Patent Document

RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]    This application is a follow-up to the Provisional Patent Application No. 60/300,753 titled Universal Book Holder, filed on Jun. 25, 2001. Since the first 4 pages of that application have become obsolete by U.S. Pat. No. 6,250,599 B1 issued on Jun. 26, 2001, the pages 1 to 4 and the corresponding drawings of the above Provisional Patent Application have been omitted in this patent application and its title has been changed to Book Holder Support Stand. 
     
    
     
       FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT  
         [0002]    Not applicable.  
         MICROFICHE APPENDIX  
         [0003]    Not applicable.  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0004]    This invention is a follow-up on Applicant&#39;s U.S. Pat. No. 6,250,599 B1, titled “Universal Book Holder”, US Class 248/444.1. It is expected to be used as an accessory with this Universal Book Holder and other book holders still in development.  
           [0005]    Almost all commercial book holders available today are of the easel type used on a table, (Amazon.com), or a platform that can be placed in front of a person sitting up in bed, or a floor stand type such as Levenger, Delray Beach Fla., Howell U.S. Pat. No. 5,351,927, Reed U.S. Pat. No. 3,664,629, Simington U.S. Pat. No. 5,615,856, or LEVO at Bookholder.com. All of these floor stand types require the user to operate several controls, and some of them do not allow users to adjust the position of the book receiver without having to move from their reading position.  
           [0006]    The floor stand types cited above weigh about 25 lbs. and although mounted on casters, they cannot be picked up and moved about easily, certainly not up or down stairs.  
         BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0007]    A book holder stand is described that permits a user to read from standing, sitting, supine, and sideways facing postures, weighs less than 15 lbs., uses a single clamping control, and allows it to be placed close to the type of chairs, sofas or beds that extend down to the floor. It is balanced for substantial overhang, for users who prefer to read being seated in deep easy chairs. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0008]    [0008]FIG. 1 is an elevation and partly cross sectional view of an adjustment structure connecting a book receiver to a floor stand according to the invention.  
         [0009]    [0009]FIG. 2 shows a partially cross-sectional view of the upper part of the floor stand.  
         [0010]    [0010]FIGS. 3A and 3B show plane and elevation views of the lower parts of the floor stand. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0011]    The task of positioning the portion of a book holder that supports and secures the book being read correctly, hereinafter called the book receiver, is simplified if it can be rotated about three roughly orthogonal axes independently, meaning that any one rotation will not substantially interfere with the adjustments controlled by the others. The axes of rotation  101 ,  102 , and  103 , shown in FIG. 1, extend in parallel with, perpendicularly downward, and transverse to the back portion of a book receiver  1 .  
         [0012]    The control system shown in FIG. 1 has been designed to be operated by the user from his/her reading position. It shows a rotation control system allowing about 150 degrees of rotation of the book receiver about the horizontal axis  101 , and 200 to 360 degrees about the transverse axis  103 , and employs a single clamping member  6  for clamping the two rotations. Rotation about the vertical axis  102  is separate, which is not a disadvantage because this rotation does not affect the height of the center of gravity of the book receiver and thus does not require tight clamping.  
         [0013]    The back member of a book receiver  1  is connected by rivets  2  to the axle shaft  3  and to the torque transmitting member  4 . It rotates as an assembly about the transverse axis  103  relative to the intermediate member  5 . This design forces the clamping member  6  to participate fully in the rotation of the axle shaft  3  and book receiver  1 , prevents it from loosening spontaneously, and generates friction torque at both faces of the intermediate member  5 .  
         [0014]    The upper portion of angle rod  9 / 10  serves as an axle shaft  8 , permitting the intermediate member  5  to rotate about the horizontal axis  101 . A slot  11  splits this bearing and submits it to the pressure of clamping member  6  described above. The ratio of the clamping torques applied to axle shafts  3  and  8  is controlled by many parameters, such as the diameters of the two axle shafts, the material used for the friction washer  7  and its diameter, the distance between axes  101  and  103 , and other factors.  
         [0015]    Rotation about the vertical axis  102  takes place at the point where the lower portion  10  of the angle rod  9 / 10  connects to a support member  12 .  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 2 shows the upper portion of a book holder floor stand, comprising outlines of a book receiver  20  and an adjustment member  21 , which may be the structure detailed in FIG. 1, supported by a floor stand assembly  22 . The floor stand includes a post member  25  and base member  30  (FIGS. 3A and B), which in this embodiment includes a set of long feet  31  and a set of short feet  32  (FIG. 3A). The feet of each set are spaced from one another by angles α and β ranging between 30 to 120 degrees for the long feet  31 , and from 90 to 180 degrees for the short feet  32 .  
         [0017]    The post  25  is connected to the base member  30  by a screw  40  or by other conventional means, for instance a weld, a flange, or a hanger bolt engaging a pin not shown in the drawings. It extends upward from the center of the base member  30 . An extension member  23 / 24  is shown with its upper portion  24  bent over obliquely to increase the overhang of the book receiver, which is important in situations where the reading stand cannot be brought sufficiently close to the user. Its lower portion  23  is slideably connected to the post  25  to permit adjustment of the elevation of the book receiver  1  relative to the user&#39;s line of sight.  
         [0018]    In order to allow rotation of the book receiver about the vertical center line  102  of the post member, the lower portion  23  of the extension member  23 / 24  may be a telescoping tube or a rod carrying a centering washer  26 . In either case the design may include a clamping collet  27 , or some other conventional clamping means to lock it in place. A friction member such as the compressed O-ring  28  or a spring member not shown in the drawing, which would generate friction between the lower portion  23  of the extension member and the inner wall of the post member  25 , may be provided to prevent the extension member from falling when the clamping means  27  is loosened.  
         [0019]    If the extension member  23 / 24  (FIG. 3B) is rotated, for instance from position  34  to position  35  shown in dotted outline (FIG. 3B), it has to be balanced by one or several counterweights. A good location of the main counterweight  36  (FIGS. 3A and B) , which minimizes its required and size, is in the area  37  between the two long feet  31  of the base member, extending inward from the dotted line  38  joining the distant ends of these feet. The base member  30  of the support stand may be designed to serve as an additional, smaller, counterweight if required, or such an additional weight  39  may be placed above or below it, for instance as shown in FIG. 3B.

Technology Category: 1