Patents Represented by Attorney Jefrey H. Canfield
  • Patent number: 5810606
    Abstract: An articulating connector assembly having a housing, a hub being carried in rotatable relation to the housing; and means for signal coupling between the housing and the hub. The signal coupling can consist of means such as optical coupling, inductive coupling, radio frequency coupling, capacitive coupling, and pressure wave coupling. In addition, the articulating connector assembly can further include power coupling which can be accomplished by siding contacts, inductively coupled coils, capacitively coupled electrodes, or optical transmitters and receivers on the hub and the housing. Furthermore, a method of efficiently transmitting and receiving signals between the housing and hub is provided. The method consists of (1) obtaining an input signal, by a signal driver, to produce a driven signal output; (2) coupling the driven signal output to produce a coupled signal; and (3) receiving the coupled signal, by a receiver, to produce an output signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 12, 1997
    Date of Patent: September 22, 1998
    Assignee: Methode Electronics, Inc.
    Inventors: Ronald L. Ballast, John A. DeFranco, Lawrence T. Rupert