Abstract:
A support mechanism includes a hinge assembly, a hollow support seat, a positioning member and a mounting member. The support seat includes a plurality of restricting portions and a plurality of support portions corresponding to the restricting portions, the restricting portions and the support portions cooperatively defining a receiving space therebetween. The support seat further defines a positioning hole in the circumferential wall thereof, the positioning hole communicating with the receiving space. The positioning member is received in the positioning hole. The mounting member is connected to the hinge assembly and includes a peripheral position portion, the position portion is capable of passing the restricting portions when inserted into the support seat and rotating within the receiving space to a predetermined position in which the positioning member is engagable with the position portion of the mounting member to fix the hinge assembly to the support seat.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
       [0001]    1. Technical Field 
         [0002]    The present disclosure relates to support mechanisms, and more particularly, to a support mechanism used for supporting a display panel. 
         [0003]    2. Description of Related Art 
         [0004]    A commonly used display device includes a display panel, a base seat and a support mechanism. The display panel connects with the base seat via the support mechanism, and the display panel is able to be viewed from many different angles by adjusting its position. The support mechanism generally includes a support seat, a mounting member, and a hinge assembly connected to the mounting member. The base seat may be fixed to a desk or a wall in a room, and the support seat is fixed to the base seat. The mounting member defines two positioning holes and a plurality of through holes. The support seat includes two positioning posts and defines a plurality of screw holes. The two positioning posts extend into the two positioning holes, and the screw holes are aligned with the through holes. Then a plurality of screws is received in the through holes and the screw holes such that the mounting member is fixed to the support seat. Typically, the support mechanism defines many screw holes and the two positioning holes, and requires many screws for assembly. This makes the assembly of the support mechanism complicated. 
         [0005]    Therefore, there is room for improvement in the art. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0006]    The components in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale, the emphasis instead placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the present disclosure. Moreover, in the drawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several views. 
           [0007]      FIG. 1  is an assembled, side plan view of an embodiment of a support mechanism. 
           [0008]      FIG. 2  is an exploded, isometric view of the support mechanism of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0009]      FIG. 3  is similar to  FIG. 2 , but viewed from another aspect. 
           [0010]      FIG. 4  is an assembled, isometric view of a portion of the support mechanism of  FIG. 2 . 
           [0011]      FIG. 5  is an exploded view of the portion of the support mechanism shown in  FIG. 4 . 
           [0012]      FIG. 6  is another exploded view of the portion of the support mechanism shown in  FIG. 4 , viewed from a bottom thereof. 
           [0013]      FIG. 7  is similar to  FIG. 5 , but shows a portion of an alternative embodiment of a support mechanism. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0014]    Referring to  FIGS. 1-3  and  5 , an embodiment of a support mechanism  100  includes a support seat  10 , a mounting member  20 , a fixing member  30 , a positioning member  40 , a hinge assembly  50 , and a connecting sleeve  60 . The support seat  10  includes a mounting end  11  and a fixing end  12  opposite to the mounting end  11 . The mounting member  20  is fixed to the mounting end  11  of the support seat  10  by the positioning member  40 . The fixing member  30  is connected to the fixing end  12  of the support seat  10 . The hinge assembly  50  is connected to the mounting member  20 . The connecting sleeve  60  is sleeved on the hinge assembly  50 . In the present embodiment, the support mechanism  100  is used for a flat screen television. The connecting sleeve  60  is connected to a display panel of the flat screen television, and the fixing member  30  is fixed to a base of the flat screen television. The support mechanism  100  allows the position of the display panel to be adjusted so that the display panel is able to be viewed from many different angles. 
         [0015]    Referring also to  FIG. 4 , the support seat  10  is substantially a cylindrical shell made of extruded aluminum material. The mounting end  11  of the support seat  10  includes a mounting surface  111 . The fixing end  12  of the support seat  10  includes a fixing surface  121  parallel to the mounting surface  111 . 
         [0016]    The support seat  10  defines a chamber  13  along an axial direction thereof. A plurality of restricting portions  15  is arranged on an inner wall of the support seat  10  in the chamber  13 , at the mounting end  11 . A plurality of elongate support portions  16  is arranged on the inner wall of the support seat  10 , corresponding to the restricting portions  15 . A plurality of elongate support bars  18  is arranged on the inner wall of the support seat  10 , corresponding to and spaced a short distance from the support portions  16 , respectively. 
         [0017]    The restricting portions  15  are arranged around the inner periphery of the inner wall of the support seat  10  at the mounting end  11 , and are spaced from each other. Each restricting portion  15  includes an inner side surface  151  parallel to the axis of the support seat  10 . One of the restricting portions  15  further includes a restricting surface  152  adjacent to the inner side surface  151  thereof. 
         [0018]    The support portions  16  are parallel to and spaced from each other, and are arranged on the inner wall of the support seat  10  in the chamber  13 . Each support portion  16  is a substantially elongated protrusion extending from near the mounting end  11  toward the fixing end  12 , and has a support surface  161  at an end thereof facing the corresponding restricting portion  15 . The support surface  161  extends along a radial direction of the support seat  10 , and has a radial length greater than that of the corresponding restricting portion  15 . Thus the support surfaces  161  of all the support portions  16  cooperatively provide a discontinuous supporting shelf inside a top portion of the chamber  13 . The discontinuous supporting shelf enables the mounting member  20  to be received in the top portion of the chamber  13  and supported on the discontinuous supporting shelf. Each support portion  16  defines an elongate mounting hole  163  parallel to the axial direction of the support seat  10 . The mounting hole  163  extends from the support surface  161  to an end of the support portion  16  opposite to the support surface  161 . 
         [0019]    The support portions  16  and the restricting portions  15  cooperatively define a receiving space  17  therebetween, for receiving the mounting member  20 . The receiving space  17  is substantially in the form of an annulus; i.e., washer-shaped. The support seat  10  further defines a positioning hole  171  in the side wall thereof. The positioning hole  171  perpendicularly extends through the side wall and communicates with the receiving space  17 . In the embodiment, the positioning hole  171  is a screw hole engagingly receiving the positioning member  40 . 
         [0020]    The support bars  18  are arranged around the periphery of the chamber  13 , parallel to the support portions  16 . Each support bar  18  is located between two support portions  16 , and includes a support end  181  facing the receiving space  17 . The support bars  18 , the support portions  16  and the inner wall of the support seat  10  cooperatively form a step surface  183  at the fixing end  12  of the support seat  10 , the step surface  183  being parallel to the fixing surface  121 . The step surface  183  is a generally annular surface, and is located at an inner side of the fixing surface  121 . The mounting holes  163  of the support portions  16  extend though to the step surface  183 . 
         [0021]    The mounting member  20  has an irregular plate shape, and includes a central main body  21 , a position portion  23  at a circumferential periphery of the main body  21 , and a position protrusion  25  located on the position portion  23 . 
         [0022]    The main body  21  has a plate shape, and defines a mounting hole  211  in a middle portion thereof. The mounting hole  211  is provided for mounting of the hinge assembly  50  on the main body  21 . 
         [0023]    The position portion  23  defines a plurality of notches  231  around a periphery thereof, and a position groove  233  in the periphery thereof. The notches  231  correspond to the restricting portions  15 , respectively. Each notch  231  is bounded on an inner side by a side surface  2311 . The side surface  2311  is arc shaped. Opposite ends of the side surface  2311  are smoothly connected to the periphery of the position portion  23  via two short connecting surfaces (not labeled), respectively. A length of each notch  231  is greater than a corresponding length of the respective restricting portion  15 . The side surface  2311  of the notch  231  and the inner side surface  151  of the corresponding restricting portion  15  can cooperatively define a narrow gap therebetween. The gaps enable the position portion  23  to extend into the receiving space  17  smoothly in assembly. In addition, one of the notches  231  is longer than the other notches  231 , and is designated herein as a long notch  231 a. The position groove  233  is a recess in the periphery of the position portion  23 . In the embodiment, the position groove  233  is an approximately semicircular cutout. 
         [0024]    The position protrusion  25  extends from the position portion  23  along a direction substantially perpendicular to the main body  21 . The position protrusion  25  is located adjacent to one of the notches  231 . In the embodiment, the position protrusion  25  is a substantially cylindrical short post or stud. 
         [0025]    The fixing member  30  is a substantially circular plate fixed to the step surface  183  of the support seat  10 . The fixing member  30  defines a plurality of screw holes  31  corresponding to the mounting holes  163  of the support portion  16 . 
         [0026]    The positioning member  40  is in the shape of an externally threaded cylinder or rod. The positioning member  40  includes a resisting end  41  corresponding to the position groove  233 , and an engaging portion  43  corresponding to the positioning hole  171 . 
         [0027]    Referring to  FIGS. 1 through 3  again, the hinge assembly  50  includes a support rod  51  extending through the mounting hole  211 , a bracket  52  mounted on the support rod  51 , a fastener  53  for fixing an end of the support rod  51 , a rotation member  54 , and a pivot member  55  used for rotatably connecting the bracket  52  and the rotation member  54 . 
         [0028]    The support rod  51  includes a connecting end  511  non-rotatably connected to the bracket  52 , and a screw portion  512  below the connecting end  511 . 
         [0029]    The bracket  52  is generally U-shaped, and includes a base  521  and a pair of support plates  522  extending perpendicularly up from opposite ends of the base  521 . The base  521  defines a connecting hole (not labeled) corresponding to the mounting hole  211 , and includes a blocking portion  5211 . The blocking portion  5211  is located on a bottom side of the base  521 , and engages in the long notch  231 a. The blocking portion is capable of resisting the restricting portions  15  at opposite ends of the long notch  231 , to restrict a rotation angle between the bracket  52  and the mounting member  20 . The two support plates  522  respectively include two recesses  5221  at a same side. 
         [0030]    The fastener  53  is a nut, and is capable of engaging with the screw portion  512  of the support rod  51  to clamp the mounting member  20  and the base  521  of the bracket  52  between the connecting end  511  and the fastener  53 . 
         [0031]    The rotation member  54  is similar to the bracket  52 . The rotation member  54  is generally U-shaped, but has an inverted orientation relative to the bracket  52 . Thus the rotation member  54  can be considered to be generally symmetrically positioned relative to the bracket  52 . The rotation member  54  includes a base  541  and a pair of support plates  542 . The base  541  defines a first screw hole (not labeled), for mounting of the display panel on the base  541 . One support plate  542  further includes a latching portion  5421  capable of engaging in one recess  5221 . The latching portion  5421  is capable of sliding up or down along the recess  5221  and resisting opposite end surfaces of the recess  5221 . The sliding is along a circular arc path, wherein the sliding up is in a counterclockwise direction and the sliding down is in a clockwise direction. Thus, the movable engagement of the latching portion  5421  in the recess  5221  restricts a rotation angle between the rotation member  54  and the bracket  52 . In a typical embodiment, the rotation angle is about 7°. 
         [0032]    The pivot member  55  extends into the support plates  522  of the bracket  52  and the support plates  542  of the rotation member  54  so that the rotation member  54  is rotatably connected to the bracket  52 . 
         [0033]    The connecting sleeve  60  is a substantially cylindrical shell made of extruded aluminum material. The connecting sleeve  60  includes a top plate  61 , and a cylindrical support wall  62  extending perpendicularly down from the periphery of the top plate  61 . The top plate  61  defines a second screw hole (not labeled) corresponding to the first screw hole of the hinge assembly  50 . A bottom end of the support wall  62  includes an arc-shaped joint portion  621 , and an arc-shaped notch portion  622  adjacent to the joint portion  621 . In the illustrated embodiment, the joint portion  621  is smaller than a semicircular arc, the notch portion  622  is greater than a semicircular arc, and the joint portion  621  and the notch portion  622  cooperatively form the entire bottom end of the support wall  62 . The joint portion  621  abuts the mounting end  11  of the support seat  10 . The notch portion  622  and the mounting end  11  cooperatively define a narrow arc-shaped gap therebetween, to enable the connecting sleeve  60  and the rotation member  54  to rotate in unison around the pivot member  55  relative to the support seat  10  within a predetermined angle. In the typical embodiment, the predetermined angle is about 7°, and corresponds to the above-described rotation angle between the rotation member  54  and the bracket  52 . 
         [0034]    Referring to  FIGS. 1 through 6 , in assembly, the mounting member  20  abuts against the base  521  of the bracket  52 , and the blocking portion  5211  of the base  521  is latched in the long notch  231  a of the mounting member  20 . The support rod  51  extends into the connecting hole of the base  521  and the mounting hole  211  of the mounting member  20 . The fastener  53  engages with the screw portion  512  to clamp the mounting member  20  and the base  521  of the bracket  52  between the connecting end  511  and the fastener  53 . Broadly speaking, the rotation member  54  and the bracket  52  are symmetrically oriented relative to each other. The support plates  542 ,  522  are parallel to each other. The latching portion  5421  engages in said one recess  5221 . The pivot member  55  extends into the support plates  542 ,  522  to rotatably connect the rotation member  54  to the bracket  52 . The connecting sleeve  60  sleeves on the hinge assembly  50 . The second screw hole of the connecting sleeve  60  is aligned with the first screw hole of the base  541  of the rotation member  54 , and the notch portion  622  is aligned with the blocking portion of the base  521 . A fastener (not shown) engages into the first and second screw holes to fix the display panel to the top plate  61 . By such engagement, the connecting sleeve  60  and the hinge assembly  50  are attached together. 
         [0035]    The fixing member  30  abuts against the step surface  183 . The fixing member  30  is fixed to the support seat  10  by bolts (not shown) extending through the screw holes  31  and engaging in the mounting holes  163 . The fixing member  30  is also configured to be fixed to an object, such as the base of the flat screen television. 
         [0036]    The joint portion  621  of the connecting sleeve  60  is aligned with the mounting surface  111  of the support seat  10 . The notches  231  are aligned with the restricting portions  15 , and then the mounting member  20  is extended into the chamber  13  toward the fixing end  12  until the position portion  23  abuts against the support surfaces  161  of the restricting portions  16  and the support ends  181  of the support bars  18 . The position portion  23  is thus movably received in the receiving space  17 . 
         [0037]    Then the position portion  23  is rotated around the axis of the support seat  10 , and the position protrusion  25  correspondingly rotates until the position protrusion  25  reaches the restricting surface  152  and stops. At such position, the position groove  233  is aligned with the positioning hole  171 . The positioning member  40  extends into the positioning hole  171 , with the engaging portion  43  engaging in the positioning hole  171 . The resisting end  41  abuts against and resists an inmost edge of the position portion  23  in the position groove  233 , to thereby fix the mounting member  20  to the support seat  10 . Thus, the assembly of the support mechanism  100  is completed. 
         [0038]    When adjusting the pitch angle of the display panel, a force is applied to the display panel, and the display panel drives the connecting sleeve  60  and the rotation member  54  to rotate relative to the bracket  52 . Because of the gap between the notch portion  622  of the connecting sleeve  60  and the mounting end  11  of the support seat  10 , the connecting sleeve  60  is capable of swinging relative the support seat  10 , such that the pitch angle of the display panel is adjustable. At the same time, the gap restricts the pitch angle of the display panel to a certain range. Furthermore, the latching portion  5421  of the rotation member  54  slides in the recess  5221  and is restricted by the opposite end surfaces of the recess  5221  to also correspondingly restrict the pitch angle of the display panel. In the typical embodiment, the pitch angle is about  7  degrees. 
         [0039]    In summary, in the support mechanism  100 , the position portion  23  of the mounting member  20  extends into the receiving space  17  and rotates to a predetermined position in the receiving space  17 . The protrusion  25  thereby abuts the restricting surface  152  of the restricting portion  15  to prevent over-rotation of the position portion  23 . The positioning member  40  extends into the positioning hole  171  and resists the inmost edge of the position portion  23  in the position groove  233 , such that the mounting member  20  with the display panel are securely fixed to the support seat  10 . Therefore, in a typical application where the base of the flat screen television is permanently fixed to an object such as a wall or a ceiling in a room and the support seat  10  is fixed to the base, the display panel can be assembled to and disassembled from the support seat  10  quickly and easily. This is highly advantageous when, e.g., the display panel needs maintenance. In addition, once the display panel is assembled to the support seat  10 , a pitch angle of the display panel can be adjusted conveniently. Furthermore, the support seat  10  and the connecting sleeve  60  are made of extruded aluminum materials. Thus the support seat  10  and the connecting sleeve  60  can be disposed outside the support mechanism  100  and provide the support mechanism  100  with a good aesthetic appearance. 
         [0040]    Referring to  FIG. 7 , in an alternative embodiment, a support seat  10   a  and a mounting member  20   a  can be configured as follows. The plurality of support portions  16  described above may instead be a single annular (or cylindrical) protrusion  19 , with a top end of the protrusion  19  corresponding to three restricting portions  15  and one restricting portion  15   a.  In such case, the top end of the protrusion  19  and the restricting portions  15 ,  15   a  cooperatively define a receiving space  191  therebetween, similar to the above-described receiving space  17 . 
         [0041]    The position protrusion  25  described above may instead be a resilient latching member  28  fixed on the mounting member  20   a,  and the restricting portion  15   a  may have a latching groove  159  defined therein. In such case, when the position portion  23  is rotated around the axis of the support seat  10   a,  the resilient latching member  28  resiliently rides over an end of the restricting portion  15   a  and then engages in the latching groove  159 , to thereby secure the mounting member  20   a  in position relative to the support seat  10   a.  Furthermore, in such case, the positioning member  40 , positioning hole  171  and position groove  233  (see  FIG. 5 ) can optionally be omitted. 
         [0042]    Finally, while various embodiments have been described and illustrated, the disclosure is not to be construed as being restricted thereto. Various modifications can be made to the embodiments by those skilled in the art without departing from the true spirit and scope of the disclosure as defined by the appended claims.