Controlled rotation mount
A swivel mount is provided comprising a mounting portion adapted for mounting to a fixed surface and a swiveling portion adapted for mounting to an electronic apparatus. The swiveling portion is rotatably coupled to the mounting portion and adapted to rotate with respect to the mounting portion about an axis of rotation. The swiveling portion defines an annular channel. A translating member is moveably positioned within the annular channel. A stop mounted to or extending from the mounting portion is positioned within the annular channel of the swiveling portion. The translating member is configured to translate a fixed distance in contact with the stop, and rotation of the swiveling portion is limited by contact between the stop and the translating member once the translating member translates the fixed distance.
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The present invention relates to a mounting apparatus for electronic equipment.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONAudio and video equipment, such as an audio speaker or a television monitor, is generally mounted on a floor, on a wall, or on a wall unit. The audio and video equipment may be employed in the home, automobile, boat, or any other indoor or outdoor environment. There is a need to provide a swiveling mount for controllable rotation of the audio/video equipment while substantially limiting twisting or tangling of the wire(s) or harness extending from the audio/video equipment in an effort to prevent damage to the audio/video equipment.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONAccording to one aspect of this invention, a swivel mount is provided. The swivel mount comprises a mounting portion adapted for mounting to a fixed surface and a swiveling portion adapted for mounting to an electronic apparatus. The swiveling portion is rotatably coupled to the mounting portion and adapted to rotate with respect to the mounting portion about an axis of rotation. The swiveling portion defines an annular channel. A translating member is moveably positioned within the annular channel. A stop mounted to or extending from the mounting portion is positioned within the annular channel of the swiveling portion. The translating member is configured to translate a fixed distance in contact with the stop, and rotation of the swiveling portion is limited by contact between the stop and the translating member once the translating member translates the fixed distance.
According to another aspect of this invention, an aperture is defined in the swivel mount positioned for carrying a wire of the electronic apparatus.
According to yet another aspect of this invention, a rotation of the swiveling portion is limited to approximately 180 degrees or less in a clockwise direction with respect to a neutral position and approximately 180 degrees or less in a counterclockwise direction with respect to the neutral position.
The invention is best understood from the following detailed description when read in connection with the accompanying drawing.
The invention will next be illustrated with reference to the Figures. Such Figures are intended to be illustrative rather than limiting and are included herewith to facilitate explanation of the present invention.
Referring generally to the figures, according to one aspect of this invention, a swivel mount 10 is provided. The swivel mount 10 comprises mounting portion 12 adapted for mounting to fixed surface 6 and swiveling portion 14 adapted for mounting to electronic apparatus 5. The swiveling portion 14 is rotatably coupled to mounting portion 12 and adapted to rotate with respect to mounting portion 12 about an axis of rotation “A”. An annular channel 46 is defined in swiveling portion 14. A translating member 42 is moveably positioned within annular channel 46. A stop 50 mounted to or extending from mounting portion 12 is positioned within the annular channel 46 of swiveling portion 14. The translating member 42 is configured to translate a fixed distance in contact with stop 50, and rotation of swiveling portion 14 is limited by contact between stop 50 and translating member 42 once translating member 42 translates the fixed distance.
According to another aspect of this invention, aperture 20 is defined in swivel mount 10 positioned for carrying wire 7 of electronic apparatus 5.
According to yet another aspect of this invention, a rotation of swiveling portion 14 is limited to approximately 180 degrees or less in a clockwise direction with respect to a neutral position and approximately 180 degrees or less in a counterclockwise direction with respect to the neutral position.
Referring now to
In this exemplary embodiment, the swivel mount 10 generally includes swiveling portion 14 that is rotatably coupled to mounting portion 12. The mounting portion 12 is releasably mounted to tube 6, and swiveling portion 14 is mounted to electronic apparatus 5. The electronic apparatus 5 is capable of rotation with respect to tube 6, by virtue of swiveling portion 14, while mounting portion 12 remains fixed in position with tube 6.
Referring now to
Referring now to
The mounting portion 12 may be releasably fastened to tube 6 in any fashion known in the art. The clamp arms 16,18, are not limited to the illustrations and may be of any size or shape to achieve the same purpose. Furthermore, mounting portion 12 may be clipped, clamped, fastened, adhered or integral with tube 6. Moreover, tube 6 may take any size, shape or form.
Referring now to swiveling portion 14 of swivel mount 10 illustrated in
The swiveling portion 14 is configured for controlled rotational movement about axis of rotation “A”, as illustrated by the directional arrow “B” shown in
The swiveling portion 14 is not capable of rotating more than 180 degrees in the clockwise or counterclockwise direction, relative to the neutral position. Thus, the maximum amount wire 7 may be twisted about axis “A” is approximately 180 degrees or less in either the clockwise or counterclockwise direction relative to said neutral position, assuming wire 7 is flat and untwisted in the neutral position. Moreover, aperture 20 is optionally aligned with the axis of rotation “A” to further reduce any stress or strain applied to wire 7. The operation of swiveling portion 14 is described in greater detail with reference to
Referring now to
Referring now to
A Teflon washer 31 is positioned between mounting surfaces 29, 30 to reduce the friction between the sliding mounting surfaces 29 and 30. A second Teflon washer 32 is positioned between the bottom side of swiveling portion 14 and thrust washer 25 to reduce the friction between the sliding surfaces of swiveling portion 14 and thrust washer 25. It should be understood that in this exemplary embodiment swiveling portion 14 rotates and mounting portion 12 remains fixed in place.
The pushbutton 22 is positioned in opening 33 defined in mounting portion 12. A spring 34 bears on the rear surface of pushbutton 22 to bias pushbutton 22 to a locked position. A locking lug 35 extending from the bottom surface of pushbutton 22 is positioned in slot 36 defined in cylindrical protrusion 24, and bears on the interior surface of aperture 26.
A variety of slots and channels are formed on mounting surface 30 of swiveling portion 14. Specifically, two opposing slots 38 and 40 formed on mounting surface 30 cooperate with locking lug 35 of spring-loaded pushbutton 22 to lock swiveling portion 14, as explained further with reference to
A ‘T’-shaped slot 44 is also defined on mounting surface 30 of swiveling portion 14. A translating member 42 positioned in slot 44 is adapted to translate in a direction orthogonal to axis “A” within slot 44 and rotate along with swiveling portion 14 about axis “A”. The translating member 42 intersects with annular channel 46 that is also formed on mounting surface 30. A stop 50 mounted to or extending from mounting surface 29 of mounting portion 12 is positioned in annular channel 46 of swiveling portion 14. The stop 50 cooperates with translating member 42 to limit rotation of swiveling portion 14 to approximately 180 degrees or less of rotation about axis “A” in a clockwise or counterclockwise direction relative to a neutral position.
Referring now to
It should be understood that the components of swivel mount 10 shown in
In
To unlock swivel mount 10, locking lug 35 is translated away from slot 40 by depressing pushbutton 22 (shown in
Referring now to
In
In operation, when slot 38 is axially aligned with locking lug 35 after translating member 42 has sufficiently translated in slot 44, as shown in
Similar to
As mentioned above, swiveling portion 14 can not rotate in the clockwise direction beyond the first locked position or rotate in the counterclockwise direction beyond the second locked position. Furthermore, in this exemplary embodiment, swivel mount 10 can not rotate between the first locked position and the second locked without rotating through the neutral position.
Although swivel mount 10 offers three locking positions, in another exemplary embodiment not illustrated herein, the swivel mount may include any number of locking positions, i.e. any number of slots, similar to slots 38 and 40, disposed on mounting surface 30 of swiveling portion 14. In another exemplary embodiment not illustrated herein, in the absence of slots 38 and 40, the circumference of aperture 26 is lined with gear teeth. The locking lug 35 also includes gear teeth that are configured to engage with the gear teeth of aperture 26. Thus, upon release of pushbutton 22, the gear teeth of locking lug 35 and aperture 26 engage, thereby limiting rotation of swiveling portion 14. Accordingly, swiveling portion 14 can not rotate unless pushbutton 22 is depressed, such that the gear teeth of locking lug 35 are separated from the gear teeth of aperture 26. In still another exemplary embodiment not illustrated herein, in the absence of slots 38 and 40, the circumference of aperture 26 is lined with a friction material, such that locking lug 35 can not translate or slide along the friction material. Thus, upon release of pushbutton 22, a surface of locking lug 35 and the friction material of aperture 26 engage, thereby limiting rotation of swiveling portion 14. Similar to the last embodiment, swiveling portion 14 can not rotate unless pushbutton 22 is depressed, such that locking lug 35 is separated from the friction material of aperture 26.
While exemplary embodiments of the invention have been shown and described herein, it will be understood that such embodiments are provided by way of example only. Numerous variations, changes and substitutions will occur to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention. For example, rotation of swivel unit 10 may be manual, as described, or automated. Furthermore, the swivel mount may include any number of locking positions. Finally, although not shown or described, the mounting portion may also be configured to rotate along with the swiveling portion, or, alternatively, the mounting and swiveling portions may be configured to rotate independently of each other. Accordingly, it is intended that the appended claims cover all such variations as fall within the spirit and scope of the invention.
Claims
1. A swivel mount comprising:
- a mounting portion adapted for mounting to a fixed surface;
- a swiveling portion adapted for mounting to an electronic apparatus, said swiveling portion being rotatably coupled to said mounting portion and adapted to rotate with respect to said mounting portion about an axis of rotation, said swiveling portion defining an annular channel;
- a translating member moveably positioned within said annular channel; and
- a stop mounted to or extending from said mounting portion, said stop being positioned within said annular channel of said swiveling portion, wherein said translating member is configured to translate a fixed distance in contact with said stop, and rotation of said swiveling portion is configured to be limited by contact between said stop and said translating member once said translating member translates the fixed distance.
2. The swivel mount of claim 1, said mounting portion further comprising a clamp configured to couple the mounting portion to the fixed surface.
3. The swivel mount of claim 1 further comprising a locking lug movably engaged between said swiveling portion and said mounting portion, wherein in a deployed position said locking lug engages said swiveling portion and said mounting portion, thereby limiting rotation of said swiveling portion with respect to said mounting portion.
4. The swivel mount of claim 3 wherein, in a retracted position of said locking lug, said locking lug is spaced from said swiveling portion and said swiveling portion is configured for rotation with respect to said mounting portion.
5. The swivel mount of claim 3 wherein, in said deployed position, said locking lug is positioned within a slot formed in said swiveling portion and a slot formed in said mounting portion.
6. The swivel mount of claim 4 further comprising two radially opposed slots formed in said swiveling portion, wherein, in a neutral position of said swiveling portion, said slot of said mounting portion and one of said two slots of said swiveling portion are substantially axially aligned with respect to the axis of rotation.
7. The swivel mount of claim 6 wherein, in another position of said swiveling portion radially spaced from said neutral position, said slot of said mounting portion and the other of said two slots of said swiveling portion are substantially axially aligned with respect to the axis of rotation.
8. The swivel mount of claim 3 wherein said locking lug is spring-loaded.
9. The swivel mount of claim 1 wherein said electronic apparatus is an audio speaker.
10. The swivel mount of claim 1 wherein said translating member and said stop abut in a first position and a second position of said swiveling portion, said first position being oriented approximately 180 degrees in a clockwise direction relative to a neutral position and said second position being approximately 180 degrees in a counterclockwise direction relative to the neutral position.
11. The swivel mount of claim 10 wherein in said first position of said swiveling portion said translating member abuts a surface of said stop and in said second position of said swiveling portion said translating member abuts an opposing surface of said stop.
12. The swivel mount of claim 1 wherein said translating member is carried in a slot defined in said swiveling portion, and said slot intersects with said annular channel.
13. A swivel mount configured for rotatably mounting an electronic apparatus to a fixed surface comprising:
- a mounting portion adapted for mounting to the fixed surface;
- a swiveling portion adapted for mounting to the electronic apparatus, said swiveling portion being rotatably coupled to said mounting portion and adapted to rotate with respect to said mounting portion about an axis of rotation; and
- an aperture defined in the swivel mount positioned for carrying a wire of the electronic apparatus.
14. The swivel mount of claim 13 wherein the electronic apparatus is an audio speaker.
15. The swivel mount of claim 13 wherein said aperture of said swivel mount is substantially aligned with an axis of rotation of said swiveling portion.
16. The swivel mount of claim 13 wherein said aperture is disposed in said swiveling portion.
17. The swivel mount of claim 13 further comprising a locking lug movably engaged between said swiveling portion and said mounting portion, wherein, in a deployed position, said locking lug engages said swiveling portion and said mounting portion, thereby limiting rotation of said swiveling portion with respect to said mounting portion.
18. The swivel mount of claim 17 wherein, in a retracted position of said locking lug, said locking lug is spaced from said swiveling portion and said swiveling portion is capable of rotation with respect to said mounting portion.
19. The swivel mount of claim 17 wherein in said deployed position said locking lug is positioned within a slot formed in said swiveling portion and a slot formed in said mounting portion.
20. A swivel mount configured for rotatably mounting an electronic apparatus to a fixed surface comprising:
- a mounting portion adapted for mounting to the fixed surface;
- a swiveling portion adapted for mounting to the electronic apparatus, said swiveling portion being rotatably coupled to said mounting portion and adapted to rotate with respect to said mounting portion about an axis of rotation, wherein a rotation of said swiveling portion is limited to approximately 180 degrees or less in a clockwise direction with respect to a neutral position and approximately 180 degrees or less in a counterclockwise direction with respect to the neutral position; and
- an aperture defined in the swivel mount positioned for carrying a wire of the electronic apparatus, wherein the rotational motion of the swiveling portion limits twisting of the wire of the apparatus carried in the aperture.
Type: Application
Filed: Jun 26, 2006
Publication Date: Dec 27, 2007
Applicant:
Inventors: Gary K. Hollenhead (Farragut, TN), Corey D. Morgan (Knoxville, TN), Masahiro Kajitani (Knoxville, TN)
Application Number: 11/474,752