U.S. patent application number 10/864802 was filed with the patent office on 2005-04-14 for detachable display unit for portable video player device.
Invention is credited to Hussaini, Saied, Iacovelli, Marc.
Application Number | 20050079904 10/864802 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 34426140 |
Filed Date | 2005-04-14 |
United States Patent
Application |
20050079904 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Hussaini, Saied ; et
al. |
April 14, 2005 |
Detachable display unit for portable video player device
Abstract
A video player assembly comprises a video player device and a
video display unit detachable from the video player device. The
video player device includes a casing provided with at least one
support slot formed thereon. In turn, the video display unit
includes a video display panel including a viewing surface provided
with a display screen and a base member pivotally mounted to the
video display panel. The base member is detachably disposed within
the display support slot of the player casing thereby forming a
selectively releasable collection between the player casing and the
video display panel. The video display panel is rotatable relative
to the base member so that the video display panel has a deployed
position and a stowed position. The video display unit may be
removed from the video player device and independently supported by
the base member on any substantially flat surface.
Inventors: |
Hussaini, Saied; (Miami,
FL) ; Iacovelli, Marc; (Miami, FL) |
Correspondence
Address: |
LINIAK, BERENATO & WHITE
Suite 240
6550 Rock Spring Drive
Bethesda
MD
20817
US
|
Family ID: |
34426140 |
Appl. No.: |
10/864802 |
Filed: |
June 10, 2004 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
60509918 |
Oct 10, 2003 |
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
463/1 ;
G9B/33.025 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G11B 33/10 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
463/001 |
International
Class: |
A63F 009/24 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A video player assembly comprising: a video player device having
a player casing provided with at least one display support slot
formed thereon; and a video display unit including: a video display
panel including a viewing surface provided with a display screen;
and a base member mounted to said video display panel, said base
member being disposed within said at least one display support slot
of said player casing thereby forming a selectively releasable
connection between said player casing and said video display panel;
said video display member being pivotally mounted to said base
member for pivoting between a stowed position wherein said video
display panel is substantially parallel to a top panel of said
video player device and a deployed position wherein said video
display panel projects outwardly from said top panel of said video
player device with said display screen in a disposition which is
viewable by a user of said video player assembly.
2. The video player assembly as defined in claim 1, wherein said
player casing includes a rear panel substantially orthogonal to
said top panel, said at least one display support slot is formed
adjacent to said rear panel of said player casing.
3. The video player assembly as defined in claim 2, wherein said
rear panel of said player casing has two extensions each forming a
support slot provided to receive said base member of said video
display unit therein to support the video display panel.
4. The video player assembly as defined in claim 3, wherein said
base member of said video display unit includes a stand portion and
a pair of hinge portions formed at opposite ends of said stand
portion; said hinge portions provided for pivotally mounting said
video display panel to said base member through a continuous
resistance device.
5. The video player assembly as defined in claim 4, wherein
opposite end portions of said stand portion of said base member are
disposed in said support slots formed in said extensions of said
rear panel of said player casing.
6. The video player assembly as defined in claim 5, further
including a locking mechanism provided to relesably positively
secure said base member of said video display unit to said casing
of said video player device.
7. The video player assembly as defined in claim 6, wherein said
locking mechanism includes at least one release lever provided with
a locking tab that engages a complementary locking recess formed in
said base member of said video display unit to positively connect
said player casing to said base member of said video display
unit.
8. The video player assembly as defined in claim 7, wherein said
release lever is formed as a flexible cantilever formed integrally
with said rear panel of said player casing and extending along said
rear panel of said player casing to facilitate bending of said
release lever into said player casing to remove said locking tab
from said locking recess in said base member of said video display
unit and release said video display unit from said video player
device.
9. The video player assembly as defined in claim 8, wherein said
release lever has a ribbed button surface adapted to be pressed
upon to release said locking tab from said complementary locking
recess in said base member.
10. The video player assembly as defined in claim 9, wherein said
base member of said video display unit has an opening therethrough
formed to provide an access to said button surface of said release
lever when said video display unit is attached to said video player
device.
11. The video player assembly as defined in claim 2, wherein said
top panel of said player casing is provided with a plurality of
control buttons for operating said video player device.
12. The video player assembly as defined in claim 4, wherein said
video display panel pivots at least 180.degree. relative to said
player casing of said video player device.
13. The video player assembly as defined in claim 1, wherein said
base member is adjusted relative to said video display panel to an
angular position allowing said base member to independently support
said video display panel on a substantially flat surface.
14. The video player assembly as defined in claim 1, wherein said
video player device is electrically connected to said video display
unit thereby permitting communication of audio and video signals
between said video player device and said video display panel.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This Application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. 119(e)
of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/509,918 filed Oct. 10, 2003
by S. Hussaini et al.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] The present invention relates to consumer electronics in
general, and more particularly to a detachable, compact screen
apparatus for a PORTABLE, electronic video-processing device, such
as a DVD player.
[0004] 2. Description of the Prior Art
[0005] Video entertainment devices are becoming increasingly
popular. VCRs, DVDs, and similar electronic devices are commonly
found in most households today, particularly households having
young children and teenagers. These devices generally have a
box-shaped housing with a plurality of plugs for interfacing with
multiple complementary devices. Typically, these electronic devices
do not have a dedicated video display screen, and are adapted to
work with conventional TV monitors. Thus the portability of these
devices is often limited to the video display device to which they
are connected. Moreover, most households have a limited number of
televisions, and when one family member uses the television as a
video display device, other family members are unable to watch
conventional televised entertainment. Thus there is a need for a
compact, detachable, portable video display device adapted to be
used with electronic video-processing devices. Such a need
particularly exists for video players, such as the DVD or VCD
players and VCRs.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] The present invention is a video player assembly comprising
a video player device and a detachable video display unit designed
to be removably attached to the video player device.
[0007] In the preferred embodiment, the video display unit
comprises video display panel including a viewing surface provided
with a display screen, and a base member pivotally mounted to the
video display panel. In turn, the video player device includes a
player casing provided with at least one display support slot
formed thereon. The base member is disposed within the at least one
display support slot of the player casing thereby forming a
selectively releasable connection between the player casing and the
video display panel.
[0008] Furthermore, a rear panel of the video player device is
provided with a release lever including a locking tab that engages
a complementary recess formed in the base member of the video
display unit to positively connect the video player device to the
base member of the video display unit. Preferably, the release
lever is formed as a flexible cantilever formed integrally with and
extending along the rear panel of the video player device to
selectively facilitate bending the release lever into the video
player device to remove the locking tab from the complementary
recess in the base member of the video display unit and release the
video display unit from the video player device. The release lever
has a ribbed button surface adapted to be pressed upon to release
the locking tab from the complementary recess in the base
member.
[0009] The video player device is adapted for pivotally supporting
the video display unit between a stowed position and a deployed
position.
[0010] The video display unit may be removed from the video player
device and independently supported by the base member on any
substantially flat surface.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0011] The objects and advantages of the invention will become
apparent from a study of the following specification when viewed in
light of the accompanying drawings, wherein:
[0012] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a video display unit
attached to a separate video player device in a deployed
position;
[0013] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the video display unit
attached to the separate video player device in a stowed
position;
[0014] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the video player device;
[0015] FIG. 4 is a right side view of the video player device;
[0016] FIG. 5 is a left side view of the video player device;
[0017] FIG. 6 is a top view of the video player device;
[0018] FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the video display unit;
[0019] FIG. 8 is a front view of a stand portion of a base member
of the video display unit;
[0020] FIG. 9 is a side view of the stand portion of a base member
of the video display unit;
[0021] FIG. 10 is a front view of a video display panel of the
video display unit;
[0022] FIG. 11 is a rear view of the video display unit attached to
the separate video player device in a stowed position;
[0023] FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view as seen from the plane
indicated by the line A-A in FIG. 11;
[0024] FIG. 13 is an enlarged partial sectional view of a latch
mechanism shown in a circle "B" in FIG. 12;
[0025] FIG. 14 is a perspective view of the video display unit
separated from the video player device;
[0026] FIG. 15 is a perspective view of the video display unit
removed from the video player device and independently supported on
a flat surface.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0027] The preferred embodiment of the present invention will now
be described with the reference to accompanying drawings.
[0028] FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawings illustrate an exemplary
embodiment of a video player assembly 5 comprising an electronic
video player device, such as a digital video disc (DVD) player 10,
and a separate video display unit 30 removably attached to the
video player device 10. It will be appreciated that other
appropriate electronic video player devices, such as video CD (VCD)
players, VCRs, etc., are within the scope of the present invention.
The video player device 10 is adapted for pivotally supporting the
video display unit 30 between a stowed position (shown in FIG. 2)
and a deployed position (shown in FIG. 1).
[0029] The video display unit 30 comprises a base member 32 adapted
to be removably attached to the video player device 10, and a video
display panel 42 pivotally mounted on the base member 32, as
illustrated in FIG. 7.
[0030] The DVD player device 10 of the particular exemplary
embodiment of the present invention illustrated in detail in FIGS.
3-6, includes a substantially box-like casing 12 having a top panel
12.sub.T and a bottom panel, a front panel 12.sub.F, a rear panel
12.sub.R, and opposite side panels 12.sub.RS and 12.sub.LS. The
right side panel 12.sub.RS of the casing 12 is provided with a slot
14 for inserting digital video discs (DVDs), shown in FIG. 4. As
illustrated in FIG. 5, the left side panel 12.sub.LS of the casing
12 is provided with ventilating openings 15, two monitor connecting
sockets 16, an S-video output socket 17, a video output socket 18a,
two audio output sockets 18b and a socket 20 for a DC/AC adapter
(not shown). The sockets 17, 18a and 18b define a DVD player
electrical interface adapted to be operably connected to an
electrical interface of the video display unit 30 and communicate
electrical signals therebetween. The top panel 12.sub.T of the
casing 12 is substantially flat and includes a plurality of control
buttons 22 provided to operate the DVD player device 10 and
magnetic inserts 29, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 6.
[0031] Furthermore, the rear panel 12.sub.R of the casing 12 has
two opposite extensions 24a and 24b each forming an open support
slot 25a and 25b, respectively, provided to receive the base member
32 of the video display unit 30 therein to support the video
display panel 42.
[0032] Moreover, as illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, the rear panel
12.sub.R of the casing 12 is provided with a release lever 26
including a locking tab 27 that engages a complementary recess
formed in the base member 32 of the video display unit 30 to
positively connect the video player device 10 to the base member 32
of the video display unit 30. Preferably, the release lever 26 is
formed as a flexible cantilever formed integrally with and
extending along the rear panel 12.sub.R of the casing 12 to
selectively facilitate bending the release lever 26 into the player
casing 12 to remove the locking tab 27 from the complementary
recess in the base member 32 of the video display unit 30 and
release the video display unit 30 from the player casing 12. The
release lever 26 has a ribbed button surface 28 adapted to be
pressed upon to release the locking tab 27 from the complementary
recess in the base member 32.
[0033] The base member 32 of the video display unit 30, illustrated
in detail in FIG. 8, includes a stand portion 34 and a pair of
hinge portions 36a and 36b formed at opposite ends of the stand
portion 34. The stand portion 34 of the base member 32 has a
through opening 38 configured so that provide an access to the
button surface 28 of the release lever 26 when the video display
unit 30 is attached to the video player device 10, as shown in
FIGS. 2 and 10. The stand portion 34 is also provided with a
locking recess 35 complementary to the locking tab 27 of the
release lever 26 formed on the rear panel 12.sub.R of the casing 12
of the video player device 10.
[0034] The video display panel 42 of the video display unit 30,
illustrated in detail in FIG. 10, includes a hollow display casing
44 made of, preferably, appropriate plastic material. The display
casing 44 houses a display screen 46. Preferably, the display
screen 46 is a substantially flat liquid crystal display (LCD)
screen. The display casing 44 further houses a pair of built-in
stereo speakers 48 located on both sides of the LCD screen 46 for
providing a stereo sound. Also, a plurality (preferably four) of
elastic, such as rubber, pad members 50 are provided on a viewing
surface 45 of the display casing 44 adapted to provide a small
clearance between the video display panel 42 and the top panel
12.sub.T of the player casing 12 when the video display unit 30 is
in the stowed position. Moreover, the display casing 44 includes
magnetic inserts 68 oriented so as to register with the magnetic
inserts 29 on the top panel 12.sub.T of the casing 12 when the
video display unit 30 is in the stowed position. Thus, the magnetic
inserts 29 and 68 act as a locking means for retaining the video
display unit 30 is in the stowed position.
[0035] The display casing 44 also includes various audio and video
controls 52 and a pair of stereo headphone jacks 54a and 54b. The
display casing 44 may also include other controls and integration
ports to allow the video player device 10 to connect and interface
with multiple auxiliary devices.
[0036] As further illustrated in FIG. 5, the video display unit 30
is provided with an audio/video/power signal port 58 provided
within the hinge portion 36a of the base member 32, an S-video
input socket 60, a video input socket 62a, two audio input sockets
62b and a socket 64 for a DC/AC adapter (not shown) provided in the
display casing 44 of the video display panel 42. The
audio/video/power signal port 58 is adapted to be connected to one
of the monitor connecting sockets 16 of the video player device 10
via an electric cable (not shown). Preferably, a single cable is
employed to form an all-in-one connection (video, audio L/R,
voltage source, etc.) to increase the ease in which the video
display unit 30 may be manipulated independently of the video
player device 10. Additional audio/video sockets 60, 62a and 62b
define the electrical interface of the video display unit 30
adapted to be operably connected to the electrical interface of the
video player device 10 and communicate electrical signals
therebetween to provide independent connection to any video player
device.
[0037] As shown in FIGS. 7 and 11, a lower end of the display
casing 44 is pivotally mounted to the hinge portions 36a and 36b of
the base member 32 through a continuous resistance device. The
pivotal connection allows the video display panel 42 to pivot at
least 180.degree. relative to the base member 32. A latch mechanism
includes the cantilevered release lever 26 provided with the
locking tab 27 to engage the locking recess 35 in the stand portion
34 of the base member 32, thus providing releasable connection
between the video player device 10 and the video display unit
30.
[0038] As best shown in FIGS. 2 and 11, when the video display unit
30 is attached to the video player device 10, opposite end portions
of the stand portion 34 of the base member 32 are disposed in the
support slots 25a and 25b formed in the extensions 24a and 24b of
the casing 12 of the video player device 10. In the installed
position, the locking tab 27 of the cantilevered release lever 26
positively engages the locking recess 35 in the stand portion 34 of
the base member 32 as illustrated in FIGS. 12 and 13, thus firmly
securing the video display unit 30 to the video player device
10.
[0039] A user can easily disengage the video display unit 30 from
the video player device 10 by simply depressing the ribbed button
surface 28 of the release lever 26 by his finger (as the button
surface 28 is accessible through the through opening 38 in the
stand portion 34) to bend the release lever 26 away from the stand
portion 34 of the base member 32 into the casing 12 of the video
player device 10. This action disengages the locking tab 27 from
the locking recess 35 in the stand portion 34 of the base member
32. At the same time, the user should lift the stand portion 34
upward to slide the base member 32 out of the support slots 25a and
25b in the casing 12 of the video player device 10.
[0040] If the user intends to leave the video display unit 30
attached to the video player device 10, the video display panel 42
can be pivoted downward so that the video display panel 42 is
oriented downward adjacent to the top panel 12.sub.T of the video
player device 10 in the stowed position (shown in FIG. 2), or the
video display panel 42 can be pivoted upward so that the video
display panel 42 projects outwardly from the top panel 12.sub.T of
the video player device 10 in the deployed position (shown in FIG.
1)wherein the display screen 46 is viewable by the user of the
video player assembly.
[0041] The video display unit 30 may be electronically connected to
the video player device 10 by any method known in the art, such as
by a single cable bundle connected through a single audio/video
port in each of the video display unit 30 and the video player
device 10. Such electronic connections are well within the
knowledge of one of ordinary skill in the art and need not be
elaborated further. The audio/video signal is thus transmitted to
the video display unit 30. The video display unit 30 includes
conventional circuitry and components to display the video images
and broadcast audio. The video display panel 42 includes associated
audio and video controls 52 on the display casing 44 to adjust the
display screen 46 and speaker volume. Such video display panel 42
may include LCD display screen. However it is to be understood that
any display device capable of displaying vide signals may be
employed. An independent power supply may be employed to power the
video display panel 42 or a battery compartment may be
provided.
[0042] In operation, a user simply inserts the opposite end
portions of the stand portion 34 of the base member 32 into the
support slots 25a and 25b formed in the extensions 24a and 24b of
the casing 12 of the video player device 10, as illustrated in FIG.
14. The stand portion 34 is dimensioned to fit in the support slots
25a and 25b formed in the extensions 24a and 24b of the casing 12.
The front surface of the stand portion 34 substantially conforms to
a corresponding portion of the rear panel 12.sub.R of the player
casing 12 such that the two surfaces rest substantially flush
against one another when connected. The locking tab 27 of the
cantilevered release lever 26 projects outward from the rear panel
12.sub.R of the casing 12 such that as the base member 32 is
inserted into the support slots 25a and 25b, the cantilevered
release lever 26 is forced backwards until the locking tab 27
engages the corresponding locking recess 35. When the stand portion
34 of the base member 32 is inserted sufficiently into the support
slots 25a and 25b, the cantilevered release lever 26 springs back
due to the resiliency thereof and the locking tab 27 engages the
locking recess 35. The overall arrangement provides a snug snap fit
releasable connection between the video display unit 30 and the
video player device 10.
[0043] The video display panel 42 may then be adjusted to pivot
between the stowed position whereby the display panel 42 rests
substantially flush against the top panel 12.sub.T of the video
player device 10, and the deployed position suitable to be viewed
by the user by manipulating the pivotal connection between the
lower end of the video display panel 42 and the base member 32.
When the video display panel 42 is stored flush against the top
panel 12.sub.T of the video player device 10, the arrangement of
the present invention provides a compact complete portable video
player assembly.
[0044] As indicated above, the rotatable (pivotal) connection
between the base member 32 and the video display panel 42 of the
video display unit 30 includes the continuous resistance device
that requires a threshold force to rotate the video display panel
42 relative to the base member 32, thus allowing the video display
panel 42 to be infinitely adjustable between various angular
positions between the stored position and an open position.
Preferably, the video display panel 42 may be rotated in excess of
180.degree..
[0045] To release the video display unit 30 from the separate video
player device 10, the user simply inserts a finger within the
through opening 38 in the stand portion 34 of the base member 32,
depresses the ribbed button surface 28 of the release lever 26 by
his finger to bend the release lever 26 away from the stand portion
34 of the base member 32 into the casing 12 of the video player
device 10 and force the locking tab 27 out of the corresponding
locking recess 35 in the stand portion 34 of the base member 32.
The video display unit 30 may then be simply pulled out of the
support slots 25a and 25b in the casing 12 and thereby detached
from the video player device 10. The overall arrangement provides a
detachable yet secure connection between the video display unit 30
and the video player device 10 to positively retain the video
display unit 30 to the video player device 10.
[0046] Moreover, the present invention allows the video display
unit 30 to be removed from the video player device 10 and
independently supported on any substantially flat surface. As
illustrated in FIG. 15, the base member 32 is adjusted relative to
the video display panel 42 to an angular position allowing the base
member 32 to independently support the video display panel 42 on a
substantially flat surface 70. In other words, when the base member
32 is rotated backward, away from the viewing surface of the video
display panel 42, the base member 32 may function as an independent
stand for the video display panel 42 of the video display unit 30,
as shown in FIG. 15.
[0047] While the present invention is described in relation to the
DVD player, the invention is equally suited for use with other
electronic video player devices, such as CVD and VCR players, and
other similar processing units producing an electronic video
signal. Although the materials of construction are not described,
they may include a variety of compositions consistent with the
function of the invention.
[0048] The description of the preferred embodiments of the present
invention has been presented for the purpose of illustration in
accordance with the provisions of the Patent Statutes. It is not
intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise
forms disclosed. The embodiments disclosed hereinabove were chosen
in order to best illustrate the principles of the present invention
and its practical application to thereby enable those of ordinary
skill in the art to best utilize the invention in various
embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the
particular use contemplated, as long as the principles described
herein are followed. This application is therefore intended to
cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of the invention using
its general principles. Further, this application is intended to
cover such departures from the present disclosure as come within
known or customary practice in the art to which this invention
pertains. Thus, changes can be made in the above-described
invention without departing from the intent and scope thereof. It
is also intended that the scope of the present invention be defined
by the claims appended thereto.
* * * * *