COMPUTER APPARATUS
Field of the invention
The present invention relates to computers apparatus having a flat display screen.
Background of the invention
At present, various computer apparatus having a flat display screen are known.
In particular, from the USA patent N° 6005767 (Int. Cl. G 06 F 1/16, 21.12.1999) is known a computer apparatus with a flat display screen disposed in a special rotation frame with a possibility to rotate this screen about the axis in the frame at any position. In so doing, at least a system board and hard disk drive of said computer apparatus are disposed within a remaining immovable part onto which the rotation frame with the display screen is mounted.
A computer apparatus ACT Brillianta LPC 8000 (see http.V/www.allcomp. com/lcdpc.htm) is known, which is made in a vertical housing disposed behind a flat display screen which can turn about the horizontal axis.
The analogue closest to the present invention is a computer apparatus known from the USA patent Ns 5978211 (Int. Cl. G 06 F 1/16, 02.11.1999). Said computer apparatus comprising: a housing which size in one dimension is significantly less than its size in two other dimensions, mounted on a stand with a possibility to rotate about a horizontal axis which is parallel to housing faces having maximum area, and to be fixed in a chosen position; a flat display screen disposed from outside on a surface of one of said housing faces having maximum area; disposed within the housing and connected correspondingly to one another and to the display screen, at least a system board with computer apparatus circuit components mounted on said system board, and disk drive both forming an inner
system block, the system board having its plane substantially parallel to the display screen plane and including connectors for connecting expansion boards, and the disk drive being disposed in the housing so that its rotation axis is substantially perpendicular to the display screen plane.
Summary of the invention
The object of the present invention is to develop a computer apparatus which would be realized in a single housing of a sufficiently small thickness, while having a flat display screen.
This task is solved and the indicated technical result is achieved in the present invention, according to which is provided a computer apparatus comprising: a housing which size in one dimension is significantly less than its size in two other dimensions, mounted on a stand with a possibility to rotate about a horizontal axis which is parallel to housing faces having maximum area, and to be fixed in a chosen position; a flat display screen disposed from outside on a surface of one of said housing faces having maximum area; disposed within the housing and connected correspondingly to one another and to the display screen, at least a system board with computer apparatus circuit components mounted on said system board, and disk drive both forming an inner system block, the system board having its plane substantially parallel to the display screen plane and including connectors for connecting expansion boards, and the disk drive being disposed in the housing so that its rotation axis is substantially perpendicular to the display screen plane; said computer apparatus further comprising: disposed within said stand, a power supply and fan with an air conduit which is coupled by air ducts with the housing so that the air passes from said fan to the computer apparatus structure elements disposed within the housing regardless of a rotation angle of the housing in the stand; disposed within said stand, connectors for all outside connections of the computer apparatus, coupled with said system block
via a switching unit disposed within said stand or housing and made with a possibility to switch off said inner system block and to connect a system block outer for the computer apparatus.
A specific feature of the present invention is in that structure elements are disposed within the housing so that the center of gravity of the housing having those structure elements disposed within it does not go outside the supporting surface border of stand at any rotation angle of the housing in the stand.
One more specific feature of the present invention is in that an infra-red port is disposed on the housing for providing a wireless connection with the peripherals. In so doing, all connections of the infra-red port to the inner system block are made via said switching unit.
Yet one more specific feature of the present invention is in that one of the group including at least hard disk drive, floppy disk drive, and compact disk drive is chosen as the disk drive. In so doing, compartments are provided in the housing for at least two disk drives from that group, mounted so that their rotation axes are parallel to each other. Preferably, the compartments in the housing are provided for four disk drives from that group.
At last, yet one more specific feature of the present invention is in that each of full-profile expansion boards is connected to the corresponding connector of the system board via an adapter board so that the plane of this full-format expansion board is substantially parallel to the plane of the system board, and each of narrow-profile expansion boards is connected to the corresponding connector of the system board directly so that the plane of this narrow-profile expansion board is substantially perpendicular to the plane of the system board.
Brief description of drawings
The present invention will be now described by an example of its embodiment together with references on the accompanying drawings, where:
Fig. 1 shows a perspective view of the computer apparatus according to the present invention;
Fig. 2 illustrates a disposition of units in the housing of the computer apparatus according to the present invention;
Fig. 3 represents a top sectional view of the computer apparatus according to the present invention; and
Fig. 4 depicts a side sectional view of the computer apparatus according to the present invention.
Detailed description of the invention
Fig. 1 shows an embodiment of the computer apparatus according to the present invention. This apparatus comprises a housing 1 which thickness (i.e., a size in one dimension) is significantly less than its length and width (i.e., sizes in two other dimensions). A display screen 2 is disposed on a surface of one of two faces of the housing 1 having maximum area. This display screen 2 is made flat (e.g. liquid crystal). Within the housing 1 are disposed (Fig. 2) at least a system board 3 with computer apparatus circuit components mounted on said system board 3, and disk drive 4, - in this case, a hard disk drive. The system board 3 and the disk drive 4 form an inner system block 5 of the computer apparatus according to the present invention. A plane of the system board 3 is substantially parallel to a plane of the display screen 2, and the disk drive 4 is disposed on the housing 1 so that its axis of rotation is substantially perpendicular to the plane of the display screen 2. A remaining place within the housing 1 can be used for disposing a floppy disk drive 6, for example, or some other assembly of the computer apparatus. In a preferable embodiment, the housing 1 comprises compartments inside for disposing two or more disk drives chosen from a group including at least hard disk drive, floppy disk drive, and compact disk drive is chosen as the disk drive. In the most preferable embodiment, the housing 1 comprises com-
partments for four disk drives chosen from the above mentioned group: for example, they may be a floppy disk drive, a digital video disk drive and two hard disk drives, or a hard disk drive, two floppy disk drives and a compact disk drive. In so doing, all disk drives form a part of the inner system unit 5.
The system board 3 is provided (Fig. 3) with corresponding connectors 7 for connecting expansion boards 8 mounted within the housing 1 so that their planes are substantially parallel to the plane of the system board 3. In so doing, the narrow-profile expansion boards 8', which width measured between the connector and an opposite side of the board is not greater than a half of the width of the system board 3, are connected to their connectors on the system board 3 directly, a plane of each such board 8' being substantially perpendicular to the plane of the system board 3. The full-profile expansion boards 8" of a greater size, which width is greater than a half of the width of the system board 3, are connected to the corresponding connectors on the system board 3 via adapter boards 9, a plane of each such board 8" being substantially parallel to the plane of the system board 3. Due to such disposition of all expansion boards 8' and 8", a total width of the housing 1, i.e. a size measured perpendicularly to the plane of the display screen 2, could be considerably reduced.
All units in the housing 1 including the display screen 2 are respectively interconnected each other to provide a proper operation of the computer apparatus. The interconnection is carried out using known means: buses, cables, etc., as in any modern computer apparatus.
Referring to Fig. 4, the housing 1 with all units disposed in it is mounted on a stand 10 having a hinge 11 on its top in order to provide a possibility for the housing 1 to rotate about a horizontal axis which is parallel to the plane of the display screen 2. Within the stand 10 are disposed a power supply 12 for supplying the computer apparatus and a fan 13 for cooling the power supply 12. In so doing, the hinge 11 is designed with an aperture in the top of the stand 10 in or-
der to provide a passage of an air from the fan 13 inside the housing 1 to the unit disposed there at any rotation of the housing 1 in the hinge 11 (Fig. 4 shows in a dotted line one of possible positions of the housing 1). Thus, a proper mode for cooling the computer apparatus circuit components is ensured.
It should be noted that all computer apparatus construction elements are disposed within the housing 1 so that, at any rotation angle of the housing 1 in the hinge 11 of the stand 10, the center of gravity of the housing 1 assembled does not go outside the supporting surface border of stand 10.
A switching unit 14 can be disposed in the stand 10 (see Fig. 2) or in the housing 1, the unit 14 being intended for switching computer apparatus operation modes and providing a connection of the computer apparatus according to the present invention with some other computer apparatus, - for example, a server or at least a system unit external for the computer apparatus according to the present invention. This switching unit 14 is made on the basis of multiplexer microcir- cuits of the required type. For instance, they may be a 15 -channel VGA multiplexer for connecting to the display screen 2 and a 4-channel USB multiplexer for connecting the keypad and/or other periphery. In so doing, the keypad and all periphery is connected to a USB concentrator which is coupled with the mentioned 4-channel multiplexer. Those multiplexers of the switching unit 14 can be controlled from a flip-flop which input is connected to the key 15 disposed on the front panel of the housing 1 (see Fig. 1). When it is necessary to switch to the system unit external for the given computer apparatus, the required information is rewritten to an external memory connected to the USB concentrator, after which, by pressing the key 15, one could simultaneously to switch off the inner system unit 5 of the given computer apparatus and to connect the display screen 2 and all periphery to the system unit external for the given computer apparatus. Thereby, a security is provided from hackers and/or viruses operating through the net.
Moreover, a usage of the switching unit 14 permits to employ the computer apparatus according to the present invention as a monitor only.
On the front side of the housing 1 near th display screen 2 an infrared port 16 can be disposed, which port 16 being intended to provide a wireless connection of the computer apparatus according to the present invention with the periphery. Owing to this, all connections of the keypad, mouse and other periphery can be wireless. In so doing, all connections of the infrared port 16 to the inner system unit 5 are carried out via the switching unit 14. Any commercially available infrared port can be used as such infrared port 16.
During operation of the assembled computer apparatus a mode is possible, when the computer apparatus, being switched on, is nevertheless "asleep", i.e., a part of its units are not used, - for example, the hard disk drive 4, the display screen 2 etc. In this mode, in order to reduce a surplus noise, the fan 13 in the stand 10 can be switched off, since this mode does not produce a great discard of the heat which should be drawn from the circuit components. On "awakening", i.e., switching on those units which takes place either by a user instruction, or after expiring the predetermined time period, the software stored in the memory of the hard disk will switch on fan 13.
Thus, the present invention provides the computer apparatus which is made in the housing of a small thickness with the flat display screen.
Industrial applicability
The present invention can be used in developing computer apparatus of different purposes.
The present invention is described in the above specification by means of the example of its possible embodiment. This example serves only as an illustration and not limitation. All possible modifications and embodiments should be considered as falling into the scope of the following claims.