US20070205641A1

US20070205641A1 - J.I. holder

Info

Publication number: US20070205641A1
Application number: US11/706,884
Authority: US
Inventors: Sylvia Chavolla
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2006-02-15
Filing date: 2007-02-15
Publication date: 2007-09-06

Abstract

A easy-to-clean folding tray table that is supported from arms running up over the backs of seats in front of the user. The invention hangs on the front seat back in front of the rear user. The trays are lowered to support a variety of items or raised and stored away for later use. The tray angle an tray height adjustments place the tray in the optimum place for each user.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of provisional patent application for No. 60-744-158 filed on Feb. 15, 2006 by the present inventor.

FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH

Not Applicable

SEQUENCE LISTING OR PROGRAM

Not Applicable

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to a travel accessory that provides passengers in the back seats of vehicles with a stable flat surface for doing a wide variety of tasks, no matter how bumpy the ride.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

2. Prior Art
Backseat passengers of vehicles commonly do not have access while traveling to convenient support systems that allow them to perform such actions writing, eating and laptop usage etc.
The J.I. Holder in an innovative automotive product that has been designed to provide an adjustable support for people using items in the back seat of a vehicle. This product hangs on the front seat backs in front of the rear seat user. The trays are lowered to support a variety of items or raised and stored away for later use. The tray angle and tray height adjustments place the tray in the optimum place for each user. This new travel convenience supports all sorts of items such as food, drinks, coloring books, pens or pencils, computers, etc., which should provide considerable market interest in the product. Further objects and advantages will become apparent from a consideration of the ensuing description and drawings.

SUMMARY

In accordance with the invention, the J.I. Holder is an innovative handy travel accessory that provides passengers in the back seats of vehicles with a stable flat surface for doing a wide variety of tasks. Users can, eat, write, draw or work on a laptop computer without worrying about spilling food/drinkS or dropping items.

ADVANTAGES

Lightweight, compact, and versatile, the invention easily fits over the back seat of any car, sports utility vehicle or small truck. It features a durable, molded plastic tray with a slightly recessed surface that prevents roll offs while the vehicle is moving. An integrated pencil/crayon tray is also built into the tray to organize writing utensils, silverware, etc. The tray surface has a locking hinge that adjusts to position the invention as various angles, while the back support has hook housings that can be adjusted for the desired height. The height hooks are covered with durable fabric, providing a sure grip onto the seat. The invention also features a latch, snap or magnetic closure, making it simple to fold and store the device.

SUMMARY

In accordance with the invention, is an innovative handy travel accessory that provides passengers in the back seats of vehicles with a stable flat surface for doing a wide variety of tasks. Users can, eat, write, draw or work on a laptop computer without worrying about spilling food/drink or dropping items.

DRAWINGS-FIGURES

Drawing 1, Block 1: J.I. Holder Installed on a Car Seat-Side View
(1) Typical vehicle seat. Each seat is different with changing angles and seat back thickness. The arm hooks are sized to allow an efficient fit with almost passenger vehicles.
(2) Fabric covered arms slide over the top of the vehicle seat and hold the product for the user. The arms are constructed to allow height adjustments as they slide in the molded channels attached to the tray back. The spring-loaded buttons are located in the center of the arms and are riveted in place to allow efficient operation. The arms are covered with a durable nylon, material, which has been impregnated with rubber, making a non-slip and non-marking grip on the seat backs. This nylon material extends from the top of the channels, when the seat hook arms are locked at their shortest length, up through the curves and around the ends of the hooks.
(3) The fabric cover prevents damage to the seat and provides a good gripping surface.
(4) The produce can be lowered for use (as shown) or folded up for storage.
(5) The hinge locks in 5 degree increments to allow it to be adjusted to hold the objects on the tray properly. The hinge components consist of a spring-loaded locking knob arrangement that allows user to adjust the angle for optimum use, 5 degree increments are typically used to compensate for the angle of the seat backs and the materials being placed on the tray.
Drawing 1, Block 2: J.I. Holder-Side View
(6) Locking hinge button is depressed to fold or lower the tray and is spring-loaded to lock in the angle. Tray loads and seat back inclination cause the product to hand differently. The hinge angle and arm hook increments compensate for these differences to provide the optimum support for the user.
(7) Button id depressed to move the tray up or down the arms.
(8) Sturdy arms go over the seat back in front of the user.
(9) The latch can be almost any material but is shown as a plastic snap that goes over the end of the tray with the plastic's compliance holding the tray.
(10) The tray holds almost anything and has a lip that prevents items from rolling off. The tray back and tray table are injection molded from polypropylene plastic. This plastic is very durable and is typically used in this type of environment. The plastic can be supplied in almost any color, so a distinctive color may be chosen to enhance the product recognition factor, which can dramatically improve the market adoption of the product. The tray is molded with a raised lip around the periphery. The indented surface of the tray is coated with a thin layer of urethane rubber, which prevents the objects from sliding around on the tray during use. This rubber, which prevents the objects from sliding around on the tray during use. This rubber surface is very durable and is easily cleaned after use. The leading edge of the tray has another deep groove in the leading edge of the over the end of the tray with the plastic's compliance holding the tray.
(10) The tray holds almost anything and has a lip that prevents items from rolling off. The tray back and tray table are injection molded from polypropylene plastic. This plastic is very durable and is typically used in this type of environment. The plastic can be supplied in almost any color, so a distinctive color may be chosen to enhance the product recognition factor, which can dramatically improve the market adoption of the product. The tray is molded with a raised lip around the periphery. The indented surface of the tray is coated with a thin layer of urethane rubber, which prevents the objects from sliding around on the tray during use. This rubber, which prevents the objects from sliding around on the tray during use. This rubber surface is very durable and is easily cleaned after use. The leading edge of the tray has another deep groove in the leading edge of the tray, which can be used to hold almost any cylindrical object such as pencils, pens, crayolas, etc.
Drawing 1, Block 3: J.I. Holder-Front View with Tray Open
(11) Lower tray
(12) The top of the tray is recessed to hold the items placed on it.
(13) The arms that go over the seat fit in the channels molded in the back.
(14) The arms are wide enough apart that they do not touch shoulders of the front seat passenger or driver.
(15) The rubber impregnated nylon fabric grips the seat back without scratching or gouging.
(16) The recess for the spring latch.
(17) Hinge knobs.
Drawing 1, Block 4: J.I. Holder Section View of the Height Adjusting Arm
(18) Outside of the back of the channel.
(19) Seat hook length adjusting button.
(20) Flat return spring is riveted in place.
(21) Arm walls.
(22) The channel that retains the seat hook is thermally bonded to the rear side of the back and provides rigidity to the product.
(23) Product back is designed to retain the channels and provide enough strength to support its load without deforming. The back can also be reinforced with ribs on the side away from the user, if flat areas for the arm hook channels are made available to the manufacturer.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION—PREFERRED EMBODIMENT-FIG. 1

The produce consists of an easy-to-clean folding tray table that is supported from the arms running up over the backs of the seats in front of the user. These height adjustable arms are covered with a durable rubberized fabric to get a good grip on, and protect the covers on, the seats. The tray table rotates about a locking hub to provide optimum angle of support for the user. A raised edge prevents whatever items are on the tray from slipping off and pencil tray is molded into the leading edge to retain crayons or other cylindrical objects. When not in use, the hubs can be unlatched and the tray rotated up until it is parallel with the support arms, where it can be latched in place with the molded extension on the upper back.
The tray back and tray table are injection molded from polypropylene plastic. This plastic is very durable and is typically used in this type of environment. The plastic can be supplied in almost any color, so a distinctive color may be chosen to enhance the product recognition factor, which can dramatically improve the market adoption of the product. The tray is molded with a raised a lip around the periphery. The indented surface of the tray is coated with a thin layer of urethane rubber, which prevents the objects from sliding around on the tray during use. This rubber surface is very durable and is easily cleaned after use. The leading edge of the tray has another deep groove in the leading edge of the tray, which can be used to hold almost any cylindrical object such as pencils, pens, crayons, etc. The back is reinforced with ribs on the side away from the user, if flat areas for the arm hook channels are available.
The arm channels, and hinge components are injection molded from fiberglass-reinforced polypropylene plastic. This reinforced plastic material provided the extra strength that the arms and hinges need to support the product, and it's maximum load, optimum angle of support for the user. A raised edge prevents whatever items are on the tray from slipping off and pencil tray is molded into the leading edge to retain crayons or other cylindrical objects. When not in use, the hubs can be unlatched and the tray rotated up until it is parallel with the support arms, where it can be latched in place with the molded extension on the upper back.
The tray back and tray table are injection molded from polypropylene plastic. This plastic is very durable and is typically used in this type of environment. The plastic can be supplied in almost any color, so a distinctive color may be chosen to enhance the product recognition factor, which can dramatically improve the market adoption of the product. The tray is molded with a raised a lip around the periphery. The indented surface of the tray is coated with a thin layer of urethane rubber, which prevents the objects from sliding around on the tray during use. This rubber surface is very durable and is easily cleaned after use. The leading edge of the tray has another deep groove in the leading edge of the tray, which can be used to hold almost any cylindrical object such as pencils, pens, crayons, etc. The back is reinforced with ribs on the side away from the user, if flat areas for the arm hook channels are available.
The arm channels, and hinge components are injection molded from fiberglass-reinforced polypropylene plastic. This reinforced plastic material provided the extra strength that the arms and hinges need to support the product, and it's maximum load, without distortion or failure. The hinge components consist of a spring-loaded locking arrangement that allows the user to adjust the angle for optimum use. 5-degree increments are typically used compensate for the angle of the seat backs and the materials being placed on the tray. The arms are constructed to allow height adjustments as they slide in the molded channels attached to the tray back. The arms are covered with a durable nylon material, which has impregnated with rubber, making a non-slip marking grip on the seat backs. The channels are thermally bonded to the rear of the back, which dramatically improves the rigidity of the back to the product.

OPERATION—FIGS. 1,2

The manner of using the adjustable folding tray table for travel convenience for the rear seat user is used in the following manner: The easy to clean folding table is supported from arms hooks, FIG. 1 a. running up over backs of the seats in front of user. These height adjustable arms, FIG. 2 a are covered with a durable rubberized fabric to get a good grip on the seats. The tray table rotates about a locking hub to provide the optimum angle of support for the user, FIG. 3 a. A raised edge prevents whatever is on the tray from slipping off and a pencil tray is molder into the leading edge to retain crayons or other cylindrical objects FIG. 4 a. When not in use, the hubs can be unlatched and the tray rotated up until it is parallel with the support arms.

CONCLUSION, RAMIFICATIONS, AND SCOPE

Accordingly the reader will see that, according to the invention, I have provided thorough evidence of clarity and broadness with distinctive character applications. The product is designed to be aesthetic and effective in the application. The invention offers backseat passengers the utmost in convenience and enhances their safety. Users, can eat, write, draw or work on a laptop computer without worrying about spilling food/drinks or dropping items. A horizontal stop also helps to keep items in place when they are not in use. The hinges can be adjusted, providing ergonomic comfort for doing different tasks.
Although a single embodiment of the invention has been illustrated in the accompanying drawing and described in the above detailed description, it will be understood that the invention is not limited to the embodiment developed herein, but is capable of numerous rearrangements, modifications, substitutions of parts and elements without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Claims

a) a flat plastic sheet rigid material of sufficient size to accommodate use by a human being in the backseat of a vehicle for writing, working and eating
b) a plurality of elongated support members of equal length
c) means for joining said elongated support members at right and left angles to the backside of said plastic material at spaced locations as to be able to support said sheet vertically.