Patents by Inventor Michael Crews

Michael Crews 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).

  • Method and system for hot docking a portable computer to a docking station via the primary PCI bus
    Patent number: 5933609
    Abstract: A portable computer and corresponding docking station, where the portable computer may be inserted into or removed from the docking station without concern relating to the state of either the portable computer or of the docking station. The hot docking sequence is performed by establishing a direct connection to the primary PCI bus without the risk of any possible system damage, file damage, or data loss. This can be accomplished even while the portable computer system is powered on and is actively running. The present invention prevents glitches from occurring in pre-existing pins and adds four new pins to implement this novel hot docking sequence. Furthermore, hot undocking can be readily performed as well by basically reversing the docking sequence.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 8, 1996
    Date of Patent: August 3, 1999
    Assignee: VLSI Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Gary Walker, Franklyn H. Story, David Evoy, Michael Crews, Peter Chambers