U.S. patent number 3,863,882 [Application Number 05/257,792] was granted by the patent office on 1975-02-04 for self-balancing support.
Invention is credited to Constance Bannister Hatcher.
United States Patent |
3,863,882 |
Hatcher |
February 4, 1975 |
SELF-BALANCING SUPPORT
Abstract
A self-balancing support means particularly adapted for holding
a book, magazine, newspaper, or the like, to which are attached
adjustable and removable bags containing fluent material which may
be adjusted to various positions to balance and hold the support at
various inclinations to the horizontal, movable biased means
provided on the support and releasably engageable with a book,
magazine, newspaper, or the like, so that the pages of the book,
magazine, or the like may be turned. A modification of the support
means provides a configuration thereof better permitting it and the
balancing means to rest on portions of the human body with
facility, and in desirable position for reading the material
supported thereon.
Inventors: |
Hatcher; Constance Bannister
(Syosset, L. I., NY) |
Family
ID: |
22977766 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/257,792 |
Filed: |
May 30, 1972 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
248/453; 248/364;
248/441.1; 248/694; 248/910 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47B
23/00 (20130101); Y10S 248/91 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A47B
23/00 (20060101); A47b 097/04 () |
Field of
Search: |
;248/1,102,105,188.1,364,441,451,453,454,460,463 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Schultz; William H.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Peck & Peck
Claims
I claim:
1. Means for supporting material in position viewable by the user,
including in combination, a body upon which the material rests,
means on said body in engagement with the material for holding it
in viewable position by the user, and at least two balancing and
supporting means connected to the body and movable and adjustable
with respect thereto and with respect to each other and adapted to
support said body in various positions with respect to the surface
upon which it is supported, said at least two balancing means
comprising a fluent material, wherein said balancing and supporting
means comprise flexible casings containing fluent material, said
casings being disposable laterally of said body and being of a
length substantially the same as the length of the side of the body
with respect to which they may be laterally disposed, the casings
being connected to the body along one longitudinal edge whereby the
casings may assume different positions relative to the body.
2. Means for supporting material in position viewable by the user
in accordance with claim 1, wherein said flexible casings are
connected together in spaced apart relation by means of a web.
3. Means for supporting material in position viewable by the user
in accordance with claim 2, wherein said web is removably attached
to the bottom of said body.
4. Means for supporting material in position viewable by the user
in accordance with claim 1, wherein said body is provided with a
concave bottom surface and the outer longitudinal surfaces of said
casings are longitudinally concave.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
It is a well known fact that it is often highly desirable to
provide a support means for a book, magazine, newspaper, or the
like, so that the reader's hands may be free. Such an arrangement
permits the reader of the material mounted on the support means to
use his hands for any purpose and also prevents the hands and arms
from becoming tired. There are many advantages in providing such a
support means, however all such support means of this character of
which I am aware must rest upon a more or less plane surface and
the prior art support means which have been designed for this
purpose make no provision for inclining the said support means at
various angles to the horizontal in order to conform to surfaces of
varying inclinations upon which the support means may rest, and
also to present the book, magazine, newspaper, or the like, in
proper position to make the reading by the user of the support
means easier and more pleasant.
A great many people enjoy reading in bed, or in a reclining
position, and it is a fact that reading in this manner is not
always easy since one's arms become tired, and if the material
which is being read is heavy it is often difficult to hold it in
proper position for reading. It is particularly true that in the
case of invalids the holding of the book may be exceedingly
difficult. I have overcome these disadvantages, and others, by
providing a book support means which is adapted to be supported in
balanced condition in various positions on a portion of the body of
the reclining reader, in most cases the stomach of such reader. I
am unaware of any support which is provided with these
characteristics to facilitate the reading of various types of
material by a person in a reclining position.
In one form of my invention I have so designed and constituted the
support means to facilitate its resting in various positions on the
body of the reclining reader.
It is also within my contemplation, and means have been provided on
my support, to releasably hold the material being read and the
pages thereof in order to facilitate the reading, and such holding
means is easily operated to permit the turning of a page by the
reader.
The various adjustable features and mounting arrangements which are
inherent in this book support means are operable with facility and
are so constructed to lend long life to the book support.
This invention also provides an arrangement whereby the balancing
means may be adjusted to present the support means at the desired
inclination, and then whereupon the balancing means may be
releasably locked in such adjusted position.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A significant purpose of this invention is to provide a
self-balancing support means for holding a book, magazine,
newspaper, or the like in proper position for viewing by the user
of the support means regardless of the shape or configuration of
the surface upon which the support means is mounted.
A further purpose of the invention is to provide a support means to
which is removably attached balancing means which causes said
support means to remain in the proper position for viewing by the
user, regardless of the shape or configuration of the surface upon
which the support means is mounted.
This invention also provides balancing means removably attached to
the support means which is adjustable to cause the support means to
assume any position on the surface on which it is mounted which is
proper for easy viewing by the user of the support means.
The support means of this invention also includes apparatus whereby
the book, magazine, newspaper, or the like may be held and
maintained on the support means in proper position and may be
released with facility by the user of the support to facilitate the
turning of pages of the material being viewed or the release of
said material.
With the foregoing general objects, features and results in view,
as well as certain others which will be apparent from the following
explanation the invention consists in certain novel features in
design, construction, mounting and combination of elements, as will
be more fully and particularly referred to and specified
hereinafter.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a view in perspective of one form of the invention
illustrating the balancing means in one adjusted position.
FIG. 2 is a view in perspective of the balancing means removed from
the support means.
FIG. 3 is a view taken on the line 3--3 of FIG. 2.
FIG. 4 is a view in side elevation of the support means with the
balancing means in one position from among many which it may
assume.
FIG. 5 is a view in side elevation of the support means with the
balancing means adjusted to dispose the support means at a
particular inclination.
FIG. 6 is a view taken on the line 6--6 of FIG. 1.
FIG. 7 is a view in perspective of another form of support means
and another form of balancing means therefor.
FIG. 8 is a view taken on the line 8--8 of FIG. 7.
FIG. 9 is a view in side elevation of a further type of support
means and illustrates another form of mounting the adjustable self
balancing means thereto.
FIG. 10 is a view in front elevation of the support means and the
balancing means of FIG. 9.
FIG. 11 is a view in side elevation of the form of support and
balancing means of FIG. 9, with the balancing means in adjusted
position to hold the support means at an inclination relative to
the horizontal.
FIG. 12 is a detailed view illustrating the adjustable pivotal
connection of the balancing means to the support means.
DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Referring particularly to FIGS. 1-6, I have used the numeral 1 to
designate in its entirety the support means which is adapted and
arranged for holding in viewable and/or readable position a book,
magazine, newspaper, or the like, and I have used the numeral 3 to
designate in its entirety the balancing means for the support means
of this form of the invention.
The support means 1 comprises a body portion which is preferably,
though not necessarily, of rectangular configuration, having end
walls 5 and front and rear walls 7. The support means which is
preferably of hollow construction may, if desired, be provided with
a pair of drawers 9 so that any desirable material may be stored
therein and the rectangular support means is thereby made even more
useful.
Fixed to and upstanding from the rear top surface or edge of the
top 11 of the body is a support backing member 13 preferably,
though not necessarily, of the same length as the longitudinal
dimension of the body 1. It is preferable to provide at the top
edge of the support backing member 13 a carrying handle 15 so that
the support means with its balancing means may be easily portable.
If desired, an illuminating means described generally by the
numeral 17 may be removably clamped as at 19 to the support backing
member 13.
The body of the support means is provided with a pair of
longitudinally spaced transversely extending grooves 21 which are
formed in the top 11 of the body. Each groove 21 is provided with a
bottom 23 which is centrally slotted as a 25', and slidably mounted
in each groove 21 is a member 25 which is provided at its rear end
with an upstanding pressure member 27. The pressure member 27 may
be formed integrally with the slidable member 25, or may be affixed
thereto in any suitable manner. The slidable member 25 is provided
adjacent its forward end with a finger depression 29. Fixed to and
depending from the forward end of each slidable member 25 is a
trolley 31 which extends downwardly through the slot 25' in the
bottom of the groove. A spring 33 is fixed at one end, as at 35, to
the trolley and at the other end is fixed to the support means or
to a projection extending therefrom, as at 37. It will thus be
evident that the slidable member 25, with its upstanding pressure
member 27, is slidable in the groove 21 and is spring biased
rearwardly so that in normal biased position the pressure member 27
is adjacent to but removed from the rear wall of the support means
1. Each pressure member 27 has affixed thereto a leaf retaining
member 39 which extends upwardly beyond the front edge of the
pressure member 27. Hence it will be recognized that the page
retainer 39 is movable with the pressure member 27 and slidable
member as said members slide in the groove.
In the drawings I have illustrated, by means of phantom lines, a
book or the like 41 which is maintained in the following manner in
viewable position for the user of the support means. It is to be
appreciated that the support means has not been designed only for
support and holding books for it may be used with equal facility to
support newspapers, magazines and any sort of material which is
desired to be viewed and/or read by the user. The book, or the like
41 is maintained in upright position against the support backing
member 13 by means of the page retaining members 39 which are urged
against the book 41 by means of the pressure member 27 which is
urged rearwardly under the biasing action of the spring 33. The
page retaining members 39 are, of course, formed of any suitable
and desirable transparent material so that the pages or leaves of
the material which are retained thereby will be visible to the user
of the device.
When the support means is being used to maintain material to be
viewed or read in a proper upright position, as described, and it
is desired to turn a page or release the material, the user of the
device merely has to insert a finger in the finger depression 29
and pull forwardly against the action of the spring 33 so that the
slidable member 25, the pressure member 27 and the page retaining
member 39 will be moved forwardly and the page retaining member 29
removed from pressure contact with the page, so that the page may
be turned, or the material being held may be released from the
support means.
The balancing means 3 which, as will be particularly described
hereinafter, is removably attached to the bottom of the support
means and functions as a self-balancing means for holding the
support means in proper position regardless of the inclination or
configuration of the surface upon which the support means is
mounted.
The self-balancing means 3 comprises a pair of casings designated
generally by the numeral 41. Each casing is preferably of a length
substantially the same as the length of the support means 1 and is
of sufficient width so that it may extend laterally with respect to
the front and rear walls 7 of the support means, the width of the
casings being sufficient so that the desired self-balancing effect
produced by these casings on the support means will result. Each
casing 41 is formed of flexible material which may be any suitable
fabric, plastic or the like and each casing is partially filled
with a fluent material 43, such fluent material may be sand, shot,
or the like. Each casing is closed at one longitudinal edge by
stitching, or the like, as at 45 and the two casings, in this form
of my invention, are connected together by a web 47, the ends 48 of
each casing being closed in any suitable or desirable manner in
order to maintain the fluent material in the casing. A tab 49
extends outwardly from each end of each casing and each such tab
has an aperture 51 therein. The purpose of these tabs will become
apparent as this description proceeds. The web 47 adjacent each
corner thereof is provided with one element 53 of gripper snaps,
the other element of the snap extending from the bottom of the
support means for coaction with the element on the web to removably
attach the web and its associated casings to the support means
1.
Consideration of FIG. 1 of the drawings shows how the
self-balancing means 3 is attached to the support means 1 with is
casings 41 extending laterally with respect to the front and rear
walls of the support means 1. It will further be evident that the
web 47 of the balancing means is removably fixed to the support
means 1 while each casing 41 Radjustable with respect to the web
47, and therefore may assume various positions relative to the
support means in order to produce the desired balancing effect.
In FIG. 4 the positions of the casings 41 are illustrated when the
support means is mounted on a relatively horizontal and plane
surface. It will be understood that in this position each casing 41
is moved upwardly along the front and rear walls 7 of the support
means, and each casing is maintained in this position by inserting
the apertures 51 of the tabs 49 on hooks 55 which are fixed
adjacent to each corner of the front and rear walls of the support
means.
In FIG. 5 of the drawings I have illustrated an adjustment of the
casings 41 in such manner that the support means 1 is tilted
somewhat rearwardly with respect to the horizontal to place the
reading material in a position for better viewing by the user of
the self-balancing support means, and it will be appreciated that
this arrangement may be used if the surface upon which the support
means is mounted is not in a horizontal position. In the disclosure
FIG. 5 it will be seen that one of the casings 41 is folded back
under the support means body 1 while the other casing 41 extends
laterally with respect to the support means and rests upon the
surface upon which the support means is mounted. Thus, with this
arrangement, it will be recognized that the support means is
maintained at an angle to the horizontal and even though it is so
inclined it will not tip over because of the laterally extending
casing.
The disclosure FIG. 5 is presented merely as one example from among
many of the positions which may be assumed by the support means as
a result of adjustment of the casings 41 with the fluent material
43 therein. It is clear that this balancing means is ingenious and
endows the support means with great versatility of mounting and
adjustability to present the viewing material in any position
relative to the user of the support means which the user
desires.
In FIGS. 7 and 8 of the drawings a further form of my invention has
been illustrated, and in the description of this form of the
invention I shall use similar reference numerals to those used in
FIGS. 1-6 for parts which are the same.
This form of my invention has been particularly adapted for use by
one who may be reclining in bed so that the support and balancing
means are mounted on a body portion of the user, or it is equally
effective when used on the lap of a person seated in a chair or the
like. It is to be understood that while this form of the invention
has been particularly adapted for resting on body portions of the
user the form of the invention already described and illustrated in
FIGS. 1-6 may also be used on body portions of the user.
The support means of the form of the invention disclosed in FIGS. 7
and 8 is in most respects similar to that disclosed in FIGS. 1-6
with the significant exception that the bottom 57 of the support
means of the form of such means as is illustrated in FIGS. 7 and 8
is of concave configuration, as is most clearly disclosed in FIG. 8
of the drawings. This concave construction is formed longitudinally
with respect to the body of the support means 1.
The balancing means of this form of my invention has been
designated generally by the numeral 59 and comprises the web 61
from each end of which a casing 63 extends and is fixed thereto.
The casings of this form of my invention are of arcuate
configuration so that the outermost length of each casing is
concaved as at 65. These casings are partially filled with the
aforesaid fluent material.
In FIGS. 9-12 of the drawings a further form of my invention is
illustrated which, in many instances provides a more adaptable and
sure balancing means for the support means. In this form of the
invention I have used the same reference numerals to designate
similar parts which have heretofore been described.
In this form of the invention I have used the reference numeral 65
to illustrate the support backing member and this backing member is
preferably provided at each vertical edge thereof with a channel 67
providing a track for a clipboard or the like 69 which slides
vertically in the track 67 at each side of the support backing
member 65. The clipboard 69 may be slid vertically with respect to
the support backing member 65 and maintained in any vertically
adjusted position by means of the manually operable wing nut 71.
The support backing member is provided with a slot 73 so that a
person may insert his hand therein and carry the entire device
about, and the clipboard 69 is likewise provided with a slot 75 for
the same purpose. The clipboard 69 is provided with any suitable
number of clips 77 for maintaining any desirable, viewable material
thereon.
As in the other forms of my invention, I utilize a pair of casings
79 which contain therein fluent material, so that these casings
will provide a flexible support or balancing means for the support
means. Each fluent material filled casing 79 is attached to the
sides of the body of the support by means of slotted links 81 each
of which is fixed to an end of a casing 79 by means of a pintle or
the like 83, and at its other end each slotted link 81 is pivotally
connected to the body of the support means by means of a screw 85
which is threaded in a boss 86 on the ends of the body, the screw
extends through the slot 87 of the link 81. It will now be
appreciated that each casing 79 may be adjusted relative to the
support means and then maintained in such adjusted position by
tightening the screw 85 so that the link may not pivot on screw 85.
It will also be appreciated that each casing 79 is capable of
limited movement to and from the body of the support means 1. This
is the fact since upon loosening the screw 85 the links may be
moved relative thereto so that the screw may be maintained at any
point in the slot 87 merely upon this adjustment whereupon the
screw is tightened.
FIG. 11 shows one, from among many, of the various adjustments of
the body of the support means 1 which may be made so that the
support means 1 is at some angle with respect to the horizontal,
and this angle may be maintained merely by tightening screw 85.
* * * * *