted to fit in a slot in a display housing, said foot enabling said peripheral device to couple to an electrical bus in said slot.

14. The peripheral device of claim 13 further comprising logic that receives a signal from a location sensing element in said strip, said logic determining location of said peripheral device relative to said slot.

15. The peripheral device of claim 14 wherein said logic transmits a value indicative of said location to logic contained in the display housing.

16. The peripheral device of claim 13 wherein said foot comprises a power connection that receives power from a power bus in said slot.

17. The peripheral device of claim 13 wherein said foot comprises a data connection that receives data from, or provides data to, a data bus in said slot.

18. A method, comprising:

receiving a signal from a peripheral device attached to a display housing; and

determining a location of said peripheral device relative to said display housing using said signal.

19. The method of claim 18 further comprising causing an icon on a display contained in said display housing to move from said display to a display on said peripheral device.

20. The method of claim 18 further comprising using said location to cause an icon on a display contained in said display housing to move from said display to a display on said peripheral device.