GB2319467A

GB2319467A - Furniture with display screen

Info

Publication number: GB2319467A
Application number: GB9719943A
Authority: GB
Inventors: David Gilbert
Original assignee: POWERDESK PLC
Current assignee: POWERDESK PLC
Priority date: 1996-09-20
Filing date: 1997-09-19
Publication date: 1998-05-27
Anticipated expiration: 2017-09-19
Also published as: GB9719943D0; GB9619697D0; GB2319467B

Abstract

An article of furniture 1 incorporates a substantially flat work surface 2 having a recess 3 adapted to accommodate a display 4, which display 4 comprises a flat screen display device 7 movable between a viewing position and a position in which it is substantially flush with the work surface 2. Typically, the work surface 2 is constructed from wood or a wood substitute and the flat screen display device 7 may comprise a sheet of toughened glass. The display 4 may be pivotally mounted for movement through a horizontal axis and may include drive means for moving the display from the flush position to the viewing position. Moreover, means 9 may be provided for holding the display 4 in more than one viewing position. The article of furniture 1 is preferably in the form of a desk or a table, wherein a false drawer front 11 may be included to conceal at least part of a computer 12.

Description

Displays The present invention relates to an item of furniture which has an essentially flat top or work surface and is provided with a flat screen display device. Although not limited thereto, it is particularly applicable to furniture (a) in which the top or work surface overlies and substantially closes a compartment in which is mounted at least the CPU (central processing unit) of a computer, the top or work surface being movable or removable for access to the compartment; and/or (b) which comprises at least one drawer, and which has mounted within it a CPU and external access means for coupling the CPU to the exterior of the furniture, wherein said external access means is concealable by a movable or removable false drawer front; and/or (c) which contains within it a CPU and external access means for coupling the CPU to the exterior of the furniture thereby forming a computer unit, the computer unit comprising at east two physically separate operatively coupled computer parts which are individually mounted to a fixed part or parts of the furniture. Such furniture is described in our copending International Patent Application No. PCT/GB 96/02477 (references RJH/35972.WOP and P20757WO) to which reference should be made for further details.

In that application reference is made to the provision of a separate flat screen display, which may need to be removed from the furniture when not in use. The present invention provides an arrangement where a flat screen display is incorporated into the furniture but does not substantially disrupt the continuity of the top or work surface when the display is not in use. It should, however, be noted that one advantage of the earlier arrangement, viz. true integrity of the top or work surface and substantial concealment of the computer function when the computer is not in use, has to be foregone. Nevertheless it is still possible to provide a piece of computer furniture which is difficult to steal, which protects the computer parts mounted inside it, and which still can conceal to a certain degree the fact that a computer is contained therein. The furniture can continue to be aesthetically attractive, and still permits the avoidance of the tangle of external interconnecting wires common to many computer systems.

Published European Patent Application Serial No. 0165130 discloses a computer desk in which a CRT display is accommodated in one pedestal below a separate cover which locally assures continuity of the desk top when the display is not in use. Operation of a control causes the cover to be raised (pivoted) to a viewing position. A large part of one pedestal has to be sacrificed to the CRT, and it is not possible to site the display other than above a pedestal. The vertical viewing angle of the CRT is predetermined, but the CRT may be swivelled about a vertical axis.

The present invention provides an item of furniture having a substantially flat top surface or substantially flat work surface and a display which comprises a flat screen display device and has a substantially flat surface overall, the top or work surface including an aperture or recess arranged to accommodate the flat screen display in a flush position with its said flat surface substantially flush with the top or work surface, the display being displaceable out of the top or work surface from the flush position to a viewing position.

For safety, the surface of the display device which lies uppermost is preferably of strengthened or toughened glass, such as armoured glass.

Reference is made herein to "top" and "work" surfaces insofar as some work surfaces, for example in a bureau, or where there is a rear upstand, are not at the top of the furniture. Furthermore, some top surfaces, such as that at the top of a chest of drawers, would not normally be considered work surfaces, although they can be used in the present invention. The "top" or "work" surface will normally be substantially horizontal, but inclined surfaces also fall within the scope of the present invention.

In a preferred embodiment the display is pivotable about a horizontal axis, e.g. at an edge thereof, relative to the top or work surface, for displacement between the flush position and at least one viewing position which is more vertical. A plurality or continuous range of viewing positions may be so provided.

Such displacement may be effected manually with means for retaining the display in the flush and viewing positions, and/or there may be drive means, such as within the furniture, for displacing the display between the flush and viewing positions.

Preferably, the furniture, or at least the top or work surface, is made essentially of wood or a wood substitute. The display may comprise a frame which surrounds the flat screen device and is flush with the upper surface of the flat screen display device in the flush position. Preferably the frame matches the top or work surface, or the material thereof is similar to, or the same as, the material of the (body of the) top or work surface.

Preferably, the thickness of the display is no more than twice the thickness of the top or work surface, and more preferably it thickness is no more than the thickness of the body of the top or work surface. It is then possible to site the aperture or recess for the display anywhere on the top or work surface, as desired, and there is substantially no interference with the space below the top or work surface, e.g. with a drawer space, or a compartment containing computer parts or a keyboard.

In a preferred embodiment, in the flush position an edge of the display (e.g. that which in use is uppermost) may be adjacent an edge of the top or work surface, for example a rear edge, and preferable, but not necessarily, substantially centrally of the rear edge. This can be useful in locating the display away from the main (central) area of the top or work surface.

Preferable, the entire top or work surface is substantially continuous when the display is in the flush position.

The furniture may be, for example, a desk or table.

For further detail of the invention, reference should be made to the appended claims and to the following description of an embodiment of the invention which will be made with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 shows a writing table (desk) with the display in the flush position; Figure 2 shows the table of Figure 1 with the display in the viewing position; and Figure 3 shows a detail of the display of Figure 2.

Figure 1 shows a wooden writing table 1 with a rectangular horizontal top surface 2 which is substantially continuous and uninterrupted save for an aperture 3 at its centre rear accommodating a display 4.

Substantially the entire upper (viewing) surface of the display is flat, and in the position shown it lies flush with the top surface and substantially fills the aperture whereby the top surface is rendered substantially continuous. (As shown best in Figure 3, at the top edge of the display, a recessed finger grip 5 is provided for manually raising the display from the flush position, and an optional mating recess 6 is located at a corresponding position in the table top, but both of these are small in relation to the top surface. Although the grip and recess form a depression in the top surface, this lies within a border strip having a width which is a most 10 of the corresponding surface dimension. This consideration could also apply to displays located at a side of the top or work surface.) An alternative way of grasping the display device for raising it would be an upstanding knob or tag, for example, but this interrupts the continuity of the top surface in use more than a recess.

As shown in more detail in Figure 2, the display comprises a flat screen display device 7 mounted within a wooden frame which matches the table top. The viewing surface of the display device is of suitable strengthened/toughened glass, for example of armoured glass, and lies flush with the frame surface. The display device is a liquid crystal display, but any suitable display technology, such as electroluminescence or a plasma panel, could be used.

The display incorporates the circuitry for receiving display signals and addressing the display device accordingly. As shown, its thickness is no more than twice the table top thickness, and preferably no more than the table top thickness.

Two stays 9 are provided for maintaining the display in the viewing position, and a ledge 10 in the table holds the display in the flush position. If desired, the stays may afford more than one viewing position, e.g. by the provision of a series of detents for the stays.

In an alternative embodiment, the display is driven to the or a viewing position under the control of an electric motor (for example). There may be a single viewing position or a range of positions selectable under manual or driven control.

In the alternative embodiment, retraction to the flush position could be manual and/or driven. The grip and recess may be omitted where reliance is placed solely on driving the display to the viewing position.

In a variation on the arrangement described above, the flat surface of the display may be an edge surface (e.g.

the top edge or a side edge of the display 4), with the display being retracted or rotated through an aperture in the work or top surface in a generally downward direction so as to lie generally within the body of the furniture, with the edge surface flush with the top or work surface.

The writing table includes the features (a) to (c) mentioned in the first paragraph of this specification, and reference should be made to our copending International Patent Application No. PCT/GB 96/02477 for further details.

A computer processing unit, including a CPU, is incorporated in a compartment beneath the table top, separate components or subassemblies thereof being mounted individually on the wooden body of the furniture, and access thereto, for example for repair or modification, is by raising the table top which is hinged at its rear for this purpose. In normal use, as a writing table/computer, the table top is not moved. None of these feature is illustrated in the drawings.

A central drawer 11 holds a keyboard 12. The drawer front may be false and may be removed and/or dropped down to provide access to the keyboard in situ, or the keyboard may be movable to the table top for operation.

In a preferred form, a false drop-down drawer front is hinged on a sliding shelf which is pulled forward for access to a keyboard mounted thereon.

The keyboard and a joystick 13 are separately plugged into the computer processing unit within the drawer or drawer space, and the joystick may either be placed inside the drawer when not in use, or be removed from the table. Other facilities such as floppy disc and CD-ROM ports may be built into the table, for example to the right of the drawer, and these could be concealed by a false movable of removable matching drawer front.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. An item of furniture having a substantially flat top surface or substantially flat work surface and a display which comprises a flat screen display device and has a substantially flat surface overall, characterised in that the top or work surface includes an aperture or recess arranged to accommodate the flat screen display in a flush position with its said flat surface substantially flush with the top or work surface, and the display is displaceable out of the top or work surface from the flush position to a viewing position.

2. An item of furniture according to claim 1 wherein the display comprises a frame which surrounds the flat screen display device.

3. An item of furniture according to claim 2 wherein the frame matches the top or work surface, or the material thereof is similar to or the same as, the material of the body of the work surface.

4. A item of furniture according to any preceding claim wherein the said flat surface of the display comprises a sheet of toughened or strengthened glass.

5. An item of furniture according to any preceding claim wherein the thickness of the display is no more than twice the thickness of the top or work surface.

6. An item of furniture according to any preceding claim wherein the body of the top or work surface is of wood or a wood substitute.

7. An item of furniture according to any preceding claim wherein the display is pivotally mounted for movement about a horizontal axis from the flush position to the viewing position.

8. An item of furniture according to claim 7 wherein said horizontal axis is at an edge of the said flat surface of the display.

9. An item of furniture according to claim 7 or claim 8 wherein said horizontal axis lies adjacent an edge of the top or work surface.

10. An item of furniture according to any preceding claim including means for holding the display in more than one viewing position.

11. An item of furniture according to any preceding claim comprising drive means for moving the display from the flush position to a viewing position.

12. An item of furniture according to any preceding claim wherein the entire top or work surface is substantially continuous when the display is in the flush position.

13. An item of furniture according to any preceding claim in the form of a desk or table.

14. An item of furniture according to any preceding claim wherein at least part of a computer is contained within the furniture.

15. An item of furniture according to claim 14 wherein the top or work surface overlies and substantially closes a compartment in which is mounted said part of a computer.

16. An item of furniture according to claim 14 or claim 15 and provided with external access means for coupling the said part of the computer to the exterior of the furniture, wherein said access means is concealable by a movable or removable part of the furniture.

17. An item of furniture according to claim 16 wherein said movable or removable part of the furniture is a false drawer front.