Mount System Adapted to Rotate and Extend a Monitor

Abstract

A mount system rotates a monitor between a retracted position and an extended position, and as the mount system rotates from the retracted position to the extended position, the mount system moves the monitor laterally along its longitudinal axis so that the rotating side of the monitor is moved away from the monitor. This allows the monitor to be installed recessed into the wall and swing the monitor open 90 degrees; or tilt the monitor down while lifting the monitor.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention is directed to a mount system that is adapted to couple to a back side of a monitor and swing the monitor near one its side.

2. Background of the Invention

Flat panel monitors such as computer monitors, LCD, plasma, slim televisions, and the like (collectively referred to as “monitor(s)”) are becoming popular because they can be mounted onto a wall to save floor space and for their aesthetically pleasing appearance. In many applications, the monitor is placed on a table, mounted to a wall, or even hung from a ceiling. In these applications, however, in order to reposition the monitor, the viewer needs to walk over to the monitor and physically move the monitor to a new viewing angle.

Motorized swinging mounts are now available that are designed to swing the monitor open much like a door that swings from one of its sides. These motorized swing mounts are provided with a pivot point that swings opens and closes through motorized action. The motorized swing mounts are designed so that their pivot points are design to be juxtaposed on the side outer edge of the monitor so that the monitor can swing open 90 degrees. Such motorized swing mounts, however, have a number of limitations. First, with the pivot point on the back side and located on the side outer edge of the monitor, much of the motorized swing arm is exposed so that it is esthetically unpleasing. Second, in many applications, it may be desirable to install the motorized mount or the combination of the monitor and the motorized mount to be recessed into the wall. Such recessed installation, however, minimizes the gap between monitor and the wall so that the motorized swing arm is prevented from swinging the monitor to the fully open position or 90 degrees. Accordingly, there is a need to be able to swing open a monitor so that the motorized mount is not exposed on the side of the monitor and mounted recessed into the wall.

INVENTION SUMMARY

This invention is directed to a mount system adapted to rotate a monitor between a retracted position and an extended position, and as the mount system rotates from the retracted position to the extended position, the mount system moves the monitor laterally along its longitudinal axis so that the rotating side of the monitor is moved away from the monitor. This allows the monitor to be installed recessed into the wall and swing the monitor open 90 degrees; or tilt the monitor down while lifting the monitor.

Other systems, methods, features, and advantages of the invention will be, or will become, apparent to one with skill in the art upon examination of the following figures and detailed description. It is intended that all such additional systems, methods, features, and advantages be included within this description, be within the scope of the invention, and be protected by the following claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention can be better understood with reference to the following drawings and description. The components in the figures are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating the principles of the invention. Moreover, in the figures, like referenced numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the different views.

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a mount system.

FIG. 2 shows a top view of the mount system of FIG. 1 in a retracted or closed position relative to a wall.

FIG. 3 shows a top view of the mount system of FIG. 1 in a partially open position relative to a wall.

FIG. 4 shows a top view of the mount system of FIG. 1 in an extended or open position relative to a wall.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view along the line 5-5 of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is an enlarge view of a block area 6 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 7 is a view along the line 7-7 of FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 shows alternative embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 9 shows another alternative embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 10 shows yet another alternative embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 11 shows a perspective view of a variation of the mount system.

FIG. 12 shows a perspective view of the mount system of FIG. 11 with a cover.

FIG. 13 is a side view of alternative embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view of the mount system of FIG. 13 along the line 14-14.

FIG. 15 is side view of the mount system in a retracted position used to tilt a monitor.

FIG. 16 is a side view of the mount system of FIG. 15 in an extended position.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a mount system 10 having a chamber 12 between a wall bracket 14 and a monitor mounting bracket 16. The wall bracket 14 may include a middle bracket 22 between first and second elongated plates 24 and 26. The chamber 12 may be supported by first and second anchors 27 and 29, and adapted to rotate along the longitudinal axis 20 of the chamber 12. The first and second anchors 27 and 29 may be coupled to the first and second elongated plates 24 and 27, respectively. The first and second elongated plates 24 and 26 may have elongated openings 28 adapted to receive screws to attach the wall bracket to the wooden studs within the wall or the other types of wall such as concrete.

The monitor mounting bracket 16 may include first and second rail bars 30 and 32. The first rail bar 30 includes a first inner rail 34 and a first outer rail 36 where the first outer rail 36 may be adapted to slide relative to the first inner rail 34. For instance, rollers or ball bearings may be provided between the outer and inner rails to allow the outer rail to slide smoothly relative to the inner rail. The second rail bar 32 may have similar second inner and second outer rails 38 and 40 as the first rail bar 32. The proximal end 68 of the first inner 34 rail may be coupled to a first end 70 of the camber 12, and the proximal end 72 of the second inner rail 38 may be coupled the second end 74 of the chamber 12.

A motor 18 may be mechanically coupled to the chamber 12 adapted to rotate the chamber 12 along its longitudinal axis 20. The motor 18 may be coupled to the second anchor 29. It is within the scope of this invention to provide the motor 18 in a variety of other locations such as within the chamber 12. As the motor is activated based on a control signal, the chamber 12 may rotate, which in turn rotates the monitor mounting bracket 16.

A first linking bar 42 may be provided between the first and second inner rails 34 and 38. A first roller 44 may be provided with the first linking bar 42 to allow the first roller 44 to rotate along the longitudinal axis of the first linking bar 42. A second linking bar 46 may be provided between the chamber 12 and the first linking bar 42. A sleeve 48 may be provided with the second linking bar 46, where the sleeve 48 may be adapted to move along the longitudinal axis of the second linking bar 46. A third linking bar 47 may couple the two outer rails 36 and 40 together so that the two outer rails 36 and 40 slide simultaneously along their respective inner rails 34 and 38.

A beam 50 may be provided between the middle bracket 22 and the sleeve 48. The proximal end 52 of the beam 50 may be pivotably coupled to the middle bracket 22 and the distal end 54 of the beam 50 may be pivotably coupled to the sleeve 48 so that the distal end 54 may slide along the longitudinal axis of the second linking bar 46. As the monitor mounting bracket 16 extends relative to the wall bracket 14, the sleeve and the proximal end 54 move closer to the chamber 12. Conversely, as the monitor mounting bracket 16 retracts relative to the wall bracket 14, the sleeve and the proximal end 54 move closer to the first linking bar 42 such that the bracket 16, beam 50, and wall bracket 14 folds juxtaposed to the wall, as shown in FIG. 2.

A second roller 56 (not shown) may be provided within the chamber 12 adapted to freely rotate therein. The chamber 12 may have two holes 64 and 65 adapted to receive a cable 58 to wrap around the second roller 56 within the chamber 12 and the first roller 44. The cable 58 may have a first side 60 and a second side 62 divided by the two rollers 44 and 56 so that the first side 60 of the cable 58 rotates in the opposite direction as the second side 62 of the same cable 58. The first side 60 of the cable 58 may be coupled to the sleeve 48 so that as the sleeve 48 slides along the longitudinal axis of the second linking bar 46, the cable 58 rotates around the two rollers 44 and 56, accordingly. The second side 62 of the cable 58 may be coupled to the third linking bar 47 so that the two outer rails 36 and 40 slide along their respective inner rails 34 and 38 in the same direction as the second side 62. As such, as the monitor mounting bracket 16 extends relative to the wall bracket 14, the two outer rails 36 and 40 slides away from the chamber 12 along the longitudinal axis of the first and second rail bars 30 and 32, and vice versa.

FIG. 2 shows a top view of the mount system 10 and a monitor 200 recessed into a wall 202 in a retracted position. Brackets 204 may be used to attach the back side of the monitor 200 to the first and second outer rails 36 and 40 so that the monitor 200 may slide with the two outer rails 36 and 40. In the retracted position, the sleeve 48 is closer to the first roller 44 in comparison to the location of the sleeve 48 shown in FIG. 1, which is in an extended position. Conversely, the third linking bar 47 and the outer rails 36 and 40 are closer to the chamber 12.

FIG. 3 shows a top view of the mount system 10 and the monitor 200 in a partially extended position in comparison to FIG. 2. In this position, the sleeve 48 is closer to the chamber 12, and the third linking bar 47 and the outer rails 36 and 40 are closer to the first roller 44 than in FIG. 2. With the monitor 200 coupled to the outer rails 36 and 40, as the monitor rotates or swings open along the direction arrow 300, the monitor also extends out along the direction arrow 302, which is in line with the longitudinal axis of the outer rails 36 and 40. As such, the right side 304 of the monitor 200, when facing the monitor, moves away from the right side of the wall 306 to allow the monitor to swing open along its right side without the interference from the right side 306 of the wall 202.

FIG. 4 shows a top view of the mount system 10 in an extended position where the monitor 200 is substantially perpendicular to the wall 202. In this position, the sleeve 48 is closer to the chamber 12, and the third linking bar 47 and the outer rails 36 and 40 are closer to the first roller 44 than in FIG. 3. Note that in this fully extended position, the third linking bar 47 may be aligned with the first linking bar 42. With the mechanical relationship between the rotation of the chamber 12 and the movement of the outer rails 36 and 40, the rotational or swing movement 300 and the extension movement 302 are synchronized so that the monitor 200 may be moved within its recess wall without being impeded by the wall 202.

FIG. 5 shows a cross-sectional view of the chamber 12 along the line 5-5 shown in FIG. 4. A shaft 500 of the motor 18 may be mechanically coupled to the chamber 12 through one or more gear mechanisms 502 to transfer the rotational speed and torque of the motor 18 to the chamber to rotate the chamber at a desired rotational speed about the longitudinal axis 20. In particular, the gear mechanisms 502 between the motor 18 and the chamber 12 may have a slippage torque mechanism 504 to slip when the chamber 12 is in a lock condition such that it can not rotate while the motor is powered. This substantially prevents the motor from burning out and stops the monitor 12 from rotating when a foreign object interferes with the movement of the monitor. The slippage torque mechanism may be provided within the second anchor 29.

The slippage torque mechanism 504 includes a cup 506 that may be coupled to the second end 74 of the chamber 12 through one or more screws 508. The cup 506 may house one or more spring rings 510 that resist compression. The shaft 500 of the motor 18 may have a first worm gear 512 that engages with a second worm gear 514. The second worm gear 514 may have a protruding portion 516 with a threaded end 518. The cup 506 and the spring rings 51 0 may each have an opening to receive the protruding portion 516. The spring rings 510 and the base 520 of the cup 506 may be between first and second washers 522 and 524. A bolt 526 may be used to tighten along the threaded end 518 to compress the spring rings 510 so that a predetermined amount of torque resistance between the chamber 12 and the slippage torque mechanism 504 may be applied. This allows the slippage torque mechanism 504 to rotate or the motor 18 to rotate the second worm gear 514 while the chamber 12 is held or does not move.

The first end 70 of the chamber 12 may be coupled to the first anchor 27 with a bolt 530. The first anchor 27 may have an opening 532 along its base 534, where the diameter of the opening 532 is greater than the diameter of the bolt 530. The bolt 532 may pass through the opening 532 and tightened to allow the chamber 12 to rotate about its longitudinal axis. The opening 532 is large enough so that the orientation of the longitudinal axis may be adjusted so that the monitor attached to the first and second rail bars 30 and 32 may be leveled.

The second roller 56 may be provided within the chamber 12 and supported by a brace 534. The cable 58 may wrap around the second roller 56 to rotate the cable 58 around to move the monitor along the longitudinal axis of the first and second rail bars 30 and 32, as discussed above. In addition, a control circuit 536 may be housed within the chamber 12. The control circuit 536 may have an input port 538 adapted to couple to a receiver adapted to receive control signals from a remote control to move the monitor. Another input port 540 may be provided to receive power for the motor 18.

FIG. 6 shows an enlarged view of the blocked area 6 of FIG. 3. A coupler 600 may be used to attach the third linking bar 47 to the cable 58. The coupler 600 may be released to adjust the position of the outer rails 36 and 40 relative to the inner rails 34 and 38 and retightened. The second side 62 of the cable 58 may be located between the two outer rails 36 and 40 to minimize the depth space “d” of the mount system 10. The sleeve 48 may have a protruding portion 602 adapted to pivotably couple to the distal end 54 of the beam 50. The two ends 604 and 606 of the cable 58 may be coupled to the protruding portion 602 of the sleeve 48 so that the cable 58 rotates around the first and second roller 44 and 56 as the sleeve 48 moves along the longitudinal axis of the second linking bar 46.

FIG. 7 shows a cross-sectional view of along the line 7-7 of FIG. 6. The third linking bar 47 may couple the first and second outer rails 36 and 40 together. The first linking bar 42 may couple the two inner rails 34 and 38 together. A number of ball bearings 700 may be provided between the inner and outer rail bars 34 and 36, and 38 and 40 to allow the outer rails 36 and 40 to slide smoothly relative to their respective inner rails 34 and 38. The first roller 44 may have an hourglass shape to retain the cable 58.

While various embodiments of the invention have been described, it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that many more embodiments and implementations are possible within the scope of this invention. For instance, FIG. 8 shows that the motor 18 may be mechanically coupled to the proximal end 52 of the beam 50 to rotate the distal end 52 along the hinge 800. As the motor 18 rotates the proximal end 52, the monitor mounting bracket extends and retracts relative to the wall bracket 14, and the outer rails 36 and 40 extends and retract along its longitudinal axis.

FIG. 9 shows that the second linking bar 46 may be treaded and the proximal end 900 of the second linking bar 46 may be coupled to a motor to rotate the second linking bar 46. The sleeve 48 may have a threaded opening adapted to receive the threaded bar 46. As the motor rotates the thread bar 46, the sleeve moves along the longitudinal axis of the bar 46 to cause the monitor mounting bracket to extend and retract relative to the wall bracket 14, and the outer rails 36 and 40 to extend and retract along its longitudinal axis.

FIG. 10 shows a mount system 1000 that may extend the monitor 200 in a substantially perpendicular manner as indicated by the direction arrows 1002-1008. As the first motor 18 rotates the monitor mounting bracket 16, a second motor 1010 within the chamber 12 may rotate a screw 1012, which in turn moves the sleeve 1014 along the longitudinal axis of the screw 1012. As the sleeve 1014 moves, the outer rails 36 and 40 slides along the inner rails 34 and 38 accordingly. The control circuit 536 may control the two motors 18 and 1010 so that that the distal end 1016 extends relative to the wall bracket 14 in a substantially perpendicular manner. A third motor 1018 may be coupled to the distal end 1016 to swivel the monitor 200 so that the monitor 200 extends in a substantially parallel manner relative to the wall bracket 14. A bracket 1020 may be provided between the monitor 200 and the third motor 1018 to attach the monitor 200 to the mount system 1000.

FIG. 11 shows a perspective view of a mount system 1100 similar to the mount system 10 described above. The mount system 1100, however, has a bracket 1102 between a first anchor 1104 and a second anchor 1106. The bracket 1102 may have an “L” shape configuration. The second anchor 1106 may be adapted to mechanically couple to a motor 18 to rotate the bracket 1102 about a pivot axis 1108. The bracket 1102 may be coupled to the two inner rails 34 and 38. The mount system 1100 may include a first limit switch 1110 and a second limit switch 1112 located on the second linking bar 46 to define the fully extended position and the fully retracted position, respectively. As the sleeve 48 moves along the second linking bar 48 and as it makes contact with the limit switches 1110 and 1112, the control system of the mount system 1110 may stop the mount system 1100 from moving. The location of the limit switches 1110 and 1112 may be adjusted along the second linking bar 46 to adjust the fully extended position and the fully retracted position, respectively. A coupler 1114 may couple the second side 62 of the cable to the third linking bar 47, which slides the first and second rail bars 30 and 32 along the inner rails 34 and 38.

FIG. 12 shows that a first cover 1200 may be used to enclose the bracket 1102, and a second cover 1202 may be used to enclose the second linking bar 46. The first cover 1200 may have openings 1204 and 1206 to route the cables and wires. The second cover 1202 may have an elongated opening 1208 to allow the distal end 53 of the beam to move along the second linking bar 46.

FIG. 13 shows a side view of a mount system 1300 similar to the mount system 1100 described above. The mount system 1300, however, has an inner bar 1302 that has a U-shape between first and second outer bars 1304 and 1306. First and second set of rollers 1308 and 1310 may be provided between the inner bar 1302 and the first and second outer bars 1304 and 1306 to slide the first and second outer bars 1304 and 1306 along the inner bar 1302 as described in more detail below. The first and second outer bars 1304 and 1306 and the first and second set of rollers 1308 and 1310 may be coupled to a cross plate 1312 so that they may slide in unison along the inner bar 1302. A belt 1314 may be coupled to the distal end 54 of the beam 50 and the cross plate 1312 to slide the cross plate 1312 along the inner bar 1302. Panel mounting brackets 1316 may be provided to attach to the rear side of the monitor 200 and couple to the first and second outer bars 1304 and 1306.

FIG. 14 is a front cross-sectional view of the mount system 1300 along the line 14-14 of FIG. 14. The inner bar 1302 has a proximate end 1318 and a distal end 1318 and a distal end 1320. The inner bar 1302 may form a U-shape with the distal end 1320 being the base. The proximate end 1318 may be coupled to the bracket 1102, as described above in reference to FIG. 11. The bracket 1102 may be adapted to rotate about the pivot axis 1108 to rotate the proximate end 1318 as well. A first link bar 1322 may be provided within the bracket 1102 and along the pivot axis 1108. The second roller 56 may be adapted to rotate around the first link bar 1322. The first roller 44 may be adapted to rotate around the distal end 1320 of the inner bar 1302. The belt 1314 may wrap around the first and second rollers 22 and 56, and the belt may be coupled to the cross plate 1312.

The cross-plate 1312 may be coupled to the first and second set of rollers 1308 and 1310, and the first and second outer bars 1304 and 1306. The first set of rollers 1308 may include a plurality of rollers 1324, 1326, and 1328; and the second set of rollers may include a plurality of rollers 1330, 1332, and 1334. The inner bar 1302 may pass between the two rollers (1324 and 1328) and roller 1326 on one side; and on the opposite side, the inner bar 1302 may pass between the two rollers (1330 and 1334) and roller 1332. A second link bar 1336 may be provided between third and fourth link bars 1338 and 1340. The sleeve 48 coupled to the distal end 54 of the beam 50 may slide on the longitudinal axis of the second link bar 1336. The belt 1314 may be coupled to the cross plate so that as the belt 1314 rotates around the two wheels 44 and 56, the cross-plate moves along the inner bar 1302. The third link bar 1338 may be provided near the distal end 1320 of the inner bar 1302 to stop the rollers 1326 and 1332 near the distal end 1320 so that the first and second set of rollers 1308 and 1310 do not disengage with the inner bar 1302 at it rotates about the pivot axis 1108 to extend the mount system 1300 position.

FIGS. 15 and 16 illustrate that the mount system 10 may be orientated in a variety of directions in reference to YZ coordinates. For instance, FIGS. 15 and 16 show a side view of the mount system 10 in a retracted position and an extended position, respectively, to tilt the monitor 200. The weight of the monitor 200 may be represented as a center of gravity 1500 located about its center. In this orientation, as the mount system 10 moves from the retracted position to the extended position, the tilt angle θ1 increase, which causes the center of gravity 1500 of the monitor 200 to shift towards the positive Y and Z axes. As the mount system 10 extends or tilts, the bottom rear corner 1502 of the monitor 200 substantially maintains a gap with the wall 1504 so that the wall does not interfere with the tilting of the monitor 200. Moreover, in the top portion of the monitor 200, a substantial gap is formed between the monitor and the wall so that the rear side of the monitor is readily accessible for servicing and installing the cables and wires to the rear side of the monitor.

In this example, the gravitational force “g” may be in the −Y direction. With the center of gravity 1500 of the monitor 200 being offset in the +Y and +Z direction relative to the longitudinal axis 20 of the chamber 12, the first and second rail bars 30 and 32 have a tendency to extend or tilt down due to the moment of inertia applied by the weight of the monitor being offset. In order for the first and second rail bars 30 to extend or tilt, the monitor needs to move in the +Y direction or be lifted against the direction of the gravitational force “g”. At the same time, the weight of the monitor applies downward force on the first and second rail bars 30 to resist against extending or tilting the monitor. As such, the moment of inertia, due to the weight of the monitor being offset, is substantially counter balanced by its own weight of the monitor. Accordingly, the monitor 200 can be moved between the retracted position and the extended position with a nominal force applied to the monitor 200 or the first and second rail bars 30. And, once the monitor has been moved, the monitor may be maintained at that position with little or no resistive force. In this example, the mount system 10 may or may not include a motor so that the mount system 10 can be operated through a motorize action or manually.

The motorize mount systems described above show the mounts attached to the right side, when facing the monitor, of the monitor. The mounts, however, may be rotated and attached to the lefts side of the monitor as well, depending on the desired movement by the viewer. While motorized mounts have been described, non-motorized mounts or manual mounts are within the scope of this invention. Moreover, a motorized lift system such as the mechanisms found in the motorized car seats may be provided between the wall bracket 16 and the wall 202 to lift and lower the motorized mount system and the monitor. Accordingly, the invention is not to be restricted except in light of the attached claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A mount system adapted to reposition a monitor, the monitor having a back side, the mount system comprising:

a wall bracket adapted to couple to a wall;

a monitor mounting bracket having a longitudinal axis, the monitor mounting bracket adapted to couple to the back side of the monitor, and the monitor mounting bracket adapted extend and retract along the longitudinal axis;

a chamber between the wall bracket and the monitor mounting bracket, the chamber adapted to rotate the monitor mounting bracket between a retracted position and an extended position; and

a beam having a proximate end and a distal end, the proximate end adapted to pivotably couple to the wall bracket, and the distal end adapted to move substantially parallel with the longitudinal axis of the monitor mounting bracket as the chamber rotates the monitor mounting bracket between the retracted position and the extended position, the distal end of the beam coupled to the monitor mounting bracket such that the monitor mounting bracket extends and retracts along the longitudinal axis as the distal end moves substantially parallel with the longitudinal axis.

2. The mount system according to claim 1 including a motor mechanically coupled to the chamber to rotate the chamber about its longitudinal axis.

3. The mount system according to claim 1 where the monitor mounting bracket includes an inner rail and an outer rail, the outer rail adapted to move along the longitudinal axis of the inner rail, and the distal end of the beam coupled to the outer rail to move the outer rail along the longitudinal axis.

4. The mount system according to claim 3 including a plurality of rollers between the inner and outer rails to slide the outer rail relative to the inner rail.

5. A method of repositioning a monitor having a back side, the method comprising:

rotating a monitor mount bracket adapted to couple to the back side of the monitor between an open position and a closed position relative to a wall bracket, the monitor mount bracket having a longitudinal axis, and the rotating having a rotating axis;

extending the monitor mount bracket along the longitudinal axis when the monitor mount bracket is moved from the closed position to the open position; and

retracting the monitor mounting bracket along the longitudinal axis when the monitor bracket is moved from the open position to the closed position.

7. The method according to claim 5 where the rotating the monitor mount bracket to tilt the monitor down which imposes moment of inertia due to the weight of the monitor about the rotating axis, and the extending is lifting the monitor which substantially counteract the moment of inertia.