Sony Corporation

Lenovo (singapore) Pte. Ltd.

International Business Machines Corporation

Sony Electronics Inc

Tetsuo Ogawa

Yoshiyuki Shibayama

Takao Abe

Hiroki Kotani

Hiroaki Agata

Kazuya Tatsuno

Hiroaki Kikuchi

Eiji Shinohara

Shinichi Kubota

Kaichi Tatsuzawa

Hiroshi Kiriyama

Tomokiyo Kato

Tetsuro Suma

Xiangyang Liu

Luke Freeman

Seita Horikoshi

Michio Suzuki

Fumitake Mizoguchi

Yoshiharu Uchiyama

Hideo Nomura

Tetsuya Ohtani

Yoshihiro Morioka

Yoshihisa Ishihara

Shigeki Mori

Toshiya Asai

Masato Anzai

Toshihiro Inoue

Hisanori Kominami

Fumito Kuramochi

Kenichi Sawaguchi

A docking station is provided. The docking station has an engagement member, a coupling detector, a connector, an advancing and retracting mechanism, and a controller. The engagement member can be inserted into an engagement hole of a portable information device. The coupling detector detects whether or not the engagement member has been engaged with the engagement hole. The connector can be connected to a connection terminal provided in a side surface of the portable information device. The advancing and retracting mechanism is operated by the driving force of a motor to advance and retract the connector to connect and separate the connector to/from the connection terminal. The controller operates the advancing and retracting mechanism when it is detected that the portable information device is coupled with the docking station to advance the connector to connect the connector to the connection terminal.

Docking station

A docking device is provided. A portable information device can be removably attached to a docking device. The docking device includes first and second connectors that are connected to connection terminals provided on the portable information device. The docking device further includes: a first substrate with the first connector mounted thereon; a second substrate with the second connector other than the first connector mounted on the first substrate mounted thereon; and a substrate connecting member that connects between the first and second connectors in a floating state that allows relative displacement.

Docking device

A docking device is provided. The docking device includes an engaging member that projects from an upper surface of a device chassis, which has a hook portion for engaging with and disengage from an engaging hole of a portable information apparatus, and which is movable between an engagement position at which the hook portion engages with the engaging hole and a disengagement position at which the engagement of the hook portion with the engaging hole is released; and a restricting member that is movable between a retraction position at which the engaging member is allowed to move from the engagement position to the disengagement position and a restriction position at which the movement of the engaging member from the engagement position to the disengagement position is restricted by coming in contact with the engaging member at a rear surface of the hook portion.

A docking station is provided. The docking station has an engagement member, a coupling detector, a connector, an advancing and refracting mechanism, and a controller. The engagement member can be inserted into an engagement hole of a portable information device. The coupling detector detects whether or not the engagement member has been engaged with the engagement hole. The connector can be connected to a connection terminal provided in a side surface of thy portable information device. The advancing and retracting mechanism is operated by the driving force of a motor to advance and retract the connector to connect and separate the connector to/from the connection terminal. The controller operates the advancing and retracting mechanism when it is detected that the portable information device is coupled with the docking station to advance the connector to connect the connector to the connection terminal.

A docking device is provided. The docking device includes a device mounting part for mounting a portable information device having a forward-descending angular position so that the portable information device comes in contact with the face for use at a front end and is supported by the device mounting part at a rear end; a connection part opposed to a lateral face of the portable information device when the portable information device is mounted on the device mounting part; a connector being connectable to a connection terminal at the lateral face of the portable information device mounted on the device mounting part; a detector for detecting a mounting angle of the portable information device mounted on the device mounting part; and an angle adjustment part to rotate the connector according to the mounting angle detected by the detector.

A casing for electronic equipments is disclosed. The casing includes a first region and a second region. The first region is formed by a foamed layer provided between an outer rigid layer and an inner rigid layer. The foamed layer isolates the outer rigid layer from the inner rigid layer. The second region is formed by a single layer of material, and the single layer of material is joined to the outer rigid layer, the formed layer and the inner rigid layer.

Electronic equipment casing

It is an object of the present invention to provide a recording apparatus and a reproducing apparatus which change a picture compression rate depending upon a picture quality of a source which a user desires to retain, thereby a tape storage space being secured. A video-data compression rate N used by a 1:N video-data compression encoderand a 1:N video-data compression decoderis changed depending upon a picture quality set by a devicefor setting a picture quality that a user desires. A tape travel speed of an archive VTRis changed in response to the picture compression rate. Thus, an amount of a tape travel is optionally set depending upon a level of the picture quality. Therefore, it is possible to optionally select a tape storage space in response to the level of the picture quality.

Recording apparatus and reproducing apparatus

The computer of the present invention is provided with a main body on which keys to be operated by the user are disposed and a display unit that displays an image in accordance with each operation executed for the main body. Each key disposed on the main body is composed of its body having a key top and a light accumulator recess opened in the key top. The light accumulator recess is formed in a manner indicative of the character or symbol associated with such key. The light accumulator recess has embedded in it a light accumulating material such that the character or symbol associated with the key is illuminated by the residual light emission of the light accumulating material when the computer is operated in a location with little or no ambient light.

Computer and method providing for illumination of keyboard

An optical transmitter converts serial hi-vision digital signals sent from a transmitting side peripheral device over a coaxial cable into serial digital optical signals to transmit the resulting signals over an optical fiber. An optical receiver receives the serial digital optical signals sent from the optical transmitter over the optical fiber to convert the signals into serial hi-vision digital signals to transmit the converted signals over a receiving side coaxial cable to a receiving side peripheral device. This enables transmission of digital signals to the receiving side peripheral device with suppressed signal deterioration without requiring a complex structure.

Digital signal transmission apparatus

A liquid crystal display unit has at least one of the screw securing elements on its right and left sides to attach to brackets for attachment to the cover for a laptop computer. When the liquid crystal display unit is fixed to the cover from the side in this manner, the cover can be near that of the size of the liquid crystal display panel.

LCD assembly and information processing apparatus

A method for processing a time code including the steps of generating information, indicating whether or not a location is proper for editing when converting picture information of a predetermined system into picture information of another system, and writing the information to the time code data accompanied with the picture information of the second system.

Method and apparatus for processing time code

In a method for processing a time code such that time code data composed of a hour minute second frame accompanying picture information of a predetermined system is mapped onto picture information of another system, when converting the picture information of the predetermined system into that of another system, mapping the time code when converting the system of the picture information including the steps of converting time code data accompanying picture information of said predetermined system into a total frame number x, calculating a total frame number y of the converted time code data for said time code data from said total frame number x and generating the converted time code from the total frame number y.

A portable PC is provided with a mechanism for elevating and lowering a pointing device in the keyboard of the PC. The elevating and lowering mechanism elevates and lowers the pointing device in response to the opening and closing of the cover of the computer to provide a proper operating height to the pointing device when the cover is open while reducing the thickness of the PC with the cover closed.

Growing community of inventors

Kanagawa, Japan

Tetsuo Ogawa