JP4703032B2 - Armrest - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an armrest suitably used in a chair or the like.
[0002]
[Prior art]
With the recent progress in OA, an environment suitable for handling OA equipment has gradually been developed around the desk.
[0003]
In particular, the armrest attached to the chair is not only used in the normal use position, but also used as an armrest when operating the keyboard on the desk. A device that can be moved from a position to a forward use position where the longitudinal direction substantially matches the left-right direction is considered.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
By the way, as a structure of such a conventional movable armrest, what was comprised from the slide spindle attached to the elbow main body so that back-and-forth sliding is possible, and the elbow rest attached rotatably to this slide spindle is known.
[0005]
However, with such a structure, the elbow rest can rotate at any sliding position, and can slide at any rotational position, so there is too much extra movement, the operability is poor, and the usage state is also unstable. There is a difficulty that it is easy. Further, if there is an unnecessarily high degree of freedom in the movement of the elbow rest, the elbow rest protrudes to the side meaninglessly, and inconveniences such as frequent interference with peripheral fixtures, workers, etc. are likely to occur.
[0006]
On the other hand, in order to add a certain restriction to the movement of the elbow rest, a structure that attaches the elbow rest to the elbow body so that it can move only with a fixed trajectory via the link mechanism is also considered as a general method, but in this way Then, an increase in the number of parts and a complicated structure are caused, and a finger pinching problem and a strength problem are newly generated.
[0007]
The present invention has been made in view of such inconveniences, and it imposes some restrictions on the trajectory of the elbow rest without impairing the simplicity and safety of the structure, thereby improving the operability and use state. At the same time, an object is to provide an armrest that can effectively avoid the problem of interference with the surroundings.
[0008]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve this object, the present invention takes the following measures.
[0009]
That is, the armrest of the present invention comprises an elbow body and an elbow rest placed on the upper end side of the elbow body, and is configured so that a seated person can use the elbow rest on the elbow rest. The elbow rest is placed on the side of the seated person, and the seat is placed through an intermediate position set to a position displaced forward from the normal use position from the normal use position arranged with the longitudinal direction substantially matching the longitudinal direction. It is possible to move between the normal use position and the intermediate position as an operation for the movement. The first is configured to allow mainly the forward / backward movement and to allow mainly the rotational movement between the intermediate position and the forward use position, and to induce the forward / backward movement between the elbow body and the elbow rest. Guide mechanism and rotational motion induction A second guide mechanism for switching between the guide function of the first guide mechanism and the guide function of the second guide mechanism with an intermediate position as a boundary. The second guide mechanism is provided with a mechanism for click-stopping the elbow rest so as to be adjustable, and this mechanism can click-stop the elbow rest at an intermediate position, and the first guide When the elbow rest is moved to an intermediate position by functioning the mechanism, the elbow rest functions to stop the click .
[0010]
In such a case, the elbow rest moves with a substantially constant trajectory between the normal use position and the front use position, so that it becomes easy to grasp the elbow movement and at the same time operate easily. It is also possible to effectively avoid situations such as interference with peripheral fixtures and workers due to the movement of. Moreover, since the movement of the elbow rest is limited to some extent when it is in both use positions, it is easy to stably place the elbow rest in both use positions, and the use state can be improved.
[0011]
In addition, a first guide mechanism for guiding the back-and-forth motion and a second guide mechanism for guiding the rotation motion are provided between the elbow body and the elbow rest, and the first guide mechanism is provided at the intermediate position. Since the guide function of the guide mechanism and the guide function of the second guide mechanism are interchanged, the structure can be simplified compared to the case where a single function covers all predetermined operations. can do.
[0012]
In order to be able to easily adapt to the user's physique, etc., intermediate positions are set at a plurality of locations along the front-rear direction, and for each intermediate position, a forward use position that can be reached through a rotation operation is set. It is desirable to set each.
[0013]
As a configuration that is simple in structure and easy to ensure strength, the first guide mechanism is related to a linear first guide groove formed on the elbow rest side and a follower fixed on the upper end side of the elbow body. The second guide mechanism is formed by the engagement of the arc-shaped second guide groove formed on the elbow rest side with one end continuing to the first guide groove and the follower. Is effective.
[0014]
In this case, the follower is engaged with the first guide groove at at least two positions spaced apart in the groove direction, and the two positions are respectively engaged with two opposing positions separated from the rotation center in the second guide groove. What is necessary is just to comprise.
[0015]
An example of a follower is a pair of pins provided at a predetermined distance.
[0016]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
[0017]
The armrest A shown in FIGS. 1 to 4 is attached to the chair B, and can be used by a person sitting on the chair B with the elbow. The elbow body 1 and the upper end of the elbow body 1 And an elbow rest 2 disposed on the side.
[0018]
The elbow body 1 is mainly composed of an elbow arm 11, and the elbow arm 11 includes a pedestal 12 at the upper end, and a hexagonal column 13 is provided on the pedestal 12 so as to project upward from the center. An internal thread 14 opened upward is formed inside 13.
[0019]
On the other hand, the elbow rest 2 is composed of an elbow plate 3 and an elbow rest 4 attached to the upper end side of the elbow board 3. The first and second attachments 5 and 6 are used for attachment.
[0020]
The first fixture 5 is provided with a downward cap-shaped lid portion 50 having a through hole 51 in the center, and is disposed on the base 12 in a state where the pillar 13 is inserted into the through hole 51, and a screw is provided at that position. It is fixed by v1. An annular groove 52 is formed on the upper surface of the fixture 5, and an O-ring 53 is attached to the groove 52.
[0021]
The second fixture 6 includes a disc-shaped flange portion 61 having a tapered hole 61 a in the center, and a boss portion 62 protruding from the lower surface of the center portion of the flange portion 61. In addition, a hexagonal hole 62a opened on the lower end side is formed. Then, the second fixture 6 is brought close to the first fixture 5, a hole 62 a is inserted into the column 13, and the male screw v 2 inserted from above into the tapered hole 61 a of the flange portion 61 in this state is inserted into the column 13. The second fixture 6 is attached to the first fixture 5 by being screwed into the female screw 14 and tightening. The columns 13 and the holes 62 are formed in a hexagonal shape so that the elbow body 1 and the second fixture 6 do not rotate relative to each other. Shape can be adopted.
[0022]
At that time, the elbow plate 3 is sandwiched and attached between the fittings 5 and 6, and the first and second guides are provided between the elbow plate 3 and the second fixture 6. The mechanisms 7 and 8 are configured, and the normal use position P (FIG. 1) in which the elbow rest 2 is disposed on the side of the seated person and the longitudinal direction substantially coincides with the front-rear direction by the guide mechanisms 7 and 8. The seated person passes through an intermediate position Q (see FIG. 1 imaginary line, FIG. 4 imaginary line, and FIG. 5) set to a position displaced forward from the normal use position P from the solid line (see FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 solid line). It can be moved to a front use position R (see the imaginary line in FIG. 1 and FIG. 6) which is arranged in front of the front and substantially coincides with the longitudinal direction in the left-right direction.
[0023]
For this purpose, the elbow plate 3 is formed with a long hole 31 having a constant width at the center in the width direction so as to extend along the longitudinal direction, and the fixtures 5 and 6 are mutually connected via the long hole 31. It is connected. In addition, a pair of standing walls 32 are provided along the side edges of the long hole 31 at positions facing each other with the long hole 31 therebetween, so that the lower surface of the flange portion 61 can slide on the upper surface of the standing wall 32. The elbow plate 3 is sandwiched between the collar portion 61 and the lid portion 50 in the contact state. In this state, the lower surface of the elbow plate 3 and the upper surface of the lid 50 are in close contact with each other via an O-ring 53 attached to the upper surface of the lid 50.
[0024]
The first guide mechanism 7 is for guiding the longitudinal movement of the elbow rest 4, and as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, a linear first guide formed between the pair of upright walls 32. The groove 71 is configured by engagement with a pair of pins 72 that are fixed to the upper end side of the elbow body 1 and are followers. The pair of pins 72 are fixed at opposed positions on the lower surface of the flange portion 61 with the taper hole 61 a interposed therebetween, and the diameter is set to be slightly smaller than the groove width of the guide groove 71. And when the boss | hub part 62 is located in the one end side of the long hole 31, and one pin 72 rides on the bottom wall 3a of the elbow board 3 (in FIG. 3), the elbow rest 2 is hold | maintained in the normal use position P. The elbow rest 2 is held at the intermediate position Q when the boss 62 is positioned on the other end side of the long hole 31 and the other pin 72 rides on the bottom wall 3b of the elbow plate 3 (in FIG. 5). It is like that.
[0025]
The second guide mechanism 8 is for guiding the rotational movement of the elbow rest 2, and is formed on the elbow plate 3 with one end continuous to the first guide groove 71 as shown in FIGS. The second guide groove 81 having an arc shape and the pair of pins 72 are engaged with each other. The second guide groove 81 is formed between the standing arcuate walls 33 that are in a position continuous to the upright wall 32 and are paired inside and outside, and the groove width is the same as the groove width of the guide groove 71. It is set almost equal. Then, when the elbow plate 3 rotates in a state where the boss portion 62 is located at the other end of the long hole 31, the pair of pins 72 enter the second guide groove 81 at the corresponding position. The pin 72 also rides on the bottom wall 3b at the bottom of the groove. Thus, the second guide groove 8 ends at a position where the elbow plate 3 is rotated by 90 degrees, and the rotation is stopped in the state of FIG. 6 in which the pin 72 contacts the upright wall 33a functioning as a stopper. ing. As shown in FIG. 2, a ball 92 is disposed on the lower surface of the other pin 72 while being elastically pressed against a spring 91. The ball 92 is inserted into a hole 3b1 formed in the bottom wall 3b. The elbow rest 2 is clicked and stopped at that position by engaging intermittently. The ball 92 is accommodated in a hole provided at the axial center position of the pin 72, and appropriate means for preventing the ball 92 from dropping off is provided.
[0026]
When the installation of the elbow plate 3 is completed, the elbow rest 4 is covered so as to cover the upper surface of the elbow board 3, and the elbow rest 3 is screwed to the corresponding position of the elbow rest 4 through the screw v3 from below. .
[0027]
As described above, in this embodiment, the armrest 2 is composed of the elbow body 1 and the elbow rest 4 arranged on the upper end side of the elbow body 1, and the elbow rest is placed on the elbow rest 4 by the seated person. In constructing it so that it can be used, the elbow rest 4 is displaced forward from the normal use position P from the normal use position P which is located on the side of the seated person and whose longitudinal direction is substantially matched to the front-rear direction. Through the intermediate position Q set at this position, it is possible to move between the front use position R which is located in front of the seated person and whose longitudinal direction is substantially matched to the left-right direction. As the movement for the movement, only the front-rear movement is mainly allowed between the normal use position P and the intermediate position Q, and only the rotation action is mainly allowed between the intermediate position Q and the front use position R. It is comprised as follows.
[0028]
For this reason, the elbow rest 4 moves with a substantially constant trajectory between the normal use position P and the front use position R, which makes it easy to grasp the movement of the elbow and at the same time operate easily. It is also possible to effectively avoid situations such as interference with peripheral fixtures and workers due to the movement of. In addition, the degree of freedom of the elbow rest 4 is limited in this way, and at the same time it is stopped by the stopper function when it is in both use positions P and R, and at the same time, the pin 72 rides on the bottom walls 3a and 3b. Therefore, the elbow rest 4 can be stably placed at both use positions P and R, and the use state can be improved.
[0029]
As a specific configuration, between the elbow body 1 and the elbow rest 2, a first guide mechanism 7 for inducing front-rear motion and a second guide mechanism 8 for inducing rotational motion are provided. Since the guide function of the first guide mechanism 7 and the guide function of the second guide mechanism 8 are interchanged with the intermediate position Q as a boundary, a single function can be used to cover all predetermined operations. Compared to the case, the structure can be simplified.
[0030]
In particular, the first guide mechanism 7 is constituted by the engagement of a linear first guide groove 71 formed on the elbow rest 2 side and a follower 72 fixedly provided on the upper end side of the elbow body 1, The second guide mechanism 8 is constituted by the engagement of the arc-shaped second guide groove 81 formed on the elbow rest side with one end continuous with the first guide groove 71 and the follower 72. In addition to being simple, the guide mechanisms 7 and 8 are made strong by utilizing the strength of the upright walls 32 and 33 constituting the guide grooves 71 and 81 and the strength of the pins 72 as followers, and the strength of the armrest A is also improved. It can be secured effectively.
[0031]
In this case, the follower pin 72 is engaged with the first guide groove 71 at two positions spaced apart from each other at least in the groove direction, and the two positions are opposed to each other with the second guide groove 81 facing the rotation center. Since it is configured so as to be engaged with each other, it is possible to reduce the backlash when performing the front-rear operation and the rotation operation as much as possible, and to ensure the smoothness and accuracy of the operation.
[0032]
Furthermore, since the follower is constituted by a pair of pins 72 provided at a predetermined distance, the follower itself can be made compact and easy to be incorporated.
[0033]
The specific configuration of each part is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.
[0034]
For example, if the intermediate position is set at multiple locations along the front-rear direction, and the front use position that can be reached through the rotation operation is set for each intermediate position, it is easily adapted to the physique of the user, etc. It can be set as the structure to do. It is also effective to change the wall thickness of the bottom walls 3a and 3b partially and utilize the friction with the pin 72 to stably hold the elbow rest 2 at the use positions P and R.
[0035]
【The invention's effect】
The present invention is implemented in the form as described above, and has the effects described below.
[0036]
That is, when the armrest of the present invention is configured so that the armrest can be moved from the normal use position to the front use position through the intermediate position, only the forward and backward movement is mainly performed between the normal use position and the intermediate position. In this configuration, only a rotational operation is allowed between the intermediate position and the forward use position.
[0037]
For this reason, the arrangement | positioning of an elbow rest can be changed at the time of normal time and OA apparatus use, and the aspect of various utilization of an armrest can be provided. In addition, the elbow rest can be moved smoothly without interfering with the surrounding fixtures and workers, and the stability during use can be improved, making the armrest very easy to use. be able to.
[0038]
If the intermediate position is set at a plurality of locations along the front-rear direction and a plurality of front use positions corresponding to the respective intermediate positions are set, the user can adjust the front use position according to the physique. Therefore, the use state of the armrest can be improved.
[0039]
Between the elbow body and the elbow rest, a first guide mechanism for guiding the forward and backward movement and a second guide mechanism for guiding the rotational movement are provided so that the functions are suitably linked in the middle. In this case, each guide mechanism itself can have a simple structure, and a required operation can be effectively realized.
[0040]
The first guide mechanism is configured by the engagement of the first guide groove formed on the elbow rest side and the follower provided on the elbow body side, and the second guide mechanism is connected to the first guide groove to be placed on the elbow rest. If the second guide groove formed on the side and the follower are engaged, the number of parts is small, and the strength of the arm can be effectively realized by using the strength of the member. In addition, as long as the guide groove has a groove width that does not allow a finger to enter, there is no danger of the finger being pinched between the follower and the guide groove, so that safety can be effectively increased.
[0041]
If the follower is engaged with the first guide groove and the second guide groove at two points, the backlash and the backlash during the rotation and rotation operations are reduced as much as possible, and the smoothness and accuracy of the operation. Can be secured.
[0042]
If the follower is configured by providing a pair of pins at a predetermined distance, it is useful for pursuing simplification and compactness of the structure.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of a chair to which an embodiment of the present invention is applied.
FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the embodiment.
FIG. 3 is a partially enlarged plan view of the embodiment with a part omitted.
4 is a longitudinal sectional view of FIG. 3;
FIG. 5 is an operation explanatory diagram corresponding to FIG. 3;
6 is an operation explanatory diagram corresponding to FIG. 3. FIG.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Elbow body 2 ... Elbow rest 7 ... 1st guide mechanism 8 ... 2nd guide mechanism 71 ... 1st guide groove 72 ... Follower (pin)
81 ... Second guide groove P ... Normal use position Q ... Intermediate position R ... Front use position

Claims (5)

It comprises an elbow body and an elbow rest placed on the upper end side of the elbow body, and can be used by a seated person by placing the elbow on the elbow rest,
The elbow rest is placed on the side of the seated person through an intermediate position set to a position displaced forward from the normal use position from the normal use position arranged with the longitudinal direction substantially matching the longitudinal direction. It can be moved between the normal use position and the intermediate position as an operation for the movement. And mainly configured to allow only forward and backward movement, and mainly allow only rotational movement between the intermediate position and the forward use position.
Provided between the elbow body and the elbow rest is a first guide mechanism for guiding the back-and-forth motion and a second guide mechanism for guiding the rotational motion, and the first guide mechanism with the intermediate position as a boundary. The guide function of the second guide mechanism and the guide function of the second guide mechanism are interchanged,
In order to be able to adjust the position of the elbow rest in steps, the second guide mechanism is provided with a mechanism for clicking and stopping the elbow rest, and this mechanism can click and stop the elbow rest at an intermediate position. An armrest that functions to stop the click of the elbow rest when the elbow rest is moved to an intermediate position by operating the first guide mechanism . The armrest according to claim 1, wherein the intermediate positions are set at a plurality of locations along the front-rear direction, and the front use positions that can be reached through the rotation operation are set for the respective intermediate positions. The first guide mechanism is configured by the engagement of a linear first guide groove formed on the elbow rest side and a follower fixed to the upper end side of the elbow body, and the second guide mechanism is The armrest according to claim 1 or 2, comprising an arc-shaped second guide groove formed on the elbow rest side with one end continuous with the first guide groove and the follower. The follower is engaged with the first guide groove at at least two positions spaced apart in the groove direction, and the two positions are respectively configured to be engaged with two opposing positions separated from the rotation center in the second guide groove. The armrest according to claim 3. The armrest according to claim 4, wherein the follower is a pair of pins provided at a predetermined distance.

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