GB2527061A

GB2527061A - Support for a computing device

Info

Publication number: GB2527061A
Application number: GB1410281.8A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Kai Sui Ng
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2014-06-10
Filing date: 2014-06-10
Publication date: 2015-12-16
Anticipated expiration: 2034-06-10
Also published as: GB2527061B; GB201410281D0

Abstract

A support, for a touch screen computing device, comprises a keyboard part 14 hingedly coupled to a touch-screen display part 16. The support 10 comprises a base 20 for supporting, in use, the keyboard part 14 of the computing device 12 and a rear support structure 22 for supporting, in use, the touch-screen display part 16 of the computing device 12. The base 20 is coupled to the rear support structure 22 and may be adjustable by sliding it relative to the rear support structure 22 so as to provide a range of angles. The support comprises an opening (46, fig 4) for ventilation of the keyboard part 14 and the rear support structure 22 has a recess 38 to accommodate a protrusion 40 of the keyboard part 14. A non-slip portion 34 is provided on the keyboard part 14 and a rounded contact portion 30, e.g. of a resilient material, is provided to make contact with the touch-screen display part 16. The support may be connected via an attachment interface to further structure such as a tripod or DJ stand.

Description

SUPPORT FOR A COMPUTING DEVICE

The present invention relates to a support for a computing device, and relates particularly, but not exclusively, to a support for a touchscreen laptop computer.

Computing devices incorporating a touchscreen are controllable through simple or multi-touch gestures by touching the screen with a special stylus or pen and/or one or more fingers. Touchscreens are incorporated into many computing devices, including tablet computers and touchscreen laptop computers. A laptop computer is typically a portable personal computer comprising a screen which folds over a keyboard.

Smaller, lighter types of laptop computers or notebook computers include netbooks which typically omit certain features such as removable disk drives.

In touchscreen laptops, the touchscreen is typically hinged to the keyboard. The opening angle between the touchacreen and keyboard can be varied to accommodate different lighting conditions and user preferences. The computer can be controlled via the keyboard and/or touchscreen input. When the touchscreen is used, the user applies some degree of pressure to the touchscreen. This can cause the entire computer to rock, or may cause movement of the touchscreen relative to the keyboard, for example by changing the opening angle between the touchscreen and keyboard. This can cause viewing problems due to vibration of the screen and may reduce the accuracy of input via the touchscreen. In addition to impairing the user's experience, the lifetime of the mechanical and electrical connections at the hinge may also be reduced. This problem arises particularly when a user touches the upper part of the touchscreen, farthest from the hinge.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention seek to overcome one or more disadvantages of the prior art.

According to the present invention, there is provided a support for a computing device comprising a keyboard part hingedly coupled to a touchscreen display part, the support comprising: a base for supporting, in use, the keyboard part of the computing device; and a rear support structure for supporting, in use, the touchscreen display part of the computing device; wherein, in a first configuration, the base is coupled to the rear support structure.

By providing a rear support structure for supporting the touchscreen display part of the computing device, movement of the touchscreen display part, due to pressure applied by a user when performing gestures for controlling the computing device, is reduced or eliminated. The rear support structure limits movement of the display part in the direction of the force applied by a user. This improves accuracy of a user's gestures and improves viewing comfort, in addition to reducing wear of the mechanical and electrical connections between the touchscreen display part and keyboard part.

The rear support structure may be adapted to support the touchscreen display part at a range of angles relative to the keyboard part.

This enables a user to adjust the angle between the touchscreen display part and keyboard parts to suit the user's environment and viewing preferences when using the supports.

The rear support structure may comprise: a screen support element for supporting, in use, the touchscreen display part of the computing device; and a base support element, wherein, in the first configuration, the base is coupled to the base support element.

In use, the screen support element and the base support element may be rigidly coupled to each other.

A position of the base relative to the rear support structure may be adjustable.

This enables the angle between the touchscreen display part and keyboard part of the computing device supported by the support to be adjusted. By moving the base, which supports the keyboard part of the computing device, towards the user, the touchscreen display part can be further reclined until it contacts the rear support structure. This feature also enables the footprint of the rear support structure to be minimised to fit onto a restricted work area.

The base may be slidable relative to the rear support structure.

The base or the rear support structure may be provided with slots for slidable coupling to the other of the base or the rear support structure.

An angle of the base may be adjustable relative to a surface on which the support is placed.

This feature enables the angle of the keyboard part of the computing device, determined by the base on which it is supported, to be adjusted according to user preferences.

An angle of the base relative to the rear support structure

may be adjustable.

This feature enables the angle of the base to be adjusted without changing the relative position of the rear support structure with the work surface on which it is placed.

The support may further comprise an adjustable strut for adjusting the angle of the base relative to the rear support structure.

An angle of the base support element may be adjustable relative to a surface on which the support is placed.

This feature enables the base to be tilted without requiring angular adjustment of the base relative to the base support element of the rear support structure.

The rear support structure may comprise one or more adjustable struts for adjusting the angle of the base support element relative to a surface on which the support is placed.

A surface of the base may comprise a non-slip portion.

This feature further reduces movement of a computing device supported by the support. It is particularly useful when the touchscreen of the computing device is used in a tablet configuration, with the touchscreen display part supported by the base of the support. While the lower surface of the keyboard part of a laptop computer is generally provided with non-slip feet, this is not the case for the display part. The non-slip portion of the base is therefore useful in restricting movement of the touchscreen display part when supported directly by the base.

The non-slip portion of the surface of the base may be raised relative to an adjacent portion of the surface.

This feature ensures that the non-slip portion of the surface contacts a significant area of the rear of the keyboard part of the computing device, even if the keyboard part is provided with non-slip feet.

The base may comprise at least one support member for contacting a surface on which the support is placed.

The or each support member may provide a clearance under the base which can help cool high power laptops by allowing air to circulate below the keyboard part.

At least one said support member may be curved, This feature enables the support to be placed firmly on a desk or other workspace over a range of angles of inclination of the base.

The base may comprise an opening for ventilation of the keyboard part.

This feature may help to reduce overheating of the computing device.

The rear support structure may comprise a recess for accommodating a protrusion of the keyboard part relative to the touchscreen display part.

The support may further comprise a restraint for securing the computer computing device to the support.

The rear support structure may comprise at least one vibration-damping element arranged to contact the touchscreen display in use.

The rear support structure may be configured such that, in use, the touchscreen display part contacts the portion of the rear support structure having a curved surface.

This ensures stable contact between the touchscreen display part and the rear support structure regardless of the opening angle between the display part and the keyboard part.

The support may further comprise an attachment interface for attaching the base and/or rear support element to a further structure.

The attachment interface may comprise mounting holes, optionally with fastening means, or may comprise a separate element having mounting holes and/or fastening means for attaching it to both the support and to the further structure.

The further structure may be a tripod or DJ stand.

The base may be removable from the rear support structure.

This is useful when the computing device is to be used in the manner of a tablet computer. To support the computing device in this manner, the touchscreen display part is placed directly on the base of the support. The keyboard part may remain hinged to the touchscreen display part, although some touchscreen laptops allow the keyboard part to be decoupled from the touchscreen display part. In either case, it is not necessary to support the keyboard part when using the touchscreen display part as a tablet. The rear support structure of the support is therefore not required at these times and can therefore be removed.

A preferred embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of example only and not in any limitative sense, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 schematically represents a side view of a support according to a first embodiment of the invention, for supporting a computing device; Figure 2 shows a perspective view of the support of Figure 1, in use supporting a laptop computer; Figure 3 schematically illustrates an adjustment of the support; Figure 4 shows a base for the support of Figure 1; and Figure 5 shows a perspective view of the base of Figure 4.

With reference to Figures 1 to 3, a support 10 is arranged for supporting a computing device 12, in the form of a touchscreen laptop computer 12 comprising a keyboard part 14 coupled to a touchscreen display part 16 by a hinge mechanism 18. The support 10 comprises a base 20 for supporting the keyboard part 14, and a rear support structure 22 for supporting the display part 16. The base 20 is coupled to the rear support structure 22. The position of the base 20 is adjustable relative to the rear support structure 22, in the direction shown by the arrows 28 in Figure 1.

The rear support structure 22 comprises a screen support element 24 for supporting the touchscreen display part 16 of the touchscreen laptop 12 and a base support element 26 which is coupled to the base 20. In this embodiment, the screen support element 24 and the base support element 26 are formed as separate parts, rigidly coupled to each other by means of fasteners, but separable for compact transport or storage. In other embodiments, the screen support element 24 and the base support element 26 may be formed as an integral unit, or may be hinged together to told away when not in use.

In use, the touchscreen laptop 12 is positioned with its keyboard part 14 supported on the base 20. when the laptop 12 is opened such that a user can view the touchscreen 16, the touchscreen display part 16 is brought into contact with at least one contact portion 30 of the rear support structure 22.

When the user applies pressure to the touchscreen display part 16, for example when making gestures for controlling the touchscreen laptop 12, rearward movement of the touchscreen display part 16 is limited by contact with the contact portion of the rear support structure 22.

As shown in Figure 2, two separate contact portions 30 are provided in this embodiment. The contact portions 30 are located to contact the display part 16 close to the top of the screen and are spaced apart to provide adequate support to the screen across its whole width. However, in other embodiments, a single contact portion, for example a contact rail or other extended contact surface, or more than two contact portions may be provided, Each contact portion 30 is rounded, as shown in Figure 1, so that it makes good contact with the rear of the display part 16 of the laptop 12 for a range of opening angles between the touchscreen display part 16 and the keyboard part 14. The contact portions 30 comprise a vibration-damping material, for example a resilient material such as rubber or another suitable material as is known in the art, to damp vibrations of the touchscreen display part 16.

With reference to Figure 3, adjustment of the position of the base 20, in the direction 28 with respect to the rear support structure 22, enables the angle between the touchscreen part 16 and keyboard part 14 of the laptop 12 to be adjusted.

By moving the base 20 towards the user, the touchscreen display part 16 of the computer 12 can be further reclined until it contacts the rear support structure 22. The angle between the screen support element 24 and base support element 26 of the rear support structure 22 is shown as approximately 90 degrees in Figure 1 to 3. However, other angles may be used since the opening angle of the laptop 12 can be varied over a wide range using a non-adjustable or fixed rear support structure 22.

As an example of this adjustability, Figure 3 shows the laptop 12 with opening angles of 89°, 75°, and 630. In each case, the display part 16 of the laptop 12 is supported by the contact portions 30. The position of the base 20 relative to the rear support structure 22 is adjusted to position the contact portions 30 as required.

To allow adjustment of the position of the base 20 with respect to the rear support structure 22, slots 42 (shown in Figure 2) are provided in the base support element 26 of the rear support structure 22. The base 20 is coupled to the base support element 26 by fasteners 44 (shown in Figure 3) which pass through the slots 42 and corresponding recesses in the base 20. Loosening the fasteners enables the base 20 to slide in the direction indicated by the arrows 28 relative to the rear support structure 22.

The support 10 may also be useful in providing an extended surface for supporting a laptop 12 in a restricted work area.

For example, in use, the base 20 may overhang a work surface on which the rear support structure 26 is placed.

The angle of the base 20 relative to a surface on which the support 10 is placed is adjustable so that the angle of the keyboard part 14 of the laptop 12 can be adjusted according to user preferences. In this embodiment, this is achieved by adjusting the angle of the base support element 26 of the rear support structure 22, i.e. by adjusting the angle of the support as a whole. A strut 32 is provided for raising the height of the rear support structure 22 in order to change its angle. The strut 32 has an adjustable height in order to vary the angle of the rear support structure 22.

In an alternative embodiment, an angle of the base 20 relative to the rear support structure 22 may be adjusted, for example by means of a strut 50 (Figure 5) coupled to the base 20. This enables the angle of the base 20 to be adjusted without changing the relative position of the rear support structure 22 with respect to a work surface.

The surface of the base 20 comprises a non-slip portion 34.

This prevents the laptop 12 from sliding on the base 20, particularly when the base 20 is tilted relative to horizontal.

The non-slip portion 34 of the base 20 is raised relative to adjacent portions of the surface of the base 20 to ensure that it comes into contact with the rear of the keyboard part 14 of the laptop, even if the keyboard part 14 is provided with raised non-slip feet.

The base 20 is provided with an opening 46 (Figures 4 and 5) which allows for ventilation of the keyboard part 14 to reduce overheating of the laptop 12.

As shown in Figure 1, the base 20 is provided with support members 36 at its front edge for contacting a surface on which the support 10 is placed. This helps to create a space beneath the base 20 for air to circulate to help cool high power laptops 12. The support members 36 may be curved (as shown in Figure 1) to provide good contact with the supporting surface over a range of contact angles.

The rear support structure 22 comprises a recess 38 for accommodating any protrusion 40 at the rear of the laptop 12.

With reference to Figure 4, the base 20 may be provided with removable extensions 48. These are provided with holes for receiving or connecting restraining means such as a bar or band for securing the computer 12 to the support 10.

Attachment interfaces may also be provided for attaching the base 20 and/or rear support element 22 to a further structure such as a tripod or DJ stand. The attachment interface comprises mounting holes for receiving fasteners for connection to the base 20, rear support element 22, and/or the further structure.

Figure 5 illustrates the base 20 used independently of the rear support structure 22 for supporting the laptop 12 for use as a tablet computer. When used as a tablet, the whole laptop 12 is inverted, with the touchscreen display part 16 placed directly on the base 20 of the support 10. The keyboard part 14 may remain hinged to the touchscreen display part 16 or may be detached from the display 16 as is possible in some models of touchscreen laptop 12. Touchscreen laptops may be provided with software for rotating the screen graphics through 180° so that the laptop can be used in this configuration.

The non-slip surface 34 of the base 20 is particularly useful when the laptop 12 is used as a tablet computer. While the lowermost surface of the keyboard part 14 of a laptop computer 12 is generally provided with non-slip feet, this is not the case for the rear surface of the display part 16. The non-slip portion 34 of the base 20 of the support 10 is therefore useful in restricting movement of the touchscreen display part 16 when supported directly on the base 20.

The base 20 may be provided with a strut 50 for adjusting the angle of the base 20 for optimal viewing of the touchscreen 16 when the laptop 12 is used as a tablet computer.

It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that the above embodiments have been described by way of example only, and not in any limitative sense, and that various alterations and modifications are possible without departure from the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A support for a computing device comprising a keyboard part hingedly coupled to a touchscreen display part, the support comprising; a base for supporting, in use, the keyboard part of the computing device; and a rear support structure for supporting, in use, the touchscreen display part of the computing device; wherein, in a first configuration, the base is coupled to the rear support structure.
2. A support according to claim 1, wherein the rear support structure is adapted to support the touchscreen display part at a range of angles relative to the keyboard part.
3. A support according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the rear support structure comprises: a screen support element for supporting, in use, the touchscreen display part of the computing device; and a base support element, wherein, in the first configuration, the base is coupled to the base support element.
4. A support according to claim 3, wherein, in use, the screen support element and the base support element are rigidly coupled to each other.
5. A support according to any of the preceding claims, wherein a position of the base relative to the rear support structure is adjustable.
6. A support according to claim 5, wherein the base is slideable relative to the rear support structure.
7. A support according to claim 6, wherein the base or the rear support structure is provided with slots for slidable coupling to the other of the base or the rear support structure.
8. A support according to any of the preceding claims, wherein an angle of the base is adjustable relative to a surface on which the support is placed.
9. A support according to claim 8, wherein an angle of the base relative to the rear support structure is adjustable.
10. A support according to claim 8 or claim 9, further comprising an adjustable strut for adjusting the angle of the base relative to the rear support structure.
11. A support according to claim 8 and claim 3, wherein an angle of the base support element is adjustable relative to a surface on which the support is placed.
12. A support according to claim 11, wherein the rear support structure comprises one or more adjustable struts for adjusting the angle of the base support element relative to a surface on which the support is placed.
13, A support according to any of the preceding claims, wherein a surface of the base comprises a non-slip portion.
14. A support according to claim 13, wherein the non-slip portion of the surface of the base is raised relative to an adjacent portion of the surface.
15. A support according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the base comprises at least one support member for contacting a surface on which the support is placed.
16. A support according to claim 15, wherein at least one said support member is curved.
17. A support according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the base comprises an opening for ventilation of the keyboard part.
18. A support according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the rear support structure comprises a recess for accommodating a protrusion of the keyboard part relative to the touchscreen display part.
19. A support according to any of the preceding claims, further comprising a restraint for securing the computing device to the support.
20. A support according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the rear support structure comprises at least one vibration-damping element arranged to contact the touchscreen display part in use.
21. A support according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the rear support structure is configured such that, in use, the touchscreen display part contacts a portion of the rear support structure having a curved surface.
22. A support according to any of the preceding claims, further comprising an attachment interface for attaching the base and/or rear support element to a further structure.
23. A support according to claim 22, wherein the further structure is a tripod or DJ stand.
24. A support according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the base is removable from the rear support structure.
25. A support as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings -