Guide-Groove Display Head Pivot for Compact Portrait Switching

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Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional display apparatuses face challenges in mobility due to their size, with mobile devices being too small for convenient handling and large devices requiring extensive installation space, and there is a need for a display that can pivot between landscape and portrait modes with a simple structure while maintaining a compact and aesthetically pleasing design.

Innovation Solution

A display apparatus featuring a pair of guide grooves and guide pins that allow the head to pivot between landscape and portrait modes, with a connecting bar and inner plate mechanism that maintains the same distance between grooves in both modes, enabling smooth pivoting and tilting without altering the device's position relative to the stand, and using polyoxymethylene materials for reduced friction and improved usability.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If the display apparatus uses a pivot mechanism to switch between landscape and portrait modes, then the adaptability and versatility are improved, but the device complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvedisplay mode switching capabilityVSAvoidpivot mechanism structure
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The pivot mechanism is divided into separate functional components: guide grooves formed in the stand, guide pins attached to the head, and curved trajectories defined by their interaction. This segmentation allows each component to have a simple geometry while achieving complex pivoting functionality through their coordinated arrangement.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The guide pins act as intermediaries between the head and stand, translating rotational motion into constrained movement along curved trajectories. The guide grooves serve as intermediary pathways that guide the pins during pivoting, enabling smooth mode transitions without requiring complex mechanical joints.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Adaptability or versatility

If the head is made pivotable between landscape and portrait modes, then the adaptability is improved, but the ease of operation deteriorates due to position adjustment requirements

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvedisplay orientation flexibilityVSAvoidpivot operation convenience
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The curved trajectories of the guide grooves are designed to maintain a constant vertical height of the head throughout the pivoting motion. This equipotential design eliminates the need for users to adjust the stand height or reposition the device when switching modes, making the operation as simple as rotating the head without additional setup steps.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #12Equipotentiality

3Device complexity

If a simple pivot structure is used, then the device complexity is reduced, but the reliability of stable pivoting may deteriorate

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvepivot mechanism simplicityVSAvoidpivoting stability
Core Design Contradiction:
Device complexityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The guide grooves are formed with curved trajectories that precisely match the pivoting arc of the head. This curvature ensures that the guide pins remain engaged throughout the entire range of motion, providing continuous geometric constraint and stable pivoting. The curved paths naturally guide the head through the correct orientation changes while maintaining structural simplicity.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #14Spheroidality (Curvature)

Data Source

PatentEP3936753B1Display apparatus
Publication Date: 2022.09.14 LG ELECTRONICS INC
  • EP3936753B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3936753B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP3936753B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

A display apparatus includes a base, a stand vertically extending upward from the base, a head having a display provided on a front surface thereof and pivotable between a landscape mode and a portrait mode, a penetration groove extending along the circumference of the head, a connecting bar connected to the stand and extending to an inside of the head through the penetration groove, an inner plate fixed to the inside of the head, a first guide groove formed in the inner plate and extending along a predetermined curved trajectory, a first guide pin protruding from the connecting bar and inserted into the first guide groove, a second guide groove formed in the connecting bar and extending in a longitudinal direction of the connecting bar, and a second guide pin fixed to the inside of the head or protruding from the inner plate and inserted into the second guide groove.