Computer monitors are mounted on special stands which allow a user to position them conveniently. An ordinary monitor having a cathode-ray tube is mounted on a spherical stand. The mounting angle may vary within a wide range.
The emergence of flat liquid crystal screens brought about a paradoxical phenomenon. Most manufacturers used to attach a monitor to a stand by means of a horizontal hinge. Such a hinge only allows back and forth tilt of the monitor. To turn the monitor in a horizontal plane, one had to move the entire monitor together with the stand.
To provide the monitor stability, the stand was made wide enough. Though the monitor thickness was constantly decreasing, the wide stand continued to occupy much space on a desk.

According to the technological evolution trends, hinging a monitor to a stand is followed by multi-hinge attachment, spherical hinge and then flexible mounting.
Ergotron's specialists made a step forward relative to a cylindrical hinge. They proposed mounting a monitor to a stand by means of a long multi-hinge construction.
The advantages of this solution are obvious. The monitor becomes more mobile. It may be arranged practically in any position. A clamp may be used to attach the stand not only to a table but to a vertical surface as well. The monitor is arranged in the air in front of a user, thereby leaving the entire surface of a desk free.

As regards the forecast of the evolution of the monitor attachment to a table, the next step will be the well-known solution used for table lamps – flexible attachment.
Certainly, a monitor is much heavier than a lamp reflector; therefore the following contradiction should be resolved.  

• The mounting should be flexible, elastic to provide easy movement of the monitor while adjusting its position. 
• The mounting should be rigid to provide reliable holding of the monitor in a chosen position. 
  

 

Photos: www.ergotron.com.