A novel longitudinally sliding overhead video screen monitor was developed to address consumer needs for vehicles equipped with rear seat entertainment and long length sunroofs. Long length sunroof openings in vehicles are causing engineers to mount video screen monitors in locations other than the overhead. Typically, they are mounted on the floor console or on the back of front seat head restraints. Floor console mounted video screen monitors generally do not provide a comfortable viewing distance or angle for second and third row occupants. Head restraint mounted video monitors cause issues with seat shake and two monitors adds to the vehicle cost unnecessarily.
The mountable sliding video monitor assembly comprises of a video display screen, brackets for mounting the monitor, a pair of tracks that are movable with respect to each other, a series of ball bearings, and a roof mounting bracket. The inner main track is adapted for mounting the pair of tracks to the vehicle. The main carrier track provides the mounting of the video screen monitor. Thus the position of the mountable sliding video display unit may be adjusted in a direction in line with the pair of tracks. End brackets enable the video screen monitor to be pivoted from 0 degrees to -120 degrees. Ball bearings are placed between the pair of tracks for smooth and reliable movement of the tracks.
The section dimensions of the tracks and the size and spacing of the ball bearings were held constant. The material choice of the main carrier track was changed between steel and aluminum. Computer analysis was used to determine which material provided the best results given the performance requirements. Three input loads were used, an upward force on the video monitor, a downward force on the monitor, and a forward force on the lower portion of the monitor. For comparison, similar loads were applied to a conventional fixed video screen monitor. The design of the sliding video monitor system was optimized, however, other factors such as cost, mass, wear ability, and quality sound were also considered.