Abstract:
A foundation module is described. The foundation module is utilized in an apparatus, e.g. a projector or the like, that requires a stable working condition. The foundation module includes a base, a wing support, and a linkage. The wing support horizontally extends out of the base to support the apparatus with the operation of the linkage. The wing support can automatically extend from the base to increase the supporting area for the apparatus to work more stable when the apparatus is operating. The wing support can be stored in the base to save the space of the apparatus.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     1. Field of Invention  
         [0002]     The invention relates to a foundation module and, in particular, to a foundation that can extend out automatically.  
         [0003]     2. Related Art  
         [0004]     Influenced by the advances in technology and environmental protection, various devices become smaller than before. Take a projector as an example. New small portable models with higher resolutions, brightness, and projection areas have been developed, in comparison with the large standing one years ago. There are also vertical standing models that do not occupy too much planar space than the conventional horizontal ones. Traditionally, most of the horizontal projectors use the three-point support, where one of them can be raised or lowered to adjust the projecting angle of the projector. The other two pods are used to adjust the level of the machine. The vertical models have smaller placing areas, with higher centers of gravity. Therefore, if they also use tripods, the apparatus may become unstable. This may result in damages due to stumbling.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0005]     To solve the above-mentioned problem, an objective of the invention is to provide a foundation module to increase the stability of apparatuses such as projectors.  
         [0006]     The disclosed foundation module includes a base, a wing support, and a linkage. The base is pivotally installed on one side of an apparatus, such as a projector, and rotates about the pivotal point to adjust the projecting angle between the apparatus and the base plane. The wing support is installed on the inner side of the base and can horizontally extend out. The linkage is at the center of the base. The wing support can automatically extend out of the base to support the apparatus with the operation of the linkage. Therefore, when using the apparatus, the wing support is extended out automatically or manually to effectively increase the base area for the apparatus to work more stable. The wing support can be stored in the base to save the space of the apparatus. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0007]     These and other features, aspects and advantages of the invention will become apparent by reference to the following description and accompanying drawings which are given by way of illustration only, and thus are not limitative of the invention, and wherein:  
         [0008]      FIG. 1  is a three-dimensional exploded view of the foundation module;  
         [0009]      FIG. 2  is a three-dimensional view of the disclosed foundation module with the wing accommodated within;  
         [0010]      FIG. 3  is a three-dimensional view of the disclosed foundation module with the wing extended out;  
         [0011]      FIG. 4A  is a first schematic action diagram of operating the release button a according to an embodiment of the invention;  
         [0012]      FIG. 4B  is a second schematic action diagram of operating the release button a of the foundation module in  FIG. 4A ;  
         [0013]      FIG. 5A  is a first schematic action diagram of operating the release button b according to another embodiment of the invention;  
         [0014]      FIG. 5B  is a second schematic action diagram of operating the release button b of the foundation module in  FIG. 5A ; and  
         [0015]      FIG. 6  shows an application of the disclosed foundation module on a vertical projector, with the wing extended out. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0016]     The present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description, which proceeds with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein the same references relate to the same elements.  
         [0017]     As shown in  FIGS. 1, 2 , and  3 , the disclosed foundation module includes a base  10 , a set of wing support  20  inside the base  10  and extensible horizontally along the side of the base  10 , and a linkage  30  at the center of the base  10 .  
         [0018]     The base  10  has a part with similar area and shape to the apparatus  40 , such as a projector. The base  10  further contains a base top cover  11 , a base bottom cover  12 , a wing axis  16 , and an apparatus mounting hole  15 . The base top cover  11  and the base bottom cover  12  can be fixed. Once they are fixed, the space formed therein can accommodate the wing support  20  and the linkage  30 . The bottom surface of the base bottom cover  12  contains at least a stop pad  13  to increase the stability. The apparatus mounting hole  15  is located on one side of the base  10  to pivotally install the apparatus  40  on the base  10 . The apparatus  40  such as a projector rotates about the apparatus mounting hole  15  to adjust the projecting angle of the apparatus  40 . The wing axis  16  is on the inner side of the base top cover  11  and the base bottom cover  12 , opposite to the apparatus mounting hole  15 . The base  10  also has a stop button a  17 .  
         [0019]     The set of wing support contains two wing supports, symmetrically installed on the left and right sides of the base  10 . Each of the wing supports  20  contains: a wing  21 , a wing hook  24 , and an axis mounting hole  26 . The axis mounting hole  26  is located on one side of the wing support  20  to mount the wing support  20  on the win axis  16 . The wing  21  is thus able to rotate about the wing axis  16 . The wing hook  24  is on the inner side of the wing  21 . It is connected to a linking hook  34  on the linkage  30 . The wing support  20  further contains: an upper pad  22  and a lower pad  23 , located on the upper and lower sides of the axis mounting hole  26 , respectively. The wing  21  can readily rotate and remain stable without wiggling. The wing support  20  also contains a spring  25  between the wing support  20  and the base  10 . The spring  25  provides an elastic force for the wing to rotate about the wing axis  16 . The wing  21  thus extends out of the base  10 . The wing support further contains at least a stop button b  27 . The stop button b  27  and the stop button a  17  on the base  10  restrict the rotation range of the wing  21 .  
         [0020]     The linkage  30  contains a linking rod  31 , a release button a  32 , a linking hook  34 , and a release button b  33 . The release button a  32  is on one end of the linking rod  31 , protruding from the surface of the base top cover  11 . It moves back and forth horizontally so that the linkage  30  slides back and forth accordingly. The linking hook  34  is on the two sides of the other end of the linking rod  31 . The linking hook  34  and a wing hook  24  of the wing support  20  connect to each other. The release button b  33  is installed in the same direction as the release button a  32 , located in the vicinity of the linking hook  34  of the linking rod  31 . The release button b  33  moves up and down, protruding from or sinking into the surface of the base top cover  11 . The part of the linkage  30  closer to the release button b  33  slides up and down accordingly. The linkage  30  further contains a spring chip  35  fixed inside the base  10  to provide an elastic force for the linkage  30 . It leans against the top and back of the linkage  30 .  
         [0021]     As shown in  FIG. 2 , when the wing  21  does not extend out, the linkage  30  is pressed toward the wing hook  24  due to the action of the spring chip  35 , connecting the linking hook  34  and the wing hook  24 . The wing  21  is accommodated and hidden in the base  10 . The release button a  32  is also pressed backward. In this case, the release button b  33  sinks under the surface of the base top cover  11 , connecting the linking hook  34  and the wing hook  24 .  
         [0022]     As shown in  FIG. 4A , one can manually operate the release button a  32  when releasing to extend the wing  21  for increasing the stability. The release button a  32  is led forward. The linking rod  31  slides forward; the linking hook  34  slides along too. In this case, the spring chip  35  exerts a stress. The spring chip  35  deforms to store this stress. When the linking hook  34  slides to unlink with the wing hook  24 , the wing  21  rotates about the wing axis  16  due to the action of the spring  25 , extending the wing  21  out of the base  10 . When the stop button a  17  and the stop button b  27  touch each other, the wing  21  stops rotating. When releasing the release button a  32  in operation, the spring chip  35  releases the previously stored stress energy to push the linking rod  31  back to its original position. The release button a  32  also returns to its original position. As shown in  FIG. 4   b , this finishes the extension of the wing  21 . The horizontal extension of the wing  21  on both sides of the base  10  enlarges the bottom supporting area of the foundation module. To accommodate the wing  21  in the base  10 , one simply uses the wing  21  to impose a force on the base  10 , forcing the linkage between the linking hook  34  and the wing hook  24 .  
         [0023]     The disclosed foundation module can further automatically release the wing  21  for it to extend through the action of the release button b  33 . With reference to  FIGS. 2 and 5 A, when there is no projecting angle between the apparatus  40  such as a projector and the base  10 , the release button b  33  is depressed by the apparatus  40  to sink under the surface of the base top cover  11 . Due to the depression of the release button b  33 , the part of the linkage  30  in the vicinity of the release button b  33  is also depressed to sink. The linking hook  34  and the wing hook  24  are thus in the link position. Due to the action of the spring chip  35 , the linking rod  31  depresses in the direction of the wing hook  24 , accommodating the wing  21  in the base  10 . When there is a projecting angle between the apparatus  40  and the base  10 , as shown in  FIG. 3  and  5 B, the bottom surface of the apparatus  40  departs from the base top cover  11 , unable to depressing the release button b  33 . The release button b  33  thus protrudes from the surface of the base top cover  11  due to the action of the spring chip  35 . The linking hook  34  floats up at the same time. At this time, the linking hook  34  and the wing hook  24  are on different planes and unable to connect to each other. The link is thus released, as in  FIG. 5B . Because of the spring  25 , the wing  21  starts to rotate about the wing axis  16 , extending the wing out of the base  10 . Once the stop button a  17  and the stop button b  27  touch each other, the wing  21  stops rotating. This completes the extension of the wing  21 .  
         [0024]     To accommodate the extended wing  21  in the base  10 , one has to adjust the projecting angle between the apparatus  40  and the base  10  back to zero if the release button b  33  protrudes from the surface of the base top cover  11 . The apparatus  40  is made to depress the release button b  33  to make it sink under the surface of the base top cover  11  before the linking hook  34  and the wing hook  24  can link with each other. When the release button b  33  is pressed down, the linking rod  31  is also depressed to impose a stress on the spring chip  35 . The spring chip  35  deforms and stores the stress for the required spring force to push the release button b  33  out next time. The wing is then pushed to rotate about the wing axis  16  toward the base  10 , imposing a stress on the spring  25 . The spring  25  deforms to store the stress for the required spring force to extend the wing  21  next time. Once the wing hook  24  touches the slant surface of the linking hook  34 , the linking hook  34  slides along the surface. The linking rod  31  is pushed to impose a stress on the spring chip  35 , which deforms to store the stress. When the wing hook  24  enters the opening of the linking hook  34 , the spring chip  35  first releases the stored stress in the form of a spring force. The linking rod  31  is pressed backward, linking the linking hook  34  and the wing hook  24 . This completes the accommodation of the wing  21 .  
         [0025]     In  FIG. 6 , we show that the extensible wing of the invention can increase the stability by enlarging the base area. Moreover, it does not occupy extra space when contained in the base. Therefore, the invention can have a wide variety of applications.  
         [0026]     Within the scope of the invention, there may be various kinds of modifications. For example, in the method of using the release button a  32  to release the wing  21 , the release button a  32  can be connected with the projecting angle adjusting mechanism o the apparatus  40 . When the projecting angle of the apparatus is changed, the release button a  32  is brought to move back and forth, automatically extending the wing  21  out to increase its stability. One may also install a damping mechanism in the disclosed foundation module so that the wing  21  does not jump out of the base  10  all of a sudden, but extends out in a slow and smooth way. The shapes and positions of the components in the invention are not limited to those shown in the drawings. As long as the required functions can be achieved, bases  10 , wings  20 , and linkages  30  of all kinds of shapes and installation positions can be used. Such variations should be construed as part of the invention.  
         [0027]     While the invention has been described by way of example and in terms of the preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments. To the contrary, it is intended to cover various modifications and similar arrangements as would be apparent to those skilled in the art. Therefore, the scope of the appended claims should be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and similar arrangements.