Portable computer with removable and replaceable add-on modules

• US 4,894,792 A
• Filed: 09/30/1988
• Issued: 01/16/1990
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/1988
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Tandy Corporation (RS Legacy Corp.)
• Inventors: Molenda, James R., Mitchell, Dennis R., Nakamura, Karl S.
• Primary Examiner(s): Clark, David L.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Mai, Tan V.
• Application Number:
  US07/252,177
• Time in Patent Office: 473 Days
• Field of Search: 364/708, 361/393, 361/394, D14/100, D14/106
• US Class Current: 361/679.31
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1616 with folding flat displays, e.g. laptop computers or notebooks having a clamshell configuration, with body parts pivoting to an open position around an axis parallel to the plane they define in closed position
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1656 Details related to functional adaptations of the enclosure, e.g. to provide protection against EMI, shock, water, or to host detachable peripherals like a mouse or removable expansions units like PCMCIA cards, or to provide access to internal components for maintenance or to removable storage supports like CDs or DVDs, or to mechanically mount accessories mounting of accessories to a computer display G06F1/1607; display hoods G06F1/1603; cooling arrangements for portable computers G06F1/203
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/166 related to integrated arrangements for adjusting the position of the main body with respect to the supporting surface, e.g. legs for adjusting the tilt angle

Abstract

A portable computer is constructed to utilize bottom add-on expansion modules, battery tray compartment plug-in modules and mass storage plug-in drawer modules. The modules permit the operating capabilities of the portable computer to be readily altered as desired or as needed at a given location or for a particular job function and do not require redesign or alteration of the internal components of the portable computer as modules are added or changed. Each module construction includes direct plug-in connectors which permit the add-on module to be directly connected to the computer bus without any cabling between the computer and the added module. The construction of the add-on modules permits the computer to be operated as a stand alone computer without any add-on modules and permits the computer to be operated as a portable computer powered by a battery. The construction also permits a wide variety of function cards, mass storage devices, communication devices, interface display devices, interface to instrumentation interfaces, interfaces to small servers (and any other part that can pick up the computer bus) to be readily associated with the portable computer.

Claims

1. A portable computer and plug-in modules constructed to permit add-on cards and add-on components in the modules to access the computer bus by direct plug-in of the modules to the computer without cabling and without altering the portability of the computer,

said portable computer comprising,

an outer case having a top, bottom, back and sides,

a main logic board mounted within the outer case,

bottom plug-in connector means connected to the main logic board and including a bottom plug-in connector extending through the bottom of the outer case for engagement with a related connector of a bottom add-on module,

said bottom add-on module comprising,

a frame support,

a power supply board mounted within the frame support,

an add-on card mounted within the frame support and operatively associated with the power supply board, and

an add-on module connector positioned to be directly connectable and disconnectable from said bottom connector without cabling,

said computer including a battery tray compartment within the back of the outer case for permitting a battery to be inserted into and remove from the computer,

a battery tray compartment plug-in board at the inner end of the battery tray compartment and having a plug-in connector operatively connected to the main logic board for providing general purpose access to the computer bus through said plug-in connector,

a removable, battery tray compartment, plug-in module comprising,

an outer housing having an outer configuration shaped to slide smoothly into and out of the battery tray compartment and having internal supports for a component board,

at least one compartment board supported within the outer housing and having a back connector and a front connector at opposite ends of the component board,

a back plate attached to the housing and having an opening for the back connectors of the plug-in board so that the back connector of the component board is directly connectable to and detachable from the connector on the plug-in board without cabling when the outer housing is inserted into and removed from the battery tray compartment,

a mass storage area opening within one side of the outer case for permitting general purpose access and particularly selected mass storage apparatus access to the computer bus,

a drawer board located at the inner end of the mass storage area and having a connector operatively connected to the main logic board for providing general purpose access to the computer bus through the connector,

a drawer carrier attached within the outer case of the computer in the mass storage area,

a plug-in drawer tray insertable in the drawer carrier,

a component board mounted within the tray and having a back connector and a front connector with the back connector located to be directly connectable to said connector on the drawer board, and

fasteners for locking the tray into the outer case of the portable computer after the tray has been inserted and the back connector of the component board has been connected to the connector on the drawer board,

whereby function cards, mass storage devices, communication devices, interface display devices, interface to instrumentation interfaces, interfaces to small servers (and any other part connectable to the computer bus) is incorporated in the portable computer by direct plug in of a module and without requiring redesign or change to the existing, internal component structure of the computer itself.

2. A portable computer and removable add-on module combination constructed to permit add-on boards to be readily connected to and disconnected from the bottom of the computer, said portable computer comprising,

an outer case having a top and a bottom,

a main logic board mounted within the outer case,

first connector means connected to the main logic board and having a first, bottom connector extending through the bottom of the outer case for engagement with a related connector of the add-on module,

said add-on module comprising,

frame support means for supporting the components of the add-on module,

a power supply board mounted within the frame support means,

edge card connector means supplying the interface required for add-on cards and mounted within the frame support means and operatively associated with the power supply board,

add-on card mounting means associated with the frame support means for permitting add-on cards to be inserted into and removed from the edge card connector means,

said edge card connector means including a second connector which is the inverse of the first bottom connector and which is positioned to be directly connectable and disconnectable from the first bottom connector of the portable computer without cabling between the first and second connectors,

cover means for covering the internal components of the add-on module, and

connecting means for connecting the add-on module to the outer case of the portable computer,

whereby the computer is operable both as a stand-alone computer without the add-on module and as an altered but still portable computer with the add-on module and whereby the component configuration and operating capabilities of the computer are readily altered as desired or as needed at a given location or for a particular job function by connecting a particular add-on module and selected add-on cards within the add-on module and whereby the portable characteristics of the portable computer and removable add-on combination are retained without requiring redesign or alteration of the internal components of the portable computer.

3. The apparatus defined in claim 2 wherein the frame support means include alignment locators engagable with associated structure of the outer case of the computer for insuring proper alignment and proper connection of the first and second connectors.

4. A portable computer and removable, battery tray compartment, plug-in module constructed to permit general purpose access to the computer bus,

said portable computer comprising,

an outer case,

a main logic board mounted within the outer case,

battery tray compartment means within the outer case for permitting a battery to be inserted into and removed from the computer,

said battery tray compartment means including a battery tray compartment plug-in board at the inner end of the battery tray compartment means,

first connector means mounted on the plug-in board and operatively connected to the main logic board for providing general purpose access to the computer bus through the first connector means,

said removable, battery tray compartment, plug-in module comprising,

an outer housing having an outer configuration shaped to slide smoothly into and out of the battery tray compartment, said outer housing having internal supports for supporting at least one component board within the outer housing,

at least one component board supported within said outer housing and having a back connector and a front connector at opposite ends of the board,

a back plate attached to the housing and having an opening for the back connector of the board and being aligned with the first connector means of the plug-in board so that the back connector is directly connectable to and detachable from the first connector means on the plug-in board when the outer housing is inserted into and removed from the battery tray compartment, and

a front plate connectable to the outer housing and having an opening located to permit the front connector of the board to extend through said opening so that the front connector provides an outside interface for the board of the plug-in module,

whereby the battery for powering the computer is removable and the plug-in module is insertable in the battery tray compartment to connect to the computer any part connectable to the computer bus, such as, an interface to an expansion chassis, an interface to communications such as LANs, WANs, and high speed modems, computer peripheral attachments such as a hard disk or other storage devices, an interface to display devices, an interface to instrumentation interfaces such as IEEE 488, an interface to provide a small server capability, and static RAM, and whereby all such connections are connectable without requiring redesign or change to the existing, internal component structure of the computer itself.

5. The apparatus defined in claim 4 wherein the first connector means mounted on the plug-in board comprise two separate connectors and wherein two boards, each with its own back connector, are mounted within the outer housing and wherein the two boards are operatively connected at the front to interface through a single front connector.

6. The apparatus defined in claim 4 wherein the computer includes an external connector for connection to external power and the external connector is located close to the battery tray compartment and wherein the front plate of the plug-in module includes a tab extension which requires the computer operator to unplug the external power line before the plug-in module is inserted into or removed from the battery tray compartment so that the power to the computer must be disconnected before anything is plugged into or unplugged from the computer bus.

7. The apparatus defined in claim 4 wherein the housing includes a slidable locking bar for locking and unlocking the plug-in module within the battery tray compartment and including a pull knob associated with the locking bar for both unlocking the bar and for assisting in overcoming the friction of the engaged pins at the connectors at the back end of the plug-in module when the plug-in module is to be removed from the computer.

8. The apparatus defined in claim 4 wherein the battery tray compartment means include contacts which are engagable with the battery for receiving power from the battery to power the computer and wherein the battery contacts are constructed to be insulated from the housing when the housing is inserted into the battery tray compartment.

9. A portable computer and removable, mass storage area, plug-in drawer constructed to permit general purpose access to the computer bus,

said portable computer comprising,

an outer case,

a main logic board mounted within the outer case,

mass storage area means within the outer case for permitting general purpose access and particularly selected mass storage apparatus access to the computer bus,

said mass storage area means including a drawer board located at the inner end of the mass storage area means,

said mass storage means also including a drawer carrier attached within the outer case of the computer and having carrier guides adapted to receive coacting tray guides of a tray of a drawer,

first connector means mounted on the drawer board and operatively connected to the main logic board for providing general purpose access to the computer bus through the first connector means,

said removable, mass storage area, plug-in drawer comprising,

a tray having tray guides slidable within the related carrier guides of the drawer carrier,

a component board mounted within the tray and having a back connector and a front connector at opposite ends of the board with the back connector located to be directly connectable to said first connector means on the drawer board,

a front plate connected to the tray and having fasteners for locking the tray into the outer case of the portable computer after the tray has been inserted and the back connector of the component board has been connected to the first connector means on the drawer board,

said front plate also having an opening located to permit the front connector of the component board to extend through said opening so that the front connector provides an outside interface for the board,

whereby selected mass storage devices, such as a hard disk, a floppy disk, an optical disk, static RAM with its own power supply, and bubble memory are selectively insertable in the mass storage area and connectable to a related component board and whereby any other part connectable to the computer bus, such as, an interface to an expansion chassis, an interface to communications such as LANs, WANs, and high speed modems, computer peripheral attachments, an interface to display devices, an interface to instrumentation interfaces such as IEEE 488, and an interface to provide a small server capability are also selectively incorporated in the computer through a related component board, without requiring redesign or change to the existing, internal component structure of the computer itself.

10. The apparatus defined in claim 9 including removable fasteners for attaching and detaching the front plate to the remaining structure of the tray so that a number of component boards can be readily installed and removed in and from the tray.

11. The apparatus defined in claim 10 including removable screw fasteners for permitting a selected component board to be dropped into the tray and screwed into place.