COMPACT LAP DESK
A compact lap desk for space-saving storage and convenient portability. The compact lap desk includes a frame structure comprising a folding leg that is mechanically attached to a main tray, wherein the folding leg is configured such that it can be extended away from the main tray to form an inclined working platform adapted for receiving a laptop computer or other suitable articles. The compact lap desk includes an expandable fabric body that is substantially disposed over and attached to the frame structure, wherein the expandable fabric body is equipped with a retention mechanism to retain and conceal an expanding section of fabric material, when closed. When the retention mechanism is opened, the expanding section of fabric material is released and accommodates the mechanical extension of the folding leg away from the main tray to form an inclined working platform for the compact lap desk.
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The present invention relates generally to compact lap desks. In particular, the present invention relates to compact lap desks that can be used in the opened configuration to support various articles including, but not limited to, laptop computers, tablet computers, e-book readers, and the like. When the compact lap desk is not in use, it can be collapsed into a closed configuration that is substantially planar for compact storage and portability.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONA compact lap desk in accordance with the present invention includes at least one substantially planar main tray that is hingeably attached to at least one substantially planar extendable folding leg. In the closed configuration, the interior surface of the extendable folding leg faces and nests against the interior surface of the main tray, forming a compact and substantially planar frame structure. The extendable folding leg is hingeably attached to the substantially planar main tray so that the folding leg may be extended away from the main tray into an opened configuration for use as an inclined working platform.
A compact lap desk in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention includes a fabric body that is substantially disposed over the main tray and extendable folding leg. The main tray and the folding leg are hingeably attached along their length. In one embodiment, the main tray includes parallel slots that are adjacent to the breadths of the main tray. The fabric body may include sleeves on the interior surface that are aligned with the parallel slots of the main tray, wherein the sleeves may be inserted through the slots and adhesively attached and/or mechanically fastened to the main tray. In some embodiments, and as referred to throughout the specification, the sleeves may be sewn sleeves. A fabric body in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention includes a zipper member that is parallel to the hinge connecting the main tray to the extendable folding leg, wherein unzipping the zipper of the fabric body unfolds an expanding section of fabric material to accommodate the extension of the folding leg into an opened configuration. In some embodiments, the zipper member is concealed from plain view and may be accessed by lifting a pull-tab that is attached to the zipper member. In an embodiment, the fabric body is disposed over the frame structure, wherein the lengths of the frame structure are substantially covered, while leaving the breadths of the frame structure substantially uncovered and accessible for manual extension of the folding leg.
Further features and advantages of the invention, as well as the structure and operation of various embodiments of the invention, are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. It is noted that the invention is not limited to the specific embodiments described herein. Such embodiments are presented herein for illustrative purposes only. Additional embodiments will be apparent to persons skilled in the relevant art(s) based on the teachings contained herein.
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated herein and form part of the specification, illustrate the present invention and, together with the description, further serve to explain the principles of the invention and to enable a person skilled in the relevant art(s) to make and use the invention.
As shown in
The fabric body 200 may include a retention mechanism 210 (shown in
As shown in
In one embodiment, the main tray 112 may include parallel slots 113 that are adjacent to the breadths of the main tray 112. The fabric body 200 may include sewn sleeves (not shown) on the interior surface 124 that are aligned with the parallel slots 113 of the main tray 112, such that the sewn sleeves (not shown) may be inserted through the slots 113 and adhesively attached and/or mechanically fastened to the main tray 112. To mechanically fasten the fabric body 200 to the main tray 112, the sewn sleeves (not shown) can be inserted into the parallel slots 113 prior to insertion of the fastening mechanisms 119 through the sewn sleeves (not shown). The fastening mechanisms 119 can be any suitable fastening mechanism such as fabric-retaining rods, dowels, bars, and the like.
Like the previously described embodiments,
In an embodiment of the present invention, the frame structure 110 of the compact lap desk 100 may be configured to include a main tray 112 that is mechanically attached to an extendable folding leg 114 with a hinge 118 and two torsion springs 117. The main tray 112 may be configured to include two parallel slots 113 adjacent to the breadths of the main tray 112 suitable for receiving the two sewn sleeves 202 protruding from the interior surface 124 of the fabric body 200. The fabric body 200 includes a concealed zipper strip 210, a pull-tab 212, a ribbed elastic band 214 and an expanding section of fabric material 220. The sewn sleeves 202 of the fabric body 200 are aligned with and inserted through the parallel slots 113 of the main tray 112. Fabric-retaining rods 119 are used to mechanically secure the fabric body 200 to the main tray 112. When closed, the concealed zipper strip 210 retains and conceals the expanding section of fabric material 220. The ribbed elastic band 214 connects the zipper strip 210 situated at the bottom surface 122 of the compact lap desk 100 to the top surface 120 of compact lap desk 100. The zipper strip 210 may be opened to release the expanding section of fabric material 220 by pulling or lifting the pull-tab 212 to reveal the zipper strip 210. When the zipper strip 210 is unzipped, the released expanding section of fabric material 220 provides sufficient room for the torsion springs 117 to mechanically extend the folding leg 114 away from the bottom surface 132 of the main tray 112 to form an inclined working platform that is suitable for use as a compact lap desk 100. The torsion springs 117 hold the folding leg 114 in the opened configuration and apply a tensile force on the fabric body 200 to form a substantially planar fabric base 204 suitable for resting on various surfaces. To collapse the opened compact lap desk 100 into the closed configuration, the folding leg 114 can be folded toward and nested against the bottom surface 132 of the main tray 112, and the zipper strip 210 can be zipped closed to retain and conceal the expanding section of fabric material 220.
While various embodiments of the present invention have been described above, it should be understood that they have been presented by way of example only, and not limitation. It will be understood by those skilled in the relevant art(s) that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims. Accordingly, the breadth and scope of the present invention should not be limited by any of the above-described exemplary embodiments, but should be defined only in accordance with the following claims and their equivalents.
Claims
1. A compact lap desk, comprising:
- a frame structure comprising a main tray and a folding leg; and
- a fabric body substantially disposed over and attached to the frame structure, wherein the top surface of the main tray is substantially planar, and wherein the frame structure is configured to allow the folding leg to extend away from the main tray such that the frame structure forms an inclined platform.
2. The compact lap desk of claim 1, wherein the fabric body further comprises:
- at least one retention mechanism; and
- at least one expanding section of fabric material, wherein the at least one retention mechanism is configured to release the at least one expanding section of fabric material, and wherein the released at least one expanding section of fabric material is configured to allow the extension of the folding leg away from the main tray such that the frame structure forms an inclined platform.
3. The compact lap desk of claim 2, wherein the frame structure further comprises:
- at least one torsion spring, wherein the at least one torsion spring is configured to extend the folding leg away from the main tray such that the frame structure forms an inclined platform.
4. The compact lap desk of claim 3, further comprising:
- at least one parallel slot positioned adjacent to the edges of the main tray; and
- at least one fastening mechanism, wherein the at least one parallel slot is configured to receive the at least one fastening mechanism.
5. The compact lap desk of claim 4, wherein the fabric body further comprises:
- at least one sleeve protruding from the interior surface of the fabric body, wherein the at least one sleeve is aligned with the at least one parallel slot, wherein the at least one sleeve is inserted through the at least one parallel slot, and wherein the fabric body is fastened to the main tray by at least one fastening mechanism inserted through the at least one sleeve.
6. The compact lap desk of claim 1, wherein the fabric body comprises at least one of a synthetic rubber, mesh fabric, perforated foam, mesh fabric laminated to a perforated form, woven fabric, and synthetic fabric.
7. The compact lap desk of claim 1, wherein the fabric body comprise of neoprene.
8. The compact lap desk of claim 1, wherein the main tray comprises at least one of plastic, metal, and laminated plastic.
9. The compact lap desk of claim 2, wherein the at least one retention mechanism is a zipper.
10. The compact lap desk of claim 2, wherein the at least one expanding section of fabric material comprises at least one of a woven fabric, stretch fabric, mesh fabric, and synthetic fabric.
11. A compact lap desk, comprising:
- a frame structure comprising a main tray and a folding leg;
- a hinge attachment; and
- a fabric body substantially disposed over and attached to the frame structure, wherein the main tray and the folding leg are connected by the hinge attachment.
12. The compact lap desk of claim 11, wherein the frame structure is configured to allow the folding leg to extend away from the main tray such that the frame structure forms an opened configuration, and wherein the opened configuration is substantially an inclined platform.
13. The compact lap desk of claim 11, wherein the frame structure is configured to allow the folding leg to rest against the main tray such that the frame structure forms a closed configuration, and wherein the closed configuration is substantially planar.
14. The compact lap desk of claim 12, the fabric body further comprising:
- at least one retention mechanism; and
- at least one expanding section of fabric material, wherein the folding leg is configured to fold toward the main tray such that the frame structure forms a closed configuration, wherein the at least one retention mechanism is configured to allow the fabric body to retain the at least one expanding section of fabric material, and wherein the closed configuration is substantially planar.
15. The compact lap desk of claim 13, the fabric body further comprising:
- at least one retention mechanism; and
- at least one expanding section of fabric material, wherein the at least one retention mechanism is configured to release the at least one expanding section of fabric material, wherein the at least one released expanding section of fabric material is configured to allow the extension of the folding leg away from the main tray such that the frame structure forms an opened configuration, and wherein the opened configuration is substantially an inclined platform.
16. The compact lap desk of claim 11, further comprising:
- at least one torsion spring, wherein the at least one torsion spring is configured to extend the folding leg away from the main tray to form an opened configuration, and wherein the opened configuration is substantially an inclined platform.
17. The compact lap desk of claim 16, further comprising:
- at least one parallel slot positioned adjacent to the edges of the main tray; and
- at least one fastening mechanism, wherein the at least one parallel slot is configured to receive the at least one fastening mechanism.
18. The compact lap desk of claim 17, further comprising:
- at least one sleeve protruding from the interior surface of the fabric body, wherein the at least one sleeve is aligned with the at least one parallel slot, wherein the at least one sleeve is inserted through the at least one parallel slot, and wherein the fabric body is fastened to the main tray by the at least one fastening mechanism inserted through the at least one sleeve.
19. The compact lap desk of claim 11, wherein the fabric body comprises at least one of a synthetic rubber, mesh fabric, perforated foam, mesh fabric laminated to a perforated foam, woven fabric, and synthetic fabric.
20. The compact lap desk of claim 11, wherein the fabric body comprise of neoprene.
21. The compact lap desk of claim 11, wherein the main tray comprises at least one of plastic, metal, and laminated plastic.
22. The compact lap desk of claim 14, wherein the at least one retention mechanism is a zipper.
23. The compact lap desk of claim 15, wherein the at least one retention mechanism is a zipper.
24. The compact lap desk of claim 14, wherein the at least one expanding section of fabric material comprises at least one of a woven fabric, stretch fabric, mesh fabric, and synthetic fabric.
25. The compact lap desk of claim 15, wherein the at least one expanding section of fabric material comprises at least one of a woven fabric, stretch fabric, mesh fabric, and synthetic fabric.
Type: Application
Filed: Jan 27, 2012
Publication Date: Aug 1, 2013
Applicant: TARGUS GROUP INTERNATIONAL, INC. (Anaheim, CA)
Inventors: Dustin Bullock (Long Beach, CA), Cesar Viramontes-Trujillo (Santa Barbara, CA), Daniel Ballou (Long Beach, CA)
Application Number: 13/360,278