Hand held docking station with deployable light source, rechargeable battery pack and recessed grip, for connecting to a palm top computer
First Claim
1. A hand-holdable docking station adapted for mechanical and electrical connection with a palmtop computer, the docking station comprising:
- a housing having a top, a bottom, a left side, a right side, and front and back faces, the housing for enclosing and defining an interior volume;
means for securely affixing a palmtop computer to the docking station;
a deployable light source, housed/stored in a receptacle, provided in the housing, when the light source is in an undeployed position, the light source being deployable to a position such that the illumination footprint illuminates the screen of an attached palmtop computer, wherein the light source is positioned such that it does not obscure the screen;
a rechargeable battery pack disposed within the housing, the battery pack for providing power to the deployable light source and the attached palmtop computer;
coupling means connected between the docking station and the palmtop computer for effecting electrical communication therebetween; and
at least one grip formed in the back face of the housing, the at least one grip including a recess in the back face of the housing into which the fingers of a human hand may be inserted, the recess spaced away from the sides of the housing a sufficient distance to form a griping surface having the shape of a cupped human hand when viewed in cross-section.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A hand-holdable docking station is adapted for mechanical and electrical connection with a palmtop computer. The docking station comprises a housing and means for securely affixing a palmtop computer to the housing. A deployable light source is housed/stored in a receptacle provided in the housing. The light source is deployable to a position such that the illumination footprint illuminates the screen of an attached palmtop computer but does not obscure viewing of the screen. The docking station includes a rechargeable battery pack for providing power to the deployable light source and the attached palmtop computer. Grasping means are included for ergonomic positioning of a human hand to allow substantially fatigue free handling of the docking station and for positioning a grasping hand such that the hand does not obscure viewing of the attached palmtop computer screen. The docking station also includes an electronic function board further including a facsimile/modem, a microprocessor and memory, and a pager connected to the microprocessor for receiving alpha/numeric page signals in excess of 55 characters per alpha page session.
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Citations
14 Claims
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1. A hand-holdable docking station adapted for mechanical and electrical connection with a palmtop computer, the docking station comprising:
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a housing having a top, a bottom, a left side, a right side, and front and back faces, the housing for enclosing and defining an interior volume; means for securely affixing a palmtop computer to the docking station; a deployable light source, housed/stored in a receptacle, provided in the housing, when the light source is in an undeployed position, the light source being deployable to a position such that the illumination footprint illuminates the screen of an attached palmtop computer, wherein the light source is positioned such that it does not obscure the screen; a rechargeable battery pack disposed within the housing, the battery pack for providing power to the deployable light source and the attached palmtop computer; coupling means connected between the docking station and the palmtop computer for effecting electrical communication therebetween; and at least one grip formed in the back face of the housing, the at least one grip including a recess in the back face of the housing into which the fingers of a human hand may be inserted, the recess spaced away from the sides of the housing a sufficient distance to form a griping surface having the shape of a cupped human hand when viewed in cross-section. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A hand-holdable docking station adapted for mechanical and electrical connection with a palmtop computer, the docking station comprising:
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a housing having a top, a bottom, a left side, a right side, and front and back faces, the housing for enclosing and defining an interior volume; means for securely affixing a palmtop computer to the docking station; means for illuminating the screen of an attached palmtop computer, the illumination means disposed such that the entire screen is unobstructed when viewed from a position normal to the screen, the illumination means further having an illumination footprint substantially equal to the plane dimensions of the computer screen; a rechargeable battery pack disposed within the housing, the battery pack providing power to the illumination means and the attached palmtop computer; coupling means connected between the docking station and the palmtop computer for effecting electrical communication therebetween; and grasping means formed in the back face of the housing, the grasping means including a recess disposed in the back face of the housing into which the fingers of a human hand may be inserted, the grasping means positioned such that when grasped, no part of a human hand obscures the screen of an attached palmtop computer. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12)
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13. A hand-holdable docking station adapted for mechanical and electrical connection with a palmtop computer, the docking station comprising:
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a housing; means for securely affixing a palmtop computer to the housing; a deployable light source, housed/stored in a receptacle, provided in the housing, when the light source is in an undeployed position, the light source being deployable to a position such that the illumination footprint illuminates the screen of an attached palmtop computer, wherein the light source is positioned such that it does not obscure the screen; a rechargeable battery pack disposed within the housing, the battery pack for providing power to the deployable light source and the attached palmtop computer; coupling means connected between the docking station and the palmtop computer for effecting electrical communication therebetween; and means for grasping the housing, the grasping means providing for ergonomic positioning of a human hand to allow substantially fatigue free handling of the docking station, the grasping means further for positioning a grasping hand such that the hand does not obscure viewing of the attached palmtop computer screen. - View Dependent Claims (14)
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Specification