US 4,852,500 · Granted 1989-08-01
Herman Miller's Modular Computer Desk That Let Offices Rethink the Cubicle
Imagine a desk system where your monitor, keyboard, and printer can all slide, rotate, and move up and down on hidden rails built into the walls and work surfaces. Herman Miller patented this whole integrated setup so that office workers could customize their computer workspace without rewiring everything—all the cables hide inside secret channels in the furniture.
The plain-English version
What it protects
The claim covers an integrated desk system with articulating arms that hold video displays and move them toward, away, and vertically along wall-mounted rails, combined with work surfaces that slide sideways and rotate on separate rails. What's protected here is the specific combination of the pivoting arm mechanism, the concealed wiring chases that run power and data cables through the wall panel and furniture, the peripheral equipment platforms that slide along the work surface, and the ability to raise or lower the entire work surface. Someone copying this exact modular integration—especially the hidden cable routing within the rails and panels—would infringe.
Why it matters
This patent represents a fundamental shift in how companies thought about computer workstations during the late 1980s office boom. Rather than bolting monitors and keyboards to static desks, Herman Miller created a flexible, reconfigurable system where workers could adjust their setup without calling IT to rewire everything. This approach became foundational to modern open-plan office furniture and modular workspace design, giving Herman Miller a competitive advantage in the high-end contract furniture market during the personal computer revolution.
Real-world use
When you walk into a modern office with sleek wall-mounted monitors that swivel and work surfaces that tilt, you're likely looking at furniture descended from this patent concept—the hidden wiring inside the rails and the movable display arms are direct descendants of this 1989 design.
Original USPTO abstract
An integrated computer implement work area has a rail typically in a wall panel for supporting an articulating arm and another rail for supporting one or more work surfaces. The articulating arm supports a video display terminal for movement toward and way from the rail as well as vertically with respect to the rail. The arm is also pivotably mounted to the rail. The work surfaces are mounted to another rail for lateral movement therealong and rotation about a vertical axis with respect thereto. One work surface mounts peripheral equipment platforms along a peripheral surface for sliding movement therealong. Concealed wiring chases house communication wiring between a central processing unit mounted in the wall panel and the video display terminal on the articulating arm; between the central processing unit and peripheral equipment, such as a keyboard, and a printer or a disk drive mounted to the peripheral equipment platforms on the work surface. Power cabling is also housed in the concealed wire chases between a source of power and each of the computer components. The work surface can be raised or lowered with respect to the floor for further accommodation of the user.
Patent details
- Publication number
- US 4,852,500
- Filing date
- 1987-03-18
- Grant date
- 1989-08-01
- Assignee
- Herman Miller, Inc.
- Inventor(s)
- RYBURG; JON B., GOLDBERG; NEIL
- CPC class
- A47B21/06
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