JPH07163433A - Vertically adjustable supporting leg - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide a vertically adjustable support leg in which a sufficient strength, reliability, and load support ability can be provided in a simple structure. CONSTITUTION: A vertically adjustable support leg 10 is provided with an outer shaft 12 having an axially tapered opening 16 and an inner shaft 14 which can be inserted into the axial opening 16 in a nesting way. A sleeve 30 comprising two tapered parts can be installed around the inner shaft 14 at different heights, so the inner shaft 14 is fixed in the axial opening 16 in the outer shaft 12 by wedge force generated by engagement of the sleeve 30 with the axially tapered opening 16.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a leg for supporting a structure, and more particularly to a support leg that is vertically adjustable to easily adjust the height of the structure to be supported. The support legs can be used, for example, to support a table or a multi-tiered shelf. The number of legs required to support such a structure varies from one, two, three, four, or more depending on the size and design of the structure and the installation location. .

One aspect of the invention is US Pat. No. 3,52.
It utilizes a mounting assembly of the type disclosed in US Pat. No. 3,508 (Inventor Maslow). The mounting assembly of this patent is used in an adjustable shelving system that includes molded wire shelving members at each corner having frustoconical collars into which support posts are inserted. Each color is
When viewed in normal use, it tapers outward toward its lower end. The generally cylindrical support column has a plurality of equally spaced annular grooves formed on its outer surface and is secured to the shelf by a mounting assembly. Each mounting assembly includes at least two mounting members that are connected about a support post and at least partially surround the support post, thereby providing a complementary frustoconical outer surface. Forming a single sleeve having. Thus, the mounting sleeve is thicker at its bottom than at its top. The sleeve is dimensioned to fit exactly within the shelf collar. The annular rib formed on the inner surface of each sleeve is sized to engage the annular groove formed in the support column.

[0003]

Vertically adjustable legs that support various types of structures have been known for many years. For example,
US Pat. No. 2,705,119 (Ingwe Inventor)
In r) a vertically adjustable pipe support stand is disclosed in which an inner strut having a series of spaced annular grooves is supported in a hollow outer pipe. A plurality of steel balls are supported by the rings in a plurality of holes in the outer pipe and engage one of the annular grooves to secure the inner strut. These steel balls are released from the engaged annular groove by sliding the ring, which allows the inner strut to be vertically adjusted. When the inner column is set to the desired height, operate the ring to
The steel ball is biased into engagement with another annular groove.

Another known example is US Pat. No. 3,458,23.
No. 4 (inventor Bates) is a footrest mounting assembly disclosed in this patent which is a compressible plastic sleeve disposed around a vertical tube supporting a seat. There is. The outer surface of the sleeve is tapered so that the lower end is wide, and the outer surface of this sleeve is also tapered.
That is, the truncated cone-shaped annular collar is slidably held. The collar constitutes the central part of the footrest, which central part is supported on the tube by compressing the sleeve around the tube. To adjust the height of the footrest, the collar is lifted slightly, which releases the compressive force on the sleeve and both the sleeve and the collar can raise and lower the tube to the desired height.

[0005]

There are known systems as described above, but further improvements in vertically adjustable legs are desired.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a vertically adjustable support leg which is an improvement over known support legs. Another object of the invention is to provide an improvement in a relatively simple structure having sufficient strength, reliability and load bearing capacity.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a vertically adjustable support leg that is easily adjusted with minimal effort, without the use of tools, and that has high strength, stability and rigidity. Is. Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a simple and inexpensive means of providing vertically adjustable support legs that can carry significant loads.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to one aspect of the invention, a vertically adjustable support leg includes an outer shaft having an axial opening at one end and a telescopic insert within the axial opening of the outer shaft. And an inner shaft configured to fit.
A sleeve is mounted around the inner shaft and secures the inner shaft within the axial opening of the outer shaft. Also, the sleeve may have engaging means for engaging the inner shaft.

According to another aspect of the invention, the sleeve comprises two mounting members having a frustoconical outer surface. The axial opening of the first leg has a complementary frusto-conical surface which radially compresses the sleeve around the inner shaft to lock the inner shaft within the outer shaft.

According to yet another aspect of the invention, the support leg includes a first leg having a first diameter and an axial opening at one end;
A second leg having a second diameter smaller than the first diameter and telescopically insertable into the axial opening;
Sleeves that can be mounted at different heights on the first leg and that secure the second leg within the axial opening of the first leg. The above as well as various other objectives, aspects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment thereof with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The support legs of the present invention are described in the present specification and claims for convenience as if they were in a vertical position.

FIG. 1 shows a vertically adjustable support leg 10 according to the present invention, which has a first leg or outer shaft 12 and a second leg or inner leg. Axis 1
4, and the inner shaft 14 is telescopically insertable within the axial opening 16 in the bottom of the outer shaft 12.

The outer shaft 12 preferably has a circular cross section, and a plurality of grooves 18 spaced from each other are formed on the outer surface thereof. The top end of the outer shaft 12 extends upward to support, for example, a table top plate. The outer shaft 12 is, for example, US Pat. No. 3,523,508 (inventor Maslow).
It is also possible to support one or more structures such as shelves as described in. The above patent is incorporated herein by this reference. The axial opening 16 of the outer shaft 12 is configured so that the upper end of the inner shaft 14 can be inserted, as clearly shown in FIG. This axial opening 16
As will be described later in detail, it can be formed integrally with the outer shaft, or can be formed as a separate insert member housed at the lower end of the outer shaft 12 as shown in the drawing. The lower portion of the axial opening 16 has a frustoconical surface or a tapered surface 20, the widest opening 22 of which is located at the bottom end of the outer shaft 12. The upper portion of the axial opening 16 is dimensioned to be slightly larger than the outer shape of the inner shaft 14. The portion of the outer shaft 12 that extends above the axial opening 16 may be hollow to reduce the weight and cost of the support legs.

Inner shaft 14 is also preferably cylindrically hollow and has a series of annular grooves 24, preferably regularly spaced, at least at its upper end. The inner shaft 14 is the outer shaft 1
It is configured to be telescopically inserted into the two axial openings 16 and secured within the openings 16 by a mounting assembly or sleeve 30. As best shown in FIG. 2, the sleeve 30 comprises two complementary sleeve members 3
2, 34, and each sleeve member 32, 34 is
It has a cylindrical inner surface and an annular inner rib 31 that engages with any of a plurality of annular grooves 24 formed in the outer surface of the inner shaft 14. The assembled sleeve 30 has a downward, outward frustoconical outer surface 40. The frusto-conical shape of the surface of the sleeve 30 is shown in FIG. 1 and is defined as approximately corresponding to or complementary to the frusto-conical inner surface 20 of the axial opening 16 of the outer shaft 12.

A protrusion (tongue) is formed on the vertical edge of each sleeve.
The structure of 36 and groove 38 is formed. The protrusion 36 and the groove 38 of one of the sleeve members 32 and 34 are complementary to the protrusion 36 and the groove 38 of the other sleeve member. Furthermore,
Each sleeve member 32, 34 extends around the inner shaft 14 at an angle greater than 180 ° in cross-section and its shaft 1
Surrounding four.

Thus, the sleeve members 32, 34 are assembled around the inner shaft 14 to form a single sleeve 30, which is outwardly directed toward the lower end when viewed in normal use. It is tapered, that is, its bottom is thicker than its top. The fixing position of the sleeve 30 to the inner shaft 14 can be changed step by step by engaging one of the grooves 24 and the rib 31, and the tapered outer surface 40 for fitting can be provided at any fixing position. The frustoconical surface 20 of the axial opening 16 can be engaged.

The outer shaft 12 and the inner shaft 14 can be made of metal or plastic, and the sleeve is preferably made of plastic polymeric material. Further, while these shafts have been described as having a cylindrical shape, they may have other cross sectional shapes without departing from the teachings of the present invention. Further, the sleeve 30 may be constructed as a one-piece member or as two parts that are hinged to each other, for example by a "living hinge".

To assemble the support legs, the sleeve member 3
2, 34 are arranged around the inner shaft 14 such that the annular ribs 31 of the sleeve members 32, 34 engage the groove 24 of the inner shaft 14 of the desired height. The inner shaft 14 is inserted into the axial opening 16 with the sleeve 30 attached. This insertion causes the sleeve 30 to tighten the inner shaft 14 due to the compressive forces created by the engagement of the frustoconical surface 20 of the axial opening 16 and the complementary surface 40 of the sleeve 30. Such a configuration is shown in FIG.
Is shown in.

The load from the outer shaft 12 and the load from the supported structure when the support leg 10 is used is determined by the sleeve 3
A wedge action is created between the zero tapered outer mating surface 40 and the frustoconical surface 20 of the axial opening 16. This wedging action produces a radially inward force that locks the sleeve 30 to the inner shaft 14, and the sleeve 30 causes an outer force to act on the surface 20 of the axial opening 16 to secure the inner shaft 14. It is fixed in the outer shaft 12. As the load carried by this leg increases, both the radial inward and outward forces described above increase.

In order to adjust the height of the leg in the vertical direction, axial forces in opposite directions are applied to the outer shaft 12 and the inner shaft 14 to eliminate the wedge force, and the inner shaft 14 and the sleeve 30 are eliminated. Is pulled out from the axial opening 16 of the outer shaft 12. After this,
The sleeve 30 can be repositioned to engage a different groove 24 in the inner shaft 14 and reinserted into the axial opening 16 in the outer shaft 12 as described above.

As shown in FIG. 1, an adjustable foot pad 26 threadably engages the bottom of the inner shaft 14 in a known manner, thereby adjusting the height of the support leg by a small amount. You can It should be noted that this fine adjustment can be performed independently of the main adjustment by the locking structure of the sleeve and the axial opening of the present invention. If a removable locking ring 42 or equivalent locking means, shown in phantom in FIG. 1, is provided, the sleeve 3
0 can be fixed in the axial opening 16, which prevents the inner shaft 14 and the outer shaft 12 from axially moving in opposite directions. The structure thus assembled can be lifted from the ground without the risk of the inner shaft 14 sliding out of the outer shaft 12.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a novel support leg that can be easily and reliably adjusted in the vertical direction to change the length of the leg. The tapered sleeves are removably mounted at different heights on the inner shaft, after which they are secured by wedge action when the inner shaft is inserted into the tapered axial opening of the outer shaft. The present invention substantially improves upon the known vertically adjustable support legs in the respects detailed above and in other respects.

Although specific embodiments in accordance with the present invention have been described above in detail, this is for purposes of illustration only. A person skilled in the art, in addition to the examples described above, without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined in the claims,
Various modifications to the disclosed aspects of the preferred embodiment and equivalent structures may be envisioned. Further, the scope of the claims should be construed in the broadest sense so as to include modifications and equivalent structures.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing a vertically adjustable support leg in an assembled state according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a part of a vertically adjustable support leg member in a non-assembled state according to the present invention in a vertical cross section.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Vertically Adjustable Support Legs 12 Outer Shaft 14 Inner Shaft 16 Axial Opening 30 Sleeve

Continued Front Page (72) Inventor Bradley J. Carlson United States, 18702 Wilkes-Valley, Pennsylvania, Stanley Treat 33 (72) Inventor David A. Repert United States, 18322 Pennsylvania, Brodheadsville, Karen Glenway, Box 194 N, Etch 1

Claims (20)

[Claims] 1. An outer shaft having an axial opening at one end, an inner shaft configured to be nested within the axial opening of the outer shaft, and the axial direction of the outer shaft. A vertical adjustment characterized by comprising a sleeve that can be mounted around the inner shaft to fix the inner shaft in the opening and that can be positioned at different positions in the longitudinal direction of the inner shaft. Possible support legs. 2. The vertical adjustment according to claim 1, wherein the axial opening of the outer shaft has a truncated cone-shaped surface, and the widest portion thereof is one end of the outer shaft. Possible support legs. 3. The sleeve, when mounted around the inner shaft, has a frustoconical shape that is tapered with its lower end being the widest portion.
Vertically adjustable support leg. 4. The inner shaft is fixed within the axial opening of the outer shaft by a wedge action between the tapered sleeve and the frustoconical surface of the axial opening. The vertically adjustable support leg according to claim 3. 5. The vertically adjustable support leg according to claim 1, wherein the inner shaft has a plurality of spaced annular grooves on its outer surface. 6. The sleeve includes at least one mounting sleeve member configured to surround the inner shaft, the mounting sleeve member being received in any one of the grooves of the inner shaft. 6. The vertically adjustable support leg according to claim 5, wherein the support leg has an internal rib configured as described above. 7. The sleeve comprises two mounting sleeve members, each of the mounting sleeve members having one protrusion and one groove at opposite vertical edges, respectively, the protrusions of each sleeve member. The vertically adjustable support leg according to claim 1, wherein the groove and the groove are configured to engage with the groove and the protrusion of the other sleeve member. 8. The mounting sleeve members each include an internal rib, the inner shaft includes a plurality of spaced apart grooves, the rib being in one of the grooves at a selected height of the inner shaft. The vertically adjustable support leg according to claim 7, which is engageable. 9. The vertically adjustable support leg according to claim 1, further comprising a foot pad adjustably attached to a bottom end of the inner shaft. 10. The vertically adjustable support according to claim 1, further comprising locking means for preventing the inner shaft and the outer shaft from axially moving in mutually opposite directions. leg. 11. A first leg member having at one end an axial opening and a first diameter, a second leg member having a second diameter smaller than the first diameter and telescopically inserted within the axial opening. A possible second leg member and attachable to different positions of said second leg member,
And a sleeve for fixing the second leg member in the axial opening of the first leg member. 12. The axial opening of the first leg member has a frustoconical surface, the widest portion of which is located at one end of the first leg member. Item 1
The leg member according to 1. 13. The sleeve according to claim 12, wherein the sleeve has a truncated cone shape in which a lower end of the sleeve has a widest portion when the sleeve is attached to the periphery of the second leg member. Support legs. 14. The second leg member is secured within the axial opening of the first leg member by a wedge action between the tapered sleeve and the frustoconical surface of the axial opening. The support leg according to claim 13, wherein: 15. The support leg of claim 11, wherein the second leg member has a plurality of spaced annular grooves on its outer surface. 16. The sleeve comprises at least one mounting sleeve member configured to surround the second leg member, the mounting sleeve member being any one of the grooves of the second leg member. 16. The support leg of claim 15, having an internal rib configured to be housed in. 17. The sleeve comprises two mounting sleeve members, each of the mounting sleeve members having one protrusion and one groove at opposite vertical edges, the protrusions of each sleeve member. 12. The vertically adjustable support leg according to claim 11, wherein the groove and the groove are configured to engage with the groove and the protrusion of the other sleeve member. 18. The mounting sleeve members each include an internal rib and the second leg member includes a plurality of spaced annular grooves, the ribs engaging one of the grooves at a selected height. Support leg according to claim 17, characterized in that it is possible. 19. The support leg according to claim 11, further comprising a foot pad adjustably attached to a bottom end of the second leg member. 20. The locking device according to claim 11, further comprising locking means for preventing the first leg member and the second leg member from axially moving in opposite directions. Support legs.