Height adjustment devices, height adjustment parts and furniture

Abstract

To provide a height adjustment device which makes an internal mechanism less visible regardless of a height of the height adjustment device to improve the aesthetic quality of furniture.SOLUTION: A height adjustment device adjusts a height of a leg 1 relative to a floor surface and includes: a female screw part 13 formed with a female screw and provided at the leg 1; a caster 2 having a shaft part 4 formed with a male screw which threadedly engages with the female screw; a rotation knob 3 which has a rotation operation part 34 configured to be pinched by a user to allow the user to conduct rotational operation and which may rotate integrally with the shaft part 4 to move in a vertical direction; and a cover part 15 which covers an outer periphery of the rotation operation part 34 of the rotation knob 3.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a height adjustment device that can be used for furniture, a height adjustment component, and furniture. [Background technology]

[0002] Some furniture such as tables and chairs are equipped with height adjustment devices that adjust the height of the legs, so that the furniture can be placed stably on the floor even if the floor surface is uneven or sloped by adjusting the height of the legs with the height adjustment device.

[0003] A known example of this type of height adjustment device is one that is provided at the end of a furniture leg and includes a shaft having a female threaded portion with an internal thread, a male threaded portion that screws into the female threaded portion, a shaft-side fitting portion that is connected coaxially to the male threaded portion and has a non-circular cross section, and a rotating knob that covers at least a portion of the shaft and fits into the shaft-side fitting portion, and is configured to allow height adjustment by adjusting the amount of engagement of the male thread with the female threaded portion (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

[0004] Also known is a caster comprising a mounting bolt that protrudes rotatably from the caster, an adjuster that is fixed to the mounting bolt and rotates the mounting bolt, a female threaded portion formed on the underside of the leg and into which the mounting bolt can be screwed, and a circumferential groove that is formed concentrically around the female threaded portion and into which part of the adjuster is inserted when the mounting bolt is screwed, the adjuster having a braking portion that abuts against the wall surface of the circumferential groove when inserted into the circumferential groove to prevent the adjuster from rotating (see, for example, Patent Document 2). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2015-93499 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-302210 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] However, in a configuration where the height can be adjusted by adjusting the degree to which a male screw engages a female screw provided at the end of a furniture leg as described above, if the height of the height adjustment device is increased, the internal mechanism, such as the shaft and brake, becomes easily visible through the gap between the leg and the rotating knob (adjuster), which tends to detract from the aesthetic appearance of the furniture.

[0007] The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and aims to improve the aesthetic appearance of furniture by making the internal mechanism less visible regardless of the height of the height adjustment device. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] To achieve the above objectives, The present invention provides A height adjustment device for adjusting the height of the legs relative to the floor surface, A female thread portion provided on the leg, the female thread portion having a female thread formed therein; A caster having a shaft portion formed with a male screw that screws into the female screw; a rotary knob having a rotary operation part that can be gripped and rotated, and that can rotate integrally with the shaft part and move in the up and down direction; a cover portion that covers the outer periphery of the rotary operation portion of the rotary knob; The present invention is characterized by the following.

[0009] As a result, even if the height of the height adjustment device increases and the distance between the leg and the rotary knob increases, the cover part covers the outer periphery of the rotary operation part of the rotary knob, making it difficult to see the internal mechanism inside the rotary knob. Also, when viewed from the side, the rotary operation part of the rotary knob appears to extend integrally and continuously from the end of the leg, improving the aesthetic appearance. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] According to the present invention, the internal mechanism is made less visible regardless of the amount of height adjustment, thereby improving the aesthetic appearance of the furniture. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a height adjustment device. [Figure 2] FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the height of the height adjustment device is adjusted to the lowest position. [Figure 3] FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the height of the height adjustment device is adjusted to the highest position. [Figure 4] FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing an example of a connection state of a caster, a height adjustment knob, and a height adjustment shaft. [Figure 5] FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing the VV cross section of FIG. 2. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing the VI-VI cross section of FIG. [Figure 7] 10 is a cross-sectional view showing a configuration of a modified example of the height adjustment shaft mounting portion. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0012] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[0013] (General configuration of height adjustment device) As shown in Fig. 1, the height adjustment device according to this embodiment is provided, for example, at the lower end of leg 1 of a four-legged table. Casters 2 are attached to leg 1 via the height adjustment device, allowing the table to be easily moved on the floor. As shown in Fig. 2, the height adjustment device has a height adjustment shaft mounting part 11 fitted onto leg 1 from below, a height adjustment knob 3 provided below height adjustment shaft mounting part 11, and a height adjustment shaft 4. The height adjustment shaft mounting part 11, height adjustment knob 3, and caster 2 are connected by the height adjustment shaft 4 inserted therein.

[0014] (Leg 1 configuration) The leg 1 extends downward substantially vertically from the table top. The material and manufacturing method of the leg 1 are not particularly limited, but it is made of, for example, a metal square tube. As shown in Figure 2, the lower end of the leg 1 is formed with an insertion portion 1a whose lower end surface opens upward.

[0015] The height adjustment shaft mounting part 11 is a part for mounting the height adjustment shaft 4 to the leg part 1, and is made of, for example, a synthetic resin such as plastic. The height adjustment shaft mounting part 11 has an insertion part 11a that can be inserted into the insertion part 1a of the leg part 1. The height adjustment shaft mounting part 11 is fixed to the lower end of the leg part 1 by inserting the insertion part 11a into the insertion part 1a from below.

[0016] A circular height adjustment shaft insertion hole 12 opens upward in the approximate center of the underside of the insertion portion 11a of the height adjustment shaft mounting portion 11. A female threaded portion 13 having an internal thread is coaxially provided in the height adjustment shaft insertion hole 12 near a position corresponding to the lower end of the leg portion 1. As shown in FIG. 6, the female threaded portion 13 is, for example, a hexagonal nut. A cylindrical annular protrusion 14 is formed on the height adjustment shaft mounting portion 11, covering the outer peripheral surface of the female threaded portion 13 and extending downward. As shown in FIG. 6, the outer peripheral surface of the annular protrusion 14 is provided with a leg-side rotation suppressing portion 14a having an approximately semicircular cross-sectional shape extending vertically. A cover portion 15 is formed on the peripheral edge of the underside of the insertion portion 11a of the height adjustment shaft mounting portion 11, extending downward and surrounding the outer peripheral surface of the annular protrusion 14. An annular groove 16 is formed between the outer peripheral surface of the annular protrusion 14 and the inner peripheral surface of the cover portion 15. The annular groove 16 has a depth that reaches the vertical middle of the female thread 13. The outer peripheral surface of the cover 15 is formed to be flush with the outer peripheral surface of the leg 1, for example.

[0017] (Configuration of height adjustment axis 4) As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 , the height adjustment shaft 4 is a shaft-shaped component that changes the height of the height adjustment device depending on how deeply it is inserted into the height adjustment shaft insertion hole 12. The height adjustment shaft 4 has a male thread portion 41, a shaft-side fitting portion 42, and a rotating shaft portion 43. One end of the height adjustment shaft 4 is the male thread portion 41. The other end is the rotating shaft portion 43 that is rotatably fitted into the cylindrical portion 21 of the caster 2, which will be described later. The shaft-side fitting portion 42, which has a hexagonal cross section, is provided coaxially between them. The height adjustment shaft 4 is made of metal, and although there are no particular limitations on the manufacturing method, it may be formed by cutting and grinding, for example.

[0018] The male thread portion 41 is cylindrical and has a thread on its outer circumferential surface. The male thread portion 41 is threadedly engaged with the female thread portion 13 of the height adjustment shaft attachment portion 11, thereby attaching the height adjustment shaft 4 to the height adjustment shaft attachment portion 11. Furthermore, when the height adjustment shaft 4 is rotated around its axis, the degree of engagement between the male thread portion 41 and the female thread portion 13 changes. This changes the depth to which the height adjustment shaft 4 is inserted into the height adjustment shaft attachment portion 11, allowing the height of the height adjustment device to be changed.

[0019] The rotating shaft portion 43 has a cylindrical shape and is rotatably fitted into the cylindrical portion 21 of the caster 2 as described above, thereby being attached so as to allow the caster 2 to rotate smoothly. The caster 2 has a wheel 22 and a wheel cover 23 that covers the upper part of the wheel 22 and on which the cylindrical portion 21 is formed. The caster 2 may also have a stopper lever 24 that switches between a locked state and an unlocked state of the rotation of the wheel 22.

[0020] As shown in Fig. 5, the cross-sectional shape of the shaft-side fitting portion 42 is formed into a hexagonal cross section that can be fitted non-rotatably into the hexagonal hole 32 of the height adjustment knob 3, which will be described later. Note that the cross-sectional shape of the shaft-side fitting portion according to the present invention is not limited to a hexagon. In other words, the cross-sectional shape of the shaft-side fitting portion 42 may be any shape that can be fitted non-rotatably into the height adjustment knob 3, and various shapes other than a perfect circle may be used.

[0021] (Height adjustment knob 3 configuration) The height adjustment knob 3 is a cylindrical part that fits into the shaft-side fitting portion 42 of the height adjustment shaft 4 and rotates around the axis of the height adjustment shaft 4 to change the height of the height adjustment device. As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the height adjustment knob 3 has a partition wall 31 in the cylindrical interior, approximately midway in the axial direction, that functionally divides the internal space. The partition wall 31 divides the height adjustment knob 3 into a peripheral wall portion 33 that is received in the annular groove portion 16 of the height adjustment shaft mounting portion 11, and a hexagonal hole 32 into which the shaft-side fitting portion 42 fits. The partition wall 31 also has a hole through which the height adjustment shaft 4 can be inserted.

[0022] 2 and 5, the hexagonal hole 32 is formed by the inner surface of the height adjustment knob 3 and the partition wall 31. By fitting the shaft-side fitting portion 42 into the hexagonal hole 32, the height adjustment shaft 4 can rotate and move integrally with the height adjustment knob 3, and the user can change the height of the height adjustment device by rotating the height adjustment knob 3.

[0023] As shown in FIG. 4 , the peripheral wall portion 33 is formed to extend upward from the outer periphery of the partition wall 31. As shown in FIG. 6 , the cross-sectional shape of the peripheral wall portion 33 and the cross-sectional shape of the annular groove portion 16 in the height adjustment shaft mounting portion 11 are substantially the same. With the peripheral wall portion 33 housed in the annular groove portion 16, the user can rotate the height adjustment knob 3 around the axis of the height adjustment shaft 4. Furthermore, the outer peripheral surface of the height adjustment knob 3 is provided with a non-slip portion 34, which is formed, for example, with unevenness extending in the axial direction along the entire length. The non-slip portion 34 acts as a non-slip surface when the user rotates the height adjustment knob 3, and the outer peripheral surface of the height adjustment knob 3 functions as a rotation operating portion along the entire length. The non-slip portion 34 may have any shape that functions as a non-slip surface, and various shapes may be used.

[0024] When a user rotates the height adjustment knob 3, the peripheral wall 33 moves along the depth direction of the annular groove 16, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 . Regardless of the height of the height adjustment device, the upper end of the height adjustment knob 3 is covered by the cover 15, so the height adjustment shaft 4 inside the peripheral wall 33 and the annular protrusion 14 of the height adjustment shaft mounting portion 11 are not visible from the outside. Furthermore, regardless of the height of the height adjustment device, when viewed from the side, the rotation operating portion of the rotation knob 3 appears to extend continuously from the lower end of the leg 1, improving the aesthetic appearance. Note that the height adjustment knob 3 does not necessarily have to be always covered by the cover 15. It is acceptable for there to be some gap between the upper end of the peripheral wall 33 and the lower end of the height adjustment shaft mounting portion 11, as long as the height adjustment shaft 4 and the annular protrusion 14 of the height adjustment shaft mounting portion 11 are not noticeable from a normal line of sight.

[0025] As shown in Figures 4 and 6, an axially extending knob-side rotation suppressing portion 35 having a generally semicircular cross-section is provided on the inner peripheral surface of peripheral wall portion 33. When a user rotates height adjustment knob 3, knob-side rotation suppressing portion 35 comes into contact with leg-side rotation suppressing portion 14a, generating resistance. Height adjustment knob 3 is an elastic body and can be formed from, for example, a synthetic resin such as plastic.

[0026] When a user applies a rotational force equal to or greater than a predetermined value to the height adjustment knob 3, the peripheral wall 33 of the height adjustment knob 3 deforms, and the knob-side rotation suppressing portion 35 moves circumferentially, climbing over the leg-side rotation suppressing portion 14a, causing the height adjustment knob 3 to rotate. Furthermore, when the caster 2 rotates around the rotation shaft 43 of the height adjustment shaft 4 in a plane parallel to the floor, the knob-side rotation suppressing portion 35 and the leg-side rotation suppressing portion 14a interfere with each other, causing only the caster 2 to rotate. In other words, the adjustment amount of the height adjustment device is prevented from changing as the caster 2 rotates.

[0027] (Variation) The height adjustment device according to the present invention can be attached to the legs of various pieces of furniture, etc. For example, in addition to furniture for use in the home, it can also be used suitably for so-called office furniture such as desks, chairs, shelves, cabinets, partitions, and whiteboards.

[0028] Furthermore, the height adjustment device is not limited to being attached from below to the lower end of a substantially vertical leg 1. For example, in the case of an inverted T-shaped leg supporting a table or the like, it may be attached from the side to the end of the horizontal portion of the leg, as shown in FIG. 7. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of a modified height adjustment shaft attachment portion 11. As in the previous embodiment, the height adjustment device includes a height adjustment shaft attachment portion 11 fitted to the leg 1, a caster 2, a height adjustment knob 3, and a height adjustment shaft 4. The height adjustment shaft attachment portion 11, the height adjustment knob 3, and the caster 2 are connected by the height adjustment shaft 4 located inside. Unlike the previous embodiment, the leg 1 is constructed using a square tube extending parallel to the floor. The end face of the leg 1 and the underside of the end of the leg 1 are open, and these openings are continuous. An insertion portion 1a is formed inside the opening.

[0029] The height adjustment shaft mounting portion 11 has an inserting portion 11a that can be inserted into the receiving portion 1a. The height adjustment shaft mounting portion 11 is fixed to the leg 1 by inserting the inserting portion 11a laterally into the receiving portion 1a and threading a setscrew 51 into the inserting portion 11a from the underside of the leg 1. The underside of the height adjustment shaft mounting portion 11 is formed to be flush with the underside of the leg 1. A circular height adjustment shaft insertion hole 12 opens upward on the underside of the height adjustment shaft mounting portion 11. A female thread portion 13 is provided coaxially in the height adjustment shaft insertion hole 12 near a depth position corresponding to the underside of the leg 1. An annular groove portion 16 is formed on the underside of the height adjustment shaft mounting portion 11 outside the female thread portion 13, with a depth that reaches the middle of the female thread portion 13 in the up-down direction. By forming the annular groove portion 16, a cylindrical annular protrusion 14 is formed on the inner periphery of the annular groove portion 16, extending downward while covering the outer periphery of the female thread portion 13, and a cover portion 15 is formed on the outer periphery, surrounding the outer periphery of the annular protrusion 14.

[0030] The configuration of the height adjustment shaft 4 and the rotary knob 3 is the same as in the previous embodiment, and the same effects can be obtained in this embodiment as well.

[0031] The height adjustment shaft mounting portion 11 as described above may be connected to any piece of furniture as a component. In addition, components of the height adjustment device, such as the height adjustment knob 3 and the height adjustment shaft 4, may be produced and sold individually or in combination.

[0032] The height adjustment shaft mounting portion 11 as described above is not limited to mounting a caster 2, but can also be used to mount a height adjustment shaft with a male thread portion on the disc-shaped floor contact portion, for example, so that the height of the legs of a table or the like can be adjusted at a fixed position.

[0033] Although an embodiment according to one example of the present invention has been described above, the height adjustment device according to the present invention can include a combination of these as much as possible. [Explanation of symbols]

[0034] 1 leg 1a Inserted part 11 Height adjustment shaft mounting part 11a Insertion part 12 Height adjustment shaft insertion hole 13 Female thread 14 Annular protrusion 14a Leg side rotation suppression part 15 Cover part 16 Annular groove 2 Casters 21 Cylindrical part 22 wheels 23 Wheel Cover 24 Stopper lever 3 Height adjustment knob (rotary knob) 31 Compartment wall 32 hexagonal hole 33 Peripheral wall part 34 Anti-slip part 35 Knob side rotation suppression part 4 Height adjustment axis 41 Male thread 42 Hexagonal cross section (shaft side fitting part) 43 Rotating shaft 51 Set screw

Claims

1. A height adjustment device for adjusting the height of the legs relative to the floor surface, A female thread portion provided on the leg, the female thread portion having a female thread formed therein; A caster having a shaft portion formed with a male screw that screws into the female screw; a rotary knob having a rotary operation part over the entire length that can be gripped and rotated, and that can rotate integrally with the shaft part and move up and down; a cover portion that covers the entire outer periphery of the rotary operation portion of the rotary knob; A height adjustment device comprising:

2. 2. The height adjustment device of claim 1, The female thread portion is formed into a cylindrical shape with an outer circumferential surface having an uneven portion, The rotation operation portion of the rotary knob is formed in a cylindrical shape with an inner circumferential surface having an uneven portion, A height adjustment device characterized in that rotation of the rotary knob is suppressed by contact between the uneven portion on the outer surface of the female thread portion and the uneven portion on the inner surface of the rotary knob, and when a rotational operating force greater than a predetermined value is applied to the rotary knob, the rotary knob is configured to rotate by elastic deformation.

3. The height adjustment device according to any one of claims 1 and 2, A height adjustment device characterized in that an anti-slip portion is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the rotation operating portion of the rotary knob.

4. The height adjustment device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, The height adjusting device further comprises an inserting portion that is fitted from below into an inserting portion formed on the lower side of the leg.

5. The height adjustment device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, The height adjusting device further comprises an inserting portion that is fitted laterally into an inserting portion formed on a lateral side of the leg.

6. A piece of furniture having a height adjustment device for adjusting the height of the legs relative to the floor surface, A female thread portion formed on the leg; A caster having a shaft portion formed with a male screw that screws into the female screw; a rotary knob having a rotary operation part over the entire length that can be gripped and rotated, and that can rotate integrally with the shaft part and move up and down; a cover portion that covers the entire outer periphery of the rotary operation portion of the rotary knob; Furniture characterized by comprising:

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