Abstract:
The canopy has a generally dome-shaped cover which, in use opens downwardly. The canopy is used in conjunction with a clamp for attaching the canopy to a table such that access to any objects on the table top cannot be gained without detaching the canopy from the table top. The canopy prevents unwanted handling of dishes and cutlery during pre-meal set up as well as unwanted handling of food and any other items on the table before a meal is ready to be served.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    This invention relates to canopies and more particularly to a canopy for covering a table such as a dining-room table to prevent unwanted handling of dishes and cutlery during pre-meal set up as well as unwanted handling of food and any other items on the table before a meal is ready to be served. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    A problem that is often encountered in an institution where meals are served to residents in a common dining room is that the residents interfere with the staff as they are setting the tables. In a nursing home or a boarding school, for example, residents may enter a dining room before a meal is ready to be served and touch the dishes and cutlery and on occasions, help them-selves to any food on the tables. 
         [0003]    Such unwanted entry is not only distracting to the staff but may slow down the setting of the tables. The staff may have to spend extra time removing dishes and cutlery that have been touched and removing half-eaten food from the tables and replacing it with untouched food. 
         [0004]    I have invented a canopy that can be placed over a table after it is set. The canopy can be easily attached to the table in a way that intruders, particularly residents in a nursing home whose manual dexterity may be impaired, find difficult to detach. More dextrous intruders such as students may be deterred from detaching the canopy by the possibility that they will be spotted by the staff as they are doing so. 
         [0005]    While the canopy is attached, dishes, cutlery and food on the table cannot be handled and when a meal is ready to be served, the canopy can be easily removed by the staff. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0006]    Briefly, the canopy of my invention comprises a generally dome-shaped cover which, in use opens downwardly. The canopy is used in conjunction with a clamp or securing means for removably attaching the canopy to a table such that access to any objects on the table top over which the cover lies cannot be gained without detaching the canopy from the table. 
     
    
     
       DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0007]    The canopy of the invention is described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: 
           [0008]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a first embodiment of the canopy in conjunction with a table; 
           [0009]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of a second embodiment of the canopy composed of two interconnecting segments; 
           [0010]      FIGS. 3 and 4  are perspective views of third and fourth embodiments of the canopy; 
           [0011]      FIG. 5  is a perspective view of a clamp for securing the canopy to a table; 
           [0012]      FIG. 6  is a perspective view of a second embodiment of the clamp; 
           [0013]      FIG. 7  is a perspective view of the second embodiment of the clamp showing a portion of the interior of the clamp; and 
           [0014]      FIG. 8  is an elevation of a portion of the canopy, table top and clamp. 
       
    
    
       [0015]    Like reference characters refer to like parts throughout the description of the drawings. 
       DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0016]    With reference to  FIG. 1 , the canopy of the invention, generally  10 , is shown in conjunction with a conventional table, generally  12 . The table has a rectangular table top  14  having oppositely facing upper and lower surfaces  14   a,b  respectively and four side walls  16 . The table is set with plates and condiments. 
         [0017]    The canopy has a dome or cover  30 , four outer edges  32 , a pair of front and back walls  34  and an outer rectangular frame  36 . The dimension of the frame correspond with that of the table so that frame contacts the four margins of the table when the canopy is placed on the table. The dome commences at its outer edges  32   a,b  on opposite sides of the dome, curves upward from the edges and terminates at a central area, generally  40 . 
         [0018]    Front and back walls  34  are disposed vertically. Their lower edges  34   a  are straight and are connected to frame  36  while their upper edges  34   b  follow the curvature of the dome and support the margins of the dome adjacent to its outer edges. The canopy accordingly completely covers the upper surface of the table while the central area of the dome is sufficiently high that it will be above the level of food, glasses, pitchers and utensils normally found on a dining-room table. 
         [0019]    With reference to  FIG. 2 , the canopy is composed of two sections  50   a,b  each being identical to canopy  10  except that the frames  52   a,b  are each U-shaped. The two sections can be butted against each other to form one complete canopy. Such a canopy is suitable for covering a table which is longer than it is wide. 
         [0020]    With reference to  FIG. 3 , the canopy is composed of four segments  60   a,b,c  and  d . Each segment commences at an outer edge  62  and slopes upward toward and terminates at a central apex  64 . The outer edges of the segments define the margins of the dome and are attached to a rectangular frame (not illustrated) which is similar to frame  36  in  FIG. 1 . 
         [0021]    The segments of the canopy of  FIG. 3  are interconnected at their side edges  68 . Apex  64  is, like the central area  40  of the previously described dome, sufficiently high that it is above the level of items normally found on a dining-room table. 
         [0022]    With reference to  FIG. 4 , the canopy, generally  70 , is illustrated in outline. The canopy is in the shape of a hemisphere having a circular lower edge  71  and a hollow interior  72  for receipt of plates and condiments arranged on a table top  74 . The canopy is attached to a frame  76  having a stepped outer edge  78 . 
         [0023]    With reference to  FIG. 5 , a clamp or securing means, generally  80 , for attaching the canopy described in the previous figures to a table is illustrated. The clamp has a housing  81  having an upper wall  82  which forms an upper jaw of the clamp. A bar  84  forms the lower jaw of the clamp. The bar is parallel to the upper wall and is spaced apart from it by a distance some-what less than the thickness of a table top. The bar is mounted on two vertical tracks  86  and is movable vertically on the tracks. A number of coil springs disposed within shrouds  88  are attached on the lower side of the lower jaw. The springs are also attached to a base  90  of the housing. 
         [0024]    The coil springs bias the bar or lower jaw toward the upper jaw. A handle  92  is provided for pulling the lower jaw downward in order to increase the space between the two jaws. Strips  94  of sealing material such as rubber are glued to each jaw to protect the table from scratches when the clamp is attached and removed from the table. 
         [0025]    The clamp can be used to attach a side edge of a canopy to a table. To do so, the frame of the canopy is first placed on a table so that one of its edges is adjacent to a side wall of the table. The upper jaw of the clamp is then placed upon the area of the frame adjacent to the side edge. The handle is then pulled downward in order to lower the lower jaw sufficiently to accommodate the frame and the adjacent margin of the table. When the handle is allowed to return to its normal position, the lower jaw will move upward and into contact with the table. 
         [0026]    With reference to  FIGS. 6 and 7  the clamp is composed of a housing  110  having lower and upper jaws  112 ,  114 , respectively. The lower jaw is fixed while the upper jaw is mounted for vertical movement on a pair of vertical tracks  116  attached to an upright wall  118  of the housing. A roller  120  is eccentrically mounted to the vertical wall. When the roller is rotated, it applies downward pressure on the upper jaw thereby causing it to move downward. 
         [0027]    With reference to  FIG. 8 , the clamp of  FIG. 5  is shown in conjunction with the table top  14  and frame  36  of  FIG. 1 . Upper jaw  82  is contact with the upper wall of the frame while the lower jaw  84  contacts the lower surface  14   b  of the table top. The jaws thus serve to secure the frame to the table top. The area of contact of the upper jaw with the frame, indicated  83 , is sufficiently large that the canopy cannot be pivoted upward in the direction of arrow  100 . Thus one clamp is all that is required to protect the items on the table top from unwanted handling. The use of multiple clamps is unnecessary with resultant savings in time spent in attaching and removal of the clamp 
         [0028]    It will be understood, of course, that modifications can be made to the structure of the canopy described herein without departing from the scope and purview of the invention as defined in the appended claims.