Modular computer system

• US 8,014,136 B2
• Filed: 04/28/2008
• Issued: 09/06/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 04/26/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Jupiter IP LLC
• Original Assignee: Jupiter IP LLC
• Inventors: Peng, Robin
• Primary Examiner(s): CHERVINSKY, BORIS LEO
• Application Number:
  US12/111,015
• Publication Number:
  US 20080266776A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,226 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 361/679.02
• CPC Class Codes: H02G 3/12 for flush mounting

Abstract

One embodiment of the present invention relates to a modular computer system for use in residential, recreational, and commercial regions. The system is a computer system disposed within an existing outlet receptacle housing. The receptacle includes a conventional NEMA standard OS1 and OS2 type electrical housing and electrical line designed to accommodate a residential or commercial light switch, electrical outlet, etc. The computer system is electrically coupled to the electrical line disposed within the housing of the receptacle and includes a mechanically extendable expansion bus configured to mechanically support and data inter-couple a set of modules for providing computer functionality. The expansion bus can be extended to access the modules or collapsed within the receptacle so as to be externally visually obscured by an interface module or cover. The computer system is configured to dynamically detect and data couple with other modular computer systems in a particular region.

Claims

1. An internal modular computing system comprising:

an existing outlet receptacle disposed on a wall of an interior region, wherein the existing outlet receptacle includes an electrical line and a housing;

a computer system disposed substantially within the housing and electrically coupled to the electrical line, wherein the electrical line is the power source for the computer system, and further including;

a mechanically extendable expansion bus configured to mechanically support and dynamically data inter-couple a set of modular modules, wherein the mechanically extendable expansion bus includes an extended state and a collapsed state;

a cover, externally visually obscuring the mechanically extendable expansion bus; and

at least one computer module coupled to the mechanically extendable expansion bus;

wherein the computer system resides within the outlet receptacle housing, concealed by the cover, when the expansion bus is in the collapsed state and is external the outlet receptacle housing when the expansion bus in the extended state.

2. The system of claim 1, the cover being an interface module disposed on an outside surface of the computer system and coupled to the mechanically extendable expansion bus, wherein the human interface module includes both an input and output module.

3. The system of claim 2, the system further comprising a communication module coupled to the mechanically extendable expansion bus and configured to transmit and receive data with at least one other internal modular computing system;

and wherein the communication module includes a dynamic polling function that automatically detects and data couples with other modular computing systems within the same interior region.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the computer system further includes a processor module coupled to the mechanically extendable expansion bus.

5. The system of claim 3, wherein the communication module transmits and receives data with at least one other modular computer system through a wireless networking protocol.

6. The system of claim 3, wherein the communication module transmits and receives data with at least one other computer system through a wireless networking protocol.

7. The system of claim 6, the other computer system being selected from the set of computer systems consisting of:

a notebook computer, a personal computer, a wireless network interface, a personal digital assistant (“

PDA”

), and a smart phone.

8. The system of claim 3, wherein the communication module transmits and receives data with at least one other modular computer system via the electrical line.

9. The system of claim 2, wherein the input module of the interface module is a touch-less interface that enables a user to effectuate adjustment without physically contacting the modular computer system.

10. The system of claim 2, the input module being selected from the set of input modules consisting of:

toggle switches, dimmer switches, slide switches, timer switches, thermostats, intercoms, keypads, motion detectors, and sound detectors.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the electrical line is a power line.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein the housing is a NEMA OS1 or OS2 electrical box.