Microsoft patents laptop hinge that locks screen angle with sliding parts
Microsoft has secured a patent for a laptop hinge design that uses a sliding primary support to keep the screen steady at specific angles. The mechanism includes a friction strip and a detachable stabilizer that can connect to either the base or the display to lock the position.
In the filing’s own words
A hinge of a computing device includes a primary support connecting a display to a stand. As the display rotates about the stand, the primary support slides along a friction strip, which stabilizes the display with respect to the stand. A stabilizer may connect the stand to the base or the stand to the display.
What exactly they claim (claim 1)
1. A computing device, comprising: a first hinge rotatably connecting a stand to a base, the first hinge having a first coefficient of friction sufficient to maintain a first angular position between the stand and the base; and a second hinge rotatably connecting the stand to a display, the second hinge having a second coefficient of friction sufficient to maintain a second angular position between the display and the stand; a primary support including a primary support first end rotationally connected to the display and a primary support second end being slidably connected to the stand; a stabilizer, including: an upper member having an upper member first end slidably connected to the stand and an upper member second end; a lower member; and a stabilizer connector, the upper member second end and the lower member being connected to the stabilizer connector, and wherein the stabilizer connector is releasably connected to the display in a first configuration and the stabilizer connector releasably connected to the base in a second configuration wherein the first configuration is different from the second configuration.
Facts
- Company
- Microsoft (Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC)
- Official title
- Computing device hinges
- Patent number
- US12737013B2
- Application number
- 17793624
- Filed
- Jan 17, 2020
- Granted
- Sep 15, 2026
- Inventors
- 1
- Claims
- 18
Classified under
G06F 1/1681 Physics & computingF16C 11/045 Mechanical engineeringF16M 11/10 Mechanical engineeringF16M 11/2021 Mechanical engineeringF16M 11/38 Mechanical engineeringG06F 1/1679 Physics & computingMore from Microsoft in Phones & computers
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Summaries are simplified from the filing’s own abstract and first claim. A patent filing is not a product announcement.
Patent data and drawings: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Nebula is not affiliated with or endorsed by the USPTO.