Apple patent suggests notebook docking station

MacNN is reporting on a patent filed by Apple that describes a laptop docking station that looks a lot like a hollow iMac. According to images filed with the patent, a laptop is slid into a compartment on the side of the dock, leaving the laptop's ports accessible.

There's no indication as to how the display works. Perhaps the docking station itself has a display that's powered by the laptop, though it seems silly to have two displays. It could be that the laptop in question is actually a tablet that docks with its own display facing the user.

The patent also mentions liquid cooling and a "telephonic handset." It's all interesting, but who knows if any of this will come to fruition. Perhaps we'll see next week.