JPH11311397A - Foot with height adjusting function - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To restrict the undesirable behavior of a furniture and an electric equipment at the time of adjusting the height thereof by functioning an air operation chamber formed of an outer case and a piston unit and an orifice for opening the air operation chamber toward the atmospheric air as a damper at the time of elevating a leg member. SOLUTION: An orifice 22 is formed at a nearly central part of an upper wall of an upper outer case 13, and a valve element 23 is provided between the upper wall and an upper end of a leg member 12 so as to close the orifice 22. A top surface of a valve element 23 is formed with a throttle groove, and an air operation chamber 21 formed between a piston unit 19 and the upper outer case 13 is opened toward the atmospheric air through the throttle groove and the orifice 22. An operating member 11 is assembled freely to be moved laterally between the lock position and the release position in the condition that the leg member 12 is inserted into the through hole 34. With this structure, when the operating member 11 is operated to the release position, the leg member 12 is slowly moved vertically in response to the ventilation resistance of the orifice 22.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a foot with a height adjusting function suitable for adjusting the height and angle of furniture and household electric appliances.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Furniture, home electric appliances and the like, which are provided with a foot having a height adjusting function for adjusting a height and an angle, have been widely put into practical use. For example, in a projector that projects a television image, a video image, or the like, a pair of feet provided on the front side having a height adjustment function is used so that the projection angle can be adjusted. As the foot having the height adjusting function, a screw shaft is screwed into a machine frame of the projector, and a seat plate fixed to a lower end of the screw shaft is rotated to adjust a screwing amount of the screw shaft with respect to the machine frame. Thus, a projector configured to adjust the inclination angle of the projector is used.

As a simple structure having a height adjusting function, for example, Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 32-4181 discloses an elevating rod having a rubber leg fixed to a lower end thereof, and a rod spring for constantly urging the elevating rod upward. And an operation lever having a through hole through which the elevating rod is inserted, wherein the edge of the through hole is engaged with the outer surface of the elevating rod, and a restricting position for restricting the elevation of the elevating rod; An operating lever capable of being tilted to a release position where the engagement with the outer surface of the elevating rod is released and the elevating rod is allowed to elevate and lower, and a lever spring that constantly biases the operating lever toward the regulation position side are provided. A door stop fitting is described. In this door stop bracket, the lifting rod is depressed downward against the spring force of the rod spring, the lifting rod is lowered, the rubber feet are pressed against the floor surface, the door is stopped, and the operation lever is released. By operating to the position side, the lifting force of the lifting lever is raised by the spring force of the rod spring, and the stop of the door can be released.

[0004]

Since the height of the foot is adjusted in accordance with the amount of screwing of the screw shaft, if the amount of adjustment is large, it is necessary to rotate the screw shaft many times. However, there is a problem that the adjustment work becomes complicated. Further, a configuration such as the door stop fitting may be applied to the foot, and by operating the operation lever, the raising / lowering rod may be raised / lowered at a stroke to a desired height position to adjust the inclination angle of the projector. It is possible. However, even in this case, when the operation lever is operated to the release position, the front portion of the projector is supported by the spring force of the rod spring. There is a problem that the front part jumps up and the front part of the projector falls if the spring force is too weak. Moreover, since the rod spring tends to expand or contract until its spring force balances with its own weight at the front of the projector, even if an appropriate rod spring is used,
The problem of jumps and dips cannot be completely eliminated. In addition, since the elevating rod moves at a high speed by the rod spring, it may be difficult to finely adjust the height. Furthermore, since the gap between the projector and the installation surface is relatively small, there is a problem that the operability of the operation lever is reduced.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to easily adjust the height and angle of furniture and home appliances, and to effectively suppress inadvertent behavior of furniture and home appliances during height adjustment.
An object of the present invention is to provide a foot with an adjusting function capable of finely adjusting the height and angle.

[0006]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a foot with an adjusting function having an outer case having a bottomed receiving hole with an open lower end, and an airtightly slidable piston in the receiving hole. A leg member, an orifice for releasing an air working chamber formed by the outer case and the piston portion to the atmosphere, a leg elastic member for constantly urging the leg member downward, and a reciprocating movement of the leg member. Locking means that can be regulated, a plurality of regulating uneven portions formed on the outer peripheral surface of the leg member at regular intervals in the length direction, and slidably provided on the outer case, capable of engaging with the regulating uneven portion And a locking means having a locking elastic member which constantly urges the operating member in a direction in which the locking uneven portion engages with the regulating uneven portion. .

In this foot with a height adjustment function,
By pushing the operating member against the urging force of the locking elastic member, the engagement between the locking concave and convex portion and the regulating concave and convex portion is released, and the leg member becomes movable. When the member descends due to the urging force of the leg elastic member, outside air gradually flows into the air operating chamber via the orifice, and when the leg member rises against the urging force of the leg elastic member, the air operating chamber is raised. Is gradually discharged to the outside through the orifice, so that the leg member moves up and down at a low speed according to the ventilation resistance of the orifice. As described above, since the air working chamber and the orifice function as a damper for raising and lowering the leg member, furniture and home appliances to which the foot is attached are not likely to have a sudden jump or drop during height adjustment. Preparatory behavior is prevented, and the angle and height can be adjusted smoothly, and the angle and height can be finely adjusted. In addition, by pressing the operating member in the horizontal direction, the engagement between the locking uneven portion and the regulating uneven portion can be released, so that the space for disposing the operating member is narrow in the vertical direction as in a projector or the like. Even in this case, the operability of the operation member can be sufficiently ensured.

In the foot according to the second aspect, an orifice is formed in an upper wall portion of the outer case, a valve body is provided below the upper wall portion so as to close the orifice, and the valve body is formed by a leg elastic member. It was pressed against the upper wall. When the valve element is provided in this manner, the movement speed of the leg member can be set to an appropriate speed without much depending on the hole diameter of the orifice.
The manufacturing cost of the outer case can be reduced. In particular, claim 3
As described above, when a throttle groove communicating the air working chamber and the orifice is formed on the upper surface of the valve body, fluctuations in airflow resistance due to the surface properties of the contact surface between the upper wall and the valve body are prevented, and the airflow resistance is reduced. Is preferred because it can be stabilized. Further, when a positioning pin for positioning the leg elastic member is formed integrally with the valve body, the number of components can be reduced while improving the assemblability of the leg elastic member. It is preferred.

[0009]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIG. 1, a foot with a height adjustment function (hereinafter, simply referred to as a foot) 10
Are mounted on the front part of the machine frame 2 of the projector 1 such that the operating members 11 of the left and right feet 1 are released (see FIG. 7).
By adjusting the amount of protrusion of the leg member 12 while operating the projector 1, the tilt angle of the projector 1 can be adjusted as shown in FIGS.

Referring to the foot 10, as shown in FIGS. 3 to 7, a pair of upper and lower outer cases 13 and 14 are detachably mounted via a hook portion 15 and a locking bracket 16, and the outer case 13 is provided. , 14 are provided with a leg member 12 therein, and a lower end of the leg member 12 penetrates a lower wall portion of the lower outer case 14 and protrudes downward. Upper outer case 1
3 is a cylindrical portion 1 having a bottomed receiving hole 17 with an open lower end.
8 is integrally formed, and a piston portion 19 is integrally formed at an upper end portion of the leg member 12. The piston portion 19 is air-tightly slidably mounted in the housing hole 17 via a seal ring 20 provided on the piston portion 19. , Piston part 19 and upper outer case 1
An air working chamber 21 is formed between the three.

An orifice 22 is formed substantially at the center of the upper wall of the upper exterior case 13, and a valve 23 is provided between the upper wall and the upper end of the leg member 12 to close the orifice 22. Four throttle grooves 24 are formed radially on the upper surface of the valve body 23, and the air working chamber 21 is open to the atmosphere via the throttle groove 24 and the orifice 22. In addition, the throttle groove 24
The cross-sectional shape, size, and number of are set appropriately in consideration of the flow resistance of outside air to the air working chamber 21. When the hole diameter of the orifice 22 can be formed with high accuracy, the valve element 23 can be omitted. Further, the orifice 22 may be formed on the leg member 12 side. The leg member 12 is formed in a bottomed cylindrical shape having an open upper end.
A leg elastic member 25 composed of a compression coil spring is provided therein, and the leg member 12 is constantly biased downward through the leg elastic member 25, and the valve body 23 is constantly biased upward through the leg elastic member 25. Have been. A positioning pin 23a is formed integrally with the valve body 23, and the leg elastic member 25 is positioned by the positioning pin 23a.

A locking plate 26 is provided between the upper and lower outer casings 13 and 14, and the locking plate 26 is formed with an insertion hole 27 through which an intermediate portion of the leg member 12 is inserted. 19, and the lower end of the piston portion 19 is locked at the edge of the insertion hole 27 so that the leg member 12
Is configured such that the lower limit position is restricted.

The lower outer case 14 incorporates locking means 30 which can restrict the vertical movement of the leg member 12.
The locking means 30 will be described.
4, an operation member 11 is movably mounted in a left and right direction over a lock position shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 and a release position shown in FIG. It is composed of a main body member 32 and a locking member 33 that are connected via a base 31. The right end of the main body member 32 projects outside the lower outer case 14, and the operation member 11 is formed with an insertion hole 34 through which the leg member 12 is inserted in a state where the main body member 32 and the locking member 33 are combined. . The insertion hole 34 is formed in a long hole shape extending in the left-right direction, and the operation member 11 is movable in the left-right direction over the lock position and the release position with the leg member 12 inserted through the insertion hole 34. It is assembled.

In the left half of the peripheral surface of the leg member 12, regulating concave and convex portions 35 formed of ridges having a mountain-shaped cross section extending in the circumferential direction are formed at regular intervals in the longitudinal direction.
A locking concave / convex portion 36 is formed on the inner peripheral surface on the side to engage with the regulating concave / convex portion 35 at the locked position. The operating member 11 is constantly urged to the lock position side where the locking concave / convex portion 36 is irregularly engaged with the regulating concave / convex portion 35 by the locking elastic member 37 composed of a compression coil spring interposed between the operating member 11 and the lower outer case 14. ing. However, the regulating uneven portion 35 may be provided over the entire circumference of the leg member 12. In addition, the regulation uneven part 3
The number of 5 can be set arbitrarily, and for example, a concave portion or a convex portion may be formed intermittently. In this locking means 30,
When the operating member 11 is pushed, the locking uneven portion 36 is separated from the regulating uneven portion 35, and the leg member 12 becomes vertically movable. When the pushing operation of the operating member 11 is stopped,
By the urging force of the locking elastic member 37, the locking uneven portion 36 is formed.
Are unevenly engaged with the regulating concave / convex portions 35, and the vertical movement of the leg member 12 is regulated.

When assembling the foot 10, the locking elastic member 37 is provided in the lower outer case 14 by the operation member 11.
After that, the locking plate 26 is dropped next, and then the leg member 12 with the seal ring 20 exterior is inserted through these members. Further, the leg elastic member 25 and the valve body 23 are attached to the leg member 12. The foot 10 can be easily assembled by a simple operation of assembling sequentially and finally assembling the upper outer case 13 to the lower outer case 14. Reference numeral 38 denotes a screw for fixing the foot 10 to the machine frame 2 of the projector 1. As shown in FIG. 8, a rubber seat 39 for preventing slippage is provided at the lower end of the leg member 12.
May be attached by fitting or screwing.

The operation and effect of the foot 10 will be described. In the foot 10, since the air working chamber 21 is open to the atmosphere through the throttle groove 24 and the orifice 22, when the operating member 11 is operated to the release position, the leg member 12 moves up and down slowly. . When increasing the inclination angle of the projector 1, while slightly lifting the front part of the projector 1 by hand,
1 is pushed to the release position, and the leg member 12 is projected downward by the urging force of the leg elastic member 25. At this time, the leg member 12 slowly projects downward.
When the inclination angle of the projector 1 is reduced, the operation member 11 is pushed toward the release position as it is,
Due to the weight of the front portion of the projector 1, the leg member 12 is stored upward against the urging force of the leg elastic member 25. Even in this case, the leg member 12 is slowly stored upward. become. Since the leg member 12 moves at a low speed in this manner, the angle of the projector 1 can be efficiently adjusted to a desired angle.

However, by setting the urging force of the leg elastic member 25 to be slightly larger than the weight of the front portion of the projector 1 and pushing the operating member 11 to the release position, the front portion of the projector 1 is automatically turned on. May rise, and the front part of the projector 1 may be lowered by slightly pressing the front part of the projector 1 downward while operating the operation member 11 to the release position.

In this embodiment, the present invention is applied to the foot 10 provided for adjusting the angle of the projector 1. However, the present invention is applied to a foot for adjusting the height and angle of household appliances and furniture other than the projector. However, the present invention can be similarly applied.

[0019]

According to the foot with the adjusting function of the first aspect, the amount of protrusion of the leg member can be adjusted without rotating the screw many times as in the case of using a screw shaft. The operability of lifting and lowering furniture and home appliances with the built-in can be greatly improved. Also, the leg member is slidably mounted in the accommodation hole of the outer case in an airtight manner, and an air working chamber formed by the leg member and the outer case is opened to the atmosphere through an orifice.
Since the foot has a damper function, the movement speed of the leg members during height adjustment is slowed, preventing the furniture and home appliances with the foot from jumping and falling rapidly, In addition to preventing inadvertent behavior of home appliances, fine angle adjustment is also possible. Further, by pressing the operating member in the horizontal direction, the engagement between the locking uneven portion and the regulating uneven portion can be released, so that the space for disposing the operating member is narrow in the vertical direction as in a projector or the like. Even in this case, the operability of the operation member can be sufficiently ensured.

If the valve element is provided so as to close the orifice, the moving speed of the leg member can be set to an appropriate speed without largely depending on the hole diameter of the orifice. Production costs can be reduced.
In particular, when the throttle groove is formed on the upper surface of the valve body as described in claim 3, fluctuation of the airflow resistance due to the surface properties of the contact surface between the upper wall and the valve body can be prevented, and the airflow resistance can be stabilized. It is preferred. Further, when the positioning pin is formed integrally with the valve body, the number of components of the foot can be reduced while improving the assemblability of the leg elastic member.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view of a projector.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the projector in a state where a tilt angle is increased.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of a foot.

FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of a foot in a locked state.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line VV of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a side view of the leg member.

FIG. 7 is a view corresponding to FIG. 5 of the foot in a released state.

FIG. 8 is a longitudinal sectional view of a foot to which a rubber seat is attached.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Projector 2 Machine frame 10 Foot 11 Operating member 12 Leg member 13 Upper outer case 14 Lower outer case 15 Hook part 16 Locking bracket 17 Housing hole 18 Tube part 19 Piston part 20 Seal ring 21 Air working chamber 22 Orifice 23 Valve body 23a Positioning pin 24 Throttle groove 25 Leg elastic member 26 Locking plate 27 Insertion hole 30 Lock means 31 Uneven fitting portion 32 Main body member 33 Locking member 34 Insertion hole 35 Regulation uneven portion 36 Locking uneven portion 37 Locking elastic member 38 Screw 39 Rubber seat

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An outer case having a bottomed receiving hole with an open lower end, a leg member having a piston part slidably and airtightly slidable in the receiving hole, and an air actuation formed by the outer case and the piston part An orifice for releasing the chamber to the atmosphere, an elastic member for the leg which constantly urges the leg member downward, and a lock means capable of restricting the forward / backward movement of the leg member. A plurality of regulating concave and convex portions formed at regular intervals in the vertical direction, an operating member having a locking concave and convex portion provided on the outer case so as to be slidable and capable of engaging with the regulating concave and convex portion, and locking the operating member. A locking means having a locking elastic member which constantly urges the projections and depressions in a direction in which the projections and depressions engage with the regulating projections and depressions. 2. An orifice is formed in an upper wall portion of the outer case, a valve body is provided below the upper wall portion so as to close the orifice, and the valve body is pressed against the upper wall portion by a leg elastic member. The foot with a height adjusting function according to claim 1. 3. The foot with a height adjusting function according to claim 2, wherein a throttle groove communicating the air working chamber and the orifice is formed on the upper surface of the valve body. 4. A valve according to claim 2, wherein a positioning pin for positioning the leg elastic member is formed integrally with the valve body.
Foot with height adjustment function as described.