JP2003139187A - Foot with height adjusting function - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a foot with a height adjusting function capable of easily adjusting a height and an angle of furniture and electric appliances, effectively suppressing unexpected behavior of furniture and electric appliances when adjusting a height, and adjusting a height and an angle delicately. SOLUTION: This foot with the height adjusting function is provided with an upper part exterior case 13 opening its lower end and having a bottomed storage hole 17, a leg member 12 having a piston part 19 slidable freely and airtightly in the storage hole 17, an orifice 22 for opening an air operation chamber 21 formed by the exterior case 13 and the piston part 19 into the atmosphere, an elastic member 25 for leg for energizing the leg member 12 downward always, and a lock means 30 which can regulate advance, retraction, and moving of the leg member 12 and has a plurality of regulation recessed and projecting parts 35 formed on an outer peripheral face of the leg member 12, an operation member 11 having locking recessed and projecting parts 36 capable of engaging with the regulation recessed and projecting parts 35, and an elastic member 37 for locking and energizing the operation member 11 always in the direction in which the recessed and projecting parts 35, 36 are mutually engaged.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a foot with a height adjusting function suitable for adjusting the height and angle of furniture and household appliances.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In furniture and home appliances, those provided with feet having a height adjusting function for adjusting height and angle have been widely put into practical use. For example, in a projector that projects a television image, a video image, or the like, a pair of feet provided on the front side has a height adjusting function, and the projection angle can be adjusted. As the foot having the height adjusting function, a screw shaft is screwed onto the machine frame of the projector, and a seat plate fixed to the lower end of the screw shaft is rotated to adjust the screw advance amount of the screw shaft with respect to the machine frame. Therefore, a projector configured to adjust the tilt angle of the projector is used.

As a simple structure having a height adjusting function, for example, Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 32-4181 discloses an elevating rod having a rubber leg fixed to the lower end and a rod spring for constantly urging the elevating rod upward. And an operating lever having a through hole through which the lifting rod is inserted, wherein a rim of the through hole engages with an outer surface of the lifting rod to restrict the lifting of the lifting rod, and a rim of the through hole. An operating lever that is tiltable to a release position where the lifting rod is disengaged from the outer surface and the lifting rod is allowed to move up and down, and a lever spring that constantly urges the operating lever toward the regulating position. Door stop fittings are listed. With this door stop fitting, the elevating rod is stepped down against the spring force of the rod spring, the elevating rod is lowered, the rubber legs are pressed against the floor surface, the door is stopped, and the operating lever is released. By operating to the position side, the spring force of the rod spring raises the elevating rod to release the stop of the door.

[0004]

Since the height of the foot is adjusted according to the amount of advance of the screw shaft, it is necessary to rotate the screw shaft many times when the amount of adjustment is large. However, there is a problem that the adjustment work becomes complicated. Further, by applying a structure such as the door stop fitting to the foot and operating the operation lever to elevate the elevating rod to a desired height position at a stroke, the inclination angle of the projector can be adjusted. It is possible. However, even in this case, when the operation lever is operated to the release position, the front portion of the projector is supported by the spring force of the rod spring, so if the spring force is too strong, the projector lever is released when the operation lever is released. If the front part bounces up and the spring force is too weak, there is a problem that the front part of the projector falls. Moreover, since the rod spring tries to expand or contract until its spring force balances with the weight of the front part of the projector, even when a proper rod spring is used,
The problem of bounces and depressions cannot be completely eliminated. Further, since the lifting rod moves at high speed by the rod spring, it may be difficult to finely adjust the height. Further, since the gap between the projector and its installation surface is relatively small, there is a problem that the operability of the operation lever is deteriorated.

An object of the present invention is to easily adjust the height and angle of furniture and home electric appliances, and effectively suppress the careless behavior of furniture and home electric appliances during height adjustment.
It is to provide a foot with an adjustment function that allows fine adjustment of height and angle.

[0006]

A foot with an adjusting function according to a first aspect of the present invention has an outer case having a bottomed receiving hole with an open lower end, and an airtightly slidable piston part in the receiving hole. A leg member, an orifice for opening the air working chamber formed by the exterior case and the piston portion to the atmosphere, an elastic member for a leg that constantly urges the leg member downward, and a forward and backward movement of the leg member. It is a locking means that can be regulated, and is provided with a plurality of regulating concave and convex portions formed on the outer peripheral surface of the leg member at regular intervals in the longitudinal direction, and slidably provided on the outer case, and can be engaged with the regulating concave and convex portions. And a locking means having a locking elastic member that constantly urges the operating member in a direction in which the locking uneven portion engages the regulating uneven portion with the locking uneven portion. .

In this height adjustable foot,
By pushing the operating member against the biasing force of the elastic member for locking, the engagement between the engaging concave-convex portion and the regulating concave-convex portion is released, and the leg member can move. When the member is lowered by the urging force of the leg elastic member, the outside air gradually flows into the air working chamber through the orifice, and when the leg member rises against the urging force of the leg elastic member, the air working chamber is opened. The air is gradually discharged to the outside through the orifice, so that the leg member moves up and down at a low speed according to the ventilation resistance of the orifice. In this way, the air working chamber and the orifice function as a damper for the up and down movement of the leg members, so furniture and home appliances that have this foot assembled do not suffer from sudden jumps or dips during height adjustment. Precise behavior is prevented, and the angle and height can be adjusted smoothly, and subtle angle and height adjustments are possible. Moreover, since the engaging concave and convex portions and the regulating concave and convex portions can be released by pushing the operating member in the horizontal direction, the space for arranging the operating member in the vertical direction is small, such as in a projector. Even in such a case, it becomes possible to sufficiently secure the operability of the operating member.

In the foot according to claim 2, an orifice is formed in an upper wall portion of the outer case, a valve body is provided below the upper wall portion so as to close the orifice, and the valve body is provided by an elastic member for legs. It is pressed against the upper wall. By providing the valve element in this way, the moving speed of the leg member can be set to an appropriate speed without depending on the hole diameter of the orifice so much.
The manufacturing cost of the outer case can be reduced. In particular, claim 3
As described above, if a throttle groove that connects the air working chamber and the orifice is formed on the upper surface of the valve body, fluctuation of the ventilation resistance due to the surface texture of the contact surface between the upper wall portion and the valve body is prevented, and the ventilation resistance is reduced. Is preferable because it can be stabilized. When the positioning pin for positioning the leg elastic member is formed integrally with the valve body as in claim 4, the leg elastic member can be easily assembled and the number of parts can be reduced. Therefore, it is preferable.

[0009]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIG. 1, a foot with a height adjusting function (hereinafter, simply referred to as a foot) 10
Is attached to the front part of the machine frame 2 of the projector 1 in a pair of left and right, and adjusts the protrusion amount of the leg member 12 while operating the operation members 11 of the left and right feet 10 to the release position (shown in FIG. 7). Then, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the projector 1
It is configured so that the inclination angle of can be adjusted.

Explaining the foot 10, as shown in FIGS. 3 to 7, a pair of upper and lower outer casings 13 and 14 are detachably assembled via a hook portion 15 and a locking bracket 16, and the outer casing 13 is attached. , 14 are internally provided with leg members 12, and the lower ends of the leg members 12 penetrate the lower wall portion of the lower exterior case 14 and project downward. Upper exterior case 1
A cylindrical portion 3 having a bottomed receiving hole 17 whose lower end is open
8 is integrally formed, and a piston portion 19 is integrally formed at an upper end portion of the leg member 12, and the piston portion 19 is airtightly slidably mounted in a housing hole 17 via a seal ring 20 which is externally mounted on the piston portion 19. , Piston part 19 and upper exterior case 1
An air working chamber 21 is formed between the three.

An orifice 22 is formed substantially in the center of the upper wall of the upper outer case 13, and a valve element 23 is provided between the upper wall and the upper end of the leg member 12 to close the orifice 22. Four throttle grooves 24 are radially formed on the upper surface of the valve body 23, and the air working chamber 21 is open to the atmosphere through the throttle grooves 24 and the orifice 22. The throttle groove 24
The cross-sectional shape, size, and the number thereof are appropriately set in consideration of the circulation resistance of the outside air to the air working chamber 21. Further, if the diameter of the orifice 22 can be accurately formed, the valve body 23 can be omitted. Further, the orifice 22 may be formed on the leg member 12 side. The leg member 12 is formed in a bottomed tubular shape with an open upper end.
A leg elastic member 25 made of a compression coil spring is provided inside, and the leg member 12 is constantly urged downward through the leg elastic member 25, and the valve body 23 is always urged upward through the leg elastic member 25. Has been done. A positioning pin 23a is integrally formed on the valve body 23, and the leg elastic member 25 is positioned by the positioning pin 23a.

A locking plate 26 is provided between the upper and lower outer cases 13 and 14, and a locking hole 26 is formed in the locking plate 26 for inserting a middle part of the leg member 12. The insertion hole 27 is a piston part. The diameter of the leg member 12 is smaller than that of the leg member 12 by locking the lower end of the piston portion 19 at the edge of the insertion hole 27.
The lower limit position of is regulated.

Locking means 30 capable of restricting the vertical movement of the leg members 12 is incorporated in the lower outer case 14.
The lock means 30 will be described. The lower outer case 1
4, an operating member 11 is attached to the locking position shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 and a releasing position shown in FIG. 7 so as to be movable in the left-right direction. It is composed of a main body member 32 and a locking member 33 which are connected via 31. The right end portion of the main body member 32 is projected to the outside of the lower outer case 14, and the operation member 11 is formed with an insertion hole 34 through which the leg member 12 is inserted in a state where the main body member 32 and the locking member 33 are combined. . The insertion hole 34 is formed in the shape of an elongated hole extending in the left-right direction, and the operation member 11 is movable in the left-right direction between the lock position and the release position in a state where the leg member 12 is inserted into the insertion hole 34. It is assembled.

On the left half portion of the peripheral surface of the leg member 12, there are formed restricting concave and convex portions 35 consisting of protrusions having a mountain-shaped cross section extending in the circumferential direction at regular intervals in the longitudinal direction, and the insertion holes 34 of the locking member 33 are formed.
On the inner peripheral surface on the side, a locking concave-convex portion 36 that engages with the regulating concave-convex portion 35 at the lock position is formed. The operation member 11 is constantly urged to the lock position side where the locking uneven portion 36 is unevenly engaged with the restricting uneven portion 35 by the locking elastic member 37 formed of a compression coil spring interposed between the operation member 11 and the lower outer case 14. ing. However, the regulation uneven portion 35 may be provided over the entire circumference of the leg member 12. In addition, the regulation uneven portion 3
The number of 5 can be set arbitrarily, and for example, recesses or protrusions may be formed intermittently. In this locking means 30,
When the operating member 11 is pushed, the locking concave-convex portion 36 is separated from the restriction concave-convex portion 35, and the leg member 12 becomes vertically movable, and when the pushing operation of the operating member 11 is stopped,
Due to the biasing force of the locking elastic member 37, the locking concave-convex portion 36
Engages with the regulating concave-convex portion 35 in a concavo-convex manner, and the vertical movement of the leg member 12 is regulated.

When the foot 10 is assembled, the locking elastic member 37 is provided in the lower outer case 14 and the operating member 11 is used.
Then, the locking plate 26 is dropped next, and then the leg member 12 with the seal ring 20 exterior is inserted through these members. Further, the leg elastic member 25 and the valve body 23 are attached to the leg member 12. The foot 10 can be easily assembled by a simple work such as sequentially assembling and finally assembling the upper outer case 13 to the lower outer case 14. Reference numeral 38 is a screw for fixing the foot 10 to the machine casing 2 of the projector 1. Further, as shown in FIG. 8, a rubber seat 39 for slip prevention is provided on the lower end portion of the leg member 12.
May be attached by fitting or screwing.

The operation and effect of the foot 10 will be described. In the foot 10, the air working chamber 21 is open to the atmosphere through the throttle groove 24 and the orifice 22, so that when the operating member 11 is operated to the release position side, the leg member 12 moves slowly up and down. . When increasing the tilt angle of the projector 1, while slightly lifting the front part of the projector 1 by hand, the operation member 1
1 is pushed to the release position side, and the leg member 12 is projected downward by the urging force of the leg elastic member 25. At this time, the leg member 12 is slowly projected downward.
Further, when the inclination angle of the projector 1 is reduced, the operation member 11 is pushed to the release position side as it is,
Although the leg member 12 is housed upward against the biasing force of the leg elastic member 25 due to the weight of the front portion of the projector 1, the leg member 12 should be housed slowly upward at this time as well. become. Since the leg member 12 moves at a low speed in this way, it is possible to efficiently adjust the angle of the projector 1 to a desired angle.

However, by setting the biasing force of the leg elastic member 25 to be slightly larger than the own weight of the front portion of the projector 1 and pushing the operation member 11 to the release position, the front portion of the projector 1 is automatically operated. May be raised, and the front portion of the projector 1 may be pushed down slightly while pushing the operation member 11 to the release position to lower the front portion of the projector 1.

Although the present invention is applied to the foot 10 provided for adjusting the angle of the projector 1 in this embodiment, the foot 10 for adjusting the height and angle of home electric appliances and furniture other than the projector is used. However, the present invention can be similarly applied.

[0019]

According to the foot with an adjusting function according to the first aspect of the present invention, the amount of protrusion of the leg member can be adjusted without the need for rotating operation many times as in the case of using the screw shaft. The operability of assembling furniture and home appliances can be dramatically improved. Further, by mounting the leg member in a housing hole of the outer case in a hermetically slidable manner, and opening the air working chamber formed by the leg member and the outer case to the atmosphere through the orifice,
Since the damper function is added to the foot, the moving speed of the leg member at the time of height adjustment is slowed down, preventing furniture and home appliances with the foot assembled from jumping up and down, It is possible to prevent inadvertent behavior of home electric appliances and to make fine angle adjustments. Further, by pushing the operating member in the horizontal direction, the engagement between the engaging concave-convex portion and the regulating concave-convex portion can be released, so that the space for arranging the operating member is narrow in the vertical direction like a projector. Even in such a case, it becomes possible to sufficiently secure the operability of the operating member.

When the valve body is provided so as to close the orifice as described in claim 2, the moving speed of the leg member can be set to an appropriate speed without largely depending on the hole diameter of the orifice. Manufacturing cost can be reduced.
Particularly, when the throttle groove is formed on the upper surface of the valve body as described in claim 3, the variation of the ventilation resistance due to the surface texture of the contact surface between the upper wall portion and the valve body can be prevented, and the ventilation resistance can be stabilized. Therefore, it is preferable. Further, when the positioning pin is integrally formed on the valve body as described in claim 4, the number of constituent parts of the foot can be reduced while improving the assemblability of the leg elastic member.

[Brief description of drawings]

[Figure 1] Side view of the projector

FIG. 2 is a side view of the projector with a large tilt angle.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the foot

FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional view of the foot in a locked state.

5 is a sectional view taken along line VV of FIG.

FIG. 6 is a side view of the leg member.

FIG. 7 is a view corresponding to FIG. 5 of the foot in the released state.

FIG. 8 is a vertical sectional view of a foot with a rubber seat attached.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 projector 2 machine frames 10 foot 11 operation member 12 Leg member 13 Upper exterior case 14 Lower exterior case 15 Hook part 16 Locking bracket 17 Storage hole 18 Cylindrical part 19 Piston part 20 Seal ring 21 Air working chamber 22 orifice 23 valve body 23a Positioning pin 24 Drawing groove 25 Leg elastic member 26 locking plate 27 insertion hole 30 Locking means 31 Concavo-convex fitting part 32 body member 33 locking member 34 insertion hole 35 restriction uneven portion 36 Locking Concavo-convex part 37 Elastic member for locking 38 screw 39 rubber seat

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[Procedure amendment]

[Submission date] December 20, 2002 (2002.12.
20)

[Procedure Amendment 1]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Name of item to be amended] Claims

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

[Claims]

[Procedure Amendment 2]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0006

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

[0006]

A foot with an adjusting function according to a first aspect of the present invention has an outer case having a bottomed receiving hole with an open lower end, and an airtightly slidable piston part in the receiving hole. An exterior for opening the air working chamber formed by the leg member, the exterior case and the piston portion to the atmosphere.
The orifice formed on the top wall of the case and the exterior case
It was installed to close the orifice on the lower side of the upper wall
The valve body and the leg member are always urged downward and the valve body
Elastic member for pressing the upper member to the upper wall portion, and a lock means capable of restricting the forward and backward movement of the leg member, and a plurality of restricting irregularities formed on the outer peripheral surface of the leg member at regular intervals in the longitudinal direction thereof Part and the outer case are slidably provided,
Locking means having an operating member having a locking concavo-convex portion engageable with the regulating concavo-convex portion, and a locking elastic member for constantly biasing the operating member in a direction in which the engaging concavo-convex portion concavo-convexly engages the regulating concavo-convex portion. It is equipped with and.

[Procedure 3]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0008

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

Further, to form an orifice in the upper wall portion of the armor case, the valve body so as to close the orifice below the upper wall portion is provided in pressure-contact with the valve body by the leg elastic members to the upper wall portion hand
Because there, without much depending on the pore size of the orifice, you can configure the speed of movement of the leg members to the proper speed. In particular, when the throttle groove that connects the air working chamber and the orifice is formed on the upper surface of the valve body, the fluctuation of the ventilation resistance due to the surface texture of the contact surface between the upper wall portion and the valve body is prevented, It is preferable because the ventilation resistance can be stabilized. Further, when a positioning pin for positioning the leg elastic member is integrally formed on the valve body as in claim 2, the assembling property of the leg elastic member can be improved and the number of parts can be reduced. Therefore, it is preferable.

[Procedure amendment 4]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0011

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

An orifice 22 is formed substantially in the center of the upper wall of the upper outer case 13, and a valve element 23 is provided between the upper wall and the upper end of the leg member 12 to close the orifice 22. Four throttle grooves 24 are radially formed on the upper surface of the valve body 23, and the air working chamber 21 is open to the atmosphere through the throttle grooves 24 and the orifice 22. The throttle groove 24
The cross-sectional shape, size, and the number thereof are appropriately set in consideration of the circulation resistance of the outside air to the air working chamber 21 . The leg member 12 is formed in a bottomed tubular shape with an open upper end, and a leg elastic member 25 made of a compression coil spring is installed inside the leg member 12, and the leg member 12 is always downward via the leg elastic member 25. Further, the valve element 23 is always urged upward through the leg elastic member 25. The valve body 23 has a positioning pin 23
a is integrally formed, and the leg elastic member 25 is positioned by the positioning pin 23a.

[Procedure Amendment 5]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0020

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

Further, when providing the valve body to close the the orifice without relying largely on the pore size of the orifice, it is possible to set the movement speed of the leg member to a proper speed,
The manufacturing cost of the outer case can be reduced. In particular , it is preferable to form the throttle groove on the upper surface of the valve body because it is possible to prevent the variation of the ventilation resistance due to the surface texture of the contact surface between the upper wall portion and the valve body and stabilize the ventilation resistance. Furthermore, as described in claim 2 ,
When the positioning pin is integrally formed on the valve body, the number of constituent parts of the foot can be reduced while improving the assembling property of the leg elastic member.

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An exterior case having a bottomed accommodation hole with an open lower end, a leg member having a piston portion that is airtightly slidable in the accommodation hole, and an air actuation formed by the exterior case and the piston portion. An orifice for opening the chamber to the atmosphere, a leg elastic member for constantly urging the leg member downward, and a locking means capable of restricting forward and backward movement of the leg member, the length of which is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the leg member. A plurality of regulating concave and convex portions formed at regular intervals in the vertical direction, and an operating member having a locking concave and convex portion that is slidably provided on the outer case and engageable with the regulating concave and convex portion, and the operating member A foot having a height adjusting function, comprising: a locking unit having a locking elastic member that constantly biases the uneven portion in a direction in which the uneven portion engages with the regulating uneven portion. 2. An orifice is formed in an upper wall portion of the outer case, a valve body is provided below the upper wall portion so as to close the orifice, and the valve body is pressed against the upper wall portion by elastic members for legs. The foot with a height adjusting function according to claim 1. 3. The foot with a height adjusting function according to claim 2, wherein a throttle groove is formed on the upper surface of the valve body to connect the air working chamber and the orifice. 4. The positioning pin for positioning the leg elastic member is integrally formed on the valve body.
Foot with height adjustment function described.