Classifications

• • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
  • F16—ENGINEERING ELEMENTS AND UNITS; GENERAL MEASURES FOR PRODUCING AND MAINTAINING EFFECTIVE FUNCTIONING OF MACHINES OR INSTALLATIONS; THERMAL INSULATION IN GENERAL
  • F16M—FRAMES, CASINGS OR BEDS OF ENGINES, MACHINES OR APPARATUS, NOT SPECIFIC TO ENGINES, MACHINES OR APPARATUS PROVIDED FOR ELSEWHERE; STANDS; SUPPORTS
  • F16M11/00—Stands or trestles as supports for apparatus or articles placed thereon ; Stands for scientific apparatus such as gravitational force meters
  • F16M11/02—Heads
  • F16M11/18—Heads with mechanism for moving the apparatus relatively to the stand
• • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
  • F16—ENGINEERING ELEMENTS AND UNITS; GENERAL MEASURES FOR PRODUCING AND MAINTAINING EFFECTIVE FUNCTIONING OF MACHINES OR INSTALLATIONS; THERMAL INSULATION IN GENERAL
  • F16M—FRAMES, CASINGS OR BEDS OF ENGINES, MACHINES OR APPARATUS, NOT SPECIFIC TO ENGINES, MACHINES OR APPARATUS PROVIDED FOR ELSEWHERE; STANDS; SUPPORTS
  • F16M11/00—Stands or trestles as supports for apparatus or articles placed thereon ; Stands for scientific apparatus such as gravitational force meters
  • F16M11/02—Heads
  • F16M11/04—Means for attachment of apparatus; Means allowing adjustment of the apparatus relatively to the stand
  • F16M11/06—Means for attachment of apparatus; Means allowing adjustment of the apparatus relatively to the stand allowing pivoting
  • F16M11/08—Means for attachment of apparatus; Means allowing adjustment of the apparatus relatively to the stand allowing pivoting around a vertical axis, e.g. panoramic heads
• • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
  • F16—ENGINEERING ELEMENTS AND UNITS; GENERAL MEASURES FOR PRODUCING AND MAINTAINING EFFECTIVE FUNCTIONING OF MACHINES OR INSTALLATIONS; THERMAL INSULATION IN GENERAL
  • F16M—FRAMES, CASINGS OR BEDS OF ENGINES, MACHINES OR APPARATUS, NOT SPECIFIC TO ENGINES, MACHINES OR APPARATUS PROVIDED FOR ELSEWHERE; STANDS; SUPPORTS
  • F16M11/00—Stands or trestles as supports for apparatus or articles placed thereon ; Stands for scientific apparatus such as gravitational force meters
  • F16M11/20—Undercarriages with or without wheels
  • F16M11/24—Undercarriages with or without wheels changeable in height or length of legs, also for transport only, e.g. by means of tubes screwed into each other
  • F16M11/38—Undercarriages with or without wheels changeable in height or length of legs, also for transport only, e.g. by means of tubes screwed into each other by folding, e.g. pivoting or scissors tong mechanisms
• • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
  • F16—ENGINEERING ELEMENTS AND UNITS; GENERAL MEASURES FOR PRODUCING AND MAINTAINING EFFECTIVE FUNCTIONING OF MACHINES OR INSTALLATIONS; THERMAL INSULATION IN GENERAL
  • F16M—FRAMES, CASINGS OR BEDS OF ENGINES, MACHINES OR APPARATUS, NOT SPECIFIC TO ENGINES, MACHINES OR APPARATUS PROVIDED FOR ELSEWHERE; STANDS; SUPPORTS
  • F16M13/00—Other supports for positioning apparatus or articles; Means for steadying hand-held apparatus or articles
  • F16M13/02—Other supports for positioning apparatus or articles; Means for steadying hand-held apparatus or articles for supporting on, or attaching to, an object, e.g. tree, gate, window-frame, cycle
• • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
  • F16—ENGINEERING ELEMENTS AND UNITS; GENERAL MEASURES FOR PRODUCING AND MAINTAINING EFFECTIVE FUNCTIONING OF MACHINES OR INSTALLATIONS; THERMAL INSULATION IN GENERAL
  • F16M—FRAMES, CASINGS OR BEDS OF ENGINES, MACHINES OR APPARATUS, NOT SPECIFIC TO ENGINES, MACHINES OR APPARATUS PROVIDED FOR ELSEWHERE; STANDS; SUPPORTS
  • F16M2200/00—Details of stands or supports
  • F16M2200/06—Arms
  • F16M2200/061—Scissors arms

Definitions

• the present invention relates to mounting devices for electronic displays, and in particular, remotely selectively positionable mounting devices for flat panel electronic display devices.
• Flat panel electronic display devices such as flat panel televisions and display monitors are becoming increasingly popular due to superior image quality, space utilization, and increasing affordability as compared with conventional CRT displays. These flat panel display technologies have proven especially well suited to screen sizes over 36 inches, above which the size and weight of a CRT device become prohibitive.
• a drawback of this device is the display device causes relatively large structural loads to be placed on the threaded rods, tubes and linear actuators when the display is cantilevered a significant distance from the wall.
• the size of these elements must be made correspondingly large to accommodate this loading, adding to the space demands, weight, and cost of the mounting device.
• the device requires a relatively large number of actuators or motors, adding to the cost of the device and complexity of the control systems.
• a motorized mount includes a wall interface assembly and a display device interface operably coupled by a scissor arm assembly.
• the scissor arm assembly is compounded for strength, each arm comprising two parallel arms.
• One end of one compounding arm of the scissor arm assembly is coupled to a positioning member threadedly engaged with a vertical screw in the wall interface driven by a motor, which the other end is pivoted to the display interface.
• One end of the other compounding arm is slidably received on a vertical shaft on the display interface, while the other end of the same arm is pivoted to the wall interface.
• the positioning block is moved up or down on the screw, thereby causing the display interface to be moved closer to or away from the wall by the scissor arm assembly in a generally horizontal plane.
• a second positioning motor may be attached to the scissor arm assembly and coupled to the display interface through a geared arrangement to enable side-to-side rotation of the display interface about the shaft axis.
• Each motor may be remotely controlled using known remote control systems, including wired and wireless control systems.
• the present invention includes a motorized mount for an electronic display, and includes a biaxially shiftable mount assembly including a positioning assembly being translatably shiftable in a plane and a rotator assembly operably coupled to the positioning assembly, the rotator assembly being roatably shiftable about an axis, the axis being orthogonally disposed relative to the plane.
• An embodiment of the present invention may further include a method of selectively positioning an electronic display.
• Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a remote controlled mount according to an embodiment of the invention with a flat panel electronic display device mounted thereon;
• Fig. 2 is a fragmentary perspective view of a portion of the positioning assembly and scissor arm assembly of the mount depicted in Fig. 1 ;
• Fig. 3 is a fragmentary perspective view of another portion of the positioning assembly and scissor arm assembly of the mount depicted in Fig. 1;
• Fig. 4 is a fragmentary perspective view of a portion of the rotator and slide assemblies of the mount depicted in Fig. 1;
• Fig. 5 is a fragmentary perspective view of another portion of the rotator and slide assemblies of the mount depicted in Fig. 1;
• Fig. 6 is a front perspective view of the mount and display depicted in Fig. 1;
• Fig. 7 is a rear elevation view of the mount and display depicted in Fig. 1;
• Fig. 8 is a top plan view of the mount and display depicted in Fig. 1;
• Fig. 9 is a side elevation view of the mount and display depicted in Fig. 1;
• Fig. 10 is a bottom plan view of the mount and display depicted in Fig. 1;
• Fig. 1 1 is perspective view of an embodiment of a remote controlled mount according to an embodiment of the invention; and
• Fig. 12 is a fragmentary view of a portion of the mount of Fig. 11.
• Motorized mount 20 generally has three major components: wall interface assembly 22, display device interface 24 and positioning assembly 26, as depicted in Figs. 1 and 6.
• Wall interface assembly 22 generally includes housing 28 having a pair of laterally projecting flanges 30. Housing 28 may have a width dimension W (see Fig. 2) defined between the flanges 30 and selected so as to correspond with the spacing between adjacent studs of standard stud spacing in frame wall construction such stud spacing is, for example, 16 inches or 24 inches on center. Each flange 30 may have one or more apertures 32 for receiving fasteners 34 (see Fig. 1 1) to attach wall interface assembly 22 to studs 36 in a wall 38.
• Mechanism cover 40 (see Fig. 12) may be provided to cover all or a portion of the interior of housing 28 when installed in the wall 38.
• Display device interface 24 generally includes interface plate 42 and fastening buttons 44.
• Interface plate 42 has a plurality of apertures 46 defined therein for receiving fastening buttons 44, which are attached to flat panel display device 48.
• Various arrangements of apertures and fastening buttons that may be used to attach flat panel display device 48 to interface plate 42 are described in U. S Patent Application Serial No. 10/821,395 entitled FLAT PANEL DISPLAY MOUNTING SYSTEM, commonly owned by the owners of the present invention and hereby incorporated herein in its entirety by reference.
• display device interface 24 may include a perimeter frame structure 50 (see fig.
• Positioning assembly 26 generally includes means for shiftably translating the display device interface 24 in a plane that is substantially horizontal or parallel with a floor of a room in which the motorized mount 20 is mounted.
• Positioning assembly 26 generally includes screw drive assembly 52, scissor arm assembly 54, slide assembly 56 and rotator assembly 58.
• Screw drive assembly 52 generally includes screw 60, positioning block 62, motor 64, and thrust bearing assembly 66.
• Screw 60 has a spiral thread 68 formed thereon and extending over its full length.
• Motor 64 is attached to inside surface 70 of housing 28 and has an output shaft 72 attached to one end 74 of screw 60.
• Opposite end 76 of screw 60 is coupled to thrust bearing assembly 66 at thrust bearing 78.
• Thrust bearing 78 is rotatably received in thrust bearing housing 80, fixed to bottom wall 82 of housing 28.
• Positioning block 62 has body portion 84 with a pair of cylindrical stub shafts 86 extending laterally, coaxially from each opposed side 87 of the body portion 84.
• Bore 88 is transversely defined from top to bottom through positioning block 62.
• Bore 88 has an internal thread (not depicted) formed therein corresponding with thread 68 of screw 60, so that positioning block 62 is shiftably threaded onto screw 60.
• Scissor arm assembly 54 of positioning assembly 26 is depicted in Fig. 11 and generally includes first arm pair 90 and second arm pair 92. As such, scissor arm assembly 54 is compounded with each arm pair 90, 92 comprising an arm of scissor arm assembly 54. This is in distinction to the conventional construction of a scissor arm that has single bars pivotally coupled to each other.
• First arm pair 90 generally includes parallelly disposed arms 94, 96, that in cooperation comprise a first arm of scissor arm assembly 54.
• Each of arms 94, 96 have inwardly angled portion 98, 100, respectively at an end thereof.
• Fastening tabs 102, 104 project from each angled portion 98, 100, and each of the respective fastening tabs 102, 104 has a bore 105 formed therethrough.
• the respective bores 105 are in registry for receiving pivot axle 106 on respective opposed ends of pivot axle 106.
• Opposite ends 108, 110, of arms 94, 96, have a bore 111 that receives bushings 112, 114.
• Pivot axle 116 extends through a bore defined in positioning block 62 and is rotatably received at respective opposed ends thereof in bushings 112, 114.
• Second arm pair 92 generally includes arms 118, 120, that in cooperation comprise a second arm of scissor arm assembly 54.
• Arms 118, 120 include at a first end inwardly angled portions 122, 124, respectively. Each angled portion 122, 124, has a fastening tab 126, 128 for receiving pivot axle 130.
• Opposite ends 132, 134 of arms 118, 120 have apertures disposed in registry (not depicted) for receiving pivot axles 136, 138.
• Bracket pairs 140, 142 extend downwardly from upper wall 144 of housing 28.
• Pivot axles 136, 138 extend through arms 118, 120 and each bracket pair 140, 142 to pivotably mount arms 118, 120 to housing 28.
• Each pivot axle 136, 138 has a respective head portion 146 and a respective opposing end 148. Each respective opposing end 148 has an aperture for receiving a cotter pin 150 to secure pivot axles 136, 138 in place.
• Each arm pair 90, 92 has an aperture (not depicted) intermediate the head portion 146 and the opposed end 148 for receiving central pivot axle 152.
• Central pivot axle 152 extends through both arm pairs 90, 92, and enables arms 90, 92, to angularly pivot together in a compound scissors configuration, such pivoting acting to extend or retract the head portion 146 and the opposed end 148 relative to each other along an axis transverse to wall 38 and lying in a generally horizontal plane.
• Such extension and retraction acts to effectively lengthen and shorten the overall length of the scissor arm assembly 54, thereby positioning the display device interface 24 transversely relative to the wall 38 in the plane noted above.
• Slide assembly 56 of positioning assembly 26 generally includes shaft 154 and slide 160.
• Shaft 154 is fixed to interface plate 42 at bosses 156, 158.
• Slide 160 is slidably received on shaft 154.
• Pivot axle 130 extends through fastening tabs 126, 128, and slide 160 to pivotally attach arms 118, 120, to slide 160.
• Rotator assembly 58 of positioning assembly 26 generally includes means for shiftably rotating the display device interface 24 about an axis disposed orthogonally to the plane of actuation of the positioning assembly 26, noted above.
• Rotator assembly 58 generally includes housing portion 162, motor 164, drive gear 166, and positioning gear 168. Housing portion 162 and positioning gear 168 are rotatably mounted on shaft 154. Bearing portion 170 of positioning gear 168 bears against interface plate 42.
• Pivot axle 106 extends through fastening tabs 102, 104, and housing portion 162, to pivotally attach arms 94, 96, to housing portion 162.
• Motor 164 is fixed to housing portion 162 and has its output shaft coupled with drive gear 166, which is in turn, meshed with positioning gear 168.
• Motor 64 and motor 164 may be electric motors with output shafts connected through reduction gear assemblies to provide a low speed bi-directional rotary output. Each motor is operable through a separate control so that each motor may be operated independent of the other.
• positioning block 62 moves vertically along the length of screw 60, the direction of movement depending on the direction of rotation of screw 60.
• the vertical movement of positioning block 62 causes scissor arm assembly 54 to move display device interface 24 either closer to, or further away from, wall interface assembly 22, thereby retracting or extending flat panel display device 48 from the wall in the plane noted above.
• Power may also be separately applied to motor 164, thereby causing it to rotate positioning gear 168 through drive gear 166 in either a clockwise or counterclockwise direction through a known angle about an axis (the longitudinal axis of shaft 54) that is orthogonally disposed relative the plane of extension/retraction of scissor arm assembly 54.
• Such rotation imposes opposing biases on the interface plate 42.
• Bearing portion 170 selectively bears against interface plate 42 on one side or the other of the axis of rotation in the direction of gear rotation, thereby causing interface plate 42 to rotate on shaft 154 in a selected direction.
• Such rotation selectively positions the flat panel display 48 attached to interface plate 42 for better viewing as desired.
• motor 64 and 164 may be controlled remotely through a receiver associated motorized mount 20 and a remote transmitter.
• the receiver and transmitter may be communicatively connected via hardwire or various wireless modes including modulated infrared signals where line-of-sight control is desired, or through modulated radio- frequency signals for greater range.
• remote control of mount 20 may be incorporated in the same transmitter with remote control of one or more of the flat panel television, satellite receivers, digital media players, sound systems, or other electronic devices associated with the flat panel television as is known in the art.
• the positioning assembly may be located in the display interface, with the slide assembly located in the wall interface.

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• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Devices For Indicating Variable Information By Combining Individual Elements (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Publications (1)

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Family Applications (1)

Country Status (3)

Families Citing this family (22)

Family Cites Families (21)

• 2007
  • 2007-01-03 EP EP07716199A patent/EP1969193A2/de not_active Withdrawn
  • 2007-01-03 WO PCT/US2007/000010 patent/WO2007081673A2/en not_active Ceased
  • 2007-01-03 US US11/649,338 patent/US20070158515A1/en not_active Abandoned

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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