Portable, nesting voting booth

A voting booth that is easily transported between a polling-facility and a storage facility, easy to set up, and efficiently stored with other voting booths when not in use. The voting booth comprises an inclined private semi-enclosure and a leg assembly in a nesting configuration. The leg assembly optionally includes a plurality of casters. The voting booth components are configured to allow modular grouping and nesting with voting booths of like construction. The voting booth is light-weight and has a high degree of mobility. The nesting ability provides for efficient storage by minimizing the space needed to store multiple voting booths.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to voting booths and, in particular, to portable, nesting voting booths that can be easily nested for minimal setup, convenient transport between a polling facility and a storage facility, and efficient space utilization when not in use, and that can be positioned in modular grouping with other booths.

2. Description of the Background

Voting is one of the most fundamental acts of a democratic society, and the privacy of the voters is paramount for several reasons. First of all, privacy avoids post-election partiality by the winning government. Secondly, privacy ensures that voters are not influenced by the popular vote. For these reasons, there are laws to ensure voter privacy, and voting booths must comply with these laws.

A voting booth provides an individual voter with an enclosed area for casting a vote, using a ballot, mechanical, or electronic voting system, at a polling-place facility. This ensures voter anonymity. Voting booths can be permanent against-the-wall enclosures, each having a door or curtain. However, given the infrequent nature of elections, polling places are seldom single purpose facilities. Most polling-places are temporary facilities—often times schools, halls, and local government offices—that are used for voting on a temporary basis because elections only occur periodically over a short time period. Permanent voting booth installations are not possible in this case, and instead, it is necessary to store and transport multiple voting booths between a storage location (during non-election periods) and the polling-place (during elections). Consequently, conventional voting booths are typically free-standing temporary (knock-down) structures having a shelf and privacy panels that obstruct the view of others in the vicinity.

During elections, a polling-place facility will have multiple voting booths to accommodate numerous voters simultaneously. It is a daunting task for local election officials to deploy these voting booths and other voting equipment at every polling-place facility. The voting booths must be transported to the polling-place facility, and once at the polling-place facility, the booths must be set up. Conventional portable voting booths, for example, the booth disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,827,262 to McClure, requires extensive set up. The booth components must first be unpacked from its closed position by unfolding the bi-fold case. The legs must be assembled and attached to the case to elevate the voting surface, and once assembled, the booth must be placed in position at the polling-place facility without accidently dislodging any of the assembled components. The process is reversed within days. Additionally any part that is separated during assembly may become lost. Possibility of lost parts requires that that an inventory of parts be made both before and after deployment.

Given such conditions of use, voting booths must be extremely durable to withstand harsh handling by election workers and some voters. Indeed, modern voting booths must be strong enough to support heavy voting machines. At the same time, voting booths must be as versatile as possible, maintaining portability and functionality in a self-contained, easy to set up, and lightweight form factor. Therefore, any design that makes storage more compact, transport quicker, and set up easier without sacrificing durability would be greatly advantageous.

There have been previous efforts in this regard. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,484,787 to Stephens relates to a disposable foldable combination voting booth and speaker's lectern. The reference, however, does not disclose any degree of durability. There are also suitcase-type voting booths that collapse flat into a suitcase form factor. However, fully collapsible voting booths tend to compromise durability and complicate the setup/take down process. Additionally, the number of individual and separate parts leads to the potential of accidental loss of the needed parts. The concept of nesting voting booths that can be consolidated into a compact grouping has not been previously attempted. Nesting would allow the voting booths to remain substantially assembled (maintaining durability and ease of setup), yet also facilitate convenient transport of multiple booths between a polling facility and a storage facility in a compact grouping and more efficient space utilization when not in use. Nestability is known in other contexts. Food containers and paper plates are nestable but have an inherently simple structure that allows it. More complex three-dimensional products must be carefully designed to nest properly, and to nest fully to conserve maximum space. This can become a daunting effort, and yet there have been efforts to nest more complex articles such as furniture. Stacking chairs are known, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,613,448 to Petty discloses a nesting desk with an inclined desktop. However, this reference is not a portable voting booth and does not require privacy panels or a long leg structure. If privacy panels were added to the desk, the desk would no longer nest.

In this regard there is a need for a durable voting booth that is portable, has a high degree mobility, is easy to set up, and is lightweight. There is also a need for a nesting voting booth that allows many such booths to be nested and transported, thereby minimizing storage space and effort.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to the present invention, a portable voting booth is provided that has the capability of nesting with other voting booths. The voting booth is easily transported between a polling-place facility and a storage facility, easily to set up at the polling-place facility, and is efficiently stored with other voting booths in a compact grouped configuration when not in use. The voting booth is a free-standing structure comprising a private semi-enclosure having an inclined working surface surrounded at least one privacy panel and supported atop a leg assembly. The private semi-enclosure is configured with a thin, flat working surface that is downwardly inclined from back to front. In an embodiment, the overall shape of the working surface is polygonal with a front edge that is wider than the back. With this configuration, the side edges may run straight from front-to-back, joining the front edge at acute angles, or alternatively the side edges may be segmented into a plurality of obtusely-angled portions that running from front-to-back. In an alternative embodiment, the overall shape of the working surface is curvilinear, for example, a circular segment or a parabolic segment, with secant or chord forming the front edge. The semi-enclosure is bounded on at least one side by an upwardly extending privacy panel, and is more preferably bounded along both sides as well as the back of the working surface leaving an open front and top.

During voting use, the working surface of the private semi-enclosure supports a paper ballot or electronic voting machine in front of the voter at an optimal height. The leg assembly is constructed of a tubular frame that defines a broad floor base for good stability, a vertical spacer for elevating the semi-enclosure to approximately waist-height, and a platform support for attaching the semi-enclosure to the leg assembly. The platform support may be slightly inclined relative to the floor base. The particular shapes and angulation of the components of both the leg assembly and private semi-enclosure are designed to allow maximum nesting of multiple booths and highest-possible-density stacking thereof. The particular shapes and angulation of the components also facilitate manual nesting, effectively guiding the booths together into their nested configuration. Moreover, the particular placement, shape, and angulation of the vertical spacer still allows for slight manufacturing alterations to accommodate voters in wheel chairs. Optionally, mounted beneath the leg assembly is a plurality of casters for increased mobility of voting booths both individually and in a nested configuration.

The entire voting booth, both the private semi-enclosure and leg assembly, has a nesting configuration in which the acutely-angled working surface and privacy panels allows multiple voting booths to be easily positioned into a straight-line or arcuate modular grouping with other booths for efficient use of polling-place facility and for maximum voter privacy and comfort. Additionally, the open-faced, open-topped and acutely-angled semi-enclosure in combination with angular leg assembly allows for nesting of a voting booth into another voting booth of like construction—the back-side of a voting booth can be inserted into the front of another voting booth for a loose engagement. The structural configuration guides the nesting to a tightly compact configuration, which allows for maximum compactness, and efficient storage or transport of multiple booths at one time. The voting booth's scale can be changed to accommodate any voting system, including ballot, mechanical, and electronic systems. To increase mobility, the voting booth is structurally designed to minimize weight.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1is a perspective view of a portable, nesting voting booth10according to an embodiment of the present invention. The voting booth10is a free-standing structure that is easily transported between a polling-place facility and a storage facility, easily set up at the polling-place facility, and efficiently stored with other voting booths in a compact nested grouping when not in use. The voting booth10generally comprises an elevated private semi-enclosure20atop a freestanding leg assembly40in a rigid (non-collapsing) yet compliant (shock-absorbing) configuration that allows the voting booth to nest with other voting booths of similar construction. The semi-enclosure20sits atop the leg assembly40and forms an open-topped, open-faced, four-sided (in the illustrated embodiment) space, bounded by a downwardly sloping working surface210and privacy panels220, preferably a rear panel221and two opposing side panels222.

With collective reference toFIGS. 1-7, the leg assembly40comprises a floor base410and a vertical spacer420. The floor base410can be aligned in any configuration that provides a stable foundation yet still allows the voting booth10to nest with other voting booths of similar construction. A horizontally-planar tubular member running front-to-back along a polygonal or concave curvilinear incurvature is preferred. Suitable nesting alignments include, but are not limited to, any open-path or unbounded configuration with an open end411and stabilizing floor base410lengths that run front-to-back at effective acute angles α with respect to open end411. The side lengths may run straight from front-to-back, intersecting the open end411at acute angles α, or alternatively the side lengths may run along a concave incurvature or be segmented into a plurality of obtusely-angled portions that run from front-to-back along a partial cyclic polygon.

In the illustrated embodiment, the floor base410is substantially U-shaped open at the front and (if bounded at open end411) defines an interior isosceles trapezoid. The three conjoined lengths include opposing forwardly-flared side lengths412and lower rear length413that are arrayed along the legs and minor base of an isosceles trapezoid. The interior angles α between the open end411and side lengths412are acute. However, the floor base length(s) may be arrayed in other configurations, for example, along only the legs of a trapezoid, two sides of a triangle, or along the arc of a circle, ellipse, oval, parabola, or similar incurvature. The floor base length(s) may also be arrayed along a combination of shapes, for example, along the legs of an isosceles trapezoid front section then arching along a circular segment back section, or along opposing sides of a rectangular front section to the legs and/or minor base of a trapezoidal back section, both of which form effective acute interior angles α between the open end411and the arc of the circular segment or the legs of the trapezoid, respectively. Having the front wider than back, the open ended or unbounded configuration allows for nesting by accepting the floor base of another voting booth of similar construction.

Optionally, a plurality of casters414are mounted beneath the floor base410for mobility. In the illustrated embodiment, the casters414are mounted at all four corners of the polygonal floor base410. The casters414may be of any type, for example, stationary or swivel stem casters, and of any size, for example, 3″ casters, and the casters may have optional brake-lock capability.

The leg assembly40further comprises a vertical spacer420that extends upward from the floor base410to elevate the private semi-enclosure20. The vertical spacer420comprises one or more upwardly-extending members extending from any point(s) on the floor base410to any point(s) on the private semi-enclosure20, excluding the rearmost edge or point of the shelf, to facilitate nesting. Preferably, the upwardly-extending members of the vertical spacer420are joined in close proximity to the front of the shelf20because this maximizes nesting capability and group compactness. In the illustrated embodiment, the vertical spacer420is a pair of vertical struts421that extend vertically from the lower side lengths412. Preferably, the vertical spacer420elevates the working surface210to approximately waist-height for a six-foot person—a height that is most convenient to a standing voter or to table height, which would be most convenient for a seated person possibly in a wheelchair. In an alternative embodiment, the vertical spacer420may be telescoping or adjustable. For example, vertical struts421can be equipped with a detent-pin interlock so that the height may be adjusted to accommodate seated voters who could be in a wheel chairs. In another embodiment, as illustrated inFIG. 7, the vertical spacer420can be a fixed shorter length. In this embodiment, the floor base410is arrayed in a broader configuration (preferably wider than the private semi-enclosure20). The broader configuration increases the width between vertical struts421to accommodate a wheel chair, requiring additional lengths422to connect the vertical struts421to the private semi-enclosure20and a lengthening of the lower rear length413.

The leg assembly40may further comprise a top platform support section430for attaching the private semi-enclosure20to the leg assembly40. The platform support section430comprises one or more lengths that are arrayed around the periphery of the private semi-enclosure20. Alternatively, private semi-enclosure20is attached directly to the vertical spacer420without the platform support section430.

The leg assembly40comprises any rigid material, for example, aluminum, steel, composite, or plastic tubing. In an embodiment, the leg assembly40is formed by 1″, 16 gauge structural steel square tubing. The leg assembly40may be formed from one contiguous piece of tubing bent at the desired locations or from separate, individual members fastened or welded together. The leg assembly40has a baked enamel powder coated finish (nominal 3 mils) with zinc oxide primer wash.

As stated previously, the top platform support section430is slightly inclined relative to the floor base41—the top-side members431are inclined downward. The angle of incline may range from between 5-45 degrees downward from horizontal, and is preferably about 10 degrees. The top-side members431also extend backwards at converging angles along the periphery of the private semi-enclosure20. The top-side members431are fixedly attached to the corresponding sides of the shelf20and privacy panels220.

The private semi-enclosure20is fixedly attached to the leg assembly40. The private semi-enclosure20comprises a working surface210. The working surface210is a thin, flat surface affixed atop leg assembly40so as to be downwardly inclined from back to front. The working surface210can by any of a variety of shapes that allow the voting booth10to nest with other voting booths when privacy panels220are attached or set-up. In an embodiment, the working surface can be any polygonal shape with a front edge that is wider than the back. The side edges may run straight from front-to-back, joining the front edge at acute angles β, for example, the major base and legs of a quadrilateral-trapezoid. Alternatively, the side edges may be segmented into a plurality of obtusely-angled segments running from front-to-back. For example, the shape of the working surface210may be hexagonal with parallel front and back edges, and side edges which extend for a short length at right angles from the front edge, but then abruptly angle inward at one or more obtuse angles toward the back edge. In any such case, the front edge forms effective acute angles with the normalized side edges despite their one or more intermediate obtuse angles. Other suitable shapes for the working surface210may include, but are not limited to, other polygonal trapezoids, triangles, pentagons, hexagons, octagons, etc, so long as the front edge is wider than the back, and the normalized side edges form effective acute interior angles β with the front edge.

The working surface210may further comprise downwardly-angled edges211butt-welded at the corners to increase rigidity. The working surface210is inclined to provide an ergonomically sloped writing surface and to facilitate nesting. The working surface210is appropriately sized to accommodate a range of balloting systems—including optically scanned paper ballots, mechanical ballots, and electronic ballot machines or other electronic systems. Preferably, the working surface210for a paper ballot will accommodate a twenty inch ballot in both landscape and portrait positions. If a machine or electronic voting system is being used, an attachment mechanism may be attached to the working surface210to secure the voting device. For example, such attachment mechanisms may include straps, brackets, fasteners, adhesives, etc. Preferably, the front edge of the working surface210is bent upward then downward to create a protruding upward flange212. Flange212prevents articles from sliding off the working surface210and also increases strength by preventing buckling. In an embodiment, the private semi-enclosure20is attached to the leg assembly40by attaching the downwardly-angled edges211of shelf20at the rear and sides to the leg assembly40by fastening or welding. If fasteners are used, the fasteners penetrate first through the downwardly-angled edges211of shelf20and into the leg assembly40from beneath the shelf to minimize outward protrusions.

The private semi-enclosure20further comprises at least one privacy panel220, and in the illustrated embodiment comprises two opposing side panels222and a rear panel221. If the voting booths10are arranged side-by-side, only one side panel is necessary but two provide more flexibility in use. Privacy panels220extend vertically along the outer periphery of the working surface210, leaving a voter access to the shelf while also providing voter privacy. The privacy panels220can be of any height, size, and shape so long as they sufficiently obstruct the view of other standing voters. Preferably privacy panels220extend to about shoulder height of a standing 6 foot man (about 1½ to 2′ each in height from the working surface210). The privacy panels220may extend from the platform support430or from the working surface210of the private semi-enclosure20.

The private semi-enclosure20, including working surface210and privacy panels220comprises any thin rigid material, for example, steel or aluminum sheeting or plating, plastic, composite material, laminated wood, or particle board. For aesthetics, durability and weight, coated (painted) 14 gauge steel sheet is preferred.

In the illustrated embodiment, privacy panels220comprise a rear panel221and opposing outwardly flared side panels222. The rear panel221is fixedly attached inside the rear length of platform support430while the side panels222are welded directly along the top surface of the outwardly flared and downwardly-sloping side lengths431of platform support430. Alternatively, the privacy panels220may be fixedly attached by fastening bottom flanges on the privacy panels to the leg assembly40and/or working surface210of the shelf20. The rear panel221is also fixedly attached to the adjacent privacy panels222, thus acting as a shear wall that resists lateral side-to-side loads placed on the voting booth10. The combination of the fixed rear panel221and the shelf's down-ward edge211eliminates the need for a horizontal support spanning the privacy panels220, thus minimizing weight. The rear panel221may be formed separately from the opposing outwardly-flared side panels222and attached thereto by welding or the like, or alternatively, the rear panel221and opposing outwardly-flared side panels222may be formed from a single-patterned sheet of steel and bent into the illustrated configuration.

Although durability is paramount and fixed rigid panels220are preferred, one skilled in the art should understand that the privacy panels30may alternatively be removably attached, for example, using detent slots, hook and eye (VELCRO™ style) fasteners, magnets on metal constructions, or pivotally attached, for example, using hinges, to provide a knock-down feature to further conserve space when not in use.

In the illustrated embodiment, when viewed from above, the voting booth's outer periphery has a trapezoidal shape as the private semi-enclosure20is an isosceles trapezoid and platform support430and floor base410are arrayed along the legs of the isosceles trapezoid, diverging from back to front—forming effective acute angles between the front edge and the sides. The resulting open-topped, open-faced space of the private semi-enclosure20in combination with the inclined working surface210, the vertical spacer420not attaching to the rearmost edge of the shelf20, and the nesting configuration of the leg assembly40, facilitates and indeed encourages nesting. The voting booths can be nested in an upright configuration by sliding or wheeling them together, or a voting booth can be laid on its back (on a hand cart) and other voting booths can be dropped therein, beginning with the rear privacy panel of another voting booth. The trapezoidal shape, which has a front that forms effective acute interior angles with the adjacent sides, helps to register each successive voting booth and keeps adjacent units in tight nested registration. Moreover, once nested, the ¾-1″ lengthwise offset between adjacent units allows the leg assemblies40to simply be dropped over each other (since they are likewise offset and do not obstruct each other). The front-to-back tubular configuration of the leg assembly40also facilitates nesting since the legs of adjacent units work against the inclined shelf20to further lock nested units in position by gravity. This configuration provides excellent stability and durability, allows nesting of multiple booths and high-density stacking thereof, gives multiple setup options, and allows for easy transport of multiple voting booths.

The ability to nest with other voting booths provides for efficient storage by minimizing the surface area needed for storage, and the capacity for self-guided nesting avoids damage, ensures maximum group compactness, and simplifies the process.

FIGS. 8-9illustrate the nesting engagement of voting booths10according to the present invention. The incline of private semi-enclosure20and the nesting periphery having a front forming acute interior angles with the adjacent sides (trapezoidal in the illustrated embodiment) allow unimpeded insertion of the leg assembly40and private semi-enclosure20, of one voting booth within the leg assembly40and private semi-enclosure20of another voting booth. This diverging configuration allows another voting booth to be positioned and easily guided into a full nesting position with little precision. Given the overall dimensions of 28″ width×21″ length×60″ height of the presently-preferred embodiment, six hundred voting booths can be stored in a 4′×100′ area. Each booth occupies a 0.67 square foot area and weighs only 48 lbs. Approximately 83% of the bulk area of each unit is eliminated by nesting.

This nesting configuration, and specifically the trapezoidal shape, allows similarly constructed voting booths10to be positioned in modular groups for use during voting. Modular groupings allow the voting booths to be positioned in a manner that maximizes polling-place facility space during voting, while also maximizing voter privacy and comfort. The trapezoidal shape allows an arcuate modular grouping of outwardly facing voting booths10, as illustrated inFIG. 10, or a straight-line modular grouping of alternate facing voting booths as illustrated inFIG. 11.

In addition to maximizing storage space and allowing modular groupings, the voting booth nesting ability in combination with the plurality of casters414enables transport of multiple voting booths at a time. Multiple voting booths10can be nested to together, forming a line of nested booths. And the plurality of casters414enables a single person to easily push the entire line of booths.