Granted Patent B2

US 12,569,063 · App. 18/235,566 · Granted Mar 10, 2026

Inventors: John M. Allen (Grand Rapids, MI); Charles Beasley (Zeeland, MI); William Bennie (Rockford, MI); Justin G. Beitzel (Baltimore, MD); Antonio Caballero (Munich, DE); Robert E. Jeffers (Ada, MI); Alban Moriniere (Munich, DE); Penghao Shan (Munich, DE)

Assignee: Steelcase Inc.

A47B83/001A47B21/02A47B21/04A47B21/06A47B87/002A47B2021/066A47B2083/006A47B2200/12B62B3/005

Abstract

Claims (35)

1 . A base component comprising:

a lower base with at least one slot extending radially outwardly; and

a post member extending vertically between a lower post end connected to the lower base and an upper post end, wherein an upper portion of the post member includes at least one utility outlet.

2 . The base component of claim 1 , wherein the utility outlet is a power outlet or a data outlet.

3 . The base component of claim 1 , wherein the lower base further comprises a first slot and a second slot extending radially outwardly from the lower post end to an outer edge of the lower base.

4 . The base component of claim 3 , wherein the first and second slots are oriented 180 degrees relative to each other.

5 . A base component comprising:

a lower base with at least one slot; and

a post member extending vertically between a lower post end connected to the lower base and an upper post end, wherein an upper portion of the post member includes at least one utility outlet, wherein the post member and the lower base comprise at least one set of vertically aligned slots, and wherein the at least one set of vertically aligned slots comprises a first slot of the post member extending vertically and a second slot of the lower base extending horizontally.

6 . The base component of claim 5 , wherein the post member comprises four side panels with adjacent two side panels respectively connected at four corners, and wherein the post member and the lower base further comprise first, second, third, and fourth sets of vertically aligned slots respectively disposed at the four corners.

7 . The base component of claim 6 , wherein the first and third sets of vertically aligned slots are aligned in a first plane, wherein the second and fourth sets of vertically aligned slots are aligned in a second plane, and wherein the first plane is perpendicular to the second plane.

8 . The base component of claim 6 , wherein the lower base comprises four arms extending radially outwardly from the lower post end at the four corners respectively, and wherein each arm comprises a slot.

9 . The base component of claim 6 , wherein each pair of the adjacent two side panels are perpendicular to each other.

10 . The base component of claim 5 , further comprising a handle connected to the upper post end.

11 . The base component of claim 5 , wherein the at least one set of vertically aligned slots comprises at least one attractive component disposed along at least a portion of a length of the post member.

12 . The base component of claim 11 , wherein the at least one attractive component comprises at least one magnetic component.

13 . The base component of claim 11 , wherein the at least one set of vertically aligned slots is configured to receive an edge of an accessory component therein and hold the accessory component upright through attractive force.

14 . The base component of claim 1 , wherein the post member comprises at least two posts extending vertically between their respective lower post ends and upper post ends, and wherein the at least two posts are configured such that a slot is vertically disposed therebetween along a length of the at least two posts.

15 . The base component of claim 14 , wherein the at least two posts are connected such that the post member has a unitary configuration.

16 . The base component of claim 14 , wherein the slot is configured to receive an edge of an accessory component therein and hold the accessory component upright between the at least two posts.

17 . The base component of claim 14 , wherein each of the at least two posts comprises a side panel extending between and connected to the respective lower post end and upper post end, such that an opening is formed and bounded by the respective lower post end, the side panel, and the respective upper post end.

18 . The base component of claim 17 , wherein each of the upper post ends of the at least two posts comprises a bottom surface configured to be reachable through a respective opening.

19 . The base component of claim 18 , wherein the at least one utility outlet is disposed on the bottom surface of the upper post end.

20 . A base component comprising:

a lower base with at least one slot; and

a post member extending vertically between a lower post end connected to the lower base and an upper post end, wherein an upper portion of the post member includes at least one utility outlet, wherein the post member comprises four posts extending vertically between their respective lower post ends and upper post ends, and wherein the four posts are configured such that four slots are respectively disposed between adjacent two posts and along a length of the adjacent two posts.

21 . The base component of claim 20 , wherein the four posts are configured such that two of the four slots are aligned in a first plane, and other two of the four slots are aligned in a second plane, and wherein the first plane is perpendicular to the second plane.

22 . The base component of claim 20 , wherein the four posts are configured such that the post member has a generally square upper surface having four corners, and the four slots respectively extend radially inwardly from the four corners.

23 . The base component of claim 14 , wherein the lower base comprises a plurality of support members extending between their respective lower ends and upper ends, wherein the upper ends of the plurality of support members are connected to the lower post ends of the at least two posts, and wherein the plurality of support members are configured such that when the base component is placed on a planar surface, each of the plurality of support members extend upwardly at a predetermined angle relative to the planar surface.

24 . The base component of claim 1 , further comprising a lighting component coupled to the upper post end of the post member.

25 . The base component of claim 24 , wherein the lighting component and the lower base comprise at least one set of vertically aligned slots configured for receiving an edge of an accessory component therein.

26 . The base component of claim 25 , wherein the lighting component is configured to provide light to the accessory component received within the at least one set of vertically aligned slots.

27 . The base component of claim 1 wherein the at least one slot extends radially inwardly from an outermost peripheral edge of the lower base toward the post.

28 . The base component of claim 27 wherein the base extends radially outwardly from the post member.

29 . The base component of claim 27 wherein the at least one slot defines a plane intersecting a center axis of the post.

Assignments (2)

Continuity (5)

References Cited (400)