US20020113531A1

US20020113531A1 - Computer desk

Info

Publication number: US20020113531A1
Application number: US09/790,859
Authority: US
Inventors: Ching-Hsiu Ma
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2001-02-20
Filing date: 2001-02-20
Publication date: 2002-08-22
Also published as: DE20103385U1

Abstract

A computer desk having structural parts that can be disassembled and kept in a compact size for packaging and storage is disclosed. The computer desk comprises a pair of substantially V-shape leg frames arranged in spaced relation to one another, spanned by a pair of lower cross bars attached thereto, and a pair of upper frames arranged in spaced apart relation to one another, spanned by a pair of upper cross bars attached thereto. The leg frames are detachably connected to the upper frames such that each of the leg frames forms a substantially Z configuration with a corresponding one of the upper frames. A desk top is detachably mounted on the upper cross bars between the pair of upper frames. The upper frames each further include a second bar provided with a slide rail. A support plate, which serves to hold the keyboard of a computer, is disposed between the second bars of the upper frames and has two ends inserted slidably into the slide rails of the second bars, respectively.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a computer desk, in particular to a computer desk having structural parts that can be disassembled and which therefore saves on storage or transport space and packaging costs, and convenient for users to transport.

2. Description of the Related Art

The computer desk commonly noted in the market, indicated by reference numeral 1 in FIG. 1, generally includes two erected opposing left and right side panels 11 which are each provided at the bottom end thereof with a leg 12 placed on level with the ground. A pair of casters 121 are pivotally connected at the front and rear ends of each leg 12, respectively. A connecting plate 13 is provided between the two side panels 11 and is horizontally positioned and attached near the legs 12 of the two side panels 11. The top end of each of the side panels 11 is provided with a top bar 14. Between the two top bars 14 is attached a desk top 15. The front end of each of the top bars 14 is provided with a downwardly extending connecting member 141. At the bottom end of each connecting member 141 is attached a slide rail 16 extending longitudinally on the side panel 11 parallel to the top bars 14. Between the two slide rails 16, a support plate 17 for placement of a keyboard is mounted.

In the assembled form of this known computer desk 1, the computer monitor and/or the main unit are placed on the computer desk top 15, while the keyboard is placed on the support plate 17 which is slidably movable along the length of the two slide rails 16. The pair of casters 121 under each of the two legs 12 facilitate movement of the entire computer desk.

The above-described computer desk 1 is evidently equipped with the basic function of providing an area for placing the parts of a computer system and on which a user may operate the computer. The different parts of the computer desk 1 may be disassembled and packed for storage or shipping. However, in the structural arrangement of the components of the computer desk, the two side panels 11 and the desk top 15 of the computer desk 1 are each formed as one-piece panels. Moreover, the height of the two side panels 11 is imposed with certain specific limitations to allow for user's comfort when operating the computer. In view of this, to pack or box the side panels 11 and the desk top 15, more packing material and volume would be required. Furthermore, the large space occupied by the packaged desk results in inconvenience in delivery and transport, as well as in increased costs. Such are the imperfections noted of the known computer desks.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention, therefore, is to provide a computer desk which provides savings in packaging materials, minimizes storage or transport space and provides ease of transport.

Accordingly, a computer desk according to the present invention comprises a pair of substantially V-shape leg frames arranged in spaced relation to one another, each of said leg frames being formed by a substantially horizontal foot member and a leg member extending upward in an inclined direction from said horizontal foot member; a pair of upper frames arranged in spaced apart relation to one another, each of said upper frames having a substantially horizontal first bar and a downward member extending downward in an inclined direction from said first bar to form a substantially V-shaped configuration with said first bar, and further including a second bar which is parallel to and disposed below said first bar, and which has a slide rail on a side thereof, said downward member of each of said upper frames being detachably connected to said leg member of a corresponding one of said leg frames, such that each of said leg frames forms a substantially Z configuration with a corresponding one of said upper frames; a pair of lower cross bars spanning said pair of leg frames, each of said cross bars having two ends detachably connected to said foot members of said leg frames, respectively; a pair of upper cross bars spanning said pair of upper frames, each of said upper cross bars having two ends detachably connected to said first bars of said upper frames, respectively, said upper cross bars being of substantially the same length as said lower cross bars; a desk top detachably mounted on said upper cross bars to be positioned between said first bars of said upper frames; and a support plate disposed between said second bars of said upper frames and having two ends inserted slidably into said slide rails of said second bars of said upper frames, respectively.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: [0009]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a conventional computer desk; [0010]
FIG. 2 is an exploded view of a preferred embodiment of the computer desk according to the present invention; [0011]
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the preferred embodiment in an assembled form; [0012]
FIG. 4 is a fragmentary cross sectional view showing the connection of the leg member of a leg frame and the downward member of an upper frame in the preferred embodiment; and [0013]
FIG. 5 is the same view as FIG. 4 but showing an alternative connection between the leg member and the downward member.[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

A preferred embodiment of the computer desk according to the present invention will now be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. As shown, the computer desk comprises a pair of [0015] leg frames 2, a pair of lower cross bars 3, a pair of upper frames 4, a pair of upper cross bars 5, a computer desk top 6 and a support plate 7.
The pair of [0016] leg frames 2 are substantially V-shaped and are each formed by a substantially horizontal foot member 21 and a leg member 22 extending from the horizontal foot member 21 upwardly in a sloping direction. The leg members 22 each have a first tubular end 221 for connection to the upper frames 4, which will be described later. Each of the foot members 21 is provided with two spaced-apart positioning holes 211 and has a pair of casters 23 mounted thereon for facilitating movement of the computer desk.
The [0017] leg frames 2 are arranged in spaced relation to one another, spanned by the pair of lower cross bars 3. The pair of cross bars 3 are spaced apart and each have two internally threaded ends 31 in which one is inserted into the positioning hole 211 of the foot member 21 of one leg frame 2 and the other inserted in the corresponding positioning hole 211 of the foot member 21 of the other leg frame 2. A screw 32 is threaded into each of the inserted ends 31, thereby detachably connecting the lower cross bars 3 to the foot members 21, respectively.
The pair of [0018] upper frames 4 are each formed by a substantially horizontal first bar 41 and a downward member 42 extending downwardly from the first bar 41 in a sloping direction to form a substantially V-shape configuration with the first bar 41, and a second bar 43 which is parallel to and disposed below the first bar 41. Preferably, the downward members 42 are of the same length as the leg members 22 of the leg frames 2. The downward members 42 each have a second tubular end 421, for connection to the leg frames as will be described later. Three spaced-apart through-holes 411 are provided on each of the first bars 41.
The pair of [0019] upper frames 4, like the leg frames 2, are arranged in spaced relation to one another, spanned by the pair of upper cross bars 5. The upper cross bars 5 are of substantially the same length as the lower cross bars 3 and are detachably connected to the upper frames 2 in the same manner as the connection of the lower cross bars 3 to the leg frames 2 described above. Specifically, each of the upper cross bars 5 similarly has two internally threaded ends 51 which are inserted in the corresponding through-holes 411 of the first bars 41, and a screw 52 is threaded into each of the inserted ends 51.
The [0020] computer desk top 6 is detachably mounted on the upper cross bars 5 between the first bars 41 of the upper frames 4 by means of the two flanges 611,622 at the two outer ends of the desk top 6, respectively, which curve over the upper cross bars 5. Optionally, an additional cross bar 55 may be further provided between the pair of upper cross bars 5 for reinforcing the supportive function of the upper cross bars 5. Preferably, the desk top 6 is composed of a front panel 61 and a rear panel 62 in juxtaposition, in which case the additional cross bar 55 will be necessary for supporting the two panels 61,62. That is, the adjacent inner ends 613,623 of the front and rear panels 61,62 have oppositely projecting overlapping flanges 612,621 which curve over the additional cross bar 55, to secure the front and rear panels 61,62 on the upper cross bars 5.
The [0021] support plate 7 is disposed between the second bars 43 of the upper frames 4. The second bars 43 are each provided with a slide rail 431 on a side thereof, and the support plate 7 has two ends which are inserted slidably into the slide rails 431 of the second bars 43, respectively. The support plate 7 is thus slidably movable along the length of the slide rails 431 in the manner of a desk drawer, between a forwardly drawn operative position and a concealed position underneath the desk top 6.
The [0022] downward members 42 of the upper leg frames 4 are detachably connected to the leg members 22 of the leg frames 2, respectively, to form a substantially Z configuration. FIG. 4 illustrates one form of attachment of the downward members 42 to the leg members 22, using a pair of connecting members 44 and screws 424. As shown, each connecting member 44 is plugged into the corresponding tubular ends 221,421 of the leg member 22 and downward member 42 to be joined, and the screws 424 are threaded into the tubular ends 221,421 and the connecting member 44. The leg frames 2 and the upper frames 4 are thus securely connected together.
Alternatively, instead of using the connecting [0023] members 44 to connect the downward members 42 and the leg members 22, the tubular end 421 of the downward member 42 is enlarged in diameter to form a sleeve section 422 for receiving the tubular end 221 of the leg member 22, as shown in FIG. 5. The sleeve section 422 defines a shoulder 423 therein against which the tubular end 221 of the leg member 22 abuts. A fastener 425 is used to threadedly connect the first tubular end 221 to the second tubular end 421 sleeved thereon
Referring to FIG. 2, the major components of the computer desk have the characteristics of being capable of being disassembled and kept in a compact size for storage or packaging. In particular, the [0024] computer desk top 6 is made up of the two panels 61,62 of substantially the same size. Therefore, the two panels 61,62 can be stacked over one another when disassembled thereby reducing the packing material and volume. The downward members 42 and leg members 22 of the upper frames 4 and leg frames 2, respectively, extend to each other in a sloping direction and the dimension and size of the upper frames 4 and the leg frames 2 are substantially the same. When the computer desk is to be packed, the upper frames 4 and leg frames 2 can be stacked over one another. As for the other related components, the volume and dimension thereof are all smaller than the upper frames 4 or leg frames 2 and, as such, the packing material and volume will not be increased and, consequently, the overall volume of the computer desk after being packaged is relatively reduced compared with the prior art. In view of this, the present invention indeed achieves the effects of reducing the packing material and volume, thus reducing the required storage space as well as the costs and providing ease of transport.
While the present invention has been described in connection with what is considered the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is understood that this invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiment but is intended to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent arrangements. [0025]

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A computer desk comprising:

a pair of substantially V-shape leg frames arranged in spaced relation to one another, each of said leg frames being formed by a substantially horizontal foot member 21 and a leg member 22 extending upward in an inclined direction from said horizontal foot member;

a pair of upper frames 4 arranged in spaced apart relation to one another, each of said upper frames having a substantially horizontal first bar 41 and a downward member 42 extending downward in an inclined direction from said first bar to form a substantially V-shaped configuration with said first bar, and further including a second bar 43 which is parallel to and disposed below said first bar, and which has a slide rail 431 on a side thereof, said downward member of each of said upper frames being detachably connected to said leg member of a corresponding one of said leg frames, such that each of said leg frames forms a substantially Z configuration with a corresponding one of said upper frames;

a pair of lower cross bars 3 spanning said pair of leg frames, each of said cross bars having two ends detachably connected to said foot members of said leg frames, respectively;

a pair of upper cross bars 5 spanning said pair of upper frames, each of said upper cross bars having two ends detachably connected to said first bars of said upper frames, respectively, said upper cross bars being of substantially the same length as said lower cross bars;

a desk top 6 detachably mounted on said upper cross bars to be positioned between said first bars of said upper frames; and

a support plate 7 disposed between said second bars of said upper frames and having two ends inserted slidably into said slide rails of said second bars of said upper frames, respectively.

2. The computer desk according to claim 1, further comprising a pair of connecting members 44 for interconnecting said leg and upper frames, said leg member of each of said leg frames having a first tubular end 221, and said downward member of each of said upper frames having a second tubular end 421, each of said connecting members having one end sleeved into the first tubular end of said leg member of one of said leg frames and another end sleeved into the second tubular end of said downward member of a corresponding one of said upper frames.

3. The computer desk according to claim 1, wherein said leg member of each of said leg frames has a first tubular end 221 and said downward member of each of said upper frames has a second tubular end 421, said second tubular end 421 being of larger diameter than said first tubular end to receive said first tubular end 221 therein and defining a shoulder 23 therein, said first tubular end 221 of said leg member abutting against said shoulder, said first and second tubular ends having a fastener to fasten threadedly said first and second tubular ends.

4. The computer desk according to claim 1, further comprising an additional cross bar arranged between said pair of upper cross bars, said additional cross bar having two ends detachably connected to said first bars of said upper frames.

5. The computer desk according to claim 4, wherein said desk top 6 consists of a first panel 61 and a second panel 62 which are juxtaposed and which have adjacent inner ends mounted on said additional cross bar, said first and second panels further having outer end flanges opposite to said inner ends, said outer end flanges curving over said upper cross bars, respectively.

6. The computer desk according to claim 5, wherein said adjacent inner ends have oppositely projecting overlapping flanges each of which curves over said additional cross bar.

7. The computer desk according to claim 1, wherein said foot member has a pair of casters mounted thereon.

8. The computer desk according to claim 1, wherein said downward members of said upper frames are equal in length to said leg members of said leg frames.