Adjustable Supporting Device

Abstract

A supporting device includes a supporting foot, and a clip module for fixing the supporting foot. The clip module includes a base, a push button affixed in a slidable manner to the base, and two sliding blocks affixed in a slidable manner to the base for clipping the supporting foot while the push button moves to a predetermined position relative to the sliding blocks.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a supporting device, and more particularly, to an adjustable supporting device having a sliding block for clipping a supporting foot.

2. Description of the Prior Art

A tilt angle of a conventional electronic product sometimes must be adjusted to satisfy a user's requirements. For example, while using a projector, the user may desire to adjust the tilt angle of the projector for projecting an image of the projector on a predetermined region. A conventional projector always has a supporting device capable of adjusting the projector's tilt angle. While adjusting the tilt angle of the conventional projector, the supporting foot of the supporting device is shifted downward to a predetermined position by the weight of the supporting foot. Then a clip structure of the supporting device fixes the supporting foot for fixing the tilt angle of the conventional projector.

However, because the supporting foot is shifted downward by its weight, the supporting foot of the conventional projector swings or is jammed when it is downward shifted in halfway toward the predetermined position. As a result, of the swings or jamming the conventional projector, the user of the conventional projector is significantly inconvenienced. Moreover, when the supporting foot is fixed by the clip structure, and it is determined that the tilt angle of the projector is incorrect, the user must loosen the supporting foot before readjusting the tilt angle of the conventional projector. Please note that the term loosen as used in the present disclosure has the same meaning as release. This gross readjustment is necessary because the clip structure of the conventional projector does not provide fine-tuning of the tilt angle. Obviously, repeatedly adjusting the tilt angle of the conventional projector is inefficient and time-consuming. Moreover, the clip structure of the conventional projector generates insufficient force to ensure that the supporting foot is fixed. Specifically, the clip structure clips and fixes the supporting foot by rotating a level having a small contact area with the supporting foot. The supporting foot may slip (i.e., slide or move) because the small contact area is insufficient to stably fix the supporting foot. Please note that the term clip and clipping as used in the present disclosure have the same meaning as cinch and cinching, respectively.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The claimed invention provides an adjustable supporting device. The adjustable supporting device comprises a supporting foot and a clip module. The clip module is utilized for fixing the supporting foot. The clip module comprises a base, a push button affixed to the base in a forward-and-backward slidable manner, and a sliding block affixed to the base in a leftward-and-rightward slidable manner and utilized for clipping the supporting foot while the push button moves to a predetermined position relative to the sliding block.

The claimed invention provides an adjustable supporting device. The adjustable supporting device comprises a supporting foot, a spring for pushing the supporting foot, a sleeve for positioning the spring and the supporting foot to move the spring and the supporting foot along an axial orientation of the sleeve, and a clip module affixed to the sleeve for fixing the supporting foot.

The claimed invention provides a clip module. The clip module comprises a base, a push button affixed to the base in a forward-and-backward rotatable manner, and a sliding block affixed to the base in a leftward-and-rightward rotatable manner for clipping an object when the push button moves to a predetermined position relative to the sliding block.

These and other objectives of the present invention will no doubt become obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art after reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment that is illustrated in the various figures and drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram of an adjustable supporting device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded view diagram of the adjustable supporting device shown in FIG. 1 of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an exploded view diagram of the clip module shown in FIG. 1 without indicating a cover of the clip module.

FIG. 4 is a combinational diagram of the clip module shown in FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart summarizing the operations of the adjustable supporting device of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Certain terms are used throughout the following description and claims to refer to particular system components. As one skilled in the art will appreciate, consumer electronic equipment manufacturers may refer to a component by different names. This document does not intend to distinguish between components that differ in name but not function. In the following discussion and in the claims, the terms “including” and “comprising” are used in an open-ended fashion, and thus should be interpreted to mean “including, but not limited to . . . ”.

Please refer to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2. FIG. 1 is a diagram of an adjustable supporting device 100 of the present invention. FIG. 2 is an exploded view diagram of the adjustable supporting device 100 shown in FIG. 1 of the present invention. The adjustable supporting device 100 of the present invention comprises a supporting foot 110, a spring 120 for pushing the supporting foot 110, a sleeve 130 for positioning the spring 120 and the supporting foot 110 to move along an axial orientation of the sleeve 130, and a clip module 140 affixed to the sleeve 130 and utilized for fixing the supporting foot 110. When the clip module 140 loosens, the supporting foot 110 is pushed by the spring 120 to further extend outside the adjustable supporting device 100. Moreover, as the supporting foot 110 further extends outside the sleeve 130, a positioning function of the sleeve 130 prevents the supporting foot 110 from swinging. The clip module 140 comprises a base 142, a cover 144, a push button 146, and two sliding blocks 148. The cover 144 is utilized for hedging a maximal movement of the supporting foot 110 to prevent the supporting foot 110 and the adjustable supporting device 100 from completely separating. For example, overextending the supporting foot 110 can result in the complete separation of the supporting foot 100 from the adjustable supporting device 100. One terminal of the cover 144 is affixed to the sleeve 130 while the other terminal of the sleeve 130 is affixed to the base 142, therefore, the sleeve 130 is fixed relative to the base 142. The sliding blocks 148 are utilized for clipping the supporting foot 110. The push button 146 is utilized for controlling movements of the sliding blocks 148.

Moreover, the adjustable supporting device 100 further comprises a damper 150 for providing a resistance for the spring 120 to push the supporting foot 110 slowly. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the damper 150 is an idler, which generates a sealed space inside the sleeve 130 and provides a resistance for the spring 120 to push the supporting foot 110 slowly. However, in another embodiment of the present invention, the damper 150 may additionally provide a resistance for the spring 120 to push the supporting foot 110 slowly by a friction force or other physical principles. The supporting foot 110 has threads 160, and the sliding blocks 148 have threads 170 corresponding to the threads 160. Therefore, when the sliding blocks 148 clip the supporting foot 110, the sliding blocks 148 do not merely fix the supporting foot 110 by the threads 160 and 170, but the supporting foot 110 may also be fine-tuned to a relative position between the supporting foot 110 and the sliding blocks 148 in a rotatable manner by way of the threads 160 and 170. Consequently, the user may slightly adjust the tilt angle of the supporting device 100 while the clip module 140 fixes the supporting foot 110.

Please refer to FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 simultaneously. FIG. 3 is an exploded view diagram of the clip module 140 shown in FIG. 1 without including the cover 144 of the clip module 140. FIG. 4 is a combinational diagram of the clip module 140 shown in FIG. 3. The push button 146 of the clip module 140 is affixed to the base 142 in a forward-and-backward manner as indicated by the arrow “A” shown in FIG. 3. The sliding blocks 148 are affixed to the base 142 in a leftward-and-rightward slidable manner as indicated by the arrows “B” shown in FIG. 3. Each slidable block 148 has a protruding structure 310. The push button 146 has a guiding structure 320 for driving both the sliding blocks 148 to come together for clipping the supporting foot 110 when the push button 146 moves to a predetermined position “C” relative to the sliding blocks 148 as shown in FIG. 4. Moreover, when the button 146 moves from the predetermined position “C” in a direction “P” as shown in FIG. 4, the guiding structure 320 drives both the sliding blocks 148 to move apart from each other for loosening the supporting foot 110. The clip module 140 further comprises a V-shaped spring 330, which is affixed to the base 142. The V-shaped spring 330 is utilized to push the push button 146 to the predetermined position “C” relative to the sliding blocks 148. When there is no external force exerted on the push button 146, the push button 146 is pushed by the V-shaped spring 330 to remain at the predetermined position “C” relative to the sliding blocks 148. The clip module 140 further comprises two springs 340 for pushing both the sliding blocks 148 respectively so as to clip the supporting foot 110 with a predetermined force, which is determined by the elastic modulus of the springs 340. In other words, by choosing springs 340 of various elastic moduli, a maximal load of the adjustable supporting device 100 can thus be adjusted for applying the adjustable device 100 on electronic devices having various weights.

In summary, the operations of the adjustable supporting device 100 of the present invention may be summarized in the flow chart 500 of FIG. 5. Please refer to FIG. 5, the flow chart 500 comprises the following steps:

Step 510: Push the push button 146 to loosen the supporting foot 110;

Step 520: The supporting foot 110 is pushed by the spring 120 to extend outside;

Step 530: Loosen the push button 146 to fix the supporting foot 110 when the supporting foot 110 moves to a predetermined position;

Step 540: Check the position of the supporting foot 110; if the position of the supporting foot 110 is correct, go to step 560, else, go to step 550;

Step 550: Rotate the supporting foot 110 to fine-tune a relative position between the supporting foot 110 and the sliding blocks 148, and go to step 540; and

Step 560: End.

Compared to the prior art, the supporting foot 110 of the adjustable supporting device 100 of the present invention can be extended without swinging or being jammed. The damper 150 of the present invention provides a resistance to the spring 120 to push the supporting foot 110 slowly, thereby, an extending movement of the supporting foot 110 can be stably controlled. Moreover, the sliding blocks 148 of the clip module 140 of the present invention clip the supporting foot 110 with a larger contact area to stably fix the supporting foot 110. The threads 160 and 170 on the supporting foot 110 and the sliding blocks 148 are utilized for fine-tuning the position of the supporting foot 110 for enhancing the convenience of using the supporting device 100 of the present invention.

Those skilled in the art will readily observe that numerous modifications and alterations of the device and method may be made while retaining the teachings of the invention. Accordingly, the above disclosure should be construed as limited only by the metes and bounds of the appended claims.

Claims

1. An adjustable supporting device comprising:

a supporting foot;

a clip module for fixing the supporting foot, the clip module comprising: a base; a push button affixed to the base in a forward-and-backward slidable manner; and a sliding block affixed to the base in a leftward-and-rightward slidable manner and utilized for clipping the supporting foot while the push button moves to a predetermined position relative to the sliding block.

2. The adjustable supporting device of claim 1 further comprising:

a first spring for pushing the supporting foot; and

a sleeve for positioning the first spring and the supporting foot to move the first spring and the supporting foot along an axial orientation of the sleeve.

3. The adjustable supporting device of claim 2 wherein the clip module further comprising:

a cover, one terminal of the cover being affixed to the sleeve while another terminal of the cover being affixed to the base and for hedging a maximal movement of the supporting foot.

4. The adjustable supporting device of claim 2 further comprising:

a damper for providing a resistance to slowly push the supporting foot while the supporting foot is pushed by the first spring.

5. The adjustable supporting device of claim 4 wherein the clip module further comprising:

a cover, one terminal of the cover being affixed to the sleeve while another terminal of the cover being affixed to the base and utilized for hedging a maximal movement of the supporting foot;

a second spring utilized for pushing the push button to a predetermined position relative to the sliding block; and

a third spring utilized for pushing the sliding block to clip the supporting foot with a predetermined force;

wherein the supporting foot has threads, and the sliding block has corresponding threads; when the sliding block clips the supporting foot, the supporting foot fine-tunes a relative position between the supporting foot and the sliding block in a rotatable manner; and the adjustable supporting device is for adjusting an angle of inclination of a projector.

6. The adjustable supporting device of claim 1 wherein the clip module further comprises:

a second spring for pushing the push button to the predetermined position relative to the sliding block.

7. The adjustable supporting device of claim 1 wherein the clip module further comprises:

a third spring for pushing the sliding block to clip the supporting foot with a predetermined force.

8. The adjustable supporting device of claim 1 wherein the supporting foot has threads, and the sliding block has corresponding threads; when the sliding block clips the supporting foot, the supporting foot fine-tunes a relative position between the supporting foot and the sliding block in a rotatable manner.

9. The adjustable supporting device of claim 1 wherein the adjustable supporting device is utilized for supporting a projector.

10. An adjustable supporting device comprising:

a supporting foot;

a spring for pushing the supporting foot;

a sleeve for positioning the spring and the supporting foot to move the spring and the supporting foot along an axial orientation of the sleeve; and

a clip module affixed to the sleeve for fixing the supporting foot.

11. The adjustable supporting device of claim 10 further comprising:

a damper for providing a resistance to slowly push the supporting foot when the spring pushes the supporting foot.

12. The adjustable supporting device of claim 10 wherein the supporting foot has threads, and the clip module has corresponding threads; when the clip module fixes the supporting foot, the supporting foot fine-tunes a relative position between the supporting foot and the clip module in a rotatable manner.

13. The adjustable supporting device of claim 10 wherein the adjustable supporting device is for supporting a projector.

14. A clip module comprising:

a base;

a push button affixed to the base in a forward-and-backward slidable manner; and

a sliding block affixed to the base in a leftward-and-rightward slidable manner for clipping an object when the push button moves to a predetermined position relative to the sliding block.

15. The clip module of claim 14 further comprising:

a first spring for pushing the button to the predetermined position relative to the sliding block.

16. The clip module of claim 14 further comprising:

a second spring for pushing the sliding block to clip the object with a predetermined force.