The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Nov. 28, 2000
Filed:
Apr. 16, 1998
Timothy J Jondrow, Corvallis, OR (US);
Hewlett-Packard Company, Palo Alto, CA (US);
Abstract
A computer docking station for a portable computer has an enclosure to mate physically and electrically with the portable computer. The docking station has an anti-slip mechanism to hold the enclosure to a surface. The anti-slip mechanism has at least one suction cup with a stub portion hidden within the enclosure and a cup portion that extends out through an aperture in the enclosure. A shaft with an eccentric cam section is connected to the stub portion to cause the stub portion to move in opposing first and second directions when the shaft is rotated. A knob is connected to the shaft and exposed externally of the enclosure so that a user can turn the knob to rotate the shaft. When the user moves the knob to a lock position, the mechanism moves the stub portion in the first direction, drawing the stub portion inward relative to the enclosure aperture, thereby causing the cup portion to cup and form a cavity between itself and the surface. This action creates a suction force relative to the surface to hold the enclosure to the surface and to resist sliding of the enclosure over the surface during docking or undocking. To release the enclosure, the user moves the knob to an unlock position. The mechanism moves the stub portion in the second direction, pushing the stub portion toward the enclosure aperture, thereby causing the cup portion to flatten and release the suction force.