Abstract:
A desktop organizer including a curvilinear support having an integral locking groove including at least one retaining slot and an attachment means formed contiguous to the support and aligned with the at least one retaining slot is disclosed. The desktop organizer further includes a flexible back deformable into an arc having geometry complimentary to the curvilinear support and at least one retaining tab formed integrally on an edge adjacent to the locking groove, wherein the at least one retaining tab is aligned with the at least one retaining slot. The retaining tab is formed to have an attachment slot aligned with the attachment means. The desktop organizer includes at least one support leg having a base and an arcuate portion, wherein the arcuate portion has a fixed end and a moveable end. The support leg further includes an attachment member arranged on the moveable end distal to the fixed and, the attachment end arranged to engage the attachment means through the attachment slot.

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD  
         [0001]    The display platform disclosed herein relates generally to desktop organizers and supports for reading materials. In particular, the display platform is configured for the support and display of materials within the active zone of the desktop workspace.  
         BACKGROUND  
         [0002]    The desks and workspace of office workers are often cluttered with papers, periodicals, notes and other assorted office paraphernalia making organization and efficiency difficult, if not impossible. It is well known to provide a desktop support for books or magazine reading including a mechanism for holding pages open without the need for constant attention from the reader.  
           [0003]    An exemplary embodiment of such a known desktop support is disclosed by Portis Jr., et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 4,378,102 and entitled “Book or Magazine Reading Support.” The disclosed organizer includes V-shaped brackets having a long-arm and a short-arm, each arm including a slot. The slots configured to engage a corresponding pair of slots in a back board such that a ledge, arranged perpendicular to the plane of the back board, is arranged to support reading material. The V-shaped brackets may be arranged in a low mode position by engaging the slot of the short arms with the slots on the back board, or a high mode position by engaging the slots in the long arms. The apex of the V-shaped brackets constructed in the manner disclosed occupies the desk area adjacent to the user which, in turn, limits the workspace available on the desktop.  
           [0004]    Known desktop organizers typically include a flat, planar back board positioned at an acute angle, relative to the surface of the desktop, to facilitate easy review of the supported documents. Generally, known organizers, as discussed above, do not provide for any additional storage or note holding area or otherwise increase the organization or the available workspace. In fact, known organizers or reading supports are typically centered on the surface of the desk or workspace when in use, thereby limiting the amount of available workspace. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0005]    The figures described herein are intended to be illustrative and not limiting of an exemplary embodiment of a display platform in which:  
         [0006]    [0006]FIG. 1 illustrates an isometric view of an embodiment of the display platform;  
         [0007]    [0007]FIG. 2 illustrates an exploded isometric view of the components of the display platform of FIG. 1;  
         [0008]    [0008]FIG. 3 illustrates a detail view of a back panel shown in FIG. 2;  
         [0009]    [0009]FIG. 4 illustrates a top view of a support tray shown in FIG. 2;  
         [0010]    [0010]FIG. 5 illustrates a support leg shown in FIG. 2;  
         [0011]    [0011]FIG. 6 illustrates an enlarged isometric view of the attachment mechanism shown in FIG. 4; and  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 7 illustrates an enlarged isometric view of an alternate attachment mechanism shown in FIG. 4. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0013]    [0013]FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a display platform  10 . The display platform  10  is configured for use within an active zone of a desk or workspace. The active zone is generally defined as a portion of the desktop or workspace in which work is actually being conducted, as opposed to space used for storage, or filing of materials. The display platform  10  disclosed herein may be positioned within the center of the active zone without reducing the available workspace and simultaneously provide for organizing loose papers and notes to remove desktop clutter.  
         [0014]    The display platform  10  further includes a support tray  12 , a flexible back panel  14  and a plurality of support legs  16 . The support tray  12  has a note surface  18 , a working surface  20  and a support surface  22 , illustrated in FIG. 2. Each of the plurality of support legs  16  includes a base portion  24  and a bowed or arcuate portion  26  flexibly joined at a flexible joint  28 .  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 2 illustrates an exploded view of the display platform  10  shown in FIG. 1. The back panel  14  is shown in a flexed or curved position, as opposed to the relaxed or flat position illustrated in FIG. 3. The back panel  14  has a bottom edge  30 , a first side  32 , a second side  34  and a curved top  36 . The curved top  36  is formed by filleting or rounding the corners between the curved top  36  and the first and second sides  32 ,  34  as indicated by the numeral  38 . The curved top  36  smoothly joins the filleted corners  38  via a continuous line  40 . The continuous line  40  may be defined by the relationship between D, the overall side dimension, and d, the reduced side dimension. In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 3, the relationship is approximately 1 to 1.13. It will be understood by a person of ordinary skill in the art that this relationship may be varied to suit the aesthetic or functional needs of the end user, without departing from the spirit of scope of the disclosed display platform  10 .  
         [0016]    The back panel  14 , illustrated in the flat position in FIG. 3, includes at least one tab  42  extending from the bottom edge  30 . In the depicted embodiment two tabs  42  are provided, but it is to be understood that more or less tabs can be used within the scope of this disclosure. The tab  42  having a roughly rectangular shape and includes a bottom  44 , a pair of sides  46 ,  48  and a slot  50 . The slot  50  may have a pair of rounded ends  52 , as illustrated in FIG. 3, or may define a regular or rectangular shape. It will be understood that the physical layout of the back panel  14  is likely to result, in part, from the method of manufacturing used to produce the component. If, for example, the back panel  14  is manufactured from a polyethylene sheet and then punched into a final shape using a custom punch and die, it is understood that all of the component&#39;s corners are likely to have radiuses or fillets, because rounded corners facilitate the wear and release characteristics of the tooling and the final product from the die.  
         [0017]    The support tray  12  cooperates with the note surface  18 , the working surface  20  and the support surface  22  to define a channel  54  having a roughly U-shaped cross-section. The working surface  20 , in the assembled position shown in FIG. 1, defines a plane oriented substantially parallel to the desktop surface. The note surface  18  provides a substantially vertical surface, relative to the plane and the desktop, for affixing self-adhesive notes such as Post-it® brand notes or other paperwork, such as phone numbers. The note surface  18  extends below the plane and cooperates with a transition surface  56  to form a cosmetic skirt which may improve the appearance of the display platform  10 , provide additional note surface and hide an attachment mechanism  58 , shown in FIGS. 4, 6 and  7 .  
         [0018]    The support surface  22  extends substantially vertical relative to the plane and the desktop, and substantially parallel to the note surface  18 . To increase strength and rigidity of the support surface  22  a portion may be extended below the plane defined by the working surface  20  and be integrally affixed to the skirt  56 . A receiving groove  60  (see FIG. 4) may be formed within the working surface  20  and adjacent to an interior surface  62  of the support surface  22 . The receiving groove  60  may be sized to slideably accept the back panel  14 , when the back panel is deformed into the curved or flexed position, as shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 4, a top view of the support try  12 , clearly illustrates that the receiving groove  60  includes a receiving slot  64  sized to accept the tab  42 , when the back plane  14  is inserted into the receiving groove, in the direction indicated by the arrow A and as shown in FIG. 1. FIGS. 6 and 7 provide an alternate view of the back panel  14  and tab  42  (both identified with dashed lines) cooperating with the receiving groove  60  and the receiving slot  66 .  
         [0019]    The support leg  16  is flexibly joined at the flexible joint  28  to define the base portion  24  and the bowed or arcuate portion  26 . The base portion and the arcuate portion cooperate to provide a resilient stand for cantilevering the support tray  12  over the active zone (and the base portion  24 ) and thus enable the active zone to be continually used. The support legs  16  may be manufactured from strip stock steel such as HR P&amp;O 1010/1020 or any other suitably strong and resilient material. The support legs  16  may further be manufactured to include an attachment member  66  and a support pad  102  on a bottom surface  104  of the base  24 , the details of which are clearly viewed in FIG. 5. The attachment member  66  may be formed to include a pair of parallel prongs  68  and  70 . The prongs  68  and  70  cooperate to define a substantially rectangular shaped opening having an interior edge  72 , a lower surface  74  and an upper surface  76 . The rectangular opening and the prongs  68  and  70  can be arranged to cooperate with the attachment mechanism  58  to form a friction or interference fit, discussed below in detail, between the support leg  16  and the support try  12 .  
         [0020]    In operation, the back panel  14  is incurvated to a geometric configuration compatible with the receiving groove  60 . The curved back panel  14  may then be aligned and inserted into the receiving groove  60 , such that the tab  42  is received by the receiving slot  64 . The tab  42 , when completely inserted into the receiving groove  60  and slot  64 , extends below the skirt  56  such that the slot  50  is in vertical alignment with the attachment mechanism  58 , as shown in FIG. 6.  
         [0021]    As will be clear from FIG. 6, the attachment mechanism  58  is affixed to the undersurface  78  of the working surface  20  and an inner surface  80  of the note surface  18 . The attachment mechanism  58  may be molded in place, between the two interior surfaces  78  and  80 , during an injection molding process, to provide structural integrity and support to the design. The attachment mechanism  58  includes a pair of external walls  82 , the second external wall is not shown in FIG. 6, having a friction surface  88  distal to the undersurface  78  and orthogonal to the inner surface  80 . The attachment mechanism  58  further includes a plurality of cross members  84  sized to frictionally engage the prongs  68  and  70  defining the substantially rectangular shaped opening. The cross members  84  are arranged between the pair of external walls  82  and affixed to the undersurface  78  and inner surface  80  for structural integrity, see generally FIGS. 4, 6, and  7 . A rigid base  86  can be affixed below the cross members  84 , and parallel to the undersurface  78 , to complete the partial enclosure of the attachment mechanism  58 .  
         [0022]    In operation, the support leg  16  can be inserted through the slot  50 , as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4 by the arrow A 1 , and into a gap between the external walls  82  and the rigid base  86 . More specifically, the prongs  68  and  70  of the attachment member  66  may be forced into contact with the attachment mechanism  58  by a force applied in the direction of arrow A 1 . As the prongs  68  and  70  come into contact with the attachment mechanism  58 , the lower surface  74  and the upper surface  76  come into frictional contact with an upper surface (not shown) of the rigid base  86  and the friction surface  88  of the external walls  82 , respectively. At or about the same time, the interior edge  72  frictionally engages the cross members  84 . Upon complete insertion of the attachment member  66  is retained, primarily by frictional contact, within the attachment mechanism.  
         [0023]    The exemplary display platform  10 , illustrated in FIG. 1, depicts the support tray  14  and the incurvated back panel  12  assembled and cantilevered over the support leg base  24  by the cooperation of the attachment mechanism  58  and the attachment member  66  integrally formed on the arcuate portion  26  of support leg  16 . In this manner, the support tray  14 , back panel  12  and organized paperwork are suspended above the active zone to provide additional organizational capacity without sacrificing useable desktop workspace.  
         [0024]    [0024]FIG. 7 illustrates an alternate embodiment of the attachment mechanism  58 , identified by the numeral  90 . The attachment mechanism  90  is formed and affixed to the undersurface  78  and the inner surface  80 , typically via an injection molding process. The attachment mechanism  90  includes a pair of external walls  82  having friction surfaces  88 , as discussed above, bracketing the plurality of cross members  84 . The attachment mechanism  90  further includes a semi-rigid base  92  having projecting tab  94  located on an upper or interior surface (i.e. on a surface adjacent to the cross members  84 ).  
         [0025]    In operation, the attachment member  96 , having a receiving slot  98  formed on the arcuate portion  26  of the support leg  16 , can be inserted through the slot  50  in the direction indicated by the arrow A 1  of FIGS. 2 and 4. As the attachment member  96  is inserted, a leading edge  100  engages the projecting tab  94 , thereby forcing the semi-rigid base  92  to deflect downward (i.e. away from the undersurface  78 ). The semi-rigid base  92  returns to the undeflected position when the projecting tab  94  is received by the receiving slot  98 . Upon return of the semi-rigid base  92  to the undeflected position, the attachment member  96  is retained within the attachment mechanism  90  by the contact between the projecting tab  94  and the receiving slot  98  and some amount of frictional contact.  
         [0026]    While the display platform  10  has been described with reference to specific examples, these examples are intended to be illustrative only and not limiting in any way. It will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that changes, modification or deletions may be made to the disclosed embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosed device.