Patent Publication Number: US-2007095770-A1

Title: Fish tank stand

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
      This application is related to a design patent application filed concurrently herewith with the same name, Attorney Docket Number RLA 35.238, the disclosure of which is specifically incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
      This invention is in the field of stands and, more specifically, to fish tank stands.  
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      Fish tanks are commonly made of glass and contain water within an enclosure in which fish swim. Although fish tanks come in many different sizes and shapes, rectangular fish tanks are fairly common. When a larger rectangular fish tank is filled with water, it can be relatively heavy and require a sturdy support structure. Fish tanks can be supported in elaborate custom built wood units or built into walls, but there is also a demand for simpler, inexpensive stands that can hold fish tanks. Such a stand must be sturdy to withhold the weight of a glass fish tank filled with water. One way to make such a stand is to simply construct an iron rectangular stand in which the fish tank is supported by a top planar surface which itself is supported by four perpendicular legs that are firmly affixed, such as by bolts and screws. However, such a unit is heavy, which increases its cost due to shipping, and requires a certain amount of assembly by the ultimate user. In addition, such a unit has a plain “boxy” appearance that is very utilitarian, but might be lacking of certain aesthetic appeal to some consumers.  
      Accordingly, there is a need for a stand that can be used for fish tanks or other units requiring a sturdy stand that is economical, easy to assemble and yet aesthetically pleasing.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      The present invention is generally directed to a fish tank stand with two leg support structures, a top load bearing structure and a shelf that is assembled without any fasteners by engaging locking mechanisms integrally formed in the top load bearing structure with complementary locking structures integrally formed in the leg support structures and then engaging locking mechanisms integrally formed with the shelf with complementary locking mechanisms integrally formed with the two leg support structures.  
      In a first, separate group of aspects of the present invention, each of the leg support structures has two legs and the locking mechanisms are complementary male/female locking mechanisms, such as a peg and a peg groove or peg holder, and these are locking mechanisms can be integrally formed in the four pieces of the fish tank stand. Thus, four pegs can be formed in the top structure to fit with four grooves formed at the top of the legs and the shelf can have four pegs that fit into four lower peg holders in the legs to lock.  
      In a second, separate group of aspects of the present invention, the stand is assembled by engaging pegs of the top structure in their peg grooves of the leg support structures and then inserting the pegs from the shelf into peg holders formed integrally with the lower legs to lock the stand in an assembled state. The top pegs are engaged with their grooves when the legs are perpendicular to the top structure, and then locked in place as the leg support structures move outwardly away from each relative to the top structure.  
      Accordingly, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide an improved fish tank stand.  
      This and further objects and advantages will be apparent to those skilled in the art in connection with the drawings and the detailed description of the invention set forth below. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       FIG. 1  is an assembled fish tank stand according with an especially preferred embodiment of the present invention.  
       FIG. 2  is an exploded view of the fish tank of  FIG. 1 .  
       FIG. 3 . is an illustrative cutaway view showing the locking mechanisms of the fish tank of  FIG. 1  in a locked position.  
       FIG. 4  is an illustrative view showing one of the locking mechanisms illustrated in  FIG. 3 . 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
      In accordance with the present invention, a stand is provided that is especially well suited for use as a fish tank stand.  
      The present invention will now be described in connection with an especially preferred embodiment that illustrates various aspects of the inventive concepts described herein. The stand is designed for ease of manufacture and assembly so that it does not require fasteners, such as screws and nuts, to assemble and lock it in place. Instead, the especially preferred embodiment is designed for ultimate economy in parts and manufacture so that its base model can be made of only four parts. This means that no special packet of fasteners need be included with the unit and no tool of any nature is needed to assemble the unit. Of course, this also means that assembly could not be any easier since all that must be done is to simply fit the four pieces together into their locked position without using any special tools! This, by itself, is revolutionary in its concept, especially for a stand that must be sturdy and reliable.  
      As is shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , a stand according to the present invention, shown generally as  10 , has four integral pieces—two leg support structures  1  and  2 , a top load bearing structure  3  and a shelf  4   
      The two leg support structures  1  and  2  are, preferably, identical structures, and each of these structures has two legs  5  and  6 , a central support  7 , a top engagement mechanism  8  and shelf engagement mechanism  9 , all of which are integrally formed into a single part. Legs  5  and  6  can be fitted with non-skid feet, or they can be fitted with roller wheels (not shown). It is especially preferred that legs  5  and  6  are angled away from top structure  3  at their bottom to increase the stability of a fully assembled stand. Thus, a rectangle formed by the top of the legs where they contact top structure  3  would be parallel to, but entirely within, a rectangle formed by the bottom of the legs where they contact a floor, assuming the top rectangle is directly lowered to the floor.  
      The top load bearing structure  3  is the piece of stand  1  upon which a fish tank is placed, so it should preferably be planar, like a table surface. It is preferable that top structure  3  is not solid, as a solid structure increases weight, and therefore the cost, of stand  1 . However, unlike some fish tank stands that are designed to precisely fit a particular size of tank, it is also preferable that stand  1  be able to accommodate various sizes of tanks. To accomplish this purpose, top structure  3  must be capable of supporting various sizes of tanks and still distribute the weight of such structures to the leg support structures. This is accomplished in an especially preferred embodiment, while also providing some aesthetic appeal, by a series of rectangular structures  11  that are connected together at their corners by corner supports  12  and a central support  13 . When a fish tank is placed on top structure  3 , its weight is ultimately distributed outwardly to the four legs of the two leg support structures  1  and  2 .  
      Top load bearing structure  3  also has four pegs  18  that function as engagement mechanisms together with the four top engagement mechanisms  8  to connect top load bearing structure  3  to leg support structures  1  and  2 . Each of the top engagement mechanisms  8  has a sloping ramp  15  and peg groove  16  which is designed to securely hold a peg  18  when stand  1  is in a locked position. Top engagement mechanisms  8  and pegs  18  function as female and male members, respectfully, when they are locked in place as is shown in  FIG. 3 ; however, such locking does not occur until shelf  4  is also included in the assembly, as will be described below.  
      Shelf  4  is preferably a wire rack, as is shown in  FIG. 2 , with two outer wire pieces  20  having four shelf engagement mechanisms  19  at their ends, and the two wire pieces  20  are connected by multiple cross pieces  21  to form an integral structure capable of serving as a lower shelf. While shelf  4  is shown as having multiple cross pieces  21  that are connected perpendicularly to outer pieces  20 , this design is aesthetic and any other suitable design could be used, as long as shelf  4  is an integral structure.  
      Shelf engagement mechanisms  19  of shelf  4  function together with the four shelf engagement mechanisms  9  of leg support structures  1  and  2  to lock top load bearing structure  3  to leg support structures  1  and  2 . In the especially preferred embodiment shelf engagement mechanisms  19  are simply pegs that can be formed by bending the ends of the two wire pieces  20  while the four shelf engagement mechanisms  9  are simply peg holders formed integrally in legs  5  and  6  of leg support structures  1  and  2  so that pegs  19  function as male members inserted into female members  9 . When all four of the pegs  19  are inserted into their peg holders  9 , shelf  4  serves to lock the four pegs  8  within the four peg grooves  16 . It is especially preferred that pegs  19  are slightly bent so that they will fit snugly in their corresponding peg holders, although they should not be bent so much that it is difficult for them to be properly inserted during assembly.  
      During assembly of fish tank stand  10 , the two leg support structures  1  and  2  are first assembled by hand so as to engage pegs  18  when they are perpendicular to top shelf  3 , and then they will be locked in place as they move outwardly away from this position relative to each other, while shelf  4  will serve to lock them in this position when fully assembled. Thus, to assemble fish tank stand  10 , one need only engage the two leg support structures with top shelf  3  so that pegs  18  are in peg grooves  16 , spread the legs away from each other while the pegs  18  are held in peg grooves  16 , and then insert pegs  19  of the shelf  4  into their peg holders  9  in the four legs of leg support structures  1  and  2  to lock the structure in place, thus creating a solid, strong structure that is held together only by its four integral parts, without the need for any external fasteners or the use of any tools during assembly. To disassemble the fish tank stand, the same steps for assembly are followed in reverse, and then the parts can be stored flat without any fear that fasteners might be lost. Furthermore, such assembly or disassembly can be done in a matter of minutes, or less, which is a far cry from what would is needed to assemble a stand more typical of prior art stands that requires numerous fasteners, often requires the use of tools, and is often less solid and sturdy. Also, there are no fasteners to become loose. Moreover, because the fish tank stand  10 &#39;s legs are not perpendicular to the ground when it is bearing weight, the stand is more stable than a simple rectangular stand with perpendicular legs.  
      It is especially preferred that leg support structures  1  and  2  and top shelf  3  are made of steel pipe while shelf  4  is made of steel wire. Using such a construction, an actual preferred embodiment has been constructed that weighs 15.4 pounds and did not fail under testing until it was subjected to a load of over 700 pounds, which is well beyond a desired support weight of 200 pounds for use as a fish tank stand. Such a stand can be packaged in an unassembled state in a flat pack and, due its light weigh and compact shipping size, economically shipped for mass distribution in the consumer market.  
      While the invention has been described herein with reference to several especially preferred embodiments, these embodiments have been presented by way of example only, and not to limit the scope of the invention. For example, while the especially preferred embodiment has been described as using male locking members in the top structure and shelf and female locking members in the leg support structures, these could be reversed. Similarly, male and female locking members other than pegs and grooves or peg holders could also be used. Thus, additional embodiments of the present invention will be obvious to those skilled in the art having the benefit of this detailed description, especially to meet specific requirements or conditions. Further modifications are also possible in alternative embodiments without departing from the inventive concept.  
      Accordingly, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that still further changes and modifications in the actual concepts described herein can readily be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosed inventions as defined by the following claims.