MXPA97007525A - Interconnection structure for accessoriesperiferi - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an adapter structure and accessory connector for use in a personal computer system, characterized in that it comprises a first accessory port having a terminal for reference voltage, an accessory cable insertable in the first port for connection to the reference voltage terminal and a peripheral audio port, the structure is operable to supply electrical power to a peripheral audio device coupled to the audio power port and comprises: a first interface or interconnection having a first portion of connector sized for insertion into the first accessory port and a second connector portion dimensioned to accommodate a termination end of the accessory cable, to thereby establish an electrical connection therebetween; a second interface or interconnection having a first portion of connector sized to selectively set an electrical interconnection with the peripheral audio port and a second connector portion sized to selectively establish an electrical interconnection with the peripheral audio device, and electrical cables for electrically interconnecting the first and second interfaces, whereby electrical energy can be supplied to the peripheral audio device from the reference voltage terminal of the first accessor port

Description

INTERCONNECTION STRUCTURE FOR PERIPHERAL ACCESSORIES FIELD TECMCQ The present invention relates in general to peripheral devices for personal computers. AMTBCgDEIITES OF A mVEMCIQIt The proliferation of personal computers has made numerous electronic technologies available to individual users, including audio signal processing, video signal processing and data processing. The two applications that currently receive the highest level of interest are multi-media presentations, telecommunications and speech recognition. Multi-media refers to the integration of text, audio, graphics, still images and moving images in a single multi-media product controlled by computer and includes the combination of computers, video-disc or compact disc players, monitors of video, optical scanners, audio cards, music synthesizers, etc., all linked together by powerful development software. Telecommunications on the other hand, include applications for communicating by electronic transmission signals of devices such as telephones, radio and television. Computers configured for multimedia and / or telecommunications applications, generally include a sound card that has one or more plugs to receive speakers in REF: 25476 stereo. For telecommunications applications and / or speech recognition, a microphone and a microphone port are also provided. To date, peripheral audio devices of the aforementioned type have been energized by a separate power supply, such as for example an A / C adapter configured with a suitable transformer to provide the required reference voltage. As such, each time the computer is turned on, the user must also turn on the power supply to the peripheral audio device (s), before launching a multi-media, telecommunications or speech recognition application. Likewise, the user must also remember to interrupt the power to the peripheral devices when the computer system is turned off. Additional disadvantages associated with the use of independent power supply assemblies, are the unattractive assembly or set of electrical and electronic cables and connections required at the cost of an energy transformer. CQMPBfDIP DB THE IMMIGRATION Accordingly, the present invention provides an accessory adapter and connector assembly, which overcomes the disadvantages and deficiencies described above in the prior art. The adapter assembly uses a connection to the reference voltage line of the interface or interconnection between a personal computer and one of its PS2 ports, thus avoiding the need for providing a circuit for independent power supply for peripheral accessory device such like microphones, speaker systems and other computer peripherals. The adapter assembly of the present invention is conformed to a first, interface and interconnection having by way of illustrative example, a portion of a male connector sized to be inserted into the PS2 port of a personal computer and a portion of a female connector, sized to accommodate the male termination of a PS2 peripheral such as a mouse or keyboard. It will be readily appreciated by those skilled in the art of course that various connector configurations are possible and that the decision to use a male or female connector in a given situation will necessarily depend on the nature and structure of the pre-existing connection between the connected peripheral. PS2 and the PS2 port. The adapter assembly of the present invention further includes a second interface for providing power to one or more peripheral devices such as, for example, peripheral audio devices used in speech recognition applications., telecommunications or multi-media. By way of illustrative example, the second interface may include one or more plugs, male or female, to accommodate the termination connector of a cable associated with an onaural microphone and / or horn. Reference voltage terminals within the first interface are electrically connected to the plug (s) of the second interface, so as to provide power to the peripheral device (s) with a ground connection made, for example, to an internal interconnection card. BRgVtt DRSCRIPCIOII DK THE DRAWINGS For a more complete understanding of the present invention and for additional advantages thereof, reference is now made to the following brief description, which is taken in conjunction with the accompanying figures in which FIGURE 1 shows a view in FIG. front perspective-of an illustrative embodiment of the present invention connected to an existing computer system; FIGURE 2 is an enlarged view of the illustrative accessory connector and adapter assembly of FIGURE 1; and FIGURE 3 is an electrical diagillustrating in detail the electrical connections associated with the structure or adapter assembly and illustrative accessory connector of FIGURES 1 and 2. PBSCRIPCIOH f) RT? T, f) A Now with reference to FIGURE 1, an illustrative embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail.

In FIGURE 1, a computer system 10 is illustrated which includes a display monitor 12, a keyboard 14 and a processing unit 16. In a conventional manner, the keyboard or mouse 14 includes a connector 18 configured for connection, by cable 17 to a PS2 port (not shown) on the back of the processing unit 16. A microphone 20, as may be employed during operation of the computer system 12 in accordance with a related speech and / or telephony application, is illustrated in FIG. an exemplary location on the upper surface of the housing of the computer system 16. As will be readily evaluated by those skilled in the art, conventional computer systems such as computer system 10 are often equipped with insertable cards that allow the system process audio feed signals - such as received by the microphone 20 as well as audio output signals, since they can be reproduced They are audibly audible through one or more speakers (not shown). In that regard, it will be noted that although the adapter assembly of the invention 30 of the present invention is described in connection with a particular illustrative example where. the peripheral audio device is a microphone, it is also contemplated that the inventive assembly may be either alternately or additionally, easily employed as an interface between the computer system 10 and other peripheral devices such as one or more speakers.

In any case, and with continuous reference to FIGURE 1, it will be seen that the microphone 20 includes a cable 22 terminating in an accessory connector male plug 24. By way of illustrative example, the connector male plug 24 can be implemented using the connector of hearing aids for common personal entertainment, mini-stereo phone jack or mini-audio jack that is only 3.5 millimeters in diameter. As is common, and as can best be seen in FIGURE 2, the mini-audio plug 24 has an insulated ring section 32b separating the tip section 32a and the sleeve section 32c, so that the electrical connections can be made with conductors 22a and 22b respectively of the cable 22. Now with particular reference to FIGURES 2 and 3, the illustrative adapter assembly 30 of the present invention is now described in detail. Essentially, the adapter assembly 30 is operable to supply power derived from the PS2 port 14 to the microphone 20. For this purpose, the adapter assembly 30 includes a first interface 28 having a first connector portion 28a dimensioned for insertion into the PS2 port of the system. computer 10 and a second connector portion 28b, sized to accommodate a terminating end of a connected peripheral cable of PS2 to thereby establish an electrical connection therebetween. In this way, when interconnected with the PS2 port and the PS2 peripheral of the computer system 10, the first interface 28 provides an uninterrupted electrical path for each of the PS2 1-6 conductors (FIGURE 3), so that the operation of the peripheral connected in PS2 14 is not affected. The adapter assembly 30 further includes a second interface 26 having a first connector portion 26a sized to selectively establish an electrical interconnection with a monaural audio peripheral power port 32 (FIGURE 3) of the computer system 10. In the exemplary embodiment of FIGURES 1-3, the peripheral audio port is a power port that allows audio signals to be received from the microphone 20 through a conventional connector plug. Typically, the audio port 32 is configured as a standard stereo mini-plug that is well known to those skilled in the art. In this way, by way of specific example, the first congruent portion 26a can be configured, in the same way as the connector plug 24 of the microphone 20, with an insulated ring section 38b separating the tip section 38a and the sleeve section 38c. As such, the isolated electrical connections can be made to the first interface 28 by the conductor 34a. Specifically, and as best illustrated in FIGURE 3, electrical connections are made to the + VDC of the PS2 cable. In a typical computer system, the VDC voltage has a value of +5 V, which is convenient for most peripheral audio applications. With continued reference to both FIGURES 2 and 3, it will be noted that the second interface 26 further includes a second connector portion 26b sized to selectively establish an electrical interconnection with the peripheral audio device such as the microphone 20 or monaural audio source in the Illustrative example. As indicated above, the illustrative microphone 20 includes a male connector plug 24 having insulated tip and base terminals 32a and 32c. Accordingly, the second connector portion 26b is configured as a female plug dimensioned and arranged to accommodate the male plug 24. The respective ring terminals 36a and 36c are provided to establish respective interconnections between the tip terminal 32a and the conductor + VDC of interface 34a and base terminal 32c. An earth connection is made by inserting 26a into the card. As best illustrated in FIGURE 3, the insertion of the connected portion 26a interconnects the terminals 38a and 38c of the second interface 26a GND and the power signal terminals of the peripheral audio port 32, whereby the microphone signals or monaural audio source are properly processed for transmission or storage according to the application.

Of course, it will be noted that while the present invention has been described with reference to illustrative embodiments, other structures may be apparent to those with ordinary skill in the art. For example, if it is desired to use the structure of the present invention to power more than one peripheral audio device, the second interface 26 can be configured with multiple first and second connector portions, to interconnect the desired number of peripheral audio ports to a corresponding number of peripheral audio devices. In this way, the invention is not limited to the specific details and illustrative example illustrated and described in this specification. On the contrary, the object of the appended claims is to cover all these variations and modifications that fall within the spirit and actual scope of the invention. It is noted that in relation to this date, the best method known by the applicant to carry out the practice. said invention is the conventional one for the manufacture of the objects to which it refers. Having described the invention as above, the content of the following is claimed as property:

Claims (13)

1. RBIVIffDICACIQWES 1. An adapter structure and accessory connector for use in a personal computer system, characterized in that it comprises a first accessory port having a terminal for reference voltage, an accessory cable insertable into the first port for connection to the reference voltage terminal and a peripheral audio port, the structure is operable to supply electrical power to a peripheral audio device coupled to the audio power port and comprises: a first interface or interconnection having a first connector portion sized for insertion in the first accessory port and a second connector portion dimensioned to accommodate a termination end of the accessory cable, in order to establish an electrical connection therebetween; a second interface or interconnection having a first connector portion sized to selectively establish an electrical interconnection with the peripheral audio port and a second connector portion dimensioned to selectively establish an electrical interconnection with the peripheral audio device; and electrical cables for electrically interconnecting the first and second interfaces, whereby electrical power can be supplied to the peripheral audio device from the reference voltage terminal of the first accessory port.
2. 2. The structure according to claim 1, characterized in that the first connector of the second interface is a male adapter plug. The structure according to claim 2, characterized in that the second connector of the second interface is a female adapter plug sized to accommodate a male adapter plug of the peripheral audio device. The structure according to claim 3, characterized in that the second connector of the second interface is a mini-stereo adapter plug sized to accommodate a mini-stereo adapter plug of the peripheral audio device. The structure according to claim 1, characterized in that the first connector of the second interface is a mini-stereo adapter plug. The structure according to claim 1, characterized in that the peripheral audio port is a power port and wherein the peripheral audio device includes a natural audio source. 7. A telecommunications equipment for use in a personal computer, characterized in that it comprises a peripheral connected to PS2, a PS2 port having reference voltage, a PS2 cable insertable to the PS2 port to connect to the reference voltage and a power port audio and a peripheral audio port, the equipment comprises: at least one peripheral audio device; and an accessory adapter and connector structure operable to deliver electrical power to a peripheral audio device coupled to the peripheral audio port, the adapter structure includes a first interface having a first connector portion sized for insertion into the PS2 port and a second connector portion sized to accommodate a terminating end of a PS2 cable, in order to establish an electrical connection therebetween; a second interface having a first connector portion sized to selectively establish an electrical interconnection with the peripheral audio port and a second connector portion dimensioned to selectively establish an electrical interconnection with the peripheral audio device; and electrical cables for electrically interconnecting the first and second interfaces, whereby electrical power can be supplied to the peripheral audio device from the PS2 port reference voltage. The equipment according to claim 7, characterized in that the first connector of the second interface is a male adapter plug. 9. The equipment according to claim 8, characterized in that the second connector of the second interface is a female adapter plug sized to accommodate a male adapter plug of the peripheral audio device. The equipment according to claim 9, characterized in that the second connector of the second interface is a mini-stereo adapter plug sized to accommodate a mini-stereo adapter plug of the peripheral audio device. The equipment according to claim 7, characterized in that the first connector of the second interface is a mini-stereo adapter plug. The equipment according to claim 7, characterized in that the peripheral audio port is a power port and the peripheral audio device comprises a monaural audio source. 1
3. 3. The equipment in accordance with the claim 12, characterized in that the peripheral audio port is an output port and the peripheral audio device is a speaker. The present invention relates to an adapter and accessory connector structure that utilizes a connection to the interface reference voltage line between a personal computer and its keyboard or other accessory, thereby avoiding the need for provide an independent power supply circuit for peripheral devices and accessories such as microphones, speakers and the like. The adapter assembly is configured with a first interface having by way of illustrative example, a male connector portion dimensioned for insertion into the keyboard port of a personal computer and a female connector portion sized to accommodate the male termination of a keyboard cable conventional. The adapter assembly further includes a second interface to provide power to one or more external peripheral devices. By way of illustrative example, the second interface may include one or more plugs, male or female, to accommodate the termination connector of a cable associated with one or more audio speakers and / or a loudspeaker. A reference voltage terminal within the first interface is electrically connected to the plug (s) of the second interface to thereby provide power to the external peripheral device (s).