Classifications

• • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
  • E05—LOCKS; KEYS; WINDOW OR DOOR FITTINGS; SAFES
  • E05C—BOLTS OR FASTENING DEVICES FOR WINGS, SPECIALLY FOR DOORS OR WINDOWS
  • E05C17/00—Devices for holding wings open; Devices for limiting opening of wings or for holding wings open by a movable member extending between frame and wing; Braking devices, stops or buffers, combined therewith
  • E05C17/02—Devices for holding wings open; Devices for limiting opening of wings or for holding wings open by a movable member extending between frame and wing; Braking devices, stops or buffers, combined therewith by mechanical means
  • E05C17/04—Devices for holding wings open; Devices for limiting opening of wings or for holding wings open by a movable member extending between frame and wing; Braking devices, stops or buffers, combined therewith by mechanical means with a movable bar or equivalent member extending between frame and wing
  • E05C17/30—Devices for holding wings open; Devices for limiting opening of wings or for holding wings open by a movable member extending between frame and wing; Braking devices, stops or buffers, combined therewith by mechanical means with a movable bar or equivalent member extending between frame and wing of extensible, e.g. telescopic, construction
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A47—FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
  • A47B—TABLES; DESKS; OFFICE FURNITURE; CABINETS; DRAWERS; GENERAL DETAILS OF FURNITURE
  • A47B1/00—Extensible tables
  • A47B1/04—Extensible tables with supplementary leaves or drop leaves arranged at the periphery
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A47—FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
  • A47B—TABLES; DESKS; OFFICE FURNITURE; CABINETS; DRAWERS; GENERAL DETAILS OF FURNITURE
  • A47B5/00—Suspended or hinged panels forming a table; Wall tables
  • A47B5/04—Suspended or hinged panels forming a table; Wall tables foldable

Definitions

• the present invention relates to a telescopic stay for supporting two objects which are capable of being folded relative to one another/ and particularly, although not exclusively, for supporting a work surface which can be folded relative to a frame structure.
• the stay In the case of foldable work surfaces which are supported in their raised positions by means of some suitable form of stay, it is desirable that the stay will enable the work surface to be locked readily and reliably in its raised position, and to be readily released from said locked position prior to lowering the work surface.
• the stay must also be capable of locking the raised work surface reliably and to form a firm support for the work surface in the desired working position thereof.
• a telescopic stay which fulfils these desiderata to a large extent is known from the British Patent Specification No. 1 524 281 and comprises two tubes which can be displaced telescopically in relation to one another and the mutually opposite ends of which are each pivotally connected to a respective one of said two objects, and further comprises an inner guide tube arranged within the telescopic tubes, a tension spring which extends axially through all tubes, and locking means for releasably locking the telescopic tubes in a given working position relative to one another.
• This known stay is encumbered, inter alia, with a number of disadvantages.
• the inner guide tube projects beyond the ends of the telescopic tubes, thereby preventing the stay from being fitted directly to a complete surface, e.g. a wall. Instead it is necessary to fit the stay to a surface which is laterally offset, so that the inner guide tube can be permitted to project out from the telescopic tube.
• the stay When stays of this particular kind are intended, inter alia, to support tables or work surfaces in watercraft, caravans and in other connections where relative movement of the aforesaid two objects can occur, it is essential that the stay is capable of preventing the work surface from swinging, or of damping such swinging movement, when the work surface occupies its collapsed or lowered position. Since, when the known stay is retracted, the aforesaid inner guide tube projects from the outer telescopic tube, the tension spring has no damping effect whatsoever on the swinging movement of the foldable work surface, unless the work surface swings to such an extent as to cause a stop provided on the inner guide tube to engage the outer telescopic tube. Consequently, small swinging movements are not damped at all.
• the main object of the invention is to provide an improved stay of the aforedescribed kind in which, inter alia, the aforesaid drawbacks are no longer found.
• the inner guide tube In order to enable the stay to be fitted directly to a wall or corresponding surface it is essential that the inner guide tube will not project from the telescopic tubes in any position of the tubes.
• the tension spring shall constantly draw the telescopic tubes together, so as to dampen the swinging motion of, for example, a work surface in its downwardly folded position.
• a stay according to the invention is characterized in that the inner guide tube is fixed axially in relation to one of the telescopic tubes and accompanies the tube in its axial movement relative to the other of said tubes, and in that each end of the tension spring is fixed in relation to its respective telescopic tube, the length of the tension spring being such that the spring will constantly exert on the telescopic tubes a force which strives to draw said tubes together.
• the inner guide tube will not protrude beyond the telescopic tubes, and the stay is effective for damping even small relative swinging movements between the mutually hinged objects to which the stay is fitted, the extent to which damping is achieved being dependent on the force exerted by the tension spring.
• the outer surface of the outer one of the two telescopic tubes is preferably provided with circumferential shoulders adapted to cooperate with a pivotally mounted locking arm.
• the outer telescopic tube is preferably made up of several coaxial tubes placed one within the other, each of which tubes protrudes from the immediate outer tube such that the end surface of each tube forms one engagement shoulder for the locking arm.
• the locking arm is pivotally mounted at one end of the arm which end may have the form of a sleeve which embraces the inner telescopic tube.
• a spring can therewith be mounted between the inner telescopic tube and the sleeve-shaped part of the arm to constantly bias the arm towards its locking position.
• each of the outer ends of respective telescopic tubes is secured to a respective mounting means by means of a pivot having the form of a peg which extends diametrically through respective tubes.
• the inner guide tube can therewith be fixed axially in relation to the outer telescopic tube with the aid of the peg passing through said tube, and the pivotally mounted locking arm can be pivoted around the peg passing diametrically through the inner telescopic tube.
• each of the said mounting means preferably includes a pair of angle pieces the respective one legs of which are located opposite one another on mutually different sides of respective telescopic tubes and axe provided with holes for receiving an associated peg.
• Simple and reliable mounting of the tension spring is achieved by securing one end of the spring to the peg passing .through the inner telescopic tube and by hooking the other end of the spring firmly to the end of the inner guide tube connected to the other peg.
• Figure 1 illustrates a stay according to the invention in the supporting position of said stay.
• Figure 2 is a bottom plan view of part of the stay illustrated in Figure 1.
• Figure 3 illustrates the stay of Figure 1 in its retracted state.
• Figure 4 illustrates a modified stay according to Figure 1 designed to permit three different working positions.
• FIG. 5 illustrates the operation of the stay of Figure 4.
• the reference ⁇ numeral 1 identifies a work surface which is hinged to a stationary or fixed surface 2 by means of a hinge 3.
• a stay 4 according to the invention is mounted between the work surface 1 and a support frame structure 5, which may consist, for example, of a table frame, a wall or some corresponding structure.
• the stay 4 includes an outer telescopic tube 6 and an inner telescopic tube 7, which are arranged to slide axially one within the other.
• an inner reinforcing guide tube 8 Arranged within the outer telescopic tube 6 is an inner reinforcing guide tube 8, which also extends into the inner telescopic tube 7.
• the reference numeral 9 identifies a locking arm, one end 10 of which is sleeve-shaped and embraces the inner tube 7, and the other end of which is cupped or half-cylindrical in shape and presents a bevelled end surface which in its locking position engages beneath a correspondingly bevelled end surface on the outer tube 6 for locking co-action therewith.
• the inner telescopic tube 7 is pivotally connected to the work surface 1 by means of a pivot having the form of a hollow, tubular peg 11 which passes diametrically through the tube 7 and the sleeve-like end 10 of the locking arm 9, between two mutually opposing flanges 12 on a mounting arrangment which includes an angle piece located on each side of the sleeve-shaped end 10.
• the outer telescopic tube 6 i similarly pivotally mounted by means of a pivot in the form of a peg 13 which is fitted in two mutually opposing flanges 14 and extends diametrically through the tube 6 and the guide tube 8.
• the angle pieces with the flanges 12 are screwed to the undersurface of the work surface 1.
• the spring 15 is extended and strives therefor to draw the two telescopic tubes 6 and 7 together.
• the tubes are prevented from being retracted one within the other by the locking arm 9, which is in locking engagement (full lines) with the outer telescopic tube 6.
• the locking arm is biased towards its locking position by means of a bias spring 16, which acts between the inner telescopic tube 7 and the sleeve- shaped part 10 of the locking arm.
• Unintentional release of the locking arm 9 is also prevented through the engagement of the free, bevelled end of the locking arm with the undersurface of the correspondingly bevelled edge of the outer tube 6, this locking engagement being maintained in the illustrated position also through the weight of the work surface 1 acting on the arm.
• Figure 2 is a bottom plan view of the right-hand end of the stay 4 illustrated in Figure 1 and the associated mounting means.
• the free end of the locking arm 9 has the form of a slotted tube or sleeve of the same diameter as the sleeve- shaped end 10.
• the end of the part 9 is also bevelled so that its outer surface coincides substantially with the outer surface of the outer tube 6 with which the locking arm is intended to cooperate. This means that engagement of the bevelled end surface of the locking arm 9 with the end surface of the telescopic tube 6 takes place over a relatively large peripheral arcuate surface, thereby avoiding the drawback of the punctiform contact between the mutually engaging surfaces and also the subsequent elevated wear thereon which would result from such contact.
• the diameter of the sleeve-shaped part 10 of the arm must be greater than that of the telescopic tube 1 , so as to provide sufficient space for such movement to take place.
• the through-passing peg 11 is firmly riveted or swaged in holes provided in the outwardly projecting legs 12 of the angle pieces 17, vide Figure 2. The same applies to the tubular peg 13 at the other end of the stay. The open ends of the tubular pegs are closed with homogenous plastic plugs.
• Figure 3 illustrates the work surface 1 with the stay 4 in a retracted state.
• the length of the tension spring 15 is such that the spring is still slightly stretched when the work surface occupies its lowered position, so that the spring will exert a damping effect on undesired swinging movement of the downwardly folded work surface.
• the desired damping effect can be obtained with the aid of a spring of suitable spring rating.
• the load-absorbing stay 4 provides an extremely stable support for the work surface 1 in the absence of any risk of unintentional collapsing of the work surface, since three mutually different hand manipulations are required to collapse said surface.
• the work surface in order to lower the work surface it must first be lifted to the position shown in chain lines in Figure 1, in order to free the locking arm 9 from the telescopic tube 6. Pressure must then be applied to the sleeve-shaped part 10 in the direction of the arrow A, in order to swing the locking arm 9 around the peg 11, against the action of the spring 16, to bring the arm to the position shown in chain lines in Figure 1.
• the work surface 1 must then be again lowered to the position shown in full lines, while holding the locking arm in the aforesaid position, whereafter the locking arm can be released.
• the locking arm When the locking arm is released it slides over and along the telescopic tube 6 while lowering the work surface 1 to the position illustrated in Figure 3.
• the work surface may also be swung beyond the vertical position illustrated in figure 3 , or may be stopped before said vertical position is reached.
• the stay can be fitted so as to form only a very small angle with the work surface 1 in the working position illustrated in Figure 1, this feature being beneficial since a large part of the space beneath the work surface is therewith made freely available.
• a stay constructed in accordance with the invention can be used with other types of flaps or pivotable parts irrespective of their orientation and pivotal directions. Because the two ends of the stay can be mounted with the aid of through-passing pegs, the stay can be fitted selectively to any desired object. The stay can also be mounted between two pivotable objects.

Landscapes

• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Mutual Connection Of Rods And Tubes (AREA)
• Forklifts And Lifting Vehicles (AREA)
• Spinning Or Twisting Of Yarns (AREA)
• Supports For Pipes And Cables (AREA)

Priority Applications (1)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (2)

Family

ID=25435982

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (6)

Families Citing this family (4)

Family Cites Families (1)

• 1987
  • 1987-10-02 AU AU80709/87A patent/AU8070987A/en not_active Abandoned
  • 1987-10-02 EP EP87906683A patent/EP0329665B1/de not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 1987-10-02 JP JP62506090A patent/JPH02500456A/ja active Pending
  • 1987-10-02 WO PCT/SE1987/000447 patent/WO1988002430A1/en active IP Right Grant
  • 1987-10-05 CA CA000548543A patent/CA1291200C/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
• 1988
  • 1988-06-04 KR KR1019880700642A patent/KR880701529A/ko not_active Application Discontinuation

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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