Patent ID: 8869937

Claim:
A combined portable step stool and workpiece support device, said device comprising: a folding frame having: a rigid front leg structure including a pair of spaced apart front legs, each front leg having a foot, and including a first support bar interconnecting the front legs at an upper end thereof, and a rear leg structure including a pair of spaced apart rear legs, each rear leg having a foot, the rear leg structure being pivotally coupled to the front leg structure via one or more first hinges for pivotable movement of the rear leg structure between an opened use position and a collapsed storage position, wherein upper front leg portions of the front legs above the first hinges and the first support bar interconnecting said upper front leg portions at an upper end thereof form a first workpiece support bracket of the device, wherein the folding frame furthermore comprises an upper step and one or more lower steps, the steps being movably arranged for movement between a horizontal use position and a storage position, each step being adapted to support a person thereon, wherein the device furthermore comprises a pivotable rigid second workpiece support bracket, said second workpiece support bracket comprising a pair of spaced apart arms, each arm having a lower end pivotally connected via a second hinge to the folding frame, the second workpiece support bracket furthermore comprising a second support bar interconnecting said arms at an upper end thereof, wherein the rigid second workpiece support bracket is pivotal about said second hinges between a use position, wherein the first and second workpiece support brackets are in diverging arrangement when seen in side view of the device, and a collapsed position, wherein the first and second workpiece support brackets are generally parallel to each other, and wherein in the use position of the second workpiece support bracket the first and second support brackets together define workpiece support faces in a support plane allowing to support a planar workpiece, and wherein the first and second workpiece support brackets each have at their upper side at least one recessed portion aligned with one another allowing to receive a workpiece in the aligned recessed portions.