GB2406877A

GB2406877A - Device for temporary connection of movable object to a track

Info

Publication number: GB2406877A
Application number: GB0422537A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Craig Gready
Original assignee: UNWIN C N Ltd; CN Unwin Ltd
Current assignee: UNWIN C N Ltd; Braunability UK Ltd
Priority date: 2003-10-11
Filing date: 2004-10-11
Publication date: 2005-04-13
Anticipated expiration: 2024-10-11
Also published as: GB0323866D0; GB2406877B; GB0422537D0; WO2005039920A1

Abstract

An anchorage 10 comprises a base member 12 of inverted channel form receiving two support strips 16 each supporting a number of downwardly projecting mushroom feet 18. The support strips are driven simultaneously between a retracted position and an extended position by means of a rotary actuating mechanism 26.<WC 1> In the extended position the feet 18 engage undercuts (2, fig 1) in a slotted track. The mechanism is also connected to a sprung loaded plunger 50 designed to fit and engage a track aperture (1, figure 1). The support strips 16 are provided with cutaway portions 22 which co-operate with spring cam surfaces 58 such that, as the support strips 16 are extended, they ride upwardly drawing the mushroom feet with them. Further independant claims involve a locking mechanism (figs. 8-19) comprising a plunger which engages an aperture in a track and a foot engaging an undercut. The foot may rotate or expand to engage the undercut.

Description

J

Anchoranes This invention relates to anchorages and in particular, but not exclusively, to furniture anchorages for vehicle seats which have to be firmly held, but

adjustable.

It is known to install undercut scalloped floor tracks in the floor of a vehicle to allow attachment of an anchorage for securing e.g. furniture such as a seat, or cargo or the like.

Typically such anchorages comprise an arrangement of downwardly projecting feet with enlarged heads (otherwise referred to as mushroom feet) spaced at the same pitch as the scallops in the track and arranged to be passed simultaneously through respective aligned scallops. The anchorage may then be shifted longitudinally by about half of the scallop pitch to trap the mushroom feet beneath the undercut regions of the rail between the scallops, and the anchorage locked against further longitudinal movement by lowering a plunger into an unoccupied scallop. In this manner the anchorage is locked against both horizontal (longitudinal) and vertical movement.

It is found however that due to the vibration to which the anchorage is exposed during use can give rise to rattle and so it is preferred for there to be some form of arrangement to prevent this, and these typically work by a clamping action. An example of an anti-rattle device is disclosed in EP-A 0922605.

Many of the known devices comprise groups of mushroom feet rigidly connected to the anchorage body. Due to variations in the profile of the floor to which the floor tracks are fitted, and general flexing of the floor, there may be 1, slight differences in alignment and this can make it difficult to remove existing designs of anchorage from the track. Accordingly we have designed an anchorage in which the downwardly projecting elements, e.g. the mushroom feet are mounted for longitudinal movement with respect to the anchorage body.

The terms 'vertical', 'horizontal', 'upwards' and 'downwards' refer to an anchorage when attached to a track which is disposed horizontally on a floor with the track scallops or apertures facing upwardly. However the invention is not restricted to this orientation as the track might be inclined, or arranged for example on a side wall, with the track scallops or apertures facing horizontally, and the terms are intended to cover such orientations.

In one aspect, this invention provides an anchorage for a track of the type having a regular aligned array of apertures interposed by narrower slots defined and flanked by undercut formations, the anchorage comprising a base member having associated therewith a plurality of elements projecting downwardly and capable of simultaneous passage down through a corresponding number of said apertures, said elements being longitudinally moveable relative to said track to trap the elements below the undercut formations, and locking means for releasably engaging said track, characterized in that said anchorage includes drive means for effecting longitudinal movement of said downwardly projecting elements relative to said base member.

In another aspect, this invention provides an anchorage for a track of the type having a regular aligned array of apertures interposed by narrower slots defined and flanked by undercut formations, the anchorage comprising a base member having associated therewith a plurality of elements projecting 1 1 downwardly and capable of simultaneous passage down through a corresponding number of said apertures, said elements being longitudinally movable relative to said track to trap the elements below the undercut formations, and locking means for releasably engaging said track to prevent longitudinal movement of said base member relative to said track, wherein said locking means comprises a plunger assembly including: (i) a plunger mounted for generally vertical movement between a retracted position, in which it is substantially clear of said track, and an extended position in which it engages in one of said apertures to lock said base member against longitudinal movement with respect to said track, and (ii) a foot member movable between a release configuration, in which it may pass through one of said slots, and a locking configuration, in which it cooperates with the undercut formation flanking the slots to prevent withdrawal of the foot member from the slot.

The above arrangement provides both secure locking by virtue of the mechanical lock between the plunger and the aperture, and the cooperation of the foot member with the undercut formation may be used to exert an anti-rattle function.

In another aspect, this invention provides an anchorage for a track of the type having a regular aligned array of apertures interposed by narrower slots defined and flanked by undercut formations, the anchorage comprising a base member having associated therewith a plurality of elements projecting downwardly and capable of simultaneous passage down through a corresponding number of said apertures, said elements being longitudinally movable relative to said track to trap the elements below the undercut formations, and locking means for releasably engaging said track to prevent longitudinal movement of said base member relative to said track, wherein said locking means comprise at least one retaining element moveable laterally between a release position in which the or each retaining element may be introduced into or removed from said track, and a locking position in which the retaining element cooperates with the undercut formations to prevent removal of the or each retaining element from said track, and a plunger being extendable to engage one of said apertures and arranged on said extending movement to urge the or each retaining element to its locking position.

In another aspect, this invention provides an anchorage for a track of the type having a regular aligned array of apertures interposed by narrower slots defined and flanked by undercut formations, the anchorage comprising a base member having associated therewith a plurality of elements projecting downwardly and capable of simultaneous passage down through a corresponding number of said apertures, said elements being longitudinally movable relative to said track to trap the elements below the undercut formations, and locking means for releasably engaging said track to prevent longitudinal movement of said base member relative to said track, wherein said locking means comprises at least one locking element having a curved outer surface for cooperating with at least part of the arcuate periphery of an aperture and wedge means for releasably wedging said locking element in said aperture to lock said element against longitudinal movement.

In another aspect of this invention there is provided an anchorage 1 1 for a track of the type having a regular aligned array of apertures interposed by narrower slots defined and flanked by undercut formations, the anchorage comprising a base member having associated therewith a plurality of elements projecting downwardly and capable of simultaneous passage down through a corresponding number of said apertures, said elements being longitudinally movable relative to said track to trap the elements below the undercut formations, and locking means for releasably engaging said track to prevent longitudinal movement of said base member relative to said track, wherein said anchorage includes means for effecting longitudinal movement of said downwardly projecting elements relative to said base member. The downwardly projecting elements may be mounted on a support member which is slidably mounted relative to said base member.

In another aspect, there is provided an anchorage for a track of the type laving a regular aligned array of apertures interposed by narrower slots defined and flanked by undercut formations, the anchorage comprising a base member having associated therewith a plurality of elements projecting downwardly and capable of simultaneous passage down through a corresponding number of said apertures, said elements being longitudinally movable relative to said track to trap the elements below the undercut formations, and locking means for releasably engaging said track to prevent longitudinal movement of said base member relative to said track, wherein said downwardly projecting elements are mounted on a support member, and lifting means is provided for moving said support means between a lowered position in which said base member may slide longitudinally in said track for adjustment, and a raised position in which said downwardly projecting elements are pulled upwardly into engagement with said undercut formations to clamp said base member.

The invention also extends to an anchorage arrangement intended to anchor furniture to a twin track arrangement comprising spaced parallel tracks of the type described above, the anchorage arrangement comprising two furniture anchorages as described above, and including means to effect common longitudinal movement of said downwardly projecting elements relative to said locking means.

Whilst the invention has been described above, it extends to any inventive combination or sub combination of the features set out above or in the following description. In particular it should be noted that the invention extends to the locking means per se as described above and to the various devices for effecting longitudinal movement of the projecting elements, whether used together or separately.

The invention may be performed in various ways, and embodiments thereof will now be described in detail, reference being made to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a general view of a short section of flooring track of the type used by the anchorages of this invention; Figure 2 is an exploded view of a first embodiment of furniture anchorage in accordance with this invention; Figure 3 is a side view of the anchorage of Figure 2; Figure 4 is an underneath view of the embodiment of Figure 2, but with the body removed for clarity; Figures 5 a, b and c are detail side and perspective views respectively of one of the support strip and leaf cam strip arrangements incorporated in the embodiment of Figure 2; Figure 6a is a view similar to Figure 4 but showing an modification having alternative form of end caps including a click lock feature; Figure 6b is a detailed view on the underside of the actuation mechanism of a modified embodiment incorporating a rotary click lock feature.

Figure 7 is a general view of a second embodiment of furniture anchorage; Figure 8 is a view of a large scale of the locking device used in the embodiment of Figure 7, when in an unlocked condition; Figures 9, 10, 11 and 12 are sequential views of the locking device as it moves from the released to the locked position; Figure 13 is an underneath view of the device when fully locked; Figure 14 is a schematic view of a third embodiment of the locking device when in the free position; Figure 15 is a view of the arrangement of Figure 14 when in the locked position with the plunger fully engaged; Figure 16 is a view of a further embodiment of locking device when in the free position; Figure 17 is a view of the device of Figure 16 but in a locked position; Figure 18 is a perspective view of the device in the released position; Figure 19 is a perspective view of the device of Figure 16 in the locked position; Figure 20 is a side view of a furniture anchorage in accordance with a further embodiment; Figure 21 is an enlarged view on the left hand end of Figure 20; Figure 22 is a view of a further embodiment of furniture anchorage; Figure 23 is a detailed view on part of the arrangement of Figure 22; Figure 24 is a view showing an alternative arrangement for the components of Figure 23; Figure 25 is a view of a further embodiment of furniture anchorage, and Figure 26 is a view of a yet further embodiment of furniture anchorage.

Referring initially to Figure 1 this shows a standard type of floor track. It is fitted substantially flush with the floor and presents a regular array of circular apertures 1 joined by undercut slots 2 aligned with the centres of the apertures to provide an undercut channel 4.

Referring now to the first embodiment illustrated in Figures 2 to 4, the furniture anchorage 10 comprises a main base member 12 which is of inverted channel section defining a downwardly facing channel with inturned lips 14 extending along the length. Received within the channel are two oppositely working support strips 16 each carrying, in this embodiment, five downwardly projecting mushroom feet 18. The mushroom feet 18 are set at a pitch corresponding to the pitch of the scallops/apertures of the floor track with which the anchorage 10 is to be used. Each support strip has a hooked extension portion 20 for engagement by an actuating mechanism 26 to be described below. The side edges of the support strips have cutouts 22 to form a castellated shape for co-operation with a leaf spring strip 24 in a manner to be described below. The support strips 16 are designed to fit within the channel in the base member for sliding movement, retained in use by the lips 14.

The actuating mechanism, shown generally at 26, extends through an aperture 28 to engage the extension portions 20 of the support strips. The actuating mechanism comprises a drive collar 30 with two downwardly projecting drive pegs 32 which engage in respective hooked regions 34 on the extension portions 20. The drive collar is rotatably located by means of a connection plate 36 suitably attached to the upper surface of the base member 12. The collar 30 has an externally threaded drive sleeve 38 which extends through an aperture in the connector plate 36 to be fixedly threadedly attached to an intermediate disk so that the two rotate together and are axially fixed. The intermediate disk 40 has a pair of drive sockets 42, and a hand wheel 44 has two downwardly projecting drive studs 46 at the same radius and angular spacing as the drive sockets 42. The underside of the hand wheel has a recess 48 capable of fitting over the intermediate disk 40 when the drive studs 46 engage the drive sockets 42. The hand wheel at its centre is secured to the upper end of a plunger 50 so that the hand wheel and the plunger 50 rotate together and are axially fixed. The plunger has a shaft 52 which passes slideably through the drive sleeve 38 of the drive collar 30 and a compression spring 54 is arranged to act between the drive collar 30 and a shoulder behind the plunger head 55, tending to urge the plunger and the hand wheel 44 downwardly.

The geometry of the drive collar 30 and the support strips 16 is such that, during normal operation, from a rest position where the support strips 16 are located at their innermost towards the centre of the device, rotation of the hand frail, mm lo_ wheel 44 to shift the support strips 16 longitudinally by an amount equal to one half the pitch between the apertures 1 in the track.

Fitted between each support strip and the associated lips 14 of the base member 12 are fitted respective leaf spring strips 24 which are secured to the base member by fixings 56. Each leaf spring strip 24 has cam surfaces 58 formed by cutting an 'L' slot and pushing the portion upwardly to provide the cam surface 58. The leaf spring strips are arranged so that the cam surfaces 58 are aligned with the cutaway regions 22 when the support strips are in their innermost, home positions. However as they are driven away from each other towards the locking position, the leading edges of the cutaway portions 22 ride up the cam surfaces 58 shifting the support strip and the mushroom feet upwardly.

The base member 12 on its upper surface includes two slots 60 for receiving one or more T-fittings 62. These fittings are for the attachment of further structural items such as seat fixtures. The provision of the slots allow slight adjustment in both the longitudinal and transverse directions for rigging purposes.

At each end the base member is terminated by an end cap 64. The end cap may be made of Nylons or other suitable tough low friction plastics material.

As seen in Figure 3 the periphery of the end cap 64 project slightly below the lower surface of the base member thus acting as low friction load pads.

The operation of the device will now be described from a start condition where the hand wheel 44 and the intermediate disk are fully engaged and the central plunger 50 in its lower position and the support strips 16 fully pulled in towards the centre. The hand wheel 44 is lifted against the bias of the spring 54 to raise the plunger 50 and to withdraw the drive studs 46 from the drive sockets 42. The hand wheel may be retained in this position by rotating it so that the drive studs sit on the upper surface of the hand wheel 44 out of engagement with the sockets 42. The anchorage is then placed in the rail and, as indicated above, with the support strips 16 in their innermost positions, the plunger 50 and the mushroom feet 18 are in phase and simultaneously align with the scallops or apertures 1 in the rail to allow its introduction into engagement with the rail.

The hand wheel 44 is then rotated clockwise until the studs 46 engage the drive sockets 42 and the hand wheel drops around the intermediate disk and the plunger 50 drops into an aligned aperture in the track thus preventing longitudinal movement. Continued rotation of the hand wheel 44 is transmitted directly to turn the drive collar 30 and the drive pegs 32 which move the support strips 16 apart longitudinally.

As noted above, the parts are sized such that this rotation will move each support strip half a rail scallop pitch so that the mushroom feet 18 are now exactly out of phase with the plunger 50 and the rail scallops, and reside under the undercut formations between the scallops. During the longitudinal movement of the support strips, the castellated portions 22 ride up over the cam surfaces 58 of the leaf spring strips 24 thereby lifting the support strip and the mushroom feet and providing an anti-rattle feature. It will be noted that this anti-rattle feature also accommodates slight changes in geometry because of the resilient nature of the cam surfaces.

To release the anchorage the above steps are reversed. This returns the mushroom feet 18 to an in phase position with respect to the anchorage so that it can be lifted straight out of the rail.

The base member 12 has a relatively flat rectangular shape and is designed to be flexible under load. When fitted to a vehicle, this allows the anchorage to flex with the vehicle floor when test loads are applied achieving success at higher loads. A further advantage of the low profile base member 12 compared to previous arrangements of greater depth is that where the anchorage supports a seat, the seat cushion height is kept closer to that intended by the manufacturer and reduces the moment placed on the seat under test by keeping the anchorage point lower.

The anchorage includes two oppositely working anti-rattle devices disposed at opposite ends of the anchorage this provides an improved, distributed anti-rattle feature and also since the load is usually applied at opposite ends of the anchorage, the anti-rattle devices are better located.

In the above arrangement, when the anchorage is slid backwards and forwards in the rail, the contact between the anchorage and the upper surface of the rail will be via the end caps thereby assisting sliding prior to locking.

The arrangement of the T-fittings provides not only longitudinal adjustment for rigging but also slight transverse adjustment to provide a degree of float assisting alignment of the seat.

Referring now to Figures 6a and 6b, there were shown two alternative forms of releaseable click lock mechanisms for locking the arrangement in each of its end positions i.e. with the support strips at the innermost position and their outermost position. In the arrangement of Figure 6a, this is achieved by providing the end caps with extension portions 66 each with a clip region 68. In the arrangement of Figure 6a, the clip region on the extension portion 66 of the left hand end cap is aligned to clip or provide a releaseable detent region with the stem of one of the mushroom feet when the strips are in their innermost position, and the right hand end cap 64 has a clip or detent region 68 arranged to clip around a stem of one of the mushroom feet when the support strips are in their outermost position.

In the arrangement of Figure fib, a similar type of click lock arrangement is provided by providing detents 70 which clip the drive pegs 32 at opposite ends of their range of angular movement.

Referring now to Figure 7 in this embodiment, a furniture anchorage comprises a base member 110 from the lower side of which projects a support member 112 having, in this embodiment, integrally formed indexing feet 114.

The indexing feet 114 and the support member 112 are profiled so that when the feet 114 are aligned with the circular apertures 1 they may enter the apertures and then be slid longitudinally by an amount equal to half the pitch of the apertures to lock under the undercut formations. At the other end of the base member 110 is a guide strip 116 which is slightly narrower than the width of the slot 2 in the track. In this embodiment there is a locking device 118 which will be described in further detail below and whose function is to anchor the base member 110 longitudinally relative to the track by engaging in one of the apertures 1 therein. There is also an indexing mechanism 120 designed to shift the support member 112 and feet portions 114 longitudinally relative to the base member 110 when the base member itself has been locked to the track by the locking device 118.

Referring now to Figures 8 to 13, the first embodiment of locking device comprises a plunger block 122 which receives in a recess 124 in its lower portion (see Figure 15) a foot 126 and a plunger 128. The foot 126 is of generally rectangular section with curved ends and has a width which is slightly less than the width of the slot 2 and a length which is slightly less than the full width of the undercut channel 4 in the track. The foot 126 is located at the bottom of a shaft 130 which is rotatably carried in a boss 132 integrally formed with the plunger block 128 and is slotted at 134. A rotary handle 136 is To connected to the shaft by a pin 138 which passes through the slot so that the shaft 130 is capable of limited longitudinal movement relative to the rotary handle 136 but rotates therewith. The pin 138 passes through a collar 140 on the rotary handle which is provided with diametrically opposed ears 142. The shaft and plunger are biased downwardly by bias means (not shown). The upper end of the shaft 130 is threaded and a locking handle 144 is threadedly engaged with the shaft.

The boss 132 has a slot or keyway 144 into which the ears 142 may pass. The plunger 128 is slideably mounted in the recess 124 and connected to move vertically with the shaft by means of an arm which is journalled on the shaft (not shown). As seen in Figure 13, the plunger is kidney-shaped with a convex cylindrical surface shaped to allow the plunger to fit snugly within a circular aperture 1 in the track, and a concave cylindrical surface adapted to allow the foot to rotate from the position shown in Figure 13 without snagging the plunger. 1 1

In order to engage the locking device from the release position shown in Figure 8, the rotary handle 136 is turned so that the ears 142 enter the keyway and drop down, with the collar 140 being received within the boss 132 so that the components adopt the positions shown in Figure 10, with the foot 126 and plunger projecting downwardly so that the plunger 128 enters a circular aperture 1 in the track, and the foot 126 passes through a slot 2. From this position, the rotary handle 136 is turned through a further 90 to rotate the foot so that it extends cross wise to the slot 2 with the ends of the feet being beneath the undercut formations defining the slots 2 (Figure 11). In this position the locking device is prevented from longitudinal movement relative to the track because of the engagement of the plunger within the aperture 1 and is also prevented from being lifted out of the track by virtue of the foot being positioned cross wise underneath the slot. The locking handle 144 is then turned to draw the locking foot and plunger upwardly until the foot is clamped against the undercut formations but the plunger is still engaged with the aperture 1. A locking indicator or pip 145 formed on the upper end of the shaft 130 projects from the locking handle 144, as shown in Figure 12. In this position the locking device is locked against longitudinal and vertical movement and furthermore is clamped to provide an anti-rattle function.

Removal of the locking device is achieved by reversing the above steps.

It will be appreciated that the pulling up of the foot 126 against the undercut formations of the track may be achieved in ways other than the use of a threaded locking handle 146. For example this movement may be achieved by rotation of mutual cam surfaces.

Referring now to Figures 14 and 15, there is shown a second embodiment of locking device 150. In this embodiment a plunger 152 is provided which has thereon diametrically opposed projections or ears 154, which each have a downwardly-facing wedge profile. The plunger is mounted for vertical movement between a position in which is it clear of the track and a position in which the cylindrical portion thereof is received in an aperture 1 in the track to lock the device against longitudinal movement. Each of the ears 154 has associated therewith a pair of back to back jaws 156. The jaws 156 are sprung together (not shown) and have lower flanges 158 which, when the jaws 156 are together may pass through the slot 2 in the track. However, as the plunger 152 passes downwards the ears 154 urge the jaws 156 to part so that the flanges 158 engage under the undercut formations in the track so as to cause tight engagement. When the plunger is down in the track as shown in Figure 15 the jaws 156 are urged tightly into engagement with the track so that the device locks against longitudinal movement, and withdrawal movement and also provides an anti-rattle function.

Referring now to Figures 16 to 19, there is shown a third embodiment of locking device. In this invention a twin plunger arrangement 160 is mounted for vertical movement in the base member of the anchorage and cooperates with two jaws 162. In this arrangement the jaws are generally W-shaped and made up of two cylindrical shell portions matching the periphery of the apertures 1 bridged by a short straight portion corresponding to the slot 2. The twin plungers are wedge shaped and designed to urge the jaws 162 outwardly into tight engagement with the corresponding periphery of the track so as to prevent C! longitudinal movement and also exert an anti-rattle function. Whilst not shown, the jaws 162 may have, at their lower ends, outwardly protruding lips which prevent withdrawal of the device upwardly once locked.

Referring now to Figures 20 and 21, there is shown a fourth embodiment of furniture anchorage 170. In this embodiment there is a base member 172 and, as previously, a locking member 174 designed to engage one of the apertures 1 in the track to prevent longitudinal movement of the base member with respect thereto. The plunger arrangement may be a simple plunger or it may be one of the arrangements described above. Located in the base member 172 is a support element 176 on the underside of which are provided, in this example, five screw in feet. As previously the feet are of inverted mushroom form with a circular section designed to pass through the apertures 1. The support member is mounted for relative sliding movement within the base member 172 and carries at one end thereof a toothed rack portion 178. The toothed rack portion 178 is in engagement with a toothed pinion 180 which is rotatably mounted on the base member 172 and which may be turned by a manually rotatable hand reel 182. The support member 176 and the base member 172 are provided with mutuallycontacting cam surfaces 184 designed so that as the support member is moved towards its locking position (i.e. towards the left as seen in Figure 20) the support member and the feet are drawn upwardly to pull the feet tight to the underside of the undercut formations in the track.

Referring now to the fifth embodiment referred to in Figures 22 to 24, here an arrangement is shown which, as in the fourth embodiment mounts the inverted mushroom feet 190 on a support member 192 which is moved bodily.

In this arrangement, however, in order to pull the feet tightly into engagement with the underside of the undercut formations the support bar is lifted in a purely vertical direction, i.e. without any associated forward movement, by means of a lever 194 pivotally mounted on the base member 196. The lever has a slot 198 therein which engages a pin 200 provided on an upstanding projection 202 from the support bar 192. As seen in Figure 24, the feet may be biased towards a downward position by means of leaf springs 204 or the like.

Referring now to Figure 25, there is shown a modification where the feet 206 are formed integrally with the support bar 208 and the support bar is driven by a rack and pinion mechanism 210 as previously, but with an inclined plane 212 at one end only.

Referring now to Figure 26, there is shown a further modification where a locking device is provided at one end of an anchorage with a locking plunger.

The support feet 216 are mounted on a support bar 218 which is movably mounted relative to the locking device and means, not shown, are provided for moving the support bar relative to the locking device. The support bar and the locking device may have respective cam surfaces 220, 222 thereon such that when the support bar is moved towards the locking position, the support feet are drawn tightly into engagement with the undercut formations on the track.

Claims

Claims 1. An anchorage for a track of the type having a regular aligned

array of apertures interposed by narrower slots defined and flanked by undercut formations, the anchorage comprising a base member having associated therewith a plurality of elements projecting downwardly and capable of simultaneous passage down through a corresponding number of said apertures, said elements being longitudinally movable relative to said track to trap the elements below the undercut formations, and locking means for releaseably engaging said track to prevent longitudinal movement of said base member relative to said track, characterized In that said anchorage includes drive means for effecting longitudinal movement of at least some of said downwardly projecting elements relative to said base member.

2. An anchorage according to Claim 1, wherein said downwardly projecting elements are arranged in at least two groups, with said drive means being operable simultaneously to shift two of said groups in opposite longitudinal directions.

3. An anchorage according to Claim 1 and Claim 2, wherein said drive means comprises a manually grippable member for rotation about a generally vertical axis, and a linkage for transmitting rotary movement of said manually grippable member to effect longitudinal movement of the downwardly projecting elements.

4. An anchorage according to Claim 3, wherein said locking means comprises a locking plunger and said locking means comprises a locking plunger capable of vertical movement between a release position in which it is clear of the track to allow said anchorage to be slideable with respect to said track, and a locking position in which said plunger cooperates with said track to prevent longitudinal movement of said anchorage with respect to said track.

5. An anchorage according to Claim 4, wherein said plunger comprises a locking region designed to be closely engageable with at least part of the periphery of an aperture in said track, and said manually grippable member is connected to said locking plunger.

6. An anchorage according to Claim 4 or Claim 5, wherein said manually grippable member is fixedly attached to said locking plunger, and said linkage includes a disengageable coupling, whereby moving said manually grippable member to move said locking plunger to its release position also disengages the transmission between said manually grippable member and the associated downwardly projecting elements.

7. An anchorage according to any of the preceding Claims, wherein the longitudinally moveable downwardly projecting elements are mounted on one or more strip elements slideably mounted relative to said base member.

8. An anchorage according to Claim 8, wherein the or each strip element is slideably housed in a recess in the underside of the base member.

9. An anchorage according to Claim 7 or Claim 8, wherein each strip element includes an extension portion for actuation by said drive means.

10. An anchorage according to any of Claims 7 to 9, wherein each strip element has at least one cam follower/cam surface arranged to cooperate with a cam/cam follower surface associated with said base member, thereby to apply a lifting movement to the strip element and the downwardly projecting elements attached thereto, as said strip element is moved longitudinally from a home position to a locked position.

11. An anchorage according to Claim 10, wherein the or each strip element is provided with one or more cut away or castellated regions defining cam follower edges which cooperate with cam surfaces associated with said base member.

12. An anchorage according to Claim 11, wherein said cam surfaces are provided on a cam strip element located within said base member.

13. An anchorage according to Claim 12, wherein said cam strip element is formed of a metal strip and said cam surfaces comprise inclined elements thereon.

14. An anchorage according to any of Claims 7 to 13, wherein at least one of said support members is releaseably retainable in one of its home or locked positions by a longitudinal engageable releaseable interlock arrangement.

15. An anchorage according to Claim 3 or any Claim dependent thereon, wherein said linkage includes at least one releaseable interlock arrangement for releaseably locking said downwardly projecting elements against longitudinal movement.

16. An anchorage according to any of the preceding Claims, wherein said base member includes an inverted flat rectangular channel section.

17. An anchorage according to Claim 16, wherein said channel section is resiliently flexible.

18. An anchorage according to any of the preceding Claims including fixing means connected to said base member for attachment to an item to be anchored 19. An anchorage according to Claim 18, wherein said fixing means comprises a fixing element slideably mounted in a recess or groove and adapted to lock against movement on attachment of said item in use.

20. An anchorage according to Claim 7 when dependent on Claim 1 or Claim 2, wherein a toothed rack is associated with said support member and a manually rotatable pinion is rotatably mounted on said base member.

21. An anchorage according to Claim 20, wherein complementary cam surfaces are associated with said support member and said base member respectively, to cause said downwardly projecting elements to be urged upwardly into engagement with said undercut formations to clamp said base member to said track in use.

22. An anchorage for a track of the type having a regular aligned array of apertures interposed by narrower slots defined and flanked by undercut formations, the anchorage comprising a base member having associated therewith a plurality of elements projecting downwardly and capable of simultaneous passage down through a corresponding number of said apertures, said elements being longitudinally movable relative to said track to trap the elements below the undercut formations, and locking means for releasably engaging said track to prevent longitudinal movement of said base member relative to said track, characterized In that said locking means comprise a plunger assembly including: (i) a plunger mounted for generally vertical movement between a retracted position in which it is substantially clear of said track, and an extended position in which it engages in one of said apertures to lock said base member against longitudinal movement with respect to the track, and (ii) a foot member movable between a release configuration, in which it may pass through one of said slots, and a locking configuration, in which it cooperates with the undercut formation flanking the slots to prevent withdrawal of the foot member from the slot.

23. An anchorage according to Claim 22, wherein said plunger and said foot member are connected in a manner to move together vertically but to allow rotation of said foot member.

24. An anchorage according to Claim 23, wherein said foot member is disposed at the lower end of a shaft which rotatably supports an arm extending from said plunger.

25. An anchorage according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said plunger assembly defines a recess into which said foot member and said plunger may be retracted substantially vertically and which constrains said plunger against rotation with said foot member.

26. An anchorage according to any of the preceding claims wherein said plunger is substantially kidney-shaped in cross-section, the crosssection having a convex region of part circular form to pass through said aperture, and a concave region facing said foot member.

27. An anchorage according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said plunger assembly is moved between a release condition, in which the foot member and the plunger are free of said track, and a locked condition by an actuator associated with said plug assembly, said actuator being: 1 1 (a) rotatable to move said foot member to move into said release configuration; (b) lowerable to cause said plunger to drop into an aperture as the foot member drops into a slot, and (c) rotatable to cause said foot member to move to said locking configuration.

28. An anchorage according to Claim 27, wherein the actuator further includes engagement means for urging said foot member tightly into engagement with said undercut formations to clamp the assembly relative to the 1 0 track.

29. An anchorage according to Claim 27, wherein said engagement means includes respective male and female screw threaded portions.

30. An anchorage according to Claim 28, wherein said engagement means comprise respective camming surface means.

31. An anchorage for a track of the type having a regular aligned array of apertures interposed by narrower slots defined and flanked by undercut formations, the anchorage comprising a base member having associated therewith a plurality of elements projecting downwardly and capable of simultaneous passage down through a corresponding number of said apertures, said elements being longitudinally movable relative to said track to trap the elements below the undercut formations, and locking means for releasably engaging said track to prevent longitudinal movement of said base member relative to said track, characterized In that said locking means comprise at least one retaining element moveable laterally between a release position in which the or each retaining element may be introduced into or removed from said track, and a locking position in which the retaining element cooperates with the undercut formations to prevent removal of the or each retaining element from said track, and a plunger being extendable to engage one of said apertures and arranged on said extending movement to urge the or each retaining element to its locking position.

31. An anchorage according to Claim 31, which includes two pairs of retaining elements each having a camming surface adapted to cooperate with a respective Damming surface on, or associated with, said plunger.

32. An anchorage according to Claim 32, wherein said plunger is generally cylindrical with diametrically opposed camming lugs, each lug disposed to cooperate with a respective pair of said retaining elements.

34. An anchorage for a track of the type having a regular aligned array of generally circular or part circular apertures interposed by narrower slots defined and flanked by undercut formations, the anchorage comprising a base member having associated therewith a plurality of elements projecting downwardly and capable of simultaneous passage down through a corresponding number of said apertures, said elements being longitudinally movable relative to said track to trap the elements below the undercut formations, and locking means for releasably engaging said track to prevent longitudinal movement of said base member relative to said track, characterized In that said locking means comprises at least one locking element having a curved outer surface for cooperating with at least part of the arcuate periphery of an aperture, and wedge means for releasably wedging said locking element in said aperture to lock said base element against longitudinal movement.

35. An anchorage according to Claim 34, wherein the or each locking element is shaped to include two spaced curved portions to cooperate with at least part of the arcuate peripheries of two adjacent apertures.

36. An anchorage according to Claim 34 or 35, wherein two such locking elements are provided.

37. An anchorage according to any of claims 34 to 36, wherein said wedge means comprises a plunger arranged to engage an inner portion of said locking elements and mounted for vertical movement.

38. An anchorage according to any of Claims 34 to 37, wherein the or each locking element includes a retaining lip for engaging beneath one of said undercut formations in use.

39. An anchorage for a track of the type having a regular aligned array of apertures interposed by narrower slots defined and flanked by undercut formations, the anchorage comprising a base member having associated therewith a plurality of elements projecting downwardly and capable of simultaneous passage down through a corresponding number of said apertures, said elements being longitudinally movable relative to said track to trap the elements below the undercut formations, and locking means for releasably engaging said track to prevent longitudinal movement of said base member relative to said track, characterized In that said downwardly projecting elements are mounted on a support member and lifting means is provided for moving said support means between a lowered position in which said base member may slide longitudinally in said track for adjustment, and a raised position in which said downwardly projecting elements are pulled upwardly into engagement with said undercut formations to clamp said base member in use.

40. An anchorage according to Claim 39 when said support member is biased downwardly.

41. An anchorage according to Claim 39 when said support member is biased upwardly.

42. An anchorage according to any of Claims 39 to 41, wherein said lifting means comprises a manually grippable lever pivotably mounted on said base member and coupled to said support member for effecting vertical up and down l O movement thereof.

43. An anchorage according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said downwardly projecting elements are integrally formed as a single component.

44. An anchorage arrangement comprising two furniture anchorages according to any of the preceding claims including means to effect common longitudinal movement of said downwardly projecting elements relative to said locking means.

Amendments to the claims have been filed as follows: 1. An anchorage for a track of the type having a regular aligned array of apertures interposed by narrower slots defined and flanked by undercut formations, the anchorage comprising a base member having associated therewith a plurality of elements projecting downwardly and capable of simultaneous passage down through a corresponding number of said apertures, said elements being longitudinally movable relative to said track to trap the elements below the undercut formations, and locking means for releaseably engaging said track to prevent longitudinal movement of said base member relative to said track, characterized In that said anchorage includes drive means for effecting longitudinal movement of at least some of said downwardly projecting elements relative to said base member.

2. An anchorage according to Claim 1, wherein said downwardly projecting elements are arranged in at least two groups, with said drive means being operable simultaneously to shift two of said groups in opposite longitudinal directions.

3. An anchorage according to Claim 1 and Claim 2, wherein said drive means comprises a manually grippable member for rotation about a generally vertical axis, and a linkage for transmitting rotary movement of said manually grippable member to effect longitudinal movement of the downwardly projecting elements.

4. An anchorage according to Claim 3, wherein said locking means comprises a locking plunger and said locking means comprises a locking plunger capable of vertical movement between a release position in which it is 2q clear of the track to allow said anchorage to be slideable with respect to said track, and a locking position in which said plunger cooperates with said track to prevent longitudinal movement of said anchorage with respect to said track.

5. An anchorage according to Claim 4, wherein said plunger comprises a locking region designed to be closely engageable with at least part of the periphery of an aperture in said track, and said manually grippable member is connected to said locking plunger.

6. An anchorage according to Claim 4 or Claim 5, wherein said manually grippable member is fixedly attached to said locking plunger, and said linkage includes a disengageable coupling, whereby moving said manually grippable member to move said locking plunger to its release position also disengages the transmission between said manually grippable member and the associated downwardly projecting elements.

7. An anchorage according to any of the preceding Claims, wherein the longitudinally moveable downwardly projecting elements are mounted on one or more strip elements slideably mounted relative to said base member.

8. An anchorage according to Claim 8, wherein the or each strip element is slideably housed in a recess in the underside of the base member.

9. An anchorage according to Claim 7 or Claim 8, wherein each strip element includes an extension portion for actuation by said drive means.

10. An anchorage according to any of Claims 7 to 9, wherein each strip element has at least one cam follower/cam surface arranged to cooperate with a cam/cam follower surface associated with said base member, thereby to apply a lifting movement to the strip element and the downwardly projecting elements So attached thereto, as said strip element is moved longitudinally from a home position to a locked position.

11 An anchorage according to Claim 10 wherein the or each strip element is provided with one or more cut away or castellated regions defining cam follower edges which cooperate with cam surfaces associated with said base member.

12. An anchorage according to Claim 11, wherein said cam surfaces are provided on a cam strip element located within said base member.

13. An anchorage according to Claim 12, wherein said cam strip element is formed of a metal strip and said cam surfaces comprise inclined elements thereon.

14. An anchorage according to any of Claims 7 to 13, wherein at least one of said support members is releaseably retainable in one of its home or locked positions by a longitudinal engageable releaseable interlock arrangement.

15. An anchorage according to Claim 3 or any Claim dependent thereon, wherein said linkage includes at least one releaseable interlock arrangement for releaseably locking said downwardly projecting elements against longitudinal movement.

16. An anchorage according to any of the preceding Claims, wherein said base member includes an inverted flat rectangular channel section.

17. An anchorage according to Claim 16, wherein said channel section is resiliently flexible.

18. An anchorage according to any of the preceding Claims including fixing means connected to said base member for attachment to an item to be anchored.

19. An anchorage according to Claim 18, wherein said fixing means comprises a fixing element slideably mounted in a recess or groove and adapted to lock against movement on attachment of said item in use.

S 20. An anchorage according to Claim 7 when dependent on Claim 1 or Claim 2, wherein a toothed rack is associated with said support member and a manually rotatable pinion is rotatably mounted on said base member.

21. An anchorage according to Claim 20, wherein complementary cam surfaces are associated with said support member and said base member respectively, to cause said downwardly projecting elements to be urged upwardly into engagement with said undercut formations to clamp said base member to said track in use.

22. An anchorage for a track of the type having a regular aligned array of apertures interposed by narrower slots defined and flanked by undercut formations, the anchorage comprising a base member having associated therewith a plurality of elements projecting downwardly and capable of simultaneous passage down through a corresponding number of said apertures, said elements being longitudinally movable relative to said track to trap the elements below the undercut formations, and locking means for releasably engaging said track to prevent longitudinal movement of said base member relative to said track, characterized In that said locking means comprise a plunger assembly including: (i) a plunger mounted for generally vertical movement between a retracted position in which it is substantially clear of said track, and an extended position in which it engages in one of said apertures to lock said base member against longitudinal movement with respect to the track, and (ii) a foot member movable between a release configuration, in which it may pass through one of said slots, and a locking configuration, in which it cooperates with the undercut formation flanking the slots to prevent withdrawal of the foot member from the slot.

23. An anchorage according to Claim 22, wherein said plunger and said foot member are connected in a manner to move together vertically but to allow rotation of said foot member.

24. An anchorage according to Claim 23, wherein said foot member is disposed at the lower end of a shah which rotatably supports an arm extending from said plunger.

25. An anchorage according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said plunger assembly defines a recess into which said foot member and said plunger may be retracted substantially vertically and which constrains said plunger against rotation with said foot member.

26. An anchorage according to any of the preceding claims wherein said plunger is substantially kidney-shaped in cross-section, the crosssection having a convex region of part circular form to pass through said aperture, and a concave region facing said foot member.

27. An anchorage according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said plunger assembly is moved between a release condition, in which the foot member and the plunger are free of said track, and a locked condition by an actuator associated with said plug assembly, said actuator being: (a) rotatable to move said foot member to move into said release configuration; (b! lowerable to cause said plunger to drop into an aperture as the foot member drops into a slot, and (c) rotatable to cause said foot member to move to said locking configuration.

28. An anchorage according to Claim 27, wherein the actuator further includes engagement means for urging said foot member tightly into engagement with said undercut formations to clamp the assembly relative to the 1 0 track.

29. An anchorage according to Claim 27, wherein said engagement means includes respective male and female screw threaded portions.

30. An anchorage according to Claim 28, wherein said engagement means comprise respective camming surface means.

31. An anchorage for a track of the type having a regular aligned array of apertures interposed by narrower slots defined and flanked by undercut formations, the anchorage comprising a base member having associated therewith a plurality of elements projecting downwardly and capable of simultaneous passage down through a corresponding number of said apertures, said elements being longitudinally movable relative to said track to trap the elements below the undercut formations, and locking means for releasably engaging said track to prevent longitudinal movement of said base member relative to said track, characterized In that said locking means comprise at least one retaining element moveable laterally between a release position in which the Ok or each retaining element may be introduced into or removed from said track, and a locking position in which the retaining element cooperates with the undercut tormatons to prevent removal of the or each retaining eierneni ''oar' said track, and a plunger being extendable to engage one of said apertures and arranged on said extending movement to urge the or each retaining element to its locking position.

32. An anchorage according to Claim 31, which includes two pairs of retaining elements each having a camming surface adapted to cooperate with a respective camming surface on, or associated with, said plunger.

to 33. An anchorage according to Claim 32, wherein said plunger is generally cylindrical with diametrically opposed camming lugs, each lug disposed to cooperate with a respective pair of said retaining elements.

34. An anchorage for a track of the type having a regular aligned array of generally circular or part circular apertures interposed by narrower slots defined and flanked by undercut formations, the anchorage comprising a base member having associated therewith a plurality of elements projecting downwardly and capable of simultaneous passage down through a corresponding number of said apertures, said elements being longitudinally movable relative to said track to trap the elements below the undercut formations, and locking means for releasably engaging said track to prevent longitudinal movement of said base member relative to said track, characterized In that said locking means comprises at least one locking element having a curved outer surface for cooperating with at least part of the arcuate periphery of an aperture, and wedge means for releasably wedging said locking element in said aperture to lock said i, ; i . . base element against longitudinal movement.

35. An anchorage according to Claim 34, wherein the or each locking element is shaped to include two spaced curved portions to cooperate with at least part of the arcuate peripheries of two adjacent apertures.

36. An anchorage according to Claim 34 or 35, wherein two such locking elements are provided.

37. An archorage according to any of claims 34 to 36, wherein said wedge means comprises a plunger arranged to engage an inner portion of said locking elements and mounted for vertical movement.

38. An anchorage according to any of Claims 34 to 37, wherein the or each locking element includes a retaining lip for engaging beneath one of said undercut formations in use.

39. An anchorage for a track of the type having a regular aligned array of apertures interposed by narrower slots defined and flanked by undercut formations, the anchorage comprising a base member having associated therewith a plurality of elements projecting downwardly and capable of simultaneous passage down through a corresponding number of said apertures, said elements being longitudinally movable relative to said track to trap the elements below the undercut formations, and locking means for releasably engaging said track to prevent longitudinal movement of said base member relative to said track, characterized In that said downwardly projecting elements are mounted on a support member and lifting means is provided for moving said support means between a lowered position in which said base member may slide longitudinally in said track for adjustment, and a raised position in which

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said downwardly projecting elements are pulled upwardly into engagement with said undercut formations to clamp said base member in use.

40. An anchorage according to Claim 39 when said support member is biased downwardly.

41. An anchorage according to Claim 39 when said support member is biased upwardly.

42. An anchorage according to any of Claims 39 to 41, wherein said lifting means comprises a manually grippable lever pivotably mounted on said base member and coupled to said support member for effecting vertical up and down movement thereof.

43. An anchorage according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said downwardly projecting elements are integrally formed as a single component.

44. An anchorage arrangement comprising two furniture anchorages according to any of the preceding claims including means to effect common longitudinal movement of said downwardly projecting elements relative to said locking means.