Abstract:
A housing device is described that protects hardware and software useful in connecting a personal computer (PC) to a network. The housing device is versatile so as to allow for a plurality of configuration and installation combinations. This versatility allows an installer to mount the housing device either horizontally or vertically. When mounted horizontally, the installer has yet another option to prop the housing device upright via use of an easel on the back or allow it to lie flat with the easel folded under a main body component. Serrated edges are provided on the easel so as to allow for tension to be placed on the wires or cables coupled to the housing device so that the wires or cables do not become disconnected from the housing device.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS  
         [0001]    This application is related to U.S. Design Application No. ______ , filed concurrently with this application and titled “NETWORK COMMUNICATION HOUSING.” 
         TECHNICAL FIELD  
         [0002]    This invention relates to a network communication housing device, and more particularly to a network communication housing device that is versatile in installation and use, aesthetically pleasing and efficient in holding wires and cables in place.  
         BACKGROUND  
         [0003]    A network couples computers together so that the computers may share information and data. This makes networked computers much more valuable to the end user because it permits the end user to do more with the computer by sharing data and applications with other users through the network.  
           [0004]    In general, there are three classes of networks. The first class includes Local Area Networks (LANs). Typically, LANs are small networks with short distances between computers and are proprietary (i.e., limited access) to a single company. LANs are typically used in office buildings and small campuses.  
           [0005]    The second class includes Metropolitan Area Networks (MANS) that are larger networks. A typical MAN network is one that links together two or more LANs.  
           [0006]    The third class includes Wide Area Networks (WANs). These networks are geographically larger than the other two classes. In addition, WANs typically couple together LANs over common carrier lines or lines leased from a common carrier.  
           [0007]    To get coupled to a network, a personal computer (PC) needs hardware and/or software to interface with the network to transmit and receive signals. One example of hardware is an Ethernet card used in LANs. A modem is an example of networking hardware that often is used to couple a PC to a server in a WAN.  
           [0008]    Network devices can be categorized into two types. The first type is mounted onto a motherboard and hidden from plain view. The second type sits in plain view and has wires running from it to both the PC and the networks to which the PC is coupled.  
       
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS  
       [0009]    [0009]FIG. 1 is a front view of a network communication housing positioned on a surface.  
         [0010]    [0010]FIGS. 2 and 3 are side and top views of the network communication housing of FIG. 1.  
         [0011]    [0011]FIG. 4 is a back view of the network communication housing of FIG. 1.  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 5 is a front view of a main body of the network communication housing of FIG. 1.  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 6 is an isometric view of the network communication housing of FIG. 1.  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 7 is an isometric view of a hinge of the network communication housing of FIG. 1.  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 8 is a top view of an easel of the network communication housing of FIG. 1.  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional side view of the network communication housing of FIG. 1 with a cable in a first arrangement.  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional side view of the network communication housing of FIG. 1 with a cable in a second arrangement.  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 11 is a view of a serrated edge on an easel of the network communication housing of FIG. 1.  
     
    
       [0019]    Like reference symbols in the various drawings indicate like elements.  
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0020]    Referring to FIGS.  1 - 6 , a network communication housing  100  includes a main body  104  and an easel  106 . In one implementation, main body  104  is a hollow shell made of plastic. Inside main body  104  is network circuitry (not shown) that connects a personal computer (PC) to one or more networks or devices. In one implementation, the network circuitry is a low cost digital subscriber line service (DSL) to 10/100 Ethernet bridge/router. Other implementations may provide other types of modems or other functions useful in connecting a computer to one or more networks or devices. In addition, other implementations of main body  104  may be made of wood or metal. It should also be noted that some implementations of main body  104  include electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding (not shown). This EMI shielding is typically a conductive material placed on the interior surface of main body  104 . The EMI shielding reflects radiation away from network circuitry and thereby improves performance of the network circuitry.  
         [0021]    Easel  106  may define several holes  122  and may include feet  102   a - 102   f . In one implementation, easel  106  is made of plastic. Easel  106  aids in the support of main body  104  and in cable management as described below. Feet  102   a - 102   f  support network communication housing  100  on a surface  110  that may be a horizontal surface or a vertical surface depending on how the network communication housing  100  is installed and whether the housing  100  is in an open or closed configuration. In one implementation, feet  102   a - 102   f  are made from the same or similar plastic as main body  104  and easel  106 . Easel  106  may also define a serrated edge  124  that helps to hold wires and cables in place. Wires and cables are transmission media in a defined space that allow signals to be communicated between two or more devices. Examples of wires and cables include twisted pairs of wires, coaxial cables and fiber optic cables. It should be noted that wires and cables that are coupled to the housing to complete the network connection are not shown in FIG. 1 for the sake of clarity. Similarly, a wire or cable that supplies power to the network circuitry inside main body  104  also is not shown for the sake of clarity. Serrated edge  124  may be used to control the wires and cables as they exit the network communication housing  100 . Easel  106  may also define holes  122 . Some of these holes  122  may be used to control the wires and cables as they exit network communication housing  100 , while other holes  122  may be used to vent any heat generated by the network circuitry.  
         [0022]    Referring to FIG. 2, cables  200  and  202  may be coupled to housing  100 . Cable  200  extends from the front of housing  100  and cable  202  extends first from the front of the network communication housing  100  but is bent under so as to exit from the back of the housing  100 .  
         [0023]    Referring to FIG. 3, only the main body  104  is visible because main body  104  has a larger surface area than easel  106 . However, it should be noted that alternative implementations may provide easel  106  with a larger surface area than main body  104 .  
         [0024]    In the implementation shown in FIG. 3, main body  104  has a top surface  310  and a beveled surface  320 . Top surface  310  may include an area  330  for a trademark or logo to identify the source of network communication housing  100 . Cable  200  is also shown extending from the front of housing  100  and cable  202  is shown extending from the back of housing  100 .  
         [0025]    Referring to FIG. 4, easel  106  may define a stop  410  and a serrated edge  412  that holds wires and cables. Main body  104  includes vents  414  that dissipate heat generated by the internal network circuitry (not shown). In an alternative implementation, serrated edge  412  may be placed on main body  104  instead of easel  106 .  
         [0026]    [0026]FIG. 5 shows main body  104  without easel  106 . This view exposes connectors or jacks  503   a - 503   d , which couple the wires and cables with the network circuitry housed within main body  104 . Connectors  503   a - 503   d  may provide a point of mechanical attachment to far wires and cables to attach to main body  104  as well as an electrical or optical coupling between the network circuitry and the wires or cables.  
         [0027]    Connectors  503   a - 503   d  may be either male or female and may be compatible with corresponding female or male coaxial jacks or registered jacks (e.g., RJ-11, RJ-22, RJ-45).  
         [0028]    In the illustrated implementation, main body  104  has four connectors. It should be understood that different numbers and types may be used. Similarly, a collection of different sized connectors to accommodate different sized wires or cables or different types of coupling devices (e.g., metal clips or screws) also may be used in alternative implementations. Finally, while FIG. 5 shows the connectors arranged together in a lateral plane x, alternative designs of main body  104  may have the connectors arranged in two or more lateral planes.  
         [0029]    As shown in FIG. 6, network communication housing  100  may rest on a horizontal surface  610  with main body  104  resting on a foot or edge  105  and easel  106  resting on feet  102   c  and  102   d . Cable  200  is coupled to one of the connectors  503   a - 503   d  (not shown) on the front of network communication housing  100  and is fed through easel  106  and over serrated edge  624 . In one implementation, fee  102   c  and  102   d  are angled with respect to easel  106 . In this manner, when the network communication housing  100  is in the open configuration on a horizontal surface  610 , feet  102   c  and  102   d  will lie flat on horizontal surface  610  so as to provide maximum stability.  
         [0030]    To achieve the open configuration, hinges  612   a  and  612   b  may be used to connect main body  104  to easel  106 . Referring to FIG. 7, hinge  612   a  may include a round pin  702  and a hole  704 . In one implementation, easel  106  has round pin  702  and main body  104  has hole  704  while other implementations have round pin  702  located on main body  104  and hole  704  located on easel  106 . Hole  704  is sized to accept pin  702  and allow for rotation of pin  702 . It should be noted that other types of hinges, such as a hinge including two plates and a rod that threads through eyes on the plates, also may be used.  
         [0031]    Housing  100  provides protection to the internal network circuitry and software that performs the interfacing process between the PC and the network(s). As a protective casing, network communication housing  100  keeps dust, debris, unwanted objects and liquids from contacting the internal network circuitry and causing either a decrease in performance or a total failure. If main body  104  includes EMI shielding, network communication housing  100  will also protect the network circuitry from radiation as previously described.  
         [0032]    Network communication housing  100  also provides for different installation methods such that it can be used in different environments. More specifically, network communication housing  100  can be installed on both vertical and horizontal surfaces depending on the environment and personal choice. Also, when installed horizontally, the user has the option of having housing  100  in a closed configuration or an open configuration.  
         [0033]    The network communication housing  100  may be mounted in a vertical, closed configuration, a horizontal, closed configuration, and a horizontal, open configuration. FIG. 8 shows easel  106  separated from main body  104  for the purpose of illustrating vertical mounting of housing  100  in a closed configuration. To mount easel  106  onto a vertical surface  810 , fasteners  802   a ,  802   b ,  802   e  and  802   f  are driven through holes in easel  106  and into vertical surface  810 . As shown in FIG. 8, the holes in easel  106  are centered in each of the feet  102   a ,  102   b ,  102   e  and  102   f  and the fasteners  802   a ,  802   b ,  802   e  and  802   f  are screws. It should be noted that other fasteners such as nails, glue or other adhesives also may be used to mount easel  106  onto vertical surface  810 . It should also be noted that the holes in easel  106  may be placed at other points along the easel rather than through the centers of the feet  102   a ,  102   b ,  102   e  and  102   f.    
         [0034]    Once easel  106  is mounted onto vertical surface  810 , the necessary wires or cables are connected to main body  104 , and main body  104  is clipped into place over easel  106 . This is accomplished in an implementation where easel  106  is made out of plastic, such that it has enough flexibility in it to allow it to be slightly bent in order to fit pin  702  into hole  704  of hinges  612   a  and  612   b.    
         [0035]    Once main body  104  is clipped into place, main body  104  pivots about hinges  612   a  and  612   b  to the closed position. Cables  200  and  202  are kept in place by serrated edges  124  and  412  and are fed out the front or back of housing  100  depending on the needs and desires of the installer. Alternatively, cable  200  is fed out of the front of housing  100  via one of the holes  122 .  
         [0036]    Another feature of the housing  100  is the ability to apply tension to the wires and cables to keep them from coming loose from connectors  503   a - 503   d . FIG. 9 shows housing body  100  with cable  200  coupled to connectors  503   d  and fed out of the front of housing body  100 . As shown, serrated edge  124  is on a plane y that is different from the plane x plane occupied by the jacks  503   a - 503   d . In addition, main body  104  has an overlap d over easel  106 . Having serrated edge  124  above connectors  503   a - 503   d  causes cable  200  to bend upward, and having main body  104  overlap easel  106  causes wire  200  to bend downward and away from serrated edge  124 . This causes a general “C” shape in cable  200 . By bending cable  200  in this manner, tension is applied to cable  200  against connector  503   d  to prevent cable  200  from separating from connector  503   d.    
         [0037]    Referring to FIG. 10, cable  202  runs out of the back of housing device  100 . Like the configuration shown in FIG. 9, cable  202  is coupled to connector  503   d . Unlike FIG. 9, cable  202  is bent downward and runs underneath main body  104 . This “C-shaped” bend in cable  202  creates tension which helps maintain cable  202  onto connector  503   d . Easel  106  captures cable  202  and keeps it underneath main body  104 . Cable  202  exits housing device  100  over serrated edge  412 . Serrated edge  412  is similar to serrated edge  124  except that it is not necessarily on a different plane than the substantially lateral plane x occupied by jacks  503   a - 503   d.    
         [0038]    Serrated edges  124  and  412  limit lateral movement. In FIGS. 9 and 10, this movement would be of the cables into and out of the page. Serrated edges  124  and  412  also aid in the maintenance of the tension on the cables connected to housing  100 . More specifically, each individual notch in serrated edges  124  and  412  may be sized to accept a wire or cable with a specific circumference. In this manner, when the wire or cable is placed into a notch in either serrated edge, a slight amount of force is required to engage the wire or cable into the notch. Thus, the cables are prevented from moving laterally by the sides of each notch and the friction fit with each notch in serrated edges  124  and  412 . These restraints in movement prevent the wires/cables from working loose and disconnecting from connectors  503   a - 503   d.    
         [0039]    In other implementations, the individual notches in serrated edges  124  and  412  may be of varying sizes to accommodate wires and cables of varying circumferences. Each notch of a specific size is aligned with a correspondingly sized connector in a plane perpendicular to the substantially lateral plane x. In other implementations, each individual notch may be larger to accommodate a bundle of wires or cables instead of a single wire or cable. Such exemplary notches are shown in serrated edges  124 ,  412  and  624  in FIG. 6. In these alternative serrated edges, the wires or cables are not necessarily force-fitted into the notches as described previously.  
         [0040]    In yet another implementation, the notches in serrated edges are  124  and  412  may be “V” shaped as shown in FIG. 11, which may provide an advantage over the semi-circular notches in that they are more versatile in the sizes of cables that they can accept. Smaller cables are simply pushed further into the “V” notch than larger cables. This allows for any cable, regardless of its circumference, to be friction fit into any “V” notch in serrated edges  124  and  412 .  
         [0041]    As discussed previously, FIGS.  1 - 4  show network communication housing  100  in the closed configuration, in which surface  110  is horizontal. In this configuration, easel  106  typically is not secured to horizontal surface  110 . However, easel  106  may be secured to the horizontal surface  110  using screws, nails, glue, adhesives or any other known conventional method in a manner similar to that described previously. Cables  200  and  202  then are coupled to connectors  503   a - 503   d  and the cables are fed out of the front or back of the housing body as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10.  
         [0042]    [0042]FIG. 6 shows the housing  100  in the horizontal, open configuration. As shown, easel  106  and main body  104  are pivoted with respect to each other to obtain the open configuration. As described previously, cables are coupled to connectors  503   a - 503   d  as the cables are fed over serrated edge  624  on easel  106 .  
         [0043]    When configured in the upright position as shown in FIG. 6, main body  104  rests on foot or edge  105  on horizontal surface  610  while easel  106  rests on feet  102   c  and  102   d . Main body  104  and easel  106  pivot around hinges  612   a  and  612   b  as previously described. Stop  410  prevents main body  104  and easel  106  from pivoting too much. This is accomplished by having stop  410  come into contact with main body  104  when the main body  104  and easel  106  are pivoted open.  
         [0044]    In this configuration, tension is still applied to the wires and cables as in the closed configurations. The cables are coupled to connectors  503   a - 503   d  on the front of main body  104 . The cables are then fed through easel  106  and placed into notches in serrated edge  624 . Due to the orientation of jacks  503   a - 503   d , cable  200  is bent into a “C” shape. This occurs because the portion of cable  200  nearest to connectors  503   a - 503   d  is oriented perpendicularly to horizontal surface  610 . Wire  200  then is bent back over serrated edge  624  on easel  106 . This down and back bend creates the “C” shape which applies tension to cable  200  and aids in maintaining the connection between cable  200  and the jack to which it is coupled.  
         [0045]    Also as described above in the other configurations, notches in serrated edge  624  may be sized so as to accept the cables with a slight amount of force. This prevents the cables from moving laterally as previously described. It should be noted that notches of various sizes and alternative shapes, such as a “V” notch, are used in other variations of serrated edge  624 . A description of other types of notches was provided with respect to the description of serrated edges  124  and  412  above.  
         [0046]    Network communication housing  100  is useful in a number of networking environments. In an exemplary implementation, the internal circuitry in main body  104  is an interface between a digital subscriber line (DSL) and a 10/100 Ethernet LAN. In this implementation, the internal network circuitry provides both routing in the LAN environment and a bridge between the DSL environment and the LAN environment. It should be noted that alternative internal network circuitry also may be incorporated into housing device  100 .  
         [0047]    A number of implementations have been described. Nevertheless, it will be understood that various modifications may be made. For example, feet  102   a ,  102   b ,  102   e  and  102   f  can be replaced with a single foot that is affixed around the circumference of easel  106 . Alternatively, all or some of the feet  102   a - 102   f  may be made of soft, rubber-like pads.  
         [0048]    In addition, hinges joining main body  104  to easel  106  may be relocated. FIG. 6 shows hinges  612   a  and  612   b  on the opposite side of main body  104  from connectors  503   a - 503   d . In alternative implementations, the hinges are placed on sides of main body  104  adjacent to the side containing connectors  503   a - 503   d.    
         [0049]    There are also alternative notch shapes other than the semi-circle and “V” shapes described above. For example, rectangular, semi-hexagonal, semi-octagonal or other shapes may be implemented into easel  106 .  
         [0050]    In addition to the notches in the serrated edges being of different geometries, main body  104  and easel  106  also may be of geometries that differ from the substantially rectangular shapes shown in FIGS.  1 - 10 . Geometric shapes such as circles, triangles, hexagons, octagons or any other polygon are contemplated. Similarly, main body  104  and easel  106  do not necessarily need to be of similar shape. As an example, main body  104  could be substantially rectangular while easel  106  is substantially hexagonal.  
         [0051]    Easel  106  also may be modified. For example, a clamping bar with a complimentary serrated edge can be added to easel  106  and slid up the easel to release the wires/cables and down the easel to clamp the cables between the clamping bar and serrated edge  624 .  
         [0052]    In yet another modification, stop  410  may be replaced with two stops that are placed closer to hinges  612   a  and  612   b . Alternatively, stop  410 , or other stops near the hinges, may be attached to main body  104  instead of easel  106  and may prevent housing body from opening too much by having these alternative stops engage easel  106  when housing device  100  is in the open configuration.  
         [0053]    In yet another alternative implementation, one or more latches or locking mechanisms may be added to the front of main body  104  so that the main body  104  and easel  106  are latched together when housing  100  is in the closed configuration. Examples of latches include tabs on both easel  106  and main body  104 . These tabs each have an edge perpendicular to the tabs with the edge on one tab being engaged by the perpendicular edge on the other tab. To release this latch merely requires pushing the tabs apart so that their respective perpendicular edges are disengaged.  
         [0054]    One example of a locking mechanism includes screws to tighten the easel  106  and main body  104  together in the closed configuration. These latches and locking mechanisms assist in maintaining the tension on the cables and provide for a cleaner look of the device when installed in the closed configuration.  
         [0055]    Easel  106  also may be modified to contain serrated edges other than those previously described. More specifically, edges  124 ,  412  and  624  are generally parallel to connectors  503   a - 503   d . Additional serrated edges can be added to the sides of easel  106  that are perpendicular to connectors  503   a - 503   d.    
         [0056]    In yet another modification, main body  104  may be equipped with holes or tabs for mounting main body  104  directly onto a vertical or horizontal surface instead of easel  106 . Once main body is mounted onto the surface, easel  106  is attached and closed over main body  104 . The closing of easel  106  creates the bends in the wires and cables as previously described, and this, in turn, puts tension on the wires and cables to prevent them from coming loose from housing device  100 .  
         [0057]    Accordingly, other implementations are within the scope of the following claims.