Abstract:
A display apparatus for vehicles is provided. The display apparatus for vehicles comprises a disc player comprising a display mounting unit, wherein a connection plate of a display unit is coupled to the bottom surface of the display mounting unit in a stacked form, or separated from the bottom surface; the display unit which comprises the connection plate having second fixing parts enabling the display unit to be coupled with the display mounting unit in a stacked form facing each other, and a screen unit which is installed on the connection plate through a hinge so as to rotate about the hinge, is capable of being folded and unfolded; and fixing components which allow the disc player and/or the display unit to be fixed to the ceiling of the vehicle. The display apparatus allows a purchaser to select a disc player as an option item and easily replace only a defective part. Particularly, the display apparatus has an advantage of easy installation and separation.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0002]     The present invention relates to a display apparatus, and more particularly, to a display apparatus which is mounted on the ceiling of a vehicle such as a car and enables passengers to watch movies or TV programs and to receive information.  
         [0003]     2. Description of the Related Art  
         [0004]     There are a variety of display apparatuses for vehicles, including those which can be used after mounted on the ceiling or the dashboard of a vehicle. Among them, the present invention relates to display apparatuses that can be used after mounted on the ceiling of a vehicle.  
         [0005]     Prior art vehicle display apparatuses can be broken down to two types, one with a disc player such as a DVD player, mounted on the ceiling of a vehicle, and capable of being folded or unfolded, and the other without a disc player such as a DVD player and only with a display unit mounted on the ceiling and capable of being folded or unfolded.  
         [0006]     An example of the former is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,339,455 by William L. Allan et al. Here, a DVD player is stowed in a TV housing. This display apparatus is not appropriate to a vehicle in which a disc player such as a DVD player is separately installed.  
         [0007]     In a vehicle in which a disc player such as a DVD player is separately installed, a display apparatus without a disc player is appropriate and an example of this is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,557,812 by Roland Kutzehr et al. This patented apparatus is not appropriate to a vehicle in which a DVD player is not installed separately. In this case, the owner of the vehicle should buy a separate disc player such as a DVD player.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0008]     The present invention provides a display apparatus in which depending on whether or not a disc player such as a DVD player is installed in a vehicle only a needed part can be selected and used.  
         [0009]     The present invention also provides a display apparatus in which even though any one of a disc player, such as a DVD player, and a display unit is broken or out of order, the display apparatus can be used after only the broken part is easily replaced.  
         [0010]     The present invention also provides a display unit appropriate to be used in a display apparatus of the present invention.  
         [0011]     The present invention also provides a disc player, such as a DVD player, appropriate to be used in a display apparatus of the present invention.  
         [0012]     According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a display apparatus for a vehicle comprising: a disc player which comprises first fixing parts enabling fixation to the ceiling of the vehicle and a display mounting unit, wherein a connection plate of a display unit is coupled to the bottom surface of the display mounting unit in a stacked form, or separated from the bottom surface; the display unit which comprises the connection plate having second fixing parts enabling the display unit to be coupled with the display mounting unit in a stacked form facing each other, and a screen unit which is installed on the connection plate through a hinge so as to rotate about the hinge, is capable of being folded and unfolded, and displays images according to a video signal input from the disc player; and a fixing unit which allows the disc player and/or the display unit to be fixed to the ceiling of the vehicle.  
         [0013]     Preferably, the first fixing parts are holes formed on the disc player and the second fixing parts are formed on the connection plate and arranged on a straight line with the first fixing parts, and the fixing unit comprises a bracket which has screw coupling holes and is fixed to the ceiling of the vehicle, and screw members which are fixed to the screw coupling holes through the first and second fixing parts so that the disc player and the connection plate are fixed to the bottom surface of the bracket in a stacked form.  
         [0014]     When necessary, the first fixing parts of the disc player are formed as holes so that the disc player is fixed to the ceiling of the vehicle, and coupling holes for fixing the connection plate are further formed on the disc player, and each of the second fixing parts of the connection plate are arranged on a straight line with one of the coupling holes to form one hole so that the connection plate is fixed to the bottom surface of the disc player, and the fixing unit comprises first screw members which are fixed to the ceiling of the vehicle through the first fixing parts to fix the disc player to the ceiling of the vehicle, and second screw members which are fixed to the coupling holes through the second fixing parts to fix the connection plate to the disc player.  
         [0015]     When necessary, a fist coupling unit to fix the connection plate in an interference fit method is formed on the disc player, and a second coupling unit that is detachably coupled to the first coupling unit is formed on the connection plate, and the second fixing parts are holes to fix the connection plate to the ceiling of the vehicle by a fixing unit such as screw members when the disc player is not provided.  
         [0016]     Preferably, the first coupling unit comprises a round protrusion formed on the bottom surface of the disc player, a plurality of broadly L-shaped guide grooves formed with predetermined angular intervals on the outer side surface of the round protrusion, a coupling threshold formed at the inside end of each guide groove, and a spring groove formed at the center of the round protrusion, and the second coupling unit is formed on the top surface of the connection plate and comprises a groove unit which is coupled with the outer circumference surface of the first coupling unit, coupling protrusions protruding inwards from the inside surface of the groove unit, a protrusion unit disposed on the central part of the groove unit, and a spring, one end of which is coupled with the protrusion unit and the other is inserted into the spring groove.  
         [0017]     Of course, the locations of the first joint unit and the second joint unit are interchangeable. Also, the locations of the guide groove and the coupling protrusion are interchangeable.  
         [0018]     Preferably, an aperture through which power supply lines and signal lines are passing is formed on the disc player.  
         [0019]     According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a disc player comprising: first fixing parts enabling fixation to the ceiling of a vehicle; and a display mounting unit, wherein a connection plate of a display unit is coupled to the bottom surface of the display mounting unit in a stacked form, or separated from the bottom surface, and the disc player is fixed to the ceiling of the vehicle together with a display unit in a stacked form by a fixing unit, the display unit comprising: the connection plate having second fixing parts enabling the display unit to be coupled with the display mounting unit in a stacked form facing each other; and a screen unit which is installed on the connection plate through a hinge so as to rotate about the hinge, is capable of being folded and unfolded, and displays images according to a video signal input from the disc player.  
         [0020]     Preferably, on at least one side of the disc player an aperture through which power supply lines and signal lines are passing is formed and the disc player has the characteristics described above for the display apparatus.  
         [0021]     According to still another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a display unit comprising: a connection plate having second fixing parts enabling the display unit to be coupled with the display mounting unit of a disc player in a stacked form facing each other; and a screen unit which is installed on the connection plate through a hinge so as to rotate about the hinge, is capable of being folded and unfolded, and displays images according to a video signal input from the disc player, wherein the display unit is fixed together with the disc player, to the ceiling of the vehicle by a fixing unit and the disc player comprises first fixing parts enabling fixation to the ceiling of the vehicle and the display mounting unit, and the connection plate of the display unit is coupled to the bottom surface of the display mounting unit in a stacked form, or separated from the bottom surface. The display unit has the characteristics described above for the display apparatus. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0022]     The above objects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent by describing in detail preferred embodiments thereof with reference to the attached drawings in which:  
         [0023]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a display apparatus according to the present invention when the screen unit of the apparatus is unfolded;  
         [0024]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the display apparatus of  FIG. 1  when the screen is folded;  
         [0025]      FIG. 3  is an exploded perspective view of the display apparatus of  FIG. 1 ;  
         [0026]      FIG. 4  is an exploded perspective view of an example of a display unit installed alone without a disc player;  
         [0027]      FIG. 5  is an exploded perspective view of an example of a display apparatus according to the present invention installed without a bracket;  
         [0028]      FIG. 6  is an exploded perspective view of another example of a display apparatus according to the present invention; and  
         [0029]      FIG. 7  is a perspective view of the top surface of a support of  FIG. 6 . 
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0030]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a display apparatus according to the present invention when the screen unit of the apparatus is unfolded,  FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the display apparatus of  FIG. 1  when the screen is folded, and  FIG. 3  is an exploded perspective view of the display apparatus of  FIG. 1 .  
         [0031]     As shown in  FIGS. 1 through 3 , a display apparatus  100  according to the present invention comprises a disc player  110  such as a DVD player. On one side of this disc player  110 , a disc slot  111  into which a disc such as a DVD is inserted is disposed and on the other side a plurality of buttons  112  are disposed. Examples of this disc player  110  include a CD player in addition to a DVD player. This disc player reproduces data stored on a disc such as a CD or a DVD and provides to a display unit  140  which will be explained later. Of course, when desired, this disc player  110  may have a function to receive TV broadcasts, convert into digital data, and store in a data storage medium such as a DVD or a CD. This disc player  110  has a first fixing part which enables to fix the disc player  110  on the ceiling of a vehicle such as a passenger car, a bus, a train, an airplane, and a ship. Preferably, the first fixing part  114  is formed around each of four corners of the disc player  110 . In the vicinity of the center of this disc player  110 , formed is an aperture to provide a path or an installation space for power supply lines to receive power through, for example, 2-pin jacks  122   a , from the display unit  140 , signal lines  120 , and connection terminals  147   a  to connect the disc player  100  and the display unit  140 . At the bottom of the disc player  110 , a display mounting unit  116  is disposed so that a connection plate  142 , which will be explained later, of the display unit  140  can be mounted in a stacked form or separated.  
         [0032]     The display apparatus  100  according to the present invention comprises the display unit  140  which can be easily mounted on or separate from the display mounting unit  116  of the disc player  110 . This display unit  140  comprises the connection plate  142  which is mounted on the display mounting unit  116  in a stacked form, facing the display mounting unit  116 , and a screen unit  146  which is coupled with this connection plate  142  through a hinge  144  such that the screen unit  146  can be folded to a broadly horizontal position and unfolded to a broadly vertical position. Of course, when it is unfolded the screen unit  146  can be rotated to the right or to the left about the hinge.  
         [0033]     On the connection plate  142 , disposed are second fixing parts  148  in the form of holes for fixing to the display mounting unit  116  of the disc player  110 , a ceiling light mounting unit  143  to mount ceiling lights of a vehicle, and speakers  145 .  
         [0034]     The screen unit  146  is installed such that it can rotate about the hinge. This is designed to enable the screen unit  146 , when installed on the ceiling or wall of a vehicle, to be folded or unfolded. This screen unit  146  displays images according to video signals input through the disc player  110  described above. Preferably, this screen unit  146  is formed in a thin one such as an organic electro luminescence (EL) or a plasma display panel (PDP).  
         [0035]     The display apparatus  100  according to the present invention comprises a fixing unit  170  to fix the disc player  110  and the display unit  140 , described above, to the ceiling or another place of a vehicle. The fixing unit  170  in the present embodiment comprises a bracket to be fixed on the ceiling of a vehicle, screw members  176  to fix the bracket  174  to the ceiling of the vehicle, and screw members  172  to fix the disc player  110  and the display unit  140  to the ceiling of the vehicle through the bracket  174 .  
         [0036]     Around each of the four corners of the bracket  174 , a screw fixing hole  178 , through which a screw member  176  for fixing the disc player  110  and the display unit  140  is coupled, is formed. Adjacent to the screw fixing holes  178 , holes  180  for coupling screw members  176  for fixing the bracket  174  itself to the ceiling are formed. Around the center of this bracket  174 , formed is an aperture  182  to provide a path for signal lines connected to connection terminals for signals to and from the display unit  140  and power supply lines to provide power.  
         [0037]     A process for installing the display apparatus shown in  FIGS. 1 through 3  will now be explained.  
         [0038]     When the power supply lines  122  and the connection terminals  147  and  147   a  are connected to external power supply lines and other terminals, respectively, screw members  176  are inserted into the holes  180  and the bracket  174  is fixed to the ceiling or another place of the vehicle. Then, when the disc player  110  and the connection plate  142  are placed in a stacked form, each of the second fixing parts  148  is arranged on a straight line with one of first fixing parts  114  to form one hole and through these holes, respective long screw members  172  are inserted and fixed such that the long screw members  172  are fixed to the screw fixing holes  178  of the bracket  174  fixed to the ceiling or another place of the vehicle. Accordingly, the display apparatus  100  according to the present invention with the disc player  110  can be fixed to the ceiling or another place of the vehicle.  
         [0039]     That is, while the screen unit  146  is unfolded as shown in  FIG. 1 , passengers play games, watch TV programs, or watch DVD movies. Then, when passengers do not use it, the screen unit  146  can be folded up as shown in  FIG. 2 .  
         [0040]      FIG. 4  is an exploded perspective view of an example of a display unit installed alone without a disc player.  
         [0041]     In a vehicle where a DVD player is already installed in a dashboard or another place of the vehicle, the disc player as shown in  FIGS. 1 through 3  is not needed. In this case, the bracket  174  is first fixed to the ceiling of the vehicle through screw members  176 , and then, the connection plate  142  of the display unit  140  is directly fixed to the bracket  174  through the screw members  172   a . The screw members  172   a  are inserted into respective second fixing parts  148  in the form of holes and fixed to the screw fixing holes  178  formed on the bracket  174  such that the connection plate  142  is fixed.  
         [0042]     That is, when the display apparatus of the present invention is installed, if a separate DVD player or the like is not installed, the disc player as shown in  FIGS. 1 through 3  is included, or else, the display apparatus without a disc player  110  can be installed.  
         [0043]     Of course, when necessary, the connection plate  142  can be directly fixed to the ceiling of the vehicle through screw members  176  or the like without the bracket  174 .  
         [0044]      FIG. 5  is an exploded perspective view of an example of a display apparatus according to the present invention installed without a bracket.  
         [0045]     As shown in  FIG. 5 , the display apparatus  100  according to the present invention can be constructed without the bracket  174  described above, when necessary.  
         [0046]     That is, the disc player  110  further comprises coupling holes  124  in addition to the first fixing parts  114 . Here, the first fixing parts  114  are to fix the disc player  110  directly to the ceiling or another place of the vehicle through the first screw members  176   a . Of course, the connection plate  142  of the display unit  140  is fixed to the disc player  110  by the second screw members  172   a  which are inserted through the second fixing parts  148  and fixed to the coupling holes  124 . In this case, a spiral should be formed on the inner circumference surface of each coupling hole  124 .  
         [0047]      FIG. 6  is an exploded perspective view of another example of a display apparatus according to the present invention, and  FIG. 7  is a perspective view of the top surface of a support of  FIG. 6 .  
         [0048]     As shown, a first coupling unit  130  on the bottom surface of the disc player  110  and a second coupling unit  160  on the top surface of the connection plate  142  are formed to face each other so that the disc player  110  and the display unit  140  can be coupled and separated in an interference fit method.  
         [0049]     The first coupling unit  130  comprises a round protrusion  131  protruding downwards from the bottom surface of the disc player  110  and a plurality of L-shaped guide grooves  133  formed with predetermined angular intervals on the outer side surface of this round protrusion  131 .  
         [0050]     At the inside end of the guide groove  133 , a coupling threshold  135  is formed and at the center of the round protrusion  131 , a spring groove  137  into which a spring  162  can be inserted is formed.  
         [0051]     The second coupling unit  160  which is coupled with the first coupling unit  130  is formed on the top surface of the connection plate  142 . This second coupling unit  142  has a groove unit  164  which can be coupled with the outer circumference surface of the first coupling unit, and coupling protrusions  166  which are protruding inwards from the inside surface of this groove unit  164 . At the center of the groove unit  164 , a protrusion unit  168  to which the spring is fixed, is formed.  
         [0052]     That is, the disc player  110  and the connection plate  142  of the display unit  140  are arranged to face each other at an angle that the coupling protrusions  166  can be inserted into the guide grooves  133 . Then, the connection plate  142  is pushed up and the display unit  140  is fully rotated clockwise. Then; if the connection plate  142  is released, the coupling protrusion  166  is coupled to the coupling threshold  135 . In this state, the spring  162  applies the elastic power in the direction to extend the distance between the disc player  110  and the connection plate  142  such that the coupling protrusion  166  is not detached from the coupling threshold  135 .  
         [0053]     When the display unit  140  is desired to be detached from the disc player  110 , the connection plate  142  is pushed up and then rotated counterclockwise and then pulled downwards.  
         [0054]     In this case, the bracket  174  is fixed to the ceiling or another place of the vehicle by the screw members  176 , and the disc player  110  is fixed to the bracket  174  by screw members  176  which are inserted into the first fixing part  114  in the form of holes and then coupled to the screw coupling holes  178 . Of course, the locations of the first coupling unit  130  and the second coupling unit  160  are interchangeable and the locations of the guide groove  133  and the coupling protrusion  166  are interchangeable. In addition, a guide groove may be formed on the inner circumference surface of the groove unit when the protrusion is formed on the outer circumference surface of the round protrusion.  
         [0055]     The remaining things are the same as described above.  
         [0056]     The variations and modifications of the elements used to fix or connect the bracket, the disc player and the display unit, as described above, such as the fixing units, the first fixing part, the second fixing part, the first coupling unit, and the second coupling unit, can be effected by those skilled in the art in a variety of ways within the spirit and scope of the present invention.  
         [0057]     As shown in the above description, the display apparatus according to the present invention has the advantage that it allows the owner of a vehicle in which a separate disc player is installed, to purchase only a display unit.  
         [0058]     Particularly, it allows the owner to replace only a broken part when any one of a disc player and a display unit is out of order.  
         [0059]     In addition, the display apparatus according to the present invention has the advantage that it can be easily installed on or detached from the ceiling of a vehicle.