Patent Application
20210337944
This application claims priority to German patent application DE202020102422.1, filed Apr. 30, 2020, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein.
The invention relates to a locking system for a rotating foot of a mast, particularly for a free arm standing parasol.
In numerous situations it is desirable to be able to rotate a free arm standing parasol around its mast axis when required, but otherwise to block such rotatability. Examples thereof are an adaptation of the orientation of the parasol according to the changing position of the sun, but also certain handling operations, for example turning away to allow passage of a vehicle or bulky object. In principle, several solutions have already been proposed for this objective, but they are all associated with certain disadvantages or limitations. However, there are always situations where a rotation of the mast is unnecessary or undesirable, such as, for example, in a street cafe with several parasols arranged in a row. Accordingly, a decision decides as to whether the parasol is needed with or without a rotating foot is already taken during the sales pitch.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,499,644 describes a rotatable free arm standing parasol in which two parts of a mast, which can be rotated against each other, are mutually latched with perforated disks and separate locking bolt. Such a solution lacks the convenience of an operating lever with a force reducing extension, and the open latching holes bear a risk of being clogged by dirt.
CN 109892768 A also relates to a rotatable free arm standing parasol. In this proposal, latching is proposed via a two-part mast with toothed coupling sleeves at an elevated operating height. A disadvantage is the small radius of the latching circle and the limitation of the number of latching positions. Wind stability of this type of mast is also problematic. A subsequent installation is very demanding. U.S. Pat. No. 8,807,513 B2 relates to a rotating foot for a free arm standing parasol. An exposed, U-shaped operating bracket acts via a mast-traversing axle through a pressure bar at the center of rotation of the mast onto the axially proximal, inner ends of two tilting levers, at the outer ends of which there are engaging pawls which engage between the teeth of a toothed ring under cooperation of pressure springs. The presence of a borehole through the mast means a weakening of the same, and the multi-component sequential arrangement of a lever, pressure bar, tilting lever, spring and toothed ring bears the risks of malfunction, such as, in particular, an uncontrolled jamming and an inadequate engaging. The exposed, short operating bracket requires the application of a large operating force in the case of large parasols and of winds coming up, and it furthermore tempts guests in a restaurant to change the rotational position of the mast in an uncontrolled manner.
CN 202955435 U relates to a rotating foot for a standing parasol and proposes a large locking radius for carrying out finely graduated rotational steps. The operating device consists of a latching bolt with spring support, which can be lifted out of the latching position by turning the operating handle along a circumferentially inclined support surface. No device is provided for bringing the operating handle to a comfortable operating height. Due to the facts that no ball-bearings are present and that only a short lever length is provided, an appreciable effort is required to turn the mast. Another disadvantage consists in the risk of stumbling due to the exposed, protruding handle close to the ground.
CN 205658488 U relates, inter alia, to a free arm standing parasol with a rotatable mast and a long, swiveling operating lever 418, which in its rest position is arranged parallel to the mast. Inside the mast, there is a raised counter bearing 414 resting on support 412, which is firmly connected to the mast profile by means of rivets 416. A disadvantage of this arrangement is the protruding end of the operating bar, into which clothes can get caught on passing by and which offers itself to uncontrolled manipulation by unauthorized persons. A trading concept according to which the parasol can be equipped with a rotating foot as an optional feature is complicated by the required machining of the mast.
An object of the invention is thus to propose an improved locking system for the rotating foot of a mast, in particular of a mast for a free arm standing parasol, which is capable of overcoming the disadvantage of the prior art.
In the locking system for the rotating foot of a mast, particularly of a mast for a free arm standing parasol according to the present invention, the mast is rotatable about an axis of rotation A defined by the rotating foot. The mast comprises a surrounded mast region. The locking system comprises an operating lever for releasing or locking of the rotating foot, which locking system is arranged on the mast at a comfort height (H) of 0.5 to 1.5 m above base level. The operating lever is movable between a folded-out position and a downwardly folded-in position and thereby cooperates via a lifting bar with stationary engaging elements of the rotating foot. The lifting bar is raised in its release position and lowered in its locking position.
The fact that the lifting bar is arranged at a distance from the axis of rotation and externally of the surrounded mast region, results inter alia in the following advantages:
In the present context, the terms “rotatable” and “stationary” are used, whereby “stationary” refers to any components which in principle remain in a fixed rotational relationship with respect to the surroundings, particularly with respect to the ground. In contrast, “rotatable” refers to any components which can perform a rotational movement about the axis of rotation A defined by the rotating foot when required, i.e., when the rotating foot is released. The terms “downwards” and “lowered” refer to a situation where the locking system is mounted on a ready-to-use rotating foot, so these terms shall be understood as synonymous with “downwards” or “pointing in a direction towards the ground”.
The term “comfort height” shall be understood in relation to the handling of the locking system by an operating person. On the one hand, the engagement point, which represents a lowest point when the operating lever is folded-in, should be at least 0.5 m above the ground level of the rotating foot. On the other hand, the folded-out operating lever should be at most 1.5 m above the ground level. Accordingly, the operating lever in the folded-in position shall be located, considering its entire length, in a height range of 0.5 to 1.5 m from the ground level.
In principle the locking system according to the present invention can be used for rotating feet of a wide variety of mast-supported devices.
In an ergonomically and aesthetically advantageous embodiment the operating lever in its folded-in position is received in a lateral mast groove. In particular, this avoids undesirable protruding parts of the operating lever.
According to a particularly advantageous embodiment the operating lever and the lifting bar are coupled via a connecting hinge, which is provided with a tolerance bar by means of which, when the operating lever is folded-in, the lifting bar remains displaceable between a partially lowered position and a fully lowered position, wherein spring means are present to urge the lifting bar into the fully lowered position. The term “tolerance bar” is generally to be understood as a length compensation element, which can be realized in particular as a bar with a longitudinal slot. These measures allow the operating lever to be folded into the mast groove even if the current rotational position does not yet allow lowering into an engaging element of the rotating foot. Thereby, the spring means ensure that the desired locking takes place during a subsequent rotational movement of the mast.
It is advantageous if the spring means comprise a pressure spring, which is arranged between a guiding bracket for the lifting bar and a support part of the lifting bar located below the guiding bracket. The support part is attached to the lifting bar.
In principle, it shall be ensured that the lifting bar is guided in such manner that an undesirable canting is avoided.
According to an embodiment, which is particularly advantageous for an easy mounting of the locking system at the mast, guiding brackets for the lifting bar are provided, which can be inserted in a force-fitting manner into the mast groove by means of clamping screws. It shall be understood that the outer dimensions of such guiding brackets are to be selected in accordance with the inner dimension of the mast groove.
In a preferred embodiment the lifting bar is configured at the lower end thereof as a locking catch which is displaced from the axis of rotation A by a pivoting radius and which can be lowered into a correspondingly shaped stationary engaging element that is located below it. It is particularly advantageous, if the locking catch of the lifting bar is cranked outwards to increase the pivoting radius. This makes it possible to maintain a sufficient distance between adjacent engaging elements, or, for a given size of the individual engaging elements, to provide a comparatively smaller angular separation distance and thus a finer adjustment of the mast rotation.
It is also particularly advantageous if the rotating foot comprises stationary and rotatable plates stacked on top of each other, wherein one of the rotatable cover plates is rigidly connected directly or indirectly to the mast and comprises a guiding passage for the locking catch.
According to one embodiment the rotatable cover plate is mounted on a stationary latching plate, the cover plate being tightly connected to a counter plate, which is also rotatable and which absorbs tensile and compressive loads stemming from the mast, the stationary latching plate being provided with a plurality of engaging elements, which are circularly arranged about the axis of rotation A at predetermined angular intervals.
It is also advantageous, if the stationary latching plate is embraced by the rotatable cover plate and the rotatable counter plate.
Moreover, it is advantageous, if the stationary latching plate is directly or indirectly connected to a base plate serving as a support.
The base plate is either configured as a foot intended for ground contact, or it is configured with anchoring elements for mounting on a corresponding connecting part of a building, floor or the like.
In order to ensure rotatability in the smoothest, canting-free and permanent manner, it is advantageous to have appropriately dimensioned ball-bearings arranged between rotatable and stationary plates. In particular, these can be configured as annular bearing rings.
According to a further embodiment, the rotating foot comprises a bell cover for protecting movable parts located underneath. This is intended, in particular, to prevent excessive pollution and wetting of the bearings, but also to prevent clogging of the engaging elements.
A completely free rotatability, which would allow the execution of several full revolutions, is usually undesirable, for example in the presence of traversing power cables. An overwind protection can be implemented in various manners, whereby generally a corresponding blocking effect between a rotatable and a stationary component of the rotating foot is set up. According to an advantageous embodiment, the stationary base plate comprises a stop for a counter projection in the rotatable counter plate as an overwind prevention.
The aforementioned elements as well as those claimed and described in the following exemplary embodiments, to be used according to the invention, are not subject to any particular conditions by way of exclusion in terms of their size, shape, use of material and technical design, with the result that the selection criteria known in the respective field of application can be used without restrictions.
Further details, advantages and features of the object of the present invention will become apparent from the following description and the corresponding drawings, in which the locking system according to the present invention is illustrated by way of example. In the drawings there are shown in:
In
The rotating foot 22 comprises, on the one hand, stationary parts 30 and, on the other hand, parts 24 that can be rotated about an axis of rotation A. As can be seen from
The locking system 4 comprises an operating lever 8 for releasing or locking the rotating foot, the operating lever being arranged on the mast at a comfort height above the rotating foot 22. The operating lever 8 is movable between a folded-out release position as shown in
In the release position shown in
Advantageously, the downwardly folded-out operating lever 8 fits into the mast groove 3 and thus forms a continuation of the outer mast profile, which is further continued or completed by a cover strip 9 adjacently disposed below the operating lever 8. Accordingly, the operating lever 8 in its basic position fits in a practically seamless manner into the mast design. Appropriately, a terminal recess is provided at the operating lever 8 to facilitate gripping of the operating lever.
As can be seen in particular from
In the exemplary embodiment shown here, the operating lever 8 and the lifting bar 12 are coupled via a connecting hinge 10, which is provided with a tolerance bar 11. As can be seen from
The latching plate 32 rests in the edge region thereof on a distance ring 36, which in turn rests on the base plate 40 of the rotating foot. The base plate 40 is appropriately provided with connecting screws 41 for a ground anchoring. The distance ring 36 forms a space for the rotating counter plate 28.
In the embodiment shown, the lifting bar 12 comprises an offset 21 in the lower region to increase the pivoting radius. In this manner, the guiding passage 35 provides a lateral stabilization of the lifting bar 12 and prevents undesirable displacement or canting. Moreover, a bell cover 46 mounted on the rotating foot 22 protects for the movable parts located underneath.
To initiate a mast rotation, the operating lever 8 is folded out upwards, whereby the lifting bar 12 is raised via the operating lever hinge 10 and the tolerance bar 11. Thereby, the locking catch 20 is lifted out of the engaging point 34 of the latching plate 32, as shown in
As can be seen, in particular from
Moreover, in the example shown, the stationary base plate 40 comprises a stop 42 for a counter projection 44 in the rotatable counter plate 28 as an overwind prevention.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 202020102422.1 | Apr 2020 | DE | national |
