Flat panel television mount

Abstract

A flat panel television mount having a support for mounting a flat panel television, a cap adapted to be coupled to at least one of a ceiling and a wall, a base adapted to be coupled to at least one of a floor and a wall, a cap dampening member positioned between the cap and the support, and a base dampening member positioned between the base and the support.

Claims

1. A flat panel television mount comprising a support adapted for mounting a flat panel television, said support comprising VESA flat display mounting interface standard hardware including a fastener adapted to attach to VESA mounting hardware on the back of a flat panel television, a cap adapted to be coupled to at least one of a ceiling and a wall for receiving a top of the support, a base adapted to be coupled to at least one of a floor and a wall for receiving a bottom of the support, a cap dampening member positioned between the cap and the support, and a base dampening member positioned between the base and the support, wherein at least one of the cap dampening member and the base dampening member comprises a resilient, elastomeric material and further wherein the support does not directly contact and is not directly affixed to the wall to help reduce sound vibrations generated by the television from reaching the wall.

2. The flat panel television mount of claim 1, wherein at least one of the cap and/or the base comprise more than one portion.

3. The flat panel television mount of claim 2, wherein at least one of the cap and/or the base is in the form of a channel in which a portion of the support resides.

4. The flat panel television mount of claim 1, wherein the cap comprises two or more portions that form a channel in which a portion of the support resides.

5. The flat panel television mount of claim 1, further comprising an attachment member for directly coupling at least one of the cap to at least one of a wall and/or a ceiling and the base to at least one of the wall and/or floor.

6. The flat panel television mount of claim 5, wherein the attachment member comprises an aperture on at least one of the cap and/or base and a fastener, a portion of the fastener passing through the aperture for directly coupling the cap to at least one of the wall and/or the ceiling or the base to at least one of the wall and/or floor.

7. The flat panel television mount of claim 1, wherein the base is coupled directly to the floor by one or more floor engagement members.

8. The flat panel television mount of claim 7 wherein the one or more floor engagement members is selected from the group consisting of a friction foot, a spike an adjustable friction foot, an adjustable spike, and combinations thereof.

9. The flat panel television mount of claim 1, wherein the support comprises a fixed member.

10. The flat panel television mount of claim 1, wherein the support comprises an adjustable member.

11. The flat panel television mount of claim 10, wherein the support comprises one or more adjustable telescoping members for varying the height of the support.

12. The flat panel television mount of claim 1 wherein the support is made of a material selected from one of the group consisting of metal, wood, plastic, fiberboard, and combinations thereof.

13. The flat panel television mount of claim 1 further comprising a spacer that fills a gap between the support and a wall.

14. The flat panel television mount of claim 13, wherein the spacer is comprised of a cushioning material.

15. The flat panel television mount of claim 1 further comprising a covering for accessing outlets, cables and combinations thereof located within or behind the support.

16. The flat panel television mount of claim 15 wherein the covering is taken from one of the group consisting of a removable panel, a sleeve, a wrap, and combinations thereof.

17. The flat panel television mount of claim 1 further comprising a shelf and/or pocket adapted to hold one or more of books, magazines, promotional information, remotes and combinations thereof.

18. The flat panel television mount of claim 1 further comprising one or more mounting elements for mounting one or more additional electronic devices or connections.

19. The flat panel television mount of claim 1 further comprising a decorative feature taken from one of the group consisting of a shadowbox, LED lighting, a nightlight, halo lighting, a sconce, and combinations thereof.

20. The flat panel television mount of claim 1 wherein the resilient, elastomeric material is a mixed-cell pore structure material.

21. The flat panel television mount of claim 1 wherein the VESA flat panel television mounting hardware comprises tilt, hinge and/or swivel hardware.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) The attached drawings are intended to better illustrate a preferred embodiment of the present invention without limiting the invention in any manner whatsoever.

(2) FIG. 1 is a partial side elevation of an embodiment of the flat-panel television mount of the present invention in cross-section.

(3) FIG. 2 is a partially exploded front elevation of an embodiment of the flat-panel television mount of the present invention.

(4) FIG. 3A is an elevation of floor engagement member suitable for use with the mount shown in FIG. 2 on hard floors.

(5) FIG. 3B is an elevation of floor engagement member suitable for use with the mount shown in FIG. 2 on carpeted floors.

(6) FIG. 4 is a partial side elevation of an alternative embodiment of the flat-panel television mount of the present invention in cross-section.

(7) FIG. 5A is an exploded view of the component parts of an alternative embodiment of the cap of the present invention.

(8) FIG. 5B is a side elevation of the alternative embodiment of the cap shown in FIG. 5A with the component parts connected.

(9) FIG. 6A is an exploded view of the top portion the television mount of the present invention.

(10) FIG. 6B is an exploded view of the bottom portion the television mount of the present invention.

(11) FIG. 7A is a top plan view of the base of the television mount of the present invention.

(12) FIG. 7B is front elevation of the base of the television mount of the present invention in cross-section through line A-A of FIG. 7A.

(13) FIG. 8A is a side elevation of the television mount with VESA hardware for mounting a television display.

(14) FIG. 8B is a side elevation of the television mount with tilt VESA hardware for mounting a television display.

(15) FIG. 8C is a side elevation of the television mount with tilt/hinge/swivel VESA hardware for mounting a television display.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

(16) The following description of the preferred embodiment is presented to describe the present invention without limiting the scope of the invention in any manner whatsoever.

(17) As shown in the accompanying drawings illustrating the preferred embodiments, the present invention is directed to a flat-panel television mount 1 comprising a support 4 for mounting a flat panel television, a cap 2 adapted to be coupled to at least one of a ceiling and a wall, a base 6 adapted to be coupled to at least one of a floor and a wall, a cap dampening member 8 positioned between the cap and the support, and a base dampening member 8 positioned between the base and the support.

(18) The flat-panel television mount 1 provides a vertical structure that can be installed adjacent a wall on which a flat panel television can be mounted instead of mounting the television directly against a wall. As best seen in FIG. 2, the flat panel television mount 1 is oriented such that the support 4 is retained between the cap 2 and the base 6, with the dampening members 8 captured between the cap 2 and support 4 and between the base 6 and the support 4 to dampen vibrations from the television mounted on the support 4.

(19) The preferred cap 2 is preferably rigid and may form a channel with a first side that is adapted to be placed against a wall, an opposed side that covers a portion of the top of the support 4 and a connecting wall that may be placed against a ceiling. In the embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2, the first side, opposed side and connecting wall of the cap 2 are a single component shaped in the form of a channel, where the dampening member 8 is positioned between the cap 2 and the support 4. Notwithstanding, it is understood that the cap 2 can be formed of more than one component, as shown in FIGS. 4-6B.

(20) In the embodiment of FIGS. 4-6B, the cap 2 comprises a inner member 2a and an outer member 2b that cooperate to form a channel which captures a portion of the upper end of the support 4 therebetween. As shown in FIGS. 4-5B, one or more set screws 7 are used to maintain the inner member 2a and outer member 2b in fixed relationship.

(21) Preferably, the cap 2 further comprises stop brackets 9 at each end, providing a stop for the support 4/dampening member 8 at the ends of the cap 2. The stop brackets 9 can take any shape, however, it is preferred that they fit within the channel of the cap 2. Moreover, the stop brackets 9 can include covers or other structure to further enhance the visual appearance of the cap 2/television mount 1.

(22) The cap 2 shown comprises apertures 12 for receiving one or more fasteners, such as screws 14, to affix the cap 2 to a wall and/or ceiling. In some embodiments, the cap 2 comprises one or more apertures 12 on the first side for fixing the cap 2 to a wall with screws 14. Likewise, in some embodiments, the cap 2 comprises one or more apertures 12 on the connecting wall for fixing the cap 2 to a ceiling.

(23) The base 6 is also preferably rigid and likewise preferably forms a channel for receiving a portion of the bottom end of the support 4 and dampening member 8, with a first side that is adapted to be placed against a wall, an opposed side that covers the front of the bottom of the support 4 and a connecting wall that may be placed against or parallel to the floor.

(24) In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the base 6 comprises one or more floor engagement members 10 that are coupled to the base 6 and engage the floor or carpet. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, floor engagement members 10 can be an adjustable friction foot 10a or an adjustable carpet spike 10b. In the preferred embodiment shown in FIGS. 3A-3B and 6B-7B, the friction foot 10a or carpet spike 10b comprise a threaded post and a cooperating threaded insert 11 is fixed to opposed ends of the base 6. In this embodiment, the friction foot 10a or carpet spike 10b can be threaded into the threaded insert 11 to a user determined depth to level the television mount 1.

(25) Preferably, the base 6 also further comprises stop brackets 9 at each end, providing a stop for the support 4/dampening member 8 at the ends of the base 6. The stop brackets 9 can take any shape, however, it is preferred that they fit within the channel of the base 6. Moreover, the stop brackets 9 affixed to the base can likewise include covers or other structure to further enhance the visual appearance of the base 6/television mount 1.

(26) The base 6 shown in FIGS. 6B-7B also preferably comprises apertures 12 for receiving one or more fasteners, such as screws 14, to affix the base 6 to a wall. In some embodiments, if the base is to be more securely mounted to the floor, the threaded inserts 11 can be replaced with apertures for receiving one or more fasteners, such as screws 14.

(27) The dampening member 8 is positioned between the exterior of the support 4 and the inner walls of the cap 2 and base 6 to dampen vibrations from the television, speakers or other components mounted on the television mount 1. The resilient layers 8 are preferably U-shaped components, most preferably with closed lateral ends, that fit securely within the space between the support 4 and each of the cap 2 and the base 6. As mentioned above, the dampening member 8 can be attached to one or both of the support 4 and cap 2/base 6, or can merely reside between the support 4 and cap 2/base 6 to dampen the vibrations between the support 4 and cap 2/base 6.

(28) The support 4 captured between the base 6 and the cap 2 provides structural support to the television mounted on the support 4. In some embodiments, for example as shown in FIG. 2, the support 4 comprises adjustable telescoping members. These telescoping members cooperate to vary the overall height of the support 4. In the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the support 4 has stud spacing that is 16 inches on center, matching standard television wall mounts and stud spacing.

(29) In the preferred embodiment shown in FIGS. 8A-8C and 9A-9C, the support 4 comprises VESA (Video Electronics Standards Association) or FDMI (Flat Display Mounting Interface) mounting hardware 18 incorporated on the support 4 for mounting a television display 20 in accordance with well-known methods. For example, FIG. 8A shows the support 4 with generic VESA hardware 18, including screws 22 for engagement of threaded holes on the back of the display 20 in a VESA pattern. Similarly, FIG. 8B shows the support 4 with generic VESA tilt/hinge hardware 18a, and FIG. 8C shows the support 2 with generic VESA tilt, hinge, and/or swivel hardware 18b, both with screws 22 for engagement of threaded holes on the back of the display 20 in a VESA pattern.

(30) In the embodiment of FIG. 1, the support 4 also preferably comprises a spacer 16, which can be made of a suitable material for filling the space between the support 4 and the adjacent wall. The spacer 16 preferably comprises a deformable cushioning layer which is maintained between the support 4 and wall, not only providing additional dampening, but also prohibiting items from slipping into the gap between the support 4 and the wall and being lost behind the support 4.

(31) Variations, modifications and alterations to the preferred embodiment of the present invention described above will make themselves apparent to those skilled in the art. All such variations, modifications, alterations and the like are intended to fall within the spirit and scope of the present invention.