Banana stand

Abstract

A banana stand that has the appearance of banana when in a closed state. The banana stand includes a main body, a rear support disposed in a recess of the main body, and at least one, and in one implementation two front supports pivotally connected to the main body. An internal gearing mechanism operates to move the front supports in sync with the rear support when the rear support is moved from the recess in the main body. Once the rear support is fully deployed, a locking mechanism locks the front and rear supports in an open or standing position such that the main body can be positioned to stand on a surface. A hook at the top of the main body receives and suspends a bunch of bananas.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A banana stand that has the appearance of a banana when in a closed position, the stand comprising:
 a main body;   a rear support positioned within a recess in the main body when in the closed position;   two front supports each pivotally connected to the main body and positioned on sides of the main body when in the closed position; and   an internal gear mechanism connecting the rear support to the two front supports such that movement of the rear support out of the recess causes the two front supports to rotate about their respective pivotal connections.   
     
     
         2 . The banana stand according to  claim 1 , wherein the main body further comprises a hook at a top end thereof. 
     
     
         3 . The banana stand according to  claim 1 , wherein the internal gear mechanism comprises:
 a gear head at one end of the rear support, the gear head having two partial gears; and   a front support partial gear on each of the two front supports.   
     
     
         4 . The banana stand according to  claim 3 , wherein one of each of the gear head partial gears mesh with one front support partial gear such that pivotal movement of the front supports is limited by the rotation of the rear support. 
     
     
         5 . The banana stand according to  claim 1 , further comprising a locking mechanism configured to lock the rear support and front supports in an open or standing position. 
     
     
         6 . The banana stand according to  claim 5 , wherein the locking mechanism is integrated into the rear support. 
     
     
         7 . A banana stand comprising:
 a main body having a shape of a banana;   a rear support positioned within a recess in the main body when in the closed position;   at least one front support pivotally connected to the main body and positioned on at least one side of the main body when in the closed position; and   a locking mechanism configured to lock the rear support and the at least one front support in an open or standing position.   
     
     
         8 . The banana stand of  claim 7 , further comprising an internal gear mechanism connecting the rear support to the at least one front support such that movement of the rear support out of the recess causes the at least one front support to rotate about the respective pivotal connections. 
     
     
         9 . The banana stand according to  claim 7 , wherein the main body further comprises a hook at a top end thereof. 
     
     
         10 . The banana stand according to  claim 8 , wherein the internal gear mechanism comprises:
 a gear head at one end of the rear support, the gear head having at least one partial gear; and   at least one front support partial gear on the at least one front support.   
     
     
         11 . The banana stand according to  claim 10 , wherein the at least one partial fear of the gear head meshes with the at least one front support partial gear such that pivotal movement of the at least one front support is determined by the pivoting of the rear support out of the recess of the main body. 
     
     
         12 . The banana stand according to  claim 7 , wherein the locking mechanism is integrated into the rear support.