US2808304A

US2808304A - Portable stand

Info

Publication number: US2808304A
Application number: US543524A
Authority: US
Inventors: Carl F Smith
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1955-10-28
Filing date: 1955-10-28
Publication date: 1957-10-01
Anticipated expiration: 1974-10-01

Description

Oct. 1, 1957 c. F. SMITH 2,803,304

I PORTABLE 'STAND Filed 001;. 28, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 I N VEN TOR.

CARL E SMITH gulh y Oct. 1, 1957 c. F. SMITH 2,808,304

PORTABLE STAND Filed Oct. 28, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 r me 109 FIG. 7B

INVENTOR. CARL F. SMITH Y 3 WV Uite Generally speaking, the present'invention is related to portable stands suitable for use as clip boards, display stands, typists copy boards, speakers stands, and painters easels. As shall become apparent, the above uses are given purely by way of example and are not to be taken as all inclusive. More particularly, the present invention is directed toward the providing of a portable stand eXhibiting extreme portability, versatility, and ruggedness while maintaining simplicity of design and low cost of construction.

In the past, many types of portable stands have been devised. Stands which are in current usage generally appear to have certain deficiencies. The principal difiiculty appears to be that of providing for a portable stand or the like a sufi'iciently sturdy leg construction and yet maintain manufacturing costs at a In addition, conventional portable stands have leg structures which, while foldable, are relatively bulky. It would of course be desirable to increase the degree of portability of stands without increasing their manufacturing costs.

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a new and useful portablestand or the like.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a new and improved portable stand which will exhibit a rugged, positive foldable leg construction.

It is an additional object of the persent invention to provide a new and useful portable stand or the like which will exhibit a high degree of portability, a simple but positive leg construction, and yet be characterized by a low manufacturing cost.

According to the present invention, a principal member such as that having at least in part a table top configuration is provided with a foldable or retractable leg construction which is secured in mounting or extended position by the lateral displacement of an end portion of a leg construction resilient member and the selective engagement thereof by a fixedly disposed securing means. If more than one leg member is employed in the construction of the stand, they are designed to fold interleavably so as to lie perfectly fiat on an associated surface of the principal member for storage. .The outer leg member is designed to retain the inner leg member in its stored condition and catch means is provided to retain the outer leg member flat against the principal member during its stored condition.

The features of the present invention which are believed to be novel are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The present invention, both as to its organization and manner of operation, together with further objects and advantages thereof, may best be understodd by reference to the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure l is atop perspective View of one form of portable stand, according to the present invention.

Figure 2 is a bottom perspective view of the portable stand of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a side elevational view of the portable stand Patent i Patented Oct. 1, 1957 2 shown in Figure 1 and Figure 2, according to the present invention. V

Figure 4 is a bottom view of the portable stand accord ing to the present invention in which the leg construction is in its folded or storing condition.

Figures 5A and 5B are a top perspective View and a side elevational view, respectively, of the portable stand of Figure 1 in which the first leg member is shown in its extended configuration but the second leg member is shown foldablystored.

Figures 6A and 6B are a top perspective view and a side elevational view, respectively, of the portable stand of Figure 1 in which the second leg member is shown in its extended configuration and in which the first leg member is foldably stored. I

Figures 7A .and 7B are front elevational and side views of an additional type of leg construction according to the member 15 may be fabricated from an appropriate gauge of rather stiff spring steel, if desired. Spot-welding may be employed to securecross-bar 17 to element 16 and 7 also to secure cross-bar 2 0 to elements 18 and 19. The A unique characteristics of the leg construction are shown in Figure 2.

In Figure 2, element 16 of leg member 14 is mounted to principal member 10 by hinge eyelets 200, or by any other suitable means. The essential feature of the mount ing of leg member 14 to principal member 10 is that leg member 14 must be rotatably displaceable within its element 16 mountings. Member portion 201 of leg member 14 is fabricated from a resilient material, as has been heretofore described, and is forced inwardly from its normal disposition so that its end portion 202 may slip over and be retained by clip 203, mounted on the underneath side of principal member or table top 10. Clip 203 may have a substantially Z-shaped configuration or other appropriate shape. L-shaped end portion 204 of member or element 19, of leg member 15, may likewise be displaced 'so as to engage a securing tion, is provided to retain in their stored

configuration leg members

14 and 15, hereinafter to be shown and described in detail.

Figure 3 is a side view of the portable stand of Figure 1 and Figure 2 and shows with particularity the progressive, resilient bending of

member portions

19 and 201, of

leg members

15 and 14, respectively. principal member or table top 10 is shown to have an inclined disposition so that the stand may be suitable for use as a drafting board, speakers stand, painters easel or the like. Principal member 10 may of course be perfectly horizontal and the stand used, "if manufactured large enough, as a card table or the like. It should also be observed that the bendable,

central member portions

19 and 201 may be disposed either interior or exterior of the major portions of their respective leg members.

Figure 4 is a bottom view of the portable stand according to the present invention in which

leg members

14 and 15 are foldably secured to principal member 10 by a slidable locking device 206 and its selectable hooking over cross-bar 17 of leg member 14. If desired, clip 203 may be slotted to accommodate the storage of member 19, as shown.

Portions

400 and 401 of leg member 15 may In Figure 3 be separate as shown or a continuous member. It is to be noted that by the cooperation of slidable locking device 206 and cross-bar 17 that the entire leg structure is held perfectly fiat against the lower surfaee of principal member 10. l

Figures 5A and 5B show that log member 14 'may be disposed in its extended position while leg member may be left folded or stored and secured by appropriate means;

Figures 6A and 6B indicate that leg member 15 may be disposed in its extended configuration and leg member 14 folded and retained by the cooperation of slidable locking device 206 and cross-bar 17. Or, as an alternative, the additional stored leg member may be altogether removed from the portable stand construction. The embodiments in Figures SA and 5B and Figures 6A and ,6B suggest in particular the use of the portable stand of the subject invention as an easel, draftingboard, typists stand, or the like. a V

In cases where the principal member is not adapted to receive screws or other mounting means, the presentinvention also provides for a suitable mounting means and securing means, as is illustrated in Figures 7A and 7B. The mounting means and securing means-maybe either a unitary structure or, as indicated by the

dotted lines

700 and 701 in Figure 7A, a two-element structure. Consider that principal member 10 comprises a frangible laminate material 702. In this case it would not be desirable to mount the mounting and securing means directly to principal element 10; therefore, as in the case of a home card table, a peripheral edge member 703 will be provided into which such screws 704 may be driven to secure mountable portion 705 of mounting and securing means 706 to peripheral member 703. The central ,resilicnt member 19 of leg member 15, for example, may include T-portion 707 which is slidable within slot areas 708 of vertical portions 709. The final disposition of central member 19, of leg member 15, for the extended configuration of leg member'lS is'indicated in Figure 7B, at which point T-portion 701 of member 19 has reached its extremity of travel. When it is desired to fold the leg member into its storing disposition, the T-portion of the central resilient member need only be directed to retrace its path in slot 708.

While particular embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that changes and modifications may be made without departing from this invention in its broader aspects, and, therefore, the aim in the appended claims is to cover all such changes and modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of this invention.

I claim:

l. A portable stand, comprising: a principal member 'having at least in part an upper surface and a lower surface; at least one leg member having an axis of rotational displacement substantially parallel to and in proximity with said lower surface of said principal member; mounting means positioned beneath the lower surface of said principal member and mounting said legmember in axially fixed relationship with respect to said lower surface 'of said principal member and freely rotatable about said axis of rotational displacement; said leg member also having at least one resilient member provided with an end portion resiliently laterally displaceable in proximate relationwith said lower surface of said principal member; and securing means positioned beneath said lower surface of said principal member at a point spaced from said mounting means and releasably securing saidend portion of said resilient member, when resiliently laterally displaced, in fixed relation with said principal member at a locationtspaced from said axis of rotational displacement, thus defining multipoint mounting of said leg member with respect to said principal member; said leg memhenand said resilient member comprisinga portionthereofi-lying substantially entirely ina single plane when said end portion of said resilient member is disengaged from said securing means providing a rotatably non-secured leg positionable substantially parallel to and in immediate proximity with said lower surface of said principal member.

2. A portable stand, comprising: a principal member having at least in part an upper surface and a lower surface and being provided with a peripheral edge member having an inner surface; at least one leg member having an axis of rotational displacement substantially parallel to and in proximity with .said lower surface of said principal member; mounting means carried by said inner surface of said peripheral edge member in a position immediatelybelowsaid lower surface of said principal member and mounting said leg member in axially fixed relationship, with respect to said lower surface of said principal member and freely rotatable about said axis of rotational displacement; said leg member also having at least one resilient member provided with an end portion resiliently laterally displaceable in proximate relationship with said lower surface of said principal member; and securing means integrally spacedly connected to and carried by said mounting means in a position below said lower surface of said principal member at a point spaced from said mountiugmeans and releasably securing said end portion of said resilient member, when resiliently laterally displaced, in fixed relation with said principal member at a location spaced from said axis of rotational displacement, thus defining multi-point mounting of said leg member with respect to said principal member; said leg member, and said resilient member comprising a portion thereof, lying substantially entirely in a single plane when said end portion of said resilient member is disengaged from said securir g means providing a rotatably non-secured leg I positionable substantially-parallel to and in immediate proximity with said lower surface of said principal member, a

V 3. Apparatus of the character definedin claim 2 wherein said integrally connected mounting and securing means comprisesz a mounting portion carried by said inner surface of said peripheral edge member; at least one hinge eyelet portion fixedly disposed with respect to said mounting portion and co-axial with said axis of rotational displacement and rotatably mounting an upper attachable portion of said leg member;and at least one vertical portion provided with a multi-directional slot defining a displacement path for lateral displacement of said end portion of said resilient member and a securing recess spaced from said hinge eyelet portion by said slot.

4. A portable stand, comprising: a principal member having at least in part an upper surface and a lower surface and being provided with a peripheral edge member having an inner surface; at least one leg member having an axis of rotational displacement substantially parallel to and in proximity with said lower surface of said principal member; mounting means carried by said inner surface of said peripheral edge member in a positionirnmediately below said lower surface of said principal said mounting means and releasably securing said end portion of said resilient member, when resiliently laterally displaced, in fixed relation with said principal member at a location spaced from said axis of rotational displacement, thus. defining multi-point mounting of said leg member with respect to saidprincipal member; said mounting means andsaid securing means comprising first and second brackets, each including a mounting portion carried by said inner surface of saidtperipheral edge member, at

least one hinge eyelet portion fixedly disposed with respect to said mounting portion and co-axial with said axis of rotational displacement, and at least one vertical portion provided with a multi-directional slot defining a displacement path for lateral displacement of said end portion of said resilient member and a securing recess spaced from said hinge eyelet portion by said slot; the vertical portions of said first and second brackets being disposed parallel to and in side-by-side proximity to each other such that their respective slots are in corresponding relationship and slidably engage a substantially T-shaped end portion of said resilient member for lateral displacement therein; said leg member, and said resilient member comprising a portion thereof, lying substantially-entirely in a single plane when said end portion of said resilient member is disengaged from said securing means providing a rotatably non-secured leg positionable substantially parallel to and in immediate proximity with said lower surface of said principal member.

5. A portable stand, comprising: a principal member having at least in part an upper surface and a lower surface; first and second leg members each having a different axis of rotational displacement substantially parallel to and in proximity with said lower surface of said principal member; mounting means carried by the lower surface of said principal member and mounting said leg members in spaced axially fixed relationship with respect to said lower surface of said principal member and freely rotatable about the corresponding axis of rotational displacement; each of said leg members also having at least one resilient member provided with an end portion resiliently laterally displaceable in proximate relation with said lower surface of said principal member; and securing means carried by said lower surface of said principal member at points spaced from said mounting means and releasably securing 6 a, said end portion of each of said resilient members, when resiliently laterally displaced, in fixed relation with said principal member at a location spaced from the corresponding axis of rotational displacement, thus defining a multi-point mounting of each of said leg members with respect to said principal member; each of said leg members, including the corresponding resilient member comprising a portion thereof, lying substantially entirely in its single plane when said end portion of said resilient member is disengaged from said securing means; said first leg member being mounted for rotational displacement into a closed disposition substantially against said lower surface of said principal member and substantially all in a plane immediately therebelow; said second leg member being mounted for rotational displacement into a closed disposition substantially against said lower surface of said principal member substantially all in said plane; said leg member being provided with a retaining member releasably abuttingly contacting and securing said first leg member when in closed disposition; and fastening means releasably securing said second leg member in said closed disposition with respect to said principal member.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,196,655 Buffington Aug. 29, 1916 1,222,457 Peer Apr. 10, 1917 2,740,679 Vizzini Apr. 3, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS 7,731 Great Britain 1907 416,184 Great Britain Sept. 13, 1934 880,030 France Mar. 11, 1943