Electrical connector having an anomaly alert system and a brittle membrane
AssigneeLenovo (Singapore) Pte. Ltd.
InventorsGary D. Cudak, John M. Petersen, Nathan Peterson
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An electrical connector includes a housing including a main body and an outer shield extending from the main body. One or more electrical contacts extend into an interface chamber within the outer shield. A membrane is coupled to the housing. An alert device is coupled to the housing. The membrane in a normal state connects to the alert device to short the alert device. The membrane in an alerted state disconnects from the alert device so that the alert device is not shorted, and wherein the alert device outputs an alert signal when the alert device is not shorted.
Claims20
An electrical connector comprising:
- a housing including a main body and an outer shield extending from the main body, wherein one or more electrical contacts extend into an interface chamber within the outer shield;
- a membrane coupled to the housing;
- and
- an alert device coupled to the housing,
- wherein the membrane in a normal state connects to the alert device to short the alert device, wherein the membrane in an alerted state disconnects from the alert device so that the alert device is not shorted, and wherein the alert device outputs an alert signal when the alert device is not shorted.
A method comprising:
- coupling a membrane to a housing including a main body and an outer shield extending from the main body, wherein one or more electrical contacts extend into an interface chamber within the outer shield;
- coupling an alert device to the housing;
- connecting the membrane in a normal state to the alert device to short the alert device;
- disconnecting the membrane in an alerted state from the alert device so that the alert device is not shorted;
- and
- outputting, from the alert device when not shorted, an alert signal.
An electrical connector comprising:
- a housing including a main body and an outer shield extending from the main body, wherein one or more electrical contacts extend into an interface chamber within the outer shield;
- a membrane formed of a brittle, conductive material coupled to the housing, wherein the membrane is disposed between the outer shield and the one or more electrical contacts, and wherein the membrane is a contiguous ring in a normal state;
- and
- an alert device coupled to the housing, wherein the alert device comprises one or more of an antenna, a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag, or one or more light emitting diodes (LEDs).
An electrical connector comprising:
- a housing including a main body and an outer shield extending from the main body, wherein one or more electrical contacts extend into an interface chamber within the outer shield;
- a membrane coupled to the housing, wherein the membrane is formed of a brittle, conductive material;
- and
- an alert device coupled to the housing.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.