JPS643487B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an operation lever mounting structure for a length-adjustable telescoping device, and more specifically, the present invention relates to an operating lever mounting structure for a length-adjustable telescoping device, and more specifically, the present invention relates to an operating lever mounting structure for a length-adjustable telescoping device. A cylinder that slidably accommodates an operating piston, and a piston rod that has one end connected to the piston and the other end that telescopically protrudes from the end of the cylinder, for example, for adjusting the height and angle of a chair, table, etc. This invention relates to an improvement in a length-adjustable telescoping device that constitutes a part of a support column or the like.

In chairs and tables that are equipped with conventional length-adjustable length-adjustable telescoping devices of this type as vertical supports or tilting supports, the operating lever for adjusting the length of the telescoping device has shaft holes drilled at key points of the lever. At the same time, it was pivotally attached to a bracket protruding from the support column or the bottom surface of the seat using a horizontal axis pin.

For this reason, there are restrictions on the mounting direction of the operating lever, the need to insert a small shaft pin and a means to prevent it from falling off, making it troublesome to install and remove the lever. Stress was concentrated in the thin walled portion around the shaft hole, making it easy to break.

In addition, as an installation method for this type of operating lever that does not use the above-described pivoting method using a shaft hole and a shaft pin, there is, for example, a snap mounting method on the upper and lower supports for a chair as shown in FIG. A piston 2 is slidably provided within a piston 1, and an on-off valve 4 is disposed within a piston rod 3 connected to the piston 2, so as to accurately engage with the tip of a push rod 5 for operating the on-off valve 4. A snap spherical surface or a snap ring groove 7 or the like is formed at the tip of the operating lever 6, and this lever 6 is inserted through a single opening 8 made in the piston rod 3 and connected so that it can be tilted upward. Not only does the snap joint structure require difficult machining, but the operating direction of the operating lever is limited to one direction, similar to the above-mentioned shaft pin pivot system, which may cause inconvenience when assembling it into a chair, etc. However, it is inconvenient for the operator to grasp the operating direction, and there is a risk that the lever may bend or break if the lever is forced to operate in the opposite direction.

The present invention can solve the above-mentioned drawbacks, and can easily attach and detach the operating lever with a single touch, and the lever can be operated in both directions, that is, depending on the installation state of the telescoping device, for example, To provide an operating lever mounting structure for a length-adjustable telescoping device that can reliably push a push rod in any direction, such as up and down, front and back, or left and right.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below based on the accompanying drawings.

The internal structure and operating procedure of the length-adjustable telescoping device itself, which adjusts the height and angle of chairs, tables, etc., are the same as the conventional one shown in FIG. As shown in Fig. 2, one end is attached to a piston (not shown) that is slidably provided to define two chambers inside a cylinder filled with a working fluid that is affected by the pressure of a sealed gas. The tip of a piston rod 10 which is connected and whose other end is extendably protruded from the end of the cylinder forms a support member 11 and is connected to a mounting member 12 for connection to an object to be adjusted such as a seat or the like in height or angle. There is. In this case, the mounting member 12 is the piston rod 1.
0 may be installed, or the member indicated by the reference numeral 10 may be configured as a cylinder constituting an inverted telescopic device.

In FIG. 2, when the member 10 is used as a piston rod, the push rod 13 for operating the on-off valve that opens and closes the communication passage of the piston portion is inserted into the center of the piston rod 10, and its upper end is inserted into the inside of the mounting member 12. In addition to projecting from the end face of the piston rod at the center, the side wall of the mounting member 12 is provided with an opening 14 consisting of a rectangular, elliptical, or elongated hole and a right-angled step 15 that face each other on a straight line centered on the push rod 13. It is set up.

The operating lever 16 is inserted horizontally from the tip through the opening 14, and the upper tip of the operating lever 16 is hooked onto the stepped portion 15. Operation lever 16
An engagement recess 17 is formed on the lower surface of the lever, and a tapered surface 18 is provided at the bottom of the tip, so that even if the tapered surface 18 contacts the top of the push rod 13 when the operating lever is inserted, the operating lever 16 can be inserted smoothly. When the engaging recess 17 faces the push rod 13, the push rod 13
It is designed to fit. Pushrod 1
3 fits into the engagement recess 17, the operating lever 16 is pushed up, and its upper surface is brought into contact with the upper edge of the opening 14 and the step 15, and the operation is performed using either of these contact parts as fulcrums a and b. The lever 16 can be tilted in any direction up or down.

In FIG. 2, to attach the operating lever 16, the lever 16 is inserted from one opening 14 toward the other step 15, and the push rod 13 is once pushed down by the tapered surface 18 at the tip of the lever. When the push rod 13 is inserted further, the push rod 13 returns upward at the engagement recess 17 of the lever 16 and is fitted into the engagement recess 17, causing an opening/closing valve (not shown) to push the push rod 13 up.
The operating lever 16 is pressed against the upper edge of the opening 14 and the stepped portion 15 by a force equivalent to the closing force due to the gas pressure or spring force, and the mounting of the operating lever 16 is easily completed with one touch. In this state, the communication passage of the piston portion is closed by the on-off valve, and the telescopic device is in a locked state. In this case, the tip of the operating lever 16 is hooked on the stepped portion 15 and is not exposed to the outside of the mounting member 12, so that the appearance will not be impaired.

Next, regarding the operation, when the operating lever 16 is tilted upward in the direction A in the figure, the upper edge of the opening 14 becomes the contact fulcrum a, and the tip of the lever is tilted downward, causing the push rod 13 to move. When the piston is pressed down, the opening/closing valve of the piston is opened and the working fluid can exchange between the two chambers in the cylinder. The seat etc. can be adjusted and moved to any desired height by sliding, and by releasing the operating lever 16, the seat etc. can be locked and held at a desired position.

Further, when the operating lever 16 is tilted downward in the direction B in the figure, the stepped portion 15 is moved to the contact fulcrum b.
The rear part of the lever then tilts downward and the push rod 13 can be pushed down, thereby making it possible to adjust the movement of the seat etc. to any desired height in the same manner as described above.

Therefore, in the illustrated embodiment, it is convenient because the push rod 13 can be pushed even if the operating lever 16 is tilted in either the up or down direction, and it is also possible to prevent the operating lever 16 from coming off in the lever axial direction. The head of the push rod 13 and the engaging recess 1
7, or the head of the push rod 13 may be in contact with the flat surface and may have an engagement recess (not shown) structure corresponding to the opening 14, and this engagement prevents the push rod from coming off. Once installed, it will not come off during the tilting operation, and the upper surface of the operating lever 16 will be pressed against the edges of the opening 14 and the stepped portion 15 by the upward force received by the push rod 13, causing it to wobble. Nor.

In addition, in the embodiment of FIG. 2, the pressing force of the operating lever 16 is equivalent to the pressure of the sealed gas acting on the effective pressure receiving area if the on-off valve (not shown) of the piston part constituting the telescoping device is a plunger valve type. The protruding force is transmitted through the push rod 13, and if the on-off valve of the piston part is of the closing spring biased type, the protruding force equivalent to the closing spring is used to provide a pressing force for preventing rattling. However, in any case, the push rod 13
Since it is necessary for the head and the operating lever 16 to abut with the above-mentioned pressing force, instead of this, a coil spring may be separately interposed on the lower side of the operating lever 16 inside the mounting member 12 and pressed. It can also be configured to obtain force, and when a separate pressing spring is provided in this way, dimensional control becomes very easy.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the mounting member 1 is provided with an opening 14 through which the operating lever 16 is inserted.
2 is connected to the piston rod 10, it becomes necessary to remove the lever when reusing the operating lever 16, for example, when retransporting the chair or replacing the telescoping device itself. In such a case, if the piston rod 10 is removed from the support member 11, the contact connection between the head of the push rod 13 and the engagement recess 17 can be released, and the operating lever 16 can be easily removed. If there is no piston rod 10, the piston rod 10 itself constituting the telescopic device may be extended to a portion corresponding to the mounting member 12.

Furthermore, the length-adjustable telescoping device itself is not limited to the type described in the above embodiments; for example, the piston rod may be made to protrude below the cylinder, and the head of the push rod may be interlocked with a valve that opens and closes the communication passage within the cylinder. It may be a so-called inverted telescopic device configured to protrude from the end of the cylinder, in which case the opening 14 through which the operating lever 16 is inserted can be formed in an extension of the end of the cylinder, In other respects, the mounting and operating procedures of the operating lever 16 are the same as in the previous embodiment.

Next, FIG. 3 relates to another embodiment of the present invention.

This is substantially the same as the case shown in FIG. 2, except that the shape of the step and the shape of the mounting member are modified.

That is, the upper part of the mounting member 12a is integrally molded into a truncated conical shape, and an inclined stepped part 20 is provided between the conical part 19' and the cylindrical part 19, and the inner wall of this inclined stepped part 20 is formed into the stepped part 15 in FIG. It is equivalent to

A piston rod 22 is attached to the cylindrical body part 19 via a thrust bearing 21, and an opening/closing push rod 23 of an opening/closing valve, which is slidably inserted in the piston rod 22 in the axial direction, projects inside the mounting member 12a. The mounting member 12a has an opening 2.
4, and an inclined stepped portion 20 is provided at a position facing this opening 24, and the tip of the operating lever 16a inserted through the opening 24 is brought into abutting engagement with the inclined stepped portion 20, and the lower surface of this operating lever 16a is The head of the push rod 23 is fitted into the engagement recess 17a provided in the thrust bearing 21 and the operating lever 16.
A spring 25 is interposed between a, and the spring 2
The operating lever 16a comes into contact with the stepped portion 20 and the upper edge of the opening 24 with a push-up force of 5, respectively, and the contact positions can be used as fulcrums a' and b'.

When the operating lever 16a is tilted, for example, in the direction A, the front part of the operating lever 16a moves in the opposite direction around the fulcrum b' to push down the push rod 23.
Conversely, when the lever is tilted in the direction B, the push rod 23 can also be pushed down by tilting the rear part of the operating lever 16a with the fulcrum a' as the fulcrum.

Other functions and effects are the same as in the case of FIG.

Note that the operating levers 16, 1 shown in the above embodiments
For example, depending on the installation state of the telescoping device, the operating directions A and B in 6a may be up and down directions if the telescopic device is used for height adjustment, or the operating directions if the telescopic device is used for adjusting the tilting angle of a table or chair, etc. stomach,
(b) is necessarily in two directions, front and back or left and right, and in either case, the push rods 13, 23 must be pressed in any of the two different directions, up and down, front and back, and left and right. There is no difference in the functions that can be activated.

As explained above, the length-adjustable telescoping device operating lever mounting structure of the present invention can be easily operated with one touch by simply inserting the operating lever across the opening and step provided opposite each other. It can be attached to a telescopic device or mounting member, etc., and the number of parts is smaller than the conventional pivot pin method, and the structure is simple.Also, the lever installation work does not require a skilled technician and can be done by an amateur such as an ordinary householder. Since this can be done by the customer as well, it has the effect that the manufacturer can pack the box at the time of shipment in a compact manner with the operating lever removed.In particular, in the case of the operating lever mounting structure of the present invention, the operating lever can be moved up and down, front and back, or left and right. It can be tilted in either of two different directions depending on the installation state of the telescoping device, and in this way, operating the operating lever in either direction will release the opening/closing valve that makes up the telescoping device. This is convenient because even a first-time operator can immediately adjust the height, angle, etc. of a seat, table, etc. that has the telescoping device, without having to worry about the operating direction. However, there are no restrictions on the operating direction or mounting direction of the operating lever, and unlike conventional pivot-type operating levers, an operator may accidentally force the lever in the opposite direction and bend or damage it. It has various excellent effects such as being able to reliably avoid the inconvenience caused by

Furthermore, the mounting part of the present invention, which is provided with opposing openings and stepped parts for inserting the operating lever, can be configured to be detachable from the end of the piston rod or cylinder from which the push rod constituting the telescoping device projects. Therefore, even after the operating lever is once attached, it is advantageous that the operating lever can be easily removed when the telescoping device itself is replaced and can be reused for a new telescoping device.

In addition, since the opening in the present invention for inserting the operating lever is one for each facing step, the tip of the operating lever does not protrude from the mounting part.
The attachment part has a good appearance and is also advantageous in terms of strength.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing a conventional length-adjustable telescoping device of this kind used as a height-adjusting support for a chair, and FIGS. 2 and 3 are views of an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a partially cutaway longitudinal side view of the operation lever mounting structure of the length-adjustable telescoping device. 12, 12a... Mounting member, 13, 23... Push rod, 14, 24... Opening, 15, 2
0... Stepped portion, 16, 16a... Operation lever, 1
7, 17a... Engagement recess, a, a', b, b'... Fulcrum.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A length-adjustable telescopic device body is constituted by a cylinder filled with pressure fluid and a piston rod telescopically inserted into the cylinder via a piston, and is partitioned by the piston. One of the pillars of a chair, table, etc. is provided with a passage that communicates two rooms and an on-off valve that opens and closes this passage, and an operating lever that pushes the head of the push rod from the outside that opens and closes this on-off valve. In the length-adjustable telescoping device constituting the above-mentioned push rod, an opening and a stepped portion are formed in the attachment portion of the push rod to the seat, etc. located outside the protruding portion, and are opposed to each other on a straight line crossing the center of the push rod. The head of the push rod is in contact with one side of the operating lever inserted astride between the opening and the step, and the other side is abutted against and latched to the opening and the step. A feature is that the push rod can be pushed during any of these tilting operations while the operating lever is latched so as to be tiltable in one direction and the other using either the edge of the opening or the step as a fulcrum. Operation lever mounting structure for a length-adjustable telescoping device. 2. An operating lever mounting structure for a length-adjustable telescoping device according to claim 1, wherein the stepped portion is in the form of a right angle. 3. The operating lever mounting structure for a length-adjustable telescoping device according to claim 1, in which the stepped portion is inclined. 4. The operating lever mounting structure for a length-adjustable telescoping device according to claim 1, wherein the mounting portion is a cylinder or piston rod constituting the length-adjustable telescoping device. 5. The operating lever mounting structure for a length-adjustable telescoping device according to claim 1, wherein the mounting portion is a separate mounting member mounted and fixed to a cylinder or piston rod constituting the length-adjustable telescoping device.