Patents by Inventor Frank McLinn

Frank McLinn has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • PC cards with integrated I/O communication receptacles
    Patent number: 6183307
    Abstract: A PC Card is provided which can be inserted in the PCMCIA slot of a host system either right side up or inverted. The card includes a front portion conforming to the PCMCIA Type II thickness standard and a rear portion conforming to the PCMCIA Type III thickness standard. The card is so configured that two cards can be stacked in complementary fashion and inserted in a host system Type III slot, one card thus being connected to one of the 68-pin slot connectors and the other card being connected to the other 68-pin slot connector. Circuitry is provided for use in an invertible PC Card for electronically detecting the presence, type and orientation of the card, for managing power supply voltages and for directing, or, if the card is inverted, for redirecting the signals appearing at the various pins of the card connector as necessary.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 7, 2000
    Date of Patent: February 6, 2001
    Assignee: Xircom, Inc.
    Inventors: Ian A. Laity, Gerald Pepper, James G. Hughes, Donald C. Barrett, Frank McLinn