Patent Publication Number: US-6663074-B2

Title: Portable artist&#39;s horse

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention relates to a portable horse for use by an artist, and more particularly to a foldable bench which can be transformed from a travel configuration, where wheels and a handle render it portable, to a working or erected configuration where it provides a seat for an artist and a support for the artist&#39;s canvas or drawing board. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Artists and illustrators often need to draw or paint in locations remote from their studios and accordingly must transport their canvas or boards, and paints or drawing materials to such a remote location. Moreover, once they have arrived they are in need of a seat upon which to sit and an easel or other support for their canvas, drawing board or the like. In addition, one can see that the gathering and transport of all such equipment is not a simple task, and accordingly equipment that would facilitate such storage and transport in a convenient manner would be appreciated. 
     Over the years various solutions to this problem have been proposed. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,907,360 (1975) discloses an artist&#39;s horse which is collapsible to permit its portable transportation in a collapsed condition in use as a bench and easel in its erected condition. U.S. Pat. No. 4,482,185 (1984) discloses a foldable easel which converts from a compact configuration (where it is portable and can be carried) to an erect configuration where it provides a canvas seat for the artist and an easel to hold a canvas or the like. U.S. Pat. No. 5,882,070 (1999) discloses a wheeled box that is equipped with a pair of baby carriage-type wheels at one end and a handle at the opposite end for pushing or pulling the device. A seat and foldable backrest are carried above the wheeled end of the box, and a hinged folding easel is carried at the other end adjacent the handle. U.S. Pat. No. 6,186,593 (2001) discloses a combination of a chair and easel which folds to a transport configuration and unfolds to an erected configuration for supporting a board or easel in appropriate relationship to a seat for the artist. A pair of adjustable straps allow the device, in its folded configuration, to be transported in a manner similar to that in which a hiker would carry an external frame backpack. 
     Although these patents have proposed various different solutions to the problem of providing convenience of transportation of supplies and equipment by an artist to a location remote from the artist&#39;s studio, none of them has been totally satisfactory in providing compact secure storage and true ease of portability, and accordingly further solutions to this problem have continued to be sought. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention provides a portable artist&#39;s horse which includes a pair of bench sections that are hinged to each other and which each contain storage compartments; they can be folded or unfolded to transform the horse from a working or erected configuration to a compact travel configuration in which the bench sections are juxtaposed with each other at a major surface thereof. At least two rollers carried by one bench section provide portability without lifting, and a foot attached to the other bench section supports the folded artist&#39;s horse in an upright orientation. A latch arrangement secures the two bench sections in its travel configuration by interconnecting a pair of juxtaposed handles that extend from the top of each bench section in the travel configuration and facilitate lifting the horse. An extensible travel handle, attached to the bench section that carries the wheels, facilitates easy transport. In the erected or working configuration, a pair of hinged legs, parts of which double as the lifting handles in the travel configuration, provide stable support for the bench sections in an extended configuration that provides a seat for an artist and ready access to supplies. An extensible easel carried in the storage compartment in the bench section that serves as the seat provides support for a canvas in a convenient location for painting. The insertion of a foot plate into a set of slots provided in the upper surface of the extended bench in combination with the upstanding door of the other storage compartment supports a drawing board in a working orientation. Insertion of the foot plate into another set of slots facilitates transport of a board or a canvas supported upon the portable folded horse. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an artist&#39;s horse embodying various features of the present invention shown as supporting a canvas on a removable easel in a location and orientation ready for painting. 
     FIG. 2 is a perspective view similar to FIG. 1 showing the artist&#39;s horse with the easel removed and with a drawing board supported in an oblique position desired for drawing thereupon by an artist. 
     FIG. 3 is a front view, enlarged in size, with portions broken away of the horse as shown in FIG.  2 . 
     FIG. 4 is a right side view of the horse as shown in FIG. 3 with the drawing board and its lower support removed and with the door to the storage compartment closed. 
     FIG. 5 is a top view of the horse shown in FIG. 4 with the legs collapsed. 
     FIG. 6 is a bottom view of the horse in the configuration shown in FIG.  5 . 
     FIG. 7 is a fragmentary and exploded view, enlarged in size, which diagrammatically illustrates the movement of the hinged edges of the two bench sections as they are being opened from a collapsed configuration into the erected configuration shown in FIGS. 1 through 6. 
     FIG. 8 is a front view of the horse shown standing upright in its folded travel configuration. 
     FIG. 9 is a right side elevation view of the horse as shown in FIG. 8, with a canvas and drawing board supported for transit. 
     FIG. 10 is a top view of the horse shown in FIG. 9 but enlarged in size. 
     FIG. 11 is a bottom view of the horse as shown in FIG.  10 . 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     The invention provides an artist&#39;s horse  11  which, in its erected configuration, is designed to either support a canvas in a vertical orientation (FIG. 1) or to support a drawing board in an oblique orientation (FIGS.  2  and  3 ). The artist&#39;s horse  11  comprises a pair of bench sections which are hinged together and which are referred to as a first bench section  13  and a second bench section  15 . Both bench sections have the basic shape of a rectangular parallelepiped, and each is designed to provide a storage compartment. For example, a storage compartment  17  is provided in the first bench section  13  which is closed at its upper surface by a hinged door  19 . A similar hinged door  21  provides access to a storage compartment within the second bench section  15 . 
     For ease of description, the elements of the bench sections are described with reference to the erected configuration shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, and because the bench sections are essentially duplicates of each other, except for their facing inner end walls, the common parts are described only once and when referenced carry an “a” suffix. The first bench section  13  has a pair of sidewalls  23 , an outer end wall  25  and an inner end region or wall  27  (see FIG. 7) which is juxtaposed with the corresponding inner end region  27   a  of the second bench section  15  in the erected configuration. The door  19  constitutes a major part of one main surface, and the other main surface is referred to as a bottom panel  29 . The interior surfaces of the sidewalls  23  are preferably provided with edge strips  30  which provide positive stops and supports for the door  19  in the closed position and are located so that the upper surface of the door  19  thus lies flush with the upper edges of the sidewalls  23  and the upper edges of the end walls  25  and  27  and provides a smooth flat surface when the door is closed. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 7 for example, the door is preferably provided with a key lock  31  both for security purposes and to guard against inadvertent opening of the door when the horse is in its transport configuration, which is depicted in FIGS. 8,  9 ,  10  and  11 . 
     The parallelepiped bench sections  13  and  15  are interconnected by a pair of hinges  33 , with the plate sections of the hinges  33  being preferably mortised into the lower surfaces of the inner end regions  27 ,  27   a  of the bench sections so the bench sections smoothly abut each other in the transport configuration, as shown in FIG.  9 . As best perhaps in FIG. 7, although the inner end wall  27  of the first box section  15  is essentially of full length extending between the two sidewalls  23 , an end wall  35  of shorter longitudinal dimension is used at the other inner end region  27   a  in order to provide a pair of pockets  37  in the inner end region of the second bench section  15 , which pockets receive a pair of wheels or rollers  39  as described hereinafter. 
     To render the horse portable and to support it in an upright orientation, two spaced apart rollers  39  are affixed to the inner end wall  27  of the first bench section  13 . As best seen in FIGS. 8 and 9, the rollers are spaced substantially apart and located near the respective sidewalls  23  of the bench section. A foot member  41  is carried by the inner end wall  35  of the second box section  15  which includes a pair of spaced apart toes  43  that contact the floor or ground upon which the artist&#39;s horse is supported in upright condition. To facilitate the movement of the horse in its portable configuration, an extensible travel handle  45  is provided which is mounted on the door  19  of the first bench section  13 . Although other configurations may be used, the illustrated transport handle  45  includes a central grip  47  that is affixed to the tops of a pair of vertical rods  49   a  that are telescopically received in hollow tubes  49   b  for telescopic movement. As best seen in FIG. 8, the travel handle can be withdrawn, for example about 12 inches or more, so that it can be conveniently used to pull or push the folded horse while the artist is walking. The support tubes  49   b  are suitably affixed to the exterior surface of the door by appropriate brackets or the like, and the length of the handle is such that, when it is totally collapsed as shown in full lines in FIG. 8, it does not interfere with the door  19  swinging open. Moreover, the upper end of the grip  47  is preferably flat, and the mounting of the extensible handle  45  on the door is preferably such that, when the door has been opened to the full vertical position as shown in FIG. 3, the flat edge of the grip  47  will contact the upper surface of the outer end wall  25  and thus stably support the door in an essentially vertical orientation, as can be generally discerned from FIG.  8  and as shown in FIG.  3 . In addition, to more stably interconnect the door  19  to the first bench section  13  and to secure it in such a vertical orientation, a pair of arcuate sliding braces  51  are pivotally attached to the interior surface of the door and to the sidewalls  23  of the bench section, as best seen in FIG. 3, with their mounting being preferably located on the interior surface of each sidewall in the region of the storage compartment. 
     As best seen in FIGS. 5 and 7, the upper portion of the inner end wall  27  of the first bench section  13  is formed with a cavity  53  that is shaped to accommodate the foot member  41  affixed to the inner end wall  27   a  of the second bench section  15  when the two bench sections are aligned in the erected configuration. Moreover, the upper region is also provided with a slot  55  that extends from sidewall to sidewall for a purpose to be described hereinafter. Similarly, the upper surface of the inner end wall  27   a  of the second bench section is provided with a set of three spaced slots  57  which serve a similar purpose to the slot  55 , as is explained hereinafter. 
     As seen for example in FIGS. 8 and 9, in the travel configuration, each of the bench sections includes a lifting handle  59  that extends upward beyond the respective inner end wall. As best seen in FIG. 9, the lifting handles  59  are juxtaposed in this configuration, and the horse is secured in the travel configuration by the inner engagement of a pair of latches  61  which, when secured to each other, prevent the two sections from thereafter pivoting at the hinges  33  until released. The provision of a hand hole  63  facilitates lifting or other manipulation of the travel horse. 
     As can be seen from FIG. 9, in the travel configuration, the horse  11  stands perfectly upright in vertical orientation, and in its compact condition, it can be conveniently stored in the artist&#39;s studio when not being used. However, when ready for use, the extension of the travel handle  45 , as by pulling the grip  47  directly upward, extends the grip about a foot above the top of the horse and permits it to be conveniently pulled or pushed as the artist travels from his or her studio to a desired location for painting or drawing. 
     Once the destination is reached, the handle  45  is returned to its retracted position, and the latches  61  are opened so as to free the handles from each other. The two bench sections are then opened by pivoting about the hinges  33 , as generally shown in FIG.  7 . Such opening movement causes the pair of rollers  39  to be received in the two spaced apart pockets  37  and the foot  41  to be received in the central cavity  53 . Pivoting movement continues until the inner end wall surfaces of the two bench sections abut each other, at which time the horse appears as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 and in this configuration, the lifting handles  59  still extend from opposite ends of the aligned bench sections. 
     As best seen in FIG. 6, the handles  59  are integral portions of a pair of support legs  65 , which legs in the illustrated embodiment are constructed in the form of wood panels, each of which is formed with a pair of feet  67  at its bottom end. Each support leg  65  is proportioned so as to be received between the sidewalls  23  of the bench section and to fit into rectangular recesses provided in the bottom surface of each of the bench sections in its collapsed configuration; thus, the support legs  65  and their lifting handle portions  59  lie in juxtaposition when the horse in its travel configuration (FIG.  9 ). Each leg is connected to the outer end wall  25  of the respective bench section by a pair of hinges  69 . The hinges  69  are preferably mortised into the end surfaces of the outer end walls  25  of the bench sections, as best seen in FIG. 10; they may also be mortised into the interior surface at the top of each of the support legs so that when the support legs pivot into the collapsed storage position in the recesses provided between the sidewalls of each bench section, they occupy a minimum amount of space. To provide the support legs with stability in the erected position, a folding strut  71  is provided along an outer edge of each leg which is connected to the inner surface of the sidewalls  23 . To accommodate the folding struts  71 , the side edges of the support legs are preferably cut away to provide shallow cavities within which they are received in the folded, stored position. The illustrated hinge placement, where the hinges  69  are mounted at a location on the interior surface of the support legs  65  below the lifting handle portions, provides additional stability in the erected configuration as a result of interengagement between the lifting handle portions of the legs and the outer end surfaces  25  of the bench sections. As can best be seen from FIGS. 3 and 4, the outer end walls of the bench sections are provided with recesses  73  which receive the lifting handle portions  59  of the support legs in the erected configuration. 
     Once the artist has reached the destination where he wishes to paint or draw, the extensible travel handle  45  is returned to its storage condition, as depicted in FIGS. 3 and 5 and in full lines in FIG.  8 . The latches  61 , which interconnected the juxtaposed lifting handles, are then unlatched; thereafter, the horse can either be positioned on its side or with the door  21  of the second bench section resting flat on the ground, and the two bench sections then pivoted about the hinge  33 . Once the two bench sections  13 ,  15  are in alignment, the support legs  65  can be pivoted to their support positions from their storage positions and locked in this orientation by engaging the folding struts  71 , as shown in FIG.  3 . With both support legs  65  extended and locked, the horse can be set up into its working position; the storage compartments can then be accessed through the top doors  21  and  19  once both have been opened. It is contemplated that the door  19  would then remain in the vertical essentially position, as shown in FIGS. 1,  2  and  3 , whereas the door  21  would be closed, once the articles in the storage compartment have been withdrawn, to provide a seat for the artist. The storage compartment in the second bench section  15  provides convenient storage for a slidable easel and a foot plate or shelf plate support and can also readily and conveniently store an auxiliary support stand, made of interconnected panels, which holds a pallet, a cup of water and the like to assist the artist when painting. 
     As best seen in FIG. 2, the door  19  to the first bench section carries upper and lower attachment means, i.e. support brackets  75  on its interior surface. A first easel member  77  carries a pair of lugs (not shown) on its rear surface which interengage with the support brackets  75  and thus mount the first easel member  77  extending vertically on the opened door  19 , as shown in FIG.  1 . On its front surface, the first easel member carries a horizontally extending shelf  79  designed to receive the bottom edge of an artist&#39;s canvas. A second or upper easel member  81  is extensibly linked with the first easel member, preferably in a telescoping arrangement, so that it can slide upward or downward to accommodate a canvas of varying size. The second easel member  81  carries a keeper  84  at its upper end which is proportioned to fit about the upper edge of an artist&#39;s canvas  85 , as shown in FIG. 1, and thus support the canvas in an essentially vertical or slightly past vertical orientation convenient for the artist to paint upon. 
     If, instead of using the horse for painting, it is desired to use it to support a drawing board, the easel support members  77  and  81  are left in the storage compartment of the second bench section  15 , and a foot plate  85  is interconnected with the first bench section  13 . The foot plate  85  is best seen in FIG. 7, and it consists of a plate  87  that is formed so as to have three tongues  89 . The plate carries an intermediate flange  91  which extends perpendicular thereto from one surface thereof. With the artist&#39;s horse in its erected configuration with the door  19  upstanding, the three tongues  89  of the support  85  are inserted downward into the long slot  55  provided in the upper surface of the first bench section  13  so that the tongues  89  flank the toes  43  of the foot member  41  and with the flange  91  facing the upraised door  19 . This arrangement is shown in FIG. 1 simply for illustration as it would not be used when painting a canvas  84 ; it is also shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 as providing support for the bottom edge of a drawing board  93  supported in an oblique position upon the upper edge of the open door  19 . 
     The foot plate  85  also doubles as a transport support for a canvas or drawing board when the horse  11  is in the travel configuration as shown in FIG.  9 . In this respect, the three slots  57  mentioned previously in the upper surface of the second bench section near its interior end wall are dimensioned to accept the three tongues  89 , as best seen perhaps in FIGS. 5 and 7, which can be inserted whenever the rollers  39  are not disposed in the pockets  37 . This arrangement is depicted in FIG. 9 where the foot plate  85  is inserted with the flange  91  facing upward. When so inserted, it provides a bottom support or base on which a drawing board and/or a canvas can be supported so that they lean against the door  21  of the second bench section when the horse is tilted and being pulled by the artist using the extended handle  45 . FIG. 9 shows both a drawing board and a canvas supported for transport in the case of an artist wishing to paint and sketch at a single destination. 
     From the foregoing discussion of this preferred embodiment, it can be seen that there has been provided a compact and useful artist&#39;s horse which sturdily and comfortably supports an artist while he is sketching or painting at a destination removed from his studio. However, it not only provides for convenient and accessible storage for paint brushes, drawing implements, etc., as well as an adjustable easel and optionally a folded auxiliary support for a pallet and/or water cup, but in addition it is easily manipulated to a transport configuration wherein it can be easily wheeled using a conveniently extensible transport handle while supporting a drawing board and/or canvas on the wheeled device. 
     Although the invention has been described with regard to a preferred embodiment which constitutes the best mode contemplated by the inventor for carrying out his invention, it should be understood that various changes and modifications, as would be obvious to one having the ordinary skill in this art, may be made without departing from the scope of the invention which is set forth in the claims appended hereto. For example, although the artist&#39;s horse is illustrated as being primarily made from wood, it should be understood that other materials could be used; for example, the bench sections and legs and doors might be mass produced from metal. Likewise, other hinge placement or other latches and/or struts may be used, or the door  21  might be hinged along one of its other three edges. 
     Particular features of the invention are set forth in the claims that follow.