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:
Oct. 22, 2002
Filed:
Apr. 20, 2000
David William Abraham, Croton, NY (US);
Robert Stephen Olyha, Jr., LaGrange, NY (US);
International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, NY (US);
Abstract
A work station comprising a plurality of computers, and a method of operating that work station. Each of the computers at the work station includes a keyboard port and a pointing device port; and the work station further comprises a single external user keyboard, a single external pointing device, and a fanout switching unit connected to and for interfacing between the computers and the external keyboard and pointing device. In use, at any given time, the external keyboard and pointing device control a selected one of the computers, via the fanout switching unit. The fanout switching unit, acting in response to a predefined switching command from at least one of the external keyboard and pointing device, changes, or switches, the computer that is controlled by the external keyboard and pointing device. In particular, the computer that is controlled changes from a first of the computers to a second of the computers. The work station further comprises means, also acting in response to the predefined switching command, to copy data from a predetermined database of the first computer and to write the copied data in a predetermined database of the second computer. In this way, as a user,switches from working on one of the computers to working,on another of the computers, data that the user is using can be automatically copied from the former, or exit, computer to the latter, or enter, computer, providing a seamless switching between the computers.