EP0722138A1
Expired / Lapsed
EP
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
A cartridge-based design for portable and fixed computers
Assignee: International Business Machines Corp
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Filing: 1995-06-26
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2015-06-26
Abstract
Abstract A computer system includes a chassis and a cartridge having separate functional components that interface with one another over a common bus. The chassis includes a plurality of user interface modules, which are generally designed and packaged according to a particular application/work mode, each coupled to a first bus. The cartridge, on the other hand, includes components that can be shared among the various applications/work modes. Specifically, the cartridge has a core processor and memory coupled to a second bus, and at least one slot for housing a communication module that is coupled to the second bus. In addition, the cartridge may be designed to be configured by the user to have a first form and a second form. The cartridge of the first form may be utilized for portable computer processing systems such as laptop, notebook and sub-notebook systems. The cartridge of the second form may be designed to be narrow enough to be utilized in smaller portable computer processing systems, such as hand-held systems. In another aspect, the computer system includes a chassis having an internal connector with a first portion in electrical contact with a first external peripheral device, and second portion in electrical contact with a second external peripheral device. An adapter is coupled between an internal device and the internal connector. The internal device is associated with either the first or second external peripheral devices. The adapter has either a first portion that connects the internal device to the first portion of the internal connector or a second portion that connects the internal device to the second portion of the internal connector in order to couple the internal device to its associated external peripheral device.
Inventors
- 👤 Ephraim Bemis Flint
- 👤 John Peter Karidis
- 👤 Gerard Mcvicker
- 👤 William Edward Pence
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-24 16:28
CPC Classifications
G; G06; G06F; G06F1/00; G06F1/16; G06F1/18; G06F1/183
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 29
Claim 1
Independent Claim
101 words
A computer system comprising: a first chassis having at least one user interface module coupled to a first bus; a second chassis, different than said first chassis, having at least one user interface module coupled to a second bus; and a cartridge having a core processor and memory coupled to a third bus; wherein said third bus of said cartridge is detachably connected to said first bus of said first chassis to form a first functional system, and said third bus of said cartridge is detachably connected to said second bus of said second chassis to form a second functional system.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
51 words
The computer system of claim 1, wherein said at least one user interface module of said first chassis is optimized for use in a first mode, and said at least one user interface module of said second chassis is optimized for use in a second mode different than said first mode.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
19 words
The computer system of claim 1, wherein said first, second and third buses each comprise a plurality of buses.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
54 words
The computer system of claim 3, wherein said plurality of buses of said first bus connects to said plurality of buses of said third bus through a first common connector, and said plurality of buses of said second bus connects to said plurality of buses of said third bus through a second common connector.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
52 words
The computer system of claim 3, wherein said plurality of buses of said first bus connects to said plurality of buses of said third bus through separate first connectors, and said plurality of buses of said second bus connects to said plurality of buses of said third bus through separate second connectors.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
28 words
The computer system of claim 1, wherein said cartridge can be configured by a user of said computer system to have a first form and a second form.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
26 words
The computer system of claim 6, wherein said cartridge comprises a first portion connected to a second portion by at least one hinge and a cable.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
24 words
The computer system of claim 6, wherein said cartridge comprises a first portion connected to a second portion by at least one hinged connector.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
51 words
The computer system of claim 6, wherein said cartridge of said first form comprises a first portion connected to a second portion by a first connector, and said cartridge of said second form comprises said first portion connected to said second portion by a second connector different than said first connector.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
43 words
The computer system of claim 6, wherein said first form has a predetermined width, length, and thickness, and said second form has a width approximately half the width of said first form and a thickness approximately twice the thickness of said first form.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
23 words
The computer system of claim 10, wherein said width of said second form is narrow enough to be readily grasped with one hand.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
43 words
The computer system of claim 6, wherein said first form has a predetermined width, length, and thickness, and said second form has a length approximately half the length of said first form and a thickness approximately twice the thickness of said first form.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
23 words
The computer system of claim 12, wherein said length of said second form is short enough to be readily grasped with one hand.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
25 words
The computer system of claim 1, wherein said cartridge comprises at least one slot for housing a module that is coupled to said second bus.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
39 words
The computer system of claim 14, wherein said module is an wireless communication module, a modem, a wired local area network adapter, a digital communication module, an analog communication module, a data storage device, or a data processing device.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
16 words
The computer system of claim 20, wherein said data storage device is a hard disk drive.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
14 words
The computer system of claim 14, wherein said module is a data processing device.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
16 words
The computer system of claim 22, wherein said data processing device is a video interface adapter.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
22 words
The computer system of claim 22, wherein said data processing device processes analog signals input to and/or output from the computer system.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
13 words
The computer system of claim 24, wherein said analog signals are voice signals.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
14 words
The computer system of claim 14, wherein said slot is a PCMCIA standard slot.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
138 words
The computer system of claim 14, wherein one of said first chassis and said second chassis has an internal connector having a first portion in electrical contact with a first external peripheral device, a second portion in electrical contact with said second external peripheral device and a third portion in electrical contact with a third external peripheral device, said module being associated with one of said first, second and third external peripheral devices; and said computer system further comprises an adapter for coupling said module to said internal connector, said adapter having one of a first portion that connects to said first portion of said internal connector, a second portion that connects to said second portion of said internal connector, and a third portion that connects to said third portion of said third portion of said internal connector.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
112 words
The computer system of claim 14, wherein one of said first chassis and said second chassis has an internal connector having a first portion in electrical contact with a first external peripheral device and a second portion in electrical contact with a second external peripheral device, said module being associated with one of said first external peripheral device and said second external peripheral device; and said computer system further comprises an adapter for coupling said module to said internal connector, said adapter having one of a first portion that connects to said first portion of said internal connector and a second portion that connects to said second portion of said internal connector.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
13 words
The computer system of claim 28, wherein said module is a PCMCIA device.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
27 words
The computer system of claim 28, wherein said module is a modem and said one of said first and second external peripheral devices is a telephone line.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
34 words
The computer system of claim 28, wherein said module is a wired local area network adapter and said one of said first and second external peripheral devices is a wired local-area network communication link.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
27 words
The computer system of claim 28, wherein said module is a wireless communication module and said one of said first and second peripheral devices comprises an antenna.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
29 words
The computer system of claim 28, wherein said module is a data communication module and said one of said first and second peripheral devices is a data communication link.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
27 words
The computer system of claim 28, wherein said module is a video interface adapter and said one of said first and second peripheral devices is video link.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
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