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US 2003/0169570 A1Published application
Connection device for a computer
AssigneeHewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
InventorsGavin Brebner, Francois-Xavier Lecarpentier
Life of this patent
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AssigneeHewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
InventorsGavin Brebner, Francois-Xavier Lecarpentier
Estimating the term…
A connection device for a computer comprising an optical connection part and an input/output controller, the optical connection part comprising a plurality of optical fibres embedded in a substrate, each fibre extending from a coupling end associated with an operative surface of the substrate and a connection end, the input/output controller comprising a plurality of light detectors and a plurality of light emitters, wherein the connection end of each optical fibre is associated with at least one light emitter and/or at least one light detector, characterised in that the input/output controller is operable to receive a message from a peripheral device located adjacent the operative surface, the message being transmitted via the optical connection part, the message comprising an identifier associated with the peripheral device.
A connection device (11) for a computer comprising a connection part (12) and an input/output controller (13), the connection part (12) comprising a plurality of optical fibres (21) embedded in a substrate (20), each optical fibre (21) extending from a coupling end (22) associated with an operative surface (44) of the connection part (12) to a connection end (23),
A connection device (11) according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the input/output controller (13) is operable to maintain a mapping between each identifier associated with a peripheral device (31) and an optical fibre associated (21) with that device.
A connection device (11) according to any one of the previous claims wherein the input/output controller (13) is operable to control a plurality of light emitters (27) to transmit light along a plurality of optical fibres (21) to generate a viewable optical display.
A connection device (11) according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the substrate (20) is flexible.
A peripheral device (31) for location adjacent an operative surface, the peripheral device (31) comprising a light emitter (34) operable to emit light towards the operative surface (14) when the peripheral device is adjacent to the operative surface (14), the peripheral device (31) being operable to transmit a message by modulating the light emitted by the light emitter (34), the message including an identifier identifying the peripheral device (31).
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.