Book Hammock

Abstract

The Book Hammock is a fabric shelf installed onto student chairs using a nylon cord that allows for the storage of books and supplies under the seat of the chair. The Book Hammock's angled design with fashioned sides and a back help to prevent the supplies from falling off the shelf. The use of flexible materials and nylon cord allow the user to stack and unstuck chairs for storage and mobility without having to remove the Book Hammocks.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

Not Applicable

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable

REFERENCE TO SEQUENCE LISTING

Not Applicable

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This Utility Patent Application is preceded by a Provisional patent application No. 61/274,550 with a filing date of Aug. 19, 2009 showing this inventor's initial submission for the design of The Book Hammock. The Book Hammock is designed for use on student chairs primarily in the classroom setting. Modern teachers know that students learn best in cooperative learning groups and as such need to be able to set up their classrooms with flexible seating arrangements, not the rows of desks of the past. As the students in these effective learning environments now need to sit in chairs and not in a more conventional desks, teachers struggle with where they should put their books during class. If the books are placed on the table they take up functional space and offer a distraction to the students. The floor however is not a viable option as the student's belongings get dirty and stepped on. While you can purchase chairs with wire racks under the chair, most school systems don't have the money for such a purchase and chairs with wire racks are not stackable so become cumbersome to move and store.

BRIEF SUMMARY

The Book Hammock is made of durable flexible materials that can be installed easily by the end-user on their own chairs, at the height the user desires and the material easily slips up and down the legs of the chairs as the stairs are stacked, and slips back down as the chairs are un-stacked. As such, the Book Hammock offers a low cost alternative to what is currently available, are easily installed by the user on their existing student chairs and allow for stacking and storage of the chairs with the Book Hammocks intact.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1: Shows a flat representation of the basic Book Hammock pattern with sides labeled 1, 2, 3 and 4 being the sides where channels are sewn to hold the nylon cord and sides A1 and A2 and sides B1 and B2 are seamed to create the sides and back of the hammock.

FIG. 2: Shows a top view of the completed Book Hammock with the nylon cord run through the channels, the ends exiting a back corner, and as it is ready to install on a chair.

FIG. 3: Shows a side view of the completed Book Hammock installed on a chair showing the cord around the chair legs and the ends appropriately hidden within the cord channels.

FIG. 4: Shows a set of three chairs being stacked. The bottom chair with the book hammock in its usable position, the chair on top of the bottom one showing the chair in the final stacked position with the book hammock completely slid up the legs and the top chair showing a chair about mid-way through the stacking process with the book hammock in the process of being slid up the legs of the chair automatically as the chairs are stacked.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The Book Hammock is made from durable, washable, tear resistant and flexible material with a 3-strand, 100% Polyester Flag fabric or suitable canvas being found in the prototypes to be the most desirable. The book hammock is designed to be used on chairs where the legs are set at an angle to the seat; that is, they are not 90° to the floor.

A sewing machine, preferably commercial machine, is used to edge the material as necessary to prevent fraying and to create the seams and channels necessary to form the hammock. A nylon cord is used to hold the book hammock to the chair and allows the chairs to be stacked and un-stacked by the user by allowing the hammock to easily slide up and down the legs of the chair.

After the material is cut from the pattern all edges are overcast or turned in approximately one-quarter inch and sewn to prevent fraying. Next, the long edges 1, 2, 3 and 4 as shown on FIG. 1 are turned and sewn creating a channel large enough to permit the nylon cord to easily slide through. Next, edges A1 and A2 and edges B1 and B2, as shown on FIG. 1, are joined and sewn together creating a seam and stopping before it gets to the cord channel allowing for space for the chair leg.

A nylon cord of sufficient length to run through all four of the hammock's side channels and with sufficient extra length to knot or install a locking slide, is run through the channel and exits through with both ends left exposed at one of the back corners until installed on the chair (see FIG. 2). An approximately one-eighth inch braided nylon cord was found in prototypes to be optimal in that it does not stretch, fraying is easily controlled, it is durable and it provides optimal slippage when stacking and un-stacking the chairs.

The Book Hammock is installed by putting the legs of the chair through the cord in each corner of the hammock, sliding the hammock up to the desired height; tightening the cord; securing it with a knot or with a locking slide and then tucking the extra cord into the hammock's cord channel and sliding the cord around the chair to hide the knot/fastener if desired (see FIG. 3)

When chairs are stacked, the book hammock slides up the chair legs. (See FIG. 4 that shows a set of three chairs being stacked. The bottom chair with the book hammock in its usable position, the chair on top of the bottom one showing the chair in the final stacked position with the book hammock completely slid up the legs and the top chair showing a chair about mid-way through the stacking process with the book hammock in the process of being slid up the legs of the chair automatically as the chairs are stacked.) When the chairs are ready to use again, the hammock will slide back down until it stops at its installed position.

Claims

1. A book and supply storage shelf consisting of a flexible book shelf made of durable, washable, tear resistent and flexible material suspended from a chair's legs by a rope so as to allow mobility of the shelf and allow for the stacking of chairs without removing the shelf.

2. A shelf design consisting of

(A) a shelf made at a 30° angle to the floor, an angle of 30° found to be optimal in prototypes to hold books and supplies and

(B) this angle of 30° in the pattern creates sides and a back to the hammock that helps to prevent books and supplies from sliding out of the hammock even when students using the Book Hammock moderately kick their feet up under the shelf or tip back in their chair.

3. A flexible book shelf consisting of a shelf unit made of durable, washable, tear resistant and flexible material with flag fabric or durable canvas found in prototypes to be the most desirable.

4. A rope suspension design consisting of an approximately one-eighth braided nylon cord which is long lasting, will not stretch, provides for easy control of fraying and was found to the be the best in prototypes allowing for the best sliding ability when chairs are stacked and un-stacked; that is of sufficient length to run through all four of the hammock's side channels and with sufficient length to knot or install a locking slide and

(A) that allows for stacking of multiple chairs because the rope material allows the hammock to slide up the legs of the chair and for the book hammock shelf to slide back down to a usable position when the chairs are un-stacked and

(B) that allows for the hammock shelf to be adjusted to the desired height of the user and to be readjusted whenever desired.