Abstract:
An image display device such as a television set or a monitor is disclosed. The image display device includes a front casing on which a screen and a rear casing are mounted. A frame surrounding the screen is detachably fastened to the front casing independently of the rear casing. The frame includes tabs capable of being manually handled in order to separate the frame from the front casing.

Description:
This application claims the benefit, under 35 U.S.C. § 365 of International Application PCT/FR00/03570, filed Dec. 15, 2000, which was published in accordance with PCT Article 21(2) on Jun. 21, 2001 in French and which claims the benefit of French patent application No. 9915956 filed Dec. 17, 1999. 

   The present invention relates to image display devices such as television sets and monitors and to a frame for such devices. 
   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   An image display device mainly comprises a display screen accommodated in a casing. The casing generally contains a chassis which carries electrical components in order to power the screen and transmit electrical signals representing the image to the screen. 
   According to a conventional solution, described for example in patent application WO 90/04902, the casing consists of a front part, on which the screen and the chassis are mounted, and of a rear part which closes the front part. The solution is particularly advantageous since it enables the screen to be properly positioned relative to the casing, as described in the aforementioned patent application. 
   However, it does not allow the user easily to change that part of the casing which surrounds the screen, for example in order to change the aesthetic appearance of the display device. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The invention proposes a device for displaying an image comprising a front casing on which a screen and a rear casing are mounted, a frame surrounding the screen being detachably fastened to the front casing independently of the rear casing, in which the frame comprises means capable of being handled manually in order to separate the frame from the front casing. 
   According to advantageous characteristics:
         the frame comprises at least one meshed region directly over a recess for accommodating a loudspeaker;   the frame comprises at least one vertical wall capable of coming into contact with a vertical short wall of the front casing and the vertical wall carries at least one tab capable of coming into contact with the free end of the vertical short wall;   the tab extends over more than 30 mm;   the vertical wall arises from an edge which carries a rib capable of cooperating with a groove of the front casing;   the frame comprises at least one horizontal wall capable of coming into contact with a horizontal short wall of the front casing;   the frame and the front casing comprise relative positioning means.       

   The invention also proposes a frame for an image display device comprising a front casing, the frame comprising detachable fastening means on the front casing in which the frame comprises means capable of being handled manually in order to separate the frame from the front casing. 
   Advantageous possibilities are as follows:
         the frame comprises at least one meshed region intended to be accommodated directly over a recess for accommodating a loudspeaker;   the frame comprises at least one vertical wall capable of coming into contact with a vertical short wall of the front casing, the vertical wall carrying at least one tab capable of coming into contact with the free end of the vertical short wall;   the tab extends over more than 30 mm;   the vertical wall arises from an edge which carries a rib capable of cooperating with a groove of the front casing;   the frame comprises at least one horizontal wall capable of coming into contact with a horizontal short wall of the front casing;   the frame comprises means of positioning relative to the front casing.       

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     Other characteristics of the invention will become apparent from the following description. The embodiment described is taken by way of nonlimiting example, with reference to the appended drawings, in which: 
       FIG. 1  shows a front view of a frame for a display device according to the invention; 
       FIG. 2  shows the frame of  FIG. 1  in perspective; 
       FIG. 3  shows the frame of  FIG. 1  in rear view; 
       FIG. 4  is the view in section indicated by  4 — 4  in  FIG. 1 ; 
       FIG. 5  is the view in section indicated by  5 — 5  in  FIG. 1 ; 
       FIG. 6  shows a front casing according to the invention in front view; 
       FIG. 7  shows the front casing of  FIG. 6  in side view; 
       FIG. 8  shows the front casing of  FIG. 6  in top view; 
       FIG. 9  shows, in section, the assembly of the frame of FIG.  1  and of the front casing of  FIG. 6 , on the sectional plane indicated by  4 — 4  in FIG.  1 . 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
   A frame  2  according to the invention has a generally rectangular shape so as to surround the active part of a display device, for example the cathode-ray tube of a television set. In front view (FIG.  1 ), the frame  2  mainly comprises two parallel vertical edges  6  and two parallel horizontal arms, the upper arm  8  and the lower arm  9 , respectively. 
   The edges  6  and the upper  8  and lower  9  arms lie in the same plane. The edges  6  each comprise a meshed region  4  intended to be placed directly over a loudspeaker, which the display device may possibly comprise. 
   The frame  2  comprises two mutually parallel vertical walls  10  which extend from the outer limit of the edges  6 , perpendicularly to the edges  6 . The frame  2  comprises an upper horizontal wall  12  which extends from the outer limit of the upper arm  8 , perpendicular to the upper arm  8  and two lower horizontal walls  13  which extend from the outer limit of the lower arm  9 , perpendicular to the lower arm  9 . 
   The vertical walls  10  and the horizontal walls  12 ,  13  are secant in pairs at segments  14 . 
   As is clearly visible in  FIGS. 2 and 3 , the frame  2  comprises pins  16  which allow it to be positioned with respect to the front casing of the display device. 
   As can be seen in  FIGS. 2 ,  3  and  4 , the frame  2  comprises tabs  18  which extend from the free end  11  of the vertical walls  10  and from the upper horizontal wall  12 , perpendicularly thereto and toward the inside of the frame  2 . The tabs  18  are therefore located in a plane parallel to the plane of the edges  6  and of the arm  8 . 
   The tabs  18  extend very little in the direction perpendicular to the wall  10 ,  12  from which they arise (for example the tabs  18  extend over 5 mm, thus exceeding by 2 mm a wall  10 ,  12  of 3 mm thickness). The largest dimension of the tabs  18  extends in a direction parallel to the free end  11  of the wall  10 ,  12  from which they arise. In a preferred manner, the tabs extend along their longest dimension over more than 30 mm so that they can be easily handled manually by a user as described below. For example, the tabs  18  arising from the vertical wall  10  lie vertically over 45 mm. 
   The edges  6  carry re-entrant ribs  20  (see  FIG. 4 ) which extend from the inner end  7  of each edge, perpendicular to the edge  6  and rearward. The ribs  20  are therefore parallel to the side walls  10  which also extend rearward. 
   The display device comprises a front casing  22 , shown in  FIGS. 6 ,  7  and  8 , on which are mounted a substantially flat and substantially vertically arranged screen (not shown) which forms the active part of the display device, a chassis (not shown) which carries electrical components in order to power the screen and to transmit electrical signals representing the image to the screen and a rear casing (not shown) which closes the front casing  22  from the back. The frame  2  is also mounted on the front casing  22  as described below. 
   The axis perpendicular to the screen passing through the center of the screen is defined as being the axis of the screen. 
   As is clearly visible in  FIG. 6 , the front casing comprises an upper strip  24 , a lower strip  26  which carries recesses  27  for control members electrically connected to the chassis to pass through, and two side strips  28 . 
   The front casing  22  is fitted with passages  36  intended to accommodate the pins  16  of the frame  2 . 
   Each side strip  28  carries a recess  30  in order to accommodate a loudspeaker. Each side strip  28  also defines the groove  31  which extends vertically and is made so as to be able to accommodate the corresponding rib  20  of the frame  2 , as described below. 
   Vertical short walls  32  extend rearward from each side strip  28 , more specifically from the outer end  29  of each side strip  28 . An upper horizontal short wall  34  extends rearward from the upper end  25  of the upper strip  24  and a lower horizontal short wall  35  extends rearward from the lower end of the lower strip  26 . As is clearly visible in  FIGS. 7 and 8 , a horizontal plate  23  extends rearward from the lower strip  26 . The plate  23  carries the frame. 
   The external dimensions (for example horizontal a) of the front casing  22  in the plane of the strips  24 ,  26 ,  28  (that is to say in a plane perpendicular to the axis of the screen) are in particular greater than those of the rear casing (for example horizontal b) so as to generate a space (horizontally a-b) for the means for fastening the frame  2  which are independent of the means for fastening the rear casing to the front casing  22 . 
   The means for fastening the frame  2  to the front casing  22  therefore extend outward (that is to say, they are further away from the axis of the screen) compared with the means for fastening the rear casing to the front casing  22 . 
   Thus the frame  2  can be mounted on the front casing  22  and the rear casing can be mounted on the front casing  22  completely independently, the first on the front, the second on the back. 
   When the frame  2  is mounted on the front casing  22 , the respective parts of these two pieces engage as shown in detail in FIG.  9 . The horizontal walls  12 ,  13  extend parallel to and in contact with horizontal short walls  34 ,  35  respectively; the vertical walls  10  extend parallel to and in contact with each vertical short wall  32 , respectively. Thus the frame  2  surrounds the screen of the display device. 
   Each tab  18  is in contact with the free end  33  of the short wall  32 ,  34  corresponding to the wall  10 ,  12  from which it arises. Thus, the tabs  18  ensure, in cooperation with the edges  6  or the upper arm  8 , that the frame  2  is immobilized with respect to the front casing  22  in the forward-rearward direction (that is to say in the direction of the axis of the screen). 
   Moreover, each rib  20  cooperates with a groove  31 , which makes it possible (added to the vertical short wall  32 —vertical wall  10  contact) to immobilize the frame  2  with respect to the front casing  22  in the horizontal direction perpendicular to the axis of the screen. 
   Finally, the immobilization in the vertical direction of the frame  2  with respect to the front casing  22  is carried out by the upper  12  and lower  13  horizontal walls in contact with the upper  34  and lower  35  horizontal short walls. 
   The material from which the frame  2  is made and the dimensions of the frame  2  (especially its thickness) are such that the frame  2  may be easily deformed by a user who desires to take off the frame  2 , for example in order to replace it with a frame of a different color. 
   This is because, in order to take off the frame  2  from the front casing  22 , it is enough to release the tabs  18  one by one from the end  33  of the short wall  32 ,  34  with which they are in contact. 
   Thus, the frame  2  may be separated from the front casing  22  by a simple relative movement of the tabs  18  with respect to the front casing  22 . 
   The preferred dimension of the tabs  18 , mentioned above, makes it possible for this release to be carried out manually. 
   Moreover, the cooperation of the pins  16  and of the passages  36  makes it possible to ensure that the replacement frame will be assembled correctly by the user. 
   Furthermore, as has been seen, it is possible to mount and take off the frame  2  or the rear casing independently of each other. Thus the user who changes the frame does not have to take into account the rear casing and therefore does not risk touching the chassis (which could be dangerous because of the high voltages present on the circuits of the chassis); similarly, the professional operator who wishes to access the chassis does not have to take into account the frame  2  and therefore access to the chassis remains simple in spite of the presence of the frame  2 .