PORTABLE TABLE TOP MOUNTABLE ONTO A RAIL
Disclosed is a portable table top mountable on a rail. The portable table top has a planar member defining a top portion and a bottom portion, and a fastening mechanism to removably attach the planar member to the rail. The fastening mechanism comprises a clip and a support member. The clip is securely attached to the bottom portion of the planar member. The clip has a slot for receiving a portion of the rail therein. The support member has a support plate and a securing mechanism. The securing mechanism abuttingly couples a first end of the support plate to the rail and enables a second end of the support plate to support the bottom portion of the planar member.
The present invention claims priority under 35 United States Code, Section 119 on the U.S. Provisional Patent Application numbered 60/961,055 filed on Jul. 18, 2007, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference.
FIELD OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention relates to furniture, and more particularly to a portable table top used for placing a variety of items thereupon.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONMany homes and commercial properties are equipped with structures, such as deck or patio areas, that are used as functional outdoor spaces for entertainment and/or relaxation purposes. Such a structure, for example, a deck, is typically constructed from wood or composite materials having a floor and a rail. The floor and the rail define a boundary of the deck. The rail may be made using beams to form a structure of the rail.
A deck owner, who uses the deck for a get together, entertainment or a family function, may require some furniture for the same. However, conventional deck furniture, such as dining tables, side tables and chairs are very expensive. Further, such deck furniture may also be difficult to move due to its weight and cumbersome structure, and therefore may not be as useful for remotely located parts of the deck. Therefore, the deck owner might purchase only a minimum amount of furniture, which is inadequate for a large gathering.
The deck owner may also feel that the space available on the deck is inadequate or inconvenient for placing the conventional deck furniture, as the conventional deck furniture occupies a lot of space on the deck and leaves little space for people. In case of grilling food items, condiments, utensils, and other things are generally brought to the deck from the house and are placed on the deck furniture. If the deck furniture is not closely located to the grill or is occupied with other things, there may be no convenient space to place such items. Furthermore, due to inadequate space on the deck furniture, drinks are also frequently placed on the rail of the deck, or at other inconvenient places on the deck that are not meant to serve as a surface for drinks. In such cases, drinks may easily fall or be knocked over by the people, thereby resulting inconvenience to the people.
As described above, deck furniture is generally heavy and is difficult to move when needed. So, in the event of grilling out, socializing with neighbors, or hosting an event, the deck furniture may be placed at one location that is not necessarily centered or convenient for such purposes. For example, during the event, the entire group of people may not want to or be able to gather around an item of deck furniture such as the dining table for an entire event. Further, it is impractical to move a dining table in round robin fashion to various groups of people so that they may have a surface to place drinks or food thereon, as needed.
Therefore, to overcome all the above-mentioned problems, there is a need for a portable, light weight, inexpensive table top for the deck or the patio areas.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONIn view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the prior art, the general purpose of the present invention is to provide a portable table top on a rail to include all the advantages of the prior art, and to overcome the drawbacks inherent therein.
An object of the present invention is to provide an inexpensive, light weight portable table top that may be removably attached to a rail of a deck for creating additional space on the deck.
Therefore, in one aspect, the present invention discloses a portable table top mountable on a rail. The portable table top comprises a planar member defining a top portion and a bottom portion, and a fastening mechanism to removably attach the planar member to the rail. The fastening mechanism comprises at least one clip and at least one support member. The at least one clip is securely attached to the bottom portion of the planar member. The at least one clip has a slot for receiving a portion of the rail therein. The at least one support member comprises a support plate and a securing mechanism. The securing mechanism abuttingly couples a first end of the support plate to the rail and enables a second end of the support plate to support the bottom portion of the planar member.
The present invention provides a portable table top which may be mounted on a rail of a deck, patio, and the like. The portable table top has a planar member having a top portion and a bottom portion, and a fastening mechanism that is used to removably attach the planar member to the rail. The fastening mechanism comprises at least one clip and a support member that are used to attach the bottom portion of the planar member to the rail.
Referring to
The planar member 102 has a top portion 104 and a bottom portion 106. The top portion 104 provides the usable surface area for placing the items 122 thereon and the bottom portion 106 is attached to the rail 120 by using the fastening mechanism. A front edge 108, side edges 110 and 112 opposite to each other, and a rear edge 114 of the planner member 102 are shown in
Referring now to
Referring specifically to
Referring now to
Referring again to
The clips 200 of the fastening mechanism are attached on one side of the rail 120 and the portable table top 100 to mount the planar member 102 onto the rail 120. The fastening mechanism further comprises at least one support member to provide enhanced support to the planar member 102 onto the rail 120, from another side of the rail 120. The at least one support member of the fastening mechanism is explained in conjunction with
The support plate 502 is configured to support the planar member 102 with the help of the securing mechanism 504. More specifically, the securing mechanism 504 is coupled to the bottom portion 106 of the planar member 102 through an elongated slot 510 in the support plate 102, thereby securing the support plate 102 therebetween. The securing mechanism 504 may be any suitable fastening mechanism, which may be attached to the bottom portion 106 through the elongated slot 510. In an embodiment of the present invention, the securing mechanism 504 comprises a bolt 512 and a threaded wing nut 514 as shown in
The support member 500 may be placed directly in line with the clips 200. The support member 500 is preferably located at a center portion of the bottom portion 106 of the planar member 102 in order to provide support to the planar member 102. Although
The planar member 102 is mounted onto the rail 120 by the clips 200 and the support member 500 of the fastening mechanism. In order to remove the portable table top 100 from the rail 120, or move the portable table top 100 from one position to another position on the rail 120, the clips 200 and the support member 500 may be loosened or removed. As described previously, the clips 200 may be detached from the rail 120 by unscrewing the thumbscrews 214 and the support member 500 may be removed by unscrewing the threaded wing nut 514. Further, the planar member 102 may be slid from one position to the another position on the rail 120 by only loosening the thumbscrews 214 and the threaded wing nut 514 without the need of completely removing the clips 200 and the support member 500.
The planar member 102 of the portable table top 100, as represented in
Various embodiment of the present invention provides a portable table top such as the portable table tops 100 and 900, which is mountable on a rail of a deck or patio area of a house. The portable table top provides a usable surface area to place various items thereupon. The portable table top may be easily mounted onto a desired position of the rail and may be removed or shifted to other position conveniently. The portable table top may be designed in various shapes and sizes to place the variety of items thereupon. The fastening mechanism and clips thereof may be adjusted between uses of the portable table top to accommodate rails of various sizes. The portable table top provided by the present invention is inexpensive, easy to design and easy to carry.
Claims
1. A portable table top mountable onto a rail, the portable table top comprising:
- a planar member defining a top portion and a bottom portion; and
- a fastening mechanism comprising, at least one clip securely attached to the bottom portion of the planar member, the at least one clip comprising a slot for receiving a portion of the rail therein, and at least one support member comprising a support plate and a securing mechanism, the securing mechanism for abuttingly coupling a first end of the support plate to the rail and enabling a second end of the support plate to support the bottom portion of the planar member.
2. The portable table top of claim 1, wherein the at least one clip further comprises a thumbscrew, the thumbscrew capable of being removably screwed in a threaded hole of the at least one clip, the thumbscrew further capable of being tightened to fix the portion of the rail between an end of the thumbscrew and the bottom portion of the planar member onto the rail.
3. The portable table top of claim 1, wherein the support plate comprises an elongated slot, the elongated slot enabling the securing mechanism to move along the elongated slot to abuttingly couple the first end of the support plate to the rail and enabling the second end of the support plate to support the bottom portion of the planar member.
4. The portable table top of claim 3, wherein the securing mechanism comprises a bolt in a threaded wing nut, the threaded wing nut configured to screw the bolt in the planar member from the bottom portion of the planar member.
5. The portable table top of claim 1, wherein the slot of the at least one clip is a three sided slot.
6. The portable table top of claim 1, further comprising at least one screw for securely attaching the at least one clip to the bottom portion of the planar member.
Type: Application
Filed: Jun 11, 2008
Publication Date: Jan 22, 2009
Inventors: Chester John Noble (Canton, GA), Lawrence Smith (Canton, GA)
Application Number: 12/137,052
International Classification: A47B 13/08 (20060101);