GB2210781A

GB2210781A - Easel

Info

Publication number: GB2210781A
Application number: GB8823108A
Authority: GB
Inventors: William R Howell
Original assignee: Quaker Oats Co
Current assignee: Quaker Oats Co
Priority date: 1987-10-09
Filing date: 1988-10-03
Publication date: 1989-06-21
Also published as: DE3834213A1; FR2621468A1; GB8823108D0; AU2298788A

Description

2210781 EASEL This invention relates to combination easel and desk and

more-particularly to an easel and desk designed to be used by children that is collapsible for convenient storage and which can be set up quickly and easily.

Children enjoy writing and painting, and these activities are beneficial to the development of children. Children often write or color pictures on existing convenient pieces of furniture such as the kitchen table. This is not entirely satisfactory to the child or the parents. However, it may not be possible to provide separate writing tables and easels for is children to pursue writing and painting activities due to lack of space to set up and store these items.

It is an object of this invention to provide a combination easel and desk that is compact in use and that can be collapsed for storage.

Briefly stated, this invention provides a collapsible combination easel and desk having a substantially flat desktop member pivotally mounted on a pair of slidable mounting sleeves, 25) and an easel member having a first pair of mounting brackets pivotally attached to said first pair of support legs and a second pair of mounting brackets pivotally attached to said desktop member.

The novel aspects of this invention are set forth with particularity in the appended claims.

The invention itself may be more readily understood by referring to the following detailed description of the presently preferred embodiment thereof in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a collapsible combination easel and desk in accordance with this invention in its erected configuration; Figure 2 is a section view taken along line 2-2 of Figure 1; Figure 3 is, a fragmentary section view taken along line 3-3 of Figure 2; and Figure 4 is a partial side elevation of the collapsible combination easel and desk of this invention in its collapsed configuration.

Referring now to Figure 1, the collapsible combination easel and desk of this invention is shown in its fully erected in-use configuration.

The collapsible combination easel desk 10 includes four legs 41, 42, 50 and 52 supporting a desk 84 more fully described below and an easel member 12 that is generally rectangular in configuration and preferably has rounded upper corners 14, 16 for a pleasing appearance. A handle 20 is preferably attached to the top of the easel member 12 for transporting, erecting, and collapsing the easel-desk. The easel member 12 may be made from any relatively sturdy and attractive material such as plastic or wood, and includes a V-shaped frame 22 surrounding a substantially rigid easel tablet 26 on three sides. A clamp 30 is disposed at the top of the easel frame for holding a piece of paper or the like in position for painting, drawing or sketching.

Preferably, a removable tray 32 is attached to the bottom of the asel member for holding brushes, paints, and other painting and drawing supplies. In accordance with this invention the tray 32 is removably attached to the easel frame by means including first and second projecting support shelves 34 on which the tray rests, and.a boss 36 extending upwardly from the back of the tray 32 and engaging a lip 38 that projects downwardly from the bottom of the easel tablet 26 as can be most clearly seen in Figure 2. The tray 32 has resilient U-shaped recesses 39 on each side that engage the lower edges of the easel frame, as best seen in Figure 1. The tray 32 can be easily detached from the easel for cleaning.

The combination of the upwardly extending boss 36 and the downwardly extending lip 38 ensure that if any paint or the like drips down the easel tabIet it will be caught by the tray and not drip on the is floor.

First and second easel support legs 40, 42 are attached to the sides of the easel frame, and the rear legs 50, 52 are pivotally attached to brackets on the side of the frame. Preferably, the legs are provided with protective endcaps 44-47 for preventing the legs from damaging the floor. All of the legs are preferably made from metal or plastic tubes and the protective caps from rubber, plastic or the like. Preferably, the easel support legs 40, 42 are mounted in channels formed in the sides of the easel.frame, as seen in Figure 2. A pair of stop members 70, one formed at the end of each channel, holds each of the legs in position relative to.the frame.

Referring now to Figure 2, upper and lower pairs of mounting brackets 60 and 62 (only one bracket in each pair being visible in this view) extend rearwardly from the back of the easel frame. A first upper mounting bracket 62 is pivotally connected to the end 72 of support leg which extends downwardly from the mounting bracket through a mounting sleeve 76 to the floor. The construction of leg 52 is identical. Preferably, a collar 80 is fixedly mounted on the support leg 50 for limiting the downward travel of the sleeve 76 on the leg. The collar 80 may be fastened to the support leg by any convenient means such as a set screw, a layer of adhesive, or a depression on the leg engaging a projection on the inner surface of the collar.

The fastening means are not illustrated for simplicity.

A desk top member 84 is pivotally attached to the mounting sleeves 76 and the lower pair of mounting brackets 60 attached to the easel frame generally behind the removable tray 32.

Preferably each of the mounting sleeves 76 has an inwardly extending pivot post 86 that engages a journal 88 formed on the underside of the desk top frame 90. The second pair of mounting brackets is received in a pair of generally U-shaped openings 64 formed in one edge of the desktop frame 90. A pivot rod 66 engages the sides of the U-shaped opening-and passes through each of the second mounting brackets 60.

The desktop member 84 is preferably formed in two parts, a generally rectangular frame 90 and a preferably slightly resilient writing tablet 92.

The frame 90 has a generally rectangular depression 91 having a peripheral shoulder 94 therearound. The tablet 92 rests on the shoulder and is preferably held in place by conventional brackets or snaps (not shown). One or more upstanding bosses 96 help support the tablet. The tablet 92 can be easily removed for cleaning but is normally held firmly in place and will not fall out of the frame when the frame is tilted to collapse the easel-desk.

The manner in which the easel-desk of this invention is collapsed and erected may be seen by reference to Figures 2 and 4. Beginning with the easel desk in its open configuration as shown in Figure 2, to collapse the easel-desk, the outermost edge of the desktop frame (the right-hand side as seen in Figure 2) is lifted upwardly. This causes the mounting sleeves to slide up the support legs 50, 52 and urges the support legs 50, 52 inwardly towards the easel frame, continuously reducing the angle between the is support legs 50, 52 and the easel frame.

Simultaneously, the desktop frame 84 pivots between the brackets 60 and moves upwardly between the support legs 50, 52 to a storage position between the upper support brackets 62, as seen in Figure 4. The collapsed easel-desk is only slightly thicker'than the two sets of legs. The handle 20 provides a convenient way to lift the collapsed easel-desk for storage.

Erecting the collapsed easel desk is essentially the reverse process. The two sets of legs are gently spread apart and the mounting sleeves move downwardly on the support legs until further movement is prevented by the collars.

While the invention has been described in connection with a presently preferred embodiment thereof, various modifications and changes will be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention which accordingly is intended to be defined solely by the following claims.

Claims

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1. A collapsible combination easel and desk comprising:

a substantially flat desktop member pivotally mounted on a pair of slidable mounting sleeves; a first pair of support legs extending through said mounting sleeves; an easel member having a first pair of mounting brackets pivotally attached to said first pair of support legs and a second pair of mounting brackets pivotally attached to said desktop member; and a second pair of support legs attached to said easel member.

2. The collapsible combination easel and desk of claim 1 comprising means on said first pair of support legs for limiting the movement of said sleeves on said first pair of support legs.

3. The combination easel and desk of claim 2 wherein said means for limiting the movement of said sleeves on said legs comprises a pair of collars fixed on said legs.

4. The combination easel and desk of claim 1 wherein said first pair of brackets is attached to said first pair of support legs at one end of each of said legs respectively.

5. The collapsible combination easel and desk of claim 1 further comprising a handle on said easel member.

6. The collapsible combination easel and desk of claim 1 wherein said easel member comprises a substantially flat easel surface member and said pair of easel support legs is attached to the sides of said easel surface member.

7. The collapsible combination easel and desk of claim 1 further comprising clamp means on said easel member for holding a drawing sheet on said easel member.

8. The collapsible combination easel and desk of claim 1 wherein said desk top member comprises a generally rectangular frame defining a generally rectangular opening having a shoulder therearound, and an at least slightly resilient writing tablet is disposed on said shoulder surrounded by said frame.

9. The collapsible combination easel and desk of claim 8 wherein said frame has an elongated rounded depression adjacent one edge of said tablet for holding writing instruments.

10. The collapsible combination easel and desk of claim 8 wherein said frame has a pair of generally U-shaped openings on one edge thereof for receiving said second pair of mounting brackets.

11. The collapsible combination easel and desk of claim 1 further comprisin.g a tray removably attached to said easel member.

12. The collapsible combination easel and desk of claim 11 wherein said tray is attached to said easel member generally opposite said second pair of mounting brackets.

13. The collapsible combination easel and desk of claim 1 wherein said second pair of support legs is attached to said easel member at right angles to said second pair of mounting brackets.

14. A collapsible combination easel and desk substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

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