Patent Application
20120118210
The present invention relates to personal storage and organizational systems. More particularly, the present invention relates to portable desks as movable units for keeping records, information, functional articles and resources organized in the most useful manner possible.
The life of the average person today is hectic. With working parents, more divorced couples and more complex family living arrangements today, keeping track of information for schools, medical records, work-at-home records, elder care, community events, extra-curricular activities such as recreation leagues and clubs is more challenging than ever. We are commuting more and longer to both work, between homes and recreation.
At the same time, we are living with an abundance of knowledge. While the Internet, technology, digital and electronic media provide us with many conveniences, they also have complicated our lives with speedy and distributed information exchange. One file in one physical place is inadequate today. We are societies on the go. We need work and living space that addresses our modern knowledge and resource management needs in a way which is more organized, multi-purpose and flexible.
A specific example of this heightened need for better file resource management is the formal dining room. Today the formal dining room is used far less for formal dining, and far more for schoolwork, self-employed home office work, special projects and special collections of articles. It often becomes cluttered with so many stray items that the table is not visible. It has become the home office, library, storage room, and catch all, often displacing even flex-work needs due to the mass of paperwork and materials that tend to accumulate because users do not otherwise have a designated work area. Clutter and mess lead to stress, which is the last things today's family's need and an important object of the present invention—to reduce stress through more organized home-work living space.
Numerous file storage systems and products exist for organizing information physically as opposed to electronically using both permanent and temporary storage devices. Known products include full size and movable desks such as lap desks, file cabinets, file folders, stackable file boxes, drawers, file dividers, folios. The problem with these conventional systems is that they are lacking the combined benefits of desk portability, aesthetics integrated with room use, color and texture, and organizational detail to allow the user to fold up and carry a stand-alone work space from room to room and beyond. In addition, many lack modularity, such as portable, subject-specific organization so that records and items can be filed away for storage and easily retrieved or moved from place to place when necessary.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,584,546 titled “Transportable office work station” by Robert and Cynthia Gurin issued Dec. 17, 1996. This patent covers a transportable office work station comprised of a cabinet having a computer “elevator” and retractable casters to allow users to roll the work station to another location as desired. This requires a level floor surface for rolling the cabinet to a different location. If stairs are involved, the cabinet remains difficult to relocate. Carrying this desk to a car or different location would not be feasible.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,403,082 to Edward Kramer, issued Apr. 4, 1995 for a “Fold-up, movable desk with movable audiovisual equipment end.” The invention claimed is a movable desk also anticipated to be wheeled when desired to be relocated. The desk parts define a substantial piece of furniture, including a desk work surface, front and rear edge and support pedestal. While the invention can be moved, it is not anticipated to be packed up and easily carried from one location within a home or office to another, to and from vehicles, or regularly transported.
Likewise, U.S. Pat. No. 5,769,514 to Brown, Fogle and Salley issued Jun. 23, 1998 covers a “Ready to use foldable computer desk.” This invention teaches a foldable ready to use computer table with a support surface, keyboard drawer assembly and cable tray. While this piece of furniture allows the computer to be stored away, leaving the desktop open and unobstructed, it does not allow for the desk to be carried away or files particularly organized for portability.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,201,107 B1 issued Apr. 10, 2007 to Steelease Development Corporation, invention titled “Assembly with Movable Work Surface Portion and Material Holder.” This invention also acknowledges the importance of securing clear work space through flexible work stations, but teaches fixed furniture units which may be moved within the structure, but not movable units independently of the structure such as to be carried to and from locations within a home, office or community.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,997,113 titled “Hand foldable and portable furniture” issued May 29, 1998 to Cleon Benson also discloses a hand foldable article of furniture that can be folded up for storage purposes, but is not anticipated to store things in it once folded up. While the article is portable upon being folded, it stops being an organizational device once folded, which significantly limits its utility if transportable storage is intended.
Numerous other embodiments of modular furniture, foldable furniture, collapsible workstations and the like are taught by the prior art to provide increased workspace and portability, but without the features of the present invention which combines aesthetic, highly organized, highly functional hand foldable and movable storage space which continues to store and organize articles within it while being transported by the individual user.
A first object of the present invention, therefore, is to provide an organized place to store paperwork temporarily in combination with work accessories needed to complete the work being stored while working on it in a multi-purpose location.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a storage unit for items in addition to files which may be needed to help complete work related to the subject matter of the records being stored.
Another object of the present invention is to reduce clutter from loose files and work materials by providing an organizational system that is self-contained and portable so that it can be accessed when needed, then closed up and put away as temporary storage when done working with it.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide organizational systems that are subject matter specific to keep records and related resources in one place, but portable to allow for carrying them with the user from place to place and to have storage components integrated to allow the unit to be hung, stacked or otherwise stored in a manner that renders it easily retrievable.
Still another object of the present invention is to render physical space such as home or office rooms useful for multiple purposes by providing portable storage resources that can allow easy, lightweight, organized transport of records and items needed for accomplishing tasks.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a desk with enough structure to hold its form, but covered with a soft material which will not scratch furniture upon which it may be placed.
Another object of the present invention is to integrate form and function of organizational space with that of architectural space to reduce stress, improve the quality of life, improve aesthetics and improve space use for people through better records and resource organization.
Still another object of the present invention is to improve executive functioning of adults and children alike by providing ready, movable office and household organizers that teach subject matter organizational management for a variety of areas, including but not limited to elder care, college application preparation, recreation records and scheduling management, school work, medical records.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a portable storage unit with interchangeable storage components which are customized to the storage purpose intended.
In the preferred embodiment of the invention, as shown in
In an alternate embodiment of the invention, the plurality of pockets on left and right wing members 20 and 30 are sized to retain various storage articles, such as envelopes, CDs, DVDs, digital memory cards, flash drives, personal digital assistants, cell telephones and the like.
The preferred embodiment of the invention is made of a quilted fabric (or other durable fabric) that will not harm the finish of a tabletop and is lightweight. The central support member 10 and left and right wing members 20 and 30 are reinforced with either foam board, plastic or another strong material that is also lightweight.
The present invention provides the user with a work area that can be cleared easily and in an organized manner to open and clean the primary space when the user is done with the temporary work at hand or when in need of the primary work space, such as the supporting table. The invention is put into use by carrying it to a desired work location, setting central support member 10 upright on the desired work surface, unfastening fold edge 44 from the closed position depicted in
After work is concluded and the user desires to store the invention, reverse steps to those cited above are followed to fold left and right wing members 20 and 30 inwardly toward interior face 12 of central support member 10 until wing members 20 and 30 are essentially parallel with central support member 10. Swing panel 40 then is lifted from the work surface, pivoted inwardly so that fold edge 44 is aligned in parallel and close proximity with top edge 19 of central support member 10, then folded over it and fastened to exterior face 70 using conventional releasable closure means, such as hook and fastener, ribbon, snap, button. Velcro, or the like. At this point the invention is in storage position 80, as shown in
The present invention is capable of embodiment in different sizes, shapes, configurations, storage particulars and organizational detail. For example, it can be tailored to work for children that are in shared custody arrangements or children that are on the go and need to complete their work in a variety of places due to scheduling. Users can literally fold up their working space and take it with them from one home to another, school to social event, library to bus or carpool. The preferred configuration gives them tailor-made executive functioning to keep important items in a place where they can be put to use when needed and safely stored away when not in use or while transporting.
Swing member 100 is further defined by panel members 104 and 106 pivotably associated with binder 91 to allow for additional unit folding. This embodiment of the invention is further defined by carrying handle 50 having strap 52 and strap 54, with strap 52 having strap ends 52a and 52b affixed to carrying handle edge 51 of right wing member 98 and with strap 54 having strap ends 54a and 54b affixed to carrying handle edge 53 of left wing member 99.
This configuration allows for the invention essentially to be halved upon final folding whereby, from an open position shown in
Right and left wing members 98 and 99 fold inward when the invention is prepared for storage, as shown in
Additional features capable of being incorporated into the present invention include a central active paper and records center with a plurality of storage members as shown in central support member 90 of
Additional embodiments of the present invention include storage configurations which facilitate bill paying, mail storage, organization of records pertaining to applying for and attending college, elder care, child records, such as for school, athletics or extracurricular activities, particularly in joint custody situations, holiday organizer, home remodeling, moving, a mobile business center, a home based business, wedding planner, travel organizer, seasonal home management system such as for a recreational vehicle or vacation home, an emergency evacuation organizer, as shown in
These are samples of the many possible uses of the present invention. They are meant to be representative of, and not limit, the many possible uses, configurations and storage variations of the basic invention to which the present descriptions and the embodiments sampled in this writing can be applied.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61399998 | Jul 2010 | US |
