Patent ID: 6480376
Filing Date: 2002-11-12
Classification: A47B,G06F,Y10T

Abstract:
A docking station for use in operatively coupling a portable computer to a desktop computer peripheral device, the portable computer having a base structure, a display movably coupled to the base structure via a joint structure, and a first electrical docking connector disposed in the base housing, said docking station comprising:a housing having a wall portion upon which the base structure may be placed, such that the joint structure is operable to facilitate movement of the display to a desired viewing orientation relative to the base structure, said housing being restable on a horizontal support surface; a second electrical docking connector carried by said housing and being releasably mateable with the first electrical docking connector; and a tilt adjustment structure carried by said housing and being operative to selectively adjust the angle between said wall portion and the horizontal support surface when said housing is placed thereon, said tilt adjustment structure including: a support member associated with said housing for movement relative thereto among a series of different positions and being engageable with the horizontal support surface, and a locking structure operable to releasably lock said support member in a selectively variable one of said series of different positions, said locking structure having a lever portion movable against said housing to disengage a selective engagement of intermeshed arrays of teeth disposed on, and between, said locking structure and a portion of said support member.