Self-orienting logo assembly

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6477799
  • Patent Number
    6,477,799
  • Date Filed
    Monday, March 13, 2000
    24 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, November 12, 2002
    22 years ago
Abstract
A self-orienting logo assembly so that the logo is always in a horizontal orientation. In the preferred embodiments the logo is located on a disk. The disk is weighted or otherwise designed to have its weight distributed nonuniformly. The disk is located inside a housing. The housing is attached to the computer or other equipment bearing the logo. When the housing is located in a vertical plane the disk rotates to allow the logo to remain horizontal. The disk can be rotationally mounted to the housing or can be suspended in liquid. In an alternate embodiment the disk can have a magnet incorporated so that when the disk is in a horizontal orientation it can act as a compass. In another embodiment a portion of the disk is removed and the housing contains an additional logo or wording. The rotation of the disk can then cover or expose the additional logo or wording.
Description




BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION




1. Field of the Invention




The invention relates to logos used on products, and more particularly to a logo assembly that automatically orients itself to a horizontal position.




2. Description of the Related Art




Computers and other products commonly include a logo to indicate the manufacturer and/or model of the unit. The logo is firmly attached to the unit, usually by some form of adhesive or by direct printing. The logo can be directly printed on the unit, may be on a clear or colored tape or film or can be on a more substantial material such as a small piece of plastic or metal. The logo is located and oriented so that it is readily visible to the causal observer.




When the computer or other product is located in an office or other environment where space saving is desired and can be configured for an individual, the unit may be installed in various orientations. For example, a desktop computer may be installed in a horizontal orientation if located on or under a desk but is often installed in a vertical orientation if located next to a desk. Computer manufacturers have addressed this difference in installations by providing computers that can be readily installed in either manner. For example, the Compaq® Deskpro® EP computer series is designed to switch from desktop to minitower configurations. The user just slides the external drives (floppy and CD-ROM) out of the chassis, rotates them 90 degrees and slides them back in. The unit can then be placed in the desired orientation.




While this flexibility in design is very useful to the user, it creates problems with the logo. The logo is permanently affixed to the front bezel. In the example of the Deskpro® EP, the logo is attached to be read in a horizontal position. However, when the unit is rotated to the minitower or vertical orientation, the logo is now vertical and not easily read by an observer. The manufacturer could provide a different front bezel for the alternative orientation, but this would not be cost effective. Alternatively the logo could be made removable, but then the logo might be lost completely.




Therefore it would be desirable to have a logo that automatically adjusts for the orientation of the product so that it is always visible to the observer at the desired orientation.




SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION




The present invention provides a self-orienting logo assembly so that the logo is always in a horizontal orientation. In one exemplary embodiment, the logo is located on a disk. The disk is weighted or otherwise designed to have its weight distributed nonuniformly. The disk is located inside a housing. The housing is attached to the computer or other equipment bearing the logo. When the housing is located in a vertical plane the disk rotates to allow the logo to remain horizontal. The disk can be rotationally mounted to the housing or can be suspended in liquid.




In another embodiment, the disk includes a magnet incorporated so that when the disk is in a horizontal orientation it can act as a compass. In another embodiment, a portion of the disk is removed and the housing contains an additional logo or wording. Rotation of the disk covers or exposes the additional logo or wording.











BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS




A better understanding of the invention can be had when the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments is considered in conjunction with the following drawings in which:




“COMPAQ” is a registered trademark of Compaq Computer Corporation;





FIGS. 1A and 1B

are horizontal and vertical orientations of units according to the prior art;





FIGS. 2A and 2B

are front and side views of a first embodiment of the present invention;





FIG. 2C

is a side view of an alternate embodiment of the first embodiment;





FIGS. 3A and 3B

are front and side views of a second embodiment of the present invention;





FIGS. 4A

,


4


B and


4


C are front, side and rear views of a third embodiment of the present invention;





FIGS. 5A and 5B

are front and side views of a fourth embodiment of the present invention;





FIGS. 6A

,


6


B and


6


C are vertical, angled and horizontal views of units incorporating the embodiment of

FIG. 2A

;





FIG. 7

is a front view of a fifth embodiment of the present invention; and





FIGS. 8A

,


8


B and


8


C are vertical, angled and horizontal views of units incorporating the embodiment of FIG.


7


.











DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS




Referring to

FIGS. 1A and 1B

, a computer


10


according to the prior art is shown. A logo


12


is aligned along the longitudinal axis of the computer


10


. When the computer


10


is in a horizontal or desktop orientation, the logo


12


is readily readable by a casual observer. However, when the computer


10


is in a vertical or minitower orientation, the logo


12


is also in a vertical orientation and thus not readily readable by the casual observer.




A first embodiment of a logo assembly


18


A according to the present invention is shown in

FIGS. 2A and 2B

. A housing


20


A contains a rotatable member, such as a disk


22


A. The illustrated logo


12


is located on the front face of the disk


22


A, but it also can be located within the rotatable member or on a back surface if, for example, the rotatable member is transparent or translucent. The disk


22


A is located or centered in the housing


20


A by a pivot


24


. Pivot


24


is illustrated as supporting the disk


22


A at its center, but pivot


24


can also be designed to support the disk


22


A at an outlying or peripheral region of the disk while still permitting pivotable motion about a central rotational axis of the disk


22


A. Further, the pivot


24


allows the disk


22


A to rotate with respect to the housing


20


A. The disk


22


A includes a weight


26


, the weight


26


generally being aligned in the disk with respect to the logo


12


so that when the disk


22


A is located in a vertical plane, the weight


26


causes the logo


12


to orient to a horizontal orientation.




In an alternate embodiment, as shown in

FIG. 2C

, a cover, such as a lens


28


, can cover and close the housing


20


A to form an interior region


35


, that is preferably sealed. A liquid


36


can then be provided in interior region


35


to partially or fully fill the housing


20


A, and the disk


22


A can float in the liquid


36


. The liquid


36


effectively allows the disk


22


A to pivot about its rotational axis.




As shown in

FIGS. 3A and 3B

, a housing


20


B having a generally rectangular configuration is shown, as opposed to the generally circular shape of the housing


20


A. A disk


22


B is larger in diameter to be positively retained in the housing


22


B. The housing can have other shapes and configurations to allow it to be more readily mounted in a computer or other product.




Another alternative embodiment is shown in

FIGS. 4A

,


4


B and


4


C. In this variation a housing


20


C is generally rectangular and contains disk


22


C. The disk


22


C is generally smaller in diameter than the disk


22


B as the disk


22


C does not have to be positively retained by the housing


20


C. A shaft


34


mounted to the center of the disk


22


C exits the rear of the housing


20


C. A weighted disk


30


is mounted to the second end of the shaft


34


. The weighted disk


30


contains a weight


32


or is otherwise unbalanced in the manner of the disk


22


A. The disk


22


C is located with respect to the disk


30


and weight


32


so that the logo


12


is oriented to a horizontal position when the assembly


18


C is mounted in a vertical orientation.




Yet a further alternative embodiment is shown in

FIGS. 5A and 5B

. In the assembly


18


D, the disk


22


D includes a magnet


38


instead of a weight. In the illustrated embodiment, the disk


22


D is suspended in a liquid


36


contained in the housing


20


D, but other pivot mechanisms can be used to allow the disk


22


D to freely rotate. A transparent or translucent cover, e.g., lens


28


, seals the housing


20


D. When the assembly


18


D is located in a horizontal plane, the disk


22


D aligns itself with the earth's magnetic poles, performing as a compass. This embodiment can be installed in a laptop computer or other portable product.




Operation of an assembly according to the present invention is shown in

FIGS. 6A

,


6


B and


6


C. The assembly


18


A is installed in a computer


40


. The logo


12


is in a horizontal orientation when the computer


40


is in a vertical orientation. In

FIG. 6B

the computer


40


is rotated to a 45 degree angle. The disk


22


A in the assembly


18


A rotates so that the logo


12


remains horizontal. In

FIG. 6C

the computer


40


is in a horizontal configuration, as is the logo


12


. The disk


22


A has further rotated inside the housing


20


A so that the logo


12


remains horizontal. Thus, the casual observer always sees the logo


12


in the desirable horizontal orientation.




Yet one more embodiment is shown in FIG.


7


. In an assembly


18


E, the housing


20


E and the disk


22


E are larger than the similar assembly


18


A. The logo


12


is substantially the same size. In this case the disk


22


E has a portion


46


removed, e.g. a wedge shaped portion, such that the removal of the portion


46


creates an opening through the disk


22


E. A second logo


44


is located on the housing


20


E. The second logo


44


is sized so that it can be viewed through the opening in the disk


22


E.




Operation of the assembly


18


E is shown in

FIGS. 8A

,


8


B and


8


C. In

FIG. 8A

, a computer


42


includes the assembly


18


E. The second logo


44


is not visible in the vertical orientation of the computer


42


. As the computer


42


is rotated to a 45 degree angle, as illustrated in

FIG. 8B

, the disk


22


E rotates and the second logo


44


becomes visible. When the computer


42


reaches the horizontal position in

FIG. 8C

, the disk


22


E has further rotated and the second logo


44


is again covered.




It is understood that the removed portion


46


and the second logo


44


can be positioned at other locations so that the second logo


44


is visible at other desired orientations of the computer


42


.




In an alternate version, a larger portion of the disk


22


E can be removed. Then a larger amount of information, such as wording indicating that the product is oriented upside down can located on the housing


20


E. When the assembly is properly mounted in the product, the user receives a warning when the product is upside down. It is understood that other warnings or notices could be provided.




While the preferred embodiments have been described with respect to a computer, it is understood that the assembly can be used with any product having a logo where there is a chance that the product can be used in several orientations. Also, the embodiments illustrated have been described with a pivotable disk, but other shapes, e.g. semicirles, squares, triangles, can be mounted for pivotable motion in accordance with the present invention. Additionally one skilled in the art can readily develop other arrangements to allow the disk to rotate inside the housing. Further, the disk can be used with a shaft and weighted disk without a housing by having the shaft rotate directly in the bezel or cover of the product.




Because many varying and different embodiments may be made within the scope of the inventive concept herein taught, and because many modifications may be made in the embodiments herein detailed in accordance with the descriptive requirement of the law, it is to be understood that the details herein are to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.



Claims
  • 1. A computer system, comprising:a computer; a logo; and a rotating portion, wherein the logo is attached to the rotating portion and the rotating portion is mounted to the computer, the rotating portion automatically maintaining the logo in a desired orientation when the computer is placed in a selected orientation chosen from a plurality of potential orientations.
  • 2. The computer system as recited in claim 1, further comprising a housing having an interior region for receiving the rotating portion.
  • 3. An apparatus that may be mounted to a computer, comprising:a logo; a rotating portion, wherein the logo is attached to the rotating portion and the rotating portion is mounted to the computer, the rotating portion automatically maintaining the logo in a desired orientation when the computer is placed in a selected orientation chosen from a plurality of potential orientations; and a housing having an interior region for receiving the rotating portion, wherein the interior region is at least partially filled with a liquid and the rotating portion is disposed in contact with the liquid.
  • 4. The apparatus as recited in claim 3, wherein the rotating portion floats in the liquid.
  • 5. The apparatus as recited in claim 3, wherein the rotating portion is unbalanced.
  • 6. An apparatus that may be mounted to a computer comprising:a logo; a rotating portion, wherein the rotating portion comprises a magnet, such that the logo is attached to the rotating portion, the rotating portion automatically maintaining the logo in a desired orientation when the computer is placed in a selected orientation chosen from a plurality of potential orientations; and a housing having an interior region for receiving the rotating portion.
  • 7. The computer system as recited in claim 2, wherein the rotating portion comprises a disk.
  • 8. The computer system as recited in claim 1, further comprising a center pivot, wherein the rotating portion is mounted on the center pivot for pivotable motion.
  • 9. The computer system as recited in claim 8, wherein the center pivot includes a shaft affixed to the rotating portion.
  • 10. The computer system as recited in claim 8, wherein the rotating portion comprises a disk.
  • 11. A system that may be placed in a plurality of orientations, comprising:a self-orienting member having an opening therethrough; a product having a product housing to which the self-orienting member is mounted, the product housing being positionable in an upright position; and an indicia on the product housing, wherein the indicia is visible through the opening when the product is tilted from the upright position.
  • 12. The system as recited in claim 11, wherein the indicia is visible when the product is tilted approximately 45 degrees from the upright position.
  • 13. The system as recited in claim 11, wherein the opening is generally wedge shaped.
  • 14. The system as recited in claim 11, wherein the indicia comprises a logo.
  • 15. The system as recited in claim 14, further comprising a second logo disposed on the self-orienting member.
  • 16. The system as recited in claim 11, wherein the self-orienting member is generally in the shape of a disk.
  • 17. The system as recited in claim 11, further comprising a self-orienting member housing, wherein the self-orienting member housing is a separate member fastened to the product.
  • 18. The system as recited in claim 11, wherein the product comprises a computer.
  • 19. The system as recited in claim 11, wherein the product housing has an interior region for receiving the self-orienting member.
  • 20. The system as recited in claim 11, wherein the self-orienting member is rotatably mounted to the product housing by a shaft.
  • 21. A system that may be placed in a plurality of orientations, comprising:a self-orienting member having an opening therethrough; a product having a product housing to which the self-orienting member is mounted, the product housing being positionable in an upright position; the product housing further comprising of an interior region for receiving the self-orienting member, wherein the interior region is at least partially filled with a liquid; and an indicia on the product housing, wherein the indicia is visible through the opening when the product is tilted from the upright position.
  • 22. A system as recited in claim 21, wherein the self-orienting member floats in the liquid and is unbalanced to maintain a desired orientation regardless of the tilt of the product.
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