Abstract:
A portable tool stand having automatically deployable legs. The tool stand has a body with a work surface and opposed ends. Deployable legs are pivotally mounted to the tool stand. The legs move between a stored position adjacent to the body and a support position wherein the legs are deployed to support the body. Retractable arms are mounted to each end of the body and slide with respect to the body. The deployable legs and the arms are operably connected such that sliding the arms with respect to the body moves the legs between the stored position and the support position.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
       [0001]    This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/111,264 filed Feb. 3, 2015, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The present invention generally relates to tool support stands. Tool support stands are well known and generally employ a work surface to which a tool, such as a saw, can be mounted and legs to support the stand. These tool support stands come in any number of sizes and shapes, but typically have four legs that are fixed in the support position or can be individually folded or telescoped to a closed position. Some of these known work tables also include extendable work surfaces that can be pulled out to make the overall length of the tool stand longer. 
         [0003]    Examples of applicant&#39;s tool stands can be found in United States Design Pat. Nos. D623,672 and D549,749. 
         [0004]    The difficulty with typical tool stands is that they can be large and unwieldy. If the legs are fixed in place, it can be difficult to move the tool stand from job to job. This is true even if wheels are provided to roil the tool stand. Folding legs and extendible legs can be cumbersome. Each log has to be extended or folded out to use the stand and collapsed to transport the stand. 
         [0005]    What is needed is a tool stand that is more compact and can be easily transported. Also a tool stand that has legs that can be easily and quickly deployed. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0006]    In general terms, the tool stand of the present invention provides a relatively compact tool stand that is easily transported to and from jobsites. The tool stand can fit in a fairly small space in a vehicle and can be easily carried to the jobsite. In the disclosed embodiment, there are two sets of handles that double as work supports and a strap that can used to carry the tool stand. The handles are connected to the legs of the tool stand and by extending the arms, the legs are quickly and easily deployed. 
         [0007]    More specifically the portable tool stand of the present invention includes a body having a generally flat work surface, front and back sides, opposed ends and on open bottom. Arms are mounted at both ends for sliding movement with respect to the ends. The arms slide from a closed position adjacent the ends to an open position spaced from the ends. The arms increase the width of the work surface when in the open position and control the position of the legs when slid with respect to the body. 
         [0008]    In the disclosed embodiment, support legs are operatively coupled to the arms such movement of the arms moves the leg. The legs having a retracted position wherein the legs are retracted into the open bottom of the body generally concealing the legs within the body and a support position wherein the legs are extended to support the body. The legs are moved to the retracted position by sliding the arms to the closed position and the legs are moved to the support position by sliding the arms to the open position. 
         [0009]    These and other features and advantages of this invention will become more apparent to those skilled in the art from the detailed description of a preferred embodiment. The drawings that accompany the detailed description are described below. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0010]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the tool stand with automatically deployable legs of the present invention. 
           [0011]      FIG. 2  is front view of the tool stand of the present invention illustrating the arms and deployable legs. 
           [0012]      FIG. 3  is a perspective view of the tool stand of the present invention illustrating handles and deployable legs. 
           [0013]      FIG. 4  is a perspective view of the tool stand of the present invention with the arms extended and legs deployed. 
           [0014]      FIG. 5  is a partial perspective view of the rack and pinion deployment system of the present invention. 
           [0015]      FIG. 6  is a partial perspective view of the linkage deployment system of the present invention with the leg in the storage position. 
           [0016]      FIG. 7 , is a partial perspective view of the linkage deployment system of the present invention with the leg in the use position. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
       [0017]    The portable tool stand of the present invention is shown generally at  10  in  FIGS. 1 through 4 . The tool stand  10  has a body portion  12  with a generally flat top  14  and a bottom surface  16 . As illustrated, the bottom surface  16  is generally flat to allow the tool stand to be stored on a generally flat surface. A strap  18  is provided to carry the tool stand  10 . Additionally, in the disclosed embodiment, a handgrip  21  is provided to allow the tool stand  10  to be carried by the hand grip  21  in the top  14 . As illustrated, the hand grip  21  is formed by an opening in the top  14  with the hand grip  21  spanning that opening. 
         [0018]    Handles and material supports  20  are provided on opposed sides of the body portion  12 . The handles  20  are mounted on arms  22  that can slide with respect to body portion  12 . The handles  20  can be extended to create a work surface that is wider than the width of the body portion  12 . The handles  20  can also be moved perpendicular to the arms  22  to raise the top surface  23  of the handle  20  to a position higher than the top  14  of the body portion  12 , see  FIG. 4 . The handles  20  can be adjusted to accommodate material and support the material in the same plane as the tool, such as for example a miter saw. The handles  20  have a slot that receives a pin extending from the arm  22 . The pin is spring loaded and the slot has indentations. As the handle  20  is moved, the pins engage the indentations to allow ratcheting of the handle  20  with respect to the arm so discreet changes in height can be maintained. As will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art, other methods for controlling the movement of the handle  20  with respect to the arm  22  will be apparent, such as a slot extending through the handle and a threaded lock extending from the arm  22  and through the slot, a flat spring on either the handle  20  or arm  22  to engage and a step ratchet like slot on the handle or single indentation on the arm  22 , etc. 
         [0019]    The handles  20  and more particularly the arms  22  deploy the legs  26  of the portable tool stand  10 . Latches  28  are released to allow the handles  20  to be moved outwardly which simultaneously moves the legs  26  from their stored position, which in the disclosed embodiment in within in the body portion  12 , to the deployed position as shown in  FIG. 4 . The latches  28  can take numerous forms, including a threaded fastener, a latch, a spring loaded pin etc. With reference to  FIG. 3 , the legs  26  are shown partially deployed. 
         [0020]    With reference to  FIG. 5 , a rack and pinion is generally shown at  40 . In the one embodiment of the disclosed embodiment, the legs  26  are deployed by the arms  22  and handles  20  through the use of a rack and pinion as illustrated. The rack  42  is mounted to the arms  22 . The pinion  44  is mounted through an axle  46  to the interior of the body  12  and to the legs  26 . A bearing  48  is provided on the interior walls of the body  12  to allow the axle  46  to journal when the rack  42  rotates the pinion. As illustrated, the axle  46  is shown cut off and not extending to the other adjacent leg. It should be understood that the axle is intended to extend to the adjacent leg and be journaled in a bearing  48  at the opposite interior wall of the body  12 . As will be appreciated, as the arm  22  is pulled out (see the arrow), the pinion  4 $ rotates counterclockwise (see the arrow) causing the leg  26  to deploy. As will be appreciated, a separate rack  42  and pinion  44  are provided on the opposite side of the tool stand  10  to deploy that set of legs. 
         [0021]    With reference to  FIGS. 6 and 7 , another embodiment of the leg  26  deployment system is illustrated. In this embodiment, the legs  26  are deployed by the arms  22  through a link  50  connected between the arm  22  and leg  26 . The link  50  extends from a pivot point  54  connected the arm  22  and a pin  58  mounted within a slot  60  formed in the leg  26 . The leg  26  is pivotally connected to the body  12 . With reference to  FIG. 6 , the leg  26  is in the storage position. The arm  22  is pushed into the body  12  which draws the leg  26  into the body  12 . The sidewall of the body is wide enough to receive and hide the leg in the storage position. 
         [0022]    With reference to  FIG. 7 , the arm  22  has been pulled from the body  12  which causes the link  50  to drive against and pivot the leg  26  to the use position. The slot  60  allows the pin  58  room to move to allow the pivoting of the leg  26 . 
         [0023]    The tool stand  10  is adapted to receive a tool, such as a miter saw  30 , see  FIG. 4 . The miter saw  30  is shown mounted to quick connects  32  to allow the miter saw  30  to be quickly mounted or detached from the stand  10 . Quick connects are well known in the art, an example is illustrated in application United States Design Pat. No. D623,672, included herein by reference. The top surface  14  of the body portion  12  is specially configured to receive the quick connects  32 . As illustrated in  FIG. 4 , the top surface of the handles  20  can be adjusted upwardly to be parallel to the work surface of the tool  30  to provide a work support surface to support the material being cut. 
         [0024]    To deploy the legs the operator releases the latches  28 , grasps the handles  20 , which pull the arms  22  outwardly and automatically deploy the legs  26  from the storage position to the use position. 
         [0025]    When the operator is done with the stand  10  and wants to transport it, the latches  28  are released and the handles  20  are pushed back to the storage position, i.e. adjacent the body  12 . This automatically pivots the legs  26  to the storage position within the body portion  12 . The latches  28  are then latched to retain the handles in the storage position and the stand can then be easily carried or stored. 
         [0026]    The foregoing invention has been described in accordance with the relevant legal standards, thus the description is exemplary rather than limiting in nature. Variations and modifications to the disclosed embodiment may become apparent to those skilled in the art and do come within the scope of the invention. Accordingly, the scope of legal protection afforded this invention can only be determined by studying the following claims.