Electrical interface for a portable electronic physiological instrument having separable components
First Claim
1. A portable electronic physiological instrument having first and second separable components and an electrical interface therebetween to allow electrical connection between the first and second components, the instrument comprising:
- (a) a first component having a housing, said first component including groove member means coupled to the housing of the first component for mating the first component to a second component, said first component also including support means coupled to the housing for mounting a plug assembly to the housing so that the plug assembly has a limited freedom to move, wherein the plug assembly comprises;
(i) a body;
(ii) a first connector fixedly mounted to the body; and
(iii) a pair of guide fingers extending from the body, one of the pair of guide fingers located on one side of the first connector and the other of the pair of guide fingers located on the other side of the first connector, wherein the guide fingers extend from the body in a direction that is substantially parallel with a path that the first connector must travel in order to mate with a complementary connector; and
(b) a second component having a housing, said second component including tongue member means coupled to the housing of the second component, the tongue member means receiving the groove member means of the first component with a translative, sliding fit to provide mechanical interconnection between the first and second components, said second component also including a socket assembly formed in the housing of the second component, said socket assembly comprising;
(i) a socket having a floor, a ceiling, a left wall, a right wall, and a rear wall, the walls of the socket forming an opening opposite the rear wall of the socket that is sized to receive the plug assembly;
(ii) a second connector fixedly mounted on the rear wall of the socket and oriented to face the opening of the socket, the second connector complementary formed to mate with the first connector; and
(iii) a pair of guides, one of the pair of guides formed in the floor of the socket and the other of the pair of guides formed in the ceiling of the socket, the set of guides substantially aligned along a path that a corresponding connector must travel to mate with the second connector, so that as the first component is slidably connected with the second component, the guides channel the guide fingers of the plug assembly and bring the first connector into alignment and eventual connection with the second connector.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A first electrical connector of an interface is provided on a floating plug assembly mounted on one component of a physiological instrument. A second electrical connector of the interface is mounted in a socket assembly constructed in another component that can be coupled to the first component by relative linear translation. Guides located in the socket assembly capture fingers on the plug assembly as the plug assembly is inserted in the socket assembly. The guides orient the plug assembly so that the first connector is correctly aligned with the second connector. The connectors are automatically joined as the first component is coupled to the second component.
240 Citations
14 Claims
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1. A portable electronic physiological instrument having first and second separable components and an electrical interface therebetween to allow electrical connection between the first and second components, the instrument comprising:
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(a) a first component having a housing, said first component including groove member means coupled to the housing of the first component for mating the first component to a second component, said first component also including support means coupled to the housing for mounting a plug assembly to the housing so that the plug assembly has a limited freedom to move, wherein the plug assembly comprises; (i) a body; (ii) a first connector fixedly mounted to the body; and (iii) a pair of guide fingers extending from the body, one of the pair of guide fingers located on one side of the first connector and the other of the pair of guide fingers located on the other side of the first connector, wherein the guide fingers extend from the body in a direction that is substantially parallel with a path that the first connector must travel in order to mate with a complementary connector; and (b) a second component having a housing, said second component including tongue member means coupled to the housing of the second component, the tongue member means receiving the groove member means of the first component with a translative, sliding fit to provide mechanical interconnection between the first and second components, said second component also including a socket assembly formed in the housing of the second component, said socket assembly comprising; (i) a socket having a floor, a ceiling, a left wall, a right wall, and a rear wall, the walls of the socket forming an opening opposite the rear wall of the socket that is sized to receive the plug assembly; (ii) a second connector fixedly mounted on the rear wall of the socket and oriented to face the opening of the socket, the second connector complementary formed to mate with the first connector; and (iii) a pair of guides, one of the pair of guides formed in the floor of the socket and the other of the pair of guides formed in the ceiling of the socket, the set of guides substantially aligned along a path that a corresponding connector must travel to mate with the second connector, so that as the first component is slidably connected with the second component, the guides channel the guide fingers of the plug assembly and bring the first connector into alignment and eventual connection with the second connector. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A mechanical interface for securing a monitor to an auxiliary component, where the monitor and auxiliary component include an electrical interface through which data or power can be conveyed between the monitor and the auxiliary component, the mechanical interface comprising:
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(a) a groove portion disposed on a side wall of the auxiliary component, the groove portion including an upper angle flange and a lower angle flange spaced away from and parallel with the side wall of the auxiliary component; (b) a plug assembly mounted to the auxiliary component so that the plug assembly is generally oriented parallel with the side wall of the auxiliary component and between the upper and lower angle flanges, the plug assembly mounted to the auxiliary component by support means that provide the plug assembly a limited freedom to move, said plug assembly comprising; (i) a body; (ii) a first connector fixedly mounted to the body; and (iii) a pair of guide fingers extending form the body, one of the pair of guide fingers located on one side of the first connector and the other of the pair of guide fingers located on the other side of the first connector, wherein the guide fingers extend from the body in a direction that is substantially parallel with a path that the first connector must travel in order to mate with a complementary connector; (c) a tongue member disposed on a side wall of the monitor, the tongue member having an upper tongue extending parallel with the side wall and forming a top channel between the upper tongue and the side wall of the monitor, and a lower tongue extending parallel with the side wall and forming a lower channel between the lower tongue and the side wall of the monitor, the upper and lower channels sized to receive the respective upper and lower angle flanges of the auxiliary component to engage the monitor and the auxiliary component; and (d) a socket assembly constructed in the monitor, the socket assembly having a floor, a ceiling, a left wall, a right wall, and a back wall, the walls of the socket assembly forming an opening in the socket assembly that is opposed to the back wall and is sized to receive the plug assembly, said socket assembly comprising; (i) a second connector fixedly mounted to the back wall of the socket assembly and oriented toward the opening of the socket assembly; and (ii) a pair of guides, one of the pair of guides formed in the floor of the socket assembly and the other of the pair of guides formed in the ceiling of the socket assembly, the set of guides substantially aligned along a path that a corresponding connector must travel to mate with the second connector, so that as the plug assembly is inserted into the socket assembly, the guides channel the guide fingers of the plug assembly and bring the first connector into alignment and eventual connection with the second connector, the first connector and second connector being substantially within the socket assembly when connected. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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- 13. A portable electronic physiological instrument comprising a first component having a housing, a second component having a housing, the housings of the first and second components having a cooperating tongue-and-groove joint for joining the first component to the second component by relative translation along a substantially linear path, said first and second components having an electrical interface including a first connector carried by the first component and a second connector carded by the second component, said first and second connectors having cooperating pin and socket conductors interconnectable by relative translation generally parallel to the linear path, the first and second connectors being mounted, respectively, to the first and second components substantially in alignment with reference to the linear path such that the tongue-and-groove joint achieves a gross alignment of the first connector with the second connector, the first connector being stationarily mounted on the first component, and the second connector being mounted on the second component for limited movement relative thereto in a plane perpendicular to the linear path but being restricted from movement parallel to the linear path, one of the first and second connectors having two guide fingers projecting generally parallel to the linear path toward the other of the first and second connectors as the first component is joined to the second component and such other of the first and second connectors having two guide ways generally aligned with the guide fingers as the first component is joined to the second component, the guide fingers and guide ways having cooperating tapered portions constructed and arranged relatively for interengagement so as to align the first connector with the second connector more precisely as the first and second components are moved along the linear path defined by the tongue-and-groove joint, the first connector further having a pair of guide pegs extending from the first connector in a direction that is substantially parallel with the linear path.
Specification