Abstract:
The invention provides a liquid crystal television receiver, a liquid crystal display of a desktop computer and the like, which is equipped with a pivoting means capable of statically maintaining the image display portion stably with the hinge portion prevented from being loosened even after performing tilting operation repeatedly for a long period of time. The invention provides a liquid crystal television receiver comprising a television receiver body equipped with a liquid crystal panel and a control unit, which is pivotally supported on a leg portion so as to enable tilting of the television receiver body, wherein a hinge portion pivotally supporting the television receiver body in a tiltable manner is composed of a pair of left and right hinge portions, the left and right hinge portions are respectively composed of a stand portion attached to the leg portion and a swing portion attached to the television receiver body, and the left and right hinges are assembled to form an integral hinge portion.

Description:
[0001]     The present application is based on and claims priority of Japanese patent applications No. 2003-339644 filed on Sep.  30 ,  2003  and No. 2004-54289 filed on Feb. 27, 2004, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0003]     The present invention relates to a liquid crystal television receiver in which a television receiver body equipped with a liquid, crystal panel and a control unit is pivotally supported on a leg portion in a tiltable fashion.  
         [0004]     The present invention is described using a liquid crystal television receiver as an example of the preferred embodiment of the invention, but it is applicable to liquid crystal displays of desk top personal computers and the like. It is also obviously applicable to any type of hinge structure bearing a pivoting movement.  
         [0005]     2. Description of the Related Art  
         [0006]     Liquid crystal television receivers or liquid crystal displays of desk top personal computers etc. are pivotally supported to enable tilting movement thereof so that a viewer (user) can select the most suitable viewing angle. The pivoting means for such equipment generally adopts a structure in which a stand portion and a swing portion are pivotally supported via a pin.  
         [0007]     Such pivoting means suffered the drawback of the hinge portion being loosened after long termuse of the equipment during which the tilting operation is repeated, and in some cases it became impossible to stably support the image display portion in a static manner.  
         [0008]     Patent document 1 discloses a tilt hinge in which the hinge portion is riveted to strengthen the fixture of the tilt movement portion, but according to this disclosure, the riveting operation is performed from the side face of the hinge portion, and since the rivet pin and washer remain on the side face, the width of the hinge portion is inevitably increased.  
         [0009]     As an alternative, it is possible to constitute the hinge portion with a pair of spaced-apart members and to perform the riveting operation from the inner sides thereof. However, this will not reduce the width of the hinge portion, and since the rigidity in the twisting direction of the pair of independent hinge members is weak, stable tilting movement cannot be performed if a twisting force is added when tilting the equipment.  
         [0010]     Patent document 2 also discloses an art related to a similar hinge structure.  
         [0011]     Patent Document 1: 
        Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-213526        
 
         [0013]     Patent Document 2: 
        Japanese Registered Utility Model No. 3069339        
 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0015]     In order to solve the problems of the prior art, the present invention aims at providing a liquid crystal television receiver or a liquid crystal display of a desk top personal computer etc. having a pivoting means capable of statically supporting the image display portion in a stable manner since the hinge portion will not be loosened after long term use of the equipment and repeated tilting operation. Further, the present invention aims at providing an equipment equipped with a hinge portion having a small width and a strong structure.  
         [0016]     According to a first aspect of the present invention, the liquid crystal television receiver comprising a television receiver body equipped with a liquid crystal panel and a control unit, which is pivotally supported on a leg portion so as to enable tilting of the television-receiver body in front and rear directions comprises a hinge portion for pivotally supporting the television receiver body in a tiltable manner which is formed of a pair of left and right hinge portions, the left and right hinge portions each respectively composed of a stand portion attached to the leg portion and a swing portion attached to the television receiver body, and the left and right hinge portions are assembled to form an integral hinge portion.  
         [0017]     According to a second aspect of the present invention, the liquid crystal television receiver according to the first aspect of the invention characterizes in that the left and right hinge portions are formed to have plane symmetric shapes, and the left and right hinge portions are assembled and screwed together to form the hinge portion.  
         [0018]     According to a third aspect of the present invention, the liquid crystal television receiver according to the second aspect of the invention characterizes in that the stand portions of the left and right hinge portions are respectively shaped to have an angulated U-shape cross-section, and the stand portions are assembled by having the openings of the U-shapes oppose one another to form a square column shape.  
         [0019]     According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the liquid crystal television receiver according to any one of the above aspects characterizes in that the hinge portion having an assembled rectangular column shape is formed so that side surface portions of the left and right hinge portions disposed in front and rear directions of the liquid crystal television receiver constitute a double layered structure.  
         [0020]     According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the liquid crystal television receiver according to any one of the above aspects characterizes in that the stand portion and swing portion of the left and right hinge portions are pivotally supported via a pin, and the pin is riveted to pivotally fasten the stand portion and the swing portion together in a tiltable manner.  
         [0021]     According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, the liquid crystal television receiver according to any one of the above aspects characterizes in that a biasing means for biasing the swing portion is attached to the stand portion, and the biasing means biases the swing portion rearward when the television receiver body is tilted to the frontward direction.  
         [0022]     According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, the liquid crystal television receiver according to the sixth aspect of the invention characterizes in that the biasing means is composed of a fixing plate fixed to the stand portion and an engagement portion integrally formed with the mounting plate and engaged to the swing portion.  
         [0023]     The present invention forms a hinge portion from a pair of left and right hinge portions which are assembled together to form an integral hinge portion, according to which the formed hinge portion has a simple structure and improved strength. Therefore, the present invention provides a liquid crystal television receiver in which the direction of the liquid crystal panel can be adjusted appropriately to any viewing angle with freedom.  
         [0024]     Since the shapes of the left and right hinge portions are plane symmetric, it is possible to form the front and rear directions of the equipment with two layered members by assembling the left and right hinges together, according to which a hinge portion of a liquid crystal television receiver having high strength can be provided.  
         [0025]     Since the hinge portion is composed by assembling a pair of left and right hinge portions, the left and right hinge portions can be easily riveted (fastened for example by pressing and widening an end of a pin) from the inner side of the pivoting portion and the flat-head portion of the pin can be disposed on the outer side of the pivoting portion, so the width of the hinge portion can be formed small. Furthermore, by pivotally fastening the pivoting portion via riveting, the television receiver body can be tilted more freely within larger tilt angles and statically held at any desired angle.  
         [0026]     Moreover, since a biasing means for biasing the swing portion is attached to the stand portion so as to bias the swing portion rearward by the biasing means when the television receiver body is tilted frontward, the rotational forces required for tilting the television receiver body frontward and rearward can be substantially equalized, and the television receiver body can be tilted in a stable fashion. Thus, the present invention enables to provide a liquid crystal television receiver having an advantageous quality and capable of preventing the receiver from turning over when the tilting operation of the television receiver body is performed by a rapid motion.  
         [0027]     Furthermore, since the biasing means is composed of a mounting plate fixed to the stand portion and an engagement portion formed integrally with the mounting plate and engaged with the swing portion, the present invention enables to provide a liquid crystal television receiver that is cost-effective without having to use expensive coil springs and the like.  
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0028]      FIG. 1  is a side view of a liquid crystal television receiver according to the present invention in which a hinge cover (illustrated in dotted lines) is removed to show the hinge portion clearly;  
         [0029]      FIG. 2  is a perspective front view of the liquid crystal television receiver according to the present invention;  
         [0030]      FIG. 3  is a perspective back view of the liquid crystal television receiver according to the present invention;  
         [0031]      FIG. 4  is a partial detailed view of a hinge portion;  
         [0032]      FIG. 5  is a six-side view of a left hinge portion;  
         [0033]      FIG. 6  is a six-side view of a right hinge portion;  
         [0034]      FIG. 7  is a four-side view of the hinge portion in which the left and right hinge portions are assembled;  
         [0035]      FIG. 8  is a cross-sectional view showing the riveted state of the left and right hinge portions;  
         [0036]      FIG. 9  shows A-A and B-B cross-sections of the left and right hinge portions;  
         [0037]      FIG. 10  is a perspective view showing the state in which the hinge portion is attached to a leg portion;  
         [0038]      FIG. 11  is a detailed view showing the state in which the hinge portion is attached to the device body;  
         [0039]      FIG. 12  is a perspective view showing the hinge portion of Embodiment 2;  
         [0040]      FIG. 13  is an exploded perspective view showing the state in which a biasing means is removed according to Embodiment 2;  
         [0041]      FIG. 14  is an explanatory view showing the liquid crystal television receiver of Embodiment 2; and  
         [0042]      FIG. 15  is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing the main portion of the hinge portion. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0043]     Now, the present invention will be described according to the preferred embodiments.  FIG. 1  is a side view showing the present invention applied to a liquid crystal television receiver, shown with a hinge cover removed (illustrated by dotted lines) so as to clearly illustrate the hinge portion.  
         [0044]     As shown in  FIGS. 1 through 3 , the liquid crystal television receiver comprises a television receiver body  10  equipped with a liquid crystal panel display  11  and a control unit  12 , which is pivotally supported by a leg portion  90  via a hinge portion  20 .  
         [0045]     In  FIG. 1 , the television receiver body  10  is capable of being tilted in the left and right directions with respect to the leg portion  90  pivoting around a pivot axis of the hinge portion  20 . According to the television receiver body  10 , the visual angle of the liquid crystal panel display  11  can be changed freely to face the operator (viewer) by simply holding an appropriate portion of the body  10  and tilting the body  10  to the desired direction.  
         [0046]      FIG. 4  is a partial detailed view for explaining the tilting operation around the hinge portion  20 , illustrating the hinge portion from the opposite direction of  FIG. 1 , showing the state in which the hinge is capable of being tilted for 5 degrees toward the front and 15 degrees toward the back. This range of movement is merely a matter of design and can be selected appropriately according to the status of use of the equipment to which the present invention is actually applied. In some applications, it is possible to set the range of movement to exceed 180 degrees.  
         [0047]     The hinge portion  20  is constructed of a pair of left and right hinge portions  30  and  50 , the details of which are illustrated in  FIGS. 5 and 6 .  FIG. 5  is a six-side view of the left hinge portion  30 , in which (a) is a right side view, (b) is a back view, (c) is a left side view, (d) is a front view, (e) is a bottom view and (f) is an upper view.  FIG. 6  is a six-side view of the right hinge portion  50 , in which (a) is a right side view, (b) is a back view, (c) is a left side view, (d) is a front view, (e) is a bottom view and (f) is an upper view.  
         [0048]     The left and right hinge portions  30  and  50  are respectively formed of main members, which are stand portions  31  and  51  and swing portions  32  and  52 . In the present application, the stand portion in the drawing is illustrated by heavy lines and the swing portion is illustrated by thin lines, in order to clearly distinguish the stand portion and swing portion. The swing portions  32  and  52  are respectively pivotally supported via pins  33  and  53  on the stand portions  31  and  51 .  FIGS. 5 and 6  illustrate states in which the swing portions  32  and  52  are pivotally supported via pins  33  and  53  on the stand portions  31  and  51 , and washers  34 ,  35  and  54 ,  55  are inserted thereto, but pins  33  and  53  are not yet riveted.  
         [0049]     The stand portion  31  of the left hinge portion  30  is equipped with an upright surface  39  that is raised in upright form from a leg portion attachment surface  36  to form an L-shape, and the surface  39  is connected to a substantially circular pivot surface  40 . In front of and behind the upright surface  39  are formed front and rear engagement surfaces  37  and  38  formed by bending, which constitute an angulated U-shaped cross-section together with the upright surface  39 . An embossment engagement hole  41  and a screw engagement hole  42  are formed on the front engagement surface  37 , and embossments  44 ,  44 , an embossment engagement hole  41  and a screw engagement hole  42  are formed on the rear engagement surface  38 . In the drawings, in order to visually clearly distinguish the holes and embossments, the embossments are illustrated with three slant lines.  
         [0050]     On the other hand, the stand portion  51  of the right hinge portion  50  is equipped with an upright surface  59  that is raised in upright form from a leg portion attachment surface  56  to form an L-shape, and the surface  59  is connected to a substantially circular pivot surface  60 . In front of and behind the upright surface  59  are formed front and rear engagement surfaces  57  and  58  by bending, which constitute an angulated U-shaped cross-section together with the upright surface  59 . On the front engagement surface  57 , an embossment  61  is formed at a position capable of engaging with the embossment engagement hole  41  on the front engagement surface  37  of the left hinge portion  30 , and a screw engagement hole  62  is formed at a position corresponding to the screw engagement hole  42  on the front engagement surface  37  of the left hinge portion  30 . On the rear engagement surface  58 , an embossment  61  is formed at a position capable of engaging with the embossment engagement hole  41  on the rear engagement surface  38  of the left hinge portion  30 , and a screw engagement hole  62  is formed at a position corresponding to the screw engagement hole  42  on the rear engagement surface  38  of the left hinge portion  30 . In  FIG. 6 , similar to  FIG. 5 , in order to visually clearly distinguish the holes and embossments, the embossments are illustrated with three slant lines.  
         [0051]     According to such structure, upon assembling the left hinge portion  30  and the right hinge portion  50 , positioning is assured by the embossments engaging with the embossment engagement holes.  
         [0052]     A swing portion  32  is pivotally supported via a pin  33  by the stand unit  31  of the left hinge portion  30  in a freely tiltable manner. The swing portion  32  is equipped with a body attachment surface  45  for attaching the television receiver body  10  and an engagement surface  46 . Body attachment screw holes  47  and  47  are formed on the body attachment surface  45  of the swing portion  32  of the left hinge portion  30 , and a screw engagement hole  48  is formed on the engagement surface  46 .  
         [0053]     Screw engagement holes  42 ,  42 ,  42  and  42  are formed on the leg attachment surface  36  of the stand portion  31  of the left hinge portion  30 .  
         [0054]     A swing portion  52  is pivotally supported via a pin  53  by the stand unit  51  of the right hinge portion  50  in a freely tiltable manner. The swing portion  52  is equipped with a body attachment surface  65  for attaching the television receiver body  10  and an engagement surface  66 . Body attachment screw holes  67  and  67  are formed on the body attachment surface  65  of the swing portion  52  of the right hinge portion  50 , and a screw engagement hole  68  is formed on the engagement surface  66 .  
         [0055]     Screw engagement holes  62 ,  62 ,  62  and  62 , and an embossment  61  (not shown) to be used for positioning with the leg portion  90 , are formed on the leg attachment surface  56  of the stand portion  51  of the right hinge portion  50 .  
         [0056]     Thus, upon assembling the left hinge portion  30  and the right hinge portion  50 , the engagement surface  46  of the left hinge portion- 30  and the engagement surface  66  of the right hinge portion  50  are superposed and positioned appropriately, the screw engagement hole  48  and the screw engagement hole  68  are matched and screwed together, by which the swing portion  32  of the left hinge portion  30  and the swing portion  52  of the right hinge portion  50  are fastened securely in an integral manner.  
         [0057]     The pivot surface  40  of the stand portion  31  of the left hinge portion  30  and the swing portion  32  are pivotally supported via a pin  33 , wherein washers  34  and  35  are inserted before the pin  33  is riveted from direction A of  FIG. 8 , so as to pivotally fasten the stand portion  31  and the swing portion  32  to allow tilting thereof.  
         [0058]     The pivot surface  60  of the stand portion  51  of the right hinge portion  50  and the swing portion  52  are pivotally supported via a pin  53 , wherein washers  54  and  55  are inserted before the pin  53  is riveted from direction A of  FIG. 8 , so as to pivotally fasten the stand portion  51  and the swing portion  52  to allow tilting thereof.  
         [0059]     Thus, since the pivoting portions of the left and right hinge portions  30  and  50  are riveted, the bearing will not be loosened even through repeated tilting movement, and maintain a constantly stable fixed condition. Further, since the hinge portion  20  is constructed by assembling the left and right hinge portions  30  and  50  which are plane symmetric, the hinges can be riveted from direction A (inner direction), according to which the washer and riveted portions can be disposed inside the hinge portion  20  and the width of the whole hinge portion  20  can be reduced.  
         [0060]     Further, since left and right hinge portions  30  and  50  are assembled together to form one integral hinge portion  20 , the obtained hinge portion has high strength even with a small width and is strong against twisting.  
         [0061]     The riveted left hinge portion  30  and the similarly riveted right hinge portion  50  have, as shown in  FIG. 7 , the stand portions  31  and  51  of two members assembled together to form a stand portion  71  having a substantially rectangular cross-section, and the swing portions  32  and  52  of the two members assembled to form an integral swing portion  72 .  
         [0062]      FIG. 7  shows a four-side view of the integral hinge portion  20  formed by riveting pins  33  and  53  and assembling the left and right hinge portions  30  and  50 , wherein (a) is a back view, (b) is a right side view, (c) is a front view and (d) is an upper view. In  FIG. 7 , the left hinge portion  30  is illustrated using heavy lines, the right hinge portion  50  is illustrated using thinner solid lines (stand portion) and dotted lines (swing portion), and further in (a) and (c), screws are illustrated in perspective to show how the left and right hinge portions  30  and  50  are screwed together.  
         [0063]     As shown in  FIG. 7 , the integral swing portion  72  formed by assembling two members constitutes a hinge portion  20  with high strength, since double layered members are disposed on the front and rear sides of the equipment. Moreover, the bottom surface portions  36  and  56  are designed to have sizes that differ by the thickness of the bottom plate, so that two surface portions can be superposed by placing one above the other.  
         [0064]     FIGS.  9 ( a ) and  9 ( b ) respectively show the A-A cross-section of the left hinge portion  30  and the B-B cross-section of the right hinge portion  50 . An embossment  61  formed on a rear engagement surface  58  of the stand portion  51  of the right hinge portion  50  is fit to the embossment engagement hole  41  formed on the rear engagement surface  38  of the stand portion  31  of the left hinge portion  30 , by which screw engagement holes  42  and  62  are matched and connected via a screw.  
         [0065]     Thus, the integrally formed hinge portion  20  (screw engagement holes etc. are not shown) can be attached to a leg portion  90  with appropriate means (not shown) as illustrated in  FIG. 10 .  
         [0066]      FIG. 11  illustrates a state in which the hinge portion  20  is attached via a screw on the television receiver body  10 .  
         [heading-0067]     [Embodiment 2] 
         [0068]     Next, Embodiment 2 of the present invention will be described.  FIG. 12  is an exploded perspective view showing a hinge portion according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention.  FIG. 13  is an exploded perspective view showing the state in which a biasing means removed.  FIG. 14  is an explanatory view showing a liquid crystal television receiver.  FIG. 15  is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing the main part of the hinge portion.  
         [0069]     The present embodiment is equivalent to Embodiment 1 except for the biasing means, so the same members as Embodiment 1 are denoted with the same reference numbers and the detailed descriptions thereof are omitted. The television receiver body  10  according to Embodiment 2 is large sized and heavy, equipped with a large liquid crystal panel display portion  11  having a screen size of 20 inches or larger.  
         [0070]     The biasing means is composed of a mounting plate  80  for fixture to a stand portion  71 , and an engagement portion  82  formed integrally with the mounting plate  80 , which is formed of metal and has elasticity. The mounting plate  80  is placed so that a hole  81  formed thereto is matched with screw engagement holes  42  and  62  formed to the rear engagement surfaces  38  and  58 , and while it is in contact with the rear surface of the stand unit  38 , it is attached using a screw and the like. The upper portion of the mounting plate  80  is bent toward the front, having formed integrally thereto an engagement portion  82  to be engaged with either the engagement surfaces  46  or  66  of the hinge portion  20 .  
         [0071]     As shown in  FIG. 14 , the center of gravity a of the television receiver body  10  is placed substantially at the center in the front-rear direction, in other words, the center of gravity a of the television receiver body  10  is placed frontward than the pivot point b of the hinge portion  20 , so that the pivoting force for tilting the television receiver body  10  with respect to the hinge portion  20  differs in the front and rear pivoting directions (directions shown by arrows of  FIG. 14 ).  
         [0072]     Next, the operation of the liquid crystal television receiver formed as above will be described.  
         [0073]     When an operator tilts the television receiver body  10  forward from the maximum backward tilt position, as shown in  FIG. 15 , the swing portion  72  of the hinge portion  20  follows the pivoting movement and pivots forward (counterclockwise direction shown in  FIG. 15 ). Then, since the engagement portion  82  is fixed to the engagement surfaces  46  or  66  of the hinge portion  20 , the engagement portion  82  follows this pivoting movement and flexibly bends forward. In other words, by tilting the swing portion  72  forward from the maximum backward tilt position, the engagement portion  82  flexibly bends forward, and the television receiver body  10  can be pivoted and stopped at a desired position resisting against the biasing force caused by the bending of the engagement portion  82 .  
         [0074]     On the other hand, when the operator tilts the television receiver body  10  rearward from the frontward tilted state (clockwise direction shown in  FIG. 15 ), the swing portion- 72  follows this pivoting movement and pivots rearward. During this operation, the operator can smoothly and easily tilt the television receiver body  10  rearward by the biasing force of the leaf spring member  80  in addition to the operator&#39;s own force.  
         [0075]     Thus, by attaching a biasing means formed of a mounting plate  80  and an engagement portion  82  to the hinge portion  20  and biasing the television receiver body  10  rearward by the resilience of engagement portion  82 , it is possible to prevent the backlash caused by the gap in the movable area of the hinge portion  20 , and the pivoting force for tilting the television receiver body  10  forward and backward can be substantially equalized. Therefore, it becomes possible to tilt the television receiver body  10  in a stable manner, and even if the tilting operation of the television receiver body  10  is performed rapidly, tipping of the body can be prevented. Thus, the present invention can provide a high-quality liquid crystal television receiver.  
         [0076]     Moreover, since the mounting plate  80  can easily be attached to the rear of the stand portion  38  of the hinge portion  20  in a detachable manner via a screw or the like, there is no need to provide a large assembly space as in the case of a coil spring, and the size of the hinge portion can be reduced. Furthermore, the cost of the biasing means composed of the mounting plate  80  and engagement portion  82  is low compared to the cost of a coil spring, so the costs of the required components can be cut down. Thus, the present invention enables to provide a cost-effective liquid crystal television receiver.  
         [0077]     Further, since the thickness and the like of the biasing means can be varied so as to easily change the biasing force of the engagement portion  82  to correspond with the size or weight of the television receiver body  10  attached above the hinge portion  20 , the liquid crystal television receiver according to the present invention has advantageous compatibility and is highly cost effective.