ADJUSTABLE SCHOOL DESKTOP

Abstract

A school desk is provided. The school desk has a frame and a desktop engaging the frame. The seat member engages the frame also to space the seat away from the desktop. Between the frame and the desktop, on the underside of the desktop, there are a plurality of brackets to allow for the adjustment of the desktop. That is to say, the desktop, when the adjusters are loosened, can be moved closer to the seated pupil or further away from the seated pupil, and the adjusters locked down to hold the desktop in a preselected position with respect to the seated pupil.

Description

This application claims priority from and the benefit of Provisional Patent application 61/313,475 filed Mar. 12, 2010, which application is incorporated by reference herein.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

Desks, namely, school desks, with adjustable desktops.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

School desks need to accommodate various size pupils. Sometimes this involves students of different heights, in which case, vertical adjustment of the desk top with respect to the seat may be provided.

However, it has not been typical for school desks to have adjustability with respect to a horizontal or generally horizontal desktop and an attached seat.

Seat to desktop fore and aft positioning is typically a function of the girth of an individual, not simply their height. However, the girth of an individual may be accommodated in separate seat and desk sets by simply moving the chair back or forth with respect to the desk. However, with integral seat and desktops, the seat is usually at a fixed horizontal spaced-apart distance from the desktop.

Such a fixed distance will generally accommodate most students. However, for those students of exceptional girth, then there may be a need for moving the desktop writing surface spaced away from the seat. Moreover, an unusually tall student may require more room between the seat and the horizontal desktop writing surface to maintain a comfortable position as compared to a shorter student.

Heretofore this has not been provided in integral seat and desk combinations.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide for an integral desk and seat unit wherein the generally horizontal desktop may be adjustably set in a horizontal spaced apart position with respect to a fixed seat.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an integral desk/seat unit, that is, a desk wherein the seat and desktop writing surface are part of the same physical unit that is the same unitary structure. This is as opposed to a chair and seat separate and distinct and not connected one to the other.

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the left side of the desk.

FIG. 3 is a perspective partial view of the seat base assembly with the seat removed.

FIGS. 4, 5, and 6 are various views of the channel bracket of the adjustable attachment assembly; FIG. 4 being a top elevational view; FIG. 5 a cross-sectional view of the channel bracket; FIG. 6 an isometric view.

FIGS. 7a and 7b illustrate an alternate preferred embodiment of a desktop 14 for use with Applicant's desk.

FIG. 8 is a view of a channel bracket designed to engage round stock tubing, wherein the representations set forth in FIGS. 4, 5, and 6 illustrate a channel bracket designed to engage rectangular or square (rectangular) stock tubing.

FIG. 9 is an elevational view of the underside of Applicant's desktop illustrating the desktop support sub-frame and its engagement with the underside of the desktop and the use of an adjustable attachment assembly in conjunction with the desktop support sub-frame and the underside of the desktop.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate desk 10, it being understood that desk 10 is a desk that provides an integral frame 12 for supporting and physically locating a desktop 14 laterally and vertically with respect to a seat member 16. Moreover, the seat member 16 typically comprises a seat back 16a generally tabular and set at a steep angle with respect to a horizontal generally tabular seat bottom 16b. A seat back is typically provided for supporting the back of a seated subject and a seat bottom for supporting the vertical weight of the seated subject. Moreover, as is readily apparent in the drawings, not only is desk 10 an integral frame desktop and seat member unit, but the seat is open to and facing forward toward the writing surface, such that a seated subject will be writing on desktop 14 seated on the same frame that holds the subject and the desktop.

Frame 12 is seen to include a multiplicity of elongated members, typically square or round stock plated steel as is known in the art, which frame functions to support a desktop 14 and a seat member 16 in the manner set forth herein. Preferably, 1-inch square plated mild steel is used for most frame members. Moreover, it is seen that frame 12 provides vertical spacing of seat member 16 and desktop 12 above a horizontal support surface, such as a classroom floor, and further provides longitudinal spacing of the desktop in front of seat member 16. It is seen that seat member 16 may include a hook 19 engageable with the back surface of the back support member, generally near the top thereof. Seat back 16a may be supported by seat back sub-frame 23. A hook 19 may be provided on the back of seat 16, for hanging a backpack (not shown).

Turning now to the frame 12, it is seen to comprise a number of generally vertically or horizontally disposed members, including front vertical legs 18/20. From the position of a subject seated in the seat, front vertical leg 18 is seen to be on the right front side and front vertical leg 20 on the left front side. Likewise, a pair of rear vertical legs are provided, which rear vertical legs help space apart the seat member 16 from the floor and may include a right vertical leg 22 and left vertical leg 24. A basket 25 for books and the like may engage the underside of seat 16 or the frame 12 as seen in FIGS. 1 and 3.

The four vertical legs may be angled, but are generally predominantly in the vertical plane (with respect to the floor) as seen in the Figures. Moreover, front vertical legs and/or rear vertical legs may be provided with cross braces. Here, front vertical legs 18/20 are seen to provide vertical support to and spacing from the desktop 14 above a floor surface and to have a cross brace 26 therebetween to provide some lateral stability.

Support of seat member 16 may be provided by a seat base assembly 28 illustrated here in FIG. 3. Seat base assembly 28 is seen to provide a portion of the frame on which seat member 16 is attached to provide a strong stable location. It is here seen to be comprised of a number of members. Seat base assembly 28 may include a first longitudinal seat base member 30 and a second longitudinal seat base member 34, which are spaced apart and run along a longitudinal (fore and aft) axis of the desk. They may be attached by or engaged with a cross brace 32 to provide rigid lateral spacing and additional support to the weight of the seat and seated occupant.

Additional elements of the frame may include a rear vertical desktop support/right side 36 and longitudinal right side desktop support member 38, the two seen to locate vertically and laterally the desktop 14 with respect to the seat member 16. A second longitudinal front-to-rear side member may be provided to provide further support as seen with respect to element 40 in FIGS. 1 and 2, for example.

Turning now to further elements of frame 12, it is seen that a desktop support sub-frame 42 may be provided for substantially engaging an underside 14a of desktop 14.

Desktop 14 may be rectangular or any other shape as known in the art. Here, a generally rectangular desktop 14 is provided having an underside 14a, a top side 14b, a front edge 14c, a rear edge 14d, and opposite right and left side edges 14e/14f.

Desktop support sub-frame 42 typically includes a pair of longitudinal members best seen with reference to FIG. 9. Longitudinal members include right side longitudinal member 44 and left side longitudinal member 48. Here, a sub-frame cross brace 46 engages the two longitudinal members 44/48 as illustrated. Moreover, it is seen that while a part of the frame (typically desktop support sub-frame 42) may contact the underside of the desk, here, for example, it is seen that longitudinal right side desktop support member 38 may lay flush with the underside 14a, it is seen that the elements of the frame that engage desktop support sub-frame 42 typically do not fixedly locate the desktop with respect to the frame. In Applicant's device, usually the only elements that fixedly and rigidly locate in a selective manner the desktop with respect to the frame are an adjustable attachment assembly 50 as seen in the Figures and as set forth herein.

Adjustable attachment assembly 50 as best seen in FIGS. 2, 4, 5, 6, and 9 is seen to, in a preferred embodiment, include a pair of brackets 52/54, here channel brackets designed to snugly engage the channel stock which may comprise the desktop support sub-frame 42. Moreover, brackets 52/54 are seen to include a pair of legs 52a/52b, having a multiplicity of fastener mounting holes 52c therein. Mounting fastener holes 52c are designed to receive fasteners and to rigidly locate brackets 52/54 to the underside 14a of desktop 14. The brackets also typically have side walls 52d/52e and the top wall 52f and threaded inserts 52g/52h, which are typically molded into the bracket, which may be molded or machined polypropylene or other suitable material. The brackets are positioned as illustrated so that desktop 14 with brackets attached thereto may slide horizontally forward and backward with respect to longitudinal sub-frame members 44/48 as illustrated when the set screws 56/58 are loose. For example, as seen in the illustrations, bracket 52 is engaged to sub-frame longitudinal member 44 and bracket 54 is engaged to longitudinal sub-frame member 48, so that with the brackets attached to the underside and with no other frame to desktop fastening or affixation devices present, the desktop may be positioned generally horizontal with respect to the frame and, more specifically, with respect to desktop support sub-frame 42 as illustrated.

It is readily apparent by viewing the Figures that the end view profile of bracket 52/54 is defined by side walls 52d/52e and top wall 52f. Brackets 52/54 will snugly and slidably engage the square section stock of the longitudinal sub-frame members 44/48 when the brackets are affixed to the underside of the desktop as illustrated. With respect to FIG. 8, the profile of the walls of the brackets are designed to receive round stock tubing.

A thumb screw or knob with threaded stud may be used as illustrated. Such knob set screws 56 are dimensioned to be easily rotated with the hand and may include threaded shaft or studs 56a. Handle 56b may take on a number of shapes, but would be a shape large enough and dimensioned sufficiently to be rotated by hand. Knob 56 may preferably project outwards from bracket 52/54 on a diagonal as seen in FIG. 9.

It is seen with respect to FIG. 9 that knob set screw with threaded stud 56 may be set on a diagonal with respect to a side wall 52d or 52e, and the top wall 52f. Mounting the threaded insert 52g for receiving the knob set screw with threaded studs 56 on the diagonal as illustrated will provide a sufficient force between the desktop and the channel bracket 52/54, such that the channel with the desktop attached “wedges” the sub-frame longitudinal member 44 or 48 tightly against both the opposite side wall and the desktop underside 14a to better stabilize the desktop with respect to support sub-frame 42.

A hex end (or other tool engaging) set screw 58 may be provided with a hex head and thread to match threaded insert 52h. A T-handled hex wrench (not shown) may be used by the teacher or other school personnel to set the screw tightly against longitudinal sub-frame member 44 or 48 as an override to the manual adjustment, which is provided with knob 56. That is to say, knob 56 requires only simple manipulation by the hand, which can be done by the student. However, if the teacher wants to make it more difficult to adjust the desktop, he/she may use the hex end set screw 58 or any other tool manipulated set screw 58 in conjunction with threaded insert 52h, so that even if a student was to manually manipulate knob 56, he/she could not reset the horizontal adjustment of the desktop 14 with respect to frame 12 unless he/she had a tool that could engage set screw 58.

Set screws 56/58 or any of them may be diagonally set (See 56 in FIGS. 5 and 8), or set to vertically (not shown) or set horizontally (see 58 in FIGS. 5 and 8) or any combination thereof. At least one set screw will be used with at least one of the two channels that engage the sub-frame and the underside of the desktop As seen in FIG. 9, a multiplicity of stop pins 60 may be provided to engage underside 14a of the desktop, here to limit fore and aft movement of desktop 14 with respect to frame 12. The stop pins illustrated are intended to provide a range of movement of about 3-6 inches of the desktop on the longitudinal members 44/48 and extend downward from the underside of the desktop.

In FIGS. 7a and 7b, an alternate preferred embodiment of Applicant's desktop 14 is illustrated having a handle 62 and a pair of spaced apart parallel trending stop members 64 in place of stop pin 62 of the embodiment of the desktop illustrated in FIG. 9. Moreover, the embodiment of desktop illustrated in FIGS. 7a and 7b may be made of molded plastic, wood, or other suitable material.

Although the invention has been described with reference to a specific embodiment, this description is not meant to be construed in a limiting sense. On the contrary, various modifications of the disclosed embodiments will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reference to the description of the invention. It is therefore contemplated that the appended claims will cover such modifications, alternatives, and equivalents that fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

Claims

1. A desk, the desk comprising;

a frame;

a generally tabular desktop having a top and bottom surface, the desktop engaging the frame; and

a seat member engaging the frame; wherein the frame includes a desktop support sub-frame having a plurality of sub-frame members; and wherein the desktop support sub-frame engages the desktop through the use of a horizontal adjustable attachment assembly which provides a fore and aft movement of the desktop with respect to the frame.

2. The invention in claim 1, wherein the horizontal adjustable attachment assembly includes at least a first channel member fixedly engaging the bottom surface of the desktop such that the first channel member and bottom surface slidably engage a first of the plurality of sub-frame members.

3. The invention of claim 2 wherein the seat member engages the frame so as to face the desktop; and

wherein the horizontal adjustable attachment assembly is adapted to allow the desktop to move towards and away from the seat member.

4. The invention of claim 3 wherein the first channel member includes a first set screw, engaged therewith, for releaseably engaging the first of the plurality of sub-frame members.

5. The invention of claim 4 wherein the first channel member includes a second set screw, the second set screw for releasably engaging the first of the plurality of sub-frame members.

6. The invention of claim 5 wherein one of the first or the second set screw has a knob and the other of the first or second set screw has a tool engaging head.

7. The invention of claim 6 wherein at least one of the set screws engages the first channel member so as to be diagonal therewith.

8. The invention of claim 7 wherein the first channel member as engaged with the bottom surface of the desktop defines a generally rectangular channel and wherein the first channel member and the desktop slideably engage the first of the plurality of sub-frame members, which sub-frame member is rectangular, with the sub-frame member partially within the rectangular channel.

9. The invention of claim 8 further including a second channel member and wherein the plurality of sub-frame members includes a second sub-frame member, the second channel member fixedly engaged with the bottom surface of the desktop and wherein the desktop and second channel slideably engaged with the second sub-frame member.

10. The invention of claim 9 wherein the second channel member includes a first set screw, engaged therewith, for releaseably engaging the second sub-frame member.

11. The invention of claim 10 wherein the second channel member includes a second set screw, the second set screw for releasably engaging the second sub-frame member.

12. The invention of claim 11 wherein one of the first or the second set screw has a knob and the other of the first or second set screw has a tool engaging head.

13. The invention of claim 12 wherein at least one of the set screws engages the second channel member so as to be diagonal therewith.

14. The invention of claim 13 wherein the e second channel member as engaged with the bottom surface of the desktop defines a rectangular channel and wherein the second channel member and desktop slideably engage the second sub-frame member, which second sub-frame member is rectangular, with the second sub-frame member partially within the rectangular channel.

15. The invention of claim 14, wherein first and second sub-frame members are laterally spaced apart, in a longitudinally and parallel arrangement and wherein the first and second channel members have longitudinal axes coincident with the longitudinal sub-frame members.

16. The invention of claim 15 wherein the desktop is generally rectangular having sidewalls and wherein the first and second sub-frame members lay adjacent to and parallel with the sidewalls of the desktop.

17. The invention of claim 16 wherein the plurality of sub-frame members includes a crossmember, the crossmember for engaging the first and second sub-frame members generally perpendicular thereto.

18. The invention of claim 17 wherein the channels comprise molded plastic with steel inserts for threadably engaging the first and second set screws.

19. The invention of claim 18 wherein the tool engaging set screw includes a hex tool receiving head.

20. The invention of claim 19 further including stop pins for engaging the bottom surface of the desktop to limit the fore and aft movement thereof.