AU2008100985B4

AU2008100985B4 - Improved holder

Info

Publication number: AU2008100985B4
Application number: AU2008100985A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Natasha Rae Norman; Jonathan Wilson
Original assignee: NATASHA NORMAN
Current assignee: Norman Natasha Rae Miss
Priority date: 2008-01-17
Filing date: 2008-10-08
Publication date: 2009-02-12
Anticipated expiration: 2016-10-08
Also published as: AU2008100985A4

Description

AUSTRALIA

PATENTS ACT 1990 INNOVATION PATENT Name and Address of Applicant: Actual Inventor[s]: Address for Service: 1P Suit

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Natasha Rae Norman 53 Cumberland Avenue COLLAROY NSW 2097 Natasha Rae Norman Jonathan Wilson ACE PATENT ATTORNEYS SOLICITORS te 404 107 Walker St RTH SYDNEY NSW 2060 FOR THE INVENTION ENTITLED:- Improved holder The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me/us: 00 INTRODUCTION

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SThe present invention relates to holders and in particular to holders for books and 0 electronic devices such as laptops.

0 00 O The invention has been developed primarily for use as a book or laptop holder for people who need free hands in order to read, such as while cooking or operating 0 machinery while using guidebooks or technical manuals. However, it will be appreciated that the invention is not restricted this particular field of use.

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rCOPYRIGHT NOTICE This document is subject to copyright. The reproduction, communication and distribution of this document is not permitted without prior consent from the copyright owner, other than as permitted under section 226 of the Patents Act 1990.

PROBLEMS OF THE PRIOR ART For many people, holding a book for lengthy periods of time proves to be both heavy and uncomfortable. In some occupations, such as for chefs or machine operators, it is impractical because both hands are required in order to work. In still other occupations, such as for car mechanics, workers are not seated and may change positions frequently, from lying to standing.

There have been book holders invented during recent years, but known book holders require that the book either be placed on a person's lap or on a desk or table top. For example, one known device holds a book open at the required reading page and is useful for those lying down to read, or sitting upright, whilst holding the book. Another known device sits holding a book open on a computer desk.

00 One known device is described in US Patent No. 3,606,235. This device does not 0 Sallow the user to be standing a chef), lying on the ground a mechanic), crouching a horticulturalist) or at any angle other than seated at a table or 0 desk. The device is propped on furniture, such as a table. Further, the device is 00 S 5 designed to hold "a magazine or book, of the standard variety", not a heavy textbook or laptop.

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00 OKnown adjustable devices such as music stands are not capable of supporting the weight of a heavy reference text or laptop computer, and are also not capable of 00 being used by a person in a lying position.

Known devices for resting items upon while reading in a lying position include adjustable tray tables, such as used in hospitals. However, an adjustable tray table has the following disadvantages: 1. it does not hold a book or laptop securely and is therefore unsuitable for use with heavy items, particularly when the tray is tilted to a degree where the item could fall off; 2. it cannot be used in a wide variety of positions since the ability to adjust the positioning of the tray table is limited for example: a. the minimum height of a tray table is generally around the height of a bed, which is too high for by a mechanic lying under a car; b. it does not permit viewing of an item by a user standing (sitting, lying, crouching) to the side of the tray table, since the tray cannot be swivelled around the base; c. it is not suitable for work environments where space is at a premium since stability of the device generally comes from having a base as wide as the tray top.

Another known device for holding a book while lying down is described in US Patent No. 4,465,255. However, this device is not free standing it has a flat base that must be inserted between a mattress and spring of a bed. Therefore, it is not 00 suitable for use in many situations (and not even with all beds) and cannot be 0 Sadjusted for use by a viewer changing positions from lying to standing, sitting or crouching. The position of the book support cannot be rotated around the arms for O viewing by a reader positioned to the side of the holder.

00 In summary, known devices have the collective disadvantage that they cannot be 00 used by a person changing positions from lying down a mechanic) to standing S(e.g. a chef). Many known devices are not free-standing, so are not usable in the event that there is no nearby table-top available or if the user is not seated or lying 00 in a bed to which the device can be attached. Known free-standing adjustable devices: 1. only allow for a book to be held at limited specific angles; and 2. cannot be adjusted for use by a viewer from the lying position to standing.

Known inventions are also not capable of supporting a heavy textbook or technical manual, being designed instead for magazines and novels. Known devices that could support the weight of a heavy textbook or laptop are not: 1. collapsible to an easily portable size and shape; and 2. adjustable to suit the shifting position and viewing angle of the user.

No known devices are specifically designed to hold laptops, which is a disadvantage, since many technical manuals (and indeed other books and reference materials) are now published electronically.

Further, known devices are not designed with sufficient stability, flexibility and of materials suitable for use in wet environments.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to overcome or ameliorate at least one of the disadvantages of the prior art, or to provide a useful alternative.

According to one aspect of the invention there is provided a holder including: 00 a base, wherein: 0 i. said base includes a bladder; ii. said bladder is refillable, such that said bladder can be emptied prior

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O to transportation then re-filled for use; 00 an elongate member having a distal end and a proximal end, wherein: i. said distal end of said elongate member is attached to said base; 00 and ii. said elongate member is enabled to be adjusted in length; iii. said elongate member is enabled to be adjusted by degree of 00 O 10 rotation around its axis of revolution; and a support means connected at least indirectly to said proximal end of said elongate member, wherein said support means is enabled to hold an item for viewing, such that: A. said bladder, when filled, provides a means for weighting of said base; B. said base, when weighted with a filled said bladder, provides a counterbalance to the weight of said item being held; and C. adjusting said elongate member enables adjustment of said support means to a desired position.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS A preferred embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a side view of a holder in a preferred embodiment; Figure 2 is a perspective view of a holder in an alternative arrangement.

00 DETAILED DESCRIPTION

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A preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be described by O reference to the drawings. The following detailed description in conjunction with 00 5 the figures provides the skilled addressee with an understanding of the invention.

It will be appreciated, however, that the invention is not limited to the applications 00 described below.

The elements of the invention are now described under the following headings: 00

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Summary of the invention The present invention provides a device that has advantages over known devices because: 1. it is capable of supporting the weight of a heavy item such as a large technical manual or textbook or a laptop; 2. it is space efficient in its design because it relies on a weighted base rather than a broad base for stability; 3. it is easily transportable because: a. the weighting of the holder comes from a refillable (and easily emptied) bladder in the base, rather than from the material used to make the holder; b. the components are telescopic, enabling easy compaction for storage and transportation; 4. it is free-standing and can be used by users without access to a table or other convenient horizontal surface when on-the-road, or when sitting on a couch or an armchair such as in an airport lounge); it can be adjusted for use by a user in a lying position through to a standing position (as may be required in some occupations where workers frequently change positions or need to move around machinery); 00 6. it is suitable for use in wet environments because it has the stability and

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Sflexibility for such use in addition to being made of suitable materials -for example, stainless steel and hard plastic.

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00 S 5 Currently, there is no single device known that provides the above advantages.

A preferred embodiment 00 The present invention provides a portable, adjustable holding device that can hold 00 10 an item for reading, including a heavy book or laptop, for people who may need Otheir hands free, such as people in certain occupations, or for comfort. This may be for purposes of study, computer use, to follow recipes whilst cooking, to operate machinery whilst using guidebooks, for gardening and more, all the while keeping reference materials from getting dirty and allowing viewers to use their hands for an activity other than holding. This may also assist people with back or neck injuries, and who may not have the strength to hold the book for an extended length of time.

The present invention also provides a holder that can be easily adjusted for a user, from a standing, sitting, crouching or lying position and for purposes where: 1. the user does not want to touch the item held, for instance, a cook book, a mechanical guide book or gardener's almanac; or 2. the user needs to have a laptop in close proximity but needs to have hands free for another activity, such as a mechanic, an engineer on-site or a machine operator.

This is particularly useful in non-desk-bound occupations or even recreational pasttimes such as reading a book in the bathtub or using a laptop in bed or on the couch, since it is free-standing and the angle of the support can be adjusted for comfortable use by the viewer.

00 The holder is also useful for conference and meeting organisers because it enables 0 Slaptops to be used in conference venues and lecture theatres where seating arrangements do not provide for desks and where space is at a premium, since the O weighted base of the device is a space efficient counterbalance to the weight of 00 the item being held.

00 Stability Referring to Figure 1, the present invention provides a portable holder 10 for 00 10 holding items including heavy items such as a heavy book or laptop. The holder Ois enabled to support the weight of a heavy book or laptop by means of a weighted base 20. The holder 10 is space efficient because its stability is achieved through the weighting of the base 20, rather than through splayed legs or a broad base as seen in some known devices.

The base 20 of the holder 10 iincludes a bladder (not shown), which the user can fill with a substance such as water or sand. When the bladder is filled, the base has sufficient weight to counterbalance the weight of any item a laptop) being held by the support means In a preferred embodiment, the bladder is removable from the base and refillable, meaning that the bladder can be removed from the base and emptied after use, decreasing the overall weight of the holder 10 and its components. This enables the holder 10 to be easily transported and stored, and enables the user to carry it from room to room inside a house or workplace, and to travel with the holder outside the home or workplace even taking it in luggage when travelling, then attaching and filling the bladder when needed for use. A person skilled in the art will appreciate that the base 20 and bladder may be seamless (that is, the base is hollow and its internal volume forms the bladder) or discrete an inflatable bladder that can be inserted into the base 20 or otherwise attached to the base for use).

00 The base 20 is made from any suitable material stainless steel or hard plastic

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Sor rubber) that can support the weight of a filled bladder and provide the necessary structural stability.

00 oO Because the stability is provided by the weighted base, rather than through the use of heavy components, in one arrangement the holder conceals wires (for example, 00 a laptop power cord). The user can thread the power cord through the elongate Omember and down through the base. The base has a rebate extending radially from the position of the elongate member to the outer periphery of the base. This 00 enables the power cord to sit within the rebate so that the base of the holder can still rest evenly on the floor.

Adjustability in height The holder 10 has an elongate member 40, which can be adjusted in a substantially vertical dimension (Figure By lengthening or shortening the elongate member the height of the holder 10 can be increased or decreased, respectively. The minimum height of the holder 10 will be suitable for a viewer who is lying down to view an item held by the support means 30. The maximum height of the holder will enable an item held by the holder 10 to be viewed by a user who is standing.

The elongate member 40 has: a distal end, being the end attaching to the base 20; and a proximal end, being the end furthest from the base 20 and attaching dirrectly or indirectly to an arm 60. The arm 60 and elongate member may be discrete items or seamless with one another.

In the preferred embodiment, the elongate member 40 can be extended telescopically from the base. In one arrangement, a locking means 50 located on the elongate member 40 enables the user to quickly and easily lock the holder at the desired height. The locking means 50 may also be quickly and easily 00 released, to enable the elongate member 40 to be freed from its locked position 0 and shortened for example, if the user shifts to a sitting position or wishes to minimise the length of the holder 10 for transportation.

oO 00 Additional adjustments in height, positioning and angle

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00 Still referring to Figure 1, the elongate member 40 of the holder 10 can also be rotated around its axis of revolution. This permits adjustment in the position of the support means 30 such that a viewer positioned originally to the side of the suport 00 means 30 can move the support means 30 into a comfortable viewing position towards the front of the viewer without having to shift holder 10 from the base In the preferred embodiment, the elongate member 40 is pivotally connected to an arm 60. The distal end of the arm 60 connects to the support means 30. This pivotal connection 70 provides an additional and alternative means for adjusting the overall height of the holder 10 and, importantly, a means for adjusting the height and position of the support means The arm 60 is extendable in length and contains at least one point of inflexion about which the opposing ends of the arm 60 may pivot. These characteristics of the arm 60 provide additional and alternative means for adjusting the position of the support means 30 by the user.

The support means 30 is pivotally connected to the distal end of the arm 60. This enables the angle of the support means 30 to be adjusted by the user. The support means 30 has a head 90 and a foot 100 (see Figure 1) for holding the top and bottom, respectively, of an item such as a book or laptop. The head 90 grasps the top of the item, while the foot 100 secures the bottom of the item. Both the head and the foot 100 are adjustable to permit items of variable size to be held securely. For example, if the item held is a laptop, the height and depth of the screen will often be different from the height and depth of a typical textbook or, 00 say, a magazine. The head 90 can be adjusted to suit these different needs.

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SSimilarly, the foot 100 of the support means 30 can be increased to accommodate the depth of a laptop keyboard or decreased to the depth of a book.

0O The combination of: 1. adjustability in height of the elongate member; 00 2. adjustability in height, positioning and angle of the support means; and O3. easy transportability, enables the holder 10 to be used in a variety of situations, including when the user 00

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is positioned to the side of the base 20 when sitting up in bed to use a laptop), when travelling in an airport lounge), when lying in bed to read including reading an electronic book, as an alternative to a table top in work environments where space is limited in a restaurant where guests are being greeted this enables booking information to be more easily accessed at the relevant place, rather than leaving guests waiting while booking information is checked) or for use by workers who are not in sedentary occupations and who need access to books or a laptop in a variety of locations and in a variety of positions crouching, standing, lying).

Increased flexibility of use such as in wet environments The holder, in any arrangement, is suitable for use in any environment, including external or wet conditions, through its combination of space-efficient, flexible and stable design, and the materials used. This combination makes the holder more resilient and varied in use than known holders.

The following features of the holder, in addition to the materials used, make it suitable for use in external and/or wet environments: 1. the stability of the holder provided by the re-fillable bladder in the base means that: the holder can withstand a gentle breeze and still be stable; 00 the holder does not rely on a broad base for stability, so the user

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can be positioned close to the holder this prevents craning of the neck to view the item held by the holder; O 2. the flexibility in the holder, provided by the ability to adjust the height of 00 the holder and the height, positioning and angle of the support means, enables a user to view an item held by the holder even when the user is 00 positioned to the side of the base or at an awkward angle to the base, for Sexample in a bath or garden.

00 The holder is made from a suitable material or combination of materials such as stainless steel and consumer-grade plastic material that will be able to weather wet and dry conditions, enabling use in wet environments where necessary or desired. The weather and rust-proof materials used to make the holder enable the device to be used when lying in the bath or, in certain occupations, in wet environments such as kitchens or gardens.

Known holding devices are not capable of use in such varied environments.

An alternative arrangement of the elongate member Figure 2 illustrates an alternative arrangement of the holder 10 shown in Figure 1.

In this arrangement, the elongate member 40 is a telescopic neck made of ribbed material such as ribbed stainless steel (often referred to as gooseneck), which can be stretched and bent into position by a user (including positioning for height and angle).

The arm 60 is a seamless extension of the elongate member 40 and the pivotal movement of the arm 60 about the elongate member 40 is achieved by movement of the ribbed material. The remaining features are as described for the preferred embodiment illustrated in Figure 1 and described above.

Although the invention has been described with reference to specific examples, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the invention may be embodied in many different other forms.

Dated this 8 October 2008 Applicant's Name: NATASHA RAE NORMAN AND JONATHAN WILSON By 1 Place Patent Attorneys Solicitors Patent Attorneys for the Applicant

Claims

3. A holder according to any one of the preceding Claims wherein said arm includes at least one point of inflexion, about which opposing ends of said arm are enabled to pivot, such that a further means is provided for adjusting said support means to a desired position.
4. A holder according to any one of the preceding Claims wherein one or more of the following components of said holder is telescopic: said elongate member; said arm, such that said holder is easily compacted for storage and transportation. 00 5. A holder according to any one of the preceding Claims wherein said support O means includes: Q a head; and 00 a foot, 5 wherein each of said head and said foot is enabled to be adjusted to provide I/h 00 adjustment of said support means in one or more of the following dimensions: i. height; 00 ii. depth such that said support means is enabled to hold items of variable size.