Hewlett-packard Company

Tom B Lindberg

Mark A Smith

David L Smith

Sergey Gary Podwalny

A retaining apparatus includes a first compartment for removably receiving a portable computing device and a second compartment for removably retaining a peripheral device. A bulkhead between the two compartments includes electrical connectors for interconnecting such devices when mounted within their respective compartments. The compartments are preferably formed from a single enclosure to provide rigidity to the retaining apparatus. The bulkhead connectors are sized and shaped to connect to complementary connectors on the devices when the devices are slidably inserted into their compartments. Various openings and other connectors are also provided within the retaining apparatus to allow access to connectors, slots and other features of the devices while they are mounted therein. In addition, another electrical connector is provided in the bulkhead for enabling a peripheral device outside the apparatus to be connected to the computing device.

Apparatus for retaining and electrically interconnecting multiple devices

A door latch mechanism, such as for a calculator battery enclosure, has a pair of ridge and groove mating points. The mechanism has a partially engaged position in which only a single ridge engages a groove and a fully engaged position in which both ridges engage grooves. A shock to the calculator, such as by dropping it, will generally not release the mechanism to a disengaged position. Consequently, the batteries will be retained and memory functions thereby preserved.

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Corvallis, OR, United States of America

Tom B Lindberg