JP2011005153A - Armrest device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an armrest device having ascending/descending armrests, in which easy assembling, improved operability, and high supporting strength are secured.SOLUTION: The armrest device 5 includes arm supports, an ascending/descending case 9, and the armrests. At the upper part of the ascending/descending case 9, a lever 33 is disposed. In a space between the ascending/descending case 9 and the arm support 8, a stopper arm 19 is disposed. The upper end of the stopper arm 19 engages with the lever 33, and the turning of the lever 33 causes the turning of the stopper arm 19. The spindle 34 of the lever 33 is fitted into the bearing recess 35 of the ascending/descending case 9 from above and held by a base 14 so that the spindle can not be pulled. The downward hook 40 of the stopper arm 19 is fitted from above to the upward hook 41 of the ascending/descending case 9. The lower surface of the base 14 abuts on the upper end of the stopper arm 19.

Description

  The present invention relates to an armrest device capable of adjusting the height of an armrest.

  An armrest device capable of adjusting the height of the elbow rest generally has a basic configuration in which an elevating case is fitted to the elbow support so as to be vertically movable and the elbow rest is attached to the elevating case. A lever or push button is provided as an operating means on the lower surface of the elevating case or elbow rest, and when the fingertip is placed on the lever or push button and pressed, the elevating case becomes free to move up and down. When the is released, the elevating case is held in a locked state incapable of elevating.

  As means for maintaining the height of the elevating case, a multi-stage engagement groove is formed in the elbow strut, a stopper arm is arranged in the space between the elbow strut and the elevating case, and the elbow strut is engaged at the lower end of the stopper arm. Form a claw part that fits and removes the mating groove, and when the lever or push button is pressed, the stopper arm rotates in one direction, the claw part is released from the engagement groove of the elbow post, and the finger is released from the lever or push button. In many cases, the stopper arm is rotated in the other direction by a spring so that the claw portion fits into the engagement groove of the elbow post (for example, Patent Document 1).

  On the other hand, Patent Document 2 discloses a configuration in which the lever 98 is integrated with the stopper arm 100. In Patent Document 2, a lever 104 is integrally formed with a support shaft (pin) 104 that serves as a pivotal fulcrum of the lever 98, while the support shaft 104 of the lever 98 is attached to the upper end of the elevating case 44 from above. A fitting recess 96 is formed. When the elbow rest 70 is attached to the upper end of the elevating case 44, the support shaft 104 of the lever 98 is held so as not to be detached.

Japanese Patent No. 3745570 US Pat. No. 6,460,932

  According to the configuration of Patent Document 2, the lever 98 is set by a one-touch operation in which the lever 98 is fitted into the elevating case 44 from above and the support shaft 104 is fitted in the bearing recess 96 of the elevating case 44. There is no need for work such as pin fitting when attaching 98, and this has the advantage that the armrest device can be assembled efficiently. However, when the lever 98 is pushed to switch from the locked state to the free state, there is a possibility that the lever 98 moves poorly and the operability is poor.

  That is, in Patent Document 2, the stopper arm 100 extends downward from the position of the support shaft 104 of the lever 98, but the stopper arm 100 does not move into the engagement groove 56 of the elbow post 38 even when the lifting case 44 is fully lifted. Since there is a considerable length to fit, the distance from the support shaft 104 to the claw 106 at the lower end of the stopper arm 100 is many times the distance from the support shaft 104 to the finger pad, For this reason, due to a phenomenon opposite to the lever principle, it is difficult to rotate the lever 98 if there is friction between the claw 106 of the stopper arm 100 and the engagement groove 56 of the elbow post.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a current situation, and an object thereof is to provide an improved armrest device in which the ease of assembly, which is the advantage of Patent Document 2, is maintained and the drawbacks are eliminated. It is.

  The armrest device according to the present invention includes an elbow strut that is vertically long and an elevating case that can be moved up and down from the outside, and an elbow rest is attached to the upper end of the elevating case, A lever that can be manually rotated or slid by a person is arranged at or near the upper end of the elevating case. When the lever is rotated or slid in one direction by hand, the elevating case is raised. The basic configuration is such that the changeable free state is established, and when the hand is released from the lever, the elevating case is held in a locked state where it cannot be raised or lowered.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, in the basic configuration described above, the lever is provided with a first support portion serving as a pivotal fulcrum or a slide portion of the elevating case, while the elevating case has a first support of the lever. The support portion forms a first receiving portion that fits from above, and a stopper arm that is vertically long and has an upper end engaged with the lever is disposed in the space between the elevating case and the elbow post. And a second support portion serving as a pivotal fulcrum of the stopper arm is formed in the upper and lower middle portions of the stopper arm, and a second receiving portion into which the second support portion of the stopper arm is fitted is formed in the elevating case. And when the stopper arm pivots on the second support portion as a fulcrum, the lower and upper ends of the stopper arm detach from each other to bring the lifting case into a free state and a locked state. Ri engaging portion is formed to replace.

  An armrest device according to a second aspect of the present invention is the armrest device according to the first aspect, wherein the lever is a rotary type and extends in a horizontal direction in a side view, and a button portion on which a human fingertip hits is formed at one end thereof. The first support portion is formed at the other end portion, and the upper end of the stopper arm is engaged with a portion of the lever between one end and the other end.

  An armrest device according to a third aspect of the present invention is the armrest device according to the first or second aspect, wherein the lever is pivotable, the first support portion is a support shaft, and the first receiving portion of the elevating case is in a recess. On the other hand, the second support portion of the lever is formed in a downward-facing shape, and the second receiving portion of the elevating case is formed in an upward-facing shape.

  According to the present invention, since the lever and the stopper arm are set at predetermined positions only by fitting the support portions into the receiving portions of the lifting case, the assembly of the armrest device can be facilitated.

  Then, the stopper arm that switches the lifting case between the free state and the locked state is a separate member from the lever, and the stopper arm rotates about its middle part in the vertical direction, thereby turning the lever. The amount of movement of the engaging part of the stopper arm can be set arbitrarily, so that a large moment can be applied to the engaging part of the stopper arm, and as a result, the locked state is changed to the free state. Switching can be done smoothly.

  In particular, if the configuration of claim 2 is adopted, the lever acts on the lever according to the lever principle because the span from the rotation fulcrum to the engaging portion of the stopper arm is shorter than the span from the rotation fulcrum to the button portion. The force can be amplified and applied as the rotational driving force of the stopper arm, and as a result, it is possible to more reliably make the stopper arm disengage from the engaging portion of the elbow strut.

  As a form of the first support portion of the lever and the first receiving portion of the lifting case, it is possible to form the first support portion in a recess and form the first receiving portion in a pin shape. Since 1 receiving part is located in the inside of a raising / lowering case, when manufacturing a raising / lowering case as a resin injection-molded article or a light metal die-cast article, a shaping | molding die will become complicated and processing possibility will increase. On the other hand, when the first support part is formed on the support shaft and the first receiving part is formed in the recess as in claim 3, the elevating case has an outer mold for molding the outer surface and an inner mold for molding the interior ( Since it can be manufactured by a molding device having a simple structure consisting of a core), an increase in cost can be suppressed.

It is a side view of the chair to which this invention is applied. It is the isolation | separation perspective view which looked at the armrest apparatus from upper direction. (A) is the perspective view which looked at the armrest apparatus from the downward direction, (B) is the bottom face head of a raising / lowering case and a lever, (C) is a top view of an elbow support | pillar. It is a separation perspective view of a main member. It is the perspective view which arranged the main member and was seen from upper direction. (A) is an exploded perspective view of the elbow strut and the stopper arm, and (B) is a perspective view of only the elbow strut. (A) and (B) are separate perspective views of the lever and the stopper arm. In (B), the postures of both are changed by 90 ° in plan view. It is a vertical side view of the principal part. (A) is the isolation | separation side view which shows an assembly procedure, (B) is the isolation | separation perspective view in the state which turned over the base and the lever.

  Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIG. 1, this embodiment is applied to a swivel chair that is frequently used for office work. The chair has a leg device 1, a seat 2, a backrest 3, and a back frame 4 for locking the backrest 3, and an armrest device 5 is attached to the back frame 4. Needless to say, the armrest device 5 can be attached to a member such as an outer shell 6 that supports the seat 2 from below. In the following description, the words “front and back” and “left and right” are used to specify the direction, which is based on a person who normally sits on a chair.

(1). Outline of armrest device As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3A, for example, the armrest device 5 includes an elbow strut 8 fixed to the back frame 4 and an elbow strut 8 as members visible from the outside. It has an elevating case 9 fitted and mounted so that its height can be adjusted, and a longitudinal elbow rest 10 disposed on the elevating case 9, and the elbow rest 10 is slidable left and right with respect to the elevating case 9 It is attached so as to be freely slidable back and forth and horizontally rotatable (turned).

  For example, as shown in FIG. 2, the elbow pad 10 has a three-layer structure including an elbow board 11, an elbow top plate 12 disposed on the upper surface thereof, and an elbow pad 13 disposed on the upper surface of the elbow top plate 12. ing. The elbow substrate 11 and the elbow top plate 12 are made of hard resin such as polypropylene, and both are fixed integrally. Needless to say, the armrest 10 does not necessarily have a three-layer structure, and may be a single structure or a two-layer structure.

  As shown in FIG. 4, a base 14 is fixed to the upper end of the elevating case 9 with screws 15, and an intermediate support 16 shown in FIG. Yes. The elbow rest 10 is attached to the intermediate support 16 so as to be movable left and right. Since the mechanism for moving the elbow rest 10 in the horizontal direction is not related to the present invention, the details are omitted. Needless to say, the elbow rest 10 may be of a type that does not move in the horizontal direction.

(2) Elevating mechanism Next, the elevating mechanism will be described. The elbow support 8 is an aluminum die-cast product (it can also be made of resin), and has a lateral base 8a fixed to the back frame 4 at the lower end.

  As shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 6, a vertically long vertical groove 18 opened forward and upward is formed in a substantially upper half portion of the elbow strut 8, and a height adjustment stopper arm is formed in the vertical groove 18. 19 is arranged to be movable up and down. In addition, a pair of engagement grooves 20 as an example of an engagement means of the elbow strut 8 is formed in multiple stages on the left and right inner side surfaces of the back part of the vertical groove 18, while an engagement is formed at the lower end of the stopper arm 19. As an example of the means, a pair of left and right engaging claws 21 that are fitted into and removed from the engaging groove 20 are provided so as to project sideways.

  An annular groove 22 is formed at the upper and lower ends of the portion of the elbow strut 8 where the vertical groove 18 is formed, and a snap ring shape for smooth raising and lowering of the lifting case 9 is formed in the annular groove 22. The slide guide 22 is fitted. The upper end portion of the elbow strut 8 is a narrow head portion 8b having a small left and right width. For this reason, both the left and right portions of the narrow head portion 8b are notched portions 24. Further, the upper end surface of the narrow head 8b is a flat surface in a horizontal posture.

  For example, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 6B, a pair of left and right retaining stoppers 8c for narrowing the groove width of the vertical groove 18 from L1 to L2 is formed at the upper end of the elbow support column 8. The distance between the front end of the stopper stopper 8c and the inner surface of the elevating case 9 is set to be smaller than the front-rear width dimension of the lower end of the stopper arm 19, so that the engaging claw 20 of the stopper arm 19 is removed. In the state positioned below the stopper stopper 8c, even if the lifting case 9 is to be removed from the elbow support 8, the engaging claw 20 of the stopper arm 19 hits the stopper stopper 8c from below so that the lifting case 9 cannot be removed. Retained.

  The elevating case 9 is made of resin and has a cylindrical shape opened up and down, and a forward projecting portion 9a is provided at the upper end portion. For this reason, the upper end part of the raising / lowering case 9 has comprised the substantially teardrop type form which narrowed toward this side by planar view. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 8, a vertically long operation hole 25 is opened in the lower surface portion of the forward projecting portion 9 a and the upper portion of the elevating case 9 continuous therewith. As shown in FIG. 3B, a plurality of vertically long ribs 26 are formed on the inner surface of the elevating case 9.

  The upper end portion of the elevating case 9 has a form of spreading upward, and a step portion 27 is formed on the inner surface of the upper end portion of the elevating case 9. The step portion 27 extends to the forward projecting portion 9a, and the step portion 27 is divided by the operation hole 25 at the position of the forward projecting portion 9a. The base 14 is fitted into the upper end portion of the elevating case 9 and overlaps the stepped portion 27.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 4, the left and right boss cylinders 28 are formed on the step portion 27, while the boss cylinder of the elevating case 9 is formed on the lower surface of the base 14 as shown in FIG. 9B. The base 14 is fixed to the elevating case 9 by screwing the screw 15 into the boss cylinder 28 through the boss hole 29. A counterbore 30 is formed in the upper surface of the base 14 to hide the head of the screw 15. In the base 14, a central hole 31 is open in an upwardly opened state for attaching the intermediate support 16.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 4, a lever 33 that extends long in the front-rear direction (horizontal direction) in a side view is disposed at the upper end of the elevating case 9. The lever 33 has a button portion 33a constituting the front portion and two bifurcated portions 33b extending rearward from the rear end thereof. The button portion 33a is fitted in the operation hole 25 of the elevating case 9, and the bifurcated portion 33b is bent in plan view so as to follow the inner periphery of the elevating case 9, and is attached to the rear end of the bifurcated portion 33b. As an example of the first support portion (first pivot support portion) described in 1), a support shaft 34 is provided to project outward in the left-right direction. On the other hand, a bearing recess 35 is formed in the step portion 27 of the elevating case 9 as an example of the first receiving portion recited in the claims.

  Therefore, the lever 33 can be rotated up and down around the support shaft 34, and when the base 14 is fixed to the elevating case 9, the support shaft 34 is held so as not to be detached. For example, as shown in FIG. 8, the button portion 33a of the lever 33 is exposed to the outside of the elevating case 9, and for this reason, when the fingertip is applied to the button portion 33a from below and pushed upward or obliquely upward, the lever 33 is supported. It rotates around the shaft 34. The outwardly exposed portion of the button portion 33a is curved in a forwardly concave shape when viewed from the side, and thus the finger is good. Needless to say, the button 33 may be pushed in the horizontal direction.

  A forward-facing stopper portion 36 is formed at the front end and the upper end of the button portion 33a so as to hit the front-end support portion 9b of the forward projecting portion 9a of the elevating case 9 from above. The front end portion of the base 14 is cut forward so that upward movement of the stopper portion 35 is allowed. Further, a spring 37 is interposed between the button portion 33a of the lever 33 and the base 14, so that the lever 33 is urged in a downward rotating direction. A spring receiving hole 38 is formed in the button portion 33 a and the base 14.

  As described above, the bifurcated portion 33b of the lever 33 extends along the inner surface of the elevating case 9, but with the elevating case 9 lowered most, the bifurcated portion 33b allows the narrow head 8b of the elbow strut 8 to be moved. It is set to surround. For this reason, the raising / lowering stroke of the raising / lowering case 9 can be enlarged as much as possible.

  For example, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the stopper arm 19 has a substantially plate-like appearance, reinforcing ribs 39 are formed on both left and right side surfaces, and the engaging claws 21 are also connected to the reinforcing ribs 39. . For this reason, the engaging claw 21 has high strength. In FIG. 12, the outer shape of the stopper arm 19 is indicated by a thick line.

  For example, as clearly shown in FIG. 8, an example of the second support portion (second pivot portion) described in the claims is provided in the middle of the upper and lower portions of the stopper arm 19 (portion positioned slightly above the middle point between the upper and lower portions). A downward hook-like protrusion 40 is formed, and therefore, an opening-engaging recess is formed at a position of the downward hook-like protrusion 40. An upward hook-like projection 41 is formed as an example of the second receiving portion described in the item, and an upward engagement recess is formed at the location of the upward hook-like projection 41. As shown in FIG. 5, the upward flange 41 has left and right side plates and has a bag-like appearance.

  The downward hook-like protrusion 40 of the stopper arm 19 and the upward hook-like protrusion 41 of the lifting case 9 are fitted together. In the embodiment, the stopper arm 19 is placed on the upper end of the upward hook-like protrusion 41. Therefore, the stopper arm 19 rotates in the front-rear direction around the upper end of the upward hook-like protrusion 41 as a center (fulcrum). As a result, the engaging claw 21 is fitted and removed from the engaging groove 20 of the elbow strut 8. The upper end surface 19a of the stopper arm 19 is gently curved upward and convex in a side view. Further, the upper end surface 19a of the stopper arm 19 is in contact with the lower surface of the base 14, but the upper end surface 19a is gently curved in a side view, so that the stopper arm 19 is allowed to rotate.

  The portion of the stopper arm 19 above the downward flange portion 40 substantially overlaps the inner surfaces of the elevating case 9 and the lever 33. For this reason, the front end of the stopper arm 19 is shifted forward as it goes upward. A pair of left and right support pins 42 are laterally projected from the upper end of the arm 19 and at the front end. On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the button portion 33 a of the lever 33 is formed with a vertical groove 43 into which the upper end portion of the stopper arm 19 is inserted, and a support pin 42 is formed on the inner surface of the vertical groove 43. A support groove 44 that is slidably fitted is formed.

(3) Summary When the fingertip is applied to the lever 33 and pivoted upward, the stopper arm 19 pivots clockwise in FIG. 8 while the support pin 42 slides on the support groove 43, and thereby the engaging claw 21. Is disengaged from the engagement groove 20 of the elbow strut 8, and the elevating case 9 is in a free state in which it can be raised and lowered. When the finger is released from the lever 33 at the desired height position, the lever 33 is rotated downward by the spring 37, and the stopper arm 19 is rotated counterclockwise in FIG. 8 by the guide guide action of the support pin 42 by the support groove 43. The engaging claw 21 of the stopper arm 19 is locked in the engaging groove 20 of the stopper arm 19.

  In a state where the engaging claw 21 of the stopper arm 19 is fitted in the engaging groove 20 of the elbow strut 8, the lower surface of the base 14 is close to the upper end surface 19a of the stopper arm 19, so The case 9 is held so as not to descend. In this state, the downward hook-like protrusion 40 of the stopper arm 19 and the upward hook-like protrusion 41 of the lifting case 9 are fitted with a slight clearance in the vertical direction, so that no load is applied to the elbow rest 10. In the state, the stopper arm 19 can be easily rotated.

  In Patent Document 2, the load acting on the elbow rest acts intensively as a bending force on the support shaft 104 of the lever 98. Therefore, although there is anxiety in terms of strength, this embodiment acts on the elbow rest 10. The applied load acts as a compressive load in the vertical direction on the stopper arm 19 and thus has a high support strength. This point is one of the advantages of this embodiment (note that the load of the elbow rest 10 is supported at the upper end of the stopper arm 19 as in this embodiment, as in Patent Document 2, the lever and the stopper arm It can also be applied to those that have integrated.)

  Now, when the lifting case 9 is manufactured by an injection molding method using resin as a material, the molding device (molding device) forms an outer mold (cavity) constituting the outer surface of the lifting case 9 and an inner surface of the lifting case 9. The structure is based on the mold (core). And if the bearing recess 35 is provided in the step part 27 of the raising / lowering case 9 as a support means of the lever 33 like this embodiment, the bearing recess 35 will have a convex part in the location which shape | molds the step part 27 among internal molds. Since it forms by providing, it can prevent that an internal type | mold structure becomes complicated, and can contribute to suppression of cost by extension.

  The ascending / descending mechanism part of the armrest device is assembled in the following procedure. That is, first, as shown by a circled symbol 1 in FIG. 9A, the elevating case 9 is fitted in the elbow support 8 in advance. Next, as indicated by a circled numeral 2, the stopper arm 19 is fitted into the lever 33 to form a unit. Next, as indicated by a circled numeral 3, the unit of the lever 33 and the stopper arm 19 is attached to the lifting case 9. The support shaft 34 of the lever 33 is fitted into the bearing recess 35 of the lifting / lowering case 9 and the downward flange portion 40 of the stopper arm 19 is fitted to the upward flange portion 41 of the lifting / lowering case 9.

  In this case, when the stopper arm 19 is fitted into the space between the elevating case 9 and the elbow strut 8, the elevating case 9 is lowered so that the stopper stopper 8c of the elbow strut 8 is positioned at the operation hole 25. Keep it. Thereby, the engaging claw 20 of the stopper arm 19 can be fitted into the vertical groove 18 from the front side of the stopper 8c. In this way, the engaging claw 20 of the stopper arm 19 is fitted into the vertical groove 18 of the elbow strut 8 and then the lifting case 9 is pulled upward, and then the spring 37 is set as indicated by the circled numeral 4 Then, the base 14 is fixed to the elevating case 9 with screws 15.

  Even when the engaging claw 20 of the stopper arm 19 is fully moved to the near side when the elevating case 9 is pulled up after the engaging groove 20 of the stopper arm 19 is fitted into the vertical groove 18 of the elbow post 8, In plan view, the engaging claw 20 partially overlaps the removal stopper 8c, so that the stopper arm 19 is held from the elbow strut 8 so that it cannot be removed even if the armrest device is further lifted from the highest position.

  In Patent Document 2, it is understood that the retaining of the lever 100 is performed by the retainer member 210. However, since the retainer member 210 is manufactured as an independent member and attached to the elbow support 38, the cost may increase. There are certain problems and problems that may cause damage due to the impact force of the lever 100. On the other hand, when the stopper 8c is provided integrally with the elbow support 8 as in this embodiment, there is an advantage that the cost can be suppressed and the strength is excellent.

(5). Others The present invention can be embodied in various ways other than the above embodiment. For example, when applied to a chair, it can be applied not only to a rotary chair but also to various chairs such as a fixed chair. The shape of the elbow post, lifting case, lever, and stopper arm can be changed as required. As the means for engaging the elbow strut and the stopper arm, various combinations such as forming an engaging projection on the elbow strut and forming an engaging groove on the stopper arm can be adopted. It is also possible to attach the lever to the elbow rest.

  In the above-described embodiment, the lever is configured to be pivotable. However, for example, a system that slides in the front-rear direction may be used. In this case, the stopper arm can be changed to a free posture by pushing the upper end of the stopper arm with a lever.

  The present invention is highly useful when applied to an armrest device for a chair. Therefore, it can be used industrially.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 5 Armrest apparatus 8 Elbow support | pillar 9 Lifting case 10 Elbow pad 14 Base 19 Stopper arm 20 Engagement groove | channel as an example of an engagement means of an elbow support | pillar 21 Engagement claw as an example of an engagement means of a stopper arm 33 Lever 33a Button part 33b Bifurcated portion 34 Support shaft as an example of the first support portion 35 Bearing recess as an example of the first support portion 40 Downward flange portion as an example of the second support portion 41 Upward flange portion as an example of the second support portion

Claims (3)

It has a vertically long elbow strut and an elevating case that can be freely moved up and down from the outside, and an elbow rest is attached to the upper end of the elevating case. In the vicinity, a lever that can be turned or slid manually by a person is arranged, and when the lever is turned or slid in one direction by hand, the lifting case is in a free state in which the height can be changed, An armrest device in which the lifting case is held in a locked state that cannot be lifted and lowered when the lever is released.
The lever is provided with a first support portion that serves as a pivot point or a slide portion of the lifting case, while the lifting case has a first receiving portion into which the first support portion of the lever is fitted from above. Furthermore, a stopper arm having an upper and lower length and an upper end engaged with the lever is disposed in a space between the elevating case and the elbow strut, and the stopper arm has an upper and lower middle portion. Forming a second support portion to be a rotation fulcrum, and forming a second receiving portion into which the second support portion of the stopper arm fits in the lifting case;
In addition, an engaging portion is formed on the lower end portion of the stopper arm and the elbow support so that when the stopper arm rotates with the second support portion as a fulcrum, the stopper case is engaged with each other to switch the lifting case between a free state and a locked state. Being
Armrest device. The lever is of a rotary type and extends in a horizontal direction when viewed from the side. A button portion that contacts a human fingertip is formed at one end portion, and the first support portion is formed at the other end portion. And the upper end of the stopper arm is engaged with a portion between one end and the other end of the lever.
The armrest device according to claim 1. The lever is pivotable, the first support part is a support shaft, and the first receiving part of the elevating case is recessed, while the second support part of the lever is elevating in a downward-facing shape. The second receiving portion of the case is formed in an upward bowl shape,
The armrest device according to claim 1 or 2.

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