Adjustable attitude speaker stand

An adjustable attitude speaker stand including a base in the form of a pair of laterally spaced apart elongated rails having longitudinal slots formed therein. A pair of posts rise upwardly from the slots and are coupled thereto by followers for forward and rearward movement relative thereto. The upper extremities of the post are also formed with generally vertically extending slots and braces are pivotally connected to the rear extremities of the rails and include followers coupled with such post slots such that the posts may be adjusted forwardly and rearwardly at both their top and bottom ends. A pair of support arms project cantileverly forwardly from the lower portion of the post for receiving and cradling a load speaker such that adjustment of the posts will vary the attitude of such arms to direct sound from the speaker at selected angles from a range projecting generally horizontally across the room to a upward angle of about 45.degree.. In another embodiment the frame is of tubular construction and is formed to define an L-shaped side view, the opposite sides being carried by sliders received in semi-circular slots formed in vertically raised side rails such that travel of such sliders in the slots effects angular adjustment of the frame.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field Of The Invention 
The present invention relates to a stand for holding speakers such as high 
fidelity speakers. 
2. Description Of The Prior Art 
It has been discovered that the quality of music propagated into a room 
from hifi speakers may be improved tremendously by arranging and orienting 
the speakers within the room in accordance with the size and the 
configuration of the room, furnishings in the room and number of people 
occupying the room. It has been discovered that the quality of music may 
be improved considerably by merely varying the direction of the sound 
propagated from such speakers through a range directed approximately 
horizontally from the periphery of the room toward the center thereof to 
an angle 10.degree. to 15.degree. above the horizontal and even in extreme 
occasions as much as 45.degree. above the horizontal. 
Since hifi speakers are housed in housings having numerous different sizes, 
shapes and configurations, heretofore there has been no reasonably 
acceptable support which would accommodate the wide variation of speakers. 
Some listeners have gone so far as to resort to propping speakers at 
various attitudes by inserting ashtrays, books or other spacers under the 
forward edge of the speaker to aim the speaker generally upwardly. 
It has been discovered that elevating the center of the loud speakers to an 
elevation of about two feet off the floor and directing the sound upwardly 
and outwardly from that location also serves to enhance quality. 
Generally, furnishings and supports currently available do not provide for 
convenient support of speakers at this optimum elevation while 
accommodating ready adjustment of the attitude of such speakers so that 
adjustment can conveniently made by even the most unskilled operator. 
While adjustable easels and other stands of various natures have been 
proposed for numerous different applications, applicant is unaware of any 
adjustable stands which have been proposed for supporting a speaker at a 
low elevation and readily adjustable to vary the orientation of the 
speaker or which would readily adjust to accommodate speakers of numerous 
different widths. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention is characterized by a base including a pair of side 
rails formed with forwardly and rearwardly extending coupling slots which 
receive followers that serve to mount a cradle carried from such rail. The 
cradle forms a bottom support and back support for a speaker and is 
mounted on the side rails in such a manner as to provide for convenient 
and ready adjustment of the attitude thereof to support a speaker at a 
number of different attitudes for propagating sound therefrom at different 
angles. 
Other objects and features of the invention will become apparent from 
consideration of the following description taken in connection with the 
accompanying drawing.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the adjustable attitude speaker stand of the 
present invention includes, generally, a base formed by a pair of 
forwardly and rearwardly projecting, laterally spaced apart side rails 11 
and 13 formed medially with forwardly and rearwardly projecting coupling 
slots 15. A cradle 16 includes vertical posts 17 and 19 connected to such 
slots 15 by means of followers 21 and rise upwardly therefrom to form at 
the top extremities respective vertically extending coupling slots 23 and 
25 which receive respective followers 27 and 29 carried from the upper 
extremities of respective braces 31 and 33. The bottom extremities of such 
braces are pivotally connected with the rear extremity of the rails 11 and 
13. Supported medially on the posts 17 and 19 are forwardly and upwardly 
projecting support arms 35 and 37 on which a speaker 39 may be mounted. 
Consequently, the attitude of such speaker may be readily adjusted by 
merely adjusting the attitude of the posts 17 and 19 and, consequently, 
the attitude of the arms 35 and 37. 
Speaker housings are typically rectangular in elevation and top plan view 
and mount a forwardly facing loudspeaker 40 in the upper portion thereof 
to project sound in a divergent manner about an extended axis 42 of such 
loudspeaker. 
The adjustable attitude stand of the present invention may be constructed 
of any convenient material, such as wood or plastic. The base rails 11 and 
13 are connected together by means of two pairs of forwardly and 
rearwardly disposed cross bars 41 and 43. The cross bars 41 are connected 
on their respective one ends to the respective side rails 41 and 43 and 
project perpendicularly therefrom to be coupled slidably together on their 
proximate ends. Referring to FIG. 4, the rails 43 are conveniently formed 
with dove tailed grooves 45 which slidingly receive dove tailed tongues 47 
in the respective rails 41. 
Likewise, the upper ends of the posts 17 and 19 are connected together by 
similar rails 51 and 53 which are themselves coupled slidably together by 
means of dove tailed tongues and grooves to telescope relative to one 
another. 
The vertical posts 17 and 19 are approximately two feet long. Tubular 
spacers 47 and 49 are interposed between the bottom ends of such posts and 
the respective rails 11 and 13. The followers 21 are in the form of 
threaded bolts which receive wing nuts 57 on the inner extremities thereof 
such that the followers may be conveniently tightened to restrict travel 
in the respective grooves 15. 
The support arms 35 and 37 are connected medially from the post 17 and 19 
at a location to place the top surfaces thereof as they intersect such 
posts about six inches off the floor. Such arms project perpendicular to 
the posts themselves. 
The bottom ends of braces 31 and 33 are pivotally connected to the back 
ends of the respective rails 11 and 13 by means of pivot pins 61 and 63. 
The followers 27 and 29 connect the upper extremities of such braces to 
the respective post slots 23 and 25 at a location about six inches from 
the upper ends of such posts such that the braces will project forwardly 
of the post as viewed in FIG. 2 to add to the aesthetic appearance of the 
stand and also hold the speaker 39 captive therebetween. The followers 27 
and 29 ar also in the form of threaded bolts and receive wing nuts 57 on 
the interior ends thereof for convenient tightening and adjustment. 
In operation the stand may be easily assembled and erected by the 
homeowner. The width of the stand will be easily adjusted to accommodate 
the width of the speaker 39 by merely sliding the cross members 41 and 43 
and 51 and 53 relative to one another to achieve the desired spacing 
between the arms 35 and 37 and upper extremity of the braces 31 and 33. 
It will be appreciated that multiple speakers comparable to speaker 39 are 
typically located about a room in which music is to be played. The speaker 
housings will be supported on the arms 35 and 37 in an elevated position 
which will typically place the loudspeaker (not shown) about 18 inches 
above the floor. Music projected from this level has proven to have a high 
quality than would be the case for music projected from a louspeaker 
elevated only about a foot above the floor. 
The attitude of the speakers 39 will be adjusted for the particular 
configuration of the room, as well as the arrangement of furniture and 
number of persons occupying the room. This can best be achieved by trial 
and error experimentation. 
It has been found that as a greater number of people gather in a single 
room, the speaker will be adjusted to direct sound therefrom at a higher 
angle. For a lesser number of people, the orientation of the speaker will 
be adjusted to direct sound therefrom at an angle approximating the 
horizontal. As noted, these angles will vary with the configuration of the 
room and arrangement of the furniture and can best be achieved by 
experimentation. 
In any event, the wing nuts 57 may conveniently be loosened and the bottom 
of the posts moved forwardly or rearwardly and the upper portions thereof 
likewise moved forwardly and rearwardly until the desired orientation 
attitude of the speaker 39 is achieved. 
Referring to the second embodiment of the adjustable speaker stand of the 
present invention shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the stand may incorporate side 
rails which are in the form of semicircular vertical walls, generally 
designated 81 and 83, having their diametrical sides parallel with the 
floor. These side walls are preferably formed adjacent their 
circumferential periphery with forwardly and rearwardly disposed slot 
sections 85, 87, 89 and 91. The slot sections are preferably in the form 
of sectors of a circle having a diameter slightly less than that of the 
circle of which such side walls are a sector. 
The cradle, generally designated 95, shown in FIG. 5 is preferably 
constructed of hollow metal tubing. The tubing is formed with side runs 
101 and 103 which turn inwardly at their front extremities to form front 
sections 105 and 107 connected together at their proximate ends by means 
of a threaded coupling 109. The side members 101 and 103 are bent upwardly 
at their rear extremities to form generally vertical posts 111 and 113. 
The tubes are bent inwardly at the tops of the posts to form run sections 
115 and 119, also connected together on their proximate ends by means of 
threaded couplings 121. 
Followers 125, 127, 129 and 131 project through the respective slots 85, 
87, 89 and 91 and project through corrresponding bores formed in the side 
runs and vertical posts of the cradle 95. Thus, by loosening the wing nuts 
125 and 127 on such followers and rotating the cradle in a direction which 
will shift the followers forwardly or rearwardly in the respective slots 
85, 87, 89 and 91, the orientation of such cradle will be adjusted to aim 
the speaker to a greater degree downwardly or upwardly, respectively. 
From the foregoing it will be appreciated that the adjustable speaker stand 
of the present invention provides an economical and effective means for 
supporting a hifi speaker slightly off the floor and enables convenient 
adjustment of the orientation thereof depending on the room configuration 
and configuration of the furniture and number of persons occupying the 
room. 
Various modifications and changes may be made with regard to the foregoing 
detailed description without departing from the spirit of the invention.