Patent Document

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION  
       [0001]     This application claims priority to and the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2003-0072350 filed on Oct. 16, 2003 in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the entire content of which is incorporated herein by reference.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     (a) Field of the Invention  
         [0003]     The present invention relates to a display apparatus having a boss structure capable of diffusing stress applied to the boss and/or inhibiting external forces concentrated on a chassis base via the boss when, for example, the display apparatus is mounted on a wall or when it is fixed to a display panel module to a block-board.  
         [0004]     (b) Description of Related Art  
         [0005]     One common type of display apparatus is a plasma display apparatus. Typically the plasma display apparatus has a plasma display panel (referred to hereinafter as a “PDP”), a chassis base holding lateral and back surfaces of the PDP, a plurality of driving circuit boards mounted to the back surface thereof, a front cabinet placed at the front of the PDP, and a back cover placed at the rear of the chassis base. The front cabinet and the back cover may be combined into a single body by interposing the chassis base to form the entire exterior.  
         [0006]     The PDP is a display device where phosphors are excited by ultraviolet rays generated through gas discharging within a vacuum vessel. Compared to a cathode ray tube (CRT), a PDP is typically thinner and flatter, making the formation of a high resolution wide screen possible.  
         [0007]     The above-structured plasma display apparatus may be placed on the floor like a television or it is may be hung on the wall. When the plasma display apparatus is hung on a wall, it may be mounted via a wall-mounting boss combined with the chassis base, or fixed thereto by providing brackets at the four corners of the chassis base, combining a boss with the respective brackets, and coupling a coupling member with the boss. Further, when the PDP and the chassis base are packaged and delivered together to a set maker, the plasma display apparatus may be fixed to a fixation member such as a block-board by using a coupling member coupled to the boss.  
         [0008]     However, in either of the above-described cases, external forces may be applied to the apparatus during transportation. Although it is possible to prevent external forces applied to the boss from being directly transmitted to the chassis base, large amounts of stress applied to the boss may not be able to be effectively diffused causing, for example, the boss to decouple from the bracket or causing black spots to be formed on the display screen of the PDP, thereby deteriorating display quality of the PDP.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0009]     One exemplary embodiment of the present invention provides a stress diffusing support bracket assembly for a mountable structure having a boss which inhibits external forces concentrated on the mountable structure, and wherein stress applied to the boss is diffused to prevent decoupling of the boss from the mountable structure, or otherwise damaging the mountable structure.  
         [0010]     Another embodiment of the display apparatus may include a plasma display panel, a chassis base supporting the plasma display panel, and main brackets coupled to the chassis base opposite to the plasma display panel to hold bosses. Sub-brackets may also be provided at the chassis base close to the main brackets into which the bosses held by the main brackets may be inserted and supported thereby.  
         [0011]     In one embodiment, the sub-bracket may have a through-hole into which the boss may be inserted and a reinforcing protrusion formed around a perimeter of the through-hole.  
         [0012]     The main bracket may have a main bracket bent portion spacing the fitted portion of the boss away from the surface of the chassis base. Additionally, the sub-bracket may have a sub-bracket bent portion spacing the passed portion of the boss away from the main bracket bent portion of the main bracket.  
         [0013]     The main bracket and the sub-bracket may be formed from either a metallic material or a plastic material. The sub-bracket may further be located perpendicular to the main bracket.  
         [0014]     The chassis base may be combined with a front cabinet and a back cover to form a body, with the boss penetrating the back cover so that it protrudes therefrom.  
         [0015]     The main bracket may be provided at the corners of the back surface of the chassis base. The boss may be tapped with female threads, and may have a grooved portion fitted to a hole formed at the main bracket in a pressed manner. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0016]      FIG. 1  is an exploded perspective view of a plasma display apparatus with a chassis base according to an embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0017]      FIG. 2  is an exploded perspective view of the boss structure and a portion of the chassis base shown in  FIG. 1 ; and  
         [0018]      FIG. 3  is a sectional viewof the boss structure and chassis base taken along section lines A-A of  FIG. 2 . 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0019]     As shown in  FIG. 1 , the plasma display apparatus has a PDP  2  for displaying desired images by exciting phosphors with vacuum ultraviolet rays generated through internal gas discharging, a chassis base  4  holding the side and the back surfaces of the PDP  2 , a plurality of driving circuit boards  6  mounted at the back surface of the chassis base  4 , a front cabinet  8  placed on the front of the PDP  2 , and a back cover  9  placed at the rear of the chassis base  4  to cover the driving circuit boards  6 .  
         [0020]     The chassis base  4  may be formed through die casting or pressing, and may have sufficient structural integrity to support the PDP  2 . The chassis base  4  may be formed with a material or structure allowing a high thermal release, and may have a plurality of fixtures  5  on its periphery.  
         [0021]     The front cabinet  8  may surround the chassis base  4  together with the back cover  9 , and may be coupled to the fixtures  5  of the chassis base  4  with screws (not shown) to form the exterior of the plasma display apparatus.  
         [0022]     The plasma display apparatus may be hung on the wall using a female thread-tapped boss  10  provided at the corners of the chassis base  4 . Furthermore, when the PDP  2  and the chassis base  4  are combined with each other, the resulting PDP module may be fixed during the packaging process to a target fixation member using the bosses  10 .  
         [0023]     For this purpose, the plasma display apparatus has a double bracket structure to inhibit external forces concentrated on the chassis base  4  via the bosses  10 , and to diffuse stress applied to the boss, thereby preventing the boss decoupling from the chassis base  4  and further preventing the formation of black spots on the display screen of the PDP  2 . Therefore, the display quality of the PDP  2  is enhanced.  
         [0024]     Referring now to  FIGS. 2 and 3 , in one exemplary embodiment of a plasma display apparatus according to the present invention, a main bracket  30  is fixed to a corner of the chassis base  4  to hold the boss  10 , and a sub-bracket  50  is fixed to the chassis base  4  such that it is positioned near the main bracket  30  while at least partially covering the main bracket.  
         [0025]     The boss  10  may be longitudinally formed with a cylindrical shape, and may have a female threaded portion  11  with a predetermined depth, to which a coupling member such as a screw may be coupled. The boss  10  may be formed from a plastic material or a metallic material and it may have a structure as is known in the art. For instance, the boss  10  may have a groove  13  at one end which may be fitted to the main bracket  30 . The respective bosses  10  for mounting the plasma display apparatus on a wall may penetrate the back cover  9  fitted to the back surface of the chassis base  4 , and protrude therefrom. A wall-mounting member may be provided at the female screwed portion  11  of the boss  10 . Where the PDP  2  is combined with the chassis base  4  to be packaged and delivered together as a module to a set maker, the respective bosses  10  may serve to fix the module to a fixation member such as a block-board (not shown) by using a coupling member such as a screw. The coupling structure of the boss  10  prevents the module from being damaged by external impact or vibration during delivery.  
         [0026]     The main brackets  30  may fix the respective bosses  10  to the back surface of the chassis base  4 , and may inhibit the external force applied to the chassis base  4  via the bosses  10 . The main brackets  30  may be fixed to the back surface of the chassis base  4  (and more specifically, to the corner portions of the chassis base  4  where the respective bosses  10  are provided) via screws or other attachment means to hold the respective bosses  10 . In one exemplary embodiment, when viewed in the longitudinal direction of the main bracket  30  (in the x axis direction), the main bracket  30  is oriented in direction of the width of the chassis base  4  (in the x axis direction), and is placed at and raised from the chassis base  4  (that is, in the z axis direction).  
         [0027]     Specifically, the respective main brackets  30  may have main bracket coupling portions  31  formed at one or both of the longitudinal ends thereof, and a main bracket bent portion  33  formed between the main bracket coupling portions  31 . The respective main bracket coupling portions  31  may contact the back surface of the chassis base  4 , and a coupling member such as a screw is coupled thereto. The main bracket bent portion  33  may be spaced from the back surface of the chassis base  4  by a predetermined distance, and the boss  10  may be fitted thereto. The main bracket bent portion  33  may be extended from the main bracket coupling portions  31  in a body, and may be bent toward the rear of the chassis base  4 . For example, the main bracket bent portion may be bent in the shape of a staple with one side being open. A fixation hole  35  may be formed at the center of the main bracket bent portion  33  to hold one end of the boss  10 . The boss  10  may be fixed to the main bracket  30  by fitting the fixation groove  13  to the main bracket bent portion  33  and defining the fixation hole  35  by pressing the boss into the hole.  
         [0028]     The main bracket bent portion  33  of the main bracket  30  may be spaced away from the back surface of the chassis base  4  because when the boss  10  is fitted to the fixation hole  35 , the fixation end of the boss may be spaced from the back surface of the chassis base  4  to prevent external force applied thereto from being concentrated on the chassis base  4 .  
         [0029]     Alternatively, in order to prevent external force from being concentrated on the chassis base  4 , a fixation structure with a shock absorber operated by hydraulic or pneumatic pressure may be provided separately. The fixation structure may absorb external pressure transmitted to the chassis base  4  via the boss  10 . Accordingly, the fixation member of the main bracket  30  may be an appropriate means of attachment and is not limited to being a screw.  
         [0030]     The sub-brackets  50  may reinforce the intrinsic structural integrity of the main bracket  30  and may diffuse any stress applied to the boss  10 . In one exemplary embodiment, each sub-bracket  50  is placed perpendicular to the main bracket  30  such that the sub-bracket at least partially covers the main bracket  30 , and is coupled to the back surface of the chassis base  4  via a coupling member, such as a screw. The sub-bracket  50  may have a structure adapted to receive a boss  10  in the longitudinal direction (in the z axis direction).  
         [0031]     Specifically, the sub-bracket  50  may have sub-bracket coupling portions  51  formed at both of the longitudinal ends thereof, and a sub-bracket bent portion  53  formed between the sub-bracket coupling portions  51 . The sub-bracket coupling portions  51  may contact the back surface of the chassis base  4  and may have a coupling member, such as a screw, coupled thereto. The sub-bracket bent portion  53  may be spaced from the main bracket bent portion  33  by a predetermined distance, and the boss  10  fitted to the main bracket  30  may penetrate the sub-bracket bent portion  53 . The sub-bracket bent portion  53  may extend from the respective sub-bracket coupling portions  51  in a body, and may be bent toward the rear of the chassis base  4  (in the z axis direction). In one exemplary embodiment, the sub-bracket bent portion may be in the shape of a staple with one side being open. An insertion hole  55  may be formed at the center of the sub-bracket bent portion  53  through which the boss  10  fitted to the main bracket  30  may pass. A reinforcing protrusion  57  may be formed at the region of the sub-bracket bent portion  53  defining the insertion hole  55  to further diffuse stress applied to the boss  10 . When the boss  10  fitted to the main bracket  30  is inserted through the insertion hole  55 , the sub-bracket  50  may primarily diffuse any stress applied to the boss  50  at the insertion hole  55  thereof, and it may also diffuse stress at the reinforcing protrusion  57  thereof.  
         [0032]     The sub-bracket bent portion  53  may be spaced from the main bracket bent portion  33  because any force applied to the boss  10  when the boss is inserted through the insertion hole  55  is diffused by the sub-bracket  50 .  
         [0033]     In order to assemble the main bracket  30  and the sub-bracket  50 , the main bracket  30  may be coupled to a corner of the back surface of the chassis base  4  (opposite the PDP  2 ). Additionally, the end portion of the boss  10  may be fitted to the fixation hole  35  of the main bracket  30 . The boss  10  may pass through the insertion hole  55  of the sub-bracket  50 , and the sub-bracket  50  may be coupled to the chassis base  4  perpendicular to the main bracket  30 .  
         [0034]     Then, a front cabinet  8  and a back cover  9  may be combined with the chassis base  4  in a body, thereby completing a plasma display apparatus.  
         [0035]     A wall mounting member such as a screw may be coupled to the boss  10  penetrating the back cover  9  through holes  12 , and the plasma display apparatus may be mounted on a wall via the wall mounting member.  
         [0036]     When the PDP  2  and the chassis base  4  are packaged and delivered to a set maker as a module, the module may be fixed to a fixation member, such as a block-board, by using a coupling member coupled to the boss  20 .  
         [0037]     Accordingly, when the plasma display apparatus is mounted on a wall, or a PDP module is packaged by fixing it to a block-board, external force concentrated on the chassis base via the boss  10  may be absorbed by the main bracket  30 , and stress applied directly to the boss  10  may be diffused by the sub-bracket  50 .  
         [0038]     As described above with respect to embodiments of the present invention, where a plasma display apparatus is hung on a wall where a PDP and a chassis base are combined together as a module, it is possible to absorb any external force concentrated on the chassis base via the boss, and to diffuse any stress applied to the boss, thereby preventing decoupling of the boss from the bracket or the formation of black spots at the display screen of the PDP, and therefore enhancing the display quality of the apparatus.  
         [0039]     Although exemplary embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail hereinabove, it should be clearly understood that many variations and/or modifications of the basic inventive concept herein taught which may appear to those skilled in the art will still fall within the spirit and scope of the present invention, as defined in the appended claims.

Technology Category: 5