Digital Equipment Corporation

Hewlett-packard Development Company, L.p.

Compaq Information Technologies Group, L.p.

Compaq Computer Corporation, Inc.

Chunghwa Picture Tubes, Ltd.

Digital Equip Corp

Michele Bovio

Mark J Foster

Robert C Frame

Allan Scott Baucom

Jitender K Kanjiram

Robert T Faranda

Ronald E Deluga

Christian C Landry

Daniel V Forlenza

Steven S Homer

Mark H Ruch

Margaret L Hetfield

John H Mallard

David A Hulsebosch

Phillip Prestigomo

A flat-panel display with fixtures in its sidewalls to enable support by lateral mounting members is disclosed. The advantage of this approach, in which the fixtures are essentially rotated around to the sides of the flat-panel display, is the reduction in the portion of the portable computer's top cover that is not the active display. In practice, this results in an increase in the size of the display that may be housed in the same-sized top cover. In order to accommodate the lateral mounting of the flat-panel display, metal brackets are used. These brackets extend from the base unit hinges and cradle the display. This adds torsional rigidity, but also removes the requirement that the back must be structural. Further reductions in the inactive portions of the top cover may be achieved by extending the ends of the display's fluorescent back-light beyond or through the metal rim that surrounds the display.

Flat-panel display mounting system for portable computer

A portable computer having an external bay with a multiport connector. The portable computer comprises a base coupled to a display module. The display module has a backcover with a bay area for receiving a variety of electronic device modules.

Portable computer having multiport bay

A portable computer has pivotally connected base and display screen lid housings and is provided with a generally wedge-shaped auxiliary component housing which is releasably latchable to the bottom of the base housing and extends across only a rear underside portion of the base housing. The attached auxiliary housing representatively carries a CD/DVD media drive unit and a floppy disk drive unit, operatively couples them to various computer components in the base housing, and is configured to rearwardly and upwardly tilt he base housing keyboard at a predetermined comfortable typing angle when the base housing is placed atop a horizontal work surface such as a desktop.

Portable computer with removable bottom component housing

An electronic device, such as a portable computer, incorporates a removable cover. The cover is readily removed without tools and provides access to a variety of components that may require servicing, substitution, component upgrades, etc. The component cover utilizes a variety of retention features that provide stability while permitting easy attachment and opening of the cover.

Portable computer having removable component cover

A docking unit for a portable computer has a wedge-shaped. As a result, a portable computer, which has been installed on the docking unit, is inclined toward the user. This places the keyboard of the portable computer at a more comfortable angle for typing. Thus, the portable computer's keyboard remains usable even when it is installed on the docking unit. Moreover, the wedge-shape need not substantially raise the height of the keyboards since the leading edge is relatively thin, keeping the computer's keyboard as a comfortable height.

Wedge-shaped port replicator for portable computer

A system and method are disclosed for configuring a portable computer comprises encasing the computer in an enclosure, providing battery slot defined by at least one wall of the enclosure, encasing a battery pack in a battery pack housing, inserting the battery pack into the battery slot and interweaving a wall of the battery pack housing with a wall of the enclosure defining the slot so that a portion of the battery pack housing projects into the battery slot. The system and method may also comprise providing a portal in a first wall associated with a computer enclosure and inserting a battery pack having a second wall into the enclosure wherein a structural region of the second wall of the battery pack extends into the portal.

Method for configuring a portable computer with a battery housing

A removable electronic module of this invention includes an electronic device, such as a memory storage drive, having an electrical device connector for mating with an electrical bay connector in a computer. The module also includes a connector guide mounted about the electrical device connector. The connector guide is adapted to engage the electrical bay connector to align the electrical device connector with the electrical bay connector. The module further includes an auxiliary device guide positioned apart from the connector guide. The auxiliary device guide is adapted to engage an auxiliary bay guide to align the connector guide with the electrical bay connector.

Guide system for a removable electronic device in a computer bay

The hinge system for a portable computer for pivotably securing a top cover to a base unit includes a first base unit hinge member for mounting to the base unit. The first base unit hinge member has proximal and distal mounting portions which are angled relative to each other. The proximal and distal mounting portions are each securable to a surface of the base unit for distributing stress exerted on the base unit by the first base unit hinge member. A first pivoting top cover hinge assembly is secured to the first base unit hinge member. The first top cover hinge assembly mounts to the top cover.

Hinge system for a portable computer

A portable notebook computer having a thickness of only one inch is obtained by provision of a computer housing containing a keyboard assembly and a motherboard positioned directly below the keyboard assembly, the keyboard assembly and the motherboard thereby defining a region in the enclosure. The other components comprising the computer; i.e. a hard disk drive, a PCMCIA option slot, a trackball assembly, and a DC to DC convertor, are positioned in an adjacent and generally co-planar relationship with this region. A battery housing is mounted externally on the computer housing for supplying electrical power to the computer.

One inch notebook computer

A technique for reducing the height of a portable computer by reducing the effective number of housing walls across the height relates specifically to the system height over the battery slot. An enclosure of the portable computer, and specifically, a wall of the enclosure in the computer's battery slot is interwoven with a wall of the battery pack housing. The effect of the invention is that the total height of the portable computer measured through the portable computer's battery slot is reduced by the thickness of one of these walls. In one implementation, there is a reduction in the system's height of over a millimeter.

Growing community of inventors

Boston, MA, United States of America

Michele Bovio