Laptop computers with a movable accessory housing

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11899502-B2
Application number	US-201917626750-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 10, 2019
Priority date	Sep 10, 2019
Publication date	Feb 13, 2024
Grant date	Feb 13, 2024

Abstract

Laptop computers with a movable accessory housing are described herein. An example laptop computer incudes a base, a lid moveably coupled to the base, a display carried by the lid, an arm pivotably coupled to the lid, and an accessory housing carried by the arm. The arm is pivotable to move the accessory housing between a first position in which the accessory housing is disposed along a bottom edge of the lid and a second position in which the accessory housing is disposed along a top edge of the lid.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A laptop computer comprising:
a base;
a lid movably coupled to the base;
a display carried by the lid;
an arm pivotably coupled to the lid; and
an accessory housing carried by the arm, the arm pivotable to move the accessory housing between a first position in which the accessory housing is disposed along a bottom edge of the lid and a second position in which the accessory housing is disposed along a top edge of the lid, the bottom edge of the lid defining a notch to receive the accessory housing in the first position.

2. The laptop computer of claim 1 , wherein the lid is hingedly coupled to the base.

3. A laptop computer comprising:
a base;
a lid movably coupled to the base;
a display carried by the lid;
an arm pivotably coupled to the lid; and
an accessory housing carried by the arm, the arm pivotable to move the accessory housing between a first position in which the accessory housing is disposed along a bottom edge of the lid and a second position in which the accessory housing is disposed along a top edge of the lid, the accessory housing including a first magnet and the lid including at least one of a second magnet and a ferromagnetic material at or near the bottom edge, the first magnet and the at least one of the second magnet and the ferromagnetic material to cooperate to hold the accessory housing in the first position.

4. The laptop computer of claim 3 , wherein the lid includes at least one of a third magnet and a ferromagnetic material at or near the top edge, the first magnet and the at least one of the third magnet and the ferromagnetic material to cooperate to hold the accessory housing in the second position.

5. The laptop computer of claim 1 , wherein the arm is pivotably coupled to a back side of the lid via a living hinge.

6. The laptop computer of claim 1 , wherein a back side of the lid has a recess, the arm to be at least partially disposed in the recess when the accessory housing is in the first position.

7. The laptop computer of claim 1 , further including a camera carried by the accessory housing.

8. The laptop computer of claim 7 , wherein the accessory housing is flipped upside down when moving the accessory housing between the first and second positions, such that when the accessory housing is in the first position, the camera faces a first direction, and when the accessory housing is in the second position, the camera faces a second direction opposite the first direction.

9. The laptop computer of claim 8 , wherein the camera is a first camera, further including a second camera carried by the accessory housing, the second camera facing an opposite direction of the first camera.

10. The laptop computer of claim 8 , wherein the accessory housing includes a first housing and a second housing, the camera carried by the first housing, the first housing rotatably coupled to the second housing such that when the accessory housing is in the second position the first housing can be rotated to face the camera in the first direction or the second direction opposite the first direction.

11. The laptop computer of claim 1 , wherein the accessory housing includes an antenna.

12. The laptop computer of claim 11 , wherein the antenna is a first antenna, and the accessory housing includes a second antenna and a camera disposed between the first antenna and the second antenna.

13. The laptop computer of claim 1 , further including a flexible printed circuit board extending through the lid and the arm to electrically couple the accessory housing to an electrical circuit in the base.

14. The laptop computer of claim 1 , wherein the arm includes a stiffener at least partially surrounded by a flexible material.

15. The laptop computer of claim 1 , wherein the lid is pivotable relative to the base through nearly 360°.

16. The laptop computer of claim 1 , wherein the base carries a keyboard.

17. The laptop computer of claim 1 , wherein the display is a first display, further including a second display carried by the base.

Assignees

• Intel Corp

Inventors

• Hung Vincent
• Ku Jeff
• Wang Andy B
• Kong Duck Young
• Bai Chunlin

Classifications

• G06F1/1656 Primary

  Details related to functional adaptations of the enclosure, e.g. to provide protection against EMI, shock, water, or to host detachable peripherals like a mouse or removable expansions units like PCMCIA cards, or to provide access to internal components for maintenance or to removable storage supports like CDs or DVDs, or to mechanically mount accessories (mounting of accessories to a computer display G06F1/1607; display hoods G06F1/1603; cooling arrangements for portable computers G06F1/203) · CPC title

• G06F1/1618 Primary

  the display being foldable up to the back of the other housing with a single degree of freedom, e.g. by 360° rotation over the axis defined by the rear edge of the base enclosure · CPC title

• G06F1/1679

  for locking or maintaining the movable parts of the enclosure in a fixed position, e.g. latching mechanism at the edge of the display in a laptop or for the screen protective cover of a PDA (G06F1/1681 takes precedence) · CPC title

• G06F1/1686

  the I/O peripheral being an integrated camera · CPC title

• G06F1/1698

  the I/O peripheral being a sending/receiving arrangement to establish a cordless communication link, e.g. radio or infrared link, integrated cellular phone (details of antennas disposed inside a computer H01Q1/2266) · CPC title