Patent Application
20140261105
This application provides a unique lightweight portable and adjustable computer table that can be located on the top of an existing office desk or table for ergonomically correct standing computer use and be adjustable in monitor and keyboard height.
Prolonged sitting at a computer desk is frequently perceived as being uncomfortable no matter what style of chair is used and is also especially disadvantageous tot health reasons. People have been advised by doctors to stand up and move around periodically. Standing while working at the computer allows the person to move freely away when needed and not have to repeatedly stand up and sit down during the work period. Drafting tables for years have been in an elevated position with a high stool where an individual could either stand or sit during the workday. This standing and sitting is beneficial during long workdays. Problems occur at some drafting tables and standing workstations with the height of the person involved. Common computer workstations at commercial locations are at the conventional lower sitting position and have no means to be adjusted to an elevated position. Workstations where operators have to be standing all the time are often crudely constructed and not commercially available. Additionally, computer equipment is rapidly getting smaller and lighter requiring less room to operate. Therefor there is a growing need for a lightweight portable and adjustable computer table that can be located on the top of an existing office desk or table and be adjustable in monitor and keyboard height as to be ergonomically correct for the user.
Numerous innovations for computer tables have been provided in the prior art that are described as follows. Even though these innovations may be suitable for the specific individual purposes to which they address, they differ from the present design as hereinafter contrasted. The following is a summary of those prior art patents most relevant to this application at hand, as well as a description outlining the difference between the features of the Portable Computer Table and the prior art.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,865,403 of Helmiut Steinhilber In order to be able to retrofit an existing writing desk in simple fashion with a standup desk that can be folded and slid beneath the working surface of the writing desk, the standup desk has a frame on which the guides for sliding the standup desk are provided. This frame can be placed as a free-standing bracket beneath the writing desk or tensioned between the pedestals of the writing desk or between the floor and the working surface.
This patent describes a standup desk that can be folded and slid beneath the working surface of the writing desk. This standup desk has not been designed for computer usage. It does not have the lightweight design of the Portable Computer Table, a keyboard tray or easily adjustable leg assemblies for height adjustment of the table top and the keyboard tray. It does not have the suction cups on the telescoping legs that offer a secure positioning of the device on a desk or table.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,712,433 of John Helwig et al. describes a workstation system includes, as a “core” element, a self-standing service trunk that can be used in association with free-standing desks placed adjacent the trunk, or desk structures that are physically connected to the trunk. The trunk has a top that provides a generally horizontal storage support surface above desk height, and the trunk incorporates power and communication cable troughs for delivering power and communication services from an input location on the trunk to an output location accessible from a desk associated with the trunk.
This patent describes an involved workstation and does not have the lightweight design of the Portable Computer Table.
US pending Patent Application Publication No. US 2012/0174833 A1 of Lydia Bellia Early et al. describes a vertical desk with horizontal work surface and vertical display surface upon which is attached a computer monitor or other electronic equipment to be viewed in a range of height positions.
This patent describes a vertical display stand but does not offer the advantages of a lightweight portable device that can be assembled easily and secured on top of an existing table or desk.
US pending Patent Application Publication No. US 2012/0024202 A1 of Albin Bajric describes a standing desk designed monitor holder having a frame and a monitor receptacle arrangement.
This patent describes a frame for holding a monitor but does not have a table top workspace for a monitor or the keyboard tray in a lightweight portable design. Nor does this patent describe a device that sets on top of an existing desk or table.
In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of this application in detail it is to be understood that the design is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangement of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The Portable Computer Table is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. In addition, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.
The principal advantage of the Portable Computer Table is being able to stand in an ergonomically correct position while working at the computer table.
Another advantage of the Portable Computer Table is being able to adjust the height of the monitor shelf and the keyboard shelf separately so as to ergonomically fit different users.
Another advantage of the Portable Computer Table is being able to set it up on an existing office desk or table.
Another advantage of the Portable Computer Table is having retention means such as suction cups, clamps, cables and rope on the legs to firmly hold the device in place.
Another advantage of the Portable Computer Table is being able to fold it up to a small lightweight portable single unit for stowing.
Another advantage of the Portable Computer Table is it having a carrying handle to be easily transported for use at home or in an office workplace.
Another advantage of the Portable Computer Table is that teachers can stand while teaching a computer class.
The Portable Computer Table is constructed so that the table top folds back two hundred and seventy degrees by the means of a piano hinge to rest against the back leg supporting member. The table top has a stiffener down the middle on the underside with tubular leg retainers at either end. Pivot tubes, attached to the back leg supporting member, provide a means for the leg assemblies to rotate out of or into the stored position. Shoulder screws in each of the rotating leg assemblies go through circumferential slots in the tubular leg retainers to maintain their vertical position when they are rotated.
Each leg assembly will consist of a tubular one piece front and back leg unit with a horizontal center section. Each leg will have an upper tubular section and a lower telescoping tubular section with suction cups on the distal ends. The upper tubular section and a lower telescoping tubular section will have length adjustment by either using a twist locking element with length adjust numerals primed on the lower telescoping tubular section, or a second method of length adjustment that will be the conventional spring loaded ball detents in the lower telescoping tubular section into a plurality of mating, orifices in the upper tubular section. On each of the front lea units of the rotating leg assemblies is a keyboard tray attachment plate with a plurality of keyboard tray attachment slots to allow for repositioning the keyboard tray. When the leg assemblies are folded for storage they will be held in place by the means of two spring clips holding the horizontal center sections of the rotating leg assemblies to the back leg supporting member.
The keyboard tray has two attaching members with two locking segments that correspond with the keyboard tray attachment slots in the keyboard tray attachment plate to adjust the height of the keyboard tray. A stiffener runs down the center of the keyboard tray with the back edge of the keyboard tray having a carrying handle in the center. On the underside of the keyboard tray are two clasps that slide under the horizontal center section of the folded rotating leg assemblies when the Portable Computer Table is folded and secured for storage.
The foregoing has outlined rather broadly the more pertinent and important features of the present Portable Computer Table in order that the detailed description of the application that follows may be better understood so that the present contribution to the art may be more fully appreciated. Additional features of the design will be described hereinafter which form the subject of the claims of this disclosure. It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the conception and the disclosed specific embodiment may be readily utilized as a basis for modifying or designing other structures and methods for carrying out the same purposes of the present design. It should also be realized by those skilled in the art that such equivalent constructions and methods do not depart from the spirit and scope of this application as set forth in the appended claims.
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and form a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the Portable Computer Table and together with the description, serve to explain the principles of this application.
For a fuller understanding of the nature and advantages of the Portable Computer Table, reference should be had to the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings which are incorporated in and form a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the design and together with the description, serve to explain the principles of this application.
Referring now to the drawings, wherein similar parts of the Portable Computer Table 10 are identified by like reference numerals, there is seen in
The keyboard tray 14 has a stiffener 52 down the center with two clasps 54 that slide under the horizontal center section 24 of the folded rotating leg assemblies 22 when the Portable Computer Table 10 is secured for storage. Two keyboard tray attaching members 56 with two locking segments 58 each, correspond with the keyboard tray attachment slots 48 in the keyboard tray attachment plate 46 and are used to adjust the height of the keyboard tray 14. On the hack edge of the keyboard tray 14 is a carrying handle 60.
The Portable Computer Table 10 is dual adjustable in that both the monitor shelf and the keyboard shelf adjust in height independently to achieve ergonomically correct and comfortable positioning. Ergonomically correct position for standing computer use is defined by OSHA with the main elements being: 1) the keyboard has to be at or slightly below elbow height, so that the elbows are bent between 90 and 120 degrees, and 2) the monitor has to be raised so that the head is level with eye level slightly below the top of the screen when looking straight ahead. The Portable Computer Table 10 is designed and configured to achieve this ergonomically correct position for standing computer use by having independently adjustable heights for the monitor shelf and the keyboard shelf.
In summary some of the features of the Portable Computer Table 10 as Shown and described, the various embodiments of the present invention are as follows:
The Portable Computer Table 10 shown in the drawings and described in detail herein disclose arrangements of elements of particular construction and configuration for Illustrating preferred embodiments of structure and method of operation of the present application. It is to be understood, however, that elements of different construction and configuration and other arrangements thereof, other than those illustrated and described may be employed for providing a Portable Computer Table 10 in accordance with the spirit of this disclosure, and such changes, alternations and modifications as would occur to those skilled in the art are considered to be within the scope of this design as broadly defined in the appended claims.
Further, the purpose of the foregoing abstract is to enable the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the public generally, and especially the scientists, engineers and practitioners in the art who are not familiar with patent or legal terms or phraseology, to determine quickly from a cursory inspection the nature and essence of the technical disclosure of the application. The abstract is neither intended to define the invention of the application, which is measured by the claims, nor is it intended to be limiting as to the scope of the invention in any way.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61802871 | Mar 2013 | US |
