Thread: Spring loaded tilt lift screen support...Help needed!

And this is how I would fold it:

Step1:





Step2:




Step3:




Step 4:





Obviously, I hope it's not going to be difficult to find a screen that's not 3" thick [edit: I meant 30mm] all around or this is what's going to happen:




So what do you guys think? I think it's coming up pretty cool...

Note that the lid is fully functional still:

Open and closes:




The hinge does not touch the leather part, it has a stop that leaves about 2-3mm there (I will probably increase this later):

This is no way close to the final thing, this is the only the first one that worked so far...

So now I have the following problems.

1. Should I use acrylic instead of plywood? Or steel? Steel would be thiner, but heavier. Aluminum wouldn't be as strong. Acrylic could be a nightmare to clean, but it would be cool visually. And it would make the whole thing look lighter and surreal.

2. What would I do in the pocket, when the LCD is opened? Should I use black leather or black plastic finish, or the same red rock leather? Should I iluminate somehow? I also think it would be a cool place for turning on off the computer, rear screens and what not.

2. Ideally I'd like to just buy a 10.4" 1280x1024 transflective screen and I would be a happy man. I would just paint the case and I would have a professional looking screen.

Ideally it would be as thin as the MacBook air screen:



Yeah, right... (Why Xenarc and Lillis do not use such tech?...)

So I like this one 10.4", from AvionicsLCD.com. But I would have to add a capacitive touch to it (so I'd have to modify the bezel it does already have a bit), it's 28mm thick only because of the electronics in the back, which I think can be relocated slightly up and won't be a problem.

Mp3car store, mo-co-so, others, only carry transflectives up to 7"...Too tiny for the truck, and for the mounting I build.

I could fit a 12.1" there, but I think a 9"-10.4" screen would work best.

Again, I'm not concerned about OEM looks much. But if I buy an open frame monitor such as the one above, how would I go about fabricating a professsional looking bezel and case for it? I can't just fold 22ga. steel and use rivets...and I can't let the electronics exposed...

AFAIK, nobody ever built a complete case for an open frame screen. So how would I do it? Any suggestions? Pictures would help immensely...

Thanks!

Nice work on the mount. I like it, but have you ridden around with it open. I'd be worried about vibrations, bumps, etc. How solid is it going to be fully extended like that? And is it firm enough for actual touchscreen use?

my own thoughts:

not sure bout the spring-- i think that by itself, it is going to try catapulting the screen into the windshield unless you use a friction, or fluid damper to keep it moving slowly-- even some carefully placed teflon bushings should do the trick..

i think you should try to blend it in with the rest of the arm-rest, and don't illuminate it..

Originally Posted by GizmoQ

Nice work on the mount. I like it, but have you ridden around with it open. I'd be worried about vibrations, bumps, etc. How solid is it going to be fully extended like that? And is it firm enough for actual touchscreen use?

I drove 35 miles today with the 1.5Lb iPad hanging from the top of it (in a case). It's surprisingly good, but not perfect. I can click on the iPad home button for instance, without much give, but searching for the volume buttons on the sides and all that makes it move too much. It does move on big bumps, but not much, about the same as the RAM mount.

I'm switching to stronger springs that you can actually set up the tension and I think this will cure that.

Originally Posted by soundman98

my own thoughts:

not sure bout the spring-- i think that by itself, it is going to try catapulting the screen into the windshield unless you use a friction, or fluid damper to keep it moving slowly-- even some carefully placed teflon bushings should do the trick..

i think you should try to blend it in with the rest of the arm-rest, and don't illuminate it..

I'm only using spring on the second stage now, if you let go it just try to put the screen vertical, facing the rear. You have to actually lift the rest after that and it will stay in place due to the hinge weight+screen weight.

But while I was reaching for a drink today I could see that if you go past 90degrees it will fall, so I think I will need some bushings or locks just to keep it firm.

The illumination thing was just to make the "pocket" useful at night, when the screen is lifted... But maybe it's really not such a good idea.

Next I'm going to try using a different set of spring loaded hinges and steel instead of wood. I have a small 22 ga. piece around here but I fear it's too weak.

I'd go for aluminum and use an actuator not springs.

thanks, I still going to try aluminum, but I'm afraid either it will bend too much or it will be too thick and expensive. But I'm considering it.

The problem with actuators is that I have yet to figure out how to use them in this setup. I think it's a great idea, but maybe someone smarter than me would have to make a diagramm for me to understand. Most actuators I've see either they're too big, or then the piston stroke is too short to do anything meaningful here. Or maybe I'd didn't look too hard, any pointers?

what about multiple layers of carbon fiber? its thin, light, and tough(though, from what i have read, torsional rigidity depends on the way, and direction it is layered)

there are also companies that offer premade cf panels if you don't have the time to do it yourself..

CF? Cool idea, that would be great. However I think it may be too expensive for me? Any links?

I'm still at loss about how to protect a possible open panel screen. If they had a headrest mount for a 10.4" it would help a lot.


BTW, I got the idea from the wife, who wanted an undercabinet cookbook holder, like this on Amazon. I figure, what if I take this, upside down, and put on top of my center console?



But I couldn't get enough height from this, or couldn't get stable enough, or it would simply require a bigger opening. Maybe somebody could have a better idea with this, so there you have it.

This is version 0.5. Advantages over the version 0.4 (with the plywood):

1. The bigger 10" T-hinge (I cut it to fit) is much heavier, so much more stable.
2. It looks lighter than the previous one.
3. The top hinge, with the spring, is now adjustable. So no matter what screen I got, it will be well supported, be it a Galaxy tab, an iPad, a 7" or 10.4" screen. All my options are open.
4. Everything is still under 1" when folded, which was the most difficult part to achieve in versions 0.1 and 0.2.




I obviously will try to make them match where they meet somehow, with some strategic cuts. I was also thinking of drilling more holes to help in that front too.

After seeing this one in action, I can't see how acrylic would work (would be as stable). Maybe acrylic with two parallel steel bars. Will see.





Below, the top black part is where the screen mount is going to be. I already have a VESA 75mm rotating mount that fits like a glove, also I won't have any problem fitting a Pro-Clip style mount to this. The relative position of the screen mount to the top of this black hinge detemines how centered the screen will be in the hole when closed, since there's no screen yet, I'll keep my options open.




As you can see below, this is the only point with a spring. This one black hinge has an adjustable spring. The older spring would bounce over jumps, this one on position 3 is already stronger than the previous one. This is the spring that keeps the screen straight, the top of the T hinge stops it's closing movement and makes both flush in the open position.

This is the part I'm most proud of, everything folds inside the lid! Not much space here, but I think it's working.




Finally this is part of the contraption above in the console, without the lid part with the leather. I can't see how to fit a decent size actuator in that structure and/or how it would help the hinge movement above, specially the t-hinge which has no springs.






Thanks for all the input guys, keep them coming!