Horizontally supported planar surfaces – With machine
Reexamination Certificate
2001-06-14
2004-12-21
Chen, Jose V. (Department: 3637)
Horizontally supported planar surfaces
With machine
Reexamination Certificate
active
06832561
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a student work station that maximizes reachable work and storage surfaces available to the student. The work station is designed for easy access and particularly advantageous for disabled students confined to a wheelchair.
Alternative technology is available in the form of an adaptive work station in accordance with U.S. Pat. No. 4,894,600, which has a work table top in truncated U-shape with electronically controlled height adjustable legs which allow a disabled person to utilize the station while sitting in a wheelchair. Another table in accordance with U.S. Pat. No. 4,679,509 is designed for ease of use by the occupant of a wheelchair which has a shaped, cut-back, front edge enabling the user to have greater access to the working surface. U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,293,952 and 5,865,125 teach other truncated U-shaped desks. For most students and particularly disabled students, these prior art inventions fail to achieve their primary objective of greater access to the working surface.
To alleviate this problem, and others which will become apparent from the disclosure which follows, the student work station of the present invention conveniently provides an elevated desk with a horizontal work surface, a storage surface disposed at a spaced distance beneath the work surface, and a transparent peripheral wall that is disposed between the work surface and the storage surface. The student work station of this important invention has a circular shape and an entryway for a wheeled chair, such as a wheelchair or a chair on rollers. The student can rotate on a chair to face a plurality of equally accessible work and storage surface portions. For wheelchair applications, the storage shelf is cut back so that student can rotate in the wheelchair. The structural arrangement of the desk surfaces provides uniformly reachable work and storage surfaces to the student regardless of disability.
Additionally, since a transparent peripheral wall that is used as a safety feature, anything stored on the storage surface will be visible to a teacher or others students.
The citation of the foregoing publications is not an admission that any particular publication constitutes prior art, or that any publication alone or in conjunction with others, renders unpatentable any pending claim of the present application. None of the cited publications is believed to detract from the patentability of the claimed invention.
ADVANTAGES OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the student work station of the present invention to provide a student desk that maximizes the reachable work surface available to the student.
It is an object of the student work station of the present invention to provide a student desk that maximizes the reachable storage surface available to the student.
It is another object of the student work station of the present invention to a work station that is designed for easy student access, particularly for a disabled student confined to a wheelchair.
Another object of the student work station of the present invention is to present a safe desk—one where anything stored on the storage surface will be visible to a teacher or others students.
It is yet another object of the student work station of the present invention to provide a work station that is a moveable assemblage.
Still other advantages will be apparent from the disclosure that follows.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a student work station comprising an elevated desk, having means for supporting the elevated desk, with a horizontal work surface, a storage surface disposed at a spaced distance beneath the work surface, and a peripheral wall. The peripheral wall is disposed between the work surface and the storage surface. The peripheral wall is transparent so that anything stored on the storage surface is visible to a teacher or others.
Additionally, to provide greater security to teachers and other students, the work surface can be transparent as well.
Preferably, the work surface is in a shape of a first circular ring sector and the storage surface is in a shape of a second circular ring sector and each of the first circular ring sector and the second circular ring sector have a first terminal edge and a second terminal edge, said edges defining an entryway.
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the invention in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are, of course, additional features of the invention that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception upon which this disclosure is based, may readily be utilized as a basis for the designing of other structures, methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present invention. It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention.
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Chen José V.
McKenna Michael R.
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