International Business Machines Corporation

Taketoshi Yokemura

Kazuhiko Maeda

Takashi Yanagisawa

Hiroshi Yanagisawa

Masaki Kobayashi

Masaharu Itoh

Naoshi Suzuki

Disclosed is a docking unit which includes a mechanical lock having an unlock position and a lock position. A security key is provided for manipulating the mechanical lock to move between the unlock position and the lock position. The security key is (1) detachable from the mechanical lock at the lock position and (2) undetachable from the mechanical lock at the unlock position. The docking unit further includes a latch for securing a portable computer to the unit in response to positioning of the mechanical lock in the lock position and releasing the computer from the unit in response to positioning of the mechanical lock in the unlock position. The unit also includes an inhibitor for selectively inhibiting the mechanical lock from movement to the lock position.

Portable computer docking unit having an inhibitor for inhibiting

A docking station adapted to a portable computer has a first docking unit, which can be mechanically coupled with the portable computer, including a first connector for electrically connecting with the portable computer, more than one connection port provided for the respective port signal lines that run from the first connector, and a second connector for directly passing through bus signal lines that run from the first connector; and a second docking unit, which can be mechanically coupled with the first docking unit, including a third connector for electrically connecting with the second connector, space for retaining a peripheral device connected to a bus expanded through the third connector, and at least one bus slot to connect an expansion adaptor card to the bus expanded through the third connector. The assemblage of the first and the second docking units with the portable computer comprise a docking station complex of vertically stacked units which are mechanically coupled and electrically connected to provide a substantially unitary structure. The electrical connectors between the units are arranged to mechanically connect in opposite horizontal directions to mechanically bind the docked units and to provide the unitary structure to the docking station complex.

Multiple stacked docking stations and portable computer

A method and apparatus for reducing or enlarging an image. More specifically, this invention can increase or decrease the magnification ratio of an image even while scanning each line. This invention involves converting a first image with a first pel density to a second image with a second pel density. The intensity P of a new pel at a point p of the second image is represented by ##EQU1## where m is the number of reference pels of the first image that are sampled and that are within a given two-dimensional reference window when it is in a predetermined position corresponding to the point p, where Ii is the intensity of the i-th pel of the m sampled reference pels, and where .alpha.i is a contribution rate indicating how much the i-th pel contributes to the intensity P. Pre-calculated contribution rate data (.alpha.i) and pre-calculated shifting amount data indicating the relative amount the reference window is to be shifted are stored in a memory. The shifting amount data is used to position the reference window to a predetermined position where the m reference pels are sampled, and the contribution rate data and the values of the m sampled pels are used to determine the intensity P.

Method and apparatus for enlarging or reducing an image on the basis of

An image processing system to allow communication with input and output devices having varying resolutions. An image processing system converts an image into a compressed base image and successive levels of error correction data so that an output of the image may be provided with any desired level of resolution (up to that of the input) with further levels of resolution obtained through predictive techniques. Advantageously, the error coding data is arithmetically coded.

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Yamato, Japan

Taketoshi Yokemura