Patent Document

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application is a non-provisional patent application and claims priority to co-pending U.S. Application Ser. No. 61/143,189 filed on Jan. 8, 2009, herein incorporated by reference in its entirety. 
     
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
       [0002]    Exemplary embodiments relate generally to an electronic display with components which can be removed and replaced without having to remove the display from its mounted position. 
       BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS 
       [0003]    Electronic displays have become useful for not only indoor entertainment purposes, but are now being utilized for indoor and outdoor advertising/informational purposes. For example, liquid crystal displays (LCDs), plasma displays, and many other flat panel displays are now being used to display information and advertising materials to consumers in locations outside of their own home or within airports, arenas, stadiums, restaurants/bars, gas station pumps, billboards, and even moving displays on the tops of automobiles or on the sides of trucks. 
         [0004]    The rapid development of flat panel displays has allowed users to mount these displays in a variety of locations that were not previously available. Further, the popularity of high definition (HD) television has increased the demand for larger and brighter displays, especially large displays which are capable of producing HD video. The highly competitive field of consumer advertising has also increased the demand for large, attention-grabbing, bright displays. Displays which can provide these features typically contain a number of advanced electronic assemblies, which over time, can fail or degrade in performance. Once these displays are mounted in the user&#39;s desired position, replacing any failed electronic assemblies can be a costly and time-consuming process. Further, replacement typically requires a ‘clean room’ environment or further special equipment in order to service the display. Still further, special knowledge and training on the specific technologies at hand is required to trouble-shoot and service these advanced displays. 
         [0005]    Exemplary embodiments provide electronic displays which contain electronic assemblies that can be removed, serviced, and/or replaced without having to remove the display from its mounted position. The removable assemblies can be removed through a side of the display housing and may electrically connect to the display using blind mate connectors. N+1 power supplies may be utilized to increase the reliability of the display (where N is the number of power supplies required to run the display). 
         [0006]    Embodiments allow a display to be serviced quickly, by minimally-trained personnel while the display remains in its mounted position. The end user may even service the display themselves. Further, a plurality of different display configurations can be sold which are all based on the same display platform. Thus, end users can select the precise components which they desire or even may upgrade original components based on alternative or improved technologies. This may reduce manufacturing costs as display manufacturers may produce only a few base models which can be later adapted to the precise requirements of the end user. 
         [0007]    The exemplary embodiments herein disclosed are not intended to be exhaustive or to unnecessarily limit the scope of the embodiments. The exemplary embodiments were chosen and described in order to explain the principles so that others skilled in the art may practice the embodiments. Having shown and described exemplary embodiments, those skilled in the art will realize that many variations and modifications may be made to affect the described invention. Many of those variations and modifications will provide the same result and fall within the spirit of the exemplary embodiments. It is the intention, therefore, to limit the embodiments only as indicated by the scope of the claims. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0008]    A better understanding will be obtained from a reading of the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings wherein identical reference characters refer to identical parts and in which: 
           [0009]      FIG. 1A  is a perspective illustration of an embodiment in its mounted position; 
           [0010]      FIG. 1B  is a perspective view of the embodiment from  FIG. 1A  showing the underside of the display housing; 
           [0011]      FIG. 1C  is a perspective view of the embodiment from  FIG. 1B  where the access cover has been removed and the removable electronic assemblies are being accessed; and 
           [0012]      FIG. 2  is a schematic showing the electrical connections for an exemplary embodiment. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0013]      FIG. 1A  shows an exemplary display  10  which is mounted on vertical surface  11 . With traditional displays, when electronic components fail, the display would have to be removed from its mounted positioned, disassembled, and then serviced. Servicing a traditional display may require a host of special equipment and training, and often times a near ‘clean room’ environment. Embodiments have taken several steps to reduce the time and complexity involved in servicing displays and notably allows them to remain mounted while being serviced. 
         [0014]      FIG. 1B  shows the bottom surface  12  of electronic display  10 . An access panel  13  may be used to cover the removable electronic assemblies (see  FIG. 1C ). The access panel  13  may be secured using lock mechanism  14 , which may prevent unauthorized persons from gaining access to the removable electronic assemblies. 
         [0015]      FIG. 1C  shows the electronic display from  FIGS. 1A and 1B  where the electronic assemblies  15  are being removed. The removable electronic assemblies  15  may be any number of electronic assemblies which are known to occasionally fail. These assemblies may include, but not limited to, any one of the following: power supplies, analog/digital (A/D) converters, or timing control units (T-cons). 
         [0016]      FIG. 2  shows the wiring diagram for an exemplary embodiment. In this embodiment, the Tcon has been integrated with the A/D converter into a single display controller assembly  20 . This integration allows the complete removal of a LVDS cable which is typically used in traditional displays (which is also known to fail after extended operation). This embodiment shows three separate removable power supplies  21  (or power modules). In a preferred embodiment, the removable power supplies  21  are capable of being hot swapped out of the system while the display is in operation. For large displays using a preferred embodiment, the removable power supplies  21  may supply 24 VDC with 500 Watts. 
         [0017]    Using the N+1 technique, only two power supplies may be necessary to run the display shown. Thus, during normal operation only two of the three power supplies  21  will be utilized. However, upon failure of one of the power supplies, the remaining two are adequate to run the display until the failed power supply can be replaced. Communication between the backplane  22  and the display controller assembly  20  may instruct an exterior LED to illuminate in order to provide information to the user that the display needs servicing, and more particularly that one of the power supplies needs replacement. The N+1 technique is extremely useful for displays which provide critical functions and require near constant operation with little or no downtime. It should be noted that the N+1 technique is merely optional, and is not required for the various embodiments. Each of the removable electronic assemblies  20  and  21  may connect with the display backplane  22  using blind-mate connectors. 
         [0018]    This figure also shows a backlight  23 , LCD assembly  24 , and a display panel  25 . The backlight  23  may be a CCFL or light emitting diode (LED) backlight. It should be noted that although the setup for an LCD is shown, embodiments can be practiced with any electronic image-producing assembly. Thus any other flat panel display could be used such as plasma, light-emitting polymers, and organic light emitting diode (OLED) displays. A fan assembly  26  is shown for optionally cooling displays which may reach elevated temperatures. One or more temperature sensors  27  may be used to monitor the temperature of the display, and selectively engage fan assembly  26 . An ambient light sensor may be used to tailor the output of the backlight  23  for the proper illumination based on the surrounding environment. 
         [0019]    A variety of different electrical inputs/outputs are also shown. The AC power input  30  delivers the incoming power to the backplane  22 . A video signal input  31  can receive video signals from a plurality of different sources. In a preferred embodiment the video signal input  31  would be an HDMI input. Two data interface connections  32  and  33  are also shown. The first data interface connection  32  may be an RS2332 port or an IEEE 802.3 jack which can facilitate user setup and system monitoring. Either form of the connection should allow electrical communication with a personal computer. The second data interface connection  33  may be a network connection such as an Ethernet port or a wireless connection. The second data interface connection  33  may be utilized to transmit display settings, error messages, and various other forms of data to a website for access and control by the user. Optional audio connections  34  may also be provided for connection to internal or external speaker assemblies. 
         [0020]    It should be noted that the wiring diagram shown in  FIG. 2  does not require the particular placement and/or wiring of each component which is shown in the figure. The various sensors, electrical connections, and other components are not to scale nor are they required to be placed in the positions shown. 
         [0021]    It should also be noted that the combination of the Tcon with the A/D converter and the LVDS cable of a traditional display is not required for the various embodiments. Some embodiments may continue to use these items as separate and either fixed or removable assemblies. The exemplary embodiment shown in  FIG. 2  was simply chosen as the most exemplary manner for creating a durable display. Other combinations of removable assemblies with fixed assemblies are particularly contemplated and would be within the scope of the embodiments. 
         [0022]    Information for monitoring the status of the various display components may be transmitted through either of the two data interface connections  32  and  33 , so that the user can be notified when a component may be functioning improperly, about to fail, or has already failed and requires replacement. Alternatively, or in combination, external indicators on the display may also notify the user that components may need attention. Exterior LEDs, watermarks in the display picture, or other attention-grabbing devices may be used to alert the user to errors within the display. The information for monitoring the status of the display may include, but is not limited to: power supply status, power supply test results, AC input current, temperature sensors, fan speed, video input status, firmware revision, and light level sensors. Also, the user may adjust settings including, but not limited to: on/off, brightness level, enabling ambient light sensor, various alert settings, IP address, customer defined text/video, display matrix settings, display of image settings via OSD, and various software functions. These settings can be monitored and altered from either of the two data interface connections  32  and  33 . 
         [0023]    As shown herein, the removable electronic assemblies can be easily removed, serviced, and/or replaced without have to remove the display from its mounted position. This saves the user in many ways, including but not limited to: the downtime of the display for servicing, the cost of servicing, the risk of damaging the display by removing it from its mounted position and transporting to an environment suitable for servicing, and the risk of investing in an expensive display which may need to be entirely removed and replaced due to the failure of one small internal component. Further, it permits manufacturers to offer a variety of different types of displays, while only having to manufacture a single base model. Manufacturers can offer a number of different display controller assemblies which can meet a variety of user needs. Users can also upgrade their display controller assemblies as their needs change or as the technology advances. Users may be able to easily remove the old assemblies and install the new assemblies without requiring special equipment or extensive training. Each removable assembly may be held in place with common mechanical fastening means so that removal/installation can be done with commonly available tools and a minimal amount of guidance from the manufacturer. Closing tabs may be used in some embodiments which do not require any tools to release and remove the assembly. Other embodiments may use a more traditional screw or mechanical fastener. 
         [0024]    Having shown and described preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art will realize that many variations and modifications may be made to affect the described embodiments and still be within the scope of the claims. Thus, many of the elements indicated above may be altered or replaced by different elements which will provide the same result and fall within the spirit of the claimed embodiments. It is the intention, therefore, to limit the invention only as indicated by the scope of the claims.

Technology Category: h