Patent Publication Number: US-6714168-B2

Title: Furniture piece facilitating wireless local area network access

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to furniture, and more particularly, a furniture piece that facilitates wireless local area network access. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     Wireless Local Area Networks (LANs) are particularly useful in conference rooms and other group meeting situations. The wireless LAN allows users of many portable computers to connect to the network during a meeting, and removes the need for numerous unsightly wireline connections. A wireless LAN also eliminates the complexity of providing for numerous wireline connections. 
     However, assuring access to the wireless LAN in a group meeting place like a conference room, may require the installation of an antenna and associated access point (electronics package connected to the antenna) in the meeting place. An access point is a base station in a wireless network. The access point is wireline connected to the network and wirelessly communicates with the terminal stations (e.g., portable computers) accessing the network. 
     The installation of an access point in a group meeting place can itself be unsightly—typically the access point is mounted on the wall or ceiling. One proposed solution to this problem is to embed the antenna in a ceiling tile, and dispose the access point in the ceiling above the ceiling tile. However, placing the access point above the ceiling is not always feasible. Additionally, such an installation typically requires a professional contractor. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In the present invention, the antenna and access point are provided with a piece of furniture, such as the conference table. By simply putting the furniture piece in a particular room and attaching it to a single wireline connection, wireless Local Area Network (LAN) access is provided. 
     In one embodiment of the present invention, the antenna is embedded in the work surface of the furniture piece, and the access point is embedded in a support of the furniture piece. The furniture piece is, for example, a conference table. 
     In other embodiments, the antenna is embedded in either the work surface or a support of the furniture piece, and the access point is embedded in either the work surface or a support of the furniture piece. 
     In still other embodiments, the antenna and access piece are disposed in compartments formed in the furniture piece. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The present invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description given herein below and the accompanying drawings which are given by way of illustration only, wherein like reference numerals designate corresponding parts in the various drawings, and wherein: 
     FIGS. 1 and 2 are top and cross-sectional views of a conventional conference room table; and 
     FIGS. 3-9 are cross-sectional views of embodiments of a conference table facilitating wireless Local Area Network (LAN) access according to the present invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS 
     FIG. 1 is a top view of a conventional conference room table, and FIG. 2 is a cross sectional view of the conference room table along the line II—II. As shown, the conference table  10  includes a work surface  12  supported by two supports or legs  14 . 
     FIGS. 3-6 are cross-sectional views along line II—II of embodiments of the conference table  10 ′, which has been modified to facilitate wireless Local Area Network (LAN) access according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 3, an antenna  20  is embedded in the work surface  12  of the conference table  10 , and an access point  22  connected to the antenna  20  is embedded in one of the supports  14  of the conference table. The support  14  that includes the access point  22  also has an access port  24  formed therein. A power supply (not shown) and wireline LAN connection (not shown) are connected to the access point  22  via the access port  24 . 
     In the embodiment of FIG. 4, the antenna  20  and the access point  22  are embedded in the work surface  12 . In this embodiment, the bottom of the work surface  12  includes the access port  24 . In the embodiment of FIG. 5, the antenna  20  is embedded in one of the supports  14 , and the access point  22  is embedded in the work surface  22 . In this embodiment, the bottom of the work surface includes the access port  24 . In the embodiment of FIG. 6, the antenna  20  and the access point  22  are embedded in the support  14 . Accordingly, in this embodiment, the support  14  includes the access port  24 . 
     It should be appreciated that while the embodiments of FIGS. 4 and 5 provide the access port  24  in the bottom of the work surface  12 , the access port  24 , in an alternative embodiment, can be provided in the top of the work surface  12 . This is particularly useful with conference tables that provide power supply and/or wireline LAN connections on the work surface. 
     FIG. 7 illustrates another alternative embodiment of a conference table according to the present invention. Specifically, FIG. 7 illustrates an alternative to the embodiment of FIG. 3, but it will be appreciated that this alternative is equally applicable to the embodiments of FIGS. 4-6. As shown in FIG. 7, the antenna  20  is embedded in the work surface  12  and the access point  22  is embedded in the support  14 . The support  14  further includes a removable access panel  26  that when removed provides complete access to the access point  22 . The access panel  26  is press fit into the support  14  when installed. With the access panel  26  removed, the access point  22  can be serviced and maintained as needed. The access panel  26  also includes an access port  28  through which power and wireline LAN connections to the access point  22  are made. 
     FIG. 8 illustrates a further embodiment of the present invention. As shown, the work surface  12  includes a first compartment  30  in which the antenna  20  is disposed. Also, the support  14  includes a second compartment  32  in which the access point  22  is disposed. The first and second compartments  30  and  32  are accessed through removable first and second access panels  34  and  36 , respectively. The first and second access panels  34  and  36  are press fit into the work surface  12  and the support  14 , respectively. The second access panel  36  includes an access port  38  through which power and wireline LAN connections to the access point  22  are made. With the first access panel  34  removed, the antenna can be serviced, maintained and/or replaced. With the second access panel  36  removed, the access point  22  can be serviced, maintained and/or replaced. And, while the antenna  20  and the access point  22  in the embodiment of FIG. 8 have the same arrangement as the embodiment of FIG.  3 . The embodiment of FIG. 8 is equally applicable to the antenna  20  and access point  22  arrangements illustrated in the embodiments of FIGS. 4-6. 
     FIG. 9 illustrates another embodiment of the present invention. As shown, the antenna  20  is embedded in the work surface  12 . The access point  22 , connected to the antenna  20 , is mounted to the support  14 . Mounting the access point  22  to the support  14  is achieved using any known mounting technique such as brackets and screws, etc. 
     While the embodiments of the present invention have been described with respect to the conference table illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, it will be appreciated that the present invention is not limited to the conference table of FIGS. 1 and 2, but is equally applicable to conference tables of any configuration and structure. 
     Additionally, the present invention is not limited in application to conference tables. Instead, the present invention is readily applicable to any furniture piece such as a desk, credenza, etc. 
     The invention being thus described, it will be obvious that the same may be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention, and all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the following claims.