JP4520828B2 - Top plate height adjustment device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a height adjustment device for a top plate such as an article storage fixture.

  In office spaces such as offices, when using furniture with top plates adjacent to each other, if the floor surface is uneven or processing or assembly errors occur in the furniture itself, There are cases where the top plate surface does not match the same surface.

  Therefore, a normal fixture is provided with a height adjustment adjuster at the lower end of the leg or fixture main body so that the height of the top plate can be changed.

However, such an adjuster cannot be attached to a movable fixture having a caster at its lower end, such as a wagon-type article storage fixture. There has been proposed a structure in which the height of the top plate can be changed (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2).
JP2003-135179A (FIG. 3) Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2004-105276 (FIG. 2)

  In any of the conventional top plate height adjusting devices described in the above-mentioned patent documents, when the height of the top plate is adjusted to be higher, the external thread portion formed on the outer peripheral surface of the adjustment shaft is greatly increased to the outside. There is a problem that it is exposed and looks bad.

  In addition, if the adjustment shaft is turned too carelessly, the male screw part that is screwed into the female screw cylinder will be removed, and the fixture body and the top plate will be completely separated, so the top plate will be positioned horizontally. There is a risk of slipping or falling off the main body of the fixture.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and can improve the appearance by preventing the external thread portion of the adjusting shaft from being exposed to the outside. Even if the external thread portion is detached from the female thread cylinder, An object of the present invention is to provide a height adjustment device for the top plate so that the main body and the top plate are not separated.

According to the present invention, the above problem is solved as follows.
(1) A height adjusting device provided between the opposing surfaces of the upper surface of the fixture main body and the lower surface of the top plate disposed above the main body, wherein the height of the top plate can be adjusted. An adjustment shaft that protrudes downward at least at the four corners of the lower surface of the plate and has a male screw portion at the bottom, and an operation cylinder portion through which the adjustment shaft can be inserted, and a male screw at the bottom. And a cylindrical adjuster having a female screw cylinder supported by being rotatably fitted in a support hole provided on the upper surface of the fixture body.

(2) In the above item (1), the outer diameter of the operation tube portion is made larger than the outer diameter of the female screw tube, and the lower surface of the enlarged stepped portion formed on the outer peripheral surface of the connecting portion is supported. By making contact with the opening edge at the upper end of the hole, the female screw cylinder is supported by the support hole so as to be rotatable while preventing downward movement.

(3) In the above item (2), a support cylinder having an enlarged diameter collar at the upper end is press-fitted into the support hole, and the female thread cylinder is rotatably supported by the support cylinder. The lower surface of the enlarged diameter step is brought into contact with the upper surface.

(4) In the above item (1), the support hole is a bottomed hole, and the lower end of the female screw cylinder is brought into contact with the inner bottom surface thereof, so that the female screw cylinder is prevented from moving downward by the support hole. It is supported rotatably.

(5) In the above item (4), a bottomed cylindrical support tube having a bottom end abutting against the inner bottom surface is press-fitted in the bottomed hole while the female tube is rotatably supported.

(6) In any one of the above items (1) to (5), the vertical dimension of the operation tube portion is set to a length that can be held and rotated by a finger.

(7) In any one of the above items (1) to (6), a large number of projections and depressions facing in the vertical direction are provided on the outer peripheral surface of the operation tube portion.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the male threaded portion of the lower portion of the adjustment shaft is inserted through the operating tube portion and is screwed into the female threaded tube of the lower portion of the cylindrical adjuster. Even if the adjustment shaft is moved upward by turning the tube portion, all or most of the male screw portion is located in the operation tube portion and is not exposed to the outside greatly, so that the appearance is improved.
In addition, even if the male threaded portion that is screwed into the female threaded cylinder is disengaged from the upper end of the female threaded cylinder, the lower part of the male threaded part is located within the operating tubular part, so the cylindrical adjuster must be turned carelessly. Even if it passes, the fixture body and the top plate will not be separated, so there is no fear that the top plate will be displaced or fall off the fixture body.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, the internal thread cylinder can be simply pivotably supported by preventing the downward movement only by inserting the internal thread cylinder into the support hole from above.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the female screw cylinder can smoothly rotate without resistance in the support cylinder, the rotating operation of the cylindrical adjuster is facilitated.

  According to the invention described in claim 4, not only the same effect as in claim 2 can be obtained, but also the cylindrical adjuster can be formed in a straight cylindrical shape without an enlarged stepped portion, and therefore the manufacture thereof is also possible. It becomes easy.

  According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, since the female screw cylinder can smoothly rotate without resistance in the support cylinder, the rotating operation of the cylindrical adjuster is also facilitated.

  According to invention of Claim 6, even if the height of a top plate is adjusted to the lowest limit position and the lower surface contact | abuts the upper end of an operation cylinder part, an operation cylinder part is provided between a fixture main body and a top plate. Is secured by a finger so that the user can rotate it.

  According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, since the slip is prevented when the operation cylinder portion is gripped and rotated, the rotation operation is facilitated.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of an article storage fixture equipped with a height adjustment device for a top plate according to the present invention, and casters ( 2) is attached, and a sliding door (3) is attached to the front opening.

  Directly above the top plate (4) of the fixture body (1), the top plate (5), which is approximately half the length of the left and right dimensions, has four height adjustment devices (6) on the front, rear, left and right of the present invention. Therefore, it can be selectively attached to the right half and the left half.

  As shown in the enlarged exploded perspective view of FIG. 2 (only the right side is shown for the same structure on the left and right) and the longitudinal sectional view of FIG. A cylindrical adjuster comprising an adjustment shaft (8), an upper half operation tube portion (9a), and a female screw tube (9b) having a diameter smaller than that of the operation tube portion. (9) and a rigid synthetic resin support cylinder (11) for rotatably accommodating and supporting the female screw cylinder (9b) of the cylindrical adjuster (9). The female thread portion (7) of the adjustment shaft (8) is screwed into the female thread (10) on the inner peripheral surface.

  The inner diameter of the operation tube portion (9a) is slightly larger than the outer diameter of the adjustment shaft (8).

  The upper ends of the front and rear adjustment shafts (8) are welded to the lower surfaces of both front and rear ends of the strip-shaped support bracket (13) fixed to the lower surface of the side end of the top plate (5) with screws (12). The four adjustment shafts (8) on the front, rear, left and right are substantially suspended from the four corners of the lower surface of the top plate (5).

  The support cylinder (11) includes support holes (14) drilled in the four corners of the upper surface plate (4) of the fixture body (1) and the front and rear ends of the center portion, and left and right sides of the fixture body (1). The side plate (15) and the bottomed hole (16) formed in the upper end of the middle partition plate (not shown) are press-fitted from above, and the enlarged diameter flange (11a) at the upper end of the support hole (14) It is locked to the opening edge and slightly protrudes from the upper surface of the upper surface plate (4).

  The left and right dimensions from the support cylinder (11) press-fitted in the center to the support cylinder (11) press-fitted to the left and right ends are the same as the left half of the fixture body (1). The distance between the left and right adjustment shafts (8) is the same as that of the right half so that the right half can be selected and attached.

  When the internal thread cylinder (9b) of the cylindrical adjuster (9) is inserted into the support cylinder (11), the diameter expansion step (17) at the lower end of the operation cylinder (9a) is By contacting the upper surface, the entire cylindrical adjuster (9) is rotated while being supported by the enlarged diameter flange (11a).

  The vertical dimension of the operation tube portion (9a) is such that it can be rotated by a finger even when the height of the top plate (5) is adjusted to the lowest position (the state shown in FIG. 3), for example, 20 mm or more. Has been.

  As shown in FIG. 5, on the outer peripheral surface of the operation tube portion (9a), a number of ridges (18) are formed in the vertical direction to prevent a finger from slipping during a turning operation.

  In order to mount the top plate (5) on the upper surface plate (4) of the fixture body (1), first, the four adjustment shafts (8) projecting at the four corners of the lower surface of the top plate (5) are connected to the cylinder. After fitting the operation cylinder part (9a) of the cylindrical adjuster (9), the female thread (10b) of the female thread cylinder (9b) is screwed to the inner thread part (7), for example, to the innermost part to adjust each adjustment. A cylindrical adjuster (9) is attached to the shaft (8) so as to be positioned at the upper limit.

Next, four support cylinders (11) on the front, rear, left and right adjacent to each other, which are press-fitted into the support holes (14) of the top plate (4) and the bottomed holes (16) of the side plates (15) in advance. The female screw cylinders (9b) of the four cylindrical adjusters (9) are inserted from above while holding the top plate (5) by hand.
Then, the lower surface of the enlarged diameter step portion (17) of the cylindrical adjuster (9) comes into contact with the upper end of the enlarged diameter flange portion (11a) of the support cylinder (11) and is prevented from being further inserted.
Thereby, the height of the top plate (5) is adjusted to the lowest position (see FIG. 3).

  In order to increase the height of the top plate (5) from this state, as shown in FIG. 4, the operation tube portion (9a) is pinched with a finger and the entire cylindrical adjuster (9) is counterclockwise, for example, in plan view. Turn around (when male thread and female thread are reverse threads). Then, the adjustment shaft (8) in which the threaded portion (7) is screwed to the female screw (10) of the female screw tube (9b) is raised relative to the cylindrical adjuster (9). The height of the top plate (5) is also increased.

  At this time, even if the cylindrical adjuster (9) is rotated too much and the male screw portion (7) comes out of the upper end of the female screw (10) of the female screw tube (9b), the male screw portion (7 ) Is housed in the operation tube portion (9a), there is a risk that the adjustment shaft (8) may fall off the tubular adjuster (9) or the top plate (5) may be displaced. Absent.

In addition, unless the top plate (5) is adjusted to be close to the upper limit, the external thread portion (7) is located inside the operation tube portion (9a), so that the external thread portion (7) is greatly exposed to the outside. There is no fear of a problem of poor appearance.
FIG. 6 shows a modification of the height adjusting device of the present invention.

  In this embodiment, a support cylinder made of a hard plastic having a bottomed cylindrical shape is formed in the support hole (14) of the upper surface plate (4) and the bottomed hole (16) of the side plate (15) in the main body (1). (19) is press-fitted, and in this support cylinder (19), the female thread cylinder (9b) of the cylindrical adjuster (9) is brought into contact with the inner bottom surface of the support cylinder (19). In the same manner as described above, the female thread portion (7) of the adjustment shaft (8) is screwed into the female thread (10) of the female thread cylinder (9b).

  With such an embodiment, the lower end of the female screw cylinder (9b) is supported by the inner bottom surface of the support cylinder (19), and the entire cylindrical adjuster (9) is prevented from moving downward. As in the above-mentioned embodiment, the outer diameter of the operation tube portion (9a) is increased, and the enlarged diameter stepped portion that comes into contact with the upper surface of the support tube (11) on the outer peripheral surface of the continuous portion with the female screw tube (9b) It is not necessary to form (17), and the entire cylindrical adjuster (9) can be formed into a straight cylindrical shape.

  Also in this embodiment, if the operation tube portion (9a) is rotated with a finger, the adjustment shaft (8) relatively moves up and down, and the height of the top plate (5) can be adjusted.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment.
In the above embodiment, the support cylinders (11) and (19) are press-fitted to the upper plate (4) and the side plate (15), and the female screw cylinder (9b) of the cylindrical adjuster (9) is inserted into this. However, the female cylinder (9b) may be directly inserted into the support hole or the bottomed hole formed in the top plate (4), the side plate (15), etc., and the support cylinders (11) and (19) may be omitted.

  Further, although the adjustment shaft (8) is projected from the support fitting (13), the adjustment shaft (8) is provided at the four corners of the lower surface of the top plate (5) without using such a support fitting (13). ) May be directly attached, for example, by press fitting.

  Needless to say, the present invention can be applied to the case where the top surface of the fixture body (1) is opened and the top plate covering the opening surface is attached to the fixture body (1) so that the height can be adjusted.

It is a perspective view of an article storage fixture provided with the height adjusting device of the present invention. Similarly, it is an exploded perspective view of the main part of the height adjusting device and its mounting part. It is the III-III line enlarged vertical front view of FIG. Similarly, it is a longitudinal front view when the height of the top plate is adjusted high. FIG. 5 is an enlarged cross-sectional plan view taken along line VV in FIG. 3. It is a vertical front view of the same site | part as FIG. 3 which shows the modification of the height adjustment apparatus of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

(1) Fixture body
(2) Casters
(3) Sliding door
(4) Top plate
(5) Top plate
(6) Height adjustment device
(7) Male thread
(8) Adjustment axis
(9) Tubular adjuster
(9a) Control tube
(9b) Female thread cylinder
(10) Female thread
(11) Support cylinder
(11a) Expanded collar
(12) Screw
(13) Support bracket
(14) Support hole
(15) Side plate
(16) Bottomed hole
(17) Expanded step
(18) Concave and convex strip
(19) Support cylinder

Claims (7)

  A height adjusting device which is provided between the opposing surfaces of the upper surface of the main body of the fixture and the lower surface of the top plate disposed above the fixture body, wherein the height of the top plate can be adjusted. An adjustment shaft that protrudes downward at at least the four corners and has a male screw portion at the bottom, and an operating cylinder portion through which the adjustment shaft can be inserted at the top, and a screw on the male screw portion at the bottom. And a cylindrical adjuster having a female screw cylinder rotatably fitted in and supported by a support hole provided in the upper surface of the fixture body. .   The outer diameter of the operation tube portion is larger than the outer diameter of the female screw tube, and the lower surface of the enlarged diameter step portion formed on the outer peripheral surface of the connecting portion is brought into contact with the opening edge of the upper end of the support hole. The top plate height adjusting device according to claim 1, wherein the female screw cylinder is supported by the support hole so as to be pivotable while preventing downward movement.   A support cylinder having an enlarged diameter collar at the upper end is press-fitted into the support hole, and the female thread cylinder is rotatably supported by the support cylinder, and the lower surface of the enlarged diameter step is applied to the upper surface of the enlarged diameter collar. The height adjusting device for a top plate according to claim 2, wherein the top plate is in contact with the top plate.   The support hole is a bottomed hole, and the lower end of the female screw cylinder is brought into contact with the inner bottom surface thereof, whereby the female screw cylinder is supported rotatably by the support hole while preventing downward movement. The height adjusting device of the top plate according to 1.   5. A height adjusting device for a top plate according to claim 4, wherein the bottomed hole is configured to rotatably support the female screw cylinder and press fit a bottomed cylindrical support cylinder whose lower end is in contact with the inner bottom surface. .   The height adjusting device of the top plate according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the vertical dimension of the operation tube portion is a length that can be gripped and rotated by a finger. The height adjusting device of the top plate according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein a large number of concave and convex strips are provided on an outer peripheral surface of the operation tube portion in a vertical direction.

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