Abstract:
A flat panel display rack mount is disclosed comprising a bar, two side brackets fastenable to an existing equipment rack and a hanging bracket. The side brackets are fastenable to and equipment rack using existing rack dress screws in the rack. The side brackets are fastenable at any vertical level on the rack. The bar has grooves in both ends that are capable of locking into key lug slots contained in the side brackets. The hanging bracket is formed to match the backside contours of a typical flat panel display and is affixed thereto forming a display and bracket assembly. The hanging bracket has a hook assembly for hanging on the bar. The assembly can slide onto the bar during assembly of the side brackets. The assembly slides either direction and swings upw7ard to allow access to equipment and cables contained in the equipment rack.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     In general, the present invention relates to a method and apparatus for mounting a flat panel display in electronic equipment racks. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Electronic equipment racks are well known for use in telecommunications, test and measurement, in electronic data processing or control, and in many other fields. Electrical/electronic equipment racks are generally comprised of a plurality of printed circuit boards or electronic components or both, mounted in a shelf unit. The plurality of the electronic components are mounted in stacked fashion one upon another and arranged in a cabinet or fitted to a frame to constitute a rack having a particular function. In electronic equipment racks, the mounting and use of electrical and electronic equipment many times requires ready accessibility of the components and wiring. Further, electronic equipment racks require displays or monitors for visual display of data and to allow user interaction with the electronic components. 
     The use of monitors with electronic equipment racks significantly contributes to a difficulty in accessing the components and wiring used in an equipment rack. Full size monitors are heavy and waste valuable space that is needed for other test equipment. Flat panel displays are not as bulky as full size monitors but their use inhibits access to the equipment and monitoring. Previous monitor attachment solutions have been comprised of monitor arms equipment racks, but they continue to occupy valuable space and are bulky and difficult to attach. Previous mountings utilizing a swing arm are expensive, dangerous due to weight imbalances and take up floor space unnecessarily. Previous mountings utilizing vertical slide rail are expensive and cause rack bay modifications making field replacement difficult. 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a flat panel display  100  attached to a standard equipment rack  110 . Standard equipment rack  110  includes four equipment bays  150  and a plurality of screw holes  120  along the left front side  130 . Standard equipment rack  110  also includes a plurality of matching screw holes, not shown, along the right front side  140 . Left front side  130  and right front side  140  are in the same plane. Flat screen display  100  is attached to standard equipment rack  110  substantially parallel to and abutting the plane of the front sides  130 ,  140 . Note in FIG. 1 that access to the upper bay  150  is mostly blocked by the flat panel display  100 . Further, flat panel display  100  is solidly affixed to standard equipment rack  110 , thus not allowing it to slide or tilt. 
     It is apparent that a need exists for a flat panel display rack mount that provides easy access to components and wiring used in equipment racks. It is also desirable for a mounting system requiring little effort to move the display sideways or to swing the display up for easy access to complex equipment and cables and which utilizes little floor space. Further still, it is desirable for a mounting system capable of easy retrofit to fully loaded racks already in use in the field, which is easy to install, which is strong, durable and safely out of the way, and which can handle nearly any flat panel display through a standard hanging plate. Yet further desirable aspects will in part be obvious and will in part be apparent from the specification. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Generally speaking, in accordance with the invention, a flat panel display exterior equipment rack mount is provided. The rack mount assembly is affixed to an equipment rack utilizing the existing screw holes and dress screws of the equipment rack. The rack mount assembly includes a pair of support brackets having slotted key holes in one end, a hanging rod constructed to fit the slotted key holes and a hanging bracket constructed to match the backside contours of a typical flat panel display. 
     The pair of support brackets are constructed and sized to fit the screw holes that exist on the left and right sides of an equipment rack. The support brackets are generally identical to each other and can be interchanged right to left. One support bracket is attached to each side of an equipment rack. The two support brackets are attached at opposing screws on the left and right side of the equipment rack. At the end of each support bracket is a slotted The slotted keyhole is sized so that the hanging rod fits through the larger part thereof. 
     The hanging rod is comprised of a cylindrical rod with grooves cut into each end thereof. The rod fits between the two support brackets attached to the equipment rack. The grooves of the hanging rod fit into the smaller portions of the slotted keyholes in each bracket. 
     The hanging bracket is utilized to suspend a flat panel display from the hanging rod locked into the slotted keyholes on each support bracket. The hanging bracket is comprised of one end that is contoured to match the back side of a flat panel display and a second end that hooks the hanging rod. The hanging bracket is firmly attached to the back side of a flat panel display and suspended from the hanging rod. The hanging bracket and the attached flat panel display slide to the left or right to allow access to the equipment and cables in the equipment rack. The hanging bracket and attached flat panel display also tilt to allow access. The dimensions of the hanging bracket are such that sliding the bracket and attached flat panel display to the left or right provides access to at least half of the equipment and cables in an equipment rack. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     For a fuller understanding of the invention, reference is made to the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which: 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a flat panel display attached to a standard equipment rack with a prior art mounting system. 
     FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a flat panel display attached to a standard equipment rack with a mounting assembly in accordance with the invention. 
     FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the assembled mounting assembly in accordance with the invention. 
     FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the assembled mounting assembly with an attached flat panel display in accordance with the invention. 
     FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the back side of a flat panel display with a hanging bracket attached in accordance with the invention. 
     FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a hanging bracket attached to an equipment rack in accordance with the invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of a rack mount identified generally as  200  for mounting a flat panel display, not shown, to an equipment rack. Rack mount  200  includes right support bracket  210  and left support bracket  220 , a hanging rod  230  supported between support bracket  210  and support bracket  220 , and a hanging bracket  250 . Preferably, right support bracket  210  and left support bracket  220  are substantially identical and can be oriented to either the right or left side of the equipment rack. The support brackets  210 , 220  comprise main plates portions  211 , 221 , rear plate portions  212 , 222 , upper plate portions  214 , 224 , lower plate portions  216 , 226  slotted key holes  118 , 228 . Rear plate portions  212 , 222  each contain attachment holes  213 , 223 . The main plate portions  211 , 221  are generally rectangular in shape and have left, right, top and bottom sides. Referring to support bracket  210 , the rear plate portion  212  is attached to the left side of the main plate  211  and the slotted key hole  218  is located near the right side of the main plate  211 . 
     In a preferred embodiment, referring to main plate portion  211 , the left side is longer than the right side. The top and bottom side taper in equal amounts throughout a major portion of their lengths. In an even more preferred embodiment, the portions of the top and bottom sides adjacent to the slotted key hole  218  are parallel to each other. 
     In the preferred embodiment, the length of the left side is 2.5 inches. The distance from the left side to the right side is 6.25 inches. The width of the rear plate portion  212 , the upper plate portion  214  and the lower plate portion is 0.8 inches. In the more preferred embodiment, the length of the taper portions of the top and bottom sides is sized according to preference and the parallel portions of the top and bottom sides adjacent to the slotted key hole is likewise sized. 
     The support brackets  210 , 220  are sized to provide clearance of the equipment and cables in the equipment rack. Accordingly, the support brackets must extend far enough from the equipment rack so as to not interfere with the equipment and cables when the flat panel display hangs vertically from the hanging rod  230 . In a preferred embodiment, the length of the support brackets  210 , 220  from the rear plate to the opposing end is 6.25 for a 19 inch rack, as mentioned previously. Naturally, the dimensions of the support brackets  210 , 220  can vary. The ideal length of the brackets ultimately varies depending on the amount of clearance needed by the particular equipment rack. 
     Preferably, the slotted key holes  218 , 228  are dual slotted. Accordingly, the slotted key holes  218 , 228  have a larger center section and two smaller slot sections. The two smaller slot sections extend in directions opposite to each other, up and down. Depending on the orientation of support bracket  210 , 220 , smaller slot sections will always be oriented in the downward direction. 
     Referring to FIG. 3, a perspective view of one end of a hanging rod is shown. The distal ends of hanging bar  330  include grooved portions  335 . Grooved portions  335  are sized to correspond to the slotted key holes  218 , 228  in the support brackets  210 , 220 . Accordingly, the length of the grooved portions  335  is substantially equivalent to the width of the main plates  211 , 221  of the support brackets  210 , 220  and the diameter of the grooved portions  335  is smaller than the size of the smaller slot sections of the slotted key holes  218 , 228 . 
     Referring now to FIG. 2, hanging rod  230  is held in position at each end by the support brackets  210 , 220 . The grooved portions  235  are firmly coupled with the lower smaller slot portions of the slotted key holes  218 , 228 . The coupling action between the grooved portions  235  and the slotted key holes  218 , 228  prevent sliding of the hanging rod  230 . 
     The diameter of the hanging rod  230  is slightly smaller than the larger portion of the slotted key holes  218 , 228  to allow hanging rod  230  to pass through. Passing the hanging rod  230  through the slotted key holes  218 , 228  allows for easy assembly and retrofit in existing equipment racks in the field. 
     Hanging bracket  250  suspends from the hanging rod  230 . Hanging bracket  250  includes a first face portion  251 , a second face portion  252 , an upper flat portion  253 , one (not shown) or two attachment wings  254 , four monitor screw holes  256  and an offset portion  257 . In a preferred embodiment, the two attachment wings  254  include holes  258 . The holes  257  are sized to be slightly larger than the diameter of the hanging rod  230  thus allowing the hanging rod  230  to pass therethrough. In other embodiments of the invention, the attachment wings  254  can include a slotted arrangement, not shown, that circumscribe the hanging bar  230  only partially. The slotted portions can include a plurality of notches allowing the attached and suspended flat panel display to tilt at various angles. 
     The offset portion  257  and the four monitor screw holes  256  are arranged to correspond to the design of all flat screen monitors. Flat screen monitors include a standard offset portion and a four screw hole arrangement intended for securing the monitor to a variety of configurations. 
     The hanging bracket  250  is proportioned to achieve a vertical hang from the hanging bar  230  with a flat display monitor attached. In a preferred embodiment, the distance from the front to the back of the upper flat portion  253  is sized to correspond to the dimensions of the flat panel display being mounted. 
     The hanging bracket  250  slides left to right until the attachment wings  254  contact the support brackets  211 , 221 . In a preferred embodiment, sliding the hanging bracket  250  with a flat display monitor attached allows access to at least one half of the equipment and cabling in an equipment rack. Preferably, sliding the hanging bracket  250  with a flat display monitor attached allows access to 56% of the equipment and cabling in an equipment rack. In a preferred embodiment, the width of the upper flat portion  253  is four inches. 
     Referring to FIG. 4, a perspective view of an assembled rack mount with an attached flat panel display is shown. The support brackets  410 , 420  are positioned opposed to each other, with one support bracket  410  on the right and the other support bracket  420  on the left. Hanging rod  430  is suspended between the support brackets  410 , 420 . Hanging rod  430  is inserted in the slotted key holes  418 , 428  in the support brackets as discussed above in relation to FIG.  2 . The hanging bracket  450  hangs from the hanging rod  43  by the attachment wings  454 . The hanging rod  430  is inserted through the holes  458  in the attachment wings  454 . Flat panel display  400  is attached to hanging bracket  450 . The upper flat portion  453  of the hanging bracket  450  lies along the upper side of the flat panel display  400 . The hanging bracket  450  and the flat panel display  400  slide horizontally along the axis of the hanging rod  430 . The support brackets  410 , 420  define the limits of the extent to which the hanging bracket  450  and the flat panel display  400  can slide in either direction along the axis of the hanging rod  430 . The hanging bracket  450  and the flat panel display also rotate around the axis of the hanging rod  430 . 
     As discussed in relation to FIG. 2, in a preferred embodiment of the invention, the length of the upper flat portion  453  is such as to allow the flat panel display to hang vertically. In a further preferred embodiment of the invention, the width of the upper flat portion is such as to allow the flat panel display to slide in either direction so that at least half of the equipment and cables directly behind the flat panel display is accessible. The other half of the equipment and cables is accessible by sliding the flat panel display in the opposite direction. 
     Referring now to FIG. 5, the rack mount is shown attached to an equipment rack  590  in accordance with the invention. Easy assembly and attachment of the rack mount of the invention is provided so that simple retrofitting of existing equipment racks is possible. Further, a method of attaching a rack mount in accordance with the invention is provided whereby few tools are necessary. The rack mount is easily attached to an equipment rack by first attaching one of the support brackets  511 , 521  to the equipment rack. For this discussion, it is assumed that the right side bracket  511  is attached first, although the left bracket  521  is just as easily attached first. The right support bracket  511  is attached to the equipment rack by matching the screw hole  513  of the support bracket with a desired screw hole  599  in the equipment rack. A dress screw (not shown), which already exists with the equipment rack is used to secure the support bracket  511  to the equipment rack. The left support bracket  521  is attached to the equipment rack in similar fashion utilizing an opposing screw hole in the equipment rack and the existing dress screw. The length of the support brackets is such that once they are attached to the equipment rack they do not interfere with any other screw holes in the equipment rack. By sizing the support brackets  511 , 512  to the maximum size without causing interference with any other dress screws maximizes the available torque and allows support of greater weights. 
     Referring briefly now to FIG. 6, the hanging bracket  653  is attached to the back of the flat panel display by addressing the hanging bracket  663  so that the four screw holes  670 squarely address the four screw holes located in the depressed portion  675  of the back of the flat panel display. The hanging bracket  663  is secured to the back of the flat panel display utilizing four screws (not shown) already existing with the flat panel display. 
     Referring again to FIG. 5, hanging rod  530  is inserted through one of the slotted key holes  518 , 528  in either of the support brackets  511 , 521 , through the holes  558  located in the attachment wings  554  of the hanging bracket  553  and the hanging rod  530  is then passed through the other of the slotted key holes  518 , 528  in the opposite support bracket  511 , 521 . After the hanging rod  530  is inserted, it drops into the smaller portion of the slotted keyhole so that the grooved portion (not shown) coincides therewith. As such, the hanging rod  530  is firmly held in place with the hanging bracket  553  and flat panel display  500  suspended therefrom. 
     The hanging bracket  553  and flat panel display  500  rotate around the hanging rod  530 . Further, the hanging bracket  553  and flat panel display  500  slide left and right until the attachment wings  554  contact either support bracket  511 , 521 .