Patent Description:
Computing devices may be connected to peripheral devices or other computing devices via a cable. The cable may include a plug to be received into a receptacle of the computing device or into a receptacle of the peripheral device. Some plugs are required to be inserted in one orientation in order to communicatively couple one device to another device.

<CIT> relates to determining the configuration of a connection between two devices by measuring an electrical characteristic. Using the measured electrical characteristic, a device is able to select an appropriate communication interface, such as serial, Universal Serial Bus (USB), FireWire, parallel, PS/<NUM>, etc., and configure itself appropriately. Systems and methods which determine the physical orientation of a connector with respect to another connector may also be provided alone or in combination with such systems and methods for selecting communication interfaces. The physical orientation of a connector can be determined by measuring an electrical characteristic and a device can then configure itself appropriately.

<CIT> relates to an A type symmetric USB receptacle. <CIT> relates to a dual orientation connector with external contacts. <CIT> relates to an external contact plug connector. <CIT> relates to a universal fit USB connector. <CIT> relates to an aircraft equipment configuration identification interface. <CIT> relates to headset connectors. <CIT> relates to a sensing devices with modular interconnection and programming. <CIT> relates to a reversible dual media adapter cable.

Aspects and embodiments of the invention are set out in the appended claims and enable a plug to be received into a receptacle in more than one orientation.

The same numbers are used throughout the disclosure and the figures to reference like components and features. Numbers in the <NUM> series refer to features originally found in <FIG>; numbers in the <NUM> series refer to features originally found in <FIG>; and so on.

The present disclosure relates generally to techniques for enabling a plug to be received into the receptacle in more than one orientation. In some embodiments, the plug includes contacts to provide power from one device to another device. In some embodiments, the contacts are be configured to provide data signals from one device to another. The plug may be operably inserted into the receptacle in more than one orientation. In some embodiments, the plug may be inserted in either a first orientation or a second orientation that is flipped at a degree of rotation compared to the first orientation. The contacts of the plug and the contacts of the receptacle may be disposed with rotational symmetry to enable the contacts of the plug to mate with the contacts of the receptacle independent of the orientation of the plug or receptacle. A detection mechanism may detect the orientation of the plug and cause the signals to the contacts of the receptacle to be assigned based on the orientation. In other embodiments, an orientation detection mechanism may be included in the connector and a signaling mechanism may be included in the plug or in the connector of a peripheral device. In some embodiments, a control channel between the two devices may enable a peripheral device to communicate the logical assignment of the contacts of the peripheral device as determined by the relative orientation of the contacts.

Rotational symmetry looks identical after a certain amount of rotations/degrees. The contact pattern looks the same after the rotation.

<FIG> is a block diagram of system including a host computing device <NUM> communicatively coupled to a peripheral device <NUM> via a cable <NUM>. The cable <NUM> may be configured to provide a signal from the host computing device <NUM> to the peripheral device <NUM>. The cable <NUM> may include a plug (not shown) configured to be received at a receptacle (not shown) of the host computing device <NUM>. The host computing device <NUM> may be, for example, a laptop computer, desktop computer, tablet computer, mobile device, server, or cellular phone, among others. The host computing device <NUM> may include a main processor <NUM> that is adapted to execute stored instructions, as well as a memory device <NUM> that stores instructions that are executable by the main processor <NUM>. The main processor <NUM> can be a single core processor, a multi-core processor, a computing cluster, or any number of other configurations. The main processor <NUM> may be implemented as Complex Instruction Set Computer (CISC) or Reduced Instruction Set Computer (RISC) processors, x86 Instruction set compatible processors, multi-core, or any other microprocessor or central processing unit (CPU). In some embodiments, the main processor <NUM> includes dual-core processor(s), dual-core mobile processor(s), or the like.

The memory device <NUM> can include random access memory (e.g., SRAM, DRAM, zero capacitor RAM, SONOS, eDRAM, EDO RAM, DDR RAM, RRAM, PRAM, etc.), read only memory (e.g., Mask ROM, PROM, EPROM, EEPROM, etc.), flash memory, or any other suitable memory systems. The instructions stored in the memory device <NUM> and that are executed by the main processor <NUM> may be used to detect the orientation of the plug of the cable <NUM> and route contacts of the receptacle of the host computing device <NUM> based on the orientation.

The main processor <NUM> may be connected through a system bus <NUM> (e.g., PCI, ISA, PCI-Express, HyperTransport®, NuBus, etc.) to an input/output (I/O) device interface <NUM> adapted to connect the host computing device <NUM> to a peripheral device <NUM> via the cable <NUM>. The peripheral device <NUM> may include, for example, a keyboard and a pointing device, wherein the pointing device may include a touchpad or a touchscreen, a peripheral device such as a camera, a media player, a printer, among others. The peripheral device <NUM> may be a host computing device similar to the host computing device <NUM>. The I/O device interface <NUM> may be configured to detect the orientation of the plug of the cable <NUM> and route contacts of the receptacle of the host computing device <NUM> based on the orientation.

The main processor <NUM> may also be linked through the system bus <NUM> to a display interface <NUM> adapted to connect the host computing device <NUM> to a display device <NUM>. The display device <NUM> may include a display screen that is a built-in component of the host computing device <NUM>. The display device <NUM> may also include a computer monitor, television, or projector, among others, that is externally connected to the host computing device <NUM>.

The host computing device <NUM> may also include a storage device <NUM>. The storage device <NUM> may include a physical memory such as a hard drive, an optical drive, a flash drive, an array of drives, or any combinations thereof. The storage device <NUM> may also include remote storage drives. The storage device <NUM> may also include an operating system <NUM>. The storage device <NUM> may store instructions thereon to detect the orientation of the plug of the cable <NUM> and route contacts of the receptacle of the host computing device <NUM> based on the orientation.

<FIG> is a block diagram illustrating a plug <NUM> and a receptacle <NUM> each with contacts <NUM>, <NUM> disposed with rotational symmetry about a center point <NUM>, <NUM>. The arrows <NUM>, <NUM> indicate the center point of each of the plug <NUM> and the receptacle <NUM>, respectively. The center points <NUM>, <NUM> may be a virtual center point without any physical representation on either the plug <NUM> or the receptacle. The plug <NUM> may include contacts <NUM> disposed with rotational symmetry about the center point <NUM>. As indicated by the arrows <NUM> the plug <NUM> may be rotated or flipped. The receptacle <NUM> may include contacts <NUM> disposed with rotational symmetry about the center point <NUM> to receive the plug <NUM> in either a first orientation or a second orientation at a degree of rotation compared to the first orientation. For example, the plug <NUM> may be right-side-up or up-side-down when received by the receptacle <NUM>. The contacts <NUM>, <NUM> may each be configured such that the receptacle <NUM> may receive the plug <NUM> in either a right-side-up orientation, or an up-side-down orientation rotated <NUM> degrees compared to the right-side-up orientation. The receptacle <NUM> may be located at a platform housing (not shown) of a computing device, such as the computing device <NUM> of <FIG>.

In some embodiments, a plug is scalable in size and number of contacts. In this embodiment, the receptacle <NUM> may be configured to receive a relatively smaller plug, such as the plug <NUM>. The plug <NUM> may include contacts <NUM> disposed about a center point indicated by the arrow <NUM>. The plug <NUM> may be flipped or rotated as indicated by the arrows <NUM>. The receptacle <NUM> may include an alignment feature <NUM>. In some embodiments, the alignment feature <NUM> may include a protrusion in line with the center point <NUM> of the receptacle configured to enable alignment of the plug <NUM> with the receptacle <NUM>. The protrusion <NUM> may be received in a recess <NUM> of the plug <NUM>. In other embodiments, the protrusion may be on the plug <NUM> and the recess may be on the receptacle <NUM>. In either embodiment, the receptacle <NUM> may be configured to receive scalable plugs <NUM>, <NUM> having any size equal to, or smaller than, the size of the receptacle <NUM>. Further, the alignment feature may be a receptacle sleeve to receive a plug as discussed below with reference to <FIG>.

<FIG> is a block diagram illustrating a receptacle <NUM> having a receptacle sleeve <NUM> to receive a scalable plug <NUM>, <NUM>. Similar to the plug <NUM> and receptacle <NUM> described in <FIG>, the receptacle <NUM> may have contacts <NUM>, disposed with rotational symmetry about a center point as indicated by the arrow <NUM>. Likewise, each of the plugs <NUM>, <NUM> may have contacts <NUM>, <NUM> disposed with rotational symmetry about a center point as indicated by the arrows <NUM>, <NUM>.

Each of the plugs <NUM>, <NUM> may be rotated or flipped. The receptacle <NUM> may include contacts <NUM> disposed with rotational symmetry about the center point <NUM> to receive either the plug <NUM>, or the plug <NUM>, in either a first orientation or a second orientation at a degree of rotation compared to the first orientation. In some embodiments, the plug <NUM> may be relatively smaller than the receptacle <NUM>. The receptacle <NUM> may include a receptacle sleeve <NUM> configured to receive either the plug <NUM> or the plug <NUM>. The receptacle sleeve <NUM> is a shape of the receptacle opening configured to enable to receive a plug of scalable size such as either plug <NUM>, or plug <NUM>.

<FIG> is a block diagram illustrating embodiments of contacts disposed with rotational symmetry. The contacts illustrated in <FIG> may be implemented on a plug and receptacle. As illustrated in <FIG>, the particular arrangement of contacts on one side of the center point, indicated by the arrows <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, may be variable as long as the arrangement of contacts on the opposite side of the center point <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, reflect a degree of rotation of the contacts on the original side of the center point <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>. For example, the arrangement of contacts <NUM>, where each of the contacts <NUM> is disposed directly adjacent to each other from left to right on each side of the center point <NUM>, reflect a <NUM> degree rotation of the contacts <NUM> on the left side of the center point <NUM>. The arrangement of contacts <NUM> illustrates a similar example where the contacts <NUM> are aligned with symmetry about the center point <NUM>. The arrangement of contacts <NUM> is not directly symmetrical about the center point <NUM> but the left side <NUM> of the contacts <NUM> reflects a <NUM> degree rotation of the contacts <NUM> on the right side <NUM> relative to the center point <NUM>. The rotational symmetry may enable a host computing system, such as the host computing system <NUM> of <FIG>, to identify various power signals and data signals in either the first orientation position or the second orientation position.

<FIG> is a block diagram illustrating contacts <NUM> disposed with rotational symmetry. In contrast to <FIG> where the contacts are disposed with a rotational symmetry of <NUM> degrees, <FIG> illustrates contacts <NUM> disposed with rotational symmetry of <NUM> degrees. The contacts <NUM> may be disposed with rotational symmetry on a plug or a receptacle. When rotated from a first orientation to a second orientation <NUM> degrees from the first orientation the contacts are arranged in a pattern that is identical to the arrangement of contacts in the first orientation.

<FIG> is a block diagram illustrating an embodiment of contacts <NUM> disposed with rotational symmetry communicatively coupled to voltage <NUM> and ground lines <NUM>. The contacts <NUM> are arranged in a single inline manner wherein each of the contacts <NUM> are adjacent to each other on a respective side of a center point as indicated by the arrow <NUM>. The contacts <NUM>, <NUM> are communicatively coupled to the voltage line <NUM> configured to provide power between a first device and a second device. The contacts <NUM>, <NUM> are communicatively coupled to the ground line <NUM>. Thus, the contacts <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> are arranged to allow a plug to be received at a receptacle in either the first orientation or the second orientation at a degree of rotation compared to the first orientation.

<FIG> illustrates an embodiment wherein the contacts <NUM> are arranged in a dual inline manner. The contact <NUM> is disposed above contact <NUM>, and the contact <NUM> is disposed below the contact <NUM>. The contacts <NUM>, <NUM> are communicatively coupled to a voltage line <NUM> configured to provide power between a first device and a second device. The contacts <NUM>, <NUM> are communicatively coupled to a ground line <NUM>. In this embodiment, the contacts <NUM> enable rotation of a plug to be received by a receptacle due to the rotational symmetry of the contacts <NUM> about a center point <NUM>.

<FIG> is a block diagram illustrating an embodiment of contacts <NUM> of a receptacle <NUM> disposed with rotational symmetry wherein one or more of the contacts connected to a detection circuitry <NUM>. The detection circuitry <NUM> is configured to determine whether the plug is inserted in the first orientation or the second orientation. The detection circuitry <NUM> is configured to receive a ground signal by a signaling mechanism in plug <NUM> configured to ground voltage applied to one of the contacts of the receptacle <NUM>. In <FIG> , the plug <NUM> is illustrated in the first orientation. In this embodiment, a first contact <NUM> of the receptacle <NUM> has voltage applied from a host computing device (not shown) to the first contact <NUM>. The contacts <NUM>, <NUM> may be connected to a ground line <NUM> configured to receive a ground via the plug <NUM>. The plug <NUM> may include a second contact <NUM> being grounded and configured to ground the voltage applied to the first contact <NUM>. For example, the contacts <NUM> of the plug <NUM> are disposed with rotational symmetry are received by the contacts <NUM> of the receptacle <NUM> in the first orientation. The contact <NUM> and the contact <NUM> may be coupled by a strapping mechanism <NUM> such as a wire or resistor to provide a DC path, or a capacitor to provide an AC path. When the plug <NUM> is received by the receptacle <NUM> voltage provided to the contact <NUM> is received by the contact <NUM> and the voltage is grounded by the ground signal connected to the contact <NUM>. When the voltage applied to the contact <NUM> is grounded by the contact <NUM> the detection circuitry <NUM> is configured to indicate that the plug <NUM> is received by the receptacle <NUM> in the first orientation. In embodiments, the detection circuitry <NUM> is configured to receive the plug <NUM> in the second orientation at a degree of rotation compared to the first orientation.

<FIG> is a block diagram illustrating an embodiment of contacts <NUM> of the plug <NUM> disposed with rotational symmetry in a second orientation. The detection circuitry <NUM> will not receive a ground signal by the signaling mechanism in plug <NUM> in the second orientation. In the second orientation, the receptacle <NUM> receives the plug at a degree of rotation, such as <NUM> degrees rotated with respect to the first orientation. The voltage applied to the contact <NUM> is not grounded by the contact <NUM> because the plug has been rotated <NUM> degrees with respect to the first orientation. Therefore, while the contact <NUM> may be communicatively coupled to the contact <NUM> of the receptacle, the voltage applied to the contact <NUM> of the receptacle is not grounded. When the voltage applied to the contact <NUM> of the receptacle is not grounded, the detection circuitry <NUM> indicates that the plug <NUM> is being received at the receptacle <NUM> in the second orientation at a degree of rotation compared to the first orientation.

In some embodiments, the grounding may be done at a remotely connected device such as the peripheral device <NUM> of <FIG>. In this embodiment, the detection circuitry <NUM> may be configured to monitor the states of contacts on the detecting end resulting in a logical table as follows: High-High = disconnected, Low-High = connected in the first orientation, and High-Low = connected in the second orientation.

In some embodiments, the contacts <NUM> of the plug <NUM> may be comprised of a first set of contacts <NUM> and a second set of contacts <NUM> on opposite sides of the center point <NUM>. The first set of contacts <NUM> may be mapped to first interface protocol and the second set of contacts <NUM> may be mapped to a second interface protocol identical to the first interface protocol. In this embodiment, the receptacle <NUM> may receive the plug <NUM> in either orientation, and determining the orientation may facilitate determining one or more lane mappings for each of the first interface protocol and the second interface protocol with respect to the first set of contacts <NUM> and the second set of contacts <NUM>. For example, the first set of contacts <NUM> may be mapped to a first USB interface protocol, and the second set of contacts <NUM> may be mapped to a second USB interface protocol. The detection circuitry <NUM> may facilitate selection control circuitry, discussed in more detail below, to change connection paths and assign lanes associated with the first and second USB interface protocols to the first set of contacts <NUM> and the second set of contacts <NUM>, respectively. As another example, the first set of contacts <NUM> may be mapped to a first PCIe protocol, and the second set of contacts <NUM> may be mapped to a second PCIe protocol. The selection control circuitry, described in more detail below, may assign lanes associated with the first and second PCIe protocols to the first set of contacts <NUM> and the second set of contacts <NUM>, respectively.

In some embodiments, one or more of the contacts are active when the contacts are all being used for power transmission and when there are functionally similar contacts on an opposite side. For example, a first contact may be connected to a voltage source and a second contact, disposed on the opposite side of the center point, may also be connected to a voltage source. When the plug is received at the receptacle, both of the first and second contact may be active because they are rotationally symmetric with respect to one another, as well as functionally identical. However, in an alternative embodiment, the contacts are used for data transmission, in which case not all of the contacts are required to be active so long as the connection between the plug and the receptacle do not cause any functional issues during the period prior to the detection of orientation. For example, at least one of the contacts may be used for data transmission. The contact used for data transmission may remain inactive until orientation is detected and connection paths have been selected.

<FIG> illustrates an embodiment of contacts <NUM> of a plug <NUM> disposed with rotational symmetry, wherein the contacts <NUM> are connected to a selection control circuitry <NUM>. The selection control circuitry <NUM> is configured to change a connection path coupled to the contacts <NUM> based on whether the plug (not shown) is inserted in the first orientation or the second orientation. The selection control circuitry <NUM> may include a first connection path <NUM> communicatively coupled to the contacts <NUM> in the first orientation. The selection control circuitry <NUM> may include a second connection path <NUM> communicatively coupled to the contacts <NUM> in the second orientation. The selection control circuitry <NUM> may include a switch <NUM> to change between the first and second connection paths based on the orientation determined by the determination circuitry.

<FIG> illustrates a block diagram of a method <NUM> for receiving a plug in either a first orientation or a second orientation. The method <NUM> may include receiving <NUM> a plug at a receptacle, the receptacle including contacts disposed with a rotational symmetry about a center point of the receptacle. The plug may include contacts disposed with rotational symmetry about a center point of the plug.

The method <NUM> may also include determining <NUM>, via detection circuitry, any orientation of the plug inserted into the receptacle. The method <NUM> may also include changing, via selection control circuitry, a connection path coupled to the contacts based on the orientation of the plug. The plug may be received in either a first orientation or a second orientation. The difference between the first orientation and the second orientation may be a degree of rotation from the first orientation to the second orientation.

The receptacle may be communicatively coupled to a host computing device. The method <NUM> may further include applying, via the host computing device, voltage to a first contact of the receptacle. The method may also include grounding second contact of the plug to ground the voltage applied to the first contact when the plug is in the first orientation. The method <NUM> may also include determining the voltage applied to the first contact is grounded by the second contact to indicate the plug is inserted in the first orientation. The method <NUM> may also include determining the voltage applied to the first contact is not grounded by the second contact to indicate that the plug is inserted in the second orientation.

In some embodiments, the voltage applied to the first contact is grounded at a peripheral device. In this embodiment, voltage is applied to a third contact as well as the first contact. The third contact may be disposed on the opposite side of the center point relative to the first contact. The detection circuitry may indicate that the receptacle is not connected to the plug when neither of the first contact nor the second contact is grounded. The detection circuitry may indicate that the plug is connected to the receptacle in the first orientation when the first contact is grounded but the second contact is not grounded. The detection circuitry may also indicate that the plug is connected to the receptacle in the second orientation when the third contact is grounded but the first contact is not grounded.

The method <NUM> may also include communicatively coupling, via the selection control circuitry, a first connection path to the contacts. The method <NUM> may also include communicatively coupling, via the selection control circuitry, a second connection path to the contacts. The method <NUM> may also include changing, via a switch of the selection control circuitry, between the first and second the connection paths based on the orientation determined by the determination circuitry.

Claim 1:
A receptacle (<NUM>) configured to be communicatively coupled to a host computing device (<NUM>) comprising:
contacts (<NUM>) arranged in a first rotationally symmetrical pattern and configured to mate with contacts (<NUM>) in a plug (<NUM>) when contacts in the plug are arranged in a second rotationally symmetrical pattern, and when the plug (<NUM>) is inserted into the receptacle (<NUM>), wherein the receptacle is configured such that the plug (<NUM>) can be inserted into the receptacle (<NUM>) in one of a first orientation and a second orientation <NUM> degrees of rotation relative to the first orientation;
detection circuitry (<NUM>) to determine an orientation of the plug (<NUM>) when inserted into the receptacle (<NUM>), wherein the detection circuitry (<NUM>) includes,
a first contact (<NUM>) of the receptacle (<NUM>) coupled to a first resistor to be coupled to a voltage source in the host computing device (<NUM>) via the first resistor when the receptacle (<NUM>) is communicatively coupled to the host computing device (<NUM>); and
a second contact (<NUM>) in the receptacle (<NUM>) to be coupled to ground in the host computing device (<NUM>) when the receptacle (<NUM>) is communicatively coupled to the host computing device (<NUM>); and
wherein, when the plug (<NUM>) includes third and fourth contacts (<NUM>, <NUM>) having a second resistor (<NUM>) coupled therebetween and when the receptacle (<NUM>) is communicatively coupled to the host computing device (<NUM>): when the plug (<NUM>) is orientated in the first orientation, the third (<NUM>) contact of the plug (<NUM>) is coupled to the first contact (<NUM>) of the receptacle (<NUM>) and the fourth (<NUM>) contact of the plug (<NUM>) is coupled to ground via the second contact (<NUM>) of the receptacle (<NUM>) and a voltage level at the first contact (<NUM>) is at a first voltage level, and wherein when the plug (<NUM>) is orientated in the second orientation a voltage level at the first contact (<NUM>) is at a second voltage level that is higher than the first voltage level.