EP2470047A1

EP2470047A1 - A support assembly

Info

Publication number: EP2470047A1
Application number: EP10811011A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Trevor Watson
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2009-08-27
Filing date: 2010-08-24
Publication date: 2012-07-04
Also published as: US20120152156A1; AU2009212814B1; WO2011022762A1; CA2772269A1

Abstract

This invention relates to a table (10) that includes a table top (11) having an upper support surface that in use lies in a substantially horizontal plane. The table top (11) is supported by an upstanding post (14) which includes a lower end portion that is spaced from said table top and is supported in a generally upstanding attitude by a plurality of supports (17) that extend outwardly from said lower end portion, each of said supports including a distal end portion that in use is adapted to engage a foundation. One of said supports (17a) is adjustable and wherein movement of the adjustable support is controlled by control means (39) housed within the post (14) adjacent the table top (11).

Description

A SUPPORT ASSEMBLY

This invention relates to a support assembly.

This invention has particular, but not exclusive application, to a support assembly, such as a table, for supporting foods and beverages and wherein reference will be made to same. However it will be appreciated that the invention may also be used in conjunction with support assemblies for supporting other goods, such as sheet music and cameras.

Many restaurants, cafes and the like serve food on tables that comprise a table top which rests upon a centrally located post that depends from an underside of the table and at least three foundation engaging supporting members or feet that extend outwardly from a lower end of said post. If the table is placed on a level surface of a foundation, ideally all of the feet will engage the foundation. However, rarely is the surface of a foundation, such as the floor of a restaurant or a paved courtyard, level and whereby only some of the feet of the table are likely to engage the surface. As a consequence, downward pressure on the table top at or near the foot or feet that are not engaging the foundation, such as when handling food on a plate, may cause the unstable table to rock. This rocking can be a nuisance and in the past diners have been known to wedge one or more paper serviettes between each foot that is not in contact with the foundation and the foundation itself so as to overcome the problem.

With the above in mind, each foot of a table may include a foundation engaging pad that is mounted on a threaded stem which depends from and threadably engages a distal end portion of said foot, and whereby in use the distance separating the pad from the distal end portion of the foot may be adjusted such that in use all of the pads engage the foundation. However, it will be appreciated that in order to adjust the spacing between a pad and an adjacent foot of an upright table, the person making the adjustment invariably must get down on their hands and knees. This is not desirable as it may place the person in a position that is physically uncomfortable and whereby contact with the foundation may soil the person's clothes.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a support assembly which alleviates at least some of the deficiencies of the prior art and which will be reliable and efficient in use.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, this invention relates to a support assembly including:

a plate like member having an upper support surface that in use lies in a substantially horizontal plane;

an upstanding, post that is attached to and which provides support for said plate like member, said post having a lower end portion that is spaced from said plate like member;

a plurality of supports that extend outwardly from said lower end portion of said upstanding post in diverging directions, each of said supports including a distal end portion that in use is adapted to engage a foundation, characterized in that one of said supports is a levelling support that includes a mounting portion that is rigidly connected to said post and a moveable distal end portion that is pivotally connected to said mounting portion whereby said distal end portion may move up or down, and movement of said movable distal end portion is effected by actuation means that is controlled by control means located adjacent said plate like member.

Preferably the support assembly is a table and the plate like member is a table top.

In another aspect, this invention relates to a table including:

a table top having an upper support surface that in use lies in a substantially horizontal plane; an upstanding post that is attached to and which provides support for said table top and which includes a lower end portion that is spaced from said table top;

a plurality of supports that extend outwardly from said lower end portion of said post in diverging directions, each of said supports including a distal end portion that in use is adapted to engage a foundation, characterized in that one of said supports is a levelling support that includes a mounting portion that is rigidly connected to said post and a movable distal end portion that is pivotally connected to said mounting portion whereby said movable distal end portion may move up or down relative to said mounting portion, and movement of said movable distal end portion is effected by actuation means that is controlled by control means located adjacent said table top.

In one embodiment, the movable distal end portion may form one part of a lever that also includes an opposing height control arm. The height control arm may for aesthetic reasons be housed within the mounting portion.

Movement of the height control arm may be effected by an actuating member, one end of which is adapted to engage a free end portion of the height control arm. Again, for aesthetic reasons, the actuating member may be housed within the post and whereby movement of the actuation member may be limited to linear movement in a generally vertical direction.

The control means may be adapted to control movement of the actuation member, which in turn controls the extent to which the movable distal end portion moves up or down. In one embodiment, movement of the actuation member may be effected by rotation of the actuation member about a longitudinal axis. This may be achieved by control means that is accessible through an opening formed in the plate like member or table top. Alternatively the control means may be housed within the post and accessed via an opening formed in said post. In still yet another aspect, this invention relates to a table including: a table top having an upper support surface that in use lies in a substantially horizontal plane;

a plurality of supports that collectively provide support for said table top, each of said supports including a distal end portion that in use is adapted to engage a foundation, characterized in that one of said supports is a levelling support that includes a movable distal end portion and whereby in use said movable distal end portion may move generally in a vertical direction and movement of said movable distal end portion is effected by actuation means that is controlled by control means located adjacent said table top.

For example, the supports may each take the form of a table leg and the actuation means may be concealed within the leg having the movable distal end portion. Further, the control means may be located adjacent an upper end portion of the leg having the movable distal end portion and it to may also be at least partially concealed within the leg.

Alternatively, the control means may be accessed through a suitable opening in the table top.

In order that this invention may be more readily understood and put into practical effect, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings which illustrate preferred embodiments of the invention and wherein:

Fig. 1 is a side view of a table that is constructed in accordance with the present invention, said table including a table top that is attached to and supported by a post having a lower end portion from which there extends a plurality of supports, including one adjustable support, movement of which is effected by actuation means that may be selectively controlled by either top or side control means;

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional pictorial view showing the two control means, the actuation means and the adjustable support. Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional pictorial view of a section of the hollow post showing both the top and side control means, and

Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional pictorial view of a section of the post showing the side control means.

Figure 1 shows a table 10 that includes a plate like table top 1 1 that is circular in shape when viewed from above. The table top 11 includes a substantially flat upper support surface 12 that may be used to provide support for foods and beverages.

The table top 11 is supported in a generally horizontal attitude by a substantially vertically orientated post 14 that is constructed from a thin walled length of cylindrical tubing. The post 14 includes an upper end portion 15, that is attached to the table top 11, and an opposing lower end portion 16.

The post 14 is supported in an upstanding attitude by four supports 17 that extend outwardly from the lower end portion 16 in divergent directions including one adjustable support 17a. Each support 17, including the adjustable support 17a includes a nylon pad 18, that is attached to an underside of said support, which is adapted to engage a foundation, such as the floor of a restaurant.

The adjustable support includes a channel shaped mounting portion 19, that is open at both ends, and a lever 20 that is pivotally connected to said mounting portion. The mounting portion 19 comprises a top wall 21 and two opposing side walls 22. One end portion 23 of the mounting portion 19 is affixed to the post 14. The other or free end portion 24 includes two aligned apertures 25 formed in the side walls 22.

The lever 20 includes a distal end portion 26 that extends outwardly from the mounting 19 and a height control arm 27 that is retained within the mounting 19. The lever 20 also includes a mounting aperture formed therein that is located intermediate the height control arm 27 and the distal end portion 26. The lever 20 is pivotally connected to the mounting 19 by a mounting pin 28 that extends through the aligned apertures.

The height control arm 27 includes an end portion 29 comprising two opposing forks 30 in which there is formed aligned apertures 31.

The table 10 also includes an actuating member or cylindrically shaped push rod 32 that is retained within the post 14. The actuating member 32 has a lower end portion 33 that is bent in the shape of a letter "L" and whereby the outwardly extending foot, not shown, is locatable within a transverse aperture formed in a connecting pin 34, partway between opposing ends 35 of said pin. The pin ends 35 are located within respective apertures 31 of the forks 30 and whereby the connecting pin 34 pivotally connects the actuating member 32 to the height control arm 27.

The actuating member 32 also includes an upper end portion 36 to which there is rigidly affixed a tube 37 having an upper end portion 38 in which there is formed a threaded bore, not shown.

Movement of the actuating member, and in turn the adjustable support 17a, is controlled by control means 39 that includes a control shaft 40 that is rotatably supported in a substantially vertical attitude within the post 14 by a control shaft mounting assembly 41.

The control shaft 40 includes an upper end portion 55 having a square shaped transverse cross-section and a lower end portion 42 that is threaded and which is adapted to threadably engage the bore of the tube 37 that is affixed to the actuating member 32.

Intermediate the two ends of the control shaft 40 there is provided an adjustment wheel 43 that is affixed to said shaft and which includes a knurled or toothed circumferential edge. The control shaft mounting assembly 41 includes a pair of opposing flanges 44 that are maintained in a spaced relationship by an intermediate connecting flange 45. Each of the flanges 44 includes an aperture 46 formed therein through which the control shaft 40 can extend in use.

One of the flanges 44a is also connected to a mounting plate 47 that depends from an edge of said flange 44a, said mounting plate 47 having two mounting apertures formed therein. The mounting plate 45 is secured to an inside face of the post 14 by two threaded fasteners 48 that extend through aligned apertures formed in the wall of the post 14 and the mounting plate.

As previously stated, the control shaft 40 extends through the aligned apertures 46 and is supported by the flanges 44 by two washers 49 located there between and on either side of the adjustment wheel 43.

In use, if all of the pads 18 of the supports 17 are not engaging the foundation, the position of the adjustable support 17a may be adjusted using the control means 39 such that all of the pads 18 do in fact engage the foundation. This may be achieved by rotating the control shaft 40 using either a key having a square shaped socket that is adapted to engage the end portion 55, access to which is gained via an opening formed in the table top 11, or by rotating the adjustment wheel 43, an edge portion of which projects through a slotted opening 50 formed in the post 14.

When the control shaft 40 rotates in a clock wise direction, as indicated by arrow

51 , the threaded end portion 42 will extend further into the bore of the upper end portion 38 of the sleeve 37 thereby effectively shortening the distance separating the adjustment wheel 43 and the connecting pin 34, which in turn will result in a corresponding downwardly directed movement of the distal end portion 26, as indicated by arrow 52. Conversely, when the control shaft 40 rotates in a counter clock wise direction, as indicated by arrow 53, the threaded end portion 42 will begin to extract itself from the bore of the upper end portion 38 of the sleeve 37 thereby effectively lengthening the distance separating the adjustment wheel 43 and the connecting pin 34, which in turn will result in a corresponding upwardly directed movement of the distal end portion 26, as indicated by arrow 54.

It will be appreciated that by using the control means as described, the level of the support surface of the table may be readily and easily adjusted and that there is no need for persons when making said adjusts to get down on their hands and knees.

It will of course be realized that while the foregoing description has been given by way of example of this invention, all other modifications and variations thereto as would be apparent to persons skilled in the art are deemed to fall within the broad scope and ambit of this invention as herein defined in the appended claims.

Claims

THE CLAIMS DEFINING THE INVENTION ARE AS FOLLOWS:

1. A table including:

a table top having an upper support surface that in use lies in a substantially horizontal plane;

an upstanding post that is attached to and which provides support for said table top and which includes a lower end portion that is spaced from said table top;

a plurality of supports that extend outwardly from said lower end portion of said post in diverging directions, each of said supports including a distal end portion that in use is adapted to engage a foundation, characterized in that one of said supports is a levelling support that includes a mounting portion that is rigidly connected to said post and a movable distal end portion that is pivotally connected to said mounting portion whereby said movable distal end portion may move up or down relative to said mounting portion, and movement of said movable distal end portion is effected by actuation means that is controlled by control means located adjacent said table, top.

2. A table as claimed in claim 1, wherein said levelling support is a lever.

3. A table as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, wherein said actuation means is housed within said post.

4. A table as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein said control means is housed within said post.

5. A table including:

6. A table substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

7. A support assembly including:

8. A support assembly as claimed in claim 6, wherein said support assembly is a table and said plate like member is a table top.