JP2686178B2 - Furniture with legs - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to furniture with legs that can be applied to a chair for viewing, a conference table, and the like.

[Prior Art] This type of furniture has legs with only a ground plane,
Some have casters on their legs. Thus, a device equipped with a cask can be easily moved to a desired place by appropriately pressing it, but it is not necessary during use if it is easy to move even when installed in a predetermined use position. However, such a problem may occur that the array is disturbed.

Therefore, in the type equipped with casters, the casters can be evacuated by performing a certain operation, and the grounding surface separately provided for the legs should be brought into direct contact with the floor surface to keep the furniture stationary. Various types have been developed to enable the above.

As a typical example, for example, adjusters are provided at both front and rear ends of leg wings of a viewing chair, and a ground surface is formed on the adjusters, and a horizontal rotating shaft extending forward and backward is provided between these adjusters. 2. Description of the Related Art It is known that a rotary shaft is rotatably accommodated and a caster is held at each of a front end and a rear end of the rotating shaft. In this device, the rotating shaft can be rotated forward and reverse by an operation lever, a foot pedal, or the like, and the caster is moved below the ground surface with the rotation of the rotating shaft. And the caster can be moved to a movable state, or the caster is retracted to the side of the rotating shaft so that the ground contact surface can directly contact the floor surface.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, in such a configuration, it is necessary to rotate the caster from the retracted position to the protruding position while resisting the gravity acting on the furniture. It is necessary to intensively apply a large operating force. Moreover, this type of operation lever is provided at a relatively inconspicuous position in order to prevent mischief or erroneous operation. For this reason, it is often required to exert a large operating force in an unreasonable posture, and there is a problem that the arrangement and clearing work require time and labor.

Moreover, a leg incorporating such a mechanism has to have a large leg blade, and it is difficult to form the leg by using the same component as furniture having only a grounding portion. Therefore, it becomes difficult to use common parts when manufacturing, which is an obstacle to improving production efficiency. In addition, when used in a large hall, it is not uncommon for chairs with casters to be arranged in succession to permanent chairs without casters, but because the legs have significantly different shapes, they are unified. There is also a problem that it lacks in feeling and gives an unfavorable appearance.

An object of the present invention is to eliminate all such disadvantages.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve such an object, the present invention employs the following means.

That is, the furniture with legs of the invention according to claim 1 of the present application comprises a moving unit equipped with casters between the legs having a grounding surface and supporting the furniture body, and the moving unit is removed. In this state, the moving unit has a frame detachably attached to the pipe-shaped horizontal member bridged between the legs from its lower surface side. The frame is provided with a support member for holding the casters, a lock mechanism, and an unlock mechanism. Then, when the thrusting external force acts on the caster from the upward supporting surface, the supporting member immerses the caster to approximately the same level as the ground contact surface of the leg, and when the thrusting external force is deenergized, The caster is configured to be able to project below the ground contact surface, the lock mechanism is capable of restraining the operation of the support member at the position where the caster is projected, and the lock release mechanism is It is characterized in that the locked state of the lock mechanism with respect to the operating member can be released by an artificial operation.

The furniture with legs of the invention according to claim 2 of the present application has a moving unit equipped with casters mounted on a furniture body supported by legs having a grounding surface, and even when the moving unit is removed. A furniture with legs configured to be used independently, in which a moving unit has a frame detachably attached to a pipe-shaped horizontal member that constitutes the furniture main body from its lower surface side, and , A support member for holding the caster, a lock mechanism, and an unlocking mechanism are provided, and the support member makes the caster substantially the ground contact surface of the leg when an external force pushes up the caster from the upward support surface and acts. While immersing you to the same level,
When the thrusting external force is deenergized, the caster can be projected below the ground contact surface, and the lock mechanism restrains the operation of the support member at the position where the caster projects. The lock release mechanism is configured so that the locked state of the lock mechanism with respect to the operating member can be released by an artificial operation.

In order to allow the caster to smoothly project and retract with a simple structure, it is preferable that the support member be in the form of an arm that has the base end portion pivotally supported by the frame and the tip end portion holds the caster. .

In a preferred embodiment in that case, the supporting member has an urging point at a position eccentric from the shaft supporting portion at the base end portion, and the locking mechanism pivotally supports the pivot point on the frame and provides a pivotal end. A rotation lock arm having a connection point, a free end link member having one end pivotally connected to the connection point of the rotation lock arm and the other end pivotally connected to an urging point of the support member, and the connection point is A stopper for locking the rotation of the rotation lock arm or the free end link member to hold the caster at the projecting position at a position where a thought point existing on a line connecting the urging point and the pivot point is passed. Can be mentioned.

Further, as another aspect, the support member has an urging point at a position eccentric from the shaft support portion, and the lock mechanism is provided between the pair of support members, and is set at one end. A pair of free end link members in which the points are pivotally connected to each other and the other ends are pivotally connected to the corresponding biasing points of the respective support members, and the connecting point connects the biasing points of both the support members. An example is one that includes a stopper that locks the rotation of the free end link member and holds the caster at the projecting position at a position where a thought point existing on the line has passed.

In order to ensure the caster's projecting operation and to prevent the caster from floating and making unnecessary noise in the stationary state, it is preferable to provide a spring for elastically biasing the caster in the projecting direction. .

[Operation] With such a configuration, in the state where the casters of the moving unit are unlocked, the casters held at the tip of the support member sink into the ground contact surface of the leg at substantially the same level. Therefore, the ground contact surface of the leg comes into contact with and is supported by the upward support surface such as the floor surface. When the required portion of the moving furniture is lifted from such a stationary state and the ground contact surface of the leg is separated from the upward support surface, the push-up external force acting on the caster from the upward support surface is canceled. As a result, the support member rotates and the caster projects downward, and when the caster reaches a predetermined projecting position, the movement of the support member is restrained by the lock mechanism. Therefore, the caster is locked at the projecting position, the furniture with legs can be supported on the upward support surface via the caster, and can be freely moved by applying a pressing force. In such a movable state, when the lock release mechanism is operated to release the lock state,
The casters are sunk by the thrust-up external force from the upward support surface, and the ground contact surfaces of the legs again come into contact with the upward support surface and become stationary.

Thus, in such a case, it is possible to switch from the stationary state to the movable state only by adding the simplest simple operation of lifting a part of the moving furniture.

Moreover, in the present invention, the caster and the element for projecting and retracting the caster are provided as a unit in a portion other than the leg, so that the leg itself has the same form as the legged furniture without the caster. It becomes possible. Therefore, it is possible to manufacture only the moving unit on a separate line and efficiently manufacture the legs and the furniture main body on the same manufacturing line as the one without the casters. Further, since the shape of the legs can be made substantially the same as that without the casters, it is possible to prevent the unifying view from being spoiled even when different specifications are used together. In particular, according to the present invention, the moving unit is detachably provided from the lower surface side to the pipe-shaped horizontal member which is installed between the legs or constitutes the furniture main body. It is also possible to use the furniture body alone.
Then, if the moving unit is removed, it can be returned to the same form as the legged furniture without casters. Therefore, even if it becomes necessary to change the ratio of the number of caster-equipped furniture and caster-less furniture used, a pipe-shaped horizontal member is used to easily and easily install the moving unit. Therefore, the rigidity can be improved without increasing the weight. In addition, since the unit for movement is attached from the bottom side of the horizontal member, it can be installed at an appropriate position without being affected by the position of the legs, and the weight of the furniture body during movement can be increased. Can act on the moving unit directly without going through a fastener. Therefore, it is possible to solve the problem that it is difficult to attach and detach the moving unit due to an unexpected deformation of the fastening tool without applying an unreasonable force to the fastening tool.

[Embodiment] An embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a viewing chair will be described below with reference to FIGS.

As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, this viewing chair has a chair body 2 as a furniture body disposed on legs 1 provided at both ends in the left-right direction. A moving unit 4 having casters 3 is attached.

The leg 1 has an inverted T-shape in a side view in which leg blades 13 extending forward and backward are fixed to the lower end of the leg support 12.
Supports the chair body 2 at the upper end. Adjusters 14 are provided at both front and rear ends of the leg blades 13, and a ground contact surface 11 is formed at a lower end of the adjuster 14.

The chair body 2 includes a horizontal member 21 provided between the upper ends of the two leg posts 12, a plurality of seats 22 attached to the horizontal member 21, and a backrest 23 provided behind each of the seats 22. It is provided.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, each moving unit 4 has a frame 6 that is detachably attached between the legs 1, and a supporting member 41 that holds the casters 3 is attached to the frame 6. The lock mechanism 42 and the lock release mechanism 5 are provided.

Specifically, the frame 6 includes the left and right leg columns 12
Is fixed to the lower horizontal member 61 that is installed between the lower end portions of the lower surface of the lower horizontal member 61. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the lower horizontal member 61 has a rectangular pipe structure, and nuts 62 are fixed to both ends thereof, and a notch 61b is provided in the bottom wall 61a. On the other hand, positioning protrusions 63 are fixed to the lower ends of the inner side surfaces 12a of the left and right leg columns 12. Then, after using the notch 61b to fit the positioning protrusion 63 into the lower horizontal member 61, a hexagon socket bolt 64 is screwed to the nut 62 from the outer surface 12b side of the leg support 12. Then, the leg support 12 and the lower horizontal member 61 are joined. That is, even if the moving unit 4 is removed, the lower horizontal member 61 is joined to the leg column 12 so that the chair I including the leg 1 and the chair body 2 can be used alone.

As shown in FIG. 2, the support member 41 is an arm-like member that has a base end portion 41a pivotally supported by the frame 6 via a support shaft 45 and holds a caster 3 at a tip end portion 41b. Energizing point a at a position eccentric from the support shaft 45 upward by a certain distance
have.

The lock mechanism 42 has a pivotal support point b pivotally supported by the frame 6 via a support shaft 46 and a pivotal lock arm 43 having connecting points c at pivotal ends on both sides, and one end on the inner side of the pivotal lock arm 43. The arm 43 is pivotally attached to a connecting point c of the arm 43 via a connecting pin 47, and the other end on the outer side is connected to a biasing point a of the supporting member 41 by a connecting pin 48.
The free end link member 44 pivotally connected via the free end link member 44 and the connecting point c at a position passing through a virtual point existing on the line d connecting the urging point a and the pivot point b. Stopper 40 that locks the movement and holds the caster 3 at the protruding position A
And Further, a spring 49 for elastically biasing each caster 3 in the projecting direction is stretched between the frame 6 and the one connecting pin 47. The stopper 40 may be provided at a position where the rotation lock arm 43 can be locked.

Then, each lock mechanism 42 is provided at the center of the frame 6.
An unlocking mechanism 5 for unlocking the locked state is provided. As shown in FIG. 2, the lock release mechanism 5 is constituted by a pedal 51 having a base end 51a side pivotally supported by the frame 6 via a support shaft 46 common to the lock mechanism 42. The pedal 51 is arranged in a space S secured in the central portion of the leg blade 13, and a step plate 51b thereof is projected from the window 6a onto the frame 6. Thus, both lock mechanisms 42 can freely operate, and the lock state is changed from the unlocked state to the locked state, and the one free end link member 44 is moved.
The base end 51a of the pedal 51 comes into contact with or comes close to the lower surface of the free end link member 44 when one end side of the pedal 51 is fully lowered.

 Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described.

As shown in FIG. 2, when the casters 3 are unlocked, the ground contact surface 11 provided on the bottom portion of the floor surface F, which is an upward support surface, due to gravity acting on the entire chair I.
Will be supported in contact with. At this time, the casters 3 are
Since a thrusting external force is received from the floor surface F, the floor surface F is immersed in the same height position as the ground contact surface 11.

When the chair I is lifted from this state, as shown in FIG. 3, the ground contact surface 11 separates from the floor surface F, and the thrust-up external force from the floor surface F acting on the casters 3 disappears. As a result, each caster 3 projects below the ground contact surface 11 due to gravity and the urging force of the spring 49, and the lock mechanism 42 prohibits the caster 3 from entering the predetermined position A. That is, when the thrust-up external force on the caster 3 is eliminated, the gravity acting on the caster 3 and the support member 41 and the spring
The urging force of 49 causes the support member 41 to rotate downward, so that the caster 3 projects from the retracted position B, which is at the same level as the ground contact surface 11, to the projecting position A, which is below the ground contact surface 11. In the process, the rotation lock arm 43 is rotated in a direction in which the rotation lock arm 43 is in a substantially horizontal posture, and the connection point c between the rotation lock arm 43 and the free end link member 44 is the pivot point of the rotation lock arm 43. It approaches a line d connecting the fulcrum b and the urging point a of the support member 41. Then, at the stage where the connecting point c passes through the imaginary point existing on the line d, the free end link member 44
Comes into contact with the stopper 40 and is locked to be in a locked state. In this locked state, even if the projected caster 3 is grounded again on the floor surface F, the push-up external force acting on the caster 3 from the floor surface F causes the free end link member 44 to stop the stopper 40.
The caster 3 will not be immersed, because it will act as a force to press against. Therefore, the chair I can be supported on the floor surface F through the casters 3 that protrude, and can be freely moved by applying a pressing force.

Since the left and right moving units 4 are independent of each other, in addition to the above operations, for example, the right end Im of the chair I is lifted and both casters 3 on the right end Im side are simultaneously projected.
After that, it is also possible to lift the left end Ih and cause both casters 3 on the left end Ih side to project at once.

When the pedal 51 of the unlocking mechanism 5 is stepped on from the movable state with the casters 3 protruding, as shown by the phantom line, the base end 51a thereof rises, and the free end link member of the locking mechanism 42. It will push up one end of 44.
As a result, the connection point c passes through a virtual point existing on the line d connecting the pivot point b and the urging point a, and the lock is released. As a result, the caster 3 is released from the restraint at the projecting position A, and the caster 3 is immersed by the external force pushing up the caster 3 from the floor F generated as a reaction of gravity acting on the chair I. As shown in FIG. 2, the ground contact surface 11 again comes into contact with the floor surface F and comes to a stationary state.

The present invention can also be implemented in the following modes. In the following embodiments, the same parts as those in the above-mentioned embodiments are designated by the same reference numerals, and their explanations are omitted. In the moving unit 4 shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the frame 6 is fixed to the lower end of the support frame 65, and the upper end of the support frame 65 can be attached to and detached from the horizontal member 21 of the chair body 2. It was attached to. That is, the frame 6 is attached to the horizontal member 21 from the lower surface side via the support frame 65. Specifically, a step portion 65a is formed on the upper end of the support frame 65, and a plurality of bolts 66 having hexagonal holes are fixed to the step portion 65a from below. Then, the support frame 65 is fixed to the horizontal member 21 by tightening the pressing member 67 with the bolts 66. This moving unit 4 can be easily attached to and detached from the chair body 2 without removing the seat 22 and the like, and has the same appearance as the leg columns 12 and the leg blades 13 like the above-mentioned one. Therefore, the feeling of discomfort is small.

Further, the lock mechanism can be configured as schematically shown in FIG. Here, the support member 41 has a biasing point a at a position eccentric from the shaft support. The lock mechanism 42 is provided between the pair of support members 41,
A pair of free end link members 44 formed by pivotally connecting the connecting points c set at one end to each other and pivoting the other end to the corresponding biasing points a of the supporting members 41, and the connecting point c are Both support members 41
And a stopper 40 for locking the rotation of the free end link member 44 to hold the caster 3 at the projecting position at a position which has passed a imaginary point existing on the line d connecting the urging points a of each other. I made it. It should be noted that, in this drawing, the caster 3 is shown in a locked state at the protruding position, and when the connecting point c passes through the thought point and moves upward when unlocking,
The urging point a rotates in the direction of the arrow G, and each caster 3 retracts in the direction of the arrow H. Further, it goes without saying that the lock release mechanism may have another structure as long as it can release the lock of the lock mechanism.

Furthermore, although the embodiments described above have been described in the case where the present invention is applied to a viewing chair, the present invention can be applied to a table or the like as well.

EFFECTS OF THE INVENTION Since the present invention has the above-described configuration, the switching work from the stationary state in which the casters are immersed to the movable state in which the casters are projected can be performed by slightly changing the ground contact surface of the furniture from the upward support surface. It can be done by a simple operation of floating. That is, all the casters that are immersed can be made to protrude by simply performing the most natural and simple operation of lifting a part of the moving furniture. From such a state, when the moving furniture is installed at a desired position, if a slight operation force is applied, the caster can be immersed by utilizing the gravity of the furniture. Therefore, even when working alone, the casters of the moving furniture can be easily sunk and retracted, and the moving furniture arranged in a stationary state can be quickly cleaned up and moved to the desired position without additional personnel. It becomes possible.

Moreover, according to the present invention, the legs themselves can have the same shape as the furniture with legs without casters, and the parts can be shared between them. Therefore, not only the production efficiency can be improved, but also the furniture with legs that does not have casters in appearance can be unified. Further, in such a case, only the moving unit can be manufactured on a separate line, and the legs and the furniture main body can be efficiently manufactured on the same line as the one used without the casters. Further, since the moving unit is detachably provided between the legs or on the furniture body, if the moving unit is removed as needed, it is returned to the same form as the legged furniture without casters for use. You can also Moreover, since the pipe-shaped horizontal member is used to mount the moving unit, the rigidity can be improved without increasing the weight. Also, since the unit is mounted for movement from the bottom side of the horizontal member, it can be installed at an appropriate position without being affected by the position of the legs, and the weight of the furniture body during movement can be increased. Can act on the moving unit directly without going through a fastener. Therefore, it is possible to solve the problem that it becomes difficult to attach and detach the moving unit due to an unexpected deformation of the fastener without applying an unreasonable force to the fastener.

[Brief description of the drawings]

1 to 5 show an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1 is a perspective view, FIG. 2 is a side cross-sectional view showing an essential part, and FIG. 3 is equivalent to FIG. 2 for explaining the operation. Is a side sectional view, FIG. 4 is a front sectional view showing a joint between a leg support and a lower horizontal member, and FIG. 5 is a side view of the joint. 6 and 7 show another embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 6 is a perspective view, and FIG. 7 is a side view of a partial cross section showing a joint portion between a horizontal member and a support frame. 8th
The drawing is a principle explanatory view showing still another embodiment of the present invention. I ... Furniture with furniture (chair) 1 ... Leg 2 ... Furniture body (chair body) 3 ... Caster, 4 ... Movement unit 5 ... Lock release mechanism, 6 ... Frame 11 ... Grounding surface, 21 ... Horizontal member, 40 ... Stopper 41 ... Support member, 41a ... Base end 41b ... Tip part, 42 ... Lock mechanism 43 ... Rotating lock arm 44 ... Free end link member 45 ... … Supporting shaft, 61 …… Lower horizontal member, a …… Biasing point b …… Pivot point, c …… Coupling point d …… Line connecting pivot point and biasing point A …… Projection position, B… … Immersion position F …… Upward supporting surface (floor surface)

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Sakuji Ito 137 Miyata-mura, Kamiina-gun, Nagano Prefecture Takano Co., Ltd. (56) References JP-A-4-208110 (JP, A) JP-A-4-200407 (JP) , A) Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 4-208109 (JP, A) Actual development 2-139541 (JP, U) Actual development 1-114830 (JP, U)

Claims (6)

(57) [Claims] 1. Between legs supporting a furniture body having a ground plane,
A legged furniture that is equipped with a moving unit equipped with casters and that can be used independently even when the moving unit is removed, wherein the moving unit is a pipe-like structure installed between the legs. In addition to having a frame detachably attached to the horizontal member of the horizontal member, a supporting member for holding the casters, a lock mechanism, and an unlocking mechanism are provided in this frame. When a thrusting external force acts on the caster from the upward support surface, the caster is sunk to approximately the same level as the ground contact surface of the leg. The lock mechanism is designed so that the operation of the support member can be restrained at the position where the caster protrudes. The mechanism is configured so that the locked state of the lock mechanism with respect to the actuating member can be released by an artificial operation. 2. A moving unit equipped with casters is attached to a furniture main body supported by legs having a grounding surface,
The legged furniture is configured so that it can be used independently even when the moving unit is removed, and the moving unit is detachably attached to the pipe-shaped horizontal member that constitutes the furniture main body from its lower surface side. In addition to having a fixed frame, this frame is provided with a support member for holding the caster, a lock mechanism, and an unlocking mechanism, and the support member is provided when the thrusting external force acts on the caster from the upward support surface, The casters are set to the same level as the ground contact surface of the leg, and when the thrusting external force is deactivated, the casters can be projected below the ground contact surface. The mechanism is designed so that the operation of the support member can be restrained at the position where the casters are projected, and the lock release mechanism operates the lock mechanism by an artificial operation. Furniture with legs, which is configured so that the restrained state of the member can be released. 3. The leg according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the support member is in the form of an arm that has its base end pivotally supported by the frame via a support shaft and holds the caster at its tip end. Furniture. 4. A rotation member having a urging point at a position eccentric from a shaft support portion at a base end portion, and a locking mechanism pivotally supporting the pivot point on a frame and having a connecting point at a rotating end. A dynamic lock arm, a free end link member having one end pivotally connected to a connecting point of the rotary lock arm and the other end pivotally connected to an urging point of the supporting member, and the connecting point is pivotally connected to the urging point. A stopper for locking the rotation of the rotation lock arm or the free end link member to hold the caster at the protruding position at a position where a thought point existing on a line connecting with the fulcrum is passed. The furniture with legs according to claim 3, wherein 5. The supporting member has an urging point at a position eccentric from the shaft supporting portion, and the locking mechanism is provided between the supporting members forming a pair, and the connecting points set at one end are mutually connected. A free end link member that is pivotally attached to each other and the other end is pivotally connected to the corresponding biasing point of each support member, and the connecting point is on a line connecting the biasing points of the two support members. The furniture with legs according to claim 3, further comprising: a stopper that locks the rotation of the free end link member to hold the caster at the protruding position at a position after passing through the thought point. 6. The furniture with legs according to claim 1, further comprising a spring for elastically urging the caster in a protruding direction.