Elevated screen

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6612670
  • Patent Number
    6,612,670
  • Date Filed
    Friday, April 20, 2001
    23 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, September 2, 2003
    21 years ago
  • Inventors
  • Examiners
    • Mai; Lanna
    • Anderson; Jerry
    Agents
    • Troxell Law Office PLLC
Abstract
The present invention is to provide an elevated screen which can be a simple screen or combined with a desk or a table. The elevated screen includes a screen base which sets a inner space in the center, and there is a elevating device in the inner space, and a rotating shaft of the elevating device is set at an outside surface of the screen base to be operated by users, and a bottom of the spacing board is connected to the elevating device in the inner space to be driven up and down by the elevating device, and a top of the spacing board forms a cover, wherein, the inner space of the screen base has various type to match the shape of the spacing board.
Description




BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION




1. Field of the Invention




The present invention relates to an improvement of screen structure, and more particularly to a flexible elevated screen which can be widely applied in working places or offices for multiple purpose.




2. Description of Related Art




According, the cost of business space is high since most of the offices locate in downtown area or high-rent area. However, for protecting privacy or keeping comfortable, screens or wall panels is wide applied to divide offices into several working areas. By ways of separation of screens, the working areas or offices can be used for several different purposes such as meeting, testing, working or examination. Generally speaking, the screens used in office areas can be classified into two categories. One of the categories is high-screen. High-screen is a screen with a height standing from ground to ceilings. However, this high-screen is not widely used today since high-screens is not convenient and not possible to get an open space without view barrier.




The other screen used in offices is semi-high-screen. Semi-high-screens divide an office into several working areas without view barrier. Usually, the semi-high-screen is installed after the desks are well settled. Hence. semi-high-screen is widely used because of its flexibility, mobility and convenience. However, semi-high-screen is lack of height variety since the height of semi-high-screen is always fixed. The height of semi-high-screen cannot be adjusted according to different application or purpose of users. The flexibility of the application of semi-high-screen is still limited. In addition, the assembly of semi-high-screen is complicated. Therefore, semi-high-screen still cannot meet the requirement of the applications for office users or family users.




Therefore, it is desirable to provide an improved method to mitigate the aforementioned problems.




SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION




The object of the present invention is to provide an elevated screen being able to adjust the height of the screen easily to meet the purposes of users for providing high flexibility and mobility in application.




Another object of the present invention is to provide an elevated screen with desktop to meet purposes of users.




The elevated screen includes a screen case having walls, at least one opening on said walls and an inner space surrounded by said walls; a spacing board being partially or wholly laid inside said inner space and being capable of moving in or out through said opening; an elevating device being mounted in said inner space for providing a driving force to move said spacing board into or out of said inner space of said base case; and a rotating shaft locating on the outside surface of said walls of said screen case for controlling the elevating device to locate the position of said spacing board; wherein at least one end of said spacing board is connected to said elevating device.




Another elevated screen of the present invention includes a screen case having walls, at least one opening on said walls of said screen case and an inner space surrounded by said walls of said screen case: a spacing board being partially or wholly laid inside said inner space and being capable of moving in or out through said opening; a first elevating device being mounted in said inner space of said screen case for providing a driving force to move said spacing board to move into or out of said inner space of said base case; a rotating shaft locating on the outside surface of said walls of said screen case for controlling the position of said spacing board; a shelf case having walls, at least one opening on said walls of said shelf case and an inner space surrounded by said walls of shelf case; a movable shelf being partially or wholly laid inside said inner space of said shelf case and being capable of moving in or out through said opening of said shelf case; and a second elevating device being mounted in said inner space for providing a driving force to move said movable shelf into or out of said inner space of said shelf case; wherein at least one wall of said shelf case is bound to one wall of said screen case laterally, at least one end of said spacing board is connected to said first elevating device, at least one end of said spacing board is connected to said first elevating device.




Another elevated screen of the present invention includes a screen case having walls, at least one opening on said walls of said screen case and an inner space surrounded by said walls of said screen case: a spacing board being partially or wholly laid inside said inner space and being capable of moving in or out through said opening; a first elevating device being mounted in said inner space of said screen case for providing a driving force to move said spacing board to move into or out of said inner space of said base case: a shelf case having walls, at least one opening on said walls of said shelf case and an inner space surrounded by said walls of shelf case; a movable shelf being partially or wholly laid inside said inner space of said shelf case and being capable of moving in or out through said opening of said shelf case; a second elevating device being mounted in said inner space for providing a driving force to move said movable shelf into or out of said inner space of said shelf case; and a rotating shalt locating on the outside surface of said walls of said shelf case for controlling the position of said spacing board and said movable shelf; wherein said shelf case is bound to said screen case laterally, at least one end of said spacing board is connected to said first elevating device, at least one end of said spacing board is connected to said first elevating device, said first elevating device is bound to said second elevating device to move said spacing board and said movable shelf together.




There is no limit for the spacing board of the present invention. Preferably, at least a display panel, an illuminating panel or a light is mounted on said spacing board. The shape of the spacing board of the present invention is not limited. Preferably, the cross-section of said spacing board of said screen case accommodated to said opening is in the shape of ‘I’, ‘T’ or ‘H’. The screen base of the present invention is not limited. Preferably, the screen base is a working table or a desk. Preferably, an elevated screen of the present invention further includes at least one dust-blocking rubber attached around said opening to cover said opening. The rotating shaft of the present invention is not limited. Preferably, the rotating shaft is a manual crank rod or a rod connect to an electric motor. There is no limit for the end of the spacing board. Preferably, at least one end of said spacing board has a cap capable of covering said opening of said base case. There is no limit for the shelf of the present invention. Preferably, the surface of said shelf is mounted at least one built-in flip speaker. The shelf case is not limited. Preferably, the shelf case comprises at least one container. The style of the rotating shaft of the shelf case of the present invention is not limited. Preferably, the rotating shaft of the shelf case of the present invention is a pedal star switch or a stepping star switch. The screen case or the shelf case can combined with other device or element for multiple purposes. Preferably, at least one of the wall is bound or combined with a desk said desk comprises at least one desktop and two supporters for supporting said desktop. The shape of the supporters of the present invention is not limited. Preferably, each supporter comprises at least one track for sliding at least one keyboard plate or one drawer.




Other objects, advantages, and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.











BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS





FIG. 1

is the schematic view of the embodiment of the screen of the present invention.





FIG. 2

is the side view of the embodiment of the screen present invention.





FIG. 3

is the schematic view of another embodiment of the screen of the present invention.





FIG. 4

is the schematic view of the elevating device of the present invention.





FIG. 5

is the schematic view of the un-raised spacing board of the present invention.





FIG. 6

is another embodiment of the rotating shaft of the screen of the present invention.





FIG. 7

is another embodiment of the present invention.





FIG. 8

is another embodiment of the present invention.





FIG. 9

is another embodiment of the present invention.





FIG. 10

is the schematic view of the self case of the present invention.





FIG. 11

is the schematic view of the shelf case of the present invention.





FIG. 12

is another embodiment of the present invention.





FIG. 13

is the exploded view of FIG.


12


.





FIG. 14

is the side view of another embodiment of the present invention.





FIG. 15

is the vertical view of another embodiment of the present invention.





FIG. 16

is still another embodiment of the present invention.





FIG. 17

is the detail of the container.











DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT




The feature of the present invention is to provide an elevated screen with high mobility, flexibility and humanity to adjust the height easily and conveniently.

FIGS. 1-3

respectively are the schematic views and the side view of the screen of the present invention. As shown in those Figs, an elevated screen


1


is made of a screen base


10


, an elevating device


20


, and a spacing board


30


. There is an inner space


12


in the center of the screen base


10


. An elevating device


20


is placed in the inner space


12


. Referring to FIG.


3


and

FIG. 4

, the rotating shaft of the elevating device


20


is usually a manual crank rod


21


located at the outside surface of the screen base


10


. The bottom of the spacing board


30


connects to the elevating device


20


of the inner space


12


. The spacing board


30


is driven up and down by the movement of the elevating device


20


. On the top of the spacing board, there is an upper cover


32


to cover the gap of the opening of the inner (shown in

FIG. 5

) the shape and the size of the inner space


12


is usually the same with those of the spacing board


30


.




Referring to FIG.


3


and

FIG. 4

, the mentioned elevating device


20


is set across the upper transverse rod


22


and the lower transverse rod


23


in the inside wall of the screen base's


10


inner space


12


. Two rotating shafts


24


are set on the upper transverse rod


22


and the lower transverse rod


23


. One end of the lower transverse rod


23


connects to a manual crank rod


21


which rotates the lower transverse rod


23


. Two parallel slide assemblies


25


are located vertically on the inside walls and between the upper transverse rod


22


and the lower transverse rod


23


. Each sliding assembly


25


includes two flat plates


251


parallel. At least one guiding groove


252


is located in the corresponding inner surfaces of the two flat pates


251


. A transmission belt


253


is set between the rotating shafts


24


. The transmission belt


253


goes through the space between two flat plates


251


. In addition, a bearer


254


is embedded in the guiding groove


252


of the two flat plates


251


for moving up and down. Each bearer


254


is fixed on the transmission belt


253


. When the manual crank rod


21


is driven to rotate, owing to the connection of the whole set of the lower transverse rod


23


, the rotating shaft


24


, the transmission belt


253


, and the upper transverse rod


22


, the upper transverse rod


22


will roll. Moreover, the bearer


254


on the transmission belt


253


can move up and down in the guiding groove


252


. At the same time, the spacing board


30


on the supporting rack


254


will also move up and down. The elevating function of present invention can be achieved through the mechanism illustrated above.




Moreover, the rotating shaft of the elevating device


20


is set on the outside surface of the screen base


10


. The rotating shaft can be selectively connected to the manual crank rod


21


of the lower transverse rod


23


or the rotating shaft can be connected to an electric motor


26


. The mechanism shown in

FIG. 6

is an embodiment for connecting the lower transverse rod


23


to an electric motor


26


to drive the sliding assembly


25


. The start switch


261


of the electric motor


26


is set on the proper position of the outside surface of the screen base


10


for the operation of users.




Furthermore, there are two blocking-dust rubber can be selectively placed (not shown) at the opening of the inner space of the screen base to avoid dust falling into the gap between the screen base and the spacing board. Thus, the negative effect caused by accumulated dusts can be prevented.




The structure of the elevated screen can be a screen base of simple screen or can be a combination of screen base and a desk. Various type of combination can be shown in

FIG. 7

,

FIG. 8

, and FIG.


9


. As shown in

FIG. 7

the screen base


12


of the elevated screen


1


is a desk, and the cross-section of the inner space


12


and the spacing board


30


is in the shape of ‘I’.

FIG. 8

shows another embodiment of the present invention. As shown in

FIG. 8

, the screen base


12


of the elevated screen


1


is a desk, and the cross-section of the inner space


12


and the spacing board


30


is in the shape of ‘T’.

FIG. 9

shows another embodiment of the present invention. As shown in

FIG. 9

, the screen base


12


of the elevated screen


1


is a desk, and the cross-section of the inner space


12


and the spacing board


30


is in the shape of ‘H’.




The mentioned elevated screen of present invention provides a multi-functional desk to be installed and moved easily to meet many purposes such as private meeting, project discussion or group examination. The elevated screen of the present invention can make offices be an open space without partitions. The elevated screen of the present invention also can divide spaces or offices into several private working areas immediately (by changing the position or the height of the spacing board). The elevated screen of the present invention can be also applied as a counter in a bank (or used as an height-adjustable mirror in the beauty salon to facilitate talking among people. Besides, the elevated screen of the present invention can he combined with flat panel displays such as LCDs and PDPs, to transmit or recording messages or images on the panel. The elevated screen of the present invention improves the inconvenience of pasting a message note on a screen. The elevated screen of the present invention also can show photos or pictures on the mounted panels to make the space more beautiful. Furthermore, electric books or documents can be displayed on the panel to improve working efficiency.





FIG. 10

shows another embodiment of the present invention. As shown in

FIG. 10

, the screen base


12


of the elevated screen is a shelf case


42


. Inside the shelf case


42


, an elevating device


46


is set. A movable shelf


44


is connected or bound to the elevating device


46


. The bottom part of the movable shelf


44


is connected with the elevating device


46


. On the top surface of the shelf case


42


, there is an opening for allowing the movable shelf


44


to move upward or downward through the opening. The movable shelf


44


can be hidden in the shelf case


42


in the usual time. On the top surface of the movable shelf


44


which can move in or out vertically through the opening, two flipping speakers are placed. The flipping speakers can flip out of the top surface of the moving shelf as they are pushed. The elevating device in the shelf case includes two set of crossed supporters. The supporters


50


support a plate


54


. The plate connects to the bottom of the shelf. The supporters are driven by a oil-pressured apparatus


52


. The oil pressure apparatus


52


is fixed on one of the supporters. As the supporter is driven by the oil-pressure apparatus, the plate


54


or the shelf


44


will moved up or down. The position can be decided by the rotating shaft which will control the operation of the oil-pressure apparatus. The height of the shelf case in this embodiment is as high as that of tables or desks.




Another embodiment of the screen of the present invention is shown in FIG.


11


. The screen case


10


is combined with a shelf case


42


. This combination is much more stable. A shelf


44


is set inside the shelf case


42


. The elevating device of the shelf


44


can be combined or connected with the elevating device of the elevated screen


32


. The positions of the shelf or the screen can be controlled through the rotating shaft at the same time. The inner space of the shelf can be further divided into several spaces. The way of the space separation can be decided by the purposes of users. Furthermore, the surface of the screen can be placed at least one brush to prevent from any noise. The shelf case can further includes a small case


76


or a drawer for storing materials (e.g. recycled paper). The small case


76


can be arranged as shown in

FIG. 11

to FIG.


17


.




The height of the shelf case


42


is not limited. Preferably, the shelf case is as high as conventional desks or tables are. Therefore, as the shelf case is used as a working table, the space below the desktop of the shelf case can be well used. The desktop of the shelf case can keep clean or clear. Referring to FIG.


12


and

FIG. 13

, the shelf case can be attached or combined with a table or a desk


56


with the same height of the shelf case


42


. The combined table


56


is supported by two supporters


58


which is in a shape of “7”. In addition, the supporters


58


can be cut to form several guiding grooves


60


to hold disks. The top part of each supporter


60


is mounted at least one guiding groove. The guiding grooves


60


are design for setting a drawer


66


or a plate


64


for placing computer keyboards to slide in under the desktop of the table


56


. Furthermore, two flipping-speakers


68


are mounted on the top surface of the shelf


44


. A panel for display and lighting is mounted on the screen


30


for transmitting images or messages. The details of the screen which is combined with a table can be seen in FIG.


14


.




The elevating devices in the screen base and the shelf case can be connected through a connector


70


to be combined together. Then the screen


30


and the shelf can be moved in the same direction (e.g. upward) together. Besides, the number of the combined elevating devices is not limited. Multiple screens and shelves of different elevated screens can be combined together to move together. Then the positions of several screens of different screen cases in an office can be controlled or set at the same time. The details of the set combined elevated screens can be seen in FIG.


15


. Another embodiment of the screen case of the present invention is shown in FIG.


16


. The screen base


10


is combined with the shelf


44


. The screen base


10


will move as the shelf


44


moves. On the top of the screen, there is mounted an storing plate for putting things for convenience. The combined screen shown in

FIG. 16

is much stable and has more spaces to store materials.




Although the present invention has been explained in relation to its preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that many other possible modifications and variations can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed.



Claims
  • 1. An extendable partition screen comprising:a) an elongated planar base oriented in a vertical direction, the base bounding an inner space with an upper facing opening; b) upper and lower elongated, spaced apart, transverse rods rotatably located in the inner space; c) two spaced apart slide assemblies located within the inner space, each slide assembly including: a transmission belt extending around and driven by rotation of the upper and lower transverse rods; and a bearer extending from the drive belt, the bearer slidably mounted between spaced apart plates; and, d) a spacing board extending substantially across an entire width of the elongated base, the spacing board mounted on the bearers of the slide assemblies whereby rotation of one of the elongated transverse rods moves the spacing board between a retracted position wherein the spacing board is located substantially entirely within the inner space, and an extended position in which the spacing board extends from the base through the upper facing opening.
  • 2. The extendable partition screen of claim 1 further comprising a drive mechanism connected to the lower transverse rod.
  • 3. The extendable partition screen of claim 2 wherein the drive mechanism comprises a manual crank located exteriorly of the base.
  • 4. The extendable partition screen of claim 1 wherein the bearers each have a U-shaped configuration.
  • 5. The extendable partition screen of claim 1 further comprising an upper cover attached to the partition screen so as to cover the upper facing opening when the screen partition is in the retracted position.
  • 6. The extendable partition screen of claim 1 wherein the drive mechanism comprises an electric motor located within the inner space.
Priority Claims (1)
Number Date Country Kind
89210525 U Jun 2000 TW
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Number Name Date Kind
498175 Lawson May 1893 A
947359 Toso Jan 1910 A
1829359 Kittredge Oct 1931 A
4127196 Boucher Nov 1978 A
4358792 Domoleczny et al. Nov 1982 A
4491872 Boldt et al. Jan 1985 A
4735467 Wolters Apr 1988 A
4836623 Holland Jun 1989 A
5433046 MacQuarrie et al. Jul 1995 A
Foreign Referenced Citations (2)
Number Date Country
3214702 Oct 1983 DE
702896 Jan 1957 GB