Patent US5634802A successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
US5634802A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Retractable expandable jack
Assignee: Bayer AG
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Filing: 1995-08-18
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Granted: 1997-06-03
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Expires: 2015-08-18
Abstract
Abstract The expandable jack has first and second members attached by a pivotal connection. The members can be expanded about the pivotal connection to form a receptacle for receiving a plug and, when not in use, the members can be collapsed about the pivotal connection to fit into storage spaces of reduced size. The jack is of particular use in application interface cards for laptop, notebook and palmtop computers. In such cards, the jack is mounted on a platform which is movable between an exposed position, external of the card, and a retracted storage position within the body of the card. A plug can be inserted into the expandable jack while avoiding interference with obstructions, such as a cable extending from an adjacent card in the computer.
Inventors
- 👤 Albert J. Kerklaan
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-02 16:08
CPC Classifications
H; H01; H01R; H01R31/00; H01R31/02; H01R13/00; H01R13/60; H01R24/00; H01R24/60; H01R24/62; H01R24/64; Y; Y10; Y10S; Y10S439/00; Y10S439/946
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 27
Claim 1
Independent Claim
98 words
An expandable jack for accepting and retaining a plug, the jack comprising: a first member; and, a second member; the first member being pivotally connected to the second member to allow rotation of the first and second members with respect to each other between an expanded position and a collapsed position and wherein in the expanded position a receptacle is formed between the first member and the second member which accepts the plug and comprises means for electrical communication with the plug, wherein the means for electrical communication comprise a plurality of contact pins exposed within the receptacle.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
98 words
An expandable jack for accepting and retaining a plug, the jack comprising: a first member; and, a second member; the first member being pivotally connected to the second member to allow rotation of the first and second members with respect to each other between an expanded position and a collapsed position and wherein in the expanded position a receptacle is formed between the first member and the second member which accepts the plug and comprises means for electrical communication with the plug, wherein the means for electrical communication comprise a plurality of contact pins exposed within the receptacle.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
21 words
The expandable jack as claimed in claim 1, wherein the jack is attached to a mount for communication with related circuitry.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
22 words
The expandable jack as claimed in claim 2, wherein the contact pins of the jack are hard wired to the related circuitry.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
34 words
The expandable jack as claimed in claim 2, wherein communication of the jack to the related circuitry is provided by means of electrical contact between the contact pins and contacts of the related circuity.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
24 words
The expandable jack as claimed in claim 1, wherein the jack is mounted for communication with the internal circuitry of an application interface card.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
25 words
The expandable jack as claimed in claim 5, wherein the jack is mounted on a retractable platform for movement in and out of the card.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
92 words
An expandable jack for accepting and retaining a plug, the jack comprising: a first member; and, a second member; the first member being pivotally connected to the second member to allow rotation of the first and second members with respect to each other between an expanded position and a collapsed position and wherein in the expanded position a receptacle is formed between the first member and the second member which accepts the plug and comprises means for electrical communication with the plug, wherein the receptacle is formed to accept an RJ-type plug.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
92 words
An expandable jack for accepting and retaining a plug, the jack comprising: a first member; and, a second member; the first member being pivotally connected to the second member to allow rotation of the first and second members with respect to each other between an expanded position and a collapsed position and wherein in the expanded position a receptacle is formed between the first member and the second member which accepts the plug and comprises means for electrical communication with the plug, wherein the receptacle is formed to accept an RJ-type plug.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
93 words
An expandable jack for accepting and retaining a plug, the jack comprising: a first member; and, a second member; the first member being pivotally connected to the second member to allow rotation of the first and second members with respect to each other between an expanded position and a collapsed position and wherein in the expanded position a receptacle is formed between the first member and the second member which accepts the plug and comprises means for electrical communication with the plug, wherein the receptacle is formed to accept an 8-pin modular plug.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
93 words
An expandable jack for accepting and retaining a plug, the jack comprising: a first member; and, a second member; the first member being pivotally connected to the second member to allow rotation of the first and second members with respect to each other between an expanded position and a collapsed position and wherein in the expanded position a receptacle is formed between the first member and the second member which accepts the plug and comprises means for electrical communication with the plug, wherein the receptacle is formed to accept an 8-pin modular plug.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
91 words
An expandable jack for accepting and retaining a plug, the jack comprising: a first member; and, a second member; the first member being pivotally connected to the second member to allow rotation of the first and second members with respect to each other between an expanded position and a collapsed position and wherein in the expanded position a receptacle is formed between the first member and the second member which accepts the plug and comprises means for electrical communication with the plug, wherein the jack is biased in the expanded position.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
91 words
An expandable jack for accepting and retaining a plug, the jack comprising: a first member; and, a second member; the first member being pivotally connected to the second member to allow rotation of the first and second members with respect to each other between an expanded position and a collapsed position and wherein in the expanded position a receptacle is formed between the first member and the second member which accepts the plug and comprises means for electrical communication with the plug, wherein the jack is biased in the expanded position.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
94 words
An expandable jack for accepting and retaining a plug, the jack comprising: a first member; and, a second member; the first member being pivotally connected to the second member to allow rotation of the first and second members with respect to each other between an expanded position and a collapsed position and wherein in the expanded position a receptacle is formed between the first member and the second member which accepts the plug and comprises means for electrical communication with the plug, wherein the jack further comprises means to prevent overexpansion of the jack.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
94 words
An expandable jack for accepting and retaining a plug, the jack comprising: a first member; and, a second member; the first member being pivotally connected to the second member to allow rotation of the first and second members with respect to each other between an expanded position and a collapsed position and wherein in the expanded position a receptacle is formed between the first member and the second member which accepts the plug and comprises means for electrical communication with the plug, wherein the jack further comprises means to prevent overexpansion of the jack.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
132 words
An expandable jack for accepting and retaining a plug, the jack comprising: a first member; and, a second member; the first member being pivotally connected to the second member to allow rotation of the first and second members with respect to each other between an expanded position and a collapsed position and wherein in the expanded position a receptacle is formed between the first member and the second member which accepts the plug and comprises means for electrical communication with the plug, wherein the jack further comprises a means for retaining the plug within the receptacle disposed on a selected one of the first member and the second member and wherein the means for electrical communication with the plug is disposed on the other of the first member and the second member.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
132 words
An expandable jack for accepting and retaining a plug, the jack comprising: a first member; and, a second member; the first member being pivotally connected to the second member to allow rotation of the first and second members with respect to each other between an expanded position and a collapsed position and wherein in the expanded position a receptacle is formed between the first member and the second member which accepts the plug and comprises means for electrical communication with the plug, wherein the jack further comprises a means for retaining the plug within the receptacle disposed on a selected one of the first member and the second member and wherein the means for electrical communication with the plug is disposed on the other of the first member and the second member.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
44 words
The expandable jack as claimed in claim 11, the means for retaining the plugs comprises at least one flange for engaging a lock clip of the plug, and the jack further comprising a means to ensure proper positioning of the plug within the receptacle.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
74 words
An application interface card for communication with an interconnector plug, the card comprising: a card body and internal interface circuitry; a retractable platform for moving in and out of the card; and, an expandable jack mounted on the platform and capable of communication with the circuitry of the card, the jack being capable of expanding to form a receptacle when in position external of the card and of collapsing for storage within the card.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
74 words
An application interface card for communication with an interconnector plug, the card comprising: a card body and internal interface circuitry; a retractable platform for moving in and out of the card; and, an expandable jack mounted on the platform and capable of communication with the circuitry of the card, the jack being capable of expanding to form a receptacle when in position external of the card and of collapsing for storage within the card.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
43 words
The application interface card as claimed in claim 13 wherein the jack is mounted on the platform such that the receptacle is disposed to accept a plug which is inserted along an axis substantially parallel to a plane formed by the card's face.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
37 words
The application interface card as claimed in claim 14 wherein the jack is mounted on the platform to be moveable, with respect to the platform, to avoid interference with obstructions which would prevent insertion of the plug.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
32 words
The application interface card as claimed in claim 15 wherein the jack is mounted by means of a hinge pin to the platform and the jack is rotatable about the hinge pin.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
62 words
The application interface card as claimed in claim 16 wherein the jack is biased in position on the platform such that the receptacle is disposed to accept a plug which is inserted into the receptacle along an axis substantially parallel to the plane formed by the card's face and is rotatable about the hinge pin by application of force to the jack.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
83 words
The application interface card as claimed in claim 13 wherein the jack comprises: a first member; and, a second member; the first member being pivotally connected to the second member to allow rotation of the first and second members with respect to each other between an expanded position and a collapsed position and wherein in the expanded position a receptacle is formed between the first member and the second member which accepts the plug and comprises means for electrical communication with the plug.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
32 words
The application interface card as claimed in claim 18 wherein the means for electrical communication with the plug are contact pins and such pins are hard wired to the internal interface circuitry.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
41 words
The application interface card as claimed in claim 18 wherein the means for electrical communication with the plug are contact pins and such pins are in communication with the internal interface circuitry by contact with contacts of the internal interface circuitry.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
FR585179A
Cited
GB403174A
Cited
EP0012532A1
Cited
US4946401A
Cited
US5087208A
Cited
US5183404A
Cited
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2000-06-02 | 2000-12-02 | 2001-06-03 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2004-06-02 | 2004-12-02 | 2005-06-03 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2008-06-02 | 2008-12-02 | 2009-06-03 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |