JP7506572B2 - Locking device for folding workbench - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a locking device for locking the legs in the open leg position so that they cannot be rotated in a folding workbench that is located at both ends of the tabletop and pivotally connected so that they can be freely rotated between an open leg position in which the legs hang down and a closed leg position in which the legs are stored under the tabletop.

Conventionally, folding workbenches are designed to be easily transported and stored by storing the legs in a closed position.

However, when using a workbench with the legs in the open position, there is a risk that the legs may accidentally rotate towards the closed position, causing the tabletop to tilt or tip over and resulting in an accident involving the worker falling. Therefore, a locking device has been proposed to lock the legs in the open position so that they cannot rotate.

Patent No. 3030253 Patent No. 3574391

Conventionally, the locking device uses a spring to resiliently bias the lock pin toward a rotating plate that rotates integrally with the leg body. When the leg body rotates from a closed-leg position to an open-leg position and the leg-open lock hole of the rotating plate faces the lock pin, the lock pin is automatically inserted into the leg-open lock hole and locked.

When folding the legs, it is necessary to release the lock in the open leg position and then rotate them towards the closed leg position. However, manually moving the lock pin against the spring and retracting it from the open leg lock hole is not necessarily easy, and operating the lock pin from the underside of the tabletop is cumbersome. In particular, if a strong spring is used to prevent the risk of the lock being released accidentally during operation, this can result in heavy labor for the worker.

The present invention provides an operating device for unlocking a locking device in a folding workbench, and in particular, aims to provide a device that, when unlocking to fold the legs, allows the workbench to be placed upside down, i.e., placed on the ground with the underside of the top plate facing up, and the worker to simply step on it with their foot to easily unlock it. This allows the worker to use both hands freely, so when releasing the lock by stepping on it, the legs can be easily folded by using both hands at the same time.

The present invention provides a means for providing a folding workbench provided with pivoting devices located on both opposing edges of a tabletop that pivot freely between an open leg position (P1) in which the legs are hung downward and a closed leg position (P2) in which the legs are stored under the tabletop, and a locking device located under the tabletop that locks the legs so that they cannot be rotated in the open leg position (P1), and an unlocking device that unlocks the locking device, which is comprised of a rod located near the side edge of the tabletop and a rotating plate having a locking hole that is positioned on the axis of the rod when the tabletop is in the open leg position (P1) by rotating together with the rotation of the legs, and the rod is supported so as to be freely movable between a locked position (L1) in which the locking portion at the tip is inserted and locked in the locking hole, and an unlocked position (L2) in which the locking portion is retracted from the locking hole, and is resiliently biased by a spring toward the locked position (L1). The release operation device is composed of an arm portion extending from the base end of the rod in the bending direction, a pedal means for covering the arm portion from below the top plate to rotate the arm portion around the axis of the rod, and a guide drive means provided between the pedal means and the top plate. The guide drive means is equipped with a motion conversion unit that converts the rotational motion of the arm portion and the lateral movement motion of the arm portion in the axial direction of the rod into each other. The arm portion that is rotated forward in the prone direction by the pushing of the pedal means moves sideways against the spring via the motion conversion unit to move the rod to the unlock position (L2). The arm portion that is released from the pushing of the pedal means moves sideways in the biasing direction of the spring while rotating in the reverse direction in the upright direction via the motion conversion unit to move the rod to the lock position (L1).

In a preferred embodiment, the rod is configured to be freely movable between a locked position (L1) and an unlocked position (L2) with a movement stroke (S), and the arm portion is configured to set the rod to the locked position (L1) when in a standby position (Q1) inclined at a predetermined angle with respect to a perpendicular line (V) of the top plate passing through the axis of the rod, and set the rod to the unlocked position (L2) when rotated to increase the angle to set the rod to an operating position (Q2), and the guide drive means supports the arm portion biased by a spring. The passage has a first end supporting the arm portion in the standby position (Q1), a second end supporting the arm portion in the operating position (Q2), and a motion conversion part extending between the first end and the second end to support the arm portion that rotates between the standby position and the operating position. The motion conversion part is formed along a line that crosses the arm portion diagonally, and is formed so that the distance (L) between the first end and the second end in the axial direction of the rod is equal to or greater than the movement stroke (S).

In this case, it is preferable that the motion conversion part extending from the first end to the second end is formed so as to gradually incline in the direction in which the arm part rotates from the standby position (Q1) to the operating position (Q2).

More preferably, when the arm is in a standby position (Q1) inclined at a predetermined angle, the pedal means is pivoted in a position that is substantially in line with the inclination of the arm by placing a pivot on the side of the middle part of the longitudinal direction of the arm, and includes a pushing part of the pedal means that extends obliquely upward from the pivot and a tail part that extends obliquely downward from the pivot, and by supporting the tail part on the guide drive means with the pushing part in contact with the tip of the arm, a position control means is formed that holds the arm in a state in which the arm is prevented from rotating in the upright direction.

It is preferable to provide a stopper between the pedal means and the underside of the tabletop, so that the pedal means is received by the stopper when the pedal means is pushed to a position where the arm portion is in the operating position (Q2).

The present invention provides an unlocking device for a locking device in a folding workbench. When unlocking the lock to fold the legs, the unlocking device can be easily unlocked by simply stepping on it with the worker's foot when the workbench is placed upside down, i.e., with the underside of the top plate facing upwards, and is therefore highly user-friendly. In particular, this allows the worker to use both hands freely, so that the lock can be released by stepping on it and the legs can be easily folded by using both hands at the same time.

1 is a perspective view showing an example of a folding workbench equipped with a locking device and an unlocking operation device according to an embodiment of the present invention; The figures show a workbench, where (A) is a front view of the workbench with the legs in an open position, (B) is a front view of the workbench during a leg-closing operation, and (C) is a front view of the workbench with the legs in a closed position. 13 is a perspective view showing the state in which the legs have been separated from the opposing end edges of the tabletop. FIG. FIG. 4 is a partially enlarged view of FIG. 3, showing a state in which one leg body has been separated from one end edge portion of the top plate. 4 is a partially enlarged view of FIG. 3, and is a perspective view showing the other leg body separated from the other end edge of the top plate. FIG. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the underside of the top plate facing upward, and showing the locking device and the release operation device disassembled. The underside of the top plate is shown facing upward, and (A) is an oblique view showing the state in which a rod with a spring, a receiving base member, and a stopper are attached to the top plate, (B) and (C) are enlarged oblique views of the receiving base member, and (D) is an enlarged oblique view of the stopper. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the lower surface of the top plate facing upward and showing a state in which a guide drive means is attached to the top plate. 1 shows a guide drive means, where (A) is an oblique view showing the state in which the protective plate is separated from the base body, (B) is an oblique view showing the guide drive means formed by attaching the protective plate to the base body, and (C) and (D) are plan views showing the action of the arm portion of the rod when sliding over the motion conversion part provided on the guide drive means. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the underside of the tabletop facing upward, exposing the pedal means and end cap members; This is a perspective view showing the underside of the top plate facing upward, with the rod of the locking device and the release operation device assembled to the top plate, and the end cap material attached. 1A and 1B are diagrams showing the state when the arm portion of the rod is in a standby position with respect to the operation of the release operating device, in which (A) is an oblique view showing the relationship between the arm portion of the rod and the guide drive means, and (B) is a longitudinal sectional view showing the relationship between the arm portion of the rod and the pedal means. 1A and 1B are perspective views showing the relationship between the arm portion of the rod and the guide drive means, and FIG. 1B is a longitudinal sectional view showing the relationship between the arm portion of the rod and the pedal means, respectively, showing the operation of the release operating device when the arm portion of the rod is in an actuated position.

A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

(Example of a workbench)
The folding work platform for implementing the locking device and the operating device of the present invention is a general-purpose work platform including a wide variety of types used for working at heights at construction sites, etc. Therefore, it should be understood that the work platform shown in the drawings is merely one example, and the present invention is not limited to the illustrated example.

In the example shown, the workbench 1 has, with respect to the longitudinal direction X and transverse direction Y of the top plate 2, side edges facing in the longitudinal direction X as gable side edges 3L, 3R, and side edges facing in the transverse direction Y as girder side edges 4L, 4R. Legs 5L, 5R are provided at the side edges 3L, 3R, and the legs 5L, 5R are pivotally connected via pivot devices 10L, 10R so as to be freely rotatable between an open leg position P1 in which the legs hang down and a closed leg position P2 in which the legs are stored under the top plate 2.

In the following description, when there is no particular distinction between the left and right gable side edges 3L, 3R, they may simply be referred to as gable side edges 3, and when there is no particular distinction between the left and right girder side edges 4L, 4R, they may simply be referred to as girder side edges 4.

As shown in Figures 4 to 6, the top plate 2 is formed by connecting a central plate 2a and both side plates 2b, 2b arranged side by side in the short direction Y, and both side plates 2b, 2b form the girder side edge portion 4 with both side walls 6, 6 that are at a height H toward the bottom of the top plate 2, and are provided with a strip-shaped wall 6a that is bent inward from both side walls 6, 6 at the height H.

The central plate 2a has rail-shaped beam walls 7, 7 extending from both side edges toward the bottom of the top plate 2 in the longitudinal direction Y. The beam walls 7, 7 are formed with a T-shaped cross section to provide a band-shaped plate portion 7a, which is positioned at the same height H as the band-shaped wall 6a.

Furthermore, a number of ribs 8 extending in the longitudinal direction X are formed on the undersides of the central plate 2a and both side plates 2b, 2b.

End cap materials 9 are fitted to both ends of the top plate 2 in the longitudinal direction X, thereby forming the gable side edge 3.

The legs 5L, 5R are each configured in a multi-step ladder shape with a pair of column bases 5a, 5a connected by rungs 5b, and the upper ends of the column bases 5a, 5a are pivotally connected to both sides of the gable side edge 3 of the tabletop 2 so that they can rotate freely. In the following description, when there is no need to distinguish between the left and right legs 5L, 5R, they may simply be referred to as legs 5.

(Pivot and locking devices)
The pivoting devices 10 are provided between the four corners of the tabletop 2 and the column bases 5a. In the illustrated embodiment, as shown in Figures 3 to 5, the pivoting devices 10L are provided between one leg 5L and both sides of the end edge 3L, and the pivoting devices 10R are provided between the other leg 5R and the end edge 3R. The pivoting devices 10L, 10R are configured to have different turning radii for the legs 5L, 5R, which allows the legs 5L, 5R to be folded in a stacked state as shown in Figure 2.

In the illustrated embodiment, the pivot devices 10L, 10R are provided with locking devices 11L, 11R that enable a leg-open lock that locks the legs 5L, 5R so that they cannot rotate in the leg-open position P1, and a leg-close lock that locks the legs 5L, 5R so that they cannot rotate in the leg-closed position P2.

However, in a configuration in which a preceding closed leg 5R is overlapped with a following closed leg 5L, the pivoting device 10R of the preceding leg 5R does not necessarily need to be locked in closed position, as it is held by the following overlapping leg 5L, so the closed leg locking means may be omitted and the configuration may be such that only open leg locking is possible.

Furthermore, while the leg-opening lock is essential to ensure safety when the workbench is in use, the leg-closing lock is not necessarily required, as it is intended to keep the legs folded when the workbench is not in use.

(Configuration of leg opening lock and leg closing lock)
The pivot devices 10L, 10R and the lock devices 11L, 11R have the same structure for locking the legs open and closed. Therefore, when there is no need to distinguish between the left and right pivot devices 10L, 10R, they will be referred to simply as the pivot device 10, and when there is no need to distinguish between the left and right lock devices 11L, 11R, they will be referred to simply as the lock devices 11. Common components will be denoted by the same reference numerals.

The pivoting device 10 is composed of a pair of fixed plates 12 fixed to both sides of the end edge 3 of the tabletop 2, and a pair of rotating plates 13 fixed to the upper ends of the column bases 5a of the legs 5, and is pivotally connected to the tabletop 2 by pivots 14 with the rotating plates 13 overlapping the outside of the fixed plates 12. As a result, the legs 5 are pivotally connected to the tabletop 2 so as to be able to rotate freely between the open leg position P1 and the closed leg position P2.

The locking device 11 is composed of a pair of rods 15, 15 located under the tabletop 2 and arranged in series in the short direction Y, and an open-leg lock hole 16 and a closed-leg lock hole 19 provided in the rotating plate 13. The open-leg lock hole 16 is arranged so as to be located on the axis of the rod 15 when the leg 5 is rotated around the pivot 14 to a position in which the legs are in the open position P1. In contrast, the closed-leg lock hole 19 is arranged so as to be located on the axis of the rod 15 when the leg 5 is rotated around the pivot 14 to a position in which the legs are in the closed position P2.

The rod 15 is inserted into a pivot hole formed in the beam wall 7 and the side wall 6 of the top plate 2, pivoted so as to be freely movable in the axial direction, and resiliently biased in the axial direction toward the rotating plate 13 by a spring 17. The tip of the rod 15 is a locking portion 15a, and the position where the locking portion 15a inserted from the positioning hole 18 of the fixed plate 12 is inserted and locked into the leg opening lock hole 16 or the leg closing lock hole 19 is configured to be a locked position L1, and the position where the locking portion 15a retreats from the leg opening lock hole 16 or the leg closing lock hole 19 is configured to be an unlocked position L2. The rod 15 is normally elastically held in the locked position L1 by the spring 17, and can be moved to the unlocked position L2 against the spring 17 by operating a release operation device described later.

When the rod 15 is in the unlocked position L2 and the leg 5 is rotated to move the open leg lock hole 16 or the closed leg lock hole 19 away from the positioning hole 18, the rod 15, which is resiliently biased by the spring 17, brings the locking portion 15a into resiliently contact with the inner surface of the rotating plate 13.

Therefore, when the folded leg body 5 is unfolded by rotating it to the leg-open position P1, as soon as the leg-open lock hole 16 of the rotating plate 13 matches the positioning hole 18 of the fixed plate 12, the locking portion 15a of the rod 15 is inserted and locked into the leg-open lock hole 16, automatically locking the legs open.

On the other hand, when the open leg lock is released and the legs 5 are rotated to fold and assume the closed leg position P2, as soon as the closed leg lock hole 19 of the rotating plate 13 matches the positioning hole 18 of the fixed plate 12, the locking portion 15a of the rod 15 is inserted and locked into the closed leg lock hole 19, automatically locking the legs closed.

As shown in FIG. 2(A), when the legs 5L and 5R are in the open leg position P1, the legs 5L and 5R are locked open by the locking devices 11. When folding the legs, as shown in FIG. 2(B)(C), the locking devices 11 of the legs 5L and 5R are released to lock the right leg 5R in the closed leg position P2, and then the left leg 5L is locked in the closed leg position P2, so that the legs 5L and 5R are folded in a stacked state. As described above, the right leg 5R does not necessarily have to be provided with a closed leg locking means. Even in this case, if the left leg 5L is configured to be locked closed, the legs 5L and 5R will not rotate in the unfolded direction when the workbench 1 is transported with the legs 5L and 5R folded under the top plate 2, and the workbench 1 can be transported safely.

(Release operation device)
6 to 11 show the release operation device 20 used to move the rod 15 of the lock device 11 from the lock position L1 to the unlock position L2 and release the lock. Note that Figs. 6 to 13 described below show the underside of the tabletop 2 facing upward.

The rod 15 has a main shaft portion 15b, which extends linearly including a locking portion 15a at the tip, and is slidably inserted into the shaft support holes in the side wall 6 and beam wall 7 of the top plate 2. The spring 17, which is a coil spring inserted around the main shaft portion 15b, is compressed between the beam wall 7 and the spring support material 17a, and is resiliently biased toward the locking position L1.

In the illustrated embodiment, support members 21, 21 are placed between the beam walls 7, 7 to support from the inside the end cap material 9 attached to the gable edge 3 of the top plate 2. Therefore, by providing a shelf-like portion 21a using the support member 21, the base end of the main shaft portion 15b of the rod 15 is configured to be slidably supported by the shelf-like portion 21a.

When the end cap material 9 is attached to the gable edge 3 (see Figure 11), the support member 21 is configured to be placed inside the hollow interior of the end cap material 9 and to be supported on its inner surface. As shown in Figure 7, it has a fixing portion 21b that is fixed near the edge of the central plate 2a via a fastener such as a rivet, and support plate portions 21b, 21b that protrude from the fixing portion 21b and are supported on the inner surface of the end cap material 9, and a shelf-like portion 21a is formed on the upper surface of the fixing portion 21b.

The release operation device 20 has an arm portion 15c extending in the bending direction from the base end of the main shaft portion 15b of the rod 15 to enable axial movement of the rod 15, and comprises a guide drive means 22 and a pedal means 23 as means for moving the main shaft portion 15b in the axial direction via the arm portion 15c.

The basic configuration of the release operation device 20 that enables this action is that when the arm portion 15c of the rod 15 is rotated around the axis of the main shaft portion 15b, the rotational motion of the arm portion 15c is converted into lateral motion in the axial direction of the main shaft portion 15b, thereby moving the lock portion 15a from the locked position L1 to the unlocked position L2. The pedal means 23 is configured as a means for rotating the arm portion 15c, and the guide drive means 22 is configured as a means for converting the rotational motion into lateral motion in the axial direction.

(Guide driving means)
8 and 9, with the arm portion 15c of the rod 15 tilted to face the inside of the tabletop 2, a guide drive means 22 is disposed opposite the arm portion 15c and is fixed to the tabletop 2 via a fastener such as a rivet. In the illustrated embodiment, the guide drive means 22 also has a symmetrical configuration that operates the pair of arm portions 15c, 15c corresponding to the pair of rods 15, 15 disposed symmetrically.

When the rod 15 is in a standby position Q1 in which the arm portion 15c is inclined at a predetermined angle θ1 with respect to a perpendicular line V of the tabletop 2 that passes through the axis of the main body shaft portion 15b (see FIG. 12), the lock portion 15a is positioned in a locked position L1. Therefore, when the arm portion 15c is rotated in the prone direction (forward rotation) to an operating position Q2 in which the arm portion 15c is inclined to an angle θ2 (see FIG. 13), the guide drive means 22 is configured to move the main body shaft portion 15b in the axial direction and move the lock portion 15a to the unlocked position L2.

For this reason, as shown in FIG. 9, the guide drive means 22 forms a passage 24 that receives the arm portion 15c biased by the spring 17 in an inclined position, and the passage 24 has a first end 24a that supports the arm portion 13c in the standby position Q1, a second end 24b that supports the arm portion 15c in the operating position Q2, and a motion conversion part 24c that extends between the first end and the second end to support the arm portion 15c that rotates between the standby position Q1 and the operating position Q2. The motion conversion part 24 is formed along an inclined line that crosses the arm portion 15c diagonally, extends from the first end 24a to the second end 24b, and gradually moves away from the lock portion 15a in the short direction Y and the longitudinal direction Y, and the first end 24a and the second end 24b are separated by a distance L in the axial direction of the main shaft part 15b of the rod.

As a result, the arm portion 15c, which rotates from the operating position Q1 to the standby position Q2, moves the distance L in the axial direction of the main body shaft portion 15b while rubbing against the motion conversion portion 24c in contact with it. This distance L is configured to be greater than or equal to the movement stroke S of the rod 15, which moves the lock portion 15a from the locked position L1 to the unlocked position L2.

As described above, the arm portion 15c, which is rotated along the motion conversion portion 24c, is elastically contacted with the motion conversion portion 24c by the biasing force of the spring 17, generating frictional resistance. Therefore, in order to smoothly rotate from the operating position Q1 to the standby position Q2, the motion conversion portion 24c extending from the first end 24a to the second end 24b is formed so as to gradually incline with respect to a reference plane P parallel to the top plate 2 in the forward rotation direction of the arm portion 15c (the direction of rotation from the standby position Q1 to the operating position Q2), as shown by the angle α in FIG. 9(B).

In the illustrated embodiment, as shown in FIG. 8(A), the guide drive means 22 is composed of a base body 22a molded from plastic and a protective plate 22b made from a metal plate, and the protective plate 22b is overlapped and fixed to the upper surface of the base plate 22a, so that the edge of the passage 24 is formed by the highly strong protective plate 22b.

(Pedal Means)
As shown in Figures 10 and 11, a pedal means 23 is provided to rotate the arm portion 15c of the rod 15 from the standby position Q1 to the operating position Q2, and is arranged so as to cover the arm portions 15c, 15c from below the top board 2.

Pivot brackets 25, 25 for supporting the pedal means 23 are fixed to the band-shaped plate portions 7a, 7a of the beam walls 7, 7 located on both sides of the guide drive means 22 via fasteners such as rivets. The pedal means 23 is formed by bending a metal plate, and pivot pieces 27 formed by bending on both sides of the footboard portion 26 are pivotally attached to the pivot brackets 25 via pivots 28 so as to be freely rotatable.

As shown in FIG. 12, when the arm portion 15c is in the standby position Q1, the pedal means 23 is pivoted in a position that is approximately in line with the inclination of the arm portion 15c by arranging a pivot 28 to the side of the middle part of the longitudinal direction of the arm portion 15c. Therefore, the footboard 26 of the pedal means 23 has a pushing portion 26a that extends obliquely upward from the pivot 28 and a tail portion 26b that extends obliquely downward from the pivot 28.

As described above, the arm portion 15c in the standby position Q1 is supported by the first end 24a of the passage 24 with the biasing force of the spring 17, and when it is rotated in the standing direction from the standby position Q1, it escapes from the passage 24. For this reason, the pedal means 23 supports the tail portion 26b to the guide drive means 22 with the pushing portion 26a in contact with the tip of the arm portion 15c, thereby forming a posture control means 30 that holds the arm portion 15c in a state where it is prevented from rotating in the standing direction.

Prior to pivoting the pedal means 23, a columnar stopper 29 is attached to the top plate 2 as shown in Figures 8 and 10. In the illustrated example, the stopper 29 is a bottomed cylinder, and the bottom is fixed to the central plate 2a of the top plate 2 via a fastener such as a rivet.

As a result, the stopper 29 is disposed between the pushing portion 26a of the pedal means 23 and the underside of the tabletop 2, so that the pedal means 23 is stopped by the stopper 29 when it is pushed to a position that places the arm portion 15c in the operating position Q2.

(Action)
The release operation device 20 is configured so that when the workbench 1 is installed upside down, i.e., with the underside of the top plate 2 facing upwards, the worker steps on the pedal means 23 with the sole of his/her foot (such as the sole of a shoe), thereby moving the lock portion 15a of the rod 15 from the lock position L1 to the unlock position L2 and releasing the lock.

Therefore, the worker can easily unlock the locking device 11 that locks the leg body 5 simply by stepping on it with the sole of the foot (shoe sole, etc.), and since the worker can use both hands freely at this time, the worker can use both hands to rotate the leg body 5 at the same time as releasing the lock by stepping on it.

That is, when the locking portion 15a of the rod 15 is moved to the locking position L1 and the arm portion 15c is in the standby position Q1 (see FIG. 12), when the pedal means 23 is stepped on, the arm portion 15 rotates forward from the standby position Q1 to the operating position Q2 as shown in FIG. 13, and at that time, it moves in contact with the motion conversion portion 24c from the first end 14a to the second end 14b of the passage 24 in the guide drive means 22, thereby moving the rod 15 against the spring 17 and moving the locking portion 15a from the locked position L1 to the unlocked position L2.

In this state (see FIG. 13), when the pushing portion 26a of the footboard portion 26 is released from being stepped on, the rod 15 is moved in the return direction by the restoring force of the spring 17, as shown in FIG. 12, and the lock portion 15a moves from the unlocked position L2 to the locked position L1. At that time, the arm portion 15c moves from the second end 14b of the passage 24 toward the first end 14a in contact with the motion conversion portion 24c, and is rotated in the reverse direction from the operating position Q2 to the standby position Q1 in the upright direction, and following this, the pushing portion 26a of the pedal means 23 is rotated in the upright direction, and the attitude control means 30 of the tail portion 26b is supported by the guide drive means 22.

When closing the legs 5 that are locked open in the open leg position P1, or when opening the legs 5 that are locked closed in the closed leg position P2, the operator can simply and easily unlock the locking device 11 that locks the legs 5 by stepping on the pedal means 23 with the sole of the foot (shoe sole, etc.), and since the operator can use both hands freely at this time, the operator can easily fold or unfold the legs 5 by using both hands at the same time as releasing the lock by stepping. Then, the folded or unfolded legs 5 are automatically locked when the locking portion 15a of the rod 15 biased by the spring 17 is inserted and engaged into the closed leg lock hole 19 or the open leg lock hole 16.

The present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment. For example, the illustrated embodiment is configured to have a pair of rods 15, 15 arranged in series in the short direction Y, and a pair of pivot devices 10, 10 provided on both sides of the end edge 3 and two column bases 5a, 5a, to form lock devices 11, 11 on both sides of the short direction Y, and a single pedal means 23 in the release operation device 20 to simultaneously unlock the pair of rods 15, 15, but is not limited to such a configuration. Since the leg body 5 is formed in a ladder shape with two column bases 5a, 5a integrated, for example, a lock device 11 may be formed only for the pivot device 10 of the column base 5a located on one side of the short direction Y by one rod 15 of the pair of rods, and the lock device 11 may be configured to be unlocked by the release operation device 20. Furthermore, as described above, of the open leg lock and the closed leg lock, the closed leg lock is not necessarily required.

1 Work table 2 Top plate 2a Central plate 2b, 2b Side plates 3, 3L, 3R Gable side edge portion 4, 4L, 4R Girder side edge portion 5, 5L, 5R Leg body 5a Column base 5b Step bar 6, 6 Side walls 6a Belt-shaped wall 7, 7 Beam wall 7a Belt-shaped plate portion 8 Rib 9 End cap material 10, 10L, 10R Pivot connection device 11, 11L, 11R Locking device 12 Fixed plate 13 Rotating plate 14 Pivot 15 Rod 15a Lock portion 15b Main body shaft portion 15c Arm portion 16 Open leg lock hole 17 Spring 17a Spring receiving material 18 Positioning hole 19 Closed leg lock hole 20 Release operation device 21 Support member 21a Shelf-shaped portion 21b Fixed portion 21c Support plate portion 22 Guide drive means 22a Base body 22b Protective plate 23 Pedal means 24 Passage 24a First end 24b Second end 24c Motion conversion portion 25 Pivot bracket 26 Stepping plate portion 26a Pushing portion 26b Tail portion 27 Pivot piece 28 Pivot shaft 29 Stopper 30 Attitude control means

Claims (5)

A folding workbench is provided with pivoting devices located on opposite side edges of a top plate and pivotally connecting the legs (5) between an open leg position (P1) in which the legs are hung downward and a closed leg position (P2) in which the legs are stored under the top plate, the pivoting devices being located under the top plate, and a locking device (11) for locking the legs in the open leg position (P1) so that they cannot be rotated, and a release operation device (20) for releasing the locking device being located under the top plate.
The locking device (11) comprises a rod (15) disposed near the side edge of the tabletop, and a rotating plate (13) having a locking hole (16) which rotates together with the rotation of the legs to be positioned on the axis of the rod when the tabletop is in the open leg position (P1). The rod (15) is supported movably between a locked position (L1) where a locking portion (15a) at the tip is inserted and locked in the locking hole, and an unlocked position (L2) where the locking portion (15a) is retracted from the locking hole, and is resiliently biased toward the locked position (L1) by a spring (17).
The release operation device (20) comprises an arm portion (15c) extending from the base end of the rod (15) in the bending direction, a pedal means (23) for covering the arm portion from below the top plate to rotate the arm portion around the axis of the rod, and a guide drive means (22) provided between the pedal means and the top plate, the guide drive means including a motion conversion section (24c) for converting between the rotational motion of the arm portion and the lateral movement of the arm portion relative to the axial direction of the rod,
the arm portion (15c) rotated in the forward direction in response to the pushing of the pedal means (23) moves laterally against the spring (17) via the motion conversion portion (24c) to move the rod to the unlock position (L2);
A locking device for a folding workbench, characterized in that the arm portion (15c) released from the pushing motion of the pedal means moves laterally in the biasing direction of the spring (17) while rotating reversely in the upright direction via the motion conversion portion (24c), thereby moving the rod to the locked position (L1). The rod (15) is configured to be movable between a locked position (L1) and an unlocked position (L2) through a movement stroke (S).
the arm portion (15c) is configured to set the rod to a locked position (L1) when in a standby position (Q1) inclined at a predetermined angle with respect to a perpendicular line (V) of the top plate that passes through the axis of the rod, and to set the rod to an unlocked position (L2) when rotated to increase the angle to set the rod to an operating position (Q2);
The guide drive means (22) forms a passage (24) that supports the arm portion biased by a spring, and the passage has a first end (24a) that supports the arm portion in a standby position (Q1), a second end (24b) that supports the arm portion in an operating position (Q2), and a motion conversion part (24c) that extends between the first end and the second end and thereby supports the arm portion that rotates between the standby position and the operating position,
2. A locking device for a folding workbench as described in claim 1, characterized in that the motion conversion part is formed along a line that diagonally crosses the arm part, and is formed so that the distance (L) between the first end (24a) and the second end (24b) in the axial direction of the rod is greater than or equal to the movement stroke (S). The locking device for a folding workbench described in claim 2, characterized in that the motion conversion part (24c) extending from the first end (24a) to the second end (24b) is formed so as to gradually incline in the direction in which the arm part rotates from the standby position (Q1) to the operating position (Q2). In a state where the arm portion (15c) is in a standby position (Q1) inclined at a predetermined angle,
The pedal means (23) is pivotally supported in a position substantially following the inclination of the arm portion by disposing a pivot (28) on the side of a longitudinally intermediate portion of the arm portion, and includes a pushing portion (26a) of the pedal means extending obliquely upward from the pivot and a tail portion (26b) extending obliquely downward from the pivot,
4. A locking device for a folding workbench as claimed in claim 2 or 3, characterized in that a posture control means (30) is constituted which holds the arm portion in a state where it is prevented from rotating in the upright direction by supporting the tail portion (26b) on the guide drive means (22) with the pushing portion (26a) abutting against the tip of the arm portion (15c). A locking device for a folding workbench as described in claim 2, 3 or 4, characterized in that a stopper (29) is provided between the pedal means (23) and the underside of the top plate (2), and is configured so that the pedal means is received by the stopper when the pedal means is pushed to a position where the arm portion (15c) is in the operating position (Q2).

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