Patent Application
20060127167
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a quick-release connector, and more particularly to a transverse quick-release connector for use with musical instrument stands, microphone booms and the like, which can be connected or disconnected quickly and easily.
2. Description of Related Art
Support stands are used to hold objects for musicians, performers, speakers, etc. For example, a music stand is used to hold a score or sheet music for a musician, and a microphone stand is used to support a microphone for singers, speakers and certain musicians.
With reference to
The stanchion (50) is connected to a base and has a threaded top end (51).
The boom (40) is mounted at a variable angle on the stanchion (50) and has an adjustment sleeve and a pivot fitting. The boom (40) is mounted slidably in the adjustment sleeve. The pivot fitting has a bracket (41) and an adapter (43). The bracket (41) is attached to and extends out radially from the adjustment sleeve. The adapter (43) is connected pivotally to the bracket (41) and is screwed onto the threaded end (51) of the stanchion (50).
However, conventional support stands have the following drawbacks.
1. To attach the boom (40) to the stanchion (50), either the boom (40) has to be screwed onto the stanchion (50), or the stanchion (50) has to be screwed into the adapter (43) on the boom (40). However, the boom (40) is too long to rotate easily, and the stanchion (50) mounted in the base is too heavy to rotate easily. Therefore, attaching or detaching elements of the conventional support stand is difficult.
2. Screwing the boom (40) and the stanchion (50) together is time-consuming and threads defined on the threaded end (51) of the stanchion (50) and in the threaded hole in the stub (52) are easily damaged during assembly and transportation.
With further reference to
To overcome the shortcomings, the present invention provides a transverse quick-release connector to mitigate or obviate the aforementioned problems.
The main objective of the present invention is to provide a transverse quick-released connector a lever is pivoted right and left.
A transverse quick-release device for a stand with a stanchion and an accessory such as a boom, sheet music holder or the like has a body, a locking block and a lever.
The body has a head, a stanchion socket and a locking cavity. The head is attached to a support stand accessory such as a boom. The stanchion socket is formed under the head to hold the stanchion and has a blind hole. The locking cavity is formed in the stanchion socket and has an inner space to communicate with the blind hole in the stanchion socket.
The locking block is movably mounted inside the locking cavity.
The lever is attached pivotally to the body, presses the locking block against the stanchion or releases the locking block and is selectively pushed right or left. The quick-release connector can be quickly and easily attached to or detached from a support stand.
Other objectives, advantages and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
With reference to
With further reference to
With further reference to
The lever (20) is pivotally mounted in the locking cavity (12) to press the locking block (30) and has a pivot end (21), a tab (22) and an optional pivot pin (24). The pivot end (21) faces the outer end of the locking block (30), is mounted pivotally in the locking cavity (12) and has an eccentric head with a pivot hole (211) and an enlarged lobe (212). The pivot hole (211) is defined through the eccentric head and is aligned with the pivot holes (121). A pivot pin (24) extends through the pivot holes (121, 211) to mount the lever (20) pivotally in the locking cavity (12). The tab (22) is formed oppositely to the pivot end (21) and is pushed selectively right or left and may be curved.
With further reference to
With further reference to
After attaching the transverse quick-release connector to the stanchion (50), an ear (42) on the boom (40) is mounted securely in the bracket (11) with a nut and bolt to complete assembly of the stand.
According to foregoing description, an accessory can be attached quickly by attaching the transverse quick-release connector to the stanchion (50) first and then attaching the accessory to the bracket (11). The lever (20) releases or locks the locking block (30) to attach or detach the stanchion (50) by pushing the tab (22). When the quick-release connector is released, the stanchion (50) can be simply withdrawn from the stanchion socket (30) to detach the accessory. Therefore, neither the stanchion (50) nor the accessory needs to be rotated, to be attached or detached. Furthermore, the lever (20) is pushed right and left so an accessory will not obstruct rotation of the lever (20).
Even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the present invention have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structure and features of the invention, the disclosure is illustrative only. Changes may be made in the details, especially in matters of shape, size, and arrangement of parts within the principles of the invention to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed.
