This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/323,061, filed Apr. 12, 2010, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
The document relates generally to adjustable work surfaces. More particularly, the document relates to a height adjustable work surface system.
In the field of traditional support mechanisms, there are many different types of work surface support mechanisms, including adjustable and fixed work surface supports. However, such support mechanisms generally require a large number of individual parts, making it expensive to manufacture or assemble or both. Height adjustable tables and desks are known, but are often stand alone pieces of furniture that are often too expensive to incorporate into an office environment. Also, they are not designed for use in a cubicle or to be attached to a traditional desk. These height adjustable pieces are traditionally electrically powered or hand cranked and may be complicated to use.
It is, therefore, desirable to provide an adjustable work surface support that overcomes some of the disadvantages of the prior art.
It is therefore desirable to have an adjustable work system, or surface support mechanism for a work surface, which provides a robust support, which can be easily and repeatably raised and lowered, while keeping the construction simple and more cost effective to manufacture and assemble. There is a need for such an adjustable work surface to be mountable to a secure structure, for example, a system wall panel, a modesty panel, a freestanding desk or an office wall.
Adjusting the height and changing the position of the work surface has been shown to provide ergonomic advantages to a user. Giving the user the ability to move the work surface and change from a sitting to standing position or vice versa, may reduce the stiffness the user may encounter after sitting in the same position for several hours of the day and may increase a user's metabolic rate.
In one aspect, a height adjustable work surface system is provided having an under-mount mechanism pivotably attached at a first end to a mounting bracket for mounting to a secure structure; the under-mount mechanism being further pivotably attached at a second end to an attachment bracket; the attachment bracket further connected to a work surface support designed to connect to a work surface; and by pivoting the under-mount mechanism from a first to a second position the work surface is raised or lowered.
Other aspects and features of the present invention will become apparent to those ordinarily skilled in the art upon review of the following description of specific embodiments of the invention in conjunction with the accompanying figures.
Embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the attached Figures, wherein:
Generally, a height adjustable work surface system is disclosed. A primary work surface, such as a flat desk surface may be attached to the height adjustable work surface system. A similar mounting system may be adaptable to be used with a dual work surface system and the following disclosure should not be considered limited to the primary work surface.
The work surface system is attached to a secure structure, for example, a wall panel of a system workstation or a modesty panel of a freestanding desk by way of a mounting bracket. The work surface or desktop surface is attached to an under-mount mechanism of the work surface system, which allows the work surface to be raised and lowered. While the work surface may be raised and lowered, for example, from a sitting to a standing level with respect to the user's perspective, the movement of the work surface toward and away from the secure structure is intended to be minimized. When attached to a system panel, the work surface system is intended to maintain a constant gap from the system's wall panel. In some cases, the constant gap is approximately one inch.
The work surface 12 is attached to the height adjustable work surface system and may be installed as a separate piece after the manufacture of the work surface system. In an alternative, the work surface 12 may be retrofitted from a previously manufactured fixed desk and attached to the height adjustable work surface system 10.
The work surface 12 may be attached to a work surface support, preferably along its longitudinal side, via rail brackets 18, described in further detail below with reference to
The adjustable work surface system 10 is designed to mount to the secure structure such as the system panel 14 or desk structure via mounting brackets, for example panel mounting brackets 28 preferably located on either side of the adjustable work surface system 10 and preferably mounted in a vertical orientation. A support bar or crossbar 30, preferably tubular, is mounted at each end to each of the panel mounting brackets 28. One end of the support arm 24 may be mounted to the crossbar 30 while one end of the connector arm 26 may be mounted to the panel mounting bracket 28. The support arm 24 of the parallel arm mechanism is preferably constructed as a tubular bar, similar to the construction of the crossbar 26. If there is a risk of user contact with either the support arm 24 or the connector arm 26, a round tubular design may be preferred to allow the construction to be user-friendly without having corners or points that could cause injury if the user were to bump up against the support system 10. In the alternative, a square or otherwise shaped tubular bar may be used.
Each dual arm mechanism attaches to the work surface support via an attachment mechanism, such as an attachment bracket 34. Each work surface support extends from its attachment bracket 34 and attaches to the work surface 12, via the top support 16 and connector rod 20. The top support 16 may be aligned on either side edge of the work surface in order to keep the area under the work surface free and clear. Preferably, each connector rod 20 would have a curved construction and may also be formed from a tubular construction to provide smoother edges to reduce the likelihood of injury to a user.
A further discussion is now provided regarding the parallelism provided by the under-mount mechanism to accomplish the height adjustment of the work surface system. The under-mount mechanism is designed to maintain the work surface in a horizontal or level position, yet allow the work surface to be used at an intermediate or middle position as shown in
As shown in
The panel mounting brackets 28 may be mounted into provided vertical key slots of the system panel 14 by a clip arrangement that may include hooked teeth 32, shown in more detail in
In an embodiment, as shown in
In an alternative, the rail bracket may be adapted to have an aperture designed to receive the clips 40 from top support 16. In this embodiment, the attached apparatus may be a T-shaped projection designed to be received by an aperture in the rail bracket 18.
The under-mount mechanism may further include a lift system 42 as shown in the perspective view of
It will be understood that there are many various raised and lowered positions since the user may define the position of the work surface, anywhere along the range of movement. The lift system control mechanism may be a paddle, which is connected to the gas lift 44 via a cable 50. The cable 50 is preferably located within the arms of the work surface support so that it does not interfere with any objects underneath the work surfaces, and avoids entanglement and possible injury to the user's limbs and to protect the cable from being damaged.
In an alternative, the lift system may be a combination of a gas lift 44 in association with at least one spring brake system. In this alternative, a user may activate the brake system by a remote control such as a paddle, as above. As a gas lift is also provided, the user can easily raise or lower the work surface with minimal effort. The remote control mechanism is designed to engage and disengage the spring brake in order to lock or unlock the position of the work surface. Although it is preferred to have a spring brake on either side, only one remote and paddle system may be necessary to control the overall lift system. Other lift and/or brake mechanisms, which are contemplated, may also be possible.
In an alternative, a work surface system 100 may be designed to attach to a secure structure such as a freestanding desk 114, as shown in
The work surface system 100 is designed to mount to end gables of the freestanding desk and to the modesty panel with a mounting bracket 128. The mounting bracket 128 may be bolted or otherwise securely attached to the desk 114 in a vertical orientation. The mounting bracket could further be affixed to an office wall or office wall partition. In some cases, the mounting bracket may also be affixed in a horizontal orientation.
The under-mount mechanism 122 is further connected to a braking and lifting system 142 consisting of a gas lift 144, a lift bracket 146 and a lift system control mechanism 148. The lift bracket 146 may be integrated with the mounting bracket 128 to form a U-shaped bracket as shown in
As shown in
The work surface or desktop maintains a horizontal or level position throughout the range of the height adjustment due to the arrangement of the under-mount mechanism as shown. The movement comprises substantially greater movement in the y-axis (movement up and down) that the x-axis (toward and away from the system panel). The x-axis movement is minimized to reduce any gap between the system panel and the work surface. By having the under-mount extend almost the full length of the work surface and with the pivot points away from the body of the under-mount construction, with the addition of a guide and a slidable top support, the resulting movement may be the desired y-axis lift with little x-axis movement.
In some cases, the work surface may be raised and lowered over a range of 18 inches. In other cases, the work surface may be raised and lowered over a range of 16 inches. In a specific case, the range for the change in position of the work surface in the y-axis is approximately 16 to 18 inches. The preferred range allows the work surface to be used either as a sit down work surface in its lowered position or as a stand up work surface in its raised position with other possible positions in between. The user may choose to have it positioned in an in between position depending on the user's height and seating arrangement. The range of motion between the lowest position and the highest position of the work surface is not restricted. It will be understood that with modifications to the arm lengths and lift provided by the gas lift, this range may be increased or decreased.
The work surface may be tilted through the use of a tilting mechanism. This is preferably achieved via a bolt or other mechanical system (not shown) in each of the top mounting brackets, which moves through a slot in these mounting brackets when the tilting mechanism is released. When the tilting mechanism is engaged or tightened, the work surface is locked into place.
The tilting mechanism allows for the plane of the work surface to be tilted towards the user so that he or she may have easier access at the work surface. The work surface may preferably be locked in a positive tilt of up to ten degrees although other angles are contemplated. The positive tilt may also reduce the stress on the user's back while he or she is doing paperwork or leaning over the work surface.
In an alternative, a wedge may be placed between the underside of the work surface and the top support, or the rail brackets 18. The wedge would provide a permanent slope that would preferably be 10 degrees, which is intended to be enough to roll a pencil and not enough to make a paper slide. It will be understood that the tilt may be modified by the slope of the wedge.
The above-described embodiments of the height adjustable work surface system are intended as examples only. Alterations, modifications and variations may be effected to the particular embodiments by those of skill in the art without departing from the scope, which is defined solely by the claims appended hereto.
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
2013542 | Nordmark | Sep 1935 | A |
3202392 | Wallace | Aug 1965 | A |
4619208 | Kurrasch | Oct 1986 | A |
4751884 | Ball | Jun 1988 | A |
4898103 | Pontoppidan et al. | Feb 1990 | A |
5108063 | Koerber et al. | Apr 1992 | A |
5370063 | Childers | Dec 1994 | A |
5649493 | Blume | Jul 1997 | A |
5823120 | Holmquist | Oct 1998 | A |
5931429 | Hellwig et al. | Aug 1999 | A |
5996961 | Johnson | Dec 1999 | A |
6038986 | Ransil et al. | Mar 2000 | A |
6336618 | Barber | Jan 2002 | B1 |
6446396 | Marangoni et al. | Sep 2002 | B1 |
6474243 | Grohse | Nov 2002 | B1 |
6691626 | Warner | Feb 2004 | B2 |
7997211 | Peterson et al. | Aug 2011 | B2 |
8065966 | Bacon et al. | Nov 2011 | B1 |
20060180057 | Hallman | Aug 2006 | A1 |
20070034754 | McKeon | Feb 2007 | A1 |
20070266912 | Swain | Nov 2007 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country |
---|---|---|
9847407 | Oct 1998 | WO |
2004097269 | Nov 2004 | WO |
Entry |
---|
GCX Corporation, VHM™ Extension / Sliding Laptop Tray Product Information, downloaded from http://www.gcx.com/products/print—kit/950, Mar. 1, 2010. |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
20110247532 A1 | Oct 2011 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
61323061 | Apr 2010 | US |