US 6,256,193 · Granted 2001-07-03
The Laptop Stand Patent That Lets You Angle Your Screen Just Right
This patent covers a clever stand that holds your laptop at different angles so you can prop it up for typing or video calls. It uses a hinge with a lock mechanism that lets you rotate the computer to whatever position feels comfortable, then keeps it locked in place so it doesn't flop around.
The plain-English version
What it protects
The claim covers a positioning device with a base, a tilting support plate or member connected by a hinge, and a lock mechanism that fixes the angle between them. What's protected here is the specific combination of these three parts working together—the rotating hinge that allows multiple angular positions and the lock that holds the laptop steady at any chosen angle. Anyone making a stand with this exact mechanism without permission would infringe.
Why it matters
Before adjustable laptop stands became common, most people typed on flat surfaces or held their computers awkwardly. This patent, filed in 1999 and granted in 2001, protected an early ergonomic solution for portable computers when laptop use was growing rapidly. By locking down the design of an angle-adjustable dock, Speck Product Design secured a foothold in the emerging market for laptop accessories and established a category that competitors would need to design around or license.
Real-world use
Every time someone props their laptop on a stand to watch a video call or uses an angled dock while typing, they're using the basic mechanism this patent protects—adjustable angles with a lock to keep it steady.
Original USPTO abstract
A positioning device for supporting a portable computer that includes a base member for placing on a horizontal surface, a support plate for supporting the portable computer at an inclined position relative to the base member, a hinge that rotatably connects the base member to the support plate so that the support plate can be rotated between multiple angular positions relative to the base member, and a lock mechanism for selectively fixing the angular position between the base member and the support plate. The portable computer, which includes a base housing having a front and rear end, a flat panel display rotatably attached to the rear end of the base housing, and a keyboard attached to a top surface of the base housing, can be supported in an inclined position directly by a support member that is rotatably attached to the front end of the base housing so that the support member can be rotated between multiple angular positions relative to the base housing, where a lock mechanism selectively fixes the angular position between the support member and the base housing so that the support member supports the base housing at an inclined position.
Patent details
- Publication number
- US 6,256,193
- Filing date
- 1999-09-21
- Grant date
- 2001-07-03
- Assignee
- Speck Product Design, Inc.
- Inventor(s)
- JANIK CRAIG M., LILLIOS TONY, MORGAN GARTH, ROHRBACH MATTHEW
- CPC class
- G06F1/1616
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