Abstract:
Dock apparatus is provided for the receiving of portable, hand-held data retrieval devices to allow recharging of internal batteries and data communication with centralized computer systems. A frame having electrical contact elements at its inner end receives the hand-held device, which at its lower end is provided with electrical contact pads which engage the contact elements of the receiving frame when the hand-held device is fully inserted in the frame. Detents within the frame engage mating indentations in the hand-held device. The dock frames may be ganged in plural arrangements.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO PRIOR APPLICATIONS 
     This is a continuation of application Ser. No. 07/327,660, filed Mar. 23, 1989 and now abandoned. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to apparatus for making electrical interconnections and in particular to methods of physically coupling a battery powered hand-held terminal device, or a plurality of them, to a recharging and data retrieval docking mechanism. 
     Along with the need to recharge the batteries of the data terminal is the requirement that the device be coupled to other data handling apparatus so that the collected data within the handheld data terminal may be electrically &#34;read&#34; by other devices, such as a mainframe computer or other type of central processing unit. This need has also been met by the use of connectors of the pin and socket variety which will mate with a complementing connector mounted to the exterior of the data terminal housing. The connector of the data terminal is electrically interconnected to the internal data carrying circuitry of the data collection terminal. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention provides an improvement to the interconnection of hand-held or other portable data collection or data entry terminal devices with recharging apparatus and data interrogation apparatus. 
     In a preferred embodiment, a frame having an open end receives the body of a hand-held data entry terminal therein. Disposed within and mounted to the lowermost wall of the frame is a series of generally horizontally disposed, spaced apart series array of contact elements. The contact elements extend above the lower wall of the frame such that they will make contact engagement with a series array of contact pads disposed in spaced apart relationship and mounted to the exterior of the lower wall of the hand-held data entry terminal. The contact elements of the frame are resilient such that they will depress when they are engaged by the pads of the data entry terminal and will spring back when the data entry terminal is removed. 
     The frame comprises four generally upstanding walls with a lower wall enclosing the lower end of the frame. A plurality of detent protrusions depends from one or more of the upstanding walls and is disposed to engage mating indentations on the housing of the data entry terminal to be received. Each detent protrusion is stationed upon a yielding region of its respective upstanding wall, to facilitate the insertion into, and removal from, the frame, of a data entry terminal device. 
     The contact elements of the frame and the contact pads of the data entry terminal engage to provide separate electrical couplings when the data entry terminal is fully installed in the frame. 
     A plurality of frames may be ganged together to provide a series of recharging docks into which one or more data entry terminals may be selectively placed, independent of one another. 
     The frame is sized to snugly receive a data entry terminal and to prevent lateral movement thereof while the data entry terminal is stationed in the frame. 
     One object of the invention is to provide a dock into which a hand-held data terminal may be selectively placed for recharging and data intercommunication purposes, which provides electrical contact without the mating of pin and socket connections. 
     Another object of the invention is to provide a dock for hand-held data entry terminals which may be easily used by personnel having no training with data transmission. 
     Another object of the invention is to provide a recharging dock which may be ganged together with other docks to provide a recharging and data communication facility into which may be placed one or more data entry terminals independently of the others. 
     Another object of the invention is to provide a dock for data entry terminals which provides a self-releasing (non-latching) retention mechanism to retain the respective contacts of the series array of the terminals in touching engagement with the respective electrical contacts of the dock. 
     These and other objects will be apparent from the detailed description which follows. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the preferred embodiment of the invention. 
     FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of the contact end of a hand-held device employable with the invention. 
     FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of the electrically conducting element receiving member of the invention with one of the elements displaced therefrom. 
     FIG. 4 is a front elevation of the embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 1 with portions cut away. 
     FIG. 5 is a view in section along lines 5--5 of FIG. 4. 
     FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of the invention with a hand held device in one of the bays of the invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Referring now to the drawings, FIG. 1 discloses the preferred embodiment of the invention 2 in a perspective view, showing a data entry terminal 4 of the type insertable within invention 2. Data entry terminal 4 is provided with an elongated housing 6 having a front wall 8 generally orthogonally positioned to end walls 16 and 18. A keypad 10 and visual display 12 are provided on front wall 8 of housing 6. It is intended that data entry terminal 4 is a portable, preferably hand-held, data collection device which may be carried with the user such that the user may enter collected data by activation of the keys of keypad 10 or by other means, such as through bar code reading accessories, which are not illustrated in the drawings. Data entry terminal 4 may also provide data or instructions to the user by way of display 12, or display 12 may simply display to the user the data which is being entered through the keypad or other input means which may be used. Data entry terminal 4 may also be equipped to electromagnetically communicate by transmitted waves to other devices to gather and transmit data. 
     Devices such as data entry terminal 4 require electrical power to operate, such power generally being provided by rechargeable batteries contained within housing 6. Because such batteries become discharged with use, it is necessary for data entry terminal 4 to be electrically chargeable by external means. 
     As seen in the preferred embodiment of FIG. 1, invention 2 comprises a generally upstanding frame 20 into which data entry terminal 4 is receivable. Frame 20 comprises opposing sidewalls 22 and 24 which are interconnected by rear wall 26. Front wall 28 of frame 20 is substantially shorter than rear wall 26 thereby avoiding interference with keypad 10 of data entry terminal 4. End wall 30 of frame 20 interconnects with sidewalls 22 and 24 and with front wall 28 and rear wall 26. Contact members 32 depend marginally from end wall 30. Rail 34 depends from rear wall 26 into cavity 36 within frame 20. Rail 34 engages the rear of data entry terminal 4 as it is inserted into frame 20, thereby urging data entry terminal 4 into proper position relative to front wall 28 of frame 20. Frame 20 resides in cradle 40 which rests upon support 42. 
     Support 42 is provided with a generally upstanding plate 42a mounted to base 46. Slotted opening 44 is provided in plate 42a to allow hanging of invention 2 upon a vertical surface if desired. Base 46 provides a structure to support invention 2 on a horizontal workbench or shelf, if preferred. 
     Plate 42a of support 42 is provided with opening 49 to receive plug means depending from a typical telephone wall mounting plate. Slotted opening 44 and slot 47 of plate 42a disposed to receive large-headed mounting studs typical of telephone wall mounting plates. Thus a user may leave invention 2 attached to a wall at a telephone wall plate and may attach telephone cabling through opening 49 to modulator-demodulator means which may interconnect through frame 20 to data entry terminal 4. When data intercommunication with a data collection device, or recharging thereof is desired, the device is placed within the invention 2 as it hangs from a wall, mounted to a telephone wall plate if desired. 
     Referring now to FIGS. 4 and 5, the structure of the preferred embodiment of invention 2 can better be visualized. Contact elements 32 are arranged in spaced apart fashion and are mounted at end wall 30 of frame 20 and extend therethrough. Lip 25 depends from the rear wall 26 to overhang rear wall 41 of cradle 40. Detents 50 and 52 rest on tabs 54 which are attached on one side thereof to rear wall 26 upon sloped region 27. This mode of attachment allows tabs 54 to deflect relative to rear wall 26. Detents 50 and 52 comprise mating elements for indentations formed in the rear of housing 6 of data entry terminal 4 and are positioned on rear wall 26 such that mating engagements with indentations on data entry terminal 4 are achieved when data entry terminal 4 is fully seated within frame 20. Electrical connector 76 provides an interconnection junction between circuit board 48 and external means and in the preferred embodiment comprises a pin containing shell housing well known as a DB-9, connector. 
     Referring to FIG. 3, a plurality of contact elements 32 are deployed within a contact receiving element 70 with one contact element 32 displaced therefrom for illustration of detail. Each contact element 32 comprises a formed conductive strip having a first leg 60. Free ended section 62 of contact element 32 is provided with a generally U-shaped area 64 therealong. First leg 60 and free ended section 62 are formed in generally parallel relationship separated by a reversing section 66. Contact elements 32 are constructed of electrically conductive material with sufficient resilience such that free ended section 62 will return to its generally parallel relationship to first leg 60 when not subjected to deflective force. 
     Each contact element 32 is fitted into contact receiving member 70 such that contact elements 32 are spaced apart in generally parallel relationship with U-shaped sections 64 depending thereabove. Free ended section 62 including U-shaped sections 64 are free to be deflected somewhat downward when contact elements 32 are positioned within contact receiving member 70. First leg 60 of contact element 32 is provided with a protrusion 63 upon the lower surface 61 thereof, said protrusion 63 establishing electrical contact with a conductive area upon circuit board 48, in FIG. 5, to which contact receiving member 70 is mounted. 
     Referring now in particular to FIG. 5, it can be seen that contact receiving member 70 mounts to circuit board 48 which is stationed below end wall 30 of frame 20 such that U-shaped sections 64 of contact elements 32 may protrude through opening 72 of end wall 30. 
     Cradle 40 carries frame 20, being mounted thereto by screw 74. Support 42 is mounted to cradle 40 at brackets 43 and 45 and is shaped to afford a pleasing recline to cradle 40. It can be seen that support 42 may be mounted by appropriate means to a vertical structure or to a horizontal structure at its base 46. 
     FIG. 2 discloses, from the rear, the lower end 17 of housing 6 of the hand-held data entry terminal 4 of FIG. 1. Indentations 56 and 58 are provided on shoulder 55 on the rear of data entry terminal 4 disposed to receive detents 50 and 52 respectively when data entry terminal 4 is inserted in frame 20 and seated upon end wall 30 thereof. A plurality of contact pads 80 are positioned upon end wall 18 of data entry terminal 4. When data entry terminal 4 is properly positioned in frame 20, contact pads 80 of data entry terminal 4 engage contact elements 32 at U-shaped sections 64 thereof in generally overlying touching engagement. The engagement of contact pads 80 with contact elements 32 provides some deflection force in a generally downward direction upon contact elements 32 causing free ended section 62 to deflect. The deflection of free ended section 62 is limited by stop 82, which can be best seen in FIG. 5. 
     The employment of detents 50 and 52 in cooperation with indentations 56 and 58 permits frame 20 to be disposed in other than generally vertical orientation while still allowing retention of data entry terminal 4 in frame 20 with sufficient interengagement of contact pads 80 of data entry terminal 4 with contact elements 32 of invention 2. 
     FIG. 6 discloses an alternative embodiment of the invention wherein a plurality of frames 20 are mounted within an elongated cradle 140 which in the embodiment shown has mounted thereto six of frames 20. A data entry terminal 4 may be placed in each of frames 20 of the device of FIG. 6, such that six data entry terminal units may be recharged or integrated with a data collection system at one time with this alternative embodiment. Each data entry terminal 4 may be selectively positioned in any of the frames 20 independently of any placement of other data entry terminals in any other frame 20 of cradle 140. Cradle 140 is supported at a slight recline by support 142 which comprises base 146 and upstanding wall 148. Mounting means 102 is optionally available to secure support 142 to a vertical structure, if desired. 
     OPERATION OF THE INVENTION 
     As the need arises to recharge the internal batteries of one or more data entry terminal 4, or to feed data to or collect data from said data entry terminal 4, the data entry terminal 4 may be placed in a frame 20 such that the contact pads 80 of end wall 18 of data entry terminal 4 engage and depress the contact elements 32 of end wall 30 of frame 20. Since contact pads 80 and contact elements 32 are electrically conductive, the engagement of a contact pad 80 with a contact element 32 provides a completed electrical pathway such that electrical charging or electrical communication between invention 2 and data entry terminal 4 may be accomplished. 
     Detents 50 and 52 of rear wall 26 of frame 20 engage mating indentations 56 and 58 on the rear of data entry terminal 4 such that sufficient mechanical rigidity is achieved between data entry terminal 4 and frame 20 to maintain solid engagement between contact pads 80 of data entry terminal 4 and contact elements 32 of frame 20. 
     Support 42 of invention 2 may be mounted to a vertical wall over a telephone mounting bracket having vertically spaced apart studs and a telephone jack which remains accessible through opening 49 of plate 48 support 42. 
     Once insertion of data entry terminal 4 is completed within frame 20, recharging of batteries and intercommunication of the data entry terminal with outside computing facilities may be achieved.