Abstract:
A video display unit support bracket ( 100 ) that facilitates greater integration of TV, internet, gaming, and computer peripheral devices. The bracket ( 100 ) can include a rigid casing ( 105 ) defining a first outer shell ( 205 ). An engagement structure ( 110 ) can be disposed on a portion of the rigid casing ( 105 ). The engagement structure ( 110 ) includes one or more receivers ( 220 ) that are configured for rotatably securing a proximal end ( 121 ) of a video display unit support arm ( 120 ) to the rigid casing ( 105 ). The rigid casing ( 105 ) can enclose a first internal cavity ( 306 ), which, in turn, can enclose one or signal processing circuits ( 300 ) selected from the group consisting of an RF modem ( 310 ), a multiplexing device ( 305 ), and a control signal interface circuit ( 315 ).

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/365,245 filed on Mar. 1, 2006, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,733,633. The entire disclosure of the above application is incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Statement of the Technical Field 
     The inventive arrangements relate generally to support brackets, and more particularly to a video display unit support bracket that facilitates greater integration of TV, internet, gaming, and computer peripheral devices. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     Given the inherent discomfort and inconvenience of being admitted to a hospital as a patient, medical institutions have sought to raise the level of comfort in modern day hospital patient rooms. By ameliorating the living conditions of a patient, it has been shown that patient recovery times can be shortened. Moreover, hospitals have recognized the difficulties that patients endure when making the transition from a flexible home/work setting to a more restrictive hospital setting. For these reasons, several technological amenities have been added to a patient&#39;s room to improve the quality of a patient&#39;s stay. 
     One of these amenities has included the incorporation of a video monitor within a hospital room. A typical patient room video monitor is attached to an adjustable arm, which is in turn mounted to a wall bracket. The adjustable arm-bracket configuration facilitates the frequent re-positioning of the video monitor while occupying less of a patient room&#39;s limited ground space. Video monitors advantageously offer patients several possibilities for multimedia uses. For example, video monitors can be used for the transmission of cable television feeds. In addition, with the rising popularity of the Internet, patients can access their email, web browse, or perform basic personal computing from the convenience of their own hospital bed. Similarly, the video monitor can also serve as medium with which to play video games. All these technologies provide entertainment and productivity solutions for thousands of patients. 
     However, several problems currently exist with the installation of these technological amenities in a patient&#39;s room. In order to provide various television, gaming, and computing functionalities, separate enclosures have had to be provided for housing the various electronic devices. As a result of these separate enclosures, additional cabling has been needed be run between the various electronics and the video monitor. The need for additional cabling can create a potential safety hazard since a patient, visitor, or medical worker may run the risk of tripping over these various cables. Aside from additional cabling, this practice has also required the installation of additional power outlets to drive the various electronic components. Another problem with current patient rooms is the inability to remotely identify the various electronic components from a centralized server. 
     For the foregoing reasons, there is a need for an improved video display support bracket that can integrate peripheral devices such as a video monitor, television controls, computer keyboard, mouse, and game controllers. Moreover, the improved bracket should reduce the hazard, need, and expense in installing additional cabling and power outlets for a patient&#39;s room. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention is directed to a video display support bracket. The video display support bracket can include a rigid casing defining a first outer shell. An engagement structure can be disposed on a portion of the rigid casing. The engagement structure can include one or more receivers. The receiver(s) can be configured for rotatably securing a proximal end of a video display unit support arm to the rigid casing. The rigid casing can partially enclose a first internal cavity. One or more signal processing circuits can be disposed within the first internal cavity. The signal processing circuits can include an RF modem, a multiplexing device, and a control signal interface circuit. 
     The receiver can be formed as an elongated aperture that is sized and shaped for receiving a pin disposed on an end of the support arm proximal to the rigid casing. The elongated aperture can contain a bushing configured for rotation of the pin. Alternatively, the receiver can include an elongated pin that is sized and shaped to engage an aperture disposed on an end of the support arm proximal to the rigid casing. 
     The invention can further include a video display unit support arm having a coupler disposed on the proximal end. The coupler can be sized and shaped to engage the receiver. The coupler and receiver can form a rotatable coupling between the video display unit support arm and the video display bracket. 
     The multiplexing device can further include a means for multiplexing a power supply voltage and an RF signal containing video display data for the video display unit. The multiplexing device can further include a voltage regulation circuit. The voltage regulation circuit can provide a regulated voltage output responsive to the power supply voltage. The video display unit support bracket can further include an electronic identification device disposed within the video display unit bracket. The electronic identification device can be operatively connected to the RF modem through the control signal interface board. The control signal interface board can include a plurality of peripheral devices. The peripheral devices can include user interface control devices selected from the group consisting of a video display unit control, a keyboard control, a mouse control, and a game paddle control. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  shows a perspective view of a video display unit support bracket supporting a video display unit support arm. 
         FIG. 2  shows a partial exploded view of the video display unit support bracket in  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 3  shows an exploded view of the video display unit support bracket in  FIG. 2 . 
         FIG. 4  shows a block diagram of a signal processing circuit that is useful for understanding the invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     The present invention concerns an improved video display unit support bracket. Referring to  FIG. 1 , one embodiment of the video display unit support bracket  100  is illustrated. The support bracket  100  includes a rigid casing  105  and an engagement structure  110  for rotatably coupling a video display unit support arm  120  with the support bracket  100 . The support bracket  100  can be used to support the weight of a video display unit support arm  120 . The support arm  120 , in turn, can be used to position and support the weight of a video display monitor  125 . The support arm  120  can also support various other peripheral devices such as a keyboard  130 , mouse  135 , game paddle  140 , and video display unit control  145 . 
     Referring now to  FIG. 2 , it can be observed that the video display bracket  100  can include a rigid casing  105  and a casing cover  201  defining a first outer shell  205 . The rigid casing  105  can be comprised of side walls  207 ,  209  and a top wall  208 . The rigid casing  105  can also include a first internal cavity that is partially enclosed therein. Although the rigid casing  105  shown in  FIG. 2  can be generally parallelepiped in shape, the invention is not limited in this regard. 
     The rigid casing  105  can include a top flange plate  225  extending from a top, rear edge  226  of the rigid casing  105  in a direction along a longitudinal axis  230 . The rigid casing  105  can further include a bottom flange plate  235  extending from a bottom, rear edge  236  of the rigid casing  105  in a direction along the longitudinal axis  230 . The top and bottom flange plates  225 ,  235  can have mounting holes  240  through which mounting screws (not shown) can pass to facilitate the mounting of the support bracket  100  onto an anchoring surface, such as a wall. It can be appreciated that the invention is not limited in this regard and any suitable mounting mechanism can be used to secure the support bracket  100  onto the anchoring surface. 
     The bracket  100  can further include a rigid cover  210  defining a second outer shell  215 . The rigid cover  210  can be releasably secured to the rigid casing  105 . According to the embodiment shown in  FIG. 2 , the rigid cover  210  can be secured to the rigid casing  105  using screws (not shown). However, the invention is not limited in this regard and other types of securing mechanisms can be employed. Moreover, the rigid cover  210  can partially enclose a second internal cavity  211 . While the rigid cover  210  can be generally parallelepiped in shape, the invention is not limited in this regard. The rigid casing  105  and rigid cover  210  can be formed of a heavy duty cast aluminum material. Other materials that can be used to form the rigid casing  105  and rigid cover  210  include, but are not limited to, rigid polymer materials, composite structures, iron, nickel, copper, and alloys thereof such as stainless steel and brass. 
     According to one embodiment of the support bracket  100  shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , an engagement structure  110  can be disposed on a portion of the rigid casing  105 . The engagement structure  110  can include one or more receivers  220 . The receiver(s)  220  can be configured for securing a proximal end  121  of a video display unit support arm  120  to the rigid casing  105 . For example, the receiver  220  can be defined by an elongated aperture  221 . The elongated aperture can include a pivot bushing  222  that is disposed through an aperture in the rigid casing. Examples of pivot bushings include, but are not limited to, permanently lubricated Oillite™ pivot bushings for maintenance free operation. Standard bushing sizes used to engage the proximal end  121  of a video display support arm  120  can be ⅝ inch and ½ inch sizes. However, the invention is not limited in this regard. The elongated aperture  221  can be sized and shaped for receiving a pin (not shown) disposed on the end  121  of the support arm  121  that is proximal to the rigid casing  105 . 
     It is important to note that the engagement structure  110 , as described herein, is merely one possible embodiment and the invention is not limited in this regard. According to another embodiment of the invention, the receiver  220  can be defined by an elongated pin that is sized and shaped to engage a coupler defined by an aperture disposed on the end  121  of the support arm  120  that is proximal to the rigid casing  105 . The elongated pin and aperture can be configured to form a rotatable coupling. 
     Referring to  FIG. 3 , it can be observed that the first internal cavity  306  can be sized and shaped to partially enclose signal processing circuitry  300  such as a multiplexing device  305 , an RF modem  310 , and a control signal interface circuit  315 . The second internal cavity  211  can be sized and shaped such that one or more cables and an electronic identification device  320  can be disposed therein. Cables that extend out of the rigid casing  105  can be disposed through a cable aperture  304 . When the casing cover  201  and rigid cover  210  are respectively attached to the rigid casing  105 , both the first internal cavity  306  and the second internal cavity  211  can be generally parallelepiped in shape. However, the invention is not limited in this regard. 
     The casing cover  201  is sized and shaped to partially enclose the first internal cavity  306 . For example, a front portion  301  and a bottom portion  302  of the casing cover  201  can be respectively mated with a front surface  308  and a bottom surface  309  of the rigid casing  105 . The bottom portion  302  of the casing cover  201  can partially divide the first internal cavity  306  from the second internal cavity  211 . The bottom portion  302  can include one or more connector openings  303 . The connector openings  303  are sized and shaped to allow electrical connectors to be disposed therein. 
     The multiplexing device  305  can be configured to receive and demultiplex a power supply voltage and an RF signal, which are transmitted via a coaxial cable input signal. According to one embodiment of the invention, the multiplexing device  305  can further include a voltage regulation circuit, which can provide a regulated voltage output that is responsive to the power supply voltage. For example, the power supply voltage range that can be supplied to the multiplexing device  305  is about 18-40 VDC, and the regulated output voltage can be in the range of about 12-40 VDC. Still, the invention is not limited in this regard. 
     According to an embodiment of the invention shown in  FIG. 4 , the multiplexing device  305  can further sub-divide the coaxial cable input signal into: a first regulated power  406  and first RF pass thru signal  407 , a second RF pass thru signal  408 , and a second regulated power signal  409 . The first regulated power signal  406  and first RF pass thru signal  407  can be transmitted to the video display monitor  125 . The second RF pass thru signal  408  can be transmitted to/from the RF modem  310 . The second regulated power signal  409  can be used to power a control signal interface board  315 . The control signal interface board can in turn provide regulated power to one or more peripheral devices, including the RF modem  310 . The second power signal  409  can include a voltage of 12 VDC. However, the invention is not limited in this regard. 
     The RF modem  310  can convert a digital signal into a form suitable for transmission over an analog communications link. For example, a baseband digital signal can be modulated onto an RF signal for transmission. In particular, the RF modem  310  can communicate data with a centralized server  405 . Typical RF bandwidth that can be used to transmit data is about 5-1000 MHz, but the invention is not limited in this regard. 
     The RF modem  310  can be operatively connected to control signal interface board  315 . For example, data and power can be communicated between RF modem  310  and control signal interface board  315  via an electrical connector. For example, such an electrical connector can include, but is not limited to a DB-9 serial electrical connector cable. However, the invention is not limited in this regard and other types of data connection cables can be used to transfer data. The control signal interface board  315  can include one or more peripheral device interfaces for communicating with one or more peripheral devices. The peripheral devices can include a video display unit control  145 , keyboard control  130 , mouse control  135 , and game paddle control  140 . These devices constitute merely one embodiment of the invention and other types of peripheral control devices can be used. 
     The electronic identification device  320  can be operatively connected to the RF modem  310  through the control signal interface board  315 . The electronic identification device  320  can be configured to communicate an RFID signal to the RF modem  310 , which transmits the RFID information to the centralized server. According to one embodiment of the invention, the RFID signal can be used to transmit room ID information, such that the centralized server can identify, monitor, and control the particular electronic devices located with a particular patient&#39;s room. 
     While the preferred embodiments of the invention have been illustrated and described, it will be clear that the invention is not so limited. Numerous modifications, changes, variations, substitutions and equivalents will occur to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as described in the claims. Accordingly, reference should be made to the following claims, rather than to the foregoing specification, as indicating the scope of the invention.