Patent Application
20060238662
Not Applicable.
Not Applicable.
This application relates to shelves for audio/video equipment and/or components (such as VCR's, DVD players, cable and satellite boxes, stereo equipment, etc.) and in particular to a shelf which can be mounted to a television to stably position the audio/visual equipment on the television.
Consumers are obtaining ever more audio/video components or equipment for use with their TV's. This includes equipment such as VCR's, DVD players and recorders, cable and satellite boxes, and stereo equipment. As services available from various providers expand, it is likely that more equipment will be developed for use in conjunction with televisions.
Consumers typically like to mount their audio/video equipment in close proximity to the television, and preferable on top of the television. For televisions having a traditional tube, the top surface of the television is fairly deep, and audio/video components can be placed directly on top of the TV. However, with the increasing availability of rear projection televisions, such as LCD and DLP televisions, televisions have become quite narrow. Hence, the top surface or deck of the television is substantially narrower. In most of these LCD and DLP rear projection televisions, the top surface of the TV is not sufficiently deep to place audio/video components on the television. In fact, in some instances, the TV deck is only a few inches deep.
It would be desirable to provide a shelf which can be used in conjunction with such televisions to enable consumers to place their audio/video components in close proximity to their TV's without the need to invest in expensive cabinetry.
Briefly stated, a shelving unit is provided to be mounted on a television, such as a rear projection television, to enable a consumer to position audio/visual components (such as VCRs, DVD players and recorders, stereo equipment, cable and satellite boxes, etc.) on the television. Televisions have a housing having a top deck extending rearwardly from a front of the housing, a vertical wall extending downwardly from a back edge of the top deck, and a sloped surface extending downwardly and rearwardly from a bottom edge of the vertical surface.
In an illustrative embodiment, the shelving unit comprising a mounting member adapted to be secured to the television's vertical wall, a shelf securable to the mounting member to extend rearwardly from the television's vertical wall, and a leg member extending downwardly from the shelf and having a bottom end which engages the television sloped surface. The leg member has a length sufficient to maintain the shelf in a generally horizontal position. The mounting member is positioned on the television vertical wall such that the shelf is supported below the level of the television deck, and such that that audio/visual equipment can be operated either by its respective remote control or by control buttons on the audio/visual equipment.
The mounting member comprises a clip member. The clip member can be separate from, or integral with, the television. In the former instance, the clip member can comprise a plurality of separate clips, each of which is securable to the television's vertical wall. or an elongate strip having a plurality of spaced apart clips thereon. The clip member includes a generally unshaped clip body having an opening at a top thereof which opens into a channel.
The shelf comprises a forward edge member adapted to be received by the clip member. In the illustrative embodiment, the shelf is a wire shelf having a rod extending along the front and back edges of the shelf and a plurality of generally parallel rods extending between the front and back rods. The front rod is received in the mounting member channel to secure the shelf to the television. The opening into the mounting member channel is narrower than the diameter of the front rod, and hence, the clip members snappingly receive the shelf front rod.
The leg member is an extendable/retractable leg member which is removably connectable to the shelf and securable to the shelf at a desired position between a front and back edge of the shelf. A bracket is provided to secure the leg to the shelf. The bracket comprises a lower member positioned against a lower surface of the shelf and means for securing the lower member to the shelf; the leg extending from the lower member. In an illustrative embodiment, the securing means includes an upper member positionable on an upper surface of the shelf. The upper and lower bracket members are connected together to selectively position the leg on the shelf. The upper member can comprise a plate or a U-shaped member. In the instance when the upper member is a plate, the upper member can be provided with channels sized and shaped to receive the shelf defining rods of the shelf. The lower member can be provided with similar channels. In another alternative, the securing means can comprise the channels on the lower member if the channels are shaped to snappingly receive the wire rods of the shelf.
Corresponding reference numerals will be used throughout the several figures of the drawings.
The following detailed description illustrates the invention by way of example and not by way of limitation. This description will clearly enable one skilled in the art to make and use the invention, and describes several embodiments, adaptations, variations, alternatives and uses of the invention, including what we presently believe is the best mode of carrying out the invention. Additionally, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangements of components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or being carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.
A typical television T has a housing 10 which encloses the screen and the electronics for the television. The housing 10 includes a top deck or surface 12 which extends rearwardly from the front surface of the housing 10. A wall 14 extends downwardly from the back of deck 12 a short distance and a sloped 16 surface extends downwardly and rearwardly from the bottom of the vertical wall 14 to the back surface of the television. The housing 10 is divided into a front portion 10a which forms a frame around the television's screen and a back portion 10b which encases the television's electronic components. The front and back portions 10a,b of the housing are connected together in part by a series of screws 18 which extend through the vertical wall 14 at the back of the deck 10.
A shelving unit 20 is provided which can be mounted to the television. The shelving unit comprises a shelf 22 and legs 24. The shelf 22 is shown to be a wire shelf having a forward edge 26, a rear edge 28, and a plurality of surface defining rods 30 extending between the forward and rear edges. In addition, the shelf 22 includes a downwardly extending flange 32 at the back of the shelf. The flange 32 comprises a bottom edge 34 and a plurality of flange defining rods 36 which extend between the flange bottom edge 34 and the shelf back edge 28. The flange defining rods 36 are preferably continuations of the shelf surface defining rods 30. The shelf forward and rear edges 26 and 28 and the flange bottom edge 34 have rods 26a, 28a, and 34a extending transversely to the shelf and flange defining rods 30 and 36. These edge rods have a diameter greater than the surface and flange defining rods. Depending on the depth of the shelf, additional rods can be provided which extend generally perpendicularly to the shelf rods 30 between the front and back edges. As can be appreciated, the shelf 22 can be made from commercially available ventilated wire shelving
The legs 24 are removably connectable to the shelf 22 by means of a mounting bracket 38. The bracket 38 includes an upper member 38a which is positioned above the shelf 22 and a lower member 38b which is positioned below the shelf 22, such that the bracket 38 sandwiches the shelf. The legs 24 extend from the bracket lower member 38b. The two bracket members are connectable together by means of fasteners 39 (such as screws) which extend through the upper bracket member and at least into the lower bracket member. The upper and lower bracket members are provided with holes 37 which receive the fasteners 39. The hole in the upper member 38a can be smooth or threaded, as desired. If the fastener is a bolt, the hole in the bracket lower member is preferably pre-threaded. If the fastener 39 is a screw, the hole in the lower bracket member 38b need not be pre-threaded, and the screw can be threaded into the hole.
The inner or facing surfaces 40 of the upper and lower members 38a,b can be provided with channels 42. The channels 42 are spaced apart a distance corresponding to the spacing between the surface defining rods 30 of the shelf 22 such that the rods 30 will be received in the channels 42. To prevent pivoting of the bracket member about the shelf wires, the bracket members are sized to span the width between at least one pair of wires, such that the bracket will extend across at least two of the shelf wires. The bracket members also include at least two channels 42—there being one channel 42 for each wire the bracket members extend across. The channels 42 thus facilitate positioning of the bracket members on the shelf 22 and for aligning the holes 37 of the upper and lower bracket members 38a,b relative to each other.
Alternatively, as seen in
The legs 24 can be extendable/retractable legs, such the length of the leg can be adjusted as necessary. The ability to adjust the length of the leg and the position of the leg enables the shelving unit 20 to be used with televisions having sloping surfaces 16 of different degrees and different lengths. In one embodiment, the legs 24 can comprise an outer member 44 which telescopingly receives an inner member 46. The position of the two members can be held in a desired position relative to each other by means of a set screw 48. In other embodiments, the leg members 44 and 46 can threadedly engage each other, such that the length of the leg 24 is adjusted by rotation of one leg member relative to the other. Other manners known in the art of adjusting the length of the leg 24 can also be used.
The leg 24 includes a foot 50 at the bottom of the leg to engage the sloped surface of the television. In the embodiment shown, the foot 50 comprises a ball which is made of rubber, plastic, or another material having a high coefficient of friction to substantially prevent the foot from sliding relative to the television's sloped surface. The foot 50 could take on other configurations as well. For example, the foot 50 could be a hinged member having a flat bottom surface which rests upon the sloped surface 16 of the television housing 10.
To mount the shelving unit 20 to the television T, the shelf 22 is connected to the vertical wall 14. Preferably, the shelf is connected to the wall 14 below the level of the housing top deck 12 so that the shelf 22 will not be visible from the front of the television T. However, the shelf 22 is sufficiently high, relative to the housing's vertical wall 14, such that the infrared sensor IS of any audio/visual component AV placed directly on the shelf will be above the level of the housing top deck 12, so that the audio/visual component can be operated using a remote control. In addition, the shelf 22 is positioned so that any operating buttons B of the audio/visual equipment will be above the level of the housing top deck 14, so that the audio/visual equipment can be operated by means of the control buttons when desired.
A mounting member 60 to which the shelf 22 is securable is provided to connect the shelf 22 to the television. The mounting member 60, as seen in
The mounting member strip 60 can have a length substantially equal to the width of the television T. Alternatively, the mounting strip can have a length substantially shorter than the length of the television, and comprise two or more of the clips 70 with the slot 68 therebetween. The strips 60 could, for example, be 3″-12″ in length.
Although the mounting member is shown to comprise a strip containing the clip members, the mounting member can, alternatively comprise independent clips 70′ (
The clip 70′ is provided with a screw hole 90 in the rear surface 74 and a corresponding screw hole 92 in the front surface 76 of the clip 70′. As can be seen, the screw holes 90 and 92 are aligned with each other, and define a passage which intersects the groove 88. Screw hole 90 is sized to allow the head of a screw to pass therethrough. Screw hole 92 is countersunk, and includes a portion sized to receive the screw head and a central portion sized to admit the screw shaft. Thus, to mount the clip 70′ to the rear of a television, as seen in
In another alternative, clips 70″ can be molded as part of the television housing, such that the clips 70″ are formed integrally with the housing. As shown in
As a further alternative, the mounting member could comprise a flange extending rearwardly from the housing vertical wall 14 to which the shelf 22 could be secured by fasteners. Such fasteners could include clips, brackets, etc. which secure the shelf to the flange.
In view of the above, it will be seen that we have provided a shelf for audio/visual components. The shelf is positively connected to the television housing, to reduce the possibility of the shelf moving relative off the television. The shelf is positioned on the housing such that the shelf is not visible from the front of the television, but so that the components sitting on the shelf can be operated using their respective remote controls and control buttons.
As various changes could be made in the above constructions without departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense. For example, although shown to be upwardly opening, the clip members could open rearwardly. The shelf 22 could be a solid shelf, rather than a wire shelf. In this instance, the shelf could be provided with a rib positioned to be received in the clip members. These examples are merely illustrative.
