EP1016359B1 - Foldable table tennis table with locking means - Google Patents

Abstract

The table consists of a support (4) and two panels (2) with folding legs which are positioned horizontally for play and vertically for storage. It also has positioning rollers (19) projecting from the edges of the two panels, interacting with guide slideways (12), and locking mechanisms (5) with actuators accessible to the user. Each locking mechanism has a spring-loaded locking member (9) able to move along the support (4), locking the positioning roller (19) in its slideway (12) in its normal inactive position, and a release member (7) on the panel edge (20) equipped with an actuator to move it from its normal inactive position to its active position in which it pushes the locking member against the force of its spring (14) and frees the roller.

Description

The present invention relates to a foldable table tennis table comprising means for locking the two plates, that is to say means allowing the blocking in position of each plate when the latter is in a horizontal position of play, said locking means having to be actuated to move the tray from this horizontal position to the vertical storage position.

A table of this type is already known from the document FR.2.729.302. According to the solution recommended by this document, the means locking each tray include, projecting from the side edge of the plate, a bolt with an axis perpendicular to this edge and movable along this axis; in addition, the table support next to each lateral edge a housing forming a latch for receiving the bolt corresponding. Thus, the actuation of the locking means is done according to a transverse displacement, that is to say a direction perpendicular to the side edge of the tray. In a preferred embodiment, the bolt of locking mechanism is integrated in the guide finger which projects from the side edge of the table opposite the area where the user is located when he wants to fold the table and therefore activate the locking means to unlock the tray. In a simplified example of embodiment, illustrated in Figure 2 of this document, actuation is obtained through a linked link with the two locking bolts and passing under the plate, near the user ; in this case it is necessary to have, under the plate proper, references allowing to transform the displacement longitudinal that the user does when he pulls the link in one movement transverse, necessary to remove the bolt from its housing. Figure 6 illustrates a second exemplary embodiment, with a handle, actuable by the user, a rod sliding in rings rigidly fixed to the tray, said rod being terminated by a sheath through which passes a link which extends between the two bolts; link referrals are also provided in kind of transforming the longitudinal movement of the handle into a transverse movement of the ends of the link. Whatever the solution adopted, it is necessary to hold in place, fixed under the underside of the tray, systems, in particular of return, able to transform the traction movement exerted by the user in a transverse movement of the locking bolt.

We also know from document US.2,913,294 a table of foldable table tennis of the same type as before, provided with means locking, themselves with accessible actuation means by the user. The locking means, for each roller of positioning, consist of a latch which is integral with the support and which is movable longitudinally with respect to it. This latch, repelled by a spring, locks in normal position inactivates the positioning roller; the actuation means consist of a link whose traction by the user moves said part against the action of the spring, which has the effect of releasing the positioning roller and allow it to move in the slide of guide.

This configuration of the locking means presents disadvantages. The link to activate the locking latch extends between one end of the tray and the latch which is fixed to the support. When the tray moves from the horizontal position to the vertical storage position, the link moves under the same conditions and hangs along the edge vertical of the plate, which can cause a risk of jamming during the replace the plate in a horizontal position.

The object of the invention is to provide a table which overcomes the aforementioned drawback.

The table tennis table of the invention is a table which is foldable and which includes, in a manner known from U.S. document 2,913,294, a support and two trays which have articulated legs and are movable between a horizontal play position and a vertical storage position. It also includes positioning rollers, surface-mounted on the lateral edge of the two plates, guide slides for said positioning rollers, substantially vertical, supported or integrated in the support and finally means for locking each plate in horizontal play position, with actuation means accessible to the user.

a) une pièce de verrouillage, solidaire du support, mobile par pivotement par rapport à celui-ci et réalisant, en position normale inactive, le blocage en position du galet de positionnement dans la glissière correspondante et,

b) une pièce de déverrouillage , solidaire du chant latéral du plateau et solidaire des moyens d'actionnement . De plus lesdits moyens d'actionnement sont aptes à faire passer la pièce de déverrouillage de sa position normale inactive à une position active où elle repousse la pièce de verrouillage et libère le galet de positionnement.

Typically according to the invention, the locking means comprise, for each positioning roller, two separate parts, namely:

a) a locking part, integral with the support, movable by pivoting relative to the latter and performing, in the normal inactive position, the locking in position of the positioning roller in the corresponding slide and,

b) an unlocking part, secured to the side edge of the plate and secured to the actuating means. Furthermore, said actuating means are capable of passing the unlocking part from its normal inactive position to an active position where it pushes the locking part and releases the positioning roller.

Thus the structural relationship between the actuating means and the release piece is independent of the position of the plate, whether either horizontal or vertical.

Preferably, the locking piece is equipped with a means of reminder, in particular a spring, and the unlocking part pushes the locking piece against the action of the return means. So when, after having unlocked the tray, the user moves it from the horizontal play position in the vertical storage position, the lock automatically returns to its initial position.

The locking piece is a part pivoting angularly about a transverse axis, fixed to the support.

For example, the locking piece is a flat piece, forming hook, with a concave recess, and whose pivot axis is fixed on the one hand to the support plumb with the guide rail and on the other hand to hook towards the end of the concave recess. Under the action of means recall, in normal locking position, the hook is arranged in sort of trapping a roller which is either the positioning roller or a intermediate roller mounted between the positioning roller and the side edge of the plateau; additionally the edge of the hook, adjacent to the concave recess and opposite the pivot axis, is arranged obliquely to the longitudinal direction of the slide.

The oblique arrangement of this edge of the hook is intended to allow placing the roller in the locking position at the end of travel when change from the vertical storage position to the horizontal position of clearance. Indeed during this passage the roller is no longer trapped by the hook but moves longitudinally in (positioning roller) or by compared to (intermediate roller) the guide rail. During this displacement, the roller comes to rest on the oblique edge of the hook and, makes this obliquity, pushes it back, against the action of the return means, by rotating until the roller no longer presses against this edge but against the concave recess of the hook, which has the effect of making rotate the hook in the opposite direction, bringing it back to its normal position, under the action of the recall means. The roller is then trapped by the hook in the locking position.

Preferably, the unlocking part is itself a part angularly pivoting about a transverse axis, fixed to the lateral edge of the tray.

When the locking piece is a hook as described above, the unlocking part is an arm pivoting around the axis of the roller, said arm having a bearing face capable of engaging on the edge of the hook.

In a preferred embodiment, the table tennis table the invention also includes means for locking the plate when it is in vertical storage position with actuating means can be operated by the user. Preferably, these means consist into a hook having the configuration described above. In the first case, the pivot axis of the hook was fixed to the support, directly above the slide, above it. In this second case the pivot axis is fixed to the support, below the slide, below the slide. In addition the hook has a lower extension, going beyond the axis of pivoting, said extension being provided with a transverse support rod. The purpose of this support rod is to allow the user to release the roller from its locking position by raising, with the foot, said rod. This rod, can be operated directly by the user, when the tray is in its vertical storage position performs the same function as the storage unlocking.

• La figure 1 est une représentation schématique de face de deux systèmes de verrouillage disposés en partie haute et en partie basse d'une glissière de guidage,
• La figure 2 est une représentation schématique de face d'une pièce de déverrouillage fixée sur le chant latéral du plateau,
• La figure 3 est une représentation schématique en coupe transversale selon l'axe III-III de la figure 2,
• La figure 4 est une vue en perspective de la pièce de déverrouillage de la figure 2,
• et la figure 5 est une représentation schématique de dessous d'un plateau, montrant le parcours d'une sangle d'actionnement.

The present invention will be better understood on reading the description which will be given of a preferred embodiment of a foldable table tennis table equipped with two systems for locking the plates, both in the horizontal playing position and in the vertical storage position, illustrated by the appended drawing in which:

• FIG. 1 is a schematic front view of two locking systems arranged in the upper part and in the lower part of a guide slide,
• FIG. 2 is a schematic front view of an unlocking part fixed to the side edge of the plate,
• FIG. 3 is a schematic representation in cross section along the axis III-III of FIG. 2,
• FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the unlocking part of FIG. 2,
• and Figure 5 is a schematic representation from below of a tray, showing the path of an actuating strap.

A foldable table tennis table has a classic design two trays 2 with articulated legs 3 and a support 4, preferably mounted on casters. Each plate 2 is movable between a horizontal play position and a vertical storage position, relative to the fixed support 4. For this, four positioning rollers 5 are mounted on the side edge of each plate, projecting from said edge of so as to enter vertical guide rails, supported or integrated in support 4. These arrangements are known in particular from the document FR.2.729.302.

Each plate 2 is constituted by a flat panel on the periphery of which is fixed, except for the side on which the net, an upright perpendicular to the plane of the panel which is called usually under the term belt. In this text we will use either the term belt or the song edge of the stage.

Table 1 is equipped with first locking means allowing the two plates to be locked in position when they are in horizontal playing position. It is also equipped with second means locking system to lock each tray in position vertical storage.

In both cases it is an active lock, that is to say that the locking is effective when said means are in the normal position, at rest, while unlocking occurs when the said actuations are actuated means.

As regards the first locking means 5, they comprise two essential parts, namely a locking part 6 and a locking part unlocking 7.

The locking piece 6 appears clearly in Figure 1. It is a flat part, comprising a concave recess 8, which part will be hereinafter referred to as hook 9. This hook 9 includes, as active element in the context of this invention, a lateral branch 10 adjoining the concave recess 8 and a edge 11 which is adjacent to the concave recess 8, opposite the branch lateral 10. The hook 9 is fixed to the support 4 plumb with a slide 12, just above it, along a pivot axis 13. A spring of booster 14 is stretched between two tensioning rods 15,16, the first 15 being fixed on the hook 9 opposite the pivot axis 13, perpendicular to the plane of said hook 9 while the second 16 is fixed on the outside of one of the uprights 17 of the slide 12.

In Figure 1 there is shown the normal position, at rest, of the hook 9. The concave recess 8 of the hook 9 is centered on the slide 12, in the upper part 12 a thereof. This concave recess 8 can then serve as housing either for the positioning roller 19, or as in the example illustrated, for an intermediate roller 18 which is fixed on the one hand axially to the positioning roller 19 and on the other hand to the side edge 20 of the plate. This intermediate roller 18 occupies just the space between the slide 12 and the belt 20.

In the normal position, at rest, the intermediate roller 18 is trapped in the concave recess 8, so it's impossible to move the positioning roller 19 down the slide 12. There are therefore active locking of the plate 2 in the horizontal playing position.

The unlocking part 7 is a part which has a supporting face 21. In the example illustrated in Figure 4, the part 7 of unlocking is a bent L-shaped, the first part 7a of the L being mounted pivoting on the internal face 20 a of the belt 20 along a pivot axis 22, said axis corresponding to the axis of the positioning roller 19 and the intermediate roller 18. In the second branch 7 b of L is formed a bent portion 23 , by cutting and folding. It is the outer face of this bent portion 23 which constitutes the bearing face 21.

The unlocking part 7 is actuated by the user through a strap 30 which is fixed to the first part 7a of the L, the upper portion 7c thereof, beyond the pivot axis 22.

In the normal position, the unlocking part 7 has its bearing face 21 which is applied against the locking piece 6, more particularly against the end 11a of the edge 11 near the concave recess 8.

To perform the unlocking, the user exerts traction on the strap 30 according to arrow F, which causes the unlocking part 7 to pivot about its axis 22. During this pivoting, the bearing face 21 pushes the edge 11 a of the hook 9 in an angular displacement according to the arrow G with respect to the pivot axis 13 of said hook 9. To obtain the unlocking it is necessary that this angular displacement is such that the extreme edge 11 a of the hook 9 is completely retracted to allow passage to the intermediate roller 18 in its vertical movement, parallel to the slide 12. In practice the user who actuates the strap 24 simultaneously tries to raise the plate 2 from the transverse edge 2 a thereof where he stands. As soon as the hook 9 has been sufficiently pushed back by the unlocking part 7, the tilting of the plate 2 takes place by vertical displacement of the positioning roller 19 in the slide 12. As soon as the plate 2 has started to tilt, the user has released the strap 30, which has had the effect of returning the unlocking part 7 to its initial position under the effect of a return spring, not shown in the figures, which connects the area 7 d of the first branch 7 a said piece 7 to the inner face 20a of the belt 20. Being released from the unlocking part 7, the hook 9 has returned to normal, rest position, under the effect of its return spring 14, position shown in Figure 1.

When the user switches the tray 2 from its vertical storage position to the horizontal play position, the positioning roller 19 rises in the slide 12 towards the upper part 12 a . In doing so the intermediate roller 18 comes into contact with the edge 11 of the hook 9. This edge is inclined obliquely, as can be seen clearly in Figure 1. Due to the force exerted by the tilting of the plate, the intermediate roller 18, which is applied to the edge edge 11 gradually pushes the hook 9 and forces it to pivot about its axis 13, against the restoring force exerted by the spring 14. The effect obtained is similar to that of the unlocking part 7 , namely that the hook 9 is pushed back until complete release of the passage of the intermediate roller 18, that is to say until it can be released from the end edge 11 a of the hook 9 and is located at level of the upper part 12 a of the slide 12. At this precise moment, the hook 9 is released from the action of the intermediate roller 18 and, moved by the return spring 14, it returns to its initial place at rest, trapped in the concave recess 8 the intermediate roller 18.

The second locking means is a hook 24 whose structure is very similar to that of the hook 9 which has just been described except that it has an extension 25 going beyond the pivot axis 27 to form in some so an actuation pedal for the user. This extension 25 actually comprises, towards its end, an actuating rod 26 which is mounted perpendicular to the plane of the hook 24. This hook 24 is mounted, symmetrically to the first hook 9, but in the lower part 12 b of the slide 12 Its pivot axis 27 is fixed on the support 4, directly above the slide 12, below the latter.

For locking the intermediate roller 18 by the hook 24, the operation is strictly identical to what has been described above, with the roller 18 which repels the hook 24 by applying to the inclined edge obliquely 28 of the hook 24. On the other hand, the unlocking does not works an independent piece. It is the user who, with the foot, raises the actuating rod 26, which causes the hook 24 to pivot about from its axis 27 and thus releases the intermediate roller 18 which was trapped in the concave recess 29 of said hook 24.

In the version which has just been described, the roller which is trapped in the locking means is an intermediate roller. But it can be also the positioning roller 19 itself, in its slide 12. This requires to practice notches in the amount 17 of said slide and in holder 4. This configuration, which is of course possible, is however more complex to implement from a practical point of view. Of the more it is less easily accessible.

In Figure 5 there is shown the general path of a single strap 30 which connects the two locking parts 7 fixed on the inner face 20 has two lateral edges 20 of the plate 2. The path of the strap from each unlocking part 7 is rectilinear over substantially half the length of the plate and then converges obliquely towards the middle zone of the transverse edge 2 a of the plate 2. At this point, the strap is thus within reach of the user's hand when the plate is in a horizontal playing position. The user just needs to grab the strap and pull on it to drive the strap in a movement which, in the rectilinear portion is longitudinal according to arrow F, which causes the simultaneous actuation of the two unlocking parts 7.

Claims (8)

1. A foldable table-tennis table comprising a support (4) and two table tops (2) which are provided with hinged legs (3) and are movable between a horizontal position for play and a vertical position for storage, together with positioning wheels (19) projecting from the side edges (20) of the two table tops (2), substantially vertical guiding slideways (12) for guiding said positioning wheels, which slideways are supported by or integrated in the support (4), and locking means for locking each table top in a horizontal position for play and associated with actuator means accessible to the user, the table top being characterised in that said locking means (5) comprise, for each positioning wheel (19), two distinct parts, namely:

   a) a locking part (6) secured to the support (4), movable by pivoting relative thereto, and serving in its normal, inactive position, to hold the positioning wheel (19) stationary in position in the corresponding slideway (12); and

   b) an unlocking part (7) secured to the side edge (20) of the table top (2) and secured to actuator means (30), and in that said actuator means are suitable for causing the unlocking part (7) to pass from its normal, inactive position to an active position in which it pushes back the locking part (6) and releases the positioning wheel (19).
2. A table according to claim 1, characterised in that the locking part is fitted with return means, in particular a spring (14), and the unlocking part (7) pushes back the locking part (6) against the action of the return means (7).
3. A table according to claim 1 or 2, characterised in that the locking part (6) is a part (9) that pivots angularly about a transverse axis (13) fixed to the support (4).
4. A table according to claim 3, characterised in that the locking part is a flat part forming a hook (9) with a concave indentation (8), and the pivot axis (13) thereof is fixed firstly to the support (4) vertically in register with the guiding slideway (12) and above it, and secondly to the hook (9) towards the end (10) of the concave indentation (8), in that under the action of the return means (14) in the normal, locking position, the hook (9) is disposed in such a manner as to hold captive a wheel (19, 18) which is either the positioning wheel (19) or else an intermediate wheel (18) mounted between the positioning wheel (19) and the side edge (20) of the table top (2); and in that the edge (11) of the hook (9) adjacent to its concave indentation (8) and opposite from the pivot axis (13) is disposed obliquely relative to the longitudinal direction of the slideway (12).
5. A table according to claim 3 or 4, characterised in that the unlocking part (7) is a part (7) that pivots angularly about a transverse axis (22), fixed to the side edge (20) of the table top (2).
6. A table according to claims 4 and 5, characterised in that the unlocking part is an arm pivoting about the axis (22) of the wheel (18, 19), said arm having a bearing face (21) suitable for engaging the edge of the hook (9).
7. A foldable table-tennis table, according to one of claims 1 to 6, comprising a support (4) and two table tops (2) which are provided with hinged legs (3) and are movable between a horizontal position for play and a vertical position for storage, together with positioning wheels (13) mounted projecting from the side edges (20) of both table tops (2), substantially vertical guiding slideways (12) for guiding said positioning wheels, the slideways being supported by or integrated in the support (4), and locking means for locking each table top in the horizontal position for play and associated with actuator means that are accessible to the user, the table being characterised in that it includes second means for locking the table top (2) when in a vertical position for storage, associated with second actuation means actuatable by the foot of the user.
8. A table according to claim 7, characterised in that the second locking means comprise a flat part forming a hook (24) with a concave indentation (29), and having a pivot axis (27) which is fixed firstly to the support (4) in vertical register with the guiding slideway (12) beneath it, and secondly to the hook (24) towards the end of the concave indentation (29), in that under the action of a return spring, when in its normal, locking position, the hook (24) is disposed in such a manner as to hold captive a wheel (19, 18) which is either the positioning wheel (19) or else an intermediate wheel (18) mounted between the positioning wheel (18) and the side edge (20) of the table top (2); in that the edge of the hook (24) adjacent to the concave indentation (29) and opposite from its pivot axis (27) is disposed obliquely relative to the longitudinal direction of the slideway (12), and in that the hook (24) has a bottom extension (25) extending beyond the pivot axis (27), which extension is provided towards its free end with a transverse bearing rod (26) constituting the second actuator means.

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