SUPPORTING RACK

Abstract

A supporting rack may include a supporting surface, a base, a side supporting member, a center supporting member and a position adjusting unit. In one embodiment, the side supporting member has two side supporting arms, and an upper end of each side supporting arm is pivotally connected with an upper locking unit on one side of the supporting surface and a lower end thereof is pivotally connected to a corresponding side of the base. More specifically, the lower end of each side supporting arm is also connected to a lower locking unit on the base, which is configured to provide not only a stronger support for the supporting surface, but also lock the lower end of the side supporting arms. Similarly, each side supporting arm can be locked through the upper locking unit at a predetermined position according to the user's preference.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119 (e) to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/506,752, filed on May 16, 2017, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to a supporting rack, and in particular to a supporting rack for electronic devices, the height of which is adjustable according to the user's preference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

With fast development of electronic and multimedia technologies, advanced and sophisticated computer, notebook computer and many other mobile electronic devices have been continuously created and widely used around every corner in our society. Due to the popularization of computers, most people are dependent on computers. Nowadays, people often use a keyboard, mouse and other computer peripheral equipment to provide electrical signals to a computer, enabling the computer to output the content of the electrical signals through a display screen or printer. A display screen is a requisite output device of a computer.

However, in our current computer oriented society, large numbers of people find themselves sitting at a desk or workstation for extended periods of time. This has resulted in a variety of work related injuries and loss of productivity. There have also been numerous studies conducted over the past several years that have identified serious health risks associated with prolonged sitting. These include the risks of high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and obesity as well as back pain and strain. Moreover, sitting shuts down the circulation of the fat-absorbing enzyme lipase, while standing up engages muscles and promotes the distribution of lipase, which prompts the body to process fat and cholesterol, independent of the amount of time spent exercising.

Studies have also shown that alternating between sitting and standing throughout the day helps to reduce the abovementioned health risks, reduces general fatigue and increases productivity. Therefore, there remains a need for an apparatus or device that can be used to adjust the height of the user's computer or laptop to reduce the health risks without removing or redesigning entire office space or workstation.

It is thus an object of the present invention to provide a laptop supporting apparatus which, in large part, remedies the above-described health risks and does so without requiring that an entire desk or workstation be replaced or retrofitted with an elevating device.

It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide a laptop supporting apparatus which is capable of simple attachment to the top of an existing desk or workstation and which can provide a platform that can be quickly and easily be elevated to enable a user to assume a standing position or lowered to assume a sitting position.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one aspect, a supporting rack may include a supporting surface, a base, a side supporting member, a center supporting member, and a position adjusting unit. In one embodiment, the side supporting member has two side supporting arms, and an upper end of each side supporting arm is pivotally connected with an upper locking unit on one side of the supporting surface and a lower end thereof is pivotally connected to a corresponding side of the base. More specifically, the lower end of each side supporting arm is also connected to a lower locking unit on the base, which is configured to provide not only a stronger support for the supporting surface, but also lock the lower end of the side supporting arms. Similarly, each side supporting arm can be locked through the upper locking unit at a predetermined position according to the user's preference.

It is important to note that the upper locking unit and lower locking unit are mechanically engaged with the position adjusting unit, and when the position adjusting unit is pressed, the position adjusting unit is disengaged with both the upper and lower locking units, so the side supporting arms can be freely moved to a determined position according to the user's preference. When the position of the supporting surface is determined, the user can release the position adjusting unit to engage with the upper locking unit and lower locking unit again.

Thus, when in use, the user can adjust the height of the supporting rack by pressing the position adjusting unit, which would unlock the upper end and lower end of the supporting member. For example, when the position adjusting unit is pressed, the user can push down the supporting rack from a higher position to a lower position. When the position is determined, the user can release the position adjusting unit and each side supporting arm can be locked again through the upper locking unit and lower locking unit, respectively.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view of the supporting rack in the present invention.

FIG. 2 illustrates another perspective view of the supporting rack in the present invention.

FIG. 3 illustrates a perspective view of the supporting rack in the present invention when the height of the supporting rack is adjusted.

FIG. 4 illustrates a perspective view of the supporting rack in the present invention when the supporting rack is collapsed to its lowest position.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The detailed description set forth below is intended as a description of the presently exemplary device provided in accordance with aspects of the present invention and is not intended to represent the only forms in which the present invention may be prepared or utilized. It is to be understood, rather, that the same or equivalent functions and components may be accomplished by different embodiments that are also intended to be encompassed within the spirit and scope of the invention.

Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood to one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. Although any methods, devices and materials similar or equivalent to those described can be used in the practice or testing of the invention, the exemplary methods, devices and materials are now described.

All publications mentioned are incorporated by reference for the purpose of describing and disclosing, for example, the designs and methodologies that are described in the publications that might be used in connection with the presently described invention. The publications listed or discussed above, below and throughout the text are provided solely for their disclosure prior to the filing date of the present application. Nothing herein is to be construed as an admission that the inventors are not entitled to antedate such disclosure by virtue of prior invention.

As used in the description herein and throughout the claims that follow, the meaning of “a”, “an”, and “the” includes reference to the plural unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Also, as used in the description herein and throughout the claims that follow, the terms “comprise or comprising”, “include or including”, “have or having”, “contain or containing” and the like are to be understood to be open-ended, i.e., to mean including but not limited to. As used in the description herein and throughout the claims that follow, the meaning of “in” includes “in” and “on” unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

It will be understood that, although the terms first, second, etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another. For example, a first element could be termed a second element, and, similarly, a second element could be termed a first element, without departing from the scope of the embodiments. As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

In order to further understand the goal, characteristics and effect of the present invention, a number of embodiments along with the drawings are illustrated as following:

In one aspect, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, a supporting rack 100 may include a supporting surface 110, a base 120, a side supporting member 130, a center supporting member 140, and a position adjusting unit 150. In one embodiment, the side supporting member 130 has two side supporting arms 131, and an upper end of each side supporting arm 131 is pivotally connected with an upper locking unit 111 on one side of the supporting surface 110 and a lower end thereof is pivotally connected to a corresponding side of the base 120. More specifically, the lower end of each side supporting arm 131 is also connected to a lower locking unit 121 on the base 120, which is configured to provide not only a stronger support for the supporting surface 110, but also lock the lower end of the side supporting arms 131. Similarly, each side supporting arm 131 can be locked through the upper locking unit 111 at a predetermined position according to the user's preference.

It is important to note that the upper locking unit 111 and lower locking unit 121 are mechanically engaged with the position adjusting unit 150, and when the position adjusting unit 150 is pressed, the position adjusting unit 150 is disengaged with both the upper and lower locking units 111 and 121, so the side supporting arms 131 can be freely moved to a determined position according to the user's preference. When the position of the supporting surface 110 is determined, the user can release the position adjusting unit 150 to engage with the upper locking unit 111 and lower locking unit 121 again.

Thus, when in use, the user can adjust the height of the supporting rack 100 by pressing the position adjusting unit 150, which would unlock the upper end and lower end of the supporting member 130. For example, when the position adjusting unit 150 is pressed, the user can push down the supporting rack 100 from a higher position as shown in FIG. 1 to a lower position as shown in FIG. 2. Namely, the height of the supporting rack 100 is determined by the angel between the side supporting arm 131 and the base 120. When the position in FIG. 2 is determined, the user can release the position adjusting unit 150 and each side supporting arm 131 can be locked again through the upper locking unit 111 and lower locking unit 121, respectively. The supporting rack 100 can be further pushed down as shown in FIG. 3 and totally collapsed as shown in FIG. 4.

Having described the invention by the description and illustrations above, it should be understood that these are exemplary of the invention and are not to be considered as limiting. Accordingly, the invention is not to be considered as limited by the foregoing description, but includes any equivalents.

Claims

1. A supporting rack comprising a supporting surface, a base, a side supporting member having two side supporting arms, a center supporting member and a position adjusting unit, wherein an upper end of each side supporting arm is pivotally connected with an upper locking unit on one side of the supporting surface and a lower end thereof is pivotally connected to a corresponding lower locking unit on one side of the base, and a height of the supporting rack is determined by an angel between the side supporting arm and the base.

2. The supporting rack of claim 1, wherein the position adjusting unit is mechanically engaged with the upper and lower locking units and when the position adjusting unit is pressed, the position adjusting unit disengages with the upper and lower locking units so the height of the supporting rack can be adjusted until the user release the position adjusting unit to engage with the upper and lower locking units again.