Patent Application
20080009181
The present invention relates generally to jumpers and more particularly to jumper installation feedback. The following description is presented to enable one of ordinary skill in the art to make and use the invention and is provided in the context of a patent application and its requirements. Various modifications to the implementations and the generic principles and features described herein will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art. Thus, the present invention is not intended to be limited to the implementations shown, but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and features described herein.
Jumpers are small metal devices, which are typically encased in non-conductive housing (e.g., plastic), that can be used to configure computer hardware, such as printed circuit boards (PCBs). Computer hardware can be configured by fitting a jumper over two or more pins on a surface of the computer hardware, which then shorts the pins together to complete an electrical circuit. The pins that are shorted together may set, for instance, the voltage or the speed of the computer hardware. Other terms that may be used to refer to jumpers include, for example, microjumpers and jumper shunts.
Installation of a jumper can sometimes be difficult when the computer hardware the jumper is to be installed on has been incorporated into a system (e.g., servers, desktops, workstations, laptops, etc.) due to low lighting conditions and/or hard to reach pin locations. Additionally, there is usually no way to know whether an installed jumper has proper electrical contact with the pins on the computer hardware simply by looking at the installed jumper.
Occasionally, jumpers that were properly installed at one point will need to be replaced because the internal connections within the jumpers have severed. It is typically not possible to identify which jumpers on a piece of computer hardware have failed merely by glancing at the piece of computer hardware.
Further, because pins on computer hardware are generally solely identified by a silk screen print on the computer hardware, which may be difficult to make out, it is sometimes hard to determine whether a jumper has been installed on the correct set of pins for the configuration desired. Moreover, identifying which jumper or jumpers on a piece of computer hardware correlate to a particular configuration becomes problematic as the number of jumpers on the piece of computer hardware increases.
Illustrated in
For purposes of simplifying the drawing, jumper 100 has been illustrated without certain elements, such as the metal within and connecting receptacles 108A and 108B. In other embodiments, jumper 100 may include additional receptacles and/or light pipes. Further, the arrangement of light pipe 106 and receptacles 108A-108B may be different in other implementations. As an example, light pipe 106 may be located substantially in between receptacles 108A-108B.
The size and shape of jumper 100, light pipe 106, and receptacles 108A-108B may also vary in other embodiments. For instance, light pipe 106 need not be cylindrical in shape and receptacles 108A-108B need not be rectangular in shape. Moreover, connecting face 102 and light-emitting face 104 may be substantially perpendicular rather than substantially parallel in another implementation of the invention. In such an embodiment, light pipe 106 may be slanted or curved in order to extend from connecting face 102 to light-emitting face 104.
By incorporating a light pipe into a jumper, installation feedback can be provided through the illumination of a light source, such as a light-emitting diode (LED), on a surface of a computer hardware when the jumper completes a circuit with pins on the surface of the computer hardware. The light from the computer hardware can then be transmitted through the light pipe of the jumper to indicate to an installer that the jumper is properly connected.
Using a jumper with a light pipe incorporated therein may also allow the installer to determine whether the jumper has been installed on the correct set of pins, for instance, by having different color LEDs on the surface of the computer hardware to denote the different computer hardware configurations. Further, locating a specific jumper may now be as easy as turning on a light source on the surface of the computer hardware that corresponds to the specific jumper. This may be accomplished through a controller that is incorporated into the piece of computer hardware or a controller that is external to the piece of computer hardware.
Computer hardware 210 includes pins 212A-212C and light sources 214A-214B. In one implementation, light sources 214A-214B are LEDs embedded into computer hardware 210. LEDs 214A-214B may be powered by an external power source (not shown) or a power source on computer hardware 210, such as a battery or capacitor. For purposes of simplification, computer hardware 210 has been depicted without particular components, such as integrated circuit (IC) chips, power sources, wires, etc. Other embodiments of computer hardware 210 may include different number and arrangement of pins and light sources.
As seen in
In another embodiment, LED 214B may be illuminated prior to insertion of jumper 200 on computer hardware 210 to assist the user in mounting jumper 200; for example, to help the user in identifying pins 212B-212C. Additionally, if light source 214B is illuminated before jumper 200 is mounted, light source 214B may change color when jumper 200 forms a circuit with pins 212B-212C to indicate that a proper connection has been made.
Shown in
In one embodiment, the light pipe is incorporated substantially between two of the plurality of receptacles. In another embodiment, the light pipe is incorporated substantially within a housing of the jumper. The housing of the jumper is a non-conductive portion of the jumper.
The light pipe is operable to transmit a light from a provided computer hardware from the connecting face of the jumper to the light-emitting face of the jumper in response to the jumper forming a circuit with the provided computer hardware in one implementation of the invention. In another implementation, the light pipe is operable to transmit the light in response to the jumper being selected for identification.
In a further implementation of the invention, the plurality of receptacles is operable to interface with a plurality of pins on a provided computer hardware and the light pipe is operable to transmit a light from the provided computer hardware from the connecting face of the jumper to the light-emitting face of the jumper in response to the plurality of receptacles interfacing with a particular subset of the plurality of pins on the provided computer hardware.
In one implementation, the light is transmitted from a connecting face of the jumper to a light-emitting face of the jumper through a light pipe substantially within (e.g., more than 50% within) the jumper. The connecting face of the jumper may be substantially perpendicular or substantially parallel to the light-emitting face of the jumper. Additionally, the light pipe may be substantially between a plurality of receptacles on the connecting face of the jumper.
The light from the provided computer hardware is transmitted through the jumper in response to the jumper being mounted on a particular set of pins on the provided computer hardware in one embodiment. In another embodiment, the light is transmitted through the jumper in response to the jumper being selected for identification.
Depicted in
In other embodiments, the number of receptacles and light pipes in jumper 500 may be increased or decreased. Additionally, one or both of light pipes 504A-504B may be external to housing 502. Further, the arrangement of receptacles 506A-506C and light pipes 504A-504B may be different. As an example, receptacles 506A-506C may be in a pyramid formation and light pipes 504A-504B may be located substantially below receptacles 506A-506C rather than substantially adjacent thereto. Moreover, the shape and size of light pipes 504A-504B and receptacles 506A-506C may be changed. For instance, each receptacle and light pipe may not necessarily be of the same shape and/or size as the other receptacle(s) and light pipe(s).
Jumper 600 comprises a housing 602, a light pipe 604 substantially within housing 602, and receptacles 606A and 606B. Receptacles 606A-606B in jumper 600, unlike receptacles 506A-506B, are not completely surrounded by a metal 608 that connects the two receptacles. As with jumper 500, many modifications may be made to jumper 600, such as adding more light pipes and/or receptacles, increasing or decreasing the sizes of light pipes and/or receptacles, changing the shapes of light pipes and/or receptacles, rearranging light pipe 604 and/or receptacles 606A-606B, etc.
An opening 710 is also included in jumper 700, which extends from connecting face 704 to a face opposite connecting face 704. Within opening 710 are two receptacles 712A and 712B formed by a metal 714. Similar to jumpers 100, 200, 500, and 600, other implementations of jumper 700 may include additional receptacles and/or light pipes, different shapes and/or sizes for receptacles and/or light pipes, which may affect the size and shape of jumpers, alternative arrangements of receptacles and/or light pipes, etc.
Various implementations for jumper installation feedback have been described. Nevertheless, one of ordinary skill in the art will readily recognize that various modifications may be made to the implementations, and any variations would be within the spirit and scope of the present invention. For example, the number and layout of receptacles and light pipes in jumpers may be changed without affecting the scope or operation of the invention. Accordingly, many modifications may be made by one of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the following claims.
