Tabletop Protective Shield

Abstract

A tabletop protective shield is provided that includes clear panels connected using clear flexible joints therebetween.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/109,090 filed on Nov. 3, 2020, the entire contents of which is incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The following relates to protective shields for health and safety applications, in particular to a tabletop protective shield, e.g., for use in a classroom setting.

BACKGROUND

With recent widespread outbreaks of disease or other conditions stemming from viruses, bacteria, or other pathogens, there is an increased desire to provide barriers between humans to avoid the spread of disease. These barriers can include articles of personal protective equipment (PPE) or physical barriers to limit the airborne spread of a pathogen, particularly when so-called “physical distancing” is difficult or cannot be maintained. There is an increasing concern with minimizing contact, particularly in public places where pathogens can spread between humans causing the spread of infections and the like.

Schools, offices and other places where potentially large numbers of people are required to be in proximity to each other may rely on the use of both physical separation (e.g., to maintain physical distancing) and physical barriers to protect a work area for each person.

A concern with physical barriers is that there could be a reduction in visibility and impediment to the ability to interact with co-workers, other students, or other people in the same environment, even when next to each other. Moreover, since different environments often use different tables, desks, and workstations, custom barriers may be required or at least barriers with some flexibility to accommodate different configurations.

SUMMARY

A tabletop protective shield is provided that includes clear panels connected using clear flexible joints therebetween. The protective shield can therefore be configured to place the panels at various angles relative to each other and thus adopt multiple configurations to suit different tabletop surfaces while having a minimum of visual obstructions due to the clear material used in both the panels and joints.

The protective shield can also include a set of carrying passages (also referred to herein as “hand holes”) near the upper edge of each panel that align with each other when the panels are folded, to provide transportability to the shield. Moreover, the side panels of the shield can be contoured to provide cut outs or passageways for reaching around and beyond the side walls of the shield. The protective shield is also supported by a set of mounting clips that can be attached to the panels and include lower surfaces to be temporarily or semi-permanently engage the tabletop surface.

The protective shield can therefore maintain a physical barrier while allowing visual interaction, i.e., to avoid the need to lean over or around the barrier to see and be seen, or to hear and be heard; as well as some physical interaction, i.e., via the cut outs. That is, the protective shield acts to contain the student, employee, or other user and the throw of their breath without limiting their ability to communicate, allowing social interaction with others in the same environment. These advantages can be particularly important for students in a classroom setting.

In one aspect, there is provided a protective shield, comprising a transparent front panel; a pair of transparent side panels; first and second clear flexible joints, each joint attaching one edge of the front panel to an edge of one of the side panels and including a flexible portion to permit the side panels to be rotated relative to the front panel to configure the protective shield; and a plurality of mounting clips, each mounting clip configured to support a respective one of the panels and to provide a downwardly facing surface to engage an upper surface on which the protective shield is placed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments will now be described with reference to the appended drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a tabletop protective shield placed on a tabletop.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a tabletop protective shield in isolation.

FIG. 3 is a side view of the tabletop protective shield in a folded configuration.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged partial perspective view of a portion of a transparent hinge between panels of the tabletop protective shield.

FIG. 5 in an enlarged perspective view of a mounting clip.

FIG. 6 is a front elevation view of the tabletop protective shield.

FIG. 7 is a side elevation view of the tabletop protective shield.

FIG. 8 is a plan view of the tabletop protective shield.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Turning now to the figures, FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate a tabletop protective shield 10 positioned atop a desk 12 having an upper tabletop-like surface 14, which may also be referred to as a “desktop” or “tabletop”. It can be appreciated that while examples provided herein may refer to desks and tables in a classroom setting, the protective shield 10 can be used with any surface in any environment where a transparent physical barrier is desired, for example, offices, retail locations, restaurants, or at home to name a few.

It can be appreciated from the view in FIG. 1 that a user (e.g., student, office worker, etc.) can sit at the desk 12 or a table, seated at a chair (not shown) and use the surface 14 in the normal fashion while benefiting from the protective barrier around them. As known in the art, a number of desks 12 can be arranged together to form a table allowing multiple users to face each other and interact with one another. In such a configuration the protective shield 10 provides multiple directions of protection because each user has their own shield on their own desk 12, protecting the user 16 in three directions. Users 16 across from each other and beside each other have dual layers of protection. For example, each zone of the table provides a first layer from the user's shield 10 and a second layer provided by their neighbor's shield 10. The panels of the protective shield 10 can also be sized to extend to different extents to provide additional protection between adjacent users.

Referring now to FIG. 2, further detail of the protective shield 10 will now be provided. The shield 10 includes a central front facing panel 18 (also referred to herein as the “front panel” 18) and a pair of side panels 16a, 16b, each attached to the front panel 18 along one edge via transparent, translucent or otherwise “clear” flexible joints 22a, 22b. In the example shown, a left side panel 16a is connected to the front panel 18a using a first joint 22a and a right side panel 16b is connected to the front panel 18 using a second joint 22b. The clear flexible joints 22a, 22b in this example extend along the entire edge of adjacent panels 16a/18, 16b/18 to provide flexibility while at the same time providing a protective barrier between an interior zone defined by the surrounding panels 16a, 18, 16b and an exterior zone on the other side of such panels 16a, 18, 16b. In this example, the side panels 16a, 16b, can include rounded corners along the distal edges, although other profiles are possible. The shield 10 is supported atop the surface via a set of mounting clips 26, discussed further below.

Near the upper edges of the panels 16a, 18, 16b are a set of carrying passages 20 or “hand holes”. In this example, a first carrying passage 20a is provided in the left side panel 16a, a second carrying passage 20b is provided in the front panel 18, and a third carrying passage 20c is provided in the right side panel 16b. As shown in FIG. 3, when the panels 16a, 16b are folded towards each other and against the front panel 18, the carrying passages 20a, 20b, and 20c are aligned with each other to provide a single passage 20a/20b/20c to conveniently pick up and carry the shield 10.

The side panels 16a, 16b are also contoured at the lower distal end thereof to provide “cut outs” 24a and 24b respectively. The cut outs 24a, 24b provide a passage for accommodating a user's elbows or hands and permits passing items between adjacent shields 10, e.g., in a classroom environment.

An enlarged view of a clear flexible joint 22b is shown in FIG. 4. It can be appreciated that the principles discussed here equally apply to the other clear flexible joint 22a. The clear joint 22b includes a first attachment portion 30 that connects or otherwise attaches to the front panel 18 and a second attachment portion 32 that connects or otherwise attaches to the right side panel 16b. The attachment portions 30, 32 are flexibly attached to a central portion 34 to provide a hinge mechanism to permit the shield 10 to be folded in the manner shown in FIG. 3. As illustrated in this enlarged view, the portions 30, 32, 34 of the flexible joint 22b are “clear”, i.e., transparent, translucent, etc. to inhibit the joint 22b from becoming an obstruction. In this way, the flexibility and foldability are provided without overly compromising the visibility through the shield 10 even when viewing through the corner portions thereof.

Referring now to FIG. 5, the panels 16a, 16b, 18, are supported vertically and engaged with the surface 14 using a set of mounting clips 26. In the example shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a set of three mounting clips 26 is used, one on each panel 16a, 18, 16b, however, any plurality of clips 26 could be used. Similarly, a plurality of clips 26 could be used with each panel 16a, 16b, 18. Each mounting clip 26 acts as a “foot” or “shoe” to provide stability as well as mounting capabilities for the protective shield 10 to either temporarily or semi-permanently engage the surface 14 on which it is supported. In this example, the clip 26 includes a base 40 from which a pair of spaced walls 42, 44 extend forming a gap 46. The walls 42, 44 have enough resiliency to permit the thickness of the panels 16a, 16b, 18 to slide into the gap 46 of the clip 26 as illustrated in FIG. 2.

It can be appreciated that the flexibility of the joints 22a, 22b, and the securability of the mounting clips 26 allows the side panels 16a, 16b to be relatively closer or wider apart to accommodate different surfaces 14 or desk/table/countertop configurations.

Moreover, it can be appreciated that the front and side panels 18, 16a, 16b, can also include different sizes and proportions from that shown in these examples to provide further flexibility and configurations.

Referring to FIGS. 6, 7, and 8, example non-limiting but suitable dimensions are shown to illustrate one size and configuration for the shield 10. It can be appreciated that these dimensions are proportions are illustrative only.

For simplicity and clarity of illustration, where considered appropriate, reference numerals may be repeated among the figures to indicate corresponding or analogous elements. In addition, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the examples described herein. However, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that the examples described herein may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known methods, procedures and components have not been described in detail so as not to obscure the examples described herein. Also, the description is not to be considered as limiting the scope of the examples described herein.

It will be appreciated that the examples and corresponding diagrams used herein are for illustrative purposes only. Different configurations and terminology can be used without departing from the principles expressed herein. For instance, components and modules can be added, deleted, modified, or arranged with differing connections without departing from these principles.

Although the above principles have been described with reference to certain specific examples, various modifications thereof will be apparent to those skilled in the art as outlined in the appended claims.

Claims

1. A protective shield, comprising:

a transparent front panel;

a pair of transparent side panels;

first and second clear flexible joints, each joint attaching one edge of the front panel to an edge of one of the side panels and including a flexible portion to permit the side panels to be rotated relative to the front panel to configure the protective shield; and

a plurality of mounting clips, each mounting clip configured to support a respective one of the panels and to provide a downwardly facing surface to engage an upper surface on which the protective shield is placed.

2. The protective shield of claim 1, wherein the clear flexible joints each comprise a pair of rigid strips affixed to the adjacent panels and a central flexible strip attached to the rigid strips to provide flexibility.

3. The protective shield of claim 1, wherein the clear flexible joints are affixed along the entire length of the edges of the panels to which they are attached.

4. The protective shield of claim 1, wherein each mounting clip comprises a pair of upstanding walls defining a slot into which a panel is inserted and a base comprising the downwardly facing surface.

5. The protective shield of claim 1, wherein each mounting clip comprises an attachment layer on the underside of the base to work with the upper surface to create a bond.

6. The protective shield of claim 5, wherein the attachment layer comprises a releasable and reusable adhesive.