Vacuum easel
OwnerMichael L. Boweninventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Vacuum easel for releasably holding material. The vacuum easel includes a panel having a first sheet and a second sheet with a plurality of walls disposed between the first and second sheets. The walls define a series of progressively larger air pathways between the first and second sheets. A plurality of openings are formed in the first sheet to allow communication of air between the exterior of the first sheet and the respective air pathways. At least a subset of the openings are associated with each of the air pathways. A zone selector is operable to selectively communicate a source of vacuum with at least one of the air pathways to draw air from the exterior of the vacuum easel through the openings associated with the selected air pathway.
Claims32
A vacuum easel for releasably holding material thereon, comprising:
- a corrugated panel having a first sheet and a second sheet with a plurality of corrugated ribs disposed between the first sheet and the second sheet;
- a plurality of air flow channels formed between the first sheet and the second sheet by the respective corrugated ribs;
- a plurality of openings formed in the first sheet to allow communication of air between the exterior of the first sheet and the respective air flow channels;
- a manifold coupled to the air flow channels to communicate a source of vacuum with the air flow channels to draw air from the exterior of the vacuum easel through the openings and into the air flow channels;
- the corrugated panel having a generally rectangular configuration with a generally air impervious enclosure formed around the perimeter of the corrugated panel between the first sheet and the second sheet;
- and
- the second sheet providing a generally air impervious barrier.
A vacuum easel for releasably holding a sheet of material thereon, comprising:
- a corrugated panel having a first sheet and a second sheet with a plurality of corrugated ribs disposed between the first sheet and the second sheet;
- a plurality of air flow channels formed between the first sheet and the second sheet by the respective corrugated ribs;
- a plurality of openings formed in the first sheet to allow communication of air between the exterior of the first sheet and the respective air flow channels;
- a manifold coupled to the air flow channels to communicate a source of vacuum with the air flow channels to draw air from the exterior of the vacuum easel through the openings and into the air flow channels;
- and
- a plurality of air dams each operable to be placed along an edge of the sheet of material to minimize air flow into the openings from under the edge of the sheet of material.
A vacuum easel for releasably holding material thereon, comprising:
- a panel having a first sheet and a second sheet with a plurality of walls disposed between the first and second sheets;
- the walls defining a series of progressively larger air pathways between the first and second sheets;
- a plurality of openings formed in the first sheet to allow communication of air between the exterior of the first sheet and the respective air pathways;
- at least a subset of the openings associated with each of the air pathways;
- and
- a zone selector operable to selectively communicate a source of vacuum with at least one of the air pathways to draw air from the exterior of the vacuum easel through the openings associated with the selected air pathway.
A method of holding a sheet of material to an easel, comprising the steps of:
- providing a substantially flat surface having a plurality of openings arranged into a series of progressively larger zones, each sized to hold a sheet of material of a predefined size;
- providing a plurality of air pathways each associated with at least one zone of the substantially flat surface;
- positioning a sheet of material over the openings of a zone sized to hold the sheet of material;
- positioning an air barrier in a manifold coupled to the air pathways to selectively communicate a source of vacuum with the openings of the zone sized to hold the sheet of material;
- and
- applying a vacuum to the manifold to draw air through the openings of the zone sized to hold the sheet of material.
A vacuum easel for releasably holding material thereon, comprising:
- a panel having a first sheet and a second sheet with a plurality of corrugated ribs disposed between the first sheet and the second sheet;
- a plurality of air flow channels formed between the first sheet and the second sheet by the respective corrugated ribs;
- a plurality of dividers each disposed across at least one air flow channel to form a wall of an air pathway, the air pathways being progressively larger and inclusive of each smaller air pathway;
- a plurality of transverse channels to each allow the vacuum source to communicate with sections of air pathways blocked by dividers that form walls of smaller, included air pathways;
- a plurality of openings formed in the first sheet to allow communication of air between the exterior of the first sheet and the respective air pathways, at least a subset of the openings associated with each of the air pathways and arranged to hold a sheet of material of a predefined size;
- a manifold coupled to the air pathways to allow the source of vacuum to communicate with the air pathways to draw air from the exterior of the vacuum easel through the openings and into the air pathways;
- and
- an air barrier operable to slide in the manifold to selectively communicate the source of vacuum with at least one of the air pathways to draw air from the exterior of the vacuum easel through the openings associated with the selected air pathway.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.