Backdrop for wall-mounted flat panel display installation and method

A flat panel display installation and method employ a wall bracket assembly for installing a flat panel display on, and at a spacing away from, a support wall. A background member is connected to the wall bracket assembly and is located behind the flat panel display in the spacing. The background member extends past an outer periphery of the flat panel display to be visible as an ornamental backdrop against which the flat panel display is viewable.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure relates generally to a wall-mounted, flat panel display installation and method and, more particularly, to an ornamental backdrop or background against which the flat panel display, such as a television, is visible to provide a decorative and aesthetic appearance to the installation.

BACKGROUND

Flat panel displays, such as LCD and plasma screen televisions, have increased in popularity as an alternative to cathode ray tube televisions. Due to the decreased thickness (front-to-back dimension) or depths of such televisions, many are no longer mounted in cabinets, or placed on shelves or on television stands, but are mounted on room walls for television viewing. A wall bracket assembly is typically affixed to a wall, and a television is mounted on the bracket assembly. Such televisions typically have chassis with metal or plastic borders surrounding their television screens, but such borders do not necessarily fit in or blend with the decor of the rooms in which they are installed. Whether the installed televisions are turned on or off, they are focal points of the rooms in which they are installed, especially as the sizes of their television screens increase, e.g., from thirteen to over seventy inches as measured along the diagonal. As a result of their increasing size and their borders, many such wall-mounted television installations are not aesthetically pleasing.

To improve the decorative aspect of the television installation, it is known to attach a frame directly on the television around its screen in a manner resembling a painting. However, each frame must be custom made for, and fitted to the size of, each television. Even televisions of the same screen size may have different outer peripheral border dimensions to be accommodated by the frame. Customized frames are not only expensive to make and install, with concomitant delays for each frame to be built, but also many televisions do not readily permit a frame to be directly attached thereto. In some cases, the integrity of the television chassis must be compromised.

It is also known to place an ornamental cover over a television screen, which cover may be removed when the television is turned on or being viewed. However, these known ornamental covers use complex or complicated mechanical systems to control their removal from, and placement over, the television screen. These covers are expensive, and the mechanical systems can be unseemly when the televisions are in use.

Accordingly, there remains a need to install and maintain flat screen televisions in a decoratively and aesthetically pleasing way to complement the decor of the rooms in which they are installed, without using complicated, bulky or expensive mechanical systems or components, and without affixing frames or any custom-made components directly to the televisions.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

A flat panel display installation, in accordance with one feature of this invention, includes a wall bracket assembly for installing a flat panel display, e.g., a television, a tablet computer, and like electronic devices having displays, on, and at a spacing away from, a support wall; and a background member, e.g., a generally rectangular panel, preferably constituted of a rigid material, such as wood, metal, plastic, glass, heavy-duty paper, or cork, and preferably having a decorative surface finish, connected to the wall bracket assembly and located behind the flat panel display in the spacing. The background member is spaced from, and unconnected to, the flat panel display. The background member extends past an outer periphery of the flat panel display to be visible as an ornamental backdrop against which the flat panel display is viewable.

Preferably, the flat panel display is likewise generally rectangular and has upper, lower, right and left sides. The area of the generally rectangular panel is greater than the area of the generally rectangular display. Advantageously, the generally rectangular panel extends beyond at least one, and preferably at least two, e.g., either the upper and lower sides, or the right and left sides, and more preferably all, of the sides of the flat panel display.

In one embodiment, the wall bracket assembly includes a main bracket extending along a longitudinal direction, and a pair of flanges located at opposite end regions of the main bracket and extending in mutual parallelism in a transverse direction generally perpendicular to the longitudinal direction. The flanges have apertures and contact the background member at spaced-apart locations. A plurality of fasteners extends through the apertures into the background member for securing and holding the background member to the flanges at said locations. The background member has a plurality of inner walls bounding a cutout across which the main bracket extends. The flanges contact, and are connected to, two of the inner walls of the background member.

In a preferred embodiment, the background member is adjustably mounted and shiftable relative to the flat panel display. The background member has a plurality of fastener locations, and each aforementioned fastener extends through a respective aperture in a respective flange into a selected one of the plurality of fastener locations for adjustably securing and holding the background member to the flanges at said selected fastener locations.

Turning now to the drawings, reference numeral10generally identifies a flat panel display installation, which includes a wall bracket assembly12(seeFIG. 2) for installing a flat panel display, e.g., a television14, on, and at a spacing away from, a support wall16of a room. The television14has a screen18, which can be of various sizes, e.g., from thirteen to over seventy inches as measured along the diagonal. A background member20, e.g., a generally rectangular panel, preferably constituted of a rigid or semi-rigid material, such as wood, metal, plastic, glass, heavy-duty paper, or cork and like materials, and preferably having a decorative outer surface finish, is connected to the wall bracket assembly12and, as best seen inFIG. 3, is located behind the television14. The background member20is advantageously in close proximity, or in contact with, the wall16, and is spaced, e.g., less than one to five inches, away from, and not directly connected to, the television14. The background member20extends past an outer periphery of the television14to be visible as an ornamental backdrop against which the television14is viewable.

The television14is likewise generally rectangular in shape and has upper, lower, right and left sides. The area of the generally rectangular background member20along the horizontal and vertical directions is greater than the corresponding area of the generally rectangular television14. Advantageously, the generally rectangular background member20extends beyond at least one, and preferably at least two, e.g., either the upper and lower sides, or the right and left sides, and more preferably all, of the sides of the television14. Thus, as shown inFIG. 1, the background member20extends beyond the outer periphery of the television14and “frames” the latter and ornaments the installation10by virtue of its decorative outer surface finish. The extent of the background member20past the television14may or may not be equal along the horizontal and vertical directions, and may or may not be equal past the sides of the television14. If the background member20is a wooden panel, then the grain of the wood could serve as its decorative outer surface finish. The decorative outer surface finish could also be a coating of paint, a stencil, or virtually any graphic, that is directly applied to the background member20, or a patterned or unpatterned fabric or the like that covers the background member20.

As shown inFIG. 2, the wall bracket assembly12includes a main bracket22extending horizontally along a longitudinal direction, and a pair of upright end flanges24,26located at opposite end regions of the main bracket22and extending in mutual parallelism in a transverse vertical direction generally perpendicular to the horizontal direction. The main bracket22is secured to the wall by screws or wall anchors26. A bubble level28(seeFIG. 2) insures that the main bracket22is positioned horizontally to the floor during installation. The main bracket22has an upper suspension rail30from which the television14is suspended, and a lower mounting rail32for securing the suspended television14, as described below. The rails30,32are mutually parallel along the horizontal direction.

The background member20has a plurality of inner walls34,36bounding a cutout38across which the main bracket22extends. The main bracket22is at least partially received in the cutout38. Advantageously, the cutout38accommodates any wiring or cables (not illustrated) connected to, and routed behind, the television14. The flanges24,26contact the inner walls34,36of the background member, and have a plurality of apertures arranged along their lengths. A first plurality of fasteners40,42,44,46extends through the apertures in the flange24into the inner wall34of the background member20. A second plurality of fasteners50,52,54,56extends through the apertures in the flange26into the inner wall36of the background member20. If the background member20is a wooden panel, then the fasteners40,42,44,46,50,52,54,56are advantageously screws that self-tap into the inner walls34,36at the illustrated eight spaced-apart locations. The number of fasteners and corresponding spaced-apart locations need not be eight as illustrated, but could be a different number. Also, fasteners, other than screws, such as bolts, could be employed. Thus, the background member20is securely connected, and held, to the flanges24,26at said plurality of locations.

The wall bracket assembly12includes at least one upright, and preferably a pair of uprights48,58, mounted on, and rearwardly of, the television14. As illustrated inFIG. 2, each upright has a plurality of slots and openings to facilitate the mounting and direct attachment of the uprights48,58on the back of the television14. Each upright48,58has a tilting member66pivotable about transverse pins70,72. Each tilting member66has a hook60(seeFIG. 3) for suspending the television14from the upper rail30, and a lug62, together with a threaded post64, that lockingly engage the lower rail32.

In use, the television14is installed on the support wall16by connecting the background member20to the main bracket22by means of the fasteners40,42,44,46,50,52,54,56, and then by mounting the main bracket22and the connected background member20to the support wall16by means of the wall anchors26. Either previously or subsequently, the uprights48,58are attached on the back of the television14. The television14and its attached uprights48,50are then mounted on the wall-mounted bracket assembly12by hooking each hook60on the upper rail30and by lockingly engaging the lower rail32with each lug62and threaded post64. The television14is thus positioned in front of the background member20and at a spacing away from the support wall16. As discussed above, the background member20is configured and sized to extend past an outer periphery of the television14to be visible as an ornamental backdrop against which the television14is viewable.

In a preferred embodiment, the background member20is adjustably mounted and shiftable relative to the television14. The background member20has a plurality of higher fastener locations40A,42A,44A,46A,50A,52A,54A,56A, and another plurality of lower fastener locations40B,42B,44B,46B,50B,52B,54B,56B. Each of the aforementioned fasteners40,42,44,46,50,52,54,56extends through a respective aperture in a respective flange24,26into the higher fastener locations40A,42A,44A,46A,50A,52A,54A,56A, as a group, for shifting the background member20relative to the television14to a lower elevation, or into the lower fastener locations40B,42B,44B,46B,50B,52B,54B,56B, as a group, for shifting the background member20relative to the television14to a higher elevation. Such up-and-down vertical adjustment may be desired to center the television14against the background member20. Each said higher and lower fastener location may be a pre-drilled hole, or a hole formed by the self-tapping screws40,42,44,46,50,52,54,56.

Other means for adjustably mounting and shifting the background member20relative to the television14are contemplated by this invention. For example, the apertures in the flanges24,26may be vertically elongated slots. The apertures in the flanges24,26may also be horizontally elongated to enable side-to-side horizontal adjustment. A series of pre-drilled holes may also be formed in the background member20, and adjustment may be achieved by using pegs that are inserted into a selected one of the pre-drilled holes.

Other wall bracket assemblies are also contemplated by this invention. For example, a wall bracket assembly may comprise a pair of spaced-apart discs affixed to the support wall16, and a wire strung between the discs. A flat panel display could then be suspended from the wire. As another example, a wall bracket assembly may comprise at least one corner bracket from which an arm extends to support the flat panel display.

Due to the large range of television screen sizes, e.g., from thirteen to over seventy inches as measured along the diagonal, it is contemplated to provide the background member in, for example, three sizes. A small size would be targeted for small screen sizes in a range on the order of thirteen to forty-two inches; a medium size would be targeted for medium screen sizes in a range on the order of forty-two inches to sixty inches; and a large size would be targeted for large screen sizes in a range on the order of sixty inches and greater.

It is particularly desirable if the background member is connected in advance to the wall bracket assembly prior to shipment to a consumer. Thus, the consumer or installer need not be bothered with connecting the background member to the wall bracket assembly in situ at the support wall. This greatly facilitates installation. Although it is preferred if the background member is generally rectangular, other shapes are also contemplated.

In the foregoing specification, specific embodiments have been described. However, one of ordinary skill in the art appreciates that various modifications and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the invention as set forth in the claims below. Accordingly, the specification and figures are to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense, and all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of present teachings For example, the flanges24,26need not be upright end flanges that are located at opposite end regions of the main bracket22, but could be top and bottom flanges that are located at upper and lower regions of the main bracket22and extending in mutual parallelism along the horizontal direction.