GB2456146A - A whiteboard trolley with boom - Google Patents

Abstract

A whiteboard 10 has a front face for display of an image from a projector 40 mounted on a boom 30. The whiteboard is mounted to a trolley at a predetermined height by applying fasteners through brackets 16,17,18. The boom for the projector is mounted to the rear of the whiteboard to a forkhead 32 so as to pivot in a vertical plane so that it can take up in use one of several positions projecting at an upward inclination to the front of the whiteboard. The boom is also mounted on a rotatable shaft 34 so as to pivot about a vertical axis so that it can be swung sideways and then down to an inoperative position close to and behind the whiteboard. In this configuration the trolley can wheeled through any number of standard height doorways to a classroom where it is to be used.

Description

1 2456146

A WHITEBOARD TROLLEY WITH BOOM

The present invention concerns a whiteboard trolley fitted with a boom for mounting a projector Whiteboards are widely used in classrooms, as screens, in conjunction with projectors for projecting an image thereon which can be viewed by a class Technically advanced projector systems allow modification of the image by touching the screen A whiteboard may be wall-mounted and used in conjunction with a ceiling-mounted projector However, this may make both pieces of equipment vulnerable to theft or damage Trolley-mounted whiteboards have, therefore, been increasingly used, including the applicant's own product sold under the registered trade mark Hl-LO These mobile whiteboards can be moved within and between classrooms and can be locked away in a secure store when not in use Such whiteboards generally have to be mounted at a predetermined height, with a top edge at about the level of a standard door lintel, to be visible to students sitting anywhere within the classroom The known HI-LO trolley-mounted board is displaceable upwards and downwards on its mounting by a motor driven mechanism. It can be raised to or near to its uppermost position for use and can be lowered to or near to its lowermost position to allow it to be moved by wheeling the trolley through doorways.

Intermediate positions for the height of the whiteboard can be selected as required, to better adapt it for use, for example, by younger pupils or by students in wheelchairs.

The projector has to be mounted at a height above the top edge of the whiteboard (in order not to impede the view) and at a sufficient distance from the board for the projected beam to diverge so that the image is focussed to a sufficient area of the board surface for good visibility by users 3D Because of the height requirement of the projector, it also has to be mounted at an appropriate inclination to project at a downward angle onto the board. This leads to a phenomenon known as keystoning whereby the image is not rectangular but is distorted at the surface of the board to be narrower at the top and wider at the bottom.

Short throw projectors are commonly used with whiteboards. Such projectors project a wide beam so do not need to be mounted a great distance from the screen A trolley-mounted whiteboard, such as the applicant's HI-LO board, is fitted with a boom onto which such a short throw projector can be mounted Typically, such a trolley-mounted whiteboard may be about Im high and 1 5m wide The boom is mounted from behind the centre of the board on a 900 angle bracket which holds the boom at a predetermined, fixed spacing above the board (maybe 30cm). The boom extends horizontally and when in use it may project im to 2m to the front of the whiteboard The boom can be pivoted in a horizontal plane by rotation of the vertical leg of the angle bracket in order to lie substantially parallel with the board when not in use or when the trolley is to be moved In the case of the HI-LO board, the boom is moved up nd down along with the board as the latter is displaced vertically, so both are lowered together to a position lower than their in use height when the trolley has to be wheeled through a doorway An object of the present invention is to provide an alternative construction of whiteboard trolley with boom which is somewhat less complex and less expensive to manufacture, yet equally easy to use and to configure for moving through doorways.

With this object in view the invention provides a whiteboard fixedly mounted to a trolley at a predetermined height to provide a front face for display of an image and having an opposing rear face, and a boom for mounting a projector for projecting an image onto the front face of the whiteboard, in which respect the boom is mounted at a location to the rear of the whiteboard so as to pivot in a substantially vertical plane and also so as to pivot about a substantially vertical axis in order to move from an in-use position projecting at an upward inclination to the front of the whiteboard to an inoperative position close to and behind the whiteboard.

Thus, most significantly, the whiteboard and the boom of the trolley in accordance with the invention are no longer displaceable up and down, thereby obviating the need for a motor, a drive mechanism and a control mechanism for same, and saving the cost of these Preferably the boom is mounted so that in its inoperative position behind the whiteboard it can extend at a level below an upper edge of the whiteboard.

In practical embodiments of the whiteboard trolley of the invention the boom is conveniently mounted to a forkhead so as to be capable of pivoting relative to the forkhead in the aforesaid vertical plane.

In preferred embodiments the forkhead has an upper edge arranged at a level at or below the upper edge of the whiteboard and the boom is able to pivot downwards to that level or below in its inoperative condition. The entire trolley is then sufficiently low in height to be able to pass through standard height doorways.

To enable the boom to pivot about a substantially vertical axis the forkhead may be connected to a rotatable upright shaft which is mounted to the rear of the whiteboard.

Such shaft may conveniently extend, at least in part, inside a support column to which the whiteboard is fixedly mounted. This makes the equipment compact and safer as moving parts are not then easily accessible.

In order to ensure that the projector, which is mounted on the boom in use of the whiteboard trolley of the invention, is held steady and not subject to any displacement of the boom, means are preferably provided to hold the boom, releasably, at a selected upward inclination in its in use position.

There are two types of short throw projectors currently available. One type incorporates means for digitally compensating for the above mentioned keystoning phenomenon so that the image projected onto the screen is rectangular irrespective of the distance between the projector and the front face of the whiteboard. The other type does not have such keystoning compensation and must be mounted at a predetermined distance from the front face of the whiteboard in order to provide a satisfactory image. Thus, the horizontal distance and the vertical height above the top of the board, which together determine the angle of inclination of the projector must alt be exactly as required for the specific make of projector. With the prior art type of whiteboard trolley with boom, where the boom extended horizontally, different booms (of specific different length and height) had to be provided for each make of these non-keystone compensation projectors. Now, with the construction of the whiteboard trolley proposed by the present invention, and the possibility of adjustment of the inclination of the boom, such a range of different boom sizes is no longer required. Means for holding the boom at specific predetermined inclinations can be provided so that the projector, when mounted thereon, will automatically be at the predetermined height/distance ratio from the screen to achieve the appropriate image shape. All that is required is that the projector is mounted at the correct angle relative to the boom.

Thus in preferred embodiments of whiteboard trolley the boom is adjustably secured to the forkhead in any one of a plurality of such predetermined positions. The specific position for a specific make of projector can then be selected, and any of the positions can be used for the projectors which have a keystoning compensation facility.

The invention will be described further, by way of example, by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a front perspective view of a practical embodiment of the whiteboard trolley with boom of the invention in a configuration ready for use, with a projector mounted onto the boom; Figure 2 is a rear perspective view of the same embodiment as in Figure 1 and in the same in use position; Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 1 but showing the equipment in an inoperative configuration in which the boom has been moved to a position behind and below the level of the top edge of the board; Figure 4 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view illustrating the mounting of the boom at the rear of the board in the embodiment of Figures 1 to 3; Figure 5 is a further enlarged fragmentary perspective detail of the catch mechanism for the rotatable shaft on which the boom is mounted; and Figure 6 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view, similar to Figure 4, but illustrating the mounting of the boom at the rear of the board in a modified embodiment of the apparatus of the invention.

As shown in figures 1 to 3, a preferred practical embodiment of the apparatus of the invention comprises a whiteboard 10 mounted onto a trolley 20 and an elongate boom 30 which is also mounted onto the trolley 20 and which serves to mount a projector 40 for projecting an image onto a front face of the board 10. The projector 40 itself is not a part of the apparatus of the invention but is used therewith and mounted thereto, as will be explained.

The trolley 20 comprises a support column 22 extending upwards from a base 24 which is fitted with wheels 26. The support column 22 in this embodiment is hollow and of generally triangular shape in cross section, having a front panel 28 onto which the whiteboard 10 is mounted.

The whiteboard 10 is conventional. It is generally rectangular, being of the order of im high and 1.5m wide, and has a top edge 12 and a bottom edge 13 and respective side frame elements 14. It is mounted to the front panel 28 of the column 22 by means of various mounting brackets 15, 16, 17, 18. A channel section mounting strip 19 fixed across the rear face of the board 10 enables attachment of the central mounting bracket 17. The lower mounting bracket 18 engages the bottom edge 13 of the board 10. The upper mounting bracket 16 engages the top edge 12 of the board 10. Each of the aforesaid bracketsl6, 17,18 is mounted to the panel 28 by way of an elongate channel section bracket 15.

Although the board 10 is fixedly mounted, in that it cannot be raised and lowered relative to the trolley 20 by a controllable motor driven mechanism, in contrast to the previously known Hl-LO whiteboard trolley, its initial position relative to the trolley column 22, can be selected by applying bolts or similar fastener means through the respective brackets 16, 17, 18 and through selected apertures from a series of apertures provided in the elongate bracket 15. The position of the whiteboard 10 relative to the trolley 20 can also be changed subsequently in this manner. In general the whiteboard 10 is mounted centrally onto the trolley support column 22 and its top edge 12 is at a height which allows for a few centimetres clearance between it and a standard height door lintel, so that the trolley 20 with the whiteboard 10 fitted can easily pass through doorways. This is also an appropriate height for the board in use for projection of an image for view by a class.

The boom 30 is tubular in form and may be in the region of 2m long. It is mounted to the rear of a central region of the whiteboard 10. More specifically the boom 30 is pivotally mounted, at or near one end, to a forkhead 32, which itself is fixed to the top of a rotatable shaft 34 extending upwards from the trolley support column 22. As shown in figures 2 and 4, the boom 30 is connected to the forkhead 32 by means of a pivot pin 31.

It is thereby able to pivot in a vertical plane, at least between the upwardly inclined, in use, position shown in figures 1 and 2 and the substantially horizontal inoperative position shown in figure 3. However, to move between these positions, the boom 30 must also pivot about the vertical axis represented by the rotatable shaft 34. The shaft 34, which may also be tubular, is rotatably mounted in bearings inside the hollow support column 22 of the trolley 20.

The forkhead 32 has an upper edge arranged at a level at or below the top edge 12 of the whiteboard and the boom 30 is able to pivot downwards to that level, or below, in its inoperative condition, shown in figure 3. The entire trolley, together with the boom 30 (and the projector 40 which will be mounted thereon), is then sufficiently low in height to be able to pass through standard height doorways.

As shown in figures 2 and 4, gas struts 48 are provided between the boom 30 and the rotatable shaft 34 to take the weight of the boom 30 as it is raised and lowered.

As regards rotation, the shaft 34 can be secured in three positions, at 90 degree intervals approximately, by the mechanism illustrated in detail in figure 5. A flange 35 on the shaft 34 has three notches 36 cut out at right angles to each other which are engaged by a simple spring loaded pin 38, mounted in a frame 39 attached to the top of the support column 22. Thus, the shaft 34 can be secured in a position in which the boom 30 projects perpendicularly to the front of the board 10, as shown in figures 1 and 2, or alternatively in a position in which the boom 30 has been swung through 90 degrees in either direction and extends generally parallel to and behind the board (either to left or right, when viewed in figure 1). A further position in which the boom projects perpendicularly to the rear of the board is not possible as the forkhead 32 acts as a stop to prevent further rotation to left or right.

As regards pivoting in the vertical plane about the pivot pin 31, the boom 30 can be secured in a generally horizontal position and several inclined positions relative to the forkhead 32 by provision of a series of apertures 42 in an arcuate disposition in the forkhead walls and insertion of a pin or plunger 46 through a selected one of these and a corresponding single aperture in the boom 30. In this embodiment three apertures 42 are shown. Thus, once the boom 30 has been raised to an inclination selected from those available, as determined by the positions of the respective apertures 42 above the lowest one which corresponds to the horizontal position, it can be held there by insertion of the plunger 46, as is evident in figures 2 and 4.

In use, the trolley apparatus may be transported from a safe storage area in the configuration shown in Figure 3 with the boom 30 lying generally horizontally and just a short spacing to the rear of the whiteboard 10, just below the top edge 12 of the whiteboard 10, A free end portion of the boom 30 projects beyond one side edge of the board 10 and the projector 40 is already mounted at its predetermined position and in its predetermined orientation on this projecting portion. The boom 30 is held secure in this position by the plunger 46 being engaged in the lowest aperture 42 in the forkhead 32 and into the corresponding aperture in the boom. It is also secured against swinging in a horizontal plane by the spring-loaded pin 38 engaging in the relevant notch 36 in the shaft 34. In this configuration the apparatus can be wheeled through any number of standard height doorways to a classroom where it is to be used.

Once it has been manoeuvred to a position where it is to be used, the boom 30 Is deployed to the position shown in Figures 1 and 2. This is done by firstly removing the pin 46 and swinging the boom 30 upwards to a suitable inclination, damped by the gas struts 48, where it will be able to clear the top edge 12 of the board 10. The pin 38 is then drawn back out of the notch 36 so that the shaft 34 can rotate. The boom 30 is then manually swung around to its position projecting upwards and perpendicular at the front of the board 10 as shown in Figures 1 and 2. The boom 30 needs to be held stably, so the pin 46 is then reinserted into either of the upper or intermediate height apertures 42 of the forkhead 32 to engage the corresponding aperture in the boom 30 and hold it at whichever predetermined angle of inclination is selected, this selection sometimes depending on and being predetermined to match the make of projector 40 for the reason mentioned in the introduction. Projectors which do not have automatic keystoning compensation must be mounted at a predetermined angle of inclination to the screen provided by the front face of the whiteboard, as pre-set by the positions of the apertures 42 (except the lowest) to avoid unnecessary distortion of the shape of the image.

The reverse sequence of operation brings the boom 30 back to its inoperative position (figure 3).

The foregoing is illustrative and not limitative of the scope of the invention and many variations in detail of construction are possible, as will be evident to anyone skilled in this technical field. In particular, the support column 221 of the trolley may extend higher so that the majority of the rotatable shaft 341 and the gas struts 481 are disposed and hidden inside the hollow column interior, as shown in Figure 6. This means that the top of the support column 221 is only a short spacing from the forkhead 321. A spring-loaded pin 381 may then be mounted on a frame on the exterior of the column 321 to project through an opening in one panel of the column to engage in a notch of the rotatable shaft as before. A greater number of apertures 42 than shown in the illustrated embodiment may be provided for adjusting and selecting the fixed inclination of the boom in its operative condition. Many other variations are possible.

Claims (6)

1 A whiteboard trolley comprising a whiteboard fixedly mounted to a trolley at a predetermined height to provide a front face for display of an image and having an opposing rear face, and a boom for mounting a projector for projecting an image onto the front face of the whiteboard, in which respect the boom is mounted at a location to the rear of the whiteboard so as to pivot in a substantially vertical plane and also so as to pivot about a substantially vertical axis in order to move from an in use position projecting at an upward inclination to the front of the whiteboard to an inoperative position close to and behind the whiteboard

2 A whiteboard trolley as claimed in claim 1 wherein the boom is mounted so that in its inoperative position behind the whiteboard it can extend at a level below an upper edge of the whiteboard

3 A whiteboard trolley as claimed in claim 2 wherein the boom is mounted, for pivoting in the aforesaid vertical plane, to a forkhead.

4 A whiteboard trolley as claimed in claim 3 wherein the forkhead has an upper edge arranged at a level at or below the upper edge of the whiteboard.

A whiteboard trolley as claimed in claim 3 or 4 wherein the boom is mounted, at or near one end, to the forkhead.

6. A whiteboard trolley as claimed in claim 3, 4 or 5 wherein the forkhead is connected to a rotatable upright shaft which is mounted to the rear of the whiteboard 7 A whiteboard trolley as claimed in claim 6 wherein the rotatable shaft extends, at least in part, inside a support column to which the whiteboard is fixedly mounted 8 A whiteboard trolley as claimed in claim 6 or 7 wherein gas struts are provided between the boom and the rotatable shaft 9 A whiteboard trolley as claimed in any preceding claim further comprising means whereby the boom can be releasably held at a selected upward inclination in its in use position 10 A whiteboard trolley as claimed in any of claims 3 to 8 wherein the boom is adjustably secured to the forkhead in any one of a plurality of positions 11 A whiteboard trolley substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated by the accompanying drawings