Electricity: electrical systems and devices – Housing or mounting assemblies with diverse electrical... – For electronic systems and devices
Reexamination Certificate
1998-12-14
2001-03-27
Picard, Leo P. (Department: 7835)
Electricity: electrical systems and devices
Housing or mounting assemblies with diverse electrical...
For electronic systems and devices
C361S689000, C361S689000, C361S689000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06208508
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to computer apparatus and, in a preferred embodiment thereof, more particularly relates to docking station apparatus and associated methods for operatively coupling a portable computer, such as a notebook computer, to desktop peripheral devices such as a keyboard and mouse.
2. Description of Related Art
The increasingly popular notebook computer continues to undergo various design changes that make it smaller, lighter and, from a performance standpoint, more powerful. The intent of these design changes has been to make the notebook computer even more suitable for its “on the road” applications away from the office or home settings which are the traditional realms of considerably larger desktop computer systems.
Despite the continuing design effort to make notebook computers even more mobile, surveys indicate that notebook users spend approximately three quarters of their working time in their office environment. Because notebook computers are optimized for portability, their use in an office environment is compromised by some of the very features valued in mobility.
For example, one conventional approach to using a notebook computer in an office desktop environment is to dock the notebook to a minimal base which provides connectivity, with the user utilizing the docked notebook computer much as he would “on the road”—i.e., using the keyboard, input device and display built into the notebook computer. Unfortunately, the keyboard size/feel and the input device (usually a pointing stick or a touch pad) incorporated in many modern notebook computers have, as mentioned above, been optimized for mobility. This leads to a less than ideal office implementation where the notebook computer is typically used for lengthy work and computing periods. Simply stated, the utilization of the larger desktop keyboard and pointing device (typically a mouse) are usually considered more comfortable and easier to use for extended in-office work periods.
Thus, an office user interested in a more optimized implementation of a notebook computer typically utilizes full-sized desktop keyboard and mouse, and an external monitor, with his docked notebook computer. As is well known, this conventional hybrid portable/desktop approach to office computing tasks can undesirably take up a considerable amount of valuable desktop work space. In the past, this clutter has been mitigated somewhat by placing a monitor support over the expansion base to which the notebook computer is docked, allowing the user to support the external monitor directly over the docked computer. However, as external monitors continue to grow in both size and weight, this stacking of the monitor and docking base becomes a less and less attractive solution to the desktop clutter problem.
In view of the foregoing it can readily be seen that a need exists for improved, space-saving apparatus and methods for utilizing a portable notebook computer in conjunction with desktop peripheral devices in a desktop work environment. It is to this need that the present invention is directed.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In carrying out principles of the present invention, in accordance with a preferred embodiment thereof, specially designed space-saving portable computer docking apparatus is provided for operatively coupling a portable computer, representatively a portable notebook computer, to desktop peripheral devices, representatively a desktop computer keyboard and a desktop computer pointing device such as a mouse. Preferably, the portable computer has a base housing with a rear side edge portion to which a display screen housing is pivotally secured by a hinge structure.
In a preferred embodiment thereof, the docking apparatus includes a docking base to which at least one peripheral device may be coupled. The docking base is usable to support the computer base housing, hinge side-up, in a generally vertical orientation in which the computer is docked to the base to electrically connect the docked computer to the peripheral device(s) and the computer display screen may be upwardly pivoted to an elevated, generally vertical user viewing orientation.
Representatively, the docking base has a generally wedge-shaped configuration, and the docking apparatus includes a stand structure for generally vertically supporting the docking base on a horizontal work surface such as a desktop work area in a manner such that a major front side surface of the supported docking base faces the user. The computer base housing has a bottom side upon which a first electrical docking connector is mounted, and the front side surface of the vertically supported docking base has a second electrical docking connector disposed thereon. The second electrical docking connector is coupled to interface circuitry that permits the peripheral device(s) to be electrically coupled to the second connector.
The portable computer is docked to the base by simply placing the bottom side of the computer in an adjacent, facing relationship with the front side of the vertically supported docking base, with the first and second docking connectors appropriately aligned with one another, and then generally horizontally forcing the base housing, in the desired hinge side-up orientation, against the vertical docking base to removably mate the first and second docking connectors and couple the docked computer to the desktop peripheral device(s).
A latching structure is preferably provided for releasably locking the docked portable computer to the docking base in response to the docking operation. To unlatch the docked computer a suitable release member, representatively a manual unlatching lever, is provided on the docking base.
With the display screen lid of the docked computer upwardly pivoted to its elevated, generally vertical use orientation the computer's integral keyboard is exposed to the user. To cover the computer's now vertically oriented keyboard an optional cover panel structure is provided. The cover panel structure, in a preferred embodiment thereof, is removably securable to the docking base and vertically extends in front of and hides the computer's keyboard
REFERENCES:
patent: 5436792 (1995-07-01), Leman et al.
patent: 5687061 (1997-11-01), Mesfin et al.
Blagg Philip J.
Ruch Mark H.
Youens John E.
Chang Yean-Hsi
Compaq Computer Corporation
Picard Leo P.
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