| 20050133022 | Fireplace and entertainment assembly | June, 2005 | Jones |
| 20080224582 | Desk Assembly | September, 2008 | Boland |
| 20080218038 | Refrigerated Retail Units | September, 2008 | Wood et al. |
| 20090083940 | DEVICE FOR MOVING A FIRST FURNITURE PART RELATIVE TO A SECOND FURNITURE PART, AND A PIECE OF FURNITURE | April, 2009 | Albrecht et al. |
| 20070103043 | Pull-out slide for drawers and drawer | May, 2007 | Kropf et al. |
| 20020171342 | Foldaway kitchen camping unit | November, 2002 | Bristow |
| 20080150408 | Drawer Buffer and Drawer Slide Rail with Drawer Buffer | June, 2008 | Hsieh |
| 20040263029 | Delivery box and method | December, 2004 | Scholefield |
| 20070013272 | MODULAR WORK SYSTEM WITH NARROW WARDROBE | January, 2007 | Fells |
| 20090300884 | DOOR MOTION DAMPENING SYSTEM | December, 2009 | Morgan et al. |
| 20090133434 | DRAWER REFRIGERATOR WITH DIVIDER AND DIVIDER FOR REFRIGERATOR DRAWER | May, 2009 | Uihlein et al. |
[0001] This provisional application relates to a full patent application for a sliding-lid computer desk made on Oct. 19, 2000. The patent application number is Ser. No. 09/692,484. This provisional application is supplementary to that full application.
[0002] Patent application Ser. No. 09/692,484 describes a computer desk with a section of sliding lid which provides a free area of desktop when in the raised position and access to a keyboard when in the retracted position. The lid slides below the desktop at a shallow angle. This characteristic is achieved by the use of slides and hinges attached to the desk and to the sliding lid in such manner that when the lid is lifted at the front until it is parallel to the slides the back of the lid is lower than the edge of the opening in the desktop and it is able to move rearwards under the desktop.
[0003] The claims of said previous application refer to slider assemblies, each comprising a stationary component attached to the desk and a sliding component slideable upward and forward to achieve said characteristic. In the descriptive part of said application only slides designed for drawers are described. The present application makes further reference to slides other than those designed specifically for drawers, which are referred to in said previous application in the general terms above. Said characteristic is achievable by the use of slides with a small moving part sliding along a longer fixed track (for example pocket door slides) or any slides consisting of fixed and moving parts and using any hinges which allow the lid to be lower than the edge of the opening when the lid is lifted at the front.
[0004] Said previous application refers frequently to hinges attached to the slides and to the lid by means of an intermediate member. Said application also states that the intermediate member may be omitted and replaced by good hinge attachment features connecting the lid directly to the sliding components of the slides. The present application includes a diagram showing hinges attached directly to the lid and to the slides. The hinges may be attached directly to the slides by means, which include riveting or welding or screwing them to the ends of the slides or indirectly by means of an intermediate board or plate.
[0005] Said previous application refers particularly to butt hinges because they are inexpensive and adequate. Other pivot-type hinges, not necessarily referred to as butt hinges, may also be used. Some European-type hinges with complex hinging characteristics may also be satisfactory with suitable slides.
[0006]
[0007]
[0008]
[0009]
[0010] Exhibit A—copy of specification and drawings of pending U.S. utility patent application Ser. No. 09/692,484
[0011] The lid A is mounted via a pair of hinges C to a pair of slides E. These may be drawer slides, pocket door slides or any slides with a component fixed to the desk structure or to the desktop and a moving component fixed via hinges to the lid. The slides may be standard commercial slides or specially manufactured or modified slides. The slides may be oriented on edge as is common for drawer slides or alternatively may be rotated by ninety degrees so that they are oriented in what would be “bottom mounting” mode if they were supporting drawers. Depending upon the orientation the slides may be supported on the sides of the structure or on an angled support board fixed to the structure or on an “understructure” suspended from the desktop or on an alternative support system e.g. brackets.
[0012] In use, when the lid is over the keyboard as in
[0013] When the lid is required by the user to be over the keyboard for use as a writing surface etc. the user pulls the lid forward and upward. The lid moves smoothly until the slides reach full extension. The lid then hinges down to rest on the supports.
[0014] In
[0015] If pocket door slides and commercial European-type hinges are employed, as is usual for pocket door installations, the hinges may impede the lid from butting against the desktop in the closed position unless they are specially selected or designed to avoid this. It should be noted that whereas in
[0016] Slides must be chosen to meet the requirements of each design of desk. In general, desk designs which call for a large sliding lid require a larger amount of lid travel, this will be best achieved by the use of slides which comprise a short moving part sliding along a longer fixed part.