EP2533666B1 - Household appliances maintenance elevating table - Google Patents

Description

The invention relates to a home appliance maintenance lift table for the maintenance of household appliances, in particular built-household appliances, with a first frame and with a working platform which is infinitely adjustable in height relative to the first frame by means of a lifting device comprising a scissors construction. The first frame is closer to a footprint of the home appliance maintenance lift table than the work platform.

Such a lifting table shows the US Pat. No. 6,431,319 B1 , It comprises a first frame on which four wheels are pivotally mounted. A second frame carries a worktop, which is horizontally movable relative to the first frame. Between the first and the second frame, a double scissors construction is arranged, with which the second frame is infinitely height-adjustable with respect to the first frame. It also allows the lift table to fold up, making it easier to transport when not in use and taking up less space. The lift table offers a high level of user-friendliness, which, however, comes at the cost of a high design effort. The lift table becomes expensive and heavy.

Another lift table is off US5588377 A known.

The invention therefore has the object of providing a home appliance maintenance lift table, which is inexpensive to manufacture and easy to handle.

A household appliance is understood in particular to mean a built-in household appliance which is used for household management and which is integrated, in particular, into conversion furniture of a kitchen. This can be, for example, a dishwasher, a cooking appliance, an extractor hood, a refrigerator, a coffee machine or even a washing machine or a tumble dryer.

In a home appliance maintenance lift table, in particular for the maintenance of built-in household appliances, having a first frame and legs projecting from an extension plane of the first frame, the first frame carrying, on a leg-facing side, a lifting device comprising a scissors construction, on which a second frame is mounted, which carries a working platform, wherein the scissors construction by turning a crank or by using a drill screw apart and is moved together, so that a Distance between the first frame and the second frame can be infinitely adjustable, and wherein a worktop, which is mounted on an end face of the work platform, so that in the plane extending directly adjoins them, the above-mentioned object is achieved in that the worktop at least one support foot is arranged, which supports the worktop on its side facing away from the working platform.

For reasons of stability, the working platform of the lifting table is regularly substantially perpendicular above the first frame. In the maintenance of household appliances, the lift table can thus not always be driven directly under the domestic appliance to drain it on the lift table. This is not possible, especially when installing or dismantling cooker hoods above a hob. The lifting table therefore has a worktop which can be mounted on an end face of the working platform, so that the worktop extends directly adjoining it in the plane of the working platform. In a rectangular shaped working platform, the worktop can be mounted on one of the end faces of the two longitudinal sides or the two narrow sides of the working platform. Through the additional worktop, a working level can be created, which not only increases the working platform. It also facilitates the maintenance of the household appliance because it only needs to be drained onto the worktop without being lifted horizontally onto the work platform. Rather, it can be pushed or pulled with much less effort from the worktop to the work platform. This also represents a structurally much simpler and therefore less expensive and lighter construction than that of the prior art. The connection of the worktop to the work platform can be made via almost any coupling device in which the worktop and the work platform lie substantially in the same plane. It can be done for example by hooking the worktop in hooks on the platform or by inserting into a tongue and groove connection. According to a further advantageous embodiment of the invention, the lifting table can have a rigid connection between the working platform and the worktop. It prevents buckling of the lift table at the connection point and thus offers a high stability of the enlarged lift table. A rigid connection has a rigid to the abutting end faces of the work platform and the worktop extending rigid latch, which is secured in a conventional manner to the platform and / or on the plate.

The overhanging worktop must be supported because otherwise it would tilt the lift table when loaded. According to the invention, the lifting table therefore has at least one support foot on the worktop, which it has on its the working platform opposite side supported. This can be a support that bridges the entire working height of the lifting table and supports the worktop on the base of the lifting table. However, the support of the worktop on a working level in the area of the domestic appliance to be maintained, for example a kitchen worktop, is generally sufficient. The support leg can therefore be short and, for example, consist of an unused leg of the lifting table. It can therefore be attached to the worktop in the same way as the legs of the lifting table, so in a quiver, if necessary, with a detent or thumbscrew as a backup. The similar attachment of the legs on the one hand and the support leg on the other hand not only provides a simple and lightweight construction, but also an operating advantage. The usability of at least one leg of the lift table as a support foot also reduces the number of required items of the lift table, which in turn benefits its weight and ease of use. The support foot is provided in particular on its bearing surface with a protection, such as a felt pad, to avoid damage or scratching the kitchen worktop.

Different heights of the worktop can be set by different lengths and replaceable support feet. It is also possible for a plurality of support feet to be connected to one another in order to give a further support foot of added length together. The support legs can either be plugged together or require a coupling part, which can be inserted into both support feet and possibly locked there. Thus, the support feet can provide a further adjustment for the countertop without significant additional effort. According to an alternative embodiment of the invention, the support leg itself be adjustable in length. For this purpose, it can be assembled from several segments. As an alternative, it can be infinitely variable in length, for example by being made in two parts and the two parts of the foot can be rotated relative to one another via a thread. It can for example consist of a metal outer tube and an inner part made of plastic, each having a matching thread. By mutual rotation of the outer tube and the inner part, it can be adapted to almost any working height of the working platform. It offers a higher level of comfort compared to stabilizer feet of immutable length because it no longer determines the height of the work platform.

According to a further advantageous embodiment of the invention, the lift table has a shock protection on the car. It may consist of rubber buffers or rubber pads, which are mounted at least on a front side of the lifting table, which are in danger, for example, to come into contact with the furniture of a kitchen installation rail. The impact protection prevents the use of the lifting table from damaging the furniture in which the built-in appliance to be maintained is installed.

Figur 1:

einen erfindungsgemäßen Hubtisch in einer Arbeitsposition mit einer angesteckten Arbeitsplatte,

Figur 2:

eine Detailansicht des Anschlusses der Arbeitsplatte an die Arbeitsplattform, und

Figur 3:

den Hubtisch über einer Kochmulde

The principle of the invention will be explained in more detail below by way of example with reference to a drawing. In the drawing show:

FIG. 1:

a lifting table according to the invention in a working position with an infected worktop,

FIG. 2:

a detail view of the connection of the worktop to the working platform, and

FIG. 3:

the lift table above a cooktop

The inventive lift table 1 is according to FIG. 1 The carriage 2 is composed of a substantially rectangular first, lower frame 10 and legs 18 which project at right angles from an extension plane of the first frame 10. The legs 18 have a square or rectangular cross-section and stand on a support surface 38 of the lifting table 1, on which there is also a piece of furniture 36, for example a kitchenette.

On its side opposite the legs 18, the frame 10 carries the lifting device 3. It comprises a scissors construction 16, on which a second, upper frame 14 is mounted. It carries a work platform 12. The second frame 14 is also rectangular and corresponds in dimensions substantially to those of the first frame 10. The scissors construction 16 can be moved apart and by turning a crank 26 in the directions of rotation A in a conventional manner, so that the distance between the first frame 10 and the second frame 14 can be adjusted continuously. As the first frame 10 on the four rigid legs 18 on the support surface 38 is supported, the height of the working platform 12 changes in the stroke directions B upon actuation of the crank 26. Instead of the crank 26, the use of a drill for automated adjustment of the height can be provided.

The four legs 18 are in four quivers 22 on the frame 10. They have a square or rectangular cross section, which corresponds to the cross section of the legs 18 so far that they can be inserted into the quiver 22. To secure the position of the legs 18, that is, in particular against falling out, it secures each a thumbscrew 24 which is screwed into a thread in the quiver 22. It jams the legs 18 inside the quiver, so that they can not be pulled out of the quivers 22 by their own weight above all. In addition, the legs 18 are each secured against falling out of their quivers 22 by a snap mechanism. When inserting the leg 18 in his quiver 22 engages a recessed in the quiver 22 resilient ball in a recess which is located in the leg 18. Accidental falling out of the leg 18 is thus prevented if the thumbscrew 24 was not properly tightened. In this way, damage to furniture or floor by a falling out of his quiver 22 leg 18 should be avoided.

At the opposite end of the legs 18 rollers 20 are mounted, through which the carriage 2 and with it the lifting table 1 can be maneuvered. They are pivotable about an axis in the longitudinal direction of the legs 18, so that the carriage 2 can be easily brought into a desired position even in confined spaces. If, however, a reliable immovable state of the lifting table 1 desired or to consider a sensitive footprint 38, the rollers 20 can be removed and in their place Aufstellfüße 183 can be used. They consist of a mounting plate 185, a threaded spindle 187 and a coupling block 189. The mounting plate 185 distributes the load of the kitchen appliance and the lifting table 1 on a large footprint and thus reduces the surface pressure of the lifting table 1 under each of his legs 18 (or 180, 182 ). Via the spindle 187, on which the coupling block 189 is screwed, can be made by turning a fine adjustment of the length of the leg 18 (or 180, 182) and compensate for unevenness of the footprint 38. The coupling block 189 provides the releasable connection between the leg 18 (or 180, 182) and the Aufstellfuß 183 according to the same attachment principle as that of the legs 18, 180, 182 on the frame 10 by being inserted into the leg 18 and locked there.

At one end face 13 of the two narrow sides or the two longitudinal sides of the working platform 12 includes a worktop 30, which is also rectangular and the same width as the working platform 12 has. It is supported via a support foot 32 on an upper side 34 of the piece of furniture 36. The worktop 30 extends in the same plane as the work platform 12 and thereby increases the available work surface on the lift table. 1

The legs 18 are interchangeable if necessary against other four legs 180 and 182, of which only one is shown as an example. They differ from each other by the legs 18 only by their length. It is also possible to form the legs 18, 180, 182 such that legs of different sets can be put together. In particular, a separate connecting part between the legs can also be provided for the mating of two legs. In this way, by putting together the legs of a first set with the legs of a second set, a third set of legs can be formed. By selecting the legs 18, 180 and 182 or their combinations, a basic working height of the lifting table 1 can be selected, which is formed by the height level of the first frame 10. For the maintenance of, for example, a stove-oven combination, the lift table 1 can be equipped with four legs 182 because the stove-oven combination is mounted at a height just above the footprint 38. After releasing the stove-oven combination of their anchorages and removal from the kitchen, they can then be lifted on the lift table 1 with the short legs 182 and scissors construction 16 collapsed on the work platform 12 and, for example, transported away or raised to a comfortable working height.

For other maintenance activities, such as the maintenance of an extractor hood on a cooktop, however, the long legs 18 may be required. Depending on the application, the user selects the corresponding legs 18, 180 or 182 or forms by mating a matching leg combination and does not need to carry the legs not fit for the current use not at all.

After setting the basic working height by selecting the corresponding legs 18, 180, 182, the height of the working platform 12 can be brought by means of the scissors construction 16 and by operating the crank 26 continuously to the required height. For the maintenance of an extractor hood, for example, it should be able to bring in the illustrated, extended position.

Since the lifting table 1 can not be pushed directly under the hood, the working platform 12 can be extended by means of the attachable worktop 30. It can be pushed under the extractor hood and supported on the top 34 of the kitchen unit 36. After releasing the hood from its attachment, it can be lowered onto the worktop 30 and pulled or pushed onto the work platform 12 for further maintenance or repair. There it is easily accessible to the user of the lift table from all sides, so that it can be optimally processed.

The worktop 30 is additionally connected on its underside with a rigid locking connection 56 on the work platform 12. It prevents the worktop 30 tilts at the end face 13 when loaded by a built-in device, in particular in the vicinity of the coupling point. The work platform 12 and the worktop 30 thus form a continuous, almost rigid work plane.

FIG. 2 shows the connection between the work platform 12 and the worktop 30 at the end face 13. It must be able to be produced on the one hand by a single user without tools and on the other hand can transfer almost the entire weight of a household appliance from the worktop 30 to the work platform 12. According to FIG. 2 it consists of two hinges 40, the first fitting 41 on the second frame 14 and the second fitting 42 is mounted on the countertop 30. The first fitting 41 has a cylindrical opening 48 with a rectilinear groove 50, which runs in the lateral surface of the cylindrical opening 48. The second fitting 42 comprises a cylindrical pin 44 having approximately the same diameter as the aperture 48. At its free end, the cylindrical pin 44 carries a nose 46 whose radial dimension corresponds to the groove 50. In the illustrated position, the nose 46 extends radially horizontally projecting from the pin 44. The groove 50, however, extends in a cross-sectional view and also radially, but not horizontally, but with respect to the horizontal twisted by about 30 ° in the direction of the vertical.

To secure the worktop 30 to the work platform 12, the pin 44 is inserted into the opening 48. Due to the orientations of the nose 46 and the groove 50, the worktop 30 must be employed at an angle of approximately 30 ° relative to the plane of the working platform 12. Only then does the nose 46 engage in the groove 50, so that the pin 44 can be inserted into the cylindrical opening 48. If it is fully inserted, the nose 46 comes out of the groove 50, so that the worktop 30 can be lowered into the plane of the work platform 12. It turns the pin 44 and with it the nose 46. It no longer aligns with the groove 50, so that the countertop 30 and with it the pin 44 can not be decoupled from the first fitting 41 on the work platform 12. Thus, the connection between the worktop 30 and the work platform 12 is reliably secured.

Both the frame 14 and the frame 10 carry at their corners rubber buffer 60 which are secured by screws 62 to the frame 10, 14. They prevent the pallet truck when abutting the vertical fronts 37 of the piece of furniture 36 (see. FIG. 1 ) to damage. The rubber buffer 60 is therefore dimensioned so that it protrudes in the extension direction of the working platform 12 via the first fitting 41 on the end face 13, so that even this can not come into contact with the vertical front 37 of the piece of furniture 36.

The FIG. 3 shows an application of the inventive lift table 1 for mounting or dismounting a food. In the surface 34 of a piece of kitchen furniture 36 a cooktop 80 is embedded. It consists of a sensitive ceramic material on which neither the lifting table 1 itself nor the worktop 30 can be supported by a support foot 32. Therefore, two long legs 18 parallel adjacent to each other lying the hob 80. Their roles 20 are removed, so they do not interfere with the further assembly of the long legs 18 as a substructure for the lifting table 1.

The opposite ends of the long legs 18 are in shoes 70. They consist of a base plate 72 and a fork 74 mounted thereon Ends of the fork 74 carry caps 78, the base plate 72 rests with a sole 76 on the surface 34 of the furniture 36. This sole 76 is made of rubber and prevents slippage of the shoe 70 on the surface 34. In addition, it prevents damage by scratching and denting the surface 34. The caps 78 are also made of rubber and lie at legs 18 inserted at its two vertical lateral surfaces 64th at. In order to prevent horizontal slippage of the leg 18 in the fork 74th

The shoes 70 are altogether so high that no leg 18 has contact with the cooking trough 80 or with its peripheral edge 82. The loads from the lifting table 1 are therefore transmitted directly to the legs 18 and from there via the shoes 70 to the surface 34 of the kitchen cabinet 36. The cooktop 80 thus remains completely stress-free.

The legs 18 are arranged in parallel and in the same width as that of the frame 10. The lifting table 1 therefore stands with its frame 10 and its four quivers 22 on the legs 18. It can thus be placed directly and directly vertically under a dining area that can be conveniently mounted, maintained or dismantled without the cooking hob 80 being exposed to the risk of damage.

Since the preceding lift table 1, described in detail, is an exemplary embodiment, it can be modified in a customary manner by a person skilled in the art to a large extent, without departing from the scope of the invention. In particular, the concrete embodiments of the attachment of the legs 18 or their position assurance can take place in a different form than described here. Likewise, the support foot 32 can be configured in a different form, if this is necessary for reasons of space or designerischen reasons. Furthermore, the use of the indefinite article "on" or "one" does not exclude that the characteristics in question may also be present multiple times. LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS 1 Lift table 42 second fitting 2 dare 44 cylindrical pin 3 lifting device 46 nose 10 first, lower frame 48 breakthrough 12 working platform 50 groove 13 face 56 connection 14 second, upper frame 60 rubber buffers 16 scissors structure 62 fixing screw 18 long leg 64 Lateral surface of the leg 18 180 medium-length leg 70 shoe 182 short leg 72 stand plate 20 role 74 fork 22 quiver 76 sole 24 thumbscrew 78 cap 26 crank 80 cooktop 30 countertop 82 frame 32 Support foot 183 up foot 34 surface 185 mounting plate 36 furniture 187 screw 37 vertical front 189 coupling block 38 footprint 40 hinge A Crank rotation 41 first fitting B stroke directions

Claims (6)

1. Domestic appliance maintenance elevating table (1) having a first frame (10) and legs (18) which stand away from an extension level of the first frame (10), wherein the first frame (10) on a side opposing the legs (18) supports an elevating device (3), which comprises a scissor structure (16), to which a second frame (14) is attached, which supports a work platform (12), wherein a worktop (30) is mounted on an end surface (13) of the work platform (12) such that it is attached directly to it, extending in the level thereof,
   characterised in that the scissor structure (16) can be moved apart and together by turning a crank (26) or by using a cordless drill, such that a distance between the first frame (10) and the second frame (14) can be adjusted steplessly, wherein disposed on the worktop (30) there is at least one supporting foot (32) which supports the worktop (30) on its side facing away from the work platform (12).
2. Domestic appliance maintenance elevating table according to claim 1, characterised by an exchangeable supporting foot (32).
3. Domestic appliance maintenance elevating table according to one of claims 1 or 2, characterised by intermateable supporting feet.
4. Domestic appliance maintenance elevating table according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterised by a supporting foot whose length can be adjusted.
5. Domestic appliance maintenance elevating table according to one of the preceding claims, characterised by a bend-proof connection (56) between the work platform (12) and the worktop (30).
6. Domestic appliance maintenance elevating table according to one of the above claims, characterised by an impact protector (60).

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