Support plate

• US 6,029,940 A
• Filed: 11/06/1997
• Issued: 02/29/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 08/09/1997
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Agilent Technologies, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Company (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Klein, Traugott
• Primary Examiner(s): BERGER, DEREK JOEL
• Application Number:
  US08/965,166
• Time in Patent Office: 845 Days
• Field of Search: 248/673, 248/681, 248/221.11, 248/222.11, 248/682, 248/346.04, 248/500, 248/503.1, 248/222.12, 292/163, 292/168
• US Class Current: 248/346.04
• CPC Class Codes: A47B 81/06 Furniture aspects of radio, television, gramophone, or record cabinets for similar equipment supports attached to the wall or ceiling or floor stands F16M
• CPC Class Codes: F16M 13/022 repositionable
• CPC Class Codes: H02B 1/04 Mounting thereon of switches or of other devices in general, the switch or device having, or being without, casing
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 5/0204 Mounting supporting structures on the outside of casings

Abstract

An apparatus is proposed for supporting a device, the apparatus having at least one foot with an undercut. The apparatus has a depression for accepting the foot and an engaging mechanism with a projection. When the device is moved toward the apparatus, the undercut presses against the projection and thereby displaces the engaging mechanism. As soon as an upper edge of the undercut moves below a lower edge of the projection, the engaging mechanism moves back toward its starting position and thereby engages the undercut of the foot.

Claims

1. Apparatus comprising:

a device with plural feet, each foot having an undercut;

a base plate having plural depressions therein for accepting the feet, each depression including a spring controlled engaging mechanism with a projection, at least a pair of said spring controlled engaging mechanisms in said plural depressions operable in opposition to each other,

an upper plate attachable to the base plate by a plurality of fastening means, and a release mechanism positioned between said upper plate and base plate, incorporating a release control and coupled to each of said pair of engaging mechanisms, operable to concurrently release each of said pair of engaging mechanisms upon operation of said release control;

whereby when the device is moved into engagement with the base plate

the undercuts press against the projections of said pair of engaging mechanisms and thereby displace the engaging mechanisms in opposed directions and

when upper edges of the undercuts move below lower edges of the projections, the pair of engaging mechanisms move in opposite directions back toward starting positions thereof and thereby engage the undercuts of the feet.

2. Apparatus in accordance with claim 1, further comprising:

a detent support coupled to said base plate, movable with respect thereto and engageable in a plurality of positions to abut an adjacent support surface and allow an inclined position of said apparatus.