Patent Application
20150355678
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a docking station or port replicator, and more particularly to a docking station or port replicator including an organizing or docking structure for suitably receiving and storing or organizing the parts or elements and for connecting or coupling various electric or peripheral facilities together.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Various kinds of typical docking stations or port replicators have been developed and provided for connecting or coupling various electric or peripheral facilities together, such as the portable computers or notebooks, the personal computers or monitors, the speakers, the keyboards, the mouse facilities or the like to the ports or terminals or connectors of the docking stations or port replicators, and normally comprise a number of electric wires or cables for connecting or coupling the electric or peripheral facilities to the docking station or the like.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 8,185,681 to Downing et al., U.S. Pat. No. 8,427,826 to Sullivan, U.S. Pat. No. 8,559,172 to Byrne, and U.S. Pat. No. 8,619,419 to Zimmermann et al., disclose several of the typical docking stations each comprising a docking station body or casing, and a number of electric wires or cables for connecting or coupling the electric or peripheral facilities to the docking station.
However, the electric wires or cables may not be suitably received and organized or stored in place, such as may not be suitably received and organized or stored in the docking station body or casing, and are normally randomly disposed or supported on the table, and may affect the working of the users.
The present invention has arisen to mitigate and/or obviate the afore-described disadvantages of the conventional docking stations or port replicators.
The primary objective of the present invention is to provide a docking station including an organizing or docking structure for suitably receiving and storing or organizing the parts or elements and for connecting or coupling various electric or peripheral facilities together.
In accordance with one aspect of the invention, there is provided a docking station comprising a housing including a number of connectors provided thereon, and including at least two engaging elements provided therein, and including at least two engaging devices provided thereon for allowing two or more housings to be connected or coupled together.
The engaging elements are selected from holes or cavities formed in the housing. The cavities are preferably formed in a bottom portion of the housing. The engaging devices are selected from projections provided on the housing. The projections are preferably extended or protruded upwardly from an upper portion of the housing.
A receptacle may further be provided and includes at least two engaging members provided therein for engaging with the engaging elements of the housing and for stably supporting the housing on the receptacle and for preventing the housing from being disengaged from the receptacle.
The engaging members of the receptacle are preferably selected from protrusions extended upwardly from an upper portion of the receptacle for selectively engaging with the engaging elements of the housing. The receptacle includes a chamber formed therein for receiving various parts or elements, and includes at least one opening formed therein and communicating with the chamber of the receptacle for threading or engaging with the electric wires or cables or the like.
At least one electric facility may further be provided and includes at least one engaging mechanism provided therein for engaging with the engaging members of the receptacle and for solidly and stably anchoring and supporting the electric facility on the receptacle.
The engaging mechanism of the electric facility is preferably selected from a recess formed in a lower portion of the electric facility for engaging with the engaging members of the receptacle and for solidly and stably anchoring and supporting the electric facility on the receptacle. The electric facility is selected from a socket or the like.
At least one electric appliance may further be provided and includes at least one engaging mechanism provided therein for engaging with the engaging devices of the housing and for detachably or removably anchoring and supporting the electric appliance on the housing.
Further objectives and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from a careful reading of the detailed description provided hereinbelow, with appropriate reference to the accompanying drawings.
Referring to the drawings, and initially to
The docking station further comprises a docking station body or housing 30 including one or more engaging elements 31, such as holes or recesses or cavities 31 formed or provided in the lower or bottom portion 32 of the housing 30 for selectively engaging with the engaging members or protrusions 13 of the receptacle 10 and f and for solidly and stably anchoring and supporting the electric facility on the receptacle.ably or selectively or removably anchoring or retaining or positioning the housing 30 on the receptacle 10 and for preventing the housing 30 from being disengaged or separated or detached from the receptacle 10. The housing 30 further includes one or more engaging elements or devices 33, such as bulges or pegs or protrusions or projections 33 formed or provided therein, such as extended upwardly from the upper portion 34 of the housing 30.
For example, as shown in
As shown in
As shown in
The electric facilities or sockets 60 each may include an engaging hole 62 formed therein, and each may include an engaging bulges or projections or protrusions or pegs or keys 63 formed or provided therein for selectively plugging or engaging with the engaging hole 62 of the other electric facilities or sockets 60 and thus for allowing the electric facilities or sockets 60 to be plugged or engaged with each other or to be connected or coupled together and to be solidly and stably supported on the receptacle 10. It is to be noted that the housing 30 includes one or more engaging elements or cavities 31 formed or provided therein for selectively engaging with the engaging members or protrusions 13 of the receptacle 10, and includes one or more engaging devices or projections 33 formed or provided thereon for selectively engaging with the engaging mechanisms or depressions 41 of the other electric or peripheral facilities or appliances 40 and for allowing the receptacle 10 and the housing 30 and the electric appliances 40 to be coupled together.
Accordingly, the docking station in accordance with the present invention includes an organizing or docking structure for suitably receiving and storing or organizing the parts or elements and for connecting or coupling various electric or peripheral facilities together.
Although this invention has been described with a certain degree of particularity, it is to be understood that the present disclosure has been made by way of example only and that numerous changes in the detailed construction and the combination and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed.
