Height adjustable structure of desk combination

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6312069
  • Patent Number
    6,312,069
  • Date Filed
    Monday, July 17, 2000
    24 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, November 6, 2001
    23 years ago
Abstract
A height adjustable structure of a desk combination includes a drawer cabinet having two sides each provided with a fixed plate, a gear and a pivot arm pivotally mounted on the fixed plate, a torsion spring mounted on the pivot arm so that a mediate portion of the pivot arm is deflected leftward or rightward by the torsion spring, a protective board mounted in an opening defined in the upper portion of the fixed plate, a movable plate slidably mounted on the protective board and having a lower portion defining an elongated successive multiple stepwise locking slot, a rack mounted on one side of the movable plate and meshing with the gear, a support frame secured on a top of the movable plate and engaged with a table face. In such a manner, when the height of the table face is adjusted, the rack of the movable plate is slidable on the gear of the fixed plate. At the same time, the pivot arm is moved along the elongated successive multiple stepwise locking slot to form a snap fixing state by a deflection positioning action of the pivot arm.
Description




BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION




1. Field of the Invention




The present invention relates to a height adjustable structure of a desk combination. Especially, the drawer cabinet of the desk combination can be used for adjusting the height of the table face to a proper position.




2. Description of the Related Art




A conventional desk combination in accordance with the prior art comprises a desk, and a drawer cabinet. The drawer cabinet can be received in the right side, the left side or the two sides of the desk, and can also be used individually so that the desk and the drawer cabinet co-operate with each other so as to form a diverse combination, thereby increasing the versatility of the desk combination. However, the drawer cabinet includes a table face which is usually fixed on the drawer cabinet so that the height of the table face of the drawer cabinet cannot be adjusted arbitrarily to fit users of different statures, thereby greatly limiting the versatility of the drawer cabinet.




SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION




In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a height adjustable structure of a desk combination comprising a drawer cabinet having two sides each provided with a fixed plate, a gear pivotally mounted on an upper portion of the fixed plate, a pivot arm pivotally mounted on a lower portion of the fixed plate, a torsion spring mounted on the pivot arm so that a mediate portion of the pivot arm is deflected leftward or rightward by an elastic action of the torsion spring, the lower portion of the fixed plate having two sides each provided with a track, a protective board mounted in an opening defined in the upper portion of the fixed plate, a movable plate slidably mounted on the protective board and having a lower portion defining an elongated successive multiple stepwise locking slot, a rack mounted on one side of the movable plate and meshing with the gear, a support frame secured on a top of the movable plate and engaged with a table face, wherein, when the height of the table face is adjusted, the rack of the movable plate is slidable on the gear of the fixed plate, at the same time, the pivot arm is moved along the elongated successive multiple stepwise locking slot to form a snap fixing state by a deflection positioning action of the pivot arm, and a lower portion of the locking slot of the movable plate having a catch body and a hollow portion across connected to two sides of the locking slot, thereby increasing a structural strength of the catch body and the hollow portion, and thereby efficiently preventing the catch body and the hollow portion from being deformed.




Further benefits and advantages of the present invention will become apparent after a careful reading of the detailed description with appropriate reference to the accompanying drawings.











BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS





FIG. 1

is an exploded view of a height adjustable structure for a desk combination in accordance with the present invention;





FIG. 2

is an exploded view of the height adjustable structure for a desk combination as shown in

FIG. 1

;





FIG. 3

is a front plan cross-sectional assembly view of the height adjustable structure for a desk combination as shown in

FIG. 2

;





FIG. 4

is an operational view of the height adjustable structure for a desk combination as shown in

FIG. 3

in use;





FIG. 5

is,a perspective assembly view of the height adjustable structure for a desk combination as shown in

FIG. 1

; and





FIG. 6

is a perspective view showing the height adjustable structure being attached to the desk combination.











DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION




Referring to

FIGS. 1-6

, the height adjustable structure for a desk combination


20


in accordance with the present invention comprises a drawer cabinet


10


having two sides each defining a receiving chamber


12


for securing a fixed plate


30


and a protective board


40


and having a bottom provided with a plurality of rollers


11


for facilitating the drawer cabinet


10


moving in the desk combination


20


as shown in FIG.


6


.




The fixed plate


30


has two sides each defining a plurality of holes


31


so that the fixed plate


30


and the protective board


40


can be secured in the receiving chamber


12


by means of a plurality of screws “P”. The protective board


40


is mounted in an opening


32


defined in the upper portion of the fixed plate


30


. An elongated movable plate


50


is slidably mounted on the protective board


40


. A support frame


70


is secured on the top of the movable plate


50


and engaged with a table face


80


, the height of the table face


80


can be adjusted.




A gear


35


is pivotally mounted on a through hole


33


defined in the upper portion of the fixed plate


30


, and a pivot arm


60


is pivotally mounted on a through hole


34


defined in the lower portion of the fixed plate


30


.




The pivot arm


60


has an upper end defining a circular hole


61


for securing an axle


63


, a mediate portion defining a through hole


65


for securing a torsion spring “S”, and a lower end defining a circular hole


62


for securing an axle


64


. The torsion spring “S” includes a first leg “S


1


” secured in the through hole


65


of the pivot arm


60


, and a second leg “S


2


” secured on the axle


36


which is secured on the bottom of the fixed plate


30


. In such a manner, the mediate portion of the pivot arm


60


is deflected leftward or rightward by the elastic action of the torsion spring “S”.




The lower portion of the fixed plate


30


has two sides each provided with an L-shaped track


37


for limiting and guiding movement of the movable plate


50


.




The movable plate


50


has a lower portion defining an elongated successive multiple stepwise locking slot


51


, and a rack


52


meshing with the gear


35


is securely mounted on one side of the movable plate


50


by means of a plurality of screws “P”. In such a manner, the rack


52


of the movable plate


50


is slidable on the gear


35


of the fixed plate


30


.




At the same time, the axle


63


on the upper portion of the pivot arm


60


is received in the elongated successive multiple stepwise locking slot


51


whereby the axle


63


of the pivot arm


60


can be deflected leftward to be snap positioned in the elongated successive multiple stepwise locking slot


51


by the deflection positioning action of the pivot arm


60


.




The lowermost portion of the locking slot


51


of the movable plate


50


includes a catch body


53


and a hollow portion


54


across connected to two sides of the locking slot


51


. In such a manner, when the axle


63


of the pivot arm


60


touches the catch body


53


, the axle


63


of the pivot arm


60


is deflected leftward to be positioned in the lowermost portion of the elongated successive multiple stepwise locking slot


51


by the deflection positioning action of the pivot arm


60


. Finally, when the axle


63


of the pivot arm


60


passes through the catch body


53


and the hollow portion


54


, the pivot arm


60


will return to the original state to deflect rightward.




In operation, referring to

FIGS. 3 and 4

, the pivot arm


60


can only be deflected leftward or rightward by the elastic action of the torsion spring “S”. when the table face


80


is lifted, the axle


63


on the upper portion of the pivot arm


60


is moved downward in the elongated successive multiple stepwise locking slot


51


, and is stepwise snap positioned in the elongated successive multiple stepwise locking slot


51


.




When the table face


80


is adjusted to its uppermost position, the axle


63


of the pivot arm


60


is deflected leftward to be positioned in the lowermost portion of the elongated successive multiple stepwise locking slot


51


after the axle


63


touches the catch body


53


.




When the user wishes to adjust the table face


80


to its lowermost position or to readjust the height of the table face


80


, he only needs to lift the table face


80


again so that the axle


63


of the pivot arm


60


passes through the hollow portion


54


of the catch body


53


, thereby returning it to the original state to deflect rightward so that the axle


63


of the pivot arm


60


can be moved to the uppermost portion of the elongated successive multiple stepwise locking slot


51


.




In addition, the rack


52


of the movable plate


50


meshes with the gear


35


of the fixed plate


30


so that the user can easily operate them for adjusting the height of the table face


80


, thereby greatly increasing the versatility of the desk combination


20


.




It should be clear to those skilled in the art that further embodiments may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.



Claims
  • 1. A height adjustable structure of a desk combination comprising a drawer cabinet (10) having two sides each provided with a fixed plate (30), a gear (35) pivotally mounted on an upper portion of said fixed plate (30), a pivot arm (60) pivotally mounted on a lower portion of said fixed plate (30), a torsion spring (S) mounted on said pivot arm (60) so that a mediate portion of said pivot arm (60) is deflected leftward or rightward by an elastic action of said torsion spring (S), said lower portion of said fixed plate (30) having two sides each provided with a track (37), a protective board (40) mounted in an opening (32) defined in said upper portion of said fixed plate (30), a movable plate (50) slidably mounted on said protective board (40) and having a lower portion defining an elongated successive multiple stepwise locking slot (51), a rack (52) mounted on one side of said movable plate (50) and meshing with said gear (35), a support frame (70) secured on a top of said movable plate (50) and engaged with a table face (80), wherein, when the height of the table face (80) is adjusted, said rack (52) of said movable plate (50) is slidable on said gear (35) of said fixed plate (30), at the same time, said pivot arm (60) is moved along said elongated successive multiple stepwise locking slot (51) to form a snap fixing state by a deflection positioning action of said pivot arm (60), and a lower portion of said locking slot (51) of said movable plate (50) having a catch body (53) and a hollow portion (54) across connected to two sides of said locking slot (51), thereby increasing a structural strength of said catch body (53) and said hollow portion (54), and thereby preventing said catch body (53) and said hollow portion (54) from being deformed.
US Referenced Citations (5)
Number Name Date Kind
2931685 Butler Apr 1960
3744872 Morelli Nov 1973
5549053 Grout Aug 1996
5598788 Jonker Feb 1997
6209840 Chen Apr 2001