EP0456008B1 - Leg frame for folding furniture and joint for this frame - Google Patents

Description

The invention relates to a leg frame for a folding piece of furniture with at least one pair of legs, the two legs of which are connected in a V-arrangement at their upper ends via a joint that can be expanded and folded, the joint having a joint head connected to one leg with a joint pin and one with the other leg connected joint socket with a mortise. The invention further relates to a joint part which is intended to make two legs of a leg frame for a folding piece of furniture in a V-shaped arrangement expandable and foldable.

Leg frames or joint parts of the type mentioned at the outset are known (EP 267 487 A2). In the known joint device, two head parts are rotatably connected to one another. One head part has two outer cheeks running parallel to one another with cams extending into the space delimited by outer cheeks, the other head part is provided with circular receiving chambers for the cams.

The above-mentioned and other known hinge devices are used to make folding furniture, such as camping, garden and patio chairs or loungers, so that these pieces of furniture can be folded to a minimum and take up little space in this state. It has been found to be disadvantageous that with very closely spaced legs of a pair of legs that are brought together in one joint, the risk of injury and bruising is very great, since the operator gets his fingers between the two legs. This creates a dangerous situation with folding furniture that is equipped with known leg frames and joints Scherstelle because the legs move towards each other until they lie on top of each other. It is therefore usually avoided that the joint is equipped so that the two legs are completely on top of each other. Because of this scope, the volume of the folded furniture is 15 to 25% larger than that of a piece of furniture that does not have this safety margin.

It is therefore the task of specifying a leg frame or a joint part for folding furniture in which dangerous situations of this type are avoided, even if it should be possible in principle to fold the legs one on top of the other. Nevertheless, the leg frame should not have any unwanted play in the spread position.

This object is achieved in that in a leg frame of the type mentioned the pin hole is designed as an elongated hole extending transversely to the bisector of the spreading angle, and a control member is provided in the region of the joint, which at the extreme spread position of the legs the pivot pin at one end of the mortise. In principle, the invention is also implemented by a corresponding joint part.

In the leg frame or joint part of the aforementioned type, a pin hole is accordingly provided which allows the pin a certain play, so that in the folded state the two legs can be pulled apart by the effective length of the pin hole and pressed together again. In any case, it prevents the operator's fingers from getting caught between the legs. If the leg frame is spread out, a control element comes into action at a certain spreading angle which is smaller than the final spreading angle, that pushes the two legs apart in the joint area or pulls them together so that at the end point of the spreading movement the pin comes to rest in one or the other extreme position of the pin hole and is fixed there.

The pin hole is preferably a circular ring section which is rounded at its ends and points concavely toward the expansion opening. However, other mortise shapes are also conceivable, for example an essentially straight mortise hole, which has latching nests formed at its ends downwards. The mortise is only relatively short. Its length, measured over the center sliding distance of the pin, is approximately D, a preferred range being between 1 D and 2 D (D = pin diameter).

• eine an der Gelenkpfanne angebrachte Führungsbahn,
• und eine am Gelenkkopf angebrachte Gleitnase,
• die bei Überschreiten eines festgelegten Spreizwinkels beim Spreizen der Beine die Führungsbahn kontaktiert, an ihr entlanggleitet und den Abstand der Beinenden bei Erhöhung des Spreizwinkels vergrößert,
• wobei im Endpunkt der Spreizung der Gelenkzapfen im entsprechenden Ende des Zapfenloches liegt und dort fixiert ist.

The control element is preferably formed from interacting, sliding or sliding elements which are compatible with the joint head or the joint socket. A control unit is preferably equipped so that it includes:

• a guideway attached to the socket,
• and a sliding nose attached to the joint head,
• which contacts the guideway when it spreads the legs when a spread angle is exceeded, glides along it and increases the distance between the leg ends when the spread angle is increased,
• the pivot point at the end point of the spreading lies in the corresponding end of the pin hole and is fixed there.

This end of the mortise is the one that points towards the inside of the joint.

• einen am Gelenkkopf angebrachten Führungssteg,
• und eine an der Gelenkpfanne angebrachte Führungsklaue umfaßt,
• die bei Überschreiten eines festgelegten Spreizwinkels beim Spreizen der Beine den Führungssteg hintergreift und an ihm entlanggleitet und in Abstand der Beinenden bei Erhöhung des Spreizwinkels verkleinert,
• wobei am Ende der Spreizung ebenso der Gelenkzapfen im entsprechenden Ende des Zapfenloches liegt und dort fixiert ist.

However, it is also possible to specify a control element in kinematic inversion that

• a guide bar attached to the joint head,
• and includes a guide claw attached to the socket,
• which, when a specified spreading angle is exceeded, spreads behind the guide web when the legs are spreading and slides along it and decreases in distance from the leg ends when the spreading angle is increased,
• at the end of the spreading the hinge pin also lies in the corresponding end of the pin hole and is fixed there.

This end of the mortise is the one that faces the outside of the joint.

It is essential that the control element only intervenes when a certain spreading angle has been reached and has no effect when the legs are in the folded parallel position.

The location determinations mentioned in the abovementioned text and in the description below, such as “above”, “below”, “in front”, “behind” and the like, relate to the pair of legs which are formed and which form an inverted V, as can be seen from FIG .

The individual parts assigned to the respective parts, for example a joint head with a pivot pin or a socket with a pivot hole, can also be assigned differently according to professional judgment, in each case mutatis mutandis. As mentioned at the beginning, the invention also relates to a joint part. The use of this joint part is not only limited to a leg frame, but can also be used on other parts, for example in a joint between the seat and leg rest in a recliner furniture or between the backrest and the seat. foldable elements in seating.

• Figur 1 als Anwendungsbeispiel des Beingestelles eine aufgeklappte Liege;
• Figur 2 die Liege gemäß Figur 1 in zusammengeklapptem Zustand;
• Figur 3 das Oberteil eines Hinterbeines;
• Figur 4 eine Draufsicht auf das Hinterbein gemäß Figur 3;
• Figur 5 den oberen Teil eines Vorderbeines;
• Figur 6 eine Draufsicht auf das Vorderbein gemäß Figur 5;
• Figur 7 das Beingestell in Gebrauchsposition;
• Figur 8 das zusammengeklappte Beinpaar in Engstellung;
• Figur 9 das zusammengeklappte Beinpaar in Weitstellung.

The following description is based on a drawing with several figures. The figures show in detail:

• Figure 1 as an application example of the leg frame an open couch;
• Figure 2 shows the bed of Figure 1 in the folded state;
• Figure 3 shows the upper part of a rear leg;
• FIG. 4 shows a top view of the rear leg according to FIG. 3;
• Figure 5 shows the upper part of a front leg;
• FIG. 6 shows a plan view of the front leg according to FIG. 5;
• Figure 7 shows the leg frame in the use position;
• FIG. 8 the folded pair of legs in the narrow position;
• Figure 9 shows the folded pair of legs in the extended position.

In FIG. 1, a folding lounger 1 is shown, in which the leg frame 2 consists of two pairs of legs lying opposite one another on both sides of the folding lounger, the front legs 4, 4 'of which are joined together by a stiffening bar 9 and the rear legs 3, 3' of which are connected by a stiffening bar 9 ' are connected. Instead of legs connected in this way, isolated pairs of legs 3, 4 and 3 ', 4' can of course also be used. The pairs of legs 3, 4 and 3 ', 4' are connected to each other at their upper ends via a joint 10, so that they form the shape of an upside-down V's.

At half the height of the legs 3, 4 and 3 ', 4', further articulated and sliding elements are attached in a manner known per se, which carry a seat 7. At the end of the seat 7, a backrest 6 is attached, which in turn is adjacent to the outside at about 1/3 of its height End of the two armrests 5, 5 'carries articulated. The armrests 5, 5 ', which are designed approximately in the form of an inverted U, rest with their underside on the joint 10 and are carried here in an adjustable manner. A supported leg rest 8 adjoins the seat 7 at the front. As Figure 2 shows, all parts can be folded together, resulting in a much smaller volume than when the furniture is unfolded.

The design of the joint 10 and the joint region is essential for the invention.

Figures 3 to 7 show essential details. The upper end of the rear leg 3 ends in a joint socket 13, which, as the plan view according to FIG. 4 shows, consists of two fork surface elements 17, 17 'which are spaced parallel to one another. The fork surface elements 17, 17 'are provided from the inside of the socket with depressions or preferably openings, which are referred to below as "pin holes" and which bear the reference number 16, 16'.

The pin hole 16 has an outer contour, as shown in Figure 3 in plan view. In the socket 13, the mortise extends transversely to the bisector W of the spreading angle β. The definition of "transversely" is to be understood in such a way that an angle of 90 ° to the bisector W does not necessarily have to be observed, but rather indicates that the extension of the mortise does not extend in the direction of the bisector W. Different angles can be taken with respect to the bisector of the angle, which is documented by the fact that the pin hole 16 does not run exactly straight, but is a circular ring section which is rounded at the ends and points concavely toward the expansion opening. In the exemplary embodiment, this is Pin hole 16 is formed approximately from two circular cross sections separated by an angle of β = 20 to 45 °. The pin hole 16 accordingly has a length, measured over the center sliding distance G of the pin hole, of about 1 × D, where D is the diameter of the pin 15 to be described. The "center sliding distance" of the pin is designated by G in FIG.

On the rear inside of the socket 13, as can be seen in the section, a guide track 18 is provided, which consists of a smooth wall at the rear of the space between the two fork surface elements. As FIG. 4 shows, the upper part of the rear leg 3 forms a support element 19 which engages under the armrest 5 when the garden furniture is later assembled. The other configuration of the rear leg corresponds to the usual measures to be provided in plastic production and will not be explained further here.

FIGS. 5 and 6 show the upper section of the front leg 4 of a leg frame. The front leg 4 ends in its upper end in a joint head 14, which also has two fork surface elements 11, 11 'which are parallel to one another, but have a distance which is less than that of the elements 17, 17'. On their outer sides, the fork surface elements 11, 11 'each have a pin 15, 15', which consists of solid or solid plastic and in the exemplary embodiment described here has a diameter D of approximately 18 mm. The two forked surface elements 11, 11 'provided with pins 15, 15' are inserted between the forked surface elements 17, 17 ', so that the outwardly projecting pins 15, 15' snap into the pin holes 16, 16 'and are rotatably held there.

Furthermore, the fork surface elements also have a sliding lug 12 arranged above the pin 15, which, as can be seen, forms the free point of the joint head 14 which is the most distant from the center of the pin 15.

Let us now consider FIG. 7. In this figure, the two parts 3 and 4 are joined together in the region of the joint 10. It can be seen that the pin 15 has slid into the right position in the pin hole 16. In this position it is also fixed, because the sliding lug 12 has slid along the upper part of the guide track 18, the distance between the two parts 3 and 4 increasing in the area of the joint in accordance with the curvature and the distance of the sliding lug as the spread increases . With the outermost spread position α of the legs, as shown in FIG. 7, the pin 15 is therefore fixed on the ground at the extreme end of the pin hole 16 by pressure and by the stable configuration of the legs 3, 4. Accordingly, the compatible parts slide lug 12 and guideway 18 form a control element which is present in the region of the joint and which fixes the joint pin 15 at one end of the pin hole 16 when the legs are in the extreme spread position. When collapsed, the sliding lug 12 disengages, that is, it no longer slides on the guide path 18, so that the position of the pin 15 is free and the pin 15 can move back and forth within the pin hole 16. This ensures that when the legs are folded or are about to be folded, there is a certain amount of play corresponding to the length of the mortise, so that fingers or the like which get between the leg surface can no longer get stuck.

These two states are illustrated in FIGS. 8 and 9. The space-saving version is shown in FIG. 8. The pin 15 is in the left position of the pin hole 16 and thus allows the legs 3, 4 to lie firmly on one another. In FIG. 9, on the other hand, a security area 20 is open, which results from the fact that the pin 15 has moved from the position according to FIG. 8 to the right position according to FIG. 9 within the pin hole 16 by simply pulling apart, which is possible without the use of force. When spreading the furniture apart, no "hooking" or the like is required. The guide member automatically intervenes as soon as the sliding lug comes into contact with the guide track 18.

As an alternative and kinematic reversal to the concept of sliding lug 12 and guideway 18, however, reference should also be made to the possibility that the control member can comprise a guide web attached to the joint head, over which a guide claw attached to the joint socket overlaps. Instead of the sliding lug, a guide claw, which acts similarly to a sliding lug, only pulls. When the spreading angle is increased, the guide claw pulls the two joint parts towards one another and finally brings the pin into the right position within the pin hole 16, if this is considered analogously to FIG. 7. However, this embodiment may have certain disadvantages, since when spreading apart the guide claw must first be positioned in relation to your guide web.

The leg frame, in particular the joint part, is preferably made exclusively of plastic. However, it is not excluded that other materials, for example metal, can also be used. Combinations of several plastics and / or plastic / metal are also conceivable. It is also possible, instead of paired fork surface elements 17, 17 'or 11, 11', encapsulated simple, fastened to one another To use surface elements, as is the case with simpler joints. Here, too, the idea of the invention of a pin which can be moved within a pin hole within a pin hole can be easily realized.

Claims (9)

1. A leg frame (2) for a folding article of furniture (4) comprising at least one pair of legs (3, 4), the two legs of which are openably and closably connected in a V-arrangement by way of a joint (10) at their top ends, the joint (10) comprising a head (14) connected to one leg and having a pin (15), and a socket (13) connected to the other leg and having a hole (16) for the pin, the pin and the hole engaging rotatably one inside the other, characterised in that the pin hole (16) is in the form of a slot extending transversely of the bisector (W) of the opening angle (β) and in that a control means (12, 18) is provided in the region of the joint (10) to fix the pin (15) at one end of the hole (16) when the legs (3, 4; 3', 4') are in the outermost open position (α).
2. A joint member, more particularly for two legs (3, 4) of a leg frame (2) for a folding article of furniture (1), which are required to be openable and closable in a V-arrangement, the joint (10) comprising a head (14) having a pin (14) and a socket (13) with a hole (16) for the pin, the pin and the hole engaging rotatably one inside the other, characterised in that the pin hole (16) is in the form of a slot extending transversely of the bisector (W) of the opening angle (β) and in that a control means (12, 18) is provided in the region of the joint (10) to fix the pin (15) at one end of the hole (16) when the legs (3, 4; 3', 4') are in the outermost open position (α).
3. A leg frame or joint member according to claim 1 or 2, characterised in that the hole (16) is a portion of a circular ring which is rounded at its end and which points concavely towards the opening aperture.
4. A leg frame or joint member according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterised in that the hole (16) has a length - measured over the central sliding zone (G) of the pin (15) - of from 1 D to 2 D (D - pin diameter).
5. A leg frame or joint member according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterised in that the hole (16) has at one of its ends a hollowed-out detent (21) for the pin (15) in the fixing position.
6. A leg frame or joint member according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterised in that the control means is formed from co-operating sliding or slipping elements disposed compatibly on the joint head and on the joint socket.
7. A leg frame or joint member according to claim 6, characterised in that the control means comprises:

   - a guideway (18) disposed on the socket (13),

   - and a sliding nose (12) disposed on the joint head (14),

   - which, if a fixed opening angle is exceeded on opening of the legs (3, 4; 3', 4'), contacts the guideway (18) and slides along it and increases the distance between the leg ends while increasing the opening angle, while at the end of the opening movement the joint pin (15) lies in the corresponding end of the hole (16) and is fixed there.
8. A leg frame or joint member according to claim 6, characterised in that the control means comprises:

   - a guide web disposed on the joint head,

   - and a guide claw disposed on the joint socket,

   - which, when a fixed opening angle is exceeded on opening of the legs, engages behind the guide web and slides along it and reduces the distance between the leg ends while increasing the opening angle,

   - while at the end of the opening movement the joint pin lies in the corresponding end of the pin hole and is fixed therein.
9. A leg frame or joint member according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterised in that the joint socket consists of two spaced parallel fork surface elements (17; 17') and in that the joint head engages by the or each pin (15; 15') in the space between the fork surface elements.

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