Patent Application
20200060420
This application claims benefit of Chinese Utility Model Application No. 201821389088.0 filed Aug. 27, 2018 and Chinese Utility Model Application No. 201822224087.7 filed Dec. 27, 2018, the specification(s) of which is/are incorporated herein in their entirety by reference.
The present invention relates to folding stands, namely, to a folding stand that allows for angle adjustment of a portable electronic device, such as a laptop or tablet.
Portable electronic devices, such as laptops, tablets, and smartphones, are popular devices that have become common place in today's society. In addition to entertainment and communication, people can use portable electronic devices for work or education purposes. For example, workers use their laptops for business outside of an office or students use their devices to complete their school work outside of the classroom or home. When using the devices in public locations, such as a coffee shop, restaurant, library or other building, said locations typically do not provide ergonomic work spaces for a user to comfortably work for hours at a time. There are many existing stands for portable devices; however, these stands tend to be large, bulky, and/or complicated to assemble. Furthermore, people prefer to reduce their baggage load as much as possible when travelling or in transit, therefore heavy or bulky equipment may not be suitable for working remotely. Hence, there is a need for a portable electronic device stand that is compact, easy to use, and can provide proper ergonomics.
It is an objective of the present invention to provide devices and methods of supporting a portable electronic device that allow for adjustment of a display angle, as specified in the independent claims. Embodiments of the invention are given in the dependent claims. Embodiments of the present invention can be freely combined with each other if they are not mutually exclusive.
In some aspects, the present invention features an adjustable folding stand for supporting an electronic device. The folding stand may comprise a device supporting platform, a base platform, a foldable connector comprising a first panel and a second panel pivotably connected to each other via a first hinge, a first supporting arm disposed on one side of the foldable connector, and a second supporting arm disposed on another side of the foldable connector opposite of the first supporting arm. In some embodiments, the first panel is pivotably connected to the device supporting platform via a second hinge and the second panel is pivotably connected to the base platform via a third hinge such that the first hinge is disposed between the second hinge and the third hinge, and the foldable connector is disposed between the device supporting platform and the base platform. In other embodiments, the first supporting arm is pivotably connected to the device supporting platform via a fourth hinge and to the base platform via a fifth hinge such that the first supporting arm is disposed between the device supporting platform and the base platform. The second supporting arm is pivotably connected to the device supporting platform via a sixth hinge and pivotably connected to the base platform via a seventh hinge such that the second supporting arm is disposed between the device supporting platform and the base platform. Preferably, the first supporting arm and the second supporting arm are detached from the foldable connector. The folding stand can be attached to the electronic device such that the device supporting platform is coupled to an underside surface of the electronic device.
In some embodiments, the components of the adjustable folding stand can be pivotably moveable about the hinges to achieve multiple positions. These positions include at least: i) a flattened configuration where the device supporting platform, the base platform, the foldable connector, the first supporting arm, and the second supporting arm are co-planar; ii) a first folded configuration for supporting the electronic device in a first upright orientation having a first angle (θ1) between the base platform and the underside surface of the electronic device; and iii) a second folded configuration for supporting the electronic device in a second upright orientation having a second angle (θ2) between the base platform and the underside surface of the electronic device, where the angle θ2 is less than the angle θ1.
Any feature or combination of features described herein are included within the scope of the present invention provided that the features included in any such combination are not mutually inconsistent as will be apparent from the context, this specification, and the knowledge of one of ordinary skill in the art. Additional advantages and aspects of the present invention are apparent in the following detailed description and claims.
The features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from a consideration of the following detailed description presented in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:
Referring now to
As used herein, the term “hinge” refers to a movable joint that rotates about an axis. An axis of rotation or rotational axis refers to an imaginary straight line through fixed points of a rotating rigid body around which all other points of the body move in circles. In some embodiments, a rotational axis of one hinge is parallel to a rotational axis of another hinge such that all the rotational axes are parallel to each other. As shown in
In some embodiments, the folding stand (100) is configured to be attached to the electronic device (10) such that the device supporting platform (110) is coupled to an underside surface (15) of the electronic device. Examples of the electronic device (10) include, but are not limited to tablets such as an IPAD or KINDLE, smartphones, laptops, and netbooks. In one embodiment, the device supporting platform (110) may be coupled to a bottom surface or base of a laptop or to a back of a tablet or smartphone.
In preferred embodiments, the device supporting platform (110), the base platform (120), the foldable connector (130), the first supporting arm (150), and the second supporting arm (160) can be pivotably moveable to certain positions. These positions include i) a flattened configuration where the device supporting platform (110), the base platform (120), the foldable connector (130), the first supporting arm (150), and the second supporting arm (160) are co-planar as shown in
According to other embodiments, the adjustable folding stand (100) may comprise a T-shaped device supporting platform (110) comprising a platform panel (112) with a first panel tab (114) extending laterally and perpendicularly from one side at one end of the panel and a second panel tab (116) extending laterally and perpendicularly from an opposing side at the same end of the platform panel, a U-shaped base platform (120) comprising a straight bar (122) with a first bar tab (124) extending laterally and perpendicularly from one end at one side of the bar and a second bar tab (126) extending laterally and perpendicularly from an opposing end at the same side of the straight bar, a foldable connector (130) comprising a first panel (131) and a second panel (135), a first supporting arm (150) disposed on one side (138) of the foldable connector between the device supporting platform (110) and the base platform (120), and a second supporting arm (160) disposed on another side (139) of the foldable connector opposite of the first supporting arm (150) and between the device supporting platform (110) and the base platform (120). The folding stand (100) is configured to attach to the electronic device (10) such that the device supporting platform (110) is coupled to an underside surface (15) of the electronic device.
Referring to
In some preferred embodiments, a rotational axis of one hinge is parallel to a rotational axis of another hinge such that all the rotational axes are parallel to each other. In other preferred embodiments, the fourth and sixth hinges are co-axial, and the fifth and seventh hinges are co-axial.
In one embodiment, when the folding stand (100) is in a flattened configuration as shown in
In another embodiment, when the folding stand (100) is in a first folded configuration as shown in
Referring now to
In some embodiments, the device supporting platform (110), the base platform (120), the foldable connector (130), the first supporting arm (150), and the second supporting arm (160) are each constructed from a planar rigid material. Non-limiting examples of the planar rigid material include a metal or plastic material such as a moldable thermoplastic. Preferably, the rigid material is sufficiently strong such the stand (100) can support the weight of the electronic device. For instance, the stand (100) can support an electronic device weighing about ½ lb. to about 20 lbs.
In other embodiments, the hinges (141-147) may comprise a flexible material or hinged plates. Non-limiting examples of the flexible material include a fabric, leather, silicone, an elastomer such as rubber, or plastic material such as polyester, PVS, or polyurethane. As a non-limiting example, the device supporting platform (110), the base platform (120), the foldable connector (130), the first supporting arm (150), and the second supporting arm (160) may each be constructed from a planar rigid material and connected to each other by a continuous flexible material covering the planar rigid materials. Thus, the flexible material forms the hinges (141-147).
In some embodiments, the panels of the foldable connector and the supporting arms are rectangular in shape. However, they may also be cut to have patterned edges or surfaces or have a non-rectangular shape while still maintaining structural integrity of the stand, particularly when in the folded configurations. In some embodiments, the individual components of the stand can collectively form a shape such that the foldable stand has an overall appearance of a rectangle as shown in
Since adjustable folding stands (100) have been described herein, methods of utilizing said folding stands (100) are desired. According to some embodiments, the present invention provides a method of positioning an electronic device (10) in an upright orientation. The method may comprise providing any one of the adjustable folding stands (100) described herein, attaching the device supporting platform (110) to the underside surface (15) of the electronic device, and pivotably moving the folding stand (100) into one of two positions based on a desired angle in the upright orientation. These two positions are i) the first folded configuration for supporting the electronic device (10) in the first upright orientation having a first angle (θ1) between the base platform (120) and the underside surface (15) of the electronic device, or ii) the second folded configuration for supporting the electronic device (10) in a second upright orientation having a second angle (θ2) between the base platform (120) and the underside surface (15) of the electronic device, where 82 is less than 81. In some embodiments, the step of attaching the device supporting platform (110) to the underside surface (15) of the electronic device comprises adhering a device backing (170), which is fixedly attached to the device supporting platform (110), to the underside surface (15) of the electronic device. In preferred embodiments, the methods of the present invention may be used to prop up electronic devices (10) such as tablets, smartphones, or laptops.
As used herein, the term “about” refers to plus or minus 10% of the referenced number.
Although there has been shown and described the preferred embodiment of the present invention, it will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art that modifications may be made thereto which do not exceed the scope of the appended claims. Therefore, the scope of the invention is only to be limited by the following claims. In some embodiments, the figures presented in this patent application are drawn to scale, including the angles, ratios of dimensions, etc. In some embodiments, the figures are representative only and the claims are not limited by the dimensions of the figures. In some embodiments, descriptions of the inventions described herein using the phrase “comprising” includes embodiments that could be described as “consisting essentially of” or “consisting of”, and as such the written description requirement for claiming one or more embodiments of the present invention using the phrase “consisting essentially of” or “consisting of” is met.
The reference numbers recited in the below claims are solely for ease of examination of this patent application, and are exemplary, and are not intended in any way to limit the scope of the claims to the particular features having the corresponding reference numbers in the drawings.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| CN201821389088.0 | Aug 2018 | CN | national |
| CN201822224087.7 | Dec 2018 | CN | national |
