Claims
- 1. An article supporting assembly comprising a center structure; at least two cover plates; article supporting structures formed on at least one of the center structure and the cover plates; at least two spanners comprising hollow prisms having article supporting drawers formed therein; first hinges for connecting the cover plates to the spanner prisms so that the cover plates are pivotal with respect to the spanner prisms; second hinges for connecting the spanner prisms to the center structure so that the spanner prisms are pivotal with respect to the center structure; and said first and second hinges being formed along opposed edges of each of said spanner prisms.
- 2. An assembly as recited in claim 1 wherein said center structure comprises a center plate; and further comprising a third hinge for connecting said cover plates together along adjacent edges thereof for pivotal movement with respect to each other.
- 3. An article supporting assembly comprising a center structure; at least two cover plates; article supporting structures formed on at least one of the center structure and the cover plates; at least two spanner prisms; first hinges for connecting the cover plates to the spanner prisms so that the cover plates are pivotal with respect to the spanner prisms; second hinges for connecting the spanner prisms to the center structure so that the spanners are pivotal with respect to the center structure; said first and second hinges being formed along opposed edges of each of said spanner prisms; and an article-supporting accessory plate operatively attached to an edge of each of said prisms in between the edges along which said first and second hinges are formed.
- 4. An assembly as recited in claim 3 wherein said center structure comprises a center plate; and further comprising a third hinge for connecting said cover plates together along adjacent edges thereof for pivotal movement with respect to each other.
- 5. An assembly as recited in claims 1 or 3 wherein said center structure comprises a hollow prism having article-supporting drawers associated therewith, and wherein said second hinges are formed along cooperating edges of said center structure prism and said spanner prisms.
- 6. An article supporting assembly comprising a center structure; at least two cover plates; article supporting structures formed on at least one of the center structure and the cover plates; at least two spanners, first hinges for connecting the cover plates to the spanners so that the cover plates are pivotal with respect to the spanners; and second hinges for connecting the spanners to the center structure so that the spanners are pivotal with respect to the center structure; a stationary base member; and cover means for covering the top and both sides of said center structure to form an enclosed area, and comprising a removable cover member including a top planar surface, and opposed side planar surfaces substantially perpendicular to said top planar surface and movable to and from operative engagement with said base member.
- 7. An assembly as recited in claim 6 further comprising a handle operatively attached to the top of said center structure and extending upwardly therefrom, and means defining an opening in said removable cover member to allow passage of said handle through said opening.
- 8. An assembly as recited in claims 6 or 7 further comprising means for mounting said center structure for rotation with respect to said base member about an axis substantially perpendicular to said base member.
- 9. An assembly as recited in claim 8 wherein said center structure comprises a center plate; and further comprising a third hinge for connecting said cover plates together along adjacent edges thereof for pivotal movement with respect to each other.
- 10. An assembly as recited in claim 6 wherein said at least two cover plates comprises four cover plates; and wherein said at least two spanners comprises four spanners, a pair of cover plates and spanners being disposed in association with and on opposite faces of said center plate.
- 11. An article supporting assembly comprising a center structure comprising a prism; at least two cover plates; article supporting structures formed on at least one of the center structure and the cover plates; at least two spanners comprising prisms; first hinges for connecting the cover plates to the spanners so that the cover plates are pivotal with respect to the spanners; second hinges formed along cooperating edges of said center structure prism and said spanner prisms for connecting the spanners to the center structure so that the spanners are pivotal with respect to the center structure; a stationary base member disposed in a plane perpendicular to the direction of elongation of said prisms; means for mounting said center prism for rotation with respect to said base member about an axis perpendicular to said base member and passing through said center prisms; cover means for covering the top and both sides of said assembly to form an enclosed area; and means for releasably attaching each cover plate to another cover plate associated with an adjacent spanner so that when said cover plates are attached to each other, the cover plates associated with the same spanner make an angle of greater than 90.degree. with respect to each other.
- 12. An assembly as recited in claim 11 wherein said at least two spanners comprises four spanners, and wherein said center prism includes four edges, said second hinges for pivotally connecting a spanner to each center prism edge; and wherein said at least two cover plates comprises eight cover plates, each spanner prism comprising at least three edges and said first hinges pivotally connecting two cover plates to two edges of each spanner prism, and said second hinges pivotally connecting a third edge of each spanner prism to said center prism.
- 13. An assembly as recited in claim 12 wherein each spanner comprises a face disposed between the cover plates associated with that spanner, and wherein drawers are provided in each said spanner face.
- 14. An assembly as recited in claim 11 further comprising a pair of slidable plates mounted for slidable movement with respect to said cover means for releasably covering the front and back of said assembly.
- 15. An assembly as recited in claim 11 further comprising means for releasably attaching said spanner prisms together in a position wherein the abut said center prism and cannot pivot about said second hinges with respect to said center prism.
- 16. An assembly as recited in claim 11 further comprising means for releasably latching said cover plates to at least one of said cover means and said base member.
- 17. An assembly as recited in claim 11 wherein said center prism is quadrilateral in cross-section and wherein said spanner prisms each have a quadrilateral core.
- 18. An article supporting assembly comprising a center structure comprising a plate including two plate halves; at least two cover plates; article supporting structures formed on at least one of the center structure and the cover plates; at least two spanners comprising a pair of substantially rigid member each having a pair of legs that make an angle of about 120.degree. with respect to each other, said legs of each of said spanners opening away from the legs of the other spanner; first hinges for connecting the cover plates to the spanners so that the cover plates are pivotal with respect to the spanners; second hinges for connecting the spanners to the center structure so that the spanners are pivotal with respect to the center structure; and means for mounting said plate halves for pivotal movement with respect to each other about an axis parallel to the axes of said first and second hinges.
- 19. An assembly as recited in claim 18 further comprising a base member for supporting said assembly, and wherein said means for mounting said plate halves of said center structure for pivotal movement with respect to each other further comprises means for mounting said center structure, spanners, and cover plates for rotatable movement with respect to said base member.
- 20. An article supporting assembly comprising a center structure comprising a plate including two plate halves; at least two cover plates; article supporting structures formed on at least one of the center structure and the cover plates; at least two spanners; first hinges for connecting the cover plates to the spanners so that the spanners are pivotal with respect to the center structure; means for mounting said plate halves for pivotal movement with respect to each other about an axis parallel to the axes of said first and second hinges; and wherein each of said cover plates comprises a bifrucated member having a base portion, first and second plates, and means for mounting said first and second plates for pivotal movement with respect to each other and with respect to said base portion about axes parallel to the axes of said first and second hinges.
- 21. An assembly as recited in claim 20 further comprising fastening means formed on the ends of each of said first and second plates distal from said pivotally mounting means, and fastening means formed on the ends of said center structure plate halves distal from the pivotal mounting means therefor.
- 22. An article supporting assembly comprising a center structure comprising a plate including two plate halves; at least two cover plates; article supporting structures formed on at least one of the center structure and the cover plates; at least two spanners; first hinges for connecting the cover plates to the spanners so that the spanners are pivotal with respect to the center structure; means for mounting said plate halves for pivotal movement with respect to each other about an axis parallel to the axes of said first and second hinges; and a housing for said assembly including a base member, side walls and a top wall, and further comprising a second center structure, spanners, and cover plates, and mounted in a second substantially identical housing; and means for mounting said housing and said second housing for pivotal movement with respect to each other about an axis parallel to the axes of said first and second hinges, and so that said housing and said second housing may be moved into a collapsed position with said center structures thereof adjacent.
- 23. An assembly as recited in claims 1, 3, 6, 11, 18, 20, or 22 wherein said article supporting structures comprise hook and loop type fasteners attached to said assembly and to an article to be supported thereby.
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is a division of application Ser. No. 38,719 filed May 14, 1979, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,286,832, which in turn is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 907,321 filed May 18, 1978, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,170,392.
US Referenced Citations (2)
Number |
Name |
Date |
Kind |
620013 |
Barnes |
Feb 1899 |
|
2589370 |
Grennan |
Mar 1952 |
|
Foreign Referenced Citations (1)
Number |
Date |
Country |
708608 |
Jul 1931 |
FRX |
Divisions (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
38719 |
May 1979 |
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Continuation in Parts (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
907321 |
May 1978 |
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