Retractable Monitor with Adjustable Pitch and Yaw
An in-dash infotainment system includes a chassis, a monitor, and three articulating arms each pivotably coupled to a side of the monitor and slidably coupled to the chassis. The articulating arms allow the monitor to stow horizontally within the chassis, and extend and flip vertically for viewing. When extended, the first, the second, and the third articulating arms also allow the pitch and the yaw of the monitor to be adjusted.
Latest SUNMAN ENGINEERING, INC. Patents:
This present disclosure relates to a retractable monitor with adjustable pitch and yaw.
DESCRIPTION OF RELATED ARTSome in-dash receivers for motor vehicles include a monitor that retracts into the receiver when the monitor is not used. Some roof mount entertainment systems for motor vehicles include a monitor that flips up when the monitor is not used.
SUMMARYIn some embodiments of the present disclosure, an in-dash infotainment system includes a chassis, a monitor, and three articulating arms each pivotably coupled to a side of the monitor and slidably coupled to the chassis. The articulating arms allow the monitor to stow horizontally within the chassis, and extend and flip vertically for viewing. When extended, the first, the second, and the third articulating arms also allow the pitch and the yaw of the monitor to be adjusted.
Use of the same reference numbers in different figures indicates similar or identical elements.
DETAILED DESCRIPTIONReferring to
Monitor 104 has a first vertical side (left side) 112, a second vertical side (right side) 114, and a horizontal side (top) 116 respectively linked by three articulating arms 118, 120, and 122 to chassis 102. Articulating arms 118, 120, and 122 allow monitor 104 to be stowed horizontally within chassis 102, and to be extended and flipped down for viewing. Once extended and flipped down, articulating arms 118, 120, and 122 allow the pitch and the yaw of monitor 104 to be manually or automatically adjusted.
First articulating arm 118 includes a first member 118A, a second member 118B, and a third member 118C (
Second articulating arm 120 includes a first member 120A (
Third articulating arm 122 includes a first member 122A, a second member 122B, and a third member 122C (
A user may manually extend the horizontally stowed monitor 104 and flip down the monitor for viewing. Alternatively, articulating arms 118, 120, and 122 may be motorized to automatically extend the horizontally stowed monitor 104 from within chassis 102 and to flip down the monitor for viewing. To extend the horizontally stowed monitor 104, motors translate articulating arms 118, 120, and 122 at the same rate. Once monitor 104 clears chassis 102, articulating arm 122 can translate faster than articulating arms 118 and 120 to flip down monitor 104. The process is reversed to stow away monitor 102 within chassis 104. A motor 144 is mechanically linked by gears, belts, or other conventional means to drive articulating arm 118, a motor 145 is mechanically linked by gears, belts, or other conventional means to drive articulating arm 122, and a motor 146 (
Once monitor 102 is flipped down in a vertical orientation, the user may further adjust the pitch and the yaw of the monitor. The pitch of monitor 102 may be adjusted about the first horizontal axis 130, and the yaw of the monitor may be adjusted about the fifth vertical axis 142 (
Various other adaptations and combinations of features of the embodiments disclosed are within the scope of the present disclosure. For example, instead of locating articulating arm 122 on the top of chassis 102 and on top of monitor 104, the articulating arm 122 may be located on the bottom of chassis 102 and on the bottom of monitor 104. Numerous embodiments are encompassed by the following claims.
Claims
1. An in-dash infotainment system, comprising:
- a chassis;
- a monitor comprising a first vertical side, a second vertical side, and a horizontal side;
- a first articulating arm pivotably coupled to the first vertical side of the monitor and slidably coupled to the chassis;
- a second articulating arm pivotably coupled to the second vertical side of the monitor and slidably coupled to the chassis; and
- a third articulating arm pivotably coupled to the horizontal side of the monitor and slidably coupled to the chassis.
2. The in-dash infotainment system, wherein:
- the first articulating arm comprises first, second, third members, the first member being slidably coupled to the chassis, the second member being pivotably coupled to the first member about a first vertical axis, the third member being pivotably coupled to (1) the second member about a second vertical axis and (2) the first vertical side of the monitor about a first horizontal axis;
- the second articulating arm comprises fourth, fifth, and sixth members, the fourth member being slidably coupled to the chassis, the fifth member being pivotably coupled to the fourth member about a third vertical axis, the sixth member being pivotably coupled to (1) the fifth member about a fourth vertical axis and (2) the second vertical side of the monitor about the first horizontal axis;
- the third articulating arm comprises seventh, eighth, and ninth members, the seventh member being slidably coupled to the chassis, the eighth member being pivotably coupled to the seventh member about a second horizontal axis, the ninth member being pivotably coupled to (1) the eighth member about a third horizontal axis and (2) the horizontal side of the monitor about a fifth vertical axis.
3. The in-dash infotainment system of claim 2, wherein the chassis comprises first, second, and third tracks for slidably engaging the first, the fourth, and the seventh members.
4. The in-dash infotainment system of claim 3, wherein the chassis further comprises motors mechanically linked to the first, the fourth, and the seventh members, respectively to extend and retract the monitor.
5. The in-dash infotainment system of claim 4, wherein the first, the second, and the third articulating arms allow a pitch of the monitor to be adjusted about the first horizontal axis, and a yaw of the monitor to be adjusted about the fifth vertical axis.
Type: Application
Filed: Apr 22, 2009
Publication Date: Oct 28, 2010
Applicant: SUNMAN ENGINEERING, INC. (San Jose, CA)
Inventor: Allen Nejah (San Jose, CA)
Application Number: 12/428,365
International Classification: A47B 96/06 (20060101);