Patent Application
20080112124
Advances in memory technology have made it possible to place a great deal of non-volatile memory storage into a physically small package. For example, so-called ‘flash drives’ may contain a gigabyte or more of flash memory in a package smaller than a pack of chewing gum. Connecting such devices to a computer through a universal serial bus (USB) interface is also popular. Since the package is small compared to a USB cable, such devices typically plug directly into a USB port without using a cable. For ease of handling, these USB storage devices are usually approximately rectangular, with the USB plug on the smallest side and the long dimension of the rectangle protruding out perpendicular to the side of the computer chassis. While this orientation makes plugging and unplugging the device easy, it also makes the device vulnerable to damage, since the protruding device can be hit by nearby objects. This is especially true when USB storage devices are used with laptop and notebook computers, which are frequently moved about and used in small spaces.
Some embodiments of the invention may be understood by referring to the following description and accompanying drawings that are used to illustrate embodiments of the invention. In the drawings:
In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth. However, it is understood that embodiments of the invention may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known circuits, structures and techniques have not been shown in detail in order not to obscure an understanding of this description.
References to “one embodiment”, “an embodiment”, “example embodiment”, “various embodiments”, etc., indicate that the embodiment(s) of the invention so described may include particular features, structures, or characteristics, but not every embodiment necessarily includes the particular features, structures, or characteristics. Further, some embodiments may have some, all, or none of the features described for other embodiments.
In the following description and claims, the terms “coupled” and “connected,” along with their derivatives, may be used. It should be understood that these terms are not intended as synonyms for each other. Rather, in particular embodiments, “connected” is used to indicate that two or more elements are in direct physical or electrical contact with each other. “Coupled” is used to indicate that two or more elements co-operate or interact with each other, but they may or may not be in direct physical or electrical contact.
As used in the claims, unless otherwise specified the use of the ordinal adjectives “first”, “second”, “third”, etc., to describe a common element, merely indicate that different instances of like elements are being referred to, and are not intended to imply that the elements so described must be in a given sequence, either temporally, spatially, in ranking, or in any other manner.
In some embodiments, the storage device 110 may be a storage device commonly referred to as a ‘flash drive’ (e.g., flash memory organized as a mass storage system). The relative overall dimensions and configuration of the body 130 may be significantly different than on conventional flash drives. In the illustrated storage device 110, both length (L) and width (W) are measured perpendicular to the insertion axis of the plug, which will make those two dimensions approximately parallel to the side of the device into which the storage device 110 is to be connected. The insertion axis is the direction in which the plug is moved when it is being inserted into a mating connector. Depth (D) is measured parallel to the insertion axis, and therefore perpendicular to L and W. This depth may include the handle 140. Various embodiments of the invention differ from conventional devices in that dimension D is smaller than L or W (in some embodiments much smaller), so that when the storage device is plugged into a computer system, the storage device only sticks out a short distance, while most of the bulk of the storage device is close to the surface of the computer system. In some embodiments, most of dimension D will be taken up by the handle, which may be smoothly contoured so that it will not catch or snag on other objects. In some embodiments, dimension D may be less than one-half inch, or even less than one-quarter inch.
Another factor that may influence the minimum depth D is the orientation of the integrated circuit(s) that are contained within the body.
The foregoing description is intended to be illustrative and not limiting. Variations will occur to those of skill in the art. Those variations are intended to be included in the various embodiments of the invention, which are limited only by the spirit and scope of the following claims.
