JP2726649B2 - Object support device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an object supporting apparatus for selectively supporting a supported object such as office furniture in a movable state or a stopped state.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional object supporting device, a lock mechanism is provided on a moving support such as a caster or a slider,
The object to be supported is supported by selectively switching between a movable state in which the wheels of the casters can be rotated and a slider can be slid, and a stopped state in which the above-mentioned operation is blocked.

In another aspect, one of a stopping support end, which is a lower end of a stopping support, and a moving supporting end, which is a lower end of a moving support such as a caster or a slider, is moved upward from a projecting position. By being operable up to the retracted position, it is possible to selectively select either a movable state in which only the moving support end abuts the support surface or a restricted state in which the stop support end abuts the support surface. To support the supported object.

[0004] As a configuration enabling such a switching operation, there are provided a switching mechanism provided on the moving or stopping support, and a switching mechanism interlocked with an operation lever provided on the supported object. For example, one provided with a switching mechanism interlocked with another switching operation for selectively switching between a use state and a movable state such as a flap operation of a folding table.

[0005]

In the conventional object support device in which a switching mechanism is provided on the moving or stopping support, there is a problem that the operability is low because the switching operation is performed near the floor. . Further, in the object support device provided with a switching mechanism that operates in conjunction with the operation lever provided on the supported object, there is a problem that the configuration of the switching mechanism is complicated, and the manufacturing process and the manufacturing cost increase.

[0006] In addition, in the object support device provided with a switching mechanism interlocked with another switching operation, there is a problem that switching between the movable state and the stopped state cannot be performed independently of the other switching operation. For example, when linked with the flap operation of the folding table, the tabletop is stopped at the same time as the deployment of the top plate, so that the arrangement work after the deployment becomes complicated.

[0007]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, an object supporting apparatus according to the present invention comprises: a supporting member provided at a lower end of a supported object so as to be able to move up and down; A movable support provided at the lower end of the movable support so as to be movable up and down, and a movable state in which only the support end of the movable support is in contact with a support surface such as a floor; It is assumed that the device can be selectively switched to any one of a restrained state in which it contacts the support surface.

Then, the moving support is biased downward by a moving support biasing mechanism with a force greater than the gravity acting on the supported object so that the support end of the moving support is stopped at the normal position. So that it can project in the direction of the support surface from the support end of the supporting body, and when a certain or more operating load is applied to the supported object, the moving supporting body is higher than the normal position. A lock mechanism for automatically engaging with the retracted moving support and holding the moving support at a predetermined lock position, and changing the locked state by the lock mechanism. Providing a release means for unlocking operation for releasing, when locking the moving support, the stopping support receives a pushing force from the support surface and retracts above the normal position. To allow Moving support body is to that provided restraint support for urging mechanism for pressing the stop for the support on the support surface in a state of being held in the locked position.

With this configuration, the movable state can be switched from the movable state to the stopped state only by adding and removing the operation load, and the restricted state can be switched to the movable state only by operating the release means. Thus, the workability of the switching operation can be significantly improved.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An object supporting apparatus according to the present invention is configured such that a moving supporting end to be grounded on a supporting surface such as a floor can move up and down from a normal position to a retracted position above the normal position. A supporting member provided at a lower end of the supporting member, and a supporting member for movement to be grounded to a supporting surface can be moved up and down from below the normal position to a locking position having substantially the same height as the retreat position. A moving support provided at the lower end of the object, a stopping urging mechanism for urging the stopping support downward, and moving the moving support downward with a force greater than the gravity acting on the supported object. And a lock mechanism for automatically engaging with the moving support when the moving supporting end reaches the vicinity of the lock position and holding the moving supporting end at the lock position. Releases the engagement between the lock mechanism and the moving support. It is those formed by and a order of release means.

[0011] Then, in a movable state in which only the moving support end is in contact with the support surface, an operation load of a predetermined value or more is applied to the supported object, so that the moving support end is retracted to the lock position. While being held by the lock mechanism, the restraining support end is retracted to the retreat position while being pressed by the support surface, and after the operation load is removed, the restraining support end is pressed against the support surface by the restraining urging mechanism. In this state, the locking mechanism and the support for movement are released by the release means so that the support end for movement protrudes below the normal position and returns to the movable state. I have.

In a specific embodiment of the lock mechanism, the engagement is released from an engagement position where the lock mechanism is engaged with the moving support to hold the moving support end at the lock position. And a lock urging mechanism for urging the lock in the direction of the engagement position, wherein the movement support end is located near the lock position. The lock portion urged by the lock urging mechanism moves to the engagement position, and the lock portion and the moving support are automatically engaged. Thus, there can be cited one in which the lock portion at the engagement position can be appropriately moved to the release position by the release means.

In order to make the moving and stopping support compact, the moving support is a caster supported by a supported object via a substantially vertical rotating shaft. It is effective to dispose substantially coaxially with the rotation shaft. In addition, since the operation load can be applied by a series of operations associated with the operation of unfolding the top board, it is effective to make the supported object a folding table having a top board capable of flap operation.

[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. As shown in FIG. 1, the present invention is applied to a table support device 5 that supports a folding table 1 as a supported object on a floor F as a support surface. The folding table 1 includes left and right main legs 2, a top plate 3, and a shelf plate 4, and supports the top plate 3 near the upper ends of the left and right main legs 2 so as to be capable of flap operation.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the main leg 2 includes left and right bases 21, which are lower ends supported substantially horizontally with respect to the floor F by the table support device 5, and a substantially center of the base 21. Left and right leg posts 22 projecting therefrom
And a horizontal member 23 for rigidly connecting the members. Top plate 3
Is a frame that is fixed to the lower surface of a substantially rectangular top plate body, and is capable of flap operation between an upright moving position 3A shown by a virtual line in FIG. 2 and a horizontal use position 3B shown by a solid line in FIG. The left and right are supported by the vicinity of the upper end of the leg support 22 of the main leg 2 so that In addition, the top plate 3 is at the movement position 3A
Alternatively, it is locked at the use position 3 </ b> B by a not-shown top plate lock mechanism having a known configuration, but this lock is performed by a top plate unlock lever 31 disposed on the side surface of the leg support 22 of the leg 2.
Is released by the rotation of.

The shelf plate 4 is mounted on the main leg 2 so as to be flapable between an upright moving position 4A shown by a virtual line in FIG. 2 and a horizontal use position 4B shown by a solid line in FIG. Lumber 2
Right and left above the support 3 are supported by leg posts 22. Shelf board 4
The top plate 3 and the top plate 3 are connected by a connection link 41, and are configured to flap in parallel. The table support device 5 to which the present invention is applied is provided on the base 21.
As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the apparatus includes a moving caster 6, a switching caster 7 as a moving support, an adjuster 8 as a restraining support, and a lock mechanism 9.
The folding table 1 is selectively switched between a movable state shown in FIG. 3 and a stopped state shown in FIG.

The moving caster 6, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, holds a wheel 61 by an axle holding portion 62, and mainly includes a vertical rotating shaft 63 protruding from an upper end of the axle holding portion 62. The leg 2 is rotatably supported on the lower surface of the base 21 near the front end 21a. As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the switching caster 7 has wheels 71 held by an axle holding portion 72. The axle holding portion 72 has a groove 72a formed on the outer periphery near the upper end, and has an upper surface 2 of a concave portion 211 formed on a lower surface near the rear end 21b of the base 21 of the main leg 2.
It is rotatably supported by a vertical support shaft 73 projecting downward from 11a. The support shaft 73 is inserted into a shaft hole 721 formed in the axle holding portion 72 in the vertical direction, and the lower end 71a of the wheel 71 serving as a moving support end is substantially equivalent to a retreat position 8B described below from below a normal position 8A described later. Lock position 7 at the same height
It is possible to go up and down to A. A caster biasing spring 74 as a moving biasing mechanism is coaxially disposed on the support shaft 73. The caster biasing spring 74 is disposed between the upper surface 211a of the concave portion 211 and the axle holding portion 72, and biases the lower end 71a of the wheel 71 downward with a force greater than the gravity acting on the folding table 1. The shaft hole 721 has an upper diameter larger than the outer diameter of the caster biasing spring 74 and
Accommodates the lower part. Further, the outer diameter of the lower end of the support shaft 73 is made smaller than the diameter of the lower portion of the shaft hole 721 to prevent the axle holding portion 72 from being removed.

As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the adjuster 8 has a vertical shaft 81 provided with a grounding portion 82 at the lower end thereof. The upper portion of the shaft 81 is inserted into a shaft hole 83 formed in the support shaft 73 in the vertical direction, and the lower end 82a of the grounding portion 82, which is a supporting end for stopping, is moved from the normal position 8A shown in FIGS. Up and down movement is enabled up to the retreat position 8B shown in FIG. An adjuster biasing spring 84 as a restraining biasing mechanism is disposed in the shaft hole 83 to bias the lower end 82a of the ground contact portion 82 downward with a force greater than the gravity acting on the folding table 1. The inner diameter of the lower end of the shaft hole 83 is made smaller than the diameter of the upper part of the shaft 81 to prevent the shaft 81 from falling off.

As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the lock mechanism 9 includes a lock portion 91 and a lock portion biasing spring 92 as a lock biasing mechanism for biasing the lock portion 91. The lock portion 91 is rotatably supported via a rotation shaft 93 fixed to the concave portion 211, and operates between an engagement position 9A indicated by a solid line in FIG. 10 and a release position 9B indicated by a virtual line in FIG. Make it possible. A projection 911 projecting forward is formed in the lower half of the lock portion 91, and a release lever 912 as release means is formed in the upper half of the lock portion 91.
Then, it is advanced above the base 21 via b. The lock portion urging spring 92 is disposed coaxially with the rotation shaft 93 and urges the lock portion 91 in the direction of the engagement position 9A.

Hereinafter, the operation of the table support device 5 will be described. The moving direction is described with reference to the base 21. In the movable state shown in FIG. 4, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the lock mechanism 9 does not engage with the switching caster 7, and the lower end 82a of the ground portion 82 of the adjuster 8 is pushed down by the adjuster biasing spring 84. In the normal position 8A
The lower end 71a of the wheel 71 of the switching caster 7 is pushed down by the caster urging spring 74 and protrudes below the normal position 8A. Since the lower end 71a of the wheel 71 is in contact with the floor F, the folding table 1 is movable, and the base 21 is slightly inclined forward as shown in FIG. When an operation load equal to or more than a predetermined value is applied to the table support device 5 in this movable state, the lower end 71a of the wheel 71 is pushed up to the floor F and the normal position 8A
And the lower end 82 of the ground portion 82 of the adjuster 8
a also touches the floor surface F, and when an operation load is continuously applied, the lower end 71a of the wheel 71 and the lower end 82a of the grounding portion 82 are further pushed up by the floor surface F, and as shown in FIGS. It reaches the vicinity of the retreat position 8B. Accordingly, the lock portion 91 is pushed by the upper end of the axle holding portion 72 and rotates in the direction of the release position 9B.
When 1a reaches the vicinity of the lock position 7A, the protrusion 911 can enter the groove 72a of the axle holding portion 72, and rotates from the position shown by the phantom line in FIG. 8 to the engagement position 9A shown by the solid line in FIG. The groove 72a of the 71 and the protrusion 911 of the lock portion 91 automatically engage. When the operating load is removed in this state, FIG.
11, the lower end 71a of the wheel 71 is held at the lock position 7A by the lock mechanism 9, and the lower end 82a of the ground portion 82 of the adjuster 8 is connected to the adjuster biasing spring 8
Since the lower portion 82 returns to the vicinity of the normal position 8A due to the extension of the extension 4, the lower end 82a of the ground contact portion 82 comes into contact with the ground as shown in FIG. 5, and the movement of the folding table 1 is stopped and the base 21 becomes substantially horizontal. In this stopped state, the release lever 912 of the lock mechanism 9 is rotated to lock the lock portion 91 in FIG.
When the release position 9B is indicated by an imaginary line, the projection 911 of the lock portion 91 retreats from the groove 72a of the axle holding portion 72 and is disengaged, so that the lower end 71a of the wheel 71 extends the caster biasing spring 74. As a result, it projects below the normal position 8A, and returns to the movable state shown in FIG. The outline of the above operation is shown in FIG.

In this embodiment, since the folding table 1 is employed as a supported object, the folding table 1 is moved from the upright moving position 3A shown by the imaginary line in FIG. 2 to the horizontal use position 3B shown by the solid line in FIG. Top plate 2 by a series of operations accompanying flap operation
It is possible to apply a certain or more operation load to the rear end side, and it is also possible to perform the switching operation from the movable state to the stopped state as a series of the unfolding operation of the top 3.

It should be noted that the configuration of the present invention is not limited to the above-described configuration. For example, the present invention may be applied to the moving casters 6. Further, the present invention may be applied to an object support device that supports another supported object such as a wagon. Further, the present invention does not prevent the moving support and the stopping support from being configured as separate bodies. The stopping urging mechanism does not need to urge the moving support end with a force greater than the gravity acting on the supported object,
In the stopped state, it is sufficient that the stopping support end is located at the same level as or lower than the moving support end. In addition, various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention, such as the number, position, material and shape of each member.

[0023]

The present invention is embodied in the form described above and has the following effects. According to the present invention, the operation of switching from the movable state to the stopped state can be performed by applying an operation load of a certain degree or more to the object support device and then removing the operation load, so that the operability can be significantly improved.

When the moving support end reaches near the lock position, the lock mechanism and the moving support automatically engage with each other.
The above operation can be performed with one touch. further,
Since the switching operation from the stop state to the movable state can be performed only by operating the release means, the operability can be further improved. Furthermore, since the configuration can be simplified, the manufacturing process and the manufacturing cost do not increase.

Further, by providing the lock mechanism with a lock portion, a lock urging mechanism, and a release mechanism, the above-described effects can be reliably achieved with a simple configuration. Further, by forming the stopping support substantially coaxial with the rotation axis of the caster, the moving support and the stopping support can be integrally formed without obstructing the rotation of the caster. Can be configured compactly.

Further, by using the folding table as the object to be supported, an operation load can be applied to the object supporting device by unfolding the top plate and performing a series of operations, and the switching operation from the movable state to the stopped state can be performed. Operability can be further improved. And, since the switching operation from the movable state to the stop state does not necessarily have to be linked with the flap operation of the top plate, the workability in the movable state such as the arrangement work and the workability of the switching operation between the movable state and the stop state are improved. Can be compatible.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a left side view showing a movable state of the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a left side view showing a stopped state of the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a left side view showing a movable state of the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a left side view showing the stopped state of the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a left-side conceptual diagram of a main part showing a movable state of the embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a conceptual front sectional view of a main part showing a movable state of the embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a left-side sectional conceptual view of a main part showing driving of the lock mechanism of the embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a front sectional conceptual view of a main part showing driving of the lock mechanism of the embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a left-side conceptual diagram of a main part showing a stopped state of the embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a front sectional conceptual view of a main part showing a stopped state of the embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a conceptual diagram showing the operation of the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 F: Support surface (floor surface) 1: Supported object (folding table) 3: Top plate 5: Object support device 7: Moving support, caster (switching caster) 7A: Lock position 8: Stopping support (Adjuster) 8A: Normal position 8B: Retreat position 9: Lock mechanism 9A: Engagement position 9B ... Release position 21: Lower end (base) 71a: Moving support end (lower end) 73: Rotating shaft 74: Moving bias Mechanism (caster biasing spring) 82a: Stopping support end (lower end) 84: Stopping biasing mechanism (adjuster biasing spring) 91: Locking section 92: Locking biasing mechanism (locking section biasing spring) 912: Release Means (release lever)

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (56) References Japanese Utility Model Showa 48-29554 (JP, U) Japanese Utility Model Showa 54-99259 (JP, U) Japanese Utility Model Showa 44-26581 (JP, Y1)

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] A supporting member provided at a lower end portion of the supported object so that a moving supporting end to be grounded on the supporting surface can move up and down from a normal position to a retreat position higher than the normal position; A moving support provided at a lower end portion of the supported object so that a moving supporting end to be grounded can move up and down from below the normal position to a lock position having substantially the same height as the retracted position; An urging mechanism for urging the supporting member downward, a urging mechanism for urging the moving supporting member downward with a force greater than the gravity acting on the supported object, and the moving supporting end. A lock mechanism that automatically engages with the movement support when the lock reaches the vicinity of the lock position and holds the movement support end at the lock position, and releases the engagement between the lock mechanism and the movement support. Object supporting device comprising a releasing means for In a movable state in which only the moving support end is in contact with the support surface and is movable, by applying a certain or more operating load to the supported object, the moving support end is retracted to the lock position, and a lock mechanism is used. While being held, the restraining support end is retracted to the retreat position while being pressed by the support surface, and after the operation load is removed, the restraint support end is pressed against the support surface by the biasing mechanism for restraint. The movable support end projects below the normal position and returns to the movable state by releasing the engagement between the lock mechanism and the support for movement by the release means. Object supporting device. 2. The lock mechanism operates between an engagement position for engaging the moving support and holding the moving support end at the lock position and a release position for releasing the engagement. A locking portion for biasing the locking portion in the direction of the engagement position, wherein the locking biasing mechanism is provided when the moving support end reaches near the locking position. The lock portion urged by a mechanism is moved to the engagement position, so that the lock portion and the moving support are automatically engaged, and the lock at the engagement position is provided. 2. The object support device according to claim 1, wherein the portion can be appropriately moved to a release position by a release unit. 3. The caster according to claim 1, wherein the moving support is supported on an object to be supported via a substantially vertical rotation shaft, and the stopping support is disposed substantially coaxially with the rotation shaft. The object support device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: 4. The object supporting device according to claim 1, wherein the supported object is a folding table having a top plate capable of flap operation.