Patent Publication Number: US-2011075058-A1

Title: Replaceable resilient housing cover for consumer electronics device

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates generally to monitoring wireless link quality in network-enabled TVs and more specifically for providing indications thereof to a user. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Consumer electronics devices such as televisions may be sold in different colors to suit a consumer&#39;s taste. Specifically, in the case of TVs for instance, the hard plastic bezel that frames the display may be sold in one of various colors from which the consumer can choose. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     As understood herein, it is desirable to provide a means by which a consumer can change the color of portions of a housing of a consumer electronics (CE) device after purchase should the user grow tired of the color in which the CE device was vended. It may also be desirable to provide a means to establish a tactilely different feel for the housing of a CE device after purchase, and further to color-coordinate CE devices with their respective RCs as desired by the end user. 
     Accordingly, a system for a display held in a hard non-deformable housing including a bezel includes a flexible housing cover made of flexible material and shaped like the bezel. The cover has a front piece and rear piece that is opposed to and parallel with the front piece. The front and rear pieces have identical sizes and shapes and are connected by left and right side edge pieces. At least the front piece defines an open rectilinear window through which the display is visible when the cover covers the bezel. The front and/or rear pieces are deformable by an end user to slide the cover onto the bezel and then releasable to assume a configuration in which the bezel is completely covered by the cover with the bezel sandwiched between the front and rear pieces and with four hard edges of the bezel advantageously covered by the cover for a pleasant and safe cushioning effect. 
     In some embodiments the side edge pieces are identically sized and shaped to each other and are parallel to each other but do not have the same dimensions as the front and rear pieces. More specifically, all four pieces can have the same maximum length in a vertical dimension defined by the display, but the front and rear pieces extend inwardly further in a width dimension defined by the display than do the side pieces so that a space is established between the front and rear pieces for receiving the bezel therein. 
     The front and rear pieces may be connected at their top and bottom edges by top and bottom pieces respectively that are identically sized and shaped to each other and are parallel to each other but which do not have the same dimensions as the front and rear pieces. More specifically, the front, rear, top, and bottom pieces can have the same maximum width in a width dimension defined by the display, but the front and rear pieces can extend inwardly further in a vertical dimension defined by the display than do the top and bottom pieces. 
     In examples described further below, edges of the bezel abut the side edge pieces with the front piece covering substantially the entire front surface of the bezel and being flush therewith but not covering any portion of a front surface of the display so that the display is completely visible in a window formed by the cover. If desired, a raised tongue can be formed on either the cover or bezel a groove formed in the other of the bezel or cover to receive the tongue therein. No adhesive need ever used to hold the cover onto the bezel. 
     In another aspect, a deformable resilient cover includes a body, a cavity formed in the body and configured to closely receive a home network consumer electronics (CE) device remote control (RC) therein, and an open window in the body through which the RC is advanceable into the cavity. When the RC is in the cover, a top surface of the RC that bears control keys is exposed. 
     In another aspect, a kit of parts includes a deformable resilient device cover configured to bound an outer periphery of a home network consumer electronics (CE) device. The kit also includes a deformable resilient remote control (RC) cover configured to bound a periphery of a RC associated with the CE device. The covers have the same color so that a user can engage the covers with the CE device and RC, respectively to color code the RC with the CE device. 
     In another aspect, a system for holding a display framed by a hard non-deformable housing having an edge bezel and backed by a rear panel includes a resilient housing cover made of flexible material. The cover, which may be made from a unitary piece of resilient deformable material, includes a rear continuous sheet completely covering the entire rear panel when the cover is engaged with the housing. The rear sheet defines a rectilinear periphery and flexible material completely fills the periphery. Respective raised edge pieces are disposed along the entire length of each respective side of the periphery and are oriented generally orthogonally to the flexible material filling the periphery. The raised edge pieces terminate in respective top edges that are closely juxtaposed with the display viewing surface when the cover is engaged with the housing. 
     The details of the present invention, both as to its structure and operation, can best be understood in reference to the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals refer to like parts, and in which: 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a block diagram of an example home network in accordance with present principles; 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view of an example home network CE device housing cover in an exploded relationship with an example home network CE device, in this case, a flat panel TV; 
         FIG. 3  is a cross-section as seen along the line  3 - 3  in  FIG. 2 ; 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective view of another example home network CE device housing cover in an exploded relationship with an example home network CE device, in this case, a TV RC; 
         FIG. 5  is a perspective view of another example home network CE device housing cover in an exploded relationship with an example home network CE device, in this case, a flat panel TV; and 
         FIG. 6  is a close-up view of a portion of the cover on an alternate display as would be seen in the box  6 - 6  in  FIG. 5 , showing the display periphery in phantom. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Referring initially to  FIG. 1 , a TV system  10  includes a TV housing  12  holding a TV processor  14  accessing a computer-readable storage medium  16  such as disk-based or solid state storage that can be non-volatile memory (NVM). The medium  16  may bear a software-implemented network manager module executable by the TV processor  14  alone or acting in concert with the below-described network interface processor to undertake logic herein. Furthermore, the medium  16  may bear software executable by the TV processor  14  to enable reception and display of Internet content on the TV. 
     The housing  12  may also hold a TV tuner  18  communicating TV signals to the TV processor  14 . There need be only a single analog/digital TV tuner  18  provided in the TV system  10 , it being understood that the single analog/digital TV tuner  18  may be physically implemented by one and only one combined digital/analog tuner or by a single digital tuner or by one and only one digital tuner in combination with one and only one analog tuner. In other embodiments only a single analog tuner and no digital tuners may be provided. The tuner  18  may be provided in the housing  12  or in a set-top box, and the tuner  18  may receive TV signals from a satellite e, cable head end, terrestrial broadcast antenna, etc. 
     A network interface device  20  such as but not limited to an Internet enabled wireless modem may be provided to send Internet signals to the TV processor  14 . The device  20  typically includes a processor  20   a  and a lower level wireless driver  21  that is programmed to gather link quality information including one or more of wireless signal strength, data rate, packet loss, and streaming delay. The interface device  20  may be supported by the TV housing  12  or it may be external to the housing but communicating with the TV processor  14 . Without limitation the network interface  20  may be a 802.11a/b/g/n transceiver, a 60 GHz transceiver, or other transceiver that can stream high quality multimedia content. 
     As shown, the TV system  10  also includes a portable hand-holdable TV remote control (RC)  22 . The RC  22 , among other things, can have cursor control keys  24  for sending wireless signals to a receiver  26  on the housing  12 . The signals detected by the receiver  26  are sent to the TV processor  14 . 
     In some embodiments the TV system  10  may receive video from a game console  28  such as but not limited to a console in the Sony Playstation® family and/or from a digital disk player  30  such as a Blu Ray® disk player. The console  28  typically includes a game processor  32  accessing a game storage medium  34  storing audio and/or video data and likewise the disk player  30  typically includes a disk processor  36  accessing a disk storage medium  38  storing audio and/or video data. The game console can have a game remote control  28   a  and the disk player can be associated with a wireless disk player remote control  30   a.    
     Content from the TV tuner  18  and, when provided, from the game console  28 /disk player  30  may be presented under control of the TV processor  14  on a TV display  40  such as but not limited to a plasma display or flat panel matrix-type display, either standard definition (SD) and/or high definition (HD). A resilient frame cover  41  removably encases the hard plastic bezel that frames the display  40  in accordance with principles described below. 
     In one example embodiment the components shown in  FIG. 1  communicate multimedia data to each other over high definition multimedia interface (HDMI) links  42 , and the components also communicate control data over consumer electronics control (CEC) links  44  that typically accompany HDMI links. In the example non-limiting architecture shown in  FIG. 1  the TV  10  is the central node of the network but it is to be understood that all components may be linked together directly or only some components may be linked together directly, with communication to other components potentially passing through intervening components. In any case, additional content sources such as but not limited universal serial bus (USB) mass storage, personal video recorders (PVR), digital cameras, set-top boxes, removable memory media, etc. may be used in conjunction with the TV system  10 . 
       FIG. 1  shows that the TV can wirelessly receive multimedia data such as audio, video, or still picture data from a network  42  that includes one or more content sources  44 . The network  42  may be the Internet and the sources  44  may be established by servers that stream content over wireless links  46  to the TV for reception thereof by the wireless interface  20 . 
     The TV (e.g., TV display  40 ), RC  22 , game console  28 , and disk player  30  are examples of home network CE devices whose housings may be partially or completely encased within a flexible housing cover in accordance with present principles. For purposes of this application, “home network CE device” can include the above-described components but explicitly excludes telephones and keyboards. For illustration, the TV display  40  will be used as an example. 
     Cross-referencing  FIGS. 2 and 3 , a flexible housing cover  41  that may be made of a unitary piece of resilient deformable material such as silicone or rubber is shown shaped like the housing of the home network CE device it is intended to cover, in this example, a hard non-deformable non-resilient bezel  46  that frames the TV display  40  and that defines part of the housing  12  of the TV shown in  FIG. 1 . The cover  41  has a front piece  48  and rear piece  49  that is opposed to and parallel with the front piece  48 . In the example shown, the front and rear pieces  48 ,  49  have identical sizes and shapes and are connected by left and right side edge pieces  50 ,  52 . All four pieces  48 - 52  are parallelepiped-shaped, with the front and rear pieces  48 ,  49  defining an open rectilinear window  54  through which the display  40  is visible when the cover  41  covers the bezel  46 . Preferably, the window  54  has the same planar dimensions as the display  40  as shown. In some embodiments, however, the rear piece  49  may be larger or smaller than shown. 
     The side edge pieces  50 ,  52  are identically sized and shaped to each other and are parallel to each other but as shown in  FIG. 3  do not have the same dimensions as the front and rear pieces  48 ,  49 . Specifically, while  FIG. 2  shows that all four pieces  48 - 52  have the same maximum length in the vertical dimension “V” in  FIG. 2 , as perhaps best shown in  FIG. 3  the front and rear pieces  48 ,  49  extend inwardly further in the width dimension “W” than do the side pieces  50 ,  52 , so that a space “S” is established between the front and rear pieces  48 ,  49 . 
     Similarly, the front and rear pieces  48 ,  49  are connected at their top and bottom edges by top and bottom pieces  56 ,  58  that are identically sized and shaped to each other and are parallel to each other but which do not have the same dimensions as the front and rear pieces  48 ,  49 . Specifically, while  FIG. 2  shows that all four pieces  48 ,  49 ,  56 ,  58  have the same maximum width in the width dimension “W” in  FIG. 2 , as perhaps best shown in  FIG. 3  the front and rear pieces  48 ,  49  extend inwardly further in the vertical dimension “V” than do the top and bottom pieces  56 ,  58 . 
     It may now be appreciated that the edges of the bezel abut the side edge pieces  50 ,  52  and the top and bottom pieces  56 ,  58  with the front piece  48  covering substantially the entire front surface of the bezel  46  and being flush therewith when the cover  41  is engaged with the bezel  46 , but not covering any portion of the front surface of the display  40  so that the display  40  is completely visible in the window  54 . The housing  12  framing the TV, including the bezel  46 , resides in the space “S” shown in  FIG. 3 . 
     Accordingly, because the cover  41  is flexible and more preferably is deformable and resilient, the front and/or rear pieces  48 ,  49  can be deformed by the end user and the cover  41  slid onto the bezel  46 , then released to assume a configuration in which the bezel  46  is completely covered by the cover with the bezel  46  sandwiched between the front and rear pieces  48 ,  49  and with the four hard edges of the bezel  46  advantageously covered by the top, bottom, and side pieces  56 ,  58 ,  50 ,  52  for a pleasant and safe cushioning effect. 
     If desired, to further engage the cover  41  with the bezel  46 , a tongue  60  may be formed in, e.g., the top piece  56  as best shown in  FIG. 3  to be closely received in a groove  62  ( FIG. 2 ) formed in the top edge of the bezel  46 . The tongue may be formed in other edge pieces of the cover  41  and more than one edge piece may be formed with a tongue. Alternatively, one or more edge pieces may be formed with a respective groove and a respective raised tongue provided on the bezel  46  to protrude into the channel. However, it is preferred that no glue or adhesive is ever used to hold the cover  41  onto the bezel  46 ; in this way, a user can simply and easily engage and disengage the cover  41  with the bezel  46  so that, for example, one day the user may place a blue cover  41  on the TV and the next a red cover and so on, changing the appearance of the TV. 
     Terms of direction in the example above are relative to how a viewer looks at the cover  41  when it is engaged with the TV as intended and shown in  FIG. 1 . 
       FIG. 4  shows that the RC  22  shown in Figure can be closely received in a complementarily-shaped cavity  64  of a deformable resilient possibly Silicone RC cover  66 . The RC cover  66  is an open window  68  through which the RC  22  is advanced into the cavity  64  and which exposes the top surface of the RC  22  that bears the control keys discussed above. The outer contour of the cover  66  may be identical to the contour of the RC  22  as shown if desired so that the RC  22  with removable cover  66  retains the same shape as the RC  22  without the cover. 
     If desired, the covers  41 ,  66  may be provided together in a kit and may have coordinated colors so that a user may purchase the kit and use the covers to cover both the RC  22  and TV. The colors of the covers may be identical to each other so that the user in effect can color code the RC  22  to match the TV by means of the covers  41 ,  66 . It is to be understood that kits with covers for other components having remote controls may likewise be provided so that a user can color coordinate all the RCs in the home network  10  with their respective components. For example, red covers may be provided for the game controller  28  and game RC  28   a ; green covers may be provided for the disk player  30  and disk RC  30   a ; and blue covers  41 ,  66  may be provided for the TV and TV RC  22 . 
       FIG. 5  shows that a flexible, preferably resilient and deformable cover  70  may be made of a unitary piece of material and may include a flat rear continuous sheet  72  completely covering the entire rear panel  74  of a TV  76  having a display  78  when the cover  70  is engaged with the housing of the TV. As shown, the rear sheet  72  defines a rectilinear periphery, and flexible material completely fills the periphery. 
     Respective raised edge pieces  80  are disposed along the entire length of each respective side of the periphery as shown. The edge pieces  80 , which may be parallelepiped-shaped, are raised relative to the rear sheet  72  and so are oriented generally orthogonally to the flexible material filling the periphery of the rear sheet  72  as shown. In the embodiment shown in  FIG. 5  the periphery of the display  78  is framed by a rectilinear edge bezel  81  such that the bezel  81  essentially forms the edges of a housing, with the edge pieces  80  lying against respective outer sides of the bezel. 
     The raised edge pieces  80  terminate in respective top edges  82  that are closely juxtaposed with the display surface of the display  78 . In one embodiment the top edges  80  can be substantially co-planar with the display viewing surface when the cover is engaged with the housing, i.e., the top edges  82  do not overlap the periphery of the display. In an alternate embodiment shown in  FIG. 6  top edge pieces  80   a  slightly bend over the plane of the viewing surface of a display  78   a  when the cover is engaged with the housing, i.e., the top edge pieces  80   a  bend over a periphery  82  of the display by a slight amount, e.g., a few millimeters. 
     The cover  70  results in a low cost solution since one unitary cover piece can be used for both a rear panel cover and a bezel cover. Accordingly, the cover  70  covers the back of any printed wiring boards PWBs that are mounted to the rear panel  74  of the TV. Furthermore, manufacturing cost and time are reduced because no screws are necessary to mount the single piece cover  70  to the TV. And as described above, the end user has the opportunity to change the cosmetic look of the TV by replacing a cover  70  of one color or design pattern with another similar cover of a different color or design. The weight of the assembly is also lowered due to the material used to make the assembly a more environmental friendly product. 
     While the particular REPLACEABLE RESILIENT HOUSING COVER FOR CONSUMER ELECTRONICS DEVICE is herein shown and described in detail, it is to be understood that the subject matter which is encompassed by the present invention is limited only by the claims.