Supports – Brackets – Adjustable
Reexamination Certificate
2001-02-02
2003-08-26
King, Anita (Department: 3632)
Supports
Brackets
Adjustable
C248S281110, C248S282100, C248S917000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06609691
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates in general to an arm apparatus for mounting electronic devices, and more specifically, to an extension arm having a system for internally managing the cables to and from the electronic device.
Adjustable extension arms for mounting electronic peripheral devices, such as computer monitors, notebook computers, Internet computers, VCR's, cameras, computer keyboards, televisions, other electronic devices and the like, are well known in the prior art. For example, there is known from O'Neill, U.S. Pat. No. 4,852,842; Greene, U.S. Pat. No. 5,584,596; and Voeller, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,743,503 various mechanical support arms. By way of one example, due to recent advances in flat-screen technology, there is a demand for adjustable extension arms that are particularly suited for use with flat-screen devices, such as flat-screen computer monitors and televisions.
To this end,
FIGS. 1-7
disclose an extension arm
10
for mounting a peripheral device in accordance with the prior art. As shown in
FIG. 1
, the main elements of the extension arm
10
are a first endcap
12
, an upper channel
14
, a lower channel
16
, a second endcap
18
, and a forearm extension
20
. The first endcap
12
has an endcap shaft
22
that is pivotably attachable to a rigid support mount (not shown), such as an orifice sized to accept the endcap shaft
22
or a track configured and sized to engage the grooves on endcap shaft
22
. The first endcap
12
is pivotably coupled via pins
24
to both the upper channel
14
and the lower channel
16
. The opposite ends of the upper channel
14
and the lower channel
16
are pivotably coupled via pins
24
to the second endcap
18
. The second endcap
18
is coupled to the forearm extension
20
via a forearm extension pin
92
. The forearm extension
20
has a vertically disposed hole
26
therethrough for accepting a device mount (not shown) such as a tilter, platform or other apparatus.
The combination of the upper and the lower channels
14
,
1
.
6
and the first and the second endcaps
12
,
18
form an adjustable parallelogram that permits a device coupled to the forearm extension
20
to be raised and lowered to a desirable height. The parallelogram retains its position by employing a gas spring
28
, which is pivotably and adjustably attached to the first endcap
12
and the upper channel
14
, as will be further described below. Generally, the gas spring
28
, e.g., a gas type hydraulic cylinder and a retractable piston rod, is sized so as to have a fixed length until an upward or downward force is exerted at the second endcap
18
that exceeds the gas spring's designed resistance. Thus, the gas spring
28
causes the parallelogram to retain its position when the only force exerted at the second endcap
18
is the weight of the device, but permits the parallelogram to be adjusted when a user pushes the device coupled to the forearm extension
20
up or down.
FIG. 2
illustrates a side view of the first endcap
12
, having the endcap shaft
22
disposed on a first end
30
of the first endcap
12
. To provide a rigid connection between the two pieces, the endcap shaft
22
is typically machined from steel and is inserted into the first end
30
during the casting process of the first endcap
12
. The endcap shaft
22
has a hole
32
formed in an end of the endcap shaft
22
that is inserted into the first endcap
12
. The first endcap
12
is typically fabricated from cast aluminum. The first endcap
12
also has a second end
34
having a hole
36
disposed therethrough. Disposed within the first endcap
12
is a threaded rod
38
. A first end
40
of the threaded rod
38
is inserted into the hole
32
at the base of the endcap shaft
22
. A second end
42
of the threaded rod
38
is aligned with the hole
36
and is held in place by a clip
44
. The clip
44
is fastened to an inner surface of the first endcap
12
by screws
46
.
Threadedly mounted on the threaded rod
38
is a clevis
48
.
FIG. 3
illustrates a sideview of the clevis
48
including a tapped hole
50
in the center thereof. The tapped hole
50
receives the threaded rod
38
, as shown in FIG.
2
. At a first end of the clevis
48
is a pair of fastening members
52
,
54
to which are fastened one end of the gas spring
28
. A second end
56
of the clevis
48
is configured to slidably engage a track
58
which is integrally molded in the first endcap
12
(see FIG.
2
). The second end
42
of the threaded rod
38
is configured to be engaged by a hex-shaped key which is inserted through the hole
36
when the second end
42
is properly aligned with the hole
36
. The hex-shaped key is employed so as to rotate the threaded rod
38
along its axis of rotation. When the threaded rod
38
is rotated along its axis of rotation, the clevis
48
moves along the length of the threaded rod
38
in a direction that corresponds to the direction which the hex-shaped key is turned. This movement of the clevis
48
permits the gas spring
28
to be adjusted.
FIGS.
4
(
a
) and
4
(
b
) illustrate the upper channel
14
, which comprises channel bottom
60
from which extend two channel sidewalls
62
. Channel bottom
60
and sidewalls
62
are typically stamped from 13 gauge steel sheet in order to give the upper channel
14
a desired degree of structural rigidity. At each of the ends of the channel bottom
60
, a semi-circular region
64
of the sidewalls
62
is cut out to accommodate cold-rolled steel rollers
66
, which have a hole
68
therethrough for receiving the pins
24
. The rollers
66
are rigidly attached to the upper channel
14
by MIG welding along the edge of the semi-circular cut out region
64
and along the ends of the channel bottom
60
.
Additionally, the upper channel
14
comprises stiffener
70
, which is welded to an inner surface of the channel bottom
60
. Besides providing additional structural rigidity to the upper channel
14
, the stiffener
70
has a hole disposed at one end with a threaded ball stud
72
placed within the hole and fixed in place by a nut
74
. The ball stud
72
is configured and sized to receive one end of the gas spring
28
. The longitudinal centerline
76
of the upper channel
14
is illustrated in FIG.
4
(
b
).
FIGS.
5
(
a
) and
5
(
b
) illustrate the lower channel
16
which comprises a channel bottom
78
from which extend two channel sidewalls
80
. As with the upper channel
14
, the channel bottom
78
and sidewalls
80
are typically stamped from 13 gauge steel sheet, which is relatively heavy in order to give the lower channel
16
a desired degree of structural rigidity. At opposite ends of the channel bottom
78
, a semi-circular region
82
of the sidewalls
80
is cut out to accommodate cold-rolled steel rollers
84
, which have a hole
86
therethrough for receiving the pins
24
. The rollers
84
are rigidly attached to the lower channel
16
by MIG welding along the edge of the semi-circular cut out region
82
and along the ends of the channel bottom
78
. The longitudinal centerline
88
of the lower channel
16
is illustrated on FIG.
5
(
b
).
FIG. 6
illustrates the second endcap
18
. Unlike the first endcap
12
, the second endcap
18
does not have an endcap shaft, nor does it have a clevis assembly for attachment to the gas spring
28
. Instead, the second endcap
18
has a hole
90
disposed in a bottom end for receiving the forearm extension pin
92
, and a hole
94
in a side for inserting a pin
96
into the forearm extension pin
92
, as illustrated in FIG.
FIG. 7
illustrates the forearm extension
20
having the forearm extension pin
92
welded thereto. The forearm extension pin
92
has a hole
98
formed in an upper end to receive the pin
96
. The forearm extension
20
is configured to be pivoted around the forearm extension pin
92
, and is held in place within the second endcap
18
by the pin
96
which penetrates the hole
94
of the second endcap
18
and the hole
98
of the forearm extension pin
92
.
Extension arms
Innovative Office Products, Inc.
King Anita
Lerner David Littenberg Krumholz & Mentlik LLP
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