Patent Abstract:
A projector includes a main body emitting light beams from a front end to form an image, a supporting member for supporting the main body, the supporting member is pivotally mounted to a side wall of the main body, so that the main body may tilt with respect to the supporting member to obtain an adjusted position to project the image, and a fastening member fastening the supporting member on the side wall at the adjusted position. A supporting structure thereof is also provided.

Full Description:
BACKGROUND 
       [0001]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0002]    The present invention generally relates to projectors, and more particularly, to a projector having a supporting structure capable of adjusting a projection angle of the projector. 
         [0003]    2. Description of Related Art 
         [0004]    Projectors have been widely used for conference room presentations, classroom trainings, home theater applications, and so on. It is a common occurrence that the projector&#39;s image may be misaligned with the screen, that is, the projector may be inclined too high or too low when an image is being projected on a screen. Therefore, adjustable legs are disposed at the bottom of the projector for adjusting a projection angle of the projector. To adjust the projector&#39;s angle, the projector must be turned over, and the legs adjusted, by shortening or extending the lengths of the legs, after which the projector is again returned to its original position, and the projection angle is observed, if the projection angle is aligned, no further adjustment is needed, if the projection angle is not aligned, the process is repeated as needed. 
         [0005]    However, in the adjustment procedure with the above-mentioned structure, the users may spend a lot of time to adjust the projection angle of the projector. Therefore, an improved projector that can be aligned easily is needed. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0006]    A projector includes a main body emitting light beams from a front end to form an image, a supporting member for supporting the main body, the supporting member is pivotally mounted to a side wall of the main body, so that the main body may tilt with respect to the supporting member to obtain an adjusted position to project the image, and a fastening member fastening the supporting member on the side wall at the adjusted position. A supporting structure thereof is also provided. 
         [0007]    Other systems, methods, features, and advantages of the present projector and supporting structure thereof will be or become apparent to one with skill in the art upon examination of the following drawings and detailed description. It is intended that all such additional systems, methods, features, and advantages be included within this description, be within the scope of the present apparatus, and be protected by the accompanying claims. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0008]    Many aspects of the present projector and supporting structure of the projector can be better understood with reference to the following drawings. The components in the drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the present device. Moreover, in the drawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding components throughout the several views. 
           [0009]      FIG. 1  is an isometric view of a projector with two supporting structures being collected in accordance with an exemplary embodiment; 
           [0010]      FIG. 2  is an exploded isometric view of the projector including the supporting structures; and 
           [0011]      FIG. 3  is an isometric view of the projector after the supporting structures have been adjusted. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0012]    Reference will now be made to the drawings to describe the preferred embodiments of the present projector and the supporting structure thereof, in detail. 
         [0013]    Referring to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , a projector  100  in accordance with an exemplary embodiment includes a main body  10  and two supporting structures  20  for supporting the main body  10 . The two supporting structures  20  are disposed at opposite sides of the main body  10 . The supporting structures  20  can be adjusted so that the projector  100  projects an image on a screen (not shown) at an optimized projection angle. 
         [0014]    The main body  10  may be a rectangular parallelepiped. A lens module  13  is disposed on a front end  14  of the main body  10  to emit light so as to reproduce an image on a screen. Opposite side surfaces  11 ,  12  of the main body  10  define two threaded holes  15 . 
         [0015]    The two supporting structures  20  are disposed on the two side surfaces  11 ,  12 . Because the two supporting structures  20  have similar structures and functions, only one of the supporting structures  20  disposed on the side surface  11  will be described hereinafter. The supporting structure  20  includes a pivot shaft  21 , a supporting member  23 , a guide rail member  25 , and a fastening member  27 . The pivot shaft  21  and the guide rail member  25  are disposed on the main body  10 . The supporting member  23  is pivotally rotatable around the pivot shaft  21  and is capable of adjusting and supporting the main body  10 . The fastening member  27  is used for fixing the supporting member  23  at different positions relative to the guide rail member  25 . 
         [0016]    In the exemplary embodiment, the two pivot shafts  21  are molded integrally with the main body  10 . The pivot shafts  21  protrude from the middle of the side surfaces  11 ,  12  of the main body  10  between the two threaded holes  15 . In other embodiments, the pivot shafts  21  can be two single separate units, and are fixed on one of the main body  10  and the supporting member  23 , and rotatablely attached to the other one. 
         [0017]    The guide rail member  25  defines an arc guide groove  251 , and two fastening holes  253  at opposite ends. The guide rail member  25  is fastened on a bottom portion of the side surface  11  by screwing two screws passing the two fastening holes  253  and engaged in the threaded hole  15  of the side surface  11 . In other embodiments, the guide rail member  25  can be molded integrally with the main body  10 . 
         [0018]    The supporting member  23  includes a first leg  23   a  and a second leg  23   b  for supporting the projector  100  on a table (not shown). The first leg  23   a  includes a rotatable end  231   a  and a supporting end  233   a . The second leg  23   b  includes a rotatable end  231   b  and a supporting end  233   b . The rotatable ends  231   a ,  231   b  is pivotally rotatable around the pivot shaft  21 . The supporting ends  233   a ,  233   b  are configured for contacting the table. 
         [0019]    The rotatable end  231   a  defines a pivot hole  235   a  for allowing the pivot shaft  21  to pass through. A stopping portion  237   a  protrudes from the rotatable end  231   a  next to the two pivot hole  235   a . The rotatable end  231   b  defines a pivot hole  235   b  for allowing the pivot shaft  21  to pass. A stopping portion  237   b  protrudes from the rotatable end  231   b  near the pivot hole  235   b . A fastening hole  239   b  is defined in the rotatable end  231   b  and next to the supporting end  233   b . The pivot holes  235   a ,  235   b  are used for allowing the pivot shaft  21  to pass through so as to pivotally attach the first leg  23   a  and the second leg  23   b  to the side surface  11  of the main body  10 . 
         [0020]    The fastening member  27  is configured for passing through the fastening hole  239   b  and screwed into the guide groove  251  to fix the second leg  23   b.    
         [0021]      FIG. 1  shows that the first leg  23   a  and the second leg  23   b  are put together on the side surface  11  of the main body  10 . The method of adjusting the projection angle of the projector  1   00  by the supporting members  23  on the side surface  11 ,  12  will be described below. Firstly, the first leg  23   a  and the second leg  23   b  are rotated around the pivot shaft  21  until the first leg  23   a  and the second leg  23   b  stop rotating, because the stopping portion  237   a  of the first leg  23   a  and the stopping portion  237   b  of the second leg  23   b  meet each other and prevent further rotation. Thus, the main body  10  is supported on the table (not shown) by the first leg  23   a  and the second leg  23   b . Secondly, a front end  14  of the main body  10  where the lens  13  is located can be raised or lowered, by tilting (pressing or lifting) the main body  10  with respect to the supporting members  23 , to adjust the projection angle of the projector. After the projection angle is correctly aligned, the front end  14  of the main body  10  no longer needs to be raised or lowered. Finally, the fastening member  27  passes through the fastening hole  239  and is screwed into the guide groove  251  to fix the second leg  23   b , at the adjusted position, to the main body  10 . Alternatively, the fastening member  27  may be loosely attached/screwed in the guide groove  251  whereby the main body  10  can be freely tilted with respect to the supporting member  23 . Thus, after the projection angle is correctly aligned the fastened member  27  is tightened to keep the projection angle in place. 
         [0022]    Because the supporting structure  20  includes the first leg  23   a  and the second leg  23   b  that are pivotally rotatable around the pivot shaft  21  protruding from the side wall  11 ,  12  of the main body  10 , the projector  100  need not be turned over to adjust the projection angle. Instead, only the front end  14  of the main body  10  needs to be lifted and/or pressed to adjust the projection angle and screwing the fastening member  27  through the fastening hole  239  and into the guide groove  251  to hold the main body  10  to the supporting member  23  to maintain the projection angle. Therefore, it is convenient for the users to adjust the second leg  23   b.    
         [0023]    The foregoing description of the exemplary embodiments of the invention has been presented only for the purposes of illustration and description and is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed. Many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching. The embodiments were chosen and described in order to explain the principles of the invention and their practical application so as to enable others skilled in the art to utilize the invention and various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the componenticular use contemplated. Alternative embodiments will become apparent to those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains without decomponenting from its spirit and scope. Accordingly, the scope of the present invention is defined by the appended claims rather than the foregoing description and the exemplary embodiments described therein.

Technology Classification (CPC): 5