U.S. patent application number 11/653298 was filed with the patent office on 2008-04-03 for mounting device capable of positioning a display device at an adjusted angle.
Invention is credited to Tom Huang.
Application Number | 20080078907 11/653298 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 38641055 |
Filed Date | 2008-04-03 |
United States Patent
Application |
20080078907 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Huang; Tom |
April 3, 2008 |
Mounting device capable of positioning a display device at an
adjusted angle
Abstract
A mounting device capable of positioning a display device at an
adjusted angle includes a linking bar, an elongated frame adapted
to hold the panel and having a pivoted end pivoted to the linking
bar such that an opposite tilted end is tiltable relative to the
linking bar, fore and rear arms respectively having front and rear
anchoring ends pivoted to the tilted end and the linking bar, and
joined and joining ends joined to each other, and a force
counteracting unit which is disposed to counteract the gravity of a
combined load of the elongated frame and the display device, and
which acquires an additional force to counter a torque increment
when the tilted end is tilted so as to hold the display device at a
desired angular position.
Inventors: |
Huang; Tom; (Taipei Hsien,
TW) |
Correspondence
Address: |
BIRCH STEWART KOLASCH & BIRCH
PO BOX 747
FALLS CHURCH
VA
22040-0747
US
|
Family ID: |
38641055 |
Appl. No.: |
11/653298 |
Filed: |
January 16, 2007 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
248/276.1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F16M 13/02 20130101;
F16M 11/10 20130101; F16M 2200/041 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
248/276.1 |
International
Class: |
E04G 3/00 20060101
E04G003/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Sep 11, 2006 |
TW |
095216170 |
Claims
1. Amounting device capable of positioning a display device at an
adjusted angle, comprising: a base; a linking bar having a
proximate end connected to said base, and a distal end opposite to
said proximate end; an elongate frame which is adapted to hold the
display device in position so as to constitute a combined load
therewith, and which has a pivoted end pivotally mounted on said
distal end about a pivoting axis, and a tilted end that is opposite
to said pivoted end, and that is tiltable by virtue of angular
movement thereof about the pivoting axis between a rearward tilted
position, where said tilted end is closer to said base, and a
forward tilted position, where said tilted end is remote from said
base, and where the combined load acquires a torque increment
resulting from an angular shifting of the center of gravity of the
combined load accompanying the angular movement; a rear arm having
a rear anchoring end pivotally mounted on said linking bar about a
longitudinal axis parallel to the pivoting axis, and a joining end
opposite to said anchoring end; a fore arm having a joined end
joined to said joining end at a joint about a joint axis that is
parallel to the pivoting axis to define an included angle
therebetween, and a front anchoring end which is opposite to said
joined end, and which is pivotally mounted on said tilted end such
that said front anchoring end is turnable about the joint axis
between a highly flexed position, where the included angle is
smaller, and a slightly flexed position, where the included angle
is larger, the highly flexed and slightly flexed positions
corresponding to the rearward and forward tilted positions,
respectively; and a force counteracting unit which is configured
such that said force counteracting unit counteracts the gravity of
the combined load when said elongate frame is in the rearward
tilted position, and such that, in response to turning movement of
said front anchoring end of said fore arm from the highly flexed
position to the slightly flexed position, said force counteracting
unit acquires an additional force to counteract the torque
increment so as to hold said elongate frame in the forward tilted
position.
2. The mounting device of claim 1, wherein said force counteracting
unit includes a biasing member which has a biasing force to
counteract the gravity of the combined load so as to hold said
elongate frame in the rearward tilted position, said biasing member
having two ends disposed respectively on said fore and rear arms
such that, when said front anchoring end is displaced to the
slightly flexed position, said two ends acquires the additional
force to enable said biasing member to counteract the torque
increment so as to hold said elongate frame in the forward tilted
position.
3. The mounting device of claim 2, further comprising an axle shaft
which extends along the joint axis to serve as said joint such that
said joining end and said joined end are journalled on said axle
shaft, said biasing member being a coil spring which is mounted on
said axle shaft and which surrounds the joint axis.
4. The mounting device of claim 3, further comprising a plurality
of washers which are sleeved on said axle shaft, and which are
sandwiched between said joining end and said joined end so as to
provide a friction force that enhances frictional engagement
between said joining end and said joined end to thereby help resist
manually actuated movement of said elongate frame away from one of
the forward and rearward tilted positions.
5. The mounting device of claim 4, further comprising a tightening
member disposed on said axle shaft to permit tightening or
loosening of said joining and joined ends against said washers so
as to adjust the friction force.
6. The mounting device of claim 3, wherein said fore and rear arms
respectively have front and rear projecting abutments which are
disposed in proximity of said joined end and said joining end,
respectively, to abut against said ends of said biasing member,
respectively, so as to permit said ends of said biasing member to
acquire the additional force when said elongate frame is displaced
to the forward tilted position.
7. The mounting device of claim 1, wherein a distance between said
front anchoring end and said joint is larger than a distance
between said rear anchoring end and said joint.
8. The mounting device of claim 1, wherein said base has a mounting
rail which elongates parallel to the longitudinal axis, said
proximate end of said linking bar is retainingly slidable on said
mounting rail.
9. The mounting device of claim 8, further comprising an
antifriction pad which is disposed on said linking bar and which
confronts said base so as to diminish a friction force between said
linking bar and said base to ease sliding movement of said linking
bar.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application claims priority of Taiwanese Application
No. 095216170, filed on Sep. 11, 2006.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] This invention relates to a mounting device capable of
positioning a display device, more particularly to a mounting
device with a force counteracting unit which can hold a display
device at a desired angular position.
[0004] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0005] Thin-type display devices, such as plasma displays and
liquid crystal displays, are mountable on walls to save space.
However, since such display devices are relatively large and bulky,
they are generally mounted in a fixed and non-adjustable manner.
Hence, the viewing angle is also fixed.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] The object of the present invention is to provide a mounting
device which can hold a display device at a desired angular
position and which permits easy adjustment of a viewing angle of
the display device.
[0007] According to this invention, the mounting device includes: a
base; a linking bar having a proximate end connected to the base,
and a distal end opposite to the proximate end; an elongate frame
which is adapted to hold a display device in position so as to
constitute a combined load therewith, and which has a pivoted end
pivotally mounted on the distal end about a pivoting axis, and a
tilted end that is opposite to the pivoted end, and that is
tiltable by virtue of angular movement about the pivoting axis
between a rearward tilted position, where the tilted end is closer
to the base, and a forward tilted position, where the tilted end is
remote from the base, and where the combined load acquires a torque
increment resulting from an angular shifting of the center of
gravity accompanying the angular movement; a rear arm having a rear
anchoring end which is pivotally mounted on the linking bar about a
longitudinal axis parallel to the pivoting axis, and a joining end
opposite to the anchoring end; a fore arm which has a joined end
joined to the joining end at a joint about a joint axis that is
parallel to the pivoting axis to define an included angle
therebetween, and a front anchoring end that is opposite to the
joined end, and that is pivotally mounted on the tilted end such
that the front anchoring end is turnable about the joint axis
between a highly flexed position, where the included angle is
smaller, and a slightly flexed position, where the included angle
is larger, the highly flexed and slightly flexed positions
corresponding to the rearward and forward tilted positions,
respectively; and a force counteracting unit which is configured
such that the force counteracting unit counteracts the gravity of
the combined load when the elongate frame is in the rearward tilted
position, and such that, in response to turning movement of the
front anchoring end of the fore arm from the highly flexed position
to the slightly flexed position, the force counteracting unit
acquires an additional force to counteract the torque increment so
as to hold the elongate frame in the forward tilted position.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0008] Other features and advantages of the present invention will
become apparent in the following detailed description of the
preferred embodiment of the invention, with reference to the
accompanying drawings, in which:
[0009] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the preferred embodiment of
a mounting device according to this invention;
[0010] FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a linking bar, an
elongate frame and a weight compensating unit of the preferred
embodiment;
[0011] FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the weight
compensating unit of the preferred embodiment;
[0012] FIG. 4 is a schematic side view of the preferred embodiment
in an upright state; and
[0013] FIG. 5 is a schematic side view of the preferred embodiment
in a tilted state.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0014] Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the preferred embodiment of
amounting device according to the present invention is shown to
comprise a base 2, a linking bar 3, an elongate frame 5, and a
weight compensating unit 6 for positioning a display device 1, such
as a plasma display and a liquid crystal display.
[0015] The base 2 is adapted to be fixed on a wall, and has a
mounting rail 21 which elongates in a longitudinal direction.
[0016] The linking bar 3 has a proximate end 31 and a distal end 33
opposite to each other in an upright direction. The proximate end
31 has a hook member 35 which is secured thereon, and which has a
first hook 351 that is slidable retainingly on the mounting rail 21
so as to adjust a longitudinal position of the linking bar 3, and a
second hook 352 that is retained in a hole 311 in the proximate end
31, and a pivot lug 353 that is disposed opposite to the first and
second hooks 351,352. An antifriction pad 32 is disposed on the
linking bar 3, and confronts the base 2 so as to diminish a
friction force between the linking bar 3 and the base 2 to ease
sliding movement of the linking bar 3.
[0017] The elongate frame 5 has a plurality of fastening holes
51,52 adapted for mounting of display device 1 thereon so as to
constitute a combined load therewith. The elongate frame 5 has a
pivoted end 53 which is pivotally mounted on the distal end 33 of
the linking bar 3 about a pivoting axis in the longitudinal
direction, and a tilted end 54 which is opposite to the pivoted end
53, and which is tiltable by virtue of angular movement thereof
about the pivoting axis between a rearward tilted position (or a
substantially upright position), as shown in FIG. 4, where the
tilted end 54 is closer to the base 2, and a forward tilted
position, as shown in FIG. 5, where the tilted end 54 is remote
from the base 2, and where the combined load acquires a torque
increment resulting from an angular shifting of the center of
gravity of the combined load accompanying the angular movement of
the tilted end 54.
[0018] The weight compensating unit 6 includes a rear arm 62, a
fore arm 61, and a force counteracting unit. With reference to FIG.
3, a rear arm 62 has a rear anchoring end 621 which is pivotally
mounted on the pivot lug 353 of the linking bar 3 about a
longitudinal axis parallel to the pivoting axis, and a joining end
622 opposite to the rear anchoring end 621. A rear projecting
abutment 64 is disposed in proximity of the joining end 622. The
fore arm 61 has a joined end 612 which is joined to the joining end
622 at a joint about a joint axis that is parallel to the pivoting
axis so as to define an included angle therebetween, and a front
anchoring end 611 which is opposite to the joined end 612, and
which is pivotally mounted on the tilted end 54 of the elongate
frame 5. The front anchoring end 611 is turnable about the joint
axis between a highly flexed position, where the included angle is
smaller, and a slightly flexed position, where the included angle
is larger. The highly flexed and slightly flexed positions
correspond to the rearward and forward tilted positions,
respectively. A front projecting abutment 63 is disposed in
proximity of the joined end 612. In this embodiment, an axle shaft
66 extends along the joint axis to serve as the joint such that the
joining end 622 and the joined end 612 are journalled on the axle
shaft 66. The distance between the front anchoring end 621 and the
axle shaft 66 is larger than the distance between the rear
anchoring end 611 and the axle shaft 66.
[0019] The force counteracting unit includes a biasing member 65
and a plurality of washers 68,69. The biasing member 65 is in the
form of a coil spring which is mounted on the axle shaft 66 to
surround the joint axis and which has a biasing force to counteract
the gravity of the combined load of the elongate frame 5 and the
display device 1 so as to hold the elongate frame 5 in the rearward
tilted position. The biasing member 65 has two ends abutting
against the front and rear projecting abutments 63,64,
respectively, so as to bias the front and rear anchoring ends
611,621 toward each other such that, when the front anchoring end
611 is displaced to the slightly flexed position, i.e., when the
elongate frame 5 is in the forward tilted position as shown in FIG.
5, the two ends of the biasing member 65 acquire an additional
force (.DELTA.F) for the biasing member 65 to counteract the torque
increment (.DELTA.W) so as to hold the elongate frame 5 in the
forward tilted position.
[0020] Further, the washers 68,69 are sleeved on the axle shaft 66,
and are sandwiched between the joining end 622 and the joined end
612 to provide a friction force (f) that enhances frictional
engagement between the joining end 622 and the joined end 612 to
thereby help resist manually actuated movement of the elongate
frame 5 away from one of the forward and rearward tilted positions.
A tightening member 67 is disposed on the axle shaft 66 to permit
tightening or loosening the joining and joined ends 612,622 against
the washers 68,69 so as to adjust the friction force (f).
[0021] As illustrated, by means of the weight compensating unit 6,
the user can pull forwardly a top of the display device 1 to tilt
the same to a desired angular position, and the display device 1 is
held in this angular position without any additional tool.
[0022] While the present invention has been described in connection
with what is considered the most practical and preferred
embodiment, it is understood that this invention is not limited to
the disclosed embodiment but is intended to cover various
arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest
interpretations and equivalent arrangements.
* * * * *