A tablet holder, comprising:
- a central base having a generally square configuration with four sides;
- four channels formed in said central base, each channel being in open communication with one of said four sides, each channel having an axis of symmetry normal to an axis of symmetry of its contiguous channels, and each axis of symmetry radiating outwardly from a center of said central base and bisecting its associated side;
- a holder slideably mounted within each of said channels, there being one holder slideably mounted within each channel, each holder having a radially innermost position and a radially outermost position;
- each holder having an upstanding, tablet-engaging end wall formed in a radially outermost end of said holder;
- and
- each upstanding, tablet engaging end wall adapted to abuttingly engage a side wall of a tablet that overlies and is supported by said central base when each holder is slid in its associated channel toward said center of said central base;
- said central base being in the form of a thin, flat, generally square plate;
- said generally square plate having a protuberance formed in each side of said central base, each protuberance extending radially outwardly relative to a center of said central base and projecting radially outwardly of each side of said central base;
- each protuberance being recessed relative to a top surface of said central base, thereby creating said channels, each channel having a flat channel bottom wall and upstanding sidewalls;
- each holder including a slotted bottom plate having a slot formed therein, each slot extending radially outwardly relative to said center of said central base;
- a thin, flat detent plate mounted in each channel, midway between said upstanding sidewalls;
- a pair of guide rails formed integrally with said flat channel bottom wall, each guide rail of said pair of guide rails having a flat top surface and being raised with respect to said flat channel bottom wall, each guide rail of said pair of guide rails being spaced apart from said detent plate, and from said upstanding sidewalls;
- each holder further including a pair of parallel guide rail housings which are raised with respect to said flat channel bottom wall on opposite sides of said slot and which slideably receive said guide rails of said pair of guide rails;
- said guide rail housings having flat top surfaces that respectively overlie the flat top surfaces of said guide rails when said guide rails are slideably received within said guide rail housings;
- each detent plate having a range of travel extending from a first position where it overlies and abuts an associated flat channel bottom wall to a second position where it is parallel to said flat channel bottom wall and elevated with respect thereto;
- each detent plate being raised above an imaginary plane defined by said flat top surfaces of said guide rail housings to enable sliding of each slotted bottom plate under each detent plate and over said flat top surfaces of said guide rails so that each slotted bottom plate is sandwiched between said flat top surfaces of associated guide rail housings and the underside of an associated detent plate;
- and
- a locking means adapted to secure each holder against sliding movement when all four holders are adapted to abuttingly engage each side of said tablet.