Abstract:
A projection TV comprising a screen displaying an image wherein the screen is secured to the mask by selective rotation of a retainer which engages a hook on a backside of the mask. A bracket system provided inside of an edge part of the mask secure the retainer in rotation to engage the hook so that the retainer presses against the screen to retain the screen in the mask, simplifying a supporting structure for the screen.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]     This application claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 2003-53833, filed Aug. 4, 2003, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0003]     The present invention relates to a projection television (TV), and more particularly, to a projection TV having a screen supported conveniently and stably by a mask using a screen supporting structure.  
         [0004]     2. Description of the Related Art  
         [0005]     In general, a projection TV displays images by projecting video beams onto a backside of a screen through a projector which forms the images.  
         [0006]     The projection TV usually comprises a cathode ray tube (CRT) assembly projecting the video beams; a reflector reflecting the video beams projected from the CRT assembly; a screen displaying an image of the video beams reflected through the reflector; a mask provided in front of the screen and forming a front appearance; and a casing combined with the mask.  
         [0007]     As shown in  FIG. 1 , a combination structure of a conventional projection TV is configured such that a screen  4  is supported by combining a plurality of screws  9  to a plurality bosses  8  integrally provided in the mask  2  to attach a bracket  6  to position the screen  4  behind the mask  2 .  
         [0008]     However, the mask  2  and the bracket  6  in the conventional projection TV have a fixed thickness, and therefore it is not easy to selectively support screens which are different in thickness, and to provide a strong support to the screen.  
         [0009]     In addition, the plurality of screws  9  is required to fix the screen  4  in the mask  2 , thereby decreasing work efficiency and productivity, and consequently increasing manufacturing cost.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0010]     Accordingly, it is an aspect of the present invention to provide a projecting TV having a simplified supporting structure to selectively support screens which have different thicknesses.  
         [0011]     The foregoing and/or other aspects of the present invention are also achieved by providing a projection TV comprising a screen displaying an image; a mask provided in front of the screen and comprising a hook formed on a backside of the mask; a bracket system provided inside of an edge part of the mask; and a screen supporting member rotatably provided in the bracket system and selectively combined to the hook of the mask by rotation to thereby press and support the screen.  
         [0012]     According to an aspect of the present invention, the bracket system may further comprise a pair of side brackets combined to opposite ends of the screen supporting member, and retaining the screen supporting member.  
         [0013]     According to an aspect of the present invention, each of the side brackets may comprise a guide groove in which the opposite ends of the screen supporting member are engaged.  
         [0014]     According to an aspect of the present invention, the bracket system may further comprise at least one center bracket provided between the pair of side brackets, and supporting a center part of the screen supporting member.  
         [0015]     According to an aspect of the present invention, the center bracket may be formed with a seating groove in which the center part of the screen supporting member is engaged.  
         [0016]     According to an aspect of the present invention, the screen supporting member may further comprise a combining part combined to the bracket system, and a pressing part protruded from the combining part and pressing the screen.  
         [0017]     According to an aspect of the present invention, the screen supporting member may comprise a wire structure.  
         [0018]     Additional aspects and/or advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part, will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the Invention. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0019]     The above and/or other aspects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent and more readily appreciated from the following description of the embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompany drawings of which:  
         [0020]      FIG. 1  is a partial sectional view of a combination structure of a conventional projection TV;  
         [0021]      FIG. 2  is an exploded perspective view of a projection TV according to an embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0022]      FIG. 3  is a combined perspective view of the projection TV in shown  FIG. 2 ;  
         [0023]      FIG. 4  is a perspective view of a bracket system and a screen supporting member of the projection TV according to the embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0024]      FIG. 5  is a perspective view showing the screen supporting member in a separated state from a screen of the projection TV; and  
         [0025]      FIG. 6  is a perspective view showing the screen supporting member in a combined state with the screen of the projection TV. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0026]     Reference will now be made in detail to the embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout. The embodiments are described below in order to explain the present invention by referring to the figures.  
         [0027]      FIG. 2  is an exploded perspective view of a projection TV according to an embodiment of the present invention,  FIG. 3  is a combined perspective view of the projection TV in  FIG. 2 , and  FIGS. 4-6  are perspective views of a bracket and a screen supporting member of the projection TV according to an embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0028]     As shown in  FIGS. 2-6 , the projection TV according to the embodiment of the present invention comprises a screen  20  displaying an image; a mask  30  provided in front of the screen  20 , having a hook  32  in a rear portion of the mask  30 ; a bracket system  40  provided on an inner surface of the mask  30 ; a screen supporting member  50  rotatably disposed in the bracket system  40  and selectively combined to the hook  32 , to thereby press and support the screen  20 ; a CRT assembly  60  projecting video beams; a reflector  70  reflecting the video beams, projected by the CRT assembly  60  onto a backside of the screen  20 ; and a casing  80  supporting the CRT assembly  60  and the reflector  70 .  
         [0029]     The screen  20  is of a plate shape having a predetermined thickness, and displays an image formed by the video beams reflected from the reflector  70  onto the backside of the screen  20 . On an outside surface of the screen  20 , an image forming sheet (not shown) such as a lenticular lens and a fresnel lens, and a protection sheet such as a sun screen are selectively provided.  
         [0030]     The mask  30  is sized to cover the screen  20 , and forms a front appearance of the projection TV by covering the outside part of the screen  20  at the edges of the mask  30 .  
         [0031]     The bracket system  40  comprises a pair of side brackets  42  supporting the screen supporting member  50  so that the screen supporting member  50  is rotable to a predetermined angle, and combined to opposite ends of the screen supporting member  50  to prevent the screen supporting member  50  from detachment; and at least one center bracket  44  provided between the pair of side brackets  42  and supporting a center part of the screen supporting member  50 . The bracket system  40  can be variously changed in shape as long as the bracket system  40  supports the screen supporting member  50  to allow rotation of the screen supporting member to the predetermined angle.  
         [0032]     In each of the pair of side brackets  42 , a guide groove  43  accommodating a respective end of the screen supporting member  50  is provided. A structure of the guide groove  43  be changed as required to support rotation of the supporting member  50 .  
         [0033]     The center bracket  44  has a seating groove  45  securing the center part of the screen supporting member  50  to stably support the screen  20 ; and a structure of the seating groove  45  may be changed as required.  
         [0034]     The screen supporting member  50  supports the screen  20  by pressing the screen  20 , and thus any screen different in thickness can be easily combined to the mask  30 . The screen supporting member  50  comprises a combining part  52  which engages the bracket system  40 ; and a pressing part  54  protruded from the combining part  52  and pressing the screen  20  when the screen supporting member  50  is rotated against the screen  20 . The strength of the screen supporting member  50  is strong enough to press and support the screen  20 , and a structure of the screen supporting member  50  is selectively changeable. The screen supporting member may be a wire structure having a simple shape and a strong pressing force.  
         [0035]     The screen supporting member  50  may have a predetermined elasticity to be easily combined with the hook  32 .  
         [0036]     The casing  80  is provided to form rear and side appearances of the projection TV, and combined to the mask  30  by a combining means such as a screw (not shown). In a bottom inside part of the casing  80 , the CRT assembly  60  projecting video beams is accommodated. The reflector  70  is inclined in an upper inside part of the casing  80  to reflect the video beams projected from the CRT assembly  80  to the screen  20 . In a bottom side of the casing  80 , a circuit board (not shown) is provided to control the CRT assembly  60  and any other necessary components.  
         [0037]     The CRT assembly  60  comprises a plurality of CRTs  62  and a CRT frame  64  supporting the plurality of CRTs  62 , and is engaged to a bottom part of the casing  80 , at an angle to project the video beams to the reflector  20 .  
         [0038]     A plurality of brackets of the bracket system  40  and corresponding screen supporting members  50  may be suitably disposed around the periphery of the mask  30 . A number and location of the bracket system  40  and the corresponding screen supporting members  50  can be changed as required.  
         [0039]      FIGS. 5 and 6  are exploded perspective views illustrating a screen and a mask of the projection TV according to the embodiment of the invention, in a separated state and in a combined state, respectively.  
         [0040]     As shown in  FIG. 5 , the screen  20  is mounted on the mask  30  and the combining part  52  of the screen supporting member  50  is secured in the guide grooves  43  of the side brackets  42  and the seating groove  45  of the center bracket  44 .  
         [0041]     Then, the screen supporting member  50  is rotated about 90 degrees toward the screen  20  so that the screen  21  is pushed and supported by the pressing part  54  of the screen supporting member  50 , to thereby fix the screen  20  firmly on the mask  30 . Here, the screen supporting member  50  is engaged in the hook  32 , and thus keeps pressing the screen  20 .  
         [0042]     A separating process of the screen  20 , on the other hand, is simply accomplished by releasing the pressing part  54  of the screen supporting part  50  from the hook  32  and counter-rotating the screen supporting part  50 .  
         [0043]     As describe above, a supporting structure is simplified, thereby enhancing work efficiency, productivity, and maintenance capability, and thereby decreasing a cost of production and/or maintenance.  
         [0044]     Also, the supporting structure has an advantage of being easily and conveniently adaptable for supporting screens different in thickness, such as for example, by making minor changes in a shape of the pressing part  54 .  
         [0045]     Although a few embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes may be made in these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined in the appended claims and their equivalents.