CA2312638A1 - Adjustable leg for furniture - Google Patents

Adjustable leg for furniture Download PDF

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Publication number
CA2312638A1
CA2312638A1 CA 2312638 CA2312638A CA2312638A1 CA 2312638 A1 CA2312638 A1 CA 2312638A1 CA 2312638 CA2312638 CA 2312638 CA 2312638 A CA2312638 A CA 2312638A CA 2312638 A1 CA2312638 A1 CA 2312638A1
Authority
CA
Canada
Prior art keywords
endless screw
toothed wheel
extension element
furniture
rotation
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Abandoned
Application number
CA 2312638
Other languages
French (fr)
Inventor
Robert Lavoie
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Individual
Original Assignee
Individual
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Individual filed Critical Individual
Priority to CA 2312638 priority Critical patent/CA2312638A1/en
Publication of CA2312638A1 publication Critical patent/CA2312638A1/en
Abandoned legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • AHUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A47FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
    • A47BTABLES; DESKS; OFFICE FURNITURE; CABINETS; DRAWERS; GENERAL DETAILS OF FURNITURE
    • A47B9/00Tables with tops of variable height

Abstract

An adjustable leg for furniture allowing the height of furniture to be adjusted by the user is described herein. The adjustable leg of the present invention uses an electric motor, an endless screw and a toothed wheel to transform a rotational movement of the shaft of the motor into a translation movement of an extension element.

Description

TITLE OF THE INVENTION
ADJUSTABLE LEG FOR FURNITURE
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to furniture. More specifically, the present invention is concerned with adjustable legs allowing the height of furniture to be adjusted.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Furniture legs allowing the height of a piece of furniture having a horizontal top surface to be adjusted in height are well known in the art.
Various designs have been proposed to accomplish this.
The following table lists United States Patents relevant to such conventional height adjustable legs for furniture.
Number Inventors) 4,315,466 Boerigter 4,494,466 Synek et al.

4,590,865 Rutsche et al.

4,593,874 Dunagan Number Inventors) 4,615,279 de la Haye 4,850,563 Grout 5,241,914 Korb 5,259,326 Borgman et al.

5,549,053 Grout 5,598,788 Jonker 5,657,498 Hum 5,685,510 Frankish 5,758,586 Kieser et al.

5,778,803 Machael 5,894,805 Raasch et al.

5,941,182 Greene A major drawback of the adjustable legs for furniture of the prior art is that these conventional adjustable legs must be designed according to the particular furniture to which they are to be mounted to.
Indeed, opposite adjustable legs of the prior art are usually linked, one way or another, to ensure that they move simultaneously. This link, usually positioned under the horizontal surface of the furniture or through a back panel thereof, limits and often dictates the structure and appearance of the furniture, which is a major drawback.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is therefore to provide improved adjustable legs for furniture.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
More specifically, in accordance with the present invention, there is provided an adjustable leg for furniture comprising:
a body having first and second lateral sides and an opening;
an extension element so mounted in the body through the opening as to be telescopically movable in a first direction;
an endless screw mounted in the body; the endless screw having a rotation axis lying in a second direction generally perpendicular to the first direction;
an actuator having a rotatable shaft connected to the endless screw;
a toothed wheel so pivotally mounted to the body as to threadedly contact the endless screw; the toothed wheel having a pivot axis lying in a third direction generally perpendicular to both the first and second directions;
a link element having a first end pivotally mounted to the toothed wheel and a second end pivotally mounted to the extension element;
whereby, in operation, a) rotation of the actuator in a first direction cause the telescoping extension of the extension element and b) rotation of the actuator in a second direction cause the telescoping retraction of the extension element.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an adjustable leg for furniture comprising:
a body having an opening;
an extension element so mounted in the body through the opening as to be telescopically movable in a first direction;
an endless screw mounted in the body; the endless screw having a rotation axis lying in a second direction generally perpendicular to the first direction;
means for selectively rotating the endless screw;
a toothed wheel so pivotally mounted to the body as to threadedly contact the endless screw; the toothed wheel having a pivot axis lying in a third direction generally perpendicular to both the first and second directions;
means for interconnecting the toothed wheel and the extension element;
whereby, in operation, a) rotation of the rotating means in a first direction cause the telescoping extension of the extension element and b) rotation of the rotating means in a second direction cause the telescoping retraction of the extension element.
According to yet another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a piece of furniture comprising:
a generally horizontal surface;
two ground engaging adjustable legs; each the two ground engaging legs including:

- body having an opening;
- extension element so mounted in the body through the opening as to be telescopically movable in a first direction;
5 - an endless screw mounted in the body; the endless screw having a rotation axis lying in a second direction generally perpendicular to the first direction;
- means for selectively rotating the endless screw;
- a toothed wheel so pivotally mounted to the body as to threadedly contact the endless screw; the toothed wheel having a pivot axis lying in a third direction generally perpendicular to both the first and second directions;
- means for interconnecting the toothed wheel and the extension element;
whereby, in operation, a) rotation of each the rotating means in a first direction cause the telescoping extension of the extension element and b) rotation of the rotating means in a second direction cause the telescoping retraction of the extension element.
Other objects, advantages and features of the present invention will become more apparent upon reading of the following non restrictive description of preferred embodiments thereof, given by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
In the appended drawings:
Figure 1 is a perspective view of a computer desk provided with two adjustable legs according to the present invention;
Figure 2 is a sectional view taken along line 2-2 of Figure 1;
Figure 3 is a sectional view taken along line 3-3 of Figure 2; and Figure 4 is a perspective view of a grocery cash register arrangement provided with three pairs of independently adjustable legs according to the present invention.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Turning now to Figure 1 of the appended drawings, a computer table 10 provided with two adjustable legs 12 and 14 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described. The use of the adjustable legs 12 and 14 allows the height of the table top 15 to be adjusted according to the requirement of the user.
As will be further described hereinbelow, each actuator is connected to a control box 16 via electrical wires 18 and 20 allowing the extension of the legs 12 and 14 to be remotely controlled. The control box 16 includes an electronic circuit (not shown) and user's controls 22 and 24.
Since the adjustable legs 12 and 14 are identical, only leg 12 will be described in greater details hereinbelow with reference to Figures 1 to 3.
The adjustable leg 12 includes detachable side panels 26 and 28 allowing access to the internal elements thereof. As will be apparent to one skilled in the art, the use of such panels 26 and 28 is an advantage since it allows the designed to choose a panel material that is similar or identical to the material used for the other elements of the furniture, thereby increasing the aesthetic appeal of the furniture while using the same adjustable leg design.
Turning now to Figures 2 and 3, the adjustable leg 12 includes a body 30 defining, with the detachable side panels 26 and 28, an enclosure 32 provided with a lower opening.
An extension element 34 is telescopically mounted to the body 30 through the lower opening for reciprocal movements along a first direction (see arrows 35). The adjustable leg 12 also includes an endless screw 36 rotatably mounted to the body 30 and an actuator, in the form of an electric motor 38, having a rotatable shaft 40 connected to the endless screw 36. Both the endless screw 36 and the rotatable shaft 40 have a rotation axis 42 advantageously lying in a second direction generally perpendicular to the first direction illustrated by arrows 35.
A toothed wheel 44 and a link element 46 are used to convert the rotational movement of the endless screw 36 into the telescoping movements of the extension element 34. More specifically, the toothed wheel 44 has a pivot axis 48 lying in a direction perpendicular to both the rotation axis 42 and the first direction illustrated by arrows 35.
The link element 46 includes a proximate end 50 pivotally mounted to the toothed wheel 44 and a distal end 52 pivotally mounted to the extension element 34.
Thereby, as will be easily understood by one skilled in the art, rotation of the shaft 40 of the electric motor 38 will cause the rotation of the endless screw 36 (see arrow 54), which will, in turn, cause the rotation of the toothed wheel 44 (see arrow 56) to finally cause the translation of the extension element 34 (see arrows 35). Of course, the direction of rotation of the motor 38 will dictate the direction of translation of the extension element 34. Thereby, when the electric motor 38 rotates in a first direction, it causes the telescopic extension of the extension element 34. Conversely, when the electric motor 38 rotates in a second opposite direction, it causes the telescopic retraction of the extension element 34.
It is to be noted that even though the toothed wheel 44 is semi-circular, a circular toothed wheel (not shown) could be used. It is however advantageous to use such a semi-circular toothed wheel 44 since it is possible to pivotally mount the proximate end 50 of the link element 46 to one of the ends of the toothed wheel 44.
Returning briefly to Figure 1 of the appended drawings, the user may then, via the controls 22 and 24, select and control the rotation direction of the motor 38 and thereby the lowering or raising of the adjustable legs 12 and 14.
Since the motors 38 of each leg 12 and 14 are advantageously synchronous motors, only two user's control 22 and 24 are required to simultaneously control the two legs 12 and 14. Of course, the controller (not shown) advantageously includes means to initially adjust the height of the legs 12 and 14 separately.
Turning finally to Figure 4 of the appended drawings, a grocery cash register arrangement 100 provided with three pairs of independently adjustable legs according to the present invention is illustrated in a perspective view.
The three pairs of legs of the arrangement 100 are as described hereinabove with respect to Figures 1 to 3. These pair of legs will not be discussed in greater details herein.
The three pairs of legs are controlled by six (6) user controls 102 allowing each pair of legs to be raised or lowered independently.
Of course, as will easily be understood by one skilled in the art, other elements, such as, for example, limit switches, could be provided to limit the movement of the extension portion 34. Since these elements are believed well known in the art, they will not be further discussed herein.
Although the present invention has been described 5 hereinabove by way of preferred embodiments thereof, it can be modified, without departing from the spirit and nature of the subject invention as defined in the appended claims.

Claims (7)

1. An adjustable leg for furniture comprising:
a body having first and second lateral sides and an opening;
an extension element so mounted in said body through said opening as to be telescopically movable in a first direction;
an endless screw mounted in said body; said endless screw having a rotation axis lying in a second direction generally perpendicular to said first direction;
an actuator having a rotatable shaft connected to said endless screw;
a toothed wheel so pivotally mounted to said body as to threadedly contact said endless screw; said toothed wheel having a pivot axis lying in a third direction generally perpendicular to both said first and second directions;
a link element having a first end pivotally mounted to said toothed wheel and a second end pivotally mounted to said extension element;
whereby, in operation, a) rotation of said actuator in a first direction cause the telescoping extension of the extension element and b) rotation of said actuator in a second direction cause the telescoping retraction of the extension element.
2. An adjustable leg for furniture as recited in claim 1, wherein said actuator is an electric motor.
3. An adjustable leg for furniture as recited in claim 2, wherein said electric motor is a synchronous motor.
4. An adjustable leg for furniture as recited in claim 2, further comprising means for controlling the direction of rotation of said electric motor.
5. An adjustable leg for furniture as recited in claim 1, wherein said toothed wheel is semi-circular and wherein said link element is pivotally mounted at an end of said semi-circular toothed wheel.
6. An adjustable leg for furniture comprising:
a body having an opening;
an extension element so mounted in said body through said opening as to be telescopically movable in a first direction;
an endless screw mounted in said body; said endless screw having a rotation axis lying in a second direction generally perpendicular to said first direction;
means for selectively rotating said endless screw;
a toothed wheel so pivotally mounted to said body as to threadedly contact said endless screw; said toothed wheel having a pivot axis lying in a third direction generally perpendicular to both said first and second directions;
means for interconnecting said toothed wheel and said extension element;
whereby, in operation, a) rotation of said rotating means in a first direction cause the telescoping extension of the extension element and b) rotation of said rotating means in a second direction cause the telescoping retraction of the extension element.
7. A piece of furniture comprising:
a generally horizontal surface;

two ground engaging adjustable legs; each said two ground engaging legs including:
- body having an opening;
- extension element so mounted in said body through said opening as to be telescopically movable in a first direction;
- an endless screw mounted in said body; said endless screw having a rotation axis lying in a second direction generally perpendicular to said first direction;
- means for selectively rotating said endless screw;
- a toothed wheel so pivotally mounted to said body as to threadedly contact said endless screw; said toothed wheel having a pivot axis lying in a third direction generally perpendicular to both said first and second directions;
- means for interconnecting said toothed wheel and said extension element;
whereby, in operation, a) rotation of each said rotating means in a first direction cause the telescoping extension of the extension element and b) rotation of said rotating means in a second direction cause the telescoping retraction of the extension element.
CA 2312638 2000-06-28 2000-06-28 Adjustable leg for furniture Abandoned CA2312638A1 (en)

Priority Applications (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
CA 2312638 CA2312638A1 (en) 2000-06-28 2000-06-28 Adjustable leg for furniture

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
CA 2312638 CA2312638A1 (en) 2000-06-28 2000-06-28 Adjustable leg for furniture

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
CA2312638A1 true CA2312638A1 (en) 2001-12-28

Family

ID=4166600

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
CA 2312638 Abandoned CA2312638A1 (en) 2000-06-28 2000-06-28 Adjustable leg for furniture

Country Status (1)

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CA (1) CA2312638A1 (en)

Cited By (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP1470766A1 (en) * 2003-04-24 2004-10-27 Walter Koch Working table
WO2010049551A1 (en) * 2008-10-31 2010-05-06 Vicente Juan Moreno Morales Device for chocking and levelling all kinds of furniture
DE102009015690A1 (en) * 2009-03-31 2010-10-07 Logicdata Electronic & Software Entwicklungs Gmbh Linear drive and table with linear drive
CN109008346A (en) * 2018-07-31 2018-12-18 万志平 A kind of intelligentized Furniture pedestal

Cited By (7)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP1470766A1 (en) * 2003-04-24 2004-10-27 Walter Koch Working table
WO2010049551A1 (en) * 2008-10-31 2010-05-06 Vicente Juan Moreno Morales Device for chocking and levelling all kinds of furniture
DE102009015690A1 (en) * 2009-03-31 2010-10-07 Logicdata Electronic & Software Entwicklungs Gmbh Linear drive and table with linear drive
US9093930B2 (en) 2009-03-31 2015-07-28 Logicdata Electronic & Software Entwicklungs Gmbh Linear actuator with a rotating brushless DC motor
EP2415161B1 (en) 2009-03-31 2016-03-30 Logicdata Electronic&Software Entwicklungs GmbH Linear drive, table having a linear drive, and motor for the linear drive
US9642758B2 (en) 2009-03-31 2017-05-09 Logicdata Electronic & Software Entwicklungs Gmbh Linear actuator with a rotating brushless DC motor
CN109008346A (en) * 2018-07-31 2018-12-18 万志平 A kind of intelligentized Furniture pedestal

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