JP2003310356A - Folding structure - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a locking structure of a folding leg column that can release the locking of each leg column by pushing down a lock lever in the nearly same waiting posture whether it is in unfolded state or in folded state of the leg column. <P>SOLUTION: This locking structure is made of a support bracket which is fixed to a top plate and on one side of which the leg column is pivotally supported, a lock lever which is pivotally supported on the other side of the support bracket and has a locking part at one end and an operating member at the other end, and is energized in the locking direction, and a locking cam which is fixed to the leg column and is provided so that the locking part of the lock lever contacts constantly. The locking cam comprises a folding lock receiving part and an unfolding lock receiving part and can hold the lock lever in the nearly same waiting posture at the unfolding time and folding time of the leg column. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an improvement in a folding structure capable of reducing the thickness when a pedestal is folded.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a locking device of Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 61-32507 has been known as a structure for locking a foldable pedestal. With this structure, the pedestal can be locked when it is unfolded, but it is not locked when it is folded, so there is a problem in that when the folded pedestal is lifted and carried, it suddenly moves in the unfolding direction. Therefore, the applicant of the present application proposes a lock device that can lock or unlock the pedestal not only when the pedestal is unfolded but also when the pedestal is folded with the same lock lever, and has improved operability of unlocking. 2002-5
9595 has already been proposed. When a pedestal is folded using this type of locking device, the folded pedestal is arranged on the locking device and is bulky, so extra space is required.

[0003]

The present invention was devised to solve the above-mentioned drawbacks, and its main problem is that the pedestal does not become bulky even if the above locking device is used. It is to provide a novel folding structure that can be folded. Another object of the present invention is to provide a folding structure that can be folded compactly and has high reliability.

[0004]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, in the invention of claim 1, a pair of locking devices, which are spaced apart and face each other, are fixedly provided on a substrate such as a top plate or a seat plate. A support bracket fixed to the base plate; a cam bracket pivotally attached to the support bracket; and an upper horizontal bridge piece for connecting the upper portions of a pair of supporting legs to one end of the support bracket; and the support bracket Of the lock lever, which is pivotally attached to the other of the lock levers and is urged in the lock direction with the locking portion on one side and the operation piece on the other side, and the lock lever formed on the cam bracket. The stopper has a locking cam piece provided so as to be always in contact with the locking device, and an upper horizontal piece connected to the locking device is configured so that the connected side of the supporting leg section approaches the substrate side when folded. Formed on the pedestal when the pedestal is folded Wherein are arranged in a substrate closer than the upper horizontal bridging piece takes the following technical means of. Further, in the invention of claim 2, the folding structure has a structure in which the supporting legs are vertically stacked and folded, and only one of the upper transverse pieces is folded when the side to which the supporting legs are connected is folded. The supporting leg portion is arranged closer to the substrate side than the upper horizontal piece during folding and is formed so as to approach the substrate side, and the supporting leg portion on the side of the other upper horizontal piece is arranged so as to overlap thereabove. I am taking the technical means of. According to a third aspect of the present invention, the locking cam piece of the locking device is configured such that the locking portion is arranged in a standby position arranged between the pedestal and the substrate on which the operation piece is folded when the pedestal is folded. The folding lock receiving portion formed at the engaging position and the pivot locking position of the pedestal are used as fulcrums at a position separated from the folding lock receiving portion by the expansion or folding angle of the pedestal. It has a deployment lock receiving portion formed at a position where the locking portion engages in a posture that is substantially the same as the standby posture when folded when unfolded, and the standby posture that is substantially the same when deployed and folded. By pressing the lock lever on the board side, each lock can be released,
I am taking the technical means of. Further, in the invention of claim 4, the lock cam piece is formed on a side plate of a cam bracket fixed to a pedestal, and the cam piece includes:
The foldable post includes a passage portion into which the locking portion is inserted between the pedestal when the pedestal is folded, and a fold lock receiving portion which is recessed in the passage portion and engages with the locking portion. , Is taken as a technical means.

[0005]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Preferred embodiments in which the locking structure for a folding pedestal of the present invention is applied to a table will be described below with reference to the drawings. The table T according to the first embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 includes a top plate A, a pedestal 5 pivotally attached to the top plate A so that the pedestal 5 can be unfolded or folded, and the pedestal 5 is unfolded or folded. And a locking device 1 for locking in position.

The pedestal 5 in the illustrated example has a substantially inverted U-shape having a pair of supporting leg portions 51 and an upper horizontal bridging piece 52 connecting between upper ends of the supporting leg portions 51. This pedestal 5 is pivotally attached by a first pin P1 to a support bracket 2 fixed to the back surface of the top plate A via a cam bracket 3 of a lock device 1 provided at the center of an upper horizontal piece 52. It is rotatably mounted in the deployed or folded position.

Here, the upper horizontal piece 52 is a central portion 52a.
Is set on the horizontal plane, and the left and right ends 52b are gradually inward, that is, inside when the pedestal is deployed, and are inclined toward the top plate A when the pedestal is folded. And in the case of the illustrated example, FIG.
As is clear from the above, a tubular portion 53 is integrally fixed to the end portion of the upper horizontal bridging piece 52, a pedestal body 54 is fitted into the tubular portion 53 from the upper side in the figure, and a composite body is attached from the lower side in the figure. A protective cap 55 such as resin or rubber is engaged, and both are fixed to form a supporting leg portion 51.

In the illustrated example, the protective cap 55 and the pedestal body 54 are integrally fixed to each other with screws, but the pedestal body 5
There is no particular limitation on the method of integrally fixing these, such as directly fixing 4 to the cylindrical portion 53. Since it is configured as described above, as shown in FIG. 3, when the pedestal 5 is folded, the upper horizontal bridge piece 52 of the pedestal 5 is lifted up from the back surface of the top plate A by the locking device 1. On the other hand, the supporting leg 51 is
Since it is inclined on both end sides and is close to the top plate A, it does not project beyond the upper horizontal piece 52.

FIG. 16 shows a different embodiment of the supporting leg portion 51 '. In this case, a plate-shaped bracket 56 is integrally fixed to the end of the upper horizontal piece 52, and a screw hole is formed in this bracket 56. On the other hand, the pedestal body 54 'is made of a wooden cylinder, and a concave portion 54a' is formed inside thereof on the upper side thereof, and a pair of upper and lower holes are formed in the bottom wall of the concave portion 54a '. There is.

Then, the bracket 5 is placed in the recess 54a '.
6 is fitted and hooked, the receiving portion 57 having the tubular nut portion integrated therewith is positioned from the outside, and the nut portion is fitted into the hole portion. Then, a screw (not shown) is passed through the screw hole of the bracket 56 and the hole portion of the bottom wall aligned with the screw hole, and is screwed to the nut portion of the receiving portion 57 to tighten the bracket 56 and the receiving portion 57. As a result, the support leg 51 'made of solid wood
The pedestal 5 having a can be used in the above embodiment.

Of course, in the present invention, the connecting structure of the supporting leg portion 51 and the upper horizontal bridging piece 52 is not limited to the above embodiment. When stacking the table A of the above embodiment, the thickness can be set up to the thickness of the upper horizontal mounting piece 52, and the table A can be stored compactly.

In the above structure, the thickness of the table can be reduced, but it is necessary to set the top plate A at least twice the length of the pedestal 51. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, if the pedestal 5 is shifted right and left and is alternately inserted between the supporting leg portions 51 facing each other, the top plate A
Although the length of the table can be made relatively short, there is a limit even in that case, and it is necessary to widen the width of the top plate.

Therefore, the table T of the second embodiment shown in FIGS. 6 to 8 has a structure in which the pillars 5 are vertically stacked and folded. In this case, only the upper transverse piece 51 of one of the pillars 5 is tilted so that the connected side of the supporting leg 51 approaches the side of the top plate A at the time of folding, and the supporting leg 51 at the time of folding. Is arranged closer to the top plate A than the central portion 51a of the upper horizontal piece 51.

Then, the other pedestal facing (for explanation, 5 ')
The supporting leg portion 51 on the side of the upper horizontal crossing piece 51 is placed so as to overlap therewith. According to this configuration, as shown in the drawing, the length of the top plate A can be shortened as much as possible, and the lateral width can be set corresponding to the lateral width of the pedestal 5, thereby further miniaturizing. Can be achieved. In addition, in the case of this embodiment, the supporting leg portion 51 has a plate shape instead of the columnar shape as in the above-described embodiment, and when the supporting leg portions 51 facing different pedestals 5 are vertically stacked, The height is set so as not to exceed the height of the central portion 51a of the horizontal bridging piece 51.

The same lock device 1 is used in each of the first and second embodiments. 9 to 14 show the lock device 1 based on the first embodiment, the structure of the lock device 1 is the same also in the second embodiment except that the pedestal 5 is different. That is, the lock device 1 includes a combination of a support bracket 2 having a lock lever 4 pivotally attached to the second pin P2 and a cam bracket 3 pivotally attached to the support bracket 2 at the first pin P1. That is, the support bracket 2 integrally has the substrate portion 20, and is integrally fixed to the back surface of the top plate A by the tap screw 12 or the like.

In the support bracket 2, the end of the side plate 2a near the pedestal is set at a predetermined angle with respect to the top plate A (the pedestal development angle is 90 ° in the illustrated example).
1 is formed. Therefore, the expansion angle of the pedestal 5 can be set to a desired expansion angle by the angle of the end portion which becomes the expansion stopper 21 with respect to the top plate A.

Next, at the lower end edge of the side plate 2a of the support bracket 2, a recess serving as a lock pin stopper 22 described later is formed. Also, the side plate 2 of the support bracket 2
At a, the lock lever 4 is pivotally attached to the second pin P2 at a position separated from the pivotal attachment position of the first pin P1 so as to be tiltable.

A coil spring 8 is bridged between the lock lever 4 and the support bracket 2 via hooks 9 fixed to the lock lever 4 and the support bracket 2 to lock the lock lever 4 in the locking direction (the lock pin 7 is a top plate A). Direction). Here, the lock lever 4 has a pair of left and right side plates 4a provided with holes through which the second pin P2 is inserted at a midway position, and a lock pin 7 serving as a locking portion is fixedly provided at the tip end thereof,
At the rear end, a lever handle 41 that becomes an operation piece through a bent portion
Are integrally molded. Also, this lever handle 4
1 may be covered with resin or rubber to enhance the touch.

Next, the cam bracket 3 fixed to the pedestal 5 has a channel-shaped cross section. The locking cam piece 30 has a deployment lock receiving portion 32, a folding lock receiving portion 35, and a trace cam 34 formed between the receiving portions 32, 35, and locks the lock lever 4. The pin 7 is formed so as to always contact with the urging force.

The lever handle 41 is arranged on the lock cam piece 30 between the folded support leg portion 51 and the top plate A when the pedestal 5 is folded, in a standby posture substantially parallel thereto. As described above, the folding lock receiving portion 35 is formed at a position where the lock pin 7 is engaged (see FIGS. 11 and 14).
In the case of the illustrated example, when the pedestal 5 is folded, the base end side of the locking cam piece 30 is cut along the support leg portion 51 so that the lock pin 7 enters between the support leg portion 51 and the passage portion 33. The folding lock receiving portion 35 is provided in the passage portion 33 at a position orthogonal to the folding lock receiving portion 35.

The fold lock receiving portion 35 at the folded position of the pedestal in FIGS. 11 and 14 is adapted to be aligned with the lock pin stopper 22. Further, the opening side of the passage portion 33 connected to the folding lock receiving portion 35 protrudes to form the lock claw portion 31, which restrains the lock pin 7 even if a force in the developing direction of the pedestal 5 is applied.

Next, the locking cam piece 30 is deployed and locked at a position separated from the folding lock receiving portion 35 by the pivoting position (P1) of the pedestal 5 from the folding lock receiving portion 35 or at the folding angle. The receiving portion 32 is formed. And FIG. 10 and FIG.
When the pedestal 5 shown in FIG. 2 is unfolded, the lock pin 7 engages with the unfolded lock receiving portion 32, and at that position, the lever handle 41 assumes substantially the same posture as the standby posture when folded.

With the above construction, when the pedestal 5 is unfolded, the supporting leg portion 51 abuts against the unfolding stopper 21 of the support bracket 2 to form a locking surface R1 as shown in FIG. The above rotation is restricted, and the lock pin 7 of the lock lever 4 engages with the expansion lock receiving portion 32 to become the expansion locking point R2, and locks the expansion posture of the pedestal 5. At this time, as shown in FIGS. 10 and 12, the lever handle 41 is in a standby posture in which the lever handle 41 is separated substantially in parallel with the back surface of the top plate A.

Then, when the lever handle 41 is pushed toward the top plate side (direction a in the figure) and the lock lever 4 is rotated around the second pin P2 as a fulcrum, the lock pin 7 comes off from the expansion lock receiving portion 32 and comes off. Therefore, the pedestal 5 is attached to the first pin P
1 is used as a fulcrum to rotate in the folding direction, and the supporting leg 51 becomes the top plate A.
Is displaced to a position in contact with (see FIGS. 10 and 12).

When the pedestal 5 is rotated in the folding direction, when the hand is released from the lever handle 41, the lock pin 7 is released.
Is tilted by the biasing force following the trace cam 34 formed on the edge of the locking cam piece 30 (see FIG. 13), and at the folding position shown in FIG. Automatically retracts into and engages with the folding lock receiving portion 35 and is regulated by the folding locking point R3 and the lock lever bottom dead center R4 to prevent the pedestal 5 from reversing in the deployment direction (direction c). Restrain (see Figure 15).

In this embodiment, the first pin P1 is the second pin P
2 is set slightly below 2, and the locking points R2 and R3 between the lock pin 7 and the receiving portions 32 and 35 are set to P1 and P2.
Between positions P1 and P2 below the line segment (see FIG. 15).
In the above), the reversal of the pedestal 5 is restricted.

As described above, when the pedestal 5 is folded, the lever handle 41 is disposed between the pedestal 5 and the top plate A in a substantially parallel manner, and the lever handle 41 has a standby posture in the deployed position of the pedestal 5. It returns to almost the same position (see FIGS. 11 and 14). In order to deploy the pedestal 5 again from this folded position, the lever handle 41 is similarly pushed toward the top plate A in the a direction, and the second pin P2 is pushed.
While tilting the lock lever 4 with the fulcrum as the fulcrum, the pedestal 5 is tilted in the deploying direction with the first pin P1 as the fulcrum, and the lock pin 7 is removed from the folding lock receiving portion 35 to allow the lock claw portion 31 to pass over. Let it escape from the passage portion 33.

If the pedestal 5 remains stationary, the lock pin 7 applies a force in the developing direction to the pedestal 5 within the range of its rotation locus, so that the pedestal 5 is urged in the developing direction and easily deployed. Become. Therefore, grasp the pedestal 5 and further deploy it (direction c)
Then, it is displaced to a position where it abuts against the expansion stopper 21 shown in FIG. At this time, the lock pin 7, which is no longer pressed, is elastically moved to cause the lock cam piece 3 to move.
When the pedestal A abuts against the expansion stopper 21, the pedestal A automatically retracts and engages with the expansion lock receiving portion 32 at a position where it abuts against the expansion stopper 21. Then, as described above, the standby posture of the lever handle 41 at this time is substantially the same as the standby posture at the time of folding.

In this embodiment, the side plate 3 of the support bracket 3 is
The angle formed by the expansion stopper 21 formed of the edge portion of a with the top plate A is the holding angle when the pedestal 5 is expanded. Therefore, the angle of the pedestal 5 at the time of unfolding is not limited to vertical, but can be set to a desired angle like a taper leg that spreads downward. The position setting of the expansion lock receiving portion 32 is also changed corresponding to the angle setting of the pedestal 5.

In the present embodiment, the support bracket 2 to which the lock lever 4 is pivotally mounted as described above, and the cam bracket 3 are provided.
Since the pedestal 5 is composed of, the pedestal 5 can be freely attached regardless of its form or shape. That is, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the upper horizontal bridge piece 52 of the pedestal 5 is slanted at both ends, but it may be of any other shape such as a configuration in which it is bent at a right angle or a configuration in which a step is provided.

The spring 8 is fitted onto the second pin P2,
One end is locked to the lock lever 4 and the other end is the support bracket 2
The lock lever 4 may be urged in the lock direction by engaging with the bottom surface of the groove. Further, the support bracket 23 may be provided with a side that abuts against the central portion 52a of the upper horizontal strip 52 at the time of folding to serve as a folding stopper.

The material of the top plate A and the pedestal 5 may be, for example, metal, wood, resin, or the like, in short, as long as the support bracket 2 and the cam bracket 3 can be fixed. Also, the shape is not limited to the pipe, and solid wood, round wood, square wood, etc. can be used. The lock device 1 is not limited to a table as long as it can fold or unfold a pedestal, and can be used for desks, chairs and other furniture, and structures.

Further, the dimensions of the support bracket and the cam bracket are arbitrary, and may be particularly large in the length direction of the rotary shaft. Further, although one lock device is provided for each pedestal, a plurality of lock devices may be provided for the central portion of one upper horizontal piece. The expansion lock receiving portion 32, the folding lock receiving portion 35, and the cam surface in the middle between the expansion lock receiving portion 32 and the folding lock receiving portion 35 engraved on the cam bracket 3 are not limited to the illustrated example, and the cam surfaces may be provided separately at a plurality of locations. . Further, the cam bracket 3 exemplifies a case where the lock cam pieces 30 are provided in a pair, but
There may be only one location. In other words, it goes without saying that various design changes can be made without changing the gist of the present invention.

[0034]

As described above, in the folding structure of the present invention, both ends of the upper horizontal bridge pieces of the pedestal are set close to the substrate, and the upper horizontal portion of the pedestal that is lifted up at the time of folding through the locking device. The support legs at both ends of the frame piece can be arranged in contact with the top plate. As a result, the size of the substrate of the folding structure such as the top plate is not largely restricted by the pedestal, and the substrate can be made compact. It is also excellent in space saving because it can be made as thin as possible when stacking. In addition, according to the present invention, the reliability can be released by pressing the lock lever in the substantially same standby posture to the board side when the pedestal is deployed or folded, respectively. A high folding pedestal locking device can be used.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a table showing a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a bottom view of the same.

FIG. 3 is a front view of a pedestal when folded.

FIG. 4 is a bottom view showing a folded state in which the pillars are arranged alternately.

FIG. 5 is a bottom view of a shape different from that in FIG.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a table according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a bottom view of the same.

FIG. 8 is a front view of the same.

FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view of a main part of the first embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a main part when a pedestal is deployed.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing a main part when the pedestal is folded.

FIG. 12 is a side view showing a main part when the pedestal is deployed.

FIG. 13 is a side view of the main part showing a state in the middle of folding and unfolding the pedestal.

FIG. 14 is a side view showing a main part when the pedestal is folded.

FIG. 15A is a partial side view illustrating a locked state when the pedestal is deployed, and FIG. 15B is a partial side view when the pedestal is folded.

FIG. 16 is a partial perspective view showing another embodiment of the pedestal.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 locking device 2 Support bracket Bracket for 3 cams 4 Lock lever 5 pedestals 7 Lock pin 8 coil spring 9 Spring hook 12 mounting tap screws 21 Deployment stopper 22 Lock pin stopper 30 Locking cam piece 31 Lock claw 32 Deployment lock receiver 33 Passage 34 Trace Cam 35 Folding lock receiving part 36 Folding surface 51 Support leg 52 Upper horizontal strip 52a central part 52b both ends A top plate P1 Pin 1 P2 2nd pin

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A pair of locking devices, which are spaced apart and face each other, are fixedly mounted on a substrate such as a top plate and a seat plate, and the locking device is provided on the support bracket fixed to the substrate and the support bracket. A cam bracket pivotally attached to one side of which is an upper horizontal bridge piece that connects the upper portions of a pair of supporting leg portions to each other, and is pivotally attached to the other of the support brackets and has a locking portion on one side. A lock lever biased in the locking direction with an operating piece, and a lock cam piece formed on the cam bracket so that the locking portion of the lock lever is always in contact with the lock lever. The upper horizontal member connected to the locking device is formed such that the connected side of the supporting leg portion approaches the substrate side when folded, and the supporting leg portion is more than the upper horizontal member when the pillar is folded. Characterized in that it is arranged closer to the substrate Folding structure. 2. The folding structure has a structure in which supporting legs are vertically stacked and folded, and only one of the upper transverse pieces is
The connecting side of the supporting leg is formed so as to come close to the substrate side when folded, and the supporting leg is arranged closer to the substrate than the upper horizontal piece during folding, and the supporting leg on the side of the other upper horizontal piece is above it. The folding structure according to claim 1, wherein the folding structure is arranged so as to overlap with. 3. The locking cam piece is formed at a position where the locking portion is engaged in a standby posture in which the operation piece is arranged between the pedestal and the base plate when the pedestal is folded. The folding lock receiving part and the pivot lock position of the pedestal are provided as a fulcrum at a position apart from the folding lock receiving part by the deployment or folding angle of the pedestal, and the operation piece is provided when the pedestal is deployed. It has a deployment lock receiving portion formed at a position where the locking portion engages in a posture substantially the same as the standby posture at the time of folding, and the lock lever in the standby posture at the same time during deployment and folding, 3. The locks can be released by pressing them against the substrate side.
Folded structure according to. 4. A lock cam piece is formed on a side plate of a cam bracket fixed to a pedestal, and the cam piece has a locking portion between the stud and the stud when the pedestal is folded. The folding pedestal according to claim 1, further comprising: a passage portion for entering and a fold lock receiving portion that is provided in the passage portion and is engaged with the locking portion. Lock structure.