The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Sep. 09, 1997
Filed:
May. 13, 1996
Gregory J Chandler, Saline, MI (US);
Kevin M Stonebraker, Belleville, MI (US);
Anthony B Vink, Plymouth, MI (US);
Nematron Corporation, Ann Arbor, MI (US);
Abstract
Front and rear housings of a industrial computer workstation are mechanically connected by separable hinges and a manually operable latch and are electrically connected in a closed position through a cableless connection provided by a two-part electrical connector. The connector includes connector halves which mate together in the closed position. The front and rear housings are pivotally and completely removably connected to move from the closed position to an open position by the separable hinges. The front housing is adapted to be permanently mounted to an end user's electrical panel. The rear housing is piloted and latched into place against the front housing by a pilot and the latch, respectively. The latch and the separable hinges eliminate the need for any special tools in completely removing the rear housing. The pilot is preferably a tapered pin which steers and seats the rear housing against the front housing. Once the rear housing is unlatched and hinged out, it can be lifted off the separable hinges. The front housing preferably supports a membrane keyboard for user interface with a computer housed within the rear housing. The front housing also includes a window in which a flat panel display preferably housed within the rear housing is aligned for the projection of images through the window. In this way, access to change electronic components such as the computer, the display, and display back lights is easy, thereby providing easy maintenance and service of the electronic components.