Portable device docking station

• US 7,315,453 B1
• Filed: 07/26/2006
• Issued: 01/01/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 06/30/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Jeffrey D Carnevali
• Original Assignee: Jeffrey D Carnevali
• Inventors: Carnevali, Jeffrey D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Gandhi; Jayprakash
• Assistant Examiner(s): Edwards; Anthony Q
• Application Number:
  US11/493,107
• Publication Number:
  US 20080002369A1
• Time in Patent Office: 524 Days
• Field of Search: 361679-686, 361724-726, 312/223.1, 312/223.2, 710/303, 710/304
• US Class Current: 361/724
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1632 External expansion units, e.g. docking stations
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 70/5009 For portable articles

Abstract

An external expanding apparatus or “docking station” operable with a portable computer device of a type having a display unit having a display screen on an inner surface thereof and a hard shell backing surface opposite thereof and pivotally mounted on a substantially rigid casing having a pair of locating holes adjacent to opposite corners of a substantially planar bottom surface thereof, and an input/output (I/O) connector positioned on a back plane thereof with a pair of positioning apertures provided on opposite sides thereof.

Claims

1. An external expanding apparatus that is operable with a portable computer of a type having an input/output (I/O) connector positioned on a back plane thereof for interconnecting with a mating connector of the external expanding apparatus, the external expanding apparatus comprising:

a substantially rigid two-part apparatus body having an upper apparatus body portion and a lower body apparatus portion being structured for mating together along a mutual line of contact, wherein;

a) the upper apparatus body portion further comprises a substantially rigid bearing plate formed with a substantially rectangular computer bearing surface on an outer face thereof, an expansion connector drive mechanism coupled to an inner face thereof opposite from the bearing surface and being moveable relative to the bearing plate, and a side skirt portion extended from the bearing plate and having a mating surface coincident with the line of contact,

b) the lower apparatus body portion is further adapted for mounting to an external support structure and comprising a side skirt portion extended from a bottom plate thereof and having a mating surface coincident with the line of contact,

c) a peripheral device connector presentation surface provided on one of the upper and lower apparatus body portions, and

d) a mounting apparatus formed along the line of contact, the mounting apparatus comprising;

i) a pair of mating shapes along the line of contact between the respective skirt portions of the upper and lower apparatus body portions and forming a passage extending between outer and inner surfaces of the respective skirt portions, and

ii) a nut pocket adjacent to the inner surface of the respective skirt portions and substantially aligned with the passage extending between the outer and inner surfaces thereof, the nut pocket having a plurality of intersecting substantially planar walls oriented substantially perpendicular to the outer surfaces of the respective skirt portions and a retainer opposite from the passage and spaced away therefrom;

an engaging structure projected above the bearing surface at opposite corners thereof and being structured for matingly engaging the bottom surface of the casing of the portable computer;

a computer expansion connector structured to mate with the I/O connector of the computer and being movably mounted on the expansion connector drive mechanism adjacent to the computer bearing surface of the bearing plate for moving relative thereto; and

a plurality of peripheral device connectors electrically coupled to the computer expansion connector and presented at the peripheral device connector presentation surface, each of the peripheral device connectors being structured to receive a corresponding peripheral device connector.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the mounting apparatus further comprises an opening formed in one of the upper and lower apparatus body portions, and a well shaft communicating between the opening and the nut pocket.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein the opening is formed in one of the bearing plate of the upper apparatus body portion and the bottom plate of the lower apparatus body portion.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein the well shaft is further integral with the one of the upper and lower apparatus body portion having the opening formed therein.

5. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein the nut pocket is further integral with the well shaft.

6. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein the well shaft further comprises a substantially constant cross-sectional interior shape between the opening and the nut pocket.

7. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein the well shaft is further integral with the skirt portion of a first one of the upper and lower apparatus body portion having the opening formed therein, and the nut pocket is further integral with a second one of the skirt portions of the upper and lower apparatus body portions opposite from and aligned with the well shaft of the first one of the skirt portions.

8. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein the passage further comprises a clearance aperture sized proportionally with the nut pocket for permitting clearance of a threaded shaft sized to mate with a threaded nut that is sized to mate with the nut pocket.

9. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein the pair of mating shapes along the line of contact between the respective skirt portions of the upper and lower apparatus body portions further comprises a first passage recessed in the mating surface of a first one of the skirt portions of the upper and lower apparatus body portions.

10. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein the pair of mating shapes along the line of contact between the respective skirt portions of the upper and lower apparatus body portions further comprises a second mating passage recessed in the mating surfaces of a second one of the skirt portions of the upper and lower apparatus body portions opposite from and aligned with the first passage recessed in the mating surface of the first one of the skirt portions.

11. An external expanding apparatus for expanding the function of a portable electronic device having a device body provided with an input/output (I/O) connector, the external expanding apparatus comprising:

an apparatus body having first and second apparatus body portions each formed with side skirt portions having respective mating surfaces structured for mating along a mutual line of contact, one or more edge mounting holes formed between the first and second mating surfaces and extending exterior and interior portions of the apparatus body, and one of the first and second apparatus body portions having a bearing surface on which the device body is to be placed, and a connector presentation surface for opposing the device I/O connector of the device body placed on the bearing surface;

a pair of engaging pins positioned on a rear portion of the bearing surface adjacent to the connector presentation surface, the engaging pins being structured for being slidingly received into mating locating holes in the device body;

an expansion connector connectable with the device I/O connector;

an expansion connector drive mechanism structured for moving the expansion connector relative to the connector presentation surface between a disengaged position spaced away from the bearing surface and an engaged position extended over the bearing surface;

one or more peripheral device connectors electrically coupled to the expansion connector and presented at a peripheral device connector presentation surface of the apparatus body portion;

one or more nut pockets on an interior portion of the side skirt portion of one of the first and second apparatus body portions and substantially aligned with a respective one of the one or more edge mounting holes;

one or more openings formed in one of the first and second apparatus body portions and substantially aligned with a respective one of the one or more nut pockets;

one or more well shafts on an interior portion of the side skirt portion of one of the first and second apparatus body portions and communicating substantially continuously between a respective one of the one or more openings and the respective nut pocket corresponding thereto; and

a mounting structure that is structured to adapt the body portion for mounting to an external support structure.

12. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein at least one of the one or more nut pockets is further integral with the well shaft communicating therewith.

13. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein at least one of the one or more nut pockets is further integral with the skirt portion of the first apparatus body portion, and the well shaft communicating therewith is further integral with the skirt portion of the second apparatus body portion.

14. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein at least one of the one or more edge mounting holes further comprises a first passage recessed in the mating surface of the skirt portion of the first apparatus body portion.

15. The apparatus of claim 14 wherein the one of the one or more edge mounting holes having the first passage recessed in the mating surface of the skirt portion of the first apparatus body portion further comprises a second passage recessed in the mating surface of the skirt portion of the second apparatus body portion and communicating with the first passage.

16. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein the at least one of the one or more openings is further formed in a surface of the one of the first and second apparatus body portions opposite from the mating surface thereof.

17. An external expanding apparatus that is operable with a portable computer of a type having an input/output (I/O) connector positioned on a back plane thereof for interconnecting with a mating connector of the external expanding apparatus, the external expanding apparatus comprising:

a substantially rigid apparatus body portion having a substantially rigid bearing plate formed with a substantially rectangular computer bearing surface on an outer face thereof on which the computer device body is to be placed and one or more guides on an inner face thereof opposite from the bearing surface, a connector presentation surface adjacent to the bearing surface along a rear edge thereof and having an opening formed therein projected above the bearing surface in a position for opposing the device I/O connector of the computer device body placed on the bearing surface, a computer device receiver structure fixedly positioned adjacent to a front edge of the bearing surface and projected there above opposite from the connector presentation surface and having a jaw structure with an opening facing toward the connector presentation surface and structured to receive and mate with a front face of the computer device casing, a substantially rigid bottom plane formed opposite from the bearing plate with a peripheral device connector presentation surface adjacent to an edge thereof and having one or more peripheral device connectors, and a pair of substantially rigid peripheral side walls extending between the bearing plate and the bottom plate and mating along a line of contact therebetween;

a plurality of edge mounting structures formed along the line of contact between the pair of peripheral side walls, each of the edge mounting structures comprising;

a clearance hole formed through at least one of the pair of side walls adjacent to the line of contact,

a nut pocket formed on an interior portion of at least one of the pair of side walls in substantial alignment with the clearance hole,

an opening formed in one of the bearing plate and the bottom plane of the apparatus body portion, and

a well shaft communicating between the opening and the nut pocket;

a pair of engaging pins sized to be matingly received into the pair of locating holes in the bottom surface of the casing of the portable computer device, the engaging pins being fixedly projected above the bearing surface at opposite corners thereof and adjacent to the rear edge thereof in positions for being matingly received into the pair of device locating holes;

an expansion connector drive mechanism movable relative to the connector presentation surface, the expansion connector drive mechanism being movably coupled to the one or more guides on the inner face of the bearing plate for moving relative thereto between the front and rear edges of the bearing surface along a drive axis substantially aligned with the opening in the connector presentation surface;

a connector bracket connectable with the pair of positioning apertures provided on opposite sides of the device I/O connector and being coupled to the expansion connector drive mechanism and projected above the bearing surface of the bearing plate and substantially aligned with the opening in the connector presentation surface, the connector bracket having a pair of substantially rigid guides in spaced-apart positions for engaging the pair of positioning apertures provided on the computer device back plane on opposite sides of the I/O connector;

a computer expansion connector connectable with the I/O connector of the computer, the computer expansion connector being mounted on the connector bracket between the guides thereof and electrically interfaced to one or more of the peripheral device connectors; and

the connector bracket being linearly movable substantially parallel with the drive axis of the expansion connector drive mechanism between a first disengaged position having the connector bracket guides and expansion connector retracted within the opening in the connector presentation surface adjacent to the rear edge of the bearing surface, and a second engaged position having the connector bracket guides and expansion connector extended from the opening in the connector presentation surface over the rear edge of the bearing surface.

18. The apparatus of claim 17 wherein the nut pocket is further formed integrally with the well shaft communicating therewith.

19. The apparatus of claim 17 wherein the clearance hole further comprises a first recess formed in a first one of the pair of peripheral side walls in communication with the line of contact therebetween.

20. The apparatus of claim 19 wherein the clearance hole further comprises a second recess formed in a second one of the pair of peripheral side walls in communication with the first recess along the line of contact therebetween.