Patent Abstract:
A flat screen television stand comprising a non-freestanding base pole adapted to be secured temporarily in upright fashion to a furniture support, and an inner pole telescopically and rotatably mounted in the base pole with its lower end resting on a transverse height adjustment pin in the base pole. The upper end of the inner pole is adapted to mount a flat screen television essentially tangentially to the pole. The flat screen television can be adjusted rotationally with hand pressure, without tools, but resists unintentional movement to maintain its adjusted position.

Full Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS/PRIORITY BENEFIT CLAIM 
       [0001]    This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/553,411, filed Oct. 31, 2011 by the same inventor (Owens), the entirety of which provisional application is hereby incorporated by reference. 
     
    
     FIELD 
       [0002]    The subject matter of the present application is in the field of stands for flat screen televisions and similar electronic displays. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0003]    Flat screen televisions are often mounted on walls, using brackets fastened directly to the walls. There are circumstances, however, where wall mounting is not practical or not permitted, for example where no suitable studs can be found for support, or in dorm rooms, apartments, or anywhere the building owner does not want the character or structure of the walls altered. Wall mounting also limits the adjustability of the screen&#39;s position relative to viewers in the room, and may not be practical in small rooms crowded with furniture. 
         [0004]    It is also known to mount flat screen televisions and similar displays on furniture such as workstations and desks. Movable desktop stands are familiar to most computer users and flat screen television owners. 
         [0005]    U.S. Pat. No. 5,401,089 (Inagaki et al.) and U.S. Pat. No. 7,530,538 (Whalen et al.) show two examples of more permanently-affixed flat screen stands for desks and tables. Although height adjustable, these types of supports appear to be intended as essentially permanent fixtures on relatively low, desk- or table-type furniture for positioning the screen close to the desktop or tabletop; they appear to be relatively complex and expensive; and they appear to be limited to fixed viewing positions. They do not seem to be well designed for portability or for temporary locations, or for general recreational viewing by multiple people in a room who might frequently change viewing positions or angles, or for small, crowded rooms where there is little free space or uncluttered furniture surface for mounting a television. 
       BRIEF SUMMARY 
       [0006]    I have invented a simple to use, inexpensive, effective flat screen television display stand. The stand is especially useful for temporary mounting locations and/or where floor and wall space is taken up or obstructed by furniture of various types. The stand securely supports a flat screen relatively high off the ground, independent of free wall space, floor space, or available furniture surface, and offers the utmost in simplicity in terms of tool-free adjustment to different viewing positions. 
         [0007]    The stand comprises an essentially straight, non-freestanding upright base pole adapted to be secured vertically to a piece of furniture or existing structural feature in the room (hereafter “furniture”). An essentially straight inner pole is mounted to slide up and down and to rotate inside the base pole, with the bottom of the inner pole resting and rotating on a height-adjustment pin passing through the base pole. The upper end of the inner pole extends beyond the base pole and includes a flat screen attachment means, such as a bracket, for attaching a flat screen essentially tangentially to the pole. The height-adjustment pin can be moved to multiple height positions on the base pole to adjust the height of the inner pole (and an attached flat screen) relative to the base pole. 
         [0008]    When a flat screen is mounted at the upper end of the inner pole, hand or finger pressure on the screen has been found sufficient to rotate the screen to a different viewing position. It has further been found that no locking means are required to rotationally secure the screen/inner pole combination once adjusted—the weight of the flat screen on the height-adjustment pin through the inner pole provides sufficient friction to hold the flat screen in place in its adjusted position, without movement due to normal room vibrations, air currents, and the like. 
         [0009]    “Flat screen” is used herein to mean flat screen LCD or plasma type televisions, or any similar or equivalent large, relatively flat, multi-viewer electronic display screen devices. 
         [0010]    These and other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the detailed description below, in light of the accompanying drawings. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0011]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an exemplary flat screen television stand according to the invention, secured to a piece of furniture in a room. 
           [0012]      FIG. 2  is a detail perspective view of the stand of  FIG. 1 , with the base pole partially cut away at the junction of the inner pole and the height adjustment pin. 
           [0013]      FIGS. 3A ,  3 B and  3 C are perspective views of the stand of  FIG. 1 , each Figure showing a different height adjustment using the inner pole. 
           [0014]      FIG. 4  is an exploded assembly view of the stand of  FIG. 1 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0015]    Referring first to  FIG. 1 , a flat screen television stand  10  is shown in exemplary form in order to teach how to make and use the claimed invention. “Flat screen television” will generally be abbreviated “flat screen” or “screen” for convenience. 
         [0016]    Stand  10  has a base pole  12  adapted to be secured to an existing support  20  that is spaced from the room&#39;s walls, such as a piece of sturdy furniture (desk, bed frame, bunk bed frame, cabinet, bookshelf, etc., without limitation), or a structural feature of the room (e.g., a support column) that offers a secure mounting location spaced from the walls. Support  20  should have sufficient height and strength to support the weight of stand  10  and a flat screen  30  mounted on the stand&#39;s upper end. 
         [0017]    More specifically, stand  10  is secured in parallel to a more-or-less vertical portion (or vertical series of portions) of a piece of furniture (post, beam, leg, etc., without limitation) capable of receiving wraparound securing means. In the illustrated example, stand  10  is removably secured to a vertical post or leg of a bookshelf  20  with securing means  18 , for example self-locking plastic cable ties  18  of known type. Other types of securing means  18  could be used, including but not limited to non-marring, non-invasive wraparound means such as bungee cords, rope, wire, straps, C-clamps, duct tape and the like that pass around or engage the outside surfaces of the base pole  12  and the support  20 . It would also be possible, although less desirable, to use mechanical fasteners such as screws or bolts passing through the base pole  12  and into the support  20 , either independently of any wraparound securing means or to supplement the wraparound securing means. 
         [0018]    Base pole  12  has an upper end  12   a  with an open hollow bore  12   b,  and a lower end  12   c  adapted to rest on the floor. The lower end  12   c  may have a non-freestanding base  12   d  with a non-slip or non-mar finish, and/or with a diameter greater than the base pole, to spread forces and to reduce the compression or marking of carpet and other sensitive floor surfaces. Base  12   d  is not sufficient to support stand  10  on its own, as the diameter of the base would have to be prohibitively wide given the height of stand  10  (on the order of five to eight feet high) and the weight of flat screen  30  in order to be freestanding. 
         [0019]    Base pole  12  may be made from any material suitably rigid and strong enough to support the remainder of the stand and a flat screen, including but not limited to plastic and metal materials. In the illustrated example, base pole  12  is made from four-inch diameter thick-walled PVC-type plastic pipe. 
         [0020]    Stand  10  also includes an inner adjustable pole  14  of smaller diameter than base pole  12 , mounted inside base pole  12  to telescope and to rotate. In the illustrated example, inner pole  14  is made from the same material as base pole  12 , although it could be made from a different material. Inner pole  14  may be solid or hollow, but in the illustrated example it is hollow to reduce weight. Inner pole  14  has a lower end  14   b  ( FIGS. 2 and 4 ) supported above the ground inside base pole  12 , and an upper end  14   a  extending above the upper end of base pole  12 . 
         [0021]    Upper end  14   a  of inner pole  14  supports a flat screen  30  of known, commercially available type, and of nearly any suitable multi-viewer size. Flat screen  30  could be directly fastened to pole  14 , but in the preferred, illustrated example, upper end  14   a  of the pole is provided with attachment means  15  adapted specially to receive and secure a flat screen  30  tangentially to the surface of pole  14 . In the illustrated example, attachment means  15  schematically represents a bracket of known and commercially available type, normally used for mounting a flat screen television directly to a wall; the style and size of the bracket may vary according to the make and model of the flat screen  30 . Bracket  15  is secured to the upper end  14   a  of pole  14 , for example with screws or bolts  15   a.  Bracket  15  is adapted to be connected to flat screen  30  with appropriate fasteners or mounting hardware, such as bolts or screws normally supplied with the bracket and adapted for a particular make and model of flat screen. 
         [0022]    It should also be possible to mold, form, machine, or otherwise modify the upper end  14   a  of pole  14  to directly receive and mount a flat screen  30  tangentially to the pole, with or without fasteners. 
         [0023]    Flat screen  30  is shown removably attached to upper end  14   a  of pole  14  via bracket  15 , but it should also be possible to more or less permanently mount a flat screen to pole  14 . The essentially tangential mounting of the screen relative to the pole (as close as practical to the surface of the pole and the axis of the stand) keeps moment forces to a minimum, and reduces the space taken up by the stand and flat screen combination relative to the room and furniture. 
         [0024]    Referring to  FIG. 2 , the lower end  14   b  of inner pole  14  rests above the ground on a height adjustment pin  22  in base pole  12 . Height adjustment pin  22  is inserted through an aligned pair of holes  23  formed in base pole  12 . Pin  22  may be a clevis-type pin secured in place with a spring clip  22   a  engaging both ends of the pin as shown. Alternately, and without limitation, pin  22  may be a straight pin, a cotter pin, or a pin secured with a stop, detent or other structure on the pin and/or on base pole  12 . 
         [0025]    While pin  22  is shown as a removable height adjustment pin, capable of being mounted at two or more different heights above the ground in base pole  12 , it could also be a fixed pin if stand  10  were intended for fixed-height use. In the illustrated example, three sets of holes  23  are shown, for three height adjustments. 
         [0026]    As shown by the arrows in  FIG. 2 , inner pole  14  rests on pin  22  for rotation thereon within base pole  12 . Pole  14  rotates freely, except for the frictional force between the mating surfaces of inner pole  14  and pin  22 . In the illustrated example, pin  22  has a round cross-section for ease of rotation, but other cross-sections including polygonal shapes providing flat or point contact with the base of pole  14  are possible. The fit of inner pole  14  inside base pole  12  is preferably close enough to keep the axis of pole  14  aligned with the axis of pole  12 , but without excessive friction between the sidewall surfaces of the poles. It would be possible to adjust the fit so that more or less friction exists between the sidewalls of the poles, depending on the relative ease of rotation desired relative to the base pole. Base pole  12  may also be provided with a cap or journal on its upper end, the cap having a hole sized to center inner pole  14  relative to the upper end of the bore in pole  12  while still allowing pole  14  to rotate. 
         [0027]    In use it has been found that the combined weight of inner pole  14  and an attached flat screen  30  provides sufficient friction on pin  22  to “lock” the rotated pole/screen assembly against unintended movement due to room vibrations, air currents, and light cleaning such as dusting or wiping the screen. At the same time, the pole/screen assembly  14 / 30  is easily rotated by hand to any viewing position not blocked by nearby furniture or walls. If desired, however, additional rotational locking means such as set screws or clamping collars could be provided to prevent any rotation once flat screen  30  is in a desired position. 
         [0028]    Referring next to  FIGS. 3A through 3C , stand  10  is shown adjusted to three different heights corresponding to the heights of three different furniture supports  20 . Height adjustment is accomplished by lifting or removing inner pole  14  to take its weight off pin  22  (if the pin is already inserted in pole  12 ), unlocking and removing pin  22  from holes  23 , and re-inserting pin  22  in a different set of holes  23 . Inner pole  14  (and the attached flat screen  30 ) can then be lowered or re-inserted in base pole  12  until pole  14  rests on pin  22  at the new height. 
         [0029]    Stand  10  allows mounting flat screen  30  lower than, even with, or higher than the height of the adjacent furniture support  20 , for maximum flexibility. The tangentially-mounted flat screen  30  can be swiveled around the support  20 , limited only by adjacent furniture or room structure. While at least the base pole  12  should be secured to support  20  with securing means  18 , it may be desirable to secure portions of the extended inner pole  14  to support  20  where the height of stand  20  is coextensive with the height of support  20 . 
         [0030]    Referring to  FIG. 4 , it should be appreciated that stand  10  can be disassembled for storage or moving. Bracket  15  can be removed from the upper end of inner pole  14 ; inner pole  14  can be removed from base pole  12 , and base  12   d  can be removed from the lower end of base pole  12 . It also should be possible to form base pole  12  and/or inner pole  14  in multiple sections for even more compactness when disassembled. 
         [0031]    It will finally be understood that the disclosed embodiments represent presently preferred examples of how to make and use the invention, but are intended to enable rather than limit the invention. Variations and modifications of the illustrated examples in the foregoing written specification and drawings may be possible without departing from the scope of the invention. It should further be understood that to the extent the term “invention” is used in the written specification, it is not to be construed as a limiting term as to number of claimed or disclosed inventions or discoveries or the scope of any such invention or discovery, but as a term which has long been conveniently and widely used to describe new and useful improvements in science and the useful arts. The scope of the invention should accordingly be construed by what the above disclosure teaches and suggests to those skilled in the art, and by any claims that the above disclosure supports in this application or in any other application claiming priority to this application.

Technology Classification (CPC): 5