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:
Mar. 26, 2002
Filed:
Apr. 13, 2000
Kaylene C. Stillwell, Magna, UT (US);
Jon A. Nelson, Magna, UT (US);
3Com Corporation, Santa Clara, CA (US);
Abstract
This is a system and method by which the light from a light source on a selectively attached portable expansion device, such as a PCMCIA card, is more visible to a user. It is accomplished by using a light transfer medium, such as transparent plastic, in the plug of a media cable. The light transfer medium is molded in such a way to continue the path of light from the connector interface into the plug of the media cable. Inside the plug the light reflects off of a molded reflector in an upward and outward direction. The light can then be viewed through a transparent opening or viewing window, which may be bubbled or rounded to increase the overall viewing angle. Thus, it is an overall object of the present invention to provide an electrical connector that has a low physical profile but a high optical profile and is particularly useful in devices and peripherals implemented in reduced-size form factors, such as PC cards, compact flash cards or other removable media.