Horizontally supported planar surfaces – Folding
Reexamination Certificate
2001-06-18
2003-02-04
Chen, Jose V. (Department: 3636)
Horizontally supported planar surfaces
Folding
Reexamination Certificate
active
06513443
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a pulpit and more specifically to a portable collapsible pulpit.
The Meyer et al U.S. Pat. No. 3,129,032 discloses a portable lectern that is collapsible. It has structure for supporting it upon the backrest of a seat. It has a leg member whose top end is pivotally secured to the bottom surface of the article supporting member. It has a toggle brace mechanism that can be collapsed for folding the leg member upwardly into contact with the bottom surface of the supporting member.
A pulpit functions in a similar manner to that of a portable desk. The Coffrin U.S. Pat. No. 4,819,568 and the Maynard Jr. U.S. Pat. No. 4,969,698 disclose collapsible portable desk assemblies. The Petersen U.S. Pat. No. 6,041,723 also discloses a portable collapsible self assembling desk. Some prior art patents also disclose a portable hanging desk that can be hung from the back portion of a seat. An example of such a structure is illustrated in the Hansen U.S. Pat. No. 5,722,586. The Huff U.S. Pat. No. 4,893,363 discloses structure for a hanging wall table for a swimming pool.
It is an object of the invention to provide a novel pulpit that is both portable and collapsible.
It is also an object of the invention to provide a novel portable collapsible pulpit that has a pair of handgrip slots formed in its top wall panels that allow the pulpit to be carried conveniently in its collapsed state.
It is another object of the invention to provide a novel portable collapsible pulpit that is economical to manufacture and market.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a novel portable collapsible pulpit that can be removably positioned on the back member of a church pew.
It is an additional object of the invention to provide a novel portable collapsible pulpit that can be easily and quickly set up and later collapsed.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The novel portable collapsible pulpit has a pair of side-by-side top wall panels that are pivotally connected to each other by a hinge member attached to their respective bottom surfaces along their respective aligned side edges. Each of the top wall panels has an upstanding rear flange member that would prevent papers or other documents from sliding off their top surface. Each of the top wall panels has a handgrip slot that allows the adjacent inner side edges of the respective top wall panels to be lifted upwardly thereby aiding in collapsing the pulpit. The handgrip slots also provide a means for gripping the structure when carrying the collapsible pulpit in its collapsed state.
A left side support wall panel and a right side support wall panel each have a top edge that slopes downwardly from their front edge to their rear edge thus giving the top wall panel an inclined support surface. The top edges of the respective side support wall panels are pivotally connected to the bottom surface of the respective top wall panels adjacent their respective outer edges. The piano hinges are attached in a manner that allows the respective left side and right side support wall panels to fold away from the respective top wall panels to a collapsed position where they extend substantially outwardly from the outer side edges of the top wall panels.
A pair of upright oriented front wall panels have their respective inner side edges pivotally connected together by a piano hinge. Their respective outer side edges are pivotally connected to piano hinges that are connected to the front edges of the respective left side and right side support wall panels. These piano hinges are positioned so that as the top wall panels are lifted upwardly, the front wall panels will collapse inwardly between the respective left side and right side support wall panels.
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patent: 5325640 (1994-07-01), Luedke et al.
patent: 5535683 (1996-07-01), Novak
patent: 6044758 (2000-04-01), Drake
patent: 299456 (2001-10-01), None
Chen José V.
Logan II Charles C.
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