JPH0947325A - Joint for top plate and leg - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily connect and surely hold a top plate and a leg by selectively connecting/disconnecting a fixed pawl at the upper end of the leg and a slide plate on the lower end face of the top plate by a manual operating terminal provided with an operation changing mechanism composed of a rack and a pinion. SOLUTION: Four fixed pawls 31 are protruded on a bottom plate 30 of a leg base 3 of a leg 1 and besides, a top plate 7, to which the leg 1 is connected, is provided with two slide plates 5 and an operating lever 6 of the manual operating terminal. Besides, each slide plate 5 is provided with the rack, the pinion attached to the operating lever 6 is engaged with this rack, and the slide plates 5 can be mutually freely slide. When the fixed pawls 31 at the upper end of the leg 1 are inserted into rectangular through holes on the lower face of the top plate 7 and the operating lever 6 is turned to right, the slide plates 5 are moved to be mutually closer and the tapered faces of the slide plates 5 advance between the downside of the bent hook parts of fixed pawls 31 and the upper end of the bottom plate 30 and are engaged. As a result, force for surely holding the top plate and the leg can be provided without requiring any driver or spanner.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a connecting device which is applied to a table or the like to remarkably simplify the connecting work or the releasing work of a top plate and legs, and at the same time makes the connected state extremely good.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a general connecting device for a top plate and legs in a conventional table or the like, a mounting plate extending horizontally is fixed to the upper ends of the legs, and an insertion hole for inserting a screw into the mounting plate. In addition to the above, a screw hole is provided on the lower surface of the top plate at a position corresponding to the insertion hole, the upper ends of the legs are attached to the lower surface of the top plate, and then the screw is inserted into the insertion hole of the mounting plate. It is screwed into the screw holes of the plate to connect the legs and the top plate.

[0003]

However, such a top plate and leg connecting device has a problem that the connecting work is complicated. That is, in order to attach the legs to the top plate, it is necessary to accurately position the insertion holes of the legs and the screw holes of the top plate without screwing them before screwing the screws. In order to ensure homogeneity and certainty, it is indispensable that the screws are screwed in at a plurality of places, and in addition, tools such as a screwdriver are indispensable for connecting work. As described above, the conventional coupling device has a problem that it requires a lot of labor and time for the work. In addition, the work according to the above is also accompanied by the disconnection work.

In order to solve such a problem, a tightening mechanism having an operating portion is provided between the lower surface of the top plate and the upper ends of the legs, and the top plate and the legs can be simply operated by operating the operating portion. It is conceivable to adopt a connecting structure that can be connected, but with such a structure, there is a risk of rattling at the time of connection and reduction in strength.

The present invention has been made in view of these problems, and it is possible to connect the top plate and the legs easily and efficiently, and further, to secure the connected state of the top plate and the legs. The purpose is to provide a coupling device.

[0006]

The present invention adopts the following constitution in order to solve such a problem.

That is, the top plate and leg connecting device according to the present invention has a fixing claw protruding from the upper end of the leg and a selective engagement or engagement with the fixing claw formed on the lower surface of the top plate. A slide plate that performs a contact / separation operation in a releasing direction, a manual operation end having a rotation shaft also formed on the lower surface of the top plate, and a rotation operation force input to the manual operation end is transmitted to the slide plate, And a motion converting mechanism for converting the slide plate into contact and separation motions in the horizontal linear direction with respect to the fixed claw. The motion converting mechanism includes a rack formed on the slide plate and a rotary shaft of the manually operated end. And a pinion formed on the rack and meshing with the rack.

In order to make the engagement state better, the fixed claw has a bent hook portion and the slide plate is
By having an engaged portion that horizontally moves between the bottom surface of the hook portion of the fixed claw and the upper end surface of the leg and engages with the bottom surface of the hook portion, the engaged portion, It is preferable to form a tapered surface that gradually rises as it moves to engage, or to form a protruding tapered portion on the bottom surface of the hook portion.

In order to apply the present invention between two top plates and a single leg, the two slide plates are arranged point-symmetrically with respect to the pinion, and the two slide plates are rotated with the rotation of the manually operated end. It is effective to make the slide plates move in mutually opposite directions, and to set the direction in which the slide plates move to engage each other so that the slide plates approach each other.

With such a structure, when the manual operation end is rotated in one direction, the slide plate provided on the lower surface of the top plate moves in a horizontal straight line by the motion converting mechanism by the rack and the pinion, The fixed claws protruding from the upper ends of the legs are engaged, and as a result, the top plate and the legs are engaged. Therefore, according to the present invention, the top plate and the legs can be easily connected or detached by only one-touch operation of the manual operation end without using any tool such as a screwdriver or a spanner. Further, since the rotational force is converted into the linear motion, the engaging portion is not twisted, and a reliable holding force for the top plate and the legs can be obtained.

In particular, the fixed claw has a bent hooking portion, the slide plate has an engaged portion, and a taper that gradually rises as it moves to engage with this engaged portion. In the case of having a surface, the taper surface of the slide plate comes into close contact with the bottom surface of the hooking portion of the fixing claw so as to bite into it, and a strong connection is obtained between the lower surface of the top plate and the upper ends of the legs.

Further, if a protruding taper portion is also provided on the bottom surface of the hook portion, a taper coupling portion can be obtained between the slide plate and the taper surface, and the lower surface of the top plate and the upper ends of the legs are further strengthened. A concatenation is obtained. At this time, the taper coupling part not only guides the top plate and the leg to the proper mounting position and holds them, but also applies the operation force applied to the manual operation end to uniformly tighten the top plate and the leg. It also acts to transform into force. As a result, even if the tightening mechanism itself is not provided with a high degree of accuracy, the top plate and the legs can be reliably connected to a predetermined position.

If the two slide plates are arranged point-symmetrically with respect to the pinion so that the two slide plates come closer to each other in the engaging direction as the manually operated end rotates, the two slide plates are brought up. When connecting the plates with a single leg, the force acting on the taper joint works not only to bring the top plate and legs into close contact, but also to bring the top plates into close contact, so even simple operations are robust and reliable. It becomes possible to easily attach it, and it is possible to connect a plurality of top plates in series.

As described above, according to the present invention, the manual operation end is
When it is rotated in the direction, the motion conversion mechanism moves the slide plate provided on the lower surface of the top plate in a horizontal straight line, and engages with the fixed claws protruding from the upper ends of the legs, so that the top plate and the legs are engaged. To meet. For this reason, the top plate and the legs can be easily connected or detached by only one-touch operation of the manual operation end without using any tool such as a screwdriver or a spanner. Further, since the rotational force is converted into the linear motion, the engaging portion is not twisted, and a reliable holding force for the top plate and the legs can be obtained.

In particular, the fixed claw has a hooking portion that bends, the slide plate has an engaged portion, and the taper that gradually rises as it moves to engage with this engaged portion. In the case of having a surface, the taper surface of the slide plate comes into close contact with the bottom surface of the hooking portion of the fixing claw so as to bite into it, and a strong connection is obtained between the lower surface of the top plate and the upper ends of the legs.

Further, if a protruding taper portion is provided on the bottom surface of the hook portion, a taper joint portion is obtained between the hook and the taper surface of the slide plate, and the lower surface of the top plate and the upper ends of the legs are further strengthened. A concatenation is obtained. At this time, the taper coupling part not only guides the top plate and the leg to the proper mounting position and holds them, but also applies the operation force applied to the manual operation end to uniformly tighten the top plate and the leg. It also acts to transform into force. As a result, even if the tightening mechanism itself is not given high precision,
The top plate and the legs can be reliably connected in place.

If the two slide plates are arranged point-symmetrically with respect to the pinion, and the two slide plates are brought closer to each other in the engaging direction as the manually operated end is rotated, the two slide plates are brought up. When connecting the plates with a single leg, the force acting on the taper joint works not only to bring the top plate and legs into close contact, but also to bring the top plates into close contact, so even simple operations are robust and reliable. It is easy to install, and it is possible to connect multiple top plates in series, reducing the number of legs and the number of parts, and at the same time avoiding the problem of overlapping legs in adjacent parts. It is possible to effectively expand the lower limb space.

[0018]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

The connecting device shown in FIG. 1 is applied to, for example, a table or the like, and the upper end of the leg 1 can be easily connected to the lower surface of the top plate 7 with one touch.

More specifically, the leg 1 is composed of a leg pipe 2 and a leg base 3 as shown in FIGS.

The leg pipe 2 is made of steel having a hollow portion having a square cross section as shown in FIGS.
A base fixing bar 21 having three screw holes into which bolts 22 for fixing the leg base 3 are inserted is provided below the upper end surface and below the lower surface of the leg base 3.

The leg base 3 is, as shown in FIGS.
A bottom plate 30 having a square shape and a circular recess with a convex downward in the center
Four fixing claws 31 are provided on the. Further, the circular recessed surface has bolts 22 for fixing the leg base 3 to the leg 2.
There are three holes 32 for passing through. The depth of the circular recessed surface is such that the upper end of the head when the bolt 22 is attached is below the upper end of the bottom plate.

As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the fixed claw 31 has a hooking portion 31a that bends and a tapered taper portion 31b below.

On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 5, the top plate 7 to which the legs 1 are connected has a top plate main body 8, a top plate base 4, a slide plate 5, and these are operated only in the horizontal direction. It comprises a washer 55 and a bolt 56 that are attached so as to enable it, an operation lever 6 that is a manually operated end, and a washer 61 and a bolt 62 that are attached so that this can be rotated only horizontally.

As shown in FIG. 5, the top plate base 4 has a rectangular shape, and has a recessed portion 40 left at four sides and carved to a certain depth. Then, at four corners, there are bolt insertion holes 45 for attaching the top plate base 4 to the top plate body 8 with bolts. Further, the rectangular through holes 41 are opened at positions corresponding to the four fixing claws 31 so that the fixing claws 31 penetrate when the top plate 7 and the leg 1 are connected. Further, two convex grooves 42 are provided in parallel, and the slide plate 5 fits between these two. Further, a lever shaft column 43 is arranged at the center of the top plate base 4, and a screw hole 43a for fastening the bolt 62 is drilled at the center thereof. The lever shaft 43 is stepped and has a large diameter portion at the bottom and a small diameter portion at the top, and the height thereof is slightly higher than the upper end of the top plate base 4. Also,
Two slide plate shafts 44 are arranged in parallel with the convex groove 42 at symmetrical positions with respect to the lever shaft 43, and a screw hole 44a into which a bolt 56 is fastened is formed at the center thereof. The height of the slide plate shaft 44 is slightly lower than the upper end of the top plate base 4.

The slide plate 5 is a rack 5 as shown in FIG.
1, a tapered surface 52, an insertion hole 53, and a protrusion 54. The thickness of the slide plate 5 is slightly smaller than the height of the slide plate shaft 44, and the width of the slide plate 5 can be slidably inserted between the two convex grooves 42 without any play, and has a slidable length. . Then, at that time, the semi-cylindrical projection 54 comes into contact with the convex groove 42. The insertion hole 53 is the slide plate shaft 4
The slide plate shaft 44 has a diameter substantially the same as that of the slide plate 4, and has a long hole so that the slide plate 5 can be inserted without play and the slide plate 5 can move in the direction of the convex groove 42. The taper surface 52 has an inclination that gradually rises as the slide plate 5 moves toward the center, and corresponds to the bent hook portion 31a of the fixed claw 31 at two positions symmetrical with respect to the movement axis. It is arranged to do.

As shown in FIGS. 5 to 8, the operation lever 6 has a handle 63, an insertion hole 64 into which the lever shaft 43 can be inserted without play, and a pinion 6 coaxially with the insertion hole 64.
5 The insertion hole 64 has a large-diameter portion and a small-diameter portion from the bottom. The large-diameter portion and the small-diameter portion of the lever shaft 43 have substantially the same diameter and are slidably fitted therein. . The height is slightly lower than the large diameter portion and the small diameter portion of the lever shaft 43. The pinion 65 meshes with the rack 51.

Next, the assembly of the top plate 7 will be described with reference to FIG.

First, the two slide plates 5 are inserted between the two convex grooves 42 of the top plate base 4 with the taper surface 52 facing upward with respect to the center of the top plate base 4. At the same time, the slide plate shaft 44 is inserted through the insertion hole 53. Next, slide the slide plate shaft 4 through the washer 55.
The bolt 56 is fastened to the threaded hole 44a cut in the center of 4. At this time, even if the bolt 56 is tightly tightened, the washer 55
The lower surface of the slide plate 5 and the upper surface of the slide plate 5 approach each other.
The slide operation of the slide plate 5 is guaranteed because the slide plate 5 is regulated by and is not closely attached. Further, since the slide plate 5 comes into contact with the convex groove 42 through the protrusion 54, the sliding area is small and it is possible to move smoothly. Next, the operation lever 6 is attached to the top plate base 4 by inserting the insertion hole 64 into the lever shaft 43. Then, the bolt 62 is fastened through the washer 61 to the screw hole 43a cut at the center of the lever shaft 43. At this time, even if the bolt 62 is tightly tightened, the approach of the lower surface of the washer 61 and the upper surface of the operation lever 6 is restricted by the small diameter portion of the lever shaft 43, and they do not adhere to each other. The approach of the upper surface of the recess 40 is restricted by the large-diameter portion of the lever shaft 43, and this does not come into close contact, so that the rotational movement of the operating lever is guaranteed. Further, at this position, the pinion 6 of the operation lever 6 is
5 meshes with the rack 51 of the pair of slide plates 5. With such a configuration, when the operation lever 6 is rotated, the two slide plates 5 move toward and away from each other along the convex groove 42 in a horizontal straight line in opposite directions depending on the rotation direction. Finally, the top plate base 4 is attached to the top plate body 8 with bolts.

Next, a procedure for connecting the top plate 7 and the legs 1 will be described. As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the operation lever 6 is turned counterclockwise when viewed from above, that is, with the upper end of the leg 1 brought closer to the lower surface of the top plate 7 with the lock release position set, the upper end of the leg 1 The fixing claw 31 is inserted into the rectangular through hole 41 opening on the lower surface of the top plate 7 to bring the upper ends of the legs 1 and the lower surface of the top plate 7 into close contact with each other. At this time, the tapered surface 52 and the bent hooking portion 31a of the fixed claw 31 face each other at the opposing position. Then, as shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, when the operation lever 6 is moved clockwise when viewed from above, that is, when it is moved toward the lock position, the slide plates 5 move toward each other, and the tapered surface 52 of the slide plate 5 is fixed. The claw 31 enters between the bent hook portion 31 a and the upper end of the bottom plate 30. As a result, the taper surface 52 and the downwardly projecting taper portion 31b provided on the bottom surface of the hook portion 31a engage so as to bite. Then, the degree of adhesion between the lower surface of the top plate 7 and the upper ends of the legs 1 becomes sufficiently high,
When the rotation operation is stopped when the rotation torque of the operation lever 6 becomes excessive, the top plate 7 and the leg 1 are held in a strongly connected state. When the connection is released, the operation reverse to the above may be performed.

Further, in the above, it is of course possible to insert the fixing claw 31 into the rectangular through hole 41 opening to the lower surface of the top plate 7 even if the leg 1 is rotated by 180 °, and the top plate base 4 is used. When attaching to the top plate body 8, it does not matter in which direction. That is, in this embodiment, the mounting orientations of the operation lever 6 and the leg 1 with respect to the top plate body 8 can be selected in consideration of the purpose, application, mounting conditions, and the like.

As described above, in the coupling device of this embodiment, when the operation lever 6 is rotated, the slide plate 5 moves in a horizontal straight line by the motion converting mechanism of the rack 51 and the pinion 65, and the leg 1 moves. Fixed claw 31 protruding from the upper end
, And as a result, the top plate 7 and the leg 1 are engaged. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, the top plate 7 and the leg 1 can be easily connected or detached by operating the operation lever 6 with one touch without using any tool such as a screwdriver or a spanner.

In particular, the fixed claw 31 has a bent hook portion 31a having a downwardly projecting taper portion 31b on the bottom surface, and is directed in the direction of movement to engage with the downwardly projecting taper portion 31b. Since the slide plate 5 has the taper surface 52 that gradually rises, the taper surface 52 of the slide plate 5 is in close contact with the taper portion 31b of the bottom surface of the hooking portion of the fixed claw 31 so as to bite, and the taper coupling portion is formed. As a result, a strong connection is obtained between the lower surface of the top plate 7 and the upper ends of the legs 1. At this time, the taper coupling portion not only functions to guide and hold the top plate 7 and the leg 1 to the regular mounting positions, but also to apply the operation force applied to the operation lever 6 to the top plate 7 and the leg 1. It also acts to convert it into a uniform tightening force. As a result, the top plate 7 and the leg 1 can be reliably connected to a predetermined position even when the tightening mechanism itself is not provided with high accuracy.

In addition to this, the coupling device of this embodiment is
A mode in which a single leg 1 is connected to two top plates 7 can be easily accommodated without making a large design change. Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, two top plate main bodies 8 are provided.
Are adjacent to each other, and the top plate base 4 is arranged on the adjacent surface in line symmetry.
The orientation of the top plate base 4 is set so that the slide plate 5 moves in a direction perpendicular to the adjacent surface. Then, the single legs 1 are brought close to their lower surfaces over the adjacent top plates 7, and the fixing claws 31 at the upper ends of the legs 1 are attached to the adjacent surfaces of the four rectangular through holes 41 of one top plate base 4. Are inserted into two rectangular through holes 41 close to each other and two rectangular through holes 41 close to the adjacent surface of the other top plate base 4 as well. At this time, the distance between the two rectangular through holes 41 close to the adjacent surfaces of the top plate bases 4 is set so that the fixing claw 31 at the upper end of the leg 1 can be inserted. After that, if the two operation levers 6 are moved in the locking direction, the force acting on the taper coupling portion acts not only to bring the top plate 7 and the leg 1 into close contact but also to bring the two top plates 7 into close contact with each other. Robust and reliable mounting can be easily performed even by simple operation, and a plurality of top plates 7 can be connected in series. Therefore, the same effects as those of the above-described embodiment are obtained between the top plate 7 and the legs 1, respectively, and the number of legs can be reduced and the number of parts can be reduced. It is possible to effectively expand the lower limb space while avoiding the problem of overlapping legs.

Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the specific configuration of each part is not limited to that of the embodiment. For example, the location or the number of the fixed claws is arbitrary, and naturally the location and the number of the corresponding rectangular through holes or tapered surfaces can be changed. However, from the viewpoint of sufficiently homogenizing not only the positioning but also the tightening force, it is desirable to provide them at least at four or more places. In addition to this, the concrete structure of the tightening mechanism can be variously modified without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a top plate and legs before connection, showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a view showing a leg base of the same embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line BB in FIG.

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view showing the top plate of the same embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing an operation lever of the same embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of FIG.

FIG. 8 is a bottom view of FIG.

FIG. 9 is a partially omitted plan view showing an unlocked state when the connecting device of the same embodiment is applied between a single top plate and legs.

10 is a cross-sectional view of FIG.

FIG. 11 is a partially omitted plan view showing a locked state when the coupling device of the same embodiment is applied between a single top plate and legs.

12 is a cross-sectional view of FIG.

FIG. 13 is a partially omitted plan view showing a state in which the coupling device of the embodiment is applied between two top plates and a common leg.

FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Leg 5 ... Slide plate 6 ... Manual operation end (operation lever) 7 ... Top plate 31 ... Fixed claw 31a ... Hooking part 31b ... Tapered part 51 ... Rack 52 ... Tapered surface 65 ... Pinion

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A fixed claw protruding from the upper end of the leg, and a slide plate formed on the lower surface of the top plate for performing a contact / separation operation in a direction of selectively engaging or disengaging the fixed claw. Similarly, a manual operation end having a rotation shaft formed on the lower surface of the top plate and a rotary operation force input to the manual operation end are transmitted to the slide plate, and the slide plate is brought into contact with or separated from the fixed claw in a horizontal linear direction. And a motion converting mechanism for converting into motion,
A top plate / leg connecting device, characterized in that the motion converting mechanism comprises a rack formed on the slide plate and a pinion formed on a rotary shaft of the manually operated end and meshing with the rack. 2. A fixed claw has a bent hook portion, and a slide plate horizontally moves between a bottom surface of the hook portion of the fixed claw and an upper end surface of a leg to engage with the bottom surface of the hook portion. 2. An engaged portion which has a tapered surface which gradually rises as it moves to engage with the engaged portion.
A device for connecting a top plate and legs as described in. 3. The fixed claw has a bent hook portion, and the slide plate horizontally moves between the bottom surface of the hook portion of the fixed claw and the upper end surface of the leg to engage with the bottom surface of the hook portion. 3. The top plate / leg connecting device according to claim 1, wherein the top plate and the leg are connected to each other, and the catching portion has a protruding taper portion on a bottom surface thereof. 4. The two slide plates are arranged point-symmetrically with respect to the pinion so that the two slide plates move in opposite directions as the manually operated end rotates, and at that time, the slide plates engage with each other. The top plate and leg coupling device according to claim 1, wherein the moving directions are set so that the slide plates approach each other.