US3472394A - Furniture - Google Patents

Description

Oct. 14, 1969 J, SVOBODA ET AL. 3,472,394

FURNITURE 3 Sheets-Sheet. 1

FIG. 2

Filed March 13. 1967 FIG.

Oct. 14, 1-969 J. SVOBODA ET AL 3,472,394

FURNITURE Filed March 13, 1967 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Oct. 14, 1969 Filed March 13, 1967 FIG. 8

J. SVOBODA ET AL FURNITURE 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 FIG. 9

I "JULY sat United States Patent 3472,394 FURNITURE Johann Svoboda and Rudolf Svoboda, both of 28 Purkersdorferstrasse, 3%0 St. Polteu, Austria Filed Mar. 13, 1967, Ser. No. 622,570 Claims priority, application Austria, Mar. 11, 1966, A 2,344/66; Apr. 29, 1966, A 4,088/66 Int. Cl. A47f 5/12 U.S. Cl. 211-169 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A furniture unit comprising a carrier structure pivotally mounted on a horizontal crossbeam of a stand by means of guided rod pairs for pivoting th carrier structure from a feed position of vertical alignment into an operating position laterally offset from said vertical alignment and balanced in each position with respect to a perpendicular symmetrical plane of the furniture unit, the pair of guide rods each formed of U-shape including legs and each disposed operatively on different sides of the carrier structure, and including a base between the two legs oriented parallel to the pivoting axis and shaped as a handle.

The present invention relates to furniture, in general, and to a piece of furniture featuring carrier media such as plates, frames, vats or the like, on a horizontal crossbeam of a stand, connected to each other for counterrotating motion by means of guide rod pairs from a feed position with vertical alignment into an operative position, showing them, viewed from the top, side by side so as to be balanced in every position with respect to a perpendicular symmetrical plane of the furniture piece, in particular.

Such a furniture piece can b simply moved from a space saving feed position into an operating position where the objects are placed on the furniture piece, for instance, work tools, items of current use, registration and file matters, like suspended folders and/or file cards, dishes or drinks, tableware, etc., clearly arranged and readily at hand so as to be easily and rapidly removed or serviced, respectively.

However, difficulties have arisen in connection with positioning the guide rod pairs on a known furniture piece of the type referred to, at the carrier media and stand in such a manner as to obtain an accurate parallel direction and to avoid edging complicating operations of the furniture piece, or to render such operations impossible.

A further disadvantage may result in that the carrier media can, leave its horizontal position and the objects carried may become displaced or drop. These disadvantages are more pronounced the longer the period of use and the more frequently the operation occurs.

It is one object of the present invention to provide a furniture piece eliminating the disadvantages mentioned and, particularly, securing for a prolonged period the parallel position of the guide rod pairs even under constant operating conditions of the. furniture piece, and additionally permitting easier handling.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a furniture piece, comprising two guide rods each, placed on various sides of the carrier media and formed from the leg of a U-shaped how the base thereof being parallel to the axis of swivelling, and preferably shaped as a handle.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a furniture piece including elastically resilient legs of the U-shaped bows and snap-in locks provided at the bearings of the horizontal crossbearns of the stand for securing the feed and operating positions, respectively, of the carrier media.

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It is still another object of the present invention to provide a furnitur piece wherein the snap-in lock consists of a plate, preferably of plastic, mounted on the crossbeam and having a bore for the swivel pin of the guide rod and two snap-in slots with sections complementary to the guide rods and with center lines passing through the center axis of the bore.

It is yet still another object of th present invention to provide a furniture piece wherein the snap-in action may be adjusted to the load weight, e.g. in the case of a furniture piece used as a card file. Also, it is possible to provide for a suitable compensation in case of potential wear and tear of the snap-in lock and loss of the elasticity of the guide rod.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a furniture piece providing for adjustment and subsequent repositioning of the snap-in lock, so as to modify the snap-in action. In this connection, a preferable embodiment includes a positioning screw having an axis identical to the turning in pin for the guide rod on the crossbeam of the stand, adjustment of which will result in shifting the snap-in plate to or from the guide rod. Also, the framework of the invention provides for an intermediate plate between the snap-in nut having a guide slot and the crossbeam, on which intermediate plate the screw end facing the guide rod is housed. Due to the elastic action materialized on the guide rod, the plate, the thin intermediate plate and the pin are pressed against the adjusting screw. The thin intermediate plate is then pressed, by adjusting the screw, to the plate having a slot, providing for a resilient bending of the guide rod or rods. By tightening th screw, the snap-in action is increased in both positions; by loosening and re-positioning the screw in the opposite turning direction, the action is diminished. In lieu of the screw with the hexagonal hole an. excenter may be used or a wedge may be provided, positioned in the guide on the crossbeam and housing the pin.

It is still yet another object of the present invention to provide a furniture piece wherein adjusting of the snap-in plate is accomplished by the plate, having a cavity for reception of the guide rod pin, and equipped with a screw bolt capable of being screwed in and out from a nut thread of the top stand crossbeam. So as to avoid turning of the snap-in plate, e.g., a set screw is provided, capable of being screwed from that side of the crossbeam of the stand not facing the guide rod, into the latter one, and reaching still into the snapin plate with its end. For turning the snap'in plate, the screw is removed and after having turned the plate by or more, the screw is reset. For the purpose of setting, a resilient snap may be used instead of the screw.

It is further yet another object of the present invention to provide a furniture piece wherein the upper crossbeam of the stand is provided with a bracket at its free end having a T-like shape. This bracket holds, symmetrically to the turning pin and to the position of the same, two nut threads receiving, in an adjustable manner, one screw each, having a hexagon or an operating blade, the head of such a screw, facing the guide rod, being equipped with brackets or inserts of embossed shape and particularly made of plastic material. Depending whether the screws are adjusted more or less towards the crossbeam or the guide rod, a more or less important snap-in lock action will result with respect to the guide rod. By adopting this type, the snap-in plate may be omitted resulting in a simplification of the elements involved.

With the above and other objects in view, which will become apparent in the following detailed description, the present invention will be clearly understood in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevation of the furniture piece in feed position;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation in operating position;

FIG. 3 is a front elevation of the furniture piece; FIG. 4 is an enlarged detail of the snap-in lock of FIG. 2

FIG. 5 is a plan view of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of the elements for the adjustment device of the snap-in action;

FIG. 7 is a side elevation of FIG. 6 in the connected position;

FIG. 7 is a side elevation of FIG. 6 in the connected position;

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary top plan view of another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a side elevation of FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a front elevation of FIG. 8;

FIG. 11 is a side elevation of the guide rod or rods, showing, as example, a further embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 12 is a front elevation of FIG. 11.

Referring now to the drawings, and more particularly to FIGS. 1-5, a furniture piece, illustrated for example as a file register, comprises frames 1 for receiving suspended folders 2 by way of guide rod parallelograms 3 in a swivel position on a horizontal crossbeam 4 of a stand 6 equipped with guide rolls 5. The two frames 1 are placed in the feed position as shown in FIG. 1 vertically one above the other. By pressing the upper frame 1 in the direction of the arrow shown in FIG. 1, the upper frame 1 may be swivelled to the right and the lower frame 1 to the left into the operating position of FIG. 2. Each guide rod 3 is pivotally connected at its ends at pivot connections 3a and 3b to both of the frames 1, respectively. The guide rod pairs 3 permit the securing, at all times, of both frames 1 at the same distance from the symmetrical plane of the furniture piece, keeping a constant equlibrium in all positions. In this connection, it is assumed that both frames 1 have essentially the same contents, for instance an equal number of suspended folders 2. Each of both guide rods has the shape of a U-bow, the legs thereof being the sides of the rods 3, and the base, being parallel to the swivelling axis, forming the handle bar 7. By the U-shape of the guide rods 3 an accurate parallel positioning with respect to the guide rods on both sides of the frame is achieved, avoiding edging when swivelling.

The bearings of the guide rods 3 are made as snap-in locks 20 comprising, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, snap-in plates 8, preferably made of plastic material, mounted on the inner sides of the vertical crossbeams 4. These plates have bores 9 for receiving a swivel pin 10 for the guide rods 3. Furthermore, the plates 8 are provided with snap-in slots 11, the shape of which is complementary to the guide rods 3. The center lines of the slots 11 cross the center axis of swivel pin 10. When the U-shaped uide rods, for instance, are made of steel, legs 3 swing and snap-into or click thus into place in slots 11, or snap-out from these slots respectively when pressing or pulling handle 7 so as to cause the swivelling of the guide rods and the frame 1. In the clicked or releasably locked states of the guide rods, both the feed position (FIG. 1) and the operating position (FIG. 2) are maintained. It is sufiicient, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, to provide in each case one of the U-shaped bows forming the guide rods with a bearing as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5; but the snap-in locks 20 may also be assigned by pairs to both guide rods 3 with identical bearings. Additionally, stand 6 may be equipped with stops for the guide rods 3.

Referring now again to the drawings, and more particularly to FIGS. 6 and 7, respectively, another embodiment of the present invention comprises a nut thread 21 in the upper stand crossbeam which receives from the side facing the guide rod 3 a set screw 19 with an externally provided hexagonal hole 22 (inbus screw), and at its other end with a bearing hole 23 for the bearing pin 10. The snap-in plate 8 has two projections 24 on the side facing the guide rod 3, serving for elastically bending the guide rod 3 when shifting from one to another position. The snap-in plate 8 has a guide slot 25 on the side facing the crossbeam 4. The bearing pin 10 passes through a hole 27 in the snap-in plate, engaging with the guide rod 3 in a hole therein. Between the snap-in plate 8 and the crossbeam 4, an intermediate plate 28 is provided through which the pin 10 passes into the bearing hole 23 of screw 19. The intermediate plate 28 fits into the guide slot 25. Screw 19' presses against the intermediate plate 28 when screwing the same in the threads 21 for the purpose of increasing the snap-in action. The elastic action of the crossbeam 4 assures the unity of the elements. When inserting the screw 19 with the hexagonal hole 22 into the threads 21 of crossbeam 4, the intermediate plate 28 presses the snap-in plate 8 in the direction of the guide rod 3 so as to elastically increase the tension on the latter, permitting increased clicking or snap locking into the snap-in position. The advantages mentioned above are obtained in this way.

Referring now again to the drawings, and more particularly to FIGS. 8, 9 and 10, another embodiment of a furniture piece according to the present invention includes the snap-in plate 8, but omitting slot 25, and is equipped with a threaded pin 30 which can be screwed in and out of a bore made as a nut thread, and having a thread 31, positioned on crossbeam 4. For fixing the position of the snap-in plate 8, a thread is provided at the rim of the latter, able to receive an adjusting screw 32 by a thread in crossbeam 4. So as to obtain resilient tension of guide rod 3 and to be able to adjust the snap-in plate on or off the latter, the screw 32 is screwed out to such a point so as to set the snap-in plate free, enabling its turning as required; that is, as the case may require, 360 until the nut thread returns to the position of identical axis when the screw 32 is re-tightened for setting.

FIGS. 11 and 12 show another embodiment of the present invention with the replacement of the snap-in plate 8 by holding pins. Crossbeam 4 has a T-like end piece 33 added thereto. The piece 33 is provided with threaded bores 34. Their position is such as to enable guide rod 3 to lie in the full line position and in the dashed line position on the holding pins 35 facing the rod. These holding pins 35 have threads and are adjustable in the bores 34 by means of hexagonal heads or winged heads added to the pins, the holding bolts having embossed brackets 36 on the end facing the guide rod, and the pin too, respectively, preferably made of a hard synthetic material, or the like. Such a construction will assure the same effect as shown with the embodiments of FIGS. 6 to 10.

The invention has been described, as an example, used with an ofiice furniture piece having frames as the carrier media for suspended hanging card folders. These frames may hold in lieu of or in addition thereto file cases. But it is also possible to insert file vats as carrier means for file cards. The present invention is not limited to the type of carrier media and of register and file items serviced by them.

The furniture piece in accordance with the present invention, for example, is also for use as a service car for bottles with drinks and appropriate glasses. Also the use for readily keeping and storing hand tools and similar items; is possible. Additionally, the invention in its principle, is not limited to two carrier media. Moreover, a multiple number of carrier media may be used, particularly if the depth of these carrier media does not require excessive dimensions, and for this reason no excessive width in operating position is necessary due to the staggered arrangement of such carrier means. The height of objects to be placed on the carrier media is therefore by no means unimportant with respect to the possibility of providing for a greater number of carrier means.

Additionally, the invention is not limited to the particular embodiment described. Herein carrier means includes plates, frames, vats, or the like.

We claim:

1. A furniture piece, comprising:

a stand including a horizontal crossbeam,

two U-shaped guide rods, each having two leg portions and a base portion therebetween, and pivotally connected about a pivot axis parallel to said base portion and spaced from each other, substantially at the centers of said leg portions, to said horizontal crossbeam,

at least two carrier means pivotally connected to the ends of said leg portions, respectively, of said two U-shaped guide rods forming at least three pivot connections, one of said carrier means located above said crossbeam and another below said crossbeam, thereby being connected to each other for a counterrotating motion via said two U-shaped guide rods from a feed position with vertical alignment into an operating position of offset vertical alignment, and

said pivot connections located so that in all operating positions said two carrier means are balanced with respect to a perpendicular symmetrical plane through said furniture piece.

2. The furniture piece, as set forth in claim 1, further comprising:

a pivot bearing pin defining said pivot axis pivotally connecting said centers of said U-shaped guide rods to said crossbeam,

at least one snap-in lock means mounted on at least one of said pivot bearings for cooperatively releasably locking said guide rods, and

said leg portions of said guide rods are elastically resilient and adapted to be secured releasably by said snap-in lock means in said feed and operating positions of carrier means, respectively.

3. The furniture piece, as set forth in claim 2, wherein said snap-in lock means comprises,

a plate mounted on said crossbeam, and having a bore therein, said bearing pin passing therethrough, and two slots complementary to said leg portions of said guide rods, the center lines of said slots passing through the center axis of said bore.

4. The furniture piece, as set forth in claim 1, wherein:

said snap-in lock means may be adjusted and repositioned, respectively, for the purpose of modifying the locking action.

5. The furniture piece, as set forth in claim 3, further comprising:

a set screw adjustably screwed into said crossbeam of said stand,

said bearing pin coaxially secured to said set screw,

said set screw operatively connected to said snap-in lock means for permitting the shifting of the latter to and from the guide rod by adjusting of said set screw.

6. The furniture piece, as set forth in claim 5, further comprising:

an intermediate plate provided between said crossbeam and said snap-in lock means, the latter formed with a guide slot engaging said intermediate plate, and

said intermediate plate abutting said set screw.

7. The furniture piece, as set forth in claim 5, wherein:

said set screw is provided externally with a hexagonal head and abearing bore, the latter for receiving said bearing pin.

8. The furniture piece, as set forth in claim 3, further comprising:

a bolt axially mounted on said plate, said crossbeam having a threaded cavity in which said bolt is secured,

an adjusting screw adjustably screwed into said crossbeam and mounted in said plate whereby the position of said plate is adjustable by said adjusting screw.

9. The furniture piece, as set forth in claim 1, further comprising:

a bracket mounted on said crossbeam about said pivot axis and having at least one threaded bore and adjustable bolts mounted in said at least one threaded bore for releasable locking cooperation with said guide rod.

10. The furniture piece, as set forth in claim 9, wherein:

said adjustable bolts have an embossed end shape.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,145,264 7/1915 Pfiug 312266 2,641,072 6/1953 Maher 211--178 1,706,829 4/1955 Charnin 211-178 XR 3,147,606 9/1964 Holmberg 211--178 XR 3,298,537 1/1967 Di .Marco 211--178 ROY D. FRAZIER, Primary Examiner R. D. KRAUS, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R.

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