Abstract:
Those skilled in the art may discover that various adaptations or modifications of this described preferred embodiment may be altered without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention. Therefore, within the scope of these stated claims, this invention may be practiced other than as uniquely described herein.

Description:
[0001]    [0001]                                                 References Cited       U.S. Patent Documents                                    December, 1977   Albertson   5/482           September, 1992   Rudy   5/507.1                        
     
    
     
       FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    This invention generally relates to podiums for the support of books or other literature for the common reader or studier and, more specifically, to such a device that can be used while lying in bed or sitting in a chair and can easily be collapsed into a small, compact, lightweight package for easy transit or storage. Many people tend to retire to their bed or easy chair to read before falling asleep. Others like students find the need to study in bed. Such an activity requires the continuous holding of reading material for long periods of time and can be tiresome and very uncomfortable.  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0003]    A typical podium provides a way to hold a speaker&#39;s reading materials. Generally, the podium stands upright in front of the speaker and has a slanted top surface that supports papers at a convenient angle for the speaker to quickly glance at. U.S. Pat. No. Des. 320,319 to Brothers et al. illustrates a typical podium with an inclined support surface that holds books and papers at a convenient angle. Although this design is useful, it suffers from a lack of versatility and can&#39;t be folded away to save space when not in use. Furthermore, none of these podiums are simple enough to use while lying in bed. A casual night reader or student would have no means to support his literature while lying down. He would therefore have to toss and turn to find a comfortable holding position for his reading material and would tend to tire more quickly from doing so.  
           [0004]    In addressing this problem, Rudy, U.S. Pat. No. 5,245,717 provides a sleeve with an interior passageway for inserting a person&#39;s arms. This allows the reader to support his arm while holding the reading material and simultaneously providing heat to them as well. Such a device can be awkward and cumbersome and does not function without the continual commitment of the hands and arms in a stressful stationary position for long periods of time. There is also the further cost of batteries or the hassle of plugging in an electrical cord to run the blanket heater.  
         INVENTION SUMMARY  
         [0005]    Provided is a versatile podium which includes a platform and a pivotal material clamp for holding a book or literature firmly such that reading can take place in nearly any position as well as lying on one&#39;s backside in the sleeping position. In this regard the article can embrace the literature firmly such that the user may read completely hands free even in an upwardly position while lying in bed. The invention is useful in providing comfort and can even aid in the sleep process. Since reading can now be achieved while lying flat on the user&#39;s backside, sleep can take place at any moment without any other movement or adjustment of the body. Furthermore, bodily sleep on a person&#39;s backside is medically considered the most optimal position for relaxation of the body&#39;s joints, spine, muscles and nerves. With this invention problems in the art are finally solved. No longer need there be the discomfort of supporting reading materials while lying down or sitting. Even warmth of the arms, hands and shoulders can be achieved naturally by simply lying in bed under the blankets. The solutions presented here are for the delight of the common user. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0006]    The purpose and usefulness of this invention will become apparent upon reference to the following detailed description and accompanying drawings.  
         [0007]    The following description will use reference numerals to designate like parts throughout the figures thereof and wherein:  
         [0008]    [0008]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the assembled podium;  
         [0009]    [0009]FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the collapsed podium with all accompanying parts;  
         [0010]    [0010]FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a single adjustable length leg and is representative of every adjustable length rod on the podium;  
         [0011]    [0011]FIG. 4 is an exploded view of the adjustable leg of FIG. 3 that illustrates the inner design of all adjustable rods in the podium;  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 5 is an exploded view of a typical book clamp internal spring assembly;  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the closed assembly in FIG. 5 with the nylon tension line and its accompanying adjustable support rods. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0014]    The following description is intended to assist any manufacturer or user in understanding the invention&#39;s structure and design in order set forth the best modes contemplated by the inventor for carrying out this invention to its highest potential. Other modifications to this design will remain apparent to those skilled in the art, since the generic principles of this invention have been described herein specifically to provide a handy, lightweight versatile podium. As can be seen in FIG. 1, the assembled podium is comprised of four main parts: a platform  16 , a horizontal support bar  12 , a leg  11  and a foot bar  9 . All the parts of the podium are tubular rods  11 ,  12  with the exception of the flat panel  16  with clamp assembly  19  and projection assembly  14 . They can be made out of numerous different materials such as plastic, aluminum or carbon fiber composites. Since the object of the present invention is intended to be lightweight the preferred embodiment uses mainly plastic such as ABS with the exception of the panel  16  and the clamp assembly  19  that require extra strength materials like aluminum. When assembled, the podium can stand over a bed or an easy chair since the foot  9  and foot stabilizers  21  form, as seen from above, a very stable “H” shaped construction that mates with the floor and leg  11 . The length of the leg  11  can be easily adjusted to a convenient height by simply sliding it in a telescoping manner. The pivotal retainer  13  and projection assembly  14  that embrace the panel  16  can be rotated to any convenient reading angle by loosening the adjustment screws  15  and retightening them again in the preferred reading position. Furthermore, the pivotal retainer  13  and projection assembly  14  have the freedom to rotate with the panel  16  to any angle within a 360 degree radius around the horizontal support bar  12  to allow users the convenience of reading while lying on one&#39;s back side in bed. The spring-loaded material clamp assembly  19  will firmly hold books or reading material in place in any chosen position. If used outdoors, the spring-loaded material clamp assembly  19  holds papers securely for adequate wind protection. All individual components are fastened with hand locking adjustment screws  15 , 18  and are simple to unscrew for easy disassembly or reassembly. The corner support stirrups  10  are the only components that use no screws or rivets since they are simply inserted into alignment holes located between the foot  9  and leg  11  and at the upper corner of the apparatus as shown in FIG. 1. Their purpose is to ensure stability in the assembled position. Portability is an important feature of this podium. As shown in FIG. 2, the parts of the podium are mainly composed of tubular rods sized for convenient disassembly and collapsed into a small bundle for easy transit and storage. When disassembling the podium, the two comer stirrups  10  must be removed and the adjustment screws  15  loosened before folding the podium. Once folded, it is advisable to compress the leg  11  and the horizontal support bar  12  so that the over all length of the dissembled podium can be minimized for convenient storage or placement in a carrying bag or vehicle for transport. To accomplish this one must remove the lock pin  8  and compressing the horizontal support bar  12  in a telescoping manner. Finally the panel  16  along with the attached material clamp assembly  19  may be stored separately or positioned securely with the other parts. As can be seen in FIG. 2, the assembly and disassembly processes are simple operations since the entire podium including the foot  9 , leg  11 , and the horizontal support bar  12  are never separated, but remain affixed in their appropriate locations to prevent any mix-up or confusion among assembled components. Assembly is simply the reverse process of the above description. The collapsed podium is simply lifted by the top horizontal support bar  12  while the foot  9  is rotated to lie underneath the panel  16  and parallel to the floor. Temporary physical support must be provided in assembly to support the horizontal support bar  12  until the two comer stirrups  10  are reinserted and the foot stabilizers  21  are positioned and tightened with wing nuts  22  as shown in FIG. 1. Once the podium is self-supported the leg  11  and horizontal support bar  12  may be adjusted for the most convenient height and width. In order to set the width one must slide the horizontal support bar  12  in a telescoping manner and then insert the locking pin  8  into the most convenient hole  24 . The final step in assembly is the tightening and adjusting of the projection assembly screws  15  in order to position the panel  16  for the most comfortable reading position. In the assembled position, FIG. 1 shows that the back edge of the panel  16  is attached to the pivotal retainer  13  and projection assembly  14  with two easy locking projection assembly adjustment screws  15 . As can be seen in FIG. 1, the material clamp  19  slides tightly along support rails  17  which position the entire material clamp assembly  19  to lie just above the panel  16  while sustaining adequate vertical separation between the panel  16  and the clamp assembly  19  to allow room for reading material. The leg  11  and horizontal support bar  12  are made to telescope in or out to adjust the podium&#39;s height or width as shown in FIG. 3 and the view is exploded in FIG. 4 to illustrate its internal extension limiting design. The leg  11  is attached firmly at a right angle to the end of the horizontal support bar  12  through a set of riveted metal tabs  23  and further secured with corner support stirrup  10  as shown. The foot  9  is attached at a right angle to the leg with metal tabs  23  and further supported with comer support stirrup  10  to ensure stability. The leg  11  is not locked in position but rather allowed to pivot about joint  7  at any time for extra versatility. When in use, the flat panel  16  is used to support a book by rotating the spring-loaded material clamp assembly  19  clockwise and then lifting the book binding support wire  20  to allow enough clearance for its placement. Once in position, the front end of the binding support wire  20  is pressed to snap and mate security with the front edge of the panel  16  to support the book securely between its binding and the flat surface of the panel  16 . Once secured and the preferred page opened, the material clamp assembly  16  can be released and allowed to rotate counter clockwise until the material tension line  27  presses the pages of the book tightly so that reading may take place in nearly any position. When turning pages the material clamp assembly  19  is simply rotated to allow access and then released to re-clamp the pages in the opened reading position. When using flat or loose pages, the book binding support wire  20  may be removed so that papers can be firmly held in place solely by the material clamp assembly  19  and tension line  27 . The assembled material clamp assembly  19  shown in FIG. 6 is composed of a tension line  27  tied at each end to adjustable fasteners  25  that lock perpendicularly to the spring-loaded pivot rod  26  while maintaining adequate parallel separation between the tension line  27  and the pivot rod  26 . The tension line  27  can be made from nylon or metal and must be thin to avoid any visual obstruction of words. The rest of the material clamp assembly  19  should be made from a metal such as aluminum for rigidity and strength. FIG. 5 shows a typical internal design of the spring-loaded clamp assembly  19 .