Brother International Corporation

Rolm Company

Dell USA L.p.

Other

30g, Inc.

3og, Inc.

Bobinvention Corp.

Pearce R Jones

Robert H Garrett

Mark S Kimbrough

Timothy D Wetzel

Wayne McKinnon

Richard K Brenner

Philip Leung

William McRight

David Bryant

Robert P Lakoski

Daniel C Tagtow

Orin Michael Ozias

John P Busch

Thomas J Kocis

Mark B Penniman

Michael D Durkin

Dan E Swindler

Thomas Shu

Erica J Scholder

David R Lunsford

Christopher A Cogburn

Johnny S Kyung

Greg Ellis

Derek Westmoreland

David Byant

An integrated scoop apparatus and method, in a container with a circumferential upper edge and a base, includes an integrated raised portion connected to the circumferential upper edge above the circumferential upper edge. An access port is provided in the integrated raised portion and conformed to accommodate a user's hand. In a further aspect of the invention, a support device is connected to the base of the container.

Integrated scoop apparatus and method

An information device having a printer includes a body and a printer portion for housing the printer and a printing medium. The body has a display screen side in which a display screen is positioned and a printer side positioned opposite the display screen side. The printer portion is attached to the printer side of the body such that the printer portion remains concealed during operation of the printer when the information device is viewed from the display screen side.

Computer with attached printer

A data disk holder for electronic data storage disks such as compact disks (CDs), includes two opposed, generally arcuate planar closure members which are joined together along a base portion by a living hinge. One of the closure members includes a circular flange defining a bore for receiving a boss projecting centrally from the disk support surface of the other closure member, the boss being an interference fit in the bore for securing the closure members together to retain a data disk in the holder. The holder may be injection molded of relatively light weight polypropylene or a similar moldable polymer and may include transverse walls and a double living hinge to provide the jewel box construction and thickness of conventional disk holders.

Folding data disk holder

A docking station structure is used to operatively connect a notebook computer to desktop computer peripheral devices. The docking station has an internal receiving chamber into which the portable computer may be manually inserted, an electrical connector positioned within the receiving chamber, a travel plate movably carried within the receiving chamber, a motorized drive system operative to drive the travel plate toward and away from the electrical connector, and a latch structure carried by the travel plate for movement therewith. With the travel plate in a wait position thereof, the portable computer is rearwardly inserted into the receiving chamber. In response to such insertion, the latch structure automatically locks the computer to the travel plate, and the drive system rearwardly moves the travel plate to mate the electrical connector with a corresponding connector on the computer, thereby operatively linking the computer to the peripheral devices. To remove the computer, the drive system is operated to forwardly move the drive plate and the computer to an ejection position in which the computer and docking station electrical connector structures are disconnected from one another, and the computer is unlocked from the travel plate. Upon insertion of the computer into the docking station opposite side portions of the computer are slidingly received in docking station track indentations operative to maintain the computer in a precisely aligned relationship with the docking station electrical connector during driven movement of the computer.

Motorized portable computer/expansion chassis docking system

An information device including a display portion in which a display screen is positionable and a removable keyboard with a first set of function keys. The information device can selectively assign different functions to each of the function keys. The display screen includes a second set of function keys. The functions assigned to the second set of function keys correspond to the functions of the first set of function keys. Both sets of function keys correspond in size, shape or number to allow the user to determine which function key is desired from either location.

Information device with display and keyboard having corresponding sets

Portion of a computer with ports for removable data storage media

Data disk holder

Computer with printer

Display screen and controls

Keyboard

Using a thermal/vacuum forming process a thin film polymer substrate is shaped into a generally shroud-like EMI shield body which forms a portion of a multi-layer EMI shield structure removably secured to a side of a printed circuit board disposed within a plastic computer housing, over operating components disposed on the circuit board. An inner side of the polymer substrate body, which faces the operating components, has a metallic conductive layer formed thereon which, in turn, is covered by a layer of insulative material. During the application of the insulative material to the conductive layer, spaced, coplanar attachment portions of the metal clad shield body are masked on their inner sides so that in the finished EMI shield structure the conductive material on these attachment portions is exposed. When the attachment portions of the EMI shield structure are screwed to the component side of the circuit board with metal fasteners the conductive layer of the shield is conductively communicated with the internal ground plane of the printed circuit board via the metal fasteners. By connecting the EMI shield structure to the circuit board in this manner, the necessity of forming a metallic coating on the plastic computer housing, to create the requisite EMI shielding on the computer, is advantageously eliminated.

Sandwiched insulative/conductive layer EMI shield structure for printed

A computer is provided with a pair of internal PCMCIA card connection chambers opening outwardly through a pair of housing side wall slots through which PCMCIA cards may be inserted into and withdrawn from the chambers. To facilitate the disconnection and withdrawal of the inserted cards each chamber is provided with a mechanically leveraged card ejector mechanism positioned within a thin space between the facing sides of the inserted card and a housing wall portion of the chamber, and disposed essentially entirely within the peripheral footprint of the inserted card. Each ejector mechanism includes a manually operable actuating plate slidably disposed on the outer side of the computer housing, a card receiving/ejection plate overlying the actuating plate within the housing, and a lever plate sandwiched between the actuating plate and receiving/ejection plate and pivotally connected to the housing. As a PCMCIA card is inserted into its chamber it engages and inwardly drives the receiving/ejection plate which in turn inwardly pivots the lever plate causing it to inwardly drive the actuating plate. The pivotally mounted lever plate is connected to the actuating plate and receiving/ejection plate in a manner such that when an outwardly directed manual ejection force is exerted on the actuating plate, to eject the inserted card, the lever plate transmits an amplified, outwardly directed ejection force to the card, via the receiving/ejection plate, to thereby substantially lessen the manual force required to eject the inserted card.

Bottom actuated force multiplying card ejector apparatus for a computer

A resilient heat sink clip has a pair of legs joined together at one end by an acruate member. The other ends of the legs each terminate in a hook. The arcuate member bears against a heat sink while pressing it into thermal contact with an electronic device package to conduct heat into the heat sink and then into the atmosphere.

Clip for mounting a heat sink on an electronic device package

Growing community of inventors

Austin, TX, United States of America

Pearce R Jones