U.S. patent application number 11/980828 was filed with the patent office on 2008-10-23 for wall-mounting support assembly for flat-panel monitor.
Invention is credited to Zhong-Yue Zhang.
Application Number | 20080258029 11/980828 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 39337904 |
Filed Date | 2008-10-23 |
United States Patent
Application |
20080258029 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Zhang; Zhong-Yue |
October 23, 2008 |
Wall-mounting support assembly for flat-panel monitor
Abstract
A wall-mounting support assembly is disclosed to include a
bracket holding a flat-panel monitor, a wall mount affixed to a
flat wall surface, a holder block fastened to the wall mount and
holding a vertical axle, a swivel rack fastened to the bracket and
pivoted to the vertical axle, a transmission device mounted in the
swivel rack, a sun gear affixed to the vertical axle, a planet gear
mounted in the swivel rack and meshed with the sun gear and
rotatable by the transmission device to turn the swivel rack about
the vertical axle, and a control circuit for controlling the
operation of the transmission device for allowing the user to
adjust the angular position of the flat-panel monitor by means of a
remote controller.
Inventors: |
Zhang; Zhong-Yue; (Shekou,
CN) |
Correspondence
Address: |
TROXELL LAW OFFICE PLLC;ONE SKYLINE PLACE
SUITE 1404, 5205 LEESBURG PIKE
FALLS CHURCH
VA
22041
US
|
Family ID: |
39337904 |
Appl. No.: |
11/980828 |
Filed: |
October 31, 2007 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
248/284.1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F16M 11/08 20130101;
F16M 11/2064 20130101; F16M 13/02 20130101; F16M 11/18
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
248/284.1 |
International
Class: |
E04G 3/20 20060101
E04G003/20 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Apr 17, 2007 |
CN |
200720119528.6 |
Claims
1. A wall-mounting support assembly comprising a bracket adapted to
hold a flat-panel monitor, a wall mount for fastened to a flat wall
surface, a holder block coupled to said wall mount, and a vertical
axle fixedly mounted in said holder block, and a swivel rack
fastened to said bracket and pivotally coupled to said vertical
axle, wherein the wall-mounting support assembly further comprises
a transmission device mounted in said swivel rack; a planet gear
mechanism, said planet gear mechanism comprising a sun gear affixed
to said vertical axle and a planet gear mounted in said swivel rack
and meshed with said sun gear and rotatable by said transmission
device, said holder block and said vertical axle and said sun gear
constructing a planet carrier of said planet gear mechanism; and a
control circuit adapted to control operation of said transmission
device.
2. The wall-mounting support assembly as claimed in claim 1,
further comprising a torque limiter set between said sun gear and
said vertical axle.
3. The wall-mounting support assembly as claimed in claim 2,
wherein said torque limiter is a friction pad.
4. The wall-mounting support assembly as claimed in claim 1,
further comprising two limit switches respectively disposed in two
opposite lateral sides of said holder block and electrically
connected to said control circuit and adapted to cut off power
supply from said transmission device when said swivel rack is
turned about said vertical axle in one of two reversed directions
to a predetermined angle.
5. The wall-mounting support assembly as claimed in claim 1,
further comprising at least one ball bearing disposed between said
swivel rack and said vertical axle.
6. The wall-mounting support assembly as claimed in claim 4,
further comprising a thrust bearing disposed between said swivel
rack and said holder block.
7. The wall-mounting support assembly as claimed in claim 1,
further comprising a speed reduce mechanism coupled between said
transmission device and said planet gear.
8. The wall-mounting support assembly as claimed in claim 1,
further comprising a folding support arm assembly coupled between
said holder block and said wall mount.
9. The wall-mounting support assembly as claimed in claim 1,
further comprising a tilt angle adjustment device mounted in said
bracket and adapted to adjust the tilt angle of the flat-panel
monitor that is mounted on said bracket.
10. The wall-mounting support assembly as claimed in claim 1,
further comprising an infrared remote-control receiver electrically
connected to said control circuit and adapted to receive control
signals from an external infrared remote controller for controlling
said control circuit to start, stop, and reverse said transmission
device.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention relates to a flat-panel support
assembly and more particularly, to a wall-mounting support assembly
to support a flat-panel monitor that allows horizontal rotation of
the flat-panel monitor.
[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0004] The manufacturing technique of flat-panel monitor, such as
LCD monitor, LCD TV, or plasma TV, is getting mature. In
consequence, the market share of flat-panel monitor is getting
increased. A flat-panel monitor has the advantages of thin, light,
and space-saving characteristics, and is mountable on a tabletop or
flat wall surface.
[0005] A flat-panel monitor, more particularly, a LCD TV or
flat-panel TV has a limited view angle. It is the best view angle
to keep the view line perpendicular to the screen. Therefore, a
flat-panel monitor may need to rotate the flat-panel monitor
horizontally to obtain a better view. Normally, a big screen
flat-panel TV is installed in the living room. In a big living room
having a big active space, a person watching the TV may need to
adjust the horizontal angle of the flat-panel TV frequently.
However, adjustment of the horizontal angle of a flat-panel TV on a
conventional wall-mounting support device must be done manually. It
brings inconvenience to the user.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] The present invention has been accomplished under the
circumstances in view. It is therefore the main object of the
present invention to provide a wall-mounting support assembly for
flat-panel monitor, which uses electric power to rotate the
supported flat-panel monitor horizontally for view angle
adjustment.
[0007] It is another object of the present invention to provide a
wall-mounting support assembly for flat-panel monitor, which allows
adjustment of the view angle of the supported flat-panel monitor by
means of a remote controller.
[0008] To achieve these and other objects and according to one
aspect of the present invention, the wall-mounting support assembly
comprises a bracket adapted to hold a flat-panel monitor, a wall
mount for fastened to a flat wall surface, a holder block coupled
to the wall mount, and a vertical axle fixedly mounted in the
holder block, and a swivel rack fastened to the bracket and
pivotally coupled to the vertical axle. The wall-mounting support
assembly further comprises a transmission device mounted in the
swivel rack, a planet gear mechanism, which comprises a sun gear
affixed to the vertical axle and a planet gear mounted in the
swivel rack and meshed with the sun gear and rotatable by the
transmission device, and a control circuit adapted to control
operation of the transmission device. The holder block, the
vertical axle and the sun gear constitute a planet carrier of the
planet gear mechanism.
[0009] According to another aspect of the present invention, the
wall-mounting support assembly further comprises a torque limiter
set between the sun gear and the vertical axle. In one embodiment
of the present invention, the torque limiter is a friction pad.
[0010] According to still another aspect of the present invention,
the wall-mounting support assembly further comprises two limit
switches respectively disposed in two opposite lateral sides of the
holder block and electrically connected to the control circuit and
adapted to cut off power supply from the transmission device when
the swivel rack is turned about the vertical axle in one of two
reversed directions to a predetermined angle.
[0011] According to still another aspect of the present invention,
the wall-mounting support assembly further comprises at least one
ball bearing disposed between the swivel rack and the vertical
axle, and a thrust bearing disposed between the swivel rack and the
holder block.
[0012] According to still another aspect of the present invention,
the wall-mounting support assembly further comprises a speed reduce
mechanism coupled between the transmission device and the planet
gear.
[0013] According to still another aspect of the present invention,
the wall-mounting support assembly further comprises a folding
support arm assembly coupled between the holder block and the wall
mount.
[0014] According to still another aspect of the present invention,
the wall-mounting support assembly further comprises a tilt angle
adjustment device mounted in the bracket and adapted to adjust the
tilt angle of the flat-panel monitor that is mounted on the
bracket.
[0015] According to still another aspect of the present invention,
the wall-mounting support assembly further comprises an infrared
remote-control receiver electrically connected to the control
circuit and adapted to receive control signals from an external
infrared remote controller for controlling the control circuit to
start, stop, and reverse the transmission device.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0016] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a wall-mounting support
assembly for flat-panel monitor in accordance with the present
invention.
[0017] FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a part of the wall-mounting
support assembly for flat-panel monitor in accordance with the
present invention.
[0018] FIG. 3 is a schematic drawing of an alternate form of the
present invention, showing a disk spring set between the run gear
and the vertical axle.
[0019] FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of a part of the wall-mounting
support assembly according to the present invention.
[0020] FIG. 5 is a schematic top view of the swivel rack and the
holder block of another alternate form of the present
invention.
[0021] FIG. 6 is a side view of the wall-mounting support assembly
according to the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0022] Referring to FIGS. 1, 2 and 4, a wall-mounting support
assembly for flat-panel monitor in accordance with the present
invention is shown comprising a bracket 4 for holding a flat-panel
monitor, swivel rack 1 connected to the bracket 4, a wall mount 2
for fastening to a flat wall, a holder block 5 coupled to the
bracket 4 through the swivel rack 1, a folding support arm assembly
3 coupled between the holder block 5 and the wall mount 2, and a
screen tilt angle adjustment device 6 installed in the bracket 4
for adjusting the tilt angle of the supported flat-panel monitor.
The holder block 5 is fastened to the front end of the folding
support arm assembly 3 with a fasteners 8, for example, screw
bolts. The folding support arm assembly 3 is adapted to adjust the
distance between the supported flat-panel monitor and the wall as
well as the initial horizontal turn angle.
[0023] The swivel rack 1 and the holder block 5 are pivotally
coupled together with a vertical axle 7. As illustrated, the
vertical axle 7 is mounted in a through hole of the holder block 5
and secured thereto with a holding down member 9, for example,
holding down screw. The vertical axle 7 has its two distal ends
extending out of the through hole of the holder block 5. The swivel
rack 1 has two lugs respectively coupled to the two distal ends of
the axle 7 outside the holder block 5. The lugs of the swivel rack
1 are respectively mounted with a respective ball bearing 10 of
which the inner race is supported on the axle 7. The bottom side of
each lug of the swivel rack 1 is respectively supported on the
holder block 5 by means of a respective ball collar thrust bearing
11. Thus, the swivel rack 1 and the holder block 5 are pivotally
coupled together by means of the vertical axle 7, forming a
hinge.
[0024] For allowing horizontal rotation of the swivel rack 1
relative to the holder block 5, a planet gear mechanism is used.
According to this embodiment, the sun gear 12 of the planet gear
mechanism is fixedly mounted on the top end of the vertical axle 7
by means of a screw nut 22 and a friction pad 13. During normal
working, the sun gear 12 does not rotate relative to the vertical
axle 7. The holder block 5, the vertical axle 7 and the sun gear 12
constitute a planet gear mechanism rack. The transmission device
15, for example, motor and the planet gear 14 of the planet gear
mechanism are mounted together in the swivel rack 1. The planet
gear 14 is meshed with the sun gear 12, and rotatable by the
transmission device 15 through a speed reduce mechanism 16. The
swivel rack 1 serves as a planet carrier for the planet gear
mechanism. When the transmission device 15 drives the planet gear
14 to rotate, the planet gear 14 is forced to turn the swivel rack
1 about the vertical axle 7.
[0025] The invention further comprises a control circuit board
mounted in a control box 17, and two limit switches 18 respectively
disposed at two opposite sides of the holder block 5. The limit
switches 18 are electrically connected to the control circuit board
in the control box 17. When turning the swivel rack 1 about the
vertical axle 7 clockwise or counter-clockwise to a predetermined
angle, one lateral side 1a of the swivel rack 1 immediately trigger
one associating limit switch 18, causing it to cut off power supply
from the transmission device 15, assuring system safety.
[0026] The circuit system of the present invention further
comprises an infrared remote-control receiver electrically
connected to the control circuit of the transmission device 15 for
receiving infrared control signal from an infrared remote
controller to control start, pause, reverse actions of the
transmission device 15.
[0027] As stated above, the sun gear 12 is mounted on the top end
of the vertical axle 7, and secured thereto by the screw nut 22 and
the friction pad 13. Therefore, the sun gear 12 does not rotate
relative to the vertical axle 7. The maximum torque transferable
between the sun gear 12 and the vertical axle 7 is determined
subject to the tightness of the screw nut 22. The tightness of the
screw nut 22 must be sufficient to prevent slipping between the sun
gear 12 and the vertical axle 7 during normal working of the planet
gear mechanism. Therefore, it is suggested to use a wrench when
fastening up the screw nut 22. If the wall-mounting support
assembly gets stuck accidentally to cause an overload of the
transmission device 15, the sun gear 12 and the vertical axle 7
will slip relative to each other, preventing burnout of the
transmission device 15 or damage of the planet gear mechanism.
Further, in case of power failure, the user can return the
wall-mounting support assembly to its former position with the
hands. In this case, the screw nut 22 must be loosened for allowing
movement between the sun gear 12 and the vertical axle 7 to prevent
jamming of the gear between the swivel rack 1 and the holder block
5.
[0028] In an alternate form of the present invention as shown in
FIG. 3, a disk spring 19 is set between the sun gear 12 and the
vertical axle 7 to limit the torque. The disk spring 19 is more
stable than the friction pad 13 in controlling the holding down
pressure. According to this embodiment, the screw nut 22 can be
fastened tight by hand without a wrench.
[0029] In another alternate form of the present invention as shown
in FIG. 5, the transmission device 15 drives a pinion 20 to rotate
the planet gear 14 through a transmission gear 21. The transmission
gear 21 and the planet gear 14 construct a tower wheel. The planet
gear 14 of the tower wheel is meshed with the sun gear 12.
Therefore, the centerlines of the pinion 20, planet gear 14 and sun
gear 12 are arranged on the front side of the swivel rack 1 in a
parallel manner. This embodiment allows the diameter of the sun
gear 12 to be made relatively smaller to reduce the vertical size H
of the swivel rack 1.
[0030] In still another alternate form of the present invention as
shown in FIG. 6, the aforesaid folding support arm assembly is
eliminated, and the holder block 5 is directly coupled to the wall
mount 2.
[0031] As stated above, the invention uses a transmission device to
drive a planet gear mechanism, causing the swivel rack to be turned
about the vertical axle at the holder block, and therefore the
screen of the flat-panel monitor is rotated horizontally to the
desired angle. Therefore, the user needs only to control the
control circuit of the transmission device to achieve horizontal
rotation of the screen of the flat-panel monitor easily. More
particularly, the use of the infrared remote-control receiver to
control the transmission device allows the user to adjust the
position of the flat-panel monitor without leaving from the seat.
By means of the infrared remote controller, the user can control
start, pause, or reverse function of the transmission device to
rotate the screen of the flat-panel monitor to the desired angle.
The wall-mounting support assembly of the invention is most
suitable for use in a living room having a big active space for
supporting a flat-panel TV. When watching TV, the user can directly
and accurately adjust the angle of the flat-panel TV by means of
the infrared remote controller without leaving from the seat. The
design of the present invention brings great convenience to
disabled persons, aged persons, or children.
[0032] Although particular embodiments of the invention have been
described in detail for purposes of illustration, various
modifications and enhancements may be made without departing from
the spirit and scope of the invention.
* * * * *