Book holder support stand

Abstract

The Book Holder Support Stand holds a book receiver which permits a person to read in many positions. The orientation of the book receiver attached to the stand can be adjusted with a single control. The invention is counterbalanced to permit substantial overhang, allowing the book holder to be placed close to furniture that extends down to the floor. It may be rolled around easily and can be carried up and down stairs using one hand.

Description

RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application is a follow-up to the Provisional Patent Application No. 60/300,753 titled Universal Book Holder, filed on Jun. 25, 2001. Since the first 4 pages of that application have become obsolete by U.S. Pat. No. 6,250,599 B1 issued on Jun. 26, 2001, the pages 1 to 4 and the corresponding drawings of the above Provisional Patent Application have been omitted in this patent application and its title has been changed to Book Holder Support Stand.

FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

[0002] Not applicable.

MICROFICHE APPENDIX

[0003] Not applicable.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0004] This invention is a follow-up on Applicant's U.S. Pat. No. 6,250,599 B1, titled “Universal Book Holder”, US Class 248/444.1. It is expected to be used as an accessory with this Universal Book Holder and other book holders still in development.

[0005] Almost all commercial book holders available today are of the easel type used on a table, (Amazon.com), or a platform that can be placed in front of a person sitting up in bed, or a floor stand type such as Levenger, Delray Beach Fla., Howell U.S. Pat. No. 5,351,927, Reed U.S. Pat. No. 3,664,629, Simington U.S. Pat. No. 5,615,856, or LEVO at Bookholder.com. All of these floor stand types require the user to operate several controls, and some of them do not allow users to adjust the position of the book receiver without having to move from their reading position.

[0006] The floor stand types cited above weigh about 25 lbs. and although mounted on casters, they cannot be picked up and moved about easily, certainly not up or down stairs.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0007] A book holder stand is described that permits a user to read from standing, sitting, supine, and sideways facing postures, weighs less than 15 lbs., uses a single clamping control, and allows it to be placed close to the type of chairs, sofas or beds that extend down to the floor. It is balanced for substantial overhang, for users who prefer to read being seated in deep easy chairs.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0008] FIG. 1 is an elevation and partly cross sectional view of an adjustment structure connecting a book receiver to a floor stand according to the invention.

[0009] FIG. 2 shows a partially cross-sectional view of the upper part of the floor stand.

[0010] FIGS. 3A and 3B show plane and elevation views of the lower parts of the floor stand.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0011] The task of positioning the portion of a book holder that supports and secures the book being read correctly, hereinafter called the book receiver, is simplified if it can be rotated about three roughly orthogonal axes independently, meaning that any one rotation will not substantially interfere with the adjustments controlled by the others. The axes of rotation 101, 102, and 103, shown in FIG. 1, extend in parallel with, perpendicularly downward, and transverse to the back portion of a book receiver 1.

[0012] The control system shown in FIG. 1 has been designed to be operated by the user from his/her reading position. It shows a rotation control system allowing about 150 degrees of rotation of the book receiver about the horizontal axis 101, and 200 to 360 degrees about the transverse axis 103, and employs a single clamping member 6 for clamping the two rotations. Rotation about the vertical axis 102 is separate, which is not a disadvantage because this rotation does not affect the height of the center of gravity of the book receiver and thus does not require tight clamping.

[0013] The back member of a book receiver 1 is connected by rivets 2 to the axle shaft 3 and to the torque transmitting member 4. It rotates as an assembly about the transverse axis 103 relative to the intermediate member 5. This design forces the clamping member 6 to participate fully in the rotation of the axle shaft 3 and book receiver 1, prevents it from loosening spontaneously, and generates friction torque at both faces of the intermediate member 5.

[0014] The upper portion of angle rod 9/10 serves as an axle shaft 8, permitting the intermediate member 5 to rotate about the horizontal axis 101. A slot 11 splits this bearing and submits it to the pressure of clamping member 6 described above. The ratio of the clamping torques applied to axle shafts 3 and 8 is controlled by many parameters, such as the diameters of the two axle shafts, the material used for the friction washer 7 and its diameter, the distance between axes 101 and 103, and other factors.

[0015] Rotation about the vertical axis 102 takes place at the point where the lower portion 10 of the angle rod 9/10 connects to a support member 12.

[0016] FIG. 2 shows the upper portion of a book holder floor stand, comprising outlines of a book receiver 20 and an adjustment member 21, which may be the structure detailed in FIG. 1, supported by a floor stand assembly 22. The floor stand includes a post member 25 and base member 30 (FIGS. 3A and B), which in this embodiment includes a set of long feet 31 and a set of short feet 32 (FIG. 3A). The feet of each set are spaced from one another by angles &agr; and &bgr; ranging between 30 to 120 degrees for the long feet 31, and from 90 to 180 degrees for the short feet 32.

[0017] The post 25 is connected to the base member 30 by a screw 40 or by other conventional means, for instance a weld, a flange, or a hanger bolt engaging a pin not shown in the drawings. It extends upward from the center of the base member 30. An extension member 23/24 is shown with its upper portion 24 bent over obliquely to increase the overhang of the book receiver, which is important in situations where the reading stand cannot be brought sufficiently close to the user. Its lower portion 23 is slideably connected to the post 25 to permit adjustment of the elevation of the book receiver 1 relative to the user's line of sight.

[0018] In order to allow rotation of the book receiver about the vertical center line 102 of the post member, the lower portion 23 of the extension member 23/24 may be a telescoping tube or a rod carrying a centering washer 26. In either case the design may include a clamping collet 27, or some other conventional clamping means to lock it in place. A friction member such as the compressed O-ring 28 or a spring member not shown in the drawing, which would generate friction between the lower portion 23 of the extension member and the inner wall of the post member 25, may be provided to prevent the extension member from falling when the clamping means 27 is loosened.

[0019] If the extension member 23/24 (FIG. 3B) is rotated, for instance from position 34 to position 35 shown in dotted outline (FIG. 3B), it has to be balanced by one or several counterweights. A good location of the main counterweight 36 (FIGS. 3A and B) , which minimizes its required and size, is in the area 37 between the two long feet 31 of the base member, extending inward from the dotted line 38 joining the distant ends of these feet. The base member 30 of the support stand may be designed to serve as an additional, smaller, counterweight if required, or such an additional weight 39 may be placed above or below it, for instance as shown in FIG. 3B.

Claims

1. A book holder stand for supporting a book receiver (1), comprising a first axle shaft (3) attached to said book receiver and extending backwards therefrom and having a threaded end, and a connecting member (5) having a first hole extending generally perpendicularly to said book receiver for rotatably supporting said first axle shaft, and having a second hole extending generally in parallel with said book receiver to rotatably support said second axle shaft (8), and said connecting member having a slotted portion extending from said second axle hole to an opposite edge,

and further comprising a clamping member (6) positioned on said threaded end of said first axle shaft for exerting pressure against said slotted portion of said connecting member for clamping said first and second axle shafts.

2. A book holder stand according to claim 1, comprising a stopping member (4) having first and second areas, said first area being attached to said book receiver and said second area being positioned between said connecting member and said clamping member, thereby preventing motion of said clamping member relative to said book receiver when said book receiver is rotated about said first hole.

3. A book holder support stand, said support stand being a floor stand comprising a base member (30) being connected to a first set (31 ) and a second set (32) of foot members, each of said sets having two or more foot members extending from said base member, and the two longest of said foot members of said first set extending further from said base member than any of said foot members of said second set, and said first set forming an angle (&agr;) between 30 and 120 degrees, and said second set forming an angle (&bgr;) between 90 and 180 degrees.

4. A book holder stand according to claim 3, and comprising a post positioned on said base member (30), and further comprising a slideable extension member having a lower part (23) and an upper part (24), and means for clamping said lower part of said extension member to said post, and said upper part extending in a sideways direction, thereby increasing the overhang of said book receiver.

5. A book holder stand according to claim 3, and further comprising a weight (36) being positioned in an area (37) defined by said two longest foot members of said first set and a line (38) connecting their distant ends.

6. A book holder stand according to claim 3, and further comprising a weight (39) attached to said base member (30).