POLARITY CONTROL FOR A FLAT CONNECTOR

• US 20150263460A1
• Filed: 10/18/2012
• Published: 09/17/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 10/18/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Mann, James M., Atkinson, Lee Warren
• Granted Patent: US 9,583,893 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 13/6205 Two-part coupling devices held in engagement by a magnet
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 13/64 Means for preventing incorrect coupling
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 13/6691 with built-in signalling means H01R13/717 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 13/70 with built-in switch
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 2103/00 Two poles
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 29/00 Coupling parts for selective co-operation with a counterpart in different ways to establish different circuits, e.g. for voltage selection, for series-parallel selection, programmable connectors

Abstract

A polarity control circuit receives signals from contacts of a flat connector when the flat connector is connected to a port, where the port is engageable with the flat connector in any of plural orientations of the flat connector. The polarity control circuit applies polarity processing to the input signals to produce output signals at a target polarity.

Claims

1. A sink device, comprising:

a port comprising a profile to engage with a flat connector including a power contact and a reference contact, wherein the port is engageable with the flat connector in any of plural orientations of the flat connector; and

a polarity control circuit connected to the port to apply polarity processing to signals corresponding to the power and reference contacts to produce output power signals at a target polarity regardless of an orientation of the flat connector when connected to the port.

2. The sink device of claim 1, wherein the port has a first contact and a second contact to engage with respective ones of the power contact and the reference contact of the flat connector.

3. The sink device of claim 2, wherein the polarity control circuit includes a full-wave rectifier to receive signals from the first and second contacts of the port, and to produce the output power signals at the target polarity.

4. The sink device of claim 2, wherein the first contact is laterally spaced from the second contact in just one direction.

5. The sink device of claim 1, wherein the port is a non-coaxial port.

6. The sink device of claim 1, further comprising a magnet to magnetically attract the flat connector to the port for engaging the flat connector to the port.

7. The sink device of claim 1, wherein the port has a plurality of contacts, the plurality of contacts to:

electrically connect to the power contact and reference contact of the fiat connector; and

electrically connect to data contacts of the flat connector.

8. The sink device of claim 7, further comprising a switching circuit to apply polarity processing to signals corresponding to the data contacts to produce output data signals at a target data polarity regardless of the orientation of the flat connector when connected to the port.

9. The sink device of claim 8, wherein the switching circuit has switches to selectively connect the output data signals to the signals corresponding to the data contacts in a first arrangement in response to detecting a first orientation of the flat connector, and to connect the output data signals to the signals corresponding to the data contacts in a second, different arrangement in response to detecting a second, different orientation of the flat connector.

10. The sink device of claim 9, wherein the switches are controllable by a signal corresponding to one of the power and reference contacts of the flat connector.

11. A system comprising:

a power adaptor comprising a flat connector including a power contact and a reference contact;

a sink device comprising a port engageable with the flat connector in any of plural orientations of the flat connector; and

a polarity control circuit comprising a rectifier to receive input signals connected to the power contact and the reference contact of the flat connector, the rectifier to apply rectification to the input signals to produce output power signals at a target polarity.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the polarity control circuit is part of the sink device.

13. The system of claim 11, wherein the polarity control circuit is to produce the output power signals al the target polarity regardless of the orientation of the flat connector when engaged with the port of the sink device.

14. The system of claim 11, wherein the flat connector further includes data contacts, and the system further includes a switching circuit to produce output data signals based on signals from the data contacts, the output data signals being at a target polarity regardless of the orientation of the flat connector when engaged to the port.

15. A method comprising:

receiving, by a switching circuit, input signals from port contacts of a port when the port is engaged with a flat connector, wherein the port is engageable with the flat connector in any of plural orientations of the flat connector; and

applying, by the switching circuit, polarity processing to the input signals to produce output data signals at a target polarity regardless of the orientation of the flat connector when engaged to the port, wherein the polarity processing is based on detecting a state of a power-related contact of the flat connector.