Tiltable Mounting Bracket

Abstract

A display bracket with tilt adjustment is disclosed which allows the installer to mount the bracket to a surface and place the display holding section in a cradle like structure without fear that it will fall. The display holding section can then be affixed to the display bracket and adjustment to the tilt angle can be made without the installer having to bear any of the display weight. Final horizontal leveling can be accomplished with set screws.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/857738 filed on 8 Nov. 2006, the complete subject matter of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This disclosure is directed to brackets for mounting devices to a fixed location, most commonly for mounting a flat panel display screen, or other device to a wall, with the ability to move the screen into various positions for viewing and storage.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

With the advent of flat panel video screens such as plasma video screens, there is a need for efficient and flexible mounting of such screens or other devices against a wall or other fixed surface. It is highly desirable to move such screens from a position adjacent a mounting surface to a position closer to the user and this may entail a mount which can articulate in many directions.

As displays become heavier and/or larger they exert greater torque on the mounting bracket. This makes articulation more complex and there is a tendency for the mass of the display to focus forces on a small number of moveable parts causing considerable stress.

It would be advantageous to provide a highly rigid structure which allows the display to be moved away from the mounting surface and further have the ability to tilt off the vertical axis to allow viewing at many angles. All of this has to be accomplished under great stress of a heavy display distant from the wall.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the one aspect of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a front planned view of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a rear planned view of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a top planned view of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a side planned view of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of FIG. 1 with portions removed;

FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view of FIG. 1 with other portions removed;

FIG. 8 is a rear perspective view of the mounting bracket element shown in FIG. 6;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a saddle element shown in FIG. 6;

FIG. 10 is a front planned view of the saddle element shown in FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a side planned view of the saddle element shown in FIG. 9;

FIG. 12 is a rear perspective view of a receiver element and glide shown in FIG. 6;

FIG. 13 is a perspective view like FIG. 12 with receiver element and glide separated;

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of a second glide element shown in FIG. 6; and

FIG. 15 is a rear perspective view of a completed system showing display and swing-out arm.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

A tiltable mounting bracket system 10 is shown most clearly in FIGS. 1-3 and in an environmental view showing a display in FIG. 15.

Display 12 is an exemplary flat panel display which is affixed to the bracket system 10 by a plurality in this case, two universal brackets 14 which are in turn carried by universal bracket bar 18. In this case, the two brackets 14 are indicated although the system could be made to function with a single or more than two such brackets. The brackets are affixed to the display by means of fasteners (not shown). Brackets 14 are affixed to universal bar 18 in a number of ways. In the preferred embodiment, brackets 14 include aperture 16 which permit universal bar 18 to slide therethrough and then be affixed into place by fasteners through an aperture 20 (see FIG. 3). Universal bar 18 is shown as oval in cross section, but this is not a functional feature. It is only important that the cross section made with the aperture 16 in bracket 14 and that the bracket and bar be able to slide until fixed by a fastener. In the preferred embodiment, it is desirable to have a non-circular or non-symmetrical shape for the aperture 16 and bar 18 to prevent counter rotation between the two. Symmetrical shapes can also be used if other means (clamps, fasteners, etc) are employed to prevent relative rotation. In the preferred embodiment, both are used. It can be appreciated therefore that the position of the display 12 is controlled by the fixation of bracket 14 and their position relative to bar 18.

Bar 18 is then joined to the rest of bracket system 10 by a tilting assembly 22. This assembly 22 will be described in much greater detail below, but suffice it to say, it allows for the display and consequently, brackets 14 to be tilted off the vertical axis. It also provides for the display orientation to remain substantially horizontal and not skewed. Skewing can occur due to weight imbalances, wall mounting errors, manufacturing tolerances, etc. The larger the display screen, the more prominent these problems can be come. The rear portion of tilting assembly 22 is then attached to a cross member 30 by means of a vertically oriented pivot system 32.

Cross member 30 pivots on a vertical member 32 which joins two parallel bars 34 and 36 which themselves are joined by a cross member 38. FIG. 9 shows full detail of the pivoting mechanism. Cross member 38 then is pivotally connected to upper and lower mounting bars 40 and 42 at the pair of pivot points 50 and 52 respectively.

In FIG. 15, it is noted that the pivot points are shown on the left side of the mounting bars 40 and 42, but there is a like cross member 60 on the right side. The advantage of this arrangement, is that cross member 38 and cross member 60 are interchangeable (during assembly) therefore allowing the bracket system 10 to be left or right handed, that is to say to swing-out from the left or right side relative to the wall.

Thus the system can be left or right handed much as a door can be left or right handed to allow it to swing from the left or the right depending on the user's preferences. This is accomplished by attaching the bracket arrangement which includes display 12 from the right side or the left side of the pivots on mounting bars 40 and 42.

A sub-frame assembly 61 is thereby created with bars 40, 42, 38 and 60 and this sub-frame is then attached to a wall or other mounting surface.

Many of the bars include apertures 70 which have pliable covers 72 (see FIG. 1). These apertures allow for a passage of cables through the bars so as to be less visible. In this configuration, cables can pass through the bars and then exit through an aperture adjacent a pivot point and then reenter in the next adjacent bar configuration. Thus it is possible to carry the cables essentially from the wall to the display with little of the cable visible. Although the cross sectional shape of many of the bars are oval in shape, this is not a functional requisite but used as a product configuration trademark so that this product is recognizable on sight as belonging to a known source. Other shapes, such a round, square rectangular, multifaceted, etc. may be use.

FIGS. 1-3 show the bracket system 10 in its folded and compact state. A detailed discussion of the tilting assembly 22 now follows.

In the side view of FIG. 5, it can be seen how the brackets 14 are capable of tilting relative to bar 60 which is connected to a wall surface. This tilting function permits selection of user's preferred viewing angle. Because displays of certain sizes can be extremely heavy there is a problem with a tendency of the display to torque or become skewed because it is virtually impossible to mount them in perfect center balance and alignment. The preferred structure prevents skewing by virtue of the design of the titling assembly 22 which maintains alignment of the display along a predetermined axis (typically vertical) and resisting torque forces.

Reference to FIG. 6 shows an exploded view of the tilting assembly 22. Central to this assembly is nosepiece 80 which is also shown in a rear view in FIG. 3. Nosepiece 80 provides pivotal connection between cross member 30 (and consequently the rest of the wall mounting structure and the display) by bar 18. Nosepiece 80 includes four pivot points 82-88 (see FIGS. 6 and 7) which extend from upper and lower arms. The pivot include apertures and pivot bolts 81 to slide therethrough (shown in FIG. 7). Thus, it can be seen how nosepiece 80 is attached to cross member 30 on one side of the nosepiece (pivot points 82 and 84). Like other portions of the sub frame assembly 61 it is left and right handed and during assembly, one selects whether pivots 82 and 84 or its corresponding pairs on the other side, 86 and 88, should be selected. Which pivots are selected is primarily a decision based on which pivots are used or which cross members were used, i.e. 38 or 60 (see FIG. 15) for a left or right hand swing-out. If a right hand swing-out is used for the selection of cross members 38 or 60, then the opposite side of nosepiece 80 would be selected for its pivoting side. A right hand arrangement is shown in FIG. 15.

FIG. 7 illustrates many additional subcomponents in an exploded view. It should be noted that nosepiece 80 includes a recess/depression/channel 90 in its front face which is preferably arcuate. It may also be a stepwise arcuate path (i.e. having teeth from gripping). This recess has a pair of opposed parallel sidewalls 92 which are preferably vertically disposed. Within this recess is a further recess 94 which includes a plurality of mounting bolt apertures 96. The primary purpose of making sidewalls 92 being parallel is to create a containment path which limits the movement of the other sliding portions of the titling assembly to track therewithin and thus resist torquing forces and create a predetermined path along an arc for movement for nested elements to move with respect to each other. The arcuate path is a single fixed path which allows the display to tilt, but deliberately prevents rotation other than the predetermined arcuate path. In another embodiment, not shown, it would be possible to provide a limited degree of skew (rotation) by outwardly flaring the sidewalls above and below the midpoint (lowest point) of the channel 90. In the preferred embodiment, skew (leveling)bolts 280 accomplish this.

Recess 94 is to provide clearance for the heads of fasteners which pass through apertures 96 to join the remaining tilting assembly without interference with the sliding movement.

To assist in the sliding movement, a low resistance interface plate 110 is provided to sit within an additional recess/channel (to control movement and to countersink attachment bolts) and to preferably fill the entire recess space with a low friction material. A nylon, Teflon®, polypropylene, or other no friction material may be used. In addition, it is helpful if the concave surface of plate 110 is lubricated with a silicone or other suitable lubricant. FIG. 14 shows a detailed close up view of plate 110.

Turning to FIGS. 7and 9, the tilting assembly 22 can be seen to have a number of elements (some of which are optional) forming the entire assembly. Nosepiece 80 includes a recess which receives low friction interface plate 110 which in turn receives saddle bracket 120, having sidewalls 121 which form a protrusion sized to be received within channel 90, in a nested relationship. This nested relationship or fit, is defined as a close fit, sufficient to prevent substantial torquing or turning of one bracket relative to the other, but not so tight as to prevent movement therebetween (i.e. one fits within the other such that they will track a co-linear substantially parallel path). In practical terms, some “play” between the brackets is not objectionable, because, in practice, the two brackets will be bolted together to prevent further twisting and sliding movements. Saddle bracket 120 also has a recess 122 for receiving an optional second low friction interface plate 130, which finally receives a saddle cover plate 140. A affixation means such as a flange 150 extends from bar 18 (preferably welded/attached to the bar) and is ultimately connected to saddle bracket 120 when fully assembled. Saddle bracket 120 includes an elongated slot 123 located preferably centrally within the recess 122. The extent of the slot 123 determines the degree of angular or arcuate movement permitted by virtue of a bolt or pin extending therethrough. In the preferred embodiment this slot extends from the upper end of the recess to the lower end, though it may be limited to control the titling angle and the center of gravity of the entire system. In a very large display, it may be undesireable to allow angles beyond 30 degrees, however, the angle could be as great as 90 degrees so that a ceiling mount could project horizontally for normal viewing.

Saddle bracket 120, as shown in FIGS. 9-11, has an upper flange 200 with an aperture 202 which is configured to align with aperture 152 of flange 150 (see FIG. 6). This secures the titling assembly to bar 18.

Saddle bracket 120 is designed to cradle bar 18, preferably so that the bar can simply be placed into the bracket by the installer and it will remain in place while further installation is completed. This is accomplished by mating the shape of the saddle bracket to approximate the bar shape, preferably with its center of gravity (of bar 18 and the display) being within the saddle bracket. Bracket 120 includes a pair of cradle-like receiving portions 204 (in the preferred embodiment, being hooked-shaped ) which are designed to receive and cradle bar 18. The shape of hooks 204 should be configured to mate with bar 18. In this case the arbitrary shape is oval. It can also be appreciated that the receiving walls having a curved portion 206 of bracket 120 is likewise formed to receive whatever shape bar 18 may have. If the saddle bracket is configured to maintain the center of gravity of bar 18 and its associated display components, within saddle bracket 120, then the display portion of the system can rest in the “cradle” in equilibrium while the installer can complete installation by locking saddle bracket and bar 18 together with a fastener or other means. This is accomplished by forming curved portion 206 (the receiving recess in saddle bracket 120 such that the center of gravity of then display bracket it receives will be inside of hooks 204). Inside means between the hooks and the recess bounded by curved portion 206. As a result the display will “lean” into curves 206 and stay in place even if not otherwise secured by bolts, etc. This frees the installer from needing immediately bolt the display bracket into place, since it will rest safely.

Saddle bracket 120 includes a recessed area 122 (as mentioned above) which permits it to receive the second low friction interface plate 130 and the second saddle cover plate 140 which are together bolted by bolts 240 (one shown in FIG. 6) which join plate 140, plate 130, bracket 120 (through an elongated slot 123), plate 110 and the nose bracket 80 together in a single unit which is slideable with respect to each other (that is to say that nose bracket 80 is slideable with respect to all the other plates attached thereto). This permits bar 18 and brackets 14 (and consequently display 12) to be tilted at various angles. The degree of tilt is governed primarily by the angular extent of the saddle bracket. Fastener or bolt 240 is affixed to nose bracket 80 on its rear side as shown in FIG. 8 with a nut and lock washer 242. Saddle bracket 120 also preferably includes a slot 205 which is sized to receive a portion of the low resistance interfaces plate 110. Specifically plate 110 has a raised portion 97 which is sized to be received within said slot. The result is that plate 110 and bracket 120 are thus interlocked by the mating of parts of each and thus cannot slide relative to each other. On the reverse side of plate 110 (not shown) is a land (rise) which is likewise sized to be received within recess 94 of the noseplate 80. This results in similar mating between those parts.

During assembly, bolt 240 is prevented from counter rotating by interlocking of the bolt head/shaft with apertures 250 and thus tightening of nut 242 will cause the entire tilting assembly to be fixed in its angular position. Thus, the user will select the appropriate tilt and then tighten nuts 242.

Of course it can be appreciated the different kinds of fasteners could be supplied such as wing nuts and bolts and other devices which make for easy user adjustment of the tilt angle.

The tilting assembly 22 therefore carries bar 18, brackets 14, and thus display 12 to ensure that the display is securely affixed to the rest of the system. Flange 150 with its aperture 122 are bolted to saddle bracket 120 with a fastener. Bar 18 sits within curve portion 206 creating a snug fit from top to bottom. Level adjustment bolts 280 pass through arms 282 on either side of saddle number 122 and provide for a fine tuning level adjustment for the display. There may be numerous causes for bar 18 to be inherently skewed (i.e. off horizontal alignment) such as an incorrect leveling of the mount on the wall, slight errors in various components the mount, errors in the mounting holes of the display, etc. Level adjustment bolts 280 allow for this skew to be corrected with ease. (See FIG. 3).

In operation, bolt and nuts 242 , which together form a locking device or lock, are left loose enough to allow saddle bracket 122 to slide freely within nose bracket 80 in slot 123 (FIG. 9) which is an arc limiter. The free sliding motion is assisted by low resistance plate 1 10 and 130 yet saddle bracket 120 is maintained in a preferred orientation (typically vertical) by the mating of recessed 90 with vertical walls 92 within the nose bracket and like walls in the saddle bracket. Other locking devices could be substituted and are contemplated by the meaning of “lock”, such as clamps or mere friction between the elements.

Once the user has selected the proper viewing angle for display 12, bolts 240 and nuts 242 are tightened down so that rotational titling movement is inhibited. To remove any skew in the display with respect to the horizontal plane, bolts 280 are adjusted appropriately preferably using a level atop the display. The display can also be shifted laterally (horizontally), that is, side to side, by sliding bar 18 within apertures 16 of brackets 14. This should be limited to prevent undue weight imbalances in the entire system.

Thus it can be seen that the display 12 can be removed from the tilting assembly 22 by removing the locking bolt which passes through aperture 152 of flange 150 and if necessary, loosening leveling bolts 280. Thus, it is appreciated that the remaining mounting structure is undisturbed and a replacement display, for example, can be installed with great ease.

The method of operation is therefore, that the display 12 is attached to bars 14 which in turn receives bar 18. This assembly can be completed separately from the rest of the mount and this adds greatly to its ease of use. Trying to attach a display to a suspended wall mount is relatively difficult due to its weight and fragility. With the present invention this problem is completely eliminated.

The remaining portion of the wall mount is assembled, for either left or right orientation (see above) and then it is affixed to a wall (or equivalent). The two portions are then bought together by merely placing bar 18 into the saddle bracket, inserting the locking fastener and adjusting the leveling bolts. Thus this two part mount makes installation and replacement of the display unit much simpler and safer than unitary designs.

The description of the invention and its applications as set forth herein is illustrative and is not intended to limit the scope of the invention. Variations and modifications of the embodiments disclosed herein are possible, and practical alternatives to and equivalents of the various elements of the embodiments would be understood to those of ordinary skill in the art upon study of this patent document. These and other variations and modifications of the embodiments disclosed herein may be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention.

Claims

1. A tiltable mounting bracket for providing viewing angle adjustability of a display comprising:

a. a wall mounting bracket;

b. a display mounting bracket

c. an intermediary bracket structure configured to join said wall and display brackets in a tiltable relationship therebetween including i. a first nose bracket having an arcuate recess therein and ii. a second saddle bracket having an arcuate protrusion sized be received within said recess thereby nesting together said first and second brackets and simultaneously limiting the arcuate movement path of the second bracket along a predefined arc, said first bracket including an elongated slot in said recess; iii. a releaseable lock to fix the relative positions of the first and second brackets and thus of the wall and display brackets relative to each other.

2. The bracket of claim 1 wherein said second bracket further includes at least one cradle hook for receiving and supporting said display bracket and wherein said display bracket and said second bracket are releasable from each other.

3. The bracket of claim 1 wherein said intermediary bracket structure includes a cradle portion including a pair of cradle hooks configured to receive and support a portion of said display portion.

4. The bracket of claim 3 wherein the intermediary bracket structure includes a receiving saddle having a receiving recess, and at least two cradle hooks spaced apart from said saddle receiving recess, and wherein said display bracket may be received therein so that its center of gravity is located within the spaced defined between said hooks and recess so that said display bracket remains stable in said saddle without further engagement.

5. The bracket of claim 4 wherein said display bracket further includes an affixation bracket, and wherein said affixation bracket is configured to be attachable to said second bracket as a means for further securing said display bracket thereto.

6. The bracket of claim 1 wherein said nose bracket includes an upper and lower arms extending generally orthogonally to said recess, each of said arms including pivot points, said wall mount bracket being pivotally mounted on said pivot points so that said intermediary bracket may be moved in a plane orthogonal to said recess.

7. The bracket of claim 2, further including a pair of arms extending from said saddle bracket generally adjacent said at least one cradle hook and including adjusters for engaging said display bracket so that the display bracket can we adjusted relative to horizontal.

8. The bracket of claim 7 wherein said adjusters include apertures in said arms and adjustment screws passing therethrough.

9. A tiltable mounting bracket for receiving a display bracket and for providing viewing angle adjustability of a display comprising:

a. a first nose bracket having an arcuate recess therein and

b. a second saddle bracket having an arcuate protrusion sized be received within said recess thereby nesting together said first and second brackets and thereby limiting the movement path of the second bracket along a predefined arc, said first bracket including an elongated slot in said recess; and

c. releaseable lock to fix the relative positions of the first and second brackets and consequently the display angle of the display bracket.

10. The bracket of claim 9 further including a pair of cradle hooks for receiving and supporting said display bracket and wherein said display bracket and said second bracket are releasable from each other.

11. The bracket of claim 10 wherein said protrusion includes a pair of spaced apart, generally parallel sidewalls, and wherein said recess in said first bracket includes sidewalls spaced apart sufficiently to receive said sidewalls of said protrusion therewithin.

12. The bracket of claim 10, further including a pair of arms extending from said saddle bracket generally adjacent said at least one cradle hook and including adjusters for engaging said display bracket so that the display bracket can we adjusted relative to horizontal.

13. The bracket of claim 12 wherein said adjusters include apertures in said arms and adjustment screws passing therethrough.

14. A tiltable mounting bracket for proving viewing angle adjustability of a display comprising:

a. A wall mounting bracket;

b. A display mounting bracket

c. An intermediary bracket configured to join said wall and display brackets in a tiltable relationship therebetween including i. A first arcuate bracket attached to said wall bracket, having substantially parallel sidewalls, ii. A second bracket attached to said display bracket and sized to be received, at least in part, within said sidewalls and in a slideable relationship with said first bracket along its arc, said first bracket limiting the movement of the second bracket along a predefined arc. iii. A lock to fix the relative positions of the wall and display brackets relative to each other.

15. A method of titling of a display panel comprising

a. attaching the a first mounting portion to a fixed surface, the first mounting portion having a recess with substantially parallel side walls.

b. inserting a second mounting portion having a protrusion having substantially parallel sidewalls sized to received with in said first portion and

c. releasably locking said first portion to the second portion when the desired tilt is achieved.