DE9013387U1 - Linear or straight guide - Google Patents

Description

22GU01552 M:GU0155B

Waiter Waibel

8312Dingolfing

— or

The invention relates to a linear or straight guide with a stationary frame and a movable frame that can be moved relative to it. _In particular, in a table base according to the generic term of claim 1.

It is known that in the case of height-adjustable tables, for example desks, office tables or work tables or the like, a frame part carrying a table top can be designed to be movable relative to a fixed frame part standing on the floor, so that the height of the table top can be adapted to the respective needs.

For this purpose, it is known from DE-GM 90 11 059.5 of the same applicant and to which reference is made in full here, to provide a linear or straight guide between the stationary frame or frame base and the movable frame part that can be moved relative to it and supports the table top. The linear or straight guide can be, for example, a dovetail guide, a longitudinal guide in the form of a tongue-and-groove connection, a prism guide or the like.

Particularly with high-quality desks or work tables, it is advantageous to make at least the stationary frame part as heavy and solid as possible, for example out of steel or the like, in order to increase the overall stability of a table equipped with this and in particular to dampen any springing of the table top after a lateral impact on it as quickly as possible. The use

However, the manufacture of steel or a similar material usually requires welding work during production and the associated thermal stress on the material can result in slight deformations in the linear or straight guide, so that rework is necessary to ensure perfect guidance without too ^much play and without jamming between the stationary frame part and the movable frame part.

In practice, this rework can prove to be relatively time-consuming.

Furthermore, dovetail guides, prism guides or tongue-and-groove guides, as they are known from machine tool construction, are relatively complex to manufacture due to their very precise surfaces with minimal tolerances and are therefore largely unsuitable for furniture construction, especially since such linear or straight guides from machine tool construction would give the finished piece of furniture, for example a desk, an aesthetically unattractive technical or machine character that would be extremely detrimental to a representative piece of furniture.

In contrast, it is the object of the present invention to design a linear or straight guide according to the preamble of claim 1 in such a way that a smooth but nevertheless precise and stable guide can be realized with low manufacturing costs.

This object is achieved according to the invention by the features specified in claim 1.

By providing at least one adjustment device, by means of which the distance between a stationary guide surface on the stationary frame part and a movable guide

If the guide surface on the movable frame can be changed, the play and thus the ease of movement or, if necessary, the desired stiffness of the linear or straight guide can be individually set, adapted and readjusted, without any more extensive rework or the like being necessary in the area of the actual linear or straight guide itself.

Furthermore, the design of the linear or straight guide according to the present invention enables it to be constructed in a very slim and delicate manner, since the deformation forces expected during production do not have to be absorbed by a correspondingly stable and thus massive design of the guide. As a result, the furniture-like character of a piece of furniture equipped with the linear or straight guide according to the invention remains practically unchanged and modern, light-looking designs can also be realized.

Advantageous further developments of the invention emerge from the subclaims.

Through the design of the stationary and movable guide surfaces and through the point of action or application of the adjustment device according to claim 2, a further development or specific design of the linear or straight guide according to claim 1 is achieved in a structurally simple and functionally reliable manner.

If the linear or straight guide according to the invention is designed in the manner provided in claim 3, the essential advantage is that tolerance compensation or play adjustment between the stationary and movable guide surface is possible in two directions perpendicular to one another in a horizontal plane. In addition, the design of the present invention

The device according to claim 3 is particularly simple to manufacture and is therefore particularly cost-effective. The adjusting device according to the invention advantageously acts in the manner specified in claim 4.
5

The design according to claim 5 and the construction of the adjustment device according to claim 6 result in a structurally particularly simple design of the linear or straight guide both in the area of the stationary frame parts and in the area of the movable frame part.

According to claim 7, the adjustment device according to the invention is formed by at least one Allen or grub screw. A commercially available and inexpensive mass-produced part can thus be used.

If, according to claim 8, a plurality of screws are preferably arranged equidistantly along the guide surfaces, the precision of the play setting or the tolerance compensation between the stationary and movable guide surface can be increased even further.

If, in the embodiment according to claim 7, an Allen screw or grub screw or, in the embodiment according to claim 8, a plurality of Allen screws or grub screws are used to form the adjustment device, it can be advantageous, according to claim 9, to design the Allen screw or grub screw(s) in such a way that a pressure ball under spring force protrudes from their front end pointing in the screwing direction. The pressure ball under spring force provides the actual pressure force in the adjustment device, which has the advantage that during production the Allen screw or grub screw(s) are screwed into the blind holes provided for this purpose as far as they will go and the pressure ball or pressure balls protruding at the front end then provide a precisely defined pressure force.

Furthermore, frictional resistance is reduced by the point-like contact of the pressure ball with the corresponding counter surface.

Furthermore, according to claim 10, a friction-reducing insert can be arranged between the stationary and the movable guide surface, for example made of PTFE or the like. In addition to reducing friction, such an insert also allows for minor deformation work or the absorption of deformation forces within the linear or straight guide without affecting its smooth running once it has been set.

Further details, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description with reference to the drawing.

It shows:

Fig. 1 shows a partially sectional side view of a table base frame that can be equipped with the linear or straight guide according to the invention; and

Fig. 2A-2D four different embodiments of the linear or straight guide according to the invention, each in a sectional view along line II-II in Fig. 1.

j! 30 Fig. 1 shows a side view of a table base frame 2, in which a vertically displaceable movable frame part 6 is provided within a stationary frame part 4 standing on the floor. The movable frame part 6 carries a table top (not shown in detail in Fig. 1) on its upper side in Fig. 1. The displacement of the movable frame part 6 relative to the stationary frame part

4 is carried out by a lifting mechanism, designated overall by 8 in Fig. 1, which can move the movable frame part 6 up and down relative to the fixed frame part 4 via a cable linkage and with the support of a gas pressure spring 10 or the like, so that the table top supported by the movable frame part 6 can be adjusted in its height relative to the floor.

With regard to the specific design and functionality of the lifting mechanism 8 version selected here, reference is again expressly made to DE-GM 90 110 59.5 of the same applicant, to which reference is again made here in full.

It is understood that the application of the present invention is not limited to the embodiment according to Fig. 1 with the design of the lifting mechanism 8 chosen there; other lifting mechanisms for moving the movable frame part 6 relative to the stationary frame part 4 are also conceivable, such as spindle drives, scissor mechanisms or the like.

In an area 12 and an area 12' arranged symmetrically thereto, guide surfaces are formed between the stationary frame part 4 and the movable frame part 6, whereby only the area 12 will be considered below, since the formation of the guide surfaces in the area 12' is symmetrical thereto.

Figures 2A to 2D show four possible designs of the linear or straight guide (hereinafter referred to as "linear guide") in the area 12 according to the present invention. In Figures 2A to 2D, the same reference numerals designate the same or corresponding

In the first embodiment according to Fig. 2A, the stationary frame part 4 has two flange-like projections 14 and 16, the projection 16 being angular with a free leg 18. Between the projection 16 and its leg 18, a strip 20 with a rectangular wedge shape in cross section is arranged, with one leg of the cross section of the strip 20 resting on the projection 16, another leg 22 of the cross section resting on the leg 18, and a hypotenuse 24 of the cross section initially being free.

A further strip 26, which is rectangular and wedge-shaped in cross-section, is fastened to the movable frame part 6 with suitable fastenings in such a way that a free hypotenuse 28 of the strip 26 is opposite the hypotenuse 24 of the strip 20. The hypotenuses 24 and 28 thus form a movable guide surface 28 and a stationary guide surface 24. A friction-reducing insert part 30 is arranged between the guide surfaces 24 and 28, which is made of PTFE or the like and reduces the sliding friction there during a relative movement between the movable guide surface 28 and the stationary guide surface 24.

Likewise, an insert part 32 is arranged between the projection 14 on the stationary frame part 4 and the movable frame part 6.

In addition to reducing friction, the insert parts 30 and 32 also allow certain deformation work to be carried out within the linear guide without affecting its smooth running once it has been set.

According to the invention, at least one adjustment device 34 is provided, which is only shown schematically in the embodiment according to Fig. 2A and which also acts on the bar 20 in the embodiment according to Fig. 2A, which

is stationary relative to the bar 26. In a specific embodiment of the invention, the adjusting device 34 can be an Allen or grub screw which passes through the leg 18 at the projection 16 and acts with its front end on the cathetus 22 of the bar 20.

Tightening or loosening the adjusting device 34 causes the bar 20 to move along the projection 16 in Fig. _' Sütwedsr παλ* left or right, whereby in the course of a movement of the bar 20 to the left in Fig. 2A, the fixed guide surface 24 on the bar 20 comes into contact with the movable guide surface 28 on the bar 26 with increasing pressure and when the adjusting device 34 is loosened, the pressure between the guide surfaces 24 and 28 decreases. An increase in the pressure between the guide surfaces 24 and 28 also causes an increase in the pressure between the movable frame part 6 and the projection 14 on the fixed frame part 4, so that overall, by tightening the adjusting device 34, i.e. by further screwing the Allen or grub screw into the leg 18 in the direction of the cathetus 22 of the bar 20, the linear guide in the area 12 becomes more difficult to move overall. Loosening the adjustment device 34 or unscrewing the Allen or grub screw from the leg 18 away from the cathetus 22 causes the linear guide in the area 12 to become increasingly easier to move.

a plurality of adjustment devices 34 are now provided, preferably equidistant along the axial length of the strip 20, the entire linear guide in the area 12 (and analogously also the linear guide in the symmetrically formed area 12') can be adjusted by individually tightening or loosening the individual adjustment devices 34 so that the linear guide has the desired freedom of movement, whereby local tolerance deviations or the like between the movable frame 6

and stationary frame part 4 can be easily compensated or balanced.

Fig. 2B shows a second embodiment of the present invention, which is particularly characterized by the fact that it is particularly simple in terms of construction and can therefore be manufactured inexpensively, whereby, by operating the adjustment device 34 there, tolerance deviations in two directions perpendicular to one another in the horizontal plane of Fig. 2B are possible.

In the second embodiment, as shown in Fig. 2B, two projections 14 and 16 are provided on the stationary adjusting part 4, analogous to the embodiment shown in Fig. 2. The movable frame part 6 carries (:\\ its free end in the area 12) a rod 36 of essentially circular cross-section, which runs vertically downwards in Fig. 1, whereby the connection between the rod 36 and the movable frame part 6 can be made by welding, screwing, brazing or the like. As can also be seen from Fig. 2t, the strip 20 with the rectangular wedge-shaped shape in cross-section is arranged in the area of the projection 16. The strip 20 is supported on the rod 36 with its hypotenuse 24, which forms the stationary guide surface 24. The linear contact between the stationary guide surface 24 and the rod 36 represents the movable guide surface 28. The insert part 30 is arranged between the guide surfaces 24 and 28 specifically to reduce sliding friction, but also to absorb certain Deformation forces are arranged within the guide. Likewise, the further insert part 32 is provided between the movable frame part 6 and the projection 14 of the stationary frame part 4.

In the embodiment according to Fig. 2B, the bar 20 is also acted upon by the adjusting device 34, which in the embodiment

2B passes through the projection 16 on the stationary frame part 4. The adjusting device 34 can be an Allen or grub screw which is screwed into the projection 16 and exerts a pressure force with its end on the bar 20.

In a particularly preferred embodiment of the present invention, the strip 20 in the embodiment according to Fig. 2B does not extend over the entire vertical length of the stationary frame part 4 but only in a region of cross members 38 (Fig. 1) which bridge the free space between the two legs of the stationary frame part 4. The projection 16 according to Fig. 2B is thus formed directly by

1.5, the cross member 38 is formed and the strip 20 therefore has a longitudinal extension which corresponds to the vertical extension of the cross member 38 in Fig. 1.

In the embodiment according to Fig. 2B, the advantage of a simple structural design is coupled with the significant advantage that, due to the interaction between the strip 20 and the rod 36, tolerance deviations or the like in Fig. 2B from left to right and vice versa and also from top to bottom and vice versa can be compensated or balanced out when adjusting the adjustment device 34. Due to the linear contact of the fixed guide surface 24 with the movable guide surface 28, the linear guide of the embodiment according to Fig. 2B runs particularly smoothly with little wear.

Fig. 2C shows a third embodiment of the present invention.

According to Fig. 2C, the stationary frame 4 has the two projections 14 and 16. The movable frame part 6 is held between the projections 14 and 16. Between the

The insert part 30 is arranged between the fixed guide surface 24 and the movable guide surface 28, and the further insert part 32 is arranged between a further fixed guide surface 24' and a further movable guide surface 28", which are also formed in the embodiments of Fig. 2A and 2B. In the embodiment according to Fig. 2C, the adjusting device 34 acts in the area of the guide surfaces 24 and 28, so that here too, by tightening or further screwing in the Allen or grub screw serving as the adjusting device 34 in the projection 16, the guide of the movable frame part 6 in the fixed frame part 4 becomes more difficult and vice versa. In the embodiment according to Fig. 2C, in a particularly preferred embodiment, the adjusting device 34 is designed as follows:

The Allen or hex screw, which is screwed into the projection 16, has a cylindrical cavity inside it in which a compression spring is guided, which in turn pre-tensions a ball that protrudes from the end of the screw pointing in the screwing direction. Such screws with spring-loaded bearing or locking balls at the front end are generally known. Such a screw with an internal compression spring offers the significant advantage that by selecting the appropriate compressive forces of the internal compression spring, the Allen or grub screw is simply screwed into the corresponding hole in the leg 16 as far as it will go during the manufacture of the linear guide, after which the ball protruding from the end of the screw rests against the movable frame part 6 under the spring force. This allows constant pressure forces over the entire vertical extension of the linear guide, whereby minor tolerance deviations in the area of the linear guide can be compensated by the play of the spring-supported balls* Furthermore, the frictional resistances within the linear guide are

The friction is greatly reduced due to the linear or point-like contact of the balls on the movable frame 6, so that a smooth linear guide is obtained.

In the fourth embodiment of the present invention according to Fig. 2D, a projection 40 is formed or arranged centrally on the stationary frame part 4. The projection 40

advantageously has a cross section according to j

Fig. 2D of triangular or trapezoidal design!

The fixed guide surfaces 24 and 24' are |

formed on the projection 40. The movable part- *·.

In the embodiment of Fig. 2D, the adjusting part 6 is in two parts _;

lig and surrounds the projection 40 in the area |

12 forked or dovetailed to form the be- '\

movable guide surfaces 28 and 28'. The adjustment device |

tung 34 is a clamping screw, which the two ■:,

Halves of the movable frame part 6, so that i

the degree of opening of the dovetail-shaped or fork-shaped grip of the projection 40 and thus the pressure forces between the guide surfaces 24, 28 and 24', 28' can be adjusted by tightening or loosening the clamping screw or the direction 34.

In the embodiment of Fig. 2D, the insert parts 30 and 32 are also provided to reduce friction and absorb deformation forces.

In the embodiments of Fig. 2C and 2D - as in the embodiment of Fig. 2A - several adjustment devices 34 can be provided, preferably equidistantly along the entire axial extension of the linear guide, so that a sensitive adjustment and setting of the linear guide is possible.

If a corresponding plastic material is used for the strips 20 and 26, the insert parts 30 and 32 may be omitted.

Due to the profiling of the stationary frame part 4 in the areas 12 and 12' with the projections 14, 16 and 40 and if necessary the leg 18, the stationary frame part 4 is additionally stiffened.

It should also be noted that the linear or straight guide according to the invention is of course not limited to the guidance of vertical movements alone. The linear guide can also be used just as well in oblique or horizontal movement sequences and has all the advantages of the invention.

Claims (10)

22GU01552 M:GUO155A Walter Waibe) Dlngolfing 5 Protection claims 1; Linear or linear guide between a stationary frame and a movable frame part that can be moved relative to it, in particular in a table base, the linear or linear guide having at least one stationary guide surface and at least one movable guide surface that can be applied to it with pressure, between which a relative movement takes place, characterized in that at least one adjusting device (34) is provided, by means of which a distance between the stationary (24) and the movable (28) guide surface can be changed. 2. Linear or straight guide according to claim 1, characterized in that the stationary and the movable guide surface (24, 28) are each the hypotenuse of two strips (20, 26) with a rectangular wedge shape in cross section, the adjusting device (34) acting on at least one leg (22) of at least one of the strips (20). 3. Linear or straight guide according to claim 1, characterized in that the stationary guide surface (24) is the hypotenuse of a strip (20) with a rectangular wedge shape in cross section and the movable guide surface (28) is formed by a rod (36) with a round cross section, which rests against the stationary guide surface (24) with an axial line on its circumference. 2 ,: Il «ft · · · · 4. Linear or straight guide according to claim 3, characterized in that the adjusting device (34) acts on at least one leg (22) of the bar (20). 5. Linear or straight guide according to claim 1, characterized in that the movable guide surface (28) encloses the stationary guide surface (24) in a forked or dovetailed manner, the adjusting device (34) acting on the degree of opening of the forked or dovetailed enclosing. 6. Linear or straight guide according to claim 5, characterized in that the adjusting device (34) has at least one clamping screw. 7. Linear or straight guide according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the adjusting device (34) has at least one Allen or grub screw. 8. Linear or straight guide according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that a plurality of screws are arranged preferably equidistantly along the guide surfaces (24, 28). 9. Linear or straight guide according to one of claims 1 to 4 and 7 or 8, characterized in that the front end of the Allen or Madsn screw pointing in the screwing direction has a pressure cup under spring force gel. 10. Linear or straight guide according to one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that between fixed and movable guide surfaces (24, 24', 28, 28') a 3b friction-reducing insert part (30, 32) is arranged.