Video System for Passenger Vehicles

It is known in at least one instance to provide a seat-back mounted TV in a passenger vehicle. See, for example, the U.S. Pat. No. 4,521,021 to Dixon. In that disclosure, the TV screen is normally covered by a form of tray table in stored position and is not available for viewing unless the tray is swung down to serving position. The top of the tray, which is the face facing the screen when the tray is closed, is compartmented for the purpose of containing a plurality of hand-held, battery-operated games. The patented system is deficient in many respects, including use of a cathode ray tube as a TV screen, whereas such tube has not yet been adapted to the space limitations imposed by the seat back environment. The patent does not address power requirements, the use of disk drives and the like. The cathode ray tube (CRT) cannot be physically accommodated in the passenger seat behind the tray because the seat cushion is four to five inches thick and a nine inch CRT is at least eight to ten inches deep.

According to the present invention, the foregoing disadvantages have been eliminated. The screen is always available for viewing; that is, it does not depend upon dropping a tray table to serving position. On the other hand, when the screen unit is hinged rearwardly and downwardly, its opposite face serves as a tray. The arm rest in the seat next to the rear of the seat having the screen is equipped with a plurality of controls for the screen. The screen may be either a liquid-crystal display or gas plasma type. Among the capabilities of the system are menu selection, use of a joy stick, a mouse, central power, disk drives and the like, all of which will become apparent as a preferred embodiment of the invention is disclosed in detail herein.

FIG. 1 is a perspective, with portions omitted, of an arrangement of two seats, one behind the other, and showing the screen mounted in the back of the forward seat and viewable by the occupant of the rearward seat.

FIG. 2 is a similar view but showing the screen unit disposed s a tray in serving position.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary view illustrating one form of side shield in stored condition.

FIG. 4 is a like view but showing the shield extended.

FIG. 1 shows a typical seat arrangement in which a first seat, having a seat back (10) is disposed immediately ahead of a second seat having an arm rest (12). As best seen in FIG. 2, the seat back is formed with a rectangular recess (14) which, in this case, is used to accommodate a video unit (16). In one form of the invention, the unit has a rectangular frame (18) contoured according to the seat back recess and hinged along its lower edge at (20) to the seat back. This provides for selective swinging of the unit between the viewing position of FIG. 1 to the tray position of FIG. 2. A latch (22) is provided for holding the unit in its FIG. 1 position. The frame carries and surrounds a TV screen (24) that employs either liquid-crystal display or gas plasma technology, as well as touch-screen capabilities. When the unit is in its FIG. 2 position, it provides a tray (26).

The arm rest is constructed so as to contain a typical ash tray (28) and may have a receptacle (30) for a conventional cassette. A control panel (32) is provided, preferably along the inner side of the arm rest and includes a headphone socket (32) a joy stick socket (34) and additional rotatable elements (36) for volume, tone, color, etc; although these and additional controls may be provided at the unit (16), as indicated at (38). Typical mechanical and electrical connections (not shown) may be effected among the unit and the control elements. In lieu of a cassette receptacle, the vehicle or aircraft may be provided with a central master cartridge player (not shown), suitably connected to the video system. Likewise, various forms of disk players and drives may be employed to enhance the performance and flexibility of the system.

Another feature of the invention is the provision of side shields that may be extended to shield the screen from neighboring passengers. These shields may take many forms. In those shown here by way of example only, the unit frame has a pair of vertically elongated receptacles (40) that open to the rear. Each of these contains a pleated or accordion-type shield (42) which, when extended (FIG. 4), projects rearwardly alongside the screen. Each shield has a handle (44) for convenience in pulling the shield out and pushing it back in. The material of which the shields are made may be of any known type having sufficient rigidity to maintain the extended position shown.

Among the features of the invention are constant availability of the screen for viewing, use of a mouse for cursor movement, touch screen for menu selection and joy stick for games, the connectability to compact disk drives or other storage media drives, which may be located in the arm rest or centrally in the vehicle, aircraft, etc., and the use of liquid-crystal display or gas plasma technologies in the screen so as to easily fit the screen into the limited space available in the typical seat back as well as to accommodate the menu, etc. features.

Features other than those specifically pointed out will readily occur to those versed in the art, as will many modifications in the preferred embodiment disclosed, all without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.