Patent Publication Number: US-2009237630-A1

Title: Open-closed structure applied to a lamp door of a projector

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     (1) Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to an open-closed structure, particularly to an open-closed structure applied to a lamp door of a projector. 
     (2) Description of the Prior Art 
     As usual, the housing of a projector has an aperture for changing the lamp. At present, the position of the aperture is disposed at the bottom of the projector generally. The lamp door for covering the aperture is fixed by screwing. 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 , a conventional projector  100  has a lamp door  120  located at the bottom thereof. For convenience in illustration, the bottom of the projector  100  faces upward in  FIG. 1 . The lamp door  120  is fixed on a housing  160  by a plurality of screws  140 . When users want to change the lamp (not shown), a screwdriver is needed to release the screws  140 , and then the lamp door  120  is prized. 
     However, whether the projector  100  is desktop type or ceiling-mount type, the lamp door  120  is at the bottom of the projector  100 , so it is inconvenient to open the lamp door  120  due to placing the projector  100  upside down as shown in  FIG. 1  or dismounting the projector  100  from the ceiling before changing the lamp. 
     For more convenient to change the lamp, the relevant structure of the projector is altered and changed to be disposed at the top thereof gradually. 
     Referring to  FIG. 2 , a conventional projector  200  has a lamp door  220  located at the top thereof. The lamp door  220  is locked on a housing  260  with a plurality of screws  240 . For elegant appearance of the projector  200 , when the lamp door  220  is closed, the outer surface  222  of the lamp door  220  is level with the surface  262  of the housing  260 . Still, the screw  240  needs to be released before prizing the lamp door  220 . 
     Accordingly, in the development of the projector  100 ,  200 , the opening or closing manner of the lamp door  120 ,  220  needs to be improved. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention is to provide an open-closed structure applied to a lamp door of a projector for opening the lamp door conveniently. 
     For one or part of or all objectives mentioned or other objectives, one embodiment of the present invention provides an open-closed structure applied to a lamp door of a projector. The projector includes a main lid and a lamp door covering one side of the main lid. The open-closed structure includes a base and a knob. The base is disposed at another side of the main lid. The knob is rotatably disposed on the base, and has an axial portion, a hook portion and a stick-like portion. One end of the hook portion and one end of the stick-like portion are respectively connected to the axial portion. Another end of the hook portion is selectively engaged with or separated from the lamp door. When the axial portion of the knob is rotated to make the another end of the hook portion to be separated from the lamp door, another end of the stick-like portion is dependently moved to push the lamp door. 
     Another embodiment of the present invention is a cover of a projector. The cover includes a main lid, a lamp door and above open-closed structure. The main lid has an outer side, an inner side and a through-hole. The outer side is relative to the inner side. The through-hole is near the edge of the main lid and goes through the outer side and the inner side. The lamp door is disposed at the outer side of the main lid to cover the through-hole. The open-closed structure is disposed at the inner side of the main lid. The base of the open-closed structure is connected to the main lid and near the perimeter of the through-hole. The knob is as above. When the axial portion of the knob is rotated to make the another end of the hook portion separate from the lamp door, another end of the stick-like portion is dependently moved to penetrate the through-hole for pushing the lamp door. 
     In the cover as above, the axial portion is a column with two end faces and a flank. The flank of the axial portion has a first trough and a second trough. The axial portion has a driving portion in one of the end faces thereof to rotate the axial portion. The one end of the hook portion and the one end of the stick-like portion are connected to the flank of the axial portion respectively. The first trough and the second trough are disposed on the flank of the axial portion. The hook portion, the stick-like portion, the first trough and the second trough take the axial portion as center, and are arranged in ring. 
     The open-closed structure further includes a fixed facility to fix the position of the axial portion of the knob. The fixed facility has a flexible part which has a fixed end and a free end. The fixed facility includes a location block which protrudes from the free end of the flexible part. The location block is inserted into the first trough or the second trough of the axial portion of the knob selectively. Besides, The fixed facility further has a trench, the fixed end of the flexible part is connected to an outside of the trench, and the location block is disposed at an inside of the trench. 
     In addition, the knob further includes a strengthening rib, one end of the strengthening rib is connected to the axial portion, and another end of the  5  strengthening rib is connected to the stick-like portion. 
     In conclusion, the open-closed structure in the embodiment of the present invention uses the knob and the axial portion thereof to open the lamp door of the projector. Moreover, the open-closed structure is disposed at the side of the cover of the projector to reduce the design limiting factors of the lo housing of the projector, and for the users to lift the cover of the projector conveniently. 
     Other objectives, features and advantages of the present invention will be further understood from the further technological features disclosed by the embodiments of the present invention wherein there are shown and  15  described preferred embodiments of this invention, simply by way of illustration of modes best suited to carry out the invention. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The present invention will now be specified with reference to its  20  preferred embodiment illustrated in the drawings, in which 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic view of a conventional projector and a lamp door thereof. 
         FIG. 2  is a schematic view of another conventional projector and a lamp door thereof. 
         FIGS. 3A and 3B  are schematic views showing an embodiment of a projector and the open-closed structure of a cover thereof according to the present invention. 
         FIG. 4  is a schematic view showing an embodiment of the cover of the projector according to the present invention. 
         FIGS. 5A and 5B  are schematic views showing an embodiment of a knob according to the present invention. 
         FIGS. 6A and 6B  are schematic views showing an embodiment of a fixed facility according to the present invention. 
         FIG. 7  is a schematic view showing an embodiment of the cover of the projector and open-closed structure of the cover according to the present invention. 
         FIGS. 8A and 8B  are the schematic views showing an embodiment of a knob according to the present invention. 
         FIG. 9  is a schematic view showing an embodiment of the cover of the projector according to the present invention. 
         FIGS. 10A and 10B  are schematic views showing an embodiment of a fixed facility according to the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     In the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments, reference is made to the accompanying drawings which form a part hereof, and in which are shown by way of illustration specific embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. In this regard, directional terminology, such as “top,” “bottom,” “front, ” “back,” etc., is used with reference to the orientation of the Figure(s) being described. The components of the present invention may be positioned in a number of different orientations. As such, the directional terminology is used for purposes of illustration and is in no way limiting. On the other hand, the drawings are only schematic and the sizes of components may be exaggerated for clarity. It is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and structural changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology used herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. The use of “including,” “comprising,” or “having” and variations thereof herein is meant to encompass the items listed thereafter and equivalents thereof as well as additional items. Unless limited otherwise, the terms “connected,” “coupled,” and “mounted” and variations thereof herein are used broadly and encompass direct and indirect connections, couplings, and mountings. Similarly, the terms “facing,” “faces” and variations thereof herein are used broadly and encompass direct and indirect facing, and “adjacent to” and variations thereof herein are used broadly and encompass directly and indirectly “adjacent to”. Therefore, the description of “A” component facing “B” component herein may contain the situations that “A” component directly faces “B” component or one or more additional components are between “A” component and “B” component. Also, the description of “A” component “adjacent to” “B” component herein may contain the situations that “A” component is directly “adjacent to” “B” component or one or more additional components are between “A” component and “B” component. Accordingly, the drawings and descriptions will be regarded as illustrative in nature and not as restrictive. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 3A and 3B , a projector  300  includes an illumination element(not shown), a housing  320  and a cover  400 . The housing  320  may hold the illumination element inside. The cover  400  is disposed on the housing  320 , covers the inner space of the housing  320 , and includes a main lid  420 , a lamp door  440  and an open-closed structure  460  (in the broken line). 
     Refer to  FIG. 4  for the cover  400  of the projector  300  in  FIGS. 3A and 3B . For convenience, the inner side of the cover  400  is turned upwards. The main lid  420  of the cover  400  has a lamp aperture  422 , an outer side  428 , an inner side  424  and a through-hole  426 . The lamp aperture  422  is disposed corresponding to the illumination element of the projector  300 . The outer side  428  is relative to the inner side  424 . The through-hole  426  is near the edge  421  of the main lid  420 , and goes through the outer side  428  and the inner side  424 . The lamp door  440  covers the outer side  428  of the main lid  420 , so as to cover the through-hole  426  and the lamp aperture  422 . The open-closed structure  460  is disposed at the inner side  424  of the main lid  420  to control the open and close of the lamp door  440 . 
     Referring to  FIGS. 3A and 3B , the open-closed structure  460  includes a base  470  and a knob  480 , assembled at the inner side  424  of the main lid  420 . The base  470  is connected at the inner side  424  of the main lid  420 . The knob  480  has an axial portion  481 , a hook portion  482  and a stick-like portion  483 . One end of the hook portion  482  and one end of the stick-portion  483  are respectively connected to the axial portion  481 . Another end of the hook portion  482  is selectively engaged with or separated from the lamp door  440 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 4 , the base  470  is near the perimeter of the through-hole  426 . The base  470  includes two brackets  472  and  474 , disposed at the two opposite sides of the through-hole  426  respectively. Each of the brackets  472 ,  474  has an arc gap  476  to support the axial portion  481 . After the axial portion  481  of the knob  480  is placed on the base  470 , a fixed facility  410  is used to fix the position of the axial portion  481  of the knob  480 . The fixed facility  410  is locked to the inner side  424  of the main lid  420  to prevent the axial portion  481  from detaching from the base  470 . 
     Referring to  FIGS. 5A and 5B , the axial portion  481  of the knob  480 , for example, is a column with two end faces  481   a ,  481   b  and a flank  481   c . The end face  481  a has a driving portion  484 . In the embodiment, the driving portion  484  is a groove for the insert of the cross, beeline-shaped or other suitable screwdrivers (not shown) to rotate the axial portion  481 . In another embodiment, the driving portion  484  is a strip protrusion (not shown) for easy-holding to rotate the axial portion  481 . When the axial portion  481  is rotated in the counter-clockwise direction, the other end of the stick-like portion  483  is dependently moved to push the lamp door  440  out to form a gap  490  in  FIG. 3B , so that the user may open the lamp door  440  by hand. 
     In the embodiment, the hook portion  482  and the stick-like portion  483  are both connected to the flank  481   c  of the axial portion  481 . There are a first trough  485  and a second trough  486  on the flank  481   c  of the axial portion  481 , both in channel shape. Thus, the hook portion  482 , the stick-like portion  483 , the first trough  485  and the second trough  486  take the axial portion  481  as center, and are arranged in ring. Therefore, when the axial portion  481  is rotated, the hook portion  482 , the stick-like portion  483 , the first trough  485  and the second trough  486  are dependently moved. In addition, the knob  480  further includes a strengthening rib  487 . One end of the strengthening rib  487  is connected to the axial portion  481 , and another end thereof is connected to the stick-like portion  483  to support the stick-like portion  483 . 
     Referring to  FIGS. 6A and 6B , the fixed facility  410  includes a location block  412 . Referring to  FIGS. 3A and 3B  also, the location block  412  is inserted into the first trough  485  or the second trough  486  selectively. 
     The fixed facility  410  further has a flexible part  414  including a fixed end  414   a  and a free end  414   b . The location block  412  is disposed on and protrudes from the free end  414   b  of the flexible part  414 . In addition, the fixed facility  410  has a trench  416 . The fixed end  414   a  of the flexible part  414  is connected to the outside of the trench  416 , and the location block  412  is disposed at the inside of the trench  416 . Moreover, in an embodiment (not shown), the fixed end  414   a  of the flexible part  414  is connected to the inside of the trench  416 . 
       FIGS. 3A ,  3 B and  FIG. 4  show that the hook portion  482  separated from the lamp door  440 .  FIG. 7  shows the hook portion  482  engaged with the lamp door  440 . The hook portion  482  is a bending hook, and there is an inverted hook  442  on the inner side of the lamp door  440 . Referring to  FIG. 7 , the hook portion  482  is engaged with the inverted hook  442  of the lamp door  440 , so that the lamp door  440  is fixed at the outer side  428  of the main lid  420  and not easy to loose. Referring to  FIGS. 3A ,  3 B and  FIG. 4 , when the axial portion  481  of the knob  480  is rotated to separate the hook portion  482  from the inverted hook  442  of the lamp door  440 , the other end of the stick-like portion  483  goes through the through-hole  426  and further pushes the lamp door  440  at the outer side  428  of the main lid  420 . The rotation of the knob  480  enforces the location block  412  to overcome the elastic force of the flexible part  414 , and makes the free end  414   b  of the flexible part  414  to move down a little, so that the location block  412  separates easily from the first trough  485  and moves to the second trough  486 . After that, the location block  412  is inserted in the second trough  486  because of the elastic force of the flexible part  414 . 
     Basically, the open-closed structure  460  has the functions of opening, closing and fixing the lamp door  440 . To avoid the lamp door  440  separating from the main lid  420  when covering it, besides the open-closed structure  460 , a lock structure  500  is added on the cover  400  of the projector  300  to lock the lamp door  440  on the main lid  420 . Or an engagement structure  600  is added to enhance the engagement of the lamp door  440  and the main lid  420 . 
     Referring to  FIGS. 3A ,  3 B and  FIG. 4 , the cover  400  of the projector  300  includes a lock structure  500  besides the open-closed structure  460 . The lock structure  500  has a first screw hole  520  and a second screw hole  540 . The first screw hole  520  is disposed in the main lid  420 , and the second screw hole  540  is disposed in the lamp door  440 . Noticeably, the first screw hole  520  is disposed in the trough  560  at the edge of the main lid  420 ; the second screw hole  540  is disposed in the lock piece  580  at the edge of the lamp door  440 . When the lamp door  440  covers the main lid  420 , the lock piece  580  is inserted into the trough  560  to make the first screw hole  520  aiming at the second screw hole  540  for a screw (not shown) to go through and lock up. Thus, the lock structure  500  has functions of combining the main lid  420  and the lamp door  440 , and locating the lamp door  440 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 7 , in another embodiment, the cover  400  of the projector  300  includes the engagement structure  600  besides the open-closed structure  460 . The engagement structure  600  includes a knob  620  and an inverted hook  640 . The knob  620  is disposed on the main lid  420 , and the inverted hook  640  is disposed on the lamp door  440 . In  FIG. 7 , the knob  620  includes an axial portion  622  and a bending hook  626 . The axial portion  622  is placed on a base  670  and fixed by a fixed facility  610 . When the lamp door  440  covers the main lid  420 , the knob  620  is rotated to make the bending hook  626  to engage with the inverted hook  640  on the lamp door  440  to enhance the engagement. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 8A and 8B , compared with the knob  480 , the knob  620  lacks the stick-like portion  483 . The end face of the axial portion  622  has a driving portion  624 . In the embodiment, the driving portion  624  is a groove for the insert of the cross, beeline-shaped or other suitable screwdrivers (not shown). In another embodiment, the driving portion  624  is a strip protrusion (not shown) for easy-holding. The axial portion  622  of the knob  620 , for example, is a column with a first trough  685  and a second trough  686  on the flank thereof for the insert of the location block  612  on the fixed facility  610 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 9 , in an embodiment, the engagement structure  600  is disposed at the edge of the main lid  420 . The knob  620  and the knob  480  is disposed in parallel, so both of them are able to be fixed by the same fixed facility  610 . 
     Referring to  FIGS. 10A and 10B , compared with the fixed facility  410 , the fixed facility  610  has a trench  616  and a location block  612  for matching the knob  620 . The location block  612  is disposed on and protrudes from the part defining the trench  616  of the fixed facility  610 , and is inside the trench  616 . The location block  612  is made of flexible materials like plastic. The rotation of the knob  620  deforms the location block  612  to make it to separate from the first trough  685  more easily and move to the second trough  686 . After moving to the second trough  686 , the location block  612  recovers for inserting into the second trough  686 . 
     In conclusion, the open-closed structure  460  in the embodiment of the present invention uses the knob  480  and the axial portion  483  thereof to open the lamp door  440  of the projector  300 . Moreover, the open-closed structure  460  is disposed at the side of the cover  400  of the projector  300  to reduce the design limiting factors of the housing  320  of the projector  300 , and for the users to lift the cover  400  of the projector  300  conveniently. 
     The foregoing description of the preferred embodiment of the invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form or to exemplary embodiments disclosed. Accordingly, the foregoing description should be regarded as illustrative rather than restrictive. Obviously, many modifications and variations will be apparent to practitioners skilled in this art. The embodiments are chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and its best mode practical application, thereby to enable persons skilled in the art to understand the invention for various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use or implementation contemplated. It is intended that the scope of the invention be defined by the claims appended hereto and their equivalents in which all terms are meant in their broadest reasonable sense unless otherwise indicated. Therefore, the term “the invention”, “the present invention” or the like is not necessary limited the claim scope to a specific embodiment, and the reference to particularly preferred exemplary embodiments of the invention does not imply a limitation on the invention, and no such limitation is to be inferred. The invention is limited only by the spirit and scope of the appended claims. The abstract of the disclosure is provided to comply with the rules requiring an abstract, which will allow a searcher to quickly ascertain the subject matter of the technical disclosure of any patent issued from this disclosure. It is submitted with the understanding that it will not be used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims. Any advantages and benefits described may not apply to all embodiments of the invention. It should be appreciated that variations may be made in the embodiments described by persons skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the present invention as defined by the following claims. Moreover, no element and component in the present disclosure is intended to be dedicated to the public regardless of whether the element or component is explicitly recited in the following claims.