Abstract:
A legless table is provided. The legless table includes a tabletop, a first support, a track, a fastener and a second support whereby the legless table is selectively attachable to an upright protrusion. The tabletop includes an upper surface and a lower surface where the first support is coupled to the lower surface. The track is located on the lower surface of the tabletop and forms a slot. Further, the fastener is positionably retained in the slot and is used to positionably secure the second support to the lower surface of the tabletop.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]     This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/604,771, filed Aug. 26, 2004, and entitled “Legless Deck Table.” 
     
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD  
       [0002]     The present invention relates generally to tables, and more particularly, to legless tables used in portably attachable situations.  
       BACKGROUND DESCRIPTION  
       [0003]     Tables come in a variety of sizes, shapes and types. Most notable is the traditional table having legs positioned at each corner and used to support an upper surface. The upper surface is used for placing a variety of objects on it or doing tasks thereupon. Tables may be placed or used in many locations including inside or outside, such as in a kitchen, on a back patio, or at a park. A typical requirement in order to use a table is that there needs to be sufficient space and a nearly flat surface in which to place the legs. A traditional table may not adequately work in situations where there is minimal space or an upright protrusion is found upon the surface. Furthermore, a traditional table may not be so conveniently stored because the legs protrude from its surface. In order to overcome these difficulties, proposed solutions in the prior art have included tables with adjustable legs, as shown by U.S. Pat. No. 4,494,465, that enable the table to jump the upright protrusion of a car trunk by making multiple adjustments of the various legs, the legs being foldable up to the table surface; a legless table having cantilevered surfaces as shown by U.S. Pat. No. 3,011,847 where the table is cantilevered across a trunk wall and attached to the bottom of a trunk by requiring perforation or modification to the attachment structure; and a legless table as shown by U.S. Pat. No. 6,308,641 pivotally cantilevered to a wall and storable therein to conserve space but is not portable. The aforementioned solutions being suitable to a particular need are not suited to various other situations.  
         [0004]     Accordingly, a solution is needed that may provide a table that is mountable in situations where there may be a protrusion within the table location such as a deck rail or trunk wall, or where there is limited space such as on a balcony or between the seats of an airplane. A solution is also needed enhancing the portability and self-storing capabilities of the table.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0005]     It is therefore an advantage of the present invention to provide a legless deck table.  
         [0006]     It is a further advantage of the present invention to provide a legless deck table that is conveniently storable without disassembly of its parts.  
         [0007]     It is still a further advantage of the present invention to provide a legless deck table that is conveniently removable without disassembly of its parts.  
         [0008]     It is another advantage of the present invention to provide a legless deck table that is detachably connectable to an upright protrusion.  
         [0009]     It is yet another advantage of the present invention to provide a legless deck table that is conveniently attachable to an upright surface without modification of the upright surface.  
         [0010]     It is still yet a further advantage of the present invention to provide a legless deck table that is conveniently portable.  
         [0011]     In accordance with the above and the other advantages of the present invention, a legless deck table is provided. The legless table includes a tabletop, a first support, a track, a fastener and a second support whereby the legless table is selectively attachable to an upright protrusion. The tabletop includes an upper surface and a lower surface where the first support is coupled to the lower surface. The track is located on the lower surface of the tabletop and forms a slot. Further, the fastener is positionably retained in the slot and is used to positionably secure the second support to the lower surface of the tabletop.  
         [0012]     Other aspects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon the following detailed description and appended claims, and upon reference to the accompanying drawings. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0013]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the legless deck table being used to advantage in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0014]      FIG. 2  is a plan view of the legless deck table in accordance with the embodiment shown in  FIG. 1 .  
         [0015]      FIG. 3  is a cross-sectional view of the legless deck table as indicated in  FIG. 2 .  
         [0016]      FIG. 4A  is a partial cross-sectional side view of the legless deck table having a track in accordance with the present embodiment.  
         [0017]      FIG. 4B  is a partial cross-sectional bottom view of the legless deck table having a track in accordance with the present embodiment.  
         [0018]      FIG. 5  shows a partial cross-sectional view of a slot in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0019]      FIG. 6  shows a partial cross-sectional view of a slot in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0020]      FIG. 7  shows a side view of the rail support in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0021]      FIG. 8  shows a side view of the rail support in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0022]      FIG. 9  shows a side view of the rail support in accordance with a third embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0023]      FIG. 10  shows a plan view of another legless deck table in accordance with the present invention.  
         [0024]      FIG. 11  shows a plan view of yet another legless deck table in accordance with the present invention.  
         [0025]      FIG. 12  is a perspective view of still another legless deck table being used to advantage in accordance with the present invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0026]     As shown in the attached drawings, the present invention relates to a legless deck table  10 .  FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the legless deck table being used to advantage in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. The legless deck table  10  may be removably, adjustably positioned upon a deck rail  11  or upon any other upright protrusion, e.g., such as an armrest or wall.  
         [0027]      FIG. 2  is a plan view of the legless deck table in accordance with the embodiment shown in  FIG. 1 . The legless deck table  10  is an assembly having a tabletop  12 , a fixed rail support  14 , and a movable rail support  16 . The tabletop  12  has a top side  20 , being essentially flat and usable to advantage, and a bottom side  22 . The tabletop  12  is depicted as an ellipse, but may have any other shape. The bottom side  22  is constructed with one or more track  24 . As shown in  FIG. 3 , the track  24  has a slot with a “T” shape. Further,  FIG. 6  shows a partial cross-sectional view of a “T” shape slot. Optionally, it is recognized that each track  24  may have different internal shapes such as a wedge shape, as shown in  FIG. 5 , or the “T” shape slot shown in  FIG. 6  for forming a slot  30  in which a fastener or form-fitting fastener may be positionably retained. It is recognized that the slot may have any shape such that the fastener may be retained over the primary length of the track  24 , without separation or loss of the fastener from the track when the legless deck table  10  is in its assembled construction.  
         [0028]     As shown in the partial cross-sectional views of  FIG. 4A  and  FIG. 4B , each track  24  has an insertion end  26  connected over a distance to a terminal end  28 . The shape of slot  30  of the track continues from just past the insertion end  26  and continues through the terminal end  28 . Alternatively, the slot  30  may have any shape consistent with the intent of this disclosure that is capable of retaining a fastener, slide fastener, or even a head of a bolt.  
         [0029]     At the insertion end  26  a through passage  40  is provided wherein the head  44  of a bolt  42 , or other equivalent fastener may be positionably inserted into the through passage  40  and engaged into the slot  30  of the track  24 .  
         [0030]     Optionally, each track may have an insert that is integrally constructed within the tabletop. Also, the track may be formed from a separate member, which is securely attached to the tabletop using known fasteners and adhesives.  
         [0031]     As shown in  FIG. 3  and  FIG. 7 , the fixed rail support  14  has a first profile surface  50  and is fixedly attached to the bottom surface  22  of the tabletop  12 . In one embodiment the first profile surface  50  is formed in a wedge shape to facilitate attachment to a rail  11 . Alternatively, as shown in  FIG. 8  and  FIG. 9 , the first profile surface may have any form-fitting shape desirable to effectuate the attachment between the legless deck table  10  and an upright structure. In the embodiment shown in  FIG. 2  and  FIG. 3 , the fixed rail support  14  is fixedly attached to the bottom surface  22  of the tabletop  12  covering the through passage  40 .  
         [0032]     Also shown in  FIG. 2  and  FIG. 3 , the movable rail support  16  has a second profile surface  60  and is adjustably attached to the bottom surface  22  of the tabletop  12 . In this embodiment the second profile surface  60  is formed in a wedge shape for attachment to a rail  11 . Alternatively, the second profile surface may have any form-fitting shape desirable to effectuate the attachment between the legless deck table  10  and an upright structure. In this regard, the first profile surface and the second profile surface need not have the same shape and may even have various shapes including contoured, oblique, form-fitting, custom, and perpendicular shaped surfaces for attachment to the numerous types of upright surfaces.  
         [0033]     Returning back to  FIG. 3 , the movable rail support  16  is sandwiched between a wing nut  46  and a bolt head  44  of bolt  42  positioned in the slot  30 . The movable rail support  16  is reversibly positionable on the tabletop  12  by releasing the sandwich force between the wing nut  46  and the bolt head  44  and then repositioning the movable rail support  16 . Alternatively, the sandwich force required to secure the movable rail support  16  to the track  24  of the tabletop  12  may be accomplished with other fasteners including, for example, a bolt and nut, a toggle latch, a slide fastener, or a quick release clamp.  
         [0034]     In use, shown by  FIG. 1 , the legless deck table  10  may releasably engage an upright structure by positioning the first profile surface  50  of the fixed rail support  14  up to the upright structure, positioning the second profile surface  60  of the movable rail support  16  up to the structure, and then securing the movable rail support  16  to the tabletop  12 . Likewise,  FIG. 12  is a perspective view of still another legless deck table being used to advantage in accordance with the present invention.  
         [0035]      FIG. 10  shows a plan view of another legless deck table in accordance with the present invention.  FIG. 11  shows a plan view of yet another legless deck table in accordance with the present invention.  FIG. 12  is a perspective view of still another legless deck table being used to advantage in accordance with the present invention. The present invention includes alternative features as optionally shown in the Figures. Specifically, the present invention may have one or more track. Each track may be positioned essentially parallel to the motion of the movable rail support to which it guides. The fixed rail support may be made from multiple parts. There may be more than one fixed rail support. The movable rail support may be made from multiple parts, with at least one track for each part. There may be more than one movable rail support. There may be sets of fixed rail support and movable rail support. The tabletop may be of any shape, half shape, or corner shape. The movable rail support or fixed rail support may have different profile surfaces on one or more of the faces of the rail support; The rail support may have one profile surface on at least one face and optionally have another profile surface on at least one other face. It should be noted that a rail support having at least two profile surfaces will provide additional versatility to the table by allowing a user to mount and configure the rail support to the table top with the profile surface needed in order to best utilize the table.  
         [0036]     In accordance with the present invention presented, the legless deck table may be conveniently attached to the top of an upright protrusion, wall or rail. The legless deck table does not require modification to the attaching structure for it to be attached thereto. The legless deck table is an assembly having a tabletop having one or more tracks, a fixed rail support coupled to the tabletop, and a movable rail support positionably coupled in the track of the tabletop. The fixed rail support is coupled to the tabletop covering the track so as to maintain the positionably coupled movable rail support from disengaging the track of the tabletop during normal use. The legless deck table is conveniently storable without disassembly of its constituent part. The legless deck table may be conveniently removed without disassembly by adjusting and repositioning the movable rail support. The legless deck table may be provided with a handle or grasp to enhance portability. The legless deck table may be constructed from materials used in table construction such as wood, plastic, or metal. In order to improve the portability and durability feature of the table, a material that is lightweight yet rigid such as a composite, fiberglass on wood, aluminum alloy, oak, or reinforced plastic may be used to advantage. While specific materials of construction have been indicated, they are not intended to limit the present invention. Also, the choices of fasteners are well known in the art and therefore the present invention may include various fastener types and is not to be limited by the fasteners previously presented.  
         [0037]     While the invention has been described in connection with one or more embodiments, it should be understood that the invention is not limited to those embodiments. On the contrary, the invention is intended to cover all alternatives, modifications, and equivalents, as may be included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.