Modular TV Architecture

Abstract

Modular audio/video entertainment system, said system comprising three modules: a screen unit, a loudspeaker unit and a control unit, where means are provided for assembling and disassembling the modules, where said means comprises one or more bracket assemblies, where one end of the one or more bracket assemblies is fastened in the loudspeaker unit, and another end of the one or more bracket assemblies engages means provided on the rear or bottom side of the screen, normally used for the screen's standard table or floor stand or wall mount.

Claims

1. Modular audio/video entertainment system, said system comprising three modules: a screen unit, a loudspeaker unit and a control unit, where means are provided for assembling and disassembling the modules, where said means comprise one or more bracket assemblies, where one end of the one or more bracket assemblies is fastened in the loudspeaker unit, and another end of the one or more bracket assemblies engages means provided on the rear or bottom side of the screen unit, normally used for the screen's standard table or floor stand or wall mount.

2. Modular audio/video entertainment system according to claim 1, wherein the control unit and the loudspeaker unit is one integrated member, where the upper part of the integrated member comprises a first mounting bracket being part of the one or more bracket assemblies, said mounting bracket has means for being fastened to an interface bracket, which interface bracket has means for engaging corresponding means in the rear side of the screen unit.

3. Modular audio/video entertainment system according to claim 1, wherein the control unit and the loudspeaker unit is one integrated member, where on an upper part of the integrated member a mounting bracket is provided, where said mounting bracket has one or more mounting surfaces, where the mounting surfaces are provided with means for engaging the back and/or bottom of a screen, where different mounting brackets having different means for engaging the back of different screens on their respective mounting surfaces, may be fastened on the upper part of the integrated member.

4. Modular audio/video entertainment system according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the corresponding means in the rear side of the screen are the mounting means of the screen used for mounting a table or floor stand or wall mount to the screen.

5. Modular audio/video entertainment system according to claim 1, wherein the system further comprises a rear cover, said cover has an upper surface and a lower edge as well as an at least section-wise curved surface connecting said upper surface and lower edge.

6. Modular audio/video entertainment system, according to claim 1, where an upper surface of the loudspeaker unit is provided with a groove or ridge, in which groove or against said ridge the screen unit is placed, in order to obtain a fixed and common mounting plane between the loudspeaker unit and the screen unit.

7. Modular audio/video entertainment system according to claim 1, wherein the loudspeaker unit has a front surface having first width and a first height, and first bottom, where one or more loudspeaker transducers are arranged for emitting sound from said front surface, first top and two first side surfaces connected to said front surface defining a first depth and where said screen unit has a front screen surface, said front screen surface having a second width and a second height, and second bottom, second top and two second side surfaces connected to said front screen surface defining a second depth, and where the control unit has a front surface having a third width and a third height, and third bottom, third top and two third side surfaces connected to said front surface defining a third depth, and where end covers are provided in order to cover at least a section of the loudspeakers' first side surfaces, and parts of the top surface, not covered by the screen's bottom surface when the screen unit is connected to the loudspeaker unit.

8. Modular audio/video entertainment system according to claim 7, wherein different end covers are provided for different screen widths, said end covers optionally having one or more of the following characteristics different from the loudspeaker unit and/or screen unit: surface texture, color, width, material.

9. Modular audio/video entertainment system according to claim 1, wherein the bracket assemblies comprise interface means for attachment to a wall mount hinge.

10. Modular audio/video entertainment system according to claim 1, wherein the control unit comprises a communication module able to communicate with a remote control.

11. Modular audio/video entertainment system according to claim 1, wherein the control unit comprises a Wi-Fi/Bluetooth antenna/transceiver and/or a wireless loudspeaker antenna/transceiver, where access may be gained to the software controlling sound reproduction and/or signal processing for the screen unit and where the modular audio/video entertainment system can communicate with a plurality of wireless loudspeakers.

Description

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0027] The invention will now be explained with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein

[0028] FIG. 1 illustrates the components of the modular audio/video entertainment system according to the invention

[0029] FIG. 2 illustrates the complete integrated modular audio/video entertainment system

[0030] FIG. 3 illustrates the modular audio/video entertainment system provided with a wall mount in the shape of a wall hinge

[0031] FIG. 4 illustrates the modular audio/video entertainment system provided with a floor or table stand

[0032] FIG. 5 illustrates bracket assemblies

[0033] FIG. 6 illustrates a further bracket assembly

[0034] FIG. 7 illustrates brackets specifically designed to fit into the rear side of a screen

[0035] FIG. 8 illustrates a rear view of the modular audio/video entertainment system

[0036] FIG. 9 illustrates a rear view of the complete modular audio/video entertainment system according to the invention

[0037] FIG. 10 illustrates an embodiment where the top surface of the loudspeaker unit is provided with an alignment member for the screen unit

[0038] FIG. 11 illustrates alignment studs in the bottom part of the screen unit

[0039] FIG. 12 illustrates assembly details of the loudspeaker end covers and the control unit front cover

[0040] FIG. 13 illustrates an assembly detail of the modular audio/video entertainment system

[0041] FIG. 14 illustrates a view of a horizontal cross-section through the screen unit

[0042] FIG. 15 illustrates examples of sensors and antennae/transceivers of the modular audio/video entertainment system

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0043] In FIG. 1 is schematically illustrated the components of the modular audio/video entertainment system according to the invention. The modular audio/video entertainment system 1 comprises a screen unit 10, a loudspeaker unit 20 and a control unit 30.

[0044] The detailed embodiment which will be described below will be described where the loudspeaker unit 20 and the control unit 30 is an integrated unit generally referred to as 50, but it is within the invention that the loudspeaker unit 20 and the control unit 30 may be separate units which may be assembled to one unit such that it is possible to maintain the loudspeaker unit 20 and only replace the control unit if advances in technology necessitates that the control of the loudspeakers and the screen is updated or modernized to such an extent that it cannot be carried out simply by software updates as will be explained below.

[0045] Once the screen unit 10 is assembled with the integrated unit 50 it will have an appearance as a complete integrated modular audio/video entertainment system 1 as illustrated with reference to FIG. 2.

[0046] In addition to the modular audio/video entertainment system 1 comprising a screen unit 10 and the integrated unit 50, a wall mount 51 in the shape of a wall hinge 52 may likewise be provided as illustrated with reference to FIG. 3. The wall hinge 52 facilitates that the entire modular audio/video entertainment system 1 may be mounted on a wall and that the viewing angle may be changed simply by swivelling the hinge 52. The wall hinge 52 may be provided with a remote controlled motor unit 53 such that a remote control may control the pivoting of the audio/video entertainment system 1.

[0047] Alternatively, the audio/video entertainment system 1 may as illustrated with reference to FIG. 4 be provided with a floor or table stand 54. In this embodiment, the floor or table stand 54 is motorized such that it may be remotely controlled to swivel on the swivel plate 55 and rotate around the axle 56 and/or axle 56 whereby the viewing position of the modular audio/video entertainment system may easily be adjusted to any desired angle and viewing position. Naturally the wall mount 51 and the floor or table stand 54 are provided with mounting brackets 57 such that they may be attached to the modular audio/video entertainment system 1 in a rigid and stable manner.

[0048] In order to obtain the rigid and stable connection between the integrated unit 50 and the screen unit 10 one or more bracket assemblies 60, see FIG. 5, are provided. On the top surface 21 of the loudspeaker unit 20 first bracket means 61, 61 are fastened. An interface bracket 62 is provided as an interface between the brackets 61, 61 mounted on the top surface 21 of the integrated unit 50 in this example the loudspeaker unit 20 being uppermost, and therefore the brackets 61, 61 are mounted on a top surface 21 of the loudspeaker unit 20. The interface bracket 62 is mounted to the first brackets 61, 61 and provided with further mounting means 63 which are especially provided as corresponding to the fastening means provided in the back side of a screen unit 10, such that the interface bracket 62 adjusts the difference between the mounting means provided in the back of a screen 10 and the mounting brackets 61, 61 provided on the integrated unit 50.

[0049] In FIG. 6 is illustrated a further bracket assembly 64 also mounted on the integrated unit 50. In this embodiment, the brackets 65, 65 are specifically designed to fit into the rear side 10 of a screen unit as illustrated with reference to FIG. 7. This embodiment is particularly useful where the brackets 65, 65 are designed to a specific brand or series of screens where the mounting means on the screen will be positioned in substantially the same position in a number of generations of screens such that the interface bracket 62 explained above with reference to FIG. 5 becomes superfluous. In this embodiment, the rear side 10 of the screen unit is provided with apertures superposed the apertures 66 in the brackets 65, 65 such that the screen unit 10 may be connected to the brackets 65, 65 by a bolt/screw connection.

[0050] As will be explained below the modular audio/video entertainment system 1 may also be provided with a rear cover 70. In order to provide access to the rear of the screen unit 10 a removable cover 70 may be provided such that by removing the removable cover 70 as is illustrated in FIG. 7 the rear side of the screen unit 10 is accessible in order to be able to fasten the mounting brackets 65, 65 directly to the screen's rear surface 10.

[0051] In FIG. 8 is illustrated a rear view of the modular audio/video entertainment system where the removable cover 70 is positioned in the rear cover 70 in order to cover the wiring and brackets which would otherwise be visible as indicated with reference to FIG. 7. In this manner, a very clean and neat rear surface is provided in the assembly zone between the screen unit 10 and the integrated unit 50.

[0052] In FIG. 9 is illustrated a rear view of the modular audio/video entertainment system according to the invention where the rear side 10 of the screen unit 10 is partly covered by the cover 70. The rear side of the integrated unit 50 is also provided with standard covers 80 which may be same regardless of which size screen unit 10 is integrated with the system.

[0053] Furthermore, the rear cover 70 may be designed to integrate with a smaller size screen such that any larger screens will also be usable with the rear cover 70. In this embodiment depicted in all the figures the loudspeaker unit 20 is wider than the screen unit 10. This means that a portion of the loudspeaker unit 20 extends wider on either side of the screen unit 10.

[0054] In FIG. 10 is illustrated an embodiment where the top surface 21 of the loudspeaker unit 20 is provided with alignment members 22. The alignment members are dimensioned such that they are suitable to be locked in between alignment studs 24, 24 and 24 in the lower edge 11 of the screen unit 10 as illustrated with reference to FIG. 11. Therefore, in addition to being connected by the bracket assemblies, the screen unit 10 and the integrated unit 50 in this embodiment represented by the top surface 21 of the loudspeaker unit are held by the alignment members 22 and the alignment studs 24, 24 and 24 such that a very stable connection is provided, particularly in a direction perpendicular to the screen surface in addition to the bracket assemblies.

[0055] The alignment members 22 may be replaced by a ridge (not illustrated) such that the lower edge 11 of the screen unit 10 is pushed against this ridge in order to align the screen unit 10 relative to the loudspeaker unit 20. The bracket assemblies will maintain the screen unit 10 in position relative to the integrated unit 50, but the ridge will provide for a linear surface against which the screen unit 10 may rest such that symmetry is achieved between the integrated member 50 and the mounted screen unit 10.

[0056] Due to the extensions 20 of the loudspeaker unit 20 as discussed above with reference to FIG. 9 and the potential provision of grooves and ridges as discussed with reference to FIGS. 10 and 11 end covers 72, see FIG. 12, may be provided. The end covers 72, particularly the top and bottom parts 72 of the end covers 72, are dimensioned such that the top and bottom parts 72 have an extent corresponding to the extent 20 of the loudspeaker widthwise in comparison to the screen unit 10. The end covers 72 will therefore cover any ridge or groove provided in a top surface of the loudspeaker unit 20 which is not covered by the lower edge of the screen unit 10 and as such present a neat and clean design. The end covers 72 may be provided in any material and with any surface finish, such as for example polished aluminium, wood, black plastics and the like.

[0057] When the screen unit 10 is exchanged for a screen unit having a different size, other end covers 72, specifically designed to cover the extensions 20 for that particular new screen unit with respect to the loudspeaker unit 20, are installed, again to achieve a neat and clean design.

[0058] Consequently, the loudspeaker unit 20 may be used with a range of sizes of screen units 10 and still present a neat and presentable modular audio/video entertainment system by replacing the end covers making it invisible that the system was not born with a screen unit of that size.

[0059] Further, as illustrated in FIG. 12, the control unit 30 may also be provided with a front cover 31 having any desired colour, texture etc. In an embodiment, the cover 31 is a glass plate designed to match the appearance of the screen surface and the same width as the screen width, such as to create the impression of a larger, more square-like screen with a loudspeaker unit going across the square-like screen.

[0060] In FIG. 13 is illustrated an assembly detail of the modular audio/video entertainment system. The loudspeaker unit 20 is provided with end covers 72 such that the distance between the end of the loudspeaker unit 20 and the edge 12 of the screen unit 10 is covered. Furthermore, the cover 70 is provided on the rear side of the screen unit 10 such that a nice, curved edge 25 is provided between the loudspeaker unit 20 and the cover 70.

[0061] In FIG. 14 a view of a horizontal cross-section through the screen unit 10 is illustrated. The rear cover 70 is seen to have a curved section which covers the rear side 10 of the screen unit 10 as well as the mounting bracket assemblies 60 such that a clean and neat rear surface is also provided due to the provision of the cover 70. The rear cover 70 has been customised for this particular audio/video entertainment system. The dotted rear cover (65 in FIG. 14) has been replaced by rear cover 70.

[0062] In order to communicate with the audio/video entertainment system 1, the audio/video entertainment system 1 may be provided with a number of sensors and antennae/transceivers as illustrated with reference to FIG. 15. In this embodiment, only a few of the possible sensors are mentioned, for example a Wi-Fi/Bluetooth antenna/transceiver 74 may be provided in the front surface of the control unit 30 such that a user may communicate with the control unit 30 or have access to the internet thereby using the audio/video entertainment system as a smart TV or an audio streaming device. Furthermore, a light sensor 75 is provided in order to detect ambient light which is used to control the brightness and other settings of the picture on the screen unit 10. Furthermore, a wireless loudspeaker antenna/transceiver 76 is provided allowing the audio/video entertainment system 1 to communicate with a plurality of wireless loudspeakers (not illustrated) in addition to the built-in loudspeaker unit 20. Additionally, the Wi-Fi/Bluetooth antenna/transceiver 77 of the screen unit 10 can be used to stream smart TV content directly to the screen unit 10 without occupying the Wi-Fi/Bluetooth antenna/transceiver 74 in the control unit 30.