External modular bay for housing I/O devices
US6134612A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Aug 4, 1997 |
| Grant date | Oct 17, 2000 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Aug 4, 2017 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG11B31/00
- WIPO fieldAudio-visual technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
An external flexible bay system includes an external flexible bay, a modular battery pack and a modular disk drive. The external flexible bay is adapted to receive either the modular battery pack or the modular disk drive to facilitate use of such devices with a portable PC. The external flexible bay includes a parallel port which enables an external I/O device, such as a printer, to be connected thereto. The external flexible bay contains circuitry to automatically sense whether a printer is connected and to determine whether a modular battery pack or modular disk drive has been inserted therein. In order to ensure proper configuration, the external flexible bay includes a mode switch for selecting between a floppy mode and a printer mode.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.