US Patent 12061499 Computing device hinge with sliding cover

Hinged computing devices often connect two components via one or more hinges, using either a door-hinge style or other conventional hinge style. Presenting a continuous visual impression of the computing device to the user, with any gaps covered, provides protection to internal components and suggests a higher overall quality of the computing device to the user. Using conventional hinges, achieving a 360-degree range of motion is difficult, and often requires a pair of hinges connected by a spine to accommodate the respective thicknesses of the two hinged components in all orientations. However, using a pair of conventional hinges connected by a spine to achieve a 360-degree range of motion can yield a variable gap between the spine and the hinged components. The presently disclosed technology is directed to mechanically deterministic sliding covers that conceal these variable gaps, while still maintaining a 360-degree range of motion of the computing device.