Electrical transmission or interconnection systems – Vehicle mounted systems
Reexamination Certificate
2000-01-27
2004-06-08
Toatley, Jr., Gregory J. (Department: 2836)
Electrical transmission or interconnection systems
Vehicle mounted systems
Reexamination Certificate
active
06747364
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an in-car electronic device provided with an anti-theft feature that protects the device from a thief by moving a movable member provided with a display member and/or a control member from a regular position, where the device is out of its casing for viewing or accessible to a user, to a retracted position where the device is accommodated in the casing.
2. Description of the Related Art
An in-car electronic device, such as an audio system or car navigation system, is housed in a casing of a 1DIN size or the like and embedded in a dashboard or an instrument panel in a passenger compartment of a car. A face provided on the front of the casing is set so that it is substantially flush with the dashboard, the instrument panel, etc. Control members provided on a surface of the face are used to control electronic circuits and a variety of recording medium drive units in the casing.
There has been a detachable face to protect the foregoing type of in-car electronic device from being removed and stolen from a car while the car is parked. In this detachable face type, only the face can be detached and taken out of the car to disable the operation of the in-car electronic device left in the car, thereby protecting the device from theft.
There is another structure in which a face provided on a front face of a casing is reversed so that a control panel faces toward the casing while parking or the like. This is to make it look as if no in-car electronic device were installed in the car by reversing the face.
However, in the structure wherein the face is detached from the casing and carried out of a car, there is a danger in that the face that has been carried out is lost or the face is left at home when it should be brought back in the car. As a result, the in-car electronic device cannot be operated.
Furthermore, frequently repeated attaching and detaching of the face wears contacts provided between the face and the casing, leading to a possibility of adversely affecting displays on display members or operation performed through control members provided on the face. Damage to a locking mechanism provided between the face and the casing may interfere with secure attachment of the face to the front surface of the casing.
The type where the face is reversed requires an extremely complicated mechanism for reversing the face at the front of the casing.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, the present invention has been made with a view toward solving the problems described above, and it is an object thereof to provide an in-car electronic device with an anti-theft feature for protecting the electronic device from a thief by keeping a face absent from a front surface of a casing when not in use, without the need for detaching the face from the casing or reversing the face.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an in-car electronic device with an anti-theft feature in which a face can be automatically retracted to a position where the face is not seen on a front surface of the casing to thereby permit the face to be easily hidden.
To these ends, according to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided an in-car electronic device with an anti-theft feature, including: a fixed front surface which is provided on a front surface of a casing incorporating an electronic circuit and mainly formed of a flat surface; a movable member which can be installed in a regular position to cover a front of the fixed front surface and a surface of which is provided with a control surface having a display member and/or a control member; and position changing means for moving the movable member between the regular position and a retracted position where the movable member is circularly moved by substantially 90 degrees from the regular position so as to be retracted in an opening, wherein an end surface of the movable member in the retracted position is substantially flush with the fixed front surface.
According to the present invention, when the in-car electronic device is not in use or during parking, the movable member that has been in the regular position is housed in the casing to hide it. At this time, mainly the flat surface is exposed on the front surface of the casing, and the opening in which the movable member has been placed is covered by an end surface of the movable member. With this arrangement, the movable member can be made to look as if it had been removed from the casing front surface, thus preventing the in-car electronic device from being stolen.
Preferably, an end portion of the movable member is provided with a protuberant portion that extends toward a front surface providing a control surface or toward a rear surface, and when the movable member moves toward the retracted position, the opening is closed by the end portion of the movable member after the display member and/or the control member passes by the opening.
The position changing means is driven by power of a motor driver, and the movable member can be automatically moved between the regular position and the retracted position by the power of the motor driver.
In a case wherein the position changing means is driven by the motor driver, the retracted position of the movable member can be immediately reached by operating a switch or the like of the control member provided on the movable member. When moving the movable member from the retracted position to the regular position, an arrangement may be made so that the switch is turned ON by, for example, manually pressing the end portion of the movable member or a cover exposed at the opening in a retracted state so as to start the motor driver to move the movable member from the retracted position to the regular position.
The position changing means is not limited to the one driven by the power of the motor driver. For instance, the movable member in the regular position may alternatively be circularly moved by hand to its retracted position, or a face in the retracted position may be pushed by hand to cause the face to project from the opening by a predetermined amount, then circularly moved to the regular position by hand.
As another alternative, the motor driver may be controlled so that the movable member is stopped in a state wherein the control surface is aslant in the middle of travel of the movable member from the regular position to the retracted position.
Making the movable member stop aslant causes the control surface of the movable member to be positioned aslant in a car, permitting easier operation through the control surface.
In the present invention, the movable member may circularly move, using one end thereof as a support point, frontward from the regular position to a horizontal position, then moved into the casing. Preferably, however, the movable member moves between the regular position and the retracted position as described below.
Preferably, when one direction along an arbitrary lateral edge of the fixed front surface is defined as a first side, and the other direction is defined as a second side, the opening is provided at a position closer to the first side in the fixed front surface, the movable member is controlled in its position by the position changing means so that an end portion thereof on the first side advances forward from the regular position and an end portion thereof on the second side circularly moves toward the first side, then the end portion on the second side is oriented toward the casing and entered into the opening to reach the retracted position.
For example, the first side is a bottom side, while the second side is a top side. As an alternative, the first side may be a right side (or a left side), while the second side may be the left side (or the right side). More specifically, the movable member circularly moves from a slanted position wherein the control surface faces upward to a substantially horizontal position and directly moves into the casing. Alternatively, the movable member circularly moves from the slanted position w
Shibuya Yasushi
Yagi Masaru
Alpine Electronics Inc.
Brinks Hofer Gilson & Lione
Toatley , Jr. Gregory J.
LandOfFree
Electronic device having retractable movable member provided... does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Electronic device having retractable movable member provided..., we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Electronic device having retractable movable member provided... will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-3360244