Classifications

• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A47—FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
  • A47B—TABLES; DESKS; OFFICE FURNITURE; CABINETS; DRAWERS; GENERAL DETAILS OF FURNITURE
  • A47B13/00—Details of tables or desks
  • A47B13/02—Underframes
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A47—FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
  • A47B—TABLES; DESKS; OFFICE FURNITURE; CABINETS; DRAWERS; GENERAL DETAILS OF FURNITURE
  • A47B91/00—Feet for furniture in general
  • A47B91/16—Self-levelling legs

Definitions

• the present invention relates to the design of a system of joints which allows the realization of the base of a table or tray with four legs which become automatically stable when they are placed on soft, irregular or regular.
• This system of joints makes it possible to decompose the weight of the plate into 4 forces that balance statically and automatically.
• the entire new articulated mechanism can disassemble entirely in four operations to facilitate transport and storage.
• the ONERA patent FR 2607878 filed on 6-10-1988 is based on the same basic principle as our proposal but with a different conception of its mechanism. It proposes two feet on two opposite crosspieces and the joints of the ends of the sleepers are constituted by supports without connection. On the other hand the articulated system is an integral and inseparable part of the table and the whole is not removable.
• Patent W 00/69312 filed on 23-11-2000 is a true copy of the articulated system filed in 1988 by ONERA but without technical demonstration, with applications different from ours and which do not work.
• the bar bearing the No. 14 blocks the entire system and makes it completely rigid.
• the design described in Figure 5 where the lower hinge bearing the No. 15 makes the system completely rigid and inoperative.
• the articulated device that constitutes the base is formed of 4 elements each constituting a foot and crosses, identical (1) connected together by 4 removable joints (4), forming a square, connected to an intermediate piece by 4 other joints (2) removable to form an autonomous unit itself removable and independent of the table top.
• This cross-leg design which translates into a vertical axis of symmetry, is stiffer and more stable than solutions with two feet on the same crossbeam.
• the articulated system of our metal version (Figure 4) has central joints located on non-aligned rectangular axes ( Figure 9).
• Our invention allows without any setting and without any intervention to provide a perfect stability tables or trays to 4 feet through the design of our joints.
• Our invention makes it easy to move tables or trays on a regular, smooth or loose surface since our articulated system is automatically stable and all calibration operations have become obsolete.
• the articulated device equipping the tables of our design uses the following geometric property:
• a base consisting of 4 feet, each shaped like a rigid bracket articulated between them and an intermediate piece to support and articulate the tray with its base.
• the base of these tables consists of four elements in the shape of a square at 90 "or with a slightly obtuse angle, situated in a vertical plane.
• the vertical or oblique branch of these elements constitutes one of the legs of the table
• the horizontal branch constitutes the crossbar
• each end of these crosspieces is provided with a hinge with two degrees of freedom
• the axis of each of these articulations is situated in a horizontal plane perpendicular to each cross-piece, and makes it possible to connect the crosses of the four angles to form a quadrilateral articulated at right angles.
• These joints must allow two degrees of freedom perpendicular to each other forming two orthogonal axes.
• This variant consists of a base in square metal tubes with 8 removable joints to facilitate its transport and storage. The joints are not visible when the assembly is mounted.
• the table top is made of wood or any other material adapted to the system.
• the base of the table is constituted by four brackets at 90 ° or obtuse angle, square tube, each located in a vertical plane.
• the vertical part of these brackets is one of the four legs of the table.
• the horizontal part or crossbar is used to support the transmission system that connects the feet to the plate.
• These four brackets are connected together by joints (3 and 4) located at the end of the sleepers. These four joints are concealed inside and at the end of the square cross section tubes.
• the four ties connected together form an articulated square.
• Four other central joints (2) located midway from the end joints are connected to an intermediate plate (5) on which is fixed the plate (7) of the table by means of 4 wedges (6).
• Each end joint consists of two elements whose axes of articulation are perpendicular to each other.
• Each of the two parts is located in one and the other foot, constitute together and once immobilized between them, by means of a locking screw, the junction and the articulation between the bracketed feet assembled two by two .
• a locking screw the junction and the articulation between the bracketed feet assembled two by two .
• Each joint ( Figure 5) consists of two pieces in the form of rider, one of which has a fastening tab welded to the upper face (1). These two parts are articulated on an axis (4) to a degree of freedom in rotation located in a horizontal plane and perpendicular to the foot-cross bracket on which they are fixed.
• the jumper with the bracket is placed at the free end of the crossbar
• the second jumper with a threaded hole on its upper part is placed in the angle joining the top of the foot to the crossbar.
• This device makes it very easy to assemble between the free end of the cross member and the top of the foot by means of a locking screw which passes through the two orifices located respectively in the bracket of the first rider and in the orifice. Thread located in the top of the second rider.
• These central joints are located on the sleepers midway from the end joints. They consist of a hinge pin (1) ( Figure 6) to a degree of freedom in rotation and a degree of freedom in translation, oriented in a horizontal plane, perpendicular to the plane of the square. They are surplus always located in the same plane whatever the deformation of the articulated square. They are articulated on a bearing (2) fixed rigidly on an intermediate plate (3).
• the intermediate plate is provided with four wedges whose function is on the one hand the adjustment of the movement between the base of the table and its tray and to fix it to the base by screws through the wedges.
• the base of the table consists of four identical elements (1) in the shape of a square with an obtuse angle, situated in a vertical plane with a branch pointing downwards which constitutes the foot and the other horizontal branch constituting the cross. These four elements are connected together and to the plate by an articulated system which is the subject of the second variant of this patent.
• the four joints fixed at the ends of the cross members each have two degrees of freedom in rotation (4).
• the joints are constituted as follows:
• the joints of the ends consist of an articulated angle (4), each of whose wings is provided with a horizontal axis of rotation (5) to a degree of freedom, perpendicular to the plane which contains the foot-through element.
• one of these axes may consist of a ring (7) fixed by a screw on the crossbar with a sleeve (6) leaving a sufficient clearance to allow the rotation of the square on the Ring.
• a second set of 4 articulations makes it possible to connect the articulated base to the plate by means of a cross, these last articulations are constituted by an axis (2) with a degree of freedom in rotation and a degree of freedom in translation composed of a metal rod fixed rigidly to the center of each cross member, perpendicular to the plane which contains the element "foot-cross".
• the spider consists of two perpendicular arms, is pierced at each of these ends of a bore along the axis of the arms (3) around which articulates the central axis.
• the table top is attached to the crossbar with enough space to allow the system to move.
• FIG 8 Another option (Fig 8) allows us to realize the central joints of the crosspieces by a horizontal axis (1) with a single degree of freedom in rotation, perpendicular to the foot-through element, screwed on the end of a branch of the cross.
• the end joints consist of a 90 ° bent axis (2) located in a horizontal plane, each branch of which is respectively perpendicular to each adjacent element.
• Each branch of these axes has a degree of freedom in rotation and a degree of freedom in translation.

Landscapes

• Tables And Desks Characterized By Structural Shape (AREA)

Priority Applications (1)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=42659412

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (3)

Cited By (3)

Citations (3)

Family Cites Families (5)

• 2010
  • 2010-03-04 FR FR1000876A patent/FR2956956B1/fr not_active Expired - Fee Related
• 2011
  • 2011-03-03 WO PCT/FR2011/000116 patent/WO2011107677A1/fr active Application Filing
  • 2011-03-03 CN CN201180022417.2A patent/CN103118568B/zh not_active Expired - Fee Related

Patent Citations (3)

Also Published As

Similar Documents

Legal Events