Patent ID: 7966047

Claim:
A wireless terminal, comprising: a first housing member comprising a circuit in communication with a first serial communications data path; a second housing member attached to the first member, the second housing member comprising a first serial communications data path; and a hinge assembly attached to the first and second housing members to allow the first and second housing members to pivot between open and closed configurations, wherein the hinge assembly comprises a first electrical coupler that couples the first serial communications data path in the first housing member to the first serial communications data path in the second housing member to allow serial communications data transfer therebetween, wherein the first electrical coupler is configured to provide high-speed data transfer at a rate of at least about 0.1 Gigabyte/second between transmit and receive components in the first and second housing members, wherein the first electrical coupler comprises first and second electronic members in a closely spaced apart cooperating relationship to define a data transfer coupling between the first communications data paths of the first and second housing members, wherein the first and second electronic members of the first electrical coupler comprise first and second cooperating inductors that define a respective inductor pair configured to inductively couple the first member first data path to the second member first data path, and wherein the inductors of the inductor pair in the hinge assembly have a diameter of between about 1 μm to about 10 mm and a spacing of between about 1 μm to about 10 mm with a dielectric therebetween, wherein the hinge assembly includes a hinge with a cavity, and wherein the hinge assembly comprises a laterally extending rod that allows the first and second members to pivot between the open and closed positions, and wherein the rod extends through a center portion of closely spaced coils of the first and second inductors, wherein a non-conductive material resides between the rod and the first and second inductor coils, and wherein a thin dielectric material resides laterally between adjacent ends of the closely spaced first and second inductor coils, and wherein the hinge assembly further comprises an outer sleeve sized and configured to receive the rod and the first and second inductor coils, the sleeve being sized and configured to slidably enter the hinge cavity, the hinge cavity having an internal slide stop member that engages the sleeve to help place the inductors in position inside the hinge cavity and aligned with electrical traces.