LU84457A1 - HEIGHT-ADJUSTABLE WORKTOP - Google Patents

Description

I, "WORK PLAN ADJUSTABLE IN HEIGHT j The present invention relates to a work plan! adjustable in height comprising a surface similar to a table, arranged on at least two support arms.

5 In various cases, it has been proposed that the worktops be adjustable in height according to their usual uses. In this sense, such proposals have been formed in relation to the kitchens installed in the apartments, in which the worktops 10 in relation to the ovens and the dishwasher equipment 1 have most often been mounted at a height fixed, while ergonomic advantages could have been obtained if they had been adjustable in height. This wish is particularly expressed by associations 15 of disabled people. In the office and workshop sector, such height-adjustable worktops are also advantageous in many cases.

The manually adjustable worktops made to date have not found much practical use. This seems to be due to a poorly applied design with expensive structures and to the fact that the height adjustment requires an effort since this adjustment is conditioned by the weight of the plane itself and possibly by the load it supports and / or by 25 a large spring force acting in the opposite direction.

The present invention aims to provide a simple but reliable technique for adjusting the height of worktops. This is due to elements associated with the support arms carrying the surface of the work surface similar to a table, which are arranged vertically and which can be blocked in uprights or along uprights associated with said plane. Retractable braking means act against these uprights; in this way, the table-like surface can be blocked or fixed at a desired height. The movement is counterbalanced by means of means acting as a counterweight to allow a continuous movement.

The object of the present invention is achieved by a height-adjustable worktop comprising a table-like surface resting on at least two support arms which can be adjusted vertically and locked by means of elements sliding in uprights or the along uprights associated with the plane and by retractable braking means acting at least on one of the uprights, characterized in that each upright is made up of a profiled rail comprising an open longitudinal groove in which a carriage can slide or a guide rigidly carrying the support arm; the carriage comprising, in the vertical direction under the support arm, a projecting element which supports, by means of connecting rods 15 mounted on pivot, a braking arm which engages in the groove of the upright and on which blocks are fixed brake allowing the grip on the wall of the upright in order to cause blocking or tightening, the external end of the braking arm being mounted on a pivot at the lower end of a control rod, the upper end is articulated in a control arm near the articulation thereof on the support arm, said articulation being disposed adjacent to the fixing of the support arm to the carriage.

According to the present invention, the worktop comprises two or more support arms, depending on the length to be supported from the table-like surface.

There is therefore an amount associated with each support arm, said amount advantageously consisting of a profiled rail 30 having an open groove or a guide which is rigidly fixed to the support arm. An element extending from the carriage in the groove guides a connecting rod arranged under the support arm, the lower end of which is articulated on a braking element and the upper end of which is similarly mounted on a control arm which, // in turn, is articulated on the support arm near its i „* 3 attachment point to the carriage. The support arm is provided with a control arm, articulated to the support arm near its point of attachment to the carriage. A connecting rod depending on the control arm and articulated thereon near the attachment of said arm has a lower end which is articulated on a braking element. The grip of the braking element on the profile rail can be adjusted by means of the control arm.

According to an embodiment of the work plan, it is advantageous to plan. a single control arm enabling all the associated braking elements to be actuated; this can be achieved by means of a control shaft connected to the individual braking elements between the connecting rods.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the work plan is preferably provided to be fixed to the wall so that its uprights are fixed vertically to a wall. Since the uprights have a cross section substantially comprising a core 20 and two wings forming a groove between them, - the surface of the work surface, similar to a table, is arranged at a given distance from the wall; this is an advantage, since the space thus obtained between the wall and the edge of said surface, directed towards the wall, can be used for a weight used in order to counterbalance the weight of the worktop during the adjustment in height.

This weight is guided by grooves arranged on the outside of the profile rail and is connected to the corresponding carriage by a rope passing over pulleys.

The invention will be described in more detail with reference to an embodiment shown in the accompanying drawings in which; - Figure 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the work plan according to the invention, - Figure 2 is a partial view of a profiled rail I, partially seen in section, comprising a carriage

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4 and braking means arranged therein and FIG. 3 represents a device making it possible to obtain a parallel movement of two carriages, intended for the work plane of FIG. 1.

5 A worktop fixed to the wall is shown in FIG. 1, the table-like surface 1 being shown in phantom in order to facilitate the representation of the worktop adjustment mechanism according to the invention. The work plan comprises two uprights 3, 4 fixed to the wall 2, said uprights having a cross section substantially comprising a core and two wings forming a groove between them. Each upright 3,4 guides a carriage placed in the slide or the groove between the wings. The carriage 5 carries a support arm 6 and a braking means which will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. 2. The support arms 6 mounted on different carriages 5 support the surface 1 and the number of support arms and , therefore, the number of uprights 3, 4 can vary from two or more, depending on the dimensions of the surface 1. The carriages 5 sliding on different uprights 3 are joined to each other by means of a transverse bar 7. The braking means of the individual carriages 5 can also be rigidly fixed to each other in a similar manner 25 by means of a bar 8.

In order to obtain an easy adjustment in which the weight of the work surface itself does not affect the maneuverability, the work surface is provided with counterweight.

The embodiment shown in the work plan according to the invention comprises a counterweight arranged on each side of an upright 3 of the work plan. It is also conceivable to assign a counterweight to each carriage 5. In addition, the respective counterweights can be arranged. side-by-side between two uprights 3,4, that is to say the wall 2 and the edge of the table 1 directed towards it.

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guided in rails 10 and connected to one of the carriages 5 by a rope 11. The rope passes over pulleys 12, 13. The counterweight is advantageously arranged behind a panel (not shown) whose outer surface is located in a same plane as the outer edge of the profile rail. A counterweight common to the different carriages 5 can be used, in which case it is integral with f - the crossbar 7 which connects the different carriages: „5. Instead of counterweights 9 of the aforementioned kind, blocks can also be used. balancing known per se.

The braking means of the adjustable worktop, in height according to the invention are described below with reference to FIG. 2. In the figure, it can be seen that the carriage 5 slides in the profile rail 3 because it is mounted on wheels 14. The carriage 5 is connected to the counterweight by a rope 11 and carries the support arm 6 as described above. The trolley is also rigidly joined to other trolleys of the work plan by a transverse bar 7. In order to obtain a completely parallel movement of the two trolleys, the transverse bar can be provided with a double pulley to each trolley , as seen in FIG. 3. The pulley 30 acts on two ropes 31, 32 one of which (31) is fixed to the upper part of the upright associated with said carriage and to the lower part of the upright associated with the other carriage . The other rope 32 is similarly fixed to the lower part of the upright belonging to a carriage and to the upper part of the other carriage. The braking means comprise an arm of <.

control 15, articulated on the support arm 6 by means of a part 16 rigidly fixed to the arm 15 by means of a bolt 17 in the support arm 6, namely in the immediate vicinity of its attachment to the carriage 5. A control rod 18 is articulated on the control arm 15, close to the part 16, said rod 18 connecting the arm of the control rod 15 to a brake bar 19. The brake bar 19 is supported so to be able to pivot, by means of bolts in the connecting rods 21, the upper ends of the connecting rods being bolted so as to be able to pivot on an element or projection 20 of the carriage 5.

This element also forms the point of attachment of a tension spring 25 which is tensioned when the control arm 15 is applied in the direction of the support arm 6 to adjust the height of the work surface. The connecting rod 18 is articulated 10 on the brake bar 19 which is provided with brake blocks 23, 24 making it possible to act on the interior and exterior surfaces of the front wall 26 of the upright 3.

The brake blocks 23, 24 therefore allow a grip by friction on the wall 26, when the control arm 15 is not actuated manually. The control arm 15 comprises, at its free external end, a stop 22 preventing the braking bar 19 from being accidentally tightened against the upright 3.

The control arm 15 is normally only necessary 20 to one of the carriages 5. The braking means of the same work plane can therefore be controlled by a single 8 control arm 15, the part 16 of which is rigidly fixed B to the aforementioned bar 8 (see FIG. 1) which is rigidly connected to the corresponding braking means of the other B 25 carriages.

B The braking means are normally in the H clamped or wedged position, that is to say that the braking blocks 23, 24 act on the wall 26 of the upright 3.

^ B This position is reached thanks to the tension spring 25 ^ B 30 which acts on the control arm 15. In order to move ^ B the carriage 5, the tightening effect of the braking means B must be avoided, which is made by moving the stop 22 ^ B outwards and by approaching the control arm 15 ^ B of the support arm 6 against the effect of the spring 25. r ^ B 35 The connecting rod 18 then drives the part of the bar of ^ BH braking 19 which engages in the upright 3 downwards, "7}, fi so that the braking blocks 23, 24 are withdrawn from the wall of the upright 3. Thanks to the counterweight, the worktop can be raised or lowered comfortably to be adjusted to the desired height. When this height has been reached 5, the control arm 15 is released and is pulled down under the action of the spring 25 in order to "’ bring the brake blocks 23, 24 against the wall 26 of the upright 3.

A reliable return of the brake blocks 10 23, 24 is obtained in the closed position, in the event that the manual handle of the control arm 15 is released during the operation, by means of the tension spring 25 acting on the control arm. control 15. To further reinforce this "dead catch" effect, a rapid brake 15 of the centrifugal type can be placed on the pulleys 12, 13 for example or in said balancing plate.

i; Although an embodiment of the work plan according to the present invention has been described above with reference to the drawings, this should not be considered as limiting. We can indeed make various modifications without departing from the scope of the invention; thus, the carriage 5 may have the shape of a guide, the surfaces of which slide on the surfaces of the uprights 3, 4 and are covered with a material with low friction resistance 25, for example Teflon, instead of using 1 * Castors 14 as shown in FIG. 2. In addition, the uprights 3, 4 can be adapted to receive a sliding structure surrounding the upright, the brake blocks engaging on the upright, in the clamping position. .

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Claims (11)

1. Height-adjustable worktop comprising a table-like surface (1) resting on at least two support arms (6) which can be adjusted vertically 5 and locked by means of elements sliding in uprights or along uprights (3,4) associated with the plane and by retractable braking means (15-19,23,24) acting ►- * at least on one of the uprights, characterized in that each upright (3,4) is consisting of a profiled rail compor-10 as a longitudinal open groove in which can slide a carriage or a guide (5) rigidly carrying the support arms, the carriage (5) comprising, in the vertical direction under the support arm, a projecting element (20) which supports, by means of connecting rods (21) mounted on a pivot, a braking arm (19) which engages in the groove of the upright and on which the braking blocks (23, 24) allowing the grip on the wall (26) of the upright to cause blocking or tightening, the outer end the braking arm being pivotally mounted at the lower end of a control rod (18) whose upper end is articulated in a control arm (15) near the articulation thereof on the arm -support, said articulation being arranged adjacent to the attachment of the support arm to the carriage. 2. Work plan according to claim 1 charac- • terized in that the braking arm (19) comprises two braking blocks (23,24) one of which (23) acts on the inner part * of the wall ( 26) of the upright (3,4) and the other (24) of which acts on the external part of this wall, when the control arm (15) is not actuated manually. 3. Work plan according to claims 1 or 2 characterized in that the free outer end of the control arm has a stop (22) preventing accidentally releasing the tightening of the brake blocks y 35 (23,24) against the upright (3,4) and in that the control arm is actuated by a tension spring (25) which I "* 9 is attached to said arm and also to the element (20) of the carriage (5). 4. Work plan according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the vertical movement of the support arms (6) is coordinated by the fact that they are united with one another, a single arm comprising the arm of caimande (15) which makes it possible to actuate the braking means (15-19, 23,24) of the other or of the other arms- * supports by means of a control shaft (8). 5. Work plan according to claim 4 charac terized in that the support arms (6) are interconnected by means of a transverse bar (7) disposed between the respective carriages (5), said bar supporting a double pulley (30) to each carriage, the said acting pulley with two guide bodies (31, 32) to allow parallel movement, one of said bodies being fixed to the upper part of the upright corresponding to the first carriage and the lower part of the amount corresponding to the other carriage and the second body being fixed to the lower part of the amount corresponding to the first carriage and to the upper part of the amount corresponding to the other carriage. 6. Work surface according to claim 1, characterized in that the carriage (5) is connected to a counterweight (9-13) to counterbalance the weight of the work surface, said counterweight comprising a weight (9) which can move along the uprights (3,4) and which is connected to the carriage by a rope (11) passing over guide pulleys (12,13). 7. Work plan according to claim 6 charac terized in that the weight (9) associated with the corresponding carriage (5) is guided in grooves (10) made on uprights or outside two uprights (3,4 ). r 8. Work plan according to claim 1 charac- 35. terized in that the carriage (5) is connected to blocks of J counterweight to counterbalance the weight of the work plan. 10 Λ 9. Work plan according to any one of claims 6 to 8 characterized by a rapid brake of the centrifugal type arranged in conjunction with one of the pulleys (12, 13) or in conjunction with the blocks of 5 counterweights. 10. Work plan according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the r; carriage (5) is provided with wheels (14) engaging against the interior surfaces of the profile rail (3,4). 11. Work surface according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the surfaces of the carriage (5) and / or of the profiled rails (3,4) which face each other are covered with a material present y y y y "