JP2007209716A - Self-standing type folding furniture - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a folding structure which can surely and easily be opened/closed by a simple structure, and is excellent in design as well when a bed or a low table is raised horizontally at 90°, and is made to self-stand by legs on one side. <P>SOLUTION: For this self-standing type folding furniture, a parallelogram link is formed by making a furniture body 1 into the upper horizontal member of a parallel link 11, making the legs of the furniture into vertical members, and arranging a lower horizontal member which connects the legs with each other in a vicinity of the upper horizontal member. The upper and lower horizontal members are brought into contact with and fixed to each other under a using posture or a folded posture, and hold the posture of the link. In addition, a link fulcrum between the upper horizontal member and the vertical member is formed into a hinge which connects the furniture body and the legs, and thus, the structure is simplified. Additionally, the corner angles on the acute angle sides of the parallelogram under the service condition are set to be in a range from 10° to 80°. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an improvement in the folding structure of furniture such as a dining table and a bed.

  Folding tables and beds for storage or room cleaning / separation has been practiced since ancient times, and many applications have been filed. Among them, the method of raising the furniture to the side and allowing it to stand independently and supporting it with one leg is convenient for moving and storing by reducing the occupied floor area without folding the furniture body. However, many of the proposals so far are mechanically complicated, and therefore are expensive due to the heavy use of metal parts, and are mainly limited to commercial use.

  There is Literature 1 as a table in which the parallel link mechanism is stored directly under the top plate. In this table, the lower horizontal member is interposed between the top plate and the leg upper end by positioning the fulcrum of the link below the lower horizontal member. In order to fix the link mechanism and restrain the posture of the top plate and the legs, a complicated lock mechanism is separately provided and operated with a lever.

  In Reference 2, a deterrence mechanism for maintaining the expanded state and the folded state is provided at one end of the top plate separately from the parallel link.

In Document 3, the link connecting both legs is bent, a fulcrum is provided in the middle, and this fulcrum is slid along the back of the top plate, so that the link exerts a function of bracing in the state of use and restrains the posture. In the inverted state, the legs, links, and top plate are folded in parallel. Further, the folding posture is maintained by fixing the end of the top plate to the support leg with a pin.
JP 7-73535 Shoko 62-44670 Shoko 55-051298

  All of the prior arts have a complicated locking mechanism in order to maintain a deployed state (used state) or a folded state. Therefore, the operation is troublesome, and metal fittings are also an obstacle for furniture. Inevitably, it is expensive and hardly spread. An object of the present invention is to provide a folding structure that can be opened and closed reliably and easily with a simple structure such as that employed in ordinary homes, and that is excellent in design.

  To solve the above problem, the furniture body is the upper horizontal member of the parallel link, the furniture leg is the vertical member of the link, one end of the upper horizontal member is lifted and folded, and the folded furniture is supported by the other leg. The conventionally known folding furniture was improved as follows. The lower horizontal member of the parallel link is disposed close to the upper horizontal member, and the use posture or the folding posture is maintained by abutting and fixing the lower horizontal member to the upper horizontal member.

  Furthermore, regarding the fulcrum of the parallel link, the structure was simplified by using the link fulcrum of the upper horizontal member and the vertical member as a hinge connecting the furniture body and the leg.

  In any of the above forms, the angle formed by the straight line connecting the two link fulcrums on one vertical member and the vertical line (the line perpendicular to the horizontal link in use) is 10 degrees. It was in the range of 80 degrees.

  As a result of the above improvements, despite the extremely simple structure, a furniture that can be folded easily and stably is realized. The link mechanism is not obtrusive, but rather has a functional beauty that is self-explanatory and can be designed in both Western and Japanese styles. Especially for urban residents with limited living space, it is possible to provide folding beds and tables that are valuable for use at low cost.

  The structural principle of the present invention will be described with reference to the first embodiment shown in FIGS. FIG. 1 shows a state in which the bed is unfolded (posture when using the bed), and FIG. 2 is a view in the middle of folding the bed so as to be independent. To fold, stand in front of one side of the bed and lift one end of the bed body as shown in FIG. FIG. 3 shows a state in which the bed main body is raised 90 degrees to be completely folded and self-supported by the supporting leg.

  In the upper horizontal link 11 which is a bed main body, in order to provide a link fulcrum, the link fulcrum part protrudes in the support side 12A and the lifting side 12B, respectively. Four members of the upper horizontal link 11, the support-side and lifting-side legs 21 and 22, which are vertical links, and the lower horizontal link 23 connecting the two legs form a parallel link. That is, as shown in FIG. 4, the support-side vertical link 21 has a link fulcrum 1A and a link fulcrum 2A, and the lift-side vertical link 22 has a link fulcrum 1B and a link fulcrum 2B. The link fulcrums 1A and 1B are connected to the upper horizontal link 11, and the link fulcrums 2A and 2B are connected to the lower horizontal link 23. When the four link fulcrums 1A-1B-2B-2A-1A are connected by straight lines, a parallelogram is formed. This link structure is provided symmetrically with the same shape and the same size at both ends in the longitudinal direction of the bed.

  The support leg 21 which is a vertical link on the support side is in contact with the floor surface by a leg base 24 and is restrained in posture. Therefore, by the action of the parallelogram link, the lifting side leg as the other vertical link is folded as shown in FIG. 3 while maintaining the posture. Since the leg base 24 integrated with the support leg 21 has a sufficient length in the width direction of the bed, there is no risk of falling over easily. Further, since the force required for lifting is only about half of the weight of the bed, it can be easily folded without a repulsive driving body such as a spring as used in other types of folding beds.

  Next, the lock mechanism will be described with reference to FIG. The left side in FIG. 5 is a state where the bed is unfolded (posture when using the bed). A guide screw 32 is attached to the lower horizontal link 23, and a fixing bolt 31 is screwed and held in advance. When the fixing bolt 31 is screwed, the fixing bolt 31 is screwed into the receiving screw 33 that is coaxially mounted in the upper horizontal link support portion lifting side 12B. By tightening the fixing bolt, the upper and lower horizontal links are fixed, and the bed can maintain this use state.

  When folding the bed, first loosen the fixing bolt 31 and return the screw until it is removed from the receiving screw 33. When the connection between the receiving screw 33 and the fixing bolt 31 is released, the upper and lower horizontal links 11 and 23 can freely link. The fixing bolt 31 is held in the guide screw 32 and does not dissipate.

  Next, when the main body of the bed is turned 90 degrees, the lower horizontal link again comes into contact with the upper horizontal link support lifting side 12B, as shown on the right in FIG. When the fixing screw is screwed into the receiving screw 34 mounted coaxially with the fixing bolt 31 and tightened, the upper and lower horizontal links are fixed and the bed is locked in a folded state. To return the posture when the bed is used from this state, the above procedure may be reversed.

  Next, the corners of the parallelogram will be described. In the left diagram of FIG. 5, a straight line 1B-2B connecting two link fulcrums on the vertical link is R (in this embodiment) counterclockwise around 1B from a vertical line passing through 1B (a straight line perpendicular to the horizontal link). 45 degrees). When the upper horizontal link 11 is raised 90 degrees from this state to the folding posture shown in the right figure, the angle formed by the straight line 1B-2B with the vertical line does not change, but from the horizontal line passing 1B, S (clockwise in this embodiment) 45 degrees). That is, if the horizontal link is used as a reference, the straight line 1B-2B is rotated by R + S = 90 degrees.

  In this 90 degree turning process, the distance between the upper and lower horizontal links is zero at the start point and the end point, and is maximized when the intermediate 45 degree turn is performed. The reason why R = 45 degrees in this embodiment is this geometrical condition. That is, it is convenient to fix and hold each posture by abutting and fixing the upper and lower horizontal links, and it can be fixed by the simplest mechanism.

  The angle R is not limited to 45 degrees, and can be freely selected according to the shape of the furniture body, the posture locking (fixing) mechanism, and the like. For example, unlike the present embodiment, for furniture with long legs, a small angle of 10 to 20 degrees is suitable in order to improve the leg stability by increasing the distance between the vertical and horizontal links in the posture during use. Or conversely, when you want to make the lower horizontal link as close to the top plate as possible and leave a space between the floor in the state of use like a table, you can widen the legs and set R to 45 to 80 degrees. Is possible. Further, the turning angle for folding is not limited to 90 degrees, and it goes without saying that it can be freely set to less than 90 degrees or more than 90 degrees according to the structure of the furniture and the folding posture.

  Conventional folding beds are generally folded in the middle and inverted V-shaped. The inverted V-shaped method is not an easy task because it requires an unnatural posture of lifting the center of the bed when folded. If the bed folding mechanism of the present invention is used, the side on one side is lifted in a natural posture, so that the back does not hurt. If a caster is provided on the leg stand 24, it can be easily moved to the corner of the room in a self-supporting state, and cleaning under the bed can be performed easily. Even if the bed itself is heavy like a spring mat, it can be lifted and folded by itself. The economic effect is particularly great in hotels that want to make effective use of limited floor space.

  6 and 7 show a second embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a table. In this embodiment, the fulcrum 1A, 1B can be provided at the upper end of the leg by using the hinge 13 for the fulcrum 1A, 1B of the upper horizontal link and the vertical link as the main body. Furthermore, the upper horizontal link fulcrum portions 12A and 12B required in the first embodiment can be omitted by changing the structure. As a result, as shown in FIG. 7, the receiving screws 33 and 34 for screwing the fixing bolt 31 can be directly implanted in the top plate which is the upper horizontal link.

  The angle of the parallelogram connecting the link fulcrums is the same as that in the first embodiment, and R is 45 degrees. The turning angle for folding is also 90 degrees. Accordingly, since the vertical horizontal links 11 and 23 are in contact with each other in the use posture and the folding posture, naturally, the maximum space is created between the use posture and the floor surface. Since the operation and movement of other members in folding are the same as those in the first embodiment, description thereof is omitted.

  The conventional table has a structure in which the legs are folded inward when stored. In such a system, when the table is set up, the corner of the table directly hits the floor, so the table corner is easily damaged. The present invention has no such fear and can be folded smoothly. On top of that, the self-supporting figure is balanced and has a high design, and if it has a beautiful grain on the top board, it has a decorative property that can be used as a screen.

The perspective view which shows the use condition of the bed of this invention Example 1. FIG. Explanatory drawing of the condition where the same end is lifted and folded. The perspective view which shows the self-supporting folding state. The front view which shows the structure of the link in the same use condition. The front view which shows the lock mechanism. The perspective view which shows the use condition of the table of Example 2 of this invention invention. The front view which shows the lock mechanism.

Explanation of symbols

1 Furniture body 1A Support leg link fulcrum 2A Support leg link fulcrum 1B Lift leg link fulcrum 2B Lift leg link fulcrum 11 Upper horizontal link 12A Upper horizontal link fulcrum support side 12B Upper horizontal link fulcrum lift side 13 Hinge 21 Support leg (vertical Link)
22 Lifting leg (vertical link)
23 Lower horizontal link 24 Foot base 31 Fixing bolt 32 Guide screw 33 Receiving screw (when used)
34 Captive screw (in a self-supporting position)

Claims (3)

  In the furniture where the furniture body is the upper horizontal member of the parallel link, the furniture leg is the vertical member of the link, one end of the upper horizontal member is lifted and folded, and the folded furniture is supported by the other leg, the lower horizontal member A self-supporting folding furniture characterized in that it is placed close to the upper horizontal member and the lower horizontal member abuts and is fixed to the upper horizontal member to maintain the use posture or the folding posture.   The self-supporting folding furniture according to claim 1, wherein the link fulcrum between the upper horizontal member and the vertical member is a hinge connecting the furniture body and the leg.   3. The self-supporting folding furniture according to claim 1, wherein an angle formed by a straight line connecting two link fulcrums on one vertical member and a vertical line is in a range of 10 degrees to 80 degrees.

Images