Supports – Brackets – Specially mounted or attached
Reexamination Certificate
2000-09-08
2001-12-04
King, Anita (Department: 3632)
Supports
Brackets
Specially mounted or attached
C248S694000, C248S918000, C361S689000, C361S689000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06325346
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention generally relates to a keyboard mounting apparatus and method for stowing a keyboard on a sub-compact, computer-based information appliance. In particular, the apparatus includes an extending portion located at the rear of the appliance housing and a corresponding interlocking portion located on the keyboard which allows a user to easily stow and retrieve the keyboard from the housing of the appliance.
BACKGROUND OF INVENTION
Computers have developed from early room-sized mainframes, to personal computers which occupy a portion of a desktop, to early portable “suit case” designs, including the smaller “laptop”, “notebook” and “sub-compact” designs. While early portables were bulky and inefficient, the more recent laptops, notebooks and personal digital assistants (PDA) have improved considerably due to the implementation of a portable battery supply, light weight circuitry and computer storage devices in a compact housing which is easily transported by the user. “Notebook” personal computers have increasingly advanced to provide substantially all the functions of conventional desktop computers. As a result of the reduction of the size of the latest portable computing devices, designers have attempted to reduce the size of the keyboard so that it conforms to the overall size of the system.
Some designers have chosen to reduce the size of the keys and thus the keyboards, while others have chosen to eliminate or combine certain functions provided in more conventional keyboards. Other methods have been proposed and implemented to provide a full function keyboard or keyboard function to these smaller computing devices including, for example, hinged and folding keyboards, touch screen keyboards and various screen activation systems.
In response to consumer demand and technological advances, increasingly smaller and specialized computing devices have been designed. Users have embraced the smaller PDAs and the like which, while designed to provide a lesser number of capabilities than personal computers (PCs), provide the most essential and used computer functions in a design which may be carried in a pocket. The specialized functions may include scheduling functions, an address database, spreadsheet applications and simple word processing or note producing applications. These devices, which are typically referred to as digital information devices, computer information appliances, etc, by nature are special use devices. Many of these specialized computing devices combine PDA-like functions with more powerful applications, like full feature Internet connectivity and e-mail capability. In such a case, it would be desirable to have both a touch screen functionality like that provided by a PDA for simple tasks like retrieving a phone number or a calendar, and a convenient keyboard arrangement for other functions such as composing long e-mails, documents or the like. To that end, it would be useful to be able to quickly stow and retrieve the associated keyboard in a convenient manner.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is directed to providing a mounting apparatus for stowing a keyboard on a housing of a personal computing appliance. In one embodiment, the personal computing appliance includes a housing. The housing includes a front panel with a display and a back panel opposite the front. An extended mounting portion is located on the back panel of the housing. The extended mounting portion includes a recess which may be located in the top side of the extended mounting portion. The recess defines a pocket. The pocket may also include an opening. The opening may extend in a horizontal direction to define a slot.
A keyboard module includes a main body portion with a plurality of keys and an extending tab portion. The tab portion is located on the underside of the keyboard main body. The tab portion may be substantially parallel to and spaced apart from the keyboard main body underside to form a hook-like feature. The tab portion on the keyboard is inserted into the recess in the extended mounting portion of the housing to mount or stow the keyboard at the rear of the housing of the personal computing appliance.
Another embodiment of the present invention includes the housing being provided with a foldable stand, leg or bracket which is extendable to maintain the housing in a generally upright position. The stand may be folded flush against the housing or into a recess formed into the housing to permit the housing to be used in a generally flat or horizontal position.
In another embodiment of the present invention, the extended mounting portion on the housing includes an extending spacing tab. The extended spacing tab extends outwardly from the extended mounting portion to contact the underside of the keyboard module when the keyboard module is stowed on the housing of the personal computing appliance. In this manner, the keyboard module main body is maintained at an angle away from the housing. In one embodiment, the angle is about 80° with respect to horizontal. The spacing tab also serves to maintain the housing at an angle of about 10° from the horizontal when the housing is placed back side down or lowered into a generally flat position with the display facing generally upwardly. In yet another embodiment, the spacing tab is a plurality of tabs.
In yet another embodiment, the extended portion on the housing is a detachable shroud.
In yet another embodiment, the present invention includes a method of stowing a keyboard module on the housing of a personal computing appliance. In the method, a keyboard module is provided with a main body having a tab portion on an underside. The housing portion includes an extending portion on a back panel of the housing adapted to receive the tab portion. The method includes engaging the tab portion of the keyboard module main body with the extending portion of the housing to stow the keyboard module when the housing of the personal computing appliance is in a generally upright position.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4899971 (1990-02-01), Elkin
patent: 4946121 (1990-08-01), Troke
patent: 5055839 (1991-10-01), Davis et al.
patent: 5260884 (1993-11-01), Stern
patent: 5440502 (1995-08-01), Register
patent: 5712760 (1998-01-01), Coulon et al.
patent: 5729429 (1998-03-01), Margaritis et al.
patent: 5786983 (1998-07-01), Brenner et al.
Chang S. Kuen
Fisher Mark J.
3Com Corporation
Baniak Pine & Gannon
King Anita
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