Abstract:
A display apparatus includes a base part, a main body, a slider connected to the main body, a guide rail to stand on the base part, and to guide the slider to slide thereon to move the main body up and down. The display apparatus also includes at least one spiral spring having an elasticity enough to support weight of the main body to extend and contract in response to a movement of the slider. Accordingly, the display apparatus has an improved structure of conveniently adjusting a position of the main body due to the slider being slid smoothly along the guide bracket.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION  
       [0001]    This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional No. 60/413,776 filed Sep. 27, 2002, and Korean Application No. 2002-68264 filed Nov. 5, 2002 in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    1. Field of the Invention  
           [0003]    The present invention relates, in general, to a display apparatus, and in particular, to a display apparatus having an improved structure of conveniently adjusting a position (that is, the height) of a monitor body.  
           [0004]    2. Description of the Related Art  
           [0005]    Recently, display apparatuses have been increasingly demanded as personal computers have come into wide use. In order to cope with such demands from a variety of consumers, display apparatuses employing a variety of functions have been provided to increase the consumers convenience when using them.  
           [0006]    As an example, Korean Utility Model Registration No. 20-279427 discloses a display apparatus including a monitor body, a base, a stand to stand on the base, a plate fixed on a bracket in a rear of the monitor body and extended downward, a guide plate fixed on the stand and having a pair of rail grooves, and a slider having a projection to be inserted into the rail grooves of the guide plate and to move up and down along the guide plate. The display apparatus also includes a pusher fixed to a lower part of the slider, and being provided with a semi-circular seating hole in a bottom thereof. The display apparatus includes a spiral spring having a first end fixed to the stand and a second end displaced in the seating hole of the pusher as curled, to elastically support the monitor body in a direction opposite to a weight of the monitor body.  
           [0007]    In the conventional display apparatus with the above configuration, since friction is generated when the slider is moved along the guide plate, the slider connected to the monitor body is not smoothly moved along the guide plate when a user wishes to move the monitor body downward. Therefore, the user may experience problems in adjusting the position of the monitor body.  
           [0008]    In addition, friction is generated between a mounting place of the spiral spring and the spiral spring, and accordingly, the monitor body is not smoothly moved because of the spiral spring.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0009]    Accordingly, it is an aspect of the present invention to provide a display apparatus having an improved structure of conveniently adjusting a position of a monitor body.  
           [0010]    Additional aspects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part, will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention.  
           [0011]    The foregoing and/or other aspects of the present invention are achieved by providing a display apparatus including a base part, a main body, a slider connected to the main body, a guide rail to stand on the base part, and to guide the slider to slide thereon to move the main body up and down, and at least one spiral spring having an elasticity enough to support a weight of the main body and to extend and contract in response to a movement of the slider.  
           [0012]    According to an aspect of the invention, the guide rail is provided in a pair parallel to each other to stand on the base part at a predetermined distance from each other, and the slider is provided in a pair to correspond to the guide rail to be engaged with the guide rail.  
           [0013]    According to an aspect of the invention, the display apparatus further includes a guide bracket to couple to the guide rail and a spring supporting block provided between the sliders. The spiral spring has a first end coupled to the guide bracket and a second end coupled to the spring supporting block.  
           [0014]    According to an aspect of the invention, the spiral spring includes a wound part having a spiral shape and coupled to the guide bracket, and a coupling part extended from the wound part and coupled to the spring supporting block.  
           [0015]    According to an aspect of the invention, the spiral spring includes a first spiral spring installed in front of the guide bracket, and a second spiral spring installed in the back of the guide bracket.  
           [0016]    According to another aspect of the invention, the display apparatus includes a first accommodating part to accommodate the first spiral spring and provided on an inner front face of the guide bracket, a second accommodating part to accommodate the second spiral spring and provided on an inner rear face of the guide bracket, and third and fourth accommodating parts, each to accommodate the pair of guide rails and provided on both sides of the guide bracket.  
           [0017]    According to yet another aspect of the invention, the display apparatus includes a supporting unit provided in the first and second accommodating parts to control extension and contraction of the first and second spiral springs. The supporting unit is provided with first and second rotational shafts installed transversely on the first and second accommodating parts, and first and second spring guides rotatably installed on the first and second rotational shafts on which the wound parts of the first and second spiral springs are respectively wound.  
           [0018]    According to an aspect of the invention, the display apparatus further includes a ball bearing unit provided between the guide rail and the slider.  
           [0019]    According to an aspect of the invention, the ball bearing unit includes a supporting pin disposed between the guide rail and the slider and positioned along a lengthwise direction of the guide rail, and a rolling ball rollably installed on the supporting pin between the guide rail and the slider and contacted with the slider by a rolling motion.  
           [0020]    According to an aspect of the invention, the display apparatus includes a supporting bracket provided between the main body and the guide bracket and including a supporting part to support the main body, and an extended part extended downward from the supporting part and coupled to the pair of sliders by passing through the guide bracket. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0021]    The above and/or other aspects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent and more readily appreciated from the following description of the embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompany drawings of which:  
         [0022]    [0022]FIG. 1 is a rear perspective view showing an elevating state of a slider in a display apparatus, according to an embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0023]    [0023]FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing a main portion of the display apparatus shown in FIG. 1;  
         [0024]    [0024]FIG. 3 is a rear perspective view showing a lowering state of the slider in the display apparatus shown in FIG. 3;  
         [0025]    [0025]FIG. 4 is a front elevational view showing a lowering state of the slider in the display apparatus shown in FIG. 3; and  
         [0026]    [0026]FIG. 5 is a sectional view of FIG. 3 taken along V-V. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0027]    Reference will now be made in detail to the embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout. The embodiments are described below in order to explain the present invention by referring to the figures.  
         [0028]    As shown in FIGS. 1 through 5, a display apparatus  1  according to the present invention includes a main body (not shown) to display pictures thereon, a base part  3  to sit on a mounting space (e.g., a table), a stand part  5  to stand on the base part  3 , and a connection assembly  7  to connect the stand part  5  to a body bracket  6  fixedly coupled to a rear face of the main body.  
         [0029]    To a lower part of the connection assembly  7  is coupled a supporting bracket  20  to support the connection assembly  7 . The supporting bracket  20  has a supporting part  21  to support the connection assembly  7  and an extended part extended downward from the supporting part  21 .  
         [0030]    A pair of guide assemblies forming the stand part  5  are respectively displaced on both sides of an extended part  22 .  
         [0031]    Each of the guide assemblies includes a guide rail  11 , and a slider  12  slidingly moved along the guide rail  11 . A guide bracket  30  is displaced between the guide rail  11  and the supporting bracket  20 .  
         [0032]    The guide rail  11  is approximately shaped like a “U” when viewing a section of an inside thereof in which a ball bearing unit  14  is installed along a lengthwise direction. The ball bearing unit  14  includes a supporting pin  15  displaced in the guide rail  11  along the lengthwise direction, and a rolling ball  16  coupled to the supporting pin  15  in a rotatable manner to contact the slider  12  (to be described later) by a rolling motion.  
         [0033]    A bottom of the guide rail  11  is coupled to a stand supporting part  2  by screws  38 . The stand supporting part  2  is installed on a top face of the base part  3  providing an accommodating space, and a top of the guide rail  11  is coupled to the guide bracket  30 . The guide rail  11  is provided in a pair and is disposed in parallel to each other having a predetermined space therebetween.  
         [0034]    A top of the slider  12  is coupled to the extended part  22  and a bottom of the slider  12  is coupled to a spring supporting block  13  to be described later. The slider  12  smoothly moves along the guide rail  11  as external wall faces of both sides of the slider  12  are contacted by a rolling motion with the rolling ball  16  within the guide rail  11 . For example, the slider  12  may be drawn out from the guide rail  11  to a predetermined length by an upward movement along the guide rail  11 .  
         [0035]    Meanwhile, the extended part  22  is displaced over a space provided between a pair of sliders  12  which are separated from each other, and the spring supporting block  13  is displaced below the space.  
         [0036]    The sliders  12  are coupled to both sides of the spring supporting block  13 . First and second spiral springs  41  and  42 , to be described later, are respectively coupled to a front face and a rear face of the spring supporting block  13  by screws  39 . By this coupling, if the sliders  12  perform a sliding motion, the spring supporting block  13  coupled to the sliders  12  is moved together with the sliders  12 . Since the first and second spiral springs  41  and  42  are coupled to the spring supporting block  13  moving together with the sliders  12 , the first and second spiral springs  41  and  42  are extended and contracted according to the movement of the spring supporting block  13  coupled to the sliders  12 .  
         [0037]    An elasticity of the first and second spiral springs  41  and  42  is set to be equal to a weight of the main body. Preferably, the first and second spiral springs  41  and  42  may be formed of stainless steel with a thickness of 0.2 mm to 0.35 mm.  
         [0038]    The first and second spiral springs  41  and  42  include a wound part  43  spirally wound and mounted to the guide bracket  30 , and a coupling part  44  extended from the wound part  43  and coupled to the spring supporting block  13 .  
         [0039]    A first accommodating part  31  on which the first spiral spring  41  is installed is provided on an inner front face of the guide bracket  30 , and a second accommodating part  32  on which the second spiral spring  42  is installed is provided on an inner rear face of the guide bracket  30 . Third and fourth accommodating parts  33  and  34  to accommodate the pair of guide assemblies (i.e., the guide rails  11  and the sliders  12 ) are respectively provided on both sides of the guide bracket  30 .  
         [0040]    The tops of the guide rails  11  of the guide assemblies are inserted into the third and fourth accommodating parts  33  and  34  respectively and are fixed by screws  37 .  
         [0041]    On the first and second accommodating parts  31  and  32  are respectively provided a supporting unit to allow extension and contraction, that is, to allow the first and second spiral springs  41  and  42  to be unwound and wound.  
         [0042]    The supporting unit includes first and second rotational shafts  51  and  52  transversely on the first and second accommodating parts  31  and  32 , respectively, and first and second spring guides  53  and  54  made of plastic material, rotatably installed on the first and second rotational shafts  51  and  52 , respectively, on which the first and second spring springs  41  and  42  are wound. Since the coupling part  44  of the first and second spiral springs  41  and  42  are coupled to the spring supporting block  13  connected to the sliders  12 , the wound part  43  of the first and second spiral springs  41  and  42  are unwound along circumferences of the first and second spring guides  53  and  54  by a rotation of the first and second rotational shafts  51  and  52  when the sliders  12  and the spring supporting block  13  move downward. In response thereto, the coupling part  44  of the first and second spiral springs  41  and  42  moves downward along with the spring supporting block  13 .  
         [0043]    That is, the first and second spiral springs  41  and  42  are extended (see FIGS. 3 and 4). Conversely, the wound parts  43  of the first and second spiral springs  41  and  42  are wound along the circumferences of the first and second spring guides  53  and  54  by the rotation of the first and second rotational shafts  51  and  52  when the sliders  12  and the spring supporting block  13  move upward. In response thereto, the coupling part  44  of the first and second spiral springs  41  and  42  move upward along with the spring supporting block  13 . That is, the first and second spiral springs  41  and  42  are contracted (see FIG. 1).  
         [0044]    In light of the above configuration, an elevating process of the sliders  12  relative to the guide rails  11  will be described below.  
         [0045]    It is assumed that an initial status of the display apparatus according to the present invention is as illustrated in FIG. 1. Thus, if a user holds the main body (not shown) and moves it downward so as to lower a position of the main body, the sliders  12  move downward along the guide rails  11  to contact the rolling ball  16  by a rolling motion. At this time, since the spring supporting block  13  is coupled to the sliders  12 , the spring supporting block  13  moves downward in response to the downward movement of the sliders  12 , and the coupling part  44  of the first and second spiral springs  41  and  42  coupled to the spring supporting block  13  moving downward, also moves downward.  
         [0046]    The downward movement of the coupling part  44  of the first and second spiral springs  41  and  42  is possible because the spiral wound parts  43  of the first and second spiral springs  41  and  42  are respectively extended to be unwound along the circumferences of the first and second spring guides  53  and  54  in response to the downward movement of the coupling part  44  of the first and second spiral springs  41  and  42 .  
         [0047]    The above operation is done under the condition that the weight of the main body moves downward beyond the elasticity of the first and second spiral springs  41  and  42 . If the user suspends the downward movement of the main body when the main body reaches a height that the user desires to position it while the main body is in downward movement, the main body will not move downward any more. That is, since the weight of the main body and the elasticity of the first and second spiral springs  41  and  42  are balanced, the movement of the main body stops (see FIGS. 3 and 4).  
         [0048]    If the user holds the main body and moves it upward so as to raise the position of the main body, the balance between the weight of the main body and the elasticity of the first and second spiral springs  41  and  42  is not stable, and therefore, the main body moves upward in the same operation as described above. If the user suspends the upward movement of the main body when the main body reaches the height that the user desires to position it, the main body will not move upward any more since the weight of the main body and the elasticity of the first and second spiral springs  41  and  42  are balanced (see FIG. 1).  
         [0049]    In the display apparatus  1  according to the present invention, the sliders  12  smoothly move along the guide rails  11  via the ball bearing unit  14 , and easily adjust the position of the main body with the first and second spiral springs  41  and  42 .  
         [0050]    In the above-described embodiment, the first and second spiral springs  41  and  42  are provided. However, one spiral spring may be installed with the elasticity of the one spiral spring being set equal to the weight of the main body.  
         [0051]    In the above-described embodiment, the number of spiral springs installed is two, that is, the first and second spiral springs  41  and  42 . However, four spiral springs may be installed in the display apparatus according to the present invention. It should be noted that the number of spiral springs which may be installed in the display apparatus according to the present invention is not limited to two or four, but may be determined optionally by display apparatus makers.  
         [0052]    As described above, according to the present invention, there is provided a display apparatus having an improved structure of conveniently adjusting a position of the main body because the slider may be slid smoothly along the guide bracket.  
         [0053]    Although a few embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes may be made in these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined in the appended claims and their equivalents.