Patent Publication Number: US-2003230220-A1

Title: Portable desk

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
     [0001] This non-provisional utility patent application claims the benefit of prior filed provisional patent application number 60/389326 filed Jun. 17, 2002. 
    
    
     
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002] (1) Field of the Invention  
       [0003] The present invention relates generally to tables and, more particularly, to a portable desk suited for use on a person&#39;s lap and supported by a chair&#39;s arms.  
       [0004] (2) Description of the Prior Art  
       [0005] Portable desks are small personal tables that fit on a person&#39;s lap to make it easy for a person to read or write within a person&#39;s proximity in a natural setting such as while sitting in a chair or on the sofa or recliner while watching television. In today&#39;s increasingly sedentary society portable desks provide a necessary tool for multi-tasking. For example one may read, write, eat, type or surf the internet on a portable desk while watching television in one&#39;s recliner, sitting on a lawn chair on a summer&#39;s day, or sitting by the pool under the shade. Prior patents such as those cited below describe varieties of portable desks.  
       [0006] U.S. Pat. No. 4,969,698 issued Nov. 13, 1990, to Stuart T. Maynard, Jr., describes an apparatus for a portable desk having a work surface panel that is supported over a seated user by support compartments which extend to the seat surface during use. The support compartment folds to the underside of the work surface panel when not in use so that the desk can be freestanding on the work surface panel front edge. The support compartments provide storage for books and a pencil holder. A drawer beneath the work surface panel is slideable in two directions, toward the user for access and away from the user to support books or papers proximate the work surface panel and is sandwiched between the work surface panel and the storage compartments when the storage compartment are folded under the work surface panel.  
       [0007] U.S. Pat. No.  5 , 310 , 244  issued May 10, 1994, to Alvin G. Borgardt describes a lapboard that is adapted to be fitted to a chair with two arms, where the lapboard is a generally flat surface with a cleat positioned to generally parallel to and close one arm of the chair and a second cleat positioned generally parallel to and close to the other arm of the chair, plus securing means for securing the lapboard to the chair. The lapboard is secured by one or two straps connected to the rear right and left of the lap board and looped around behind the occupant of the chair, preferably fastened by a quick release clip. A second strap connected to the front right and left of the lapboard can be looped around the arms to secure the front of the lapboard.  
       [0008] U.S. Pat. No. 5,497,706 issued Mar. 12, 1996, to Cheong Ah Yong describes a device for a portable table including a top surface having a plurality of compartments =positioned within a removable block member permitting ease of cleaning and maintenance of the block and the compartments therewithin, and including pivotally mounted legs mounted to a bottom wall of the table, wherein pairs of the legs are arranged for interconnection to optionally employ a tensioning structure to maintain the legs in an orthogonal relationship relative to the bottom wall.  
       [0009] U.S. Pat. No. 6,173,656 issued Jan. 16, 2001, to David K. Blanchard describes a portable lap table to be used by small children for traveling in a vehicle. The lap table includes a kidney shaped board surface, a center support structure, and the center support structure being arched and contoured to fit the user&#39;s thighs for comfort and stability. The table&#39;s top surface may have various recesses for holding crayons, drinks, and the like, a gutter for containing liquid spills, an outer lip to prevent objects from rolling off the surface, and handles for portability.  
       [0010] The portable desk in the &#39;698 patent is non-unitary, non-ergonomic and bulky. The &#39;244 patent is fitted for a wheel chair and non-ergonomic. The &#39;706 patent is mounted on legs and non-ergonomic. Unlike the other three above, the &#39;656 patent is continuously kidney shaped. As a result of the kidney shape it is more likely that the center of the edge of the table may tip over. This instability and tipping tendency makes it impossible to use the desk without an additional support underneath the desk surface. As such, the &#39;656 patent includes a central support structure fitting between the legs of a child. The handles of the table are also located in uncomfortable positions on the left and right sides of the table. Grasping the board with two hands would be awkward for child or adult alike. Thus, there remains a need for a substantially unitary and ergonomic portable desk, one that is not prone to tipping over and is easily moved using two hands. The present invention addresses and solves these issues.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0011] The present invention is directed to a unitary portable desk for laptop use and supported by a chair&#39;s arms having an arched center region with two substantially rectangular side regions located on the right and left sides of the arched center region which regions are symmetrical in the Y-direction of the desk.  
       [0012] In a preferred embodiment, the portable desk is composed of a unitary piece of material.  
       [0013] Preferably, the portable desk includes two parallel-positioned handles located near the bottom side of the right and left substantially horizontal regions, such that the handles face the desk user when the desk is in use.  
       [0014] Still another aspect of the present invention is to provide a portable desk that includes releasable securement devices positioned across the portable desk at the junctures of the central arched region and the substantially rectangular regions for releasably securing desktop items.  
       [0015] These and other aspects of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art after a reading of the following description of a preferred embodiment when considered with the drawings. 
     
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
     [0016]FIG. 1 is a top view of a preferred embodiment of the portable desk. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
     [0017] In the following description, like reference characters designate like or corresponding parts throughout the several views. Also in the following description, it is to be understood that such terms as “forward,” “rearward,” “front,” “back,” “right,” “left,” “upwardly,” “downwardly,” and the like are words of convenience and are not to be construed as limiting terms.  
     [0018] The present invention provides a portable desk for providing a lightweight portable work surface including a unitary portable desk having a work surface and an opposing bottom surface; a centrally arched region having opposite ends; a bottom side and a top side of the centrally arched region that are spaced apart and substantially parallel; and two substantially rectangular regions, each of the substantially rectangular regions positioned on the opposite ends of the centrally arched region, wherein the opposing bottom surface is supportable by a chair&#39;s arms, wherein the two substantially rectangular side regions are symmetrical about an axis running through a center point of the arched region on each of the top and bottom sides, thereby providing stability and comfortable fit about the waist area of a seated user when the unitary portable desk is balanced across the chair&#39;s arms.  
     [0019] Referring now to the drawings in general, the illustrations are for the purpose of describing a preferred embodiment of the invention and are not intended to limit the invention thereto. As shown in FIG. 1, the present invention provides a portable desk for laptop use and to be supported by a chair&#39;s arms, referred to as  1  generally, includes three major components, a centrally arched region  1  having opposite ends and a bottom side  7 . 0  and a top side  8 . 0 , and two substantially rectangular regions  3  and  4  each positioned on opposite ends of the arched region. The portable desk is symmetrical in the Y-direction and asymmetrical in the X-direction, where the Y-direction is established by an axis running between two points B-B located at the central or peak point of the arched regions of each of the spaced apart substantially parallel sides and the X-direction is established at a right angle to the Y-direction axis and running through a central point of the desk surface through A-A. The figure does not show the bottom surface of the portable desk that is positioned facing downward toward the user&#39;s lap when the user is seated in a chair. However, it is the bottom  7 . 0  that is juxtapositioned next to the torso or abdominal area when the desk is in use.  
     [0020] The bottom side or edge  7 . 2  of the centrally arched region  2  contours generally to accommodate the abdominal portion or region of a person, generally in the area of a person&#39;s waist or the area slightly above the lap area of a seated person. Preferably the bottom side of the desk is arched away from the body, or inward or concave into the portable desk toward a central area of the desk, such as at the intersection of the X- and Y-axes established in the foregoing. The top side  8 . 2  of the centrally arched region preferably is arcuate or arched in shape, more preferably corresponding to the bottom side arch  7 . 2 . Alternatively, the top side  8 . 2  may be modified to include edges rather than a continuous curve as with the arched form previously described.  
     [0021] One of the pair of substantially rectangular regions, a right region  3 , extends outwardly from a right side of the centrally arched region  2 . It has bottom side  7 . 1 , right side  5 , and top side  8 . 1 . Correspondingly, the second of the pair of substantially rectangular regions, the left region  4 , extends outwardly from a left side of the central arched region  2 . It has bottom side  7 . 3 , left side  6 , and top side  8 . 3 . The-substantially rectangular character of the right region  3  and left region  4  of the desk  1  provides stability for the portable desk. Additionally, it allows a person to naturally rest his or her arms on the rectangular region. Importantly, due to the unique shape of the desk surface, any pressure applied by the user&#39;s resting arms, which typically occurs at the opposing sides in the substantially rectangular regions  3  and  4 , further stabilizes the desk against the chair arms thereby preventing the portable desk from tipping over. In the preferred embodiment of the desk the rectangular regions and central arched regions merge continuously to form a unitary desk surface. Alternatively, the rectangular regions may be joined with the central arched region to provide a jointed structure that allows for folding the desk to create a more portable desk.  
     [0022] Preferably, the portable desk is made from a unitary material, rather than being formed of a multiplicity of attached components, such as a single piece of wood. The wood may be laminated, coated or treated to aid surface cleaning. Alternatively, the desk may be composed of or include other materials including lightweight metals, plastic, and composite materials.  
     [0023] Preferably, the portable desk includes two parallel-positioned handles  9  and  10  located near the bottom sides of the right and left substantially rectangular regions,  7 . 1  and  7 . 3  respectively. In a preferred embodiment, the handles are formed by oblong holes or openings in the rectangular regions. The handles are shaped to fit many sizes of hands. They are preferably shaped as extended ovals. Parallel positioning near the bottom side provides for ease of moving the portable desk due to ergonomic arrangement, since the wrists do not need to bend or twist unnaturally in order to grasp the handles, which face the user&#39;s abdominal region. By contrast the invention described in the &#39;656 patent has handles that extend outward requiring awkward wrist positioning that could injure the user. In the present invention, the handles may be positioned alternatively in other positions on the portable desk. The handles in the present invention may be contoured to fit the fingers of a person, making it more comfortable for one to move the portable desk. Moreover, rubber grips may be added for increased comfort and ease of use.  
     [0024] Still another aspect of the present invention is to provide a portable desk that includes releasable securement devices  11  and  12  that are moveably positioned across the portable desk. In a preferred embodiment the releasable securement devices are near the junctures of the central arched region and the substantially rectangular regions. Preferably, in one embodiment the releasable securement devices are elastic straps, more preferably rubber bands. The releasable securement devices are repositionable and stretchable to secure items placed on the work surface of the desk and are used to hold items such as papers, pens, etc. that are used by the desk user while seated, but that may be held in place by the releasable securement devices if the user adjusts the desk while seated and/or moves the desk to stand and to carry it to another location.  
     [0025] Although preferred and alternative embodiments of the present invention have been described above and illustrated in the accompanying, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the invention is not limited to those embodiments disclosed, but is capable of numerous improvements and modifications without departing from the spirit of the invention. Certain modifications and improvements will occur to those skilled in the art upon a reading of the foregoing description. All modifications and improvements have been deleted herein for the sake of conciseness and readability but are properly within the scope of the following claims.