Computer work station

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6332407
  • Patent Number
    6,332,407
  • Date Filed
    Thursday, April 13, 2000
    24 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, December 25, 2001
    23 years ago
Abstract
A computer work station provided with separate shelves to support a monitor, a keyboard, a mouse pad, a printer or the like is described herein. The monitor shelf is mounted to the main body via a pair of parallel arms allowing this shelf to be moved towards or away from the user while maintaining the generally horizontal attitude of the shelf. A locking mechanism is provided to maintain the desired monitor shelf position.
Description




FIELD OF THE INVENTION




The present invention relates to computer work stations. More specifically, the present invention relates to a computer work station provided with separate adjustable shelves for different computer peripherals.




BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION




Many computer stands may be found in the prior art. However, conventional computer stands usually lack adjustability to allow the user to place the various peripheral associated with a computer at adequate positions.




OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION




An object of the present invention is therefore to provide an improved and flexible computer work station that may also be used as a play station.




SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION




More specifically, in accordance with the present invention, there is provided a computer work station comprising:




a main support;




first and second adjustable support elements mounted to the main support; each first and second adjustable support element including a body, a pair of parallel arms having proximate ends pivotally mounted to the body and distal ends, and a third arm having a proximate end pivotally mounted to the body and a distal end;




a monitor shelf pivotally mounted to the distal ends of the pair of parallel arms; and




a keyboard shelf pivotally mounted to the distal end of the third arm.




Other objects, advantages and features of the present invention will become more apparent upon reading of the following non restrictive description of preferred embodiments thereof, given by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings.











BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS




In the appended drawings:





FIG. 1

is a perspective view illustrating a computer work station according to an embodiment of the present invention;





FIG. 2

is a front elevational view of the computer work station of

FIG. 1

;





FIG. 3

is a bottom plan view of the keyboard shelf of the computer work station of

FIG. 1

;





FIG. 4

is a side elevational view of a support element used to support the monitor shelf and the keyboard shelf of the computer work station of

FIG. 1

;





FIG. 5

is a perspective view of two support elements of

FIG. 4

shown mounted to a monitor shelf and to a keyboard shelf; and





FIG. 6

is a side elevational view of FIG.


5


.











DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT




Turning now to the appended figures, a computer work station


10


according to an embodiment of the present invention will now be described.




The computer work station


10


includes a main longitudinal support


12


, to which are mounted the other components of the assembly


10


as will be described hereinbelow. The main longitudinal support


12


has a generally square cross-section and is to be mounted to a ground engaging assembly, such as, for example legs (not shown) allowing the support


12


to be height adjustable.




The computer work station


10


also includes a mouse pad shelf


14


, a printer shelf


16


, a telephone shelf


18


, a monitor shelf


20


and a keyboard shelf


22


.




Turning to

FIG. 2

of the appended drawings, the mouse pad shelf


14


is generally rectangular and includes a bracket


24


provided with a circular aperture


25


provided therein. The mouse pad shelf


14


is mounted to the main support


12


via a L-shaped mounting rod


26


. More specifically, the mounting rod


26


has a first end


28


slidably mounted in the aperture


25


of the bracket


24


and a second end


30


adjustably mounted in a circular aperture


31


of the main support


12


. Fasteners (not shown) are provided to removably secure the ends


28


and


30


in their respective apertures


25


and


31


when the mouse pad shelf


14


is in its intended position. As can be better seen from

FIG. 1

of the appended drawings, a sleeve


33


is fixedly mounted in the aperture


31


and has a central bore sized to receive the second end


30


of the mounting rod


26


therein. The sleeve


33


increases the contact surface between the rob


26


and the main support


12


, thereby increasing the stability of the shelf


14


. As will be apparent to one skilled in the art, the interconnections between the rod


26


and the circular apertures


25


and


31


allow the mouse pad shelf


14


to be moved up and down, back and forth, rotated about a generally vertical axis and rotated about a generally horizontal axis.




The telephone shelf


18


is identical in size and configuration to the mouse pad shelf


14


and will not be further discussed herein for concision purposes.




The printer shelf


16


includes two downwardly projecting arms


32


and


34


mounted to a tubular bracket


36


configured and sized to be slidably mounted to the main support


12


. A pair of fasteners


38


(only one shown) are used to releasably secure the shelf


16


at a desired position with respect to the main support


12


.




The monitor shelf


20


and the keyboard shelf


22


are adjustably mounted to the main support


12


via a pair of adjustable support elements


40


and


42


, as can be better seen from

FIGS. 4

to


6


.




For concision purposes, and since the supports


40


and


42


are very similar, only the adjustable support


42


will be described hereinafter.




Turning more specifically to

FIG. 6

of the appended drawings, the adjustable support


42


includes a body


44


provided with a central aperture


46


configured and sized so that the support


42


may be slid onto the main support


12


. The adjustable support


42


also includes a pair of parallel arms


48


and


50


having respective proximate ends


52


and


54


pivotally mounted to the body


44


via pivot pins


56


and


58


. As can be better seen from

FIG. 4

of the appended drawings, the arms


48


and


50


are also provided with respective distal ends


60


and


62


that are interconnected by a bracket


64


. More specifically, the bracket


64


is pivotally mounted to both distal ends


60


and


62


via respective pivot pins


66


and


68


. The bracket


64


is used to mount the monitor shelf


20


to the distal ends of the arms


48


and


50


.




As will be easily understood by one skilled in the art, the pivotal movements of the parallel arms


48


and


50


about respective pivot pins


56


and


58


will cause the bracket


64


to move as shown by arrow


70


in

FIG. 4

while maintaining the same attitude. It is therefore possible to move the monitor shelf


20


towards or away from the user while keeping it generally horizontal. Furthermore, by moving the monitor shelf


20


toward or away from the user, the vertical position, i.e., the height of the monitor shelf


20


with respect to the main support


12


, is adjusted, as can be seen in FIG.


4


.




The adjustable support


42


also includes a monitor shelf locking mechanism to maintain the monitor shelf


20


in a preferred position. This mechanism consists of a spring-loaded plunger


72


mounted to the arm


50


and a plurality of circular apertures


74


, provided in the body


44


, that are positioned and sized to receive the projecting end (not shown) of the plunger


72


.




The apertures


74


are positioned along a radius following the radius of the plunger


72


when the arm


50


pivots about pivot pin


58


. As can be better seen from the adjustable support


40


in

FIG. 5

, there are five apertures


74


. Of course, this number could be changed without departing from the spirit and nature of the present invention. It is also to be noted that other locking mechanism (not shown) should be provided to maintain the monitor shelf


20


in a preferred position.




To modify the position of the monitor shelf


20


, the user simply has to overcome the strength of the biasing element (not shown) of the spring-loaded plunger


72


through a pulling action to move the plunger


72


from its locked position to its unlocked position. The effect of such a pulling action is the removal of the projecting end of the plunger from one of the apertures


74


. The user may then move the monitor shelf


20


in a desired position before allowing the projecting end to enter an aperture


74


corresponding to the desired position of the shelf


20


.




It is to be noted that only three out of five possible positions of the parallel arms


48


and


50


are illustrated in FIG.


4


.




Finally, the adjustable support


42


includes a pivotable arm


76


having a proximate end


78


pivotally mounted to the body


44


via a pivot pin


80


allowing the arm


76


to pivot as illustrated by arrow


82


in FIG.


4


.




Again, the arm


76


includes a keyboard shelf locking mechanism to maintain a preferred position of the arm


76


and therefore of the keyboard shelf


22


as will be described hereinbelow. This mechanism consists of a spring loaded plunger


84


mounted to the arm


76


and a plurality of circular apertures


86


of the body


44


that are positioned and sized to receive the projecting end (not shown) of the plunger


84


. The apertures


85


are positioned along a radius following the radius of the plunger


84


when the arm


74


pivots about pivot pin


80


. As can be better seen from the adjustable support


40


in

FIG. 5

, there are three apertures


86


. Of course, this number could be changed without departing from the spirit and nature of the present invention. It is also to be noted that other locking mechanism (not shown) should be provided to maintain the keyboard shelf


20


in a preferred position.




To modify the angular position of the keyboard shelf


22


with respect to the adjustable supports


40


and


42


, the user simply has to overcome the strength of the biasing element (not shown) of the spring-loaded plunger


84


through a pulling action to move the plunger


84


from its locked position to its unlocked position. The effect of such a pulling action is the removal of the projecting end of the plunger from one of the apertures


86


. The user may then move the keyboard shelf


22


in a desired position before allowing the projecting end to enter an aperture


86


corresponding to the desired position of the shelf


22


.




As can be seen from

FIG. 4

, the distal end


88


of the arm


76


is provided with an aperture


90


to which a rod


94


(see

FIG. 6

) may be inserted. More specifically, the rod


94


includes a first end inserted in the aperture


90


of the adjustable support


42


and a second end inserted in the corresponding aperture


90


of the adjustable support


40


, thereby linking the two corresponding arms


76


.




The keyboard shelf


22


includes two brackets


92


and


93


(see

FIG. 3

) including an aperture (not shown) allowing the brackets to be mounted to the rod


94


. This allows the keyboard shelf


22


to be pivoted about pivot rod


94


as illustrated by arrow


96


in FIG.


6


. It also allows the keyboard shelf


22


to be slid onto the rod


94


to thereby laterally move the shelf


22


as illustrated by arrow


98


in FIG.


3


.




It is to be noted that each bracket


92


and


93


respectively includes a fastener


100


and


102


that may be manually actuated by the user to maintain the keyboard shelf


22


in a desired position.




As will easily be understood by one skilled in the art, the computer stand according to the present invention presents many advantages over the conventional computer stand of the prior art. For example, the fact that every shelf is connected to the main longitudinal support


12


is advantageous since it allows the use of conventional legs (not shown).




Another advantage of the computer stand of the present invention is the ease of modification of the position of the monitor and keyboard shelf.




It is to be noted that while the present invention has been described hereinabove as being a computer work station, it could be used as a play station since the various shelves described herein could support the various peripherals used in play stations such as, for example, a TV/monitor, a game controller and a joystick.




Although the present invention has been described hereinabove by way of preferred embodiments thereof, it can be modified, without departing from the spirit and nature of the subject invention as defined in the appended claims.



Claims
  • 1. A computer work station comprising:a generally longitudinal main support; first and second adjustable support elements mounted to said generally longitudinal main support; each said first and second adjustable support element including a body, a pair of parallel arms having proximate ends pivotally mounted to said body and distal ends, and a third arm having a proximate end pivotally mounted to said body and a distal end; said first and second adjustable support elements being so mounted to said generally longitudinal main support as to be longitudinally slidable thereon; a monitor shelf pivotally mounted to said distal ends of said pair of parallel arms; and a keyboard shelf pivotally mounted to said distal end of said third arm.
  • 2. A computer work station as recited in claim 1, wherein at least one of said first and second adjustable support includes a monitor shelf locking mechanism.
  • 3. A computer work station as recited in claim 2, wherein said monitor shelf locking mechanism is so mounted to one of said parallel arms as to selectively prevent pivotal movements of said parallel arms with respect to said body.
  • 4. A computer work station as recited in claim 3, wherein said monitor shelf locking mechanism includes a plunger mounted to one of the parallel arms and at least two apertures provided in said body; said plunger including a projecting end configured and sized to selectively enter said apertures to thereby prevent further pivoting action of said one of said parallel arms; said plunger being reciprocately movable between a locked position where it enters one of said at least two apertures and an unlocked position.
  • 5. A computer work station as recited in claim 4, wherein said plunger includes a biasing element biasing said plunger towards said locked position.
  • 6. A computer work station as recited in claim 1, wherein at least one of said first and second adjustable support includes a keyboard shelf locking mechanism.
  • 7. A computer work station as recited in claim 6, wherein said keyboard shelf locking mechanism is so mounted to said third arm as to selectively prevent pivotal movements of said third arm with respect to said body.
  • 8. A computer work station as recited in claim 7, wherein said keyboard shelf locking mechanism includes a plunger mounted to said third arm and at least two apertures provided in said body; said plunger including a projecting end configured and sized to selectively enter said apertures to thereby prevent further pivoting action of said third arm; said plunger being reciprocately movable between a locked position where it enters one of said at least two apertures and an unlocked position.
  • 9. A computer work station as recited in claim 8, wherein said plunger includes a biasing element biasing said plunger towards said locked position.
  • 10. A computer work station as recited in claim 1, further comprising a supplemental shelf mounted to said main support.
  • 11. A computer work station as recited in claim 10, wherein a) said supplemental shelf includes a bracket provided with a circular aperture, b) said main support includes a circular aperture, and c) said supplemental shelf includes an L-shaped mounting rod having a circular cross-section and first and second ends; wherein said first end is slidably mountable in said circular aperture of said bracket and said second end is slidably mountable in said circular aperture of said main support.
  • 12. A computer work station as recited in claim 1, further comprising a printer shelf provided with a tubular bracket configured and sized to be slidably mounted to said main support.
  • 13. A computer work station comprising:a longitudinal supporting means; a monitor shelf pivotally mounted to said longitudinal supporting means; a keyboard shelf pivotally mounted to said longitudinal supporting means; and first and second adjustable supports so mounted to said longitudinal supporting means as to be longitudinally slidable thereon; each said first and second adjustable supporting means including a body, a pair of parallel arms each having a proximate end pivotally mounted to said body and a distal end for receiving said monitor shelf, and a third arm having a proximate end pivotally mounted to said body and a distal end for receiving said keyboard shelf.
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