Abstract:
A television stand includes a shelf made of a ferrous sheet metal that helps shield a television or other audio/video items from the magnetic field of a nearby center-channel speaker. Other features of the stand include an open design to promote natural, convective airflow that helps cool audio/video components; numerous parts sharing a common material thickness for ease of manufacture; infinitely repositionable center supports; combination cable collector and bumper; metal grain-like finish with a clear protective coating; shelves and side panels with integral flanges for stiffness and/or mounting purposes; and the use of acorn nuts for not only fastening, but also for helping to prevent the television from being accidentally slid off the top shelf of the stand.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The subject invention generally pertains to furniture and more specifically to a television stand. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     The current trend in home entertainment centers is to emulate more closely the effects provided by big screen movie theaters. Larger and heavier televisions are becoming more common, and their sound systems are becoming more sophisticated. 
     Commercial movie theaters often have several speakers that project various channels of sound. Some speakers may be positioned near the front of the theater, off to the right and left side of the screen. Others, such as right and left side speakers, may be near the back of the theater to create what is known as surround-sound. Such speakers may carry different channels of background sound to create various effects, such as a distant sound coming from a particular direction or a traveling source of sound. 
     In addition, commercial theaters often include a center-channel speaker positioned directly behind the movie screen. The screen, then, is made of a material that allows the sound from the speaker to pass right through the screen. Center-channel speakers typically carry the dialogue, so that the voices seem to come directly from the projected image of the actors and actresses of the movie. 
     This same effect is more difficult to achieve at home with a television having an impermeable picture tube rather than a screen. Instead of mounting a center-channel speaker behind the tube, the speaker is usually placed directly below the television, with the two being placed as close together as possible. Unfortunately, speakers often have powerful magnets whose magnetic field, when too close to the television, may distort the image on the set. Due to the magnetic field, the center-channel speaker may need to be placed farther away from the television than what would otherwise be necessary, which diminishes the desired illusion of having the sound come directly from the picture. 
     Also, when a large, heavy television is placed on a shelf with the center-channel speaker beneath it, the reinforcing shelf structure needed to support the weight of the television may further limit how close the speaker and television can be placed. This is especially true when the shelf is made of wood, particleboard, or a similarly weak material, because with weaker materials more structural support is needed. 
     Television cabinets are also often used to store other audio and video related items, such radio receivers, amplifiers, and tape players and their tapes. Wooden cabinets with relatively low thermal conductivity may promote overheating of certain electrical components, such as power amplifiers. And recorded information on tapes may get damaged if the tape gets exposed to the magnetic field of the center-channel speaker. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In some embodiments, a television stand includes a shelf made of metal for providing strength without adding excessive bulk; as such bulk may limit how close a center-channel speaker may be placed next to a television. 
     In some embodiments, a television stand includes a shelf made of ferrous metal for magnetically shielding various audio/video equipment from the magnetic field of a speaker. 
     In some embodiments, a television stand includes a shelf made of metal to promote the dissipation of heat away from various audio/video equipment. 
     In some embodiments, a television stand includes a sanded metal surface protected by a clear coating to give the stand a smooth grain-like finish. 
     In some embodiments, a television stand is bolted together using acorn nuts that protrude upward from a shelf to help prevent a television from sliding off the shelf upon being accidentally bumped. 
     In some embodiments, a television stand includes numerous sheet metal parts of the same material thickness. This minimizes scrap, as the various parts can be efficiently arranged or nested among themselves prior to cutting them from a single piece of sheet metal. 
     In some embodiments, a television stand includes numerous sheet metal parts of the same material thickness to avoid having to adjust the settings of a sanding machine. 
     In some embodiments, a television stand includes side panels with numerous openings that promote natural airflow, which helps prevent audio/video components from overheating. 
     In some embodiments, a television stand has a hexagonal footprint with beveled back corners that allow the stand to be selectively placed alongside a flat wall or tucked into a corner of a room. 
     In some embodiments, a television stand includes a central support that is frictionally pressed between two shelves or between a base and an upper shelf. This renders the central support infinitely repositionable. 
     In some embodiments, a television stand includes a cable guard that neatly manages a number of cables, so that only a relatively narrow back panel is needed to hide the cables. 
     In some embodiments, a television stand includes a cable guard that not only manages a number of cables, but also serves as a protective bumper that helps protect the cables from being crushed against a wall. 
     In some embodiments, a television stand includes a first upper side panel spaced apart from a first lower side panel with a middle shelf interposed therebetween, so that the middle shelf is clamped solidly between the two side panels with a series of common bolts (i.e., each bolt extends through all three parts: the middle shelf and the two side panels). 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a front view of a three-tier television stand supporting various audio/video items. 
     FIG. 2 is a back view of the stand of FIG.  1 . 
     FIG. 3 is a right side view of the stand of FIG. 1, but also showing an enlarged exploded view of a typical screw and nut being assembled. 
     FIG. 4 is a top view of the stand in FIG. 1, but with the various audio/video items omitted. 
     FIG. 5 is a front view of the stand in FIG.  4 . 
     FIG. 6 is a back view of the stand in FIG.  5 . 
     FIG. 7 is a bottom view of the stand in FIG.  5 . 
     FIG. 8 is the side view of the stand in FIG.  5 . 
     FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view taken along line  9 — 9  of FIG.  8 . 
     FIG. 10 is front view of a two-tier television stand. 
     FIG. 11 is a side view of the stand of FIG.  10 . 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     A television stand system  10 , shown in FIGS. 1-3, includes a stand  12  made of a ferrous sheet metal to effectively support, magnetically shield, and ventilate various audio/video components. In this example, stand  12  supports a television  14  and a center-channel speaker  16 . The term, “center-channel speaker” refers to any type of speaker having a magnetic field. Stand  12  may also support other items  18  and  20 , which are schematically illustrated to represent various other audio/video components, examples of which include, but are not limited to, a radio receiver, television, amplifier, tape player, CD player, DVD player, and magnetic tapes. 
     To facilitate its manufacture, reduce its cost, and enhance its appearance, stand  12  is primarily comprised of formed sheet metal components of a substantially common material thickness  22  (e.g., 10 gage). In some embodiments, the components that have a similar material thickness include a base  24 , a first lower side panel  26 , a second lower side panel  28 , a middle shelf  30 , a first upper side panel  32 , a second upper side panel  34 , a top shelf  36 , a lower back panel  38 , an upper back panel  40 , three central supports  42  and  44 , and three cable guards  46 . Some of the component parts of stand  12  are more clearly shown with the various audio/video components removed, as shown in FIG. 4 (top view), FIG. 5 (front view), FIG. 6 (back view), FIG. 7 (bottom view), and FIG. 8 (right side view, which is a mirror image of the left side view). 
     Viewed from the top or bottom (e.g., FIG.  7 ), base  24  has a generally hexagonal shape with two 90-degree angles  48  and  50 , and two pairs of parallel sides:  52  and  54 , and  56  and  58 . The same is true for middle shelf  30  and top shelf  36 . Such a shape allows the rear of stand  12  to be neatly placed alongside a straight wall or tucked into a corner of a room. Base  24  includes L-shaped flanges  60  (FIGS. 7 and 8) that provide base  24  with rigidity and provide an appreciable footprint for setting stand  12  on a floor  62 . Flanges  60  may also be provided with holes  64  (FIG. 7) for installing casters or skid pads. 
     To support middle shelf  30  (or an upper shelf of a two-shelf stand, as shown in FIGS.  10  and  11 ), lower side panels  26  and  28 , lower back panel  38 , and central support  44  are bolted to base  24  and middle shelf  30 . The term, “bolted” refers to fastening by way of any type of threaded fastener (e.g., machine screw, bolt, self-tapping screw, etc.). In some embodiments, many of the component parts of stand  12  are bolted together using an externally threaded button head cap screw  66  and an internally threaded acorn nut  68  (see FIG.  3 ). 
     To bolt side panels  26  and  28  in place, the side panels are formed to include a plurality of mounting flanges  70 , which are provided with a set of bolt holes that correspond to a matching set of holes in base  24  and middle shelf  30 . Side panels  26  and  28  also include edge flanges  72  for stiffness (FIG.  5 ), and a plurality of openings  74  to facilitate natural airflow by convection (FIG.  8 ). Such airflow may help in cooling certain audio/video components that may be stored on stand  12 . 
     Back panel  38  is formed to include mounting flanges  76  and is bolted in place in a manner similar to that of side panels  26  and  28 . Back panel  38  includes an opening  78  through which electrical cables  80  and  82  may be run to perhaps items  18  and  20  (FIG.  1 ). 
     Central support  44  includes two edge flanges  84  for stiffness (FIGS. 3 and 6) and two end flanges  86  (FIGS. 3,  8  and  9 ) with bolt holes for bolting support  44  to base  24  and middle shelf  30 . 
     To support top shelf  36 , upper side panels  32  and  34 , and upper back panel  40  are bolted to middle shelf  30  and top shelf  36  in a manner similar to that of lower side panels  26  and  28 , and lower back panel  38 . This provides a plurality of acorn nuts  68  that protrude upward from top shelf  36 , which helps prevent television  14  from accidentally sliding off stand  12 . A single bolt  66  (i.e., a common bolt) extending through aligned bolt holes in middle shelf  30  and upper and lower side panels can bolt all three of those component parts together. Upper side panels  32  and  34  include a plurality of openings  88  (FIG. 8) for airflow, and upper back panel  40  includes an opening  90  for electrical cables  92  and  94  (FIGS.  2  and  3 ). 
     Additional protection and management of electrical cables can be provided by cable guards  46 , with one each being bolted to base  24  and shelves  30  and  36 . Cable guards  46  are formed as shown in FIGS. 6,  7  and  8 , and each include two bolt holes for mounting to their respective shelf or base. When mounted to protrude horizontally beyond an outer perimeter  96  of base  24 , middle shelf  30  or top shelf  36 , each cable guard  46  provides a cable-receiving opening  98  (i.e., an upper, middle and lower one) through which cables  80 ,  82 ,  92  or  94  may extend. 
     To further support top shelf  36 , two central supports  42  may be installed between top shelf  36  and middle shelf  30 . Except for their length, supports  42  are similar to support  44 . Supports  42  may be bolted in place; however, they are preferably held in position frictionally, so the space between them can be readily adjusted to accommodate whatever speaker or component may be placed between them. To frictionally grip supports  42  between middle shelf  30  and top shelf  36 , a resilient button or pad  100  (e.g, rubber, neoprene, vinyl, etc.) is disposed at opposite ends of each support  42  (FIG.  8 ). A high frictional force is created when pad  100  is pressed against one of the shelves. 
     Referring to FIG. 8, middle shelf  30  extending fully between the upper and lower side panels holds middle shelf  30  solidly in place. It would be very difficult for a weight or some other downward force acting on middle shelf  30  to force middle shelf  30  off its supporting lower side panels  26  and  28 . In contrast, if the upper and lower side panels were not separated by middle panel  30 , but instead were a single extra tall side panel extending all the way from base  24  to top shelf  36  with middle shelf  30  connected at some intermediate height, then middle shelf  30  may be more susceptible to being dislodged by a downward force. 
     With television  14  resting on top shelf  36  and with speaker  16  on middle shelf  30 , top shelf  36  is preferably made of a ferrous metal (e.g., mild steel sheet metal) to help shield television  14  from the adverse effects of a magnetic field  102  from speaker  16 . Middle shelf  30  is also preferably made of a ferrous metal to help shield items  18  and  20  from that same magnetic field. 
     The upper portion of stand  12  can be removed to create a two-tier stand  104 , as shown in FIGS. 10 and 11. In this case, middle shelf  30  now serves as an upper shelf (i.e., a shelf above the base). A television can be placed on shelf  30  and a speaker  16  (or other audio/video items  18  or  20 ) can be placed on base  24 , or vice versa. 
     The manufacturing processes to produce the component parts of stands  12  and  104  may vary. Currently, the parts are first laser cut from generally flat sheet metal to create the part&#39;s outer edges and bolt holes. Alternatively, the parts can be sheared, blanked, machined and/or drilled with hard tooling. The initially flat parts are then fed across one or between two sanding belts that remove burrs and scale and leaves a grain-like surface finish on the face of the parts. Next, a brake press forms the parts to create various flanges for part stiffness, mounting, and other utility. For example, shelves  30  and  36  have a peripheral flange  106  (FIG. 8) that increases the shelves&#39; rigidity. With the assistance of an electrostatic charge, a powder paint composition, consisting of a thermosetting resin, is then sprayed over the surface of the parts. The powder paint is preferably clear to preserve the beauty of the metal&#39;s grain-like finish; however, the powder paint may also be tinted or opaque. Next, the parts are heated to over 300-degrees Fahrenheit or to a temperature that hardens the thermosetting resin of the powder paint. For ease of handling and shipping, the component parts of a single stand are grouped and shipped in at least two boxes to a customer. The customer then assembles the parts to create a finished stand and installs the various audio/video items. 
     Although the invention is described with reference to a preferred embodiment, it should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various modifications are well within the scope of the invention. For example, instead of bolting center support  44  in place, pad  100  can be readily installed at each end of center support  44 , so that support  44  can be frictionally held between base  24  and shelf  30  in the same manner that supports  42  are held between shelves  30  and  36 . Conversely, supports  42  can be bolted in place instead of using pads  100 . Therefore, the scope of the invention is to be determined by reference to the claims that follow.