This relates generally to electronic devices and, more particularly, to electronic devices that have connector ports coupled to cables and other accessories.
Electronic devices such as computers generally have input-output ports. Cables may be used to attach peripherals to the input-output ports. For example, when it is desired to attach a peripheral such as printer to a computer, one end of a cable may be plugged into the printer and the other end of the cable may be plugged into an input-output port on the computer.
Input-output ports are typically located on rear portions of a computer to hide the ports and the cables that are coupled to the ports from view by a user of the computer. Although it is desirable to locate input-output ports on the rear of a computer from an aesthetic standpoint, doing so poses challenges when it is necessary to plug cables into the ports. The rear of the computer may be located close to a wall or other obstruction that restricts access. As a result, it may be difficult or impossible for a user to view the input-output ports on a computer while attempting to plug cables into these ports. The inability to clearly view the input-output ports can make proper insertion of a cable into a suitable port a frustrating trial-and-error process. These difficulties can be magnified for ports that only accept plugs in a particular orientation, because a user may not be able to tell whether a plug is failing to mate with a port because the plug is offset from the plug or because the plug is misoriented.
It would therefore be desirable to be able to provide ways in which to assist a user when plugging cables or other accessories into the input-output ports of an electronic device.
An electronic device may be provided with a housing. The housing may have a front face and a rear face. A display or other visual output device may be located on the front face. Input-output ports may be mounted on the rear face or other portion of the housing.
The electronic device may have control circuitry and input-output devices. The input-output devices may include sensors, camera equipment, and other resources that the control circuitry uses to monitor the location of the plug relative to the input-output port.
The input-output devices may also include a display such as a display on the front face of the housing, a light-emitting diode array such as a light-emitting diode array on the front face of the housing, a speaker, or other visual or audio output device. The control circuitry can use the output device to provide a user with plug alignment assistance information. The plug alignment assistance information can be provided visually, using audio, or using other output.
Plug alignment assistance information can include information that helps the user align the plug with a port and may be based on information on the location of the plug relative to the input-output ports and based on information on which ports are available.
An electronic device may have input-output ports. Devices with connectors may be plugged into the input-output ports. The input-output ports may be located on the rear of a device or other location that is difficult to view. To help a user who is interested in plugging a connector into one of the input-output ports, the electronic device may provide on-screen information on where a plug is located relative to the input-output ports or may provide other connector alignment assistance. The connector alignment assistance may be visual information, audio information, or other feedback that helps the user align the plug with respect to an appropriate input-output port on the device.
An illustrative electronic device of the type that may provide a user with connector alignment assistance is shown in
Housing 12, which may sometimes be referred to as an enclosure or case, may be formed of plastic, glass, ceramics, fiber composites, metal (e.g., stainless steel, aluminum, etc.), other suitable materials, or a combination of any two or more of these materials. Housing 12 may be formed using a unibody configuration in which some or all of housing 12 is machined or molded as a single structure or may be formed using multiple structures (e.g., an internal frame structure, one or more structures that form exterior housing surfaces, etc.).
Display 14 may be a touch screen display that incorporates a layer of conductive capacitive touch sensor electrodes or other touch sensor components (e.g., resistive touch sensor components, acoustic touch sensor components, force-based touch sensor components, light-based touch sensor components, etc.) or may be a display that is not touch-sensitive. Capacitive touch screen electrodes may be formed from an array of indium tin oxide pads or other transparent conductive structures. Display 14 may include an array of display pixels formed from liquid crystal display (LCD) components, an array of electrophoretic display pixels, an array of plasma display pixels, an array of organic light-emitting diode display pixels, an array of electrowetting display pixels, or display pixels based on other display technologies.
Accessories such as keyboard 16 and mouse 18 may be used to provide input to display 14. Stand 20 may be used to support housing 12 and display 14. If desired, device 10 may be mounted on a wall (e.g., stand 20 may be omitted). Accessories such as accessory 22 may be coupled to input-output ports on device 10. The input-output ports may be located on the rear of housing 12 (i.e., on rear face 12R of housing 12) or elsewhere in device 10. Accessory 22 may be a printer, a data storage device, a keyboard, a touch pad, stylus tablet, a mouse, a music keyboard, a scanner, a camera, a video camera, an ancillary display, audio equipment, a digital media reader such as a card reader, a memory key, a wireless dongle, or other electronic device. Accessory 22 may have a connector. The connector may located at the end of a cable such as cable 26 or may be formed as part of accessory housing 24. Accessory connectors, which may sometimes be referred to as plugs, may be male connectors, female connectors, reversible connectors, connectors that have a particular orientation, connectors that have both male and female portions. Configurations in which accessory 22 has a male connector are sometimes described herein as an example. In general, accessory 22 may have any suitable plug for mating with a corresponding connector in an input-output port of device 10.
As shown in the illustrative configuration of
Electronic device 10 may, in general, be a computing device such as a laptop computer, a computer monitor containing an embedded computer, a tablet computer, a cellular telephone, a media player, or other handheld or portable electronic device, a smaller device such as a wrist-watch device, a pendant device, a headphone or earpiece device, a device embedded in eyeglasses or other equipment worn on a user's head, or other wearable or miniature device, a television, a computer display that does not contain an embedded computer, a gaming device, a navigation device, an embedded system such as a system in which electronic equipment with a display is mounted in a kiosk or automobile, equipment that implements the functionality of two or more of these devices, or other electronic equipment. The illustrative electronic devices of
A schematic diagram of electronic device 10 and accessory 22 is shown in
Device 10 may include control circuitry such as storage and processing circuitry 32. Storage and processing circuitry 32 may include storage such as hard disk drive storage, nonvolatile memory (e.g., flash memory or other electrically-programmable-read-only memory configured to form a solid state drive), volatile memory (e.g., static or dynamic random-access-memory), etc. Processing circuitry in storage and processing circuitry 32 may be used to control the operation of device 10. This processing circuitry may be based on one or more microprocessors, microcontrollers, digital signal processors, baseband processor integrated circuits, application specific integrated circuits, etc.
Control circuitry such as storage and processing circuitry 32 may be used to run software on device 10, such as internet browsing applications, email applications, media playback applications, operating system functions, software for processing data from input devices, software for providing a user with information using output devices, etc.
Device 10 may include input-output devices 34. Input-output devices 34 may be used to allow data to be supplied to device 10 and to allow data to be provided from device 10 to external devices. One or more input devices in input-output devices 34 (e.g., sensors, cameras, etc.) may be used to gather input on the location of plug 28. One or more output devices in input-output devices 34 (e.g., visual output devices such as displays or light-emitting diodes, audio output devices, etc.) may provide visual and/or audio output to a user (e.g., plug alignment assistance).
Input-output devices 34 may include communications port circuitry for communicating with external equipment such as accessory 22 via input-output port 30 and plug 28. Input-output devices 34 may also include user interface devices and other circuitry for gathering input and for providing output to a user. For example, input-output devices may include touch screens, displays without touch sensor capabilities, buttons, joysticks, scrolling wheels, touch pads, key pads, keyboards, microphones, acoustic sensors, cameras and other imaging systems for capturing two-dimensional and/or three-dimensional images, speakers, status indicators, light-emitting diodes and other light sources, light sensors, accelerometers or other components that can detect motion and device orientation relative to the Earth, capacitance sensors, proximity sensors (e.g., a capacitive proximity sensor and/or an infrared proximity sensor), magnetic sensors, a connector port sensor or other sensor that determines whether plug 28 has been plugged into port 30, temperature sensors (thermal sensors), etc.
Ports 30 may include any suitable types of input-output ports such as Universal Serial Bus (USB) ports or other digital data ports, audio ports such as headphone and microphone ports (e.g., ports using ⅛″ connectors such as tip-ring-sleeve connectors or tip-ring-ring-sleeve connectors), Thunderbolt ports, DisplayPort ports or other ports for digital display connectors, Ethernet ports or other networking ports, or other ports.
In the
Particularly when a user is unable to view ports 30, it can be difficult to insert a plug such as plug 28-1 into a satisfactory mating port. It can be difficult to laterally align plug 28-1 to port 30-1, it can be difficult to rotationally align plug 28-1 to port 30-1, it can be difficult to determine whether plug 28-1 is oriented properly with respect to port 30-1 (i.e., to determine whether plug 28-1 is right-side up or upside down, etc.), it can be difficult to determine which ports are unoccupied, and it can be difficult to determine which ports are of the same type as plug 28-1.
These issues can be addressed by providing a user of device 10 with plug (connector) alignment assistance. Plug alignment assistance information can be provided visually, audibly, using text, using graphics, using information on a display, using audio information presented through speakers, using tones, using vibrations, using synthesized or recorded audio clips (e.g., spoken instructions), using light-emitting diodes or other status indicator lights, using an array of light-emitting diodes (e.g., light-emitting diodes located behind corresponding perforations in display 12), or using combinations of these approaches. During operation of device 10 (e.g., after display 14 on the front of device 10 has been powered, but before plug 28 has been satisfactorily inserted in an available input-output port 30), cameras, sensors, or other equipment may be used in gathering input on the location of plug 28 relative to ports 30. Ports 30 can also be analyzed to determine which ports are of the same type as plug 28 and are not currently occupied by other plugs.
Based on information on the relative position of plug 28 and available port(s) 30, device 10 (e.g., storage and processing circuitry 32) may determine how plug 28 should be moved to successfully align plug 28 with port 30 and thereby insert plug 28 into port 30. Consider, as an example, a situation in which plug 28 is laterally misaligned with respect to input-output port 30. In this type of situation, device 10 may display information on display 14 or other visual output device (e.g., an array of light-emitting diodes, etc.) such as visual alignment assistance information 50 of
Alignment assistance information 50 may include a visual representation of the location of port 30 such as port location indicator 52 and a visual representation of plug 28 such as plug location indicator 54. Port location indicator (icon) 52 and plug location indicator (icon) 54 may be placed at locations on display 14 on the front of device 10 that are proportional to the relative positions of plug 28 and port 30 on the hidden rear of device 10. If desired, direction indicators may be displayed to indicate to the user the direction in which plug 28 should be moved to align plug 28 with port 30.
In the
If desired, the visual alignment assistance information can include additional information such as additional information 60. Information 60 may include text, graphics, video (e.g., a video clip or an animation), or other supplemental information. As an example, text may be displayed that states “move plug to left” or “move plug to right” until alignment is achieved. Once plug 28 and port 30 have been satisfactorily aligned, text may be displayed that states “insert plug now.” Upon confirmation of successful insertion of the plug, text may be displayed that states “plug inserted correctly” to confirm to the user that the plug insertion process has been completed successfully. Information 60 may also contain information about the location of available ports (e.g., “all ports occupied already” or “two USB ports available”), may contain a video clip of an instructor providing useful guidance on the plug insertion process or other device setup operations.
In some situations, a user may misorient plug 28 (i.e., when plug is an orientation-specific plug that can only be used in one orientation). For example, plug 28 may be an orientation-specific plug that is rotationally misaligned by 180° with respect to port 30. In this situation, plug 28 is flipped relative to the proper orientation for plug insertion, so the user will not be able to insert plug 28 into port 30 even if plug and port 30 are laterally aligned. To help the user properly orient plug 28 relative to port 30, visual alignment assistance 50 of the type shown in
It may be desirable for device 10 to obtain knowledge of which ports are available and which ports are occupied by plugs. The presence and absence of plugs can be detected using plug sensors, by monitoring for communications traffic on each port, or other techniques. Consider, as an example, port 30 of
Input-output circuitry 68 may include digital data port circuitry (e.g., USB communications circuitry), audio circuitry, or other storage and processing circuitry 30 or circuitry associated with input-output devices 34 (
If desired, sensors such as sensor 70 may be used in monitoring for the presence of plugs in port 30. Sensor 70 may be a contact switch that is actuated whenever plug 28 is inserted into opening 64, may be a magnetic sensor that detects the presence of a magnet in plug 28, may be a magnetic sensor that detects electromagnetic signals associated with the flow of signals and currents through port 30, may be a capacitive sensor or light-based sensor that detects the presence and absence of plug 28 or may be implemented using other suitable plug presence detection sensor arrangements.
Device 10 may have multiple input-output ports 30 each of which has a corresponding input-output circuit such as circuit 68 of
The presence of occupied (and therefore unavailable) ports such as the first port of
If desired, port location information can be suppressed or can include information indicating that the port is occupied (e.g., the X of
In devices such as set-top boxes, desktop computers, and other equipment that does not include an internal display, it may be desirable to provide the device with the ability to display visual connector alignment assistance information. Visible connector alignment assistance 50 may be displayed using visual output components such as light-emitting diodes. As an example, an array of light-emitting diodes may be mounted on front face 12F of housing 12 or other portion of housing 12 in device 10. As the user aligns plug 28 with input-output port on rear face 12R of housing 12, the array of light-emitting diodes may be used to display visual plug alignment assistance information 50 (e.g., plug location indicator 54, input-output port location indicator 52, direction indicator 58, etc.). Visual assistance information 50 may be presented using a small number of light-emitting diodes (e.g., one, two, or three or more light emitting diodes of one or more colors) or may be represented using a larger array of multiple light-emitting diodes (e.g., a light emitting diode array having multiple rows and columns such as tens or hundreds of rows and/or columns).
Light-emitting diodes in the array may be mounted behind a plastic window in a metal housing, behind clear windows in an opaque plastic housing, within holes in housing 12, on external portions of housing 12, or using other suitable mounting techniques. As an example, housing 12 may have a portion such as front wall 12F of
To determine the location of plug 28 relative to input-output ports 30, device 10 may include sensors and/or other equipment that can gather information on the location of plug 28 in real time. As shown in
Components 80 may include light-based proximity sensor, capacitive proximity sensors, light sources, light detectors, acoustic sensors (e.g., acoustic proximity sensing devices that include one or more tone generators such as ultrasonic tone generators and one or more microphones to detect reflected ultrasonic signals), cameras and other imaging systems for capturing two-dimensional and/or three-dimensional images, accelerometers or other components that can detect motion and device orientation relative to the Earth, magnetic sensors, thermal sensors, resistive sensors, switches (e.g., switches that switch from open to closed or from closed to open upon application of pressure), or other equipment for gathering information on the location of plug 28. The information that is gathered on plug 28 may include information on the lateral alignment of plug 28 relative to port(s) 30 (e.g., distance in X and Y relative to port(s) 30), orientation (e.g., whether plug 28 is oriented properly or is flipped 180° with respect to port 30), rotational alignment (e.g., whether rotational adjustments to plug position are needed), and distance (in dimension Z) between plug 28 and port 30. In some systems, coarse information may be detected (e.g., whether plug 28 is closer to a first port or a second port). In other systems, more fine-grained information may be gathered. For example, device 10 can accurately measure how far plug 28 is located away from port 30, so that alignment assistance information 50 can include an accurate visual representation of the location of plug 28 relative to the location of port 30.
Device 10 and include sensors and other equipment for measuring the location of plug 28 without the active participation of components on plug 28 or one or more portions of plug 28 may be configured to help device 10 determine the location of plug 28. As shown in
Emitter 80E may emit static or dynamic magnetic fields (e.g., emitter 80E may be a permanent magnet or an electromagnet), may emit radio-frequency signals, may emit other electromagnetic signals, may emit light, may emit visible light, may emit infrared light, or may supply other signals 82. Detectors 80D may be detectors that detect and measure signals 82. For example, if signals 82 are static magnetic signals, detectors 80D may be magnetic sensors. If signals 82 are light signals (e.g., fixed or modulated infrared signals), detectors 80D may be photodetectors that are sensitive to infrared light. During operation, the strength of the signals from sensors 80D may be detected and compared. The respective signal strength from each detector 80D may be used to determine where plug 28 is located relative to the ports in which detectors 80D are located. Optical sensors (e.g., optical detectors 80D, optical emitters 80E, etc.) may operate at visible wavelengths and/or infrared wavelengths.
In the illustrative configuration of
In the example of
As shown in
In configurations for device 10 that include multiple input-output ports 30, there may be a separate emitter-detector pair for each port. The presence or absence of plug 28 at each port can be monitored by comparing the signal strengths associated with each emitter-detector pair. If desired, coverage may be provided using more emitter-detector pairs that input-output ports or fewer emitter-detector pairs than input-output ports. Configurations in which emitters and/or detectors are shared among multiple ports may also be used (e.g., a single microphone may be used to gather reflected acoustic signals from multiple different ultrasonic tone sources or a single detector may monitor reflected light from multiple different light-emitting diodes, a single light source may produce light that is reflected into multiple different detectors, a single tone generator may generate ultrasonic signals that are received by multiple microphones, etc.).
If desired, one or more cameras may be used in monitoring the location of plug 28, as illustrated by cameras 80D in device 10 of
At step 90, device 10 (control circuitry 32) may detect the presence of plug (connector) 28. For example, the resources of input-output devices 34 (e.g., a sensor, camera, etc.) may detect that plug 28 is present in the vicinity of input-output ports 30. A user may also manually invoke connector alignment assistance functions on device 10 (e.g., by selecting an on-screen option, by supplying device 10 with a voice command, by entering information into a keyboard or other input-output device, etc.). If desired, device 10 (control circuitry 32) may also automatically invoke connector alignment assistance operations based on other criteria (e.g., detecting that a peripheral is present in the vicinity of device 10 through a wireless link, detecting that new hardware is being added to device 10, detecting that device 10 has been powered up, etc.). During connector alignment assistance operations, device 10 (e.g., control circuitry such as storage and processing circuitry 32) may use input-output devices 34 to gather input and supply output to a user. Output may be supplied visually (e.g., using display 14, using an array of light-emitting diodes such as diodes associated with perforations in housing 12, using status indicator lights, etc.), may be supplied using sound (e.g., audible output may be provided using speakers, tone generators, voice synthesis equipment, audio clip playback circuitry, etc.), or may be supplied using both visible and audio output arrangements.
At step 92, control circuitry 32 may use an input device in input-output devices 34 to gather input on the position of plug 28. Control circuitry 32 may, for example, use sensor(s), camera(s), or other input devices in input-output devices 34 to monitor the location of plug (connector) 28. Information may be gathered on the position of plug 28 in dimensions X, Y, and, if desired, dimension Z. Information may also be gathered on the rotational alignment of plug 28 relative to input-output ports 30. Control circuitry 32 may identify the type of plug that is being plugged into input-output ports. Using information on data traffic, connector sensors, or other equipment, control circuitry 32 can identify which input-output ports 30 are available for use by the user. Port availability can be based on the type of plug being presented to device 10 (i.e., only available USB ports can be identified in response to determining that plug 28 is a USB port), available ports can be based on which ports are currently unoccupied by connectors, etc.
At step 94, control circuitry 32 may determine the location of plug 28 relative to the available input-output ports 30 of device 10. If, for example, a single USB port is available for use by a USB plug, control circuitry 32 can determine the location of the USB plug relative to that USB port. Once the location of plug 28 relative to each available port has been determined, control circuitry 32 can provide the user with plug alignment assistance information. Assistance for inserting connector 28 into available input-output ports 30 may be provided visually (e.g., by displaying identifiers or other information on display 14 or an array of light-emitting diodes on housing front face 12F), may be provided using audio information (e.g., by playing instructions or other audio information for the user through speakers), etc. The plug (connector) alignment assistance information preferably provides the user with information on how plug 28 can be translated and/or rotated so that plug 28 can be brought into proper alignment with a given one of the available input-output ports (i.e., the alignment assistance can help the user align and mate plug 28 with an appropriate input-output port 30). The user need not view input-output port 30 directly during the plug alignment process, because the sensor circuitry, camera equipment, or other resources of input-output devices 34 can guide the user even when plug 28 and the input-output ports of device 10 are blocked from view.
The foregoing is merely illustrative and various modifications can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the described embodiments. The foregoing embodiments may be implemented individually or in any combination.