Patent Publication Number: US-2010108829-A1

Title: Support stand for flat-panel display monitor and elevating support used for support stand

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     1. Technical Field 
     The present disclosure generally relates to support stands and elevating supports, particularly, to a support stand for a flat-panel display monitor and an elevating support. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     Flat-panel display monitors, such as liquid crystal display monitors, offer advantages over cathode ray tube displays, such as reduced size, smaller weight, and better image quality. A viewing angle and height of the flat-panel display monitor can be adjusted without moving a support stand of the flat-panel display monitor because of its small weight. 
     A typical support stand generally includes a rotatable bracket to attach to the flat-panel display monitor, a base member, and an elevating mechanism rotatably mounted between the rotatable bracket and the base member. The elevating mechanism includes a first link shaft, a second link shaft, a connecting piece and a supporting block. First end portions of the first and second link shafts are rotatably assembled on two ends of the connecting piece, and second end portions of the first and second link shafts are rotatably assembled on two ends of the supporting block. The height of the flat-panel display monitor is changed by the motion of the elevating mechanism. 
     However, the connecting piece may be easily abraded or damaged by an exterior force due to the low structural strength. As a result, a stability of the typical support stand during the movement may be decreased, and a usage life of the typical support stand may be shortened. 
     What is needed, therefore, is a new support stand for a flat-panel display monitor and an elevating support that overcome the above mentioned disadvantages. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The components in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale, the emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the present disclosure. Moreover, in the drawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several views, and all the views are schematic. 
         FIG. 1  is an assembled, isometric view of one embodiment of a support stand for a flat-panel display monitor, the support stand including one embodiment of an elevating support. 
         FIG. 2  is an exploded, isometric view of the elevating support in  FIG. 1 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 , one embodiment of a support stand  100  for a flat-panel display monitor includes one embodiment of an elevating support  10 , a rotatable bracket  30 , a monitor bracket  50 , and two hinge assemblies  70 . The elevating support  10  is rotatably connected to the rotatable bracket  30  by the hinge assemblies  70 . The monitor bracket  50  is fixed on the rotatable bracket  30  to hold the flat-panel display monitor. 
     Referring also to  FIG. 2 , the elevating support  10  includes a base member  11 , a first link bracket  13 , a second link bracket  15 , a plurality of tension springs  17 , and a plurality of connecting modules  19 . In the illustrated embodiment, there are two connecting modules  19 . 
     The base member  11  includes a substantially I-shaped holder  110 , and two supporting blocks  111  extending substantially perpendicularly from opposite ends of a top portion of the holder  110 . 
     A first link bracket  13  may be substantially H-shaped, and includes a link sheet  133  and two side walls  131  extending substantially perpendicularly from opposite sides of the link sheet  133 . The link sheet  133  includes at least one latching hook  1331  formed at a bottom end. A first end portion of each side wall  131  defines a substantially circular hole  1311  and a latching groove  1313 . A second end portion of each side wall  131  opposite to the first end portion is rotatably assembled on the supporting block  111  of the base member  11 . 
     The second link bracket  15  is similar in principle to the first link bracket  13 . The second link bracket  15  may also be substantially H-shaped and includes a link sheet  153 . The link sheet  153  includes at least one latching hook  1531  formed at a top end. The second link bracket  15  also includes two side walls  151  extending substantially perpendicularly from opposite sides of the link sheet  153 . A first end portion of each side wall  151  defines a substantially circular hole  1511 , and a latching groove  1513 . A second end portion of each side wall  151  is rotatably assembled on the supporting block  111  of the base member  11 . 
     Each tension spring  17  includes two hooks  171  extending from opposite end portions of the tension spring  17  to latch on the corresponding latching hooks  1331 ,  1531 . 
     Each connecting module  19  includes two pivotal shafts  197 , a connecting member  191 , a strengthening member  193 , and two protecting members  195 . 
     Each pivotal shaft  197  includes a flange  1971 , and a shaft portion  1973  extending from the flange  1971  along an extending direction of the pivotal shaft  197 . A threaded portion  1975  is formed on an end of the shaft portion  1973  opposite to the flange  1971 . 
     The connecting member  191  defines a deformed through hole  1911  in a middle portion, and forms two protruding poles  1915  on two ends of the connecting member  191 . Each of the protruding poles  1915  defines a positioning hole  1913 . The positioning hole  1913  is a threaded hole to engage with the threaded portion  1975  of the pivotal shaft  197 . 
     The strengthening member  193  defines a deformed through hole  1931  in a middle portion, and two substantially circular through holes  1933  in two ends corresponding to the two protruding poles  1915  of the connecting member  191 . A diameter of the substantially circular through hole  1933  is slightly smaller than the outer diameter of the protruding pole  1915  such that the protruding pole  1915  can be tightly fixed in the substantially circular through hole  1933 . 
     Each protecting member  195  includes a pair of washers  1951  positioned opposite to each other, and a latching tab  1953  connecting the pair of washers  1951 . The latching tab  1953  is latched in the corresponding latching grooves  1313 ,  1513 , so that the pair of washers  1951  is fixed on opposite sides of the side wall  131 ,  151 , thus protecting the side walls  131 ,  151  from abrasion. In alternative embodiments, the connecting member  191  and the protecting member  195  may be made of plastic materials having a self-lubricating property, or define a plurality of lubricant grooves in side surfaces of the protecting member  195 , to reduce abrasion of the pivotal shaft  197 . 
     To assemble the elevating support  10 , one hook  171  of the tension spring  17  is fixed to the latching hook  1331  of the first link bracket  13  and the other hook  171  is fixed to the latching hook  1531  of the second link bracket  15 . The latching tab  1953  is latched in the latching groove  1313 , so that the pair of the washers  1951  is fixed on the opposite sides of the side wall  131 . The protruding poles  1915  of the connecting member  191  are fixed in the substantially circular through holes  1933  of the strengthening member  193 . The shaft portion  1973  of the pivotal shaft  197  passes through one washer  1951 , the substantially circular hole  1311  of the side wall  131 , and the other washer  1951 . The threaded portion  1975  of the pivotal shaft  197  engages in one positioning hole  1913  of the connecting member  191 . Hence, the first end portion of the first link bracket  13  is rotatably assembled on one end of the connecting member  191 . Accordingly, the corresponding first end portion of the second link bracket  15  is rotatably assembled on the other end of the connecting member  191 . The corresponding second end portions of the first and second link brackets  13 ,  15  are rotatably assembled on two ends of the supporting block  111  of the base member  11 . 
     After the elevating support  10  is assembled, a rotatable shaft (not labeled) of the hinge assembly  70  passes through the deformed through hole  1911  of the connecting member  191 , the deformed through hole  1931  of the strengthening member  193 , the rotatable bracket  30 , and other components of the hinge assembly  70 , such as a frictional member (not labeled), an elastic member (not labeled), and a fastening member (not labeled). Thus, the elevating support  10  is rotatably connected to the rotatable bracket  30 . 
     When the support stand  100  is used for supporting a flat-panel display monitor, the monitor bracket  50  is fixed to a display body (not shown) of the flat-panel display monitor. In use, a force is applied on the display body to drive the display body with the rotatable bracket  30  to rotate along an axis of the hinge assembly  70  relative to the elevating support  10 , thereby adjusting the viewing angle of the flat-panel display monitor. The display body can be stably maintained at a desired angle relative to the elevating support  10  due to the frictional forces generated between the components of the hinge assembly  70 . 
     When the height of the display body needs to be adjusted, the display body can be pushed upwards or downwards to increase or decrease the height of the display body via the elevating support  10 . During the adjusting process, the height of the flat-panel display monitor changes, but the viewing angle of the flat-panel display monitor remains the same. When the flat-panel display monitor is lifted to a desired height, the flat-panel display monitor can be stably maintained at the desired height by frictional forces generated between the components of the connecting modules  197 . An elastic force of the tension spring  17  either increases or decreases according to the motion of the elevating support  10 , thereby preventing the support stand  100  from damage by excessive forces. 
     The protruding poles  1915  are integrally formed with the connecting member  191  to increase the structural strength of the connecting member  191 . The strengthening member  193  is fixed to the connecting member  191  to further increase the structural strength of the connecting member  191 . Therefore, during the motion of the elevating support  10 , the connecting member  191  is not easily abraded or damaged by external forces, so that the support stand  100  has a high stability and a long usage life. In addition, the pivotal shaft  197  engages in the positioning hole  1913  of the connecting member  191 , thus omitting a fastening member, and increasing the engaging area of the pivotal shaft  197  and the connecting member  191 , so that the stability of the support stand  100  is further increased. Moreover, the protecting member  195  protects the first and second link brackets  13 ,  15  from abrasion, so the usage life of the support stand  100  is further prolonged. 
     It is believed that the present embodiments and their advantages will be understood from the foregoing description, and it will be apparent that various changes may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure or sacrificing all of its material advantages.