Patent Publication Number: US-2005139742-A1

Title: Column

Description:
The present invention relates to a column for suspending a device provided with fastening elements from a ceiling or a similar substantially horizontal surface, comprising a mounting which is adapted to be attached to the ceiling and a pillar whose one end is connected to the mounting and whose other end is connected to a mounting plate, which is adapted to be releasably mounted on said device by means of its fastening elements.  
      The invention relates in particular to a column for suspending computer/video projectors and the like in a conference room, auditorium, board room, etc, to project pictures, for example, on a screen.  
      Ceiling-mounted projectors have become increasingly popular in recent years and new projector models are continuously introduced on the market. On the upper side of the projectors, there are usually a number of fastening elements, often three or four, by means of which the projector can be fastened to a mounting plate or mounting column, which may be referred to as a carriage, The carriage is in turn suspended via a pillar or the like from a mounting which is secured in the ceiling. The difficulty of mounting the projector on the carriage is that the positions of the fastening elements on the projector and the dimensions of the projector differ from one projector to another. This implies that the installer of the projector has to store and take with him a great number of different carriages to the customer with the hope that at least one of them will fit the customer&#39;s projector. The storage costs, possible new visits with a suitable carriage, modifications of existing carriages and returned items are costs that fall upon the customer.  
      Another problem, from an aesthetical point of view, is that the cabling of the projector hangs down more or less freely along the pillar and is unprotected from external forces.  
      U.S. Pat. No. 5,938,161 discloses a suspension device for installing a projector pendant from a ceiling, which device comprises a ceiling mounting, a mounting plate and a pillar fixedly connected thereto. The mounting plate has four arched slots, through which fastening screws extend which can be tightened in corresponding bores on the upper side of the projector. The arched slots allow a certain degree of adjustment relative to the bores, but the positions of the bores are substantially determined by the location of the slots.  
      The object of the present invention is to provide a column for suspending a device provided with fastening elements from a ceiling or the like, said column having a mounting plate adapted to be fastened to said fastening elements irrespective of the positions of the fastening elements on the upper side of the device.  
      Another object of the invention is to provide a column which allows adjustable suspension of a device from a ceiling, in the vertical direction as well as at an angle to the ceiling.  
      It is a further object of the invention to provide a suspension column in which the cabling of a projector or the like suspended from the column is concealed.  
      These objects are achieved according to the invention by means of a column as stated by way of introduction, which is characterised in that the column also comprises at least two supporting arms each having an elongate opening configuration which extends in the longitudinal direction of the supporting arms, that each supporting arm is movably supported by the mounting plate by means of a pin element which is fastened to the mounting plate and which extends through the opening configuration, the supporting arms being pivotable in a plane parallel to the mounting plate, and that the fastening elements of said device are received and secured in a portion of the opening configuration arranged at an end of the supporting arm which end projects from the mounting plate and in cooperation with a fastening means and/or by inserting a separate fastening means into the opening configuration for locking engagement with the fastening element, the mutual distance between the fastening element and the pin element in the respective supporting arms being adjusted by appropriate positioning of the fastening element and/or the pin element in the opening configuration.  
      Further developments of the invention will be evident from the features stated in the dependent claims. 
    
    
      Preferred embodiments of the invention will now be described for the purpose of exemplification and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which  
       FIG. 1  is a perspective side view illustrating a preferred embodiment of a column according to the invention;  
       FIG. 2  shows on a larger scale the upper portion of the column according to  FIG. 1 ;  
       FIG. 3  shows on the same scale as in  FIG. 2  the lower portion of the column according to  FIG. 1 ;  
       FIG. 4  illustrates the suspension of a projector from the lower portion of the column;  
       FIG. 5  is a bottom plan view illustrating the mounting plate of the column with arms of various designs attached to its underside;  
       FIGS. 6 and 7  show two alternative designs of the arms of the column;  
       FIG. 8  illustrates the mounting of a pair of cover halves on the column;  
       FIG. 9  shows the cover halves when mounted on the column; and  
       FIG. 10  is a cross-sectional view of the snap connection of the cover halves. 
    
    
      With reference first to  FIGS. 1-3 , the column according to the invention comprises a mounting  1 , which is adapted to be attached to a ceiling  2  or a similar substantially horizontal surface by means of bolts or the like (not shown), which are inserted through respective bores  3  in the mounting  1 . Moreover, the column comprises a pillar  4 , whose one end is connected to the mounting  1  and whose other end is connected to a mounting plate or carriage  5 . As illustrated in  FIG. 1 , the pillar  4  is preferably a telescopic construction known per se. Although the pillar  4  may be fixedly attached to the mounting  1  and the mounting plate  5 , respectively, the pillar is preferably pivotally mounted thereon, as illustrated in  FIGS. 2 and 3 .  FIG. 2  shows an example of a hinge  6  of the mounting  1  for receiving one end of the pillar  4  , and  FIG. 3  shows a hinge  7  being of the same construction as the hinge  6  and arranged on the mounting plate  5  for receiving the other, opposite end of the pillar  4 . It should be noted that the hinges  6  and  7  are rotated through 90° relative to each other, the pillar  4  being pivotable in a first plane, illustrated by the arrow  8 , and the mounting plate  5  being pivotable in a second plane, illustrated by the arrow  9 , perpendicularly to the first plane (cf.  FIG. 1 ).  
      As shown in  FIGS. 2 and 3 , each hinge  6 ,  7  advantageously comprises a bolt and nut joint  11 ,  12  which functions as a pivot pin and which by being tightened can lock the pillar  4  at an optional angle to the mounting  1  and lock the mounting plate  5  at an optional angle to the pillar. Owing to this, the device  13  (the projector in  FIG. 4 ) fastened to the mounting plate can be positioned at a desired angle in the room.  
      On the mounting plate  5 , at least two, three or preferably four supporting arms  14 ,  15  are each pivotally mounted by means of a pin element  16 , which is fixed to the mounting plate and extends through an elongate opening configuration in the respective supporting arms  14 ,  15  oriented in the longitudinal direction of the supporting arm, as illustrated in  FIGS. 5-7 . In this connection, the expression “opening configuration” refers to one or more through-slots  17  and/or through-holes  18  which are mutually aligned in the longitudinal direction of the respective supporting arms  14 ,  15 . Thus, the supporting arm  15  has an opening configuration consisting of only one slot  17 , whereas the opening configuration of the supporting arm  14  consists of a slot  17  and a hole  18  (see  FIG. 5 ).  FIGS. 6 and 7  show opening configurations consisting of a number of slots  17  and holes  18 , respectively. Different combinations of the opening configurations presented are, of course, also conceivable and encompassed by the inventive idea.  
      All the supporting arms  14 ,  15  are pivotable in one or more planes which are parallel to the mounting plate  5  (cf.  FIGS. 3 and 5 ). Furthermore, the supporting arms do not have to be flat in cross-section, but can also be, for example, U-shaped or the like.  
      Reference is now made to  FIG. 4 , which depicts the suspension of a projector  13  from the column according to the invention. On the upper side of the projector  13 , a number of fastening elements  19  are arranged, the location of which on the projector often differs from one projector to another. In the illustrated projector  13 , the fastening elements  19  are three spaced-apart, threaded holes. A fastening means  21 , which is a bolt in the shown embodiment, is inserted into the opening configuration at each arm&#39;s end, which projects from the mounting plate  5 , and is positioned straight above the associated fastening element  19  for engagement therewith, the projector thus being screwed onto the column. The positioning is carried out by the supporting arm  14 ,  15  being pivoted on the pin element  16  so that its longitudinal axis extends over the fastening element  19 . Then the supporting arm  14 ,  15  is moved in its longitudinal direction and/or the fastening means  21  is moved in the slot  17  so that the fastening means  21  is placed straight above the fastening element  19  and can be screwed into the fastening element. When using the design of the supporting arm according to  FIG. 7 , a suitable hole  18  is selected for the fastening means  21 . The latter supporting arm (or arms) can suitably be used together with one or more slotted supporting arms. A spacer means  22  in the form of a sleeve is advantageously arranged round the fastening means  21  between the supporting arm  14 ,  15  and the upper side of the projector  13 . In cases when the fastening element  19  has the form of a bolt shank projecting from the upper side of the projector, the fastening element is arranged correspondingly in the opening configuration, whereupon the fastening means  21  in the form of a nut element is screwed onto the bolt end projecting through the opening configuration.  
      The column according to the invention also includes extension arms  23 , which can be releasably fastened to the supporting arms  14 ,  15  by means of screw joints  24  (see especially  FIGS. 4 and 5 ). Each extension arm  23  has a through-opening  25  and  26 , respectively, at its ends, one opening  25  receiving the screw joint  24 , which also extends through the opening configuration of the supporting arm  14 ,  15  for screwing the extension arm  23  onto the supporting arm  14 . The other opening  26  receives the fastening element  19  and/or the fastening means  21 . The extension arms  23  are preferably designed substantially in the same way as the supporting arms  14 ,  15 . The extension arms can, however, have two through-holes  18  only, one at each end.  
      As appears from  FIGS. 3-5 , the pin elements  16  are preferably positioned in the vicinity of the periphery of the mounting plate  5  and substantially equidistantly spaced apart.  
      Since the projector  13  is usually intended for use in a conference room, auditorium and the like, it is important to be able to shield the cabling  27  of the projector from the mounting  1 , along the pillar  4  and through the mounting plate  5  to the projector  13 . For this purpose, the column according to the invention comprises a pair of elongate, complementary cover halves  28 ,  28 , which are preferably semi-circular in cross-section and of the same construction (as shown in  FIGS. 8-10 ). The cover halves  28 ,  28  are designed so as to be interconnectable to surround the pillar  4  substantially from the mounting  1  to the mounting plate  5 , thereby encasing the cabling  27 , which is preferably fastened to the pillar  4  by a holding means  29 , such as a band, wire, clips and the like. In this case, the long sides of the cover halves  28 ,  28  are suitably equipped with male and female members  31  and  32 , respectively, intended for mutual engagement, as schematically shown in  FIG. 10 .  FIG. 8  depicts how the cover halves  28 ,  28  are interconnected to encase the pillar  4  and the cabling  27 , and  FIG. 9  shows the column with the cover halves mounted. For modification or inspection of the cabling, the cover halves can easily be separated from each other and then interconnected again.  
      The invention is not limited to that described above or shown in the drawings and can be modified within the scope of the appended claims.