GB2277436A - Bracket assembly - Google Patents

Abstract

A bracket assembly for connecting an arm 20 of a television support bracket to a swivel disc 17 of a carrier for a video cassette recorder (Figure 1), comprises a pair of connection elements 10 adjustably secured to the disc to face one another at a spacing apart determined by the orientation of a fixing block 15 secured between the elements, the block being such to provide at least two alternative spacings between the elements corresponding to the width of different arms. If the block has its length, height and width unequal it can provide three different spacings. Also the block can be slid between the elements, to cater for different depths of arm, and angled to cater for tapered arms. Flanges 12 return the arm in place. <IMAGE>

Description

BRACKET ASSEMBLY This invention relates to a bracket assembly for providing a connection between an 'arm' and a member, and has particular, but not exclusive, application to the connection of a carrier for a video cassette recorder to an arm of a wall mounted television support bracket.

According to the invention there is provided a bracket assembly for providing a connection between an arm and a member, the assembly comprising a pair of connection elements having means for attachment to said member in a facing, spaced apart orientation, the elements, when attached to said member being relatively movable to adjust the spacing between them, a fixing block securable between the facing connection element in either of two alternative orientations to provide two alternative adjusted spacings respectively between the connection element for reception, in use, of respective corresponding different widths of arm, and the connection elements having means for engaging a surface of or on the arm, in use, to retain the arm between the connection elements upon relative movement between the arm and the fixing block away from one another.

The invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a bracket assembly of the present invention; Figure 2 is a perspective view of a fixing block of the bracket assembly; Figure 3 shows the bracket assembly adjusted to its widest, to receive a wide/shallow arm; Figure 4 shows the bracket assembly of Figure 3 adjusted to receive a wide/deeper arm; Figure 5 shows the bracket assembly adjusted to its narrowest, to receive a narrow/shallow arm; Figure 6 shows the bracket assembly of Figure 5 adjusted to receive a narrow/deeper arm; and Figure 7 is a side view of the bracket assembly, with one connection element removed, showing the connection of an arm with a tapered lower surface.

The bracket assembly shown in the drawings is intended to connect a carrier cradle supporting a video cassette recorder to an arm of a wall mounted television support bracket. The arm of such a support bracket is normally of rectangular cross-section, but it could be square.

Moreover with several brackets the arm is tapered at its underside so that the depth of the arm normally decreases away from its wall mounting plate. The arm is normally of hollow, i.e. -box, section.

In the particular application of the invention to be described and illustrated, the bracket assembly connects the arm to a swivel disc which can be considered as a member forming part of the VCR carrier cradle, the disc allowing the cradle to be angularly adjusted relative to the arm, and thus to the television supported on the platform carried on the end of the arm.

However the bracket assembly of the invention has wider application than to the specific use described and illustrated. Thus the 'arm' need only be a part having an external shape which is held by the bracket assembly for the width of the bracket, and could thus, outside of the bracket assembly, be of a different external shape and form part of a member other than an arm. It need not of course be hollow. The member to which the connection elements of the bracket assembly are attached need not be a swivel disc and indeed said elements could be attachable directly to a member to be carried by the 'arm' via the bracket assembly. Moreover the member could be uppermost so that the member supports the 'arm' via the bracket assembly instead of the reverse.

From the figures, it can be seen that the bracket assembly includes a pair of identical connection elements, each in the form of a one piece metallic pressing having a main, straight, rectangular strip part 10. At one of its ends, the part 10 is turned through 90" to provide a flange 11 having a rounded outer surface. At its opposite end, the part 10 is turned through 90" in the opposite direction to provide a rectangular flange 12 which, as will be described, acts as a stop, in use, for the arm with which the bracket assembly is used. The flange 12 need not be at the end of the strip part.

Within the part 10, extending parallel to, and positioned centrally between, the longitudinal sides thereof is an elongated, curved-ended slot 13, the upper end of the slot terminating well below the end of the part at which the flange 12 is formed. Similarly a short, elongated curved-ended slot 14 is centrally provided in the flange 11 so that the slots 13 and 14 are aligned longitudinally of the part 10.

Figure 2 shows a fixing block 15, moulded in plastics material, which is used with the connection elements to vary the spacing therebetween to cater for different widths of arm. The block can be any form of cuboid hexahedron except a regular cube, i.e. with all its sides of equal length.

This is because the purpose of the block is to keep the connection elements apart by at least two different spacings, and accordingly at least two of the three dimensions of the block, i.e. width, height and length must be different. Preferably, as shown in Figure 2, all three dimensions are different, so that a > b > c, where a, b and c are the measurements of the three sides of the block. Clearly with this arrangement, three different spacings of the connection elements are possible, although only the largest and smallest are shown in Figures 3 and 5 respectively.

Each face of the fixing block is drilled at 16 to receive and engage a screw thread, as will be described. Normally the screws used with the block are self tapping screws. Of course if only two sides were of different lengths, one duplicated pair of opposed drillings could be omitted if desired. The size of a drilling substantially corresponds to the width of slot 13.

In the embodiment illustrated, the member to which the connection elements are attached is a swivel disc 17, which is in the form of a circular plate through the centre of which extends a headed screw 18.

The head of the screw is secured by brazing or the like to one side of the plate, and the threaded shank of the screw projects at the opposite side of the plate as shown. At opposite sides of the head, along a diameter of the plate, and each at the same distance from the head are two threaded bores 19 which extend through the plate, each bore being of substantially the same size as the width of the slot 14. The bores could instead be unthreaded and the screws passing thereinto (to be described) could be extended to receive lock nuts.

In use, it is firstly necessary to find the correct face of the three-way fixing block for use with the arm 20 (Figure 1). This can be done by positioning the block against the underside of the T.V. bracket arm and rotating it horizontally and/or vertically until the corresponding face with correct width is found. Figures 3 and 4 show the use of the block with the widest arm for which the bracket assembly is intended, with dimension 'a' matching the width of the bracket.

The next step can conveniently be the fixing of the swivel disc to the VCR carrier, and involves placing a nylon washer on the shank of screw 18, passing the screw shank through an oversized hole in a top channel of the carrier and securing the disc to the channel by passing a steel washer onto the shank and tightening a nylon nut securely on the shank.

The member in the form of the plate 17 is then securely connected to the carrier, allowing for the carrier to swivel relative to the bracket assembly.

Next, the fixing block 15 is loosely attached to one of the connection elements using a self-tapping screw 21, with the correct face uppermost.

A screw 22 is then placed through the slot 14 and engaged in bore 19, thereby securing the element to the swivel disc.

Prior to engaging the arm to the bracket assembly, a foam strip, not shown, can be affixed to the arm where the bracket will be attached.

The strip is folded over the sides of the arm, as well as covering the upper surface, to prevent damage to the arm. The underneath of the arm, which is to engage the fixing block, is left clear.

The partly connected bracket assembly (with VCR carrier attached to disc 17) is then positioned on the TV wall bracket arm over the foam strip.

The second connection element is positioned on the other side of the disc 17 and a screw 22 passed through slot 14 to be engaged in bore 19.

The connection element are pressed firmly against the arm 20 whilst the screws 22 are tightened. Clearly the screw 22 associated with the first connection element secured to disc 17 could be screwed up fully prior to assembly onto the arm, so that adjustment is solely by way of the other screw 22 in the slot 14 of the second connection element.

However if the screw 22 of the first connection element was not initially fully tightened, both elements could be adjusted to engage tightly against the arm at this later stage of the connection.

With the block 15 held tightly against the underside of the arm 20, the second self-tapping screw 21 can be screwed in to the aligned drilling 16 in the block. The screws 21 are tightened a little at a time, alternating from one to the other to ensure that the block is firmly seated against the underside of the arm. This preferably ensures that the upper surface of the arm, in this example with the foam strip thereon, is engaged against the undersides of the flanges 12 respectively. These act as stops, as the weight of VCR may, in use, cause any slight gap initially present between the upper surface of the arm and the flanges 12 to be taken up by a slight relative movement between the arm and the parts 10.

It will be appreciated that the slots 13 allow the block 15 to be positioned at a spacing from the flanges 12 which matches the depth of the arm being connected with the bracket assembly. Thus provided the arm width is unaltered, arms of various depths can be connected merely by sliding the block up or down relative to the slots 13. Figure 3 shows the block position for a relatively shallow arm, whilst Figure 4 shows the block position for a deeper arm.

When the arm width changes, the block is rotated as described above to find the appropriate face to engage the arm. As stated, the present invention relates to a block with two different fixing positions as well as one with three different positions. In the latter case, it is believed that by catering for three different widths and a wide variety of depths of arm, all or substantially all T.V. wall bracket arms currently available can be connected by said bracket assembly of the invention to a desired member.

Figure 5 shows the block repositioned with narrowest side 'c' between the parts 10, thereby for connecting the narrowest arm. Figure 6 shows the use of the slots to allow adjustment of the block for a deeper, but still narrowest, arm. Clearly here the screws 22 will be nearer, or at, the outer ends of the slots 14 respectively, since the connection elements are at their closest approach, i.e. minimum spacing apart.

The intermediate spacing position is not illustrated, but clearly here the side 'b' will lie between the parts 10, the spacing apart of which is adjusted by means of the slots 14 and screws 22.

Figure 7 shows how the block 15, and thus its upper surface, can be tilted whilst the screws 21 are tightened, so that for any block orientation and positioning, i.e. for any of the three widths of arm, and for any manageable depth of arm, the bracket assembly can be used with a tapered arm 23 having a sloping lower surface, such as surface 24 shown. The angle of tilt can theoretically be any angle less than the normal 90" of the upper surface to the length of the connection elements, but in practice a taper of more than 30 is unlikely.

Instead of slots 13 in parts 10 and drillings in block 15, the arrangement could be reversed with slots in the faces of the block and single holes in the parts 10. Similarly the slots and bores 14, 19 respectively could be reversed. Moreover instead of any slots, a series of spaced openings could be provided, giving stepwise adjustment instead of continuous adjustment. Instead of the bracket assembly providing adjustment to cater for the width of an arm and also its depth, it could allow for width adjustment only and omit any means of catering for arms of different depths. In such a case clearly the slots 13 would be replaced by single holes at a selected position to cater for the most common depth of arm.

Instead of the bracket assembly being used with the arm uppermost, as in Figure 1, it could instead be used the opposite way up, so that the 'arm' is suspended from the bracket assembly, which itself is 'suspended' from the member, such as the (swivel) disc or equivalent, which could, for example be fixed to a ceiling.

Claims (16)

1. A bracket assembly for providing a connection between an arm and a member, the assembly comprising a pair of connection elements having means for attachment to said member in a facing, spaced apart orientation, the elements when attached to said member being relatively movable to adjust the spacing between them, a fixing block securable between the facing connection elements in either of two alternative orientations to provide two alternative adjusted spacings respectively between the connection elements for reception, in use, of respective corresponding different widths of arm, and the connection elements having means for engaging a surface of or on the arm, in use, to retain the arm between the connection elements upon relative movement between the arm and the fixing block away from one another.

2. A bracket assembly as claimed in Claim 1, wherein the fixing block is a cuboid hexahedron with any two of its width, height and length dimensions unequal in order to provide said two alternative spacings.

3. A bracket assembly as claimed in Claim 2, wherein all three dimensions of said block are unequal, thereby to provide three alternative adjusted spacings between the connection elements.

4. A bracket assembly as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 3, wherein the means for attachment to said member is a flange of each connection element, which flange engages said member, in use, with fastening means passing through an opening in the flange and being received in an opening in the member, relative adjustment being possible between the flange and said opening in the member, in use, to adjust the attached position of the connection element on the member.

5. A bracket assembly as claimed in Claim 4, wherein one of the openings in the flange and the member is a slot and the other is a hole so as to allow said adjustment when the connection elements are attached to the member, in use.

6. A bracket assembly as claimed in Claim 4, wherein one of the openings in the flange and the member is one of a plurality of spaced holes to provide said adjustment stepwise.

7. A bracket assembly as claimed in Claim 5, wherein the slot is in said flange, being intended to receive a screw which engages, in use, with said hole in the member, which hole is internally screw threaded.

8. A bracket assembly as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein each connection element has a main, straight portion, said portions facing one another when the elements are attached to said member, in use, in said spaced apart orientation, there being respective openings in said main portions of the connection elements to receive respective fastening elements to engage in openings in respective opposite sides of the fixing block to secure it between the connection elements to provide one of said adjusted spacings.

9. A bracket assembly as claimed in Claim 8, wherein the openings in the fixing block are drilling to receive self tapping screws passing through said openings in the connection elements.

10. A bracket assembly as claimed in Claim 8, wherein the openings in the main portions of the connection elements are respective elongated slots to allow the fixing block to be secured between the elements at a selected spacing from said means for engaging an arm surface, thereby to allow connection of arms of different depths.

11. A bracket assembly as claimed in Claim 8, wherein the opening in the main portion of each connection element is a series of spaced holes along the length thereof to allow the fixing block to be secured between the elements at stepwise adjusted positions spaced from said means for engaging an arm surface, thereby to allow connection of arms of different, predetermined depths.

12. A bracket assembly as claimed in Claim 8, wherein the opening in each connection element is a single hole therethrough to receive a fastening element and the openings in at least two pairs of opposite sides of the fixing block are arranged to provide continuous or stepwise adjustment of the block between the connection elements to allow connection of arms of different depths.

13. A bracket assembly as claimed in Claim 1, wherein said means for engaging a surface of or on the arm, in use, lie in a plane to which a surface of the fixing block in engagement with or in juxtaposition to an opposite surface of the arm is parallel, when the arm is of constant transverse cross-section, the fixing block being securable so that said surface thereof lies at an angle to said plane, when the arm is tapered with its opposite surface sloping, so that said fixing block surface is in engagement with or in juxtaposition to said sloping arm surface.

14. A bracket assembly as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein each connection element has a main, straight portion, said portions facing one another when the pair of elements are attached to said member, in use, in said spaced apart orientation, the means for engaging a surface of or on an arm being for each element a projection from said main portion at 900 thereto and at the side thereof which faces said other connection element, in use, the projection being disposed so as always to be spaced from the closest approach of said fixing block when it secured between the two connection elements.

15. A bracket assembly as claimed in Claim 14, wherein for each connection element the projection is an inturned strip part forming a flange at one end of the element at 900 to the length thereof.

16. A bracket assembly substantially as hereinbefore described, with reference to, and as shown in the accompanying drawings.