Note : Les descriptions sont présentées dans la langue officielle dans laquelle elles ont été soumises.
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FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a multi-purpose support and
more particularly, to a support for holding a keyboard or the
like to a desk table, shelves, etc.
DESCRIPTION OF PRIOR ART
Different systems have been developed for the purpose of holding
trays, keyboards or the like to a desk or tableO Thus, it is
often found that a disk or table becomes cluttered with
extraneous items, therefore, no place can be found on the working
surface to place a keyboard or trays.
Several prior art patents are of interest because they relate to
the above mentioned problems: US patent - 3,301,406 (Scott),
discloses a system comprising a tray and a bracket assembly which
can be mounted to a planar support. One drawback of this system
is that same has a predetermined width and therefore not designed
to accommodate tray~ of different sizes. Furthermore, the
bracket assembly does not include means to change the inclination
of the tray.
A second prior art of interest, US patent no. 3,181,~85 (C.R.
Dotson et al) discloses a table mounted tray pro~ided with a
frame adapted to engage the underside of a table, a tray is being
mounted to said frame. One drawback of this sys~em is that only
one type of tray can be fitted to the frame and furthermore the
frame can only be adapted to certain types of table. Therefore,
this patent does not contemplate and does not shows any structure
for adjusting easily the assembly to different bases.
A third prior art of interest is found in US patent no. ~,584,179
(Adams), which shows an adjustable card holder support comprising
elongated members having one end curved so as to fit same to a
chair. However, the configuration of said members limits the use
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of the holder to certain types of chair. Moreover, this device
does not have sufficient versatility to accomplish the objects
of this invention, since the inclination means or the securing
means of the supporting portion cannot be adjusted.
None of the known prior art patents mentioned above contemplate
a multi-purpose support wherein the elongated members are
provided with adjustment means in order to adjust the support
to different bases.
OBJECTS OF THE PRESENT INVENTION
It is a general object of the present invention to provide a
multi-purpose support which will overcome the drawbacks of the
prior art supports.
One object of the present invention is to pro~ide a liyht weight
multi-puxpose support.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an
economical and easy to assemble a multi-purpose support.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a
multi-purpose support which can be used to support a keyboard.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a
multi-purpose support, comprising adjustable means to adjust
same to desks, tables, shelves or the like having different
thicknesses.
SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION
These and other objects of the present invention will be
generally obtained by a multi-purpose support comprising:
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- a pair of elongated members having a supporting portion
and a securing portion;
- linking means pivotally connecting said elongated members;
- securing means adjustably connected to said securing
portion;
wherein said securing portion of said elongated members
further comprises inclination means, so as to adjust
inclination of the supporting portion.
In one form of the invention, a support is adapted for the
purpose of holding a computer keyboard or the like in an
adjustable manner, with respect to a disk table or shelves. This
support is also provided with thumb screws or other similar means
for the purpose of adjusting the inclination of said support and
therefore, the inclination of the keyboard or other object to be
supported.
The clamp portion of the support may be provided with adjustment
means allowing therefore movement of said clamp for accommodating
different sizes of keyboards.
DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
A construction designed to carry out the invention will be
hereinafter described, together with other features thereof.
The invention will be more readily understood from a reading of
the following specification and by reference to the accompanying
drawings forming part thereof, wherein an example of the
invention is shown and wherein-
Figure 1 is a partially exploded perspective view of the multi-
purpose support according to the present invention.
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Figure 2 is a side elevational view of the support of Figure 1.
Figure 3 is a perspective view of one of the link members shown
in Figure 1.
DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Figure 1 shows the multi-purpose support 5 in accordance with the
present invention and which comprises a first 10 and a second 15
elongated members. Each of said members at its forward end, is
bented, generally upwardly and terminating in horizontal portions
20. Threaded openings 25 are provided into said portion to
receive adjustment screws 30, screwed into and extending through
the openings 25. Said screws may comprise a protective cover 35
to protect the surface 40 receiving same and may comprise a
plastic cap.
The other end of each of said elongated members is upwardly
curved 45 so as to form a stop catch for the object to be
supported, for example a keyboard 50 as shown in figure 2. In
a preferred embodiment, the support is made of bent metal but it
could be made of any other suitable material.
With attention now invited more specifically to figure 2, each
of said elongated members comprises a supporting portion 55 and
a securing portion 60, the securing portion 60 includes securing
means 65 detachably attached to the securing portion. Said
securing means may comprise a U-shaped clamp 70 for each
elongated members 10 and 15 and is attached to the securing
portion by screws 75. A plurality of openings 130 are provided
along the securing portion 60 to accommodate screws 75. Each of
said clamps 70 comprises a threaded opening 72.
The two elongated members 10 and 15 are pivotably held together
by means of two connected link members 80 and 85. Each of said
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link members 80 and 85 is formed of two rods 90 and 95, pivotally
secured at points 100 and 105 respectively. Said link members
80 and 85 are pivotally secured to the elongated members 10 and
15 respectively at points 110 and 115. For more details, see
figure 3.
The support can be adjusted in width for accommodating different
sizes of keyboards or the like to be supported. To modify said
width of the support 5 as shown by the arrows Fl, the elongated
members are brought together allowing easy adjustment.
Alternatively, the pivot points 100 and 105 can be replaced by
locking screws (not shown) so as to lock the elongated members
into any intermediate position. The linking member is slightly
bent at the end 117, as shown in figure 3, so that, in the fully
closed position, the rod 90 will clear the other rod 95. In
addition, rods 90 and 95 can be provided with locking means (not
shown) to lock same in a close or open position.
The securing means may be provided with a protective coating 120
such as rubber in order to protect the table or the shelf from
scratching. The supporting portion 55 of the support 5 is
preferably provided with a high friction coating 125 so as to
adequately receive the object to be supported.
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Depending on the thickness of the desk table or base 40, it may
be desirable to modify the inclination of the support 5. To do
so, the user needs simply to adjust the inclination by screwing
or unscrewing the adjustment screws 30 until the proper position
is found. Furthermore, if the thickness of the base 40 is too
small, a spacer (not shown) can be placed between said base 40
and the top 35 of the screw 30.
The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the
principles of the invention. Further since numerous
modi~ications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in
the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact
construction and operation shown and described, and, accordingly,
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all suitable modification and equivalent may be resorted to,
falling within the scope of the invention.
For example, the supporting portion of the elongated members may
comprises tray attachment means (not ~hown) adapted to receive
and secure a tray.
