Media wall

• US 6,615,551 B2
• Filed: 06/14/2001
• Issued: 09/09/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 06/14/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Nucraft Furniture Company
• Original Assignee: Nucraft Furniture Company
• Inventors: Carpenter, Scott E., Bockheim, Robert J., Fedrigo, Michael G., Schacht, William Frederick, Chesser, Linda Elizabeth
• Primary Examiner(s): Friedman, Carl D.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Amiri, Nahid
• Application Number:
  US09/881,521
• Publication Number:
  US 20030000153A1
• Time in Patent Office: 817 Days
• Field of Search: 52/29, 52/364, 52/71, 52/365, 52/366, 52/65, 52/361, 522/35, 248/243, 248/239, 248/241, 248/214, 248/215, 248/284, 160/135
• US Class Current: 52/36.4
• CPC Class Codes: G09F 7/18 Means for attaching signs, plates, panels, or boards to a supporting structure

Abstract

A media wall for supporting various types of media, such as plasma screen or flat screen television sets, as well as other types of thin media, includes an upright vertical wall to which the media is mounted. The wall may include a pair of sidewalls mounted to a back face of the vertical wall, as well as a shelf extending forwardly from the vertical wall. At least one aperture may be included for enabling power or data cables to be inserted through the wall from the front to the back. A video camera support may be mounted on the vertical wall. The wall may be pivotable about a vertical axis to allow easy access to the rear of the wall for setting up and adjusting the electrical cabling used to support the media.

Claims

1. A media support structure comprising:

an upright, vertical wail having a front face and a back face;

at least one sidewall attached to said back face of said wall;

at least one aperture defined in said wall and adapted to allow at least one cable to extend from said front face to said back face;

a support adapted to be affixed to a stationary structure; and

a hinge attached to said support and said wall, said hinge arranged to allow said wall to pivot about a vertical axis.

2. The structure of claim 1 wherein said sidewall includes an outlet for a power connection.

3. The structure of claim 2 wherein said sidewall further includes a jack for a communications connection.

4. The structure of claim 1 further including a shelf extending forwardly from said front face of said wall.

5. The structure of claim 4 further including a conduit attached to said back face of said wall, said conduit adapted to support at least one cable for providing power to a component supported on said shelf.

6. The structure of claim 4 further including a second shelf extending forwardly from said front face of said wall.

7. The structure of claim 1 further including a video camera support mounted on said front face of said wall.

8. The structure of claim 1 further including at least one cable positioned adjacent said back face of said wall, said cable adapted to provide either electrical power or electrical communications, said cable having a first end positioned adjacent said aperture and a second end positioned adjacent a side of said wall.

9. The structure of claim 1 further including at least one drawer attached to said front face of said wall.

11. The structure of claim 7 further including a second video camera support mounted to said front face of said wall.

10. A media support structure comprising:

an upright, vertical wall having a front face and a back face;

at least one aperture defined in said wall and adapted to allow at least one cable to extend from said front face to said back face;

a support adapted to be affixed to a stationary structure;

a hinge attached to said support and said wall, said binge arranged to allow said wall to pivot about a vertical axis; and

a pivotable panel supported on said wall, said panel positioned adjacent a second aperture defined in said wall and adapted to pivot between a position generally parallel to said wall and a position generally non-parallel to said wall.

25. The structure of claim 10 further including at least one electrical outlet positioned in each of said pair of sidewalls.

12. A media support structure comprising:

an upright, vertical wall having a front face and a back face, said wall having a height of at least six feet;

at least one aperture defined in said wall and adapted to allow at least one cable to extend from said front face to said back face;

a support adapted to be affixed to a stationary structure; and

a hinge attached to said support and said wall, said hinge arranged to allow said wall to pivot about a vertical axis.

13. A media support structure comprising:

an upright, vertical wall having a front face and a back face;

at least one aperture defined in said wall and adapted to allow at least one cable to extend from said front face to said back face;

a support adapted to be affixed to a stationary structure, said support being adapted to be affixed to both a floor on which said wall is placed and a building wall; and

a hinge attached to said support and said wall, said hinge arranged to allow said wall to pivot about a vertical axis.

14. A media support structure comprising:

an upright, vertical wall having a front face and a back face;

at least one aperture defined in said wall and adapted to allow at least one cable to extend from said front face to said back face;

a support adapted to be affixed to a stationary structure;

a hinge attached to said support and said wall, said hinge arranged to allow said wall to pivot about a vertical axis; and

a frame having a top, bottom, and two side members, said top, bottom and two side members being attached to each other and to said back face of said wall, said frame further being attached to said hinge.

15. A media support structure comprising:

an upright, vertical wall having a front face and a back face;

a first shelf attached to said front face of said wall;

a second shelf positioned below said first shelf

a support adapted to be affixed to a stationary structure; and

a hinge attached to said support and said wall, said hinge arranged to allow said wall to pivot about a vertical axis.

21. The structure of claim 15 further including a pair of drawers, one of said drawers positioned adjacent a first end of said second shelf and the other of said drawers positioned adjacent a second end of said second shelf.

22. The structure of claim 15 further including an aperture defined in said wall immediately above said second shelf, said aperture allowing one or more cords from electrical components positioned on said second shelf to be inserted through said aperture to said back face.

23. The structure of claim 15 further including at least one conduit mounted to said back face of said wall, said conduit adapted to support electrical cords, said conduit extending at least from a center of said wall to a side of said wall.

16. A media support structure comprising:

an upright, vertical wall having a front face and a back face;

at least one shelf attached to said front face of said wall;

a support adapted to be affixed to a stationary structure;

a hinge attached to said support and said wall, said hinge arranged to allow said wall to pivot about a vertical axis; and

a pair of sidewalls attached to said back face of said wall.

17. The structure of claim 16 further including a video camera support mounted on said front face of said wall.

18. The structure of claim 17 wherein said video camera support is supported on a top edge of said wall and is horizontally movable along said top edge.

19. The structure of claim 17 further including a communications jack mounted on one of said sidewalls and a power outlet mounted on one of said sidewalls.

20. A media support structure comprising:

an upright vertical wall having a front face and a back face;

at least one shelf attached to said front face of said wall;

a support adapted to be affixed to a stationary structure;

a hinge attached to said support and said wall, said hinge arranged to allow said wall to pivot about a vertical axis; and

a frame having a top, bottom, and two side members, said top, bottom arid two side members being attached to each other and to said back face of said wall, said frame further being attached to said hinge.

24. A media support structure comprising:

an upright, vertical wall having a front face and a back face;

at least one shelf attached to said front face of said wall;

a support adapted to be affixed to a stationary structure;

a hinge attached to said support and said wall, said hinge arranged to allow said wall to pivot about a vertical axis; and

at least one wheel positioned along a bottom corner of said wall, said wheel being positioned adjacent a side of said wall opposite said hinge.

26. A media support structure comprising:

an upright, vertical wall having a front face and a back face;

a pair of sidewalls attached to said back face of said wall,

at least one shelf attached to said front face of said wall;

a support affixed to said wall and adapted to be affixed to a stationary structure such that said support secures said wall in a fixed position when affixed to a stationary structure; and

at least one aperture defined in said wall and adapted to allow at least one cable to extend from said front face to said back face.

27. The structure of claim 26 further including at least one power outlet mounted on said wall adjacent said shelf, and at least one electrical cable connected to said power outlet for supplying power to said outlet, said electrical cable adapted to be connected to a power supply at an end opposite said power outlet.

28. The structure of claim 26 further including a video camera support mounted on a top edge of said wall, said video camera support being horizontally slidable along said top edge.

29. The structure of claim 26 further including at least one video port mounted on said wall adjacent said shelf, at least one video port mounted on one of said pair of sidewalls, and at least one video cable connected between said video ports, said video cable being positioned along said back face of said wall.

30. The structure of claim 26 further including a pivotable panel supported on said wall, said panel positioned adjacent a second aperture defined in said wall and adapted to pivot between a position generally parallel to said wall and a position generally non-parallel to said wall.

31. The structure of claim 26 further including a pair of drawers, one of said drawers positioned adjacent a first end of said shelf and the other of said drawers positioned adjacent a second end of said shelf.

32. The structure of claim 26 wherein said wall has a height of at least five feet.

33. The structure of claim 32 wherein said pair of sidewalls extend away from said back face of said wall no more than eight inches such that said wall can be placed adjacent and parallel to building wall by no more than eight inches.

34. A media support structure comprising:

a wall having a front face on which one or more display media may be mounted and a back face opposite said front face;

a support for maintaining said wall in a vertical, upright position;

a hinge attached to said wall and said support in a manner adapted to allow said wall to pivot about a vertical axis;

an aperture defined in said wall;

a first communications port supported by said wail;

a second communications port supported at a location adjacent said aperture; and

a communications cable positioned along said back face of said wall, said communications cable having a first end electrically coupled to said first communications port, and a second end electrically coupled to said second communications port such that electrical signals can be transmitted between a first electrical device coupled to said first communications port and a second electrical device adjacent said aperture and electrically coupled to said second communications port.

35. The structure of claim 34 wherein said communications cable is a cable adapted to transmit a video signal.

38. The structure of claim 34 further including at least one shelf mounted to said front face of said wall.

39. The structure of claim 38 further including a pair of drawers mounted adjacent said shelf.

36. A media support structure comprising:

a wall having a front face on which one or more display media may be mounted and a back face opposite said front face;

a support for maintaining said wall in a vertical, upright position;

an aperture defined in said wall;

a first communications port supported by said wall;

a second communications port supported at a location adjacent said aperture;

a communications cable positioned along said back face of said wall, said communications cable having a first end electrically coupled to said first communications port, and a second end electrically coupled to said second communications port such that electrical signals can be transmitted between a first electrical device coupled to said first communications port and a second electrical device adjacent said aperture and electrically coupled to said second communications port; and

at least one shelf extending forwardly from said front face of said wall, said shelf being positioned adjacent said aperture.

37. A media support structure comprising:

a wall having a front face on which one or more display media may be mounted and a back face opposite said front face;

a support for maintaining said wall in a vertical, upright position;

an aperture defined in said wall;

a first communications port supported by said wall;

a second communications port supported at a location adjacent said aperture;

a communications cable positioned along said back face of said wall, said communications cable having a first end electrically coupled to said first communications port, and a second end electrically coupled to said second communications port such that electrical signals can be transmitted between a first electrical device coupled to said first communications port and a second electrical device adjacent said aperture and electrically coupled to said second communications port; and

a pivotable panel positioned adjacent said aperture, said pivotable panel being pivotable to selectively cover at least a portion of said aperture.

40. A media support structure comprising:

a wall having a front face and a back face;

a support adapted to maintain said wall in an upright, vertical position;

a shelf mounted to said front face of said wall; and

at least one aperture defined in said wall above said shelf, said aperture extending from said front face to said back face, said aperture being dimensioned substantially as long as a length of said shelf and substantially as high as a back face of an electronic device intended to be supported on said shelf.

44. The structure of claim 40 further including an electrical communications cable connected between a location adjacent said aperture and a location adjacent a side of said wall.

41. A media support structure comprising:

a wall having a front face and a back face;

a support adapted to maintain said wall in an upright, vertical position;

a shelf mounted to said front face of said wall;

at least one aperture defined in said wall above said shelf, said aperture extending from said front face to said back face, said aperture being dimensioned substantially as long as a length of said shelf and substantially as high as a back face of an electronic device intended to be supported on said shelf; and

a pivotable panel attached to said back face of said wall adjacent said aperture such that said pivotable panel is capable of selectively being pivoted to cover at least a portion of said aperture.

42. A media support structure comprising:

a wall having a front face and a back face;

a support adapted to maintain said wall in an upright, vertical position;

a shelf mounted to said front face of said wall;

at least one aperture defined in said wall above said shelf, said aperture extending from said front face to said back face, said aperture being dimensioned substantially as long as a length of said shelf and substantially as high as a back face of an electronic device intended to be supported on said shelf; and

a pivotable support on which said wall is mounted, said pivotable support adapted to allow said wall to pivot about a vertical axis.

43. A media support structure comprising:

a wall having a front face and a, back face;

a support adapted to maintain said wall in an upright, vertical position;

a shelf mounted to said front face of said wall;

at least one aperture defined in said wall above said shelf, said aperture extending from said front face to said back face, said aperture being dimensioned substantially as long as a length of said shelf and substantially as high as a back face of an electronic device intended to be supported on said shelf; and

a video camera support mounted on a top edge of said wall, said video camera support being horizontally slidable along said top edge.

45. A method of wiring at least one electronic device supported on a front face of a mounting wall comprising:

providing a generally vertical mounting wall having an aperture defined therein, said aperture extending from said front face to a back face of said mounting wall;

providing a supporting hinge for said mounting wall such that said mounting wall can be selectively pivoted about a vertical axis;

mounting said mounting wall adjacent a structural wall;

pivoting said mounting wall forwardly from said structural wall;

positioning oneself behind said mounting wall; and

connecting at least one cable to the electronic device while being positioned behind the mounting wall.

46. The method of claim 45 wherein said electronic device is a plasma screen television.

47. The method of claim 45 further including providing at least one power outlet supported by said mounting wall and inserting at least one power cable from the electronic device into said power outlet.