Abstract:
A podium for use in teaching environments includes a sloped top, a vertical support and a base. The sloped top includes a ledge for holding notes, speeches, books and the like. An underside of the sloped top is configured to resemble a sheet of notebook paper. The vertical support is formed in the shape of a writing instrument and extends between the sloped top and the base. The base is fixed to a lower region of the vertical support and includes adjustable legs. Graduated marks may be provided on a top side of the base.

Description:
[0001]    There are no related applications. 
         [0002]    This patent application did not receive any federal research and development funding. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    The present invention generally relates to a novel podium, lectern, or pulpit that a reader or speaker stands behind. A podium is a stand with a sloped top and is typically used to hold a book or speech at a proper height for a reader or speaker. More particularly, the invention is directed towards a podium that is useful in educational facilities and includes a unique design that aids in capturing the attention of an audience. The podium&#39;s unique shape is an enlarged representative of common items found in an educational setting and captures the attention of the members of an audience by directing them towards the speaker or reader. 
         [0004]    Podiums are used by speakers or lecturers in speaking to an audience. The podium may be used to secure books, notes, speeches or other materials. Additionally, a speaker may lean upon the podium to aid in supporting himself. Podiums are prevalent in educational facilities throughout the world and are useful tools in teaching or informing others. In many classrooms, a teacher stands behind a podium and reads from a textbook or teaches to a classroom of students. 
         [0005]    Elementary school, Middle school and Sunday school teachers throughout the world teach many subjects from behind a podium. The podium offers a focal point towards which the attention of the audience of children may be directed. Members of an audience have short attention spans and become easily distracted. They may talk to other students during class or intermittently daydream while in class. The instant invention aims to more readily direct the attention of the audience towards a speaker or reader to thereby increase a learning and retention level of a member of the audience. 
         [0006]    There is a positive correlation between paying an attention of a classroom setting and the learning process. The instant invention aims to capture the attention of youngsters by introducing them to a podium that is formed from parts that are representative of common learning devices in many elementary schools. Thus, the invention assists an educator by making the learning environment more fun. 
         [0007]    In one embodiment, the vertical support resembles a pencil and include personalized indicia and a yellow coat of paint. In another embodiment, the vertical support resembles a crayon having a strip of colored paper or paint is arranged around the vertical support between the upper and lower regions and preferably includes personalized indicia printed thereon. In a further embodiment, the vertical support is formed in the shape of a highlighter and includes an upper end formed in the shape of a highlighter cap. In an additional embodiment of the invention, the vertical support is formed in the shape of a pen. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0008]    The invention is a podium that includes a sloped top having an underside that preferably displays markings that are formed to represent a sheet of notebook paper. A vertical support extends downward from the sloped top. An upper end of the vertical support is fastened to the underside of the sloped top. The vertical support is formed in the shape of a writing instrument and includes a lower end that is fixed to a base. The base includes adjustable feet for leveling the podium. 
         [0009]    The invention increases the retention rate of the audience by capturing the attention of the audience and directing their attention towards the podium that is shaped like a sheet of paper resting atop a writing instrument. 
         [0010]    The podium is provided in various shapes and sizes. One common element is that the vertical support is formed in the shape of a writing instrument and includes a slanted top edge that is attached to an underside of a sloped top. The underside includes indicia which is representative of a sheet of notebook paper. 
         [0011]    For instance, an underside of the sloped top includes a black decal that resembles a hole in a sheet of notebook paper. Blue lines are provided parallel to a ledge that is provided along a bottom edge of the sloped top. A red line is provided perpendicular to the blue lines such that the bottom of the sloped top resembles an enlarged sheet of notebook paper. 
         [0012]    In a first embodiment, the vertical support resembles a pencil and includes personalized indicia and a yellow coat of paint. A crimped stove pipe is arranged around an exterior of the vertical support near a bottom edge of the vertical support to create the appearance of an eraser holder. A strip of sand paper is arranged around the exterior of the vertical support below the crimped stove pipe to resemble an eraser. 
         [0013]    In another embodiment, the vertical support resembles a crayon having a strip of colored paper or paint arranged around the vertical support between the upper and lower regions and preferably includes personalized indicia printed thereon. An upper end of the vertical support is formed in a pointed end to mimic a writing end of a crayon. A portion of the pointed end is sloped to accommodate a plate that couples the vertical support to an underside of the sloped top. A lower end of the vertical support is formed as a back end of a crayon and flattened to accept fasteners that fasten the base to the vertical support. 
         [0014]    In a further embodiment, the vertical support is formed in the shape of a highlighter and includes an upper end formed in the shape of a highlighter cap. A sloped top of the highlighter cap fastens to interior openings in a plate to couple the highlighter cap to an underside of the sloped top. 
         [0015]    It is an object of the invention to provide unique podium that includes a shape of an enlarged sheet of notebook paper arranged atop a writing end of a writing instrument. 
         [0016]    It is another object of the invention to provide a unique podium that captures the attention of an audience and directs it towards the podium to increase a retention rate for materials that are disseminated from behind the podium. 
         [0017]    It is another object of the invention to provide a podium that includes a sloped top arranged atop a slanted upper end of a vertical support. A lower end of the vertical support fastens to a base having adjustable feet. The adjustable feet are useful in leveling the base to stabilize the top. An underside of the sloped top includes indicia representative of a sheet of notebook paper. 
         [0018]    It is a further object of the invention to provide a podium that includes a sloped top arranged atop a slanted upper end of a vertical support. The vertical support is formed to represent a crayon and includes a sharpened end representative of writing end of a crayon. A lower end of the vertical support fastens to a base that includes adjustable feet for leveling the base. 
         [0019]    It is an additional object of the invention to provide a podium that includes a sloped top arranged atop a slanted upper end of a vertical support. The vertical support is formed to represent a highlighter and includes an upper end representative of cap for a highlighter. A lower end of the vertical support fastens to a base that includes adjustable feet for leveling the base. 
         [0020]    Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the description that follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned from practicing the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention will be obtained by means of instrumentalities in combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0021]      FIG. 1A  is a back perspective view of a first embodiment of the invention. Fig. B is a front perspective view of a first embodiment of the invention.  FIG. 1C  is an exploded view of the first embodiment.  FIG. 1D  is an upper half view of  FIG. 1C .  FIG. 1E  is a lower half view of  FIG. 1C . 
           [0022]      FIG. 2  is an perspective view of a second embodiment and taken from the front. 
           [0023]      FIG. 3  is a frontal perspective view of a third embodiment of the invention. 
           [0024]      FIG. 4  is a frontal perspective view of a fourth embodiment of the invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0025]    The embodiments of the invention and the various features and advantageous details thereof are more fully explained with reference to the non-limiting embodiments and examples that are described and/or illustrated in the accompanying drawings and set forth in the following description. It should be noted that the features illustrated in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale, and the features of one embodiment may be employed with the other embodiments as the skilled artisan recognizes, even if not explicitly stated herein. Descriptions of well-known components and techniques may be omitted to avoid obscuring the invention. The examples used herein are intended merely to facilitate an understanding of ways in which the invention may be practiced and to further enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention. Accordingly, the examples and embodiments set forth herein should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention, which is defined by the appended claims. Moreover, it is noted that like reference numerals represent similar parts throughout the several views of the drawings. 
         [0026]    Now referring to  FIGS. 1A-1E , a first embodiment of the invention is a podium  1  having vertical support  17  formed in the shape of a writing instrument such as a pencil. The podium  1  includes a sloped top  2  that comprises an underside  6  that is decorated to resemble a sheet of notebook paper. The underside  6  includes an enlarged dark circle  7 , a plurality of blue lines  8  which are parallel to the top and bottom edges of the sloped top  2 , and a perpendicular red line  9  that intersects the blue lines  8 . These elements are arranged as shown to resemble a portion of a sheet of notebook paper. 
         [0027]    The sloped top  2  further comprises edge protectors  3  that a arranged along a top and side edges of thereof. An enlarged edge protector is arranged along a bottom edge of the sloped top  2  to create a ledge  31 , as better shown in  FIG. 1A . The ledge  31  prevents materials that have been deposited on a top side  4  of the sloped top  2  from sliding off of it. Threaded fasteners  4  are passed through the edge protectors to secure them to their respective edge of the sloped top. In a preferred embodiment, an apple  10  is fastened to a top side of the sloped top and fastened thereto via a fastener  11  that is preferably longer than the fasteners  4 . An opening  12  is provided for passing the fastener  11  there through. The apple  10  is preferably formed from plastic, acrylic or the like. 
         [0028]    A fastening plate  13  is arranged between the underside  6  and a sloped upper end  28  of the vertical supports  17 . The fastening plate  13  includes a plurality of interior openings  15  and a plurality of exterior openings  16 . The interior openings  15  are closer to the center of the plate  13  than the exterior openings  16 . Fasteners  14  are passed through the interior openings  15  and into the upper sloped end  28  of the vertical support  17  to secure the plate  13  thereto. Other fasteners  14  are passed through the exterior openings  16  to secure the plate  13  and vertical support  17  to the underside  6  of the sloped top  2 . All the fasteners used in the present invention are preferably steel and may include wood screws. 
         [0029]    The vertical support  17  comprises metal or wood that is formed in the shape of a writing instrument. In this embodiment, the vertical support  17  is hexagon in shape when taken in cross section between the upper and lower ends. In  FIGS. 1A-1E , the writing instrument is a pencil. In this embodiment, piping with a crimped end  18  is fastened to an exterior of the vertical upright  17  above a strip of sandpaper  19 . The pipe  18  is preferably shiny and has the appearance of an eraser holder. The sandpaper  19  has the appearance of an eraser. 
         [0030]    The vertical support  17  comprises a lower end  29  that is flattened for accepting fasteners that secure the base  32  to the vertical support  17 . As shown in the exploded view of  FIG. 1C , fasteners  24  pass through washers  25  and through openings  23  of the lower notched half  21  of the base  32  and through openings  22  of the upper notched half  20  and into the lower end  29  of the vertical support  17 . Adjustable feet  26  are secured to the ends of the notched halves  20 ,  21  for leveling the base  32 . Graduated marks  27  and personalizing indicia  30  are preferably included as shown. 
         [0031]    For simplicity and ease in understanding the invention, exploded views of  FIGS. 2-4  are not shown. In  FIG. 2 , the vertical support is formed in the shape of a crayon  60  and includes an upper end  61  that comprises a sharpened end that is sloped and fastens to the underside of the sloped top via a fastening plate. Paper  65  may be incorporated around the vertical support to provide a more realistic appearance that it is a crayon. The paper extends towards the bottom of the crayon  60  but stops short of covering it as shown. The height of the vertical support may vary. 
         [0032]    In  FIG. 3 , the vertical support is formed in the shape of a highlighter  50  and includes a formed region  51  that has the appearance of a highlighter cap  51 . The cap  51  includes a sloped upper end that attaches to the underside of the sloped top. A lower end of the vertical support is larger in diameter than the upper end. The cap end includes a flared diameter that increases in diameter and thereafter decreases. This end may be formed from wood using a router. Otherwise, the end may merely include a plastic collar that fastens to the vertical upright. As in all embodiments, various paints may be utilized to achieve an appearance of a particular writing instrument. 
         [0033]    In  FIG. 4 , the vertical support is formed in the shape of a pen that includes a clasp  43 . The pen  40  may include an upper end  41  that includes a metal or plastic collar. A center ring  42  may be provided along with a tapered end  44  that attaches to the base. The various parts may comprise metal, plastic and wood. It should be noted that in all embodiments, the writing instruments may be configured such that the writing end is arranged against the base. 
         [0034]    It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the exact construction illustrated and described above, but that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and the scope of the invention as defined in the following claims. While the invention has been described with respect to preferred embodiments, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in limiting sense. From the above disclosure of the general principles of the present invention and the preceding detailed description, those skilled in the art will readily comprehend the various modifications to which the present invention is susceptible. Therefore, the scope of the invention should be limited only by the following claims and equivalents thereof. Materials for use in practicing the invention may include wood, metal, plastics including, but not limited to, polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, polyurethanes, and polyvinyl chloride, or any other thermoset materials, as well as paint.