Patent Application
20120091298
The present invention relates to a supporting structure for a display device, which includes a main supporting element capable of being securely and removably inserted into assembly holes formed on a rear side of the display device and an auxiliary supporting element pivotally connected to the main supporting element and having one edge pressing against the main supporting element and an opposite edge forming a supporting plane together with one edge of the main supporting element, thereby supporting the display device on a surface (e.g., a tabletop) and keeping the display device in a standing position.
Digital photo frames—one of the hottest new products on the market in recent years—are generally categorized as an application of medium-size liquid crystal displays (LCDs). While current sales are only moderate, digital photo frames have become increasingly popular in the United States and Europe and begun to sell well in emerging countries. Related statistics show that about four million digital photo frames were sold worldwide in 2009 alone, and the number of 2010 is expected to exceed ten million; the market of digital photo frames should not be underestimated.
Aside from digital photo frames, LCDs are applicable to other fields as well. For instance, they can be used as the display devices of computers or used in LCD television sets. LCDs are relatedly lighter than the traditional cathode ray tube (CRT) displays and have therefore gradually replaced the CRT displays. As used herein, the term “display device” refers to the various types of LCDs mentioned above, and the supporting structure of such display devices is described in more detail as follows.
Typically, a base is provided at the back of a display device. The base has a top end connected to the bottom side of the display device and a bottom end configured to lie on a supporting surface (e.g., a tabletop) and thereby keep the display device in a standing position. In order to facilitate angular adjustment of the display device, a rotating mechanism may be provided on the base or the display device itself so that the display device can be rotated to the desired viewing angle. Moreover, some users would like to hang the display device on a hook, instead of or in addition to supporting the display device on the base, so as to enable flexible placement of the display device.
Hence, a variety of movable supporting structures were developed, such as U.S. Pat. No. 6,651,943 disclosed a supporting structure, as shown in
If it is desired to hang the display device 10, the stand 13 can be rotated upward and hung on a hook, so that the display device 10 is hung stably at the intended position. However, the foregoing supporting structure still leaves much room for improvement. First of all, while the display device 10 is in the standing position, the bottom side of the display device 10 is in contact with the tabletop and therefore very likely to be scratched due to the friction between the bottom side of the display device 10 and the tabletop; as a result, the outer appearance of the display device 10 will be damaged, which is highly undesirable. Moreover, when hanging the display device 10, the pivotal connection positions between the pivotal connection plates 120 and the stand 13 are invariable. In other words, the height at which the stand 13 is pivotally connected to the display device 10 (or more specifically the fixing plate 12) cannot be changed. As it is impossible to fine-tune the hanging height of the display device 10, the supporting structure is quite inconvenient in terms of its hanging function.
Therefore, the issue to be addressed by the present invention is to improve the conventional display device supporting structures by designing a supporting structure capable of supporting or hanging a display device and fine-tuning the height thereof so that both the height and angle of the display device can be easily adjusted according to practical needs.
In view of the various drawbacks of the conventional supporting structures configured for display devices, the inventor of the present invention conducted extensive research and repeated trials and finally succeeded in developing a supporting structure as disclosed in herein for use with a display device. The disclosed supporting structure, capable of supporting and hanging, can be rapidly installed on a display device and readily adjust the height and angle of the display device according to where the display device is placed.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a supporting structure for a display device, wherein the supporting structure is configured to support or hang a display device (e.g., an LCD, a digital photo frame, etc.) and includes a main supporting element and an auxiliary supporting element. The main supporting element is a curved plate and has at least a projection and a hook portion. The projections are disposed in a first end of the main supporting element, and the hook portion is disposed in a second end of said main supporting element. The projections are correspondingly disposed in adjacent two sides of the main supporting element and are movably disposed in assembly holes arranged in the rear of the display device. The hook portion is bent. The main supporting element further includes a receiving cavity opposite to the hook portion, and the receiving cavity has two inner surfaces each provided with a first pivotal connection portion (e.g., a pivot hole). The auxiliary supporting element corresponds in shape to the receiving cavity, and has two second pivotal connection portions (e.g., a pivot) disposed in two sides of the auxiliary supporting element respectively. The second pivotal connection portions are movably connected with the corresponding first pivotal connection portions respectively. By means of pivotal connection between the corresponding first and second pivotal connection portions, the auxiliary supporting element is rotatable about the first and second pivotal connection portions and can be rotated into or out of the receiving cavity so as to be stored in or positioned outside the receiving cavity. The structural features of the present invention allow a user to rotate the auxiliary supporting element easily out of the receiving cavity. And once outside the receiving cavity, the auxiliary supporting element has one edge pressing against the inner wall of the receiving cavity and an opposite edge forming a supporting plane together with one edge of the main supporting element, thereby supporting the display device on a surface (e.g., a tabletop) and keeping the display device in a standing position. Besides, the auxiliary supporting element can also be easily rotated into the receiving cavity and stored therein, thus allowing the hook portion of the main supporting element to hang on a fixed object (e.g., a hook, a projecting edge of a cupboard, a windowsill, etc.) and thereby hang the display device stably on the fixed object. It is particularly worth mentioning that, as the projections in the present invention are securely and removably insertable in the assembly holes on the rear side of the display device, it is feasible to design several sets of assembly holes on the rear side of the display device, wherein the plural sets of assembly holes are of different heights. Thus, the positions at which the projections are securely and removably inserted into the display device can be adjusted according to where the display device is placed, so as to change the standing angle or hanging height of the display device.
It is another object of the present invention to provide the foregoing supporting structure, wherein the side of the main supporting element where the receiving cavity is formed is further provided with at least one groove. Each groove has two corresponding inner sides that are each formed with a third pivotal connection portion (e.g., a pivot hole). The third pivotal connection portions of each groove correspond in position to the second pivotal connection portions so that the second pivotal connection portions of the auxiliary supporting element can be respectively and pivotally connected to the third pivotal connection portions, allowing one edge of the auxiliary supporting element to press against the inner wall of the groove while the opposite edge of the auxiliary supporting element and the main supporting element jointly support the display device.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide the foregoing supporting structure, wherein the end of the auxiliary supporting element that the second pivotal connection portions are adjacent to is formed with slots. The slots are adjacent to the second pivotal connection portions respectively so as form two resilient arms. When pressed with fingers, the two resilient arms are moved inward and brought close to each other, thus allowing the auxiliary supporting element to be removed from or installed in the receiving cavity (or one of the at least one groove).
It is still another object of the present invention to provide the foregoing supporting structure, wherein the receiving cavity has two lateral sides each concavely provided with a recess, and the recesses are adjacent to the first pivotal connection portions respectively. Thus, when it is desired to remove the auxiliary supporting element from the receiving cavity, the user can put his/her fingers into the recesses, press on the auxiliary supporting element, and then take it out.
The structure as well as a preferred mode of use, further objects, and advantages of the present invention will be best understood by referring to the following detailed description of an illustrative embodiment in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
The inventor of the present invention has long been engaged in the research and development of digital photo frames and like display devices. During this process, the inventor has found that the conventional supporting structures for display devices can only support the display devices on a flat surface and are unable to also provide a hanging function; consequently, the placement of display devices are subject to many limitations. While some fellow colleagues in the industry have devoted themselves to finding a solution to the aforesaid problems, their products so far are still incapable of fine-tuning the height of a display device and preventing the bottom side of the display device from being scratched by the contact surface. In consideration of the above, the inventor came up with the concept of forming assembly holes on the rear side of a display device and providing a main supporting element which is securely and removably insertable into the assembly holes so as to provide both supporting and hanging functions.
The present invention provides a supporting structure for a display device. Referring to
Referring again to
It should be noted that, as shown in
Referring to
The present embodiment can be used in ways other than described above. For example,
In the foregoing three states in which the present embodiment can be used, the position at which the main supporting element 30 is connected to the display device 4 can be changed to easily fine-tune the height and angle of the display device 4. Thus, not only are the drawbacks of the conventional supporting structures effectively overcome, but also the convenience of use of the supporting structure 3 is significantly enhanced.
While the invention has been described by means of specific embodiments, numerous modifications and variations could be made thereto by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention set forth in the claims.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 099134850 | Oct 2010 | TW | national |
