Patent Publication Number: US-2004048672-A1

Title: Video display unit for video game console

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001] 1. Field of the Invention  
       [0002] The present invention relates to consumer electronics, and more particularly to a detachable, compact screen apparatus for an electronic video-processing device, such as a video game console.  
       [0003] 2. Description of the Prior Art  
       [0004] Various electronic video-processing devices, such as video game consoles, video players (DVD players or VCRs), etc., are becoming more and more popular. Usually, they include a box-shaped casing provided with as plurality of female plugs for interconnecting to two or more respective control units, a TV monitor and a power adapter. Typically, the electronic video-processing devices are sold separately, without a dedicated display screen, and are adapted to work with conventional TV monitors. Therefore, when children without a TV in their rooms are playing video games or using the video player, they are tying family TV monitors, precluding other household members from watching regular TV shows.  
       [0005] Thus, there is a need for a compact, portable video screen unit adapted to be used with the electronic video-processing devices, in particular with the video game consoles, such as video game systems manufactured by SONY, such as Playstation®2, NINTENDO, such as NINTENDO 64, or SEGA.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0006] The present invention provides a novel, portable video display unit for various electronic video-processing devices, especially for video game consoles and video players.  
       [0007] In accordance with the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the portable video screen unit is specifically adapted to be used with the Playstation®2 video game console manufactured by SONY Corp. and comprises a base member adapted to be removably attached to the Playstation®2 video game console, and a video display member pivotably mounted on the base member for rotation between a stowed position and a deployed position.  
       [0008] The base member includes a substantially flat base panel, and a screen support member integrally formed with and upwardly extending from a top surface of the base panel adjacent to a rear edge thereof and extending substantially parallel thereto. The screen support member has a front control panel provided with a power switch, a volume control, a screen brightness control, a screen color control, and an earphone plug socket, and a rear panel provided with an S-video input socket, a video input socket, two audio input sockets, a composite audio/video output, and a socket for a DC/AC adapter.  
       [0009] The base panel of the base member further includes an attachment device provided for removably securing the video display unit to the video game console. The screen mounting means device for the Playstation®2 video game console includes a guide flange, a mounting flange, at least one front stop member, and a rear locking tab.  
       [0010] The guide flange extends downwardly from a bottom surface of the base panel substantially perpendicularly thereto and is formed along a side edge thereof. The guide flange frictionally engages the side face of the casing of the PlayStation® 2  video game console. Preferably, portion of the guide flange adjacent to the front edge of the base panel is provided with a mounting rib substantially complementary to grooves provided on the front face of the casing of the PlayStation®2.  
       [0011] The mounting flange extends downwardly from the bottom surface of the base panel substantially perpendicularly thereto and is formed along the side edge thereof. The mounting flange in accordance with the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention includes at least one mounting rib formed substantially complementary to grooves provided on a right side face of the casing of the Playstation®2.  
       [0012] Preferably, the screen attachment device is provided with two front stop members adapted to appropriately position the base panel of the video display unit relative to the front face of the casing of the PlayStation®2 video game console. The front stop members are formed at the opposite ends of the front edge of the base panel and extend downwardly therefrom substantially perpendicularly there to the base panel.  
       [0013] Preferably, the base panel is homogeneously formed of strong and durable plastic material as a unitary body integrally with the guide flange, the mounting flange, and the front stop members as a single part plastic molding, thus alleviating the cost of assembling multiple components and simplifying its manufacture.  
       [0014] The rear locking tab is pivotally mounted at the rear edge of the base panel for rotation in a plane substantially perpendicular to the rear edge. The locking tab is of generally L-shaped configuration and has a locking flange provided with a groove adapted to snap one of ribs of a grid provided for covering a ventilating opening on a rear face of the casing of the Playstation®2. The locking tab releasably latches the video display unit onto the PlayStation®2 video game console in a discrete predetermined position with respect thereto.  
       [0015] The video display member includes a hollow display casing pivotally mounted to the screen support member. The display casing houses a display screen. Preferably, the display screen is a substantially flat liquid crystal display (LCD) screen. The display casing further houses a pair of built-in stereo speakers located on both sides of the LCD screen for providing a stereo sound. The video display member can flip up and tilt to the preference of the player to view the screen in the deployed position, or fold down on top of the flat base panel of the base member when not in use for easy storage in the stowed position.  
       [0016] In use, the video display unit is attached to the PlayStation®2 video game console by sliding the base panel over the top surface of the casing from the front face to the rear face thereof so that the guide flange and the mounting flange of the attachment device engage the side faces of the casing while the mounting rib slides into the grooves provided on the right side face of the casing. As the front edge of the base panel aligns to the front face of the casing, the mounting rib of the guide flange slides into the grooves provided on the front face of the casing and the front stop members engage the front face of the casing, thus limiting forward movement of the base panel relative to the casing. Then, the locking tab is rotated downward from its upward stowed position so that it snaps into engagement with one of the horizontal ribs provided on the rear face of the casing of the PlayStation®2. Thus, the video display unit is firmly attached to the casing of the PlayStation®2 video game console.  
       [0017] The second exemplary embodiment of the present invention is substantially identical to the first exemplary embodiment thereof, and only part of the attachment device provided for removably securing the video display unit to the video game console, is different. More specifically, instead of the rear locking tab, the attachment device of the second exemplary embodiment of the present invention employs at least one rear locking tab pivotally mounted at the rear edge of the base member for rotation in a plane substantially parallel to the rear edge thereof. Also, a C-shaped grip member may be provided to retain the video display unit when uplifting force applied.  
       [0018] Therefore, the video screen unit in accordance with the present invention represents a novel arrangement that is compact and portable and adapted to be conveniently used with the electronic video-processing devices, in particular with the video game consoles, such as video game systems manufactured by SONY, such as PlayStation®2, NINTENDO, such as NINTENDO 64, or SEGA, without tying family TV monitor or on the road. 
     
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
     [0019] Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from a study of the following specification when viewed in light of the accompanying drawings, wherein:  
     [0020]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a portable video display unit in accordance with the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention in a deployed position;  
     [0021]FIG. 2 is a front view of the video display unit in accordance with the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention in the deployed position;  
     [0022]FIG. 3 is a rear view of the video display unit in accordance with the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention in the deployed position;  
     [0023]FIG. 4 is a left side view of the video display unit in accordance with the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention in the deployed position;  
     [0024]FIG. 5 is a right side view of the video display unit in accordance with the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention in the deployed position;  
     [0025]FIG. 6 is a top view of the video display unit in accordance with the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention in the deployed position;  
     [0026]FIG. 7 is a bottom view of the video display unit in accordance with the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention in the deployed position;  
     [0027]FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a portable video display unit in accordance with the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention in a stowed position;  
     [0028]FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a PlayStation®2 video game console manufactured by SONY Corp.;  
     [0029]FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the video display unit of the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention partially assembled to the PlayStation®2 video game console;  
     [0030]FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the video display unit of the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention fully assembled to the PlayStation®2 video game console;  
     [0031]FIG. 12 is a partial rear view of the video display unit of the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention attached to the PlayStation®2 video game console;  
     [0032]FIG. 13 is a cross sectional view along the line  12 - 12  in FIG. 12;  
     [0033]FIG. 14 is a perspective view of a portable video display unit in accordance with the second exemplary embodiment of the present invention in a deployed position;  
     [0034]FIG. 15 is a front view of the video display unit in accordance with the second exemplary embodiment of the present invention in the deployed position;  
     [0035]FIG. 16 is a rear view of the video display unit in accordance with the second exemplary embodiment of the present invention in the deployed position;  
     [0036]FIG. 17 is a left side view of the video display unit in accordance with the second exemplary embodiment of the present invention in the deployed position;  
     [0037]FIG. 18 is a right side view of the video display unit in accordance with the second exemplary embodiment of the present invention in the deployed position;  
     [0038]FIG. 19 is a bottom view of the video display unit in accordance with the second exemplary embodiment of the present invention in the deployed position;  
     [0039]FIG. 20 is a partial rear view of the video display unit of the second exemplary embodiment of the present invention attached to the PlayStation®2 video game console;  
     [0040]FIG. 21 is a cross sectional view along the line  21 - 21  in FIG. 20. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
     [0041] The preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described with the reference to accompanying drawings.  
     [0042] FIGS.  1 - 8  of the drawings illustrates the first exemplary embodiment of a video display unit in accordance with the present invention, generally indicated at  10 . The video display unit  10  comprises a base member  12  adapted to be removably attached to an electronic video processing device, such as a conventional video game console, and a video display member  40  pivotably mounted on the base member  12 . The examples of the video game consoles include video game systems manufactured by SONY, such as PlayStation®2, NINTENDO, such as NINTENDO 64, or SEGA. However, it is to be understood that while the present invention is described in relation to the video game consoles, the present invention is equally suitable for use in other electronic video processing devices, such as DVD or VHS video players.  
     [0043] The particular first exemplary embodiment of the present invention illustrated in FIGS.  1 - 8 , is specifically applicable to the video game console PlayStation®2 manufactured by SONY Corp. The typical PlayStation®2 video game console, generally indicated at  2  and illustrated in FIGS.  9 - 11 , includes a substantially box-like casing  3  having a top surface  4   t  and a bottom surface, a front face  4   f , a rear face  4   r , and opposite side faces  4   c  and  4   d . The front face  4   f  and the side faces  4   d  of the casing  3  of the PlayStation®2 is provided with a plurality of alternating, substantially horizontally extending grooves and ribs  5 ′ and  5 ″ respectively. The rear face  4   r  of the casing  3  includes a ventilating opening covered with a grid  6  of mutually orthogonal vertical and horizontal ribs  6   v  and  6   h , as illustrated in FIG. 11.  
     [0044] The base member  12  includes a substantially flat base panel  14  having a top surface  15   a  and a bottom surface  15   b , a front edge  15   f , a rear edge  15   r , and opposite side edges  15   c  and  15   d.  The base member  12  further includes a screen support member  16  integrally formed with and upwardly extending from the top surface  15   a  of the base panel  14  adjacent to the rear edge  15   r  and extending substantially parallel thereto, as illustrated in FIGS. 1, 4 and  5 . The screen support member  16  is adapted for pivotally supporting the video display member  40  between a stowed position (shown in FIG. 8) and a deployed position (shown in FIG. 1).  
     [0045] The screen support member  16  has a front control panel  17  and a rear panel  18 . The control panel  17  is provided with a power switch  52 , a volume control  53 , a screen brightness control  54 , a screen color control  56 , and an earphone plug socket  58 . The rear panel  18  is provided with an S-video input socket  60 , a video input socket  62 , two audio input sockets  64 , a composite audio/video output  66 , and a socket  68  for a DC/AC adapter (not shown). The sockets  60 ,  62 ,  64  and  66  define a screen electrical interface adapted to be operably connected to an electrical interface of the PlayStation®2 video game console  2  and communicate electrical signals therebetween.  
     [0046] The base panel  14  of the base member  12  further includes an attachment device  20  provided for removably securing the video display unit  10  to the video game console  2 . The attachment device  20  for the PlayStation®2 video game console  2  includes a guide flange  22 , a mounting flange  24 , at least one front stop member  26 , and a rear locking tab  28 .  
     [0047] The guide flange  22  extends downwardly from the bottom surface  15   b  of the base panel  14  substantially perpendicularly thereto and is formed along the side edge  15   c  thereof. Preferably, the guide flange  22  of the attachment device  20  of the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention includes two guide plates  22 ′ and  22 ″ each adjacent to the opposite front and rear edges  15   f  and  15   r  of the base panel  14 . The guide plates  22 ′ and  22 ″ frictionally engage the side face  4   c  of the casing  3  of the PlayStation®2 video game console  2 . Preferably, the guide plates  22 ″ adjacent to the front edge  15   f  of the base panel  14  is provided with a mounting rib  23  substantially complementary to the grooves  5 ′ provided on the front face  4   f  of the casing  3  of the PlayStation®2.  
     [0048] The mounting flange  24  extends downwardly from the bottom surface  15   b  of the base panel  14  substantially perpendicularly thereto and is formed along the side edge  15   d  thereof. The mounting flange  24  in accordance with the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention includes at least one mounting rib  25  formed substantially complementary to the grooves  5 ′ provided on the side face  4   d  of the casing  3  of the PlayStation®2. Preferably, the mounting flange  24  is integrally formed with the mounting rib  25 . Alternatively, the mounting flange  24  may be provided with two or more of the mounting ribs  25 .  
     [0049] Preferably, as illustrated in FIGS.  1 - 7 , the screen attachment device  20  is provided with two front stop members  26  adapted to appropriately position the base panel  14  of the video display unit  10  relative to the front face  4   f  of the casing  3  of the PlayStation®2 video game console  2 . The front stop members  26  are formed at the opposite ends of the front edge  15   f  of the base panel  14  and extend downwardly therefrom substantially perpendicularly there to the base panel  14 .  
     [0050] Preferably, the base panel  14  is homogeneously formed of strong and durable plastic material as a unitary body integrally with the guide plates  22 ′ and  22 ″, the mounting flange  24 , and the front stop members  26  as a single part plastic molding, thus alleviating the cost of assembling multiple components and simplifying its manufacture.  
     [0051] As illustrated in FIGS.  3 - 5 ,  11  and  12 , the rear locking tab  28  is pivotally mounted at the rear edge  15   r  of the base panel  14  for rotation in a plane substantially perpendicular to the rear edge  15   r . As illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 12, the locking tab  28  is of generally L-shaped configuration and has a locking flange  29  provided with a groove  29 ′ (shown in FIGS. 6 and 7) adapted to receive one of the vertical ribs  5   v  provided on the rear face  4   r  of the casing  3  of the PlayStation®2. The locking tab  28  releasably locks the video display unit  10  onto the PlayStation®2 video game console  2  in a discrete predetermined position with respect thereto by engaging one of the vertical ribs  5   v  of the casing  3  (as shown in FIGS. 11 and 12).  
     [0052] The video display member  40  includes a hollow display casing  42  made of, preferably, appropriate plastic material. The display casing  42  is pivotally mounted to the screen support member  16  and has a front, viewing surface  44  and a back surface  46 . The display casing  42  houses a display screen  48  viewable on the viewing surface  44 . Preferably, the display screen  48  is a substantially flat liquid crystal display (LCD) screen. The display casing  42  further houses a pair of built-in stereo speakers  50  located on both sides of the LCD screen  48  for providing a stereo sound. Also, a plurality (preferably four) of elastic pad members  51  are provided on the viewing surface  44  of the display casing  42  adapted to provide a small clearance between the video display member  40  and the base panel  14  when the video display unit  10  is in the stowed position.  
     [0053] In use, the video display unit  10  is attached to the casing  3  of the PlayStation®2 video game console  2  by sliding the base panel  14  over the top surface  4   t  of the casing  3  in the direction of arrows S, as shown in FIG. 10, from the front face  4   f  to the rear face  4   r  thereof so that the guide flange  22  and the mounting flange  24  of the attachment device  20  engage the side faces  4   c  and  4   d  of the casing  3  while the mounting rib  25  slides into the grooves  5 ′ provided on the side face  4   d  of the casing  3 . As the front edge  15   f  of the base panel  14  aligns to the front face  4   f  of the casing  3 , the mounting rib  23  of the guide plate  22 ″ slides into the grooves  5 ′ provided on the front face  4   f  of the casing  3  and the front stop members  26  engage the front face  4   f  of the casing  3 , thus limiting forward movement of the base panel  14  relative to the casing  3 , as shown in FIG. 11. Then, the locking tab  28  is rotated downward from its upward stowed position so that the groove  29 ′ in the locking flange  29  thereof snaps into engagement with one of the vertical ribs  6   v  of the grid  6  provided on the rear face  4   r  of the casing  3  of the PlayStation®2, as illustrated in FIGS. 12 and 13. Thus, the video display unit  10  is firmly attached to the casing  3  of the PlayStation®2 video game console  2 .  
     [0054] FIGS.  14 - 21  of the drawings illustrate the second exemplary embodiment of a video display unit, generally indicated at  110 . Components, which are unchanged from, or function in the same way as in the first exemplary embodiment depicted in FIGS.  1 - 8  are labeled with the same reference numerals, sometimes without describing detail since similarities between the corresponding parts in the two embodiments will be readily perceived by the reader.  
     [0055] The video display unit  110  of the second exemplary embodiment, as illustrated in FIGS.  14 - 19 , comprises a base member  112  adapted to be removably attached to an electronic video processing device, such as a conventional video game console  2 , and a video display member  40  pivotably mounted on the base member  112 .  
     [0056] The second exemplary embodiment of the present invention is also specifically applicable to the video game console PlayStation®2 manufactured by SONY Corp.  
     [0057] The base member  112  is substantially similar to the base member  12  in accordance with first examplery embodiment of the present invention and includes a substantially flat base panel  114  having a top surface  115   a  and a bottom surface  115   b , a front edge  115   f , a rear edge  115   r , and opposite side edges  115   c  and  115   d . The base member  112  further includes a screen support member  116  integrally formed with and upwardly extending from the top surface  115   a  of the base panel  114  adjacent to the rear edge  115   r  and extending substantially parallel thereto, as illustrated in FIGS.  14 - 19 . The screen support member  116  has a front control panel  117  and a rear panel  118 . The screen support member  116  is adapted for pivotally supporting the video display member  40  between a stowed position and a deployed position.  
     [0058] The base panel  114  of the base member  112  further includes an attachment device  120  provided for removably securing the video display unit  110  to the video game console  2 . The screen mounting means device  120  for the PlayStation®2 video game console  2  includes a guide flange  122 , a mounting flange  124 , a pair of front stop members  126 , and two rear locking tabs  128  and  128 .  
     [0059] The guide flange  122 , the front stop members  126  and the mounting flange  124  are substantially identical to the guide flange  22 , the front stop members  26  and the mounting flange  24  of the attachment device  20  in accordance with the second exemplary embodiment of the present invention.  
     [0060] The guide flange  122  extends downwardly from the bottom surface  115   b  of the base panel  114  substantially perpendicularly thereto and is formed along the side edge  115   c  thereof. Preferably, the guide flange  122  of the attachment device  120  includes two guide plates  122 ′ and  122 ″ each adjacent to the opposite front and rear edges  115   f  and  115   r  of the base panel  114 , respectively. The guide plates  122 ′ and  122 ″ frictionally engage the side face  4   c  of the casing  3  of the PlayStation®2 video game console  2 . Preferably, the guide plates  122 ′ adjacent to the front edge  15   f  of the base panel  114  is provided with a mounting rib  123  substantially complementary to the grooves  5 ′ provided on the front face  4   f  of the casing  3  of the PlayStation®2.  
     [0061] The mounting flange  124  extends downwardly from the bottom surface  115   b  of the base panel  114  substantially perpendicularly thereto and is formed along the side edge  115   d  thereof. The mounting flange  124  in accordance with the second exemplary embodiment of the present invention includes two mounting rib  125  formed substantially complementary to the grooves  5 ′ provided on the side face  4   d  of the casing  3  of the PlayStation®2. Preferably, the mounting flange  124  is integrally formed with the mounting ribs  125 .  
     [0062] As illustrated in FIGS.  16 - 20 , the rear locking tabs  128  are pivotally mounted to the rear panel  118  of the screen support member  116  at the rear edge  115   r  of the base panel  114  for rotation in a plane substantially parallel to the rear edge  115   r . The locking tabs  128  are in the form of generally rectangular, flat plates adapted to rotate relative to the base member  112  to a position to engage the rear face of the casing  3  so as to releasably lock the video display unit  110  onto the PlayStation®2 video game console  2  in a discrete predetermined position with respect thereto by engaging the rear face  4   r  of the casing  3 .  
     [0063] The manner the video display unit  110  of the second exemplary embodiment of the present invention is attached to the casing  3  of the PlayStation®2 video game console  2  is substantially similar to that of the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention.  
     [0064] The base panel  114  of the video display unit  110  slides over the top surface  4   t  of the casing  3  from the front face  4   f  to the rear face  4   r  thereof so that the guide flange  122  and the mounting flange  124  of the attachment device  120  engage the side faces  4   c  and  4   d  of the casing  3  while the mounting rib  125  slides into the grooves  5 ′ provided on the side face  4   d  of the casing  3 . As the front edge  115   f  of the base panel  114  aligns to the front face  4   f  of the casing  3 , the mounting rib  123  of the guide plate  122 ′ slides into the grooves  5 ′ provided on the front face  4   f  of the casing  3  and the front stop members  126  engage the front face  4   f  of the casing  3 , thus limiting forward movement of the base panel  114  relative to the casing  3 . Then, the locking tabs  128  are rotated downward so that they engage the rear face  4   r  of the casing  3  of the PlayStation®2, as illustrated in FIG. 20. Thus, the video display unit  110  is firmly secured to the casing  3  of the PlayStation®2 video game console  2 .  
     [0065] Optionally, the video display unit  110  may include a C-shaped grip member  130  adapted for interlocking the video display unit  110  and the casing  3  of the PlayStation®2. The C-shaped grip member  130  has a first locking flange  132  releasably engaging an opening  134  in the rear face  4   r  of the casing  3  of the PlayStation®2, and a second locking flange  136  releasably engaging the grid  6  provided on the rear face  4   r  of the casing  3  of the PlayStation®2, as illustrated in FIGS. 20 and 21.  
     [0066] Therefore, the video screen unit in accordance with the present invention represents a novel arrangement that is compact and portable and adapted to be conveniently used with the electronic video-processing devices, in particular with the video game consoles, such as video game systems manufactured by SONY, such as PlayStation®2, NINTENDO, such as NINTENDO 64, or SEGA.  
     [0067] The foregoing description of the preferred embodiments of the present invention has been presented for the purpose of illustration in accordance with the provisions of the Patent Statutes. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed. The embodiments disclosed hereinabove were chosen in order to best illustrate the principles of the present invention and its practical application to thereby enable those of ordinary skill in the art to best utilize the invention in various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated, as long as the principles described herein are followed. This application is therefore intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of the invention using its general principles. Further, this application is intended to cover such departures from the present disclosure as come within known or customary practice in the art to which this invention pertains. Thus, changes can be made in the above-described invention without departing from the intent and scope thereof. It is also intended that the scope of the present invention be defined by the claims appended thereto.