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OwnerDwayne H. Bennett, Mark A. Spangler +3inventors
InventorsDwayne H. Bennett, Mark A. Spangler, David W. Boothe, Charles T. Gore, William R. Eanes
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To optically scan a patient's feet for the purpose of obtaining measurements useful to constructing orthotics, each foot should be scanned while the patient is standing naturally. A logical apparatus for this purpose is one with two scanners, side by side, packaged as a single unit. The scanners would (again, logically) be identical. However, connecting two identical peripheral devices to a computer creates identification difficulties. It is also prudent to minimize the number of communications ports the apparatus uses. To connect two identical optical scanners to a single communications port (such as a Universal Serial Bus port), a switch is employed, for switching the communications port between each scanner; or a USB hub arbitrates the communications between the computer and each scanner. A time delay is used to separate the scans of each scanner in time, so the computer's software can differentiate between the scan of the first foot and the scan of the second foot.
A method of connecting a plurality of computer peripheral devices to a computer through a single communications port whereby said computer peripheral devices deliver data to the computer through the single communications port, the method comprising the steps of:
An apparatus for connecting a plurality of computer peripheral devices to a computer through a single communications port whereby said computer peripheral devices deliver data to the computer through the single communications port, the apparatus comprising:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.